Riza had left the office over 2 hours after the rest of the team, and yet, he was still sat at his desk, pouring over paper after paper when she closed the door. He had been uncommunicable all afternoon, his mind wandering far away from the present, and pen furiously scribbling in the small pocket diary he kept. She would have been worried had it not been for the fierce scowl on his face; a scowl of concentration. That was something she had learnt many years ago, after interrupting as he flicked through the large report laid before him earlier in the day, receiving that same determined look.

"One more chapter."

And it took her back. To the eager boy who had appeared at her home, satchel tucked under one arm, hair short and neat, with a smile a mile wide. To dark nights, sat together in the study of her childhood home, quietly reading side by side in the dim glow of the fireplace in the comfortable silence. To the dark rings under his eyes, constant yawning and midday naps that her father's tutelage pressured him into, and the same mile-wide smile she received on presenting him with a mug of hot chocolate for his efforts. To tip-toeing down the corridor to his room, seeing the light under the door and chastising him for being awake so late, receiving only a boyish grin and a book thrust under her nose of whatever he had been reading now.

One more chapter.

That image jarred so harshly with the arrogant, lazy, womanising Colonel that had become the stuff of gossip around the barracks, with the dumb glances and feigned ignorance. She knew he had never truly stopped being that lovable bookworm from her childhood, despite what Ishval and the military may have done to him. She knew he spent his still sleepless nights with a book in hand, about the stash of his favourites under his bed, and the stacks of notes tucked away in his night stand.

And so, when she was unable to sleep, and the nagging voice in her head had her return to the office that night, she was not surprised to find him still there, despite the dark that had now fallen, the small desk lamp gloomily lighting the office. Still desperately scouring the books, the titles piling book upon book at his side, completely lost in the pages in front of him.

The Medical Encyclopaedia, Edition 20.

Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System

Healing the Body; Paraplegia and the Immobile Body

Medical Alchemy: The Art of Healing

Of course it made sense that he would have buried himself into this particularly talent right now. She watched him, completely unaware of her presence, before gently clearing her throat. He glanced up, blinking in confusion, before she spoke.

" Sir. It is 1am. Shouldn't you be at home? You are still recovering."

And his face melted into a subdued, sad version that familiar boyish grin, her insistence disappearing with it.

" One more chapter."

This is part of my 100 themes challenge, using the prompt list from p0ck3tf0x on Tumblr. Follow me on on Tumblr at ohsnapsnapsparkspark.