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Hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy reading!
Chapter 12
"What are you reading, Riza?" The said person's adjutant asked as she watched the blonde reading the papers in her hand with raised brows.
Riza placed them on the table in front of her, "A copy of the letter from Emperor Ling Yao to Roy."
"What does it say?" Rebecca asked with curiosity, then quickly added. "If you don't mind me asking."
"He's inviting us to Xing, most likely to discuss the trading," Riza said, then looked up at Rebecca. "You'll be coming with me, Rebecca, as my assistant and bodyguard."
The dark-haired woman's eyes widened in surprise, and her expression brightened as a grin settled on her lips. "Really!? When!?"
Riza chuckled at how she sounded like an excited child. "The 10th of June, Xingese time."
"10th of June? That's almost a month away." Rebecca then furrowed her brows. "And I thought we were going to the East."
"We'll have to postpone that." She too knitted her brows. "One month is most probably not enough to cover the whole Central Area."
The dark-haired woman nodded in agreement. "And it's only been a month and a half since we started planning this."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to ask you to organise the files on the other areas, Rebecca, the same thing you did with these two." She lifted the two folders.
"Roger that." The dark-haired woman lifted a hand to a salute.
"General Armstrong—"
Beep... Beep... Beep...
"Goddammit." Roy cursed angrily as he slammed the phone down. "She cut me off."
"Umm... Is there something wrong, sir?" Fuery piped up timidly, interrupting his superior officer's vexed mutterings.
Roy heaved a sigh and turned to his adjutant and bodyguard. "Havoc, Breda, we're going to Briggs."
"Briggs!?" The blonde exclaimed, nearly choking on his newly-lit cigarette.
"When, sir?" Breda asked.
"The day after tomorrow," Roy replied and scowled at Havoc. "Didn't I tell you to smoke outside? Get out!"
"But sir~" Havoc groaned and whined. "I opened the windows. Outside's so far away."
The Führer narrowed his dark eyes at him. "You opened all of the windows when it's windy. Out! And close some of the windows before you go."
"Yes, sir..." Havoc grumbled, slouching as he headed towards the windows.
"How long are we going to be there for, sir?" The red-headed Lieutenant Colonel asked.
The Führer sighed again, reaching a hand up to scratch his head. "I don't know, she didn't tell me anything. I sure do hope it takes less than a week." He then groaned, "I'll have to leave Riza for at least a week..."
"You sound like Brigadier General Hughes, Führer Mustang." Breda sniggered and laughed when Roy narrowed his dark eyes at him.
"Yeah, I'm beginning to see the resemblance, sir." Havoc added, "You would show off to us, about Riza."
"Riza?" The raven-haired man's eyes sharpened to a glare, and the blonde man nearly swallowed his cigarette. "You call her by her first name!?"
He put his hands up to a surrounding pose, "She told me to call her by her first name! And she's not a Colonel anymore, so I can't call her by her rank."
"I called her 'ma'am' before, but she told me not to 'cause it makes her sound old," Breda said, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Stop being so jealous, sir." Havoc teased.
Roy glared again. "Why are you still in this room with that cancer stick in your mouth?"
He moued and left the room.
Roy sighed and rested his chin on his desk, groaning as he ruffled his hair. "I don't want to go to Briggs..."
"Sir, your hand is stopping." Breda pointed.
The raven-haired man snorted, "Trying to be like Riza?"
"That stack needs to be seen through by tonight, sir." Falman reminded as he pointed at the stack of papers on his desk.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Roy gaped at the stack of papers and glanced at the clock. "It's already half past seven, I have a wife waiting for me at home to have dinner with me!"
"It's only half past seven..." Fuery mumbled.
"Ever since you got married, you've been leaving the office before seven," Breda smirked. "What if we ring Riza and tell her that you're not done with your work?"
Roy growled, and unwillingly lifted his pen up as he muttered a string of curses.
"What's wrong, Fubuki?"
Riza frowned lightly as she lightly caressed the white dog's fur, who just simply replied with a tired whimper. Black Hayate bent down to lick her snout and whimpered a worried one at Riza.
"She hasn't been eating much lately." The housekeeper said too with a worried frown. "She threw up this morning."
"Oh no," Riza muttered, and carried the dog (while Hayate immediately followed her), resting her on her lap as she sat down on the sofa. "You're not sick, are you?" She softly spoke while petting her, and leant down to place a kiss on the top of her head.
Fubuki lifted her head up slightly to lick her hand and nuzzled her head back against her. Riza glanced at the clock and asked. "It's almost eight-thirty. Are there any animal clinics that are still open?"
"Yes, Ma'am." The housekeeper replied. "The one on the San Louis street."
Riza glanced back down at the white dog on her lap and nodded. "I'll take her to the vet now." She scratched the dog's ears and said in a gentle tone. "Let's go to the vet, White Fubuki."
The dog replied a whimper, and Riza held her in her arms as she headed towards the door. The black dog let out a light bark as he stood on his hind legs, placing his paws on her knees.
Riza petted his head, "She'll be fine, Hayate. Watch the mansion for me."
"Dave, Hugh." The housekeeper gestured at the guards as she opened the door for Riza.
"Thank you." She muttered as she quickly walked towards the car. She stopped when she saw another car, and she sighed out of relief when she recognised the vehicle to be her husband's.
"Where are you going, Riza?" Roy raised a brow in confusion. "And is there something wrong with White Fubuki?"
"I'm taking her to the vet." She replied, "I think she's a bit ill."
"I'll go with you then." He said, and gently patted the white dog's head before helping to open the car's door for her.
She nodded thanks, "Alright."
"I beg your pardon?"
Roy watched his wife's honey hazel eyes widen in shock at the vet's words, though he was too, completely caught by surprise.
"She's three weeks pregnant, Ma'am." The vet repeated. "Some dogs do have morning sickness at the early stage of pregnancy, and losing appetites are a common symptom."
"Pregnant..." Riza muttered as she blinked down at the white dog, and reached a hand out to caress her fur as the corner of her lips lifted up to a smile. "You're pregnant."
Hayate, you sneaky dog. Roy thought with a tiny smirk, then lifted Fubuki up to carry her in his arms and kissed her snout.
"She would most likely continue to have morning sickness for the next week or two, so please give her more frequent but smaller meals." The vet said, "Please come back in around four weeks as I need to check the puppies' bone structures inside, but feel free to come back if you have questions or want to do checkups for her, Ma'am."
"Will do." Riza smiled and replied. "Thank you very much."
...
"I've never seen you this surprised since we got married," Roy commented to his wife who was sitting next to him, petting the dog on her lap while they were on their way home.
"I didn't quite expect this... at least not this soon," Riza replied, then raised a brow at him. "You don't look surprised."
He let out a light laugh. "I am. I too didn't expect Hayate to make his move this soon."
"Roy..." She sighed.
He chuckled and asked. "How long are dogs pregnant for?"
"Around nine weeks, she has around six weeks till giving birth." She said as she scratched the dog's ears, and chortled. "I can't believe that Hayate's going to be a father."
He hummed a response as he watched his wife, his onyx eyes softening in affection. He remembered the times when she held Elicia or Edward's kids gently in her arms, how she smiled softly at them, and he could always imagine her holding a dark-haired child; his child.
He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Hayate, despite knowing how ridiculous it sounded.
"A father, huh?" He uttered softly, gaining his wife's attention.
She glanced at him, noticing the fondness in his eyes; she seemingly read his mind, as she leant over to plant a kiss on the corner of his lips. He blinked in mild surprise, then turned his head to kiss her fully on the lips. She smiled when they pulled away from the brief kiss, and placed a hand over his and rested her head on his shoulder.
He turned his hand upwards to entangle their fingers.
"Darling?"
Roy spoke as he sat on their bed, resting his back on the headboard, whilst watching Riza blow-dry, then comb her medium-lengthed golden hair.
"Yes?" She looked at him through the mirror on her vanity desk.
"I'm going to Briggs in two days." He said with a light frown.
"Briggs?" Her honey hazel eyes widened ever so slightly. "Did General Armstrong request for you to go there?"
His frown deepened as he was reminded of the conversation he had with the General. "She didn't request. She hung up on me after ordering me to go there, she didn't even tell me what for."
She let out a light chuckle. "I'm sure it's an urgent matter, urgent enough for her to call you and ask to see you there in person."
He responded with a groan, then opened his arms when she placed the comb down on the desk and walked towards the bed, and he wrapped his arms around her as she sat down next to him. He then lifted her up slightly so she was sitting in between his legs, and she rested her head on his chest.
"How long do you think you'll be staying there for?" Riza asked.
"Hopefully less than seven days," Roy replied and pouted. "I can't bear to leave my darling wife's side for more than a week."
"I'll miss you too." She softly murmured and kissed his jaw.
He tightened his hold around her waist and leant down to press his lips against her neck, placing a soft kiss. His lips then travelled up to her jaw, the corners of her lips, then finally landed on her soft lips.
She placed her arms around his neck as she responded to the kiss, and their lips moved tenderly against each others. He reached a hand up from her waist to cradle her head in his hand, threading his fingers in her hair as he deepened the kiss. He gently laid her down, her back against the duvet, and he pulled away slightly just to reconnect their lips back together.
He licked her lips, and she parted them, allowing his tongue to entangle with hers. She moved a hand down to cup his cheek, and she let out a pleasured hum from the back of her throat.
They pulled away after a while, leaning their foreheads against each other's, and she smiled softly at him before planting a sweet kiss on his cheek.
Omake:
"You're going to be a father, Black Hayate." Riza cooed as she bent down to kiss the black dog's snout. He responded excitedly by standing on his hind legs and placing his paws on her knees, giving her wet and sloppy kisses on her face, enticing a chortle from her.
She sat down on the sofa, and Hayate immediately settled on her lap, then jumped slightly in surprise when White Fubuki jumped onto the sofa and snapped at him. He let out a soft whine and leant forward to lick her snout, just to get growled at.
Riza widened her eyes in surprise, and she patted her head. "Fubuki?"
The white dog glanced at Riza and leant in to her touch. Hayate cautiously eyed his mate, and slowly inched off Riza's lap. He let out a whimper and trotted up the stairs.
"Has the pregnancy get you cranky?" She murmured as she petted the white dog when she laid down and rested her head on her lap. Fubuki let out a soft, tired whine.
"Hey! Stop it!" Riza looked over to the staircase when she heard her husband yelp. "Hayate, stop biting my pants!"
She stifled a chuckle. Wasn't he in the shower?
She then heard a bark, then the exasperated voice of her husband. "Okay, okay, I'm coming with you so stop pulling on them!"
Fubuki yawned and raised her head slightly to glance at the staircase when her ears detected footsteps and (a one-sided) bickering.
"Is there something wrong, Riza?" Roy walked down the stairs, shirtless with damped hair. He held a towel in a hand and his cotton T-shirt on the other. He groaned, "Hayate just dragged me out from my shower."
"It's nothing, really. White Fubuki just got a bit cranky and growled at Hayate." Riza said as she watched him put his T-shirt on and dry his hair with the towel.
"...That's it?" He narrowed his eyes at Hayate and deadpanned, and the black dog whined.
"He's probably not used to it." She said, then hummed. "What should we name the puppies?"
"Aren't you thinking a bit far too ahead, darling?" He sat down next to her and kissed her temple before leaning back to rest on the couch. "We still don't know how many pups are in there."
She blinked at him and heaved a sigh. "That's... true."
They watched the black dog slowly moving towards Riza, glancing up at his mate uncertainly, flinching ever so slightly when she inched forward and froze when she licked his snout. His eyes brightened in joy and he let out an excited bark before placing kisses all over her face, enticing a soft chuckle from Roy and his wife.
A/N: Let's just pretend that Hayate and his mate didn't have puppies in the epilogue...
I am so sorry for not updating lately (even though I said I'd update every week, end yet I end up posting a really short chapter after a month). Good thing that everything has settled down, but now that school is starting again... I doubt that I'd be able to post every week (I'll try, though! I only have 2-3 lectures per day, and the work load doesn't seem to be heavy).
Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated :)