Blue Waltz: What Everyone Misunderstood

Over 500 hits and all I have is 1 review? There’s something wrong with that. I will continue to work on this, but I won’t post the next chapter until after I have ten reviews total. This is too hard to put so much effort into and only have one review.

CHAPTER TWO: The Secret Report of the Flame Alchemist
~*~

“Did you hear? Colonel Mustang is taking Lieutenant Hawkeye to the ball!”

“I heard it was a deal for sleeping with him.”

“You’re kidding! I didn’t think Riza was the type...”

“Yeah well you never know, do you?”

Havoc paused outside the slightly open door to the ladies’ room, his arms loaded down with a large and heavy box of files that Hawkeye had asked him to take down to Schezka to have filed away in a note on his desk. His knuckles went white when he heard how the lower ranking women were talking about Riza, their assumptions rude and completely uncalled for.

Of course in their time and place when a woman whom was unmarried worked (especially when she voluntarily enlisted in the military) the rumor of her being easy would go around among the guys. But Hawkeye had been spared such trash talk just because of her moxie alone. If any guy ever gave her even the slightest look that was more than just a little too personal for her taste, she could easily put him in his place. No one dared to approach her unless she seemed at least partially open to an advance, and even then it was kept short and sweet. All rejections were clean and to the point.

But apparently where Riza had gained the respect of all the males on base, all the females had become more than a little snobbish and disrespectful.

Havoc took a deep breath before continuing on his way to Schezka’s office, turning his head from the gossip filled women’s room. If these women couldn’t mind their own business and stop jumping to the conclusion that Hawkeye was doing more on the side than just working in the office they certainly weren’t worth his attention. After all he had not only been put through boot camp with Riza, but he’d served on the front lines with her and had to share a trench and supplies with her. Everyone in their office had with exception to Falman and Mustang. But even though those two had met her later, both instantly recognized the look of an accomplished and hard working single woman.

That’s why when he entered Schezka’s office, the first thing he hadn’t expected to see was Riza with her uniform slightly rumpled and her head on the desk. Her eyes were closed and she had her jacket off and hanging on the back of the chair she was seated in. Apparently she had decided that Schezka’s office was the perfect place for a late afternoon nap.

“What ever you do, don’t wake her.”

Havoc blinked and turned to see Schezka struggling into the room behind him, loaded down with nearly as big a box as the one he carried stuffed with books. Some of them even had a few sheets of paper loose and sticking out from between the many pages.

“Excuse me?”

Schezka stumbled around him and nodded to a corner as she approached the desk Hawkeye was resting on. “You can put those files over there. I’ll get to them soon.” Carefully she set the heavy box down on the right side of the desk before reaching out and brushing a few strands of loose hair behind Hawkeye’s ear. She then bent down and pulled a loose blanket out of another box and pulled and rested it on Hawkeye’s back and shoulders.

Havoc nodded and set the box where he had been told before turning to watch Riza sleep quietly. Stray sunlight filtered in through a window in the far corner of the room that hadn’t been completely blocked by books or boxes yet. The light seemed to make Riza’s hair glow almost like a halo, the skin of her face like porcelain in the pure light.

Apparently Havoc had sucked in a breath as Schezka turned and nodded at him. “She’s really beautiful even when she’s exhausted. It makes me jealous to just think about it.” She watched Riza for a moment before pulling a few papers from a nearby box and reading them before searching on a book shelf across the room.

“How often does she nap here?” Havoc asked, slowly exhaling. He turned to watch Schezka pull down a few books and insert the pages, then put the books back.

Schezka looked thoughtful and turned from the shelves toward him. “Honestly, she’d only slept in here a few times before. She only comes in here to hand over some papers usually, but lately she’s been very troubled about something or another. So I listen to her while she tells me what’s wrong, and sometimes like today she’ll just fall asleep mid sentence because she’s so wrung out.”

Havoc instantly looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Schezka blinked in surprise. “You mean you don’t know?”

Havoc shook his head dumbly in response. “She doesn’t talk to us guys that much except to give orders. Never anything too in depth. We occasionally get to see Black Hayate’s newest trick.”

Schezka made a soft ‘ooh’ sound and looked away. “She’s just been under a lot of stress lately. She was worried about her crush for a little while...and now the ball....” she said vaguely.

Havoc looked confused for a moment, then nodded quietly. “It’s the rumors...” He then sighed and nodded at the door. “I’m gonna go ahead and go back to the office. Make sure she at least gets home please Schezka?”

Schezka nodded and smiled as Havoc left the room. She then turned to Riza. “He’s gone. And apparently he’s heard the rumor too.”

Hawkeye slowly opened her crimson eyes, their depths disturbed and full of the hurt she felt. “Why? Why is everyone suddenly saying this?”

Schezka sighed before resuming straightening her latest projects in the over sized book shelf. Slowly and carefully she pulled each neccesary book out and inserted their missing pages, then setting back in their proper places.

“I don’t know for sure. My opinion and what I’ve always been told is jealousy Riza. Apparently almost every girl dreams of being approached by the Colonel and asked out. And what’s more you just won the all around best award because you don’t just like him, you love him.”

Riza’s head snapped up as she sent an angry, cold look at Schezka. “I do not love that perverted old bastard. He has far too much ego and he thinks women are merely playthings.” She looked disturbed and ran a hand over her gun at her side. “Besides he’s a superior officer.”

Schezka blinked in surprise, then looked confused. “What does his rank have to do with it?”

Riza sat up straight. “Military law strictly forbids dating between officers that work closely together. If anyone is caught doing it they are court-martialed and can be dishonorably discharged.”

Schezka’s eyes grew huge behind her oversized glasses. She nearly dropped a large, overstuffed leather bound report that she had been putting in order. She managed to scramble and catch it in time and set it in it’s place.

“Besides,” Riza continued as she watched Schezka, “I have no such feeling for the Colonel.”

Schezka ran a hand through her unruly hair, her brown eyes running over the spines of the books in front of her behind her large glasses. “I used to think that about Brigadier General Hughes, but looking back now I don’t know if that’s so true. I mean no insult toward Glacier, but I think I loved him to a degree. I wouldn’t have even considered seducing him, but I know that at the very least I held him close to me.” She reached toward a book and pulled it down, thumbing through it for a moment before taking it to Riza. “Especially when I look over this check list that Colonel Mustang made out when he first became a credited alchemist about what true love is.”

“Of course I feel some closeness to the Colonel, he’s my superior officer.” Riza replied matter of factly before doing a double take at the freshly printed list. “When did he write this?” she looked over the list quickly, shocked at some of the things he’d written.

“Um, let’s see, the date on it was 1899... just before the turn of the century.”

“That’s when he enlisted...”

“Aa. Under Brigadier General Maes Hughes. Of course he was only Staff Sergeant Maes Hughes then, but he was in charge of finding and enlisting alchemists. He found the Colonel and funded his education, and even sponsored the Colonel much the same way that the Colonel did with Ed. Without a human transmutation accident of course.”

Riza blinked at her for a moment. “How do you know all of that?”

Schezka laughed nervously and smiled. “Oh you know, personal records and all that. Almost everything that was ever done is recorded in them.”

“That’s almost scary.”

“..Sorry.”

Riza shook her head. “No, it’s fine.” She looked over the list again and furrowed her eyebrows. “But what did he mean when he said ‘Risk even the greatest offense to be with them, even if it is in secret.’?”

Schezka shook her head. “I don’t know, I only read it. But,” she became dreamy eyed and smiled, hugging a book close, “it sounds rather romantic to me. In fact a lot of his stuff from when he first joined the military sounds romantic. Who ever it was, she was really important to him.”

“There’s more?” Riza looked intrigued, smirking in just such a way as to give her thoughts away.

“Oh no, I can’t let you check them out. The report isn’t even finished, and what’s more it wasn’t even supposed to be read by anyone but the Brigadier General himself before he passed.” Schezka said, holding a second part of the book close to protect it.

“But you read it.” Hawkeye slowly stood and walked from behind the desk toward Schezka.

Schezka stepped back and bumped against the bookshelf before looking trapped. She quickly glanced left then side stepped from Riza naturally. “I-I only happened on it! I didn’t intend to read it!” Tears were beginning to run down her cheeks in fear.

“Intent aside you read it anyway. And who am I going to tell?” Riza stated as she followed her, stalking her almost like a cat does a ball.

“That’s not the point, it’s a secret report that was filed and closed from a long time ago!” Schezka argued.

“Fine then. Let me read three random pages more and I won’t ask again.”

When Schezka made a move to argue against it Riza pulled her gun out of her hip holster and trained it between her eyes.

In under a minute Schezka had handed over three more random pages.

Riza looked at the first one and rolled her eyes, handing it back. “That was the opener page. Not worth the read.” she commented as she looked over the second page. She blinked at a sentence, then slowly read it out.

“‘I trust that these words will only ever be seen by your eyes, and so without further formality I will answer your earlier posed question: How can I tell someone I have only known for a matter of days that I feel love for them?

“‘My answer is simple and to the point in comparison to many of the possible answers. I find myself thinking of them even when I know I should be busy with work and other things of importance. I also find myself willing to go through the punishment due to someone in my position should it mean I spent a moment with them.’ There he goes stating that again! Does this mean he was in love with a higher ranking officer?” Riza questioned aloud. Without waiting for a reply she looked at the next page and in an instant her face turned red and she dropped the pages.

“...Roy Mustang is... is...” she was stuttering and found that she couldn’t use her voice.

Schezka blinked in surprise, then picked up the pages and blushed as she read what Riza had. “Oh that, I kept having nose bleeds when I wrote that part...”

“But... you understand don’t you?” Riza asked her quietly, her voice seeming almost conspiratorial in the quietness of the room.

Schezka blinked stupidly for a moment in response, then shook her head.

“Then why did you have a nose bleed?! ‘Despite my deep affection and attraction for the opposite sex and my experience with them, my current attraction for someone of the same sex seems deeper and somewhat more satisfying than my past relationships.’ He’s saying he’s bisexual!”

Schezka’s eyes widened in shock and she glanced away. “But the only male super he had back then was...”

“Hughes...” Riza finished. “They were in an outpost building alone together for five months prior to the incident at Ishbal, then they were separated because Roy chose not to have a desk job.” When Schezka gave her a curious look Riza blushed. “What? We talked a lot while he was healing.”

Schezka sighed, then took the pages and placed them in their places. “So then...”

A throat cleared behind them and both women glanced back to see that Roy Mustang was leaning on the framework of the door to Schezka’s office, his hands in his pockets. “Ladies?”

Immediately both women straightened and saluted, Riza’s breasts giving a tiny bounce as she did so to Roy’s enjoyment. He kept his smile small, however, as he still had to put things back into order and he couldn’t do that and be a pervert at the same time.

“It’s five o’clock Riza, and I need a ride home if you’d be so kind.” he said simply.

“Yes sir!” Riza replied and hurried out of the room, her ears rather red. Schezka stood stock still, too embarrassed to say anything.

Roy gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you for your hard work. When you finish rewriting and assembling that report I’d like to have it back please.”

Schezka nodded as Roy pushed himself off the door frame with his elbow and turned on his heel to go out to the car. When he was gone Schezka melted into a blob on the floor and clutched her chest as her heart beat fast against her ribs.

As soon as Roy stepped out of the looming headquarters building Riza pulled to a stop in front of the steps and by the time he had manipulated his way carefully down said steps she was outside with the back passenger door open and saluting.

“Actually I think I want to sit up front today lieutenant.” he said as he reached for the front passenger door. She went red but nodded and opened that door, then stood by to help in if he needed it. Once he was settled inside she immediately closed the door and got in.

They were quiet until they were off base, one in the middle of a nervous breakdown, the other enjoying the wiggling the other was doing. Finally as they left the base gates behind Roy started to chuckle quietly.

Riza cast a glare at him, then looked away. “Sir, I don’t believe anything funny occurred.”

“Oh but it did Riza. It was hilarious.” he commented behind his hand as he tried to cover up his grin. “Oh if you two could have seen your faces you’d have seen just how damn priceless your looks were. I thought Schezka pissed herself.”

“Sir.” Her tone was anything but amused.

“Sorry.” he said quickly. He snickered one last time, then finally calmed himself. “But really Riza... I thought you’d known.”

“Excuse me? You never said anything, and the Brigadier General never said anything while he was alive-”

“We had to actually say it?” Roy asked with a smirk.

“Well no... I mean it would have been rude and would have caused you a lot of trouble-”

“Both of us. I am bisexual, he was.”

“That’s not the point sir.” Riza was embarrassed and frustrated with Roy’s interruptions.

“Then what is Hawkeye?” Roy’s tone was softer, coaxing her gently to talk openly with him.

“I.. Sir, you should have told me. Then.. Then I could have understood you better when he died. I would have...”

“You would have what Riza? He died. That’s all there was.”

Riza blinked and stopped in front of his home. She looked him over and noticed that bringing up Hughes death only hurt Roy as a tiny wet trail lead from one closed eye down to the corner of his lips. She took a breath, then leaned over and kissed the end of the trail, the corner of her own lips softly touching his as a show of affection and apology.

He smiled when she pulled back and looked her in the eye. “I’m okay now Riza. I told you that I’m okay now when you came to care for me. Just... It’s past now. My bisexuality was only for him. I’m rather back in the game when it comes to girls now.” he winked at her before he got out of the car.

He stood there and waved, watching her pull away. When he went into his house he walked over to his kitchen and opened a high cupboard, pulled out a rocker glass and a clear glass decanter that was half full of a amber liquid, then went to sit on his couch. He sighed as he poured himself a glass and glanced around.

“Hughes you son of a bitch, I’m done crying for your ass. It’s your own fault for doing what you said you’d never do anyway you sick fuck.”

In one harsh gulp he downed the liquid and coughed, then poured himself another glass. This one he sipped as he pulled a photo album out from under the couch. He flipped it open to the middle and smiled impishly as he looked over the many photos of himself as a younger man with Hughes, just goofing off and enjoying themselves for once.

~*~

End Chapter 2.