Best Kept Secret

Author: MoonStarDutchess

Chapter 100: Best Kept?

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.

AN: Once again, having formatting troubles. Hope if fixed everything. (I always put this in AN because if I don't I get people thinking I messed up on formatting on purpose. )

Riza watched as Knox fixed the IV in the young woman's arm, working quick and quietly unlike the chatty doctors and nurses back at the hospital.

"Get some sleep," Knox said. His voice was the normal gruffness but Riza thought she heard gentleness creep through for just a few words.

"Could you check the Colonel's wound? I believe his stitches have torn."

The man snorted. "Not surprising with him gallivanting in a situation like that when he's injured. He's a stubborn bastard."

"You think you have to tell me that?"

"How do you deal with him every day?" He left before she could reply.

"It's not easy," she muttered anyway.

Riza looked over at Ran who had her forearm draped over her eyes. Her breathing slowed and she wasn't showing any signs of pain. Riza moved for the door when Ran's voice stopped her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Riza faced the girl. "Yes."

"Will you help me?" She struggled to sit up and Riza moved over to assist her.

"You need something?"

"I need to get to my prince."

Riza tightened her grip on the young woman and shook her head. "You're not going to be any . . ." Riza hesitated to speak the exact words in her mind. She knew the power of saying the wrong thing. Knew what it was like to desire helping the person you swore to protect, and feel the helplessness of knowing you couldn't. At the same time, she'd appreciate being told straight out if she were in Ran's position. "You aren't going to be able to help him with one arm."

Ran looked to the right at a full-length mirror propped against the wall, the wooden stand once holding it now in splinters and slivers on the dirty carpet. Riza's heart ached as the girl's face managed to grow paler. "It's really gone."

"Yes."

Ran looked down at her lap. "I failed him then."

"I wouldn't say that either. You managed to distract the fuehrer long enough to get away so you did something." Riza eased her back down onto the bed.

Ran covered her eyes once more. "Why didn't he leave me there?"

"Because he's an idiot."

She moved her arm and her eyes widened. "Do... don't call him that."

"But that's what you thought when he came right?" Riza sat down on the chair next to the bed. "I don't know much about reverence for a prince, but I do know about protecting someone. You put his life first. Any risk he takes is unnecessary no matter what the case."

"I'm useless to him so why'd he come back?"

Riza saw tears rolling down the girl's cheeks. "Because he's an idiot," she repeated. "If he's anything like my idiot, he cares enough about the people around him to not give up on them."

"You speak from experience?"

"My idiot didn't give up on me either. He showed up on the field when I was in danger. Saved me when I was ready to give up too." She left out that she'd thought Roy was dead in one of those instances. There was no benefit in mentioning it.

Ran's breath shuttered as if holding back a sob. "I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"You find a way to keep fighting. If you don't then you really have failed him."

"I just have one arm. I can't protect him with just one arm." She looked down at her lap. "Just one… only one."

"We'll you can't protect him lying around feeling sorry for yourself. Or by giving up. Besides, there's automail. You'll have to take a break to get used to it but in the long run you'll be helping him by getting help." Riza was amazed at the similarities between them. Maybe one of the reasons she went through what she had was so she could help this girl.

"Yo...you're right." She wiped her eyes and turned her head to look at Riza. "Thank you and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For crying in front of you like a weakling."

Riza shook her head and decided to bestow some recently acquired knowledge to the younger woman. "Crying gets out the tension so you're stronger it the long run. Don't be ashamed of it." She chuckled. "But don't do it in front of the enemy like I did."

Ran nodded and smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Thanks," Roy said as Knox clipped the end of the stitch he made at Roy's side.

Knox grumbled and then said, "This time let it heal before you go out and do such dumbass things."

"I wish I had the time to do what you ask."

He tossed his items in his bag and shut it. "Better to find a bit of time than to spend all your time useless."

"Useless? Why is it everyone always uses that word?" Roy sighed and stood. "I need to use your phone."

Knox nodded at a door on the right. "It's in there."

Roy walked out of the room to use the phone just as Riza walked inside. Before she could ask where Roy was, Knox said, "He's using the phone in there."

She spotted his shirt on the couch, walked over and picked it up. "Without a shirt. He's so one track minded."

"Why don't you see if you can talk the idiot out of facing high command while he's injured?"

Riza smirked. "You might as well ask me to talk to a brick wall. I'd have a better chance of convincing it than him."

Knox nodded. "You two be careful."

She'd always liked Knox from the first moment they'd met. He was a gruff man but she could tell deep down he was genuinely kind with a huge heart. His gruffness, like her coldness, was a mask. "Helping us might put you in danger, so I'll tell you to do the same."

-/-/-

She entered the room just as Roy hung up the phone. He turned and smiled at her. "Some of the officers in headquarters are working tonight. I'll start poking around there right now."

"Knox assumed you were going to challenge high command already."

"I admit I've had some less than brilliant moments, but I'm not stupid. I have to focus on the paths to get to that point. I'll look for allies and when the military and civilians find out their Fuhrer is homunculi. I'll strike then."

She walked up to him while adjusting his shirt so he could slip his arms into it without stretching his injury. "Put your shirt on first."

"You mean you don't like looking at my perfect body?"

Riza didn't answer him, but grinned after he turned and slipped his arms in the sleeves. He was so sweetly egotistical sometimes. Of course she loved looking at it, but now wasn't the time to stroke his ego. He turned around, leaned over, and kissed her. "Let's get going."

"We should drop by my place so we can change into our uniforms. We can't show up in civvies."

He moved to leave the room but she grabbed his arm. "What is it?"

Riza pursed her lips and shook her head as she reached up and began buttoning his shirt.

"Oh, I thought it was a bit drafty."

This made her insecure. If he was this absent minded right now, then it wasn't time for him to go to headquarters. He needed to recover but there was no arguing with him. "You're a Colonel, not a romance novel cover model."

"With the wind effects and a beautiful woman in my arms, I think I'd make a good one." He grabbed her, pressed her against him, and made a dramatic face. "See?"

"You need to lean me over a bit more to mimic that." She should know, she's read enough romance novels.

"I see. Well you're the expert. He leaned further. His side stretched, he hissed and his arm weakened. She hit the floor with a rough thud. Riza lay there, staring up at him, right eyebrow twitching. "I'm sorry."

She pushed herself to her feet and cringed as her muscle popped. "Don't worry about it." She wasn't even thirty yet but felt like an old woman. Thankfully, it was her injuries making her feel so old. "There's no time for goofing off."

Roy finished buttoning his shirt. "There's always time to goof off."

She knew he wasn't serious so she let herself laugh, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a gentle hug. "Let's go you fool."

-/-/-

Riza pulled up at the entrance of Central Headquarters. Roy adjusted his shirt collar as he got out of the car and walked around to stand on the sidewalk. Riza moved to stand beside him and they looked up at the legion of stairs and the declamatory entryway looming above. The shadows under the gate, made jagged because of the angle of spotlights, brooded over the top of the steps, defiled the lighter colored streets, and murdered the golden light emitted by the streetlamps.

"This is either going to be my path to glory or the gateway of my hell."

"Thought you didn't believe in hell."

He smirked but didn't respond. He looked determinedly at the building and readied himself. He took a step, his legs feeling heavy before he even set out to lumber up the steps. "Wait for me here."

He acts as if I wouldn't. "Yes, Sir."

He looked over his shoulder. "If anything happens to me, I want you to get out of the country. Christmas will be able to help you."

"And you know I won't," she said.

He jerked around. "I was giving an order."

"One I refuse to obey."

He leaned forward, and looked into her eyes. "Insubordinate are you? You have to follow orders."

"You can always court-martial me." She lowered her voice. "Or you can always tear up a certain certificate because even if you court-martial me, but it only rids you of half a problem."

"Haven't you forgotten your vows?" He touched her nose with one finger.

"I'll follow you even into hell?"

"Nope, a more important one."

"I'll shoot you in the back if you stray?"

He looked frustrated. "The vows of love honor and obey."

She didn't know what was wrong with her. She couldn't help but want to tease him lately. Was his sense of humor rubbing off on her? Or was it the fact she'd let go of all the tension she had when she still kept the pain of her past bottled up. Whatever it was, she'd try to welcome it when she was around Roy at least. Maybe a sense of humor was necessary in some tense situations. "We didn't use those vows."

His face faltered. "Fine fine. I'll make sure to come back so wait here."

Riza saluted. "Happy hunting, Sir."

-/-/-

By the time he made it to the top of the steps, his side throbbed and his breath came in rough spurts. His arms felt like lead when he pulled open the doors and entered the long, dim corridors. That was it! When he got healthier, he was going to get up early and go on a long run every morning. Maybe he'd even ask Armstrong for some weight lifting tips.

He saw a vision in his mind of a flexing Armstrong saying, "Weightlifting has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations."

Maybe I'll just pass on the weightlifting tips and stick to what I did when I was younger.

He took a deep breath and brought his mind back to his pending task. He took one more step and faltered. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't even know where to begin. He was talking about overthrowing the president and reveal he was something as unbelievable as a homunculi. The generals were much too high up to start with, so maybe the field officers would be a good place.

Why didn't I think this through before I came in here?

He mentally structured various steps in reaching the point of revealing what the fuehrer is, but one thing was at the top of ever list of steps. First, he wanted to see if the Fuehrer was really a homunculus.

"Hola Mustang!"

Something rough hit against his back and he slammed against the floor. "Now I know what bugs feel like when they get swatted," he grumbled.

"Sorry!" The man crouched down and rubbed the back of his head, his face wearing an awkward expression. "I heard you were hospitalized a few days ago. Guess I don't know my own strength." He helped Roy to his feet.

"Thank you, General Raven." Roy realized he forgot whom he was talking with. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir."

He started to salute but Raven said, "Forget it. It's too late for such formalities."

Roy lowered his hand. General Grumman once told him General Raven, was a fair, wise man, and one of the better generals in the military. Well, in Grumman's words it was more akin to, "he's the only general who doesn't have medals shoved up his ass".

"Are you still working at this late hour, Sir?"

"There was an urgent meeting called," he said. "About my luck too since I was planning on spending a nice night with my wife." He motioned with his head. "Come walk with me to my meeting."

"I wasn't aware you were married General."

"Oh yes, I met my wife through work." He glanced at Roy before turning to look straight ahead. "I like to keep my marriage a secret though."

Roy forced his gaze straight ahead of him. "Yes, I can see how that would be best." He knew Raven couldn't be trusted no matter how "wise" or "fair" he was.

"What are you doing here so late Colonel? Don't tell me you're pulling late hours while you're recovering."

"Afraid so, Sir. Lieutenant Hawkeye and I just completed some inspection tours through the city."

"And how is Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Roy didn't like it when a higher-up asked about his lieutenant. It either meant they were interested in her working for them, or they were trying to fish for information to start trouble. In Raven's case, Roy figured it was both. "You know her, Sir?"

"Ah," he said as if he'd made a mistake. He coughed. "Not personally but she has quite a reputation, just as large as your own, so it makes sense that she's such an excellent other half for you."

"She's a very capable subordinate."

"The fuehrer has praised her in a few meetings. She'll probably get a promotion soon. She's already up for a commendation for saving his life and all."

All of his muscles felt like they were tiny springs wounding tighter and straining against doing what they were supposed to. What was it about this man that made him so uneasy? Surely Grumman had better intuition than he did. "That was a while ago."

"Promotions take time, as you well know." He laughed. "You act as if you don't think she deserves it?"

Roy delicately processed his words through his mind before speaking, "Her actions speak for themselves. Whether I think she deserves it or not is irrelevant."

"I don't know about that." Roy didn't respond to his statement and instead waited for him to continue. "Your quick rise through the ranks doesn't go unnoticed Mustang," Raven said. "You may have influence in promotions eventually, but I would take things slowly right now. I have high hopes for you. As does General Grumman."

The man was either tried to confuse him, or had confused himself. Raven seemed against him one minute and praising him the next. And just how much did Grumman say to him?

"You know General Grumman, Sir?" Mustang asked, playing stupid.

"Indeed I do. I've known him since he was an instructor at academy. I was a senior there. I fought in enough battles with him to see he's an intelligent, shrewd man even if his style is unorthodox."

Oh yes, Raven knew Grumman quite well.

"It's a shame he wastes his talents out in that no man's land with all the hicks."

Raven coughed. "I'm sorry. You're from the east aren't you?"

"It's quite all right, Sir. I understand the preconceived notions about the area and most of them are true."

"So the reason you go on so many inspections throughout the city is because you want to get acquainted."

"That's right." In truth, he knew how to get anywhere in the city without trouble, a benefit of being raised there. His birth occurred out east so he had a backup to feigning his unfamiliarity with the surroundings.

Raven patted him on the shoulder. "You're dedication is admirable."

"In my inspections I also talk to various types of people. Sometimes the simplest ramblings can crack a case wide open. I feel it's important to listen to everything our citizens say."

"Then have you heard any interesting rumors lately?"

"A few. There was one about Scar auditioning for the Central City Ballet Company. One that said Ed Elric was trying to stretch himself by hanging from a clock tower with his brother hanging from his legs."

"Crazy."

"There were also a few about the military issuing money for an army of kittens to attack Drachma."

Raven raised his eyebrow. "You're kidding?"

He was of course, but he needed to catch Raven off guard —to find out if he was on his side or not. He wished Riza were there; she was better at reading people than he was. "There's also a ridiculous one about the fuehrer."

Raven stopped at a door and placed his hand on the knob. "Is that so? What was the rumor?"

Roy took a deep breath through his nose so it wouldn't be evident he was prepping for his sentence. "That he's a homunculus."

Raven laughed and pushed the door open. "Say, why don't you tell the council?"

"Tell us what Raven?"

Roy tensed his legs so they wouldn't give out. He stiffened his body, steeled his nerves, raised his head, and looked at each man in the room. He wordlessly named off every General, which was every single one stationed in Central, and vowed vengeance on them all.

"Go on inside Colonel. Tell everyone the interesting little rumor you heard about the fuehrer." Raven pushed him inside and Roy made his legs walk steady instead of jerking forward. He kept his posture upright and stiffened his features with neutrality despite the shock attempting to pull and twist his expression the way it deemed appropriate.

"And what would that be Colonel Mustang? I'm interested to hear it too." The fuehrer walked inside from a darkened room in the corner, his shiny black shoes, barely clicking on the waxed floor. He raised his head, his uncovered eye narrowed. "Why don't you let me take a wild guess? Would this rumor be that I'm a homunculus? I assure you Mustang, everyone in this room knows it."

Roy curled his toes as if he could keep himself from jumping as the door behind him slammed shut. This was what Hughes was talking about! When he said the military was in danger, he didn't mean the danger was something external. He meant this!

"Really Mustang," a General, Houseman he believed was the name, said. He took out a handkerchief and sniffed. He took off his glasses and cleaned them instead of wiping his nose. "We hoped you'd behave yourself."

"And what would your wife think if she knew you did something so stupid?" Raven said. Roy's eyes widened. They knew.

Every one of them. . .

AN: I actually meant to post this on January 1st but things happened and I couldn't. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a comment if you have the time. They are much appreciated.

Dedicated to:

My Hubs, for inspiring Roy as he always does and for telling me to get my butt writing.

Riri for giving me a good kick in the ass and giving me her opinion on where to end the chapter.