BWinner's Note: I'm back looking through the Hawk's eyes again(yes that was lame, I know)… I didn't really mean for the story to bounce back and forth between Mustang and Hawkeye like it has been, but it's made the most sense to me thus far. I kind of like being able to tell things from both of their perspectives, especially with the emotional tension between them right now. Also I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter; family obligations have kept me from my writing more than I would have liked. I hope to be more punctual with future chapters.
Crossing the Line - Ch. 5
Riza fought to break herself from her frozen shocked state; Breda would likely be coming back down the street any moment, so silently she stole back to her alleyway across the street. Riza maintained her position for another four hours or so, enough to ease her mind that no one was coming to cause trouble for the Colonel, before packing her gear and making her way back home.
The next morning was rather unwelcome in how early it came, but beyond fatigue the sniper realized just how unnerved she still remained regarding what she had heard the night before. Continuing on in this state wouldn't do, so Riza made up her mind to go to the shooting range at the military base. Perhaps concentrating on her craft would clear her mind of the nonsense occupying it. Methodically the young woman made her way through her small apartment gathering her things; riffle, scope, and pistols all went into her case. Once satisfied her gear was together, she fed Hayate before eating a quick breakfast herself and heading out the door.
Riza held a certain affection for the gun range in the morning; it was still relatively cool, and quite often she was the only person on site. This morning was no exception and she found herself more relieved for that than usual. Soldiers generally kept to themselves anyway, but it was nice to have the ability to connect with her weapon and have absolute concentration on her shots with no distractions. Targets had already been put in place for the first group of shooters so Riza picked a spot near the end and set up. It felt like it had been a long time since she had used her rifle so it was the first to be taken out; attaching the scope and inserting a cartridge into the action she overlooked the weapon carefully before easing to the ground and getting into position.
The sniper concentrated now, concentrated on the feeling of the hard, cool ground beneath her, and concentrated of the weight of the gun in her hands. Everything felt right, and oddly that comforted her. Bang! The first shot whizzed down the range and hit the chest area of the target just to the left of the bull's eye. She was out of practice. Bang! Her second shot left the barrel and this time connected with her intended area on the target. Satisfied with her improvement things became more focused. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three shots met their mark and created a tight collection of holes in the image of the chest.
Under any other normal circumstances Riza wouldn't have combined her personal issues with her training, but as each bullet left the chamber, she could almost feel more of her scattered thoughts go with it. It took her no time to empty the remaining rounds and she released a pent-up sigh. Her marksmanship was unaffected, and that was a relief to her. Perhaps even despite the all of her confused feelings, she would still be able to continue with her duties. Nothing would prevent her form doing her job to assist the Colonel, not even the tumultuous range of emotion she was currently trying to sort through. With a more level-headed approach she replaced the cartridge in her riffle and began a new round of shooting.
Things continued on in that fashion for an undetermined amount of time, Riza never bothering to look at her watch. Each of her techniques was worked over from her riffle to her pistols and finally she was satisfied with her practice that day. It was early afternoon by the time Riza packed up her gear and left.
She took her time getting home and stopped at a local deli on the way to bring back lunch; at least this way she wouldn't be worrying about cooking and could focus more on reading her texts. So far things looked like they were going to be manageable, she was able to keep her skills and her emotions in check and at the moment that was all that mattered to her. When Riza finally reached her doorstep, she was surprised to hear her telephone ringing. Quick as she was able, she fished her keys from her pocket and hurried in the door.
"Good afternoon," she greeted, after snatching the receiver
"Lieutenant Hawkeye," the sharp voice of Colonel Mustang began at the other end of the line. "I'm sorry if I interrupted you, but I'm going to need you to come back here."
"Sir, I – "but her firm voice was soon cut off.
"Listen to me Lieutenant, I just got a phone call from Havoc, he's going to be arriving later this afternoon and I'm sending Breda to get him and take him to his apartment. Falman and Feury are going to be too busy setting up some important contact points for me, so I need you to drop what you're doing and come back." His tone left no room for argument.
"Yes, understood Sir," she affirmed and hung up the phone.
He was using his no-nonsense commanding voice, which meant the pieces of the puzzle were going to be falling into place soon. Havoc returning meant that Doctor Marcoh would be able to get over to a safe meeting location and heal both his paralysis and Colonel Mustang's eyesight likely within the next few days. It had already taken Havoc longer than she thought it would to make his journey back to Central, but she supposed it must not have been very easy for him to just pull up stakes in his home town so quickly. Admittedly Riza had the selfish thought that since the events of the past few days she would have appreciated a longer amount of time to pass before being in such close proximity to the Colonel. That was truly an unfair mindset though; not only for Havoc, but also for the mission they were trying to build.
At any rate it appeared as if she wouldn't be at home very long. It was quite fortunate she hadn't completely dismantled her bag from when she had first stayed at the Colonel's; with a few quick additions she was ready to leave once more. However, there would be one addition that couldn't be avoided, and she slipped a leash on Black Hayate to accompany her. With everything settled she locked up the apartment and began making her way back to her superior's apartment.
The drive felt long considering the circumstances; while she was confident, she could still perform her duties amidst the feelings coursing through her, that didn't change the fact that things were going to be awkward between her and the Colonel for a while. If things weren't resolved between her and Colonel Mustang it could put further hindrance on their plans and Riza didn't think she could be responsible for that.
Riza finally arrived at her superior officer's doorstep and took a steadying breath before giving three short raps on the door. When she was met with silence after a minute or so she frowned and knocked again. After another moment she heard shuffling and a few crashes on the other side of the door before it opened, revealing that it was in fact Colonel Mustang himself answering it.
"Sir!" she exclaimed. "What in the world are you doing answering the door, where is Breda?"
"I sent him home to take care of things before he needs to go and get Havoc," his voice was still stern as it had been over the phone.
She entered silently but retained a rather unimpressed frown. He could have had the decency to wait until she had arrived before discharging Breda to other duties, but of course he had always been reckless. Placing her bag by the door she unclipped Hayate's leash and the little dog immediately ran towards the Colonel.
"You brought your dog?" he asked, his voice more curious than serious; he then bent down to give its head a reassuring pet.
"Given the circumstances I didn't have time to find someone to watch him. If he's going to cause trouble, I can make some phone calls and find a friend or kennel to look after him," she replied. Her tone was serious but she found she couldn't hide the slight tinge of a smile that crossed her lips watching her superior interact with her furry companion.
"No, it's alright Lieutenant. I don't suspect you'll be here more than a couple of days, if that. Doctor Marcoh is going to meet with us at Breda's sometime in the afternoon tomorrow for Havoc, and I hope to be there as well so he doesn't have to make numerous trips."
"A wise decision, Sir; especially considering discretion would be advised when it comes to using something like the Philosopher's Stone," she affirmed, and made her way to his dining area to place her bag of food on the table. "Would you mind if I ate? I had just gotten in the door when I received your phone call."
"No, it's alright," he permitted and made his way carefully towards the living room.
Riza sat and pulled out her modest lunch of a soup and sandwich; as she ate, she watched the Colonel in the living room out of the corner of her eye as he absentmindedly stroked Hayate. For a long while nothing was said, and the two sat as if they were in two completely separate worlds. Riza wondered what was on his mind, before realizing that was an entirely stupid thing to ponder. In a moment like this everything from the past couple of days, even couple of months would be pushed the back of his mind; all he would be thinking about would be his ambition, and the fact that he could finally start forging ahead again. Riza finished her meal relatively quickly and after cleaning up her mess she joined the Colonel in the living room.
"Is there anything I can do right now to help you, Sir?" she asked. Anything would be better than sitting in silence a moment longer.
His face fell into a slight frown, and he looked for a moment as if he were struggling to come up with what he was going to say. That conflicted and indecisive look wasn't one she liked to see on his face but given the recent series of events and what she had heard him tell Edward, she knew why it was there. It also told her that his ambitions might not be at the top of his thoughts after all.
"Yes, you can sit and listen to what I have to say," he finally replied quietly. "I met with Doctor Knox this morning; it's too long to explain, but he told me I'm developing something called night terrors and it's likely brought on by stress. Granted with this latest news from Havoc I'm not going to get much time to relax like he ordered. However, there are other steps I can take, and so there's something that I should probably discuss with you..." he trailed off, uncertainty now laced in his voice.
"I think I know where you're going to go with this conversation," she began hesitantly. Although confident she knew what he was going to bring up, and that there was likely nothing she could do to avoid it, it was still a little hard to forge ahead. "I heard you speaking to Edward last night, and you should know that I also care very deeply for you, but I - I don't see how it gets us anywhere to put these feelings out in the open if we shouldn't be acting on them."
The man before her gave a bemused smile and shook his head gently. "I knew you were out there; I suppose I just tried to convince myself that you wouldn't be within earshot," Roy replied. "Though it can't be helped now can it, so I suppose I should make an argument for myself. It's obvious how detrimental it's been to hold these feelings in. At least if we get this out in the open, we can decide how to proceed with our relationship."
"Well it is out in the open now, isn't it?" she asked pressingly. "As for how to proceed, I don't know. If we go ahead with anything, we risk not only our careers, but also the mission we've set out for ourselves and the good we want to do for Ishval and its people will become lost."
The Colonel's expression became more pensive and he sat silently for a moment. "All I can do is let you know my feelings. I've known you since we were teenagers, and you've been my subordinate for over five years now; to say we've been through a lot together would be an understatement. One thing that has been constant though is your complete devotion to my cause and the amount of trust you've given to me. You've always made me feel that you've believed in me, and you've kept through on your word to keep me an honest person and help me continue on the right path. Your stern but gentle nature, your morality, and your capacity to be one of the most compassionate people I know above all else. Riza, there's nothing I could ever do but love you."
With the tension in the room slowly crumbling he beckoned her towards him. Hesitantly she moved to sit by him and as she did was gently pulled into his arms. He said nothing at first; he merely held her and stroked her back in wide, reassuring circles. Riza couldn't help herself feel somewhat tense at first before easing into that embrace, and daring to return it, if somewhat meekly.
"I know everything leading to this point will contradict what I'm about to say next, but you have to believe me, I'm not here to pressure you into anything. All I needed was for you to know that I cared about you, that I love you," he stated softly.
In this moment, she believed him.
TBC...