"Good morning, Lieutenant," Roy greeted as soon as Riza walked through the door. "How's the new dog treating you?" He continued filling out paperwork without even looking up to see her as she settled down at her desk for the day. Riza had recently adopted a Black Hayate puppy that Fuery had taken in the other day when it was raining. He was still a little bitter that the private hadn't allowed him to take the puppy home (something or other about being "too intense of an environment" for the poor dog. Psh, Roy thought that that was pure bullshit.) But he was sure that the puppy would be a welcome reprieve for the lieutenant amidst all the tension that was running high in the military.
He paused in the middle of his form when he noticed she had remained silent the whole time. "Lieutenant?" He blinked in surprise as he found her burning a hole into the wall in front of her with her stare, dark circles prominent under the usually alert and attentive lieutenant's eyes.
She shook her head, startled. "S-Sorry, what was that, sir?" She rubbed her face in vain and sat up in her chair.
"I asked how Black Hayate was doing." Roy set his pen down and folded his hands in front of him, his elbows resting on the desk. Riza was acting very peculiar and it was all very unsettling. He studied her as she took a few moments to process what he had asked.
"Terrible," she practically growled, a dark look crawling its way across her face. "I didn't sleep a wink last night."
"Puppy kept you up with its barking?" Falman broke into the conversation, grinning. "I guess the rest of us actually lucked out when you adopted him."
Everyone else laughed and turned back to their work but Roy noticed how her mouth opened slightly (Perhaps to protest? Roy mused), but closed it in vain and she slumped further down in her seat. Before he could pursue the issue any further, the phone rang, reminding him that there was a country on the brink of war and lives at stake.
The next few days were practically the same, with the lieutenant arriving with her head bowed down, remaining silent and looking exhausted all day. Whenever the rest of Team Mustang made the rare trip to the bar after work, she always declined without giving a reason and disappeared by herself into the darkness.
Five days. Five days of this until Roy finally decided to confront her about it. Only when Fuery bumped into her by accident did he resolve to talk to the constantly tired lieutenant.
"I actually kind of feel bad," Fuery confessed, unsure of himself. "It's my fault that I burdened her with Black Hayate." He fiddled with his glasses and frowned as he surveyed Riza bumble back to her seat. "It's my fault that she's tired all the…Colonel?" By then, Roy had long stopped listening and had made his way across the room.
"What's going on?" Roy placed both of his hands on the front of her desk and leaned down.
She didn't even bother looking up as she filled out form after form. "They still haven't found Scar's corpse at the site and we haven't found any leads on Hughes' murderer but we did—"
Roy clenched his teeth. "You very well know what I'm talking about. If that dog is getting in the way of—"
She closed her eyes, her fingers tightly wrapped around the pen in her hand. "I'm sorry, sir. Has my performance been affected these past few days?" She waited patiently for his answer but all he could do was splutter.
Truth be told, whatever had been bothering Riza didn't interfere with her work. Though she sat dazed at her desk, as soon as they got the call from the field that Scar was back or that the Elric brothers were in trouble once again, Riza snapped back into life, the familiar focused glint flashing in her eyes as they headed out and her shot as sharp as ever when she was behind the gun.
"N-No, it hasn't." Roy still didn't like it but he also didn't want to admit that he missed her company throughout the day and that their table seemed a little quieter, a little emptier during lunch and after work drinks without her there. He released her desk and took a step back. "Carry on."
The sun had already set when Team Mustang was dismissed for the day. Riza had left as soon as Roy gave the word but most of his other men had lingered behind, some discussing their weekend plans, others inviting each other to hang out after work.
"Man, I don't know what's up with Lieutenant Hawkeye, nowadays," Breda said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah, she sure looks terrible whenever she comes in," Havoc agreed. "And we barely see her outside of work, let alone actually talk to her..."
Breda shrugged. "Hopefully whatever she's going through resolves itself soon. I actually kind of miss her." The others nodded their assent. "Don't you, Colonel?"
Roy simply drew his lips together but before they could wave him off for being a downer, he spotted something at what was supposed to be Riza's empty desk. "It appears the lieutenant left behind her jacket." Something about the forgotten coat irked the colonel. He could excuse her silence and tired eyes but now she was just getting sloppy. He sighed. "I suppose I'll just drop this off at her place on my way home."
Roy made his way down the dimly lit streets as he tried to remember where Riza lived. With each step, he grew more irritated. What could she possibly be hiding? What could be so important or personal that she would keep it from me? In the years and years of knowing each other, both Roy and Riza had shared everything, from Roy's dangerous aspirations to become Fuhrer to Riza's deep seated guilt over the genocide they had committed in Ishval. It was something that Roy had always counted on, maybe even sometimes took for granted. Her undying support and willingness to back him no matter what had never been questioned and it gave him faith. But now the lieutenant's strange behavior these past few days had made that faith begin to falter a bit.
By the time Roy reached her apartment, his hand was firmly clenched around Riza's jacket, his brow in a seemingly permanent furrowed state. He wasn't sure what he was going to say when she opened the door. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if their relationship was going to be that strained for the rest of their days. To his surprise however, before he could even knock on her door, he found it ajar. She really is getting careless. It was way out of character for the lieutenant to overlook so many details in one day. First the jacket, and now this. What would she have done if one of their enemies had made it to her door instead of him?
"Lieutenant—" Whatever he had envisioned she had been going through had been way off base. He thought that maybe one of her relatives had died, or perhaps someone had threatened her or she was getting second thoughts about supporting his rise to the top. But never, in a million years, would he have guessed…this. "Ah."
"S-Sir." Riza's eyes widened in horror as she was crouched on the ground, her pupils dilated in sheer fear.
"Hm."
She cleared her throat awkwardly but it did little to nothing to disguise the noisy and obnoxious sounds of the camera in her hands processing the image she captured and spitting out a glossy picture from its slot. "I-I didn't know I forgot to lock the…um, door." Her hands were still locked around the camera as the photo slipped uselessly onto the floor.
"So this is what you've been up to lately." Roy was paralyzed outside the door. If he hadn't been so floored by the sight that had greeted him, he probably would've dissolved into a side splitting, gut wrenching fit of laughter immediately. Instead, it took him a few seconds until he began laughing, full force, at her expense.
Riza's face grew increasingly more embarrassed as she waited for his heaves and guffaws to subside.
In Roy's defense, it was quite hilarious. Not only was he worrying over absolutely nothing, the sight of the usually serious and focused lieutenant crouched on the ground with a camera taking pictures of…of…
Black Hayate miserably pawed at the miniature hat Riza had placed on his head mere moments before the colonel had arrived.
Riza stood up, dusting her knees off and placed the camera on a nearby table. "I…uh…" She wracked her brain for some sort of excuse that she could use to explain away what Roy had interrupted. "I literally don't know what to say." She rigidly pinned her arms to her sides, probably in a vain attempt at preventing herself from running to her bedroom and escaping through the window. Maybe if she left now, she could cross the desert and assume a new identity and start a new life in Xing in just a week's time... She shook her head, snapping herself out of her reverie. "Would you like to come in?"
Roy wiped a tear from his eye as he tried calming down yet another round of chortles and stepped inside her apartment. He couldn't believe that he had been questioning Riza's loyalty over this! "No wonder you've been so tired lately at work. You stay up all night having…" A snicker here. "Doggy photoshoots with Black Hayate?"
The puppy covered its eyes in shame, effectively mirroring how his master was feeling. "…Yes." She coughed. "I prefer to keep my work and my hobbies…separate. Why did you stop by here anyways, sir?"
He looked around the apartment. The last time he had been here to drop off a last minute assignment, the living room had been strikingly bare, save for a table, chairs, and sofa. Now, Riza had brightened the place up recently, adding lamps, a rug, several new pieces of furniture, and a small bed for Black Hayate. Several dozen pictures of her beloved puppy adorned the walls, some of them featuring the Shiba Inu in a diverse array of hats. He wondered if her recent redecoration had anything to do with her newest addition to the family. He simply smirked and held out the jacket she had carelessly left behind. Riza looked startled, probably unaware she had even forgotten it.
"So, how many of these hats do you have?" Black Hayate had finally triumphed in getting the small top hat off of his head and he began chewing it.
Riza mindlessly stooped down and wrestled it from the small puppy who seemed intent on ripping the horribly oppressive hat to shreds. "Just the one…"
Roy quirked a knowing eyebrow at her.
"…F-Fourteen." She opened a drawer in a nearby chest and dropped it in there to join what seemed like a towering mound of tiny hats before nonchalantly returning to her seat on the couch.
"Where did you get it from anyways?" Roy joined her on the sofa.
"Well, um, when Winry visited here the last time…she's very good at sewing."
Roy was genuinely surprised. "The Rockbell girl?"
Riza nodded. "She saw Black Hayate and insisted on making one and that led to another and another and…it's an addiction, sir." Her eyes looked half manic as she said this. "They're just so…so…" She slumped over in defeat. Black Hayate let out a yawn and trotted over to console his downtrodden master.
Roy let out a good natured chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone back at headquarters." Riza looked up at him appreciatively. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"
"Go right on ahead, sir. I'll prepare us some tea in the meantime."
Roy looked up in the mirror and felt much lighter, as if some huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. All of his past doubt had already been long gone the moment he had seen Black Hayate in his miniature hat. But what was even better was that, despite the fatigue and dark circles under eyes, Riza looked happy. The happiest he had seen her in a long time. He remembered Riza thinking that she was just going to end up living alone in this small apartment of hers for the rest of her years. But everything probably changed with that casual, last resort decision she had made to take that puppy home with her that one fateful day. Black Hayate never saw Riza as a dog of the military or a willing human weapon in the Ishvalan genocide.
But then again, I should probably tell her that she shouldn't stay up so late every…Roy stopped in his tracks when he saw Riza and Black Hayate sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep, completely quiet and at peace even with a war raging outside. I guess that can wait for tomorrow. Roy spread out the jacket he had brought back for her over the lieutenant and her dog and quietly let himself out.
"Good night, lieutenant."
A/N: I literally don't know why it took me this long to get around to reading/watching FMA... reviews are appreciated! probably the first in a series of lady-centric fics