The Way to a Man's Heart isn't by Crushing His Ego Chapter 25: You're Gonna Carry that Weight

"A little to the left. I can almost reach it," Roy said as he reached out in front of his body. He was trying to reach the floorboard above him.

"I can't... hold much longer…." Big Red said as he clenched his disgusting teeth. His whole body shook and his face was red from the strain on his body. He was trying to hold up both Roy and Dino. Dino was upon his shoulders and Roy was atop of Dino.

"Just a little longer, Big Red," Riza replied. She was down on her knees, reaching for Roy's hand. Why did they make this basement so deep? Riza asked in wonder. It was very deep, deeper then your average basement. Even with the three men stacked atop each other the distance from Roy to the first floor still had about a two foot difference.

"Don't be a wuss, Red. You can do it!" Jazz said as she watched from the opposite side of the hole. She stared down at them, standing up, but leaning over to see what was going on, hands behind her back, and a smile on her face.

"That's easy or you to say," Big Red snapped.

"A little more to the left, Red," Riza said as she leaned toward Roy, careful not to fall forward into the hole. We should have just started this whole thing from below me. But no, Dino and Big Red had to start it from the middle, now they have to try and get over here. Riza thought with irritation as she reached out farther, her arm began to ache again as it stretched out as far as it would go.

"Errrhhh," a noise escaped Roy's throat as he reached over, one hand reaching for Riza, the other clinging to Dino's shoulder. It was hard to keep your balance when you're on someone else's shoulders. He needed at least a little bit of support.

"Come on, almost there! You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!" Jazz said waving her stick like arms in the air. Her brown eyes were filled with great enthusiasm and excitement.

Roy glanced at her for a moment, irritation plastered all over his face. Then he looked back toward Riza and stretched out just a little farther. His muscles began to ache as well as he stretched. He felt as if his muscles were going to snap in half like a rubber band when it's stretched to far. "Ehhhhgggghhhh, got it!" he said happily as he clasped Riza's hand.

Riza felt a warm shiver barrel through her whole body as Roy grabbed her hand tightly and wouldn't let go. It was the same feeling she had when Roy wrapped his arms around her, saving her from the flame. She stared for a moment, an unsure look on her face. She studied Roy carefully. It was like everything else that was going on had disappeared and only she and Roy remained. She smiled warm and peacefully. She became lost in her mind. The images from when they were about to kiss rushed back to her, clouding her mind and making her whole body tingle.

"Hey, what are you doing, Chica?" Big Red shouted. "I can't hold 'em much longer!"

"What?" Riza asked as she suddenly snapped out of her mind.

"Pull, Lieutenant!" Roy replied as he clung to Riza, much like a child does to their mother when they are scared to death of something. They put their whole heart in being into concentrating on holding onto that hand.

"Oh, right," Riza replied. Her voice was quiet as her mind began slipping away again, but she didn't let it stray too far. She pulled hard on Roy's arm.

"That's it!" Jazz said as she saw Roy being lifted off Dino's shoulders. "You've got it!" she shouted excitedly as she ran around the hole and to Riza's side. She reached over, but couldn't reach Roy. So she grabbed Riza's arm and began to pull as well.

When Roy felt his body being hoisted into mid air he let go of Dino's shoulder and reached up and grabbed Riza's arm with his free hand. After he left Dino completely he was more or less clinging to Riza's hand for dear life. He was hanging God knows how many feet in the air, and there wasn't that much he could do about it. "Come on, Hawkeye!" he said as he tried to push himself up. There wasn't anything around for him to push up on so he just pulled up on Riza's arm, like he had done back at the training hall. Those stupid chin lift exercises. Once he hoisted himself up Riza felt her upper body being pulled down by Roy. His head came up close to her chest. He was almost up. Riza grabbed the waistband on the back of Roy's pants and pulled.

Ouch, that's gonna leave one heck of a wedgie. Dino thought to himself as he watched Roy's pants being pulled up farther and farther.

The weight that was lifted off Big Red's body seemed immeasurable. He glanced up and saw how close Roy's head was coming to Riza's chest. Damn, he's one lucky guy. He thought somewhat jealously to himself as he watched Riza and Roy come in contact.

Roy then grabbed for Riza's back. He got a handful worth of material from Riza's navy blue jacket in his grasp. He pulled up farther. Jazz then glanced down. A smile appeared on her face as she let go of Riza's arm, reached down, and grabbed the end of Roy's left leg. She pulled up hard, trying to get Roy's lower body up onto the first floor.

A strange uncomfortable expression appeared on Roy's face. He was being pulled out of a deep hole, he was clinging to Riza's jacket, his head more or less pressed up against her body, she was grasping the back of his pants, he had a huge wedgie, and someone was yanking on his leg. Here's a feeling you only have once in your life. He thought to himself as he tried to figure out what was really going on and why he was feeling all these different things on so many different parts of his body. Why he couldn't concentrate on the good parts of this were beyond him.

"Er…almost… there…" Riza said as she pulled. Her voice was straining as she tried to force her words out. The strain being put on her body seemed to make breathing impossible, and speaking all the more difficult.

Roy glanced up for a moment. He liked what he saw in front of his eyes. He smirked.

Pervert… Jazz thought to herself as she gave Roy and annoyed look, then she yanked up and pushed hard on his leg, almost bending the lower part of his leg all the way to up to his butt.

"Ah…. You little brat…" Roy sneered gritting his teeth, trying his best not to yell out in pain. A sharp pain was now searing through his leg and back as the ball of his heel touched his lower back. "It's not meant to bend that far…." he managed to get out. His voice a little bit louder and more irritated.

"I'm sure you could get it to bend that way if Miss Riza was involved in the game. Why not with me?" Jazz replied with a smirk. Even if he is the daddy, thinking about a girl like that is wrong. My dad looked at my mom that way all the time. After he did that he did bad things to her, she cried lots. I'm not going to let this daddy make Miss Riza cry.

Roy just growled at her. Lucky for him Riza was too busy concentrating on pulling him up to notice anything that they were saying or that Roy had been glaring at her chest.

"Al…most…" Riza pushed vocal sounds out of her throat again as she mustered up all her strength and pulled. She was able to lift Roy's body up about two or three inches on that burst of adrenaline alone. Those three inches gave Roy enough height to sling his free leg up and over the side of the floor.

"You've got it!" Dino shouted as Roy's heel hit the wooden floor with a thud. He then put all his strength in his leg and lifted the remaining lower half of his body up and over the side. Then Riza and Jazz fell backwards as Roy's body fell on top of them. Jazz and Riza lay side by side. Roy's body was draped across both of theirs, mostly in the mid-drift area.

"Errrrggghhh… he's heavier then he looks…" Jazz said as she tried to push Roy's chest off her small body.

Another burst of irritation overcame Roy's body, but he held in it. His face remained clam as he smirked with a satisfied smile and got up. "Thanks, Lieutenant," he said as he stood up. Riza was still lying on her back, trying to regain some of the strength she lost while lifting Roy. Her back and arms ached. She had without a doubt pulled all her muscles.

"Eh!" a surprised noise escaped her heaving chest as she felt Roy grasp her hand and pull her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he noticed how out of breath she really was. Riza's body seemed to give way under her. She fell forward slightly. Roy caught her before she fell too far.

"…Yes… sir," Riza replied after she huffed and puffed a few times. Roy had his arms around her upper body, in a hugging fashion. She was leaning on his chest for support. Her amber eyes staring at the floor as she tried to catch her breath for a few more minutes. "I'm fine, sir," she said again after she regained herself. She glanced up at Roy. A kind smile on his face as he stared down at her. Then he released her from his grasp, but standing nearby incase she fell again.

Riza stood speechless for a few moments. She was lost in thought once again. Roy walked passed the two females and looked around the old wooden building. He looked down at his uniform. It was a mess, dust all over. An annoyed look appeared on his face as he began dusting himself off once again.

"Huh?" Jazz said in a confused voice. Her small face changed glances between Roy and Riza. She knew something was going on, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Hey!" they heard Dino shout, "Get us out of here!"

"Oh!" Riza said as she snapped out of her thoughts once again and she and Jazz rushed over to the hole. Roy was still looking around the room.

"So this is where you've been hiding these last few hours, huh Hawkeye? I thought you would have found something a little cleaner."

Riza glanced back at him with an annoyed expression, and then she went back to Red and Dino.

"How are we gonna get them out?" Jazz asked. "They aren't tall enough to reach you."

I don't think I could lift them up either. Riza thought as she stared down at the large men. She had enough trouble with Roy, how in the world was she going to get men three times his size out?

Roy dusted himself off a little more.

"Nya…"

"Hm?" his attention was taken to the other end of the room as he heard a strange noise and a piece of wood move. At the end of the room sat a wooden box, in that box was more pieces of wood, it looked to be firewood. Why it was there was beyond him.

"Nya!" the strange sound was heard again, and then two little green orbs flashed out of nowhere, shiny, brightly, strangely, and some what creep-fully.

"What is that?" Roy asked quietly as he squinted his dark eyes, straining them to try and make out what the green circles were.

"Nya, nya!" the little noise was heard again.

"Hmmmm…." Roy pondered to himself as he began walking toward the small 'nyaing' creature. Little did he know he was on a weaker part of the floor. The loud cracking noises didn't seem to register in his mind at all.

"WATCH OUT!" they heard Jazz scream.

BAM!

Dino was standing on Big Red's shoulders, yes standing on his shoulders, and was trying to reach Riza's hand that way. Big Red had just tried to move a little ways toward Riza when Dino lost his balance. He fell backwards, taking Big Red down with him.

THUD!

Another crash was heard behind them.

"…Nya…."

"Mehhhh…." Roy groaned with swirly eyes as he lay on his back in the basement.

Riza turned around and didn't see Roy, but a pile of smoke, and a new hole. "Oh for the love of Pete!" she snapped.

"Pete?" Jazz said in a confused expression. "Who's Pete? Is he another daddy?"

"I told you I'm not pregnant!" Riza shouted. She couldn't control her hormones anymore.

Roy's eyes popped open when he heard the word 'pregnant'. "What? Hawkeye? You're pregnant? Why didn't you tell me?" he said as he stood up suddenly. That would explain the weird moody stuff.

"I'M NOT PREGNENT!" Riza snapped again as she walked over to Roy, somewhat in a stomping fashion.

"Be carefu-" Jazz was cut off. She saw Riza's stomping and was about to tell her to take it easy on the floor, but it was too late.

Crash!

Riza glared down at the floor evilly. Her boot went through the floor and looked as if it was being swallowed up by the wood around it. "Hmmmm….." she growled irritatedly. She pulled up hard on her leg, her boot exploding from its wooden captor. Then she walked the rest of the way over to Roy, careful not to stomp this time and regaining her professional composer.

"Uh?" Roy said when he glanced up and he saw Riza staring down on him. "Lieutenant! There's something there! Watch out!" he shouted.

"…Nya…" they heard the strange sound again.

"Hm?" Riza said as she looked up and over to the small green orbs.

Jazz looked as well. "Ahhhhuuuuooooo!" Excitement overcame her face. "It's Kiari!" she squealed as she ran passed Riza and to the other end of the room. "Come here, baby!" she said happily as she picked up a bundle of light grey fur.

"What's that?" Riza asked. She saw a black tail wrap around Jazz's waist.

"It's Kiari!" Jazz said again, and then she turned around to face her friends. In her arms she held a cat. It was a shorthaired cat. Light grey, almost a dirty colored white on most of her body, her face, legs, and tail was black. She had beautiful green eyes. "This is Kiari the Hell Cat! We call her that 'cause she always does that to people. She lures them in with her eyes just so they will fall through the floors."

"A cat?" Riza asked as she walked over to Jazz. She then bent down and rubbed the cat behind the ears. Then she and Jazz walked over to Roy.

Jazz bent down over the hole. "See her? Isn't she cute?"

I hate cats and little kids. Roy thought to himself as he looked up. His uniform once again filthy, the dust and dirt was even in his black hair. He glared at the little cat.

"Nya?" the little cat replied his glare with a confused sounding meow. She cocked her head a little to the left in confusion.

The scene switches back to the Central building. Hughes and Havoc are standing in front of the door to the mess hall.

"Are we ready?" Hughes asked in a serious tone. His arm muscles tensed at his sides as he readied himself for the upcoming battle.

"Uh… sure…." Havoc replied. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. Or that Hughes was so crazed up about it. This was the perfect time for a sigh and a cigarette. He glanced over at Hughes. The tall man with glasses standing beside him looked like he was about to go into a full fledged battle. He even brought his little knives with him. Havoc was unarmed.

"Let's go!" Hughes said in a macho voice as he and Havoc stepped forward. They opened the door and a bright light appeared, covering everything in the area, including themselves.

AN: Hi guys. Sorry you didn't get to see much of Havoc and Hughes. I thought the thing with Roy and Riza would be like one page, but it turned out to be about six. Sorry again. I told you I have a bad habit of stringing things out. I tried to add some sparks between Roy and Riza again for you. Hope you weren't disappointed.