Twist And Kiss
It all started out as innocent fun. What could possibly come from a mere child's game? After all, they were all adults, seemingly mature, and for the most part, could keep a secret. So when Rebecca Catalina walked into the room carrying a large smile, and an even larger empty wine bottle, no one really thought much of it.
"Alright everyone! Who wants to play a game?" She slowly twirled in a circle as she held the bottle above her head.
"Oh, me, me!" Havoc, Breda, and Fuery erupted in unison as they nearly trampled each other in a rush to the center where Rebecca stood.
Mustang quirked an eyebrow at her. "What kind of game?"
"We are going to play a game of destiny, of fate, a tale of love. We are going to play...", she paused dramatically as she lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Spin the bottle."
Havoc's hands dropped to his side as he furrowed his brow at her. "What? Maybe you haven't noticed lately Catalina but," he gestured to the room with an outstretched arm, "the man to woman ratio in this office is a tad off." Rebecca's lips slowly curved upwards into a smirk. "Not to worry Havoc dear, I've brought friends. Come on in girls!"
Havoc's face lit up as Maria Ross, Sciezka, and Olivier Armstrong walked into the office, the latter woman immediately drawing her sword upon her entry. "What happens in this office, stays in this office." The hushed silence was broken by a unison of "I'm in!", and the group quickly began to form a circle on the floor. To keep it simple, they sat in boy-girl order, which worked out fine since there were 11 of them, with the extra man being Hughes who was merely there to "observe", but he sat in the circle regardless.
Rebecca growled as she looked across the circle; it had been a perfect pattern, until she noticed that the male Armstrong and Hughes were sitting next to each other, as well as Breda and Fuery. "Hold the hell on a second." She scowled as she narrowed her eyes. "We have 6 men and 5 women, so only two men should be sitting by each other, not four." The group glanced around the circle, slowly coming to the realization that they were missing someone.
"Where the hell is Riza?" Rebecca barked as she abruptly stood up and walked to the door that linked the office to a smaller work office. She swung the door open and marched in, immediately exiting with a woman's arm locked in her iron grip. Hawkeye pulled back furiously as she physically objected to the situation.
"I don't want to play your silly game Becca!" Riza was past the point of trying to rationalize with her, she looked like a little kid getting drug by a parent to take a bath as she resisted her friend. "We…are all going….to…play a game…and enjoy it!" Rebecca's voice strained as she pulled Riza to the circle. "Now sit down!" Riza pouted as she grudgingly sat down between Breda and Fuery, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes dark and dangerous.
"Now then," Rebecca's voice lightened as she clapped her hands together, "let's establish some rules so we can get to the game. First off, you can only kiss a person of the opposite sex. If the bottle lands on someone of the same gender, you have to kiss the person to the right of them. Secondly, the bottle has to spin all the way around the circle at least once, that way it's all fair and equal. And lastly, since I know we're going to have some complaints, you can either kiss on the cheek or on the lips, it's entirely up to the two people. However, if one says lips and the other says cheek, then it's a default kiss on the lips." She shot a glance at Hawkeye as she emphasized her last words. "No exceptions." Riza mentally dug daggers into her as she shot her a look in return which made Becca smile as she took in her friend's demeanor. "Ok, who wants to go first?"
"I do, I do!" Havoc shot his hand up as he lunged for the bottle.
Rebecca pulled the bottle away from Havoc, while her other hand held him back. "Whoa, easy tiger. Just calm down." She handed him the bottle and he quickly scooted closer to the middle of the circle to spin it. He flicked his wrist and the bottle began spinning furiously around the circle, becoming a near blur. The group leaned forward as the bottle began to slow and Havoc's breath hitched in his throat as he looked up to where the neck of the bottle pointed. His eyes met Hawkeye's glare, yet he kept his cool exterior as he leaned back with a smile.
"Lips," he said smugly.
A click of a gun.
"Cheek."
"Cheek it is then." Havoc abruptly admitted defeat as Hawkeye leaned forward from her spot, turning her head slightly so Havoc could kiss her. As his lips made contact with her soft skin, a bright white light illuminated the room.
"Ha! And we have kiss number one!" Hughes exclaimed as the picture began to slowly slide from the front of the camera. He quickly snatched it as he noticed Riza's body tense up in preparation to get to it first. She grumbled as she slowly settled back down, reaching for the bottle in the middle.
The next few minutes were humorous to say the least; Olivier had to kiss her brother on the cheek and Fuery had got the nerve to kiss Sciezka on the lips, an act which the others made numerous jokes about at Fuery's expense. Multiple other kisses were performed and as the group started to wind down, it was Mustang's turn to go. He calculated his target then gave the bottle a twist, and as it slowly began to stop he raised his onyx eyes to meet her hazel ones. They read: 'Oh no you didn't', while his responded: 'Oh yes I did'. He slyly smiled as the bottle stopped, he had hit his mark.
Riza's face reddened as Rebecca queried Roy. "So, where you gonna kiss her Mustang?"
Mustang crossed his arms and threw a crooked grin at Riza. "Easy, lips."
The widened eyes of the group turned to her as they awaited her response. "I..I…..um," she stammered, unable to even utter one word.
"Well well, time's up Miss Hawkeye! Lean on in there and give him a big kiss." Armstrong bellowed as Breda and Fuery shoved her towards Roy.
"I can't!" she exclaimed. "I'm just too nerv-, I just can't okay?" Her face grew three more shades of red as the group began chanting her on. "Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!"
Suddenly Roy got a bright idea. He cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the group. "Alright, alright. Tell you what Hawkeye, I'll let you skip on kissing me on the lips, but instead of me kissing you on the cheek, you have to kiss me. Deal?" Riza eyed him carefully as he climbed in the center and turned his head to the side. She searched him for any signs of trickery and, after failing to see any, she slowly leaned forward to kiss him. As her lips hovered inches from his face, she closed her eyes. Roy immediately saw his opening and he jerked his head to face her, her eyes instantly snapping open in surprise as her lips pressed against his. In between the hoots and hollers, as well as the all too familiar flash of the camera, Riza lost herself. The crackling electricity that existed between them was overwhelming and she found it difficult to pull away from him. She wanted to freeze that moment, to hold and savor it for as long as she could. Unfortunately, time can be a cruel, cruel thing and after a couple of seconds reality kicked in and forced them apart. She licked her lips as she sauntered back to her spot, her eyes never leaving his.
"Well well, I think that pretty much tops the cake. It's about time to go home anyways." Rebecca slowly rose from her spot on the floor and the others soon followed suit. Riza sat down at her desk, her heart and mind still racing from the small, but very real kiss she and Roy had shared. The buzzing feeling in the back of her skull made her dizzy and for a minute she felt like she was going to pass out. She was lost in her own trance that she didn't even hear her name being called out.
"Lieutenant, are you ready?" Riza shook her thoughts away as she slowly regained her normal self. Roy had been standing by the doorway, keys in one hand, jacket in the other. "Are you ready?" He repeated himself, except a little slower and with more concern this time. "Yes, sorry," she mumbled as she gathered her stuff and headed towards him. As she reached the door he stopped her, handing her a small picture. "Here, this is for you. I got Hughes to give it to me." Her eyes dropped down as she turned the picture over in her hand; it was the picture of her kissing him. He ran a hand through his hair nervously as she remained silent. "I thought you might want to have it, you know, so it wouldn't have a chance of getting around." She nodded numbly as she continued to stare at the picture. "Thanks," she finally murmured and she started to walk past him out the door. She was suddenly halted as he grabbed her by the elbow. "One more thing." He pulled her into him as he hungrily captured her lips with his. They kissed passionately for a few moments until they both pulled away, gasping for air and lips swollen from the activity. With an insanely huge grin on his face, he linked his fingers with hers as he walked her to the exit of building. From a nearby corner, Hughes poked his head out, grinning to himself. He watched as the two adults walked away from him, fingers entwined and their auras glowing brighter than ever. He adjusted his glasses as he softly chuckled to himself, peering down at the picture he had just taken. "No chance of getting around, eh Roy?