I'm soooo sorry, my internet went down, then my computer, then life got hectic. I'll try to get a new chapter up soon. Please forgive me, I know this isn't great, but it's decent.
Roy carefully closed the door to Grumman's study behind him and walked quickly away from the room. He only slowed down when he reached the doors in the cellar, some part of his brain secretly still afraid that Grumman would chase after him with more soul searching questions. As he entered the soldiers' hall, Roy heard the steady reports of gunfire coming from the shooting range next to him.
He walked in and saw Riza glaring at the target she had just shot at. She stood just in front of it, examining her work with slight irritation. Roy walked over to look at the target with her. He looked the target over, noticing tight clumps of bullet holes in all of the key areas.
"What's the matter, Riza?" He asked, silently counting the bullet holes. She looked over at him, the irritation not quite gone from her face.
"This one's off." She worried, pointing to a bullet hole slightly above the cluster of similar holes over the area representing the target's heart. Roy shook his head, pulling on his gloves.
"It's only a little off the main group. The rest of the shots were pretty close to perfect. Now, are you going to save this to beat yourself up over?" He asked, taking the paper from her. Riza shook her head, still glaring at the paper in his hands. The alchemist promptly crumpled it up and tossed it into the air a few feet in front of them. With a quick snap, he incinerated the offending target and turned back to Riza. "Come on, try again. I'll use your targets for my practice."
Riza nodded and took up her position again, watching her CO find a comfortable place on the wall to lean while he waited for the target. Once sure that he was out of harm's way, she raised her gun and began firing again, re-accustoming herself to the way firing the weapon felt with injuries. When she had emptied two clips into the target, she retrieved the target for inspection. Better, but there was still room for improvement. She balled the target up and handed it to Roy without comment before returning to her post. They continued on like that for a while, Roy keeping a close watch on the sniper to make sure she didn't overexert herself, before Mayaris came down to ask for Riza's help preparing dinner. Roy waved her on before retiring to the soldiers' common room to further acquaint himself with the night guard.
"So, how has your day been?" Mayaris asked as they walked up the stairs.
"It's been long. I took Roy on the grand tour this morning. We played chess until the men arrived with the paperwork. We did paperwork until you brought lunch and then Grandfather came home. He had some news and we resumed work after he left. When we finished our work early we went downstairs, that's where you found us." Riza responded, her forehead creasing a little as she remembered the news. She had pushed it to the back of her mind while she'd been downstairs. Mayaris just smiled at her. She knew, of course, what Riza was thinking about, but she'd picked up on something else.
"I heard a whole lot of 'we' in there, miss. Is there something I ought to know?" She teased gently, following Riza into the kitchen and beginning to shred lettuce at the counter. Riza looked over at her quickly as she drew a knife out of the block and began cutting up the peppers before her.
"I don't know. We're going to Grandfather's party together because of that amendment he manipulated the Fhurer's wife into supporting. But Roy and I have known each other forever, and I still can't get a good read on what he's thinking about me." The poor peppers were being cut up more quickly now, Riza was getting a little frustrated.
"You mean you two are going as a couple?" Mayaris picked up a few mushrooms and began slicing them. She watched Riza as she deftly maneuvered the implement, noting her frustration and the trace of sadness lurking on her face. Mayaris had met Riza even before her Grandfather had, and she could see straight through her, even when Riza was fooling herself.
"Yes, it is a date. A bit of a strange one, but a date." Riza nodded, tossing her peppers into the bowl and moving on to the next ingredient.
Mayaris looked thoughtful for a moment. Her wise, old face pensive as she mixed the salad. She carefully calculated her response before speaking.
"That's good. He seems like a good man, especially from what you've told me about his plans. He is afraid of me, which is too bad, I'd like to get to know the man that my Riza is following. How old is he?" Riza smiled sadly at the old woman as she began mixing the dressing for the salad.
"He is twenty nine. And you have to understand why he is afraid of you. He isn't exactly accustomed to having Ishbalans want anything better than a painful death for him. I don't think even you would have given me a chance when I came after the war if it hadn't been for what happened."
"True. That's why you told him that I was a friend of your grandmother's, right? Regardless, I'm glad he isn't too old for my grandniece." Mayaris set the salad down and hugged Riza. "So, tell me more about this young man. I know it takes an awful lot to interest you, sweetheart." Riza laughed. She would normally not want to talk about this to anyone except perhaps Gracia, but Mayaris was the closest thing to a mother she could easily remember, and she found herself wanting to tell her all about it. They chatted quietly as they set the table and finished preparing the meal for all of the people in the house. When it was finally all done, they separated to call the other members of the household to dinner.
The rest of the evening went smoothly. When everyone had finished dinner the night shift guards went out to relieve their companions and Mayaris served them their dinners. Roy and Riza were called away from a chess game Roy was playing against Grumman when Mayaris escorted a terrified Fuery and Havoc into the study.
"Lieutenant General, Colonel, Lieutenant." The pair saluted quickly, each casting an anxious glance at Riza. They hadn't seen her since she might have overheard their bet.
Roy glanced between his subordinates and the Lieutenant General. It would make sense for the lower officers to be afraid of the Lieutenant General, but the fear definitely seemed to be directed at his granddaughter. That was normal enough, but this seemed like something a bit different from their normal caution around her.
"Well, now that you have company I think I'll retire for the evening." Grumman commented, "Goodnight Elizabeth, Roy." The two waved back politely before turning back to the visitors.
"Sir, I'll go get the work that we finished. Fuery, may I have what you all finished today?" Riza waited for the young man to hand her the stack of papers patiently, shooting a warning look at her superior officer. She didn't want to put up with any more worry about her injuries. Roy shrugged in response. It wouldn't do any good to fight with her over it.
"Hey, chief? We saw Velta on the way in and he said there was something we ought to know about the Lieutenant General and the Lieutenant. Do you know anything about it?" Havoc asked curiously, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. Roy hesitated for a minute or two. He really didn't feel that it was his place to tell them.
"What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, maybe she worked for him before she worked with us? Of course, that doesn't seem too important, but that's what Fuery came up with." Havoc threw the idea out there. Fuery glared at Havoc for bringing up his idea. He knew it didn't seem important, so why did he bring it up?
"Hawkeye fought in Ishbal before she started working for me, Havoc. You shouldn't be so inquisitive about your superiors." Roy tried to dissuade them from following the line of questioning, but Havoc was not ready to let it go.
"Chief, you know! Come on. Tell us. You can tell us the news about what Intelligence has picked up at the same time." He wheedled. This time Fuery spoke up too.
"Please, sir. We're afraid it might have something to do with why she was attacked!" He begged. Roy sighed and sank down into the chair Riza's grandfather had used the night before. He could tell that Fuery was genuinely concerned. Roy was saved the necessity of answering when Riza reentered the room; her face clearly asking what Fuery's comment had been about.
"Velta told them that there is something they should know about the Lieutenant General and you. Fuery is concerned that it may have something to do with why you were attacked. I was about to tell them that that wasn't the case. They also wondered if there was any more news about your attackers." Roy explained warily.
Riza closed her eyes for a moment as though to ward off the impending questions. She then crossed to the couch and sat down at the end near Roy. Fuery and Havoc watched her with some trepidation. They followed her lead and sat down in two of the other armchairs near the fire.
"Thank you for waiting for me." Riza murmured under her breath to Roy as the other two seated themselves. Roy just smiled encouragingly and caught one of her hands in his. He gave it a light squeeze before releasing it as Riza smiled and turned back to the visitors. The men in question had been fortunate enough not only to witness the exchange, but also to have just managed to fight down their astonished grins when Riza turned back to them.
"I appreciate your concern, but you should know that this has nothing to do with the attack. Very few people know about it, I don't bandy it about, and there is nothing truly sinister about the information." She warned.
Havoc opened his mouth to protest, but clamped it shut almost immediately. To his great surprise, the mousy younger man next to him had jumped in with an objection very quickly.
"Ma'am, if there's nothing sinister about it, why all the secrecy? Why don't many people know about it?"
"Fuery, since when have you known Riza to be particularly talkative about her personal life?" Roy retorted. He was obviously on the defensive for his Lieutenant and wound a little tight. A warning look from the Lieutenant in question calmed him down visibly, but he'd gotten his point across.
"Oh, sorry sir. You're right, of course. The Lieutenant rarely speaks about herself. There was actually a pool a while ago about how long you two'd known each other before the rest of us came along… I don't think it was ever resolved." Fuery mused. He was oblivious to Havoc's frantic gestures to stop speaking.
"Is that so? Well… for your information, gentlemen, the Lieutenant General is my grandfather. As for how long Roy and I have known each other, I think you'd be surprised." She said. The men were caught between terror at the irritation in her voice and amazement. Havoc's cigarette fell from his lips and Fuery was frozen. Roy chuckled, leaning forward to pick the cigarette up before it burned through the carpet.
