Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang shivered as the cold autumn breeze blew and whipped around him, sending up swirls of dust around his ankles. He pulled his overcoat tighter around himself and battled on through the leaves floating past his head. He reached a large cement building and pushed through the tall, wooden oak doors. Once inside, he breathed a sigh of relief at the warmth that surrounded him- a welcome change from the cold bitter winds of August. He paused a moment to enjoy the heat and hurried on down the corridor to another smaller set of oak doors. As he walked he murmured to himself.
"Riza's gonna kill me. How late am I? I've never been this late before… Yeah… she's gonna kill me."
He took a deep breath and pushed his way into his brightly lit office. He scanned the room and found Lt. Hawkeye sitting only a few metres away. He edged along the wall, keeping as far back from her as possible.
"You're late sir," Hawkeye said without raising her head from her stack of paperwork.
"Yes Lieutenant, I'm late. Sorry…I lost track of time…sorry…" Roy's voice drifted off as he realised that Hawkeye had not even raised her voice, let alone her gun. Hawkeye lifted her head and pointed to the seemingly never-ending stack of paperwork on Roy's desk.
"You have work to do sir. I suggest you start straight away if you wish to leave before midnight."
Roy did a double-take as he took in Riza's appearance. He squinted and leaned closer. Was that make-up she was wearing? Since when did Lt. Hawkeye wear make-up? Roy wasn't sure what the hell was happening, all he knew was that the sight of Riza wearing make-up was enough to make his heart do a little jig inside his chest.
"Yeah…sure…I'll get right to it…" Roy mumbled, his eyes still fixed on Hawkeye's face. He stumbled to his desk and collapsed into his armchair. Hawkeye looked back down, and Mustang tore his eyes away from his first lieutenant and onto the massive pile of paper in front of him.
"Psst" whispered second lieutenant Havoc.
"What?" Roy glanced irritably at him.
Havoc beckoned for Roy to approach his table. With a loud sigh, Roy pushed himself up off his desk and ambled to Havoc's desk.
"What is it Havoc? I'm very busy."
"Did you hear? Word on the grapevine is that Lieutenant Hawkeye got herself a…man friend… if you get what I mean."
"Did she? Really?" replied Roy, his heart instantly sinking. "Who is he?"
"Nobody knows, but this morning she came in all happy and sunshiny and not like herself at all. That's probably the only reason she didn't blow your head off this morning."
"I can hear you Havoc," stated Riza her eyes still glued to the sheet of paper in front of her.
"Oops… sorry Lieutenant."
Roy scurried back to his desk and sat down in his armchair with a look of deep concentration on his face. So Riza got a boyfriend…hmmm…well I wonder… Roy stared intently at Riza's face and after a while, noticed a blush creep up her neck. Awww… doesn't she look so cute with her… Mustang's thoughts were rudely interrupted when his best friend Lieutenant Maes Hughes charged into the room armed with a colossal mound of pictures in his arms.
"Hey everyone! Look at my little Elysia! Isn't she so cute!"
"Yeah yeah" muttered Hughes' poor victims.
"Um…Riza? Don't we have that…thing…that we have to…go to?" asked Roy.
"Huh? What thing? Do we have a meeting!" then catching the desperate look in Roy's eyes she quickly backtracked. "Oh yeah… that…thing…just let me get my coat."
"Okay, I'll wait for you outside" replied Roy relieved that she had caught on without Maes becoming suspicious. He hurriedly strolled out of the office letting the door slam behind him.
Hawkeye retrieved her coat and hastily followed suit.
"Well Havoc, do you have anywhere you need to be right now?"
"Um… no sir" Havoc answered without thinking, then instantly regretting the words as he noticed the wide smile that Hughes had plastered on his face.
"Great! Let me show you some pictures on Elysia then! Isn't she so adorable?" Hughes gushed as he poured the hefty mound of photos onto Havoc's desk.
Havoc groaned and braced himself for his worst nightmare.
Riza Hawkeye was never one to care about looks. Ever since she could remember, she never played with dolls or wore small prissy dresses. No, she was far more comfortable in her sweat shirt and jeans, rolling around on the grass or running through bushes trying to catch fireflies. So what was it about today that had made her decide to wear make-up to work? It wasn't as if it would have caught Roy's attention. And even if he had, which by the way was probably was less likely then Havoc getting a girlfriend, even if he had, there was still the little problem of something called the fraternisation law. That morning, when she saw Roy come into the office, half an hour late and heard his hurried apologies she had had barely any control over the small smile that had appeared on her face. She kept her eyes to her work to conceal her smile and suggested that Roy get on with his paperwork. Her smile grew wider as she heard the sigh of relief escape Roy's lips as he realised that he didn't have a hole through the middle of his head. She finally managed to control her face and looked at Roy who stared back at her with a strange look on his face. She knew right away that he had seen the change in her. Well well… the great Flame Alchemist shocked… that's a surprise… although I have to say, he looks so cute with his hair ruffled like that and…wait… what the hell? What am I thinking?
She quickly glanced back down to her paperwork and out of the corner of her eye, saw Roy do the same. After a silent pause, she heard Havoc hiss at Roy and saw her Lieutenant Colonel stride confidently to Havoc's desk and lean in as Havoc whispered something to him.
"Did you hear? Word on the grapevine is that Lieutenant Hawkeye got herself a…man friend… if you get what I mean."
Riza tilted her head to the left to watch the Flame Alchemist's reaction. She was surprised to see the hurt in his black eyes as he continued talking to Havoc. She was jolted back as she heard Roy ask "Who is he?"
"Nobody knows, but this morning she came in all happy and sunshiny and not like herself at all. That's probably the only reason she didn't blow your head off this morning."
Riza decided that she had heard enough.
"I can hear you Havoc," she said simply, keeping her head down.
She could make out the red tinge spreading rapidly on both the men's faces. She watched as Roy walked back to his table and sat down in his chair staring unconsciously at the wall. She couldn't help but notice the jealousy flaring up in his normally impassive eyes.
She looked back down at the sheets of paper in front of her, but she could feel Roy's eyes boring into her head. She blushed and felt the heat flushing up her neck and proceeding to her face. She was saved by Lieutenant Colonel Hughes as he barged into the room with an armful of new pictures. She inwardly sighed. Just as she opened her mouth to come up with an excuse to escape, Roy beat her to it.
"Um… Riza? Don't we have that…thing…that we have to…go to?" he asked as he slowly edged toward the door.
Riza caught on straight away, but decided to make the Lieutenant Colonel sweat. "Huh? What thing? Do we have a meeting!" she asked with feigned panic, but looking at the poor man, resolved to put him out of his and her misery.
"Oh yeah… that…thing…just let me get my coat."
She hid her grin and hurried off to the closet.
The second she turned around, she heard Roy run out of the door.
She shook her head, collected her coat and followed him.
So... Questions? Comments? Please R&R
