Author's note: Hey, sorry this update is later than expected, but Chapter 3 is well in the works so it'll be up by Friday.
Cassie's nap turned into sleeping the night away. She woke up and found herself sprawled on Jean's bed. Not realizing how close she was to the edge of the bed, she rolled over and found herself suddenly on the floor. She let out a groan. If this was any sign of how her first day as a part of Mustang's team would go, she was not going to survive. She stood up and worked a kink out of her back before heading to the bathroom. She noticed Jean still asleep on the couch. He was too tall for it and she could only imagine how uncomfortable he must have been sleeping there.
Upon entering the bathroom and looking in the mirror, Cassie noticed the mess her hair had become overnight. Half of her long dark hair had fallen out of her french braid overnight. She combed through the mess and jumped into the shower. By time she finished showering and changing into her uniform, Jean had woken up and was sitting at the kitchen table, alternating between a cigarette and cup of coffee.
"Wow, that's quite the breakfast," Cassie remarked as she sat down across from him and dried her hair with a towel.
"I open my home up to you, and you're going to criticize my habits? Well, tonight you can sleep on the couch." Cassie just shrugged in response.
"It's your home and I have a talent for sleeping anywhere at any time."
"Trust me, I know." Jean stood up and Cassie noticed that he was already dressed in his uniform.
"Oh, did you already shower?" She asked as he walked into his kitchen.
"I took is last night while you were knocked out. I even tripped over your bag and you didn't wake up."
"Like I said," Cassie said nonchalantly as she began braiding her hair, "I have a talent for sleeping."
When Jean reappeared, he had a plate with buttered toast and sliced apple. Cassie smiled. Soon after she first met Jean, he witnessed her almost cut a finger off while slicing an apple and since then, he has always cut them for her. She quickly finished her braid which started at the top left of her head and wrapped around so it fell over her right shoulder.
"You're the best, Jean! Thanks for the food!" She said cheerfully before she started eating. Jean sat back down across from her grabbing one of the apple slices.
"Try and keep this peppy attitude when we see the Colonel, alright?"
"No promises." Cassie said with a mouth full of toast.
The rest of breakfast was spent in relative silence. By time she had finished eating, it was time for them to leave. Jean was halfway out the door when he looked behind him and was shocked at what he saw. Cassie was slipping her fur coat on.
"Cass, are you really wearing that outside?"
"Yeah, I wear it everywhere." Jean hung his head in resignation.
"I've known many women in my life, but none have been nearly as strange as you."
"Somehow I doubt this woman you claim to be dating is normal. I mean, she's dating you after all." Cassie remarked as they exited his apartment. Jean suddenly had a lovey-dovey look on his face. Cassie had seen this one many times since Jean constantly told her about the girls he was pining over.
"This girl is not just normal, she's beautiful, sweet, and I think she really likes me."
"Well then, I guess you won't need me around if you have her. Once this mission is over, I'll pack my bags, head back north to my frozen isolation, and disappear from your life forever." Jean gave her a light flick on the ear.
"I don't ever want to hear that from you. You'll always be the number one girl in my life no matter how annoying you can be."
Cassie smiled up at Jean as they continued walking. They turned a corner and found themselves at the military headquarters. Seeing the building brought back so many memories of when she first became a State Alchemist. She had become a certified state alchemist in the last year of the Ishvalan War. Upon seeing the state of surviving soldiers and hearing whispers of what happened, she counted her lucky stars that she never had to go there. Her time at Central was brief, once the war ended, she was sent to East City where she met the Flame Alchemist and eventually became known as the Snow Alchemist.
Jean led her through Central, constantly stopping to say hi to fellow officers. Cassie was not surprised; Jean had always been a gregarious individual. Most of the people were strangers to her, but there were a few familiar faces. Each of them seemed shocked to see her back in Central. As they walked further down the hallway, Cassie noticed Hawkeye in the distance talking to a short officer in glasses. They stopped talking as Jean and Cassie approached.
"Hello, Lieutenant Hawkeye. It's nice to see you." Cassie said politely.
"Nice to see you, Lieutenant Keynes. I hope your travels went well." Hawkeye kept her usual professional demeanor. The man next to Hawkeye looked curiously over at Cassie.
"Oh, that's right." Havoc said. "You two never would have crossed paths back in East City. Lieutenant Keynes, this is Master Sergeant Fuery. He also was transferred over here by the Colonel."
Cassie took that to mean that this man could be trusted to some extent. In all honesty, she could tell just by looking at him that there was no way this man could be up to something malicious.
"Nice to meet you, Sergeant Fuery. We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other if you're working under the Colonel too."
"Nice to meet you!" He said with a slightly confused smile. Cassie turned to Hawkeye.
"Speaking of the general, is he in?" During their conversation yesterday, Hawkeye had informed Cassie that Mustang spent most of his time researching at the library. Hopefully he was so busy with his research that he was not in to see her currently.
"Actually, he's waiting for you in his office."
"What? He's here earlier than me? That's surprising."
"Lieutenant, you say that as if you ever showed up early." There was a hint of amusement in Hawkeye's comment.
"No, I was always on time, unlike the Colonel." Jean scoffed next to her.
"Always?" He asked despite knowing the answer. Cassie threw her hands in the air.
"Usually. I was usually on time unlike the Colonel." Jean let out a laugh while Fuery looked more confused. "Alright, show me the way, Lieutenant." Cassie sighed. It was time to get this meeting over with.
Hawkeye walked a few steps to a partially open door near her and pushed it all the way open. Cassie could only hope they had been quiet enough that the flame alchemist had not heard her insulting his timeliness.
"Colonel, Lieutenant Keynes is here." Hawkeye said. Cassie walked in and saw the man in question sitting behind a desk idly playing with a chessboard. Hawkeye was standing next to the door and had her usual neutral expression.
"Hello, Colonel." Keynes said shortly.
"Snow Alchemist, it's been awhile. Thank you for coming to assist us." Roy leaned forward on one of his hands. Upon looking closer at his face, Cassie could notice the dark circles under his eyes. He must really be throwing himself into this work. It made sense given his friendship with Hughes.
"Of course, sir. How could I refuse a request from my former boss."
"From what I remember, you never listened to my orders and you were rarely on time." Even if he did not emphasize the word rarely, the smirk on his face had given away the fact that he had heard everything outside.
"In my defense, sir, I did listen to your orders, but I also learned from watching my superior and I figured 'well if he chooses to ignore his paperwork, I guess I can ignore his orders'" None of this was true, of course, but she knew it would rile him up.
"I do not slack off! Lieutenant, do I slack off?" He turned to Hawkeye.
"Sir, have you finished all the transfer paperwork?" She asked plainly.
"Of course I have!" Mustang waved at his desk which did not have a single piece of paper on it. Hawkeye gave him a deadpan look as she walked over to his desk, opened the drawer, and pulled a stack of papers out. Mustang opened his mouth to respond but said nothing.
"Lieutenant Keynes, maybe you should have a seat so the Colonel can go over some logistics with you." Hawkeye said. As Keynes sat down, she noticed that the stack of papers were blank as in entirely blank and not paperwork needing to be filled out. So, this is all for show. I guess they don't want anyone to know something suspicious is happening here. Mustang has always had a flare for the dramatics. Cassie thought to herself.
"So, Colonel, tell me about this task you have for me."