Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ This Time it's for Real ❯ Moments in memories ( Chapter 3 )

1927, 29th June. Riza stands next to the Colonel's wooden desk, watching as he slowly reads a letter from a very pissed-off soldier, describing how he would torture him if he didn't return him his girlfriend and how his girlfriend talked about him night and day in glowing words. Riza sighed in her mind, thinking how many girls would give to be in her place, the secretary for the ever-popular Colonel. She was a bit annoyed at their persistency, though, the never-ending flow of love letters and complaint letters were interrupting the Colonel's working efficiency, which without the help of the letters was already terribly slow. He was either reading a book on alchemy, or poring his eyes over a map of the country, marked with the places which Edward Elric had stopped by. The Colonel had apparently finished the letter; he threw it casually on the huge pile of other similar letters on the floor beside his chair and put on his ignition gloves with the flame transmutation circles. He put the whole pile on fire with an easy `snap' of his fingers; Riza batted his head with a stack of office papers and said dangerously, `Don't play with fire in the office, Colonel.' He had wanted to whine and tease her, but obviously this was not the time, he decided, when he saw the fire in her eyes. Much like the fire I transmute, he thought privately. `Is it time to get off work yet?' he moaned. Riza's eyes softened as she saw his tired face for a moment, and replied, `Yes, I suppose so.' She took his overcoat and handed it to him. He took it, and suddenly split his face into a large grin; he then offered to walk her to her dormitory. Riza was taken aback, but agreed anyway. The Colonel took the time when she was walking to the door to open his drawer and protrude a small black leather box, the smile on his face widening as he did so. `Let's go.' Riza looked a bit puzzled at the Colonel's sudden change in mood, and turned to leave the room. The Colonel hastened to follow her, but on his way to the door, stopped, turned around and set the pile of letters on fire again, deciding that the water sprinklers would sense it and put it out anyways.

Their journey to the dormitories was spent in almost complete silence, had not Colonel-the-girl-magnet attracted a crowd of girls around them, shooting glares at Riza and screeching at the sight of the dark haired man in uniform. However, his fans all left when Riza's brows knitted in one single line, deadly aura rising in spirals and pulled her revolver from her belt.

`Thanks for pulling out your gun, Hawkeye.' The Colonel looked at her in front of her dormitory door. Riza nodded in silence, and quickly turned to open the door. She started when her hand was stopped by the man's larger, rougher hand on the doorknob, and flushed fiercely as she looked up and found herself locking eye contact with those velvety dark eyes. Dark as midnight, enchanting…she thought. She was frozen to the spot as she gazed into them. Damn him for being born with those eyes…she pulled away her hand, hugging her handbag. The Colonel was not about to give up, though; he put on a warm and loving smile on his face, continued in a half whisper, `I love you, Riza.' And pulled her into a close embrace. Having never made such close contact with him, her face turned almost purple as she heard the faint thumping of his heart; she lightly pushed him away. She determinedly stared at the ground, shuffling her feet, not daring to look at the Colonel again. He was slightly baffled at the state of Riza, this was a totally different side of the strict, cold woman he had known for a long time. `Now…this won't do, won't it, Lieutenant?' He took her chin in his hand, gently raised her head to make her look at him, and suddenly stooped down to press his lips on to hers.

The kiss was brief, and ended shortly after. But it wasn't uncomfortable at all, a sweet, warm, tingling feeling that gave Riza the temptation to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him until the end of the world. The Colonel could almost see the hot steam rising from Riza, and smirked for a short while. He then put his hand in his pocket and took out the small leather box. He opened it, and pulled out two identical rings. `I don't want to push you to the edge yet, Lieutenant. This ring doesn't mean much at the moment. For now, it's not for real, but it will be in time. I'll wait for you.' He looked at Riza intensely, and got a tiny nod in response. He smiled happily, and slipped the ring on her right ring-finger. He then lowered his head and kissed her again, this time lasting longer than the one before.

The kiss melted down all of Riza's barriers, and she gradually answered the kiss, returning the embrace, a hand cupping his cheek and the other one at the base of his neck. Heat slowly emanated from both of them, and Riza's hand left his cheek, searching to open the door-