Roy did not go home that day. He created a little hiding place for himself next to the bookshelves. When darkness comes, a black cloak is difficult to distinguish from the shadows cast by moonlight.

You look ridiculous, Roy thought to himself. But, if it means catching this bastard, then it's worth it. I could charge him for breaking and entering my office.

Of course his determination meant he would have to stay up all night till the early morning because it was hard to guess when the man would visit again. Roy's stomach growled.

"Dammit, I was not ready for this," he complained. Roy stood up and rummaged around his co-worker's desks hoping to find a snack. There was a half-eaten sandwich in Breda's drawer. "Disgusting. But…" Roy bit into it anyway.

I feel like a squatter in my own office! He groaned and continued devouring the sandwich. "Hasn't he heard of vegetables?"

The door creaked slightly. Roy grabbed the cloak and stealthily headed back to his hiding place. The sound of a hand lifting a gun was heard.

"I saw you move. Who the hell are you?" the intruder said.

Roy spun around and sent a small blast of flame towards the man. The man instantly dropped the gun and yelled, "Motherf-!"

"Havoc?" Roy rushed to the man and flipped on the light switch. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Trying to catch this guy," Havoc clutched his sore hand and started to laugh. "I smell Breda's sandwich on you. Poor little Roy."

"Shut your trap, you chimney," Roy sat on his desk and sighed.

"You sigh a hell lot lately," Havoc said. "Look, sorry I disrupted your plan. But it's not too late to catch him. I brought my military cloak."

Roy smirked and slapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks. You're a true friend." After a while, he said, "You're not going to shove pictures of your family under my nose in the future are you?"

Havoc smiled. "Nope. That's strictly Hughes' area. God, I miss that sonovab-"

Roy stood up and switched off the light. "I can feel someone a-creeping."

"A-creeping…hmmm…a-creeping….nice wordplay, ah!" Havoc was pulled from the desk and dragged to the bookshelf corner where he and Roy crouched.

The doorway was disintegrated by alchemy as a tall man with a trench coat and hat stepped in. In the darkness, it was hard to identify him. He was hovering around Hawkeye's desk when Roy and Havoc sprung from their hiding place and took a hold of him.

"Fullmetal?!" Roy dropped the boy's hat when he uncovered the blond braid and golden eyes. "On stilts?"

Ed mumbled something about Roy and Havoc's mothers and manoeuvred his release with a martial arts spin. "Suckers." He clapped his hands together and formed a cage that enclosed the two officers. Roy blasted it away with a snap of his fingers.

"Fullmetal! Explain yourself!" He barked. Ed looked at him with mischief in his eyes.

"Sorry 'bout the breaking in, but…" Edward paused to drink in Mustang's horrified expression. "What Edward Elric wants, Edward Elric gets. That includes the Philosopher's stone and Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

Ed grinned and ran out the door. Roy was too shocked to chase him. The military alarm sounded.

***

Roy and Ed had to explain to the Fuhrer that they were having a little office spat that ended in minor damage. After silently cleaning up the mess, the rest of their co-workers were allowed to enter the room.

"I must say I'm deeply disappointed in the both of you," Riza Hawkeye said. "I hope you've resolved your argument."

Ed blushed, but continued frowning at Mustang. "No we haven't."

Roy sneered at the blond alchemist. "Certainly not. In fact, you'd all be surprised to know that the mysterious man who – "

Alphonse quickly intervened. "The-the Colonel and my brother were arguing about what to do with Scar, the 'mysterious man'. The Colonel suggested prison while Ed suggested – "

"I want to hear it from their mouths," Riza snapped. "Well? Say something!"

Havoc and the men chuckled. Riza was the only person Roy would allow to yell at him. The only person of a lower rank.

Roy spoke first. "Alphonse Elric is telling the truth. That is what we've been arguing about. That and other annoyances…"

Riza faced Ed. She stood akimbo while tapping her foot like an impatient mother or big sister. Ed was turning redder and redder.

"Y-yes. That's what it was. Forgive us, Lieutenant. We didn't mean to…" he said above a whisper.

"Good," Riza said. "Make sure this'll never happen again." She looked fondly at her empty desk. The roses were about the whither. There were no new flowers. With a heavy heart, she walked over to her desk and started working.

"Hey, where's my sandwich?!" Breda frantically threw papers over his shoulder, searching for his lost love. "I've stuffed it with heavenly meats!"

"Unsolicited advice, Breda." Roy tossed a bag of lettuce to him. "Stuff it with greens. Lest you die of a heart attack one day."

Fuery and the others nodded in agreement. Breda harrumphed and brought out another sandwich from his lunch box. "Lettuce doesn't go with PB and J today."

Ed tried to walk towards Hawkeye, but Al pulled him back on the couch. "Sit."

A vein was forming on Roy's temple. I swear, if he takes one more step…

First Lieutenant Max Cooper opened the door and saluted. "Permission to speak to Lieutenant Hawkeye, Sir?" he asked. Roy's vein was growing in size.

"Permission granted, but only if you speak to her in front of us," Roy hesitantly said.

Cooper nodded and bowed to Hawkeye. "I would like to ask you out on a date tomorrow night, if that would be okay with you."

Before Roy stood up and burned the living daylights out of Cooper, Havoc gave him a stern look. Riza was dumbstruck and so was Edward.

"I-I…" Riza stammered. She shook her hand and regained her calm. "Why of course, First Lieutenant. I'd be happy to."

Max Cooper was a handsome man with dark brown locks bonded neatly with a ponytail. His eyes were green and his smile was reminiscent of a famous actor's. Before he could leave, Riza stopped him. "By the way, thank you for the flowers."

Cooper scratched his head. "I didn't give any…"

Riza's cheeks burned at her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry. It must've been someone else."

Cooper gave an uneasy laugh. "Hehe, okay….I guess I'll see you at lunch. Then we can talk about the date and time."

When he closed the door, Edward and Roy instantaneously threw balls of paper at it. Riza noticed this and the murderous expressions on Havoc, Fuery, Falman and Breda's faces. A smile tugged at her lips. They're very protective of me.

One thought dominated Ed and Roy's minds. One powerful thought that pushed aside all ugly feelings about each other. The confidence Max Cooper displayed in front of the entire office struck a cord within them. One thought occupied their minds the entire day:

Sabotage.