A/N: Happy Sunday, everyone, and Happy Holidays! Wherever you, and whomever yu're with, I wish all of you a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best for the new year. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll continue to stick around. I love you, guys. Really and truly.

I do not own FMA.

Snowbound

The office had closed early, just after two, when General Hakuro sent the majority of personnel home ahead of an incoming snowstorm. The entire base was deserted... except for one office.

Within the space of an hour, Roy and his team had transformed the office into an encampment. Extra bedrolls and blankets were fetched from the equipment lockers at the barracks, and spread in a wide circle on the floor. Desks and chairs were pushed up against the wall, and Fuery positioned the radio beside his spot, still tuned to the news station.

"A surprise drop in temperature hit the region as a result of a polar vortex coming down from the Briggs region," the newscaster reported. "The local forecast now calls for the possibility of black ice formation, moving travel from hazardous to dangerous conditions. Travellers are advised to postpone trips unless absolutely necessary, and the general populace is advised to remain indoors."

"They tell you to avoid travel, but that's assuming you can get the vehicle started at all," Roy muttered, lying back on his bedroll, hands clasped behind his head. "The temperature dropped so fast that it completely froze the engine on my car, else I wouldn't be here."

Havoc lifted an eyebrow. "Probably not a good idea for you to try and warm it up with your gloves, huh?"

"Probably not."

"It's a good thing we came over here," Fuery commented, turning the volume down. "Even without a working boiler, the barracks won't get too cold from the amount of people staying or taking shelter there, but I would still prefer to be warm without having to be inside of a blanket cocoon."

"Or bed-sharing with two over-muscled grunts because the drill instructor said to 'conserve space,' Havoc said, nodding in understanding. "We've heard that one before. Standard procedure when the heat quits and it's below freezing."

Roy shuddered, and not from any sort of cold. "I think I would rather cut my own arm off than go through that again."

"I would prefer to have something to eat," Breda chimed in. "Any idea what we're doing for food?"

Havoc, stretched out on his stomach on his bedroll, pointed to where Riza was sitting cross-legged, one hand petting Hayate as she watched the conversation and activity in the room. "Hawkeye has a key for the supply closets beside the cafeteria. We should be able to find something there, shouldn't we?"

Perking up at the mention of food, Roy sat up. "I'll go along with her, see what we can find," he volunteered. He broke into a grin, lifting a hand and waggling his fingers. "Someone's got to light the pilot light on the stove, right?"

"Only if you can do it without exploding it like you did with your stove, Boss."

Which was how they came to find themselves in the garrison kitchens, waiting by the stove as the five-person meal they had managed to pull together cooked through.

Roy leaned over the pot on an open burner, checking the contents. "Four days until Solstice and we're snowed into Headquarters, breaking into the supply closets for sausages and beans." He grinned. "Gotta say; it's not the worst date I've ever had."

Smiling to herself, eyes on the lettuce she was shredding for salad, Riza added it to the colander on the counter beside her. "Me neither. And camping in the office certainly beats trying to camp outside this time of year. I'd rather not risk hypothermia again." She indicated the pair of carrots sitting to one side with a tilt of her head. "Could you chop those while you're waiting?"

Pulling a knife from the block at the end of the counter, he came to stand beside her. "Been a while since we did something like this," he commented, smiling fondly at some memory. "Just... made dinner together. We usually either go out, order from someplace, or you make it before I get there."

Riza smiled, moving to the sink to rinse the shredded lettuce. "If you want me to wait for you next time, just let me know. But you'll have to wait longer for dinner, and you always seem to be starving when you get there."

The sound of chopping paused, and a moment later, his arms slid around her waist. Chin resting on her shoulder, he watched her turn off the water. "I'm certainly hungry, but in more ways than one..."

"Your timing could be better." She had her head turned, watching him from the corner of her eye with a small smirk. "There are enough hungry men upstairs that if we don't come back soon with food -"

"Then they'll have to wait, because I was supposed to get time alone with you this weekend, and some freak weather system is not taking that away from me." His voice was firm, teasing smile gone. "When was the last time you truly relaxed?"

Her smile had disappeared as well, and Riza turned her attention back to shaking excess water off the clean lettuce. "Whenever it that we last got back from Ishval," she answered, tone giving nothing away. "I took two vacation days to get things straightened around at home after being away like that. So did you, as I recall."

"Yes, and you just proved my point." Reaching past her, he took the colander from her hands and set it to one side before turning her to face him. "That was three months ago. I know the records; I know you've got enough banked hours and vacation days to take the better part of a month off and you never do."

Her expression was unimpressed. "If the point that you're trying to make is that I should take more time off, then you're probably right. I just don't have much use for doing so."

"What if I made you do it?"

Riza's eyes went flat, the look she gave anyone who thoroughly displeased her in any way, shape, or form. "Come again, sir?" she asked, voice low and dangerous.

"What if I forced you to take a week off?" He took a precautionary step backward, hands slipping casually into his pockets. "Before you say no, you should know that it's one) for a very good cause, and two) I will be taking it with you."

She didn't answer, brown eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Smiling, he shrugged innocently. "I was going to wait until we were someplace a little more..." He glanced around the large industrial kitchen. "...'homey,' but since that evidently isn't happening for a while..." He pulled a small white envelope from his pocket, waggling it at eye level. "We've been invited."

Suspicion vanished into curiosity, her eyes following the envelope. "...Invited where, exactly?"

"Resembool." He turned the envelope, studying the handwriting on the front of it. "Seems Fullmetal wants to -"

"Edward, not Fullmetal."

Roy rolled his eyes at the correction. "Seems Elric still likes to flaunt the fact that he actually has a house, so we've been invited to spend Solstice out in the countryside again." His eyebrows lifted. "And I am not going alone."

Relaxing visibly, Riza broke into a smile again. "You could have just asked," she chided mildly, turning back to the salad. "It's a good idea; though I'll have to leave Hayate with Rebecca again. I still don't think he and Winry's dog would get along so well."

"Well, good." He stepped closer, opening the envelope and reaching inside. "Because while we'll be at the Elrics until New Year's on paper... we'll actually be leaving on the 27th. Four days, alone together."

Her head whipped around, suspicion back in the space of an instant. "...Four days? Where?"

Roy grinned, pleased with himself for surprising her. He held out a pair of paper squares with the word 'PASS' in bold black letters across the front. "Mount St. Francis, outside Geob. There was a ski resort that opened there last year; you mentioned wanting to go, but last winter was too mild."

Riza stood stock-still in shock, staring at him out of sheer surprise. "...You remembered that?"

"I remembered that."

She set the colander aside once again, before moving to slip into an easy hug. "What can I say, aside from 'thank you?'"

Planting a kiss on the end of her nose, he grinned. "You could say you'll actually go with me?" He returned the hug, the top of her head fitting easily beneath his chin. "Because I was serious about you needing to relax."

"Considering that the last time you attempted any kind of winter sport, you nearly broke your leg? Who else is going to make sure you don't? How could I say no?" Leaning back, she reciprocated his earlier kiss, with the kind of care and passion that always left his lips tingling. "Thank you, Roy. It's incredibly thoughtful. Not to mention romantic."

"Please remember that when I'm flat on my ass in the snow." Another quick kiss, and then he let go, moving to attend to the food on the stove. "Or when I careen out of control into a tree like last time."

"If it weren't covert, I'd try and catch a photo," Riza half-murmured, smiling to herself.

"Hey." When she looked up, Roy was looking over, one hand on the wooden spoon he had been using to stir the pot of beans, watching her with a fond smile. "For what it's worth, we might be stuck here indefinitely... but there is no one I'd rather be snowed in with than you."

She returned the smile, adding the carrots into the salad. "I think you're my favourite person to be stuck with, too."

Across the room, the door opened, Breda leaning inside. "You guys are taking forever. Dinner ready yet?"