Bloodlust

Hello! I literally just finished submitting the second chapter of Bloodlust and am already starting to type the third one! It's 4 am and I have no regrets. If only I was this dedicated to my chemistry homework. Anyways, please enjoy the next installment!

Chapter 3

The cocking of a gun near his head broke Colonel Mustang out of his bored stupor.

"With all due respect, sir, these papers aren't going to sign themselves," the ever faithful Lieutenant said in her calm tone. The cold metal of her revolver pressed a little harder against his temple. Sitting up quickly, Roy heeded his subordinate and reached for the nearest stack of ridiculously long and boring reports, trying his hardest not to display his fear of Riza Hawkeye's cool gaze. Nodding in satisfaction, she saluted and turned once again to her own work. Roy stifled an exasperated groan, picking up his pen and attempting to focus on the idiocy on the page in front of him.

Colonel Roy Mustang,

The military mess hall is in dire need of more variety. It is of utmost importance and needs to be addressed immediately. Otherwise, the military will not be receiving ample amounts of all the required food groups that are essential to the proper functioning and…..

Skipping to the last line, Roy scribbled his signature and slammed the worthless paper on the 'Done' side of his desk where it joined two or three others. Then, reaching towards the much larger stack on the 'To do' side, he grabbed another report and began reading again. As he made this way through a document on the malfunctioning toilets on the second floor, he couldn't help but think that as intelligible and vulgar they were, Fullmetal's reports were still many times more interesting than the drivel he was currently reading. He blinked in surprise at the odd turn of his thoughts, but dismissed them and pursued his work again.

Finally, as the sun was setting outside the steadily darkening office, the phone on Roy's desk rang, startling him momentarily out of another daydream. Shaking his head to clear it, the Flame picked the phone up and pressed the metal receiver to his ear, grateful for the distraction.

"Colonel Mustang."

"Royyyy! You won't believe it, it was the CUTEST thing!" a high-pitched, male voice shouted from the other end. Roy's eye twitched when he recognized the ridiculous tone as belonging to a man he couldn't believe he called his best friend.

"Hughes. What the hell are you talking about? I don't have time for this," he said, trying to express enough irritation to thwart the inevitable. No such luck.

"Oh loosen up, Roy! You definitely want to hear about this! Today, when I was leaving, little Elysia came and gave me her little stuffed bear and said in her adorable voice, 'Mr. Beaw will pwotect you, daddy,'" Hughes said, imitating his daughter's voice. "Isn't that just the most adorable thing ever? And her little sundress was so cute! The only one who can even come close to her beauty…is my gorgeous wife, Gracia! They were matching today! I have so many pictures I'm going to show you next time you come to Central. I actually went and bought an album! After all, I—" Roy slammed the phone down, unable to bear anymore.

"Easy on the phone, sir," Hawkeye called from outside the office. Roy groaned and allowed his head to hit the wooden desk. Just a little excitement, or anything to get him away from paperwork and his so-called friend, would have been more than welcome. Envisioning his youngest subordinate's dramatic entrance the day before, Roy smirked. Yes, he would much rather bait Fullmetal and enjoy his reactions than read about the mess hall or endure Hughes's annoying phone calls. Running his hand through black hair, Roy attempted to clear his thoughts again and finish as much of the stack as he could. The familiar sound of a gun being loaded prompted him to go through with this plan.

East headquarters was always a much quieter place than the bustling of Central. In many ways, Roy missed the crowded city. But, there was also some charm in the calm of a less occupied area. Though he believed it to be a demotion at the time, Roy found himself in control of substantially more people and events here than in Central. He anticipated the day when he would return after successfully handling the most volatile region of Amestris. He grinned to himself, imagining the inevitable ceremony for his induction as Fuhrer.

The first winds of winter blew against him as he made his way to the area he called home. But, that was just a common label. The place had hardly anything that indicated it belonged to the Flame alchemist. Aside from the bookshelves against almost every wall and a few necessities, it could have been an abandoned house. No need for attachment to a place he was planning on leaving soon.

Pushing the key into the lock, Roy pushed the door open, hearing the creaks as the hinges strained. He should probably still take some care of the place, though. Making a mental note to look at the door later, he walked into the dark house. He flicked the lights on, making another mental note to replace them as well. Roy hung his coat on the rack by the door and entered the living room, sitting heavily on his couch and leaning back. He closed his eyes and spent a few moments listening to the sounds of the old house around him and the world outside. Moments like these, where there was no imposing stack of boredom or terrifying lieutenant, were what Roy truly valued in the house. Letting out a breath, he forced himself off the comfortable couch and made his way to the bedroom. As he lay in bed, he remembered that a certain short alchemist would be turning in his report the next day. With a smile in anticipation and a collection of short jokes picked out from his extensive arsenal, the Flame alchemist drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Okay, so I promise that the story will pick up in the next chapter. I know it's frustrating that so far, nothing is really happening. But, I just thought I would take the time to set everything up and introduce the characters as not only what they are, in my interpretation, in the actual anime/manga, but little hidden things that I think are conceivable parts of their personalities even if it wasn't shown in the actual work. So, again, please bear with me! Things will begin moving very quickly, very soon. There is a plot, I swear!

Thank you for reading!