You know how this works. I don't own Roy (don't I wish), I don't own his staff, and I don't own Central. Pretty much the only things I do own are the plot, my character (General Ree), and the academy (yeah, that was me). Oh, and anyone mentioned in the flashback is also my creation. Quick background, I brought Hughes back (yeah, saw that coming, didn't you?) because he's too awesome to die. The grave can't stop him! Well, that's enough of that, let's get this party started.
After
walking Maes home, Roy and Arika turned toward his apartment
building. They talked for a while about nothing, and finally she
couldn't take anymore. "If you want to talk, let's talk about
something. All this small talk, its killing me, you know?"
"Yeah,
I do. I want to talk to you."
She could tell there was something
on his mind. They had walked into an alley, that same damn alley. She
pulled a crate over and sat down. "Sit. Talk."
He found a
crate of his own and pulled it over. "I really need to know. Why
did you leave?"
"I needed to know that I could stand on my
own. From day one, I relied on you and I relied on Maes. I knew if I
stayed, I would go running to you the second something got hard."
Roy
sat for a moment in silence. He looked her in the eyes and said
calmly, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"
"No, but
I thought it was worth a shot."
"If you're going to lie to
me, we should just go back to the small talk."
"I wanted to
know if you'd ask me to stay. I just needed that much, I was set to
request a transfer, but you couldn't say you needed me."
"Couldn't
say…wasn't that last night enough for you?"
several years
earlier
Roy stepped out onto the roof, knowing she'd be there.
It was raining. She was so beautiful, standing there, silhouetted
against the light spilling out from the building. He stood there,
just watching her. He came up behind her, putting his hand on her
shoulder. She turned, surprised she hadn't heard him. "I'm
sorry I yelled at you," he told her. Even through the rain, he
could she'd been crying. He pulled the long red hair away from her
face, wiped her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, and just stared for
a minute. Before he knew what he was doing, he kissed her. He heard a
creak behind him. He turned, and there, standing in the light from
inside, stood Maes. He turned and left, and in the light, Roy could
see him grin.
present
"No, it wasn't. That was almost the
reason I left. You couldn't possibly have felt what I did that
night." He looked at her, the confusion written on his face. She
sighed. "You idiot. I loved you!" He sat for a minute in shock.
"Come on, we should be going. It's late, and I'm tired." She
stood, pulled him up by the sleeve and started to drag him toward the
apartment building. They arrived at his 'home' five minutes
later, neither of them having said a word. He looked at her for a
moment, then took the plunge.
"Why? Why didn't you tell
me?"
She sighed. She had known it was coming, but he had made it
so long without saying it. Still, he had brought this on himself. "Do
you even remember the man you were? You were with a different girl
every night and none of them meant anything to you. I just couldn't
stand being just another notch in your bedpost."
"I remember
who I was, and I remember why I was like that. I was with all those
girls to compensate. I couldn't have the one woman who meant
anything. I loved you, dammit! I always have, and, hell, I probably
always will," he said with a grin.
Well, that was unexpected,
she thought. She sat thoughtfully for a moment. "Does this place
have a roof?" she asked
finally.
Read, review, enjoy, review, dammit!
