Subtle Remarks
"Yes sir," Hawkeye saluted and suspended her raised hand.
"As you were, first lieutenant," Colonel Mustang responded in a cold and emotionless voice. But on the inside he was anything but. Just looking at his associate's cold mask made sadness penetrate the iron wall guarding his heart. He had made her this way, it was all… all his fault. How was a simple alchemist like himself supposed to have realized how deeply impacted she was by all the innocent and unnecessary death. And by refusing to help and stop all the fatalities as result from corruption he had immediately just fueled the fire. Then when she had finally broken, he had ignored her and walked out on her feelings. She just wanted a minute to admit her sorrow and anger at him, and he had ruined her trust in him. Now she was unfeeling, and followed him like a mindless doll. And it scared the crap out of him. What kind of thing inhabited the fire he once admired? The rage he had always counted on? What happened to his friend and only family? He had killed her with his harsh words, all because he had thought her trust was less than it was truly. Her bond to him stretched deeper than he could have ever known. He thought she was as tough as her façade, but truly she relied on him just as much as he did to her. He was her anchor and her world… what had he done?
Her empty eyes stared back at him as his thoughts flicked over his face in a matter of mere seconds. At that look he rushed off, to do his job, but sadness plagued his heart and mind even then. What had happened to the quirky, quiet and cocky woman he had grown to… love? What had happened to her sarcastic words, her rude gestures, and her subtle remarks? How was he supposed to go on, without his lifeline next to him, in both physical proximity and mental stability? She made him who he was, and now she was shutting him out, broken from the inside by his ignorance and stupidity. He thought she was stronger, but truly she was for anyone, anyone but him.