Roy snorted, shaking his head as he fell into step with her. How typical for her to take offense at the slightest things. He held the door open for her, just to be difficult, and smiled at her when she scowled. "After you, Major General."
It was easier to be contrary out of sheer spitefulness with her, after all.
The restaurant interior was just as upscale as the exterior, owing much to the patronage of the upper echelon of the military, Roy was certain. Even the waitstaff looked overpaid, if the appearance of smug complacency hanging around every single one of them was anything to go by. Their waiter had just gestured for them to follow when another member of the staff ran out, tapping Roy's shoulder.
"Colonel Mustang?" he asked, heaving a sigh of relief when Roy nodded. "A lieutenant has been calling all over the area looking for you. He says that he has a message."
He? Well, at least he wasn't going to get chewed out by Hawkeye. Gesturing for Olivier to wait for a moment, he followed the man from the main waiting area to a back room, picking up the phone receiver from where it was resting on a desk.
The man on the other end wasn't from his office, wasn't even a name he really recognized, but the man seemed frantic, spouting on and on about some incident just south of Central, in an area that should have been virtually uninhabited.
An explosion, he thought mournfully as he walked back out into the main hall. So much for his lunch.
"Major General," he said, catching her attention. "I'm afraid we're going to have to reschedule. Something has come up that needs my immediate attention." Apparently, anyway.
Olivier raised an eyebrow at the statement he just made. Noticing that he didn't look too pleased about the news he had gotten. She was looking forward to harassing him some more while they ate but now that he had to leave, she didn't want to be left behind in a fancy restaurant all alone. Hmph, so much for lunch.
"Oh no you don't Mustang. You're not leaving me here on my own. I'm coming along with you."
She stood up from the chair she had sat on while waiting for him and straightened her uniform.
"Come on then, let's move out." She added with a sly grin as she started to head toward the front door.
Roy would have refused, would have demanded she leave him to his work, but she outranked him. That's all there was to it. It was an unfortunate truth that she could order him to do something and, barring contradicting orders from his immediate supervisors, he would be obligated to fulfill her request.
Resisting the juvenile urge to roll his eyes, he pushed her chair in after her and followed her our of the restaurant to where the corporal was waiting at the car. "To the south end," he said to the surprised looking man, then climbed into his seat.
"There's no guarantee that this will be worth your time," he said, glancing at her. "As a matter of fact, it would be preferable if you returned to headquarters, Major General." Not that he was stupid enough to think she would.
"But if you insist... There was an explosion," he explained. "In the southernmost area of Central. There aren't any military bases there, just a few scattered slums. It was probably just a gas leak."
Roy wanted to sulk. He could have been dining in a fancy restaurant, giving his one rival for the fuhrer's seat hell, but no. He had to do work. What was the world coming to?
Olivier could clearly see from his tone and way he held himself that her presence on this little excursion was not wanted. She really wasn't interested in Central and it's affairs but she rejoiced in the fact of knowing that her tagging along bothered him and that was probably the main reason she wanted to go.
After they had gotten inside the car, upon hearing his voice. She meet his gaze as he glanced at her and told her that there was no guarantee that it will be worth her time,and that it was better for her to return to headquarters. Her lips formed a slight grin at that comment and she narrowed her eyes as she stared him. Yes, this was going to be very interesting.
Noticing his disgruntled expression, she couldn't help but let a little laugh.
"If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to get rid of me, Colonel." She replied with an amused tone.
"And since this little explosion incident that so requires your attention, interrupted our little lunch. I plan on having some sort of amusement to make up for that."
"Seeing you work on the field should prove to be...stimulating." She added with a smirk.
"Trying to get rid of you, Sir?" Roy smiled. "And deprive myself the joy of your company? Surely, you misunderstand my intentions. I merely assumed that you had better things to do with your time than tag along on what's likely to be a ... tiresome and dull mission." God knew Roy didn't want to go, would give anything at that point to be out enjoying himself, even with the ice queen herself. "But I can't deny that my work," a slow smirk, "is stimulating. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself."
The power games they always played kept Roy on his toes, and he had to admit that he preferred a non-sparkling Armstrong to a decidedly sparkling one, as fond as he was of Alex.
The scenery whipped past them as the corporal drove them out to the deserted part of Central, the number of civilians they saw out of the window rapidly declining the further they drove. In the distance, a column of smoke was visible against the skyline. The sight of the explosion, Roy figured. A larger explosion than he'd previously thought.
Perhaps the afternoon wouldn't be wasted, after all.
"Are you now? I hope you're right, Colonel" She said with a slight grin. Was she warming up to him? No. That would never happen. But boosting his ego and making him think that his wily charms might have worked on her. Was going to be fun. Besides, she was bored and a little flirting never hurt anyone.
The power games they played were amusing at times, she had to admit. But they were even more fun if she had the upper hand, like she did now. Confusing him into thinking something which really wasn't. Playing with fire per say. She had to be careful, she didn't want to get burned.
As they drove past, she looked up and saw the smoke in the distance. Hmm, that looks bad. I wonder who could have done such a thing? She thought to herself. Central could be interesting after all. It looked like she was finally going to forget about the north, even if it was for just one day.
Well, it looks like it'll end here since my RP friend and I haven't RP-ed in ages. I'm sorry for those of you, who looked forward to the next chapter.
