Disclaimer: See Chapter One! XD

Two Little Bars

CHAPTER TWO

Riza's quiet sobs were soon broken by the sound of soft footsteps as Black Hayate bounded into the room, tail wagging as he carried his leash in for his and Riza's afternoon stroll. The black-and-white mutt was no longer a small puppy; he'd grown quite large over the course of the three-or-so years that Riza had owned him. Perhaps this was due to the spoiling and pampering that the blonde so often indulged him in, treating the dog like he was her very own child.

Black Hayate gently padded up to Riza, his dark chocolate eyes full of worry. He'd never seen his mistress in such a state-some sort of liquid dripping from her cupped hands, her confident form bent over in an uncharacteristic slouch, her chest heaving as she took long, raggedy breaths. He briefly wondered if her actions had something to do with –that- human.

-That- human, in Black Hayate's opinion, was a no good scoundrel. He took away Riza's affections from him; whenever –that- human was over, Black Hayate could count on being locked out of his mistress's bedroom, left to sleep on the cold, lonely couch. The dog narrowed his eyes as he thought about the black-haired man with the suspicious-looking eyepatch, who had visited Riza quite a few times at night over the past few months.

The first time the man had visited her, Black Hayate had nearly mauled him. If it hadn't been for Riza yelling for Black Hayate to "Stay!" and saying quite emphatically, "Bad dog!" (his least favorite two words in the entire world), -that- human would've been in the hospital for quite some time.

And maybe, if that had occurred, his mistress wouldn't be crying. The dog bared his teeth, thinking about what happened every single night –that- human came over. Loud thumps, whimpers, moans-even screams-could always be heard radiating from the locked bedroom door. And every single morning, when –that- human finally left, Black Hayate always smelled some sort of strange scent mingling in the bedroom. And the normally clean bedroom floor would be littered with whatever his mistress had been wearing the night before.

But, for now, Black Hayate pushed these thoughts out of his mind. His primitive instincts were taking over, and he really had to go. Gently, the mutt nudged his owner, whose sobs had now subsided.

Feeling the gentle nudge on her arm, Riza looked up to find Black Hayate staring at her, with an urgent look in his eyes. The dog, seeing that he had her attention, whimpered softly, and glanced at the bedroom door.

Oh, that's right. It's time for his walk…

Sluggishly picking herself up, Riza shakily walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and washed her face. The cold water brought her back to her senses; for now, the issue could wait. She couldn't be more than a month along-perhaps six weeks at the most. But most of all, she wouldn't start showing, hopefully, for a while…

And a walk would really clear my mind…

The woman threw on a grey sweatshirt, clipped the leash onto Black Hayate's collar, and made for the nearest park. As soon as the pair was out the apartment door, Black Hayate made for the nearest tree, where he promptly took care of "nature's calling". The blonde looked at her dog, just a trace of a smile on her lips.

Funny how something as simple, as constant as Black Hayate's daily ritual could bring a sense of calm to her troubled soul. She wished that she could stay in the moment forever, lost to this fake sense of normalcy. However, soon, Black Hayate was done, trotting towards the park, pulling his lagging mistress along.

As the blonde stumbled down the sidewalk of her street, her hint of a smile was soon replaced by a frown as she began to think about her predicament again. It was nagging at her, consuming her thoughts so that her mind was devoid of anything else except for it. Her crimson eyes flitted nervously from one passerbyer to another, and she couldn't help but think to herself, Do they know? It was afoolish, stupid, and irrational thought-she wasn't showing,and she knew it-but she couldn't help but wonder.

Have they ever seen Roy coming to my apartment? She doubted it, since Roy always made sure to come over under the cover of night (and she lived on the first floor, after all); but still...

And have they ever heard us? The blonde felt her cheeks grow hot as she asked herself this question. She and Roy were never too quiet about their lovemaking-the pair made love not out of habit or "just because", but as a form of release for the passion that they could not show publicly.

And now, their nighttime activities had resulted in this. She resisted the urge to let her free hand wander down and rub the area where heruterus was, to show her amazement, shock,and distress that she was going to be a mother! That she was going to have a child, a beautiful little girl or boy...

A child that Roy and I may not be able to provide for.

She swallowed hard. Funny how that her and Roy's salaries combined would financially provide more thanall the basic necessities and frivolities that a child could want, and yet,the two of them would probably be barred from doing so. It wasn't fair how, say, a homeless woman on the street (who certainly couldn't provide for a child born to her) was allowed to have and rear a child, despite the obvious.

And how she wasn't.

All because of who the father of her unborn child was.

A bark from Black Hayate snapped Riza out of her thoughts. The pair had arrived at the park, and the blonde hadn't even noticed it. The dog wagged his tail, expecting his mistress to engage in a game of fetch or something of the sort. But all Riza did was give the dog a weak smile, and sink into the nearest park bench, crimson eyes filled with a preoccupied look.

The dog whined once, and then laid down, head resting lightly on his front paws. If Riza's current distracted state had anything to do with -that- man, well...

Black Hayate was going to be sure to maul him, no matter what Riza said.

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Chatte's Notes: Yay to all my reviewers! You've prompted me to update sooner.

Thank-yous and cupcakes to: Puddles24, Tsunade-chan, Lady of the Storm, Teen Titans Terminator, and Tsume-n-carnet. –dances-

I tried to make this chapter a bit lighter, using Black Hayate's perspective. Yes, "-that- human" would be Roy. As you can see, the dog doesn't like Roy very much. xD I suppose that it would be safe to assume that (for now) the fic is going to be Riza-centric, dealing with her thoughts and feelings. ; Expect mood swings, food cravings, and etc. from Riza as the fic progresses.
As far as Roy goes, I'm still not sure how to incorporate him…yet. He'll probably show up somewhere in the next two chapters.

Again, thank yous to all my reviewers. You inspire me to write more, and your reviews are greatly appreciated ! –goes to work on the third chapter-