I know, I know. Roy is a little OOC. Sorry. If it's too bad, tell me so I can fix it up! Read and review would be very nice, but my goal is for you to enjoy, so it's not necessary!
Romance [sorry if I fail. And by the way, there is a lot of royai hinting. Hope you don't mind. Couldn't resist!] Woot!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist... but I bet you knew that.
Riza walked into the office and sat at her desk after going to pick up more paperwork for the team to work on, but Roy noticed the woman had something on her mind and he hoped to find out when he realized she was heading to his desk.
"Do you need something, Colonel Hawkeye?" he asked curiously, yet professionally.
"I would like to request the rest of the day off, sir." she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Roy was now even more curious as to why the Colonel would want the day off. He couldn't recall any situations that would require her to leave, especially since she usually booked appointments after work hours or on her days off. That's how she was. Unless she had some sort of social life he wasn't aware of, but this seemed unlikely and the Brigadier General smiled to himself reassuringly knowing this wouldn't be the case.
"May I ask why?" he asked simply.
"I have a date." Roy's fears were confirmed. She did, in fact have a life outside of the military. The room went silent as the four subordinates who had been listening could no longer pretend they were working and listened into the conversation.
"Oh." said Roy simply. "I suppose you may leave if you have your work done." the last bit was completely unnecessary, considering Hawkeye would have never asked if it wasn't finished.
Riza just nodded. "Thank you, sir." she gave him a sweet smile, the smile which never failed to shock Roy. She then left after picking up a stack of papers from each desk of the subordinates from their finished piles.
"Mother hen has a date." whistled Havoc after a minute of silence.
"Mother hen?" Fuery asked curiously at this new nickname.
Havoc nodded. "Well, she watches over us to make sure we do nothing wrong... scolds us when we do. Keeps us on our toes, but you never do expect your mother to date. Then she brings home a new dad." he finished with a sigh, then a mischievous glance at Mustang. "I guess Mustang is daddy material." he said wistfully and mockingly.
"Havoc!" Roy growled, clenching his fists in frustration. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you forgetting I'm the Brigadier General here?"
Havoc dropped his cigarette, which he wasn't supposed to have in the office. "Right, boss. I Forgot about that."
"I wonder who he is." Mustang said absentmindedly, making Havoc roll his eyes.
"I'm sure it wont last, Brigadier General." Breda said as he picked up his pen and started filling out sheets of papers, already bored with the conversation.
Havoc, however, was still going strong. "I'm sure he's handsome. And serious, completely unlike you, Mustang." it had become clear he was only egging on Roy, and it worked.
"Havoc, if you don't get back to work now, I'll throw your ass out." he barked, even though his Lieutenant had clearly been right. Roy put a hand to his face and moaned in frustration, but he knew he couldn't just sit there. She would be mad to find he hadn't completed his work, and that's the last thing he wanted.
"Riza!" the happy voice of Rebecca Catalina called out from a table at an outdoor restaurant. "You got out early?" she said in a surprised voice.
"I couldn't stand you up, could I?" Riza Hawkeye said with a smile to her old friend.
"I would be very sad if you had." Rebecca said in a fake sad voice. "So how did you get out?" she blurted out with curiosity.
"I asked." Hawkeye said simply, making her friend moan with boredom at her uneventful story. Riza gave a small laugh and asked, "Why? Did you expect it to be difficult?"
"I expected Mustang to not let you go." she said with a smirk. "Come on, what was his face like when you asked?"
Rebecca was always going on about how Riza and Mustang had a secret relationship, despite Hawkeye's protests. They were commanding officer and subordinate, nothing less, and certainly nothing more, this Riza was certain of. "He looked surprised, I guess." she said, hoping she wouldn't give to much to Riza to hint towards anything untrue.
"That's it? Surprised? Boring." Rebecca said to Riza's amusement. "He should have been wallowing in self pity at the thought of you leaving him!"
Riza sighed and decided to change the topic. "How is your life going, Miss Catalina? Will you be staying in central for a while?" she asked.
"Yep! And guess what? I'll be staying in your apartment!" Rebecca said happily with a wink.
"Oh really now? I guess that's fine." Riza said. She knew Rebecca wouldn't ask to stay over, and would instead have just gone ahead and done it anyway. It was certainly nothing to be shocked about.
"Yay!" Rebecca said as she got up and hugged her old military buddy. Riza smiled, surprisingly glad she would have more company than Hayate. "Well, sorry for making you leave work, Riza. I actually have to go to work myself!" she said with a laugh. "Unlike you, I have no more sick days to take up!" she said as she put on her jacket and lifted her purse from the table.
"Okay. I guess I'll go take Hayate for a walk." Hawkeye said with a smile. "I'm sure I'll be home when you get to my apartment, but here is a spare key anyway." she said as she handed Rebecca a silver key, which she took gratefully. The two then departed with a friendly hug.
Riza noticed a large crowd about a mile in front of her. As she neared it, she noticed it was actually a very large crowd surrounding an alleyway entrance. "What's going on?" she asked loudly. Luckily, she was still wearing her uniform, gaining the trust of the surrounding people. They all looked scared and a little freaked out. There was man in uniform on the ground in front of the alley which no one had approached. Riza ran up to the man, earning gasps from the crowd. "Sir? Sir, are you okay?" he wasn't moving, or breathing... it had been too late. "Why has no one helped him?" Riza growled loudly with anger to the people.
"The killer... he is in that alley. We didn't want to be the next victim." said a tall chestnut-haired man. Riza looked at him for a moment. He was calm and collected, despite the sight in front of him.
"Would you mind explaining what happened and why there are no other officers here?" Riza said accusingly.
The man shook his head. "I have no idea why there aren't any other officers here, I called the military. This man had already been on the street when the little girl was taken." he paused a moment and looked into the alley. "We heard a girl screaming and most of us came here to help her, but she was gone by the time we came. Then this soldier came over and was about to go into the alley." he paused again and gulped. "He was murdered right before the entrance with a knife thrown into his back. It sounded like an instant death."
"Okay, thank you sir." Riza said, and the man nodded. "Please clear out-," she was interrupted by a high pitched whistle.
"Sorry for ruining your little party, but I would like to propose a trade." a sly voice said from inside the alley. It was dark and impossible to see the inside. "This little girl, for the woman." it said.
"Who are you? What are you doing with the girl? What woman?" Riza growled with multiple questions, taking out her two guns defensively for herself and the people around her.
"Why you, my dear. And my identity does not matter for now. I have her right here and if you promise to come here, I will give her back." the voice said. For some reason Riza knew the enemy was telling the truth. She decided she would do as he said.
"Send her out first and I will come. You have my word." Riza said. She handed one of her guns to the chestnut-haired man and he looked a little surprised, but accepted the responsibility.
"Fine. Make sure you come." the voice said suspiciously, almost like a threat. A young girl ran out from the darkness sobbing. She landed on Hawkeye's legs and held on tightly.
"Elicia!" Riza said in a shocked voice. She knelt down and hugged the crying child. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe. Now go to those people who will take you to your mom, Gracia Hughes." she said the name of her mother loudly so someone would return her to her home. "I have to go, sweetie." Riza had met Elicia before, considering she was Maes Hughes' daughter, making the girl reluctant to let go, but eventually obey,
Riza nodded to the crowd, and their faces all showed worry and fear. "Leave. Immediately." she ordered the people. A woman took Elicia's hand, and they dispersed. Riza looked into the pitch bla k alley and walked up to the entrance, passing the dead solider she couldn't save. It was impossible to see, which didn't seem to make much sense since it was still the afternoon.
"Very nice, Colonel." the voice said. "How devoted you are to your word."
"What do you want with me?" Riza asked as she clicked the safety off her gun.
The voice ignored her question and said, "I bet you're are very loyal to your commanding officer."
Before Riza could respond, she was overcome by darkness.
Oh, cliffhanger, sort of. I'm skipping the Ed chapter because I hadn't meant to end it like this. I wanted it to be longer but if I had continued it would have been too long. Sorry for those who prefer Ed chapters!