Something just was not right. Riza Hawkeye could feel it. Her superior had not shown up, but that was not the problem- he had left a note as to where he was.

She just knew that something had happened, and that she had no idea what it was.

All of the subordinates sat in the office, busy with their daily tasks when the phone rang. Riza was the first to reach it. "Lieutenant Hawkeye speaking… Sir?... Yes, sir… Yes, I will… I'm sorry. Good bye." She hung up the phone and slumped against the wall.

"What's going on?" Kain Fuery stood. "Is something wrong?"

Riza put a shaking hand to her forehead, brushing a few stray strands of hair back. She looked up, took a shuddering breath, and informed them, "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes is dead."

A few hours later, Havoc and Hawkeye arrived at the Hughes residence to tell Gracia, as per Mustang's orders. Havoc was mostly there for moral support, and took Elysia outside to play as Gracia collapsed onto Riza, sobbing hysterically.

As Riza exited, Havoc noted that she looked more beaten down than she was after the battles he had seen her in, and he could almost detect a few faint lines of sloppily cleaned mascara on her cheeks. He decided that he would drive them back to headquarters, a point which Riza did not argue. It was as though she had no strength left after consoling Gracia.

He got to thinking that if he had had to comfort Gracia, he would not have known where to start. Where did that leave him with his superior? He had never had to deal with this before. Maybe he should have stayed with Gracia, so that he could figure it out.

His logical side told him that Riza had not exactly been in the best condition to drive earlier, either. He wondered just how much she knew, and it scared him that he had no idea. If what she had said was true, this meant that she knew so dangerously much that she, too, could wind up like Hughes.

They had the next few hours to await their superior's arrival along with the Führer, his escort, and the body of Maes Hughes.

Havoc was a nervous wreck and could barely manage to keep a cigarette in his mouth. Breda just stared at the ceiling. Falman began to pace. Fuery just kept on petting Hayate, who pushed his nose into the hand and whined. Riza tried to work on her papers, but her hand kept on wavering. She gave up and went over to pet Hayate.

As Roy entered, they all stood and saluted, which was an uncommon practice for them.

"At ease," he sighed, slumping into his desk.

"Sir-" Riza started, but Roy held up a hand.

"Not now, Hawkeye." He sighed. He looked up and addressed all of them with: "The burial is the day after tomorrow. Your presence is required."

As if they need to require us.

"Sir?"

It was a few hours after the funeral. The clouds still partially obscured the sun as Roy traipsed back to his apartment, an emotional wreck.

Now, Riza Hawkeye stood in his door way, looking only slightly less lost than he felt.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She did not flinch at the tone, but straightened her skirt. "I'm here to make sure you don't do something stupid. I know what happened between you and Maes after Ishbal, and I won't let you do it, no matter how sensible it seems."

Roy let out a bitter laugh. "Relax. I'm not that stupid. You think that after the Elrics, I'd still want to try?"

"I would hope not. Just please don't do anything stupid tonight. Don't test your alcohol limit. Don't point a gun to your head. Don't even think about it. There are too many people here who need you. You need yourself." She took a breath, then continued, "As your subordinate, and as someone who cares, it's my obligation to give you the disclaimer."

Smiling just a slight bit, Roy assured her, "I'll be fine, and you can shoot me anywhere you wish tomorrow if I'm not up to standard."

Nodding and gaining a wavering smile, Riza headed for the door. As she was ready to close it, she turned around to face him. "Oh, and sir?"

"Yes, Hawkeye?" Roy turned as he headed into his room.

Her voice nearly cracked on her first attempt, and her eyes were beginning to water. "A little bit of rain will do us some good."

He looked at her, surprised. After she shut the door, his smile twisted into something of a frown and he muttered, "To each his own, Hawkeye."

Continued in 'Because You Won't'

A/N: I like 'Because You Won't' better. Like a certain other two-shot type thing I may post later, I wrote the second one first, and the first one came independently and decided to tie itself in.