First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye sighed deeply as she followed her superior officer Colonel Roy Mustang down the halls of Eastern Command. As usual, he was rambling on about how someday he would be Fuehrer and everything would be different. He would make everything right that had once gone wrong. He would be the leader of the lost, and the military would have a good reputation again.
Oh sure, she had the utmost faith in him…most of the time. It was just that it all seemed so farfetched, especially the way he talked about it. She knew almost better than anyone else that things in the military would never be considered good or "for the people" as they once were. The only hope of salvation that the "people" had was a little runt of an alchemist named Edward Elric.
Hawkeye had never been one to believe in silly dreams such as these that Mustang seemed to hold so close to his heart. She was more of a realist, one of the few soldiers who absolutely knew that there was no such thing as an uncorrupt leader, a vigilant fighter for the innocent citizens of their country. But, if that was all true, then why on earth was she still following that knuckleheaded man she called "sir"?
I never believed that there was a rainbow
With a pot of gold at the end
I'm much too smart for fairy tales like that
Yet here I am again
Of course, Hawkeye knew the answer to that question before she even asked it. She knew that she would follow Mustang to the very ends of the earth if he asked her to. He was a great man as well as a magnificent leader, and whether or not she would have admitted this to anyone but herself, she knew that someday he would make the best Fuehrer this military had ever seen.
There had been times ever since she joined him as one of his subordinates that she had absolutely no doubt that he would reach every goal he aspired to. Mustang had always been a real go-getter. Normally, she wouldn't have bothered standing beside such an excitable live wire as himself for so long, but there was always something about the way his eyes gleamed with exhilaration whenever he spoke of his ambitions that made her want to help him in every way she possibly could.
Just looking at the way he shone as he proclaimed time and time again that one day he would be at the very head of the military somehow made her believe that it was all possible, that it would really happen someday. Those ebony eyes, so perfectly matching his shining dark hair, always glimmered with a splendid bravado that kept her his infinitely faithful companion.
I thought this time, this time
We're gonna make it
Why I thought so
I really don't know
Maybe something in his eyes just
Told me so
But then behind those brilliantly striking and candid eyes remained a small spark of falsehood that always kept her running back to him whenever he called for her. Hawkeye could hardly begin to count all the times that she had hung on his every word, believed everything he ever told her, only to be let down in the end when neither of their dreams came true.
That was partly what worried her so much. Mustang was always so sure of himself. He never seemed to doubt anything about his intentions, and yet he had been knocked down so many times by the higher-ups that it was a wonder his spirits hadn't dampened in the slightest. Whenever he was excessively humbled by one such as General Hakuro, it would only make him want to try all the harder to surpass the shrewd leader in the ranks.
Hawkeye knew better. She knew that as long as men like Hakuro were in charge, Mustang would never get anywhere higher than where he was at the moment, at least…not since Hughes's death. Even with all the brightness that remained in Mustang's character, she chose to remain a pragmatist, knowing that the harder he tried, the harder he would be knocked down in the end. He was only going to end up getting hurt, and she wasn't sure she could handle watching that.
Something in his eyes
Tells me lies
And I come running
I must have lost my mind
I could close my eyes
And tell you just exactly what's coming
Life's gonna turn
Just a little unkind
The lieutenant watched with concerned eyes as her superior continued to rant on and on about his future plans, how great everything would be once he was in a position of higher power. Of course, he proclaimed, she would be right there beside him as she always was, there was no doubt about that.
Hawkeye had to smile as she heard that last statement. Yes, ever vigilantly by his side. But it was only a moment or two later that reality set in, and she remembered that this was all just fantasy, a silly dream that Mustang had concocted sometime during the war in Ishbal.
While it was true that he had risen through the ranks significantly ever since he had returned from that terrible massacre as a hero, she had seen so many others pass him by, so many promotions denied him because those who were actually in power knew all too well of his true intentions.
All the glory that he deserved was being given to the service men and women who, she knew, weren't half the soldier that Mustang was. When was it going to be his turn to shine in the sun? When would he get his chance to sail away on his own perfect dream?
So many times she had considered asking him to call the whole thing off, to stop trying to change the way things were and just focus on the here and now. After all, they were in a current time of crisis, and the people both in Eastern and Central Commands needed a real leader that they could look up to. How on earth was he supposed to lead them when his head was constantly in the clouds? "Just stop this, sir!" she wanted to cry out. "We need you back here on planet Earth!"
Seems
like everyone's sailing
Way out on the sea
And I'm stuck here on the shore
The sun's always shining
But it's never on me
Why should I try anymore?
Just as she had almost gathered up the courage to tell him what she really thought, Mustang turned around with a bright smile and said, "What do you think, Hawkeye? You know I value your opinion over anyone else's. You have to tell me what you think of my plans."
Staring into his profoundly dark eyes, she found that she couldn't tell him that his ideas were fruitless, that they would come to nothing in the end. Even though they still held a bit of untruth to them, they were still too honest. She could tell just by looking at him that his intentions were nothing but the best, and she realized once again that no matter how many times his eyes would lie to her, she would always return to his side as always.
Perhaps this was one time when she could toss aside realism and focus on a bit of fancy, anything to make him happy. And was it really so implausible to believe that he may one day truly be Fuehrer? Maybe that was a dream that one really could reach, at least, one as ambitious as Mustang.
She finally smiled just slightly as she replied, "I believe wholeheartedly in you, sir. I think your ideas for the future of the military are nothing if not impressive and perfect. When you do become Fuehrer, sir, this military will be much better than it is today, which in my humble opinion, would be quite the accomplishment."
Mustang smiled a little bit brighter. "Exactly!" he exclaimed. "I knew you'd think so! Now, as I was saying…"
Hawkeye simply continued to beam as they walked a bit further, and she decided to keep her silly ideas of practicality to herself. After all, what was the harm in letting him dream, especially if that dream could one day become a reality itself?
Tell me lies
Tell me lies
I just keep right on coming
This time I've got
To believe in a dream
This time I've got
To believe in his dream