I'm so sorry that this took so long. School's a butt, and I'm teetering on the edge of falling into the D Gray-Man fandom. Seriously, 10 manga chapters in one sitting.

And Brotherhood's plot is making me happy! Ishbal's much more detailed and we FINALLY get to see the Rockbells! That and the newest manga chapter. I WANT CHAPTER 100 NOW! I heard that 100 was going to be the last chapter, but I don't think that's possible- there's too many lose ends to tie up!

This chapter's for all the RoyAi fans!

29. Things Left Behind

It was That Day.

This was the day Roy Mustang hated more than anything- more than his anniversary of Ishbal, more than the time his alchemy teacher Hawkeye had died right in front of him, even more than the day he found out just how big the whole Promised Day mess was.

It was the day Maes Hughes had been killed.

And of course, it was raining like a bitch.

If not for the rain, Roy was sure he'd be out in the graveyard stewing his angst and self-loathing, but as it was, he was stuck in his office, glaring at the piles of paperwork and stewing in said angst and self-loathing.

To make matters even worse (really, he hadn't thought it was possible), Hawkeye had confiscated his secret whiskey stash earlier that morning. He still didn't know how she had found it, but it didn't matter- it was gone.

Mustang heaved a sigh and gave the wall a deadly glower. The only bright side to the situation was that Hawkeye's desk was no longer in his office; she had moved back out to the main office when she realized that there was more slacking going on there.

So General Mustang was left to his own devices.

And in most cases, that was a bad thing.

But for once, instead of daydreaming, Roy had been doing some heavy thinking. He was pretty sure it was the lack of alcohol that had caused it, but it had helped him reach a conclusion:

He was tired of leaving things behind.

Since he had joined the military, it had been drilled into his head that emotions were nothing but a hindrance. And when he strove to take the country for himself, he had tried to distance himself from others. He was going to make enemies and they would try to go after those close to him. So by giving everyone the cold shoulder, he had eliminated that problem.

At least that was what he had thought.

The first time, he had left his childhood and Madame Christmas to learn alchemy. Granted, it hadn't been a conventional childhood, but he still loved that crazy woman like a mother.

Then Ishbal had separated him from most of his friends. They had heard and seen what he'd done and it scared them- Who knew what would happen if Murdering Mustang lost his temper?

Roy had thought that was it, but then Edward Elric came into the scene and everything went off the tracks.

Hughes murdered because he had found something out, Havoc impaled and crippled because he had followed Roy's orders, Hawkeye almost-deadly confrontation with Pride, and then Fullmetal's dismemberment and near-death in the sewers fighting the Homunculus.

It was a combination of his ambition and, paradoxically, his passiveness that had sparked the whole chain of events. If he had done some of the work and stood up for himself, then things would have been different.

So today was going to be That Day- The day in which Roy Mustang got off his ass and took a step forward.

Better late than never, right?

The alchemist stood and stalked over to his office door and swung it open forcefully. In the outer office, the rest of his staff fell silent and stared back in surprise.

"Hawkeye. My office."

He ordered curtly before sharply and retreating back to his desk.

Instead of sitting, the alchemist turned to face his window. He could hear the door closing and Hawkeye walking to the front of his desk, where she stood quietly.

The general risked a quick glance over his shoulder. Hawkeye was standing at attention, eyes narrowed with disapproval (after all, she had been dragged away from her work for an unknown reason).

Roy worked his jaw nervously. Pissing off Hawkeye had probably been a stupid thing to do, but he had wanted her to be alone. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of dismissing her and forgetting the whole thing, but that would be quitting, and Roy Mustang did not quit.

He turned around sharply to face his subordinate. "Hawkeye, I've been thinking."

Hawkeye's eyebrow twitched. "Really, sir?"

Was that skepticism in her voice? She really didn't trust him, did she? "Yes. And I came to a very important decision. It wasn't easy for me to decide, either." Roy paused and steeled himself. This was either going to go very well or he was going to have a bullet in quite an undesirable place.

"And what decision was that, General?"

Don't back out. Do it, Mustang, do it! Roy reached into his pocket, pulled out the box, and slammed it on the desk between them. Hawkeye looked startled at the sudden motion and reached for the box. Roy smirked inwardly- he had finally managed to catch her off guard!

As Hawkeye opened the small box, Roy cleared his throat. "Riza, will you always have my back?"

She looked startled at his words and then opened the lid all the way. Her eyes widened so much that Roy could see the reflection of the ring in them. After a moment, she snapped the box shut again and gave Roy one of her "you're-such-an-idiot" looks.

"Oh course, Roy. Somebody has to."

YAY! This makes me warm and fuzzy inside xD

So anyway, there's a poll up on my profile. Check it out and answer in honestly, please.