REST
Gentle snoring could be heard from one of the hall closets in central.
Most people had learned to ignore it considering the last time someone investigated it they ended up with 3rd degree burns and a demotion. But captain Riza Hawkeye had no such fears and therefore upon reaching the closet from which the snores were emanating this rainy afternoon she immediately wrenched open the door; allowing the harsh florescent light to land on the man asleep on the floor within.
Colonel Roy Mustang lay curled up on the dusty, discarded coats and mops that took up the majority of the floor space in the tiny closet. He was using his official military coat as a makeshift pillow, his ever present gloves just peeking out from under it; as usual the sight of his sleeping face made Hawkeye's breath catch for a moment. His raven hair fell across his eyes and the dark brows were relaxed from their usual scowl or smirk position. His whole face was a mask of the sort of contented peace that he was unable to achieve when conscious. The pale skin of his face stood in stark contrast to the navy blue of his coat, and served to accent the dark circles that hung beneath his closed onyx eyes.
Hawkeye sighed, if he'd just go home and get a full night's rest every once in a while instead of spending most of his nights on a date or performing research then he wouldn't have to hide in closets to take a nap, she thought with a slight twinge of annoyance. Though his reputation for procrastinating continued to grow (probably due to Edward Elric), Mustang really did work himself too hard.
Snapping out of her dazed examination of her superior Riza remembered her purpose for seeking out his current hiding place. She leaned down and began shaking Mustang's shoulder none too lightly.
"Sir, you've got to wake up and finish this paperwork, its due by tomorrow morning," she said loudly. The only response that earned her was a muffled groan as he rolled slightly more to the left and buried his face deeper into his 'pillow'. "Colonel. You've been in here for over two hours, it's time for you to get up," she said it even louder and with the most exasperation that she ever showed. This time he didn't even groan, only snored. After a few more minutes of fruitless shaking and threats of extra paperwork the captain drew back with a scowl.
"I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this," Riza all but growled to herself. Drawing the gun that was always at her hip Hawkeye stepped into the hall and warned any who were near what was about to happen. Everyone either backed far away or, in the case of some of the less bright ones, inched closer for a better view.
Hawkeye inched closer but not all the way back into the small coat closet. She took aim at a large bucket of water that was placed opportunely directly above the Flame Alchemist's head and fired one shot.
The weak plastic of the large bucket promptly exploded, splashing its contents in a great wave in all directions, which then caused the water to bounce off the close walls of the closet and rebound onto Mustang's resting place.
A huge column of flame burst from the narrow doorway into the hall; blackening the plaster and making several Central personnel jump back patting smoldering clothing and hair. The flames were closely followed by the famed Flame alchemist himself.
Sputtering and spitting Mustang shot out of the closet faster than anyone had seen him move in a long time, impressing even Captain Hawkeye. He immediately began roaring threats at whoever had dared to throw water on him and was in an outright rage when he caught sight of Riza with her still smoking gun.
Standing in the hallway, soaking wet and still slightly bleary-eyed, Colonel Mustang lost any colour that his face had contained when he saw the look on his subordinates face. Unable to muster even a trademark smirk he let his face fall into weary resignation.
"You had to waste another bullet on me didn't you Hawkeye?" he asked in a voice similar to that of a child addressing his mother after breaking her favorite vase.
"Yes, sir, I did." The razor edge to her voice made every person in the area flinch. Her stern golden-brown eyes watched as he straightened up and faced her. Although he was the taller of the two it seemed as if he looked up into her eyes.
"Then I apologize Captain Hawkeye," he said and gave her a lower bow than was strictly necessary. "And thank you for waking me up. I'll go finish my work now." The exhaustion and resignation in his tone made something in Riza's stomach twist. Again she saw the dark circles beneath his eyes, strange, he went home early (finally) and got extra rest, also he came in late this morning, why is he so tired?
As he turned away Hawkeye took hold of his damp sleeve, feeling a twinge of regret, perhaps the water jug was a bit drastic. He turned puzzled onyx eyes to her as she sighed at what she was about to do.
"You should go home, sir. The higher ups won't die if that paper work is another day late. You've pulled three all nighters in a row." Here she gritted her teeth as she remembered the argument they had had at that. "And if you keep going like this the consequences may be worse than simply falling asleep at work." She didn't let the genuine worry that had her heart flip flopping push through to her voice.
She released his sleeve. And holstered her gun. As she began to walk away he said, "So you really are worried about my health Hawkeye." The smirk could be heard in his voice. "Are you sure it's only professional? If not I could cancel tomorrow night's date." He was practically laughing in her face.
Riza turned sharply on her heels at that. The only thing that gave away the turmoil within her head was the clenching of her jaw. And the icy look in her sharp maple coloured eyes. Fighting the urge to wipe the smirk off of his face by drawing her gun again she strode forward. She couldn't fathom why that comment was bugging her so much. It wasn't the first time he had said something of the sort and it certainly wouldn't be the last, (unless she drew her gun). As she stalked back toward him a thought flashed through her mind that she hadn't known he had a date, she always knew when he had a date; he always told her. And her annoyance doubled with that realization.
Some of her feelings must have shown on her face because Mustang lost some of the colour that he had regained as she approached. Her hand came up seemingly without her consent and gently brushed the circles beneath her superior's eyes. She saw, with surprising satisfaction, a light blush creep into his cheeks.
"Hmm, well you're not looking to well sir," she said, withdrawing her hand and stepping back. "You'll probably need two or three days to rest. I guess you'll need to miss that date anyway," she finished the sentence with a slight smirk of her own. His eyes had grown wide and his mouth hung slightly open.
As she went to file the appropriate sick papers a smile crept across her face. That solved that problem, She thought and told herself she meant getting him to go home and rest; not his secret date. He did need the rest after all.