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“Who’s a good girl? I know you love those ear scratches!”
Kain Fuery finishes tying his boots and shrugs into his uniform jacket, patting his new companion, who stands up on the arm of the couch to reach him.
He has never been quite so happy in his life. Finally, in the wake of the Promised Day, with his commander recognized as a war hero, he’s been given a promotion to the rank of Second Lieutenant. That meant exactly one very important thing to him.
He is finally able to move out of the military barracks and get a dog!
Eloise is the perfect pooch. She’s sweet and playful and fluffy. Her fur is mostly white with the most adorable brown spots, and she’s got big, soulful eyes and floppy ears. She’s everything he has ever wanted in life.
Unfortunately, house-breaking isn’t quite as easy a job as he had hoped it would be. He’s read books on the subject, and he’s trying to go with plenty of praise and positive reinforcement, but he’s still waking up to a puddle on his floor far more often than he would prefer.
It’s totally worth it.
He’s thinking about asking Captain Hawkeye for her advice. She was able to train Black Hayate so quickly. However, from what he saw, her methods are a little…unorthodox. Kain’s not sure he has the strength to ever even consider pulling his gun on an innocent little puppy like Eloise!
“C’mon girl, let’s go for a walk before work,” he says, standing and reaching for her leash, which hangs on a hook he installed by his front door. It’s bright pink with little gemstones and matches the collar she proudly wears around her neck. Nothing but the best for his precious girl!
Fortunately, there’s a nice patch of grass at the back of the officers’ apartment complex. As Fuery approaches, he's surprised to see General Mustang there with Black Hayate. His commanding officer wears a pair of sweatpants, tennis shoes, and a white sleeveless undershirt, his dog tags glinting in the early morning sun.
“C’mon, buddy. If you don't hurry up she's going to be mad at both of us for being late," he mutters to the dog.
“Good morning, General!" Kain says brightly. The two dogs sniff one another curiously. They've met before, but typically Hawkeye walks her pet a little earlier in the morning.
“Uh," the General clears his throat. “Good morning, Second Lieutenant."
Hayate looks up at him curiously.
“Not you," Mustang says. “The junior Second Lieutenant."
Apparently the dog is still a higher rank than Kain.
“Where's Captain Hawkeye this morning, Sir?"
Mustang's body stiffens for an instant before he gives Kain a lazy smile.
“Oh, she's not feeling well. I heard her coughing all night, so I offered to walk Hayate for her this morning. I live next door.” He pauses. "So of course, I could hear her. Through the walls.”
Mustang fixes him with an imperious stare.
"I have excellent hearing, Second Lieutenant Fuery.”
Kain shrugs.
"Uh, of course, Sir.”
The dogs complete their business and both men start to walk away in opposite directions. Hawkeye and Mustang live on the opposite side of the complex from Fuery.
“See you at the office, Sir!"
“Fuery."
—-------
Kain feels bad for Captain Hawkeye. The weather has been getting colder. It's such a pain to be sick at work, so he decides to pick up a hot drink for her on his way to the office.
"Morning everyone!”
Breda mumbles, "Morning.”
Havoc takes a drag on his cigarette and waves.
Hawkeye smiles at him, looking up from her paperwork.
"Good morning, Lieutenant Fuery.”
"You look like you're feeling better!” Kain says brightly, walking over to her desk. “I brought you some herbal tea."
She tilts her head to one side, frowning.
"You feeling sick, Hawkeye?” Havoc asks.
She turns her head towards him, but at that moment General Mustang tromps in. Never a morning person, he grunts his typical morning greeting to his staff on his way to his private office.
Hawkeye looks back at Kain, her expression inquisitive.
"The General mentioned you weren't feeling well when I saw him walking Black Hayate for you this morning.”
Mustang stumbles slightly and turns to face them.
"Yes,” he says quickly. "Are you feeling better, Captain?”
Hawkeye turns her curious stare towards their commanding officer.
"Better,” she repeats slowly. Then she clears her throat and coughs lightly into one hand. "Yes, a bit better.”
"You didn't mention anything,” Breda says. "I'd have gotten you a coffee or something.”
"Well, thank you again for your help with Hayate this morning, General." Hawkeye returns her attention to her paperwork. “I was a little surprised you even answered the phone so early in the morning."
Kain frowns, glancing back and forth between his superior officers.
“You could have called me, Captain. I was already out with Eloise." He looks at Mustang. “I thought you'd heard her coughing, Sir."
Havoc lets out a guffaw.
“Well," Kain explains, “The General has excellent hearing."
There's a moment of silence. Then Breda says slowly, “Right."
Hawkeye coughs again, and it almost sounds like a laugh this time. Kain’s glad to see her feeling better.
"I need a cup of coffee,” Mustang mutters, turning around and exiting the office again.
Havoc grins widely, turning to Breda.
"Alright, pay up,” he says.
Breda folds his arms over his chest and shakes his head with a smirk.
"No way. We agreed, it has to be incontrovertible proof.”
Fuery sits down at his desk, frowning over at them.
"What are you two talking about?”
Hawkeye gives a heavy sigh and picks up her tea cup.
"Don't worry about it, Fuery,” she says. "They have no idea what they're talking about.”
Kain looks down at his paperwork with a rueful frown, certain he's missing out on some joke. Sometimes it seems like he'll always be the new guy.
—-------
Roy smirks up at Riza when she comes into his office shortly before lunch.
“Feeling better, Captain?"
Her lips purse, and she glares at him.
“A heads up at least would have been nice.”
Roy holds his hands up in surrender.
"I know, I'm sorry. You were already in the shower when I brought Hayate back."
“I guess that's what I get for letting you make me late to begin with,” she says sternly. But Roy can see the trace of a smile on her lips.
"I rather enjoyed making you late,” he says lowly. "And as I recall you rather enjoyed it, too. Twice.”
"General!” Now she really does look annoyed, but Roy can't help laughing.
"It's fine, nobody noticed anything weird. I talked my way out of it with Fuery."
"Oh, with your ‘exceptionally good hearing’?”
He winces.
"Not my cleverest lie,” he admits. "But he bought it."
Riza hums.
“Well, Breda and Havoc didn't. They're still betting on whether or not we're sleeping together."
Roy barks a laugh.
“Yeah, and who's winning?"
The smile she returns is soft and sweet
"I suppose I am, Sir."
—-------
Eloise is an absolute delight. Thankfully, her house training goes better after the first couple of weeks. Kain decides it’s probably good for her to socialize, so he and Captain Hawkeye start walking their dogs together, almost every morning and evening.
It’s nice to share an apartment complex with his superior officer, and Kain often joins her in the mornings for a cup of coffee while the dogs wrestle together at their feet. Sometimes, General Mustang comes over, too.
He finds that Hawkeye is much more relaxed outside the office. She laughs and smiles easily, and she shows more of her own wry sense of humor. She and the General often tease each other good-naturedly. They seem to be very close friends.
One morning, Hawkeye doesn’t show up at the usual time for their walk, so after walking Eloise, Kain bounds up the stairs to her apartment to check on her. He worries she might have another cold, so he’s going to offer to walk Hayate for her.
It takes a long time for her to answer his knock at the door, and when she does, he’s a bit embarrassed to realize that her hair is wet, and she’s wearing a bathrobe. He can hear the shower still running inside.
“Oh, I’m sorry Captain! I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Kain says, pulling back on Eloise’s leash so she won’t barge her way in without being invited.
Hawkeye smiles but doesn’t fully open the door.
“Not at all, Fuery. I-I probably should have called when I realized I wasn’t going to make our usual time. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She glances over her shoulder.
Hayate appears at her side, poking his nose out through the crack of the door.
“Would you like me to walk him for you? If you’re running late, I don’t mind,” Kain says, reaching down to give Hayate a pat.
“Um,” Hawkeye, unusually, hesitates, glancing over her shoulder again. “That would be great, actually.” She hands him the leash, and Kain takes both dogs back to the patch of grass at the back of the complex. It’s chilly, so he keeps the walk pretty short.
To his surprise, when he knocks on Hawkeye’s apartment door again, it’s General Mustang who answers. His hair is damp and tousled, and even though it’s nearing 0800, he is, once again, wearing casual clothes instead of his uniform.
“Fuery,” he says, frowning, looking down at the two dogs. “Oh.”
Another voice hisses from behind the door.
“Wait a minute, don’t just answer—”
Mustang looks over his shoulder and then opens the door wider to reveal Captain Hawkeye, who is drying her hair with a towel, still wearing a bathrobe.
“—the door,” she finishes.
Kain peers up at the two taller officers, confused.
“Is your shower broken or something, General?” he asks.
Mustang blinks, and he and Hawkeye share a look. Then he gives a sharp nod.
“Yes,” he says firmly. “Yes, my shower is broken, and Captain Hawkeye was kind enough to let me come over and use hers.”
That makes perfect sense to Kain. He can’t think of any other reason why Mustang would be at Hawkeye’s apartment at this hour with his hair dripping wet.
“Well, that’s very nice of you, Captain,” he says with a bright smile. “Hayate should be all set.” He hands the lead of the leash to her.
Hawkeye blinks slowly, her mouth slightly agape.
“Right,” she says. “Okay. Well, thank you. Thanks again, Fuery.”
“See you at work,” Mustang says, and the door closes abruptly in Kain’s face. He shrugs. Well, with both of them having to take separate showers at Hawkeye’s place, they’re probably both running a little late.
—-------
Roy doubles over, laughing.
“Hush,” Riza hisses. “He’ll hear you!”
He wheezes, slapping his knee.
“I can’t believe he fell for that! He’s more naive than I thought.”
Riza shakes her head, smiling a little and leaning against the door.
“He’s sweet,” she says. “But I can’t believe you just opened the door! That was reckless.”
Roy grins sheepishly.
“I kind of forgot we were at your apartment. He knocked, and Hayate wasn't there yapping at the door.”
Riza frowns.
"Black Hayate doesn't yap,” she says defensively, kneeling to unhook the dog’s leash and patting his soft head. Roy tangles a hand in her hair, and she smiles up at him. "You've already made me late for work.”
He smirks back at her.
"Then what's an extra thirty minutes?”
As she stands to kiss him, Riza figures he has a point. After all, her boss won't mind.
—-------
As spring flowers begin to bloom outdoors, Eloise continues to grow. She's a very gentle dog, and Fuery finds he loves having her to snuggle up with at the end of a long day.
“Isn't it just the best?" he muses to Captain Hawkeye as they walk their dogs together one evening. "I can't wait to go inside and cuddle in bed with my girl here. I'm sure you feel the same way about your guy.”
She stops, looking at him with an eyebrow raised.
"My what ?”
"Your—your guy,” Fuery says, gesturing to the dog at her side. "Or is he not allowed on the furniture?”
She’s very strict with Black Hayate.
"Oh. Yes, of course,” Hawkeye nods. "I mean, no he's not allowed on the furniture.” She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and squints into the fading sunlight. "Thank you again for watching him for me this weekend while I'm out of town. I probably won't be back until late Sunday, so I'll just get him from you Monday evening if that's alright.”
"Oh, sure! No problem, Captain. I suppose I'll see you on Monday.”
"Have a nice weekend.” She smiles, gives Hayate a final pat, and walks off.
Fuery, Hayate, and Eloise make a final lap around the grass, but as they turn to go in, something shiny glints in the evening sunlight. He stops to retrieve a set of military dog tags.
“We'd better check and see who these belong to, huh?" he murmurs to the pups.
He holds the tags out and narrows his eyes to read the name inscribed.
R. Mustang, Brigadier General
“That's funny," Fuery says. “I'd have thought they would be more likely to belong to Captain Hawkeye since she's always out here with you, fella…."
But there's something strange about the dog tags, he realizes. The other tag reads a different name.
R. Hawkeye, Captain
Frowning, Fuery pockets the dog tags and starts to head towards Captain Hawkeye and Brigadier General Mustang's apartments. He nearly collides with Mustang at the bottom of the stairs.
“Whoah! Watch out!" General Mustang calls. He carries a large suitcase under one arm and seems ready to over-balance from the weight.
“Excuse me, Sir!"
Kain steps back.
“Sorry about that," Mustang pants slightly and sets his baggage on the ground. “I'm, uh, I'm going on a little trip this weekend, and I always tend to over-pack for these sorts of things.”
Fuery feels the metallic dog tags in his pocket. He thinks about Captain Hawkeye’s weekend trip, the morning coffees they've all shared together, the time he caught Mustang showering at Hawkeye's apartment, the way the Captain always seems so relaxed and at ease outside of work these days.
And suddenly quite a few things start to make sense.
Fuery smiles at his commanding officer.
“I see, Sir. I hope you have a nice time."
Mustang returns his smile and heads towards his parked car. He looks back over his shoulder with a slight frown.
“Did you need something, Fuery?"
Fuery tugs gently at the dogs’ leashes, turning back towards his own apartment.
“No, Sir," he says. “I was going to ask Captain Hawkeye about something, but I think I'll save it until Monday."
Mustang shrugs.
“Suit yourself."
—-------
"I swear I had them yesterday,” Riza mutters, shuffling through her suitcase.
“I'm sure you just left them at home."
She stands straight, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.
“I never take them off. Never," she insists. “I would remember."
Roy sighs and wraps his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her against his chest.
“You worry too much," he says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
Riza turns to face him, frowning.
“That's my job, quite literally. I am worried."
Roy traces her cheek with his thumb, and she leans into his touch.
"I told you how suspicious Havoc and Breda are,” she reminds him.
Roy chuckles.
“They don't know anything. They only think they do. And at least Fuery’s oblivious. I almost feel guilty sometimes for not telling him. He's so sweet and innocent; it's like lying to a puppy."
Riza reaches out to brush her fingers against the dog tags that lay against his chest. One tag has her name, the other his.
“They'll turn up,” Roy says. "Please relax and enjoy this vacation with me.”
Her tags are identical, and they're missing.
“I knew this was a bad idea," she says, biting nervously at her lower lip.
"The trip or the dog tags?”
Riza huffs a little laugh.
“Both,” she admits.
“You think all my ideas are bad," Roy grumbles.
Riza lets him tug her back into an embrace. His hands fall to her hips, and he lowers his mouth to her ear, speaking in the low, rumbling voice that never fails to run shivers down her spine.
"But I have a very good idea right now. It involves you and me and the gigantic bathtub in the next room.”
Riza smiles and tilts her face up for a slow, sweet kiss.
“Okay," she admits. “That does sound like a good idea."
—-------
Kain manages to catch Captain Hawkeye alone in the office on Monday morning before the others arrive.
“Good morning, Second Lieutenant.”
“Good morning, Sir. I hope you had a nice trip this weekend.”
She smiles.
“It was very relaxing. How did Black Hayate do?”
“Oh, he’s no trouble. I think he and Eloise had a good time together.”
“That’s good.”
As she lowers her head to her paperwork, Kain steps up to her desk.
“Captain,” he says, reaching into his pocket. “I found something, and I’m pretty sure it belongs to you.”
He withdraws the dog tags and holds them up for her.
Hawkeye’s eyes widen, and she stares at them for a moment before snatching them. She looks up at Kain as she fastens them around her neck.
“Thank you,” she says, clearing her throat. “Yes, these are mine.”
Their eyes meet, and Fuery nods.
“Captain,” he says slowly and carefully, “I knew they were yours because I checked the name.”
She takes in a sharp breath, her gaze sliding away from him.
“I see.” She frowns.
“Yes, Sir. I want you to know that I noticed nothing unusual about the name. Nothing unusual about either tag. At all,” Kain says as pointedly as possible.
She closes her eyes in apparent relief for a moment, then smiles warmly up at him.
“Thank you, Kain,” she says quietly.
He returns the smiles.
“You’re welcome, Sir.”
He goes to sit at his desk and start the morning’s paperwork. Hawkeye takes a deep breath before returning to her own stack.
He’s happy for his commanding officers. He can’t think of any two people who more deserve to find love in this often lonely world.
Breda and Havoc amble into the office shortly thereafter, exchanging Monday-morning pleasantries.
“So,” Havoc grins. “How was your weekend trip, Captain Hawkeye?”
She looks up at him blandly.
“Perfectly fine, thank you Lieutenant Havoc.”
The whites of Havoc’s teeth show as his smile widens.
“You know, I heard a little rumor that General Mustang took a trip out of town this weekend, too.”
Hawkeye only makes a noncommittal hum.
Havoc turns suddenly and points his finger into a startled Breda’s face.
“She didn’t deny it! That’s practically a confession. Pay! Up!”
Breda smirks and shakes his head.
“Never gonna happen, Havoc.”
Captain Hawkeye’s gaze meets Fuery’s across the office, and in a flash he sees an uncertainty in her eyes that almost startles him. Hawkeye has never been anything but confident and competent. Kain realizes what a great vulnerability it must be to her for him to have found out her secret. He almost wishes he hadn’t picked up her dog tags in the grass.
He gives a very slight shake of his head and smiles at the Captain, reassuring without words. She nods just as imperceptibly and looks back down at her desk. Even to buddy-up to his co-workers, he won’t reveal what he knows. She’s too good a friend.
Havoc drops into his chair with a pout.
“Doesn’t anybody work around here?” Mustang grumbles, slinking in through the door with a scowl.
“Everybody but you, typically, Sir,” Hawkeye quips, not looking up from her work.
“Very funny.”
Mustang stomps towards his office, but Havoc holds him up.
“Sir, what did you do over the weekend? Did you have any special plans?”
Whereas his tone was confident with Hawkeye, certain he’d discovered the “incontrovertible proof” he seeks, now it has a desperate, reedy quality.
“No,” the Brigadier General snaps. “I had a lousy weekend trying to finish up the requisition forms that you didn’t complete on Friday, Havoc.”
The color slides from Havoc’s face, and he reaches into his pocket for a cigarette and a lighter.
“Those were due this Friday, huh?” he asks.
Mustang rolls his eyes and starts again towards his office, but this time it’s Captain Hawkeye who holds him up.
“Sir.”
The sigh he lets out conveys a tone of long-suffering.
“What is it, now, Captain?”
“You may recall, Sir, that I recently put in a request to have my dog tags replaced, having lost them.”
Not a muscle twitches out of line in either Hawkeye or Mustang’s faces.
“And?”
“You can cancel that request, Sir. Lieutenant Fuery found them for me near the spot where we walk our dogs at our shared apartment complex.”
She puts her head down again, and the scratch of her pen resumes.
Mustang blinks. He looks over at Fuery.
“Very well,” the General says with a nod.
Kain feels a brief apprehension. He hopes that Mustang won’t be angry. It certainly was never his intention to make either of them feel uncomfortable.
Mustang finally reaches his office door, and to Kain’s relief, he throws a smile over his shoulder.
“Thanks, Fuery.”