Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the related titles.

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry again on the slow update. Things have been absolutely crazy, and I've hardly had enough time to breathe, let alone write. But, here I am, and I have the next chapter for you. Some people were asking for a little bit of a Havoc x Riza moment, so hey - I decided to play with it a bit. It was very strange for me to write, and believe me, I don't think it will ever happen again, but I'll do anything once! I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you all for being so patient!

Chapter 24: Forward

Riza made her way slowly into the small kitchen the next morning, still clad in her escape clothing, looking as though she'd gotten little to no sleep at all. Havoc wasn't much of the opposite. He held a dark brown mug in his hand as he leaned against the kitchen counter. He appeared to have been waiting a while for her to emerge from the living room. Several cigarette butts already filled the ashtray sitting in the middle of the table.

"Good morning…" she managed to get out, slightly embarrassed to look at him. Their night had not ended on a high note, and she didn't quite expect him to respond. She knew he was angry, although she couldn't entirely put her finger on the reason why.

"Good morning," he mumbled back to her, not bothering to drink the coffee in front of him. Instead he stared down into the mug, focusing on the swirling steam of the hot liquid.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked awkwardly, folding her arms as though she was cold. There was nothing else to say, but if they remained silent, she would go mad.

He didn't respond, moving toward the fridge and pulling out a small plate. He set it down on the table in front of her and returned to his spot against the counter before speaking.

"I made breakfast about an hour ago," he said. "Some eggs, and toast. Not like something you'd get at a fancy hotel or anything, but it's food. Sorry it's cold. Didn't know when you'd be up…"

Riza opened her mouth to speak, but the words failed to come. She didn't know what to say to him. She thought he was angry, but this certainly wasn't the gesture of an angry man. He didn't have to make her breakfast at all. She hadn't been expecting it, honestly.

"Thank you…" she said quietly, easing herself into a chair. "You know, you didn't have to -"

"I know," he said quickly, setting the mug down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette. He lit it hastily and took a long drag of it before continuing. "I'm sorry for how I was acting last night, Lieutenant. That wasn't very professional of me, and I apologize."

Riza looked up. "Oh no," she said. "It's fine. I didn't think anything of it really. I thought it was something I'd done." She stopped, her eyes locking onto his. "It wasn't something I did, was it?"

Havoc sighed and shook his head, a large cloud of smoke escaping from his mouth. He crossed one of his arms, letting his hand rest beneath the elbow of the other. "No, Lieutenant, it wasn't your fault," he said. "It was all my fault. Don't worry."

"No, really," Riza didn't drop the subject. "If I did something wrong, Jean, tell me. I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to -"

"No, it wasn't you," he repeated. "I was just a bit tired last night is all. You know how sometimes you say stupid things when you're tired. And we were drinking. I'm not sure what I was thinking…don't worry about it."

Riza didn't touch the food he'd set in front of her. "Is there something you want to talk about?" Something was bothering him. She was sure of it, and it had to do with her. She just couldn't quite figure it out yet. She wondered if he was looking for some kind of reward for rescuing her. For a moment, she wondered if Roy had promised him anything for taking his place. She had to ask.

"Did the Colonel offer you anything for coming to get me?"

Havoc's eyes went wide at the mention of the Colonel, glancing at her for only a moment. He shook his head again, bitterly flicking the ash from the end of his cigarette onto the floor in front of him.

"No, he didn't promise me anything," he said quickly, the same bite to his voice that had been present the night before, back again. "I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter, to be honest. He just asked me to do it."

"Well, are you looking for something for rescuing me?" she pressed on. "I mean, is that what's bothering you? You were fine all the way home until we got here, and all of a sudden you -"

She stopped, things suddenly clicking in her head. He'd only gone sour when the idea of meeting back up with the Colonel was brought up. For some reason, Riza was certain he didn't want her to get back together with Roy, perhaps in more ways than one.

"Does this…" she started slowly, rising from her chair when he purposely looked away from her. "Does this have anything to do with me and the Colonel, Jean?"

Havoc didn't answer. He puffed on his cigarette defiantly as she moved closer to him, her hand landing on his crossed arm. He jumped only a little at her touch, but still showed no signs of recognizing her appearance at his side.

Her voice dropped low, fearing the answer to her next question. "Jean, is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.

He turned to face her suddenly, catching her off guard. "Dammit, Riza," he said, dropping the cigarette onto the floor and smashing it with his foot. He ignored the searing pain from the flame, burning through his dirty sock. "I'm not the Colonel. I realize this! I am never going to be the Colonel. And to be honest," he seemed incredibly flustered, his words slurring together a bit as he spoke. "At this point, I don't think I'd ever want to be the fucking Colonel!"

Riza jumped back a little, stunned by his sudden outburst. She couldn't say that she hadn't been expecting something along these lines, but seeing Havoc explode was something she wasn't quite used to. He was usually rather calm and collected, even when things got rough.

"He treats women like shit, and you all still come running back to him," he said, staring Riza right in the eye. "You all keep coming back. It's always been like that. He nails 'em and leaves 'em - everyone knows it happens, everyone knows his name - and yet the women still all want to be with him, even if it's only for one night! I don't understand why you would put yourself into that kind of position!"

Riza blinked at him. She didn't understand what any of this had to do with her. It sounded more like an issue he'd had with the Colonel all along. It was common knowledge that Roy had stolen a good couple of Havoc's potential girlfriends along the way.

"Jean, I -" she started.

"No," he stopped her, clearly not finished with his rant. "No. You're just as bad as the rest of them. Worse, in fact, because he treats you the worst. He strings you along, and leaves you in the dust over and over and over again, and you're too afraid to put him in his place. Too afraid to let him know how you feel about it, to tell him the truth about what he is! And even after this - after he betrays you in the worst way possible - you still need him." Havoc shook his head vigorously in disbelief, fishing around for the right words to say. "I've sat back and watched him treat you like that for far too long," he was almost hyperventilating at this point. "I won't let it happen anymore, Riza. Do you hear me? You deserve better than that! I can treat you better than that, and you just won't see that!"

Riza didn't know what to say. Just like everything else that had happened in the last few minutes, she hadn't been expecting news like this at all. Certainly the others had joked about Havoc having a thing for her before, but she'd done her best to ignore it, thinking they were doing nothing more than taking the mickey out of him. Never once did she believe it to be true.

"What are you trying to say?" she asked, her voice nearly breathless as she tried to wrap her head around everything he'd just said. It was all moving very very fast.

And it was about to move even faster. Without warning, Havoc moved forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against his body. Before she had time to protest, his mouth was on hers, kissing her desperately as if to make a point. Her hands landed on his shoulders in an attempt to push him away, but her attempt quickly melted as something in her chest twisted and she moaned softly against his mouth, enjoying it a little more than she knew she should have.

After a few steamy minutes, Havoc finally remembered himself and pulled away from her, dropping his arms to his sides. Looking horrified, he stepped away, reaching into his pocket for the packet of cigarettes, not believing what he'd just done.

"I'm - I'm sorry…" he apologized, slightly hoping he'd just disappear, or this would all turn out to be some bad dream. "I didn't mean to -"

Riza shook her head, still recovering from the kiss as well. It had been unexpected, surely, though it didn't go unappreciated. He had good reason to question why women didn't want to be with him - he certainly did give the Colonel a run for his money when it came to kissing. She had to stop herself from wondering what else he'd give the Colonel a run for his money in.

"Did I cross a line?" he asked, turning back to her, surprised she hadn't smacked him or pulled her gun out on him instantly.

Riza bit her lip, tasting the cigarettes lingering on her mouth. Slowly she nodded.

"Yes, sir…" she said. "You crossed a line…"

He frowned, nodding as well. He'd assumed as much, but was still impressed he'd gotten away from the encounter with his manhood still intact. That was more than he was sure the Colonel would be able to say.

"But I won't tell anyone," she finished, catching him off guard. "It was a moment of weakness, Lieutenant…" she smiled at him faintly. "We all have them sometimes. I'm guilty of them too."

She moved forward and touched his shoulder again. She knew already that her feelings for Havoc would never be the same as her feelings for Roy. They weren't even remotely close - even Havoc knew that. What they had in those few minutes only moments before, was not something they could ever visit again. It was something they would do their best to forget and move on. It was a spontaneous accident.

"I still need your help…" she told him. "I don't want you to feel like I'm using you, but if you're willing to help me, I could definitely use it."

Havoc seemed to have returned to his normal self. Turning back to face her, he nodded shortly, the corners of his lips turning up into a smile. Before responding, he slid a cigarette from his pack and slipped it into his mouth.

"You've got my support, Lieutenant," he said quietly. "Now eat your eggs." he gestured toward the table. "They're already cold…"

Riza laughed softly and started back toward the table. Before she could sit down, however, there was a very sharp knock at the door. Havoc furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to who would be knocking on his door this early in the morning. He never got visitors.

As the knocking became more insistent, Riza followed Havoc as he hurried into the entryway. She watched as he pressed his face against the door, peering through the peephole at his guests.

"What the…" he said quietly, quite convinced his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Opening the door, Ed and Al appeared behind it. Ed looked winded and flustered, as though they'd just been running. A young girl stood next to Al, neither of them had ever seen before. She clasped her hands together tight in front of her, and her eyes darted from the doorway, to each of the residents inside, to down the hall, as if she were expecting someone else to pop out. Riza couldn't help but notice that one of the girl's hands was made of metal. Automail.

"Ed," Havoc said in disbelief. "I thought you were in -"

"I just got back," he said, cutting the Second Lieutenant off short. "Look, we've got a problem…"

A/N: So there's that, folks. I apologize for the cliffhanger, but from here on in, we're solving the problem and barreling toward the ending at full speed. I know, right now, it doesn't entirely seem like it's going to fall together, but I've got it all figured out, so starting with the next chapter, things are going to start to make a little more sense. I think there will probably be, at most, five more chapters. Maybe. I'm not sure. We'll see what happens I suppose. But like I said before, thank you all very much for being so patient with me. I'm going to do my best to update as quickly as possible!