"When Grumman said you were suicidal; this is not what I thought he meant."
"This is serious, Hughes," Roy said, his forehead flushed to the counter.
"I'm being serious. Bradley is going to set a hit man after you when he realizes Lieutenant-Colonel Roy Mustang, Hero of Ishval and infamous womanizer, deflowered his future wife."
"Why do you have to say it like that?"
"How would you prefer I say it? You fucked Riza Hawkeye?"
Roy merely banged his forehead against the counter before sitting up and turning to look at his best friend.
"What do I do Hughes?"
"I'm not following," he said with glee.
"If Master Hawkeye, or General Grumman, or Lord Bradley finds out…" Roy swallowed audibly. Now that he was saying it out loud, by bedding Riza he potentially made enemies out of three wealthy and influential men who could easily end his military and professional career. "I am a dead man."
"Should have thought of that before you let your dick do the thinking," Maes said as stood up and walked over to a cabinet across the kitchen. He pulled out two crystal glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "Normally, I prefer not to drink before"- he glanced at the grandfather clock across the room- "ten am, but I think this calls for an exception."
Roy smiled meekly. Earlier this morning, he had been blissly in a daze, snuggled against his pillow, wishing to relive the wonderful dream he had had of taking Riza into his arms and fully making her his. He replayed how flushed her body was against his, how her hands had pulled at his hair and how she had whispered over and over how she was his and his completely.
Half-asleep and encased underneath layers of down blankets, Roy had been hesitant to fully wake up, afraid that the delicate memories of his dream would fade away if he opened his eyes.
He was only roused by his need to use the toilet and after relieving himself, he chanced a look in the large bathroom mirror, almost tripping over his own feet at his reflection.
He was shirtless, collarbone exposed, and along with it the half-dozen bruises Riza had left along his chest.
It hadn't been a dream at all, he concluded in a sobering moment of both terror and joy. He and Riza had slept together last night. She had invited him into her room and, like the weak man he was, he had accepted her invitation.
Roy should have been embarrassed at his actions, but he was merely mortified by the potential consequences. And really, if he was being truthful to himself, he would do it all over again if it meant having Riza moan as she unraveled underneath him.
Upon further thought, it became abundantly clear that the consequences if their tryst were to be discovered, were horrifying.
"Relax, Roy," Maes said, pulling Roy out of his head. "No one is going to know."
"You can't be certain."
"You said you climbed through her window- a desperate move if there ever was one, I might add. It's reasonable to assume that no servants saw. I'd be more concerned if they heard you."
"We were quiet," Roy admitted quietly. "Had to be."
"Well okay then!" Maes said cheerfully, clapping Roy on the back. "You have nothing to worry about."
"But what happens if someone does end up hearing us?"
Maes froze at Roy's question, eyes wide with panic. "You're not thinking of doing it again, are you?"
Roy's sigh admitted everything. "I agreed to go back tonight."
"Oh no you're not. Roy, I was joking before when I said Bradley was going to murder you, but I can't stress enough how much you shouldn't start an affair with his wife."
"They aren't married," Roy said defensively.
"They will be soon. People can forgive a one-time thing, but an affair? Just what are you thinking? I know you like the girl, but there is a limit to my support."
"I know it's stupid," Roy grumbled. "I know it's the last thing I should do. But she's getting married in March and will be moving to Central. I should be back on active duty, serving who-knows-where. With luck we should never see each other again. But she's worth the risk Hughes. Even with every alarm bell sounding in my head."
"I've never seen you have it so bad for a woman." Hughes shook his head in disbelief. "And naturally, you pick the woman with the worst set of circumstances."
"Hughes-"
"Look, Roy," Hughes interrupted. "This is far from the wisest decision you've ever made. I don't like it. Just try and be smart and not get caught. Okay?"
Roy finished his drink and held out his glass for a refill. Hughes raised his eyebrow slowly, a telling look upon his face, before pouring another drink.
"Good morning!" The two men turned to see Gracia entering the kitchen, a fresh basket of groceries in her arms. "Oh, Roy, it's so great to see you today. Are you staying for lunch?"
"Yes please," he said simply.
"How was the party last night? Anything interesting happen, or was it just another stuffy military event?" Gracia asked as she unloaded the small bundle of vegetables into the sink. Her back turned away as she began to rinse them, allowing Roy's flushed face to go unnoticed.
"It was standard, although Bradley does know how to cater. The food was delicious," Hughes said, misleading Roy into a false sense of security that his secret was safe. Really, he should have known better. "Although Roy had a much more interesting night than I did."
"Oh," Gracia said, mischievously looking over her shoulder at Roy, a knowing twinkle in her eye. "How interesting?"
Roy took a drawn out gulp of whiskey. "Oh, you know."
Using a dish cloth to dry the freshly washed vegetables, Gracia placed them all on the table directly across from the men sitting at the bar top. Pulling out a chef's knife, she began to dice the potatoes into even squares. "Does this have anything to do with Miss Riza?"
"You're as nosy as your husband, sometimes," Roy said, his voice not fully committed to teasing her.
"So take that as a yes," Maes interjected. "Roy here thought it was a good idea to take Miss Hawkeye to bed last night."
If this revelation surprised Gracia, she didn't show it, allowing her attention to be consumed by the pot pie she was preparing.
It surprised Roy how genuinely annoyed he was that she had not reacted at all. "I didn't take her to bed. She asked me to join her on her own."
Gracia's knife froze mid chop and she finally looked up at Roy. "Sleeping with a woman on the day she's formally engaged. You really do have no common sense, Roy."
"That's what I've been saying!" Hughes said. "But, my darling, it gets worse. He likes her. I mean he likes her likes her."
"Of course he does," Gracia answered. "Anyone with eyes can tell."
"His feelings are deep. He's willing to continue this affair until his marriage."
"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Roy said, slightly irritated. He finished the rest of his drink before once again motioning for Hughes to give him a refill.
"I think two whiskeys this early in the day is a reasonable cut off." Hughes closed the whiskey bottle and stood up to return it to his small personal bar on the other side of the kitchen. "We're only talking because, honestly Roy, I never thought there would be a day where you would think more with your heart than your dick."
"Vulgarity aside, he's right, Roy," Gracia continued. "We don't want to see you get hurt. I'm sure Maes has lectured you about the professional and social consequences, but I worry about the emotional ones. Your emotional consequences. You've clearly fallen for a girl who can never be yours. This was bad enough before you had confirmation she felt similar. Now you've gone and acted on those feelings. Dummy."
"Some friends you guys are," Roy grumbled.
He paused, processing Gracia's words. She was correct, as usual. He had acknowledged, to both Riza and himself, that there was no way to avoid hurt feelings, but they had brushed it off as a child brushed off a skinned knee in an eager attempt to return to the playground. No, Roy lamented. Though he could only speak for himself, he knew he would suffer a deep heartbreak when they parted ways in the spring.
Loving Riza Hawkeye would leave a deep, gaping wound in Roy's chest and he had willingly begun to press the blade into his own flesh.
"We spoke about the emotional consequences briefly," Roy said. "Perhaps I should have thought about it more. I don't know. I just wanted to know what it would be like, you know?"
"Our Roy-boy is in love!" Hughes sighed dreamily.
"I'm not in love!"
"You're something, and it's more than just wanting to share her bed," Gracia giggled. "But seriously Roy, watch out for your heart. You're entering a gun fight with a knife. The least you can do is wear some armor."
"Do you think I shouldn't have?" Roy's voice shook with worry.
"No. From the brief interactions I've seen between you two- not to mention how you've talked about her all these years- this was inevitable. On the bright side, if this all explodes in your face, it's not as disastrous as it would be if she was already married and you could potentially run away together in disgrace."
The room was silent for a moment, aside from the quiet kneading of dough as Gracia began to shape the pot pies' crusts. Roy pursed his lips, desperately attempting to separate the complex web of emotions tangled deep within his mind.
For not the first time that day, Roy wished he was a better man. Riza- young, beautiful, innocent, Riza- had orbited his brain since the day it became clear she was no longer a child. His affection, though successfully hidden for years, had finally burst, flooding the pages of both their lives. He had known better. He knew better. But, with defeat, Roy came to the same conclusion he had numerous times before in similar tangents. He would die before missing his chance to truly know Riza Hawkeye.
Last night, she had writhed underneath him, her mind putty at his touch. Her mouth had gasped open as she allowed the most delicate noises to escape her throat. He had watched as her body rippled with ecstasy as she rode out her orgasm. Everything about her had been perfect and it was all for him.
Yes, he would die for this knowledge.
"This was inevitable," Roy sighed. "I would never have been strong enough to say no if Riza made her move."
"Which in and of itself surprises me," Gracia said. "Miss Hawkeye, though clearly fond of you, gave me the impression she's not one to break the rules."
"She's not."
"Apparently, you're the exception."
"She's also relatively repulsed by Bradley," Roy said plainly. "He calls her by her mother's name, never tries to get to know her and he's more than thirty years her senior." He wrinkled his nose at the thought of Master Hawkeye's willingness to marry his daughter off to a man older than himself.
"If you ask me, society needs to abandon the idea of arranged marriages," Hughes said. "Plenty of people marry for love. Just look at Gracia and I. We could be the shining example on why."
"She's rich. It's different, Maes," Gracia said. "Riza comes with land and titles."
"Did you ever think you would get to pick your husband, Gracia?" Roy asked. He realized that, despite knowing the couple for nearly as long as they had been together, he did not truly know if their marriage had been opposed by Gracia's side of the family.
Maes' parents, Roy knew, owned a small chain of general stores in West City. Though they were financially comfortable, they had no family name, no legacy and no titles to protect. His parents had married for love and Maes had never expected anything less for himself.
"Yes I did. My parents also married for love," Gracia smiled at the thought. "My grandparents were the first in my family who did, if I remember correctly. I wouldn't be surprised if arranged marriages start to die out by the time we have children- even for the rich."
"The rich play by their own rules."
"There will be plenty of other ways for them to continue to control their money and power without selling their children off to creepy old men," Hughes said pointedly. "Speaking of rich people, I had time to review the documents you gave me. Let's head to my study. We can get out of Gracia's hair while she finishes lunch."
"You boys are never a bother. At least not with this little liquor in you," Gracia lovingly teased. "The pot pies are just about ready for the oven. I'd say half an hour at most. I'll come grab you two when it's ready if you haven't emerged."
After putting his glass in the sink to be washed, Roy followed Maes out of the kitchen and upstairs to the small study his best friend kept. The room, unlike the rest of the house, was not tended by Gracia or their weekly housemaid, leaving it a cluttered mess. Stacks and stacks of papers lined every available surface. When the Hughes family had moved into the townhome after their wedding, this room had been the first priority when upgrading to electricity, perfect for the late nights Hughes often spent- though rarely admitted to- pouring over his papers searching for the small lies and the hidden truths.
Hughes immediately pulled out a binder stuffed full of loose papers, many of which had numerous notes in his sloppy scrawl. Opening the binder, he shuffled around the contents for a few moments before finding what he was looking for and holding it out to Roy.
"Read this and tell me what you think."
Roy took the paper from Hughes. It was an order form, clear and precisely detailed. Fortunately for Hughes, the accountant of this company was meticulous with their work.
"That's a lot of gunpowder for a textile factory," Roy said after a long while.
Hughes had been observing Roy's expression the entire time he pondered over the document. "Isn't it? Look at the date."
"Quarter 2, 1888." Roy frowned. "This is around the same time as the info I gave you."
"How often does Lord Hawkeye do business with the Archers? Do you know?"
Roy ran his hand through his hair. "Only sometimes. I've never met with a representative from the family, so they are not a big enough business partner for Berthold to bother forging extended relationships with. I can dig deeper into it if you need me too."
"Yes please, and the sooner the better. We were at the academy in 1888. There is a chance the Hawkeyes and Archers did a lot of business that you simply are not aware of."
"That's not unreasonable," Roy agreed. Internally, he racked his brain for any obvious information he may have missed. "But I'll have to look into it nonetheless."
"None of this makes sense," Hughes said. "I'm heading out West soon to visit Gracia's family. They may not be wealthy, but we are hoping her brother has enough business connections to look into similar occurrences. The Western border was at war not that long ago."
"You really think this extends outside of East City?" Roy asked, genuinely surprised by his best friend's plan.
"No. Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm not confident enough to bring my findings to my commanding officer, that's for sure. He thinks my leave is purely to visit family. Once I have more information, I'll inform the Colonel. Regardless, even if this is only isolated to East City, what we have gathered is messy and very, very questionable."
"You have my discretion, so long as I have yours," Roy said, a sheepish smile on his face as he once again remembered the reason he had showed up on Hughes' doorstep in the first place.
"Either way you look at this, from the paperwork to your bedroom antics, this isn't looking good for the Hawkeye family's reputation." Hughes leaned against his desk, legs and arms crossed.
"No, it isn't," Roy muttered. "Give me a little time. I can't have Master Hawkeye knowing I'm snooping through his records. Luckily, he doesn't pay too close attention. He's always focused on the current task at hand and nothing else. He invented the term tunnel vision."
"At least his oblivious nature helps you out in more ways than one." Hughes winked. "Now, I hope you're hungry! It smells like the pot pies are almost ready," Hughes said as they exited his office, locking the door shut before rejoining Gracia for lunch.
A/N: I hope everyone has a much better 2021. Good riddance 2020.
Sorry this is a little late. I should be back with my regular update early next week.