If it weren't for the stack of papers on his desk, both of them would most likely be home at this hour. Mustang's bare hands were layed out flat on his desk while he narrowed his eyes at the blinding white sheets of paperwork, and they seemed to glare right back at him. They mocked him, made fun of him, taunted him. He faced them as an opponent. Perhaps if he could scare them out of their wits, they would all vanish. It seemed that the uneven pile was betting the same challenge on him.
Roy took a moment to glance up at the clock, ticking in the silence of the office, then went right back to his former stance of facing the luminous junk that covered his desk completely. The paperwork was winning.
"Colonel," a familiar, feminine voice crisply spoke from behind him. One of her arms was at her side, while the other was brought up to her chest to grasp a clipboard, used for appointments and such. A pair of dark, auburn eyes rested on his back as he leaned forward towards the work he still needed to finish in order for either of the coworkers to leave the East Headquarters. Her quite long, blonde hair was in it's signature style, clipped up to the back of her head. "How would you feel about leaving back to your home tonight, on time?"
At the voice of his First Lieutenant, Roy lifted up his head to give her a look, a soft sigh sifting through his lips. He was comforted by her sensibility, but somehow it made him feel so much less handy around the office, even if he was the head. The papers were still giving him a stare that tempted him into lighting the whole stack of them on fire. But it wasn't worth it. The Lieutenant Colonel enjoyed living life too much to risk it around Hawkeye.
"Then finish twenty more papers and I'll allow it," she answered him without letting him voice the answer. It was always obvious. Of course he wanted to get home on time. He probably wanted to get home early. If it weren't for the gradually growing piles of paperwork, he would get to. She never left the office until she was sure he'd done all he could.
Riza was probably the only person that he would allow to speak to him in such a superior way, as if she was the one with the title 'Lieutenant Colonel'. Roy wouldn't get anything done if she wasn't there to give him a slavedrive. Sometimes he wished that maybe he could get away with a smidge of mischief, but she would always be on his case quicker than you could imagine. The name 'Hawkeye' suited her well. Being born into that branch was not a mistake.
"Fifteen," he challenged her, eyeing the paper. It was almost as if he was speaking to them instead of his Lieutenant.
"Twenty," she didn't get any lower. If that went on he would get it down to 17, the lazy man.
Roy gave a grunt of annoyance, using his hands attached to the desk to pull himself closer to it. "You're no fun," he whined, seemingly the four year old he sometimes could pass as.
"I try, Sir," she turned around as he began on his paperwork while he grumbled plenty of complaints. Her eyes rolled to the top of her head as she stepped aside from the desk. As if it wasn't already hard enough to kick him into shape, the cold glares he sometimes gave her told her how disgusted with her he was. Except that both of them knew that he really didn't mind, if she was the one telling him what he needed to do. It was a handful for some people to believe that he was actually a full grown man.
Havoc and Feury had already retired to the dorms for he night, and while Riza thought that leaving for her own apartment sounded delicious, she decided for herself that she wasn't going anywhere until the Colonel could manage himself.
"Lieutenant, do you think anyone will notice if I just burn the rest of these?" the Colonel turned his head around to face her as he just barely finished signing and dating the fifteenth sheet of paperwork. If only she was a bit less sensible, he wouldn't have to deal with the constant commands he got from her.
"I would notice, Sir," she answered him as she returned her clipboard to one of the counter drawers in the office.
"Besides you, obviously," he scowled, picking up the black pen so he could finish the last five he was required to do, and leave for his apartment.
"You're unbelievable," she gave a heavy sigh while she opened the closet to find her umbrella. The clowds earlier in the day were a heavy grey color, so she brought it just to be prepared.
Roy set his hand over his heart, weaving a sigh. "That hurts, Hawkeye," he feigned hurt before chuckling softly to himself.
Riza didn't answer to him this time. When she spoke to him, it only gave him more of a reason to stay away from his work. It was her fault, he would say. She was the one speaking to me. The nerve of that man. I was trying to do my work, but she just would't quit, I tell you.
The last five minutes went by ever so slow. It was just the old round clock ticking over and over while the black ink pen he used scratched against the paper while he sighed it. Most of the work he took a look at, he really only skimmed through it. What was the point? He could see none, except that his Lieutenant was a slave driver.
"Is that the last sheet, Sir?" Riza asked him as he set his pen down on the desk with a victorious grin on his face. The paperwork was killing him, and it was always a relief to get rid of some of it. Even if that meant doing it.
"It is," he answered as he stood up from his spinning chair. It was pushed by the Lieutenant into the desk, so it didn't stick out so far. Sometimes he wondered if she possibly had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. "What is the need for your umbrella?"
"It's raining out, Colonel," she answered, blinking for a moment. Had the sound of thick rain hitting the window passed through one ear and out the other?
Roy hung his head down low, a boiling, purple essence flying over it. His voice was shaky as he spoke, containing the anger he suddenly felt. The wide grin on his face from completing the needed work disappeared quickly. "Roy, my name is Roy," he grumbled.
The cold water shooting down from the sky was a disgusting waste. There was nothing more in the world that he detested, except maybe Envy, the waste of skin that was the murderer of his close friend, Maes Hughes. He was nearly useless in the rain, and most of his enemies already knew that. The bitter taste of the water falling on a child's tongue from the sky somehow seemed like an enchanted wish that you got to make if you didn't tell anybody what it was. To him, it was like a never ending cycle of stupid.
"The weather has been this way all day," she reminded him as she headed for the door, glancing back at him. "Anyhow, I'm heading out for the night."
The Colonel gave her a nod, feeling sort of empty as she left. Even though she was always telling him what he needed to be doing and her common sense got on the nerve, he absolutely loved that about her. She was somebody he could rely on do give the most valid answer she could, and to comfort him with her dry sarcasm and noble words.
Riza was already exiting the building, pulling out her umbrella over her. The wind changed routes frequently, and while the umbrella shielded most of her body from the charging ran, her legs grew damp from the swift change in direction. The thought of going home for the night seemed more than relaxing, but it was known to her that she did sometimes feel that perhaps she wanted to be with him. There were things about her Colonel that she loved dearly; there were things about him that she hated dreadfully. More often than not, the loved traits won her over. She wouldn't let that get in the way of their work. There was a strict regulation that they would be going against if she allowed herself to fall victim to a relationship with her superior. But maybe she did want to fall victim to it.. every once in a while. It was times like these when she was in deep though, that she wondered why exactly she cared at all. She joined the military still after the Ishbal war, and her reason was to protect someone. The answer was obvious; she needed to protect Roy. But how could she grow so close to him?
"Elizabeth!" Roy called from around the corner of the building. His hair was dripping wet, and he wasn't happy about it either.
She stopped, swearing she could hear said man calling for her. Her head switched directions, chuckling lightly as she saw him standing and panting at the corner, hunched over with his hands on his knees. He'd been running to catch up with her. "What's the meaning of this, Colonel?"
As Roy approached her, she could hear her heart thumping through her chest. He obviously had something to say. But did she really want to hear it?
"Riza," he began, taking her hand. At first she thought he might be confessing his feelings towards her, the way he held her hand like that. Thoughts thoughts drifted out of her mind as he took the umbrella out of her hand, and she understood. He wanted the umbrella. "May I walk you home?"
"You just want the umbrella. Take it," she answered him, stepping out of the shelter provided by the umbrella, immediately causing herself to be drenched in the water. Only a few seconds later, it seemed the rain stopped. But as she looked around, she could see it was still falling from the sky. Everywhere but over her.
Roy held the umbrella over the both of them, giving a light sigh. "But, Riza, how could I let you walk home all alone without an umbrella to shade you from this horrid weather? No, I will walk you home so we both will be hidden away from this blasted rain," he stepped beside her, glancing to her before they began walking again. "And, perhaps, when I drop you off to your lovely home... I will take the umbrella with me."
"I knew it. You're just after the shelter," she scoffed at him, rolling her eyes to the top of her head. Roy held his hands up in defense.
"I'm not only after the shelter," he protested in his favor, returning his hands to the side.
"Then what exactly are you after?" she asked him, looking ahead.
Roy scratched the back of his neck, looking forward. "Is it unreasonable for me to enjoy a small walk home with my Lieutenant?"
Riza took a moment to glance up at him, then averted her gaze forward once more. Of course she enjoyed walking with him. He was an enjoyable man.. except for when he wasn't. His absent minded personality and his lack of common sense was sort of relieving at times. When she wasn't able to feel confident in herself, his way of subcontiously saying or doing an unpredicted motion caused her to feel a bit more stable. At least she had some structure in her life.
"No, I suppose it is reasonable," she answered him.
There was a very long silence that went between the two as they made their journey across town. The noises around them were caused by the drifting rain, the passing cars, and the apparent complaints by children for their parents to buy them a treat. In the silence, both found themselves thinking about the situation at hand, and how to handle it.
Riza found herself gazing up at her superior. There were things about him that made her enjoy him, and there were things that made her detest him. But all around she knew that there were things she wanted to tell him. Why she ever even joined the military. It was to protect him, she knew. Did he? Sometimes he was so open minded, you couldn't tell what he could pick up on and what he couldn't. She would be leaving to work under the Fuhrer in a few days, she knew. There were so many things she needed to tell him. After so much thought, she found there was something she had to tell him that would kill her if she didn't.
I love him.
"There's something I need to tell you," they both turned and looked at eachother at the same moment, and then they both paused.
"You go first, I can wait," Riza told him, giving a light sigh. She needed some time to think about it anyway. Besides, she wanted to hear what he had to say. How could she help it? Her hopes were up at that moment. What if he was about to confess the same as she?
Roy hesitated, and she was sure that he was going to tell her. Her heart was thumping.
"I.." he began, glancing down at her while he spoke. "..I was wondering, if I could use your bathroom when we get to your apartment."
All of her hopes dropped. Her heart went down to a steady rate as she looked ahead. Way to ruin the moment, Colonel. "Of course," she dully said, her shoulders dropping. How careless of her! Why had she thought such a silly thing, anway?
"Is something the matter?" Roy asked, clueless as to why his subordinate had suddenly grown so dull.
"No, the rain is just getting to me," she lied, not moving from her current position of looking forward.
"Well, alright.." he looked over to her while she looked ahead, remembering that she said that she had something to say as well. "..Was there something you needed to say?"
Riza looked up to him, and shook her head. The whole point was useless now. It would all be too awkward to spill right now. "It's not important," she answered him. Some things were better off left unsaid.
"If you say so," he looked ahead as well this time, and so did she. "I'm going to miss you, Riza."
She shot her head up to look at him, taking a moment to smile lightly. "I'm going to miss you, too, Roy."
Yes, some things were definitely better off left unsaid.