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“Colonel, I need you to finish filling out this paperwork for me,” Riza said, giving her commanding officer an annoyed look and pointing towards the sheets on his desk.
Roy sighed. “What’s this for again?”
“It’s the official report from Breda and Havoc’s job out East. Remember, the one with that alchemist who was trying to create gold?”
Roy snorted. “Yeah, and failing at it miserably.”
“Most of this is done, you just need to confirm their testimonies and sign it,” Riza said.
“No, seriously! Gold is a fairly simple thing to create alchemically. Without some serious testing, it can be tough to tell if it was transmuted currency or not. There’s a reason that it’s called ‘gold’, and not ‘brown’. I could have done a better job at age ten.”
“For your sake, Colonel, I would neglect to mention that in the official report,” Riza said with a smirk.
“What would I do without you, Lieutenant,” Roy said with a chuckle, as he started to flip through the pages of the report.
“Sir, if that’s all for today, I’d very much like to head home.”
“Actually, Lieutenant, there is one more thing.”
Riza’s curiosity peaked. Roy had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, which meant one of two things. Something interesting had happened, or he was about to add another stressor to her life.
“Sir?”
Roy pulled out a formal-looking piece of paper from his desk.
“A gala invitation?” Riza asked, skeptically.
“Spot on, as usual, Lieutenant. The Fuhrer is hosting the annual military gala in Central, and this will be my first year going. You know, with the new promotion and all.”
Riza knew where this was going, but figured she’d give Roy the benefit of the doubt. “That’s an excellent opportunity for you, sir, but what do I have to do with it?”
“Lieutenant, you can’t be serious!”
Roy certainly seemed to be joking, but after a long day, Riza wasn’t sure how much patience she had left.
“The military gala is a high-profile event,” Roy started, with a smirk on his face. “You know, there are many people out there who are jealous of my successful military career at such a young age. Not everyone can have this alchemical prowess if you will. I don’t think it would be wise to attend such a prestigious event without my bodyguard! What if something happens to me?”
“That would certainly be regrettable, sir. However, I promised to follow you into Hell, not a gala.”
“What if I were to sweeten the deal?” Roy said, still smirking confidently. “For being my plus one, I would generously give you one week of paid leave, and I would pay for your dress.”
Paid leave was useless to Riza. She hadn’t taken a sick day since signing on with the military. She didn’t have many hobbies- babysitting the Colonel didn’t allow much time for her to pursue other matters. Quite frankly, Riza would have absolutely no idea what to do on her days off.
However, the dress was another matter entirely. Riza grew up reading a lot of books, and she had always wondered what it would be like to be one of those women- carefree, elegant, and unburdened by the sins of their past. She knew she didn’t deserve it, but the idea of one night where she didn’t have to be Riza Hawkeye, but just a nameless plus one at a gala, was very enticing.
Despite all of this, Riza had a good guess at Roy's real reason for wanting her by his side.
“If you insist, Colonel. I will forward you the bill for the dress next week.”
Roy grinned, only this time his smile was genuine and not a smirk. “Fantastic! I was a little worried I was going to have to slow dance with Hughes. Well, Gracia will be glad to hear it.”
Lieutenant Hawkeye chuckled at the thought of Roy bringing Maes as his plus one.
“Is there anything else on the agenda for tonight?” Riza asked.
“No, Lieutenant. That’s all for tonight. You can head home.”
The weeks leading up to the gala went by quickly. Riza buried herself in her work. She had only been working as Roy’s Lieutenant for a year, and sometimes the sheer amount of work required still caught her off guard.
She had a dress picked out. It was a silk black dress, with a slit in the side. It was beautiful, and it would allow her to store a firearm within arm's reach. Usually, Riza didn’t make time for many extravagant things, but she couldn’t deny the delight she felt in her heart when trying it on for the first time.
Most importantly, the back didn’t reveal any of her tattoo- or the burn scars. So many years of pain, and every day it became easier to cover it all up. Riza wondered to herself how different her life would be if she had never shown the Colonel her back all those years ago.
The night before the gala, Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye boarded a train headed for Central. Maes Hughes, Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery waved them off at the station.
“If all hell breaks loose, you know where to find me,” Mustang said with a smile.
“No sir,” Hughes responded. “If all hell breaks loose, we know where to find the Lieutenant.”
Mustang fumed, but Riza allowed herself to chuckle. She still didn’t know how the others in her unit felt about her, but this gesture made her feel more comfortable.
“Take good care of Black Hayate, Fuery. That’s an order.”
“Of course, First Lieutenant!” Fuery said with a smile.
Riza nodded, and then the pair climbed on board the train.
“What exactly are the odds of all hell breaking loose, Colonel?” Riza asked jokingly.
“The same as they’ve always been.”
“Which is…”
“Practically guaranteed,” Colonel Mustang said with a gentle smile.
There was a very pregnant pause. She and the Colonel were very close together. Riza could feel his body heat and hear his breathing.
“Colonel, permission to speak freely?”
“Of course, Lieutenant.”
“Why did you want to bring me to the gala? You and I both know that the security there is going to be better than anything I could provide, so it can’t be that,” Riza said.
“Lieutenant, I don’t want other security measures. I want you, by my side. I trust you.” Colonel Mustang said. His eyes met Riza’s, and it became clear that he was being very sincere.
Riza read between the lines.
It was late when the pair arrived at their hotel. Both were exhausted from a full day at work, and the train ride.
Riza checked the pair in, and they went upstairs. She noted that the Colonel looked absolutely exhausted, and she watched his smile fall when he thought she wasn’t looking at him.
When they swung the door to their room open, Riza noticed a massive problem right away.
“Colonel, I believe they made a mistake with the rooms. I made all the arrangements carefully, and I know we were supposed to have two beds,” Lieutenant Hawkeye insisted.
Colonel Mustang at full strength would have had some snarky comment to say, but he was too tired now to bother.
“Don’t worry about this, Lieutenant. I’ve slept on the floor a thousand times,” Roy insisted, somewhat weakly.
“Sir, you look absolutely exhausted. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight.”
“Lieutenant…”
“This is my job. I must have made a mistake with booking the room, and you shouldn’t have to pay for my error. Please, I insist.”
Roy looked like he wanted to say something, but he decided against it.
Riza didn’t think much of it- she was his subordinate, and more importantly, his bodyguard. She grabbed a few extra blankets from the closet and prepared for bed. She set one of her pistols on the nightstand, loaded but with nothing in the chamber, pointed away from the both of them. She locked the windows, put tape on the door, and lit a small lamp for easy vision. By the time she was ready to turn in, Roy had collapsed on the bed, still in his uniform.
Riza sighed and began untying Roy’s shoes. He could sleep in his uniform for all she cared, but sleeping in shoes was uncomfortable, and she would have to listen to his complaining the next day.
Finally done for the night, Riza pulled the extra blankets over herself and closed her eyes.
When the Lieutenant opened her eyes, light was flooding the room, filtered only slightly by the curtains. She was warm- comfortable, even. When she moved to get up, she felt something heavy over her chest.
Next to her on the floor, Roy was asleep, his right arm draped over her. He must have fallen off the bed in the night, Riza thought. But no, that wasn’t possible. After years in Ishval, Riza had become an incredibly light sleeper.
She savored the feeling for a moment and left the warmth of her bed. It was exactly 5:30, the time Riza usually starts her day. She could let Roy sleep for a few hours more. After spending some time in the shower, and outlining her itinerary for the day, Riza put on a civilian outfit, and grabbed a coat from her bag. It was colder in Central than she expected. She left a note for Roy, letting him know that she would be downtown catching up with two of her friends from her time in the military academy.
Riza found it refreshing to reunite with some old friends, but she couldn’t find herself getting past the elephant in the room. She had served in Ishval. She had seen death and destruction and had partaken in it. Her friends, in fact, most of the girls from the military academy, got government desk jobs. Both of the women she reunited with were happily married, something Riza knew she would never experience. She couldn’t help but wish she had taken another path but feared that she was being greedy.
She returned to the hotel room at around 10:45, where she found Roy, still asleep on the floor.
Riza sighed. “Colonel, it’s time to get up,” she said while shaking him awake.
“Huh, oh, Lieutenant. It’s still early,” Roy said, groaning.
“It’s almost eleven.”
“But the gala doesn’t start until nineteen hundred,” he moaned.
“We can get pastries downtown,” Riza offered.
Suddenly, Roy was on his feet and scavenging through his luggage. Within fifteen minutes, he had showered, dressed nicely, and was ready to go.
The Colonel and his Lieutenant spend the afternoon walking around the city. They sampled several croissants, visited a park, and got ice cream. It was time to get ready for the gala.
Riza slipped into the restroom to change into her dress. She was relieved to see that it was undamaged from the train ride and hurried to put it on.
Riza reached back to zip the dress up when something snapped. Her heart sank.
“Colonel?”
“What?”
“Are you decent?”
“Yes, are you ready to go?”
“Not really, can you come in here for a second?”
The bathroom door opened and Roy entered. “What is it, do you need me to zip up the dress?”
“Sir, I think I broke the zipper off. But could you try something?”
Riza turned around, and she could feel a chill in the air. She knew that both of them were thinking about the last time they’d been in a bathroom alone together, and the scars on Riza’s back that reminded her every time she looked in a mirror.
“Do you have the zipper?”
“Here.”
“I really don’t know what you did here, but I’ll try and reattach it.”
A few moments of tense silence passed, and Riza felt Roy fiddle with the zipper on her back. She resisted the urge to flinch, but at least this time, his hands brushing along her bare back didn’t come with searing pain.
“Hey, are you alright?” Roy asked. “Do you want me to stop? It’s fine if you’re not comfortable with this… all things considered. We still have time, we could figure something else out. But you feel awfully tense.”
Riza shook her head. She’d let her emotions get the best of her. “No, it’s easier if we fix this here.”
“Alright. I think I can get it, just give me a moment.”
A minute later, Roy backed away. “I have it reattached, but it’s not clipping to the bottom. Hold on a second.”
Mustang returned rather quickly with a pin in his hands. He clipped the pin to the bottom of the zipper, sealing the dress shut. “That should work well. I use pins like these on my uniform sometimes. I’m glad I had one on me.”
Riza spun around to see in the mirror. None of her tattoo was visible, and the grey pin was barely visible. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.
“You look great tonight,” Roy said nervously, scratching the back of his head.
“Thanks, Colonel.”
“Are you ready to go?” He asked.
Riza clipped her hair back into its usual position and put on a simple pearl necklace. “I’m ready, sir.”
Roy smiled, and the two of them left the hotel room, arm in arm.
The gala hall was filled with men in formal uniforms, their military badges glistening against the dim lighting. Their wives were wearing formal evening gowns, and congregating together to sip overpriced champagne.
It was almost exactly what Riza had expected, but somehow quite different as well. Everyone was well presented and dressed, but almost no one seemed to really enjoy each other's company. The entire affair was ripe with fake laughter and placated smiles.
About an hour into the event, the dancing began. The floor was opened, and a string quartet began playing.
“Do you know how to dance?” Roy asked.
“Yes sir,” Riza responded.
“That’s great, because I never learned how- at least, not the kind of dancing that would be acceptable for a place like this,” Roy said with a chuckle.
Of course, Riza thought, his sisters would have seen that he could dance, but likely neglected ballroom etiquette.
Roy stumbled a bit towards the start, but it became clear that he was a natural. Riza continued to lead, adjusting her own steps as the Colonel continued to learn. At that moment, she realized that the real appeal of dancing like this wasn’t the movements or the swaying, which had been her idea as a child. She was inches away from Roy, and his hands were firm and strong on her waist.
She nearly lost herself in the sway of the music, close and comfortable to the one person she knew she could trust.
Then, Riza saw a gleam through one of the venue’s windows.
Was it a trick of the light? Did she see something incorrectly, or perhaps it was a late guest who missed the entrance?
No.
Riza had been a sniper for several years now, and she was damn good at what she did. Someone was outside the gala with a sniper rifle, and they were aiming to kill.
She yanked Roy by the arm suddenly and dragged him off the dance floor. Surprised, he tripped and fell, straight into a Lieutenant General.
The General had been holding a glass of champagne, which spilled down his uniform.
Riza gasped and apologized profusely. The General gave her an exhausted look but ended up dismissing both Roy and Riza and leaving for the restroom to deal with the matter himself.
Looking back at the window, there was nothing. Riza flushed red. She’d done this before, mistaken a trick of the light for an imminent threat. But she’d never embarrassed herself like this.
“Lieutenant, are you alright?” Roy asked, looking concerned.
“Yes, I just thought I saw something. That’s all,” Riza said, still trembling slightly. Roy saw how her hand was twitching towards the concealed firearm strapped to her leg.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist gently. “You’re safe,” he said. “I promise, there’s nothing here that will hurt either of us.”
“I know,” Riza said, glancing around the ballroom nervously.
“Let’s go outside,” Roy said. He led the way, and Riza followed behind closely.
The two were alone.
“What really happened?” Roy asked. His eyes were filled with concern.
“I just thought I saw a sniper through the window,” Riza admitted. “I’m sorry, Colonel. I need to be sharper and more aware.”
“I would trust you with my life, Lieutenant,” Roy said. “I would rather have you drag me out of the dance floor when there was no threat than second guess yourself when there is.”
Riza nodded, her face still flushed with embarrassment. Roy hesitated as if there was something he was thinking that he couldn’t quite form into words.
That was alright with Riza. She had a good idea of what he would say. She knew how he felt about her. And she knew that he knew that it was reciprocated.
“Colonel, would you mind returning to the hotel? We have to catch the early train tomorrow morning, and I’d like us to be mostly packed beforehand.”
“Sure thing,” Roy said. “I don’t think I care for galas much anyways. They feel stuffy and dishonest.”
Riza nodded her agreement. Some things just couldn’t be put into words, like Roy’s gentle guiding Riza down the steps towards the street. The way their hands brushed against each other. The way Riza felt when Roy looked at her, and the warmth in his eyes.
“I love you.”
Riza whipped her head around to look at Roy. He was still facing forward, and his lips were closed. It was almost as if he hadn’t said anything at all. And perhaps, Riza thought, he hadn’t. It was certainly possible that she was imagining things. Why would Roy say such a thing?
He didn’t need to, after all.
They hailed a taxi and arrived back at the hotel.