tampered | Log :: Complete

The First Lieutentant in question was having a long first day.

Going to have coffee with Kimblee-that had been a horrible idea, but a little more necessary than she'd have liked- and absorbing all the new information about the City? The Lieutenant was on the tired side. But she'd been tired before, and her back was as straight as ever, eyes alert for unusual things as she made her way again to the fountain to meet another man. Hopefully this one would be less psychotic bomber, more reliable superior officer.

Mentally counting off her guns once more, Hawkeye found the fountain with a minimum of effort. The Colonel...was probably here already.

Although he'd left the flat promptly, apparently his pace hadn't quite been fast enough. He'd hoped that he would have been able to arrive at his desired destination before Hawkeye, but it was obvious that wasn't to be the case.

He spotted her immediately of course, and was unable to help the short smile that creased his lips. She looked just as prim and proper as she usually did. He then made his way over to where she stood, moving a hand out of his pocket to cough lightly into a balled fist.

The wait had been minimal, hands held behind her back; a familiar pose.

And there he came, the same as always- but no. He had an eyepatch, carried himself differently. Tucking these details away, Hawkeye greeted the ranking officer as she always did. Heels clicked together and her hand flew to the also familiar position slightly beyond her right eyebrow into a precise and practiced salute.

"Colonel."

He didn't know why he was bothered by her formal welcome, but in return he gave a lazy salute, stopping when he was barely a meter away from his Lieutenant. It was weird to think that last time she had come to this City, he'd kissed her so plainly. Things were so very different this time round.

"Hawkeye." He said clearly, letting his right hand slip back into his pocket. "I thought a walk around the City might help with your sense of direction?" He said, looking up at her with a half smile.

Riza dropped the salute as he did, falling in beside the Colonel with the ease born of years of practice. "No doubt it will. Lead on, then." Riza had scouted out a fair portion of the City already, and could retrace the steps she'd taken to the coffeehouse flawlesslly, but since the Colonel had requested the walk, she would.

"I gather a few things have happened since your arrival here, Colonel."

"Mn." Was the only noise that escaped him initially. His hands were back in his pockets as he began walking, suddenly unsure exactly of where he intended to walk to. He knew Hawkeye was excellent at gathering her bearings, she didn't need him to walk anywhere with her.

"Ah. A few, Yes." He said simply, looking up towards the sky as he walked. "Although, before we discuss the City, I want to know what's been happening back home?" He asked, dubious of course. There was something different about the Lieutenant.

Well for the second time she'd had this conversation today, she had to say the first had been quite a bit more stressful. On the plus side, it meant that she'd already summarized the main facts and filed them neatly, ready for restatement. Hawkeye followed the Colonel a step behind and to the side of him, the old position; the one from which she had followed him for so long.

"At the time of my departure this morning, I was serving as a Personal Aide to President King Bradley due to a transfer authorized by the Fuhrer. My current position mandates my transferring papers and delivering orders according to his orders." Kimblee had been so kind to point that out earlier in the day.

"You remained stationed at Central, although most of your direct subordinates had been transferred to far corners of Amestris at the same time that I was transferred myself. It was evident that the transfers were authorized for political reasons, since it had been uncovered by the high ranking military that you knew about the Fuhrer's position as a homunculus."

His footsteps stopped the minute he heard the words 'Personal Aide' and by the time she had finished briefing him on the situation he was staring at her with a heavy frown, and puzzled look haunting his eye.

A little thought was all it took for him to understand what exactly was going on. Just like the 'original' Greed, Hawkeye obviously came from another world, the same world, but different. His head shook slowly, before he took a steadying breath.

"I fear that you and I are not from the same place, Hawkeye." He told, bringing his hand up to his mouth again to cough into it.

"In the place I am from... the Fuhrer is dead, a battle that lost me my eye. My direct subordinates were constantly stationed with me, and you were most definately not serving the Fuhrer directly." Just the thought of that last statement caused him to clench his teeth.

"Although, it's been two years since the Fuhrer was killed. Power over Amestris has been handed over to the govenment."

The Colonel's abrupt stop wasn't entirely unanticipated; she'd been starting to suspect something a little odd was going on. But the Colonel's news was not what she had expected.

"...I see." What a cruel twist of fate. Escaping the Fuhrer's thumb to find out that the Colonel Mustang that was here was not the Colonel Mustang she had left behind? But he still remained the Colonel Mustang she had promised to follow, somehow. Cruel.

"...The Fuhrer's Personal Aide...was not a terribly enjoyable position. It was evident I was there to maintain control over your actions."

The City, she could deal with. The idea of dead people walking around the street, okay. A second version of her commanding officer? Would require a little more thinking.

He cleared his throat as silence struck between the two of them, a hand reaching up to his mouth, just so that he could press his lips against a curled fist. He couldn't think. Another cough escaped him, and he chanced a look over at the Lieutenant. It was never often that he was lost for words.

"I imagine there aren't many people who would be comfortable working as his Aide. Not knowing what.. we know." He spoke quietly, having to cough to clear his throat once more, before he took the situaion head on and turned to look directly at Hawkeye.

"I may be inclined to cut our meeting short."

The Colonel's coughs didn't go unnoticed, but they seemed a minor detail compared to things like the loss of his eye. A fight between him and the Fuhrer. Another world where she hadn't been transferred.

"...His prior assistant, probably. He was the one who gave me the transfer order." A dry, almost mirthless statement.

Hawkeye had long since learned to take the Flame Alchemists direct glares without reaction. Riza met his gaze evenly, position as the President King's assistant keeping her face blanker than it should.

At the Colonel's statement, Riza closed her eyes briefly, dispelling the mask she'd kept up for the day, and dredging up the hints of a real smile. "As you wish. It is good to see you here, Colonel."

A deep intake of breath was what he needed, or perhaps a stiff drink. This was entirely the wrong way that their meeting was supposed to have gone, it was actually leaving him with a dry lump in his throat.

He knew he was searching for something in her expression that he would most probably fail to find. She was always so closed, even to him sometimes.

His lips pursed slightly and he coughed once more. "It is not my wish, I'm not sure how..." Another cough, this awkward atmosphere was beginning to grate on him. She was smiling though. He had to keep a lid on his feelings.

...He was still coughing. When had he developed that?

And he was still staring at her. Saying something... slightly incoherent.

...Cough came first. "Are you alright, Colonel? ...Your cough..." An arm almost twitched towards him to steady, almost parted from her side. She knew he didn't like pity for appearing weak. Standing guard as he convalesced in a hospital had proved that much. Her stern mask, once broken, seemed reluctant to reappear, and the concern she voiced reached her eyes.

"Cough?" He asked dumbly, before realising what he was actually doing, he turned his head away from her. "Ah. I believe I am recovering from a mild cold." He lied, looking back at her with the best smile he could muster, which wasn't much - he was still trying to get his head around the fact that although the person in front of him looked exactly as he remembered, she had lived a different life. It worried him to think about to what extent it was different.

"It's difficult to comprehend the situation." He told honestly, forcing his hands back into his pockets before he developed another habit like coughing into his fist.

She would allow him to tell her it was a cold. If it was a cold, it was nothing to worry about. If it was not a cold, obviously he didn't want her to know what it actually was. Which made it more to worry about. "I hope you recover quickly, Colonel."

...That was putting it mildly. Hawkeye stared at the ground rather than keep her glance focused on the Colonel's back. "I share the sentiment. ...The idea that there would be a parallel world to the one I'm accustomed to living in is...disconcerting, at best. ...I'm sure I will get used to it in time."

He nodded simply as a late reply to Hawkeye's wishes for him to recover sooner rather than later. He wasn't keen to spark a topic on colds, especially when the reason he had been coughing was from nervous disposition. Since when had he gotten like this? Being around the Lieutenant seemed to remind him of his old self, rather than the one he was slowly becoming.

He turned back to face her directly, removing a hand from his pocket to reach out and push a finger under her chin to direct her attention to him, although the minute he was granted it, the hand fell to his side.

"I would like to find out what differences there are. It concerns me." Ah, he was so good at lying when it was for his own benefit. Of course, there was only one thing he really wished to know. Just how different was his relationship with Hawkeye in this other world.

Surprise rippled across her face when the Colonel raised her chin- just to look at him and no more- and Hawkeye had to prevent herself from taking a step backwards. If he'd wanted her attention- no, he should know by now she was always alert to what he said. Finding no recourse available, Riza settled for filing that also away in the mental pile she was developing of things to think about "later", and erasing all traces of surprise from her face.

"Certainly." The Lieutenant had to admit to a certain curiosity on the subject as well; if there was an alternate version of herself, going through different events, would she act the same? ...Now that was a complicated mental tangent if there ever was one. Ruthlessly stuffing this also in the bin of things to think about later, Riza contemplated instead where she ought to start explaining. Gesturing towards a park bench, Hawkeye said, "Perhaps we ought to sit down, Colonel? If we're going to be sorting out differences between the places we came from, I can fairly safely presume it'll take a while."

The surprise on her face hadn't gone unnoticed, although he was very aware of her attempts to ignore her own emotions. Somehow she had so many similarities to the Lieutenant of his own world, and although the concept was still difficult to train, he was ultimately pleased by the outcome.

He managed a quick nod in reply, and offered a rather vague smile as he started walking towards the gestured bench. The part of him that was unsure of what exactly he would learn had to be stuffed down somewhere - there was no point in running from the truth, he'd learnt that after a hard two year lesson.

He turned to sit on the bench, hands removing themselves from his pockets to fold across his chest. Almost naturally he motioned with another nod for Hawkeye to sit beside him, and he tried to recall a time recently, when they had sat down to speak like this without a desk infront of him.

"I think we should start from the beginning." He offered safely, looking across at her. There was sudden doubt in his mind, if different events had happened in her world, was he even the Flame Alchemist?

Following the alchemist to the bench, she sat in the proffered seat, hands clasped in her lap. Usually they held envelopes of papers or stacks of loose sheets; she almost missed their sturdy presence.

"Very well." The beginning. "You were a student of my father, who was a Flame Alchemist as well. My father entrusted his alchemical secrets to me, and I in turn entrusted them to you after my father's death. You became the Flame Alchemist, and were deployed in the same sector of Ishbal as I was when I was still in military academy. Upon my request, you destroyed part of my father's secrets. I continued my military training and rejoined you later. You recommended me as your aide, and followed you when you were transferred to Central. I believe we've covered the later events already." All this recited in the standard report tone of voice- no emotions betrayed themselves through this recitation of facts to her superior officer.

"Does that differ greatly from your account?"

He kept his posture straight as she spoke, unable to help the grin that spread across his lips as it turned out that indeed, the two of them had followed the same course of history. He knew she was being very factual though, concealing the tiny details from him, just in case he presumed.

Once she'd finished explaining he turned to look at her with a smile, before leaning back into the park bench. "It doesn't seem to differ at all. Looks like we've kept each other's backs" He added, taking a deep breath.

"Apparently it's after being stationed at Central that things differ. What happened then?" He asked, mostly to himself, although he knew he would have Hawkeye's input on the thought too. The only thing that kept cropping up was.. "Fullmetal?"

Ah. That was a relief indeed. "...I'm glad to know that promise was kept." Even if things seemed to have differed, that was important. Hawkeye gave a small sigh of relief; even in this world where things had gone differently, some things had remained the same.

It seemed so long ago that she'd transferred to Central with the Colonel. "After our transfer..." she paused to recollect a moment. "Maes Hughes was murdered by an as-yet unknown party. Second Lieutenant Maria Ross was framed by the government for his murder. With aid, she escaped to Xing to the east. The Fullmetal investigated the 5th Laboratory, which resulted in the detainment of Barry the Chopper by Warrant Officer Fulman. Edward also engaged the Homunculus Greed and his group of chimera. These disappeared after the President King appeared to assist. More recently, we formed an alliance with Ling Yao of Xing and his bodyguard, Ran Fan; the Fullmetal and Ling Yao fought against Gluttony as you were still recovering from previous injury. You had engaged the Homunculus Lust, who paralyzed Second Lieutenant Havoc, successfully destroying her, after taking severe damage to yourself."

That had been the time she'd lost her composure completely. She'd emptied three magazines into that ...homunculus. The Colonel had chastized her later, for believing the lies she'd told. A flicker of something visible on her face, she addressed the question of the Fullmetal more directly.

"The Fullmetal continues his search for a way to restore his body."

This was obviously where things began to get a little complicated. Although he was pleased that their promise remained a main focal part of both their lives, the rest was just a bundle of confusion.

"Most of that is... very different." He told with a frown. It was definately strange to think that Maes had died in her world too, although it was somewhat confusing to hear that Ross had been accused of his murder. "Havoc.. paralyzed?" He muttered, lifting a hand to his mouth, in what was fast becoming the pose he took on for thinking

He wasn't even sure how he felt about the knowledge that Edward was still looking for a way to restore his body. Afterall, after they had achieved their goal, things had gotten even worse for the Elrics.

"I have to say, I don't know this Ling Yao and Ran Fan that you speak of... We still have little communication with Xing..." He paused for a while, before taking a deep breath. He supposed it was his turn to describe events from his view. "Maes was killed by a Homunculus, we believe. Ross was not accused of his death. The 5th Laboratory's secrets were uncovered, Scar is on the loose, Greed was killed by Edward, Lust was killed by a homunculus named Wrath, and the Fuhrer was killed at my hand. The brother's managed to find the stone, or rather, the stone was formed inside of Alphonse. Edward was killed by the homunculus Envy, but then revived by Alphonse, who lost his body for it. Then Edward brought him back, and Al is back in his original form now, although he has forgotten his memories, and is the same age he was before the attempt." He stopped there, looking down at the floor. "We were unsure of Fullmetal's position, however, there were rumours that he was arriving back in Central, so I returned." ... That was enough for now though.

"...That's...quite a bit different, Colonel." Understatement of the year. That along with 'Coffee with Kimblee is a bad idea.' Most definitely odd. And the confusion showed on her face.

Then she shrugged. "Well. It appears that there's nothing we can do about it if we're all stuck here. ...Just one more thing to learn to accept." Riza looked up at her superior officer, hoping he could look at things as positively as she had learned to. When positioned directly below a dire threat, all you can do is think positive.

"...It would do you well to introduce yourself to Ling. Although be warned that the homunculus Greed has control of his body most of the time."

Roy merely nodded in response to Hawkeye's statement and he found himself staring off ahead of him for a long while. It wasn't long before he looked towards the Lieutenant he couldn't really think of as 'his own' anymore, aware of the look on her face. An unusual one was all he could muster from the situation.

"I've actually become quite fond of the City. Besides the curses, it's a blessing to be here... If he's here too." He said, wishing that it hadn't come across as worrisome as it may have sounded.

The change of topic was a welcome relief and he arched an eyebrow as he looked towards Hawkeye. "Ling... Perhaps we could all meet together?" He suggested.

"I can see how it would be beneficial for people who have lost ones dear to them." The idea of meeting someone she had lost from the past was not... particularly palatable actually, but she could see the appeal for others.

Crossing her legs and glancing sideline at the Colonel, Riza said with a harshly repressed wicked smile, "Wanting an introduction by someone who knows both of you?"

He had to look away from her when she mentioned that fact that the City must have been beneficial to those those had lost someone dear to them. He wondered vaguely how she felt, although he knew that she must have had an understanding about how much Hughes' death had affected him. He wondered how she would of felt being here if he had died. The thought left him almost instantly as she spoke again, and he smirked.

"Or perhaps I'm making excuses to keep you close?" He suggested, eyes fixing on hers as she looked at him side-on.

Oh, it was so easy to slip into their code. How many times had they used this way of speaking? Nevermind that it was usually over the phone.

Eyes opening up in pretended surprise, and one hand covering the flap of her uniform, the blonde responded, "Why, Mr. Roy, how flattering of you to say so!" Looking upwards as though thinking, she added on, "As it happens, I believe the shop is rather empty."

The edges of Roy's mouth curled up into a rather coy smile, yet he let his gaze drop only slightly, running a hand over his thigh to smooth the crease that had gathered in his trousers.

"Ah, beautiful women must be watched over." He said idly, leaning back into the seat he shared with Hawkeye and letting his hands reach behind his head to fold loosely. "The shop often shuts after a call. Strangely coincedental? You will be my escort?"

The easyness of the code-talk was comforting. Riza couldn't help but smile.
"Such a curse for you, Mr. Roy, watching over all the beautiful women." The hand she'd held up dropped back into her lap to rejoin the other one.
"I doubt anyone will miss me if I leave it for a while. Besides- how could I resist an invitation like that, Mr. Roy?"

His reclined position allowed him to tip his head so that he looked at her directly, smile still ever present as it was when he engaged in this sort of conversation with his First Lieutenant.

"The work is hard, but I usually get it done with a little persuasion." He teased, leaning forwards again to rest his elbows on his knees. "Refusal would be most offensive."

"It's a good thing you have someone to make you do your work, Mr. Roy. Don't you get in trouble for spending so much time away?" The smile hadn't quite left her lips; playacting was a good release from the stresses of earlier.

"I wouldn't dare offend you, Mr. Roy. I suppose I'll have to accept."

His laughter was light as it escaped him, and he was unable to keep from smiling as he bantered.

"Ah, I often find myself wondering who is in charge during office hours." He remarked, nodding once as his 'request' was accepted.

"Of course, I don't believe for a second you might have been able to decline."

Riza's smile flickered wider for a microsecond before going back to the smooth flattered smile reserved for this sort of talk between them.

"How horrible, Mr. Roy. Surely it would be you?" The nod noted, the issue decided. The rest was banter.

"Dear me, Mr. Roy. No wonder you can watch all the beautiful women if you put it like that."

"I often fear that that isn't the case, Elizabeth?" He said with a mock sigh, although the look on his face was far from the expression you would associate with such heavy breath.

"Ah, but there are very few beautiful women in particular that I wish to watch." He said, knowing that he was borderlining the limits of their acting here. He always pushed those boundaries though.

"How tragic." Covertly taking a glance at the sun- getting late; she should probably head home and collapse. Energy was a little short today.

"How flattering, Mr. Roy, that you would insinuate something like that. I'll have to dig through my closet for something appropriate, you know; I simply haven't a thing." Hawkeye winced inwardly at the accuracy of her statement, outwardly turning her smile a bit on the wry side, and rising from the park bench.

Slipping out of the code, the blonde turned and stood at attention. "By your leave, Colonel?"

Tragic wasn't the word he would use to describe the situation, after all a part of him rather felt that he enjoyed it.

"I don't insinuate, Elizabeth, I'm telling the truth." He said, having half a mind to say that anything would be appropriate, amongst many other comments he could spare - of course he never used spare comments up on the Lieutenant.

His gaze followed her as she stood, and realised that his playtime was over. "Of course." He said, with a curt nod, keeping himself seated on the bench. He would probably need time to think once she had left.

"Thank you, Colonel." Heels clicked together, fully at attention, before relaxing, and hesitating before she turned.

"It was good to see you, sir." And with that and a final smile, she turned and walked away from the Colonel seated on the park bench, back towards the buildings she'd seen earlier.

Time to pick where home was going to be.

Log :: Complete

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