Haircut
Author's Note: Post Manga. Assumes there was a period when Roy was on active duty blind before he recovered his sight. Fits into "The Toll" shortly after Roy returns to his office, but can be read apart from that.
Rebecca Catalina was paying one last visit to Riza in Mustang's staff office before finally returning to East after the events of the Promised Day.
"It's a shame you cut your hair, Riza," she said. "It was finally getting long enough to let you do something with it."
Breda was reading his latest report to Mustang. He stopped when the Brigadier General cocked his ear toward the conversation and said, "You cut your hair, Captain?"
Havoc looked up from his work. Fuery remained engrossed in his radio and Falman in a report he was reading.
"It was too hard to put it up," Hawkeye answered. "It pulled on my scar. Besides, it was easier to put the salve on it with my hair out of the way."
"Ah," said Roy. "Of course." He motioned to Breda to go on with the report, but all he could think was I don't know what she looks like anymore.
Riza knew what he was thinking, but wasn't sure what to do about it. She could let the Brigadier "see" her haircut when they were alone, but they had long ago decided they would never do anything when they were alone that they wouldn't do in front of the other members of the team. They hadn't quite worked out if or how that had changed now that he was blind.
Jean saw the problem too and interrupted Breda's reading. "Isn't that the way your hair was when you transferred in way back when?"
By this time, Kain had noticed the tension in the room and looked up. "It was short back then," he said, "but that's all I remember. Why don't you show him, Captain? He can't see it, you know."
Just a few weeks ago, back in the hospital, that phrase had won him a thumbs up from Falman. Now, it made the tension even thicker.
Falman looked up when he heard Kain's voice and felt the tension too. "Show him what?" he asked.
"Riza's new haircut," said Rebecca.
"Ah, yes, of course," said Vato, immediately seeing the problem. Which wouldn't have been a problem if they hadn't hesitated. "Go ahead, Captain." And he immediately returned his attention to his report as if somewhat annoyed by the interruption.
Kain followed suit, returning to his radio.
"Go on," Rebecca said, pushing Riza towards Mustang's desk.
Roy was still doggedly pretending to ignore everyone and had told Breda to continue the report. This time Breda stalled. "Just a sec. I lost my place."
"Would you like to see my haircut, sir?" Hawkeye asked, as she came up behind the desk.
"Oh. Well yes, why not?" Roy said, as if it meant nothing to him. He held out his right hand to her. She took it and moved it along the sides of her face and then along the back of her head.
The last time Roy had felt her hair like this she had been bleeding in his lap. It was wonderful to have a chance to replace that memory. "Thank you, Captain," he said.
"So where do you want to go for lunch?" Rebecca asked Riza as they headed for the door. "I refuse to spend my last meal in Central at the Mess Hall."
Convinced he finally had the Brigadier's attention back, Breda started the report from where he had been at the first interruption.