Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Written for a prompt "royal number 5, angry kiss" from alitheiamalfoy on Tumblr
A special thank you to fullmetalscullyy and ruikosakuragi for their encouragement on this one.
I Want To Protect You
Roy opened his eyes but he couldn't see anything. He made to rub them and felt the tug of metal on his wrists. The past few hours came back to him in a rush. He had been kidnapped, thrown into a vehicle and manacled to a wall. He could be anywhere. He surmised it was some sort of cell from the hard cement floor. The last thing he had remembered as the hood was pulled over his head was his Lieutenant being hit on the skull with the butt of a gun. Handing himself over was supposed to protect her. He was the one they wanted anyway.
There was a clang of metal. Roy held his breath.
"Morning, bastard," a man growled and pressed something cold to Roy's mouth. "It's water. Drink!"
He kept his mouth shut; he was parched but it could be spiked.
The man chuckled. "Relax, Mustang. It's in our best interests to keep you alive. We've sent your bosses a ransom note. The Flame Alchemist is expected to fetch a fine sum."
Roy clucked his tongue. "The military doesn't negotiate with kidnappers." He opened his mouth and greedily swallowed the water inside. It tasted a little tepid.
"Well, Mustang, there are a lot of people looking for your blood. Either way, we reckon we onto a sure thing. Someone will pay up."
"You're awfully cocky," Roy said. "I hope you have plenty of men stationed here because if I know my men, they're already looking for me."
The man pulled the flask away. "We had some good intelligence. It seems the rumours were right, the Flame Alchemist would do anything for Lieutenant Hawkeye." The man made a scoffing noise. "Handing over your gloves to us and then screaming for your Lieutenant. You might as well have screamed darling."
Roy strained at the manacles.
"Calm down Mustang, nobody's going to find you here. Be a good boy and we'll treat you well."
Roy froze. "What was that?" He could hear shouts in the distance followed by gunshots. His heart sped up. Could it be his men? "What was that you were saying?"
The man stood up and the door clanked shut. Roy's body tensed and he strained his ears to hear what was going on.
The crack of gunfire was unmistakable. They had to be here for him. Roy knew his men would come for him. He had the utmost trust in them. It was Riza he was worried about. Was she alright? At least he knew they didn't take her too and that was the only solace he could take.
He heard running footsteps and a familiar voice.
"Boss?"
Roy's body relaxed. "Havoc, I'm in here," he called.
The door opened. The imbeciles mustn't have even locked the door.
Havoc pulled off the hood and grinned. "Let me get these off, sir. The others have this under control."
Before he could do anything, he grabbed him by the wrist. "Hawkeye, is she alright?"
"Don't worry, sir." Havoc got to work on releasing the manacles. "She was checked into the hospital for a suspected concussion. She wasn't released in time to come with us."
Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "She's fine."
"Yeah," Havoc said. "She's fine but understandably pissed."
"At me?"
"Of course. And us for going to rescue you without her."
Team Mustang returned a little dishevelled, but triumphant. The kidnappers had been arrested and their superior officer had been rescued. Roy was sent straight to the infirmary for a checkup. They wouldn't listen to him when he told them he was fine. After they released him, he had a quick shower and changed into a fresh uniform before heading for his office.
He almost bumped into Havoc as he walked in. He looked around the room at his tired subordinates. He frowned when he saw that Riza's desk was empty.
"Where is she?" Roy asked. "Is she still in the hospital?"
Havoc grimaced. "She's waiting in your office, sir. I was right. She didn't appreciate being left out of the rescue mission."
Roy took a deep steadying breath and inclined his head. He passed on Havoc's right and entered his own office. He paused at the door. Even from across the room, he could tell from the red cheeks and the pinched expression that Riza was pissed.
She was sitting in his chair behind his desk. She stared at him with a cold, quiet fury. He had expected this - the maelstrom of anger. Her whole body was coiled, prepared to strike and Roy knew that he was her prey. He had hoped the circumstances would mute her anger initially but he was expecting to face her wrath sooner rather than later. Her eyes were narrowed and she was drumming her fingers on his desk.
Roy turned to Havoc, who was hovering behind him. "Tell the rest of the men, I'm giving you three the rest of the afternoon off."
Havoc arched his eyebrow, looked from his General to the First Lieutenant. He gulped and nodded. Roy kept his eyes on Hawkeye and shut the door behind him. He listened for the tell-tale sound of the men scuttling from the office. Even they knew this was going to be a bloodbath. Hawkeye said nothing and neither did Mustang not until they were sure they were alone.
Once the noise dissipated, Roy spoke, "So, spit it out, Hawkeye, I know you're dying to tell me off."
"Dying?"
He winced. "Probably not the best choice of words, huh?"
She fixed him with a glare.
"I guess not."
She put her hands on the desk and lifted herself up from the chair. "You." Her voice was shaking. "How fucking dare you? You could have been killed."
He took a step forward, keeping his movements slow and purposeful. "You know why I had to do it."
"It was reckless, sir."
"Well, I'm fine. It all worked out."
Her eyes flashed as she stepped around the desk. "You're lucky that the others saved your ass."
"Alright," he held out the palms of his hands. "But you would have done the same if you were in my position."
"I'm your bodyguard, that's my job. I protect your back."
"I wasn't going to let them take you."
"What makes you think they would have taken me?"
"They hurt you."
"They didn't want me." Her voice rose. "They wanted you. It was a means to get to you."
"I couldn't lose you," he matched her pitch. "What else should I have done?" He got in her face. "What would they have done if they had taken you? I couldn't let that happen."
"I was useless to them."
"Exactly! They would have killed you or-"
He couldn't say the words. He had seen enough of the darkness of mankind to know exactly what they could have done to her.
"I'm supposed to protect you." Her voice broke a little.
He lifted his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I want to protect you."
"I know," she said quietly, "and that's what makes you weak. You're meant to be looking forward so I can protect you from behind."
They were both in each other's face now, panting. They stared each other down, neither of them willing to be the first to look away.
"My life is nothing compared to yours," she hissed. "You're the one who's going to become Fuhrer. I am replaceable."
"Replaceable?" His eyes narrowed into slits. "Not to me. To me, you're irreplaceable. You're my reason." Her jaw dropped. "You're the one person I can trust to keep me on the right path, to shoot me in the back if I step out of line. You're my one."
She closed her mouth quickly, a vein ticking in her forehead. "Don't you dare put all of that on me. We made a promise."
He thought for a moment that she was going to slap him.
"Why are you so afraid?" he whispered. "You know how I feel about you."
He took her hands in his.
"You know we can't have that, so why do you keep pretending that we can." She pulled out of his grip. "I'm not sure if you're being cruel or stupid."
She turned her back on him. He watched her shoulders slump a little and she wiped at her face.
He put his hand on her shoulder. "Probably both if I am honest."
She whirled back around, her eyes wet. He almost stumbled at the sudden movement. Her brows were furrowed and her face flushed.
"I know what you're doing, you're trying to distract me." She poked him in the chest. "This is about you and your recklessness."
He straightened his back. "I don't regret it. I would do the same again in a heartbeat."
"You could have died!"
"So could you!"
He couldn't help but think she looked truly beautiful at that moment. Those matching patches of pink on her cheeks. Infuriating woman. He had never met any other woman like her. His eyes went to her lips and back up again to meet her gaze.
"You're right," he said. "I could have but I am right here."
She sighed. "I'm glad you are alright despite your own idiocy."
He smiled and before he could think about what he was doing, he closed the gap between them and cupped her face with his hands. His breath caught in this throat and he waited for her to pull away. When she didn't, he crashed his mouth to hers. She froze briefly before she kissed him back, eagerly. It was only a brief sweet moment before she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, hard.
"What do you think you're doing?" Her voice was low and dangerous.
He smirked. "I think I was kissing you and you were kissing me back."
"Stop!" She shook her head. "I can't think when you're kissing me. I'm angry at you."
"And I'm angry at you."
She glared at him and grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt. She pulled him to her and kissed him hard and fast. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. This wasn't like the sweet kisses they had stolen at work in the past. This was brutal, like waves crashing on the rocks. This was desperation, longing and a wanton abandon. She nibbled on his lower lip and he groaned against her mouth. They stumbled and she pushed him back towards the desk. When the backs of his legs hit the desk, he blindly swiped the paperwork out of the way. She didn't even wince at the important papers flying and Roy knew he was about to get very lucky as they fell onto the desk.
Fin