Chapter 4:
Morning came too quickly for them, light filling every corner of the room. Roy groaned, shielding his eyes in Riza's hair, managing to stay asleep. Riza stirred, opening her eyes and smiling. She could feel Roy's breath on her neck. His hands rubbed her lower back slowly, holding her close to him. Her hands rested against his chest, her legs entwined with his. She felt so relaxed; everything was so… so perfect.
At first, Riza leaned into him again, closing her eyes, attempting to fall asleep once more, but her mind found reality. She had to go to Headquarters in a few hours; there would be a meeting for the officers about the damage. She sighed, pulling away from Roy. She was careful not to wake him, this was probably his first decent sleep since he'd been gone. This task wasn't easy though; Roy wasn't willing to release her at first. She had to coax him. She shifted slightly, taking his hand in hers, whispering softly in his ear. After a few moments, she slipped away from him. She stood and watched him momentarily and couldn't help but laugh softly. He frowned, rubbing the spot where she'd been and whining like an infant who'd lost his favorite toy. This amused Riza, though she didn't like being comparable to a toy.
Hayate, who had woken up with the sun as well, jumped off the bed and followed his master into the kitchen. Riza turned on the coffee maker and fed him. The pup, pleased with his spoils, didn't bother following her back into the bedroom. Riza took a towel from the closet and her uniform -aside from her jacket- and proceeded into the bathroom.
She undressed and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. She sighed deeply, breathing in the steam. Meanwhile, Hayate, who'd finished his breakfast, wandered back into the bedroom. He looked at Roy who snuggled up with Riza's pillow. The pup whined softly, jumping back in the bed. His daddy was acting strange. Hayate laid down on the edge of the bed but soon found himself being tugged by the collar. Roy pulled Hayate up against the opposite side of the pillow and proceeded to stroke his back. This was the scene Riza found when she walked back into the bedroom. She laughed lightly, brushing her still damp hair and clipping it up before moving over to the bed.
Riza freed Hayate from Roy's grip, placing him on the ground. He sat beside the bed, watching his mommy as she moved toward his daddy. She took the pillow from him, again he protested but she coaxed it from him. After moving the pillow aside, she laid down on the bed, her legs hanging off the side, already dressed with her military boots. She brushed a piece of Roy's hair out off his eyes.
"Roy," She whispered, "wake up." Roy stirred, pulling the covers up over his head. Riza smiled, moving them back and moving closer to him.
"Roy" She whispered then kissed him, after a few seconds he began to kiss her back. She began to pull away, but he held her there for a few more moments. Finally, he released her, opening his eyes. He smirked at her, sitting up and pulling her into his lap.
"That was the best morning greeting I've ever gotten." He smirked.
"Oh, really?" She played along. "Even better than-?"
He kissed her again, hiding the slight blush that fell upon his cheeks. "Not better than that."
To this, she smirked. He was always the one to fluster her, so she enjoyed the times she did so to him. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. He moved slightly and began kissing her neck. Riza sighed softly, relaxing at his familiar touch.
"Roy, no, we can't. I have to go to headquarters." She spoke softly.
"...Alright" Roy whined, acting infantile. He released her, letting her move off the bed before getting up himself. Riza moved over to the dresser, taking her jacket and putting it on. She moved into the kitchen, Roy followed. She poured herself some coffee, drinking it quickly before moving toward the door.
Riza opened the front door and started out; Roy took her hand, turning her toward him. He kissed her lightly, "goodbye."
"Goodbye." She smiled. He watched her as she walked down the street then finally shut the door, looking down at Hayate who sat beside him.
"I guess it's just you and me boy." He said and pet the dog's head.
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Riza barely glanced sideways at the rubble as she made the long walk back to headquarters.
"The cleanup crew did such a half-ass job." She muttered to herself, sighing a moment later. She knew better than to think they could finish in a night. She was just nervous about the meeting, about the next step. She managed to smile, reminding herself that she had something to look forward to at the end of the day.
The huge military building appeared in the distance. Pieces of armor were scattered across the ground, military personnel hovered over some of the foreign objects; they studied what they could of it, taking particular interest in the black substance that coated the items. Riza could only imagine the number of personnel that now surrounded the flying craft they'd stolen from the sky.
Finally, she trudged the steps of Headquarters. She pushed one of the broad doors opened to find a functional building, filled with busy soldiers. One stopped, saluting her. She glanced at his face, recognizing it yet she found herself at a loss for his name.
"First Lieutenant, you're wanted upstairs. Make haste, the meeting has already begun."
"Thank You." She managed to mutter before hurrying on her way, cursing Roy for making her late. Riza pushed opened the door of the big meeting hall, bowing upon entering.
"I apologize for my tardiness."
"No worries, First Lieutenant. Take your seat." A voice echoed, one of the generals, her grandfather: Lieutenant General Grumman. (note: info n' rank pulled strait from the manga)
"Thank you, Sir." She saluted momentarily then moved to find a seat between Havoc and Armstrong that they'd apparently been saving for her.
Havoc grinned at her, "Late… what a coincidence."
She glanced at him questioningly, "What are you implying?"
"Nothing…nothing… it just seems a bit strange that the first time you're late in months happens to be the day after Mustang returns."
Fuery glanced sideways at them, listening as Havoc sealed his fate..
"And?" Riza dared him to say more.
"You two must have had fun last night." Havoc smirked.
Riza and Cain blushed in sequence and she –who was unable to shoot at him in the middle of the meeting-, kicked him hard in the shin. Jean let out a whine, tears forming in his eyes. Armstrong followed their antics with only his eyes; he cleared his throat, reverting their attention back to the meeting.
General Raven droned about something involving higher security, Hakuro adding comments about the aircraft. Riza sighed, leaning back in her chair and placing her hands in her lap. The generals rambled for some time about this before moving onto the subject of rebuilding. They spoke of improvements and disposal of the foreign materials, though it was already apparent that they would keep and continue to study the aircraft. Even Lieutenant General Grumman seemed bored of their ramblings after some time. The Generals had a knack for dragging a subject into it's grave.
Finally, they sat again, signifying the end of the subject.
"Is there anything else?" Hakuro asked to the group of military officers.
This time, Armstrong was the one who stood; he placed his hand on Riza's shoulder causing her to look up at him. He met her eyes momentarily and she gritted her teeth, pleading silently for him to sit down. He shut his eyes though, opening them to look at the Generals.
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong?" General Raven spoke up.
"I believe there are a few soldiers who deserve recognition. There is Lieutenant Havoc, Lieutenant Breda, Lieutenant Hawkeye, Lieutenant Falman, Sergeant Major Fuery, and myself who fought on the front lines. Also, Corporal Roy Mustang, I believe that if the Corporal Mustang hadn't come to our aid, we would've fallen to the invaders."
"Why is that?" A Brigadier General inquired.
"His alchemy was able to destroy a large number of invaders and take down the flying craft that is now in our possession."
"I thought Corporal Mustang had been stationed in the north."
The General who had been present at the scene spoke "He'd appeared out of nowhere sometime during the past day. He had in fact destroyed a large number of the enemy before taking a makeshift balloon into the air and defeating one of the massive ships."
"Could he have known of the attack before hand?" Another pointed out.
Havoc jolted to his feet in defense of his former superior. "Impossible. He had been located in a remote cabin in the north. Our attackers are not that of Dracma."
"Those barbarians could never have made something like that." One of the Majors agreed.
Mini conversations broke out though the meeting room. Riza stared at the table as they spoke of Roy. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she listened to them whisper about his change in rank as well as other things. Damn it, Armstrong. Why couldn't you just let it go...? She thought. This could only lead to trouble for them. She'd hoped that for once they could just fall into the background but now….
General Grumman had noticed his granddaughter from his seat across the table. He sighed softly, standing and looking over the room.
"Then it's settled. Corporal Mustang will be recognized for this victory." He paused and lost the crowd's attention to General Hakuro.
"And because it was his alchemy that brought this end, I believe it would be a proper if we restore his state alchemist title."
Riza involuntarily whimpered softly in response to Hakuro. Cain and Jean glanced sideways at her then exchanged looks among themselves. For them, this was good news, they would have their superior back, but for Riza this meant so many new problems. He would be in the line of fire when another war occurred and there were always the regulations that discouraged their relationship.
General Grumman spoke again. "That is if parliament agrees and the Corporal wishes to be promoted."
Hakuro gave him a sideways glare. "Of course." Her said stiffly. "Dismissed."
Everyone came to their feet, moving toward the exits. Riza slowly stood, grabbing cuff of Major Armstrong's sleeve. He turned to look at her, "Why?" She asked softly.
"Because it had to be done." He said simply and continued toward the door.
She watched him and sighed. She knew her thoughts were selfish but still… hadn't she earned this? Wasn't what they'd already been through enough? Wasn't it time for her to finally have what she wanted? She'd always hoped the answer was yes but…
A hand fell upon her shoulder, "Riza."
She turned around to look at him. "Grandfather."
"You shouldn't worry about all this. Just tell him how you feel about this, that man might be hotheaded at times but he'll listen."
"I don't want him to make his decision for me."
He sighed softly bringing his left hand to her cheek. "You ask for so little, Riza. You've earned this, tell him how you feel."
Riza smiled softly at him.
"Now, I have to go and meet with the parliament. Don't worried yourself over this, it'll all work out." He hugged her. "Goodbye, I'll be checking up on you later."
Riza nodded as she watched him walk away and turned for the door exiting the meeting room into the hallway. Havoc leaned against the wall opposite from the meeting room waiting for her.
"Hawkeye." He said, walking over to her. The two turned and walked down the hallway to their office.
"So, what're you gonna do about that mess."
"…"
"He's gonna ask for your opinion."
"I know that. I haven't decided what to tell him yet.
"Well… you have plenty of time to think about it." He pushed open the door to the office, revealing Fuery, Falman and Breda sitting at their desks. "We have hours worth on paperwork.
((This is part one of my section titled 'His decision.' That obviously means that it the next chapter Roy will decide what's going to happen to them. XD no duh. Heheh. It'll be good don't worry. REVIEW! I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Oh yeah… sorry it's late… I've been busy lately.))