-1Ello!! If you are reading this wacked out intro, then you are surely reading one of my fanfics!! Which, of course, means I do not own the lovely characters I am portraying in uncharacteristically odd behavior!! Well… kinda :P

WARNING: LANGUAGE VIOLENCE AND GORE

Anyway…

Enjoi ;P

Amestris's borders were currently under siege, causing revolt and upset in the bordering countries and towns. Anyone in the military could be plucked from the HQ and sent off to any far corner of the country. This event had caused our favorite sniper and egotistical pyromaniac to split up…

A concerned, stern-faced lieutenant sat in a makeshift tent somewhere in the desert between the vast borders of Amestris and two other desolate countries. She sat on an overturned supply crate. In front of her was a rickety table, supporting an old radio. This radio was her eyes and ears. Her lifeline. Every once in a while, the contraption would tune into incoming frequencies. The dusty speakers would crackle out priceless, juicy bits of information about other military camps that were a farther than just a stone's throw away. She sat there, staring into the speaker of the radio, as if she was looking through a pair of static-filled eyes and into its wirey soul.

This thing was her only way to "check up" on her superior officer. Almost all the alchemists were deployed to a rather large uproar north of the main camp, while most snipers were sent south-bound.

She was separated from her colonel. As first lieutenant, she was hired to protect him. But now, all she could do is listen in. All she could do is hope and pray.

It really unnerved her; sitting there. Just sitting. She felt so helpless. Almost… lonely.

The crackling of the radio interrupted her train of thought.

"Crrrk… north…… enemy convoys.. armed with alchemical explosives… crrk… massive explosion… many injured…. casualties…. Medics needed….. crrrrrrrrrrrrrk…………"

"No…" she whispered. The transition faded out, crackling static only remained. "No!" she shouted, smacking the radio, as if attempting to smack it back into signal. 'Stupid piece of shit.' she thought to herself. She almost never resorted to cursing, not even in her mind, but the anxiety she pent up inside of her had been eating away at her patience. She needed to be aware of her colonel's whereabouts, even if it killed her.

Thoughts raced about her head like rabid horses. 'He was in the north…. Just where the explosion was… No, he's dense, but smart enough to keep himself out of danger. He's not stupid enough to…' her mind paused in its tracks. She knew she dreaded saying the words, let alone thinking them. But that didn't stop her wild imagination from tormenting her. 'But… what if? What if he was in the area? Knowing him, he would have gotten involved, all smug-like. Damn him…' she mentally scolded him for his possible actions of stupidity.

'Foolish man. He probably got himself injured. He'll come back all bruised and bloody…' but she knew it could be more than just a few cuts and scrapes. The 'what if's' and the 'he could have's' circled around her, making her dizzy.

She felt her eyes sting at the thought of loosing her beloved colonel. 'What if he…? What would I do without him? The military would never be the same to me. What about…'

Riza's eyes welled. Her eyes could not contain the stinging pressure of salty tears. She had been kept in suspense for only a week, but it was enough to wreck her. A single tear rolled down a dusty cheek. She raised a hand to cover her eyes. Even though no one was there to see her cry, she felt that tears were a weakness, and should be hidden.

"Hey man, welcome back! Ya'll did a great job over there in the north!" she herd a young colleague greet another officer. She shot straight up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand after hearing someone's voice only yards away.

"Thanks, solider. I was happy to get out of there in one piece." A cocky male voice responded.

A small gasp escaped her mouth. The voice was oddly familiar, in a cocky, arrogant way. 'Wait.. he came back from the north…'

She put two and two together as she swiftly turned around, almost knocking over both the crate she was seated upon and the shaky table supporting that piece-of-crap radio. Her sniper eyes locked onto a blue-clad, raven-haired, tall figure.

"Colonel--" she barely managed to whisper out. Her lips trembled a bit as she called to him. "Colonel!" She shouted. He turned around, only to see a slim, black-clad blur run to him. Well, more like into him. Into his arms. Before giving him a chance to acknowledge the identity of this blonde blur, she ran at him, almost throwing herself against his chest. She wrapped both arms around his neck, holding him tight. She held onto him as if she had to prove that he was really and truly there. She was surprised by her actions, but she didn't give a damn anymore. She had to make sure he was tangible and safe.

"Err…" He paused in shock. 'Okay… err…' even in his mind, he didn't know where to start off. 'This isn't… so it can't be… It sure as hell isn't… Hawkeye? She isn't someone who would

EVER do something so… rash.' He paused his thoughts for a moment. 'but who else could it be? Well, there is the blonde hair and the--' He was in plain view of a pistol settled nicely in her leg holster. He then wrapped his arms shakily around her back. 'Hawkeye. Definitely Hawkeye.' Her actions were certainly… uncharacteristic of her, but it was her, nonetheless.

She enjoyed his closeness for a full while before loosening her grasp around his neck. She raised a hand to wipe the trails of tears off her cheeks and out of her eyes. Roy was stunned. This was the first time in almost ten years that he'd seen her cry. Just the sight of it ate at his stomach and settled a saddened expression on his features.

He still had his arms around her back. He looked around quickly, surveying the area before turning back to look into her deep amber irises. 'Good, the coast is clear.' The last thing they would ever want is to be busted like this after a successful mission. He only saw crates scattered randomly, empty fire pits, and the flapping cloth entrances of the empty makeshift shelters. Farther away, he could see medical trucks bringing in the wounded from the north.

Her eyes had softened. Though soft, they still seemed clouded with a mist of worry and sadness. Her tears had streamed moist lines down dusty face, leaving tangible proof of their brief existence.

She stepped back a bit to take a good, hard look at him. It was him alright. She examined him up and down with her eyes. He was completely unscathed. Not even a scratch. No blood or bandage blemished his perfect face or impeccable uniform. She sighed a pent up sigh of relief. He was a little dusty, albeit, but safe.

She landed a swift punch onto his firm chest. "Damnit Roy! You had me so worried! I thought you went off and got yourself killed!" She chided him; starting off with anger, which diffused itself into a gentle chuckle.

Riza took another sigh. "Well… I am glad you are alright…"

He grabbed her around her waist and pulled her into his chest. One hand cradled her head to his shoulder as the other held her tightly. He lowered his face near hers.

She froze up at his abrupt embrace. "Sir, I--" he cut her off with a warm, low whisper into her ear. "I may not show it, but I was worried about you, too, Riza. I am so sorry for worrying you, and I am just glad that you are okay, as well."

His words sent shivers down her spine. She slowly raised her hands up onto his back, almost unsurely. Once she did, he drew her in tighter, closer.

She enjoyed the sweet embrace a few moments more, before her model-soldier instincts kicked in.

She quickly drew herself beck from him, creating a rift between the two, dusty bodies.

"Colonel," she started, remembering that they are in the middle of a war camp, surrounded by people eager to blame if a promotion was in store. "Not here."

He smirked and grabbed her by her wrist. "Not here exactly." He led her into the makeshift tent where the radio was located. With one hand, he undid the knotted rope holding the cloth door up, and led her inside.

"Sir, I--"

"Shh…" he cooed to her, stepping closer than what would be considered 'professional.'

"Hawkeye, I just want to tell you that, while I was in the north, I wasn't able to trust any of them with my back as well as I trust you. I know you are always looking out for me and I know you probably were worrying about me…" He locked his obsidian eyes onto hers. His expression was soft, and his words were coming from the heart.

She smiled at his words. It made her feel warm, just knowing that he thought about her as much as she thought about him.

"Besides, they assigned rookie gunmen to me who couldn't hold a gun straight, let alone hit the broad side of a barn."

Riza laughed at this. She took the fact that he valued her protectiveness of him as the highest praise. It even caused her to blush a bit.

But her previous stress and anxiety came back to her. "Dammit… You have me smiling when I am supposed to be mad at you!!" She said, in a voice breaking with laughter.

"Mad? At moi? What did I ever do to deserve your fury?" He asked, in a jesting tone.

She scowled a bit at him, crossing her arms. "Well, I was afraid that you had gotten yourself involved in someone else's battle without me there to drag you out of it and to talk some sense into you! I didn't know if you would return her in one piece or in the medic van!!"

He chuckled at her. He finally broke through her emotional dam and now a flood of suppressed emotion came flooding out. But it was a nice change-of-pace, compared to her usual stiffness.

He readjusted his grip on her. She let out a sigh, and let her head fall against his chest. She knew she was wayyyyyyyyy out of line, but her senses were numbed by the exiting worry and the incoming relief. Besides, he was equally at fault. HE was the one holding HER, anyway.

"Arggh… I just can't seem to stay angry at you."

"Is it my charm?" he toyed with a strand of her hair as he revealed a sly, cocky smirk.

"Maybe its your ego." she scoffed out.

"Ahh… yes, but isn't that why you love me?" He tensed up a bit, realizing that he spoke before he thought.

She froze up as well, creating a rather akward moment, to say the least.

"I'd love it if you wouldn't worry me." She stated, bluntly changing the subject. A stiffness entered the air at the awkward turn of conversation.

As it happened, military personnel ran amuck and alarms sounded. They both rushed to the flap of the tent to see what the hell the commotion was about.

Everyone seemed to ignore his presence, agitating him and his ego. "Private!" he growled, stopping a brown-haired man in his tracks. "Sir!" he answered, as is customary, along with a stiff salute. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Sir," the private started, "they are calling all forces to move our base to the easternmost province." he paused, seeing that the colonel was unimpressed. "Its mandatory, sir." he said, saluted, and ran off.

"Damn." they both muttered, following the rush of the others, forgetting their earlier embrace.

Major battle was ensuing in the east. They didn't even have time to set up base before the entire military was thrown into battle.

Rouges and rebels equipped with daggers, pistols, and even clubs, filled a dusty valley surrounded by dilapidated, abandoned sniper towers. The colonel was snapping away, strategically burning ass left and right. Hawkeye was stationed in one of the wooden towers on a cliff with a clear view of the raging battle. She kept a watchful aim on her colonel through her scope and fired unhesitantly at any approaching opposition.

The valley was filled to the brim with total chaos. It was damn near impossible to see past anyone; they were packed in there so tightly and they were constantly moving. And loud. Very loud. Sounds of screams and sparks and shots echoed against the jagged cliffs surrounding them. But the steady sound of a sniper's shot ceased, accompanied by feminine screams. He started to panic, knowing that Riza was the only sniper stationed here, since all the other towers were so damaged to the point that they were unstable.

His clouded mind and lack of sniper protection left himself open to attack. A very wild-looking rebel came from behind and clubbed him in his left shoulder. Hard. Roy growled in pain as he scorched the man before he could take a final swing to his head.

"Dammit... Where is she?" he growled to himself, pressing his right hand against his shoulder. Anger and worry pumped through his blood, and he took it out on his new enemies.

Roy, along with the usual entourage of Fuery, Havoc, Falman, Armstrong, and Breda, climbed the rugged path to the sniper tower. Well, everyone else climbed. Roy stormed. He was pissed. He was worried. And he wanted to get there fast.

Armstrong entered the tower first, checking it for any enemies. A hurt gasp escaped form the large man as Roy somehow pushed him aside. Roy's eyes widened and his stomach turned to ice at the sight he saw.

Riza lay lying on the floor, blonde hair strewn about. Her right forearm was drenched in blood, as was the floor surrounding her. A strip of her torn coat was wrapped around where the wound was. She was wearing her usual black undershirt and black pants, and her hair was down for a odd change of place. But even though her clothes were black, he could see the damp blood that had soaked itself into it.

Roy was frozen. He just looked at her, not knowing what to do. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding so fast that he thought it might jump right out of his chest. He ran the short distance to her and fell to his knees beside her. He pressed two gloved fingers to her pale, blood-streaked neck and felt for a pulse. She was alive. He could have cried in relief. Roy picked her up and pressed her against his chest, silently sobbing into her hair.

"Sir, we should get her out of here. Now…" Havoc suggested, or ordered. Either way, Roy nodded in agreement as he held her tight for just a second, before handing her off to the Major.

Roy paced about the outside of the medical tent, grumbling and growling to himself. He had just gotten his shoulder bandaged, and was only wearing an open military jacket, exposing the bruises on his chest and the bandage that wrapped around his chest and connected to his shoulder.

He was pissed. And guilty. And sad. But mostly pissed. 'She shouldn't have been stationed in such a dangerous place.. It was a horrible decision who the hell… oh dammit, I said to station her there. Damn….' his mind was flooded with more thoughts than he could handle. '…still, she had a dammed radio. She could have signaled for assistance!' he was screaming in his mind and growling on the outside.

He couldn't take it any more. He barged into the tent and was immediately sorry that he did. Riza was sitting up in a cot as the doctor dove into her arm with forceps. She grimaced in pain and tried to ease it by holding tightly onto her arm with her uninjured one. Her face was still pale, but gaining color, and she had changed her top to a clean, black, fitted tank top. The doctor apparently hit his target with his forceps, which were buried into the bloody tissues of his arm. She tilted her head back and groaned as the doctor pried his forceps from her arm. A large bullet, shining with her blood, was held tightly in the metal contraption. She sighed in relief and laid her blonde head back onto the pillows behind her.

The doctor noted the colonel's presence and stepped outside with him. "How is she?" was all he could mutter.

The doctor was an older man who spoke with an odd, pointed accent. "She is fine, not to worry. She is a rather tough one, at that." he looked at Roy, who's eager eyes told the doc to continue on. He took a breath, continuing, "She had sustained a rather large bullet wound into the middle of her forearm. The bullet entered at an angle which chipped the bone and tore many veins. But she will heal to be good as new, I assure you!" he chuckled for a comforting effect, but it didn't seem to phase the raven haired man. "Very well. Any who, she was very, very brave. She burned her own skin to close the wound and to stop the bleeding. She still wanted to fight."

He looked Roy dead into his dark eyes with his own cloudy, gray ones. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I had to reopen the burn to get to the raw tissue. I also had to remove the bullet. I wish I had more anesthetic though… she was barely numbed. I didn't want to do it without total sedation, but she pushed to go through with it." It was that moment where Roy realized that she was more of a man than he ever was. If it was him in that situation, he'd be screaming for sedation, or at least a lot of liquor.

The doc reassured him that she'd be fine with plenty of rest, as long as she cleaned the wound thoroughly and often, as well as changing the bandages when soiled.

The doctor walked off to the next tent as Roy summoned the courage to go into her tent. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, and he didn't know what he was going to say. But he was sure that he was going to make an ass of himself.

He thrust aside the flap of the tent and walked in. An unintentional air of anger followed him in and consumed his presence. "Colonel." she said, offering a wrong-armed salute, lowering her gaze as apology. "At ease." he sighed. She continued wrapping her arm tightly with fresh bandages, as she was doing before he came in.

He growled and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand. "Lieutenant," he started, figuring any start could be a good start. "err…. How are you feeling?"

She let off a faint smile. "Better, sir. Just a bit tired and lightheaded."

"Yeah, well blood loss does that to a person…" he said, at a sorry attempt to lighten the mood. He didn't want to upset her while she was in so much pain, so he tried to choose his words carefully. They didn't say a word to each other for a full minute, not even looking at each other, while he contemplated what he was going to say next. Finally Roy disrupted the silence. "Riza… you had me so damn worried. What happened?" she was about to speak, but he cut her off. "You know, you could have signaled for help. You had the damned radio right there." Anger started to creep into his voice. He was sick of feeling guilty for her pain and was unconsciously transferring it to her. "I lost valuable protection. I got clubbed by some asshole while you dawdled!" He immediately regretted what he said, but he was still so angry. When he saw her lying in the tower all bloody, he couldn't control the flood of pain he felt for her. This anger he was expressing was to stop her from ever getting hurt like that again when it was preventable. Or at least he told himself that.

Riza looked at him with a stone cold gaze. She didn't understand why he was so mad at her. His words stung her and turned her blood to ice. "I'm afraid that I'm feeling tired now. I think its best if you leave." Her voice quavered at the last words, but she kept her icy stare on him on conveyed no emotion in her voice. A look of immediate guilt hit his face, and he looked as if he was about to pour out the apologies. 'Good,' she thought to herself. The look on her face sent chills down him, and sent him out of her tent with his tail between his legs. She turned to lay on her stomach, placing both arms under the pillow, hugging it with all her might.

Roy was outside the tent, where a cool breeze greeted him, blowing the open lapels of his military jacket aside. The cold air made his cuts and bruises sting, but he felt that he deserved the pain, and stood there close-eyed for a minute longer.

He started to walk to his own tent. His footsteps were slow, weighed down by guilt. "WHY was I such an ass…" he muttered to himself as he walked by the left side of Riza's tent. A small sound caught his attention, and stopped him in his tracks.

He backed up a bit, and looked around. As he herd the sound again, he realized it came from Riza's tent. Or rather, Riza herself.

The lantern adjacent to her cot illuminated her tent so anyone outside could see the clear outline of the medical supplies, the single cot pushed to the left corner, and the woman on top of it.

Roy watched the silhouette of his lieutenant on her cot. She had her face buried into a pillow as he shoulders shook with quiet sobs.

His heart and stomach wretched themselves into knots. He had made her cry twice now. A guilty chill flooded over him and caused him to shudder. Roy just stood there watching her shaking shadow, wondering how he'd ever apologize, before he walked off to his tent and into a fitful sleep.

Roy set of early to the now desolate battlefield. He was going to stop by Riza, but he just didn't know what to say. And he was scarred that she wouldn't forgive him. But mostly he couldn't summon up the courage.

Roy was accompanied by Havoc and Fuery to the sniper tower. Roy went in first, this time though, rubbing his injured shoulder as he entered. His keen, obsidian eyes scanned the area around him. His heart sank as he noted the bloodstained floor.

Her rifle was leaning against the window of the tower, along with a box of ammunition. A single, open shell lay on the floor, as well as a box of matches. A pair of matched had been removed and tossed to separate sides of the tower. Roy crouched down to pick up the silver remains of the bullet. Dried blood from the shell chipped itself onto his white gloved fingers. The other half of the shell was lying right next to where he found the other, and some gunpowder was strewn there as well.

His focus was brought to a few shattered pieces of metal. He followed the shards to a radio, which had a few shots fired into the center of it, making it just a piece of scrap metal. His heart fell to the floor as he remembered how he gave her a hard time over that stupid radio.

He stood quickly and left, leaving his entourage to quietly watch him storm off.

(Flashback)

Lieutenant Hawkeye was reloading her shotgun, and taking aim at anyone who approached her comrades. Special attention was place on her colonel, though. A rough-looking man came up behind him, raising his dagger, about to impale it into Roy's back. But her quick senses and sharp aim shot him clear between the eyes, before he could even scrape the skin off the colonel's back.

She didn't like killing, but she had to protect her friends. Riza peered through her scope and adjusted the focus so she could see the colonel clearly. He was a bit damaged, but nothing he couldn't handle. His brows were furrowed and a grimace was plastered on his face as he battled on. The expression made him seem even more brave, and even more committed to his dream of becoming the fuhrer. She let out a weak smile toward his determination before snapping back into sniper mode.

As she was distracted by the battle ensuing in front of her, a unseen enemy gunman from an higher boulder took aim though a torn board of her sniper tower. He smirked as she quickly fired 3 rounds into her radio, breaking her contact.

Riza jumped as the trio of bullets whizzed past her. Her heartbeat quickened and her body broke into a cold sweat. She grasped her rifle to her chest before taking aim through every tiny entrance of her ancient tower.

She adjusted the focus of her scope to get a clear view. Just the, the enemy gunman caught a sight of flesh from between the cracked boards, and fired.

Pain split though her arm as she let out a blood curdling scream. The enemy sniper smiled, and ran off, thinking his job was done. But it takes more that that to get rid of out hardy lieutenant.

Riza panted and sweated as she wrapped shaking fingers around the massive, bloody wound in the middle of her arm. She was in so much pain, but she was damned determined to defend her comrades.

She paused, crouched on the floor, looking for some sort of salvation, even temporary. Her eyes moistened form the pain as she noticed a shattered, useless radio. She tilted her head in a pain-filled moan.

Riza searched her mind for anything she picked up in her training. She looked down at her arm, noticing that the blood was cascading down her arm and onto her lap. The warm liquid soaked into her black pants, making her shudder and close her eyes in immense pain. Suddenly, a small trinket of information hit her. She desperately searched through her ammo box for gunpowder. 'Damn! None!!' her mind screamed as her mouth panted.

Riza quickly took up her rifle and peered her scope toward the battlefield. Roy was holding his own, but was severely outnumbered. He has a small cut on his forehead which was dripping down to his chin. 'Damn.. I have to… hurry…' even her mind was panting now. She placed the gun against the window and dipped her good hand back into the ammo box. She pulled out a single shotgun shell, and placed half of it between her teeth. She then yanked at the opposite end with her left hand.

Riza then spat out the shell and peered into the opposite half. Perfect. Gunpowder rested at the bottom of the shell. She let out a weak smile as she searched toe box again for matches.

Once she got them, Riza poured the gunpowder onto her wound. She grimaced at the pain of the tiny specks of powder falling into the tender, exposed tissues of her arm. Riza then took a match in hand and struck it against the weak wood floor. It didn't light. She cursed to herself as she took another match into a shaking, blood-soaked hand, and struck it against the floor. It lit. She offered a small smile as she edged the flame toward the powdered wound. She let out one hell of a scream as the powder too to the flame. Tears involuntarily streamed down her cheeks as it singed her flesh closed. Her veins pumped with pain all throughout her tired body.

Riza turned her gaze down to the burnt patch on her arm. It was a messy, pinkish color, and was still hot. But it stopped the bleeding. Riza then tore a strip of her brown coat lying next to her, and tightly wound it around her right forearm. She let out a few groans and pants before getting back to business. Her determination drove her to reach for her gun, but instead her body gave out and she flopped down onto the floor. The pain, adrenaline, stress, and blood loss was all to much, and she fainted

(End flashback)

Roy was jittery and tense. He had been standing right outside Hawkeye's tent for an hour and a half, not too sure what to say or do. He didn't even know why he made such a big deal over it, but he did, so now he had to face the music and apologize. And hope that she'd forgive him.

Roy cleared his throat, letting her know he was there. A quiet but stern "Come in," greeted him. He gathered a handful of the material of the tent and pushed it aside, letting him through.

Riza was sitting on the edge of her cot, wearing the same outfit as the day before. Her injured, bandaged arm rested lamely on her lap. She shot him a cold gaze as he entered.

Roy had his usual blue dress shirt under his military jacket, which proudly displayed his rank and status, as well as his State Alchemists Watch. But he left his jacket open to escape the heat of the sandy ruins, exposing the thin shirt underneath. Under his clothing, Roy still had a shoulder wrapping. A small white bandage could be seen under his dark locks of hair over a cut he sustained during battle.

He let out a deep sigh and walked over to her, crouching beside her cot. "Hawkeye…" he began, "err- Riza, I know I'm probably the last person you want to see now, or ever. But I'm sorry I was such an asshole…" She looked at him blankly. "I went over to the sniper tower today with Fuery and Havoc…" Riza raised a single, blonde eyebrow at this.

"Ahhh… I saw the radio. I know I gave you such a hard time about it, but I understand what happened. I should have herd you out… instead of just assuming whatever the hell came to mind." Roy was still kneeling in front of her. He rubbed his bruised shoulder with one hand as he continued on.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say and you are right to be mad." he paused to look up into her eyes. The icy coolness from yesterday had melted into a warmer, more agreeable glance, making him smirk that small, sexy smirk of his.

"I think I was just angry at myself for stationing you so far from everyone else and for feeling so damn guilty. And then I go and unleash my stresses on you…. I'm sorry."

Riza sighed and cupped one side of his face in her left hand. "Roy… Its alright. You don't have to worry so much." She said as his gaze met hers. "I understand. And I'm sorry as well for worrying you so much." Riza smiled and motioned for him to sit by her on the cot. He did, and to her pleasant surprise he wrapped her tightly in his arms; one around her shoulders and the other around her slim waist. She smiled into his shoulder and wrapped her uninjured arm around his back as tightly as she could. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek and snuggled his face into her hair.

Riza giggled as his soft hair tickled her skin. "How are you feeling today?" he whispered into her ear while kissing the side of her face.

Riza pulled back from him, to his disappointment. She looked him in his eyes and smiled. "Much better now." He placed his hand on her injured one on her lap and stroked it with is long, gloved fingers. In turn, she placed a hand to his cheek and pulled him into a gentle kiss. When they broke apart, he only said one thing.

"Me too."