I'm Tired, Chapter 4
Riza entered the room to see that Roy was, surprisingly working on his paperwork. He didn't look up.
"I thought I told you to leave." The Flame Alchemist said, but not in a tone that was telling her to get out again. He was more just surprised she came back.
"I refuse to leave, sir." She said without hesitation. She knew she was pushing her boundaries, but she had no apologies.
"Excuse me?" Once again, he wasn't as irritated as much as he was baffled, by her willingness to be blunt and straight forward with him. This was honestly a little new to him. He would expect something like this with Hughes, but Riza? Sure, she had always been fairly blunt, but rarely this straightforward. But, somehow, he had always respected this side of her. Still, it was a little frustrating to be around her when he wasn't in the best states of mind at the moment.
"It's my job to stay by your side and make sure you're safe, so I intend to do just that." She told him. Of course, she was also here because she wanted to be, but she didn't say that aloud.
"...You're something else, you know that?" Roy then muttered, sighing. There was a sad amusement in his tone. Sometimes, he honestly did wonder what she saw in him. Actually, he knew what she saw in him to a degree, but he didn't understand why she found the respect for him that she did. He wasn't innocent by any means, and had killed so many people in his life. His hands were forever stained with blood. How could anybody see him in a positive light after everything he had done?
"I appreciate your compliment." Riza replied. She figured that he was probably wondering why she wanted to stay by his side, but it was simply something she wanted to do. Did something like that really need an explanation? Riza had devoted her life to being by his side to help him achieve his goal, and she was content doing just that. However, that wasn't to say she was just blindly following him. She looked up to and genuinely respected, dare say loved, him because she knew that Roy wasn't a bad person, even though he had done things he was ashamed of, just like she herself had done things she wasn't proud of either.
Not much was said after that for a while, as Roy tried to focus on filling out the paper work, and giving his signatures on things that required it. However, it started to feel tedious and he became nervous and unable to sit still. His anxiety was screwing with him right now, as he found it impossible to focus on one single thing anymore. He needed to take some time to release his pent up frustration. He was aware that his coping mechanism wasn't exactly a "healthy" way to deal with things, but in times like these, when he couldn't stop thinking about the past; and couldn't focus on what he needed to be focused on, seeing his own blood was the only thing he knew of that could ease the anxiety, albeit temporarily. It was better than lashing out at somebody else, after all.
He pulled away from the desk, and got up, heading towards the door.
"Hawkeye, I'm going to the restroom. If anybody needs me, I'll be back in about fifteen minutes." He looked back.
"Right." She said, before he exited the rooms.
A/N: I wanted to write more, but I literally can't think right now. I'll try to post more tomorrow if possible. Sorry.