A man pushed through the stifling summer air and propped open the door to the cozy café he frequented. Inside lay the same table arrangements he had come to know over the past several months. The same pretty waitress waved at him from behind the counter. The familiar scent of bacon and eggs wafted out of the kitchen. Assortments of dishes and glasses littered the bar as he walked past. He had his sights set on his booth. It had almost come to be reserved for him, after all this time. He sat down with a comfortable sigh and waited for the waitress to come around. She stopped a few tables away, lay down a cup of what looked to be tea, and walked to his side.

"The usual, Roy?" She asked, pulling out a small booklet to write his order.

He winked, testing out his charm as usual. "You know me, sweetheart." He watched with satisfaction as she blushed and walked away. It never failed. He sat back and looked out the window. A dog barked somewhere below his view and a boy ran past, followed closely by another on a bicycle. The sun beamed down and shone through the window, casting it's warming rays over his face.

He watched as an old couple stood and exited the building. It looked like all the was left was the woman a few tables away, and a young couple across from him. In the quiet, he watched as the waitress stopped by the table with the woman. She lay a plate in front of her and the woman uttered a light 'Thanks.'

How unremarkable. A simple thanks. Was that all that was really necessary? He chuckled to himself. He had spent all his time flirting with the waitress, he never even thought about what he should have been doing. Perhaps thanking her, rather then breaking her heart?

The dog began barking outside again, and the woman turned her head to the side, looking obviously disgruntled.

That was all he needed. He stumbled to his feet.

"Lieutenant?" He blinked in shock, watching her turn and look at him in equal confusion.

"Sir?" She got to her feet and looked as if she was going to salute. He quickly motioned for her to relax and walked to her side. "What are you doing here, Lieutenant?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Sir." She glanced at the clock over the door and cursed her luck. "Don't you need to be in the office in half an hour?"

"Don't you?" He raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. He felt almost… Satisfied? Could he really be satisfied the ever punctual Hawkeye was going to be late for work? Oh, the strange things that excited him.

"Yes."

"Then why are you here?" The dog outside answered for him. "Hayate?"

She sighed, looking almost embarrassed. "Yes, Sir. He decided to run me halfway across town. I knew I wouldn't have time to go back home for breakfast. By the way, do you mind if I bring Hayate into the office for today?" She inquired, watching the black dog pace around outside the door.

"Of course, you know Fuery will be please too." He watched with pleasure when she offered a small smile.

"Yes, I suppose he is fairly attached to him." She reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears self-consciously. He noted that her hair down.

"Forget something?"

Again, she looked ashamed. "Yes, Sir. I thought I'd have time to bring Hayate home." She glanced down at her feet.

"Why do you look so guilty? I think it-" He spun around when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Roy, here you go." The waitress smiled and lay his plate down on his table. He couldn't help but notice the way she was staring at Riza, who in turn looked past her at Roy. She had more important things to do then worry about some jealous waitress.

Roy struggled to find something to say, finally settling on an introduction. "Uh, well Cassie, this is Hawkeye, my Lieutenant." He motioned towards the stiff looking blonde. "And this is Cassie. Hawkeye, Cassie. Cassie, Hawkeye."

Hawkeye smiled politely and dipped her head. The waitress simply glared at her and turned back to him. "Enjoy your meal." She sounded bitter.

"Will do." He waved after her.

She watched him walk over to his table and took a seat at hers. She took a bite of her eggs and chewed with a swift glance at the clock. She had twenty minutes to finish eating and walk down to the office. She took another bite and pondered the possibilities. She could run Hayate to the office. She could try and run back home to get her car. She could… Her thoughts were interrupted when he lay his plate down and sat down in the opposing seat.

He smirked and bit off a piece of his toast. "What're you think about so hard already? We aren't even at work yet." He took another bite.

She frowned. "I'm trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to get to work on time." She paused to sip her tea. "I'm starting to think brining Hayate to work would be a bad idea." She listened to him bark outside.

Roy scooped a bite of scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Easy." He replied after chewing for a moment. "You can escort the Colonel to work. You are my body guard, after all."

She frowned. "I am not your body guard, Sir. I'm a Lieutenant. Nothing more, nothing less. I simply choose to look after your sorry ass." She took another sip of tea and cringed. "Sorry, Sir. I apologize."

He rolled his charcoal eyes. "My sorry ass, eh? You've got your work cut out for you." She nodded and smiled softly.

"You have no idea." He chuckled and finished off his toast.

She ate her eggs, bite by bite, ever conscious of him looking at her thoughtfully as he ate. A final glance at the clock showed that she still had ten minutes. Her plate was nearly empty. Thank God. She finished off her tea and glanced at him as he went up to the bar to ask for their checks. He paid for both of them, despite several sharp glares from her.

She got to her feet to join him at the bar and frowned. "Sir, you really didn't need to do that." She felt so sheepish. First him catching her running so far behind, then seeing her without the decency to put her hair up, now he was paying her check? What next?

Her rhetorical question received an answer, unfortunantly. She stumbled when he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back against his chest. At first, she simply stared up at him in confusion, but a quick glance at the waitress and a broken pot of boiling water steaming on the floor where she was standing mere seconds earlier made her exhale deeply.

"That would've hurt." He commented, gripping her shoulders until she regained her balance. Even after she was standing upright on her own, he felt compelled to make sure she didn't do anything rash. The waitress looked at her bitterly and bent down to clean up the mess. He didn't want her to take it as a threat and attack. He looked her over. Sure enough, she hadn't left home without her gun.

He touched her arm gently and directed her away from the wreckage. She shot the waitress a dirty look and bowed her head to him. "Thank you, Sir." She murmured, walking past him out into the warm summer air.

"No problem." He walked after her and led her to his car. She stopped to untie Hayate, who promptly jumped up and barked expectantly at him. He chuckled and opened the door for the mutt and slid into the passenger's seat. Beside him, she climbed in and started the machine.

A quick glance at him, her beloved pet, and the café, and they were off. The drive back was quiet, other then the roar of the motor and Hayate sniffing around with the occasional bark.

She was trying to imagine what she would have done had he not moved her, and he was trying to envision what would have happened had he not noticed her. Surely, their morning would have been far more uneventful. Most likely less chaotic, too. Cassie most likely wouldn't want to see him around anymore. What a pity.

She turned into the parking lot and got out. With him on one side, and Hayate on the other, she walked into the building two minutes before they were to be there. She smiled in satisfaction and slid behind her desk. He sat in his seat and watched Havoc strut in after them a few minutes later.

"Well that was completely adorable." He commented whimsically.

Roy raised a brow and she glanced up at him curiously.

"You two, walking into the office together. Getting out of the same car, even! Oh, I get chills just thinking about what you two could have possibly been doing together." He should have had a basket of flowers in his hands, the way he was frolicking around the office.

She simply exchanged glances with the Colonel, then did something neither of them expected.

She cleared her throat, bent down to scoop Hayate onto her lap, smirked, and said, "You have no idea." Her tone suggested he didn't delve any deeper.

Havoc blinked and glanced at Roy, who simply shrugged and winked. So, maybe their adventures weren't as interesting as Havoc's daydreams, but it was hysterical to see the look on his face when he got to his feet, walked past her desk and deliberately ran a finger along the edge of her desk.

"If you're curious, I'm sure Hayate has a brilliant story to tell you." Roy chuckled and walked out of the office, closely accompanied by a smirking first Lieutenant.

Havoc glanced down at her beloved pet and sighed dejectedly. "If only you could talk."