(no subject)
Title: The Better Woman
Author: zukpager305
Recipient: alia_aeterna
Rating: PG13 for some swearing
Characters/Pairings: Riza Hawkeye and Rebecca Catalina
Summary: Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
Notes: Word Count- 2,457
Rebecca Catalina’s first day at the East Academy was the stuff of legends, or so she thought wryly. In all actuality it was incredibly boring and tedious. The cadets were kept in a stuffy, basic room that focused more on function rather than form. It held about fifty people of various shapes and sizes, with desks in pin straight rows. They cooped up all the new recruits with the instructions to sign an ungodly tall stack of forms. Rebecca felt like she was signing her life away…. Wait a minute, she was.
Forty five men and five women, including herself, diligently filled out their forms. Rebecca scooped out her female competition, since women had to work harder in this man’s army and she wasn’t about to be outdone. Plus she only bothered to learn the females’ names anyway. Three blondes and a raven colored girl Rebecca observed quietly in between sheets of paper. Two of the blondes, Cadets Walker and Bowing, sat next to each other and gabbed. Not focused enough, so they should be easy to surpass. The raven haired girl, Cadet Stroit, looked physically fit but seemed to be taking too long filling out the forms. The third blonde, Cadet Hawkeye, seemed painfully shy, not making eye contact when someone tried to talk to her. And the men were, well men; although a few were quite good looking. However they were all a bunch of wimps, particularly that blonde with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
Rebecca felt smug. She shouldn’t have any issues out shining any of them.
++
Cadet Bowing was her roommate. She was friendly enough; all the girls were friendly enough. Well, all except Cadet Hawkeye, who kept to herself. During lunch breaks, the women would gather at one table with the exclusion of Hawkeye; she would sit by herself in a corner. Despite many offers, she didn’t seem interested in socializing. Rebecca doubted she’d last till the end of the month. Surely the Army would find some way to remove her from the Academy. Although Hawkeye was pretty handy with a rifle, so maybe they won’t discharge her after all?
The other female cadets liked to gossip, and Rebecca wasn’t opposed to such conversations. They’d discuss who was the cutest recruit, who had the best body, who was the least attractive, who was the most annoying, et cetera. Rebecca half listened to them prattling on, poking her mystery meat with boredom. That tall blonde cadet, the one with the cigarette constantly hanging from his lips, walked by and winked at her. She shuddered; it was the fifth time that day he tried to hit on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him go over to Cadet Hawkeye. Gesturing seductively, he was clearly trying to flirt. Typical man.
But what wasn’t so typical was when Cadet Hawkeye pulled a pistol out of nowhere and whipped it in his face. The whole room seemed to freeze and Rebecca got to her feet. That idiot quickly threw his hands up in a surrender pose, taking a couple of careful steps backwards. Cadet Hawkeye put her pistol away, turning back to her lunch, completely ignoring his existence. Seizing the opportunity, he ran.
Rebecca smirked. Now this was the kind of chick she wanted to get to know.
++
Turns out Cadet Hawkeye, err… Riza, had a very sharp wit, once you peeled away the layers of shyness. And hot damn was she intelligent! Rebecca found herself constantly trying to pull herself up to Riza’s level. But rather than do something childish such as make everything an unnecessary competition (something a pigheaded man would do), she tried to learn from her friend. Riza’s greatest strength was her marksmanship and Rebecca loved taking notes on her technique.
And in turn, Rebecca tried her best to open Riza up. Over the weeks, Rebecca’s aim improved and Riza’s confidence grew. She started not only looking people in the eye, but holding her own in conversations. Some topics, though, were off limits to Riza, like her past. However, Rebecca would never forget that shopping trip when she tried to get Riza in a dress. The girl was so shy about getting undressed around her and she didn’t understand it. Rebecca joked that she must have some ugly birthmark, which didn’t seem to go over too well. Rebecca even tried barging into the changing room with the most gorgeous of gowns. But Riza would have none of it and pulled her pistol out and shot the changing room door. Needless to say, Rebecca decided it was best to give Riza privacy when she changed from then on.
Likewise, Rebecca doubted Riza would never forget that one night when she got drunk off her ass and Riza had to carry her back to the barracks. Three for one pale ales! How could she resist?! Although Rebecca mused that twelve ales were probably a not- so- hot idea. But hey, she only had to pay for four of them! And karaoke was fun too, even if Riza said it wasn’t. She has a wonderful voice, even if Riza said she didn’t. Rebecca was pretty sure they played darts and she won, even if Riza said she didn’t even have a dart board. But then again, by the seventh ale things were getting a little fuzzy, and even one- eyed Bob, the bar manager, looked cute. Riza told her the next day she had to drag her back by her hair. Rationality told Rebecca that Riza would never do such a thing. But her worse- than- normal- hangover- headache made her question rationality…. and Riza.
Together they excelled to top of the class, much to the chagrin of some of the worthless men. Particularly the blonde cadet with the cigarette, whose name she finally bothered to remember. Havoc, who after attempting to pick up each girl from their class multiple times, including herself and was subsequently shot down (or punched in her case), seemed hell bent on proving his masculinity. Or perhaps his immaturity, Rebecca wasn’t too sure.
Havoc paraded himself around as the top contender in some macho man contest, insisting that the women weren’t capable of anything but standing around and looking pretty. When a volunteer was asked of during class, he’d yell over any girl who offered. Although it was pretty funny to see his ass get kicked during a self defense demonstration. As amusing as his antics could be at times, mostly they were aggravating and demeaning.
Rebecca walked back to the dorms with Riza one night when Havoc approached them and winked. “Can’t keep up with this, huh?” he smirked patting his left bicep. Rebecca rolled her eyes as Riza kept walking. Normally she’d go for a guy with his physique but his arrogance negated that.
“You know, I don’t even know why they let women into the army in the first place. It’s not like your strong enough to protect anything.” Riza stopped dead in her track and swiveled around, glaring into his face. Rebecca pulled on Riza’s hand, urging her friend away. “Don’t listen to him, he’s only trying to bait you.”
“Harpy.”
“Smoke Stack.”
Havoc pulled out a cigarette, puffing on it lightly. “What do you have to prove anyway? We could take you on anytime, anywhere,” she shot back at him. Havoc blew smoke in her face, causing Rebecca to cough and wave her hand around in front of her. “Care to back that up? How about you and Hawkeye take on me and Dravin in a race?”
Riza pushed Rebecca out of the way and flicked the cigarette butt out of his mouth. “You’re on.”
++
At 0600 the next morning, they gathered for their little contest. Tire obstacles, rope climbs, sprints; the usual for an obstacle course. It seemed the only element missing was a target practice, but that wasn’t any surprise given Riza’s skill and Havoc’s desperation.
Riza had a hard look in her eyes as she stretched. Havoc apparently boasted to his friends because a crowd had gathered. Cadet Dravin stood nearby, his muscles glistening in the morning sun like he put oil on them. Rebecca rolled her eyes. While he was hot, the display of masculinity certainly was not.
Before Rebecca knew it, they were stepping up to the start line, the boys to her right and Riza to her left. A gun sounded and Rebecca ran forward with all her might. Dravin got to the tire obstacle first, followed by herself and Riza. Apparently all those cigarettes can slow a person down, but Rebecca pushed that thought out of her mind as she focused on stepping right, left, right, left, right, left. Riza was more nimble than herself and made it through the tires first and into a series of crawl obstacles. Dravin followed quickly and then herself.
Somehow Havoc caught up to her, smirking while on his elbows as he powered past. The boys made it to their wall first, grabbing the rope. She and Riza arrived at their wall seconds later. Rebecca’s muscles ached but she wasn’t about to listen to them. She cursed inwardly as she watched the boys reach their summit and disappear over the other side. Riza pulled herself over their wall as Rebecca struggled to climb the last few feet.
When she got over the wall, Riza was already over at their set of monkey bars. The boys had just completed that task and were heading over to a ropes course. Rebecca jumped down off the wall with a thud, running harder to the bars. She watched as Riza began to swing from bar to bar before she slipped and fell to the ground, hard.
“Riza!!” she screamed, making her way over to her friend. Riza was clutching her left forearm, clenching her teeth. Rebecca grabbed her friend’s shoulders in a panic. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Riza said through a grimace, holding up her palm to her nose. She looked upwards with a frown. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “It’s greased.”
Rebecca blinked. “Greased?” Riza nodded and stood carefully, ignoring the cheers as Havoc and Dravin finished the race. “Look,” she demanded, holding out her palm. Rebecca felt her skin. “Damn boys, winning at any cost. You could have broken your arm. ….We need to get back at them.”
“No.” Rebecca was taken aback by that answer. “No?” Riza turned and looked her in the eyes. “No, revenge isn’t the answer. Let them have their hollow victory.” She walked away, leaving Rebecca stunned.
++
Later that night, while hanging out in Riza’s room, they both were startled by a knock at the door. Rebecca answered it, finding Havoc standing there with a bouquet of flowers. “You don’t belong on this floor, leave!” she said with a glare. Trying to shut the door on him, he grabbed it and pleaded, “Please!”
“Haven’t you done enough damage for one day? Oh yes, we know about the grease. You should be ashamed of yourself,” she scolded him, trying more desperate to close the door. “I’m sorry, really, I am! It was a low blow, please!” He yelled through the thinning crack.
“Let him in,” Riza said quietly. Rebecca blinked in surprise and let go of the door. “Thank you,” Havoc murmured, rubbing the back of his head. He gave her a wide berth as he walked over to Riza and handed her the flowers. “I am really sorry. I guess I let the competition go to my head.”
“Apology accepted, Cadet,” Riza said firmly, placing the flowers on her desk. Havoc looked surprised and Rebecca sure as hell was. “Is that all?” Riza inquired and Havoc slowly nodded his head yes. Riza snapped her feet together and saluted him while Rebecca nearly fainted at the action. Havoc quickly returned the salute then left.
“What the hell was that about?!”
“We have to learn to work together. He apologized, I accepted. It’s over. I shouldn’t have let myself get caught up in this nonsense to begin with. Besides, I may have to work with him at someday,” Riza replied calmly.
“You’re a better woman than I, Riza Hawkeye.”
++
Eastern Academy buzzed with apprehension as word of the Ishvalian War escaladed. Rumors were more common than truths. One day it was rumored that all cadets would be sent to the front lines, another that only some cadets would be sent. Riza didn’t seem to pay much attention to the chatter but Rebecca hung on every word. So did Havoc, who they both became better acquainted with after he ate his humble pie. He became a frequent member in their group of friends and gossiped more than some of the girls!
The Academy erupted the day the Fuehrer arrived and supervised a surprise artillery skills test. And everyone, included Riza, was concerned. They posted their scores on a bulletin board with a big red line demarcating the top five percent. Both Rebecca and Havoc scored in the top ten percent, but not five. Riza scored in the top one percent. It wasn’t much of a shock when she received orders to go to Ishval a few days later.
As she sat on Riza’s bed, watching her pack, Rebecca was sad to lose her friend. But she tried to stay upbeat for Riza’s sake. Heck, if she was going off to war she’d rather someone joke with her than participate in their own pity party! Riza moved methodologically around her room, organizing the already small collection of personal items in piles. Very few made it into her duffel bag. Most of the other items she offered to Rebecca or asked her to donate in her place. However, Riza did pack the romance novel Rebecca gave her, which warmed Rebecca’s heart.
“Maybe you’ll meet a handsome young man and get caught up in a sordid wartime romance?” she said playfully. Riza threw her a cross look and continued packing. “Imagine the tan you’ll get! I bet that will attract the boys! You’ll have to beat them off with a stick!”
“Fraternization is not allowed in the military, Becca. You know that.”
“Who said anything about military men?”
“It’s a war, not a bar.” Riza sighed and sat next to her.
“You’ll be okay. You’re smart and can protect yourself. Plus I heard the State Alchemists are there. They’ll protect all the Amestrians.” Rebecca frowned when Riza frowned.
Somehow her little pep talk wasn’t working. They sat in silence while Rebecca grew more confused as to why her friend’s mood grew darker. She could almost swear she saw tears form in Riza’s eyes, and she didn’t think it had anything to do with going to war.
Title: Research
Author: zukpager305
Recipient: alia_aeterna
Rating: PG13 for very minor sexual themes.
Characters/Pairings: Riza Hawkeye and Vanessa
Summary: A name is just a name. Right?
Notes: Word Count- 1,860
“Jacqueline?!?!”
Riza winced slightly at Lieutenant Havoc’s outcry while watching Colonel Mustang smirk in amusement. The team had just been assigned their dossiers for an upcoming undercover mission. And with typical quirky Mustang flair, the Colonel had given all on his team female code names. Suffice it to say, Havoc was none too pleased.
Riza glanced down again at the folder on her desk. Elizabeth. She closed her eyes and fought off fleeting memories from her childhood. Why would he choose this name? Closing the folder with more force than normal, Riza stuffed it in her top desk drawer. It wasn’t worth concerning herself with at the moment. There was plenty of paperwork for that.
++
As per normal, the rest of the team left sharply at the end of their shifts, leaving Riza alone with the Colonel, who was hurrying through the rest of his paperwork. Apparently he had some kind of “date” tonight with one of Madame Christmas’s girls. No doubt the Colonel was preparing for their upcoming mission.
Riza drummed her fingers once on the desktop lightly, considering if she should inquire about the codename or not. The Colonel, observant as always, forced her hand. “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” he inquired, lazily glancing up from his furious scribbling.
Damn that man, why does he have to be so perceptive? Pulling the folder back out, Riza opened it and looked at the name again. Elizabeth.
“Sir, don’t you think this name is a little obvious?”
“That’s the beauty of it; no one would think it’s you because it’s so obvious.”
Riza blinked, trying to digest his logic. Alchemists, they always over think the simplest matters.
“You signed up with the military under ‘Riza’ not ‘Elizabeth’. Not many people know you by your given name, and most of them are dead.” Images of her parents flickered in her mind. She had worked so hard trying to forget her childhood, and the Colonel brought it back with nine letters.
“Plus, no one will think twice if a Jacqueline or an Elizabeth calls my work line,” Mustang continued, flashing one of his signature smirks as he sorted through what remained of his papers.
“Sir, don’t you think someone will notice that Jacqueline sounds like a man? Or does ‘she’ have a cold?”
“Fuery will set you up with the line, so the only voice they will here is yours.” Riza looked down at the dossier again. “Elizabeth, from the flower shop?” she questioned.
“Exactly,” Mustang replied, signing his last form with a little bit too much flamboyance. “With my reputation, no one will think twice when a flirty female voice calls.”
“Flirty?”
“Flirty.”
Riza sighed. If she hadn’t known him better, she’d swear the Colonel was playing a practical joke on her. Flirty? This obviously called for some research.
++
‘’Research,’’ Riza said to herself as she walked into Madame Christmas’s bar. Sitting in a far booth, her plan was to quietly observe Christmas’s girls while they interacted with the male customers. Observing she was good at, especially high up in a tower through the scope of a sniper rifle. But she wasn’t in a tower, nor in her uniform for that matter, and the booth felt much more exposing.
Riza cursed inwardly when Christmas appeared at her side, knowing the woman would try to investigate why she was here. Information was a game, and Christmas was a master. Riza berated herself for coming to this particular bar, but realized she subconsciously knew she needed help.
“Riza, dear, it’s been a long time,” the woman sitting across from her said evenly. Her face was still as she eyed the younger woman before calmly lighting up a cigarette. Christmas hadn’t changed much from when she first met her at the age of 14.
“How are you, Christmas?”
“Business has picked up since Roy moved back to Central. It’s been a lot of long hours. I’m surprised you’re not working late too.”
Riza paused. It probably wasn’t worth skirting around the issue. “I am working. I’m observing.”
Christmas nonchalantly glanced around the bar, “Oh?”
“It’s for the Colonel.”
“Oh. Well if you need anything, I’ll be at the bar,” and with that the older woman promptly left, leaving Riza to her own devices.
++
After a half an hour of watching the girls using their womanly ways to swindle higher tips and snippets of conversation they probably weren’t supposed to hear, Riza was bored. Christmas was keeping a close eye on her, although she was very good about hiding it. However, Riza knew when she was being watched, and it only made her even more uncomfortable. Christmas beckoned over one of the girls, Vanessa, and whispered quickly in her ear. Feeling more dread, Riza watched Vanessa make her way over to her booth, smiling broadly.
“Christmas want you to join me on a job.”
++
An hour later, Riza couldn’t believe she got talked into this.
Vanessa had stuffed her into a dress, a revealing one at that. Luckily it covered her back, but her breasts … not so much. How these gowns are even considered legal?! And the slit! It didn’t leave much to the imagination either. It was difficult to hide her guns in the slinky gown. Good thing Rebecca wasn’t here; she’d never live this down.
Then Vanessa dragged her on her “date” with the Mark. If Riza thought this dress was uncomfortable, being a third wheel wasn’t much better. The Mark didn’t seem to mind the extra company though. He was a business executive for a company that supplies the military their weapons. His hobbies included drinking and gorgeous women.
… And Vanessa definitely capitalized on his weaknesses. After two bottles of wine, the Mark was more than a bit buzzed. Vanessa did her best to hold his attention on her through various forms of sweet talking and giggling. Mostly he directed his attention on Vanessa, or Vanessa’s chest, Riza wasn’t sure. Every once in a while he’d turn his attention onto her, catching Riza off guard. After several awkward moments of silence Riza would let out a high pitched giggle, startling herself and the Mark. Vanessa would pull the attention back to herself, bailing Riza out. Somehow being shot at was less stressful.
After every glass, Vanessa’s innocent questions got more piercing, like a miner chipping away at the rock before striking gold. Riza was surprised at what little tidbits left the man’s loose lips. Somehow in his drunken stupor, he brought them to his office waving his arms wildly around the room, trying to impress the two women. Vanessa rolled her eyes in Riza’s direction when he stumbled while walking over to the desk.
Vanessa wasted no time in perching herself on the edge of the desk, directly in the Mark’s line of vision. The Mark leaned forward in his chair, placing his hands on her waist, illicitly a loud giggle from the girl. While he seemed lost looking at her cleavage, Vanessa motioned slightly with a tip of her head towards the filing cabinets behind the man.
Quietly Riza made her way over to the files and began to carefully look at them. Meanwhile Vanessa kept the Mark distracted with her womanly charm, complementing him on his physique and playing dumb about his business. She giggled constantly.
It didn’t take much looking to figure out the man was up to some shady dealings, but the most damaging was the invoice sheet for weapons sent to Drachma. Christmas would certainly want to hear about this. Sliding the sheet of paper out of the folder, Riza folded it up and stuffed it down her bra. Now she certainly felt like one of Christmas’s girls.
The Mark seemed to be on the edge of consciousness, nearly falling asleep in Vanessa’s lap when she returned from the cabinets. Another bottle of wine was sitting on the desk, half full. Riza winked at Vanessa, who exclaimed excitedly that they had to leave. The Mark mumbled pleas to stay as Vanessa pushed him back against his chair. He was asleep before they reached the office door.
“I wish I had a partner every night!” Vanessa whispered as they caught a cab back to Christmas’s bar. “Usually I get them to drink themselves stupid then riffle through their stuff after they fall asleep. With two it’s much easier,” she squealed, pulling Riza into a tight hug. Riza stiffened at the physical contact but the other woman didn’t seem to notice.
“Here,” Riza said, handing off the invoice.
“Thank you!” Vanessa cried out joyfully, snatching the paper and making it disappear a moment later. “You should join me tomorrow night!” Vanessa smiled widely then giggled.
“No, … thank you.”
++
Upon returning to the bar, Riza noticed a certain dark haired man chatting with Christmas. With her research complete, Riza felt a little more comfortable with “flirty.” Taking the seat next to her Colonel and ordering a drink off of Christmas, she didn’t miss the double take her commanding officer made at her appearance.
“Colonel,” she acknowledged him evenly.
“…Lieutenant.”
“Did you have a nice date, Sir?”
She heard him cough, clearing his throat. “Uh, why yes. Yes, I did.”
Christmas set her drink down on the bar, having undoubtedly not missed their interaction.
Riza noticed a stray hair on his shoulder and reached over and plucked it off, causing the Colonel to stiffen in surprise. She almost swore she saw a bit of red flush his cheeks. Amused, Riza definitely felt more confident with “flirty.”
Vanessa appeared out of nowhere, hugging Mustang and giggling. She looked at her “brother” then back at Riza, smiling. “Riza was a big help to me tonight!”
“Oh? I was wondering why she was dressed like you.”
Christmas held out the paper Riza had nicked. “This may concern you.” He pocketed it without looking at its secrets. Vanessa looked around bored and in her own world.
“If you ever want to give up the military, there would be a job for you here,” Christmas said, turning to Riza, a new cigarette in hand.
“I’m afraid she’s too important to my team to let go of that easily, Madame.”
Christmas shrugged, lighting up her smoke.
“OH! You should take that Elizabeth out on a date, a real date!” Vanessa butted in and exclaimed excitedly. Riza felt her heart stop while the Colonel stiffened and even Christmas’s eyes widened a bit.
“Vanessa, go wait on that table over there,” Christmas commanded, pointing to the far corner of the room. Vanessa pouted briefly and left. Christmas glanced between her nephew and Riza.
Elizabeth. How could she have not put two and two together before? It wasn’t the first time she heard one of Christmas’s girl talk about an Elizabeth. The Colonel was right, it was so obvious but misleading at the same time. It was brilliant.
Thinking back on her and Vanessa’s adventure that night, Riza coyly said, “The Colonel should only consider dating after he has reached his goals. Elizabeth would expect nothing less.”
Mustang smirked and reached for his glass. “Elizabeth is worth the wait.”
Author: zukpager305
Recipient: alia_aeterna
Rating: PG13 for some swearing
Characters/Pairings: Riza Hawkeye and Rebecca Catalina
Summary: Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
Notes: Word Count- 2,457
Rebecca Catalina’s first day at the East Academy was the stuff of legends, or so she thought wryly. In all actuality it was incredibly boring and tedious. The cadets were kept in a stuffy, basic room that focused more on function rather than form. It held about fifty people of various shapes and sizes, with desks in pin straight rows. They cooped up all the new recruits with the instructions to sign an ungodly tall stack of forms. Rebecca felt like she was signing her life away…. Wait a minute, she was.
Forty five men and five women, including herself, diligently filled out their forms. Rebecca scooped out her female competition, since women had to work harder in this man’s army and she wasn’t about to be outdone. Plus she only bothered to learn the females’ names anyway. Three blondes and a raven colored girl Rebecca observed quietly in between sheets of paper. Two of the blondes, Cadets Walker and Bowing, sat next to each other and gabbed. Not focused enough, so they should be easy to surpass. The raven haired girl, Cadet Stroit, looked physically fit but seemed to be taking too long filling out the forms. The third blonde, Cadet Hawkeye, seemed painfully shy, not making eye contact when someone tried to talk to her. And the men were, well men; although a few were quite good looking. However they were all a bunch of wimps, particularly that blonde with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
Rebecca felt smug. She shouldn’t have any issues out shining any of them.
++
Cadet Bowing was her roommate. She was friendly enough; all the girls were friendly enough. Well, all except Cadet Hawkeye, who kept to herself. During lunch breaks, the women would gather at one table with the exclusion of Hawkeye; she would sit by herself in a corner. Despite many offers, she didn’t seem interested in socializing. Rebecca doubted she’d last till the end of the month. Surely the Army would find some way to remove her from the Academy. Although Hawkeye was pretty handy with a rifle, so maybe they won’t discharge her after all?
The other female cadets liked to gossip, and Rebecca wasn’t opposed to such conversations. They’d discuss who was the cutest recruit, who had the best body, who was the least attractive, who was the most annoying, et cetera. Rebecca half listened to them prattling on, poking her mystery meat with boredom. That tall blonde cadet, the one with the cigarette constantly hanging from his lips, walked by and winked at her. She shuddered; it was the fifth time that day he tried to hit on her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him go over to Cadet Hawkeye. Gesturing seductively, he was clearly trying to flirt. Typical man.
But what wasn’t so typical was when Cadet Hawkeye pulled a pistol out of nowhere and whipped it in his face. The whole room seemed to freeze and Rebecca got to her feet. That idiot quickly threw his hands up in a surrender pose, taking a couple of careful steps backwards. Cadet Hawkeye put her pistol away, turning back to her lunch, completely ignoring his existence. Seizing the opportunity, he ran.
Rebecca smirked. Now this was the kind of chick she wanted to get to know.
++
Turns out Cadet Hawkeye, err… Riza, had a very sharp wit, once you peeled away the layers of shyness. And hot damn was she intelligent! Rebecca found herself constantly trying to pull herself up to Riza’s level. But rather than do something childish such as make everything an unnecessary competition (something a pigheaded man would do), she tried to learn from her friend. Riza’s greatest strength was her marksmanship and Rebecca loved taking notes on her technique.
And in turn, Rebecca tried her best to open Riza up. Over the weeks, Rebecca’s aim improved and Riza’s confidence grew. She started not only looking people in the eye, but holding her own in conversations. Some topics, though, were off limits to Riza, like her past. However, Rebecca would never forget that shopping trip when she tried to get Riza in a dress. The girl was so shy about getting undressed around her and she didn’t understand it. Rebecca joked that she must have some ugly birthmark, which didn’t seem to go over too well. Rebecca even tried barging into the changing room with the most gorgeous of gowns. But Riza would have none of it and pulled her pistol out and shot the changing room door. Needless to say, Rebecca decided it was best to give Riza privacy when she changed from then on.
Likewise, Rebecca doubted Riza would never forget that one night when she got drunk off her ass and Riza had to carry her back to the barracks. Three for one pale ales! How could she resist?! Although Rebecca mused that twelve ales were probably a not- so- hot idea. But hey, she only had to pay for four of them! And karaoke was fun too, even if Riza said it wasn’t. She has a wonderful voice, even if Riza said she didn’t. Rebecca was pretty sure they played darts and she won, even if Riza said she didn’t even have a dart board. But then again, by the seventh ale things were getting a little fuzzy, and even one- eyed Bob, the bar manager, looked cute. Riza told her the next day she had to drag her back by her hair. Rationality told Rebecca that Riza would never do such a thing. But her worse- than- normal- hangover- headache made her question rationality…. and Riza.
Together they excelled to top of the class, much to the chagrin of some of the worthless men. Particularly the blonde cadet with the cigarette, whose name she finally bothered to remember. Havoc, who after attempting to pick up each girl from their class multiple times, including herself and was subsequently shot down (or punched in her case), seemed hell bent on proving his masculinity. Or perhaps his immaturity, Rebecca wasn’t too sure.
Havoc paraded himself around as the top contender in some macho man contest, insisting that the women weren’t capable of anything but standing around and looking pretty. When a volunteer was asked of during class, he’d yell over any girl who offered. Although it was pretty funny to see his ass get kicked during a self defense demonstration. As amusing as his antics could be at times, mostly they were aggravating and demeaning.
Rebecca walked back to the dorms with Riza one night when Havoc approached them and winked. “Can’t keep up with this, huh?” he smirked patting his left bicep. Rebecca rolled her eyes as Riza kept walking. Normally she’d go for a guy with his physique but his arrogance negated that.
“You know, I don’t even know why they let women into the army in the first place. It’s not like your strong enough to protect anything.” Riza stopped dead in her track and swiveled around, glaring into his face. Rebecca pulled on Riza’s hand, urging her friend away. “Don’t listen to him, he’s only trying to bait you.”
“Harpy.”
“Smoke Stack.”
Havoc pulled out a cigarette, puffing on it lightly. “What do you have to prove anyway? We could take you on anytime, anywhere,” she shot back at him. Havoc blew smoke in her face, causing Rebecca to cough and wave her hand around in front of her. “Care to back that up? How about you and Hawkeye take on me and Dravin in a race?”
Riza pushed Rebecca out of the way and flicked the cigarette butt out of his mouth. “You’re on.”
++
At 0600 the next morning, they gathered for their little contest. Tire obstacles, rope climbs, sprints; the usual for an obstacle course. It seemed the only element missing was a target practice, but that wasn’t any surprise given Riza’s skill and Havoc’s desperation.
Riza had a hard look in her eyes as she stretched. Havoc apparently boasted to his friends because a crowd had gathered. Cadet Dravin stood nearby, his muscles glistening in the morning sun like he put oil on them. Rebecca rolled her eyes. While he was hot, the display of masculinity certainly was not.
Before Rebecca knew it, they were stepping up to the start line, the boys to her right and Riza to her left. A gun sounded and Rebecca ran forward with all her might. Dravin got to the tire obstacle first, followed by herself and Riza. Apparently all those cigarettes can slow a person down, but Rebecca pushed that thought out of her mind as she focused on stepping right, left, right, left, right, left. Riza was more nimble than herself and made it through the tires first and into a series of crawl obstacles. Dravin followed quickly and then herself.
Somehow Havoc caught up to her, smirking while on his elbows as he powered past. The boys made it to their wall first, grabbing the rope. She and Riza arrived at their wall seconds later. Rebecca’s muscles ached but she wasn’t about to listen to them. She cursed inwardly as she watched the boys reach their summit and disappear over the other side. Riza pulled herself over their wall as Rebecca struggled to climb the last few feet.
When she got over the wall, Riza was already over at their set of monkey bars. The boys had just completed that task and were heading over to a ropes course. Rebecca jumped down off the wall with a thud, running harder to the bars. She watched as Riza began to swing from bar to bar before she slipped and fell to the ground, hard.
“Riza!!” she screamed, making her way over to her friend. Riza was clutching her left forearm, clenching her teeth. Rebecca grabbed her friend’s shoulders in a panic. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Riza said through a grimace, holding up her palm to her nose. She looked upwards with a frown. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “It’s greased.”
Rebecca blinked. “Greased?” Riza nodded and stood carefully, ignoring the cheers as Havoc and Dravin finished the race. “Look,” she demanded, holding out her palm. Rebecca felt her skin. “Damn boys, winning at any cost. You could have broken your arm. ….We need to get back at them.”
“No.” Rebecca was taken aback by that answer. “No?” Riza turned and looked her in the eyes. “No, revenge isn’t the answer. Let them have their hollow victory.” She walked away, leaving Rebecca stunned.
++
Later that night, while hanging out in Riza’s room, they both were startled by a knock at the door. Rebecca answered it, finding Havoc standing there with a bouquet of flowers. “You don’t belong on this floor, leave!” she said with a glare. Trying to shut the door on him, he grabbed it and pleaded, “Please!”
“Haven’t you done enough damage for one day? Oh yes, we know about the grease. You should be ashamed of yourself,” she scolded him, trying more desperate to close the door. “I’m sorry, really, I am! It was a low blow, please!” He yelled through the thinning crack.
“Let him in,” Riza said quietly. Rebecca blinked in surprise and let go of the door. “Thank you,” Havoc murmured, rubbing the back of his head. He gave her a wide berth as he walked over to Riza and handed her the flowers. “I am really sorry. I guess I let the competition go to my head.”
“Apology accepted, Cadet,” Riza said firmly, placing the flowers on her desk. Havoc looked surprised and Rebecca sure as hell was. “Is that all?” Riza inquired and Havoc slowly nodded his head yes. Riza snapped her feet together and saluted him while Rebecca nearly fainted at the action. Havoc quickly returned the salute then left.
“What the hell was that about?!”
“We have to learn to work together. He apologized, I accepted. It’s over. I shouldn’t have let myself get caught up in this nonsense to begin with. Besides, I may have to work with him at someday,” Riza replied calmly.
“You’re a better woman than I, Riza Hawkeye.”
++
Eastern Academy buzzed with apprehension as word of the Ishvalian War escaladed. Rumors were more common than truths. One day it was rumored that all cadets would be sent to the front lines, another that only some cadets would be sent. Riza didn’t seem to pay much attention to the chatter but Rebecca hung on every word. So did Havoc, who they both became better acquainted with after he ate his humble pie. He became a frequent member in their group of friends and gossiped more than some of the girls!
The Academy erupted the day the Fuehrer arrived and supervised a surprise artillery skills test. And everyone, included Riza, was concerned. They posted their scores on a bulletin board with a big red line demarcating the top five percent. Both Rebecca and Havoc scored in the top ten percent, but not five. Riza scored in the top one percent. It wasn’t much of a shock when she received orders to go to Ishval a few days later.
As she sat on Riza’s bed, watching her pack, Rebecca was sad to lose her friend. But she tried to stay upbeat for Riza’s sake. Heck, if she was going off to war she’d rather someone joke with her than participate in their own pity party! Riza moved methodologically around her room, organizing the already small collection of personal items in piles. Very few made it into her duffel bag. Most of the other items she offered to Rebecca or asked her to donate in her place. However, Riza did pack the romance novel Rebecca gave her, which warmed Rebecca’s heart.
“Maybe you’ll meet a handsome young man and get caught up in a sordid wartime romance?” she said playfully. Riza threw her a cross look and continued packing. “Imagine the tan you’ll get! I bet that will attract the boys! You’ll have to beat them off with a stick!”
“Fraternization is not allowed in the military, Becca. You know that.”
“Who said anything about military men?”
“It’s a war, not a bar.” Riza sighed and sat next to her.
“You’ll be okay. You’re smart and can protect yourself. Plus I heard the State Alchemists are there. They’ll protect all the Amestrians.” Rebecca frowned when Riza frowned.
Somehow her little pep talk wasn’t working. They sat in silence while Rebecca grew more confused as to why her friend’s mood grew darker. She could almost swear she saw tears form in Riza’s eyes, and she didn’t think it had anything to do with going to war.
Title: Research
Author: zukpager305
Recipient: alia_aeterna
Rating: PG13 for very minor sexual themes.
Characters/Pairings: Riza Hawkeye and Vanessa
Summary: A name is just a name. Right?
Notes: Word Count- 1,860
“Jacqueline?!?!”
Riza winced slightly at Lieutenant Havoc’s outcry while watching Colonel Mustang smirk in amusement. The team had just been assigned their dossiers for an upcoming undercover mission. And with typical quirky Mustang flair, the Colonel had given all on his team female code names. Suffice it to say, Havoc was none too pleased.
Riza glanced down again at the folder on her desk. Elizabeth. She closed her eyes and fought off fleeting memories from her childhood. Why would he choose this name? Closing the folder with more force than normal, Riza stuffed it in her top desk drawer. It wasn’t worth concerning herself with at the moment. There was plenty of paperwork for that.
++
As per normal, the rest of the team left sharply at the end of their shifts, leaving Riza alone with the Colonel, who was hurrying through the rest of his paperwork. Apparently he had some kind of “date” tonight with one of Madame Christmas’s girls. No doubt the Colonel was preparing for their upcoming mission.
Riza drummed her fingers once on the desktop lightly, considering if she should inquire about the codename or not. The Colonel, observant as always, forced her hand. “Is there something you wanted to ask me?” he inquired, lazily glancing up from his furious scribbling.
Damn that man, why does he have to be so perceptive? Pulling the folder back out, Riza opened it and looked at the name again. Elizabeth.
“Sir, don’t you think this name is a little obvious?”
“That’s the beauty of it; no one would think it’s you because it’s so obvious.”
Riza blinked, trying to digest his logic. Alchemists, they always over think the simplest matters.
“You signed up with the military under ‘Riza’ not ‘Elizabeth’. Not many people know you by your given name, and most of them are dead.” Images of her parents flickered in her mind. She had worked so hard trying to forget her childhood, and the Colonel brought it back with nine letters.
“Plus, no one will think twice if a Jacqueline or an Elizabeth calls my work line,” Mustang continued, flashing one of his signature smirks as he sorted through what remained of his papers.
“Sir, don’t you think someone will notice that Jacqueline sounds like a man? Or does ‘she’ have a cold?”
“Fuery will set you up with the line, so the only voice they will here is yours.” Riza looked down at the dossier again. “Elizabeth, from the flower shop?” she questioned.
“Exactly,” Mustang replied, signing his last form with a little bit too much flamboyance. “With my reputation, no one will think twice when a flirty female voice calls.”
“Flirty?”
“Flirty.”
Riza sighed. If she hadn’t known him better, she’d swear the Colonel was playing a practical joke on her. Flirty? This obviously called for some research.
++
‘’Research,’’ Riza said to herself as she walked into Madame Christmas’s bar. Sitting in a far booth, her plan was to quietly observe Christmas’s girls while they interacted with the male customers. Observing she was good at, especially high up in a tower through the scope of a sniper rifle. But she wasn’t in a tower, nor in her uniform for that matter, and the booth felt much more exposing.
Riza cursed inwardly when Christmas appeared at her side, knowing the woman would try to investigate why she was here. Information was a game, and Christmas was a master. Riza berated herself for coming to this particular bar, but realized she subconsciously knew she needed help.
“Riza, dear, it’s been a long time,” the woman sitting across from her said evenly. Her face was still as she eyed the younger woman before calmly lighting up a cigarette. Christmas hadn’t changed much from when she first met her at the age of 14.
“How are you, Christmas?”
“Business has picked up since Roy moved back to Central. It’s been a lot of long hours. I’m surprised you’re not working late too.”
Riza paused. It probably wasn’t worth skirting around the issue. “I am working. I’m observing.”
Christmas nonchalantly glanced around the bar, “Oh?”
“It’s for the Colonel.”
“Oh. Well if you need anything, I’ll be at the bar,” and with that the older woman promptly left, leaving Riza to her own devices.
++
After a half an hour of watching the girls using their womanly ways to swindle higher tips and snippets of conversation they probably weren’t supposed to hear, Riza was bored. Christmas was keeping a close eye on her, although she was very good about hiding it. However, Riza knew when she was being watched, and it only made her even more uncomfortable. Christmas beckoned over one of the girls, Vanessa, and whispered quickly in her ear. Feeling more dread, Riza watched Vanessa make her way over to her booth, smiling broadly.
“Christmas want you to join me on a job.”
++
An hour later, Riza couldn’t believe she got talked into this.
Vanessa had stuffed her into a dress, a revealing one at that. Luckily it covered her back, but her breasts … not so much. How these gowns are even considered legal?! And the slit! It didn’t leave much to the imagination either. It was difficult to hide her guns in the slinky gown. Good thing Rebecca wasn’t here; she’d never live this down.
Then Vanessa dragged her on her “date” with the Mark. If Riza thought this dress was uncomfortable, being a third wheel wasn’t much better. The Mark didn’t seem to mind the extra company though. He was a business executive for a company that supplies the military their weapons. His hobbies included drinking and gorgeous women.
… And Vanessa definitely capitalized on his weaknesses. After two bottles of wine, the Mark was more than a bit buzzed. Vanessa did her best to hold his attention on her through various forms of sweet talking and giggling. Mostly he directed his attention on Vanessa, or Vanessa’s chest, Riza wasn’t sure. Every once in a while he’d turn his attention onto her, catching Riza off guard. After several awkward moments of silence Riza would let out a high pitched giggle, startling herself and the Mark. Vanessa would pull the attention back to herself, bailing Riza out. Somehow being shot at was less stressful.
After every glass, Vanessa’s innocent questions got more piercing, like a miner chipping away at the rock before striking gold. Riza was surprised at what little tidbits left the man’s loose lips. Somehow in his drunken stupor, he brought them to his office waving his arms wildly around the room, trying to impress the two women. Vanessa rolled her eyes in Riza’s direction when he stumbled while walking over to the desk.
Vanessa wasted no time in perching herself on the edge of the desk, directly in the Mark’s line of vision. The Mark leaned forward in his chair, placing his hands on her waist, illicitly a loud giggle from the girl. While he seemed lost looking at her cleavage, Vanessa motioned slightly with a tip of her head towards the filing cabinets behind the man.
Quietly Riza made her way over to the files and began to carefully look at them. Meanwhile Vanessa kept the Mark distracted with her womanly charm, complementing him on his physique and playing dumb about his business. She giggled constantly.
It didn’t take much looking to figure out the man was up to some shady dealings, but the most damaging was the invoice sheet for weapons sent to Drachma. Christmas would certainly want to hear about this. Sliding the sheet of paper out of the folder, Riza folded it up and stuffed it down her bra. Now she certainly felt like one of Christmas’s girls.
The Mark seemed to be on the edge of consciousness, nearly falling asleep in Vanessa’s lap when she returned from the cabinets. Another bottle of wine was sitting on the desk, half full. Riza winked at Vanessa, who exclaimed excitedly that they had to leave. The Mark mumbled pleas to stay as Vanessa pushed him back against his chair. He was asleep before they reached the office door.
“I wish I had a partner every night!” Vanessa whispered as they caught a cab back to Christmas’s bar. “Usually I get them to drink themselves stupid then riffle through their stuff after they fall asleep. With two it’s much easier,” she squealed, pulling Riza into a tight hug. Riza stiffened at the physical contact but the other woman didn’t seem to notice.
“Here,” Riza said, handing off the invoice.
“Thank you!” Vanessa cried out joyfully, snatching the paper and making it disappear a moment later. “You should join me tomorrow night!” Vanessa smiled widely then giggled.
“No, … thank you.”
++
Upon returning to the bar, Riza noticed a certain dark haired man chatting with Christmas. With her research complete, Riza felt a little more comfortable with “flirty.” Taking the seat next to her Colonel and ordering a drink off of Christmas, she didn’t miss the double take her commanding officer made at her appearance.
“Colonel,” she acknowledged him evenly.
“…Lieutenant.”
“Did you have a nice date, Sir?”
She heard him cough, clearing his throat. “Uh, why yes. Yes, I did.”
Christmas set her drink down on the bar, having undoubtedly not missed their interaction.
Riza noticed a stray hair on his shoulder and reached over and plucked it off, causing the Colonel to stiffen in surprise. She almost swore she saw a bit of red flush his cheeks. Amused, Riza definitely felt more confident with “flirty.”
Vanessa appeared out of nowhere, hugging Mustang and giggling. She looked at her “brother” then back at Riza, smiling. “Riza was a big help to me tonight!”
“Oh? I was wondering why she was dressed like you.”
Christmas held out the paper Riza had nicked. “This may concern you.” He pocketed it without looking at its secrets. Vanessa looked around bored and in her own world.
“If you ever want to give up the military, there would be a job for you here,” Christmas said, turning to Riza, a new cigarette in hand.
“I’m afraid she’s too important to my team to let go of that easily, Madame.”
Christmas shrugged, lighting up her smoke.
“OH! You should take that Elizabeth out on a date, a real date!” Vanessa butted in and exclaimed excitedly. Riza felt her heart stop while the Colonel stiffened and even Christmas’s eyes widened a bit.
“Vanessa, go wait on that table over there,” Christmas commanded, pointing to the far corner of the room. Vanessa pouted briefly and left. Christmas glanced between her nephew and Riza.
Elizabeth. How could she have not put two and two together before? It wasn’t the first time she heard one of Christmas’s girl talk about an Elizabeth. The Colonel was right, it was so obvious but misleading at the same time. It was brilliant.
Thinking back on her and Vanessa’s adventure that night, Riza coyly said, “The Colonel should only consider dating after he has reached his goals. Elizabeth would expect nothing less.”
Mustang smirked and reached for his glass. “Elizabeth is worth the wait.”