we’ll carry on — open, joining

[Roy Mustang]

It really was a force of habit to address Hawkeye by her title. It was true that he's no longer a Colonel and her a Lieutenant. But he's addressed her as such for so long, and her in return. It would take a long time for him to break the habit, and he was sure it would be the same way for the Lieutenant. Roy's gaze was locked on her as her posture straightened, ears pricking as she began to speak. She was beginning to explain why she was gone for so long, she was looking for a way to return home. Roy would have done the same thing if he didn't know the truth. He wasn't sure if Hawkeye knew entirely, and before he could find out, her voice trailed off when she looked at his leg.

"Colonel, what happened to your leg?" He heard her serious question, while she kept that straight expression etched on her face. Oh truth, she's not going to like this one bit, that's for sure. The last thing she probably wanted to hear was that Roy gnawed it off himself during a rock slide accident. A small frown made its way onto his maw, knowing that he can't keep the reason away from her. She's going to be pissed, there's no doubt in that, but she has a right to know. "There was a rock slide accident nearby a few weeks ago and I got caught in it. My leg got shattered completely and I panicked." He began to explain with a sigh, thinking back to the incident and how easily animal instincts swayed him. "I gnawed my own leg off and cauterized it, Lieutenant."

While he waited for Hawkeye's reaction, Roy felt Aaliyah's little nose against his leg. He looked down to see Aaliyah, who looked confused, ears pricking when the little one spoke up. "Daddy, who 'dat?" He heard her young voice speak up, and not long after, he heard Riza replying with an informal introduction. Quickly Roy's head snapped back up at the Lieutenant, eyes wide. "Lieutenant, I swear to you it's not what it looks like," He quickly came to a defense, ears pinning back for a moment. He and Aaliyah weren't related by blood, the only resemblance between the two is the species. Aaliyah is not his biological daughter, rather instead adopted. He gave a nod when Aaliyah began to introduce herself, seconding her, "That's Aaliyah." When Aaliyah made a comment regarding Riza's height, he gave a nod. He used to be around the same height last time Roy saw Riza at the border. Now, he's shorter than her.