Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
A/N: First fanfiction in...three years? And definitely my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction! Anyways, I've last watched FMA: Brotherhood when it first ended, and my memory's somewhat hazy. I do remember shipping Royai like crazy though. This idea came to me yesterday and I just had to type it out. I didn't even bother brushing up on my FMA knowledge either, so sorry for any continuity errors or OOC moments. I tried my best to keep it short and sweet. Reviews are nice!
Getting discharged from the hospital was easily the colonel's favorite part about being injured. In fact, it was the only decent part about being injured. When he stepped out of the hospital that evening, fully dressed in his familiar military uniform, he was greeted with the cheerful and relieved smiles of his subordinates. He blinked several times, some splotches and splashes of his vision still particularly blurry, but a smile slowly stretched across his lips. There was no doubt about it - he could definitely see again. The Philosopher's stone had indeed gifted him a miracle, and although the recovery process took patience and time, Roy Mustang was finally allowed to leave the hospital on his own two feet.
His warm eyes rested and landed on each member of his team, but the smile that played on his lips slowly slipped away when he realized that one member was missing. Noticing Mustang's expression, second lieutenant Havoc stepped up to him.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye is back at the office, sir. She wanted to come along to see your discharge but there was some paperwork left over." He grinned, a limp cigarette hanging from between his lips as he talked, "I'm sure you can still catch her if you head back right away."
Mustang returned a smile at Havoc's words and nodded calmly in response, shrugging his shoulders in a 'that-can't-be-helped' way. "Thanks, Havoc. I'm glad your legs healed properly."
He then turned to face the rest of his subordinates, nodded his goodbye, and headed towards the headquarters. If there was anything Mustang should do at the moment, it was to go home and get a good night's rest before he put too much strain on his newly healed eyes. The task at hand was much more important though. He could tell by the looks his subordinates gave him that this was an opportunity too rare and precious to miss.
Paperwork was just an excuse. It was a silly, implausible excuse too - Riza Hawkeye not being able to finish a day's worth of paperwork? That was Mustang's trademark, not hers. In the end, however, the rest of the subordinates had left her behind to go to the hospital.
Today was just a strange day for Hawkeye in general. She would never pass up an opportunity to see the colonel - in fact, his discharge was even more of a reason to go. She had ended up staying behind at the last minute, spewing out a less-than-par excuse that she was ashamed of even considering. For some reason, when she had been told that they were planning to greet the colonel, an unseen force tugged her behind. She had flatly declined them, ignored their looks of surprise, and returned to her deskwork.
It couldn't be helped, though. It had already almost been a couple of hours since they left. She had lingered behind with finished paperwork and a lonely office. With a sigh, Hawkeye swept some stray strands of blonde hair away from her eyes and stood up to stretch. As soon as she moved to get up, however, a sound was heard from the slightly ajar door at the entrance. Suddenly tensing, Hawkeye's hand habitually moved towards the holster strapped at her thigh, fingers wrapping around a cold pistol.
"Relax, lieutenant, it's me."
The door swung open, and her colonel entered, a small but teasing grin widening across his expression.
"Colonel!" She said, almost stammering from the surprise as the hand that was previously gripping a gun moved towards her head in a hasty salute, "I wasn't expecting you. Congratulations on your discharge!"
He laughed in reply, nodding his thanks, "It's good to see you again, lieutenant." His teasing grin widened slightly, "I was beginning to forget what you looked like." Of course, it was only his playful way of greeting her. There was no way in hell that Mustang would ever forget anything about her. Every detail she exposed and every breath she made over the past years had almost become one with him. Riza Hawkeye was in his bloodstream.
"Excuse me, sir," Hawkeye began, her voice sounding surprisingly nervous and shaky. She was confusing even herself, but she clenched her fists at her sides as she began to rigidly walk from her desk towards her colonel.
"Hm?" He replied, eyebrows arching at the sound of her voice.
"I know I'm not supposed to bring personal or private matters into work, colonel." She added, continuing to walk towards Mustang, "I will accept the necessary punishment afterwards, so please...forgive me for this." Without giving time for the colonel to reply, she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him. She softly rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes as she took in her colonel's scent.
A hug.
From the tone of her voice, Mustang had been expecting gunfire.
A warm smile immediately replaced his teasing smirk, and Mustang returned the hug. A large hand rested gently at the back of her head as his other arm gave her torso a light squeeze.
He shifted slightly so that his mouth was right beside Hawkeye's ear.
"I'm home." He whispered quietly, his breath tickling her ear.
Hawkeye couldn't help the smile that overcame her stiff expression, and she choked down the laughter that fought so desperately to escape her throat. Instead, she buried herself even more into the embrace before reaching up and whispering in reply, "Welcome back."