trans_9 | Hands in Mah Pockets, Thinkin' About Stuff [Open!]

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Hands in Mah Pockets, Thinkin' About Stuff [Open!]

You know, I don't think I've sat through an election before, Roy thinks, pacing slowly down the hallway from the Sensoriums.

His tie is loose, though he's forgotten that he had loosened it while sparring. His sleeves are also rolled up, and though he is aware of this alteration to his proper dress, the heat of this level of the ship has gotten to him. The choice to leave them as they are seems odd to him, and he's worrying about them rather abstractedly. Of course, he's still thinking about the election, as well as a myriad other bothersome, minuscule things, so don't mind him if he doesn't notice you coming around the corner.

It probably doesn't help that his eyes are, oddly enough, trained on the ceiling.

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Rose is making her way to the Sensoriums (one of her favorite places on the ship) when she turns the corner and almost collides into him. She stops sharply, sending a twinge of pain through her injured ankle (a souvenir from Zokez II that hasn’t quite healed yet), and she can’t help but frown; really, this has to be the worst place for someone to be standing about.

She takes a moment to study the bloke who is being such an effective roadblock and any annoyance she may have had with him melts away into concern. The man looks a bit disheveled and frankly out of it; she’s reminded with a pang of the ~~impossible~~ stranger that she met one snowy New Year’s Day.

“You alright there, mate?” She asks, concern deepening her Cockney accent a touch. “Or do you just like starin’ at the ceiling?”

Roy inhales sharply when he hears her shuffling to steady herself, reaching out to steady her in an entirely unconscious manner. His mouth twists apologetically, and he takes a cursory step back.

"I'm fine, thank you," he says, offering her a faint smile. "I admit, I'm distracted today."

After a pause, he holds a hand out (ungloved, oddly enough), his face smoothing into a bit of a habitual smirk that still manages to be warm and professional.

"Colonel Roy Mustang. I don't believe we've met."

Black Hayate was at his usual place, right in front of her trotting along with a proud, wagging tail. Riza would always be amused at the way her small pup could act in such a manner. For now, however, it wasn't their usual rock rather than walking the area once more. Riza couldn't say the Sensoriums were her favorite place, but it was a good place to imagine the familiar shooting range. Which had been her plans until she turned one of the hallways corners to see the pacing man.

She paused in her step, amber eyes taking in his appearance and the pacing carefully. A thin brow rose as she folded her arms and Hayate sat expectantly. Riza watched him a moment, analyzing the situation to her extent. After a moment, she took a breath and spoke.

"Colonel?"

It was one word, but in her regular fashion it conveyed more than it said. What's the matter? You don't normally look like this. That was exactly what the tone implied.

His eyes drop from the ceiling as he steps to a halt, eyebrow raised at Riza. He catches the meaning implicit in her tone, and he shifts a little... sheepishly, actually, fighting the urge to unroll his sleeves this very second.

That, he tells himself firmly, would look silly.

"Good afternoon," he says by way of greeting, rather deliberately avoiding the use of any proper nouns. That's another thing on his mind--What to do about Riza? He's having a difficult time deciding whether it is, actually, the wisest move to extend their relationship past the line of professionalism, though he's inclined to throw caution to the winds and just do it. He knows, though, that she wouldn't appreciate a careless decision--in any form--so he has resigned himself to arguing with his own head for a while.

"Target practice?" Because of course she's on the way to the Sensoriums. And no, Riza, he's not going to answer that question you asked unless you actually ask it, because contrary to possible belief, he's quite fine.

Riza kept her features firm, although the sheepish way he moved made her mind teeter. Well that's interesting, to say the least. She paused 'though, waiting and when he lacked a formal address he normally would have given her she paused in thought. Well, then. If he was going to act like a sheepish schoolboy when she came around this could cause a bit of a problem, now couldn't it.

Target practice?

She broke off with a slight sigh and a short nod of the head. "Something like that," she responded, although she was uncertain if she had wanted to do that quite yet. Her eyes skittered to Hayate as he approached Roy, tail wagging frantically in motion. Shaking her head, amber eyes returned to their superiors. "Care to join me, sir? You probably need the conditioning," she responded with slight quip. If you're looking like this, anyways.

Excuse him for having a difficult time deciding whether to risk the functional dynamic the two of you have for what would surely be an exceptional nonplatonic relationship, Riza. At least he's giving it thought. Also, he would take exception to being labeled "a sheepish schoolboy". He is quite adult, thank you.

"I just finished my own practice," he says, that eyebrow of his lifting higher. "I hardly think I need another two hours in there."

If you're an adult, Roy, be more like one. Riza just thinks there is no reason for alteration in the way you act around one another, and acting sheepish is an alteration. She rose a brow at his words though. She could tell that much, thanks, Roy.

"I think I should be the judge of that, Colonel," she responded carefully, "besides, I would care to see just how well your shot is. That's hardly a stretch, is it?" Of course, if you're shot isn't up to her expectations then you might have to be there for two hours. Besides, it's an attempt to get your mind off other things.

Who said he was changing the way he acts because of her? The momentary shiftiness was a product of his abstraction, not his concern over their relationship. He is quite well-versed enough in the ways of romance to avoid any significant level of discomfort when dealing with the object of his affections before conclusively confessing. So there.

He sighs, carding a hand through his hair.

"You're going to drag me back in there if I don't go voluntarily, aren't you?"

The sheepish behavior, Roy, is highly skeptical. Honestly. Riza would also know first hand your versing in romance, considering the time you've been in each others company, and she understands well enough the difference, anyways. ~~She is the woman who, after all, would go and shoot in a firing range after finding out you had a date.~~

Riza closed her eyes a moment, thoughts drifting.

"I'm afraid as a subordinate that's not how it works, sir. We can't just go dragging our superior off, after all. No, I'm not able to make you go, but it is a request," she finished words dubious.

The sheepish behavior is a product of his present state of mind, and he will be the first to admit that his present state of mind is peculiar. And yes, he's quite aware that she's well-acquainted with his dating history. He did tend to rather deliberately inform the entire office of these things. ~~He's touched, really. If only you'd said something, Riza!~~

"And we all know how incapable I am of denying your requests," he responds somewhat drily, making it a point not to move either nearer or farther from the Sensoriums.

The sheepish behavior is consequently worrying your First Lieutenant, so if you don't want her dragging your arse to the Sensoriums, as suggested... And, yes, you did, Roy. One most wonder if it was for a certain reason or just to bother Havoc. ~~The loud shooting was more than enough to inform you that something was wrong, you just chose to be smug and ignore it.~~

"Hardly, Colonel. You are very well capable of denying or accepting my requests. After all, as your subordinate I can't very well tell you what to do," but that tone certainly implies they both knew who was in charge there.

Fine. He'll make an effort to be a complete ass in the future so as to assuage your worries. And it probably had a lot to do with bothering Havoc, yes. ~~He did not, in fact, hear the loud shooting, as the firing range was not in the path between the office, the exit, and whatever restaurant he was attending that particular night.~~

Which is exactly why he sighs again and folds his partially bare arms across his chest.

"You tend to do a decent job of doing just that on a regular basis, actually. Need I mention the mountains of paperwork you all but forced me to do?"

That would make her feel so much more at home. Havoc was fun to tease, that much is true, but still, Riza just believes it was his attempt at annoying the team as a whole. ~~Which was the exact reason she used a gun loud enough for him to hear in the office, always. Havoc commented on it once.~~

If Riza smirked, she might have. Shaking her head, she looked at the man squarely.

"Unfortunately, you really didn't make it a choice. And as by the time you got to them it wasn't until the day they were due, it would appear as if my attempts were futile."

~~Well, color him surprised. He was convinced that was the sound of the firing squad practicing.~~

"It was my best effort to assert my independence as your commanding officer that I did that. I apologize if it made you feel inadequate." As he says this, he raises that eyebrow again (him and that goddamned eyebrow) and smirks one of his more bastardly smirks. He is most definitely teasing you, Riza.

~~Never. The firing squad disappears whenever they see her. Which isn't all too untrue, people have left when she went in the firing range [canonly] back in Amestris.~~

Riza ways her own eyebrow at the remark, his words hardly causing anything on the front. She could take his teasing. "I was under the impression that it was merely your fear of anything that remotely resembled paperwork," came the easy response. Was it just as teasing? Only you would know, Roy.

~~Well then. If Roy had bothered to pay attention to the firing squad's habits, he would have been well aware of the situation. Unfortunately, he was too busy being awesome to notice.~~

He sniffs, shifting the arms folded across his chest .

"Well, you were mistaken. Any fear I may have showed for paperwork was merely a charade to further my efforts." He sounds utterly convince that he is telling the truth, which he most definitely is not.

Nanashi had been wandering the city, however it was day out over there, so she had taken to wandering the rest of the halls. At least the rest of the ship wasn't nearly as bright, even if she kept on her sunglasses.

She was not one to pace. No, Kano was one to pace. She took things far slower, calmer. However strategic puzzles she had no answer to tended to make her more agitated, getting her to move so that at least she was doing something. She was still fighting with possible reasons for the Ohm to leave. She had it narrowed down, but the options still seemed off.

This, along with studying Alchemy, had been distracting her from her own campaign. Well, it was not like she honestly expected to win this one. She just wanted her name to be in the minds of the public. It would make the next election far easier to win.

She was absorbed in all these thoughts when she realised she could hear the sound of feet- and they were a bit too close. She snapped to attention, jumping back in time to avoid collision.

Wait a moment. She recognised this man. He was the one who had been using the flames against the Worm. She smiled, and put out her hand, "Ahh, it is you. We did not have time to introduce ourselves last we met. I am Queen Nanashi of Kuninoryu. You are that fire alchemist, yes?"

Roy blinks, eyes dropping to the dark-haired woman. He hadn't heard her coming, which surprises him. It takes him only a blink or two to recover, and he takes the proffered hand with a faint smile.

"The Flame Alchemist, yes. I am Colonel Roy Mustang. It's a pleasure."

She returned the smile. Her voice raised a bit in surprised, even if it did still sound like she was making pillow-talk, "A Colonel? Well, that most certainly explains your skill."

He arches an eyebrow, slipping his hand back into his pocket.

"It doesn't explain it at all. The skill was mine before I attained my rank." The smugness in his tone is very lightly veiled.

Nanashi's lips peeled into a smile. She liked him. It was refreshing to meet someone as self-confident as she was. "I like your confidence, Colonel Mustang- Or," she smiled and leaned in a bit, "may I call you Roy?"

That eyebrow lifts higher, and a faint smirk grows.

"I'm afraid I only let a very closed group of people use my first name." A closed group that includes girlfriends and his close acquaintances, neither of which include Queen Nanashi, unfortunately.

Well, while his answer was disappointing, the smirk was encouraging. "Well, then I am afraid I would appreciate if you addressed me properly as well."

She looked around, orienting herself, and noticing that they were near the sensorums, "So, Colonel, were you using the Sensoriums?"

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything but," he says. He knows damn well that people in positions of power like their titles used in public.

"I was. One has to keep oneself at top performance, after all. You're on your way there, I assume?"

And not nearly enough people had been willing to call her by her proper title. The one other who had... well she currently had a disastrously confusing relationship him.

Nanashi laughed lightly, "Actually, I was just wandering, lost in thought. I practice every evening after I finish teaching. I was considering some information I realized about the Ohm, though I really ought to be off campaigning."

Roy has always been a gentleman--he will call a lady whatever she pleases, as long as it doesn't in some way demean him.

"Ah," he says, looking down the hallway from which it seems she came, noting that, indeed, there wasn't much of anything in that direction. The perfect wandering territory. "You are running, then? Ah, no, I remember--you're running for Captain. Quite an endeavor, that."

Nanashi laughed it off softly, "I am not one to sit idle when I believe that my guidance will help us destroy the Ohm. I am not lacking in experience either- quite the opposite, really. Aside from my experience, I am just like others here. I have lost what I love to the Ohm."

She smiled brightly, but there was something unnerving about it, especially combined with her tone, "You never want to hurt a mother's children. Not when that mother is able to step back and able to calculate the most effective way to get rid of you."

"Hey hey, Colonel," greeted Ed in his own way as he meandered into the hall after settling his votes. He seemed in a very good mood that day, wearing shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves removed and still wearing his favorite pair of flipflops.

"Why the long face? You look like you were handed a stack of paperwork big enough to choke god."

Roy looks down--very far down, indeed--from the ceiling, eyebrows lifting.

"I don't believe in God, therefore it would be difficult to choke Him. And there is no paperwork involved anywhere." He is tempted to add that his face isn't long at all, but chooses instead to forgo the comment in favor of eyeing Fullmetal with an increasingly skeptical expression on his face.

"You're in a good mood, Fullmetal."

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Hands in Mah Pockets, Thinkin' About Stuff [Open!]

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lucky i adore you ;3;

o 3o ~

you and your faces

8D

oh you. :|

8D

:| :| :| :|

:<

your adorkable, jsyk. :|

I think you mean "you're", Little Miss Grammar. <3

shut up you. /goes to cry in a corner.

Looove~

Not feeling it~

:<

They meet again!

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