Roy Mustang had a nap hangover. He groggily rubbed his eyes and cheek as he raised his face from the merciless hard wood of the desk. With a groan, he made a mental note to bring a pillow one of these days.
"Oh great…" He glanced down at his desk and felt a second round of headaches come. During his nap, Mustang had left behind a mountain of reports to be completed by Monday that he was supposed to make a good dent in before the end of today.
He glanced out the window to see pitch black. Hawkeye would be out any second to reprimand him and maybe put a gun to his head.
Mustang laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back. Closing his eyes, he sighed, "Alright let me have it, Hawkeye."
"Sir?" Breda's confused voice rang out, "The captain called in sick today."
The phone rang. He picked it up promptly, dread already encompassing him.
"Elizabeth is on the move." Fuery's distinctive voice reported.
Mustang set the phone back down in the cradle. It was today. He had almost forgotten it was today.
She could take care of herself. He told himself in consolation. It was only a couple of rapist soldiers who had to be put in their place. She has a gun. She'll be fine.
He glanced back down at the paperwork and picked up the ink pen. He'd please her greatly if he could get something done in the meantime.
Suddenly, he stopped. The image of a weeping Armstrong at the bedside of his newfound love clouded his mind. It morphed into something worse: himself in place of Armstrong and Riza's broken and violated body on the hospital bed.
His racing mind brought back more unwelcome demons. It entered his mind, past all his defenses and he experienced it once more. The crimson flow at her neck…her amber eyes- those beautiful eyes that would close forever.
The chair fell back behind him with a crash as he ran for the door.
"Sir!" Breda called behind him in vain.
Hawkeye wondered what Armstrong's girlfriend must have felt when this happened. The predators were targeting female soldiers and the lovers of the state alchemists were at the top of their list.
She tugged down her skirt in the cold, wishing it was longer. Riza tucked her loose hair behind her ears and continued to walk down the deserted street, staying under the streetlights as much as possible.
An obnoxious wolf whistle made her tense as her eyes narrowed toward the direction. "Hey cutie!" A leering voice called out to her.
Riza quickened her pace toward the rendezvous point. She heard rapid steps behind her.
A rough hand grabbed her arm, "Where you off to?"
She caught sight of her assailant. The messy and undone uniform hung onto his bulky frame and the stench of alcohol was heavy on his breath.
Using technique, Riza pried his arm off and broke into a run. She could only hope that Falman and Havoc would be there on time.
"Damn!" The man cursed as the rest of his goons appeared, "Get that bitch!"
Riza stopped in the alleyway: The same alleyway where the other woman was attacked. But she was too early. Neither Falman nor Havoc was anywhere to be seen. Breathing hard and back to the brick wall, she watched as the five men cornered her. Each of them matched the sketches Armstrong had given her. She felt a twinge of satisfaction: Five birds with one stone.
The leader of the pack spat at her feet, "You think you're so tough, blondie? You think you can just hide behind your state dog like the bitch you are?"
He touched her. She cringed but refrained from reaching for her gun. Not yet, she told herself. Where was Falman and Havoc?
"Stay back!" She ordered.
"Oh look at that!" Another one sneered, "I told you the Flame Alchemist bitch was the feistiest!"
One of them snuck up behind her and yanked her to him, "She smells good. Can I do her first?"
He wrenched her arm behind her back painfully and crashed her face first against the brick wall. Pressing his heavy body against her, he brought his lips to her ear, "You're a pretty thing, aren't you?"
He ripped her shirt wide open. "Don't move."
Riza struggled violently, shoving him off her for a second. She ripped open her skirt and pulled out the gun. Aiming it at all five of them who gathered around her in a half circle, she pulled it off safety.
Undaunted, one of the assailants continued to sneer, "And just what will you do with that?"
"Come closer and you will see."
The cocky one took a step forward. She fired him in the thigh, forcing him to his knees with a cry of agony. The other soldiers fell back a step, panic now in their eyes.
Riza stepped toward the exit of the alley with the gun pointed as she chastised herself inwardly for compromising the situation. The idea had been to look the part of the damsel in distress as much as possible.
Her eyes widened when a violent, desperate grip that did not come from any of the five assailants pulled her backwards. She felt herself pulled behind Roy's back and the fatal snap ring in her ears.
Riza squeezed her eyes shut against his back as her world was soon filled with the reek of burnt corpses. When she regained her senses, irritation filled her and colored her voice, "General!"
Roy's death grip was still on her wrist as he inspected the bodies and ignored the outrage of his captain behind him.
Falman and Havoc arrived promptly with guns raised. At the sight of the scene, they both groaned.
Havoc muttered to Falman, "He blew it." Falman shook his head in response.
Mustang felt tremendous annoyance sweep over him. The berating of Hawkeye over him ruining the plan at his side only worsened his temper.
He fumed at the sight of her holding her shirt closed in an effort to preserve her dignity….at what the men had dared to do to her. Roy removed his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "You're coming with me." He growled as he pulled her toward his car.
"Sir!" She said in outrage, "This is highly inappropriate!"
Havoc and Falman watched as the general dragged away the captain while clicking their guns back on safety and putting them away. "Drinks?" Falman asked Havoc.
"Oh, definitely."
"Spare me the glares, captain," Mustang said coldly as he handed her an icepack for a large bruise on her cheek, "If you're upset with me, I prefer the lecture over this nonsense."
Riza took a breath as she felt the fire of her anger consume her, "You're an idiot! What were you doing? Is your ego really this unbearable? Must you always be so reckless? What would people say? If not enough people believe me or Armstrong's fiancé, you'd be labeled as a lunatic alchemist who goes around opening fire on soldiers whose only apparent crime is being in the wrong place at the wrong time! If you had only waited, you could have taken credit for bringing down five dishonorable soldiers and this plan wouldn't have been in vain! I didn't go around getting banged up like this for you to come waltzing in like this just to prove how tough you are! You are so irritating!"
"Are you finished?"
The fact that not one word of her lecture soaked in did little to calm her. But there was nothing left to say. She pressed the ice to her swollen cheek in defeat. "Yes I'm finished!"
"I can't lose you." His back was to her and his voice was quiet. "Do you know why?"
Riza sighed and felt the anger melt away, "Yes, I do. But I chose this… from the very beginning. It's my place to do whatever it takes to help you reach the top. You can't keep bringing your personal feelings into this, General. If you want to succeed and become Fuhrer, it is the only way."
Roy's fingers clenched at his side so tightly they shook. In a tight voice, he said, "I'll take you home."
She nodded, "Thank you, General."
Riza gathered her things and made to follow him out the door. Roy stopped abruptly, prompting her to crash into him.
He steadied and urgently asked her, "Why?"
She stared at him.
"Tell me why." He repeated as his dark eyes filled to the brim with emotion, "Tell me why I can't lose you. Why I need you at my side to survive. Why you followed me so blindly throughout the years and even into certain death. Tell me…" He gripped her arms and shook her as he closed his eyes.
But Riza gazed at him as if he had just asked her what color the sky was. She answered, "You alchemists and your questions… It's because you love me."
He gave her an impossible look. She gave him a tired smile and repeated her answer, "Because you love me. And I love you. We love each other. Please don't ask me why this is. It just is."
Roy found himself mirroring her smile as he reached down to caress her face tenderly "Is it really that simple?"
"We're simple people."
He bent down and kissed her. It was a gentle and chaste kiss, but filled with many promises.
As much as she wanted to deepen the kiss, Riza pushed him away gently, "When you're Fuhrer…not until then."
Roy pulled her into his arms and hummed in contentment. He stroked her hair and said bemusedly, "Riza Hawkeye, I think you just found me another reason to give up procrastination."
She laughed as she returned the embrace, "Did I? Well that's very good, sir. You have paperwork and a story to fabricate by Monday. You should get started."
Ok maybe some of the time, he thought to himself as the hopeless battle against paperwork filled him with dread. For now, he had far better things to do.
But as he held her, he felt a renewed sense of determination sweep over him. He had a new goal now…something else to run toward.
Roy kissed her temple. Riza Hawkeye.
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