A sudden knock on the door got Riza alarmed. She didn't expect any guests at such a late hour. Was she being followed?
Or getting paranoid, thought Hawkeye, leaning toward the second option. No one in their right mind would have knocked if they wanted to hurt her without being detected. When the woman had finally decided to ignore it, she heard the lock click open.
Careful not to make a sound, Riza stood up and quickly walked towards the door, ordering Hayate to stay on his place. With her back to the wall, she unlocked the gun and waited, unable to hear anything but the blood running through her veins.
The door opened widely with a squeak. A tall, dark figure entered the room. Without a word, the woman trained a revolver at its head. The stranger stood still with hands up in the air.
"You're not going to shoot me, are you?" asked a familiar, though high-pitched, voice.
"I won't if you tell me why you're here," said Riza in response.
"I had to come." Her attitude didn't change, so the newcomer added, "Come on, Riza, it's me."
Apparently satisfied with the answer, she lowered her gun and stopped glaring suspiciously.
Under normal circumstances, Hawkeye would have laughed aloud after realizing who stood in front of her dressed like an elderly woman. But recent events made her unable to find a hint of humor in any situation.
She pulled the guest inside, peeked at the empty hallway, and locked the door behind her.
A few seconds later, Riza sighed heavily, still not letting go of the handle.
"Why are you here, Colonel?", she repeated the question without turning to face him.
Mustang was staring at her, unsure how to answer. He took off his wig and placed it on the table, along with a leather purse. He looked sideways and ran his hand over his short black hair.
"I was worried", he finally admitted.
Roy knew he wasn't supposed to act the way he did. After the Fuehrer took Riza as his personal assistant, they both agreed to stop seeing each other for a while. They were always very careful not to make anyone suspect there's something going on between them. While in public, he was doing his best not to look in Lieutenant's eyes for too long, not to stroke her hair, not to touch her hand. Truth be told, she had always been a better poser than he ever aspired to be.
And yet, he came. He broke the promise. Aware of that, he was ready to hear all the shouting about being irresponsible and careless. But none of them came.
Instead, Riza approached him. Avoiding his sight, she wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him tightly. She was shaking.
"You shouldn't be here", he heard her whisper.
His heart skipped a beat. He pulled her even closer, resting his head on the woman's shoulder. The last time he remembered her tremble like this was after their fight with Lust. That was also the only time he had ever seen her crying.
"Riza", he spoke as gently as he could. "Please, talk to me..."
Hawkeye let go of him, looking down.
"I told you I'm fine."
Roy obviously didn't believe her words, as he lifted her chin. The lieutenant was still avoiding his gaze, but there was something else that got his attention.
"What is this?" the colonel asked sharply, placing his thumb right under a fresh cut on Riza's cheek.
She did not respond.
The fact this woman didn't want to tell him how she'd got herself hurt scared the hell out of him. Why on earth wouldn't she say anything?
"What is this, Lieutenant?" he insisted. "Answer me!"
Hawkeye closed her eyes and sighed almost unnoticeably.
"I can't", she mouthed. "I'm sorry, sir. I just can't− "
By the time she finished, the man was full of the worst suspicions. He was positive that Riza was being threatened. She must have found out something she wasn't suppose to know. Whatever that was, Bradley forbade the woman to speak, he was sure of it. He'd gladly kill the son of a bitch.
Roy took a deep breath.
"I see", he said and kissed the skin above her wound delicately. "I apologize."
From the gesture Mustang made, Riza could swear he was going to do something else, but he just stroked her shoulder and whispered,
"Go lay down. Just let me get off these damn clothes and I'll make you something to drink".
"No," she stated firmly, her voice almost back to normal. "I think you should leave."
His face told the woman that her rejection hurt him deeply. He didn't push her anymore. The colonel collected his things from the table and headed towards the exit.
"Oh, by the way," the alchemist suddenly remembered something. From the leather purse, he took out a bouquet of flowers. He handed it over. "Put them into a bottle or something."
The moment the front door closed behind him, Hawkeye's legs gave way beneath her. She found herself on the couch, soon joined by Hayate, who lied down next to her. Tightly shutting her eyes, she patted the dog with one hand and embraced the flowers with the other.
"I'm sorry I'm not sure if I should tell you…" said Riza to the empty apartment before going to sleep. She left the lights on.