A/N: Sorry for the long wait! (Was it too long?) Being the book addict that I am, I couldn't put my books down to update. The suspense is unbearable. I just really got to know what will happen next X) but here's chapter two! I hope this'll explain everything. enjoy!

Chapt. 2 A Kiss Is Not As Simple As A Greeting.

Oct. 27, Saturday

Roy walked calmly to work, not caring if he was earlier than usual since Riza's abrupt question wouldn't have let him sleep anyway (not that he got much of it during the night.) so a very sleepy and tempered Colonel made his way up the stairs and into his office.

The scene behind the office door, he found, was an effective wake-up call in which a Havoc and a Lieutenant Hawkeye were holding hands behind the desk table. He felt his jaw drop a few inches as he ogled the pair through the three inch space the door allotted. Havoc raised her hand to his lips (he didn't have a cigar on) while she talked. She slipped her hand away from his touch and cupped his face with it.

Roy felt a tingle racing down his spine as he spied on the two.

"Colonel, what are you doing?" Fuery inquired, peeping into the room with his boss. "Whoa. Havoc's making his move!"

The flustered Colonel silenced the subordinate and held his breath when Havoc's lips moved to taste hers.

"Havoc's really serious about it eh?" Breda mused, head popping under the two. "That was close!"

Roy gladly received air into his lungs when Riza eluded the kiss.

"Oh? I didn't think Havoc really meant…that he was serious about….it." Falman piped in above the three heads. "It's good to see a person so passionate."

Before Roy could speak up and inquire of his 'passion', Black Hayate rushed ino the room, bumping agains the door as he went to his mistress.

Havoc claimed his hands and stepped away. "Oh. Colonel, you're early today."

Riza followed his actions and also backed a few steps, surprised and somewhat embarrassed at the sudden number of audience.

The four men by the door stood up and fixed themselves, equally flustered by the exposure. Only Havoc dared to break the awkward silence Black Hayate brought along from his morning walk.

"Well, Colonel's here so I suppose break's over. See ya, Lieutenant, and if you don't mind, I'd like to meet with you for lunch. That ok?"

The Lieutenant's mouth curved slightly upward and she arranged the day's work to keep her hands busy. "Sure, I don't mind."

Several whistles were heard at the hallway after the men departed and left the two alone. Roy collapsed on his chair, analyzing the situation while he shifted to his favorite 'thinker' pose. It was common for him to think ahead, but this time, even he will have to admit that he was thinking too much on an area where the military is unconcerned.

"Is something wrong, Colonel?" Roy rolled his eyes to the woman standing in front of his desk.

"Nothing's wrong. I just didn't imagine you to be the romantic type." He saw her eyebrows pull up, magnifying her brown eyes.

"Well, sir, as much as possible I don't associate romance with work," she cleared.

"Ah. Well, I must admit I was a bit shocked with you and Havoc's sudden….uhh…public display of affection. I didn't consider he would make a move on you, but" he added quickly. He had no idea how that last sentence slipped out of his mouth. "I hope both of you the best."

Riza stared at him, speechless for a while until she cleared her throat to recover; minding the papers in hand. "Sir, you must've misunderstood. Havoc and I aren't…seeing each other in a romantic light. We were rehearsing our lines, meaning everything you saw by the door was only pretend."

It was his turn to gape. "Rehearsing for what?" he asked, feeling momentarily relieved before she replied.

"For the play on Halloween of course." From his perplexed stare, she knew she would need to elaborate on the subject. "The play, sir. You know, the one the military thought would be a good opportunity for all military men to relax and enjoy. Major Armstrong's heading the play." She caught the look of fascination upon a new discovery written all over his face. "May I remind you, sir, that you signed the acknowledgement slip concerning the matter. Next time I'll have to remind you to actually read before signing."

He rubbed a thumb on his chin. "Hmm…I'm not surprised why the Major got chosen for the job. So what play did the major choose?"

She shrugged her shoulders casually and simply replied, "Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh…what's that?" Roy asked sincerely, turning pinkish. "And what's it about?" he had a guess it was one of those things a person should know with his ABC's.

"Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet! It's a tragic tale of love between two people born in feuding families." She noticed a change in his expression; he shot her a humored look.

"I didn't know you read romance novels, Lieutenant."

"Actually, the story is written more as a poem, sir. It's a marvelous work." Hawkeye twitched, inconspicuous enough for him to miss. "And sir, it's considered a classic. Also, I'm sorry to say that perhaps there are many things you don't know of my personal habits." She was about to say something more, but Roy was quick to change the topic of conversation.

"Who are you playing then? Juliet?" her nod encouraged him to continue. "So then Havoc must be this Romeo guy?" as he said it, Roy felt an unusual interest on the subject.

"No, Havoc's playing Count Paris, the person supposedly to marry Juliet. It may not look like it, sir, but Havoc's really into acting."

"Oh?" The man swung the revolving chair around, purposely to avoid eye contact. "So…who's playing Romeo?" the unsettling feeling grew in his stomach, and he innocently queried whether he ate something bad.

"A friend of mine. I thought since he does theatre as a hobby he'd be interested. He's coming tomorrow."

Roy weighed his jaw on his other hand. His men's conversation made sense... in a totally different way. "So I suppose Breda, Fuery, and even Falman is on this play too, right?" it was more of a fact than a question. He swept through his raven locks and kept his voice as natural as possible. "So then, why wasn't I informed about this…casting call? Not that I mind, because I don't." he minded and it was all over his tone, but he was lucky she hadn't noticed at all.

Riza paused momentarily. "Well, the Major originally wanted you to play the part of Romeo, but you said you were busy with your own plans when I asked you last Thursday so we had to look for someone else."

A solemn, dumbfounded look was all he could muster. That was it. That was why she asked the question that absurdly bothered him all day—and night. How stupid could he get to think Riza was asking him out? He felt like laughing at himself for such an absurd idea.

"Sir, don't feel bad about it. We understand perfectly that you would want to spend Halloween in a different manner. Besides, we found our Romeo anyway," she said, misinterpreting the devastated look. "You're absolutely free to go to the movies on Wednesday night."

"Uhh…right." He had curiously forgotten all about that—even with his phone ringing day and night.

"Now," The Lieutenant ducked under the table and reappeared with a handful of folders. "Back to work. Black Hayate discovered an interesting batch of papers that seemed to escape my eye, under the desk."

Roy made a tormented face. No….

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello?" Roy answered the phone, praying not to hear another female. "Oh, it's you." He grinned at the sound of a friend's annoying voice. For once, he was happy to hear from him. On the other line, Maes greeted him loudly enough to give him a deaf ear and resumed his incessant chatter of his Elycia-chan.

"Hey, Maes, would you like to see this play on Halloween? You can bring Gracia and Elycia," he suggested, tapping the end of his pen on the table.

"Uhm…sorry, I can't. but Gracia and Elycia-chan's coming so I don't mind you escorting my beautiful girls to the show."

Roy frowned. "Why not? You got something to investigate? Riza's playing the lead role and the rest of my subordinates deserted me to enlist on this Romeo and Juliet."

"Yeah, I know. And I can't come because I'm also part of the cast."

The pen slipped from his fingers and fell on the table. Why is everyone on that stupid play?! "I see," he muttered coldly. "What's so great about this play anyway? Maybe you could tell me."

"I'm playing Prince Escalus," a pleased Maes boasted. "It's fun, I suppose; I might as well try something new for Halloween. Romeo and Juliet is a great story. I've read it to Elycia-chan a hundred times. It's her favorite story book. Want to borrow it?"

Maes heard him sigh on the other line. "Sure. I'll see for my own eyes what's so special about this Romeo and Juliet."

He smirked, concluding an entertaining theory to his friend's frustrated reaction to something so trifle. "Alright, I'll drop it by your place. You know, Roy, it's such a waste that you refused the part of Romeo, but oh well, it's your decision. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad to see Riza rehearsing with someone else. In fact, changes might be even better." It was hard to curb a laugh when he heard a noise of someone falling from his chair.

Roy barely recovered from the fall when regret stepped in.

"Oh, by the way Roy, when are you—" Roy slammed the phone back in place, ending the call loudly.

By the door, Riza faked a cough to get his attention. "Please stop doing that, sir. That's the fifth phone this year, and speaking of phone, I see you're bold enough to sneak a call while I was away from lunch."

"How was your date with Havoc?" He said, hoping to divert the topic from his phone call. Strangely, a squeezing pain sliced through his stomach as he said it.

"Fine, sir. And it's not a date, it's rehearsal." She snapped. "Now about that phone call…"

The man gulped, thinking fast. "Did anyone tell you how beautiful your eyes are, Lieutenant?"

"No flirting in the office, please."

He grabbed his pen and resumed work. Oh boy….

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The State Alchemist came home a tired man. Pulling the keys from the knob, Roy stepped in his empty apartment room with a sigh. He tossed the keys on the table and unbuttoned his uniform so it wouldn't get too warm. As he strode about, he found a storybook sitting prettily on his bed, the title written in big, slanting letters.

Romeo and Juliet

His gaze lingered on the picture of a lady staring wistfully at a man who cupped his hand at the back of her neck a while before retreating to the kitchen for a refreshment. With a beer fresh from the refrigerator, Roy eased himself on the couch with his book. The picture on the hard cover captured his eye again. Imagining Riza, he turned to the first page.

Long ago in the beautiful city of Verona lived two rich and noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets. They had been mortal enemies for so long that no one could remember the cause of the original quarrel. Now there was Romeo, son of Montague. He was young, handsome, impulsive, and in love with the gorgeous yet cold Rosaline who paid no attention to his declarations. Thus, Romeo dedicated himself to misery. In order to cheer their good friend, Benvolio and Mercutio suggests they go to Old Capulet's feast, stressing that Rosaline would be there. And so to the feast they went in disguises.

As he read, the story played in his mind. Only that it was Riza he saw preparing for the feast held by her father for her to meet the rich Count Paris; it was Riza he saw looking absolutely besotted as she stared at the masked Romeo whose heart was stolen by the mere sight of her.

It was unknown to Romeo that his cover had been discovered by an angry Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, and he began wooing the young Juliet and stole a kiss from her before departing.

He sputtered beer all over his white polo at the said kiss. A kiss! Still coughing, Mustang resumed to his reading, chiding himself for making such a big deal out of it. Besides, the book didn't exactly say where. It could've been the cheeks for all he knew.

Later that evening, Romeo climbed over the wall into the orchard at the back of the Capulet house, driven by his passionate longing to see sweet Juliet's face again; almost at once he caught sight of her who had come to her bedroom window to look out into the night. She was in grief upon learning that the stranger who had captured her hear was a Montague and she cried out her love for Romeo, oblivious that he was there, hiding and hearing everything she said until he could stand it no longer and made his presence known.

A look of repulsion dwelled on his face at their cheesy confessions and not too long after, they were already planning for a secret wedding! They haven't even gone out on dates for pete's sake! Roy thought, shaking his head.

After his meeting with Friar Lawrence concerning their secret wedding, Romeo met with his closest friends in high spirits. Meanwhile, Juliet sent out her nurse to find Romeo. From her, she found out of the plans for the wedding to be held later that afternoon. Juliet had her parent's permission to visit Friar Lawrence to make her confessions; little did they know that their daughter went out a maid and came back a married woman. The couple eagerly looked forward to the joys that would come with nightfall.

Roy grimaced. He pictured Riza and her Romeo giggling shamelessly in joy of spending their first night together. Gross.

But before that, Juliet had to return to her father's house, and Romeo went back into the city to meet his friends. And then a terrible thing occurred. Tybalt, still enraged at a Montague's appearance at the feast, met with Mercutio and Benvolio in the streets of Verona and were bandying words when Romeo arrived. Insults were thrown into his face by Tybalt to provoke a fight, but Romeo ignored them so in his stead, Mercutio accepted the Capulet's challenge for a duel. A heated battle ensued wherein Mercutio was killed by Tybalt. Furious, Romeo regretted restraining himself and took the Capulet's life like he did to his Mercutio. This enraged the Prince Escalus who forbade bloodshed in the streets, especially by the two families and exiled Romeo from Verona saying: "If he should ever be found inside the city walls, he shall die."

A feeling of ease crept upon him. Roy smiled at the sadistic happiness he felt on their separation if not a little disappointed on how Juliet could forgive that outlaw so quickly. It occurred to him that he was reacting insanely to a child's storybook, but didn't dwell on the matter to continue his reading.

And so Romeo spent his wedding night with his beloved Juliet, finding sublime happiness in each other's arms throughout the night. But morning came, whether one likes it or not, and so Romeo bade Juliet farewell and was gone, leaving his wife tearful and forlorn.

By a cruel trick of fate, Count Paris had been to see old Lord Capulet and had gotten him to promise Juliet's hand in three day's time. And shocked as Juliet was by the idea of marrying Paris, she simply refused to do it and so bluntly rejected the proposal. This enraged Old Capulet and he threatened to throw her out if she doesn't obey him and marry.

I see Havoc's still being rejected in the play. He chuckled naughtily and swallowed a mouthful of beer.

In desperation, Juliet sought help from Friar Lawrence. Moved by her love for her husband, the Friar gave her a small flask containing a curious liquid which, when swallowed, would put her in such a deep sleep that her breath and pulse will stop temporarily the next morning. She would seem to the world dead and shall be taken to the Capulet vault wherein after forty-two hours she would awaken to find Romeo beside her, waiting.

And so Juliet rushed back to the household and meekly told her father of her change of heart. In his joy, Lord Capulet moved the wedding up a day. Later that evening, Juliet drank the potion and lay seemingly lifeless on the bed the following morning on her wedding day.

Pain and cries filled what was supposedly to be fun and laughter, just as Juliet had planned, for this was the only way she and her Romeo could be together. When she wakes up, surely Romeo would be by her side, smiling, loving…the Friar promised to send word to him.

For a while, Roy pondered on Juliet, the ever so faithful Juliet, and smiled at the resemblance with the equally loyal Riza whom he knew would never betray him. The part, he agreed, suited his Lieutenant perfectly.

But alas!Bad news travelled faster than good news, and Romeo was devastated at the news told by his manservant. Juliet was dead! His beloved was gone, forever. Quickly, he purchased a bottle of lethal poison from the town apothecary and set off to Verona, specifically, Juliet's tomb—never hearing Friar Lawrence's explanation. But when he arrived at the Capulet vault, he wasn't alone. Count Paris, who also loved Juliet, was saying his last farewells when he caught sight of the intruder. A fight raged between the two men equally loving the woman on the tomb, leaving Paris dead. Finally together with his wife, Romeo knelt beside her, and planted his last kiss on her white, cold lips.

This time, he really did choke on his beer, spraying more of the liquid in the air, followed by a series of coughing fits. "Planted his last kiss on her white, cold lips. Kiss on her white, cold lips…..kiss…lips…" he subdued the strange rising sensation in his stomach and read more.

Then, when his broken heart could sand no more, and he longed to join her in death, he drank his poison and died beside her.

Not long afterwards, Juliet began to wake from her heavy sleep and was horrified to see her husband beside her, lifeless as she must have been while sleeping. It was only when she saw the cup in his hands did she understand what happened. She took the vessel in his hand, hoping to find some poison still left, for without her Romeo, she no longer wished to live. Finding none, she turned to kiss Romeo's lips gently, thinking that maybe there will be some there, but still, there was none.

Roy still winced at the kiss.

So she took Romeo's dagger and drove it into her heart, smiling. They'd be together…even in death.

Word of the tragedy soon spread through all Verona. Friar Lawrence told the whole story to explain what had happened until all knew, and the sad tale was known. In remorse by the death of their children, both Montagues and Capulets shook hands and embraced, their ancient quarrel becoming no more; and both families lived peacefully in friendship for evermore.

the end

Roy closed the book and held it on his lap. It was a good story, but he was too busy minding their said kisses to give the story credit it was due.

Kisses! He thought, pacing back and forth. It confused him why kisses bothered him so, especially Riza's last kiss. It's improper for the whole military to see a normally proper and impeccable Lieutenant kissing a stranger. Yes, that's it! Poor Riza would be teased by everyone. That's right…he gave several more reasoning against the kisses while debating with himself in the shower. The recipient of the kiss also hung on his mind like a plague until he could stand it no longer. Only clothed in a towel knotted tightly on his waist, Roy dialed numbers on the phone and tapped his foot on the pool that had gathered underneath his feet.

"Hello?" a soft, uncertain voice filled with sleep answered form the other line. Time hadn't crossed his mind. He took a quick glance at the clock. It was already past midnight! "Hello?" the voice repeated, harder and more awake this time.

"Oh, Riza, It's Roy." He answered back. "Uhmm….Good morning!"

"R-Roy?" there was a long pause on which, he guessed, she was trying to recall who he was. "Oh! Roy—I mean, sir! What's the matter? What is it like—" another pause. "It's twelve twenty-two, sir. Why did you call?"

"Well, I read the…story. Romeo and Juliet, I mean. It's not bad." He snapped his fingers, a particular habit he did when he was nervous.

"That's why you called?" the tone of sleep was back in her voice, and he heard her yawn over the phone. "Sir, you can tell me that tomorrow or in the office…as long as the sun is shining…"

"It's Roy, Riza." By the way, are you really going to kiss Romeo in the play? Is it part of your script?"

"What?!" she said incredulously, near to the point of yelling. "Sir—Roy—sir—whatever! Are you drunk?" she asked suspiciously.

Roy blinked. Sure, he had drunk a few bottles of beer, but he was completely sober. Or at least he thought so. "No, I'm not….so is that a yes or a no?"

"Well, yes, but—Roy, did you call me just to ask about a kiss?"

The man snapped his fingers twice as fast. "Yeah. I thought it may bother you and uhm…the guys might tease you in office so…I was just wondering if you're ok with that because you can change the script if you want."

"No. No. It's fine. The guys already promised me, no teases, if I joined the play; but thank you anyway for your…concern."

"So you're fine about the kiss and all? There are more than two in the story if you didn't know…"

"Yes, I suppose. It's just like a greeting, sir, a simple greeting like hello. Satisfied? I want to go back to sleep…"

"Wait! Riza, are you sure? They might be laughing behind your back for all you know!"

Another long pause, Riza raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure. A kiss is a kiss and no more. Goodnight, sir."

Roy stared at the phone, the other line had already hung up. Returning the phone in place, he trudged back to the bathroom to finish his shower, musing on what she had said.

On the other while, Riza was sitting in bed, as awake as a person could possibly get. It was a lie. She questioned herself whether telling him that 'a kiss is just like a greeting' would mean deceiving him since she knew deep inside she didn't believe it either.

The kiss.

Yes, the kisses were the ones that disturbed her to twist Havoc's question for Roy.

"Another favor, Lieutenant, would you ask the Colonel about it too?" Jean Havoc said through his cigar. "It might greatly solve our problem if you did. He listens to you…in a different sort of way. Promise, ok?" he looked at her solemnly. "Ask him if he's interested to play the part of Romeo. Thanks, Hawkeye, we owe you big time."

"Alright, but wait, why me?"

Havoc stuck his head between the door and the wall, just when he was about to close it. "Honestly, I have a strong feeling he'll say no to us guys without hesitation and say that it's stupid. But a woman like you might make him reconsider. It's a whole different story when it comes to you women. So, good luck on that! He grinned , showing his white set of teeth and left before she could protest.

The kisses did make the difference.

She didn't want to kiss him that way—all because of the play or for the sake of the play. She wanted to kiss him and him to kiss her back because…well, of love. Riza hugged her knees with the blanket. It would be so awkward to kiss someone—especially a superior—knowing that he doesn't care for you in any special way. She would rather kiss a stranger than kiss Roy. He was a person she sees every day at work and so how can she work properly if the play goes through with Roy as Romeo? A kiss would give her false hopes and would only distract her from her line of duty.

No, it's better to kiss a stranger, she assured herself firmly, closing her eyes to shut the topic until she finally fell back to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Roy rolled on his bed, a comfortable spot always escaping his back and sides, sleep evading him as well. His throat produced a frustrated groan and he sat up wide-eyed and annoyed. No matter how hard he tried to let it sink in, it just wouldn't!

"A kiss is definitely not as simple as a greeting," he told himself with every fiber of his body in chorus. It just wasn't!

I think everything I left hanging at the first chapter was explained…..or was it? You can point anything you think I missed out, I would appreciate that, after all, I'm human. Thanks for the people who reviewed in the first chapter. You don't know how happy you guys made me. Thanks.

--Gen-- (spot anything wrong with my grammar? Spelling? Anything at all? Tell me so I'll know.)

PlEaSe LeAvE ReViEw!