Title: Incarnadine

Disclaimer: Arakawa owns Fullmetal Alchemist.

Summary: It was a beautiful dream; Roy hoped it would never end. But it did and the rain began to fall. "I said I would protect you, so I did. Please don't be angry with me, Roy."

Comments: Things have been hectic lately. I like to take my anger out through writing. Just for reference, "Incarnadine: 1. Having a fleshy pink colour. 2. Red; blood-red". It's slightly AU and badly written. Also, this starts off with Mustang as Fuhrer and Hawkeye as General. Overuse of dialogue like WOAH.

Roy stood at the door of her office. After deciding that Riza had not noticed him, he stealthily made his way to her desk.

"I know you're there, Fuhrer Mustang."

He leaned back in the chair in front of her desk. "Aw, you just had to spoil my fun."

"I do my best, sir." She continued to write, the pen scratching lightly against the paper.

Five, ten, and then fifteen minutes passed by in a comfortable silence. Riza stood and stretched, the hem of her uniform jacket rising with her arms.

"Roy, wake up. Let's go."

There was no one else left in the building. Roy's boots echoed loudly in the empty hallways. They passed a window and Riza saw dark storm clouds gathering. She could feel his mood starting to drop already.

Roy felt her slip her hand into his, the gold band on her finger warmed by her skin.

---------------

It was barely past five-thirty and Central HQ was already empty. The streets, though, were still bustling with life. Businessmen walked home to their families, vendors were still selling their goods and children still ran about. With little more than a nudge from Riza, Roy decided they would take the shorter route home.

"It's like a dream, Riza."

She turned her head to look at him. "What is, sir?"

"It's not sir. Just Roy."

"Sorry, it's become a habit." The corner of her mouth turned up in a half-smile. "You should know better than I, that this is no dream. It's a reality that you made come true."

"That too. But it just seems so unreal. We…no, everyone's come so far. It's been a constant whirlwind of change."

Roy began to gesture with his hand. He was trying to make a point about something that he was passionate about when he did that, she had learned.

He continued on. "I've been thinking about where I would go from here, now that I've accomplished my goal. Is it over, or is there more?"

Riza tapped his arm. "Roy, nothing is really ever 'over'. The ending of one thing is just the beginning of another. You're the Fuhrer, the people have a voice and for the most part, it's peaceful."

"Right. I was getting there."

"Sure you were."

Riza fell silent. Her gut was twisting itself into knots of unease.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. Let's walk a little faster."

---------------

They entered a particularly noisy district. If it was at all possible, Riza felt uneasier. Something was not quite right, but she couldn't figure out what it was. It was then, that they heard the screaming.

"Help! Somebody help, there are men with guns and they say that they want the Fuhrer to come out!"

The frantic woman ran through the crowd, screaming as she went. Immediately, all hell broke loose.

"Guns? Oh my gosh, it must be those Blue Thunder men again."

"My Jessie! She's near there! What if she's hurt?"

"My house! What if they broke my windows?"

"My wife and my kids!"

The crowd began to chatter noisily. Voices started to be pitched higher as people become more worried.

Roy looked at her. Let's go. Innocent civilians should never have to deal with this sort of thing.

Riza stared back, lips tight. This is our mess. We may as well go clean it up.

---------------

"That was barely worth the fight. Look, one of them got my glove dirty." Roy's voice was light, too light.

Even if Riza didn't notice the strain in his voice, the creases on his forehead and the hardness in his eyes would have told her.

She was reloading her gun when she heard the click of a gun being cocked.

"Mustang, get down!"

One. Two. Three shots.

Another click. From which direction, and how far was it? She pulled herself up and fired half a dozen rounds. Another body thudded against the ground. Done.

The pain exploded behind her eyes. She felt her head hit hard ground.

It was wet with rain.

---------------

Roy felt himself being thrown backwards and landed awkwardly. One moment he had been talking to Hawkeye, then next moment she was lying at his feet.

Lying at his feet. The gravity of what she had just done came crashing down.

"Riza Hawkeye! Open your eyes, damn it! What did you go and do that for?"

When her eyelids fluttered open, he let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He knew his hands were holding her shoulders too tightly. If he let go, he was afraid she would disappear.

"I said I would protect you, so I did. Please don't be angry with me, Roy."

Riza coughed and withdrew her hand. It was splattered with red. What was it her instructor said, long ago? She had two minutes, at most.

"You're safe. I never break a promise."

Every breath she took caught in her throat and felt like fire. The blossoming pain in her stomach couldn't be a good thing, either.

"Stop it, Riza!"

"I'm sorry. I'll be leaving before you," she coughed, "so you'll have to take good care of yourself."

She shuddered slightly and then was still.

In the distance, Roy heard the wail of sirens. His face was wet, though from tears or rain, he couldn't tell.