Disclaimer: Yeah~ FMA isn't mine. Whether it's this chapter or the ones that comes after it, it isn't mine. Life is that cruel. XP

A/N: Hello. =3 So, for violence and romance purposes, this fic's rating may change to M in later chapters. Flashbacks/dreams, which will occur very often, will be in italics. I'm new to Royai, so please bear with me and the OOCness that may come. And since the number of bad guys there are in FMA are pretty limited, expect some OCs to appear sometimes. And no, they will not end up as main characters. It's just for the cases involved for the Royai couple to solve. That said, please enjoy. ^^

In Mud and Rain

By

Vye Kirishima

Prologue

"Gah! Hawk, watch it! This shirt is new, you know?!" he screamed, dodging the ball of mud his friend had catapulted without any warning.

"New or not, you started it, stupid Roy!" Hawk screamed back as she threw another round of dirt right to his face. "Next time, don't start something you don't plan on finishing!" She finished her small lecture by folding her arms across her chest despite the dirt, and sticking out her tongue.

"Why, you!" The boy charged straight for the blonde, scooping up mud with both hands as he did so. "Eat this!" The mounds of wet dirt left his hands and flew towards his best friend. Taking the moment of distraction, he rolled and stumbled behind a tree to take cover from the counterattack that was sure to come his way.

Both of his attacks landed on his target; one in the face while the other hit the blonde's left shoulder. "Yuck!" she exclaimed, frantically rubbing the mud out of her eyes. She used the long sleeves of her striped shirt to dust them off, but it stuck onto both her face and clothing rather insistently. "Gross…" she mumbled.

Hearing the protests of his best friend, the dark haired boy popped his head out of his hiding spot to take a peek at his success. What greeted him, however, was a mud ball straight to his face. "Ewww!"

Hawk laughed, pointing at him cutely to emphasize her point. "Got you!"

Roy's brows furrowed stubbornly as he successfully wiped most of the mud off his face. "Well, I got you twice!" he countered, pointing right back. He grinned victoriously until another mound hit him squarely in the face again. Before he could get some payback, another followed, hitting him in the stomach.

"You were saying?" The blonde smirked, tossing yet another ball up and down in her right hand.

"I was saying just how much of a sore loser you are!" Roy fumed, fussing over his stained shirt. Seeing as it wouldn't come off, he hissed, "Hawk, you're a jerk beyond belief!"

She stuffed her muddied left hand into her pocket as she ran off, laughing to herself. "Not my fault you can't guard properly!" she retorted jovially.

"Hawk!" He screamed, chasing her down. "Come back here! Look what you did to my shirt!"

"I saw! It's a masterpiece!" was her cheeky reply as she made it to the crystalline lake. She hopped onto the railings of the bridge still under construction and sat there, waiting for the boy to catch up.

"YOU!" Roy screamed at the top of his lungs, extending his hand out as he rushed blindly ahead.

Another smirk graced the blonde's features as she quickly leaned back and grabbed onto the railings below her feet, somehow still maintaining her seated position. The black haired boy didn't have the time to stop his movements; his feet had already left sweet land and he was soaring through the air. Hawk watched in amusement as the boy flew right over her, roughly tumbling into the lake shortly thereafter. She swung herself back into place, jumped off the wood, and then twirled around to face the irritated expression of her best friend.

"I won!" she supplied while holding out a 'v' sign.

"You cheated!" Roy denied. "That doesn't count!"

The blonde grinned and stated with an index finger held up in the air, "You should never rule out the possibilities. Ever. Otherwise, you'll miss some things and end up falling!" She looked straight into his eyes and deadpanned, "Literally."

Roy growled, submerging into the soothing waters. And with that, the battled ended in Hawk's favor, much to the boy's displeasure.


His vision was slightly blurred as he turned to face the source of the blaring sounds. He pounded the alarm's 'off' button and grabbed onto his blankets, crudely pulling it over his head to block out the annoying light that seemed to find the flawed lines in his blinds.

Just when he was about to find some sleep again, the phone rang. He growled and peeked out of the covers to see the blinking light in synch with the ringing. He shoved the blankets away and got up, stretching as he made his way to the phone.

"Hello?" he yawned out.

"Hey," a voice greeted at the end of the line. "This is Mustang's office, right?"

Roy scratched the back of his head as he replied drowsily, "Yeah. Who is this?"

"It's Hughes," was the deadpanned response.

"Oh, it's you, chief. What's wrong? Another murder?"

"Yes…" the voice trailed off. "Actually, we're not quite sure as to whether it's a case of murder or suicide. We need you to come here and solve it for us." If anything, the police chief sounded reluctant to turn to the detective for assistance.

Mustang was stunned and remained silent as he mused over the idea. "Really? Are you feeling alright, chief? I mean, you always tell me to butt out of cases that don't involve me. What's the occasion?"

"Sharp as ever, Roy. Actually, there's someone here who's a prime suspect… Though, we're considerably averse to cast them as such," Hughes explained.

"Why's that?" the detective asked, rather curious.

"Because, like you, this person's also got an incredible record of solved cases and the like. Do you see where I'm going with this yet? Or, do I actually have to spell it out for you?"

"Meaning, you want to know if someone just framed this supposed good civilian. Is that right?" Roy debriefed for clarification.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is that it's a likely possibility. That's why we're calling you over. You're more experienced in this kind of gambit than any of us at the police force are. Plus, I'm pretty sure you'd do your best for this suspect."

Mustang's brow rose in question. "Who is this prime suspect you keep bringing up, anyway?"

"Oh, didn't I mention? It's Hawk, the one who moved to Central after Berthold's death about 15 years ago and established a reputation there as a detective over the years. Remind you of anyone?" he joked. "Jeez, you guys are two of a kind, now that I think about it."

"Hawk's back?!" Roy's ecstatic voice roared into the chief's ear.

"Yeah, so calm down! I found Hawk at the crime scene. We're at the train station's customer lobby right now. Care to take a look?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. As if the excitement in the detective's voice wasn't enough to hint he was all for tackling down the crime scene.

"On my way!" was Mustang's gleeful reply.

Before Hughes could say anything more, Mustang had already hung up and the dial tone took its place.

"Seriously…" he mumbled out, looking begrudgingly at his cellphone. "If only I could get him that excited towards normal cases to tone down his haughtiness."

The blonde beside him let out a chuckle. "I suppose that means he's on his way?"

The black haired chief nodded in affirmation. "Yep." He turned to face the blonde and added, "Though, I must admit, it really is surprising to see you back in Amestris, Hawk. And… Wow, you've gotten a lot prettier." He scratched his cheek nervously at the last statement that poured out of his mouth on impulse.

She merely let out an anxious laugh and retorted back with a tentative face, "Are you still in shock…?"

"Slightly. It's just hard to believe that the blonde haired Hawk who used to cause so much chaos in the streets with little Roy was really female. Those were the good old days, eh? You even grew your hair out."

"Mm," she hummed back as she sat down on an empty chair. "When he gets here, am I allowed to tell him what I know of the case so far?"

Before Hughes could ask what she meant, the resounding sound of heavy footfalls became notable for a few moments. Then, the door was banging open before the two occupants' very eyes. In came a rushing Mustang who looked left, then right. Anyone could tell he was beyond enthusiastic. Noting that his childhood friend was nowhere to be found, he turned to glare at Chief Maes Hughes.

"You lied!" Mustang accused. "If you wanted me to help so badly, I was would have, regardless of whether or not Hawk was here. Did you really feel the need to make up parts just to get me up and rolling?"

Hughes scowled. "I wasn't lying." He pointed his thumb towards the blonde seated beside him and said, "Hawk's right here."

Roy slowly peeled his eyes away from the chief to look at where he was pointing, only to find a blonde wearing a dress shirt and long skirt that reached to her knees. He swiftly turned an accusing glare at the chief once again, expecting some sort of explanation.

"… The least you could do is say 'hi'," the female bluntly stated with a sigh, making the detective turn his gaze back towards her. "I finally get the chance to see you after 15 years of no communication and I get no form of greeting whatsoever. That's… really disappointing."

Roy tilted his head to the side in confusion. Then, he blinked once, twice, thrice… before screaming, "EHHH?!" He took multiple steps back until he rammed into the wall.

A/N: Um, yeah… Hehe. How was it? =3 Oh, and if anyone of you can answer these questions for me, it'd really help. 1) Is a civilian from Amestris referred to as an 'Amestrian', or does it stay as 'Amestris'? 2) Besides the dwarf in the flask, Kimblee, and the other 'seven sins' (like Lust, Envy, etc.), are there other antagonists? *ahem* I'm actually pretty new to FMA since I've only seen bits and pieces of it. Lol. I know that's kind of stupid, but I really like this pairing, so~ *grins* Anyways, care to review? ^^