The night had grown late. It had been at least three hours since Mustang had first retired to bed, and yet he was still lying there awake, waiting for sleep to capture him. He glanced over at his bedside clock and saw that it was already one in the morning. It had been so long since he had gotten a true good night's sleep that he had almost forgotten what one felt like. "Sleep?" he felt like saying. "What's that? Is that something new? Maybe I should try it."
He turned over and over, trying to find a comfortable position, but no matter which way he lay, it was never relaxing enough. He had convinced almost everyone that his current lack of sleep was due to the fact that he was so stressed as of late. They had no idea that he was really so tired because he couldn't stop thinking about her.
Riza Hawkeye, a beautiful and rather fitting name for such a beautiful woman. It rang off of his tongue when he said it, and he had to smile at just the thought of her. Every night when he was away from her, he thought about her: that beautiful smile, her deep amber eyes and flowing champagne-colored hair. Gods, what a temptress! And the odd thing was that she didn't even realize how captivating she was, how she drove him wild just by being in the same room.
He smiled and closed his eyes, picturing her again. Before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep sleep only to dream of Hawkeye all night. In almost every dream he had confessed his love for her, telling her everything of how he felt, and she would jump excitedly into his arms, professing that she loved him as well. He prayed that he would dream for the entire remainder of the few hours he had left to sleep. It always broke his heart when he woke up to discover that it was all just a fantasy.
Tell me you've had trouble sleeping
That you toss and turn from side to side
That it's my face you've been seeing
In your dreams at night
At exactly one o'clock in the morning, Riza Hawkeye awoke from a terrible dream, terrible yes, but wonderful at the same time. She put a hand to her face and realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she had absolutely no recollection of crying. She wiped them away and arose to get a washcloth.
Staring at herself in the mirror, her puffy red eyes, she remembered that dream that had woken her up just moments ago. It had been almost too good to be true. It was the same old story, the same dream as usual. She and Colonel Mustang were standing in their office, just the two of them, working their normal late hours.
Hawkeye stood at the window, and before she even realized what was happening, he had his arms around her waist, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and telling her how he'd always loved her. Ah, such fancy! Such sweet, dreadful desires!
It had been so many years since she had first started loving him, it seemed as though she had always had that empty, longing feeling inside of her. There was always something missing, a piece of her that wasn't there. It was no mystery what that thing was. She had everything else in her life completely sorted out.
She was organized, had a terrific job, a beautiful puppy who adored her, plenty of "friends" at work. The only thing she was missing was someone to love and to love her back. She had prayed more times than she could count that that one person would be Roy Mustang, but again that was all just fantasy, nothing more, and it was childish to think otherwise.
Tell me that you wake up crying
And you're not sure exactly why
Tell me that something is missing
In your life, in your life baby
The next day, Mustang sat at his desk, watching as his subordinates lagged about lazily. Of course, he couldn't really blame them. They were really only following his example. He wasn't exactly the picturesque leader that many thought him to be. He much preferred to prop his feet up on his desk and take a nap while the papers stacked higher and higher. Now that was a good day at work.
Today, however, he couldn't help but stay awake. He didn't want to miss a moment of being able to stare at her as she worked diligently, or otherwise entertained herself. For the moment, she was reading a book while petting Black Hayate, who was contentedly sleeping in her lap.
She looked every bit the stately soldier that she was, but underneath that hard shell, she was the same as any other woman, and twice as beautiful in Mustang's opinion. He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss those engaging full lips, to whisper to her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with only her. Oh, how absurd! She would probably have him committed if he said something like that!
But still…he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if his feelings weren't all one-sided. What if it wasn't just him that had these feelings, but her as well? What a shock that would be! Of course, that was a silly notion as well. In Mustang's experience, there was no such thing as love that ran both ways, and to think it would be so with Hawkeye was a bit too outlandish for his taste.
Tell me that you live for love
That forever is never enough
That you've waited all your life to see
That you want so badly to believe
Tell me that it's not just me
It was several weeks later before they got their first big break in their case against the man the military had dubbed Scar. He had been identified as a dark-skinned man with an X-shaped scar on his forehead, and he had taken on the nasty habit of killing every State Alchemist he could get near. It came as no shock, however, when they discovered that he was an Ishbalan.
Now Mustang along with all his subordinates and their backup forces stood out on the streets of the city, facing Scar with their guns as the rain poured over them. The colonel slipped on his flint gloves as he glared, ignoring Hawkeye's protests behind him. "Sir!" she kept shouting. "You can't!"
"Back off, Lieutenant!" he shouted. "I can handle this!"
She groaned and shouted, "But, colonel, you don't understand!"
Nevertheless, it was too late. Scar was on the attack, and Mustang was about to unleash his flame…or so he thought. Just as he was about to snap his fingers to create fire, Hawkeye dropkicked him and shot several times until their target had disappeared over the rooftops.
Mustang held his head in pain and shouted, "This isn't the way to get promoted, Hawkeye!"
"Relax, sir," she replied. "I just saved your life. Your Fire is no use in the rain."
"She's right about that one, sir," Breda replied as the rest of them smirked.
He looked chastised at first, but it was only a moment later that he regained his usual bravado, and stood like a real trooper again. When he glanced at Hawkeye, he could almost swear that there was a hint of a little grin on her face as well. Was she honestly laughing at him on the inside?
"Excuse me, Lieutenant," he said. "What, may I ask, is so funny?"
She quickly removed the smile from her lips and cleared her throat. "Nothing at all, sir," she replied.
"That's right," he said angrily as he began to stomp off. He didn't get far, however, before slipping on the wet streets and falling face-first into a rather large mud puddle. This was certainly not his night. That time, he was sure that she was laughing just a few feet away.
I could have sworn I saw you smile at me
Standing in the pouring rain
At a loss for words and running out of time
I said this crazy thing, I said
Later that night, Hawkeye had accompanied Mustang to his quarters to help him bandage the wounds he had received that evening as well as dry off. She sat beside him on his couch with a smile as she wrapped the bandages around a gash on his arm, and when he yelped an "Ouch!" she simply groaned and said, "Sir, I have to wrap these tightly or you'll never stop bleeding."
"Yeah well, it's your duty anyway," he replied. "After all, most of these cuts and bruises are your fault, Hawkeye."
She tried hard not to laugh again as she said, "Yes, sir, and I'm sorry about that, but you have to admit that it wouldn't have turned out well at all if I had allowed you to try and attack him with your Flame Alchemy. We might have lost you, and then where would we poor lost souls be? Sad to say, we need your guidance."
He was silent for several minutes, staring into space and thinking. It was nice having her this close, having her in his apartment like they were more than just soldiers who worked together. At least this way, they felt more like friends.
When she finally declared that she was finished wrapping up all his wounds, he turned to face her and noticed once again how lovely she was. She had had to take her hair down because it was so wet, and it was now hanging loosely over her shoulders, making her appear absolutely angelic.
Making a bold move, Mustang put a hand to her face and said, "Riza, do you believe in soul mates? Do you believe that there is one person out there for everyone, one right person and no other?"
Her eyes were wide as she tried to understand what he meant, but she soon composed herself and replied, "Sir, I've always believed that if two people are meant to be together, as is said in fairy tales and legends, that they will find one another. I'm not sure how else to respond."
He smiled and finally gathered the courage to do what he had been forcing himself back from for years. He slowly moved closer and pressed his lips to hers, lingering there for several moments. "I love you, Riza," he whispered. "Please, tell me I'm not the only one. Tell me it's not just me."
Still trying to still her racing heart, Hawkeye breathed deeply and replied, "It's not just you, Roy."
Hold me now and tell me that you do believe
In a soul, a soul mate
And tell me, and tell me
Tell me that you live for love
That forever is never enough
That you've waited all your life to see
That you want so badly to believe
Tell me that it's not just me
