Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. :uncontrollable crying:

Ultimate Weapon

:42: Day Off

Riza Hawkeye was having a day off. Her seat in the office was empty- her chair looked cold without its usual occupant. Roy convinced himself that he was imagining the depressed aura coming from Riza's desk, like a gray cloud looming over the wooden surface, refusing to be shooed away. Or perhaps the desk was mocking Roy, reflecting his own mood.

Roy Mustang was indeed depressed. He had walked into work at 8 o'clock that morning, not late for once in his life. He grabbed a mug of coffee before heading to his desk, intending to start his day with the usual, "Good morning, Lieutenant Hawkeye." However, as he began to form the words that made the sentence, Roy realized he was talking to an empty desk. It took him a second to realize that Riza Hawkeye would not be coming to work that day. Along with the realization came depression, and so Roy Mustang's horrible day began. After all, every day in the office without Riza Hawkeye ended up being a morbid one.

Roy began working on the enormous pile of paperwork that had been set on his desk the day before. As usual, the work was tedious, boring, and almost completely pointless. On an ordinary day, Roy would whine a lot, get some paperwork done, and then whine some more. However, while he would work, he would occasionally sneak a casual glance in Riza Hawkeye's direction. It wasn't that she was some unseen beauty, because many other military men would say they had seen many other prettier women before. Roy would merely scoff at them. He loved to stare at the face that had been his inspiration so many times before, his comfort, his shelter. He loved to observe Riza's sharp features, her golden-brown eyes, the ones he knew so well. And after he enjoyed his view and was inspired anew, Roy Mustang would look down at his paperwork again. Today, Roy Mustang had no inspiration.

While the office bustled with activity and movement from his noisy comrades, Roy was steadily loosing the mood to get any work done at all. By three in the afternoon, Roy hadn't gotten half of the work done that he should have. Everything seemed to drag that day, every sound irritated him, and every freaking thing in the office reminded him of the fact that Riza Hawkeye wasn't there.

There's the pen that Riza uses on her paperwork, Roy thought, staring gloomily at the object on her desk. And there's her mug of coffee, her ink bottle, and that is where her hand rests everyday….Roy shook his head, ducking down to stare at the same paper again. The phone began to ring, causing a muscle in Roy's jaw to start twitching.

"Mr. Mustang?" his secretary's annoying voice droned. "There's a call for you from an outside line," he said.

"Put me through," Roy sighed. He dragged the phone to his ear. His comrades were all staring at the imaginary cloud of gloom over his head, entertained by his sulky mood.

"Hello," Roy grunted into the phone.

"Hello Roy, this is Elizabeth calling from the store," Riza Hawkeye's voice said.

"R-ELIZABETH!!" Roy yelled, causing Breda, Fallman, Havoc, and Fuery to all fall over in their chairs. Ignoring them, Roy tried to make his voice sound casual.

"Hey Elizabeth! How are you?"

"I'm great Roy, sorry if I'm calling at a bad time. It's just that you told me your scary, baby sitting lieutenant wasn't going to be in the office today, so I thought I'd call. That's not a problem is it?" Riza Hawkeye's voice radiated off amusement.

"No, Lizzie, it's okay. I don't have that much work left anyway," Roy lied, glaring at his enormous pile of work. "Thanks to my wonderful subordinates, of course," Roy said, ignoring Havoc's fake blush in the background. He hoped Riza would lap up his compliment.

"Mmm…I've been wanting to talk to you for a while Roy. I've missed you." Roy knew Riza was acting, but he wondered if she had missed him as much as he had missed her. "So how is your work coming along?"

"It's really great," he said. Changing the subject quickly, he asked, "How are things at the store?"

"There are barely any customers here today, so everything is nice and relaxing. I haven't had a day like this in a while."

"Well, enjoy yourself R-Lizzie," Roy said, catching himself. "Listen, I have to go, but I'll talk to you soon. Maybe we can make some dinner plans?" He ignored the glare Havoc was giving him and Breda's hooting.

"Yeah, sure Roy. Try to get more work done, and then I'll call you later," Riza said, laughter in her voice. Apparently she had figured out that he was lying about finishing all his work. Go figure. The phone went dead, and Roy grumbled something incomprehensible to his questioning comrades. With renewed vigor, he finished all of his paperwork earlier than usual.

Roy decided to visit Riza on her day off. He hoped her day had not been hell like his had been without her.

A/N: Thank you everyone who reviewd last chapter! Hope you enjoyed, and happy reading!