A/N: Hiiii! Minna-sannn! Look who's back from the grave, nee? Yep! Mary is! And she's 14, too! (My bday was June 1rst, mind ye.) My Japanese has been getting better, and I hope my writing skills have been as well...Well, we'll see! I've been through some tough times, including being dumped by my ex-bestest friend, Alexa (AKA LexaFlame here on fanfiction), but I'm recovering. Apparently, I'm such a horrible person...So I shouldn't deserve to feel upset. -grumble- If you ever wanna chat with me, find me on AIM at drtyblueballoons. I'd love to hear feedback and to roleplay with anyone. :D But I seem to rarely be on anymore...on account of I have no one really to talk to/roleplay with. D:

Yay Royai! I never stopped loving ye! You're 10 times better than Roy/Ed!

xXXXx

Broken Pen

BY MARY, a.k.a. Cashmeritan/Sniper

Roy Mustang watched amusedly as his beloved 1rst Lt., Riza Hawkeye, struggled to reassemble her dilapidated pen. Her brow furrowed in concentration, mixed with frustration, and he found her expressions irresistably adorable. Her fingers fumbled with the small parts, as she twisted, pulled, and accidentally flung the pen parts on her desk.

"Lieutenant," he cleared his throat, attempting to lighten the load of her predicament. "I see you're having some trouble there."

Riza glanced up at him, her hair disarrayed, and her eyes almost bloodshot. It made him cringe inwardly. "Yes," she finally said, and gazed down at the disembodied pen parts.

"May I...offer you some assistance?" Roy questioned, rising from his desk and mosying over to her. She once again looked up at him, her face displaying what looked to be surprise, and she nodded after a couple short seconds.

"Here." Roy pulled up a chair in front of her desk, taking the parts in his palms. "You see...THIS is the body of the pen. It contains the ink. And THIS. This is the springy thing. It makes it...well...It makes it springy. So you put the body of the pen THROUGH the springy thing."

Riza nodded quickly, eyes glued to the presentation of the assembly of pens.

"And THIS...This is the...well...The 'Clear-Plastic-Tube' part. The whole pen goes in there...And you screw the cap on...And voila! Pen assembled!"

Riza mesmerizedly took the completed pen in her hand, and pressed down on the clicker. The pen wouldn't click into writing position.

Roy facefaulted. "Err...Lemme see that." He hastily retrieved the pen from Riza, and held it up to his eye, inspecting it. "Hm...This is...interesting..."

Riza sighed. "I have extra pens, sir. It's just that one was my favorite. I'm shocked at how I can disassemble and reassemble a gun in less than a minute, yet I can't seem to get that pen to work..."

"Ha, fear not, Lieutenant!" Roy thrust his index finger into the air. "I will not rest, until this pen clicks properly!"

She blinked in response, then said, "But sir, I have extras..."

"But this is your favorite pen, yes?" Roy inquired, eyes flicking up to meet hers. He smiled warmly at her. "If it is, then I can't just let it go untreated. We have to fix it!"

A light blush tinted her cheeks, and she nodded slightly. "But as soon as you get it, it's back to work, alright?"

"Hai!" Roy began to disembowel the pen, reducing it to pieces just as it had been only minutes before, and examined each part. "Hm..." He raced to fit them all together, and twist'em tight, then attempted to click the finished masterpiece.

No such luck.

"..." His eye twitched. "This...Goddamn...Pen!" He grumbled through his teeth. Riza frowned, but continued watching rather interestedly as her superior pulled out a pair of scissors. Her eyebrows raised, and a maniacal sort of grin contorted Roy's lips.

"Sir...? W-What are you doing?"

"Have no fear, Lieutenant!" Roy smirked, grabbing the body of the pen and attempting to fit the point of the scissor blade into it.

"!" Riza gaped.

"Something must be jammed..." Roy murmured in thought, turning to grab a safety pin. But...his hand musta slipped...because the pen body snapped in half, and an ink explosion ensued.

It was quiet for 30 seconds, before Roy finally gazed down at his uniform, to assess the damage. "Aww, shit..." he cursed.

But poor Riza...blinking in shock through a smeary mess of ink on her face, was helpless to the blow, and stared at Roy.

"There's something...on...my face..." She said slowly.

Roy bit his lip, trying to contain his laughter...But soon, he just gave in.

As he burst into laughter, Riza continued staring blankly at him, then found herself breaking into giggles, as well.

"L-Lieutenant! You should see your face!" Roy cried between laughs.

"You should see your uniform! It looks like you peed black!"

The two officers continued laughing, until Roy realized how smart it would be to clean Hawkeye's face.

While they scrubbed hard, and the ink lazily ebbed away, the two didn't quite get the concept of how close they were. Roy lowered the handkercheif he used to bathe Riza's face, and glanced up into her amber eyes.

Silence followed.

"...Lieutenant..." He said softly.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I killed your favorite pen," he apologized.

She smiled slightly, "It's nothing. I told you I had more, right?"

"Still..." Roy began to unconsciously caress her cheek, "There has to be something I can do to make it better, right?"

Riza blushed like a schoolgirl, "M-Maybe..."

Within seconds, his lips were on hers, and surprisingly...she made ink taste delightful. One question still remains...is ink toxically poisonous?

THE END.