Archive of Our Own

Riza’s first graduation day as a teacher was unlike anything she’d expected. She attended the ceremony with Rebecca, figuring she’d sit in the bleachers and clap along with everyone else, and once it was over, she’d leave. Instead, as soon as the students threw their caps in the air, and she and Rebecca had started to head out, the newly high school graduates swarmed them.

Winry Rockbell was the first to find her, and she practically threw herself into Riza’s arms.

“Miss Hawkeye!” she cried. “You’re coming to my party later, right?”

“Um, yes, of course,” Riza said. She’d gotten a few invitations, and she figured she’d stop by all of them. She did love her students after all.

“Awesome! I can’t wait to introduce you to Granny!” Winry pulled back, tears in her eyes. “You’ve been the best teacher ever, honestly. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you this year.”

Riza blinked. “Oh, I don’t think I did that much.”

“But you did,” Winry said. “You have no idea how much your help meant.”

“Winry!” Edward Elric appeared beside them, pulling her off of Riza. “Let Miss Hawkeye breathe.”

“Shut up, Ed, we’re having a moment!” Winry smacked at her boyfriend, a relatively new turn of events. Reading Winry’s essay on her raison d’etre, Riza had been surprised to see that Edward was the subject of her paper. How he’d been her best friend since diapers, and how they’d leaned on each other in the years since. She’d even mentioned how he helped her find her passion for mechanics, letting her examine every inch of his prosthetic leg.

After the essays had been sent in, Riza had begun to pay more attention to the way Winry and Edward interacted and began pushing them together, subtly. It took a few months, but Edward finally asked Winry to Prom, and they’d started dating from there.

“Winry, you’ve been a wonderful student,” Riza said, placing her hand on the girl’s head. “I’m grateful you were in my class.”

Fresh tears gathered in Winry’s eyes, but Edward grabbed her and dragged her away, saying goodbye. Riza wasn’t worried; she would see them in a few hours at their shared graduation party.

After Winry left, more of Riza’s French students found her, hugging and thanking her. Riza was astonished, surprised at the apparent mark she’d left on these students. She hadn’t felt qualified when she’d taken the job, but she was so grateful that she had and had gotten to know these kids.

Finally, the crowd thinned, and she and Rebecca managed to make it to the parking lot. They were almost to the car when Riza heard her name once more—her first name.

Riza turned to see Roy waving at her, jogging over in a light pace. She fought a blush, as she always had to whenever she saw him now. It had been exactly forty-two days since they had slept together, but Roy had never said a word. She assumed he’d been too drunk to remember what had happened, and she was grateful for it. She would rather be a faceless, nameless woman in his bed and his friend in everyday life than lose his friendship.

“Hey, what’s up?” Riza asked.

“I’m having a get-together at my place tonight,” Roy said. “A sort of end-of-school-start-of-summer party. I wanted to invite you… two. You two.”

“What time?” Riza asked.

“Seven.”

“I could probably make it.” The thought of being in Roy’s apartment set her skin alight, but she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in his presence.

Rebecca shot Riza a look, but agreed to attend as well. He said his goodbyes and jogged off once more as Rebecca turned to her friend.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Of course Riza had told Rebecca all about her night with Roy. They were best friends. But sometimes, she regretted the decision, especially with how frosty Rebecca had grown towards Roy since learning of it.

“It’ll be fine,” Riza said. “It’s just a party.”

“So was the last one,” Rebecca reminded her. Riza swatted at her friend and got into her car.

“It’s fine, Becca,” Riza said.

“But are you fine?” Rebecca asked, surprisingly serious. Riza paused for a moment, taken aback. She thought about the question, unsure how to answer.

“Yes,” Riza lied. “I’m fine.”

After attending the grad parties she’d been invited to, Riza found her way to Roy’s apartment, about half an hour after seven.

Riza knocked on the door and was surprised with the speed that it opened. Roy was on the other side, and his face lit up when he saw her.

“Riza, there you are!”

“Yeah, sorry I’m late,” Riza said, stepping inside as he let her through. “Winry was insistent on my company.”

“She adores you,” Roy said.

Riza let out a snort. “Can’t imagine why.”

She looked up to see the usual suspects hanging around Roy’s apartment—Hughes, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman. Denny Brosh and Maria Ross were there, too, and Rebecca, holding a drink and flirting with Havoc. Gracia was absent, but Riza figured they must not have been able to find a sitter.

“Do you want a drink?” Roy asked.

“Sure,” Riza said.

Roy smiled. “Great, I got that seltzer you like, the Oddside one.”

“Oh, thank you,” Riza said, but Roy had already disappeared into his kitchen, presumably to get her drink. Riza wandered over to where Hughes and Falman were talking and joined the conversation. Gracia was home with Elycia, as she’d suspected, and Hughes was showing off the pictures that his wife sent him every fifteen minutes. Roy appeared beside Riza, then, with her drink, which she accepted. They all talked, managing to change the conversation from Hughes’s family to their plans for the summer. All the while, Roy stood very close to Riza, close enough she could feel the heat radiating from him. Riza took a swallow of her seltzer.

As the night wore on, more drinks were had, and a pack of cards was brought out. After a few rounds of BS, Hughes bowed out, stating he needed to get home, and Falman followed along. Fuery and Breda left soon after, and then Havoc and Rebecca. It was almost midnight by the time Denny and Maria left, and then it was just Riza and Roy. But this time, Riza had stuck to only two drinks; she was not about to have a repeat of last time, no matter how much her body ached for it.

Roy stood up, putting his cards back into the box. Riza looked at the time and sighed.

“I suppose I should get going,” she said, standing up.

“Actually, I have something I wanted to talk to you about,” Roy said, stopping her. “Is that alright?”

Riza’s heart pounded, but she nodded and sat back down. Roy followed suit and clasped his hands together, taking a deep breath.

“I was offered a job at East City University,” he spit out in a rush.

Riza blinked. That wasn’t what she was expecting—or more like hoping. It caught her off guard, so much so that she didn’t respond.

“Riza?” Roy prompted.

She shook her head, ridding herself of the stupid feeling of disappointment. He doesn’t see you that way, Riza told herself.

“Sorry,” Riza said. “I’m just surprised. But congratulations, that’s huge.” She smiled.

“Thanks.” Roy let out a breath. “But I don’t know what to do.”

Riza cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t know if I want to take it.”

“Why wouldn’t you take it? Is it less pay?”

“No, no, it’s a good chunk more, actually. It’s just…”

“Yeah?” Stupid hope filled her chest once more, the thought that maybe he didn’t want to leave because of her.

“I feel guilty leaving,” Roy admitted. “Leaving the school that’s been so good to me. Leaving my students who count on me.”

“Well, yeah, your students count on you, but they can count on someone else, too. I don’t mean to be rude when saying this, but we’re all replaceable. The school won’t care. They’ll just find someone new,” Riza said.

Roy gave her a look. “You still think that after today?”

“About the school?”

“About the students,” Roy clarified. “They care about you.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m just one of probably twenty teachers they’ve had in their lifetime,” Riza said. “If there was a new French teacher next year, they might be sad for a week, but then they’d get on with learning. That’s what they’re there for.”

Roy didn’t say anything to that, and Riza worried that she’d offended him.

“That’s not to say that I don’t care about them,” Riza said. “I do. More than I thought I would. I want to see them succeed. But you can’t put your career on hold to watch theirs flourish.”

Roy shrugged, noncommittal. But now, Riza was on a role.

“And at the collegiate level, you’ll be able to help even more, see even more. I mean, I got to do so many things in college that I didn’t in high school. That’s where I really learned who I was. You could help kids find that.”

“You think so?” Roy asked finally.

“I know so,” Riza said firmly. “Teaching at every age is important. Students are learning and growing every step of the way. They don’t stop dreaming just because they’re in college. I’d say that’s where your dreams really take hold, where you can firmly picture where you want to go and what you want to be.”

Roy chuckled. “I feel like you should be the college professor.”

“I don’t have my master’s,” Riza said. “And I’m not nearly as smart as you.”

“That’s not true,” Roy said. “I’ve seen you teaching. Your French is incredible.”

Riza shrugged. “I worked hard.”

“And teaching is all you want to do?” Roy asked.

Riza hesitated, opening her mouth and closing it. Eventually, she sighed.

“I don’t know what I want to do, to be honest,” she said. “I kind of fell into this job. I didn’t expect to get into teaching, but I’ve loved it more than I thought I would. But the goal… well, I never had a set goal. I just wanted to feel closer to my mother.”

“And do you?” Roy asked.

Riza smiled. “More than ever. Sometimes, when I’m teaching, it feels like she’s there with me. It’s nice.”

“It sounds nice,” Roy said, leaning back into his couch. He sighed, rubbing at his wrist.

“When do you have to have a decision by?” Riza asked.

“Two weeks.”

“Not a lot of time,” Riza noted. Roy nodded.

“I think you should do it,” Riza said. “The kids will miss you, but they might get to have you if they go to ECU.”

Roy laughed. “That’s true.” He turned to her then, dark eyes boring into hers. “Will you miss me?”

“Of course,” Riza said automatically. Her eyes widened minutely, and she hurried to cover her mistake. “You were my first teacher friend. And my prep period buddy. I’ll have to find someone else.”

“Right,” Roy said, leaning back slightly. “Rebecca?”

“She talks too much,” Riza said.

“Hughes will, too, and show way too many baby pictures,” Roy added.

“I’ll figure it out,” Riza said. She stood and motioned towards the door. “Well, I should head out. But if you need any more advice, I’m a phone call away.”

Roy smiled wryly, taking long strides to the door to open it for her before she could. “I might take you up on that.”

Riza smiled once more and bid him goodnight. As she walked down the stairs of his apartment, she wondered what would have happened if she’d been brave enough to tell him that, for her prep period buddy, no one else could compare. She would rather be alone.