Author's Note: I do not own FMA or its characters. This is slightly AU and was previously posted in An Apple a Day.

Fools in Love

It wasn't what he had intended. He was quite pleased with the results, of course, but he really had had no intention of turning the gift into something that important. He'd wanted her to like the gift. Christmas was one of the few times of the year where it was all right for him to give her things, and he always tried to choose things that would tell her how much he appreciated her. Of course, the difficulty was finding things were she would understand the meaning, but it wouldn't tip off the rest of the military to the fact that he was in love with her. Anyway, to start at the beginning, the whole was caused by his promotion.

There were drawbacks to promotions, though he wouldn't admit that in public. One of them was the fact that he had more subordinates now, and not all of them had hand picked. Major Lorne was one such officer. He was a good enough officer; it was just, he wasn't someone that Roy would trust with his plans let alone his secrets. Of course, it didn't help his opinion of the man that had been romantically interested in Hawkeye from the start. And he wasn't like the other who had simply been obnoxious in their affections either.

Roy didn't like it when other men started paying attention to Hawkeye. Oh, he knew she deserved that attention. After all, she was a beautiful, smart, intensely loyal, and caring woman. He just didn't like that other people could treat her the way he wanted to, and to tell the truth, there was some small part of him that was afraid that one day she'd get tired of waiting.

So anyway, the man had been around for nearly six months now, and perhaps that was why he'd gone a little overboard with her Christmas gift. It was a book. Of course, it wasn't just any book. It was her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. It was also a first edition copy. He'd gotten it at this little place in Central called Rare Books. He'd written an inscription on the inside. It wasn't anything that would be considered inappropriate by the regs, but he thought it did a good job of conveying how essential she was to him. He'd also gotten her a bookmark, one of the nice ribbon ones with a little charm hanging at the bottom. He'd chosen a navy ribbon with a little silver charm of a hawk.

The office had an annual Christmas party where gifts were exchanged, and this year it was busier than usual. Fullmetal, his brother, and Ms. Rockbell had shown up as well as Gracia and Elysia. The party was in full swing by the time the present exchange rolled around. The punch had been spiked, mistletoe had been hung, and embarrassing stories were being told. Gracia had announced to the room that the gift exchange was starting, and everyone crowed around the dinky little Christmas tree. They had been down to the last three gifts, two for Riza and one for Winry Rockbell. One of Riza's two was his; there was an unspoken tradition that he was always the last to give her her gift. The other gift for her was from Major Lorne.

She sat in her chair with the little box from Lorne sitting in her lap. She was dressed in what Roy had come to consider her Christmas dress. She'd worn the same burgundy dress every Christmas party after Maes' had decreed no one was to wear their uniform to the party. As usual her only jewelry was a pair of earrings, the red ones this time. Their first Christmas in the military he'd given her three sets of earrings (red, blue, and amber), and she still wore them at work most of the time. She unwrapped the gift with her normal meticulous patience, and Roy felt his stomach begin to twist when inside the paper was a little jeweler's box. She opened the box, and both she and the rest of the room went into shock. Inside was an ornate gold band surmounted with a very large diamond. Lorne moved to kneel in front of her.

"I know we haven't known each other very long, Riza, but I know we're soul mates. Marry me."

Roy had to double check that he wasn't hyperventilating. Hawkeye looked completely stunned. "I need some time, please."

She set the box and the ring to her side. Roy gripped his gift for her nervously. She hadn't said yes. Of course, it could be that she didn't want to accept in front of him. Or it could be that she wasn't interested. He didn't know. And it wasn't something he could ask her either. He waited in agony while Winry opened her gift from Fullmetal to find a wrench. Then it was his turn.

"Here you are, Captain Hawkeye."

She took the gift and untied the multitude of little silver ribbons before carefully unwrapping the paper. The book fell open to the page he'd stuck the bookmark in. He wasn't sure where it was in the story it was, but she seem amused as her lips quirked into a little smile as she scanned the page. Then she turned to the front where the dedication was written.

As she read it, one of her hands came up to cover her mouth, and to his complete surprise, her eyes were filled with tears. Hawkeye gently shut the book, stood up, and walked over to him.

"That was incredibly sweet, sir."

And she leaned over to kiss his cheek, whispering in his ear. "Always and only yours, Roy. Always and only."

Then she turned and walked over to sit with Winry, stopping only to scoop up the silver ribbons and leaving him completely stunned. She passed him later in the evening on her way to grab a few more cookies. She deliberately raised her left hand to touch her hair, and he saw one of the silver ribbons from his gift wrapped around her ring finger. His mind could only come up with one thought: Did I inadvertently propose to Hawkeye in that dedication? That thought was quickly followed by: And she accepted?

He didn't think he was drunk but decided to avoid the punch and the eggnog for the rest of the evening. Actually, the party was rather subdued after the various shocks of the gift exchange. He ran into Edward on his way back from the bathroom, and the two of them accidentally stumble upon the conversation Hawkeye was having with Lorne in the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Major."

"But we're perfect for each other. I thought you understood that."

"I apologize if my actions some how led you to believe I was interested in you romantically. That was not my intention."

"You're afraid Mustang ruining your career if you accept, aren't you?"

Roy recognized the tone in her voice; she usually reserved it for serial killers, homunculi, and insane alchemists. "The brigadier general has known me since I was six years old. My working relationship with is not an issue in this decision. I'm already engaged."

"What? You've never mentioned it. You don't wear a ring."

"It's not something I can talk about. I've returned your ring and made my decision clear. Good night, Major."

He and Edward stood in the shadows for another two minutes after Hawkeye and Lorne had gone in different directions.

"Did you know Hawkeye was engaged?"

"Sort of," he admitted. "We haven't really had a change to talk about it."

Edward gave him a penetrating look. "She's engaged to you, isn't she? That's the only thing that makes sense."

Roy shrugged. "As she said, it's not something we can talk about."

They returned to the party to find Hawkeye gathering up her presents and her coat. He quickly grabbed his own things. "I'll walk you home, Captain. I still haven't given Hayate his Christmas present."

With was true as far it went, but he also wanted the chance to talk to her alone without half of the occupants of the party trying to eavesdrop on them. He even waited until they were halfway to her apartment, and he was sure they weren't being followed, before bringing up the topic.

"Um, Hawkeye, are we engaged?" Way to go, Roy. Talk about blunt.

She turned and graced him with one of her all too rare, full smiles. "I was wondering if you were going to ask. Yes, I accepted your proposal. Of course technically, we've been engaged for years."

He stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean?"

Riza sighed. "There is a betrothal contract on the books between Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. My father arranged it after my sixteenth birthday. You were his apprentice and I was his daughter, so he apparently had the legal right to make such I contract. I didn't find out until after he'd died. It's buried under so much paperwork that you can't find it unless you know exactly what to look for."

"You've never mentioned this before."

She sighed again. "I didn't want it unless you did as well. I didn't want that decision to be made by anyone except us. No one else has the right to. As far as I'm concerned, we weren't truly engaged until you asked me and I accepted."

They had reached her door by now. She turned the knob, and Black Hayate came tumbling out, eager to greet them. Roy knelt down to scratch the dog's ears and produced a large rawhide bone complete with a large red ribbon from his pocket. "Merry Christmas, Hayate. Be good for your mommy."

He stood up, facing up to the fact that they would have to part ways, at least for now. "Merry Christmas, Riza."

She took a step forward, hands coming up to cup his face, and suddenly he was on the receiving end of one hell of a kiss. Finally, she pulled back. "Merry Christmas, Roy. Thank you for the book."

So now he was walking home as it snowed, not really noticing the cold. The book had been a good idea after all.

Theme: Pride/High and Mighty