FMA
Mustang/Hawkeye
A Hard Day's Work
Written with Kimi

The raven haired Colonel burst into his station at Central, rushing to his desk. The night before he got a call from his higher up's and was set to do paperwork today, and a lot of it. Scanning the room, he stood and everyone snapped to attention once Mustang snapped his finger. "SIR!" They shouted and he did a headcount. Someone was missing. "Fuery, where's Hawkeye!?" The dark eyes of the man at the desk narrowed.

The short glasses donning male stammered, obviously flustered, and poked up his glasses as he looked to his right and saw Havoc snickering. "I believe she's grabbing some files sir." The two toned smoking Lt. Havoc then intervened to plop a stack of papers at the corner of Roy's desk. "Here ya go Colonel." Sighing, he headed back to his station to grab more.

"Hakweye had better get in here..." Mustang mumbled under his breath as he yanked out a pen and began marking papers. Everyone else got back to work doing their usual duties.

As the others were speaking in Roy's office, the blond lieutenant was hurrying to collect the files. It was strange though; she could only locate half of them. The sound of shuffling papers was beginning to irritate. The clock struck half-past as she decided to go back for them later. Knowing she was late she expected a verbal lashing from her commander. It was only fair.

As Havoc was delivering the second stack of papers, He almost fell, tripping over his own foot. Luckily Mustang leaned out of his chair, grabbing the man's arm, but not before forgetting his pen was to paper, and a scream of ink on paper and wood resounded in the office. Havoc was able to stand, and shyly put the papers down. He backed away to his station, and sat in his chair.

...

"HAVOC!" The Colonel's voice rang from door to door of the building, and the accused stepped up to the desk, saluting. Roy's brow twitched as he stared at the paper before him, which now held an ugly red line across the bottom, where he was to sign. "Sir?" He began to get nervous, his feet tapping together slightly. Grinding his teeth, the raven commander spoke curtly. "I want you and Falman to re-write this paper for me. Get it done. NOW."

Scooting over to Falman, the two pulled heads and got to work, re-writing the paper, they had to get it exact, or they'd be punished, severely. And Roy would likely and could possibly get in trouble with his higher ups as well, so if they failed, it was a loose-loose situation.

Sighing, he rubbed his temples, gazing toward the open door. "Breda, check if Hawkeye's coming, would you?" Hearing his name, Breda stood, heading to the open doors, and colliding with Hawkeye, but steadying himself and moving to allow her to pass by.

She made it look as though she was briskly walking through the halls of Central; in reality, Riza was ready to burst into a sprint if need be. As she approached the colonel's office she slowed her pace. Tucking the files under her arm she reached for the door, coming into contact with Breda and nearly knocking him over. Though he was larger than she, the blond had it in her to knock him flat on his back. "My deepest apologies, Sir."

"We're done sir!" Falman shouted, and Havoc ran the transferred page over to Mustang's desk, slipping it in the stack of papers. Going back over to Falman, the two snickered, talking about what the Colonel would say to Hawkeye, and what repercussions she'd get. Breda walked back to his desk, moving some work around, and gazing intently at his pen, thinking what to write for his daily memo of work. As he began to write he looked up, to see Roy standing at his desk, looking sharply at Hawkeye.

"Dammit Hawkeye, I needed you here minutes ago. Those are the files I asked for?" He eyed her scores from the cabinets, and frowned. "Where are the others?" He scribbled something on a scrap paper, handing it to the female. "I need you to go back and grab those other files, and get what's on there too." He mused, nodding at the paper in her hand. "Get out of here before I get angry..." Looking back to the now three stacks of papers occupying his desk, he groaned. "What a day..." And it hadn't even started.

Her face remained unchanged as he scolded her. He had every right to; she'd be entrusted with a job and she failed. Instead of making excuses like the others would have she gave him a short nod and took back the paper. "Right away, Sir." Before leaving the office she shot icy glares towards the two other men snickering like children on the playground. Shutting the door behind her she headed back once more to the fileroom. Hopefully she'd find what she was looking for this time.

'That damn phone call. It threw me off track.' The ravenette was scowling at his latest paper stack, as if that'd make it fade away. But it wouldn't, only working to sign and date them all would do it. Running a gloved hand across his face, he groaned, his back hurt from hunching his shoulders and it wasn't even lunch time yet. Though when it got to that time, he had no time to eat, he'd work straight through food. As the commotion in the office got worse, so did Mustang's patience, wearing so thin, the slightest grin may cause him to crack.

...

Going on with their work, the men had set up a paper table in front of Roy's desk, stacking the papers below sticky notes named off with what the Colonel had named off. The Origin stack was getting higher and needed to be shelled off into two piles, and the others were growing. As he got through papers, Mustang slid them into a metal folder which he gave to Fuery, which he then ran out to the head desk and back again, repeating this many times over. The load just kept coming, till every box was empty and flung in a corner, and the men were still shuffling through papers while Mustang wrote.

Riza hurried to her desk, beginning on the large pile of paperwork that the others had stacked on top since her absence. The blond was known for her way of breezing through work as though it was nothing; soon she'd cut through about a third of her workload. Looking to Roy's desk she noticed the pile was getting bigger and bigger, while the obsidian eyed man was getting more and more irritated.

As the paper shifting went on and on, soon the alarm rang for break, and for some, it meant lunch, but for Mustang, and some of his crew, it meant staying to finish their work. Havoc, and Fulman were done with their stacks (not surprisingly since they were hungry) and waved off, heading out the door. "Hey Colonel, we'll bring you back some food!" Acknowledging their noise with a grunt, Mustang again became absorbed with his work, ignoring his growing stomach.

Soon after, Fuery, the Breda both headed toward the mess hall to eat as well, and they both told the Colonel they'd be back A.S.A.P to help with more papers. Checking his stacks again, Mustang say he had about half as much as before, then he looked in front of him. And he almost snapped, his urge to just torch every piece of paper in the room rising.

Riza looked over to her colleague, still in the midst of writing, signing, dating, and other assorted things. She could see that mischievous spark in his eyes. He wanted to torch it all, but Hawkeye wasn't about to let him do that. The stack that had remained untouched since this morning was now beginning to collect a small amount of dust. Sighing, the lieutenant walked over to his desk and promptly removed it. She wanted to get this done and damn it, she was going to get it done.

About 30 minutes had passed since the men had left for lunch, and Mustang was done with a good majority of his papers. Looking up, he saw the Origin stack was gone, upon further checking, he saw Hawkeye at her desk going through the very papers. He frowned, and stood, walking stiffly over to her cubicle. "Hawkeye. Those documents were to be signed by myself, personally." His voice was low and his black eyes stared at the current page she had in front of her.

A few moments later, the other men came jovially into the room, laughing, with plates of food in their hands. "Colonel, we brought you-" And they stopped at they saw their commanding officer hovering over Hakweye. Placing the food on a small side desk, the men moved near the Communications side of the room, wanting to avoid any confrontation between the two.

...

"My apologies, sir, but these needed to get done as soon as possible." She looked up to see his eyes harden to a coal shade. She took a deep breath. "I know you must get them done but-" The door opened. Not wanting the men to think there was a rift between the two of them she cleared her throat and shifted the papers to the side. "As of right now I'm only sorting them. I've signed a few yes, but only where needed." She didn't understand why he was in such an odd mood today but she wouldn't question it until it was just the two of them again.

Slowly grabbing the papers Hawkeye had moved, Roy took them back to his desk, where he promptly shrugged off his uniform coat and sat back down, going through each and every paper beginning with the ones the blond had marked. He didn't talk all throughout this, and again became engrossed with his work, just wanting it done with and gone for another day.

Havoc grabbed the plate of food they'd gotten for the Colonel and made to place it on the corner of his desk untouched by the papers. The ravenette's hand came upon the spot as he never looked up from the paper he was on. Feeling defeated, he took the plate back and picked up the one meant for the Lt., bringing it to her desk. "Here you are Lt. Hawkeye." Placing the plate with utensils on her desk mat, he stalked away to his seat, and began his work memo for the day, Falman and Fuery doing the same.

Riza didn't dwell on it much though; she wasn't the type of person to display feelings when she was around others. Fishing through the papers she continued with her work once more, though there was something in the back of her mind that continued to tell her that something was the food from Havoc with a nod, she broke off a piece of the bread and stuffed it in her mouth. This work was beginning to drive her mad and as she looked over at her companions, she knew it was doing the same to them as well.

Slowly, very slowly, Mustang was nearing his tipping point for the day. The stress level was high and he couldn't help but think back to the snarky phone call. Damn them, damn them for giving him so much. He wished he could torch their asses to Hell and next week.

...

Breda, being quiet in his chair stood up and picked up Mustang's plate of food. He walked over to his desk and set it down. Eyeing Breda, Mustang looked tired, and he didn't do anything. "Eat Colonel." And with those few words, he went back to his seat, completing his memo for the day. The other men in the room looked on, shocked as Roy picked up the bread, taking a bite, setting it down, and without any reflex or emotion, returning to his paper. Breda knew the Colonel needed nourishment, and he had the balls to tell him. Though he had only taken one bite of food, when he pushed the plate away, and almost to the floor. Again, Breda was there to catch the plate, returning it to its spot where it had been on the table before, quietly sighing, and turning to face his desk. There was only so much they could do on days when he was like this. Only so much.

Riza continued to work, getting in small bites of food here and there. It bothered her to see Roy's food going untouched; the colonel never wasted food. She paused for a moment and stood up, heading towards his desk. She stopped front and center, staring him straight in the eyes. "Sir, you've got to eat," she suggested. She wasn't angry with him though. Her voice was stern as she spoke to must have been the reason for everyone at Central referring to Hawkeye as Colonel Mustang's babysitter.

When Hawkeye walked up to his desk, and addressed him, Roy looked up to see her staring at him. His mouth was a line, his words flat. "Lieutenant, I'm fine. I'll eat when I'm done here." He didn't want to be babied, but he wasn't going to eat till the work was done. He made himself sure he wouldn't. "You can go to your station now." Breda looked up, and stared a moment before going back to his book, and Fuery, sighed, pushing up his glasses, returning to his phone call. Havoc and Falman were playing Chess, very casually at that, as Havoc took a look over at Riza and whistled. "Nice view Lieutenant!"

The blond, figuring her approach had somewhat worked, returned to her desk. She didn't feel good about the situation though; what was bugging him? And for that matter, why did it bother her so much? Riza was never one to dwell on things, so why now? As she returned to her desk Havoc's words fell on her ears. Turning to her companion she faced him not with anger or rage but instead with curiosity. "Come again?"

Moving through the paperwork, Roy was catching the tail end of the stack, only two more stacks to go. His eyes flickered up to watch the action going on in the room, but only for a second, chomping on his pen before writing his next word.

"I said, nice view, Lieutenant." Snickering, he felt his cheeks go pink, Havoc had a bit of a soft spot for Riza, though he'd never admit it, since he knew Mustang liked her too. "I suppose I'll appreciate the comment," she said. "However, remember that this is a work environment, Havoc." She approached her seat, sitting down once more and resuming her now lukewarm meal. Placing a few potatoes in her mouth and glancing over some paperwork, she looked over to Havoc with stern eyes. Den mother indeed.

"Alright, Ma'am." Havoc was in a playful mood, but toned it down since Mustang was in odd sorts that afternoon as time ticked on. Sighing, he looked at the clock in the room, seeing it was almost the tail end of the day, and since Roy was working so intently, Havoc went over to Hawkeye's seat and asked her. "Hey, do you think me and they guys could leave early? We're done with our work and memos." He handed the blond four slips of paper meant for the Colonel. Leaning down, he whispered. "Give these to him when he's done."

...

At his desk, Mustang was quickly signing the last few papers, his eyes weary, and body a growling, hungry mess. Staring at his signature, he sighed heavily. Dating the last paper, he looked up. "I'm done."

"Of course," she replied. "I've got a bit more here to finish up, but go on ahead. Thank you for your work today." She nodded silently as he told her of the papers. Signing the last bit of papers was draining on her; they'd been working non-stop since this morning. Looking over at Roy she realized how hard he'd been working all day. He hadn't taken a break, which was odd for him. She would have expected him to at least place a call to one of the girls by now. "No problem, though I hope you'll manage him. He seems different today.." Looking toward Mustang's desk, Havoc sighed, motioning to the others. "Let's get out of here." Stretching, he walked to the door with Falman, and Breda, Fuery giving Hawkeye a final salute and small smile, before trailing out, and respectfully closing the doors.

Roy was now staring at the wall, clutching the last few papers in his hand, he couldn't let them go for whatever reason, and seemed like he'd fall flat when his stomach growled loudly. "..." Placing the papers in the metal folder, he stood sharply, walking over to where Breda had put his food. Picking up the plate, he ate the rest of the bread and started on the other items, he had some Chicken in his mouth as he looked over at Hakweye with boredom.

...

She wasn't paying much attention when everyone had left, and she wasn't doing that now either. At the moment she was absorbed in the last bits of her work, mindlessly sipping on a cup of coffee that was still a little too hot to be drank comfortably. When she looked up however she found Roy staring at her. "Sir?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

He had a small, thin lipped smile on his face as he tossed the meat down his throat, swallowing and answering before another bite. "I'm fine Hawkeye. I can't look at you?" He didn't look fine, his eyes were drooping and his hand holding his plate was a bit twitchy. Never had he been like that before, maybe it was stress, but from just the day? He'd had more work before and been fine.

"You look tired," she mused, sipping a bit of the coffee. "I don't care if you stare or not. It's just a bit... unnerving when you look like this." She bit her lower lip. "My apologies, Sir, I didn't mean to insult you." Her hand cupped the glass as she continued to look at him."It's just you and I now." She felt relaxed now that it had been said. "There's no reason for you to hide things anymore."

"Right. No reason..." Musing on her words, Mustang walked over to where Hawkeye sat, placing his plate on her desk, and leaning over. "You look a lot better...with your hair down." With those words toward her ear, a hand reached up, pulling the clip from her hair and straightening to watch the blond locks fall to her shoulders. "That's better..." That thin smile came back to his lips and he knelt in front of the table, resting his elbows on the surface. Her hair rested on her shoulders messily as she watched him place the clip onto the desk. She then looked to Roy; all of this was mystifying. She had a feeling that he saw her as more than an underling and a childhood friend but what was with the sudden come-on? The setting sun fell onto both of their faces as he continued to smile at her. "Sir?" she wondered aloud.

He sighed a bit heavy, closing his eyes, then staring off to the side, as if thinking. As to what or ho he was thinking of, the answer was quite obvious. "Lieutenant, I'm just going to say it. I like you." He wasn't sure what else to say, usually talking to women either got him kicked or yelled at, and he didn't really interact with them a lot, and pretty ones that was, but Hawkeye.

...

She looked at him in a surprised manner. "I'm not sure what you mean by that," she said, "but if this is a joke then I hope you realize how serious this could be." She looked over to his free hand; it was lying there in wait, for her hand to join his. The lieutenant was unsure of what to do. At one point, when she was a teen, she had feelings much like the ones Roy was encountering at this point. She thought Roy was someone who could help her escape and in a sense, he did. But that was the past. Right now they were colleagues working towards a goal and she wondered how that would fit into the current situation.

Fixing her with an intense stare, he held her gaze. "Hawkeye, I love you." He said flatly, keeping still and waiting for her to move. "I mean it." He didn't know what to do and if he did something he wasn't sure how she'd react. Slowly he reached a hand out to touch her face, resting against her cheek.

Her heart pounded in her ears, barely registering what had just come out of his mouth. For how long had he felt this way? He'd never said anything to her before about any sort of feelings for her. It was all a rush for the lieutenant. They had been together since their days in the Hawkeye household. Why now? Why today? There were far too many questions waiting to be answered. When he touched her cheek she did not back away. Instead, she looked at him with wondering eyes. '

...

Why- Why wasn't she doing anything? Roy was a bit confused, but didn't, and couldn't very well remove his hand, she might get the wrong idea. His cheeks burned red, and he kept her eyes, never once faltering his stare. His heart was almost in his throat, and he swallowed nervously. "I- I could never say anything...I guess you'd call me silly but, to be honest, I was always scared to admit my feelings."

It wasn't as though she didn't feel the same way; from time to time, when their eyes met, she'd get little jumps and skips in her heart. She just figured it was leftovers from her teenage years but now... now she wasn't so sure. "I would never call you silly," she told him. "If I were to do that, I'd be trampling on your feelings, Sir." She may be aloof but that would never mean she'd intentionally hurt someone's feelings. She was human, after all.

"I see...thank you, Lieutenant." He felt relieved, but also still sorting things out, many thing that had been sitting for far too long. Standing, he leaned over her workspace, still keeping his hand on her cheek, and looked into her eyes, so close their noses were almost touching. He wanted to do it, to kiss her, and feel their lips together. After her reply, he mulled it over a moment, pulling away, and letting his hand fall. He couldn't. Turning his back, he held the wrist of the hand that had touched her face, wanting to turn back and look at her, but he was frustrated.

She watched as he moved closer and closer, until they were eye to eye, nose to nose. She could feel the warmth of his skin and the soft heat of his breath on her face. It was familiar to her; it reminded her of days too far back to return to. As he retreated back to his former spot she was regretful that she did not say much to him on the matter. She reached out for his hand.

While his back was turned, he lowered his arms, he was just close enough, one might be able to touch him if they sat in Hawkeye's spot. Sure enough he felt something just graze his hand. Fingers? He didn't look but grabbed for what was touching, taking hold of the woman's hand and holding two fingers. She...she wanted this? He stood still, just keeping a grip on her hand.'Is she going to speak? I may regret anything coming from my own mouth.'