Riza frowned at the small puppy she had retrieved from one of the pods. Black Hayate was trotting happily along like there was nothing wrong with this in the world, and perhaps there wasn't in the small dogs mind sight. However, even as he glanced up at his owner his ears went back and he whimpered at the serious face she gave off. Even Black Hayate knew when Riza was on full alert mode. The voice in her head hadn't put her mind anymore at ease, and at this point the whole thing was just bugging her. She had to find the Colonel, that was her initial thought process. She hadn't found him in there, but Riza wasn't stopping now.
Edward was here, which meant the others had a chance of being here as well. But the question wasn't were they there, it was: did she want them to be put in this situation? Riza closed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest in thought. She wasn't sure. She'd reclaimed her positions at least, the few guns that seemed to be her positions. Riza was fine with that, though, most of her things back in Central had remained packed for far too long to be of any clear worth. And Black Hayate was here, that was one less worry for her. At the very least, when the day ended, she at least had something to confide in.
Pausing in her walk, she looked down at the pup who stared up at her, head tilted. The yip escaped and for one of the numerous times she arrived her she sighed. "Hayate," she said just loud enough that the shiba inu pup heard and looked at her warily. The pup knew his master very well and worked hard to protect her, seeing her worried did have quite the tendency to do so to him.
Shaking her head, she moved to lean down to pet him on the head, Black Hayate's tail thumping happily. "We'll find him," she said simply to the pup as it bounced onto her knees in an attempt to lick her face. "Hayate," she started simply, but the order to stop died in her throat. For once, she'd let the pup lick all he wanted.
There, there, Colonel. Your Lieutenant has arrived, DON'T FLAIL.
Roy feels the usual hopelessness as he walks into the Obs. Deck, having dropped the data pad he was reading when Stacy's voice shifted the air in the Media Library, informing him that yet another group of podsleepers had awoken. It doesn't feel any different than the other pops, though, and he stares disconsolately across the room, not even bothering to scan the crowd. Fortunately for his quickly sinking heart, his wishes that he had stayed in the Media Library are abated as a certain shade of blonde catches his eye.
"N...no. That... wh-ho-?"
He gives up rationalizing for once in his life, eyes wide, heart hammering as he shoves his way through the masses of strangers, barely bothering with apologies when he knocks the occasional person over, stopping only long enough to make sure he's not stepping on Hayate's tail as he captures Riza in... the first hug he's ever given her.
He is shaking as he squeezes her, head turning so he can bury his face in her hair.
Riza's attention wasn't solely on her dog, as much as she'd prefer it. Her guard wasn't let down even as she allowed it to lick her, because oh god she's letting him. So when the sound of a person not so kindly shoving their way through caught her ears, she peered up... Just to see the man in question before he pulled her into a hug. Riza froze a moment, uncertain what to think of it.
For one, she wasn't used to such physical contact from the man. Even in the nearly two decades she had known him, that was something that hadn't happen. Her father's student, and then her superior officer. Despite everything they'd been through, he'd only hugged her once before. And that was recently, when the sword had been sliced across her neck. So to say this was a startle was one thing, but the words from his lips made the protective nerve in her spark up.
Despite how she wanted to answer at the moment, demand what had him worked up. She could figure that he had been here for some time, and if he was this way... It was no time for her to lose focus on anything. After a second she breathed, pulling herself together. And in the firmest voice she could manage simply stated one thing... "Sir, if you keep this up you're going to crush my dog. And I like my dog, you know," her voice was calm with the dry humor. She didn't know what had him this way, but Riza kept herself as calm as she ever could for the moment.
And Roy chuckles. He absolutely chuckles, shaking his head, consequently burying his nose deeper in her hair. He's gone twenty years without giving this woman more than a firm pat on the back and his loyalty, and abruptly, that doesn't feel like nearly enough, because, per her word, she has found and saved him yet again. For a few minutes here, he's going to indulge in... non-military behavior, and squeeze the life out of this miraculous woman and just... chuckle occasionally, breathe a lot, and try not to slip back to his pre-GLaDOS insanity in a rush of complacency-inducing relief.
Finally, his grip loosens, and he turns his head enough to facilitate speaking. "He would bark if I was crushing him, Lieutenant," he says, the smile plastered to his face audible in his voice. He sighs, dropping his head onto her shoulder and, incidentally, he probably won't be moving anytime soon.
He wasn't letting go, and that was enough to make Riza's mind teeter. She knew him since she was a child and they'd never broken past that professional level. And suddenly, it felt as if he were breaking that completely. Riza swallowed hard trying to capture her mind back. She would allow him to do this, as it seemed a comfort of some sort for him, just as Hayate was for her. But her mind teetered on its worried streak, curious as what to happened to him to make him this way.
For a moment, she toyed with the idea of returning it, allowing him slight more comfort. She couldn't though, it was fine if he breached that relationship for a few minutes, but herself would be a mutual one. Trouble if anything happened, Riza's brows furrowed in thought carefully. "In all honest, Sir, if someone was crushing me--- it would be hard to speak up," she retorted glad he at least took that. He was there then, that was good.
When he moved to drop his head on her shoulder, she relieved her own sigh. "Colonel, what happened?" the firm voice was one she used many times, the one she always used with him. The voice that conveyed more than the words it said: How long have you been here? Why are you like this? Really what happened? and... Everything's not going to be fine, is it?
"I'm sure you'd find a way, Lieutenant." And he's chuckling again, arms relaxing even more, loosening until he is almost ready to straighten up, when she asks the question he hadn't ever wanted her to ask.
His return to the vertical is abrupt and shocking to his center of gravity, and he blinks once or twice, dark eyes fixed on hers before skating away. It's a typical evasive tactic, not meeting the eyes of the questioner, and he knows that she'll recognize it, and that knowledge weighs heavy enough in his stomach that he gives her at least one answer. It's not the whole answer, but it'll be enough to keep her occupied until he's more stable, until he can pretend comfortably that he hasn't been seeing her ghost for weeks upon months.
"Amestris is gone," he says frankly, lips pressing thin, eyes remaining averted for a few moments until they flicker back down to meet hers. There is an unnerving blankness in the usually determined eyes, and it will be easy for Riza to realize that honestly, Roy Mustang has lost his purpose.
"I'm not so certain, Sir, perhaps you should ask me when I'm the size of Black Hayate," her response was light, the same tender calm she'd been giving. She could feel him loosening up from his grip, and there was relief in her somewhere. But she said something wrong, of course she did. And her ember eyes searched his midnight blue ones curiously.
Something had changed, of course she'd see that. (Minus the fact, of course he wasn't blind. She'd been trying to ignore that fact for some time.) When he spoke her expression froze, and for a moment she was horrified... but the look in his eyes made her catch herself. No purpose. She closed her eyes in thought, keeping calm while the insides unraveled.
"I hope you're not thinking something foolish, Sir. There are people I'm sure you are still capable of protecting. Shouldn't you be concerned with that?" Riza questioned. Although it could be considered a scolding, her voice was tender in understanding. She hadn't followed him this long not to understand that. As much as she wanted to question, it was best to retrieve the old Colonel first.
In fact, it seemed Hayate had the same idea. As the small pup weaseled his way in between them and started trying to go for Roy's face. Riza took the moment to grapple him into his arms with a firm scolding of his name, keeping quiet otherwise.
Roy swallows, watching her cautiously, seeing the reaction that she processes and tucks away, likely in response to the little of his loss he is letting her see. Ah, yes, the words prove that hypothesis.
The Colonel looks grim at best as he rubs at his eyes with a gloved hand, the coarse cloth scratching a bit more control into his consciousness. This is going to be fun. At least there won't be paperwork.
"Foolishness tends to take over when you're living pointlessly, Lieutenant. Fortunately, there is a library, and Miss Rockbell is here. I've been... keeping an eye on her." Which, of course, means making sure she doesn't fall off a cliff, because, despite his resolve upon returning, and despite all the plans he has made for getting a bit of control, he's still recovering. It doesn't help that he's seemingly the only one still struggling with nightmare wounds, but then again, they had simply been old wounds reopened, and scars take longer to heal over than normal skin.
As he slips his hand into the pocket of his greatcoat, Roy sighs a gusty sigh, watching his lieutenant with an alertness he hasn't felt for months.
Riza watched him, eyes narrowed and embers eyes sharp. The gloves, at least he still seemed to have them. But as he continued to speak her gaze hardened and eventually she closed her eyes and thought for several minutes.
"I refuse to believe you'd sink so low to believe that, Colonel," was her first respond, firm, harsh and to the point. She stood up, leveling herself and the sharp glare formed in place. "And if you expect me to believe that, Sir, then a man with no purpose doesn't need those gloves." That's right, she's holding out a hand and threatening to take away your alchemy, Roy.
Roy's face hardens, shoulders stiffening and straightening, and within seconds, he is all Colonel, eyes flinty as he stares her down. His hands tighten in his pockets, refusing to relinquish the material clothing them.
"A man with no purpose doesn't need the air in his lungs, Lieutenant. I assure you, I have every need for air."
It's that simple, really. He may not have the purpose he wants, and it may not be much of one, but a purpose he does have. It's only bolstered by Riza's arrival.
Riza watched him, the same eyes challenging him as they always would. Telling him she means it, if he can't prove it they are gone. Just as always, and when he reached up with that familiar gleam and attitude, she had to resist the urge to feel almost proud. This was the Colonel she knew.
And she breathed, never relaxing her features and not saying anything of condolence, instead her words were as simple as they had been the last few minutes.
"Good. I'd hate to think I entrusted my back to someone who would give up so easily."
He watches, hands relaxing in his pockets. His gloves are safe for the moment.
He is almost tempted to remind her that the same rules as always apply -- watch his back, shoot him if he goes awry, et cetera, et al, but her tone of voice reassures him that she already knows, as per usual, rendering his words useless.
He had forgotten how nice it was to not have to say anything.
Se watched him, folding her arms carefully across her chest. This was a dynamic that hadn't changed in years, she knew well his thoughts and actions as he did hers. When he spoke, a small smile upturned into her features. "It's my job, sir," she continued in the simple way.
And after a second, a yip broke the silence and she stared down at the sorefully neglected puppy. Who was wagging his tail. Her features softened.
"I think you better greet him properly, Colonel, or he might just never come to trust you again."
Her voice was that hint of teasing that was branded just for him, and of course Rebecca.
"If you insist, Lieutenant." Lowering himself ever so slowly onto Hayate's level, he meets the dog with a hard stare. With a yip, he sits his furry self down, tail wagging occasionally, Roy still as a statue.
The two males stare each other down, neither moving, until Hayate yips again and rolls onto his back. Roy chuckles, tugging a glove off to scratch the dog's belly.
"I'm afraid it's not my insistence, Sir. Black Hayate has a mind of his own."
Her eyes fell on them, watching carefully at the interaction. A small smile edged its way onto her lips carefully as she watched them. Even if this wasn't the best of situations, or moments, things like this were enough to make up for it. These were her boys after all, at least the ones closest to her. She cared for her team as well, but time didn't change the bonds she had with the Colonel, or her fluffy want-to-be bodyguard.
"Well, he won't have any reason not to trust me now," he says, tugging at Hayate's front legs gently, looking back down quickly with a grin as the dog yips yet again. A second later, the dog is in his hands, hind legs dangling floorwards, tail wagging zealously. He murmurs something indistinguishable, and Hayate's head tilts to the side, ears perking, the only other response his lolling tongue. Seeming satisfied with that, he stands, the dog held a little better between his hands.
Edward was here, which meant the others had a chance of being here as well. But the question wasn't were they there, it was: did she want them to be put in this situation? Riza closed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest in thought. She wasn't sure. She'd reclaimed her positions at least, the few guns that seemed to be her positions. Riza was fine with that, though, most of her things back in Central had remained packed for far too long to be of any clear worth. And Black Hayate was here, that was one less worry for her. At the very least, when the day ended, she at least had something to confide in.
Pausing in her walk, she looked down at the pup who stared up at her, head tilted. The yip escaped and for one of the numerous times she arrived her she sighed. "Hayate," she said just loud enough that the shiba inu pup heard and looked at her warily. The pup knew his master very well and worked hard to protect her, seeing her worried did have quite the tendency to do so to him.
Shaking her head, she moved to lean down to pet him on the head, Black Hayate's tail thumping happily. "We'll find him," she said simply to the pup as it bounced onto her knees in an attempt to lick her face. "Hayate," she started simply, but the order to stop died in her throat. For once, she'd let the pup lick all he wanted.
There, there, Colonel. Your Lieutenant has arrived, DON'T FLAIL.
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"N...no. That... wh-ho-?"
He gives up rationalizing for once in his life, eyes wide, heart hammering as he shoves his way through the masses of strangers, barely bothering with apologies when he knocks the occasional person over, stopping only long enough to make sure he's not stepping on Hayate's tail as he captures Riza in... the first hug he's ever given her.
He is shaking as he squeezes her, head turning so he can bury his face in her hair.
"Oh my God, Riza, oh my God."
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For one, she wasn't used to such physical contact from the man. Even in the nearly two decades she had known him, that was something that hadn't happen. Her father's student, and then her superior officer. Despite everything they'd been through, he'd only hugged her once before. And that was recently, when the sword had been sliced across her neck. So to say this was a startle was one thing, but the words from his lips made the protective nerve in her spark up.
Despite how she wanted to answer at the moment, demand what had him worked up. She could figure that he had been here for some time, and if he was this way... It was no time for her to lose focus on anything. After a second she breathed, pulling herself together. And in the firmest voice she could manage simply stated one thing... "Sir, if you keep this up you're going to crush my dog. And I like my dog, you know," her voice was calm with the dry humor. She didn't know what had him this way, but Riza kept herself as calm as she ever could for the moment.
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Finally, his grip loosens, and he turns his head enough to facilitate speaking. "He would bark if I was crushing him, Lieutenant," he says, the smile plastered to his face audible in his voice. He sighs, dropping his head onto her shoulder and, incidentally, he probably won't be moving anytime soon.
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For a moment, she toyed with the idea of returning it, allowing him slight more comfort. She couldn't though, it was fine if he breached that relationship for a few minutes, but herself would be a mutual one. Trouble if anything happened, Riza's brows furrowed in thought carefully. "In all honest, Sir, if someone was crushing me--- it would be hard to speak up," she retorted glad he at least took that. He was there then, that was good.
When he moved to drop his head on her shoulder, she relieved her own sigh. "Colonel, what happened?" the firm voice was one she used many times, the one she always used with him. The voice that conveyed more than the words it said: How long have you been here? Why are you like this? Really what happened? and... Everything's not going to be fine, is it?
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His return to the vertical is abrupt and shocking to his center of gravity, and he blinks once or twice, dark eyes fixed on hers before skating away. It's a typical evasive tactic, not meeting the eyes of the questioner, and he knows that she'll recognize it, and that knowledge weighs heavy enough in his stomach that he gives her at least one answer. It's not the whole answer, but it'll be enough to keep her occupied until he's more stable, until he can pretend comfortably that he hasn't been seeing her ghost for weeks upon months.
"Amestris is gone," he says frankly, lips pressing thin, eyes remaining averted for a few moments until they flicker back down to meet hers. There is an unnerving blankness in the usually determined eyes, and it will be easy for Riza to realize that honestly, Roy Mustang has lost his purpose.
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Something had changed, of course she'd see that. (Minus the fact, of course he wasn't blind. She'd been trying to ignore that fact for some time.) When he spoke her expression froze, and for a moment she was horrified... but the look in his eyes made her catch herself. No purpose. She closed her eyes in thought, keeping calm while the insides unraveled.
"I hope you're not thinking something foolish, Sir. There are people I'm sure you are still capable of protecting. Shouldn't you be concerned with that?" Riza questioned. Although it could be considered a scolding, her voice was tender in understanding. She hadn't followed him this long not to understand that. As much as she wanted to question, it was best to retrieve the old Colonel first.
In fact, it seemed Hayate had the same idea. As the small pup weaseled his way in between them and started trying to go for Roy's face. Riza took the moment to grapple him into his arms with a firm scolding of his name, keeping quiet otherwise.
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The Colonel looks grim at best as he rubs at his eyes with a gloved hand, the coarse cloth scratching a bit more control into his consciousness. This is going to be fun. At least there won't be paperwork.
"Foolishness tends to take over when you're living pointlessly, Lieutenant. Fortunately, there is a library, and Miss Rockbell is here. I've been... keeping an eye on her." Which, of course, means making sure she doesn't fall off a cliff, because, despite his resolve upon returning, and despite all the plans he has made for getting a bit of control, he's still recovering. It doesn't help that he's seemingly the only one still struggling with nightmare wounds, but then again, they had simply been old wounds reopened, and scars take longer to heal over than normal skin.
As he slips his hand into the pocket of his greatcoat, Roy sighs a gusty sigh, watching his lieutenant with an alertness he hasn't felt for months.
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"I refuse to believe you'd sink so low to believe that, Colonel," was her first respond, firm, harsh and to the point. She stood up, leveling herself and the sharp glare formed in place. "And if you expect me to believe that, Sir, then a man with no purpose doesn't need those gloves." That's right, she's holding out a hand and threatening to take away your alchemy, Roy.
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"A man with no purpose doesn't need the air in his lungs, Lieutenant. I assure you, I have every need for air."
It's that simple, really. He may not have the purpose he wants, and it may not be much of one, but a purpose he does have. It's only bolstered by Riza's arrival.
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And she breathed, never relaxing her features and not saying anything of condolence, instead her words were as simple as they had been the last few minutes.
"Good. I'd hate to think I entrusted my back to someone who would give up so easily."
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He is almost tempted to remind her that the same rules as always apply -- watch his back, shoot him if he goes awry, et cetera, et al, but her tone of voice reassures him that she already knows, as per usual, rendering his words useless.
He had forgotten how nice it was to not have to say anything.
He said it anyway. Quietly.
"Thank you, Riza."
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And after a second, a yip broke the silence and she stared down at the sorefully neglected puppy. Who was wagging his tail. Her features softened.
"I think you better greet him properly, Colonel, or he might just never come to trust you again."
Her voice was that hint of teasing that was branded just for him, and of course Rebecca.
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"If you insist, Lieutenant." Lowering himself ever so slowly onto Hayate's level, he meets the dog with a hard stare. With a yip, he sits his furry self down, tail wagging occasionally, Roy still as a statue.
The two males stare each other down, neither moving, until Hayate yips again and rolls onto his back. Roy chuckles, tugging a glove off to scratch the dog's belly.
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Her eyes fell on them, watching carefully at the interaction. A small smile edged its way onto her lips carefully as she watched them. Even if this wasn't the best of situations, or moments, things like this were enough to make up for it. These were her boys after all, at least the ones closest to her. She cared for her team as well, but time didn't change the bonds she had with the Colonel, or her fluffy want-to-be bodyguard.
"Don't spoil him, Sir."
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"Well, he won't have any reason not to trust me now," he says, tugging at Hayate's front legs gently, looking back down quickly with a grin as the dog yips yet again. A second later, the dog is in his hands, hind legs dangling floorwards, tail wagging zealously. He murmurs something indistinguishable, and Hayate's head tilts to the side, ears perking, the only other response his lolling tongue. Seeming satisfied with that, he stands, the dog held a little better between his hands.
"Spoiling is subjective."
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