Disclaimer: I don't own FMA… only Arturo and Mr. Momo… please don't steal them without my permission… I'd be glad to give permission to torture them!
Thicker Than Rain
Chapter 6: An Unseen Confession
"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."
~ Galileo Galilei
~O~O~O~O~O~
That was it… he couldn't take it anymore… Everyone had their limits, and Colonel Mustang had reached his.
He was taking a day off… he felt like he deserved it after what had happened the day before.
The Colonel shuddered as he remembered it vividly… His cousin leaning over him… a smirk on his face as he wiped his mouth…
No amount of therapy would make that moment okay… and it would live with him forever…
"Screw Equivalent Exchange! I did NOTHING to deserve this!" Roy told himself as he sat on the floor of his apartment.
He had pulled his knees up to his chest as he rocked back and forth, trying to dispel the visuals from his mind… something he hadn't done since he was a young child.
Never in all his days had he thought of locking lips with another man… let alone his cousin…
He could've cried from the violation he felt.
That Bastard…
"He knew exactly what he was doing!" Roy snapped at the wall adjacent to his position, "I don't care if I was drowning… he could've let the Lieutenant do it!"
Then he realized…
The Lieutenant!
"I left her alone with that bastard!" Roy exclaimed as he instantly stood up, "No! I won't let it happen! He won't be with her; I refuse to let that-that…disaster happen!"
Roy dressed in his uniform as quickly as he could and gathering his coat, he went out the door, headed towards the office.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"I can't believe the Colonel actually took off…" Breda said, glancing at his comrades, "I mean… He should've just taken the week off if he wanted to escape the inspection so badly…"
"That's not it…" Havoc said, the usual cigarette in his mouth, "I heard the Lieutenant and the Lieutenant General talking… The Boss is related to the Lieutenant General! They're cousins!"
Furey gasped,
"That explains the resemblance!" the younger man yelped.
The others looked at him with dull expressions, but didn't respond.
"Talking about my cousin again?"
All of the men shot up, saluting the Colonel who stood in the doorway.
"Where is the Lieutenant General?" he asked in his deep baritone.
"I believe he's in his office… with Lieutenant Hawkeye." Furey said, "He said that he needed to speak with her on something very important."
Roy's hands clenched into fists, but he held his temper back from his still loyal subordinates.
"Thank you… you can go back to whatever you were doing…" He said, as he rushed out the door, making a beeline to his cousin's office.
Roy burst through the door, expecting… well, he didn't know what he'd find, but he knew that it couldn't be good.
"You thought you could get away with it, didn't you?" Roy snapped, "Making me fall into the river and then kissing me, and then knowing that I'd take the day off so you could have time off with Riza!"
Arturo looked at his cousin with a puzzled countenance,
"What?" he asked, as he slowly broke into hearty laughter. Tears formed in his green eyes as he looked at Roy, falling back into his chair, unable to stand.
Roy stood his ground,
"You know what you did!" he shouted.
Arturo just continued laughing.
"Oh, I can't… I can't breathe…" he gasped, coughing and holding his stomach, laughter still coming in short bursts, "Oh…that's too much, Roy…"
Arturo wiped his eyes, grinning like the Cheshire cat up at his cousin.
"How long did it take you to come up with that?" he asked, "I hope you didn't burst a blood vessel…"
"STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!" Roy snapped, "Just stop! I can't take it any more!"
Arturo suddenly became serious, coughing again.
"Stop what exactly?" he inquired.
Roy visibly tensed… a blush forming on his face as he realized the position he found himself in.
"Stop hitting on my Lieutenant!" Roy choked out, "You know how much I love her!"
Arturo's suddenly face softened, as he stood up, going over to his cousin.
"Roy… why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, putting a hand on his cousin's shoulder and bringing him closer.
Roy nodded, sighing with relief… it had been a long time since his cousin showed him any kind of compassion.
"But Roy… could I ask you something?" He asked.
The Colonel looked up,
"Sure…" he said, "As long as you stop hitting on her…"
Arturo smirked,
"Could you repeat what you just said? I don't think the beautiful Lieutenant heard you." He said, snickering.
Roy's face turned completely pale as he looked back to see Hawkeye standing in the doorway, looking completely shocked.
"Ah, Lieutenant! I thought you'd never make it!" Arturo said cheerfully, "Now… about what we talked about…"
Hawkeye was completely stunned, but managed a stiff nod.
"O-of course…sir…" She said, a rare, red tint spread into her cheeks as she clutched the files and papers tighter against her chest.
Well, this is uncomfortable…
Roy could only gawk at her, then his cousin. He was then filled with anger.
He had planned this entire thing!
He grabbed Arturo by the collar and began shaking him violently.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU'RE LIKE A-A TERRORIST!" Roy shouted in his humiliation, "YOU NEVER STOP! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DROP DEAD!"
"Sir!" Hawkeye protested.
Arturo held up a hand, to calm the Lieutenant, but his black and white hair fell into his eyes as his cousin shook him.
"It's okay, Lieutenant… I understand what Roy's feeling… I shouldn't have tripped him… or set him up for that matter…" he said, his eyes still gleaming, "He just should learn to pick up on things sooner and not to assault a superior officer."
With his last sentence, he balled his hand into a fist and punched the Colonel across the face, sprawling him out on the floor.
Hawkeye ran over to her commander, as Arturo slammed the door behind him.
Roy was speechless for several seconds… he had never seen Arturo that angry before… and he'd never punched him before… Tormented him with electric shocks, tripped him, and other meaningless things like that were plenty… but he'd never punched him before… and a twang of guilt ran through the younger man.
When Roy sat up, Hawkeye looked at him with a hurt expression.
"Sir, I don't know how you could go and say something like that to him…" She said, helping him to his feet.
Roy's jaw dropped as he looked at her,
"What do you mean? He had it coming for years! He should drop dead!"
"But you don't say that, sir…" Riza argued, "Especially when you don't know his side of the story!"
"What, and you DO?" The Colonel protested, "Well, if you two are so close, why don't you tell me?"
Hawkeye's jaw tightened in an agitated manner, and Roy paused.
"Please don't tell Roy… I don't think he can handle the truth yet…I'll tell him at the end of the week… trust me…"
"I-I can't, sir…" she said, "I'm under orders."
Roy glared at her,
"Fine… be that way…" Roy muttered.
"Sir, you're being very immature about this…" Hawkeye chastised, "Why can't you just have faith in what you don't understand? You'll find out sooner or later… the Lieutenant General told me so.."
"Because I'm an alchemist, Hawkeye!" Roy protested, "Besides, his word is like that of a hungry wolf… it can't be trusted!"
"Surely, you can't really think that, sir." She answered, calm as always.
"No… I do Hawkeye…" He said, "Now, I think I just need some time to myself…I'm… sorry about what happened…"
As he went to leave his cousin's office, Riza's face softened,
"Sir…Roy… there's no need for apologies…" she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, turning him back around, "I just don't want to see you two stop actually caring about each other…"
Roy chuckled,
"No need to worry about that, Lieutenant…" he answered casually, "That's already happened… no need to worry…"
He then headed back to his own office, as Hawkeye gave a sigh.
He just doesn't understand…
((A/N: Thank you so much for the alerts and review I got! I'm suprised you guys are still keeping up with my fic. I'm absolutely flattered! Reviews would be really appreciated... even bad ones make my day! ^^ ))