Chapter Five
Roy, if you're going to get off your ass and save me, now would be the time to do it! Hughes shuddered, barely able to cling to consciousness. Womack and Fisher were in the corner, smoking and talking about how they were going to bring Drachma to new glory with all the zeal of fanatics while they waited for him to wake. That they spoke so openly told Hughes he wasn't leaving this place alive. They weren't bargaining with Military Command for his release. If his kidnappers were to be believed, someone in Command had betrayed them all.
Hughes flinched when thunder clapped and the tin roof sang the lyrics of a downpour. It couldn't rain. It simply couldn't. Roy couldn't mount an attack in the rain. He was useless then. Something inside of Hughes broke. No one was going to get him out of this hell. Tears broke past his control and rolled down his cheeks. A stuttering sob escaped his lips.
"I think our boy is awake," Fisher said, glee in her voice. Hughes knew she couldn't wait to start in with him again. They weren't really even asking him questions any more. They were taking turns just to see who could make him scream louder.
"You want to handle him? I have to go talk to Leslee and Stephen. They said they spotted the freak at a pub last night. I want to see if they know where he went." Womack came over and leered at Hughes
Maes wished he could at least get a hand free to wipe his face dry. "What do you want now?"
"Your friend doesn't seem to care much about you, does he? He's out drinking while you're here." Womack chuckled maliciously as he tapped Hughes' damp cheek.
Hughes just looked away. Would Roy really do that to him? He didn't think so but Womack sounded so sure.
Womack twisted and looked back at Fisher. "Why don't you leave off asking him about the freak and see if he's more forthcoming on what the Amestrisians dogs want with Drachma?"
Fisher took a long drag on her cigarette. "Fine."
Womack headed out and Fisher came over to the bedside. She puffed smoke at Hughes. "How I'm expected to learn anything without proper tools, I'll never know."
"There's nothing to learn," Hughes told her. "I'm not who you seem to think I am."
"Are you sticking to that story? Ah well, I'll just have to improvise." Fisher puffed on her cigarette then touched it to Hughes chest.
He clamped his jaw shut tight, swallowing back the pain. "I don't know anything. I'm not in command."
"Then who is? The freak?" She moved the cigarette between his legs, touching delicate flesh.
Hughes sobbed. "Yes!"
She sat back, putting her cigarette back between her lips. She rolled it around. "Really? I wonder if we were lied to then about you. I think you earned a little break while I discuss this with Womack." Fisher pulled on his bound wrists. "These are a bit loose." She pulled metal handcuffs out of her back pocket and clamped one around one wrist and the other to the bed post then disappeared out the door.
Hughes tugged on it and knew instantly he didn't have much hope of slipping free and at this point he truly was too weak to run for it. He had betrayed Roy. He had let slip something of importance. What have I done? Hughes gave in to the pain and fear, sobbing softly in the quietness of the empty room. I'm so sorry, Roy. If his best friend died before him, Hughes knew he would never survive it.
X X X
"You need to eat, sir," Hawkeye argued with Mustang who wanted to just get back to sleep. "We haven't eaten in almost twenty-four hours. The proprietress serves three meals a day in the dining hall. The clerk said so when you checked in. You're no good to Hughes if you pass out from hunger."
Mustang glared at her, willing her to stop making sense because he didn't want to waste a second. The truth was he was running on empty and needed a few more hours of sleep, food and maybe a little topping off of the blood he had lost. He also knew as poor of shape as he was in, Hughes had to be in far worse condition. If he's even alive. "I know, Hawkeye. I'll eat," he gave in, forcing himself up.
Once down in the dining room with a few other happy couples, Roy wondered how out of place he and Hawkeye looked. The gash in her forehead swam in a sea of purple bruising. Roy knew he had to look like death warmed over. He tried to forget the aches in all his muscles as he grabbed for the mug of hopefully-strong coffee one of the waitresses set in front of him without asking if he wanted any. He probably looked like he'd die without it.
"We have eggs and bacon today or you can have oatmeal," the waitress said, a bored expression on her pinched face.
Mustang made a face. He loathed oatmeal. "Eggs please."
"Same here." Hawkeye smirked at him when the waitress bustled off. "Got something against oatmeal, sir?"
"Everything. It's lumpy and grey and my father insisted on it every morning for breakfast. I hate him...I mean it," Roy grumbled then flushed a bit, realizing he had hinted at something he hadn't meant to. His relationship to his father was no one's business but his. He really was spent, useless for much of anything.
"Well, at least they have eggs," Hawkeye said, taking a hefty drink of coffee, carefully avoiding the subject of his father.
"And the coffee's fortifying," Roy said when he meant he was surprised the stuff didn't just dissolve the spoon then slink off on its own power. It was worse then the stuff Hughes used to brew on the cook fires in Ishbal. Roy bit his lip trying to banish memories of his friend so not to be overwhelmed. "I could use it. My brain's mush."
"I know. We'd both do better if we just crawled back into bed," she said, then turned red all the way to her roots. "That didn't come out like I intended."
"I know what you mean," he said, wishing he had time to do just that to get some sleep as much as for the chance to touch her beautiful body. Roy's eyes scanned the room. The dining hall was fit for the morning after a wedding, all lace and flowers and gauzy curtains. It screamed of sweetness and romance. He and Hawkeye couldn't be more out of place if they jumped on a table and started stripping. It seemed to him that people were looking at him too intently and it wasn't just because he was with a lovely woman. "Is it me, or am I under scrutiny?"
"I was thinking that perhaps someone's recognized you from the fracas last night," Riza said, her nose wrinkling at the thought.
"That's why I was hoping to avoid using my alchemy...well, there are things I can do to help us go a little less noticed. We'll have to go back to the room before we leave the hotel to see what we can find out about those men" Roy said, rubbing his tired eyes. His side hitched as he did, the bullet graze twinging.
Riza nodded and they fell silent, concentrating on their coffees and trying to wake up. The conversations that swirled around them were soft, leaving the soldiers with the impression they were the only ones here not on a honeymoon. When the piles of scrambled eggs and bacon came, Roy found he had more than his usual appetite, which was normally minimal. He scarfed down his breakfast with unaccustomed speed, his belly protesting the assault.
"Is everything to your liking?"
Roy glanced up, mid-chew, and saw a chubby, elderly woman standing next to the table. Her smile seemed to go all the way up to the bun she had her ashen hair in. He swallowed. "It's very good."
"Oh good. And you dear?" She turned her gaze on Riza.
The lieutenant managed a sunny smile. "Delicious."
"Well, I'm Dori and I own the hotel. I try to meet with all my guests to make sure your needs are being taken care of," the old woman said, patting Riza's shoulders in a grandmotherly way. Roy could tell she liked packing her hotel with people in love.
"It's a lovely place, thank you," Roy said, hoping to shoo her away.
Her wrinkled face crinkled in a smile then she leaned close and said softly, "Though I doubt you're here to enjoy the company of such a lovely lady, are you, Alchemist?"
Roy made a face, setting down his fork. "I was afraid someone would figure that out."
"State?" Dori's jovial look faded in an instant.
He held up a hand. "We're not looking to cause you any troubles."
"Good. I have sons on both sides of the borders." Dori's mouth pinched. Seeing military around makes me nervous."
"We're just looking for a group of people," Hawkeye said, ignoring Roy's 'shut up, Lieutenant' look. "White badges with-"
"Red stars," Dori finished for her, spitting the words out like a glob of gristle. "I have no time for those fools."
"You know who they are?" Roy hissed. Shock wrote itself across his face. He resisted the urge to grab her and shake the information out.
Dori's face screwed up as if she had sucked a bushel full of lemons. "You'd be best to leave them alone."
"I can't." Roy struggled to keep his voice down. "They've kidnapped a friend of mine."
"Then you had best hope they killed him quick. That crew is nothing but ugly," Dori said, her color draining out. The eggs turned leaden inside Roy's belly.
"Please, tell us what you know. No one will know who put us on to them. My friend could still be alive and I want to keep him that way," Roy pleaded, not willing to let a potential well of information dry up.
"We don't want to cause problems for you," Riza said, reaching for Dori's wrist.
"I don't know anything about Drachma Liberation Front," Dori said, her eyes shifting nervously, looking to see who might be listening in. "But I might be able to introduce you to someone who can...not now. Tonight."
"Thank you, but we don't have time..." Roy said but her hard look stopped him.
"All I know is that they think Drachma should defeat Amestris. Come tonight. I'm sorry about your friend. It's the best I can do," she insisted, pulling away from them.
Roy nodded, weighing his options, deciding he needed her as a friend. "I appreciate that. Thank you. We'll do our best to lead no one back here."
"And I'll appreciate that," she said grimly, then pushed off to greet other guests, her happy hostess smile sliding back into place.
Hawkeye leaned forward. "This is good news."
"If you ignore the part about Hughes probably already being dead," Roy said miserably, shoving his plate away.
"I am because of what we've already talked about. If they wanted him dead, they would never have taken him in the first place," Hawkeye argued, polishing off her coffee.
"Unless they've done with him whatever they needed to or got whatever information he might have had." Roy almost pounded on the table but stopped himself. Dori wouldn't appreciate it and she might be the only link to finding Hughes. "But it still doesn't track. Hughes is my subordinate. I can't imagine what they think he knows unless it's about me and they could have just taken me."
"Unless..." Hawkeye looked around and saw the couples at the nearest tables were taking too deep an interest in them. "We should probably talk about this upstairs."
Roy nodded and got up from the table. He led the way back to their room.
Hawkeye reclined against the mantlepiece, looking like she needed it to hold her up. "As I was saying, sir, what if this is just what you fear it is, a set up from Central. People there know of your friendship with Major Hughes. It's not like it's a secret. Maybe someone is trying to isolate you from someone who could...I don't know, help your career or something like that. I know some people are jealous of you attaining your rank at such a young age. Hughes also strikes me as very perceptive and that can be dangerous."
Roy pressed a fist against his lips, considering that. "Certainly not unheard of for them to play a political game like that. I feel sick. If this is because of me-"
"It's not your fault, sir. No one could have predicted this." Hawkeye put a hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch slightly, too angry to be comforted.
Looking into her brown eyes, Roy sighed heavily. "I guess the why's don't matter. We need to get back out there and see what we can turn up about the Drachma Liberation Front. We'll worry about the why's when we're killing them." Grabbing his kit, he stomped into the bathroom and plugged the sink. He let it fill with water, tossed in some raw minerals from his kit then dunked his head. He transmuted the chemicals and water until his hair was left a blazing gold, taking care to not forget his eyebrows. He toweled his head off and grimaced at the man in the mirror. There was no hiding his almond eyes and his coloring was all wrong for a blond but at least he'd be harder to recognize this way. "Hawkeye, come here please."
"Sir?" Her querulous tone was soft and she didn't near the open door.
Roy snorted. He should know better than to ask a subordinate into the bathroom. He poked his head out and her eyes widened. "Come here. I want to disguise you a little, too."
"How did you do that? More alchemy?" She pointed to his blond hair.
"It's pretty simple, kid's stuff really. I made mine bright amethyst once just to see what my teacher would do." He grinned, like the errant boy he had been at the time. He drained and refilled the sink.
Hawkeye's eyes danced. "And?
"Cinzia proved that hair is a privilege not a right." Roy tossed in a different chemicals into fresh water. "I looked stupid bald. Here, just bend over the sink and get your hair into the water."
Hawkeye undid her hair clip and leaned down. Roy put his hands in her hair and standing behind her with her bent over was a little much for him. He had to take a deep breath and concentrate before the head that didn't think took over. The transmutation done, he eased her up then handed her a towel.
She gave herself a critical once over. "Redhead?"
"It doesn't look bad on you. I like the blond better though," he said, his tongue stumbling over the words as he propelled her back into the bedroom. The bathroom was a little too enclosed for him. "Unlike me...my blond is ugly."
"It's not really you." she agreed, toweling off. She dropped her clip in the process.
"It'll do its part to conceal us at least a little." Roy stooped and fished up her clip. He caught her hair, sweeping it back so he could clip it into place for her. He put his hands on her shoulders, surveying his work. "There. Ready?'
"Yes, sir."
Roy's hands lingered for a moment on her shoulders, as he looked at their reflection in the mirror. Hawkeye twisted, her eyes meeting his. On impulse Roy leaned down and kissed her. When she didn't pull away, he captured her chin, his mouth working against hers ardently then as if lightning struck, Roy jumped back. "What am I...I'm so sorry, Hawkeye! I didn't..."
She pulled out of his hands and went to retrieve her guns from the dresser, her face flushed. She started to say something but words didn't come out.
"I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I apologize," Roy said, slapping a hand against his forehead. What had come over him? One second his mind was consumed with trying to get his friend back and the next he could think of nothing but how wonderful Hawkeye tasted.
"We'd better get out there, sir," she said, heading for the door.
Roy was grateful for the chance of escaping this room, the awkward moment and his own chaotic thoughts.
X X X
"At least it's warmer today than it's been," Hawkeye said, trying to put a better spin on the whole horrid experience of patrolling the streets of a border town neither of them knew. Her legs were exhausted from trudging up and fighting to keep from rolling down the insanely steep roads. These people could keep the Briggs Mountains as far as she was concerned. Mustang's mood was foul since they hadn't found so much as a hair of the Drachma Liberation Front
"For all the good it did us," he grumbled, heading into the nearby gun shop.
Hawkeye sighed, thinking at least she'd be able to pick up some ammo, even if she was tempted to use it on him. Riza tried to blot out the reasons she was angry at him. It had nothing to do with his ire and frustration and the horrible mood he was in, and had everything to do with her being furious with him. He made her hunger for him so much with that kiss. She wanted to hate him for it, for making her senseless with desire. She felt useless out here, her mind not consumed with business like it should be. Riza knew she couldn't seriously consider what that kiss had promised. He was her commanding officer. She couldn't, wouldn't do that sort of thing. She wasn't cheap but how would he know that from the way she had thrust her tongue into his mouth?
The gun store was too empty. There was nothing to draw her eyes away from his lean form, from those smoldering eyes that he couldn't hide with his alchemy. Dark as the forest at night, she could get lost in them just as easily as a child in those legendary evil forests from stories of childhood. Riza knew she was hopeless. She wanted him over her. Sleeping next to him had been nothing like those horrid nights in Ishbal, sweating in her tent next to several other stinking soldiers. Mustang had been warm and the bed too luxurious for her to ignore the possibilities. She had woken up once in the night, wrapped around him, the knobs of his spine digging into her chest.
He hadn't been resting easily either, murmuring in his sleep, his body tense. She had felt exceedingly wrong about it but she hadn't been able to resist pressing a hand to his belly where it was exposed by his hiked-up shirt. His skin was softer than she expected, hairless, quivering just a bit under her hand. Riza wish she could have seen that flesh clearly, expected it to be as smooth and as white as pearl. What hid just south of where her hand had rested? She wondered then. She wondered now. Yes, she truly was useless. She had barely seen him beckoning her to follow him out of the store. How was she expected to see the enemy? Riza needed to clear her mind. Outside, the sky was deep grey and the rain that had begun seemed to match her mood.
Just as she was about to dip deep into a well of self-recrimination, Riza spotted a tall walnut-tresses woman coming out of candy store, a heavy brown sack in hand. She had seen that face before, at the attack. She was one of the ones who had pulled Hughes into the truck. Riza grabbed Roy's wrist. "There, sir. She was one of the ones who grabbed Hughes up. I'm sure of it."
Mustang stiffened, his features twisting in a way she hoped would never be turned on her. She had heard of what Flame could do. She never wanted him to be after her with such anger in him. Hawkeye had seen the fires in Ishbal, heard the explosions and the fearful whispers of her fellow soldiers. No one really wanted to be near the alchemists. They seemed more like gods than men and ones like Flame, Crimson, Silver, Cerulean, and Ironblood were more fierce than most. Hawkeye could see why that was now. "Follow her," he grated out. "I don't just want her. I want the rest of them, too. I'll wager she's not here alone."
His order surprised her. Hawkeye could see how wrapped up Mustang was in saving his friend. She didn't expect him to do something that made sense tactically. So, maybe he wasn't just a lieutenant colonel because of the things in Ishbal. That made Mustang even more attractive. Handsome was one thing, intelligent made him all the more dangerous to her heart.
They followed the woman two blocks until she met up with two other men near a truck, nondescript, worn but there was no way of saying if it was one of the trucks used in the attack. One of the two men sported the white shield. Mustang reached out and took Hawkeye's hand, pulling her close. His arm slipped around her and she realized he was trying to make them look like any other couple on the street. They might be able to get closer this way. They at least made it across the street before the woman's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing.
"We don't have time for tour..." she started to say just to warn off what she thought were hapless tourists, then her mouth pulled into a grimace. "Nice try. I think the freak's shown up, boys."
"What, Fisher?" one of the men said as the other leaned into the truck, quickly rummaging around.
Lightning forked and the rain really started to pelt down. The woman smiled. "The traitor we broke said the freak was the leader and look here, he spared us the trouble of hunting him down."
"I really hate being called a freak," Roy growled, his hands tensing. He leaned closer to Riza and said, "We need your guns, Hawkeye."
"Guns?" She already had two of them unholstered. "Can't you just..." Hawkeye trailed off, glancing upwards into the deluge. "Oh damn, you can't in the rain, can you?"
"No spark, no fire," he hissed and she pressed a gun into his hand. He trained it on the tall woman. "You can make this easy and just take us to Hughes."
"Just drop that gun and you'll get to see him, no problem." The Drachmaian woman flashed a viper smile, edging toward the truck. One of her fellows shot at him and Hawkeye.
Roy dodged for cover and Hawkeye moved in the opposite direction, firing. He saw one of the rebels fall. Damn if she wasn't well named. He fired as well; at the very least winging the Drachmaian woman's other companion, and the smug look faded off the woman's face, realizing that she wasn't dealing with easy targets. She leapt in the truck and gunned the engine. She wasn't that tough when she realized she was out manned.
Roy raced after the truck until he couldn't run any more. He knew he had no prayer of stopping it. He cursed the rain. If not for that, he'd have her at his mercy, which was pretty limited at this point. Hawkeye loped up behind him.
"She left her companion, sir...but I did a little too well in targeting him," she said hesitantly, making a face.
"I told you not to kill them, Hawkeye," he snapped.
"Sorry, sir." She met his angry eyes levelly.
"She knew where to find Hughes and I let her go because of the fucking rain. I'm so damn useless..." Roy's body shook. "Now what? They know we're here. They know what I am and we don't even have a good way of following them since we're on foot."
"Getting a vehicle isn't easy and wasn't needed to scour the town for them. You couldn't have known," Hawkeye said placatingly.
"Of course, I could. They had trucks when they hit us the first time. We can't screw this up again, Hawkeye. Hughes won't last much longer," Roy said, trying to ignore what the woman had said. Hughes might already be gone. He had certainly given Roy's rank up, or at least the rebel had wanted Roy to think that. If they had been betrayed by someone in Command that could have been the broken link or she could just have assumed the alchemist would be in charge.
"What now sir?"
"We see if we can find anyone who knows these people. We start at that candy shop. For people who hate Amestris so much, they sure spend a lot of time here."
"Wasn't this town once part of Drachma?" Hawkeye asked.
Roy just shrugged and headed for the shop.
X X X
"The rain's turning to ice," Hawkeye said, shaking her hair out as they ducked inside the hotel's lobby. "We have to stop searching, sir, so I'd appreciate it if you quit yelling at me for making you come back. Besides, Dori said she's help us tonight."
"So, is my lieutenant telling me to shut up and eat and otherwise be a good boy?" Roy said, trying for lighthearted and hitting bitter.
"I'm saying you can't be so hard on yourself, sir, and maybe we'll get lucky here tonight with Dori's contact," Hawkeye said, heading into the dining room. Eyes floated their way. "Maybe we should have gone and dried off first," she whispered sardonically.
"Too late now."
"Don't you look cold," the waitress said, with a regretful wag of her head at seeing their condition. "I'll seat you by the fire."
"Thanks."
Roy sat lost in his own thoughts even after the hearty dumpling soup came and well past that course and to when they started on the beef in blood plum sauce. He appreciated Hawkeye leaving him alone, even though he suspected she didn't want to just eat in dead silence, shivering in her frozen clothing. He felt terribly guilty when the whiskey custard pie with brown sugar meringue came out. It was the one thing he actually wanted from the meal. Again, he was a lousy friend, stuffing himself with sweets when...no he wouldn't think on it. When Dori appeared from nowhere just as he and Hawkeye were licking up the last crumbs of crust, Roy had to wonder if she timed it purposefully. A middle aged man who looked to be carved from one solid piece of muscle was at her side.
"Was dinner to your liking?" she asked brightly and loudly.
"Delicious," he replied, his eyes flicking to her companion.
"My son, Lisander," she added much more softly. "He's in the Drachmian army. I think he can help you." She left them and he sat with them.
"Would it be safe to assume you were involved in the shooting of rebels today?" Lisander asked, no recriminations in his green eyes.
Roy shrugged. "What do you know about them?"
"That we've been trying to ferret them out," he scrubbed a hand over his short sandy beard. "We have a good idea where they might be but what exactly is your involvement?"
"We were ambushed, two of my men were killed and one taken. We want him back," Roy replied. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Mustang and I was dispatched here to be certain nothing threatened the peace our countries have achieved. We were aware of rumors of contraband runners that were doing just that."
Lisander's weathered face tightened. "We had heard similar rumors and it is probably worse than you know. I am not at liberty to say much, just that the Drachma Liberation Front pose an embarrassment to my country and, as you said, could threaten the peace we are enjoying. We have been planning to stop them but we have been trying to discover how far their roots go. I'll check with Investigations and see if we have some ideas of their strongholds in this area so we can assist you in retrieving your man. We do not want more Amestrisians soldiers having to come into the area. I'm sure you understand."
Mustang nodded. "At the moment there you will only have to deal with myself and my lieutenant." He gestured at Hawkeye. "We appreciate your assistance in this..."
"Major Ferrick," Lisander supplied.
"Major Ferrick. I think Command will be satisfied that these people are a rebel cell that doesn't represent your country. There should be no reprisals," Mustang said, wondering if that were true. Yes, Gran had told him not create an incident but it hadn't escaped his notice how willing Command was to fight a four-sided war. That had never made sense to him.
"And I'll inform my Command of what is transpiring and of your willingness to work with us instead of against. However, while I know we are on your side of the border and I have no jurisdiction here, let me suggest avoiding further gun battles. If you fail to capture them, they might decide withdrawing is a better option and move somewhere Investigations is unaware of." Lisander's eyes went grim. "Or worse, realize just what they might be up against, Alchemist."
"Point taken but when can I expect to have the information we need to rescue my man?" Mustang's voice went tighter than a wine cork.
"By no later than mid-day or very possibly earlier, I'd think. It would be best if you remain here where I can find you easily," Lisander suggested.
Mustang took that as if it was an order and probably a wise one. "We'll do that.. Thank you, Major."
Lisander got up, nodded to the soldiers then spun on his heel and left.
"Sir, do you really think that Command will be all right with you working with the Drachmaian army?" Hawkeye queried softly.
"I'm not telling them. Our reinforcements aren't here yet." Mustang didn't want to tell her that he wasn't all that sure they had even been sent. "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission. I'll just tell Command we have some leads and we'll follow them in the morning. Once the mission is complete, we'll inform Command of how we managed it."
"Understood, sir." Riza took a final sip of tea. "Back to the room now?"
"Yeah. There's nothing more we can do tonight."
Hawkeye followed Mustang upstairs, locking the door behind them. She almost regretted penning herself in with him when she saw the expression on his face change. The reserved mask dropped away, revealing the fury beneath. It was worse than what she had seen in his eyes out on the street.
"I can't believe this rain. We wouldn't be in this position waiting on help if I weren't so damn useless." Roy slammed his fist into the wall.
"Sir, that's not accomplishing anything," Hawkeye said, wondering if that was her wisest move.
"Do you think I care? We were this close and I messed it up," Roy roared. "Because my gloves are useless in the rain and I didn't have anything to cause a spark. All I had were some damn matches, just as useless in the rain. How much time do we think Hughes has left? I may have just cost him his life."
"You weren't alone out there, sir. I didn't do much better," Hawkeye reminded him, not willing to back down.
"But not because of your own arrogance," Mustang snapped, his slender body trembling with blind rage. "I'm so self assured with these damn gloves that I've gotten sloppy. You don't even want to know what I could have done with that water if I had just thought to bring a lighter."
"Then we'll get you one before we go out again," Hawkeye said calmly, very sure she didn't want to know what he could transmute water into. "You can't cry over spilled milk, sir. We might not have gotten Hughes back but we have gained an ally. That is no small thing."
Roy's shoulders slumped. "I know. It's just..."
"You're worried about your friend. I do understand that, sir." Hawkeye put a hand on his arm.
Roy glanced down at her fingers wonderingly. He hadn't forgotten what had transpired between them in the morning. "Like you can't believe. He is the best friend I've ever had and I know that he's hurting now. I know this and I can't do anything about it."
"I understand, sir. Why don't you sit down." Hawkeye touched his shoulder. "You look like you're ready to collapse. We're both exhausted and hurt ourselves."
Roy shook his head so she pushed him toward the bed. He sat down before she knocked him on his backside. What was he going to do with such a forceful subordinate and why did he like it so much?
Hawkeye sat next to him and he wished she hadn't. The distraction she posed was too much. "Do you have any more ideas as to who may have set us up, sir?"
"No." Roy ran a hand through his hair. "I probably won't have enough clues until I get back to Central. That's where it had to come from unless this is far more coincidental than I suspect."
"Highly doubtful."
"Agree." Roy flopped back on the bed, trying to toe off his shoes. "Why don't you take the shower first, Hawkeye?"
"Sore as I am, I'd love to take a hot bath." She sighed heavily.
"Go on. That tub's built for two, literally. I think Dori was offended no one was using all the fancy oils she stocks the room with," Roy replied, rubbing his eyes.
"Dangers of staying at a place meant for trysts." Hawkeye replied, looking down at him reclined on the bed.
"Well, in the long run, it was a good thing I chose here to hide out in." Roy propped himself up on his elbows. "We might be able to find Hughes tomorrow if Lisander comes through."
"He will."
Roy sat back up and touched her hair. "We should probably just leave the colors as they are for the duration though I'm not sure red suits you...though I think I said that this morning."
"You don't make a very good blond either but it does make your eyes really stand out." Hawkeye didn't touch his cheek or trace his eyes but he thought she wanted to.
Roy ran a finger under his eye. "Just what I need, as if they don't already make me stand out in a crowd."
"I like them," she said softly.
Roy knew invitation when he heard it. Most of his anger had already drained away, taking his fatigue with it, leaving too much room for feelings he couldn't afford. He leaned over and kissed her hungrily. Her hands went around his neck, pulling him closer, teeth clashing. Her tongue pressed into his mouth. She tasted of brown sugar and plums.
He sucked her in greedily, bearing her back against the bed. Riza moaned softly as he pressed against her. Her body yielded to him, her feet rubbing against his calves as she let him between her strong legs. Roy rocked his hips against hers. The heat of her penetrating her still damp clothing intoxicated him. She arched under him, rubbing against the hardness of him, soft, growling sounds of need rumbling in her throat. He slipped a hand up under her shirt.
Riza writhed under him. She pushed on his chest, prying her lips away from his. "Please, let me go, sir. Please!"
Roy, surprised at the look of panic in her eye, rolled off of her. He touched her cheek with a shaking hand. "I...I thought..."
Hawkeye swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, her chest heaving. "I'm sorry, sir."
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...damn!" Roy shoved off the bed. "I'm not normally like this. I don't know what came over me."
"It's safe to say it overcame us both," she said, her lip curling at her lapse of judgement.
"I don't...you're a subordinate. I know the rules and regs. I don't break them," Roy paced the room. "But damn it...this isn't right."
"What isn't, sir?"
"You calling me 'sir' for one thing while we're like this." His hand swept between them from his oh so obvious erection to her flushed face and the press of her nipples through her shirt. "I can ignore my baser impulses. Yes, you are one of the most arousing women I've met in a long time but if that was all it was I could gladly set those feelings aside in deference to our careers."
"I know, sir...Roy," she broke in softly. "Or I should say I feel the same. You didn't read me wrong. I invited it and I know better. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that whatever I did, whatever path I follow, I'll get where I'm going on my own merits." Hawkeye curled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I promised myself no one would ever accuse me of sleeping my way to the top. I've seen those women, grew up with some of them, grasping, using. I swore that wouldn't be me."
"I don't think that of you," he said, hurriedly. "I don't use my subordinates as a harem no matter what rumors you might hear."
"I'm an exception?" The bitterness in her voice would have needed a pot of honey to ameliorated.
"In more ways than you know. The last thing Maes did before we went on that mission was to yell at me for going into a free fall over you. Lust I can ignore but not this feeling of wanting to know everything about you, of feeling lost and not wanting to be found. This is not supposed to be happening. I don't like feeling like I fell off a cliff."
Riza wet her lips, too stunned to reply. She had been utterly unprepared to hear him opening his heart and believing every word of it; just as unprepared as he had been to let it just spill out.
Roy wanted to take it all back. He hadn't wanted her to know the things percolating inside him. It was just wrong in so many ways. All his desires were out there now, where they didn't belong, putting pressure on them both. It would have been kinder to just let her chalk it up to pure lust that got out of control. Now she knew she held too much of him in her hands.
Roy rubbed his knuckles over his lips. "I...we should get some sleep, Hawkeye. Forget all of this. I'm sorry...I'll sleep in the chair."
"Sir... you don't have to. We can trust each other to behave, can't we?" she asked, shakily.
"I'm too tired to argue." Drained was more truthful. His emotions had left him wrung out, limp like wet paper.
After speedy showers, they ended up on their sides, clinging to the edges of the bed with enough space between them to fit another person. Roy wasn't sure if Riza was asleep or not. He wanted to turn over and hold her. He didn't. He eventually slipped into a fitful sleep.
Riza was roused when something hit her. Her mind filtered closer to consciousness and she realized Roy had kicked her calf. He was still on his side, his fists in tight balls as his feet twitched. His face was twisted in obvious distress, little sounds rumbling in his throat. She couldn't imagine what sort of dream was causing this. "Roy," she said softly, touching his shoulder.
He screamed, nearly rolling out of bed. Riza caught his shoulder, hauling him back. She couldn't see his eyes in the dark but his ragged breathing told a story, fear so loud it nearly engulfed her. One of his hands grabbed her arm hard and she knew he was looking at her but she wasn't sure Mustang recognized her. He tossed his head back against the pillow letting out a jagged moan. "Damn...sorry. I'm sorry."
"It's all right, Roy." She skimmed her hand over his shoulder. "It was just a dream."
He shuddered, rolling away from her. "I should have warned you."
Riza rubbed his back. She no longer cared about sending messages. This one she wanted him to get. She did care for him. "Not your first nightmare."
The acrimonious sound he made might have been a twisted laugh or a sob. She couldn't tell. "Hardly."
"Ishbal?"
He just nodded, his hands twisting in the sheets.
"It gives me nightmares, too," she said, softly.
"I should just go sit up in the chair. I won't sleep again. You should try to get some rest," he murmured.
Riza looped her arms around him. "Stay. I probably won't get back to sleep either." She pressed her cheek against his shoulder. He smelled of slightly of sweat over the spiciness of that woodsy soap he used but she didn't care. "Talk to me."
"I don't want to talk about the dream." He twisted a little in her arms. She thought he must be trying to look at her but she didn't meet his eyes.
"I don't want to hear about that. Talk to me about anything else."
"I don't know what to say. Maybe you should let me go," he said.
Riza sighed, rolling over. She flicked on the bed stand light, shielding her eyes. Behind her, he grunted. She got out of the warm bed and tiptoed across the cold floor to her kit. Her book of poetry was in it when Mustang had liberated some of their belongings from the other hotel. She handed it to him and crawled back into bed. "Then read to me."
He gave her a dubious look but opened the collection of Kit Aurin's work. "Caught in the whirlpool that's between us, we're drawn closer, inextricably, gravitationally." Roy cleared his throat, blushing a bit.
"Maybe a different poem?" Riza felt like the flush didn't end with her face. She was hot all the way to her toes.
Roy set the book aside. "How about I tell you about the Ravensdales? They're about the only thing good about my childhood. He started me on my way to becoming an alchemist and Jenna, his daughter, is the one who makes the soaps and stuff."
Riza smiled, settlings back against the pillows. "I'd like that."
Roy wet his lips. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with this. He knew he wouldn't sleep again. Reading poetry might be dangerous. Besides, he wanted her to know him, needed it. Even if what they were feeling was doomed from the beginning he still had to let her see him for what he truly was.