Chapter One - Years
"Well, sir, it's been quite a while." Havoc sighed, looking across the table at the former colonel.
"Well, Havoc, it's been seven years." Roy Mustang said, taking a drink of coffee.
"I guess you're right, sir." Havoc shrugged, looking the worn man over again. Roy looked a completely differant man. His jet black hair was longer than it normally was, he had lost weight and looked extremely tired, and had about a week's worth of a beard. The look didn't suit him.
"Havoc, stop calling me sir, I'm not you're no longer my subordinate." Roy said, seemingly distracted.
"Sorry, er, Roy?" Havoc said, akwardness floating in the air.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" Roy asked, pointing at the ring of Havoc's finger.
"Oh, her name's Ruthie. Without you around I was finally able to keep a girlfriend long enough." he smiled and pulled out his wallet. "Me, her, and the kids, Ian and Felecity." he said proudly as he showed Roy a picture.
"Don't turn into Hughes on me." Roy muttered, looking the picture over. "Cute kids." It was no lie, the boy had Havoc's light hair while the little girl had inherited her mother's dark brown hair, unlike the boys. Havoc's wife was extremely pretty as well.
"Mostly Ruthie." Havoc shrugged, glancing at the picture before putting his wallet back in his pocket.
"And I see you kicked the habit, too."
"Ruthie, again. It's the only way she'd marry me."
Roy hesitated. "How is she?" he asked, looking directly at Havoc.
"Lt. Hawkeye's good. She bought a house, just a few block's away from me and Ruthie, on Gracia's street. Roy, she had a kid a while after you, er, died." Havoc paused. "She said she was raped on the street, but everyone knows it's your kid."
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Roy asked, brow narrowing, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Girl. She turned six two months ago. Beautiful girl, smart too. Lt. Hawkeye's still in the military and Gracia babysits Cara everyday."
"Cara?" Roy asked in a voice Havoc had never heard before.
"Yeah, Cara." Havoc said with a smile, knowing how Roy felt. "Sir, what happened seven years ago?"
Roy took a deep breath and pressed his lips together. "The Führer sent me on a mission with his two 'most trusted officers.' Once we got into the desert, they attacked me one night. They knocked me out and tortured me for answers about what I knew from the Inside. I was able to escape and I got pretty far, into the middle of the desert and they found me. They shot me in the leg and left me to die. I used fire to close the wound and was able to make the three day walk to a desert villiage where they took me in. I took up residence in the villiage. I tried to send word to you or Riza, but I was sure that the military would be monitoring your mail, because they didn't know for sure if I was dead."
"Three weeks after you disappeared, they sent a team out to collect your body and couldn't find anything. It gave us all hope that you were still alive." Havoc said, "And that's definitely not the version they told us. They told us that in the middle of the night, you got raided and you were about to attack the raiders and they shot you. They said you died protecting them."
Roy scoffed.
"Sir, Lt. Hawkeye took it extremely hard. She'd take a break every day and nobody knew where she'd go, and she always came back with red eyes. I guess it was part hormones, but still. I followed her one day. She went to your apartment everyday until she came back outraged three months after you 'died' and said that they had no right to empty out your apartment and rent it out again." Havoc paused. "She's become good friends with Ruthie and two years ago, she was over on the anniversary of it all and she was crying and it was like she was just then coming to terms with it."
"When I was told about the mission, it didn't feel right. I didn't know what was going to happen or if I was going to live. I was out walking and I wound up at her apartment. I... I knew I couldn't go, knowing I might not survive, unless I told her. I felt so strange saying it to her. Before she could say anything, I kissed her and, you can kind of tell where things led." Roy said and found inner amusement on how Havoc was blushing.
"Are you planning on visiting her?"
"That's why I came back. Seven years, I just couldn't do it any more." Mustang said, putting his face in his hands. "I just don't know if I can do it, now that I know..."
"Sir, stay with me tonight, we'll get you cleaned up, then tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll see what happens."
!
When Riza's alarm went off at 5:45 am, she groaned and rolled over, feeling a warm, solid body curled up against hers. Riza kissed the top of her daughter's head and rolled out of bed.
Riza had a flutter in her stomach, one that was hardly ever there. Something was going to happen today, she was sure of it. Good or bad, she didn't know.
After her shower, she walked back into her bedroom where Cara was still curled in a tiny ball in the middle of the bed. Riza crawled back into the bed, her wet hair wetting the pillow.
"Cara!" Riza said in a sing-song voice, tickling her daughter. The six year old squirmed but didn't wake. "If you don't wake up, I'm gonna let Hayate eat you." she teased.
"Mama?" Cara mummbled, letting out a groan.
"Sweetie, it's time to get up." Riza coaxed her.
"I don't wanna!" Cara whined, finally opening her eyes.
"Well, too bad, Mama has to go to work." Riza said, laughing. "And why are you in my bed, anyway?"
"I had a bad dream." Cara said, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh. Well then." Riza said, scooping her up as she got out of the bed.
As Riza walked through the house, her daughter in her arms, Cara buried her head inbetween her mother's neck and shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Cara, don't you dare fall asleep again!" Riza warned as they walked into Cara's bedroom.
"I was just resting my eyes." Cara said, giggling as Riza set her down on the bed.
"Sure you were." Riza smiled, going through Cara's drawers. "Get dressed and I'll make breakfast. What do you want?"
"Umm, eggs!" Cara said, tugging her night shirt off over her head.
"Will do." Riza said, closing the door behind her as she left the room.
!
"Mama, look what I made!" Cara said proudly, holding up a picture she'd drawn as Riza walked in the door.
"Wow!" Riza said, hugging her daughter. "Cara, where's Aunt Gracia? I want to talk to her about something."
"Um, I think she's in the kitchen." Cara said, pointing to the kitchen where the light was on.
"Do you ever get that flutter in your stomach, the one that won't go away?" Riza said quietly as she walked into the kitchen where Gracia was reading the newspaper and sipping tea.
"Every now and then, yes." Gracia said, smiling as Riza sat down across from her at the table.
"For you, does it usually mean something good, or something bad is about to happen?"
"A mixture." Gracia narrowed her eyes. "What's up?"
"I had that flutter in my stomach since I woke up. At Central, Havoc had that whole, 'I know something you don't know' look in his eye. I can just tell something is going to happen." Riza said, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's driving me insane!"
"I just hope it's not something terrible again. Riza, you deserve some good after the last ten years."
"I did get something good." she smiled, looking over her shoulder to see Cara standing in the door way.