Disclaimer: I only own Arturo… I don't own FMA… Hence it being a fan fiction…
Thicker Than Rain
Chapter 4: A Traumatic Rescue
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
~ Maya Angelou
~O~O~O~O~O~
Roy entered the office dreading life itself.
The Lieutenant was already there with, who else by her side, but his cousin.
Roy rolled his eyes, walking miserably past them.
Hawkeye followed him with her gaze, and excusing herself, went over to the Colonel's desk.
"There you are, Sir. I was beginning to worry." She said, handing him a meeting invitation. "A messenger sent this from the Fuehrer: it seems that they're having a State Alchemist meeting in a few days."
Arturo came up beside her and nodded, leaning against Roy's desk.
"Yeah, Little Roy… you better be there," he said cockily, "I'll keep an eye out for you…"
Roy grumbled, choosing not to say any more for fear that his cousin would have another mocking, witty remark ready to humiliate him with in front of his subordinates.
He just watched as Arturo (finally!)went back to his temporary office down the hall.
The Colonel gave a relieved sigh as he felt a huge weight come off his shoulders. He could've sworn that his cousin's presence had weight and density to it…
His focus than changed as he watched Hawkeye working silently at her desk, tightness evident in her jaw… but it wasn't an agitated tightness: it was more akin to the tightness she had when she was concentrating.
It disturbed him when she was agitated. He always expected her to whip out her gleaming silver pistols and shoot him right through the forehead. God knew she could do it in a heartbeat.
The Colonel shuddered at the thought.
His vagabond of a mind kept drifting, and as he continued thinking about the Lieutenant, a brief smile flashed across his face.
Oh… there was just something about her… Ever since he was eighteen and saw her for the first time… the daughter of his teacher…
She was beautiful. So beautiful, and he couldn't help but fall instantly in-
"Procrastinating again, Roy?"
He winced at his cousin's voice and looked up, pondering over whether roasting a superior officer (who was also a family member) would lead to dire consequences.
"You know, you'll never get promoted that way…" Arturo reminded, his tone obviously mocking. "And I'll be needing a pen…"
You interrupted my wonderful day dreams because you needed a fucking pen?
"Shut up. Here's your pen…" Roy said, throwing it like a dart at his cousin's head.
Arturo caught it with the speed of a ninja, smirking the entire time.
"Thanks… though your aim could use a bit of work. Oh, by the way… I was thinking, Lieutenant: would you like to go out with me later… and explore the town? I still haven't gotten a chance to do that yet…" The Lieutenant General said, giving a smirk.
Roy glared at him, his jaw practically dropping to the floor.
Arturo, seeing the shocked expression on his cousin's face, chuckled.
"If you really want to tag along, Roy… I guess the Lieutenant and I could let you come." he added.
Hawkeye looked hesitant, constantly glancing back at her commanding officer.
She nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to give in easily.
"I'd love to have the Colonel accompany us." She said in a soft, yet business-minded tone.
Roy's eyes lit up and shone with an unadulterated appreciation for the Lieutenant.
Arturo looked tentative for a moment, but ultimately he flashed his usual grin and nodded.
"Of course. We couldn't leave Little Roy to fend for himself. He needs us to watch over him!" the Lieutenant General cooed, ruffling Roy's hair.
The Colonel pulled back as though a dog had bitten him.
"Don't touch me!" he snarled.
Arturo laughed,
"Loosen up, Roy," he teased, purposefully patting his cousin harshly on the back.
Roy winced and nearly fell over.
"WILL YOU STOP IT?"
The Colonel's eyes were blazing now, and Hawkeye noticed it.
She stepped between the two men; her steady hands ready to reach for her guns at any second.
There was a point in the back of her mind that just knew that today couldn't end well…
~O~O~O~O~O~
As they headed into the town, Arturo had put his arm around Hawkeye's shoulders as the two acquaintances caught up cheerfully.
Roy watched them miserably, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his uniform pants… jealousy shooting through him like solar flares.
Arturo looked back over his shoulder,
"Come on, Roy…" Arturo teased, chuckling lightly.
Riza looked back at her Colonel apologetically, but remained at Arturo's side.
"This is mutiny!" Roy thought, feeling rather betrayed, "The bastard has even turned Riza against me!"
"Don't hurt yourself, Roy, watch where you're going!" He heard his cousin's voice call from ahead.
"Yeah, yeah…" the distracted Colonel muttered as he brought his gaze upward.
He was almost met head on with a telephone pole.
He hated to admit it, but if his cousin hadn't warned him, he would've walked face-first into it.
A light pink tint of embarrassment spread over the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones, he turned his attention back to the pair in front of him.
Arturo was laughing at something she had said, his arm still draped over her elegant shoulders.
The Lieutenant looked concerned, but that didn't prevent the corner of her lips from being curled slightly upward.
The Colonel was far too lost in irritation at his cousin to be overwhelmed by embarrassment.
"Oh, that reminds me, Roy…" Arturo added, "I decided to perform my own check on you as an officer… and I've had to conclude that your skills at observation are quite lacking…"
He laughed once again, and continued walking besides the Lieutenant at his leisurely pace.
It was official: his cousin had a gift for making his life worse.
He could be standing, soaked, in the middle of a rainstorm, being attacked by homunculi and rabid chimeras… and Arturo would find a way to make his life worse.
Jerk…
He looked up to see Hawkeye and Arturo farther up the road… much farther.
"Come on, slow poke!" Arturo called, even though he didn't pause for a second, or slow down his pace for that matter.
"SHUT UP!" Roy answered as he jogged to catch up with them.
They headed to a bridge to look into the river.
A slight pang of concern ran through the Colonel's mind.
He didn't know how to swim, and his cousin knew full well that this would bother him.
"Come on, Little Roy…" Arturo said in a sing-song tone, "Don't be scared of the wittle water…"
The Flame Alchemist glowered at him.
"I'm not afraid! I just don't like being around YOU!" he shot back.
"No need to hide your fear, Wittle Roy…" Arturo tormented, "Just watch the fish and the running water with us… unless you don't want to… the Lieutenant and I are just fine on our own…"
He paused to cough, but Roy gave it no thought at all.
Roy visibly hesitated but gathered up his courage and went to join them.
"I just love the sound of running water…" Arturo said, his eyes fixed on Hawkeye, "Up at the Northern Headquarters, everything is frozen… the most we have of running water is the sink… but even that freezes up sometimes."
Hawkeye listened and laughed politely, though she glanced at the Colonel to see how he was doing.
Her expression softened for a brief second, but she quickly brought herself back to what Arturo was saying.
Roy continued his observations… for every second that passed; he felt his jealous rage deepening further.
Just the thought of beingin his cousin's presence made his skin crawl… and it took nearly all of his willpower to keep himself from throttling his superior officer.
He took several steps forward, and before he could do anything… he tripped.
As his feet flew from under him, Hawkeye reached for him, but missed.
"COLONEL!" she shouted, as Arturo steadied her shoulder.
With a splash, Roy fell into the water and tried to keep his head afloat.
He felt the current pulling him down and sideways, as though it wanted to tear him apart.
Hawkeye was about to shed her jacket, but Arturo stopped her.
"I'll get him…" he said, smirking "You just keep dry and get some help in case we need it… Besides, I wouldn't want you to get that beautiful, blonde hair of yours wet…"
The Lieutenant General had left before she could respond. He dove into the river after his younger cousin.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Roy fought the current as hard as he could, but he kept swallowing water and he couldn't remain afloat… he was tired and part of him just wanted to give up and die… His feet were just brushing the bottom of the river when he became semi-aware of a pair of arms that lifted him up and dragged him to shore.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Arturo's eyes widened as he felt Roy's pulse slowing. He wasn't breathing, and he gave another cough.
He tore opened Roy's jacket and shirt and began to push firmly against his cousin's chest at a steady rhythm.
He put his face to Roy's mouth, but there was no breath coming from his lips.
The Lieutenant General gave a sigh, and pressing his mouth to his cousin's, he exhaled.
The unconscious Colonel's chest rose and as he coughed up water, his eyes opened weakly.
As his vision began to clear, the first thing he saw was his cousin's smiling face looking down at him as he wiped his mouth.
"About time you woke up, Sleeping Beauty…" Arturo said, and Roy gave a horrified scream.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Hawkeye heard the scream and gathered the group that she had managed to accumulate.
"Hold on, Sir." she mumbled to herself, "We're almost there…"
When she got to the site, Roy was sitting straight up, clutching the top of his shirt like a modest school girl with his eyes bulging out of his head, aimed directly at the Lieutenant General.
Hawkeye knelt by his side,
"Sir, is everything all right? What happened? I heard a scream…"
She put her jacket over Roy's trembling shoulders, rubbing his back slightly.
To her surprise, the Colonel grabbed onto her, crying into her shoulder.
"Sir… it'll be okay…" she said, comforting him, "Just tell me what happened."
"H-he did this…" Roy said cryptically, pointing a finger at Arturo once he calmed down, "It was his fault…"
Riza glared at Arturo, who only shrugged.
"He's delusional." The Lieutenant General stated, "Just let him-"
"Don't you dare come up with excuses! Roy hissed, "You made me trip… and… and then…"
Roy's entire body trembled violently as if recalling a particularly awful memory.
"Then he did what, Sir?" Hawkeye asked.
"He violated me!" The Colonel answered as he went back to crying into Hawkeye's shoulder.
Hawkeye was stunned for a few moments.
"I did CPR…" Arturo answered, coughing again, "I told you he's delusional… He must've swallowed too much river water."
"That was only to save your life, Sir…" Hawkeye said gently, "You should know that, Sir. It's part of basic training…"
"B-b-b-ut that doesn't change anything! He still did it!" Roy shouted hysterically.
Arturo laughed at Roy's expression,
"Calm down…" he chortled, "I just saved your life. And I did it out of the goodness of my heart… after all… there's nothing I care more about than a fellow citizen in need!"
The crowd laughed and applauded Arturo as he stood up.
"Thank-you, thank-you!" he said, "It was nothing, really! I just wanted to save my Little cousin from harm!"
Some women in the crowd 'aww-ed' at the seemingly sincere sentiment, but Hawkeye only sighed.
There was just no changing the man.
Arturo kneeled down by Roy's side, looking as though he was going to embrace the younger man.
"Come here, Roy… it'll be okay…" Arturo said, his eyes shining with crocodile tears.
Roy scooted back, keeping away from the unwanted contact.
"Don't TOUCH me… you've already done enough already…" Roy growled like a cornered wolf.
Arturo didn't listen, but rather pulled the Colonel against his chest, stroking his hair like a beloved pet.
"You must watch your step, next time, Cousin… I don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" Arturo wept dramatically, "You know you can't swim! Besides, that's no way to show off in front of the Lieutenant! You should have found some other way… a safer way!"
Roy's face grew crimson and he was suddenly afraid to look up at the Lieutenant for fear of seeing her pistols cocked and aimed between his eyes.
He instead took the opportunity to stare at his cousin in utter disbelief.
"That's…that's RIDICULOUS!" Roy responded, and he felt rather satisfied with himself for finding words at all. "Telling lies, Arturo… That's not a proper thing for one of the military higher-ups to be doing… you should be ashamed."
Roy smirked, waiting for his cousin's response with a rare eagerness.
Let's see what the bastard has for an answer this time…
Arturo stood up silently and Roy thought he had won…but then he saw that smirk break on his cousin's face and he knew that he hadn't. In fact, he was far from victory.
"Addressing your superior officers like that, Colonel… is no way to get promoted. And that's no lie." he answered. "Besides, if you really want to make a good comeback, you have to think quicker than that. You failed the section of foreign policy and communication, Roy, on my own evaluation…"
He began coughing again and the women clustered around him.
Roy just looked up, completely stunned.
"Y-you're kidding!" he complained.
Hawkeye only put an arm around him, leading him away.
"Come on, Sir… let's not get you into any more trouble," she said.
Roy was only too glad to oblige as she led him away.
((A/N: Sorry I was so late updating this one... my computer has been glitchy... Anyway, thanks for the reviews, favorites, alerts and words of critiscism! I apprecaite it! ))