#100 - Until That Day
She felt a sense of relief as scalding water flowed down the curves of her back, giving her some anchor to reality. While white-hot steam relaxed her body, images and memories from the past few weeks rushed across closed eyes.
"We're so close," Riza thought, cupping water between her hands and then pouring the clear liquid over her hair. Her mind quickly jumped to the corner of the kitchen table where an official state document sat, dictating her reassignment to the Furher's command. She let out a sigh, rubbing her hands over her face. That damned piece of paper made her day much more complicated than she needed it to be, especially trying to explain it to her commanding officer.
"C'mon Hawkeye, I'll give you a ride to your place." Roy was acting as nothing had changed in the past twenty four hours.
"It's fine sir. I can walk home by myself." Riza started to pick up the box filled with her personal belongings,
and head for the door.
"No, let me take you. I'm not inconvienced at all. I need to run a few errands, and your apartment is on the way." Riza sighed and set the box labeled 'HAWKEYE' back on her desk. It was quite clear that Mustang would not let her walk out of the building until she consented to let him taker her home.
"Alright."
The car ride was unplesantly quiet. Roy and Riza never had a knack for small talk, both of them found it useless to waste words over meaningless chatter.
"Black Hayate, he sure has grown big in these past few month's hasn't he?" Roy's strong voce cut cleanly through the still air of the car, his eyes focused on the road ahead.
"Yes he has, but he's energetic as ever. I feel bad not being able to spend more time with him sometimes..." Riza glanced at the man next to her, knowing that beneath the cool and placid exterior fierce emotions were tearing him to shreds.
"I'm sorry," he threw a quick glance to her, eyes filled with sadness, before turning his attention back to the road. Riza didn't like where this conversation was heading. "Maybe you're new position will let you spend more time with him, and less in the office." Riza flinched when he mentioned up her transfer.
"I don't think either of us would be happy if that happened," she replied, eyes tracking the familiar steps coming closer as the car started to slow down to a stop. Mustang shut of the engine and got out, walking around to offer a hand as Riza started to step out of the state issued vehicle.
"I'll walk you to your door."
"Sure." Their usual roles reversed as the pair ascended the short flight of stairs that lead to the floor which Hawkeye's apartment was on, Roy following a few steps behind Riza. They exited from the stair well and headed down the quite hallway. As they started to descend upon her door near the end of the hallway, Riza reached inside one of the pockets of the jacket slung over forearm, retrieving her set of house keys. Mustang had quite down ever since they left the car, causing a bit of concern for Riza. The transfers were hard for everyone, but she couldn't begin to imagine how Roy was feeling, having his subordinates ripped from underneath him. She quickly found the appropriate key to unlock her door and inserted it into the small opening on the door handle.
"Well, Sir...I guess...I'll be seeing you aroun-" Riza stopped in the middle of her sentence, and opening her door, as Roy's two strong arms wrapped around her. They pulled her back into his body behind her, and he buried his head against the exposed flesh of her neck. She stood still in his strong grip and let herself enjoy the new sensation of his breath on her neck.
"Thank you," he whispered breathily against her skin, beginning a trail of feather-soft kisses along the length of her neck. He repeated the words over and over again while his mouth slowly moved along her jaw line. Riza couldn't remember when she shut her eyes, nor when she tilded her head so their lip's would meet. All she could recall was how his lips felt so right against hers, the soft petals melting and combining with hers as if they were destined to be that way.
Riza felt him start to move her inside her apartment, and heard the door shut soon after he removed one of his arms from around her waist. Roy manuvered her body with expert hands so her back rested against the door. He broke the kiss, resting a bit of his weight on Riza's smaller form, and leaned his forehead agaisnt hers. She opened her amber eyes and looked up into a gaze filled with rushing emotions.
Roy's lips found hers once again, this time with more passion than before. His tounge quickly gained access to her mouth and drifted along her teeth, and eventually her tounge.
Jacket forgotten somewhere on her floor, Riza entwined her arms around his neck. She burried a hand in his raven-black hair, gripping at the silky locks. Roy moved from her lips and back along her jaw. His nose rested near her flower-scented hair while he nibbled and licked at her ear. He found her ear to be very sensitive when his tongue glided along the outer edge, causing her to quietly whisper his name. Roy's hands, which were once idle on Riza's hips, began to move under her tight black shirt and along the arc of her back towards her bra. Riza froze and pulled back a bit, leaving Mustang bewildered.
"I-I..." she stumbled, already seeing fear of rejection come across his face. "I can't...it's too early for this to happen." It was immediately apparent that her word's weren't coherent, as he looked down at her with questioning eyes, why he had to be denied from her. Riza sighed, and rested her head on his chest, "I can't do this...not yet. If you really want this," she paused, her voice quiet, taking one of his hands from under her shirt and threading his fingers between hers, "you'll wait just a bit longer. There are some things I need to do before we can have this." She felt him rest his chin upon her head, "I'm sorry."
Roy pulled his hand away from hers, and once again wrapped it around her torso, pulling her into a gentle hug. "I can't say I really understand what you're implying, Riza," his voice was husk with dissipating passion, "but I can wait. However long you need, I'll wait."
Riza shifted her head and placed a kiss on the stubble laden skin of his chin, appreciating his acceptance of this bizarre situation. "I'll try to stop by your office soon," she began, enjoying the warmth of his embrace a bit longer, "and, hopefully, by then I'll be able to tell you more."
They backed away from Riza's door, and broke their embrace. Riza looked at Roy once again, as she went to open the door, and saw that he'd already returned the mask that kept him void of emotion. She opened the door, and he pulled her into a quick hug, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I guess I'll see you soon then," he spoke with a small grin, trying to show her that he wasn't hurt.
Riza sighed at the recollection from only a few hours earlier. She truly felt bad about having to stop and not go any further with Roy, but it wasn't the right time for him to find out.
She was startled from her thoughts as she heard Hayate barking at someone knocking at her front door. "First Lieutenant! It's me! Edward," came a voice from the other side of the door. Riza sighed, shutting off the shower and drying her hair. Her hand ran over the encoded skin of her back as she stepped out of the shower. 'It may be confusing now,' she thought on her way to go find out what Edward wanted at this hour, 'but once I can tell him why we couldn't go any further tonight, I'm sure he'll understand. Until that day he just has to stay the same Roy Mustang I've grown to trust and love.'
Fin.
Wow...an update for once. This goes out to the wonderful GK and CJ, two good friends who I wouldn't have been able to survive the year without! As for another note...My intrests in royai are starting to grow less by the day. Don't get me wrong, I love the pairing, but my desire to write them just isn't what it use to be. I'll try to update every so often, but don't expect too too much from me in terms of royai anymore (if that hasnt been pretty clear from my lack of posting over the past 6 months.) I may branch out into some other fandoms, who knows, but best wishes to everyone!
