#9- Before we knew each other/ Unknown past
Time seemed to stand still outside the home of Roy Mustang; no one was in the area except Riza Hawkeye. She had gotten suspicious of her colonel's strange actions the past week and had decided to do a little searching for herself. Maes hadn't been any help; he refused to do any investigating for her. She remembered looking at the few pictures on his desk; one of her and him at the last military formal, one of his parents, and the last of a child she had never seen. He was cute with brown hair and deep red eyes she had only seen on Ishvalans before. As she came back to the present she heard a voice out at the end of the walkway leading to his front door. 'Come this way; no one will know we're here.' she recognized the voice as Mustang's. Quickly she scrunched down further, trying to conceal her body. Oh no… he's gonna find me… I should have just stayed home.. She thought as she heard the steps get closer. Riza wanted to die inside and crawl under a rock; she had been found out. "Riza; you can come out from behind the bushes now. I had a feeling you might show up tonight." he said, interrupting her little prayer to not be found. She slid out and stood up; brushing off the khaki pants and black shirt she was wearing and checking to make sure she didn't have anything in her long golden hair. "I'm sorry, Sir; you know it's my duty to protect you and when you began acting strangely, I took it upon myself to find out since you wouldn't tell me." she said, not saluting since they were both in civilian clothes, but bowing slightly. Roy smiled as she straightened up and walked over to her. "Come on in; I'll explain everything to you." he said, holding out his hand for her to take. She took it and allowed herself to be lead into his apartment where she instantly recognized the little boy standing next to the dark shape of a woman in the shadows; he had the same brown hair and red eyes as the one in the picture. The boy cowered in fear and gripped the woman's arm as Riza put her gun back in the holster. "No Gresen; she will not hurt you. She's like me; she regrets all she did in the war. Her name is Hawkeye;" he said, kneeling on the floor and holding his arms out to the boy. "Riza to some of us." he concluded as the boy left the woman's side and snuggled into Roy's embrace. She looked in the moonlight at the colonel and put two and two together; He had an affair while we were at war and now he's trying to make up for it by seeing the child. I knew there was something wrong. Riza's eyes became downcast and she backed away slowly, letting them have their space. "I'm sorry colonel; I didn't mean to interfere with your reunion. I'll just go now." she said, turning to leave out the door. "No; stay here a moment longer. I know you've got the wrong idea in your head and it's going to taint your view of me." he said, walking closer to her after she stopped. "During the war we all did things we regretted; well, I did something I don't regret. This little boy was just a baby when I found him inside a house I was ordered to burn. I heard the crying and drove in through the flames to find out who it was. I saw him; naked and helpless in a bed about to die from smoke inhalation. So I rescued him from there and took care of him in my bunk until I got an answer from the person I had sent a letter to. Maes will tell you; he and I took turns caring for the baby while we were at war. Oh Riza, this is my sister Leani; she's been taking care of Gresen since I got out of the Ishvalan city. I wanted to keep him as my own child, but I figured he would fit in naturally with Leani and her husband. " He said, letting his sister come forward. Riza looked at the woman and saw she had the same black hair as Roy, but her eyes seemed to be red with a little black in them. "Why are your eyes like that?" She said, looking over at him and back at his sister. "She has a genetic disorder that will turn her eyes red as she gets older; my brothers have the same thing. That's why I had her take care of Gresen. With his red eyes, we could say that he got a version of the disease that began earlier and spread faster." he answered, holding the boy close in his arms. "Do you have it too, colonel?" Riza asked, looking down into his eyes. "Not yet. It surfaces around your late thirties; no one knows if they have it until their eyes begin to change colors on them. Leani's just started changing around a year ago; I've got about 12 years before I find out if I've got it or not." he said, hugging his sister and letting Gresen go back to her. "Let's go; someone might be getting suspicious if they saw you come to my house." He said to her as Riza held her hand out to the boy. She shook his hand and then shook Leani's thanking her for the kindness she had shown the boy. Roy and Riza made sure Leani and Gresen got in the car safely and around the corner before they spoke to each other. "I'm sorry for what I've done colonel." She said at the same time he said, "I'm sorry for not telling you." They looked into each other's eyes deeply before continuing. "You should have known; that's something I've been trying to hide for four years now. I know you would have helped in any way you could had you known while we were in Ishval." he said, taking her hand and setting it in the crook of his arm. "No, I understand you; not everything has to be known by everyone." she said, letting her hand rest on his arm. They began walking in the direction of her apartment until she had to go across the street to get home. Standing on the street corner for a moment while they professed silently to continue supporting each other, he picked her hand up and lightly brushed his lips across her smooth skin before walking away. She knew he wouldn't want her to tell any one; it would ruin the reputation he had tried so hard to build. As she walked under the yellow light from the street lamps she knew she had learned more about the true Roy Mustang than anyone else had; he was more bent on making the country better at any cost of his than getting fame and glory like all the other alchemists were.