Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I make any profit from these words.

In this story Roy and Winry have never met in person. They only know of each other because of Ed's big mouth. :) The pairing is going to be Roy/Winry later, but as of now the couple is a 21 year old Winry who is married to an OC. Any relevance to a real person dead or living is strictly coincidental.

Roy Mustang groaned and rubbed his aching onyx eyes. He still had so much work to do and it felt as though it was never going to end. Hawkeye was still here with him to help and to make sure he stayed on track, but his other staff had already gone for the night.

"Captain." Roy said, watching her as she straightened when her new rank was mentioned. "Why don't you go ahead and head home?" He asked, his own voice deeper with tiredness.

Trained amber eyes darted between him and the dangerously high stacks of papers on his desk. "Are you sure, sir?" Riza asked.

Roy thought for a moment, following her gaze but then glanced at the clock. Sighing he nodded. "Yeah, go on home." He said with finality, then adding, "See you in the morning, Captain."

Riza nodded and put the papers she was holding down and took her coat down from the coat wrack. Making her way to the door she turned towards the man and saluted.

"Goodnight, sir." The blond said in a stern voice. Dropping her arm when he saluted her back she pulled on her coat and gave him a soft smile. "Don't work too hard, General." Then she was gone, the heavy oak door shutting silently behind her.

Roy sank deeper into his plush chair and turned around so anyone coming in now would only see the back of his high back chair and not him. His black eyes gazed out the large window behind his desk. Ignoring the paperwork completely and falling into the same brooding thoughts that plagued him constantly. "Nearly there Hughes." Roy muttered staring at the setting sun, not caring that his tired eyes protested. It had nearly been five years since Maes' murder, but quiet times like this made the old wound reopen anew. Elisia's birthday was coming up and to Roy it was a painful reminder that he still had not found her father's killers.

Coming out of his thoughts he noticed that the sun was nearly completely set, and he knew no more paperwork was going to be done tonight. Turning around to face the papers he smirked and rearranged them so that when Hawkeye came in it would at least look like he attempted to do work while she was gone. Grabbing his own military issued black trench coat he left his office, locking it, then pulled his jacket on as he meandered down the hallway. As Roy stepped outside he pulled the collar of his coat up and put his hands in his pockets.

Looking up at the clock tower he read that it was just after eight, "Good of time as any." Mustang muttered and drifted back into his brooding thoughts. His feet knew the way and soon enough he was walking into Finny's, a small pub that not too many knew about. Roy had become a regular here after Hughes was killed. Finn, the bar tender and owner, knew him and gave him a nod in understanding as Mustang entered. As Roy made his way to his seat at the back wall of the bar Finny made his drink and had it waiting for him as Mustang sat down. The onyx haired man didn't take his coat off, which told Finn that he didn't want anyone knowing right away that he was military. He just wanted to be a 'normal patron' and not a dog of the military.

"Rough day?" Finn asked as he cleaned a glass with a rag before putting the tumbler below the bar and tucking the cloth into his belt.

Roy took a swig from the glass, hissing as the liquid burned down his throat. He welcomed it. "Rough few years more like." He said, his voice thicker from the drink's effects. Taking another deep drink he soon finished and placed the empty glass on the bar.

"Hn, one of those nights." Finn said in understanding and made Mustang another drink and replaced the empty glass. He left Roy with his thoughts, only returning to bring the man another drink. Finn knew that if Mustang wanted to talk then he would let him know, but as of right now he just wanted to sulk in his brooding thoughts.

Roy watched as the man moved about the bar, taking care of the others seated around him. There weren't that many people in the pub. A group of off duty soldiers, still in their uniforms, were shooting pool and joking around with each other. Blowing off steam from the day Roy mused. There was a couple seated more towards the door but they were in a world of their own, whispering sweet nothings to each other and ignoring everything else. An older man sat a few seats away from Roy, bearded and staring with tired aged eyes into his mug of beer. Sighing he looked into the small glass of amber liquid in his hand and cursed then downed the entire thing. The empty glass clanked to the polished counter top just as the door opened, a small bell sounding the presence of someone new.

Glancing up from his empty glass he saw her. His eyebrows rose as he took in the blond bombshell's appearance. From her red pumps to her thick belt she looked like she had just left the office, but Roy knew that wasn't it. Smirking he eyed her from his seat in the shadows, studying her, trying to figure out this new patron. This is why Roy liked this seat so much; he could freely watch everyone and yet attract little to no attention. Old habits die hard and one of those habits was the urge to always know what was going on around him and not to be taken by surprise by anything. Onyx eyes locked onto the blond and took note of her behavior.

She glanced around the establishment as soon as she had entered, taking note of everyone almost as though she were avoiding someone. Her ocean blue eyes lingered for an added moment on the military men at the pool table. 'So, she was avoiding someone in the military.' Roy noted. Her hips swayed naturally in a sexy manner as she sauntered to the bar and took a seat, one where she could keep an eye on the door, and got Finn's attention. Mustang particularly liked her red stilettos, something about them singing to the alchemist in him. He heard her voice's slightly higher-than normal pitch as she ordered then smirked when he heard it return to a normal tone as she thanked Finn when he handed her the drink.

Studying her he looked at her left hand and noticed no ring, but also the skin there was just a shade lighter than that of the surrounding flesh. So, she was either divorced or had just taken it off for the moment. Roy would bet on the latter. He would also place good money on her husband being in the military, probably not an alchemist but just a normal soldier. He doubted she was here to cheat; if that was her goal he was sure she wouldn't be dressed in such a conservative manner. No, more than likely she was just out for a little attention that she probably wasn't getting at home. Roy watched as she lifted the drink up and captured the straw in her lips. This woman wasn't here to betray her husband, despite the unhappiness Mustang saw in those pained blue eyes. The blond just wanted to get away, and Roy could understand all too well what that was like.

As Finn came over to him with a new full glass Roy told him to make her another whatever-she-ordered and to put it on his tab. Finn arched a brow at him but didn't question him. Mustang lifted his drink and took a sip as he watched her finish her drink and Finn place a new one in front of her. Her expression was one of confusion, affront, surprise, and then finally a smile. Her blue eyes met his onyx ones and she mouthed, "Thank You," and dipped her head in a mock bow. Roy lifted his drink to her and nodded back before taking another drink.