AN-- First of all, let me just say that i am in SHOCK at the amount of reviews i got last chapter. twelve, when my record was six! that's double the amount i was hoping for! (did this thing get put into a c2 without my realizing it or something?) thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed, you all rock--and i know the new record of 12 reviews can be broken too, right? XD anyway, to the responces--
shizu-chan-- thanks for both the website links n the great review. so nice to know this story draws people in!
flOofymikO-- it's official. you are awsome. i have no words. your comments are just...wow. you somehow managed to pick out all the things i was worried about last chapter and say that they worked out. SUCH a huge confidence-booster, it's great. thanks!
unexpection--well, i may not have a huge quantity of reviewers (altho i got pretty lucky this time around!) but hey. a lot of those 5-billion reviewed stories also have a lot of flames...so far, i havent gotten one. :knocks on wood:. so, the quality of my reviews aint bad. XD; besides, this story IS pretty dark, depressing, and...er...LONG...i can see why it'd turn some people off. anyways...0.0...Falman on American Idol? ;;...who knew?
xXsilentxwhisperXx-- lol, thanks for the constructive crit. it's sad to hear that my overwrite bug is back, but hopefully not too bad. what part was confusing? maybe i can make some changes...
Isee-- aaah, you finally got around to reading it, eh? XD i'm glad, it's nice to get compliments from a writer you admire. n.n oh, and i'm also glad to know the dream was effectivly creepy. thanks for reviewing!
Puddles24--glad you liked the longness! (;; 'cause that's one habit i'll never break!)
ALSO HUGE THANKS TO: Higuma Otoshi, Arcireza, Shadow Dreamer 27, Bonnie, Entei Artist, tracycoder, and Maco Makaroushi.
AAH, now that that's taken care of--just to let you know, this is the one chapter where any OOCness (mainly with Riza) is really kinda nessissary...in other words, she has to do what she has to do. i don't think it's too bad anyway. uhm...some slight perverted comments...well, to be more exact, what happens to a specific male body part when said male is turned on. but, hey, it's hardly anything 'shocking', so there you go. and, also, during the letter part--you'll see--i had it all nice on Microsoft Word, with a font that really looked like a child's handwriting and everything...but Quickedit ate the font -.-. :burns the Quickedit system because she absolutly HATES it.: so, yeah, jsyk, any words in that one part that are bolded, had lines thru them in MW--another thing that didnt work here--and are supposed to be cross-outs. damn editing system...
This was mostly written to Far Away by Nickleback. it's kinda eerie, actually, how closely that song echoes this story.
disclaimer--c'mon. if i actually owned this, would i NEED to write fanfiction about it?
Gun Smoke and Roses
"Yes sir…he is."
Roy stared. And stared. And kept staring, until Riza dropped her eyes back to the ground in mute embarrassment. He tried to say something, but the best he could do was to open and close his mouth a few times. It was pretty pathetic, actually, for him to be so surprised at something he'd more-then-half-known all along was coming. After all, Hughes had warned him…about fifty times…a day…
"H-Hawkeye, I…"
Oh no you don't, Roy—try and say something that's more then one syllable, dammit!
"I…" He took a deep breath, determined to get what he wanted—but still wasn't sure he should—say out. "I…uh…I…"
…Well, this was going nowhere fast, now was it? It seemed his fight with Pride had left him the ability to stutter hopelessly for hours without saying a thing. Wonderful. "I…"
"Colonel," Riza interrupted. Her face, although pale, was determined—her trembling hands she kept safely out of his line of sight. "I understand that your feelings are not the same as mine." (It was like swallowing acid, saying what she was…but if that was what it took to keep Roy from transferring her, then so be it.) "I never…never expected they would be." (No, she never had expected that, had she? …Except, maybe, for all those times when hope invaded her thoughts, against her better judgment. And see where that hope had brought her?) "Please rest assured, sir, you don't have to change the way you feel about me. I'm not asking or expecting you to…"
"I don't have to change my feelings," agreed Roy dazedly. Riza let out the softest of sighs.
"No sir…you don't. I promise I won't allow my…personal opinions to come between my responsibilities."
There was a pause, and it was laced with sadness…laced with regret.
"You should…probably get some sleep, sir," she finally said, if only to change the subject and spare her from any more heartache…assuming there was still anything left of her heart. Roy acted as if he hadn't even heard her.
"I don't have to change my feelings," he repeated slowly, and Riza found herself eyeing him uncertainly. "Definitely don't have to…since they're the same as yours…"
Now it was Riza's turn to stare. "S-Sir? I…I'm sorry, Colonel, I don't understand—"
"They're the same as yours, ok!" he snapped. After a split second, though, a sheepish little grin spread across his face. "Ah…sorry. Pent-up emotion and all, you know." His tone became more serious. "Really…I'm sorry. For…well…everything, I guess. For being such a jackass to you the past few weeks, and…for making you worry…hell, I'm just sorry."
Riza…heh…it actually wasn't possible to describe what was currently going through her mind. It was all still too muffled to be definable, because doubt was still firmly lodged in her reactions. "Sir…" she stammered, "A-Are you saying…"
"That I love you?" He looked self-consciously away. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I am."
Riza sank back in her chair…was this light-headed rush what love really was?
"Col…Colonel…" And then, because it was too good to be true, she hesitantly began, "Sir, really, there's no need to pretend—"
"So who the hell's pretending?" he answered her bluntly. His fingers dug into his palm, sending up little sharp twinges of pain. "Damn it, Hawkeye…" He paused; if he really was going to do this, he might as well do it right. "No, Riza…damn it, Riza…I'm not pretending." He offered her a small smile. "Hasn't Hughes been blabbing to you about it? Bastard can't keep a secret for his life."
"He…"
"Roy was still so scared that something would happen to you... the girl he loves…"
She dared to try and meet Roy's eyes; he was looking at her intently, eyes burning with a fervor she'd never before seen….
"…the girl he loves…"
"But…sir…" Riza managed, numb with shock, disbelief, a thousand other emotions, "I…you never…never showed any interest, and all those other women you've dated, I just…I don't…." Her voice shook. "Why didn't you just…just say something!"
Roy winced visibly. "Why? Hell, I don't know." He paused. "No…no, I do know. I just…" He looked resigned now, as if he was about to admit some deep, dark, terrible secret that would change everything. "I was scared shitless," he said frankly. "I mean, with everything going on…you were always being put in danger because of me as it was, even if you were willing…I didn't want to make it even worse. I figured that you'd get over it—that you'd get over me."
"Get over you…? Sir, I…I dedicated my whole life to defending you, I wouldn't just—"
"You dedicated your whole life to defending a murderer," Roy hissed. "You know how many people I killed in one battle alone? You know how few of those people could actually fight back worth a damn?"
Riza looked wordlessly at him, at this man who struggled so much just to get by each day.
"I wanted to tell you…sometimes," he continued, "I got so close to just admitting everything..."
She was hit by a sudden memory of a miserable, rainy Friday afternoon, before any of this had even started, before she'd even been willing to own up to her feelings…she'd knelt down in wounded fury to pick up scattered papers, and Roy had looked at her for a moment before turning away…
"But then I'd wonder about what I'd do if something happened…fuck it, I was scared," he said angrily. "What the hell was I supposed to do if I lost you? Not that it'd be any easier regardless…..fucking catch-22 and all…but the way I thought about it, it'd be best if you just kept your professional distance. That way, when things got too rough, you wouldn't be involved enough to…" He refused to say it outright.
"Colonel, did you honestly think I wouldn't help you if you needed it-?" she began hotly, but Roy cut her off.
"I thought you'd use that brilliant mind of yours and realize that following a goddamn dog of the military to the death was not exactly smart!" he growled.
Riza's voice had long since become tight and strained. "And did this idea of yours make things any easier?" (As if she didn't know, as if she hadn't spent night after night tossing and turning in bed, because she knew Roy was suffering and she couldn't find a way to save him. As if she hadn't longed desperately to be able to fight off his demons for him, because she wasn't so sure that the man who could win a fight against almost any other human, could win the fight against his darker side as well…as if she hadn't wanted to tell him that he didn't have to do it alone, that she would be there beside him no matter what…)
He laughed, bitterly. "I was a living wreck. Worst part of it all was that I had a reputation to protect, I had to keep dating—otherwise people might've suspected something. Which wasn't as easy as it sounds- there's only so many girls I can steal from Havoc, you know. I know it doesn't sound so bad, being 'forced' to go out to dinner with someone, but…" His voice trailed off a bit. "I could barely stand to look at some of those girls, because they weren't…weren't the girl…they were just empty-headed idiots! And you…" he looked pointedly at Riza, "you weren't helping, either. You didn't find some other guy to fawn over, you didn't get mad at me—or if you did, you didn't let it drive you away like I'd assumed you would. I mean, anyone would, normally!"
"I didn't…" -it was so hard to find the words by now- "I didn't realize you wanted me to do that, sir."
"Of course I didn't want you to," he snarled at her desperately. "I needed you to! It was either that, or I tell you everything, and I couldn't fucking do that. I don't know why I'm doing it now! You could follow anyone, and you choose to follow me…I can't…" He shut his eyes against this latest sorrow, born from the most unbelievable joy. But then, there could never be total bliss—pleasure must always be mixed with pain. "I can't be the kind of guy you need. I can't be the kind of guy you deserve. It doesn't look like you're ever going to leave the way you should…I'll have to accept that, fine. But I can't just let you give everything to me…when I don't deserve it at all."
"…."
If it wasn't so completely out of character for her, Riza really would have smacked him this time. Glancing at her again, he could see the anger in her eyes, and fell silent.
"How can you say that, sir?" she demanded in a voice both heated and relieved. "How can you say that you don't deserve…" She clenched her fists. Why was this so hard to say? "I…I don't agree with that, sir. I never have."
Roy closed his eyes again, breathing hard. "You should."
"But I don't." Her eyes flashed once more, and he was reminded that he wasn't the only stubborn person in the room. "Nothing you say will change that."
"Why," he cried out, "why won't it? How can you still have so much damn faith in me after—"
"After you joined the military, after you became a State Alchemist, after you were forced to follow your orders and kill defenseless people," she listed softly. "You can't blame yourself, Colonel. What you did—what we did, what every soldier did, was horrible, yes, but….sir…."
'What we did…'…Roy couldn't deal with that. He refused to even go near it, refused to even entertain for a second that Riza, his beautiful, flawless Riza, could have any share in the blame that the war had dished out greedily.
But then the peculiar thought drifted into his mind, that maybe that was how Riza felt about it too…did she honestly not blame him for the horrors he'd been witness to, the lives he'd stolen, the times he'd aimed and snapped and watched as human flesh was burned away…?
No, that couldn't be it, Roy refused to let himself off the hook that easily…
"You can't reason it away, Hawkeye," he argued. "There's no excuse, and you know that as well as I do." He let out another sardonic laugh. "Wanna hear something funny? When I was fighting Pride, he kept insisting that the two of us were exactly alike. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but looking back…he really was right. He might have been a homunculus…but he was still as human as they come. Ruthless, vicious, self-centered…didn't care who he had to screw over, as long as it helped him out. And he's the best example of true human nature I can think of…what the hell does that say about the rest of us?"
"With all due respect, sir," Riza answered softly, "that's a very flawed version of a human—"
"It's a perfect version of me," he growled at nothing.
"It is not!"
Roy's head snapped up, and he stared at her.
"I won't believe that, sir. I can't believe that." Her voice broke. "And you shouldn't believe that either."
"…."
Roy was lost. Hopelessly and completely lost. Or maybe….maybe he'd been lost—maybe this was the trail he'd wandered off of so many years ago. Was this what it felt like to be found?
His head was spinning—the arguments with which he lived his daily life had been pulled out from underneath him. He didn't know which way was up any more, didn't know what he was supposed to do next. All he knew at this point was that, right or wrong, it was impossible to fight off what perhaps had been inevitable all along…
He still didn't think he should be doing this…any of this. But…Riza was there. And, with her standing so firm, so unwavering, so… ready…beside him, maybe he'd be able to handle the consequences, after all. Roy wasn't sure what was going to happen next, and suddenly, he didn't care. He looked at Riza, who stood with him—and would continue to stand with him—no matter what. No matter what. What was the point of resisting any longer, really? He wanted it. She wanted it. And Roy finally understood.
He needed her…but she needed him, too. Screw whatever happened next…together, they'd find a way to deal with it, he was sure. Finally, his eyes were opened, and Roy was determined to never close them again.
Quickly, without thinking—because too much thinking was what had gotten him into this mess to begin with—he reached out and grabbed her hand again. She colored noticeably.
"S-Sir…"
"No," he cut her off, cursing his voice when it chose to give out on him again. "It's not 'sir'. We're…we're not in the office right now, so it's not 'sir'. It's Roy. Please." He was looking into those amber eyes of hers again, drowning in their pure perfection—and loving every minute of it. "Please just use my first name…Riza."
She flushed again and looked down, but not at the floor—at their entwined hands. Incredible. The colonel really loved her? This wasn't all just some fantasy? The idea alone set off such a thrill….
She felt suspiciously dizzy, and was possessed by an urge to say something that might put her back on familiar ground—because right now she was starting to have trouble recognizing the terrain.
"Colo…" She took a deep breath. "I mean…Roy…"
And whatever she was about to say was dropped and forgotten, because Riza found herself stuck, unable to go any further…not that she really wanted to. All she'd done was use his first name the way he'd asked, but….it just felt so… right, saying his actual name, instead of 'Colonel' or 'sir'. (Yes, she'd used his first name once before, but that had been under different circumstances, in a warped nightmare, the stench of which still haunted her. It hadn't felt appropriate then, because the entire situation had been wrong--far too wrong--for such an intimate thing; it was like using profanity at a funeral. But this…this was something completely different.)
There was still so much that the two of them had to think about, but it was all being put on hold for the moment…because, even as Roy found himself rising up to a sitting position, Riza found herself leaning in…
They were closer now then they had ever been, really…their lips were almost near enough to touch…and…
"Riza! Riza Riza Rizaaa!! C'mon, open up! Hellooo? I know you're in there, you haven't left this apartment once in like, two weeks! Open up!"
The two pulled away, quickly, embarrassed.
"Rizaaa! C'mon! Let me in! Are you sleeping in there? Or making out with Roy? Wait…that's it, isn't it! He woke up, and the two of you are making out! Let me in!"
Roy twitched. Noticeably.
"Hughes…?"
Riza sighed and got up to answer the door. "He's been coming by pretty much every day to see how you were doing."
"Hmph," Roy grunted in answer, "He always manages to interrupt everything, doesn't he?"
"He's been…extremely helpful these past two weeks, si-Roy," Riza answered carefully.
She didn't go into details, and really, she didn't have to. Roy already knew, simply by looking at her, how vital it had been for her, having Hughes stop by every day. After all, she'd refused to leave her colonel's bedside unless there was someone else to watch over him—and even then, she would always be back after only a few minutes, unable to walk away. Roy already knew that, though. He already knew how hard it had been for her, sitting by the bed (her bed, which he was now befouling with blood and puke and slimy infection) while he lay there, still as death, ensnared by the deep sleep of unconsciousness. He already knew how Hughes, seemingly psychic, would appear at just the right moment—just as she was about to crack completely from grief and worry and the brutal implausibility of it all. He already knew, somehow, that at times, when the pain was simply too much for her to handle, Riza would bury her head in her arms and just sit there, and Hughes would do his best to comfort her, saying how Roy looked much better today, how his fever had dropped a degree, how she really shouldn't worry, because he really was going to be fine.
"How can he not be," he'd observed with a slight smile, "with such a determined first lieutenant taking care of him? Roy's not that stupid—he knows you'd follow him to the next world and shoot the living daylights out of him if he died, no question."
It had been Hughes who had bustled about keeping things moving, holding things together when their little group was shattered and stunned. He'd used his rank to the fullest, giving Havoc and Fury and the rest meaningless orders to keep them busy, making them focus on the political aspect of things, simply because it was something to do.
It was Hughes who would spend hours—usually without much success—trying to get Riza to take a nap, or to at least eat something. It was Hughes who would babble cheerfully, on and on, until his voice went hoarse, about everything and anything unimportant, knowing how much Riza needed to hear about his daughter's latest antics…how much she needed to focus on anything but the shivering man choking up blood in front of her. And when even that wasn't enough to stop the tears, it was Hughes who sat, respectfully silent (and not watching, the most important thing of all) so that she could at the very least hold on to her dignity. When she'd managed to get a grip on herself again, he'd go back to chattering away like nothing had ever happened.
Riza couldn't have been more grateful.
Without Maes Hughes, it was extremely doubtful that she would have been able to listen to Roy's delirious moaning and still keep her sanity intact. He pushed his own considerable unhappiness (Roy was his best friend, after all) to the side, ignoring his melancholy in an attempt to lessen hers. He understood, the way he always had, how desperately Riza needed Roy Mustang, how devastating it would be for her to lose him now, of all times, when things were hardly resolved.
But Riza didn't have to tell Roy any of that, because he already knew.
"Riza? Hey, Hawkeye! Open the dooooor! You know, some people might consider it rude that you'd rather do it with your boyfriend then let a good friend in—"
"Lieutenant Colonel!" Riza had reached and opened the door. "Honestly, sir…!"
A second later, Maes came bounding into the room. He didn't look quite as perky as he usually did—there were bags under his eyes, denoting a lack of sleep—but he positively beamed when he saw Roy. It was kinda scary, actually.
"OOH! You are awake! I knew it! I don't know how I knew it, but I knew it! You finally decided that you didn't feel like dying, huh? It's about gosh darn time!!"
Roy couldn't hide the smirk-smile that popped up onto his face. "Hey, Hughes."
"Don't 'hey Hughes' me, mister! I must have spent a billion hours telling you that idea of yours was dumb, but did you listen? Nooo! And look what happened! You had us all worried, you know!"
Roy's gaze went to Riza, who was standing in the doorway, and his smile faded. "Yeah…I know."
Hughes paused for an instant, then smiled slightly. "Seriously though. It's nice to see you awake for a change."
Roy nodded. "It's nice to be awake for a change." The two best friends grinned at each other, until Roy completely ruined the moment by having a mild coughing attack. Riza instantly moved forward, her apprehension hardly disguised.
"Roy…?"
"Fine," he said quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm fine."
"Yah, it was only—WAIT ONE SECOND!"
Roy felt a familiar sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Hughes stared suspiciously from him to Riza and back. Still, he figured he might as well try and defuse this ticking time bomb of annoyance before it blew. "What? What's wrong with you!"
"Since when," began Hughes slowly, "are you…and her…on a first-name basis?!"
Roy's mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Behind him, Riza had turned a rather obvious shade of crimson, which looked pretty unusual on her. Hot, but unusual.
"You….you guys really did get together didn't you? Didn't you?!"
"Argh…yes, Maes," Roy growled. "Now please shut u—"
And then he was cut off, as Hughes let out a squeal so ear-splittingly loud, Roy was sure he'd gone deaf afterwards.
"Ow! Dammit, Hughes, try and control that, wouldja?!"
"Sorry! I'm just so excited!"
"…Why!?"
"Why? Whaddya mean, why? You and Riza FINALLY got together! Do you know how long I've been waiting to see that? Oooh…" He was starting to look teary-eyed and everything. "It's all worth it then, you being stupid and losing an eye and ignoring the ingenious advice of your best friend. You two finally hooked up! Now I win the bet!"
"…Bet?" Riza managed. "…Care to explain what bet you're talking about?"
"Trust me," Roy groaned, "you do not want to know."
"Well actually, I lost the first bet," Hughes sighed, "because you were too busy being dumb to ask Riza out like you should have. But," he continued, nimbly ducking the pillow Roy threw at him, "I do win the one about whether you two would ever go out at all. Can you believe Havoc said you'd never get the guts up? He has no faith in you, Roy! None!"
"…" Riza looked down at Roy in shock. "…You were aware that they were betting on this!" Roy just mumbled.
"Oh, but seriously, this is great!" Hughes sounded more excited then either Roy or Riza, for heaven's sake! "This is wonderful! Aw, but now you'll have to break it to all your 'lady friends', y'know…all those girls rabidly obsessed with you." He paused. "Dear lord…they may riot."
"Mm, yeah, well…" Roy suddenly became very fascinated with the bedspread again. "I wouldn't say those women were all….er…obsessed with me…"
"They are obsessed," Hughes said flatly. "Just because you're taken doesn't mean they care. Heck, you've been getting more love letters at the office now then before your little stunt."
"Really? I have?" Roy was interested despite himself. "You don't say."
"Yup. Actually, I thought you might have known by now," Hughes mentioned, innocently enough. "Riza said she'd take all your mail for safe-keeping until you were well enough to read it. And since that was pretty much your only mail…"
"Oh…." Roy and Hughes both turned to stare at Riza, whose only response was to raise an eyebrow.
…..
Both men sweat dropped, and Hughes decided it would be wise—not to mention better for his physical well-being—if he changed the subject.
"SO! ANYWAYS! What's it feel like to be president, Roy?"
"…." Roy stared. "What…?"
Riza gasped. Oh crap! She'd completely forgotten to tell him!...How on earth had she managed to forget that!?
Roy shook his head, slowly. "Someone mind explaining?!"
"You mean you didn't know!?" Hughes asked, amazed. "Riza, didn't you tell him?"
"We…had other things to discuss that came up first…"
"Uh huh," Hughes nodded, and Riza felt a rush of relief that he understood. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure that under the circumstances anyone would have skipped talking for making out."
Okay…scratch the 'understanding' part.
"Lieutenant Colonel!" Riza hissed, well aware that her face was scarlet and that Roy was struggling to refrain himself from attacking, "we were not—"
"Suuuuurree you weren't," he winked, and she let out an aggravated curse, which was interrupted by an even more aggravated Roy.
"Will someone please explain what's going on? What was that about me being president!"
"Ooh ooh, me, I will!" Hughes exclaimed excitedly. "Ok, well. While you were playing dead or whatever, the rest of us were handling all the political crap. It was pretty messed up, you know—first the bigwigs find out their dictator-in-chief's been assassinated by a guy none of them really liked—no offence, Roy—and then they find out that said dictator-in-chief was a homunculus, and that the guy they didn't like was the only one to notice!"
"The Lieutenant Colonel took over," Riza explained, "showing the higher-ups all the evidence we had against King Bradley. Hughes had a surprising amount of documents saved up."
Hughes nodded. "Yup! Funny thing, really—all those research reports we thought we were wasting our time over? Turns out they all worked really well as evidence. Good thing I'm the head of the Intelligence Department, I could drag up all sorts of random crud to prove your case."
"While Hughes explained everything to those in control," Riza continued, "Havoc, and Breida 'accidentally' let everything slip to the public. Not the homunculi business, obviously—they'd never believe that—but about how you managed to defeat Bradley for the good of the people. The fact that he was extremely unpopular with them certainly helped—they still haven't forgiven him for Ishbal, and for a hundred other things. Meanwhile, Fury and Falman went about doing the same thing to others inside the military, gaining you more allies."
"I'll have to give 'em all raises, I guess," Roy sighed, still a bit stunned by the news. "What about you?"
"Hawkeye had her hands full dealing with you," Maes informed him, "and besides, it would have taken a full-scale invasion to get her to leave this room. Heh, even then the only reason she'd bother to leave would be to tell the invaders to shut up before she shoots them for disturbing you." Roy laughed. Riza just frowned. "Still, a couple of times I hadda go borrow her—heh, the first lieutenant can be pretty convincing when she wants to be. Oh, and for the record, I happen to know for a fact that you NEVER give raises. So yeah, you might wanna consider that."
"I give raises!"
"Oh yeah? When?"
"Just last….uh….hmph, as if I would remember a trivial thing like giving raises after all that's happened."
"Exactly my point."
"…Well, who asked you for your opinion?"
"Your subordinates. They're thinking of writing a formal letter of complaint."
Roy thought for a moment, then smirked. "Well, according to you, I'm president now. So they have no one to complain to." His eyes lit up as he considered the possibilities. "Hell, I don't even have to pay them now! Perfect! I can do whatever I want! Slack off all day, fire people when I'm bored, finally get all the hot women in the military into mini-skirts—"
"You're a president, not a dictator," Riza reminded him, starting to feel a bit…'trigger-happy' at the mention of mini-skirts.
"Ok, fine, so I'll just enact that mini-skirt policy and leave it at that—"
"Roy."
"Relax, Riza, you're the only one I'll stare at."
Click.
"Roy."
"Alright, alright! No mini-skirts!" For now… "Jeeze, you'd shoot an injured person? And one who's president, at that!"
"Weell, technically you're not president yet," Hughes put in. "The bigwigs are still 'deliberating'. But, I mean, public support is through the roof and climbing—you're like some national hero now. So, yeah, there's a 99 percent chance of you being elected." He looked at the colonel meaningfully. "And I expect some promotions on my end, too, of course…"
"Yeah, yeah." Roy rolled his eyes. "I'll put you in charge of bringing me coffee every morning, how's that?"
"Veeery funny, Mr. Sarcasm. You don't even like coffee."
"Hughes, what is--"
"OHH! OH OH OH!! I almost forgot!"
"….You know something, I'm afraid to ask."
"Once again, veeery funny. Now here! Look!" Hughes dug something out of his back pocket and handed it to Riza, who eyed it. The thing was a small piece of white construction paper that had been folded into a makeshift card. "Elysia made it," he gushed. "She heard me talking about Roy to Gracia and wanted to make a get-well card. Isn't that adorable!?"
Riza smiled. "That's very sweet, sir."
"Hmph, you'll call Roy by his first name and not me? I'm insulted. Well, anyway, read it! Oh, but watch out for the sticky parts, she was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the time. With the crusts cut off just the way she likes them. And in her special booster seat. And she had on this cute little bib…"
While Maes droned, Riza turned her attention to the card. On the front were two stick figure representations of her and Roy (the only way she could really tell was that Roy's stick person had a big smirk on his face, and hers was holding a grey line trying valiantly to pass for a gun). Opening it up, she saw that the inside was decorated cheerfully in bright pink and purple squiggles. There was also a paragraph chaotically written in the large, sloppy handwriting of a child:
"Deer Mistr Roy,
My daddy sayz that you got hurt at wurk. I hope yu you are feling betr! I made you tzis this card to make you fel betr bec…be cause daddy sayz you hav ben sad latly, and I hope you fel happy sooon!
Love, Elysia Hughes
P.S. I heard my daddy talk ing to my mommy and he sed you where afraid of the cons…konseh quenzes of love. I think that if you love sum1, you shud not be afrad because that is a happy thing and you shud be happy ab-out it. I kno my mommy and daddy love echothr and they are very happy. I think you wood be happy to if you where in love.
P.P.S. Miss Riza, my daddy sez that you ar taking care of mister roy, and I think that is realy nice. He seyz to my mommy that you love mister Roy. Wel, I think Mistr Roy loves you to! So you shuld bee happy too. all so, he sez that you where sad be cause Mister Roy was sick and you wan-ted to make him betr. Wen I am sick, my mommy plays with me an I feel betr. So I think you shuld play with him to make him fel betr.
Riza looked back up at Hughes, a rare smile breaking out over her face. "Tell Elysia thank you, that was very nice of her." Roy nodded in agreement.
"I know!" squealed the proud—maybe a little too proud?—father happily. "Isn't she smart? That was award-winning advice right there! You two should definitely take it, right, 'Mister Roy'?" He grinned; Roy looked a combination of irritated, pleased, and embarrassed.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty," Hughes announced after a moment of comfortable silence. Actually, he wasn't, but, as much as he loved that Roy and Riza had finally gotten together, the looks they were sending each other (or to be more exact, the looks Roy was sending Riza, since he was definitely the more perverted of the two) were the kind that should not be shared by an outsider such as himself.
"Oh—" Riza snapped herself out of it. "Of course, I'll go get you a glass."
"Oh no you don't," Hughes ordered, wagging his finger at her. "I'm the guest, I'll get it. I've been in your apartment enough by now, I know where the kitchen is!" He started out the door, but a second later thought of something else he had to say and poked his head back in the room. "Besides, you need to take Elysia's advice! I'll get some water…you stay here and 'play' with your boyfriend." He winked again and was gone.
Riza found herself quite speechless. Behind her, Roy said—with obviously forced nonchalance—"Guy does make a good point, we really oughta follow that…er….advice…"
"…." She sighed. Was he always this…obvious? Still, she couldn't help but smile…the past few hours had been a complete whirlwind, so it was nice to be able to just sit back and think for a minute or two.
But if Riza was glad for the pause, then Roy was doubly so. His head was still spinning—his mind was still whirling around, making it impossible to focus on any one thing for very long. He struggled to concentrate. Take this one at a time, Roy.
Fact: He'd lost an eye. Well. It'd certainly make things interesting. He still wasn't feeling too put out by that, though, under the circumstances. Maybe that'd come later.
Fact: He was about to become president. Ok. That was that, then. He was about to become president…he was about to be given that longed-for chance to make up for his sins. He was still a bit uneasy, though…what if, after all this, he still couldn't sleep at night? There were no guarantees in his life, only dreams. And dreams didn't always come true.
Fact: Riza loved him. ….Oh boy. That one would take a while to delve through. Riza. Loved him. Unbelievable.
Unbelievable…
Hughes came back into the room slowly, because he half-suspected he'd find one of them on top of the other, and he wanted to be able to back away quickly if that was the case. Instead, he found both of them sitting—or in Roy's case, lying—quietly, not even talking.
Hmph….how boring.
He wandered over, figuring that now was as good a time as any to show Roy the hundreds of Elysia pictures he'd missed seeing while unconscious, but something else caught his attention first. Riza was yawning, just slightly, her hand over her mouth to try and hide it.
"Heey." He nudged her a bit. "Someone looks tired."
"Oh, no, it's nothing," she answered quickly, but Roy was already glancing at her. Hughes found the concerned look on his face quite cute, actually. Heh…look at him, the big softy.
"I highly doubt that," he informed her dryly. "When was the last time you got more then an hour of sleep at a time?"
Riza bristled a bit. "Sir, I'm fully capable—"
"Riza, you might be able to kick the ass of anyone in this room—yes, including you, Mr. Macho—but even you need sleep once in a while, ya know?" His tone softened. "Really, Riza…you spent the last two weeks hovering over him, stressed out of your mind…why don't you get some rest?"
"Lieutenant Colonel," the lieutenant frowned. "As much as I appreciate your concern, I wouldn't feel…comfortable sleeping right now."
"Why not?" Roy broke in. "I think it's safe to assume I'll survive the night."
Riza looked at him with a 'you-are-not-helping!' glare. "Several of your wounds are still infected—something could happen at any time. Someone needs to be here to keep an eye on you."
"Hughes can do that."
"Yeah, I'll hang around a bit, make sure he doesn't die or anything, no problem."
"S-Sir, I couldn't ask you to—"
"You didn't ask, I offered."
"Riza." The expression in Roy's eye was somehow powerful and gentle at the same time. "Look…I'll be fine. Just…get some sleep, ok?"
Riza wilted. "…Si—" She paused. Old habits die hard. "Roy…"
"C'mon…don't make me turn that into an order," he teased softly. She finally smiled, grudgingly.
"Very well." She stood up with extreme reluctance, before pinioning Hughes with a stern eye. "But I expect to be woken up the minute his condition takes a turn for either better or worse."
Hughes saluted cheerfully. "Yes Ma'am!"
"And don't forget to give him the medication he needs."
"Yup, I'll give Roy his drugs, don't worry."
"Keep your eye on him, it's extremely possible for someone in his condition to relapse—"
"Riza. Sleep. Now."
"…Fine. But only for an hour, understand?" She turned and stalked out of the room. Hughes sighed, with a sweat drop.
"Man, if something goes wrong, I am definitely screwed…she'll shoot me for sure!" He turned and gave Roy a threatening look. "I swear, if you die, I will so kill you!"
"…Right. I'll…keep that in mind."
"Jeeze…" the bespectacled man commented. "She's intense, huh? Loyalty like that…heh…you aren't gonna find that anywhere else. You got lucky, Mustang…do us all a favor and don't screw this up." Go ahead and love her. You might as well…..you only live once, you know.
Roy nodded, seriously. "I know…"
"Hey, by the way," Hughes stretched. "When do you think you'll be up and around, anyways?"
"Are you kidding?" Roy snickered. "I'm currently relaxing in this very comfortable bed, with my only responsibility being to stay alive, all the while being taken care of by the most beautiful girl on the planet." He sighed, luxuriously. "I may never get up again."
"…Ok, there are two things wrong with that train of thought. First of all, if Riza hears you say that she'll disembowel you. And besides, you know how you tend to react to ideas like that, and considering the shape you're in, getting an erection right now would probably be extremely painful."
"Actually, no, it's really not—WAIT WHAT! HUGHES! GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!"
Riza awoke with a start some hours later. The first thing she noticed was that night had fallen—there was no light coming through the windows anymore, just darkness. Most of the lights were off inside as well, and her apartment was encased in shadows.
Feeling irritated that Hughes had allowed her to sleep for so long, she got up off the couch and made her way quietly down the hallway towards her bedroom. Although she didn't want to admit it, he had been right—she felt a lot better now that she'd rested a while.
Light was still pouring out from under the door, all the more noticeable in the otherwise-dark hallway. Black Hayate was sitting there, scratching and whining to be let in. Riza smiled slightly. The dog seemed to have taken a liking to Roy.
Stepping past him, she opened the door and walked inside. Hughes was sitting against the wall….fast asleep. He was even snoring a bit. Biting back an annoyed sigh, she went over to the bed. Roy's eyes were closed, and he was breathing deep and evenly, so she assumed he was asleep too. But as she turned to sit back down, he reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Hey." His voice was fogged over with sleep.
Riza kneeled down by the bedside. "You should be sleeping…"
"So should you."
"You have to recuperate, sir, not me."
"Hmph." A grin spread its way up his face. The room around them was quiet. "Once I'm up and walking and president, the first thing I'm gonna do is get rid of that fraternization law."
Riza heard the vow in that apparently random statement and smiled. "Roy, you really should go to sleep," was all she said in reply.
"I don't really want to."
"Don't be stubborn! Besides, I would think you'd be exhausted by now."
"Actually, I am. But…" Roy sought for some way to explain to her how afraid he was of falling asleep, only to discover that he'd gotten too caught up in smoke and trick mirrors—that the past few hours had been nothing more then a daydream, a peaceful fantasy in his head. He was desperate to never leave her side, to stay here--here in this blissful world that couldn't be real.
"Roy, honestly…"
"I'll wake up," he sighed, "and this'll all just be a dream. I'd hate that…"
"No," she cut him off, firmly. "This isn't a dream."
"Heh…" He smirked sleepily. "Promise?"
Her lips against his were promise enough.
Maybe it was unlike her, to initiate a kiss like she did, not to mention one with her superior officer, the soon-to-be president. But really, hadn't he always been so much more then that?
Roy's eyes flickered shut; he shifted a bit to get comfortable, no longer fearing sleep's embrace. After all, Riza had promised him…and, as he'd been made well-aware of the past few weeks, her promises were never broken. Never.
Gun smoke and roses, he thought suddenly. That's what that smell in here is. Gun smoke and roses all mixed together.
Funny how the smell of gun smoke didn't bother him these days...that sharp, deadly smell was somehow appealing when added to the sweet fragrance of roses.
Come to think of it…Riza smelled a lot like that too.
He grinned, and it stayed when sleep finally did overtake him. Riza, seeing only the smile, had to hide her own as she returned to her chair, to her ever-vigilant watch.
AN- please note that this is NOT the last chapter...there's still one more chapter and an epilouge left. (truthfully, the last real chapter is...not at all needed...but i wanted to do it because i have some ideas, and because writing for Hughes is so much fun. and because the longer this lasts, the better, heh heh.)
as for the gun smoke and roses thing...i delberated a while before finally picking scents that i thought worked. gun smoke is obvious--plus, althought it represents death, in my opinion it can also represent riza's protecting roy all the time--and as for the rose part...those flowers may be beautiful on the outside, but they've got their thorns...they can protect themselves. you learn how to hold them, and you can get close enough to realize how wonderful they smell. not a very unique idea, i know, but i loved the symbolizim and metaphors and all that crap. XD
the review record is twelve...think we can pull off thirteen this time around? heh.