"Welcome to Central Headquarters, Major Smith. Congratulations on passing your State Alchemist exam!" Fuhrer King Bradley said to his newest State Alchemist, Crystal Smith.
"It's an honor to be here, Sir," Crystal said, saluting.
"No need to be so formal!" The Fuhrer said, laughing. I'm going to introduce you to the people who you'll be working with. Your commanding officer is Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. I think he'll be quite happy to have a talented young alchemist like you on his crew." He led Crystal through the halls of Central Headquarters until they reached the Colonel's office. The two stopped outside the door, and King Bradley knocked.
A faint "it's open" could be heard from inside the office. The Fuhrer opened the door to reveal a disheveled looking Roy Mustang, who was over his head working on paperwork. He briefly looked up to see who had entered his office, and quickly stood and saluted when he saw who it was.
"Fuhrer Bradley! What brings you here?" the Colonel asked, motioning for his subordinates to stand and salute also.
Once again, the Fuhrer laughed. "At ease, everyone. I've come here to introduce you to the new State Alchemist who will be on your team. Meet Major Crystal Smith, otherwise known as the Frozen Heart Alchemist."
Roy walked forward, and took Crystal's hand in his, not failing to notice the way that the light danced off of her long wavy raven hair, or reflected deeply in her pale green eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Major Smith. I'm sure it will be great working with you."
Crystal shook his hand in return. "Same to you, Colonel," she said, taking in his good looks. She was awestruck by his piercing black eyes.
The Fuhrer cleared his throat. "Well, I'll leave you all to get to know each other. If you need anything, Major, please don't hesitate to let anyone on your team know, or you can always come to me."
"Thank you, Fuhrer. I'll make sure to do that."
King Bradley nodded to Crystal and Roy's crew, then left to leave the crew to get to know each other.
"Well, I guess Fuhrer Bradley thought that combining fire and ice would be fun," Roy said with a devilish smirk and a wink. "Anyways, You should probably meet the rest of my crew. This is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda, Sergeant Major Kain Fuery, and Warrant Officer Vato Falman. They are my highly skilled unit, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for you to get to know them later."
"It's nice to meet you all," Crystal said to Mustang's Unit. There was a chorus of "you too's" in response.
"Since it's your first day and you're officially a State Alchemist now, there is quite a bit of paperwork for you to fill out," Roy informed his newest subordinate. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, would you mind getting Major Smith started on that?"
"Not a problem, Sir," Hawkeye said, saluting. "If you'll come with me, Major, I can get you started on it right away. You should be able to finish before lunch if you work quickly. The Colonel hasn't quite mastered that task." Riza said, shaking her head. Crystal laughed, and followed the Lieutenant over to and empty desk.
"I heard that, Lieutenant!" Roy called from over at his desk.
"Then take the hint, Sir!" Riza called back. Crystal and the other subordinates simply laughed.
After and hour of the unit quietly working on paperwork, the Colonel stood up and dropped a note on Crystal's desk. "I believe the Lieutenant left this on my desk, but it's yours," he said, winking. Crystal looked up at him with a confused look on her face, and watched the him walk back to his desk.
She glanced down at the piece of paper on her desk. It read, 'Meet me for lunch at the cafe outside of headquarters. It's important. -Roy'.Once she was finished reading, she looked up to see the Colonel looking at her. She smiled slightly and nodded, letting him know that she would meet him.
When it was time for the team to break for lunch, the Colonel left before anyone else, but the others quickly followed suit. As Crystal was putting on her coat, she noticed that it was just her and Fuery in the office.
"So, feeling the stress of working with the Colonel yet?" he asked.
Crystal shrugged her shoulders. "A little I guess. I haven't really worked in this kind of environment before, so it's strange."
"Well, it does get better," Fuery said, reassuring her. "What are your plans for lunch?"
"I'm headed to that cafe right outside headquarters. Is it any good?" she asked, not mentioning that she was meeting the Colonel. He seemed to be trying to keep it on the down low.
"Yeah! They have great pasta there. I'd go with the alfredo, personally."
"I'll keep that in mind," Crystal said, winking at Fuery as she walked out the door.
"Okay, see ya later!" he called after her.
On her way to the cafe, Crystal noticed that she was starting to get nervous. Her palms were sweating, and her heart was starting to race. 'Don't tell me I'm developing a crush on the Colonel...' she thought to herself. She sighed, and ducked into the restroom quickly to fix her hair and makeup, even though she knew that this meeting with the Colonel was definitely not a date.
When she arrived outside of the cafe, she saw Mustang waiting outside for her. He smiled gently at her. "Thanks for joining me. I have a table reserved already," he said, taking her arm in his. Crystal felt her heart rate increase as he did this.
When the two arrived at the table, Roy walked slightly ahead and pulled out a seat for Crystal to sit down in. Once she was adjusted, Roy took his own seat.
Once Roy had ordered them both a sparkling water, he looked into Crystal's eyes. "I bet you're wondering why I asked you to meet me here."
"Well, yeah," Crystal said, laughing. "I've never even met you and you're asking me out to lunch. Is there important information we need to go over so I can better assist you and your team?"
Now it was Roy's turn to laugh. "Yes and no. Let's start with the business part, though you'll figure it out as we go. It's pretty simple. Paperwork, investigate a case, and goof around when Hawkeye isn't around. Does that sound good to you?"
"Yeah, that sounds simple enough. Now what's your other reason for bringing me out here?"
Roy smirked. "No reason, really. I just want to get to know you better. It's not every day that I get a gorgeous new subordinate, especially not an alchemist."
Crystal smirked back. "Well, it's not every day for me that I get a new boss who is cunning yet attractive. What do you want to know?"
"Well, let's start with the alchemy. I know that it must involve freezing, given your State Alchemist name. What's your technique?"
"I have two tattoos. One right below each shoulder. I touch them, and transmute the water molecules in the air into ice. I've been studying alchemy since I was ten, and I'm twenty one now."
"Interesting. I have a similar method, but it works the opposite way. I use a an ignition glove with a transmutation circle on it, and snap to make sparks."
Crystal raised her eyebrows. "Impressive. I'd love to see you in action sometime."
"How about you spar me, later?" Roy asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.
Crystal smiled "Definitely." 'Yep, I'm definitely falling for the Colonel, who I barely even know.' she thought.
"So tell me. How did you get into alchemy?" Roy asked, adjusting his hair.
"My parents were alchemists. My father taught me up until he died. My mother had died during child birth. My father made me promise to try and join the military to support myself if something ever happened to him. So, here I am."
"I'm sorry to hear that. However, I'm glad to have you on my unit."
"Thank you, Colonel. Now, since I've told you, I think it's only fair that you tell me how you got into alchemy."
Mustang flashed Crystal one of his flirtatious smiles. "Please, call me Roy. And alright, only because you asked so nicely," he said, winking. "Lieutenant Hawkeye's father actually taught me everything I know. I've also been practicing from a pretty young age."
"That's interesting. I really do wonder why the Fuhrer put us together though. You know, fire and ice?" Crystal thought out loud.
Roy reached across the table and took her hand in his. "Sometimes, Major, opposites attract."
"Call me Crystal. And are you sure you should be flirting with a subordinate, Roy?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, a smile playing on her lips.
"As long as you're okay with it. Honestly, I think you're beautiful, Crystal."
Crystal smiled, and felt her heart speed up for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "That's really sweet, Roy. You're not too bad looking, yourself. I'd like to see where this goes, but I'd also like to get to know you a bit better before we try anything."
"That sounds like a good plan," Roy said, looking at his watch. "We should probably head back to the office. I'm not sure if it'd be a good idea to let the others see us together. Perhaps you should leave first?"
"That'd probably be smart. It was good talking to you," Crystal said, getting up to leave.
On her way back to the office, Crystal let her thoughts flow freely. She had decided that yes, she had indeed fallen for Colonel Roy Mustang, and no, she didn't mind at all.