I don't own FMA but this is an extended fanfic, which shoudl eb very LONG! It starts with this chapter, and it starts before the war in Ishbal, should I continue during the war or after? Not at all? Or just one or the other? Or BOTH?" My vote is both.

The Pitter-Patter of Roy Mustang's Little Heart (Suposed to sound Corny)

Roy hit the counter with his glass, signaling the bartender for yet another drink as Maes looked at him. "Oh come on Roy, are you gonna do it what?" He finally asked the eighteen year old state alchemist, who merely glanced to one side at the drafted State Alchemist, who was only a few seats away.

She was in a white tank top, just like them, and wore her uniform pants too. She had tannish skin, and two bright hazel eyes.

"Oh come on Roy! Armstrong says that the latest words about her are that she's a pyro, and your the FLAME alchemist! You two are MADE for each other!" Maes coaxed, but still, his friend refused to budge from his bar stool.

"Excuse me, sir?" The bartender said, tapping Roy's shoulder, which was necessary seeing he had his head in his arms trying to descried whether he should leave or go talk to this new beauty.

Actually, she really wasn't that pretty...More... Unusual.

"Hello? SIR!" The bartender practically grabbed Roy by his jet black hair and pulled him to eye level. Actually, he did.

"What?" Roy asked, glaring at the bartender with threatening eyes, though he was half drunk and only managed to maintain the death glare for a few moments.

"The girl about three seats to the left paid for your next round of drinks...Though I don't think-"

"Another round!" Roy spoke drunkenly as Maes cheered, only slightly less drunk then his drinking partner.

But the next round on the mystery alchemist turned into the next three...and then the next five.. and then and unfinished free tenth round appeared, Maes, having stopped after the first round, was responsible for dragging the unconscious Roy out of the bar and getting him into their cab.

The next day however, as Roy walked in with a headache and a bad temper, he found someone sitting at his desk, feet up, reading through his most recent report.

Of course, it didn't help much that Roy was deprived of his morning coffee as well.

"What are you doing at my desk!" He roared and the person, shutting the folder yet still hiding her face with it spoke. "I wanted to know how you take your coffee, Mr. drunk- I mean...what's your name?"

"Roy Mustang! and- wait, did you say coffee?" he asked, his expression softening at the thought though disbelief was written in his onyx eyes.

"Yes. How do you take your coffee?" The voice was a soft sound, still calm dispite his earlier shouting and though it wasn't loud, It was strong and form, as if she was used to giving commands and making them be obeyed.

"Sugar, no cream."

"Then yours is on the left." She said, gesturing at the three cups on the table in front of her boots.

"What?" He was a little surprised, having not noticed the cups before, and, now that he thought about it, He didn't recognize the voice that came from the girl who he would've usually accused of being Hawkeye. "Who are you? why are you here?"

"I'm the Phoenix Alchemist who got sent here from the east, and my name is Ashes. I also paid for all those drink you had last night. And your coffee is the eon furthest left." She put the report down as she spoke, when he looked at her wide eyed he noticed the pink that tinged her light-tan face.

As he had thought before, she wasn't particularly attractive. Her hair was dyed a flaming red orange and cut the chin length, then left straight. Her eyes where a red-hazel that seemed the dance with a cheery fire. She was thin, and he saw as she put the report down and stood that she was a bit shorter then him, by a head...which was literal, as her eye's came level with his throat.

She was in uniform, that hung off her unceremoniously.

"Oh...did you mean why is there three cups?" She asked after a moment of silence, breaking eye contact and looking down at her feet, and then to the left.

"Yes."

"Well, I asked around but no one knew, so I just got black, cream no sugar, and sugar no cream."

"Hawkeye drinks black, if you drink cream, and Maes in investigation drinks cream, if you drink black." Roy said as he sat down, and she smiled at him as she moved to walk away.

"Wait." He said as her hand touched the door and she turned.

Say something witty...Funny-no dashing...Maybe a joke...about what...umm...Think fast Flame! THINK! I have an extra seat reserved at the cafeteria- no that makes me sound poor. You would honor me to go on a da- no. too formal. Your just so unbelievably- No, just not me... THINK!

"Umm...Nice weather today." He said jerkily before mentally hitting himself. He was talking about the weather! the weather!

"Oh, you mean the rain? I like Rain."

"Oh, is it raining?"

STUPID STUPID STUPID! YOUR WEARING DRENCHED CLOTHES AND A HAT, YOUR SOAKING WET FOR GOD SAKE! YOU WHERE JUST SAYING HOW NICE THE WEATHER WAS! GOD I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!

"Yeah it is." She laughed a little as she stepped out of the door and walked first to Hawkeye's office, then to the investigations wing so she could deliver the remaining cup. She had already drank her coffee.

"Why did you send me to get coffee again?" She asked Riza later as the stood outside, Riza taking a break from shooting it at a target-dummy, looked at her smiling.

"Because, haven't you figured it out yet Ash?"

"It's Ashes... And what?"

"That Mustang finds you quite the looker." Maes said as he walked up and Riza laughed as Ashes' face turned red.

"So, did you two talk about anything while you here in that office?" Hawkeye asked, smiling slyly as Ashes shook her head, laughing so the fire in her eyes seemed to glow even warmer.

"No, just about the weather...I made a joke but I guess he wasn't amused."

"What was the joke about?"

"Well, I said 'Oh you mean the Rain?' referring to the fact that the water pipe broke and was spraying water everywhere and making the sprinklers come on, and he just hit himself in the forehead, and I walked out laughing about it."

"What are you three talking about?" Roy asked as he approached but before he could stop himself Maes laughed as he spoke waking exaggerated hand motions.

"Just about you, Oh ROMEO! and your undying love for Juliet," he gestured at Ashes who laughed and tripped Maes as he made to start skipping, talking about how Roy's heart when pitter-patter and yearned for her touch.

Roy stormed off, face red, and he avoided eye contact with Hawkeye, and Maes the rest of the day, though he could still hear Maes murmur under his breath when they passed in the hall, "and she makes you little non-existent heart go pitter-patter."

"Hey!" a slightly familiar voice yelled after Roy, who was halfway to the gate, and he turned to see Ashes running to catch up with him, her jacket still tied around her waist, leaving her in her uniform pants and a white tank top, identical to the one she had worn the night before.

"What?" Roy asked grumpily, expecting more ridicule. But she merely walked beside him and said after a moment of silence. "You... You take your coffee sugar no cream right?"

"We already went over this. Why?"

"So I know what kind of coffee to get if you show up late to the cafe by Barry's Butcher Shop at seven o'clock tonight. See you then."

"Wait!" He said after a minute of realizing what just happened and managed to stop her before she made it to her cab.

"What should I order you if you show up late?"

"Whatever I like." She said smiling as she slid into the cab and, after it shut, thought smiling to herself.

"Then I'll know if your even worth a second date, or if Kimblee was right."

Roy, meanwhile, stood dumb-struck by the gate, half wondering what she'd meant by "Something I Like" and half wanting to punch the air in triumph. He settled with smiling instead, and walking home instead of taking a cab, "...Half skipping to the beat of the pitter-patter of his little heart."

Or at least, that's how Maes explained it to Hawkeye, Kimblee, and Armstrong.

REVIEW!