Who: Riza and Roy What: Two old friends talking When: Back-dated to mid-October, just after Riza/XiaoXing's arrival, mid-afternoon Where: Fullmetal Alchemist Door, Roy’s offices Warnings: Mention of past wars maybe
Roy had been working a lot lately. Mostly, memorizing information about Ishval, doing what he could to assist Chris Redfield, and worrying over the past that he couldn’t change. He’d sent the Elrics off on some mission together, insisting that the boys spend as much time as they could together while they had these moments of peace to spend together. He smiled wearily, thinking of himself almost like a father to those boys. He’d certainly seen Ed grown and matured over the years, that much was for certain. And Al...it was still a wonder to Roy that Al had been returned to them, whole and in tact. Roy was relieved, more than he’d ever admitted to anyone, that this had come to pass.
The afternoon lunch break found Roy resting at his desk after he’d sent the other men out on a sandwich and coffee run. He didn’t want his men trapped in the office just because he spent as much time there as possible. He couldn’t really recall if he’d eaten breakfast or not. Leonard had been kind enough to let him take over for these next few days, stating that he had a few days off from his own job and he didn’t mind sharing. It was still a very strange concept to Roy, knowing that he shared a body with someone else like this, but this was what it was. He wasn’t about to try to change it.
Rising from his desk, glancing away from the picture of Hughes for once, Roy glanced out the window and rose to his feet skeptically. Below, he could see soldiers bustling about their daily duties, doing whatever it was that they were ordered or needed to do. Roy normally was no exception, but today he really wanted to just hide away in his office as he tried to sort things out in his mind. He also hadn’t heard from Redfield since he’d shared what the Philosopher’s Stone was really made of. He opened the drawer it was secured in, then put the tiny red stone in his hands and shook his head slowly. This little thing had done so much damage, so much destruction. Roy was going to use it to do as much good as he possibly could so that perhaps, one day, they might be redeemed for past crimes committed.
Roy had been working a lot recently which meant that Riza had been too. It was her job after all to be where he was, no matter what hours he kept, and she took her job very seriously. She also didn’t trust Chris Redfield completely, which meant that somebody needed to be with Roy when he met the man. He seemed to be a decent person but Riza had her own reasons not to believe in appearances. If Roy was a father type figure to the Elrics then Riza, by default, was the mother figure and she did care more about the young boys than she would admit to anybody. She worried when they were off on their own, trouble always seemed to be attracted to them but she sent them packages when she could and she trusted Al to make sure to let her know if they needed any assistance. Al, who had been so loveable and sweet when in his armor was now a young man who was still sweet but also stronger in spirit than she had thought possible after everything he had been through.
After ensuring all of the men had left the office to get lunch and to have a break she re-entered the room and made sure everything was straightened up, in order and generally tidy. Once she was satisfied she picked up the sandwiches and coffee she had brought for Roy and herself and quietly entered his office closing the door softly behind her.
XiaoXing had taken some convincing to go through the door but Riza had managed to gently convince the woman to take a chance. She generally kept quiet since it disturbed XiaoXing to hear her but things needed to get done and she had a job to do. She’d have to speak to Roy about his ‘person’ meeting hers so that they could arrange some sort of schedule which meant Roy wouldn’t ever be here without her. It would be easier to do now before XiaoXing was in employment.
Realising Roy hadn’t noticed her entrance, so entranced was he by the stone, she moved forward and placed the food and drink on the table, “You should have lunch as well, sir” she told him, her voice softer than normal so as not to startle him too much.
Roy’s hand instinctively moved to a position where he could attack if necessary, and he whirled around instantly with a startled expression on his features. Upon seeing Riza, however, his expression softened instantly and he put the stone back in its proper place in the drawer by his desk. After the war, Roy had been very dedicated during the war and his instincts were still quite sharp.
“Hawkeye,” he addressed her properly, knowing that she didn’t necessarily like him using her first name. It worked well, though. They could use her first name in code, and he’d done it often when they were trying to solve things before. He’d have an “Elizabeth” that he called for a date, and none of the guys in the office had ever put two and two together. It was better for them, as it were. “Thank you.” He moved to take his seat, then motioned for her to pull up a chair to join him. “And you’re allowed a lunch break as well, Hawkeye. Why not join me?” He smiled a bit, as if to reassure her that he’d enjoy and welcome her company beside him.
Riza didn’t react when he went on the alert, knowing he would relax when he realised it was her. She actually found that quite reassuring, knowing he still had the instincts that could save his life if she wasn’t around.
Within the office Riza much preferred to be called by her surname, it was rare that Roy called her by her first name except in certain emotional times or when she was undercover and they needed to communicate secretly. She did as instructed and brought a chair closer to join him for lunch giving him a rare smile as she did so.
“Still no word from Redfield?” she asked before picking up her coffee, she knew he would tell her but it seemed prudent to check.
He knew if there´d been any real danger, he would have heard Hawkeye´s gunshot before he even had a chance to snap his fingers. That´s part of what made her perfect go guard him: she was the best, plain and simple, in Roy´s opinion. When she did settle in beside him, Roy lifted a brow at her concerned question in regards to the young man that had recently been present in their office.
Roy knew it had been quite a shock in regards to the information about the Stone itself and its creation, so he was giving Chris time to deal with it as he saw fit. Then the whole Halloween thing had happened. Roy still had to tell Riza about that evening, which had not been pleasant at all once Roy had put two and two together to figure out what was happening. The deadly sins were a sore point for Roy Mustang, as he´d fought living embodiments of them all. And had killed one, nearly two. Roy smirked a bit, remembering that the kid had been the one to stop him from slaughtering Envy. In many ways, Ed was more grown up than most of them.
“Not yet. I can´t imagine that the kid wants to talk with us too much just yet,” remarked Roy quietly. “It´s not easy to hear that the one thing that can probably help you was created through so much destruction. I´d rather it go to something like that, though, then let it fall into the hands of evil again.” Roy smiled softly over to Riza as he reached out and picked up his own coffee.
Riza had not been involved in any of the going’s on at Halloween, XiaoXing had not stepped through the door and things had passed quietly for them both. Once she did hear however she was going to insist on a combined schedule even more, there was no way she wanted anything like that to occur again while she was not around to protect him. The deadly sins were a sore point for Riza too who had also fought against them.
She inclined her head at his words, “He appears to be fairly intelligent, if it can help him then I imagine he would be able to move past the way in which it was created” she said practically, she may not trust him but Chris Redfield did seem to care a lot about what was happening in his world. “You know we wouldn’t let it fall into the wrong hands” she added, her voice strong and assured.
He couldn’t help but smile a little at her straight-forward attitude. One thing he was learning fast from these other worlds was that their beliefs weren’t always in parallel to his own world’s ideologies. Roy paid attention and picked up on whatever he could even when he wasn’t in charge. “He does,” returned Roy with a shrug, biting into his sandwich absently.
“But one thing I’ve been learning is that sometimes even the most intelligent people can find it hard to grasp things that are so far out of their natural world. From my understanding, Chris’ world is very similar to the one that the others are part of. The idea of alchemy came as a shock to him in general,” Roy explained softly, “and he treated it much like magic when he witnessed it.” He smiled lightly. “I’ll give him some time before I confront him again on the issue. Perhaps another week or so will do.” Riza accepted there were many things in other worlds that she knew little about but, personally, didn’t dwell on it. She listened to the information and filed it away in case anything was useful but it wasn’t her priority. She had a job to do here in her world and that was more important than anything going on elsewhere.
She nodded as Roy spoke, “There are many different worlds, we cannot expect them all to be the same” she pointed out simply with a light shrug, “The idea of the doors should mean we expect the unexpected and allow us to be prepared as much as possible” at least that was how it worked for her, “Just let me know when, sir” she said, “You shouldn’t meet him alone”
He glanced sideways at her comment, a soft smile on his features. She adapted quickly and easily to new information, it seemed. The idea that there were other worlds was baffling to Roy just a mere few months ago, but now he found himself quite used to them and accepted what they were. “Well said, Hawkeye,” he acknowledged lightly, munching a bit thoughtfully on his sandwich.
“And I will keep you informed as to when we meet next. You should check the journal more often,” Roy teased softly. “I can only imagine how much Hughes would have loved this idea. The knowledge that someone else is in his head, twice as much information.” He smirked a bit just at the thought, entertained to say the least at the moment.
Riza had always been able to adapt fairly well to change and there was no point in denying the existence of something that was obviously true, even if the details of exactly how it was possible were hazy at best. She smiled as he acknowledged her comments and took a small bite of her own sandwich.
She grimaced slightly at the idea of the journals, she was yet to use hers properly, the idea of people she did not know being able to read whatever she wrote in there was ...off putting to her. However he did have a point. “I could perhaps use the journal more” she conceded before smiling as she thought of Hughes. “And a captive audience to regale with stories about Gracia and Elysia too” whoever had Hughes in their head would have had to liked noise and chatter for Riza couldn’t imagine him ever being quiet for such long periods of time.
Roy offered her a small smile. “It’s how I found Redfield, or rather, how he found me,” he assured lightly. “So at least it’s doing some good in at least one world.” He shrugged absently, finishing off his own sandwich and then sipping again at his coffee. There was a sad smile on his features as he thought about Hughes, but it was good to discuss these things in this type of light.
“Besides, it would be good for you, I imagine. You may meet others who are similar to you.” Roy gave her a glance. “And what of the other half of yours, hmm? What are they like?” Roy knew that his liked to work just as much as Roy did himself, so it was often a balance between things.
Riza returned his smile, “I’ll give it a go” she promised, “though don’t expect much to result from it” she added. Unlike Roy she wasn’t the most social person but she supposed it would be worth it if they did find somebody else they could help.
“She’s quiet and sweet” Riza told him, thinking of XiaoXing, “But she’s very sad. She has lost the person she cares about the most. I help as I can but I cannot mend her heart. She hides a lot of emotion within herself” She felt a connection with the woman even though their personalities were very different.
There was an amused expression on Roy’s features at that comment. “I’ll even help you out and give you a place to write if you need to.” He was joking, but it felt good to be joking about something so natural and so normal.
“Although, I can think that I understand how she must feel.” Roy was thinking of Hughes again, as it always came back to him, at least lately so it seemed. “Mine seems to also enjoy his work. We’ve a mutual understanding that we each need certain time to be in our separate offices now. He’s a manager at some hotel in Las Vegas.” Roy shrugged, a little amused by how similar they were.
Riza rolled her eyes at him but allowed her smile to remain. It was good to be speaking about it so lightheartedly.
She nodded, “It is not something I would wish to experience” she replied. Losing Roy as XiaoXing had lost her husband was not something Riza wished to contemplate.
“I believe mine will be open to scheduling time to allow me to be here, ensure I know when you are here and I will ensure I am around as well” she told him, fairly certain she could convince XiaoXing to agree to a schedule once she explained why she needed to be here.
If Roy ever knew that Riza even thought about things like that, he would have to reassure her. He smiled a bit as he finished off his lunch, then stretched out comfortably. “Man, I’ve been working far too hard lately,” he remarked jokingly, breaking out a yawn as he stretched. He was watching Riza out of the corner of his eye, sure that she would say something in regards to this.
It was good to give Riza something silly to worry over. She was far too serious, in Roy’s opinion. Yeah, he could be serious when he needed to be, but for the most part, he rather enjoyed being relaxed and enjoying himself. That was just who Roy was.
Riza looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “Is that what you call it sir?” she asked, her tone showing her disbelief. She wouldn’t deny he had his moments but nothing he’d done recently would be considered particularly taxing, unless it was hard work losing paperwork.
Riza considered it part of her job to be serious, after all Roy slacked off enough for the both of them. That wasn’t to say she didn’t enjoy herself, she did though maybe not to the extent that Roy did. But that was just the way she was. Keeping Roy safe and watching him reach his goal was more important than anything, including enjoying herself.
His mouth quirked into a grin as he smiled over at her, amused for the moment. “What? You mean you don’t think I’ve been doing a lot of work lately?” he remarked with a hint of a laugh in his voice. He locked gazes with her for a moment, seeing all the expression that he’d probably see out of Riza in this situation in the office.
True, Roy did enjoy his free time. But he did a lot of work behind the scenes that didn’t necessarily give him something to show for it. Communicating now with other worlds was one more thing to add to that list.
Her face told him all the answer he needed to that comment, their definitions of work varied considerably. Luckily he was saved from any comment she may have responded with as the vague sounds of the men returning to the office drifted into the room.
Standing she nodded at Roy before collecting their rubbish to throw it into the bin and heading out to make sure the men didn’t cause too much of a ruckus as they returned to their tasks for the afternoon.