Author's Note: Well, this is just a little break before it gets actiony (Is that a word? It is now.) again. Mainly a filler, explaining some stuff... yeah. It was fun to write. MORE ANGST! Bwahahahaah!
To my reviewers:
Torii: Yes indeed, poor Fuery and Havoc. Don't worry, all the sins (well, all of the sins available at the time... I can't use my favorite because of what happened in the Manga... Curses...) will make more appearances! w00t!
Sangosfan-katechan: Do not worry, I rarely (Keyword rarely.. buahaha) go that far. Me glad you like!
Dani-chan: Here it is, the waiting is over! (coughromanticfreakcough) LOL, ya know I'm kidding, Chief.
Taptaptap. Roy opened his eyes, fixing them on the door. Taptaptap. He checked his watch. Thirty minutes, almost on the dot. He put the watch back in his pocket, standing up and crossing slowly to the door. If there was one more... Taptaptap. He reached out a hand and turned the knob, opening it slowly. There on the other side stood Breda; the side of his face covered in a large bruise, Falman, who looked relatively unscathed, and Fuery, whose arm was in a sling. Quickly Roy ushered them in and shut the door, glancing up and down the hallway before it closed. By the time he turned around Breda and Riza had pushed Fuery into a chair.
"Colonel, whats going on?" Breda asked.
Roy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Those things that attacked us... were Homunculi." he stated. "Bradley is one, and his secretary.. Douglas or whatever she was called." He looked up at Breda. "You say the one that attacked you was a kid?"
Breda nodded silently. Roy rubbed his chin. "Hmm..."
"Sir.. are you saying this country is being run by.. these Homunculi?" Falman spoke up.
"Thats how it appears..." Roy said uneasily.
"..So why did they attack us?" Fuery asked.
"Bradley overheard me telling some of the higherups that he was a Homunculi.. They didn't believe me, of course, but now he knows I know about him..." Roy said softly, knowing his carelessness had almost cost them their lives. "He brought me into the office and gave his secretary, Douglas, orders to kill all of you, figuring I'd told you all what I knew..." He paused, rubbing his eyes wearily.
"Sir..." Breda began, looking into the wrecked bathroom. "What happened?"
Roy explained how he and Riza had escaped the Fuher. "When we got here he was already fighting her off. She.. she could turn herself into water.. she was trying to drown him..."
The room fell silent. "God... how long had he been fighting her off before you got there?"
"I don't know. A few minutes, maybe, he looked about ready to pass out..."
Breda shook his head. "Then what happened?"
"To tell the truth I don't really know. She blasted me into that bathroom, and I blacked out. I don't know how long I was out for. Lieutenant?" He looked up at Riza.
"No more than a minute, sir." She replied quietly, her gaze on the floor.
"...You alright, Hawkeye?"
She looked up at them, trying to say 'yes, I'm fine', but she couldn't rid herself of that image of Havoc, ready to give up, literally an inch from death.
"Lieutenant, what is it?" Roy asked.
"Its.. Havoc, sir." She said finally. "Had you been even a few seconds later, he.. would be dead right now." She took a shaky breath. "And he knew it, sir. He knew he was going to die, and I think... I think in the end, he wanted it."
A long, uneasy silence greeted this proclamation. "He doesn't deserve this." Breda said suddenly, shaking his head. "That must've been horrible, lying there, not being able to do anything..."
Silence filled the room once more.
"What are we going to do now, sir?" Falman asked after a few minutes.
"All three of the Homunculi escaped." Roy began wearily. "They'll regroup... come after us again... Staying together would be the smartest thing for now, we've got a better chance if they try a full-scale attack again. And with you and Havoc injured, we can't move to a better location..."
"So we just sit here and wait for them to come after us again?" Breda asked, frowning.
"Yes. Thats what we do."
Second Lieutenant Havoc awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. He opened his eyes, looking about the room. He was surprised to see Breda, Fuery, and Falman along with Roy and Riza, all asleep in the chairs scattered about the room. Riza's head was resting on Roy's shoulder. As Havoc watched, her head tilted a bit, and her eyes opened. She sighed, and as if just noticing where her head was she sat up abruptly, her eyes sweeping the room and landing on Havoc, whom was still watching her. A slight blush creeping up her cheeks she stood, straightening out her uniform and walking to him. "Hey. You okay, Jean?" She asked quietly.
He nodded. "Yeah, though my arms feel like lead." He nodded towards Fuery and the others. "When did they get here?"
"Last night while you were asleep. They were attacked too." She explained as she took a seat in the chair next to the bed.
Havoc looked back at them and winced. "Yeah, I can see that." His eyes were on Breda; the side of his face was deep purple. Falman was of course unscathed, and Fuery's injured arm was hidden under a small blanket. "Are the others okay?"
Riza shook her head. "No. Fuery was shot."
Havoc frowned. "Damn, is he alright?"
Riza nodded. "Yeah, it was in the arm, they got it all cleaned up last night."
Havoc sighed. "So what did Roy decide to do?" he asked after a pause.
"He.. said the best thing to do is stay here, so we're all together if they attack again."
"This isn't exactly the best place to stay if we're talking about defense, Hawkeye."
Riza blinked. "Well... Roy decided to stay here..."
"Its because of me." Havoc said suddenly. "He's making you all stay here, where it isn't safe, because of me."
Riza didn't know what to say to that. "Havoc... you know we're not just going to abandon you here..."
"Well you should!" he exclaimed suddenly. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm useless like this! There's no point in you staying here, Roy's just being stupid and letting me interfere with everything!"
"Jean, we're not going to leave you behind." Riza said forcefully.
"Stupid..." Havoc muttered, shaking his head, looking down at the sheets of the bed. "... it's stupid.. there's no point..."
"Yes there is, Jean. We're your friends, and we're staying, whether you like it or not."
Havoc just glared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly all the fight went out of him, and he sagged back against the pillows. "I guess I have no choice." He muttered wearily.
Hawkeye just gave him a small smile, patting him on the shoulder gently as she stood. Glancing behind her she saw Roy's eyes had opened, though he hadn't moved. Their eyes met, and he frowned a bit. Hawkeye sighed, shaking her head lightly. Walking to the colonel she sat beside him, watching as Havoc moodily reached for his pack of cigarettes, his eyes shut.
"This has been so hard on him..." She said softly.
"I know." Roy answered just as quietly. "But there's nothing we can do. If we could only find Marcoh..." His voice faded away as he sighed.
The pair fell silent again. "Riza I.. never thanked you properly for yesterday..." Roy muttered after awhile.
Riza looked up at him, startled.
"...At Central Headquarters..."
Riza smiled a bit, looking down at the floor. "I was only doing my job, sir."
"I'm just glad you're so good at it."