FMA_Fic_Contest- Prompt 52: Suffering/Loss "Panic" (Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye)
This was done for the FMA_Fic_Contest. I really like how it turned out, but alas, it didn't win.
Title: Panic
Author: Seaweed Otter
Series: Either
Word Count: 999
Rating: PG for one bad word.
Characters: Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Alex Louis Armstrong
Summary: Sometimes it only takes a small thing to elicit panic in a person.
Warnings: None, really.
Note: Thanks to Emma for putting up with me asking a bunch of questions and helping me make it a MUCH better fic.
Roy squinted at the light streaming in from the window. He'd been too lazy to close it last night, and now he was paying the price. He ratcheted his eyes open. Any annoyance at the coming of the light was immediately quelled as he looked over at the other side of the bed.
Riza was asleep, her long hair falling gracefully down onto her face like a cascading waterfall, saving her eyes from the worst of the sunlight. Roy chuckled to himself about how lucky she was that her beautiful hair saved her from those pesky sunbeams. With a long yawn and a stretch, he got out of bed as softly as he could, the cold tile floor quickly jolting the last vestiges of sleep out of him.
He couldn't resist taking one more look at his sleeping lover. Roy turned back around to look at Riza- and that was when he saw it. A small, round mass of black hair on his pillow, right where his head had been. In a panic, Roy rushed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him much louder than he had intended. He winced and cursed at himself, hoping that it didn't wake Riza,.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, everything looked like it always had- his hair still looked thick and healthy. His fingers trembled slightly as he ran them through his hair, but to his relief, no clumps came out. Roy sighed softly. He didn't like to think of himself as vain, but he had always taken pride in how he looked. And this was a big blow to his ego.
As Roy got ready for work, he couldn't shake the thoughts out of his head- He was too young to go bald. He had a reputation to uphold. No would take a bald Fuhrer seriously. He was glad that Riza was still sleeping when he left. He didn't feel like explaining his sullen mood to her. His eyes wandered back over to the pillow, and the black hair that sat upon it, mocking him. Roy got dressed and silently slinked out of the room, closing the bedroom door softly behind him.
Breakfast was a hasty affair, then he was out of the house and driving himself to work. The buildings whizzed past him, all a blur as his mind was focused on earlier this morning. He was almost glad of the change of scenery when he got to work- he could only hope that it would distract him.
Unfortunately, work was boring, and without Riza there to keep his mind on the task at hand, his thoughts kept wandering back to that damned pillow. In his annoyed state, it seemed like every single sound in the office was magnified a thousand times over. And Roy was close to total madness listening to Lieutenant Havoc's incessant chewing on his toothpick.
Lieutenant Havoc, and his perfect- though messy- shock of hair that wasn't in danger of falling out.
“Lieutenant, I suggest you cease chewing on that toothpick, or I will burn it out of your mouth.”
“Yessir.” Havoc replied dejectedly. He threw it into the trash, murmuring a bit too loudly, “I wonder what crawled onto his scalp and died?”
Roy pushed his chair back and stood up. “I'm going to run an errand. I suggest you all keep working.”
Calloused fingers ran through his scalp while he walked down the hallway. He couldn't shake this feeling that he was really starting to feel his age. But he was 31, it was too soon to be worrying about this. He wasn't paying attention as he walked down the hallway, almost running headlong into Alex Louis Armstrong.
“Is.. something the matter, sir? You look distracted.”
“I'm sorry, Major. It's just.. “ Roy sighed. He'd never told anyone his weaknesses. If he wanted to become the Fuhrer, he couldn't have any. But if anyone could understand, he knew it'd be Armstrong.
“I... found a bunch of hair on my pillow this morning.”
Armstrong gathered Roy into a bone crushing hug that left him gasping for breath. “Fear not, Colonel. You don't need hair when you have muscles like these!” In the blink of an eye, Armstrong had his shirt off and was showing Roy one of his muscular poses.
While Armstrong was distracted making poses and rambling on, Roy snuck away and headed the only clear direction, back to the office.
“Sir, I thought you had an errand-” The stare that Roy leveled on Havoc stopped him dead.
“I finished.” Roy snapped. He sank into his chair and tried to work away the hours until he could go home.
It may as well have been a week for all Roy knew before the clock finally struck 1700 hours. He stood up, gathered his jacket, and nodded to his subordinates as he left. The drive home was just as agonizing as the drive to work, but when he walked in the door and the smell of food hit his nose, a smile found its way to his face.
“Have a productive day, Roy?” Riza asked. Black Hayate came running up, his black tail wagging. Roy leaned down and patted his fuzzy head softly, then headed towards the kitchen, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
“Actually, I did.” Roy headed into the bedroom to change into comfortable clothes. He didn't want to face what was on the bed, but when he walked in, the pillow was clean.
“Riza... you saw what was on the pillow?” He asked when he returned to the kitchen.
“Yes. I am sorry. I'll make sure that Hayate doesn't sleep on your pillow again.”
Roy felt his knees almost give out under him. “It was... dog hair?”
Riza looked up from stirring her pot of soup and gave him a quizzical look. “Of course. What did you think it was?”
Author's Note: The original title was “ Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow”. But Emma suggested a more dramatic title, so here we are.
Title: Panic
Author: Seaweed Otter
Series: Either
Word Count: 999
Rating: PG for one bad word.
Characters: Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Alex Louis Armstrong
Summary: Sometimes it only takes a small thing to elicit panic in a person.
Warnings: None, really.
Note: Thanks to Emma for putting up with me asking a bunch of questions and helping me make it a MUCH better fic.
Roy squinted at the light streaming in from the window. He'd been too lazy to close it last night, and now he was paying the price. He ratcheted his eyes open. Any annoyance at the coming of the light was immediately quelled as he looked over at the other side of the bed.
Riza was asleep, her long hair falling gracefully down onto her face like a cascading waterfall, saving her eyes from the worst of the sunlight. Roy chuckled to himself about how lucky she was that her beautiful hair saved her from those pesky sunbeams. With a long yawn and a stretch, he got out of bed as softly as he could, the cold tile floor quickly jolting the last vestiges of sleep out of him.
He couldn't resist taking one more look at his sleeping lover. Roy turned back around to look at Riza- and that was when he saw it. A small, round mass of black hair on his pillow, right where his head had been. In a panic, Roy rushed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him much louder than he had intended. He winced and cursed at himself, hoping that it didn't wake Riza,.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, everything looked like it always had- his hair still looked thick and healthy. His fingers trembled slightly as he ran them through his hair, but to his relief, no clumps came out. Roy sighed softly. He didn't like to think of himself as vain, but he had always taken pride in how he looked. And this was a big blow to his ego.
As Roy got ready for work, he couldn't shake the thoughts out of his head- He was too young to go bald. He had a reputation to uphold. No would take a bald Fuhrer seriously. He was glad that Riza was still sleeping when he left. He didn't feel like explaining his sullen mood to her. His eyes wandered back over to the pillow, and the black hair that sat upon it, mocking him. Roy got dressed and silently slinked out of the room, closing the bedroom door softly behind him.
Breakfast was a hasty affair, then he was out of the house and driving himself to work. The buildings whizzed past him, all a blur as his mind was focused on earlier this morning. He was almost glad of the change of scenery when he got to work- he could only hope that it would distract him.
Unfortunately, work was boring, and without Riza there to keep his mind on the task at hand, his thoughts kept wandering back to that damned pillow. In his annoyed state, it seemed like every single sound in the office was magnified a thousand times over. And Roy was close to total madness listening to Lieutenant Havoc's incessant chewing on his toothpick.
Lieutenant Havoc, and his perfect- though messy- shock of hair that wasn't in danger of falling out.
“Lieutenant, I suggest you cease chewing on that toothpick, or I will burn it out of your mouth.”
“Yessir.” Havoc replied dejectedly. He threw it into the trash, murmuring a bit too loudly, “I wonder what crawled onto his scalp and died?”
Roy pushed his chair back and stood up. “I'm going to run an errand. I suggest you all keep working.”
Calloused fingers ran through his scalp while he walked down the hallway. He couldn't shake this feeling that he was really starting to feel his age. But he was 31, it was too soon to be worrying about this. He wasn't paying attention as he walked down the hallway, almost running headlong into Alex Louis Armstrong.
“Is.. something the matter, sir? You look distracted.”
“I'm sorry, Major. It's just.. “ Roy sighed. He'd never told anyone his weaknesses. If he wanted to become the Fuhrer, he couldn't have any. But if anyone could understand, he knew it'd be Armstrong.
“I... found a bunch of hair on my pillow this morning.”
Armstrong gathered Roy into a bone crushing hug that left him gasping for breath. “Fear not, Colonel. You don't need hair when you have muscles like these!” In the blink of an eye, Armstrong had his shirt off and was showing Roy one of his muscular poses.
While Armstrong was distracted making poses and rambling on, Roy snuck away and headed the only clear direction, back to the office.
“Sir, I thought you had an errand-” The stare that Roy leveled on Havoc stopped him dead.
“I finished.” Roy snapped. He sank into his chair and tried to work away the hours until he could go home.
It may as well have been a week for all Roy knew before the clock finally struck 1700 hours. He stood up, gathered his jacket, and nodded to his subordinates as he left. The drive home was just as agonizing as the drive to work, but when he walked in the door and the smell of food hit his nose, a smile found its way to his face.
“Have a productive day, Roy?” Riza asked. Black Hayate came running up, his black tail wagging. Roy leaned down and patted his fuzzy head softly, then headed towards the kitchen, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
“Actually, I did.” Roy headed into the bedroom to change into comfortable clothes. He didn't want to face what was on the bed, but when he walked in, the pillow was clean.
“Riza... you saw what was on the pillow?” He asked when he returned to the kitchen.
“Yes. I am sorry. I'll make sure that Hayate doesn't sleep on your pillow again.”
Roy felt his knees almost give out under him. “It was... dog hair?”
Riza looked up from stirring her pot of soup and gave him a quizzical look. “Of course. What did you think it was?”
Author's Note: The original title was “ Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow”. But Emma suggested a more dramatic title, so here we are.