First Royai fic. It's odd that I haven't written a fic of them until now because that couple is actually the reason I became interested in Fullmetal Alchemist in the first place. Seriously; I randomly watched a scene in an episode of Brotherhood one day on Adult swim; saw the two characters and instantly fell for their couple. Then I went online, watched all the scenes of them I could find in every episode and then I decided to watch the whole series. It is weird, indeed. Oh well. Better late then never, I guess.
This idea just popped into my head when I was trying to think up fanfic ideas. I really wanted to write one because I haven't written a fic in a while.I imagine this takes place right after Brotherhood ENDS. I know that by that time, Roy and Riza probably would have received higher ranks but for this, I'm going with their old ones for now. It's easier and less confusing that way.
Disclaimer: FMA and its characters are NOT mine. They belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
Valentine's day...February 14th...A day to show that special someone how much you love and appreciate them. A day mostly celebrated by and meant for couples. A day of the year saved especially for the sake of passion. Ah, Valentine's Day...
...How pathetic and pointless. At least, that's what Riza Hawkeye had always thought.
A young woman dressed in a blue military uniform sighed inward to herself as she walked into work that day.
"Valentine's day, again? If I could, I'd shoot this holiday with my best rifle..." Riza spewed as she strolled down one of the hallways of the military facility.
It's not that any specific event or break-up had made Hawkeye hate the holiday. It wasn't like the way it was with other women who ended up hating the holiday solely because their boyfriends didn't show them any special treatment that day. No, Riza Hawkeye was much more mature than that. And she swore she'd never be any different. Valentine's day just...really pissed her off.
What special meaning did it have? A day made especially for love? A holiday people describe as a day to spend time with their soul-mate and shower each other with affection?
...Couldn't you do that any day of the year? What made the 14th of February so damn special?
"Riza! Hey Riza!" A young woman, also dressed in a military uniform, squealed as she ran up to the blond woman in excitement.
"Hello Rebecca." Riza greeted, trying to ignore the annoying eagerness that seemed to be beaming out of her friend.
"Happy Valentine's day!" Rebecca pulled her best friend into a tight hug, in which, Riza awkwardly returned.
"Happy? Sure, whatever." Riza broke from the hug, "Well, I have to go check in with the Colonel. Excuse me-"
But just as the Lieutenant made a move to leave, Rebecca yanked on her arm; demanding that she stay where she was.
"What's wrong, Riza? You don't seem very chipper today!"
God, sometimes Riza detested Rebecca's overly cheerfulness. Especially when she used such stupid words like "chipper".
Riza rolled her eyes, "You hit a bull's-eye. How can I be chipper on a day like this?"
Rebecca then frowned, placing her hands on her hips, "But it's Valentine's day for crying out loud! How can you not be-" But a realization stopped the brunette in mid-sentence, "Ohh, I get it. You're unhappy because you still don't have a boyfriend to spend time with on this special day."
The sniper twitched in anger at hearing such words slip from her friend's lips. Boyfriend? Please, she had no time for such things. She was a Lieutenant of the Amestrian military. Work was her top priority. The last thing she wanted to do was go looking for some guy to date and waste her time with.
"You've got it all wrong, Rebecca. I don't care about love and this pointless holiday, that's all." Riza was sure Rebecca's eyes had just popped out of their sockets at the mention of how pointless the day was.
"Pointless?!" Rebecca screamed loudly causing Riza to take a step back, "How could you say such a thing, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye?! Valentine's day is-"
"Po-int-less." Riza spelled out, talking as if she was as dumb-minded as an animal.
Her friend groaned annoyingly, "You're so negative," She sighed.
Riza forced a smile, "I'd prefer to call it being 'painfully honest'."
Rebecca rolled her eyes now, "Geez, you really don't get it. Today is a day where you can show how much you really care for someone without holding anything back. You can give gifts to that person, spend time with them, or do things with them that you never get to do on a regular basis."
"You need a holiday to do those things?" Riza saw the sweat form on the woman's head at hearing her words.
A victorious smirk appeared on the Lieutenant's face and she started back down the hall, waving goodbye.
As Riza continued on, she heard Rebecca cry out, "Just you wait, Riza! By the end of the day, you'll see how special this holiday can be!"
Riza smiled once more, shaking her head, "Sure, I'll keep that in mind."
Valentine's day...it would always be pointless.
"Hey Breda, I have a favor to ask."
A chubby man in a blue jacket looked over to the other man who was leaning over him, "Lay it on me, Colonel."
Roy Mustang, Colonel of the Amestrian military, stood straight up and took a deep breath before answering, "I need you to go buy something."
"Oh?" Breda rose one of his thin brows, "Something, huh. Like what, sir?"
Roy pulled out a small slip of paper as well as a pack of money. He handed them over and once Breda had examined the slip of paper, smiled at Roy,
"Ah, so it's for THAT. You're really something, Colonel." The chubby man playfully nudged the flame alchemist, causing him to express a look of fury,
"Just shut up and go. And hurry back, got it?"
Just as Breda was being thrown out the door by Roy; Lt. Hawkeye appeared in the entry-way.
The blond woman blinked at her fellow officer, "Hello Breda." She saluted.
"Lieutenant, I was just on my way out." Breda returned the gesture.
Riza nodded in understanding, "I see. I hope you have a pleasant day."
The man spouted a word of thanks and left. Riza then entered the room, shutting the door behind her. Then she put her heals together and saluted the Colonel,
"Lt. Hawkeye reporting for duty."
"At ease." Roy mumbled as he took a seat behind his desk.
Riza did as he commanded and walked up to the wooden piece of furniture that now separated them. An awkward moment of silence passed before the flame alchemist finally decided to start a conversation,
"In case you're wondering, everyone else is out today and all the paperwork is finished. So there's not really any work for you to do today." Roy explained, a hint of relief hiding in his voice.
Riza frowned at this though, "No work?"
'Then why the hell did I get up this morning and come in?' She thought to herself, trying to hide the annoyance she felt.
Roy grinned at the Lieutenant, folding his hands under his chin, "You know...it's been some time since we were alone, Hawkeye."
Riza suddenly felt disturbed, "Indeed it has, sir..."
Roy's smile grew in size at her agreement, "I'd like to ask something of you. That is, if you don't mind."
She shook her head, "Of course not, Colonel."
"Good." Roy unfolded his hands and leaned back in his chair, "I want you to meet me and some other officers at this address tonight around six." He handed her a piece of paper.
Riza examined it for a moment and paused. The address written on the paper...it seemed somewhat familiar but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Oh well. If this was where Roy ordered her to meet; she would do so without hesitation.
At seeing the woman's curiosity reflecting in her hazel eyes, Roy began to explain, ""We have some new recruits coming in Monday and I want to discuss some issues on this matter with you and the others. Breda, Havok, Fury, and Falman will be there too."
'So much for not working...' Riza thought but immediately agreed to meet as Roy had asked her too.
"Great!" The state alchemist nodded happily and then made a shooing gesture, "That's all I needed from you, Hawkeye."
Riza bowed and left the Colonel in peace.
~xXx~
Riza looked at the slip of paper Roy had given her earlier and drew her eyes up at the building before her. Just as the address had made her believe, the building itself definitely looked familiar to her.
'Oh well. It's not like my remembering why it's familiar is important.' Riza shrugged and walked towards the door, pulling the handle and walking inside. What she saw surprised her.
It was...a restaurant. A fancy one too. Booths and tables lined with red and gold table cloth were aligned symmetrically around the large room. Several doors could be spotted on the right; most likely leading to either the kitchen or the bathrooms. Several extremely well-dressed waiters and waitresses were walking around, recording orders from customers. Then Riza noticed a short man standing behind a small table-like thing who seemed to be busy writing down what must have been reservations for other people.
"What in the-"
"Hello Madame, may I help you?" asked a strange man in a suit who had suddenly approached her.
Just as Riza went to answer, she heard Roy call out from one of the tables sitting in the center of the restaurant. At seeing the Colonel, she walked over and took a seat across from him.
"Sir, what is this? Why are we in a restaurant, especially one as formal as this? Weren't we going to discuss an important matter with the others-" Riza then noticed something odd. She and Roy were the only ones at the table.
Roy grinned from ear to ear, "Don't worry about that. While we're here, why don't we order dinner?"
Riza rose a brow, "Dinner...? But why? Couldn't we have met some place else where we would have gotten more privacy? And where are the other officers?"
The Colonel frowned at his Lieutenant. Had she really not understood what had happened? Was she really that shallow?
"Hawkeye," He began in a stern tone, scratching his head in disbelief, "Do you...not understand why I invited you here tonight?"
The sniper was confused now, "It was because you wanted to discuss the new recruits, sir. I remember."
Roy nearly slammed his head on the table, "That was..." But before he could finish his answer, the waiter appeared,
"Good evening. Can I get you two any drinks?"
"Just water." Roy said in a bored tone.
"N-Nothing for me." Riza stuttered, still confused.
At that, the waiter vanished back into the kitchen.
A minute of silence passed before Riza spoke up again, "Sir, is something wrong?"
Roy half-smiled, "Nah, it's nothing. I was just hoping you'd understand why I invited you out tonight."
...But he had already told her his reason, hadn't he? Because there was a matter to discuss and...
It hit the Lieutenant like a tone of bricks. She had just remembered what day it was and Rebecca's words from earlier
"Valentine's day is a day where you show that special someone how much you really love and appreciate them."
The woman froze in her seat now; her face turned red with blush. Before she could hide it, Roy looked at her in wonder,
"Hawkeye, your face is bright red. Are you feeling okay?"
At hearing her commanding officer's voice, Riza immediately snapped out of her daze and tried to stop herself from blushing, "Y-Yes. I'm fine. Perfectly fine, sir."
"If you say so..." Roy mumbled, obviously not believing a word she had just said.
But, it couldn't be true, right? He couldn't have asked her to meet him at a strange restaurant just because of the holiday could he? She had always thought Roy had felt the same way about Valentine's day. It was pointless, a waste of time, and just stupid. But...
"Sir." Riza began, sitting up straight in her seat,
"Yes?" He answered, noticing the serious look painted on her face now.
"Did you..." She began but stopped to take a deep breath, "Did you ask me out here tonight because of...Valentine's day?" She wanted to spit at mentioning the holiday.
Roy stayed silent for a second before answering a plain, "Yes."
"I see..." Riza frowned darkly and now very badly wanted to leave.
It was a nice gesture of the Colonel; to trick her out into going out with him but...she hated the holiday. To her, it was more insulting than it was complimentary. Why would a special someone wait that long for one specific day of the year just to tell them how they felt or how much they appreciated them? That's exactly why Riza said it was pointless. And it always would be; no matter what anyone said.
"Lieutenant," Roy spoke as he began eating one of the rolls that the waiter had brought to their table,
"Yes, sir?"
"You hate this day, don't you?"
Roy's sudden blunt question caught Riza off guard and she said the first thing that came to mind, "P-Perhaps...but how did you know?"
Roy rose a brow, silently asking her 'how stupid do you think I am?'.
After finishing the roll, he continued, "We've known each other for a long time, so I'd think I'd pick up some things up about you in those many years." He rested his cheek in his hand, "Besides...it's pretty obvious anyways. Everyone can tell you despise this day."
"You are correct. I do." Riza's frown grew, slightly worried about where Roy was going with this. Was he going to try to do what Rebecca did and attempt to make her believe this day was special? Or would he lecture her as a higher-up officer? Or would he do something stupidly unromantic to try to make her believe Valentine's day wasn't bad?
Ugh, she wanted to be sick.
"Hawkeye,"
Once again, the flame alchemist's deep voice broke her out of her daydream. She focused her eyes back on him but became slightly anxious when she saw the disappointed look in his dark eyes.
"Sir...?"
Roy rose from his seat and stood over her now. Riza could see the other couples in the restaurant look at them with odd expressions. Confused, the blond woman asked Roy what he was doing but he didn't respond. She tried again; feeling her cheeks turning a slight pink from the embarrassment,
"C-Colonel, what are..." But before she could finish her sentence, Roy leaned down before her on one knee and pulled out a small box, revealing a small gold ring with a diamond in the center.
"You may hate Valentine's Day..." Roy started, lowering his head so she wouldn't see his now-red face, "But thanks to this day, I finally got up the nerve to do this."
Riza stared dumb-founded at the ring for a moment; blinking and trying to grasp what had just happened. But, she could say nothing. She could feel nothing but shock.
Roy rose his head so he could glance at her only to see that her face had turned even redder then his own. He laughed and took one of her hands with his free one, "This may seem sudden, but it's something that's been on my mind for a while, Lieutenant."
"R..." She tried to speak his name but couldn't get it out.
Roy's smile fell and his face turned extremely serious. He grasped her hand with his and held the ring a little closer to her, "I love you, Riza Hawkeye. Will you do me the honor of being my wife...?"
Valentine's day. While it may seem pointless to some; in the end, the day lights a fire in people. It may just be another day of the year, but it gives courage to some. The kind of courage one needs to tell that special someone how much they truly care about and appreciate them being in their lives. Perhaps, the day wasn't such a waste of time after all...
Riza unthinkingly reached out for the ring and stared at the Colonel's face, "Y...You love..." At that moment, her version suddenly become blurry.
Roy laughed and lovingly stroked the side of one of Riza's eyes; rubbing away the oncoming tears that were spilling down her face.
"Well, Lieutenant? What do you say?"
Riza wiped her eyes, angry that the tears were making it hard to see the Colonel but when her version cleared, she could see he was just as nervous as she was. She then carefully removed the ring from the box and held it to her chest, tightly.
"...yes..." She mumbled a little bit too quiet,
"W-What was that?" Roy asked, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't heard her.
A warm smile appeared Hawkeye's face and without another thought, she launched herself into Roy's arms; nearly knocking him on the floor in the process.
"Yes...!" Riza cried, hugging onto his neck with all her might.
"Yes?" Roy repeated almost stupidly, staring off into space for a moment but then smiled as well and hugged her back.
Riza then remembered the last thing Rebecca had told her that day,
"Just you wait, Riza! By the end of the day, you'll see how special this holiday can be!"
After a few more moments of hugging, the two military officers rose and broke their hug. Roy placed the ring on Riza's finger and then planted a small kiss on her cheek.
Riza gently touched the cheek he kissed and narrowed her eyes, "I can't believe you actually did this...how much was this ring, anyways?"
"Does it matter? Nothing's too expensive for my Queen." Roy smirked, staring at the ring on her finger; thrilled that she had accepted his proposal.
Riza tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "It's beautiful. Did any of the other military officials see you buy it?"
Roy wrapped an arm around Riza and they left the restaurant, "No way. I had Breda buy the thing for me."
Riza sweat-dropped. That was so much like Roy. He was as lazy as ever but who cares. He had proposed to her. He had finally said those words to her that she had hoped to exchange with him herself someday. Those three words that made the holiday so darn special.
As the two walked down the street, Riza rose a brow, "Wait, why did we leave the restaurant?"
"I decided that the place wasn't good enough for you," He began, "I think it'd be more romantic for me to fix you a meal myself."
Riza chuckled, shaking her head, "But, sir, you can't cook..."
"So?" Roy smiled, looking at the beautiful woman he walked beside, "Screw cooking. I had something else in mind when I mentioned a meal."
Lt. Hawkeye immediately blushed a color that would put Edward's coat to shame, "S-SIR, PLEASE!"
Roy laughed. To this day, he was still the only one who could ever make her blush that shade. And now, he could make her blush like that for the rest of their lives.
Riza pouted, looking at the ground as Roy continued to laugh. Still, who cared if he teased her a little. She looked back at the ring on her left hand and rested her head on the Colonel's shoulder. One thought crossed Riza's mind when she and Roy walked home that night.
'Maybe Valentine's day isn't so pointless, after all.'
Authors comments: I deeply apologize for how OOC Riza was in this. I really screwed up her character bad. I also might have messed up on Roy too. Hope you guys liked this anyways. Please review and let me know what you think!