Title: A Moment
Author: Tressa
Rating: K+
Summary: After being summoned by the Fuhrer, Roy and Roy share a moment.
Disclaimer: None of the belong to me. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, over the years, had learned to pick up certain signs as to the Colonel's emotions. Whether it was a twitch of a lip, a slightly narrowing of his eyes, the firm set of his jaw, or even the slight upturn of his lips or a twinkle in his eye. It was all noticeable to her and she sometimes wondered how many others had caught on. After all, how many could say they knew Roy Mustang as well as she? And he did so well in hiding it . . .
This time, however, it was fairly obvious what he was feeling. He was tense. And unnerved.
"Sir?"
The rest of the contingent glanced at each other, looked the Colonel, then back to each other before hurrying back to their work. Sometimes, Hawkeye reflected, when the Colonel was upset, it was best just to work and ask questions later. And it worked for everybody, except her.
"Let's go, Lieutenant," the Colonel muttered, the heads previously buried in work cautiously looking at her. "The Fuhrer wants to see me."
She blinked. Why did the Fuhrer want to the see the Colonel? He couldn't have caught on to what he was doing. Technically, he wasn't doing anything wrong. It was all perfectly legal.
"Hawkeye, are you coming or not?"
Blinking out of her stupor, she stood hastily and nodded. Hurrying to join him, she walked at a brisk pace just behind him as they made their way down the hall. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. But an out of the blue request from the Fuhrer; even she had something to worry about. As they continued on their trek, she voiced the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Sir, what does the Fuhrer want to speak to you about?"
"I don't know." There was no hiding the uneasiness in his voice. That ended the conversation and they were silent the rest of the walk.
A million thoughts flooded her mind when they finally reached the doors to the Fuhrer's office. Oddly enough, there weren't any guards outside. She didn't know whether to be concerned or relieved. She watched as the Colonel took a deep breath and composed himself. Before he could open the door to make himself known, though, she stopped him.
"You're uniform isn't straight sir," she commented. He turned to her just as she was reaching up. Moving at an efficient pace, she straightened the uniform, taking careful notice of his collar. With swift and well practiced movements, she fixed the rumpled and unbuttoned shirt he wore under his uniform, making sure that it was appropriate before moving to inspect the rest of his uniform. All the while, trying very hard to ignore the softening of his eyes as she hurried to make him presentable. "It won't do you any good to go in there looking unkempt." With a final tug on the bottom of his jacket, she stepped back, her gaze meeting his.
He smiled at her. "Thank you."
She eyed his appearance and nodded in satisfaction. "No sense in letting a sloppy appearance be a strike against you, sir."
"Hawkeye." She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I really mean it."
She wanted to smile, but her sense of preservation took over. Instead, she give him a tight grin. "The Fuhrer is waiting," she said. "Good luck sir."
Nodding, the Colonel removed his hand from her shoulder and nodded back. "I don't need it." He grasped the handle before looking at her pointedly. "After all, I have my good luck charm right here." He grinned before schooling his features and entering the room.
Blinking, she sat down on one of the chairs outside the front office. Her face felt warm and her heart was beating just a bit faster. Coughing, she sat up straight but couldn't help cast a warm look at the door. What he didn't know, was he was her good luck charm. After all, she knew him well enough to know that as long as he was around, everything would be okay.