Terribly sorry about late update but i moved house this weekend D: STRESS Next update will be soon...hopefully next few days :)
AN EPIC THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS! Im sorry that I havn't gotten around to replying to all of you but Im trying...this week has just been tough with moving etc. so i will be writing replies within the next week...
One last thing...things in the chapter get a little...umm...heated? Not severe enough for M rating but please make sure you are old enough for T rating. :D AND the story line follows the Conquorer of Shamballa storyline a lot more from now on so there may be spoilers...
I DON'T OWN FMA...ENJOY!
Maes was now a year old and was becoming more trouble by the day. Now that his teeth had come through he was biting anything and everything. He wriggled on his changing mat, desperate to explore his new world. He didn't want cuddles from Mummy all the time, he wanted to crawl around and grab things, chew things, break things. There were times when Riza wondered who was worse – the baby or the dog?
It was another very sunny day on a Saturday afternoon in Central and to celebrate little Maes turning one year old Gracia, Elysia, Maria, Havoc and Riza were going to take him to the park. The blanket was laid down on the spongy grass next to the large boating lake, families could be heard screaming and splashing in the shallow waters or on the boats. Gracia let Elysia run off into the shallow waters in her little green swimming costume and bucket while Riza struggled with Maes in her lap, "Sit still, Maes!" she scolded. It was a hot day and Maes had already tried to pull his shorts and t-shirt off so she was going to let him crawl around in his nappy – but not without sun cream – much to Maes' disappointment.
He let out a little squeal and she rubbed the lotion into his belly, she smiled evilly and started tickling him gently, "see what happens when you mess with Mummy?" she teased as he wriggled away from her in giggles. Eventually he was free, he started on all fours across the blanket towards the largest picnic basket, "should have known you were after the food," Riza mused.
Havoc chuckled and pulled out some of the tupperware boxes that had been filled with fruit, sandwiches and salad. Gracia produced some cakes from her basket and they were placed on the blanket for free pickings. Maes turned and eyed the strawberries curiously, he didn't look sure and Riza smiled as he picked one up in his fist and studied it as if it were a precious jewel. He glanced around the group, watching as his mother and her friends began picking slices of fruit and popping them in their mouths. He looked back at the strawberry in question. He opened his mouth and stuffed it in, trying to copy the motion of the adults.
Unfortunately, the strawberry was to big and his mouth to small because when Riza looked, her son had a dazed and confused expression, his lips and cheeks were a brilliant red. She smiled, "Oh Maes, look at you!" she reached over and wiped his mouth with a tissue, "small bites, OK?"
He just babbled in response holding the remainder of the strawberry towards his mother. Maria went doe eyed, "He's so cute, Riza!"
"Yes, when he's behaving," she retorted taking the strawberry mush and wrapping it in a tissue, "he can be a real trouble maker." Maes ignored his mother and began to crawl off the mat, "Where do you think you're going?" Riza said, scooping him up and putting him back on the mat. He began to wriggle and started crawling adamantly off the mat. Riza once again picked him up and plopped him on the mat between the adults. He wailed and made another attempt to get off the mat and towards the lake, "Maes! No!" Riza scolded, standing to pick her son up and place him firmly on the mat so he was surrounded by adults. Maes pouted and began babbling again, trying to form a coherent sentence to tell his mother he wasn't impressed.
Havoc watched Riza scold the raven haired boy in front of her, musing quietly to himself, "not much has changed really," he mumbled.
Maes pulled himself back onto all fours and crawled over to Havoc, who was engrossed with a conversation with Gracia about something in the papers that morning. He gripped Havoc's arm and then reached up for his sleeve. Havoc turned and his eyes fell on the little guy, "Hey there champ, what you after?"
Maes babbled at him and reached another hand up so both his hands were fisted in Havoc's sleeve. Havoc watched as the little guy heaved himself up to stand on his little wobbly legs, his eyes level with Havoc's. Havoc was sat looking at him in shock. Riza gasped as she watched her son stand up for the first time, "Well done!" she cooed at him and he turned to look at her smirking before his little legs failed and he plopped down next to Havoc with a small thump.
Riza just laughed and scooped him up cuddling him, "You're such a clever boy!" Maes giggled in her arms and proceeded to grab a fist full of blonde hair and stuff it in his mouth. Havoc grinned at them and shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. The lunch proceeded smoothly, Hayate pranced around the edge of the circle seeing if he could sneak a sausage sandwich while Elysia dragged Maria over to the lake to show her something she'd found. Gracia was following Maes around as he crawled around the park lawn, making sure he didn't get into any trouble. The child had a penchant for trouble even though he was only one, something Riza blamed his father for.
"Smart kid," mused Havoc. He and Riza sat side by side on the rug with the decimated picnic still in front of them. Riza leaned forward and carefully plucked the last strawberry from the Tupperware box Gracia had brought.
"Yes," she replied softly, watching Maes with a loving smile touching the corner of her mouth. There was a short pause before she finally added, "like his father."
Havoc's brow creased as he watched her, "you miss him, don't you?"
Riza gave a short harsh chuckle, "every damn day. Every time I look at Maes I think of him. Wander what he's doing and if he's OK." She paused and looked down at the rug, "and then I get angry," she whispered, "I...I hate him for doing this...I hate him for not...staying for me..." She didn't look up at Havoc, just stared intently at the rug, thumbing it with her right thumb before she gripped it with white knuckles, "what didn't I do, Jean?"
Havoc reached out and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "nothing Riza...you didn't do anything...You did so much and he knows that, he just...he just can't live with Ish-"
"Don't give me shit about Ishbal!" she spat, looking up at him was moist and angry eyes, "We all fucked up in Ishbal but we're dealing with it! Moving on!"
"Riza..." Havoc said softly, and without thinking he lifted up a hand and laid it gently on the side of her face, cupping her cheek, "...He is dealing with it but in his own way...he needs the space and time to really reflect."
Riza sat paralysed on the rug. Havoc's thumb gently caressed her cheek and she stared at him directly, eyes slightly wide. What is he doing! Her head screamed, Havoc's hand is on my cheek...intimately. Her breath caught but she didn't pull away, she liked it. She liked the affectionate gesture, someone was paying her some attention. She liked Havoc but not as anything more than a trusted and loyal friend, yet here he was gently touching her cheek and causing her to have butterflies. No one had looked at her that way since...Roy.
Riza pulled away and stood up, "I...Jean..." she stammered but eventually just turned away to flee the scene. Her eyes had dulled and she had quickly reverted to her stoic lieutenant mode. She had only taken a small step off the blanket when the earth violently shook beneath her. She toppled over and Havoc quickly caught her, looking as stunned as she did. Maes and Elysia screamed and clung to their respective adult's legs.
Riza turned to soldier mode instantly, turning abruptly to Maria and Havoc, "Headquarters, now!" she commanded and the two nodded, following her swiftly out the park leaving Gracia in charge of the two children.
Riza changed into the spare uniform she kept in her locker before marching into the information centre at Central Headquarters, "What's going on?" she demanded as several lower ranking officers scurried around collecting different pieces of paper and answering various phones. There had been a larger and stronger tremor since she'd arrived and Central headquarters and several large buildings had collapsed. She pushed the thought that Maes might have been hit by one to the back of her mind and instead focused on the ensuing panic.
"There was an attack in Lior," one girl piped up, Riza took the report in her hands and began to read, "there were sightings of large suits of armour appearing from the ground. Looked to be the effect of a transmutation circle."
"Alchemy? in Lior?" the girl in front of her nodded seriously ad Riza felt her stomach sink. She swallowed hard and glanced back down at the report, "Thank you, I'll take this to the colonel."
She turned on her heel and marched back down the corridor, up two flights of stairs and into her office. The colonel's door was already open and she could hear Havoc and Breda talking. She walked in and saluted Reynolds before placing the report on his desk. All four of them were in uniform despite it being a weekend. Reynolds sat back in his chair and read the report, they all stood silently waiting for orders on what to do next. Havoc chewing on his unlit cigarette and Breda fiddling with an item in the pocket of blue trousers.
They all almost leapt out of their skin when the phone shrieked through the silence. Reynolds leant across the desk and wrapped his slender singers around the glossy wooden handle. He pulled it off the hook to silence the rings and held it cautiously to his ear, "Colonel Reynolds." He was silent for a short while and then added into the receiver, "I see, I will get my personnel on it immediately, thank you."
He hung the receiver up and looked at his three curious subordinates, "the invasion has been neutralised," he began, the three of them remained silent knowing that more was coming, "Alphonse Elric and Armstrong were on hand to sort out the situation. It appeared the suits of armour were pulled back through some sort of vortex, according to witnesses." He sighed and stood for the desk looking at them, "the higher ups think this may have something to do with the gate and they certainly do not want more of these things coming through and disturbing the peace we've been trying so hard to build."
The three of them nodded in agreement, adopting attention positions and staring intently at their colonel. Reynolds surveyed them before continuing, they were good soldiers and he enjoyed working with every single one of them, he wished he could make more of an effort to get to know them but Mustang was a hard act to follow, especially given what they'd gone through with him. He sighed, "Right," he announced, "Lieutenant Havoc: Gather as much information as you can regarding Edward Elric, I believe the two of you were close before he left, correct?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good, report back to me before 0900 hours Wednesday morning. Lieutenant Breda, I want you on the next train to Lior, go home and pack essentials, I want you to ask locals what they saw and gather any more information you can. I will ring ahead and get Armstrong to meet you at the station."
"Yes, sir!"
"Lieutenant Hawkeye," he paused before continuing with his order, "I want you to study alchemy."
Riza's eye widened and her mouth opened but her throat had gone dry...alchemy?
Reynolds seemed to be expecting her reaction, "You're bright Hawkeye, and we're going to need someone with a basic knowledge of alchemy to understand this, no one here is an alchemist."
"but...but couldn't we get someone in?" she pleaded. Her father had tried to teach her alchemy before he'd moved onto Roy. He'd failed miserably since she didn't have the right brain pattern to grasp the concept and use it. It had been the most depressing week of her life, not only because of the late nights her father worked her to teach her but realising she'd let him down in the one thing he'd tried to do for her.
"A transfer will take to long and we need someone now, I'm not asking you to use it, or to practise it, I just need someone with a basic understanding to give us an edge in the investigation," his lips quirked in a grin, "besides, it means you can work from home so you'll be able to keep an eye on your son."
Riza's teeth gritted, "are you making me do this because I have a baby, sir?"
"No Lieutenant, I need someone to do this. If you really don't like the idea then you and Breda can swap and you can go to Lior instead."
Riza sighed, working from home for the four days would certainly help her take care of Maes and save some much needed money on child care; keeping a house, dog and baby on a lieutenant's salary had the same strategic skills of a small invasion. She bowed her head slightly, "thank you for the consideration sir, I will report Wednesday morning with my results."
Reynolds grinned, "good. You are dismissed." The three of them clicked their heels and saluted.
"Yes, sir!" they chorused together before filing out of the office and making their way out of headquarters.
Riza was going to kill Maes. And Hayate. And the washing machine. And the mirror. She was sat at her kitchen table, it was 9pm and she was staring at a pile of think old dusty alchemy books. One was open and sprawled in front of her on a crinkled and yellowed page with scratched circles drawn on it. I've been staring at it for over an hour and it still didn't make any fucking sense!
Riza squeezed her eyes shut and put her head in her hands, desperately trying to drown out the sound of Maes wailing upstairs, Hayate barking to go out for potty and the washing machine squeaking because the ball bearing on the drum needed replacing. She heaved a sigh and stood up from the table. She walked over to the back door and undid the latch so Hayate could run into the garden, she then trudged up the stairs and into her son's room. Maes was up against the rails of his cot, his little face scrunched up, red and tears streaming down his face. "What is it?" she said testily to the little boy.
He seemed to calm down as soon as he saw her. His little round cheeks staring up at her wide eyed as if he was surprised to see her there. "Don't give me that look!" he hissed and roughly jerked him out of the cot and on to her hip, she knew she shouldn't be angry with him. He was a baby and didn't know any better. She sighed and gave him a weak smile as he sucked his thumb and curled up on her shoulder, "Look, Maes, Mummy has a lot of tough work to do and she needs to do it before the day after tomorrow. So she just needs you to go to sleep and dream lovely thoughts until tomorrow morning , OK?"
She rocked him gently on her hip before sitting down in the chair in the nursery and cradling him. When did you get so big, huh? I'm not going to be able to rock you like this much longer. She felt her throat tighten and her eyes get a little sore like they normally do before you start to cry. She swallowed it all back though, babies were meant to grow up. Her only fear was not being able to protect him, it was easy as a baby. She could just carry him or put him in a play pen, or give him a lolly and a cuddle when he was crying and everything was fine. What happens when they get to big for play pens, prams and lollies?
Maes was soon fast asleep in her arms and she gently placed him back in the crib, kissing him gently on the fore head and pulling the soft knitted blanket over him. She left the room with the little music box by his crib playing and went back down to the kitchen, letting Hayate back in as she did. She looked at the books and sighed. It's going to be a long night, she thought as she flicked the switch on the kettle so it would boil.
As she sat back down on the chair with an unceremonious thump and looked back down at the book there was a soft knock at the door. She watched as Hayate's head bobbed up from his basket in the utility room and looked quizzically at the door. She got up slowly and pulled open Maes' milk bottle cupboard and pulled out the small handgun she kept in a old powder milk tin. She walked cautiously up to the door and then undid the latch opening it slowly to peek at who was on the other side, "Havoc?"
"You going to shoot me?" he quizzed as he leant against the door frame grinning. She pulled open the door fully and clicked the safety back on the hand gun. He let out a small sigh of relief and produced a small florescent pink box, the trademark of the Central bakery. She smiled at the box and let the door swing open letting him in.
After they were both sat on the couch having finished off some frosted cupcakes, Riza leant back in the cushions and stared up at the ceiling sighing to herself.
Havoc watched her, his arms lazily stretched out along the back of the sofa, "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking how many laps I'm going to have to do tomorrow before I get those cakes off my hips," she chuckled looking back at him from the ceiling, "Thank you."
"No worries," he shrugged and turned to look back at her distressed living room, "who thought babies made so much mess, eh?"
She blushed slightly when she realised the state of her home, but it was Havoc and not a stately guest so she didn't mind to much, "Yeah, all you're priorities shift. Suddenly having a spotless home isn't so important."
He nodded and they remained in a comfortable silence for a small while before Havoc broke it, "How's the alchemy coming?"
Riza winced and snorted, "What alchemy? I don't even understand the significance of the damn circle! Who the hell thinks of these things?"
Havoc laughed, "Thought you may be struggling and staying up late, hence the visit and cakes."
"Thanks, I really needed it. Any excuse to not talk to a baby or a dog."
He chuckled and patted her shoulder, "Any time Riza, any time!"
"How's the information hunting going with the Elrics?"
He grunted, "You'd be surprised how little knowledge there is but Alphonse is returning to Central in a couple of days so I'm hoping to get to talk to him. She nodded in agreement and sat back further against the cushions sliding down in her seat. Havoc watched her, he admired her. She was bringing up a kid alone and balancing a career in the military and she didn't seem to complain once. She just got on with it. Made the most of what she had. Maes was a great little kid and that was due to the devotion of the woman lying in front of him. He knew it was wrong, she was Mustang's, and always would be whether he returned or not, but he just needed to touch her. To show her that she wasn't alone and people still cared about her and supported her. It was stupid. Mustang's baby was sat upstairs for heaven's sake but he couldn't stop himself once he was in motion. He leant across the couch, cupped the side of her face and then leant in and kissed her.
Riza's eyes widened as his lips made contact with hers, but then she did something she definitely wasn't expecting. She kissed back. Before her thoughts caught up his tongue had slipped past the barriers on her soft pink lips. He tasted of tobacco, not the soft slightly musky smell of smoke Roy had but something dirtier. What was she doing? She was making out with Havoc on her sofa...and she liked it.
She liked him kissing her, his hands running up her sides and giving her breasts a very soft and taunting squeeze before they descended back down to her hips. It wasn't that she liked Havoc, not in that sense anyway, it was that he was paying attention to her. A man was touching her, caressing her, kissing her. For the last 21 months it had all been about Maes. People cooing over her belly and then cooing over the pram or cooing over him babbling on a mat. But now someone was paying attention to her and damn it felt so good to be wanted again. She'd thought that perhaps it was all over now she was a single parent but Havoc, according to his actions anyway, definitely liked her.
Before she knew it, they'd sunk back on the sofa. Their lips still locked and their legs entwined as she ran her hand up and down his chest. Her long black skirt had ridden up to her waist and one hand lustfully ran up the outside of her thigh before curving around her hip and fiddling for the zipper. Her own hands were busy on the buttons of his shirt, desperately pulling them through the holes and pushed the fabric feverishly apart. This was sex, not love making. They were both lonely and desperate and needed some form of companionship, some reason to believe they might still be desirable, hell, that they were still human and not some alien outcast of society. She broke the kiss and whimpered into his ear as his fingers deftly brushed the cotton of her knickers against her moist folds.
"Always had you pegged as a silk and lace lady," he said as he pulled his shirt off to reveal his expansive chest.
"I thought we had the priorities conversation earlier?" she shot back at him. Pulling her jumper over her head and onto the floor next to the sofa, along with her skirt, his shirt and his belt. He descended back on top of her and started trailing kisses and nibbles along her collar bone. They were both hot and wanton. Riza ran her hands through his hair and groaned as his hands ran hungrily down her sides.
She pushed him back slightly harder than she intended and pulled the fly of his trousers down, pulling the button open forcefully. As she did he looked down at her, she was cald in pale blue cotton briefs and a basic red t-shirt bra with a small stain on the left breast, obviously from Maes at some point. She finally shoved his trousers down and kicked them back so they slid off and onto the end of the sofa, he leant behind her whilst she was still sat up and fumbled with the clasp of her bra.
Just as she was reaching for the waist band of his boxers, the arousal evidently showing through the stretchy black fabric, the phone's ring sliced through the atmosphere. She almost screamed at the noise and Havoc leapt off her as if he'd been shot. They both stood there slightly dazed before she walked quietly over to the phone, steadied her breathing and picked it up, "Lieutenant Hawkeye," she said slightly unevenly into the phone.
Silence. She waited patiently in case the phone line was delayed but no response came, "hello?" she repeated slightly annoyed. She heard a ragged breath and then the dial tone cut in. She stood there looking at the receiver in her hand with a confused expression on her face.
"Who was it?" asked Havoc, he came over to her now with his trousers back on.
"I don't know they put the phone down," she answered looking at him and then his trousers and then back at him.
"Umm...I..." he stuttered, scratching the back of his head. His shirt was already slung over his left shoulder and he had placed his shoes neatly next to the couch so he could slip them on.
"It's OK," she stated for him, "you deserve better than to be used, I'm sorry, I guess I got carried away." She looked down, her cheeks blushing from embarrassment.
Havoc smiled warmly at her, "I value you to much as a friend," he walked up to her, shirt cast over his left shoulder and kissed her fore head gingerly, "You're amazing, Riza Hawkeye."
Her blush deepened as she looked at him, her hands resting limply on his wrists as his hands cupped her face. "Thank you, Jean...for everything."
NEVER FEAR...Roy returns next chapter...:D
please review...