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"Ah... we'll take two bottles of Kölsch, please," Havoc said to the bartender, plopping down on the stool before leaning lazily against the counter. Turning toward Devi, he smiled hesitantly before inquiring, "So... are you having a good time?" Quote:
"Right," she said lightly, taking another dart in one hand and assuming her previous stance as she took aim. There was another flash of blue as she sent a second dart into the bulls-eye. Riza smiled despite herself, pleased, although she was wondering when her skills would fail her. |
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Still standing, Devi leaned against the bar as well, propping herself up with with an elbow. She turned her head to Havoc and beamed a bright smile, replying earnestly, "You know, I really am. It's been a lot of fun. I guess I never really knew just what I was missing." Quote:
He stood, preparing to step up and throw. By now, the alcohol was definitely beginning to take effect. His vision swayed and blurred as he moved, and he had to continuously blink in order to stay focused. His body felt somewhat numb, rocking slightly as he took aim. He flicked his wrist and sighed as the dart landed in the innermost section of the triple ring. Damn, his aim was getting worse. |
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Still, she decided not to let him know that she had noticed. Stepping back into her previous position, she raised a dart and took careful aim before letting it fly. It hit in the bull area and, seeing as there wasn't much room left in the bulls-eye anyways, she felt that it was good mark. "Your turn," she told him, her brow creased slightly as she watched him expectantly. |
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"Ah, right. Got it," he replied with a small smile. He stepped up for his try at the board and brought his hand up to aim. There was definitely something wrong, seeing that he was apparently holding two darts when he only remembered holding one. Refusing to give up just because his vision was beginning to falter, Roy flicked the dart and watched as it landed closer to the edge of the triple ring. It was even further away from the center than before. "Damn." |
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Grasping his own bottle, Havoc took a small drink from it, sighing as the cool liquid ran down his throat. Quote:
Walking back over to where Mustang stood, she crossed her arms, appraising him gently with her shrewd gaze. "Do you want to throw your last dart, Roy?" she asked. "Let's be honest, I've beaten you already..." She winced inwardly. That sounded a bit harsh... but she didn't want him to injure himself. Or anyone else, for that matter. |
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"It smells kinda funny," she murmured, more to herself than anyone. Determined, she brought the bottle to her lips and took a quick sip, allowing the cool liquid to slide down her throat. At first, the taste was bitter, stinging, but it then soothed into something more sweet and...warming to the body. "It's a little...different...at first, but it taste good," she said, looking at Havoc and smiling. "It kinda give's off a warm, fuzzy feeling." Quote:
Mustang looked at the board and sighed. She had a point. The game was obviously her win, but he wasn't about to throw in the towel just yet. "That might be the case," he began, smiling somewhat, "but you know me. I don't quit." He stepped up to the board, lifted his final dart, and tried to take aim. Steadying his hand the best he could, he pulled his hand back and flicked his wrist. Unfortunately, the dart slipped past his fingers and headed in the opposite direction from the board--right at Jean Havoc. Mustang's eye widened as he watched on for the inevitable horror to come. As Devi looked over at Havoc, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Her ears, too, caught the sound of something approaching--something headed directly towards her date. With quick reflexes, Devi reached out and snatch the object just inches before it hit Havoc. Confused, she brought the object closer for inspection. It was a dart, a red one. Her eyes widened as she looked at the sharp tip on the end, then over at Havoc, and back at the tip. "That was close," she said, blinking a few times. |
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"... That's true," Hawkeye said dryly, a number of different instances popping up in her head. Roy Mustang was without a doubt the most stubborn man she knew, and that was putting it lightly. Quote:
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He gave a weak laugh. "I think Mustang's trying to pay me back for all the eyepatch comments..." he muttered to her, glancing over at the general only to see that he looked just as surprised as Havoc himself. The lieutenant had no doubts that it was only an accident. Still... "Sorry, sir, but you'll have to try harder than that if you want to assassinate me," he called over to him, a cheeky grin crossing his face. Looking back over at Devi, he cast her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Dev." Riza straightened, glad to see that catastrophe had been avoided, thanks to the fast reflexes of Havoc's date. Her throat burned from her choking incident, but it was a pain she soon ignored. "Well, Roy..." she said airily, looking over at him, "I think that's a good sign that we should have a seat for the time being." |
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Mustang had noticed Hawkeye coughing before, but he had been too shocked by his own dangerous mishap to say anything earlier. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he heard her speak. Quote:
Hanging his head in defeat, Mustang nodded and walked back over to his bar stool. He grabbed his glass and, glaring at it angrily, took another swig. So much for having a good time and making an impression. He had nearly blinded lieutenant Havoc, and--although that would have been ironic, poetic justice--that would not have been a good memory for a date. Sitting back on his stool, Roy turned to Riza and looked at her apologetically, "Sorry about that. How's your throat?" |
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"Yeah..." Havoc agreed, picking the dart up off the table and holding it between two fingers, thinking again how lucky he had been when he saw the sharp tip. Taking a swig from his beer (his nerves were feeling a bit fried at the moment...), he muttered, "That would have been a hell of a first date..." Quote:
"Better," she replied, settling down on her own stool, her glass of water in hand. She eyed it warily for a second, almost as if she were trying to work up the nerve to take another drink, before setting it down on the counter. "Well, that was certainly exciting," she said lightly, giving a small laugh. |
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She paused, leaning in towards him with a thoughtful expression on her face, her thumb and index finger held to her chin. Tilting her head, she inspected him and then, coming to a conclusion, she nodded and added, "I think you'd look good in an eyepatch, thought." Quote:
"Yeah..." Roy replied, chuckling a bit nervously as he looked at his hand. "I have no idea how it went that direction. At least no one was hurt, right?" |
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Riza nodded, watching him with the ghost of a smile upon her lips. It wasn't often that she saw Mustang so flustered. It was intriguing, seeing him without his usual air of superiority. "Don't worry about it," she told him, reaching over to take his hand in her own. "This is the type of thing you'll look back on and laugh about." |
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"If I remember correctly, you did just fine getting injured without the general's orders, lieutenant," Devi replied with a smirk, arching a brow. "Maybe you're just danger-prone." Quote:
"A pirate, huh? I like that. That would be interesting," Devi replied with a giggle. She didn't know why, but everything was beginning to seem a lot funnier. Quote:
"If you say so," Roy sighed, flushing somewhat as she held his hand. But why was he blushing? Roy Mustang didn't blush. Ah, it must have been the alcohol. "He'll never let me live this down..." he groaned, trying to divert his attention from the warmth of her hand. |
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Havoc took another swig of his beer before casting her a teasing grin. "I dunno... I seem to get injured a lot around you, too..." He rolled the dart back and forth on the table with one finger. "Not that I mind." Quote:
He managed to control himself, however, and turned slightly, folding his hands on the counter top. Quote:
It has to be the alcohol, she reminded herself, feeling strangely disappointed by the realization. |
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"I think the interesting part would be hearing you speak like one," she laughed, trying to picture the scene. She looked over at him and noticed how he seemed shy away a bit, turning away to place his hands on the counter. Placing her hands on top of his own, she leaned in and rested her head on them, looking up at him and asking, "What's wrong?" Quote:
Finishing his scotch, Mustang motioned for the bartender to get him another. He looked over at Riza and, glancing at her glass of water, asked, "Do you need more?" As he waited for her reply, he couldn't help but stare. There was something about her, something charming...something beautiful. He reached out, brushed a lock of her hair, and--before he knew it--said, "You look beautiful tonight." |
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"I like trouble," Havoc replied, the words spilling from his lips before he could stop himself. He cringed inwardly, his cheeks flushing red. Of all the lame, cliche things to say... maybe she wouldn't notice... Quote:
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Still, they were in some random Central pub, not military HQ. Riza looked up at Roy and smiled in a rare, sweet way, before replying, "Thank you." |
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"Good. Maybe that's why we get along so well," she giggled, completely oblivious to both the lame comment or his embarrassment. Quote:
Devi blushed somewhat as his fingers brushed her cheeks, a sweet smile making its way onto her lips. He's very sweet. He called me pretty. How would a normal person reply to that while on a date, again? Oh, right... "Thank you. You look quite handsome, yourself," she replied with a soft giggle. Her eyes dropped down to his hand, the one that had come in contact with her cheek, and she slowly moved to hold it in her own. "You know, I never noticed how much bigger your hands were than mine," she told him, holding his hand up and placing hers open against it to show the difference. His fingers were nearly twice the size of her own, his entire hand easily able to cover hers. Instead of releasing his hand once she was done inspecting it, she pulled it towards her and held it to her cheek. "It's so much warmer, too," she added, the last bit coming out in what sounded like a soft purr. She closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying the warmth of his hand. Quote:
"You're beautiful--you really are, Riza. I'm a fool for not saying it sooner. With all that has happened, there were so many chances, so many things that could have gone wrong and then...I might not have been able to," he began, his voice faltering as he tried to keep his calm demeanor. But retaining a sober countenance was difficult when you were, in fact, becoming quite drunk. "I mean," he continued, his voice wavering, "I could have died...or worse, you could have...!" All words failed him at that moment, the what-if's getting the best of him as he was overcome by a pain in his chest. The idea of her dying was just too much to even think of. |
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"Huh." Havoc peered down at their hands interestedly. He had never noticed either, and now that she'd pointed it out, he realized that Devi was rather tiny when compared to himself. Then again, there were very few women that he'd met who even came close to his height, but she seemed exceptionally small. It was kind of adorable. Quote:
If Havoc didn't know better, he would have thought that Devi was... purring. Actually, given her special circumstances, that was a distinct possibility. Still, that meant she was pleased, right? And if she was pleased, then he was pleased too. Smiling warmly at her, Havoc made no move to pull his hand away and instead started to stroke her cheek gently with his thumb, mesmerized by the softness of her skin. Quote:
"But I'm not dead," she told him matter-of-factly, giving his hand a firm squeeze. "And everything's fine now." |
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Staring at him, all she could think of was how nice he was to her and, for the first time in her life, how she liked being around someone. Smiling warmly, she sighed happily and closed her eyes again. "You feel nice." Quote:
He wouldn't settle for that answer. Frowning, he pressed on, "Sure it's fine now, but...but you could have! And then what would I do? I don't know what I'd do! I--!" Tongue-tied, he looked at her worriedly and held her hands tightly in his own, not wanting to let go. |
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It was Devi's excessive use of the word 'nice' that finally made him realize that the beer had taken its toll. Havoc was torn. He rather liked her sweetness and affection, and a part of him wouldn't have had a problem exploiting it a tad further, but another part remembered that this was only the first date, and he had to be careful not to let things go too far. "You, too," he told her, smiling ruefully at his next words for he was finding it difficult to pull his hand away. "Hey, are you, ah, thirsty? Do you want some water?" Quote:
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"Water?" she repeated questioningly, taking a few moments for the question to sink in. Her thinking process had seemed to slow down for some reason, but she didn't know why. She did, however, notice that he was removing his hand. Pouting slightly at this, she let go of her hold on his hand and looked at her own. She brought one of them up and held her cheek, filling the absence of his own. His hand had felt so comfortable, but she found herself wondering why she was feeling so dazed and warm. Why was she suddenly so clingy? Oh...was this because of the alcohol? Sighing, she looked up at him and smiled softly, giggling as she replied, "I am a little thirsty. Beer doesn't seem to help, does it?" Quote:
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Mustang sighed and hung his head. Even in his state, he had come to realize that she was very right. He'd done it again, made a fool of himself and probably troubled her in some manner along the way, too. Nodding, he replied slowly, slurring his words somewhat, "I'm sorry...You're right..." |
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"Not really," he said, chuckling quietly. "Although you've seemed to handle your first beer pretty well. Some people are real lightweights, no matter how long they've drank..." Havoc raised his eyebrows at her before casting a meaningful glance toward the general and grinning. Turning back toward the counter, he asked the bartender for two glasses of water before looking back over at Devi. Quote:
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Devi slowly understood Havoc's insinuation and leaned back to glance at the general, nearly falling off of her stool as she did so. She moved back to lean against the bar and snickered, "The general? Really? I would have never guessed." She giggled and reached for the glass of what provided by the bartender, taking a gentle sip. Water definitely quenched her thirst whereas beer only seemed to make it worse...and made her lose her senses. "Beer really is something, though," she laughed, nursing the glass of water in her hand. "Really, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy..." Quote:
Roy began to stand but quickly lost his balance. Nearly toppling to the ground, he quickly caught himself and wobbled to a standing position. He sighed, grumbling something as he ran his hand through his hair. He really had to remember not to drink...at all if he could help it... |
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"Are you ready to leave?" the major asked without preamble, smiling wearily at the two. "Oh, ah..." Havoc glanced over at Devi before looking back at Hawkeye. "Really, Major, I haven't had that much to drink and-" "Don't be stupid," Riza said sharply, her lips thin as she wondered how he could even consider driving while intoxicated. Having known the major for several years, Havoc could guess what she was thinking rather well. "I was going to say that I could call a taxi and come pick my car up in the morning... but if Dev wants to go now..." His gaze drifted back over to her, "Then we wouldn't mind a ride, thanks." |
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"I'm ready when you are," Devi replied, finishing the remaining water in her glass and smiling at him. Although she wasn't quite happy with the idea of their date coming to an end, Devi certainly didn't want him to be in a bad disposition with his fellow soldiers. Besides, Riza seemed a bit scary when she wanted to be, and personally, she was feeling a little too tipsy at the moment to argue. |
After paying for their drinks, both couples left the pub with little difficulty (Roy, Riza found, was still a bit shaky on his feet). Havoc was glad that the major had offered to give them a ride. One beer wasn't much to him, but he could feel its effects as they started toward the car, almost stepping off the curb and into the street because he had judged the distance wrong.
Riza helped the general into the passenger's seat while the other couple piled into the back. Climbing into the driver's seat, she started the vehicle. With a quiet rumble, the engine came to life, and she pulled smoothly out of the parking lot and started down the street. "Where do you live, Devi?" she asked. |
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