"Finally, a day off!"

Colonel Roy Mustang, an officer in the Amestrian state military, was feeling rather confident out of his stiff uniform. His dark hair was tousled and messy, and he looked more ready for bed than for going out.

"It's about time I got some free time…" he grumbled, going through his drawers. He was already wearing a simple white button shirt and black pants, and finally he picked out a long jacket.

"Today, I'm not going to do anything!" His voice was triumphant, matching the smirk on his face, and he swung the jacket onto his shoulders. Inspecting his wallet, he realized he had enough extra cash for a rather nice lunch. His spirits raised.

Yes, today was going to be a wonderful day!

When Roy got to the small café, he was seated at once by a very young waitress, with a very pretty face. After the initial flirting, Roy managed to get her number scrawled on a napkin, and a 'complimentary' drink came with his food.

Oh yes, things were going very well indeed. Or at least, they were, until a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Hey colonel! Not planning on eating alone, I hope?"

Roy's face fell instantaneously as he caught a whiff of cigarette smoke.

"Havoc," Roy grunted as the man and several others sat around the table, "I thought all of your days off weren't scheduled until next week…"

A man with close-cropped red hair grinned at the colonel, "Yeah, well, command decided they should get all of us out of the way all at once. So glad we ran into you! We'd have been bored without our fearless leader!"

"I'm overjoyed, Breda, really," Mustang moved his chair away from the table so he wasn't crushed between his subordinates, "But I'd really rather play it solo today, thanks."

There were cries of disappointment, but Mustang ignored them, standing up and leaving the shop. There was a small dent in his wallet now, but he still had enough that he could go do something else.

"Come on…" he muttered to himself, "This can still be a good day."

He brightened, "And that waitress gave me her number…"

"No, no, I understand…" Mustang said dully into the phone and hung up, "Jeez, some women…" he ran his fingers through his hair. She'd absolutely refused him on the grounds that his friends had run up a huge bill and had been loud and rude, scaring away other customers, and if he hung out with people like that, she didn't want to come anywhere near him.

Mustang sullenly exited the phone booth, only to wish he'd remained inside a minute longer.

"There you are, colonel!" his subordinates laughed and sauntered up to him, "Why the long face?"

Mustang glared at them with all of his might, "You all just lost me a date with a very pretty girl. You owe me dinner."

"Oh don't worry, colonel, we've got that taken care of…" Havoc smirked past his smoking cigarette. Mustang was planning on just walking away from them as usual, but something about Havoc's tone of voice stopped him.

"Taken care of? What do you mean?" Mustang asked cautiously, raising a dark brow. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know what his men's concept of 'taken care of' was. Especially since they all seemed so smug about it.

"Trust me! You're going to have so much fun!" Fuery smiled happily, his eyes shining through his thick glasses. Now THAT made Mustang a bit confused. Fuery was a little more innocent then the rest- what could make them ALL so excited?

"Ok. Spit it out! What are you guys planning?" Mustang growled, huffing angrily, "I'm not one for guessing games. You know that!"

"Calm down, colonel, it's simple," Breda grinned toothily, "We made you lose a date, so we got you one. Equivalent exchange, right?"

Mustang froze, gaping at his men, who were all beaming at him. "You all… got me… a date?"

"No need to sound so surprised, colonel!" Havoc chuckled, "When we described you to her, she was all too willing to give it a go!"

Mustang continued to stare at his men in disbelief.

"Ok, you guys have got to be pulling my leg here. There's no way, not even with all of your brains combined, that you could get a girl for me."

"I swear! We really did!" Breda pounded his chest in conviction. Fallman nodded heartily in agreement.

"They really did sir. Someone you'll be quite happy to see, I think."

Mustang was now even more confused, even Fallman was on board. What the heck was this? His men seemed so sure, though…

"Fine… Who is this girl, anyways?" he grumbled, as his men pumped their fists triumphantly.

"Well, she's cool and collected," Havoc started.

"And she's very good-looking," Breda continued.

"And she loves dogs!" Fuery finished.

All of these caused Mustang to form a mental picture in his head, and it wasn't too shabby. "alright… whatever. Now leave me alone!"

"Sure colonel. Just remember, Daisy café at six. She's going to be wearing a yellow scarf so you can recognize her."

"Got it."

"She's probably some kind of prostitute," Roy began to have doubts as it got closer and closer to the time to leave for the café.

"Either that, or she's a high school student." He sighed, sitting back on the park bench and pelting the pigeons with bread crumbs.

"Eat, stupid birds!"

"Sir, I don't think they'll want to eat when you throw the crumbs so violently…" A female voice came from behind him. Roy jumped a little, turning around to see his only female subordinate; a blonde woman with sharp eyes.

"Riza…" he relaxed, "What're you doing here? Did you get the day off too?"

"Yes, and I thought it'd been a while seen I'd taken Hayate out on a good long walk," She tugged on the leash she was holding, and the black-and-white dog barked happily, trotting over to Mustang.

"Oh yeah," Roy smiled and patted the canine on its two-colour head.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't stay, but I was on my way home when I noticed you assaulting the local wildlife."

Roy chuckled, "Alright, alright, I get it. See you tomorrow then."

She waved and walked away on the garden path.

He stretched out again and sighed, "Whatever, if they got anyone close to her, I think I'll be good for life…"

"Alright… yellow scarf… yellow scarf…" Roy scanned the dimly lit restaurant until he finally caught a glimpse of yellow.

However, when he'd gotten about halfway across the room, he froze. Although he was just looking at the back of her head, he knew exactly who it was.

"Those bastards," he muttered under his breath, then continued to the table.

"Hello, lieutenant," Roy greeted Riza as he approached. She looked up, confusion flickering across her face.

"Hello sir, are you here to eat…?"

"I'm here on a date," he smirked, sitting down across from her, "My men apparently set me up."

Riza's mouth fell open a little and her cheeks turned pink. She touched the yellow scarf, muttering, "they didn't…"

"It seems they did," Roy shrugged. He didn't show it, but he'd been more than a little surprised at her reaction. Most of the time, she showed no emotion. So why…? No…

"So," he picked up the menu, "Order whatever you'd like."

"You're still going through with this?" Riza asked, raising a brow at him. Roy carefully crafted his reply.

"I never turn down a date with a woman I like." He made sure his face was hidden by his menu. He wasn't sure how she would take that, and he didn't want her to see how his cheeks had darkened in saying it.

"Excuse me sir," Riza reached over, and pulled the menu down, away from his face. She stared at him intently, "but what do you mean by, 'a woman you like'?"

"I mean," Roy coughed into his hand nervously, "that I… well…"

"You're turning quite red, sir."

"I know!" he snapped, and let out a breath in frustration, "I'm trying to say I love you!"

Instantly, his face turned from bright red to pale, pale white. He'd let it slip! He brought the menu up so it once again covered his face. Slowly, Riza's hand lowered it again. Her face was softened, and she was actually smiling, smirking even.

"Is that all, sir?" she looked up at him. He was about to respond, but Riza leaned across the table and softly placed her lips on his. When she pulled away, Roy's eyes were wide.

"You…"

"I'm fine on a date as long as it's with a man I like," she chuckled. Having his own words thrown back at him, the colonel laughed.

"Well then, I suppose that makes two of us…"

There came a spirited cheer from behind them and Roy whipped around. All of his subordinates were standing there, laughing their heads off.

"What the hell are you doing, watching?" Roy growled, with half a mind to flame all of them on the spot. They just kept laughing, some doubling over. Eventually, he managed to ward them off, and had a wonderful evening. The next day at work, he couldn't help but grin at the lieutenant every time they passed in the halls. There was nothing that could piss him off, nothing at all.

Then the phone rang.