Chapter Text
Roy Mustang offered a low whistle as he stepped into his office that morning.
Hawkeye must be in a mood. His slacking off must've finally broken her, because his incomplete paperwork was meticulously sorted.
There weren't just the ins and out tray-- everything was sorted into smaller categories with notes detailing what documents required careful reading, which just needed him to sign off on, which were urgent, and which were of lower consequence. He wasn't sure when she'd had the time to go through the stacks of papers in such detail, but he found himself equal parts impressed and offended. How little faith did she have in him?
Granted, he wouldn't be working for the next couple days at least, but still!
The Bradleys were putting on a big 'Officer's Banquet' in Central in two days. It was truly a formality-- a pat on the back, an ego-stroking for some higher ups.
'Come have some good food, a night away from business, an extravagant party... and don't forget whose hand feeds you.'
Roy cringed at the thought.
It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but refusal would look suspect.
Besides, contrived or no, a chance for a high-end meal didn't sound terrible.
In any case, it sure beat the mind-numbing paperwork that awaited him here.
The colonel glanced away from his well-laid out busy-work to see what else there was to get into.
He blinked as he came to the realization that either the cleaning staff had been especially thorough last night, or Riza had hit the rest of his office too.
There was nary a distraction. No unattended coffee mugs for him to suddenly be very interested in taking to rinse. Nothing.
She really was lighting a fire under him today, wasn't she?
With a resigned sigh, he began to return to his desk when something caught the corner of his eye.
The morning paper sat neatly folded on a small coffee table.
He smirked.
Hey, it was something!
Roy strode over calmly and picked it up, beginning to leaf through for anything of interest. The news didn’t particularly grab him. Rather what gave him pause was the weather section.
Allegedly, there was a big storm set to roll in tomorrow night. A hurricane watch was issued for East City starting around 7 PM and extending towards Central by 9.
Roy made a sour face.
It was a good thing he and Riza were taking the morning train, then, he decided. They ought to be not only in Central by the time the worst of it hit, but also checked safely into their hotel rooms.
The colonel started slightly as his office door opened and then closed, breaking his death glare with the newspaper’s offensive weather forecast.
Riza walked in calmly with Black Hayate trailing at her heels.
Immediately, Roy wrinkled his nose at the not-quite floral scent that followed them.
“New perfume, lieutenant?” he questioned.
Riza smirked slightly, “Hardly, sir.” She replied, “It’s Black Hayate’s dog shampoo. I figured since Sergeant Fuery was gracious enough to agree to watch him in our absence, the least I could do was give him a bath before turning him over.”
“Fair enough.” Roy conceded.
“If you like the aroma, sir, though, I believe it’s called ‘Spring Rain’.” Riza continued.
Roy inclined an eyebrow, “Hilarious, lieutenant.” He replied dryly.
"Black Hayate, sit." Riza bid as she disappeared back out the door.
Roy glanced over to notice the black and white pup obediently drop down into a sitting position to the side of the door, waiting faithfully for his owner's return.
The dog noticed his gaze, though, and offered a head tilt.
"Don't look at me, I've got my orders too." Roy said dryly, finally sitting down to tackle the papers on his desk.
Riza returned with two cases of luggage.
"If you're referring to your desk, sir, I was simply making sure you could find everything you need." she stated, "Seeing as I have no power to give you orders, simply consider it a friendly suggestion." she tacked on.
"Riiiiight." Roy drawled, then glanced at the luggage, "Lieutenant? Did you pack our bags?" he asked, almost in disbelief.
"Not entirely." Riza replied simply, "Though seeing as this is a formal event, I made sure your dress blues were properly dry-cleaned and pressed. Additionally, I placed a sealed bag inside with some extra pyrotex gloves should you need them. I hear the weather could get a bit undesirable."
The colonel snorted, "No kidding. With any luck, we won't even have to contend with it."
"One can only hope, sir. You're miserable company on rainy days." Riza stated.
Roy made a face.
He couldn't deny it, but she didn't need to take the cheap shot.
Unable to find a suitable retaliation, he changed the subject, "Any word on the Elric brothers?"
"Not yet, though from what I understand, they'll be attending." Riza voiced.
She sighed softly as she settled down to some paperwork of her own.
Roy couldn't help but smirk, she put on a calm front, but clearly, she didn't enjoy paperwork any more than he did.
Roy half-expected Riza to be closely tracking his progress today with all the fuss she'd gone through.
As things were, he was surprised to note she only checked in twice and didn't have much to say either time.
It was a little odd, but maybe she was more focused on their impending trip.
He didn't envy her.
What with it being a large gathering of 'important' people, he was sure she felt pressured to be especially vigilant in her guard duties.
He had no intent of making things hard for her in that area, but knowing the lieutenant she was probably still bracing for anything.
In light of that notion, Roy picked up his pace a bit... maybe he could make it up to her by getting a bit more paperwork tackled by the end of the day.
The next morning, Roy and Riza reconvened bright and early at East City Station.
Dark clouds had already begun rolling in, the skies a dull grey.
Gusts of wind whipped about, causing the colonel's overcoat to billow behind him.
Roy frowned, "So much for the weather holding up until this evening..."
"With any luck, we'll be en route before the rain starts." Riza replied simply, passing him a ticket.
Roy looked the ticket over, "With any luck, the storm won't amount to anything." he corrected, glancing back out at the sky, "Though with the way those clouds look, I'd be surprised."
Soon, the train was boarding.
Roy and Riza handed over their tickets as they moved along with their luggage to the first-class passenger car.
Before Roy could lift a finger to help, the lieutenant stashed hers and the colonel's luggage in the overhead compartment.
The colonel spared her a glance, about to inform his adjutant that he was more than capable of stowing his own luggage.
He stopped just shy, though.
Riza looked tired, likely in part due to all the preparations she'd been making for this trip whilst he'd continued about business as usual.
He supposed he could cut her some slack.
Riza waited for neither gratitude or reprimand, simply sitting opposite where her CO stood.
Roy decided to follow her example and took his seat.
He tried to read her.
Was she already irked with him?
She was never a huge chatterbox, but even so she felt a bit standoffish.
As the train began to chug out of the station, he studied her intensely, looking for clues as to her mood.
The lieutenant seemed aware she was under scrutiny when at last she broke the silence, "Is there something the matter, colonel?" she asked simply.
"Uh, no. Nothing, lieutenant." Roy attempted casually and cleared his throat, "I appreciate your efficiency. I'm sure there was a lot of prep that went into this--" he gestured with a hand, "--frivolous affair."
This earned him a small smirk, "It really wasn't much more work than usual, sir, though I'm pleased to hear you approve of the arrangements."
"Of course." Roy paused at length, still eying her.
"Anything else, colonel?" Riza ventured.
"No..." he replied carefully, deciding if something was bothering her she'd voice it.
"I think I'll see if I can go scare up a copy of the paper, we've got a few hours to kill."
The colonel stood again.
Riza moved to follow, but he held up a hand.
"At ease, Hawkeye. I'll only be but a minute." Roy assured.
Riza nodded slightly, "Sir." she acknowledged simply, settling back down.
When he returned, the lieutenant spared him only the briefest glance before casting her gaze out the window to the dreary skies.
Roy took his seat, opening the paper.
Ordinarily he'd skim for points of interest, but this was going to be a long ride, so he decided to read through it slow.
Silence once more filled the cabin.
It wasn't unbearable, but something about Riza's disposition was still nagging the colonel, so he decided to try and make a bit of small talk.
"Hey, lieutenant, would you like the crossword puzzle?" he asked, scanning a news story.
She didn't reply.
"Hawkeye?" Roy asked, glancing up from the paper, "Did you--ah." he cut himself off as he realized the reason for her silence.
Riza's arms were crossed over her chest, blond head tipped forward, eyes closed.
It seemed she'd dozed off.
To be fair, it was the kind of weather that made him tired, too, Roy noted.
He elected to let her be. There wasn't much of anything to do right now, and she had looked fairly tired.
Roy studied his sleeping adjutant a moment longer before returning to his paper.