More Than Loyal – A Collection of Drabbles and One-shots from the Royai 100 Themes
By flOofymikO
Original Publish Date: Sep 6, 2006
#1 – Military Personnel: Part II
Military personnel are required to follow a strict code. They range from the obvious unwavering loyalty to the meticulous details of proper uniform, and beyond. It is of utmost importance that these regulations be followed. Discipline of the mind and body is stressed.
There is one particular law that must be mentioned: the law of anti-fraternization. In essence, it states that fraternization sustains a conduct of impropriety and unprofessionalism. This sort of personal association outside of one's assigned professional duties is prohibited.
They present their reasons for the reinforcement of this rule. Romantic relationships in the professional environment are generally inappropriate. Two involved individuals may serve as distraction from prompt and proper completion of a delegated job, and cause clouded judgment resulting in the possibility of weighing a single life over the lives of the masses. This elevated level of familiarity also runs the risk of favoritism and leaked military secrets. Above all, they simply say fraternization is dangerous.
Roy Mustang was never one to go by the rules.
"Mouu…I'm finally finished," groaned the colonel, passionately chucking his pen at the desk. Who knew such a small, seemingly harmless object could cause so much pain? He yawned loudly, stood up, and stretched. The clock read 10:30. It was pitch black outside, save for the tiny sliver of a moon that occasionally peeked out from behind dark, wispy clouds.
Roy looked over at his first lieutenant, the only one of his subordinates remaining. Everyone else had gone home for the night; it was long ago decided that the extra hours of overtime really weren't worth it at all. She sat there placidly, fully immersed in her current novel. The colonel bent his head to get a better look at the cover; it boasted a man and a woman, clinging passionately to each other, with the title displayed in a flowing script that read Memories of Thy Love Shall Die One Day Alas. A smile crept onto Roy's face. Who would've guessed, he mused, that my lovely little lieutenant was a closet romantic?
He cleared his throat. "So, I'm done for today. You can go home, you know…" She barely glanced up at him, nodded, and then methodically placed a ribbon bookmark between the pages of her book, closed it, and stood up. It was just like her to be quick, rigid, efficient. The colonel's eyes followed her; for some reason, Roy felt mesmerized by the grace and beautiful fluidity of her movements…wait, Riza Hawkeye – graceful and beautiful? …Maybe it had just been a long day. Yes, that was it: it had been a very long day…
"Uh, why do you stay, anyway?"
She gave him a half smile. "Somebody has to make sure you finish all your work. And it sure took you long enough, sir." …Maybe he was just imagining things, but was that a subtle tenderness he detected in her voice?
On the outside, Roy smirked. "Why, Hawkeye, I didn't know you cared so much about me…"
"It's my duty, sir. There's no way you can be führer if you can't even do your paperwork," she replied matter-of-factly, heading towards the lockers to gather her belongings. No, wait! he mentally yelled at her, Don't leave just yet… He trailed her, stopping inches away, and before he knew what he was doing, blurted out the question he'd been meaning to ask her for quite a while:
"May I have the honor of escorting you home, lieutenant?"
Roy was surprised at his own sudden outburst, but proud of himself. Even in this unfamiliar situation, he had managed to successfully hold on to his polished, gentlemanly demeanor. He knew women loved this sort of thing.
But Riza isn't just any woman, a voice argued.
Under other circumstances, Roy might have agreed. But at the moment, he was feeling too proud to acknowledge any strange voices coming from the inside of his head.
Riza paused, one hand stilled in the air, fingers wrapped firmly around the small gold key. What seemed like an eternity passed in the span of a few seconds, and she turned to look at him. Roy sucked in a large gulp of air, not daring to let it out. He hadn't felt this nervous around a girl (What? Hawkeye is a mere GIRL?) since his schoolboy days. His lungs screamed for air as he awaited her response.
"…Um?" Big, milk chocolate brown eyes accompanied Riza's spell of linguistic eloquence.
Now, this was too much. Roy's mind launched into overdrive when he saw his lieutenant standing before him, speechless and wide-eyed. Not to mention, she looked really cute standing there like that. Roy did not know what to do next.
So, while the gears in his head rotated slowly (from misuse) and he tried not to stare with his mouth open, Roy's body moved on its own: Lunging towards her desk, he snatched her coat from the back of her chair. He ran the short distance back. And then, he blurted out, "Let me help you into your coat." He was even more surprised at this outburst.
Roy Mustang was a hard man to understand.
At the moment, Riza Hawkeye didn't care one bit.
She shivered involuntarily as the colonel wrapped his arms around her from the back, enveloping her in warm material and two strong arms. She was very relieved to find that it was too dark for him to see the blush that was slowly creeping onto her cheeks. With her heart pounding so forcefully in her chest, Riza was sure the colonel could hear it.
Her breath caught when she felt soft lips lightly brushing her ear. "Ready now?" he whispered, gently sliding her stray golden locks between his fingers.
Something was wrong, Riza knew it. In five seconds flat, Roy had jumped from curiously sporadic to smooth and charming: the Casanova famous among the young women of Central. Riza closed her eyes, allowing herself to savor the moment. She knew this had to be exactly what every one of her colonel's many dates went through before he…had his way with them. But, this couldn't stop her from subconsciously enjoying it. She was a little jealous, truth be told. Other girls got to experience this within one night of meeting him, whereas she had been by his side for…how many years has it been now? Officially(1) since the Ishbal War…seven, seven long years of serving him, protecting him, and, although she had yet to admit this to anyone including herself, loving him.
Thoroughly embarrassed, she pulled away from the unfamiliarity of Roy's embrace. Riza knew she was being silly; after all, no one was around to catch them behaving like that, and besides, she knew they were just friends. It was normal for friends to walk each other home. It was normal for friends to…help each other into jackets. It was normal for friends to…uh…caress each other's hair?
Riza shook her head rather abruptly. Now you're really just being an idiot, she mentally scolded herself. Roy is my superior officer, and he's only trying to be nice. But…this might be a little inappropriate… She quickly stepped back, widening the distance between them. Then, she tried to smile. She knew she had failed horribly. Her heart still hadn't stopped pounding.
Is that a…hurt expression on the colonel's face? she thought, startled. He looked like a wounded puppy. Aww…how adorable, Riza found herself thinking…
…But wait, I mean the idea of a puppy, not Roy...
Her heart betrayed her. It started pounding even harder.
A bit taken aback by his unexpected look, and more so by her unexpected personal response, she smiled gently and tried to alleviate the moment. "Thank you, sir, but can get home myself. Besides, I have a gun, and you know I know how to use it," she teased. To her relief, the awkward moment passed, and the colonel smiled. She was surprised, however, to see that it wasn't his usual arrogant smirk, but a small, genuine smile.
It was a smile she could fall in love with.
He took a step towards her, still smiling, and suddenly bowed deeply with a flourish, holding out a hand to her. "Please, I insist, Miss Hawkeye," he announced, "give me the honor of escorting you home." It was a comical gesture, and Riza couldn't help but laugh as he raised his head to look up at her, a twinkle in his eye. He sure is acting strangely today, she thought to herself, amused. But all right…
"All right," she said aloud.
Everything else passed by like a blur until they exited HQ, side by side, stepping into the velvety night sky.
The air was cool and soft and sweet.
There might be romance brewing amongst the military personnel.
"Against the rules! Against the rules!" come the loud cries, from the higher ups to the privates at the front lines, from their training, from the world.
But most of all, from their own minds.
Because it's hard to fight what's been pounded into you from day one, ever since you made the decision to become a dog of the military. It's hard to deviate from this strict, straight path without the fear that you may lose what you worked so hard for. It's hard, especially when everyone around you seems to be striving for the title of 'perfect soldier' and trying to get promoted; it's even harder when everyone seems like they're just waiting for you to trip up, to get yourself demoted…so that they possibly have that much more of a chance to win that (literal) gold star.
But then again, maybe it's not so hard at all.
I hear love can do extraordinary things.
-Fin-
A/N: Oh boy. Know what I realized? This almost seems like simply a longer, more detailed version of the previous one-shot, "Coat." XD…and yeah…the tone of this thing sure took a different turn since the first part of this story. I guess that's just what happens when that part was written/published about 9 months ago XD;; Yeah. Whoops! But actually, I'd like some feedback on that, about how the first part compares to the second, and whether or not the two parts actually fit together in any way, or if it would be better to keep them separate. Or something.
