Ed was intrigued. Lieutenant Hawkeye wasn't one to display a vulnerable side, but there had been a flicker of sadness in what she'd just said, and Ed certainly noticed. But he didn't want to pry. Riza had been kind and understanding towards him since the moment they'd met, and in the last few days he'd fallen head over heels for her. The last thing he wanted to do was poke at old wounds, even if he was a bit curious as to what she meant. "I can wait." Ed shrugged. "And there's no need to explain. Just let me know when you're out of the shower, and don't worry about feeding Black Hayate. I'll take care of that." He smiled. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he wanted her to know that.
"You'll need to know the routine before you feed Black Hayate." Riza replied, reciprocating Edward's smile. "I keep him well trained." She explained, fetching a can of dog food from the cupboard and crouching down beside the dog bowl on the floor. "It's sit, left paw, right paw and lie down. Once he follows those instructions in order, then he's allowed to eat."
"Is all that really necessary?" Ed asked, confused as to why the breakfast routine was important.
"It is. I'm his commanding officer." Hawkeye replied, cuddling with her dog.
Ed smiled. She was hard to figure out. He'd never met anyone else quite like her. Although the routine seemed a bit excessive for a hungry dog, she clearly cared a lot about Hayate. "Ok. So it's sit, left, right, lie down. I think I can remember all that." He said. "Go and take your shower. Just don't use all the hot water." He laughed.
"Thanks, Ed." She said softly, running her fingers through his hair as he crouched beside Hayate.
Riza returned a few minutes later, dressed in full uniform and her hair bound up in her usual clip. "Shower's all yours." She said, lacing up her boots. "You'll need to be quick though."
Ed cleaned himself up as quickly as he could, redressed and went out the door close behind Hawkeye. He was almost in a dead sprint trying to keep up with the pace was walking at now that they were running a little late.
When they got to command, Hawkeye knocked on Mustang's door and they heard his voice allow them both in. "Sorry we're running a little late, Colonel."
"No… not at all." He said, looking at Ed and then Riza. There was a painful silence for a few seconds. "Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on between you two?" He asked, sighing. He'd clearly had this on his mind.
"I was a little caught up in the moment when you called me the other night, sir. I apologise if I sounded disrespectful on the phone." Riza apologised before Ed could speak.
"Well… were you serious?" Mustang asked.
"We are in a relationship, if that's what you mean." She admitted.
"Well that certainly came out of nowhere." Roy replied.
"I'll be the first to admit it was all very sudden, and I'm sure Edward will agree. But with all due respect, we were both unattached. I don't feel we owe anyone an explanation."
Roy turned his back on both of them. "I know you're probably thinking I'm jealous right now. I'm not going to lie, part of me is." He said, staring out the window. "Pre-empting the next question, no I'm not in love with Riza, Ed. So I don't want to stop you from getting on with your life, and you deserve someone who does love you, Riza. But we have been through a lot. She means the world to me, Fullmetal. Every time the Lieutenant walks out the door I'm worried we might not see each other again. So you treat her better than you've treated anyone you've ever met." He said turning to Ed. "Got it?"
"You have my word." Ed replied, with a slight nod. There was a mutual feeling of respect between the two alchemists in the moment.
"Colonel," Riza began. "You have seen the devotion Ed shows to those he cares about, and the level of commitment he puts into protecting them."
"Yes. I am aware." He replied.
"You are also aware it's usually me who stops you getting yourself killed, right?" She asked, smirking.
Roy smiled back. "Yeah. That's true." He turned away again. Ed and Riza waited for a painful few seconds for Roy to say something. "I think I'm going to handle my own work today."
"Are you sure? Just you on your own? Ed asked.
"Well, I could still get Havoc to do most of it. But I don't want to get too rusty, and I've been putting it off for a while. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you still have Marcoh's notes to decode."
"Decode? Wait, is Sheska finished transcribing them?" Ed asked.
"Yup. Just finished yesterday evening. You are aware that many alchemists write in code, aren't you? To me it appeared to look like an ordinary cookbook" He asked.
"Yeah. I've heard that they sometimes use code when they've got alchemy they don't want anyone else to find. Great alchemists have gone to all kind of lengths to keep their best findings a secret." Ed smiled, as if this was confirming his suspicions.
Roy looked at Riza. "They certainly have. Now go on, both of you get out of here and leave me to my work, before I change my mind."
