Title: The Courtship of Sciezca

Author: S J Smith

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Don't I wish I owned something of this.

Summary: Jean's thoughts on his relationship with Sciezca.

He can't remember the first time he saw her, but he first inoticed/i her before Ed disappeared. She'd come into the office, looking for Mustang to sign something, and there was something about her glasses that made Jean want to take them off so he could see her eyes more clearly. It seemed stupid and gushy, and he promptly forgot about it.

The second time he remembered seeing her, he was coming out of the Black Horse, hands still warm from the heat of the cup he'd been drinking from, the thick ham sandwich that helped make the tavern popular settled nicely in his belly. He spotted her from the back – blue uniforms aren't hard to miss, and she wore the women's skirt uniform, showing off a pair of really nice legs. Jean liked legs, so he stretched his own to get a little closer; not enough to look like a pervert, but enough so he could get a better look. Hey, he was a guy. Guys look. She turned off into some store Jean hadn't noticed before, and he hesitated a few seconds in front of the glass front, watching her as she chatted up the guy behind the counter. Taking a couple of steps off, Jean glanced over his shoulder, noting the name of the shop: The Shop on the Corner. Nodding to himself, Jean headed back to work.

The third time he saw her, it was a complete accident – they crashed into each other in a doorway where he was walking past and she was coming out. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she cried, as they both tumbled onto the sidewalk, her purchases flying.

"No, it's okay," Jean assured her, taking her elbow and giving it a squeeze. "I shoulda looked where I was going. Are you all right?"

Frantic, she tried to reach for her packages, wrapped up in brown paper and tied with strings. "My books!"

"Hey, they're not gonna bleed," Jean said, very gently touching her chin with the tips of his fingers. Her eyes widened behind those glasses of hers. "You could be."

"I, I," she stammered, her cheeks heating up. "I'm fine!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I'd better walk you to make sure." Jean smiled at her before he started gathering up her books, stacking them against his hip. He helped her up, resisting her attempts to snatch her books back. "I'm Jean Havoc. I think I've seen you around before."

"Uh, yes." She bobbed her head, her bangs fluffing up more. "I'm Sciezca! I work in Investigations."

"Nice to meet you, Sciezca." Jean smiled. "Now, where can I carry these books to?"

"I can take them," she said.

"No, really, I want to make sure you get wherever you're going without anything else happening." He smiled his best smile, and offered her his arm. "Ready?"

Sciezca looked up at him, studying his face closely, then slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow. "Okay."

Jean didn't count it as their first date, no, that took a while to arrange, but after that, it slowly got easier, and, on the date of their first anniversary, he took her back to The Shop on the Corner, where they'd met. "You know, that day we ran in to each other here?"

"Yes?" She turned her pretty eyes up at him.

"Well, that day, I told you it was an accident. It really wasn't. I knew you shopped here." Jean scrubbed the back of his neck fitfully. "I kind of, uh, had your schedule worked out, when you'd be here. And I knew when you'd be coming out."

"You were spying on me?" Sciezca squeaked, indignant.

"Only because I couldn't figure out a better way to meet you! I mean, you're always in the bookstore, and work in Investigations, and your friends with the Elrics, so that means you have to be smart, a lot smarter than me!"

Her anger changed as he spoke, to something gentler, and she smiled up at him again. "Jean, you're an idiot."

"I know that."

"No, I mean, about me. I'm just a normal girl!"

Jean shook his head. "Nope. You're not normal at all." Getting down on one knee, he pulled out a box. "Because no normal girl's won my heart. Will you marry me?"

Her squeal might've shattered the glass front of the store, but Jean wouldn't have noticed from the joy in his heart.

~ end ~