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The Gravity of Emotion

Royai

She knows that he can't be allowed to care about her.

His other men, yes, but she needs to protect him, and to do that he can't be worried about protecting her. At one time it might have been easy, but now things were getting entirely too complicated, and she keeps thinking that she has to stay by him to keep him safe, but she should stay away from him. That if she's in trouble he might go off his path. . . and then she'd have to shoot him, and it'd be ridiculous to shoot the man for caring too much when the entirety of his goals stem from the same problem.

And if she thinks about it for any extent of time, she can also understand how ridiculous it'd be to shoot him at all. . . Wait, thoughts like that only confirm her fears. They are too close. Far too close to help each other any longer. She is becoming a hindrance. It kills her inside but she knows it's true. She's gone from a pawn to a queen and that can't happen. Pawns are reliable, loyal, responsible. . . disposable. Queens, they are not what she wants to be related to.

"Lieutenant? You're in late. . . later than usual that is" There's a tiny creek of a closing door and Roy walks in. He looks at her strangely because she's usually the second to last one out, behind himself when he doesn't have a date, and Roy is concerned that this might not be the only time she's snuck back into the office to do whatever it is she's doing. He's unsure why this bothers him though.

"I had unfinished work, sir." She states, hiding behind a mask he only knows exists because of the years they've spent together, and because her work is always done fairly early, which gives her plenty of time to take some of his when he's neglecting it. Also, that's his damn excuse for coming back to the office and he's not too happy that she's taken it. "Any particular reason you've come back, sir?" He responds with a tight smirk.

"No, I don't suppose there is." He goes to sit at his desk, but on a whim turns toward hers, and is there before she even has time to hide the 'work' that's laid across it. He swipes it up while she's in a moment of perplexity and begins reading just before her hand goes to grab it back, but he's seen enough and already his heart is aching. . . he's not even really sure why it's doing that.

"I-" She begins, but stops and looks at the paper in her hand, a small frown before she sets it down and stands up.

"A transfer?" Roy is trying to be blank about it, but Roy Mustang without Riza Hawkeye isn't something he can bring himself to understand, nor something he wants to try and understand.

"Yes sir." She confirms. He makes a grab for the papers but she's quicker than he'd like to admit, and she picks them up off the desk, folding them and putting them behind her back.

"On who's orders?" He asks, even though he's seen the 'request' that's large and fat on the front of the papers and that only makes his chest ache further.

". . . My own." She states. It's weird because he's known her so long and right now he feels like she's just shot a bullet through his head, and yet, at the same time, he's thought about doing the same thing she's doing - Requesting she be transferred. The only difference is that he hasn't done it. He can't imagine anything without her behind him, beside him, or before him depending on the situation's circumstance. He hasn't had much success with the latter though. Still, he's decided that he's willing to have her beside him at the risk of her being used as bait because he knows she's too good a protector not to defend herself and him, and he's too good a friend to allow either of them to die before they've lived happily. . . after.

"I see." He states mildly, which he can tell has caught her off guard. Truth is, she's not going anywhere, and he'll make damn sure of that.

"it requires your signature." Riza mutters, looking back at the papers. "I've already filed them and filled out the appropriate places. Just one signature." He nods, and she hands them to him. He looks at them. "I'm sorry, sir. But I'm not breaking my promise. I'll protect you from wherever I'm sent. . . and I'll kill you, too." He nods again, there is a small smirk at his lips. Her heart is breaking, because as she's saying this she's also realizing that being so close to him as a friend has put a wedge in his plans, and she knows that she should hate herself for becoming a roadblock in her attempt to be a bridge to his success and a barrier from his pain, but she only really hates herself for not seeing this earlier. She could have stopped herself. . . from love? She's not so stupid she doesn't know the feeling, that's not to say she isn't completely annoyed by it's stupidity as an emotion she's experiencing.

She's about to say something else when there's a quiet snap and a torrent of red. Her mouth drops when the flames vanish and all that's left is a pile of ash at her superior's feet. He grins, his dark eyes momentarily sparkly with the remnants of the fire his hands create. And every emotion Riza had previously been experiencing turns to pure annoyance.

"I'm hurt lieutenant, that'd you'd want to leave us." He states. She blinks when his lips land on hers for a moment before the warmth they've created begins to fade. She blushes, not quite sure the reasoning behind the welcomed intuition. "I'd like to remind you, however, that your request is unnecessary. You forget, Riza, that you watch my back, but Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman are also present" He states and then adds as an afterthought "as well as the Elrics." He smirks and Riza is absolutely certain he hasn't thought this out enough to know the gravity of his move and the hollowness of his words. . . Still, she doesn't really want to leave, and she thinks that out of years of selflessness and loyalty, this once, she'll allow herself to be a bit selfish.

Eventually, she will come to regret it, she knows.

Please pardon any inaccuracies in character :'D And the fact that his is mildly AU since it obviously can't fit anywhere in the actual plot of FMA. It's been awhile since I watched the anime (and no, I haven't gotten to read the manga yet :( ) But Royai! I mean I had to write it!

Thanks to RoyxRiza yay for the correction :)