Author's note: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. This is AU, based on the anime, and is set shortly after the end of the Ishval Conflict.
Matched Set
It was another early morning. Well technically, it was another late night that had turned into an early morning. She and Lt. Colonel Mustang had been in the office since yesterday going over reports. There was an audit and inspection coming up, and if all went well, the colonel would be one step closer to a promotion. At least the office had cooled off. Earlier in the day the heat had been unbearable.
She looked over at the colonel. He was surprisingly still awake. Of course, that could have to do with the amount of coffee he'd ingested in the last few hours. The glint of sliver caught her eye. He'd taken off his jacket and uniform shirt earlier and just wore the undershirt. There was something off about his dog tags though. She studied them more seriously. There was something off, but it seemed familiar to her. Her tired mind just couldn't place it though.
Her gaze had attracted Mustang's attention. "Hawkeye?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing, sir."
But her tired mind wouldn't let it go, and she found herself staring at the dog tags again. Finally, she pulled out her own from under her shirt and stared at them. The two silver tags giving her vital stats and her white-gold wedding band, just the same as the colonel's. And then her brain processed the last part.
Her eyes went back to the colonel's dog tags. Yes, there was a white-gold ring hanging on them. She was standing in front of his desk before she'd realized she wanted a closer look at the ring.
"May I?"
She didn't wait for an answer, just reached over and took a hold of the chain around his neck. There was a small rational part of her brain screaming at her, but she couldn't hear it over the fatigue.
"Hawkeye, what in the world are you--"
She pulled her own dog tags out and held them next to his, scrutinizing the two rings. They matched which was odd since hers was a family heirloom. Unless of course, she was married to him. Not that Riza actually knew who she was married to; the marriage had been arranged without her knowledge or approval. She had been very unwilling to go through the whole thing, so her family had slipped her a valium the morning of the wedding. The entire ceremony had been rather hazy. So she could quite possibly be married to her colonel, given he had a matching ring.
The colonel was staring at her. "Hawkeye, you're married?"
She let the two chains fall from her fingers. "To you, I think. We need to go see my grandfather."
Mustang blinked at her. "It's three in morning."
She sighed and sank back into the chair she'd been using. "You're right. He won't be in the office until eight."
Mustang studied her. "Is being married to me such a horrible idea?"
She blushed lightly. "No, but you need me as a subordinate more than you need me as your wife right now. Who's going to watch your back if they transfer me out?"
They had talked about this before. Well, not directly, but that was what the conversation had been about. Most of what lay between them was unspoken. Acknowledged and understood, but unspoken. In some ways she was afraid that if they were married to one another, it would ruin the dynamic between them. On the other hand, it would take care of a number of problems that had had with the fact that she was married. At least, now she didn't have to worry about finding her husband and getting the marriage annulled once Roy became Fuhrur.
Somewhere between the thoughts chasing themselves in circles and the paperwork she must have dozed off for the next thing she knew, Mustang was gently tugging on her shoulder, trying to get her attention.
"Hawkeye, it's nearly seven-thirty. We have to start work soon."
"We never stopped," she mumbled; she really didn't want to wake up right now.
"You wanted to go see your grandfather, remember?"
She opened her eyes reluctantly. "Right. We'd better take care of that first."
She lead the way through the halls, stopping to get some coffee to wake them both up, heading for the offices reserved for visiting generals. Luckily, her grandfather was in town for some meeting of the top brass. They were probably deciding assignments for people now that the war had ended, and they were completely done with Ishval. She stopped at the secretary's desk.
"Does General Grumman have any free time this morning? You can tell him it's his granddaughter."
The colonel raised an eyebrow at that but otherwise didn't comment. The secretary smiled at her. "Let me check. I think he's free right now."
She came back in a moment. "Go right on in."
Once again Riza lead the way. Roy recognized the man behind the desk; he just hadn't known that he was related to Hawkeye. Lieutenant General Grumman had been one of the few who had treated him warmly from the beginning.
He smiled at them. "I've been expecting to see the two of you in my office at some point in the next few years, though I have to admit, this is sooner than I expected."
Both of them were staring at him in disbelief. Riza was torn between relief and the urge to strangle her grandfather. He could have told her he knew who her husband was ages ago and eased her worries on that matter.
"Why don't you two have a seat, and I'll see if I can answer the questions you have."
Riza took a seat, but the Mustang remained standing behind her. She glared at her grandfather. "How long have you known about this?"
"Since the wedding, though I'm sure neither of you remember that, what with one of you being drunk and the other high."
She risked a glance at Mustang. Well, that explain why he had been surprised at the discovery as well. She had wondered about that.
"Actually, we spoke quite a bit that day," her grandfather was addressing Mustang now. "That's one of the reasons I like you. You weren't just upset for yourself but also for whomever you were marrying."
"What are we going to do about this?" It came out whinier than she had intended.
"The easiest thing, of course, would be for one of you to be reassigned, but I'm fairly certain neither of you want that."
She and Mustang traded looks. He was the one who answered though. "We had already decided to put a romantic relationship between us on hold because of that. Of course that was before we realized we were married to each other."
"Well, there is the fact that you were married before entering the military and being assigned together, so that's in your favor. There is an exception to the frat regs for married couple. Of course, it's not a situation that comes up most of the time."
"How likely are they to let us stay assigned together though?" She was looking at Mustang. "I'm willing to get the marriage annulled if that's what it takes."
Her grandfather shook his head. "I don't think either of you need the trouble that would bring. If it's legal, that is. I didn't have a chance to look at the contract, but you two may be legally bound for life."
Mustang looked frustrated. "So what can we do?"
"Let me take this to the generals for you. I think I can convince them that the best thing to do is leave things as they are."
She looked at Mustang again, and he just shrugged. There really wasn't much else they could do. The two of them headed back to their office in silence. There was a strange awkwardness between them now that was bothering her. This was one of the reasons they hadn't gotten romantically involved with each other, damn it.
She settled back at her desk while the lt. colonel reached for his jacket. "I'm going to nip out for some coffee and breakfast. Would you like me to bring you back something?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
Of course, that left her alone with her thoughts. She was married to Roy Mustang. The whole thing seemed rather ridiculous. She had inadvertently been forced to marry the one man she actually wanted to marry. Of course, she hadn't known that at the time. Burying her head in her hands, Riza sighed. What an utter mess. She couldn't leave him. He needed her here on his staff. As much as she wanted to be in all parts of his life, this was where he needed her the most. And now her family had once again screwed up her life.
Even if this whole thing worked out, things would be changed between the two of them. There was no way things could be the same between herself and the colonel. Everything between them had been unspoken until this point. Bringing it into the open could jeopardize both Mustang's plans as well as their relationship. She was fairly certain that neither of them was really ready to jump straight into marriage with each other. Of course, she could be over thinking things, but she just couldn't see how things would work out. She needed to protect him. There was no one else she trusted to do her job. Maes was the only person that Roy trusted on the same level, and he was not at all suited to play bodyguard. No, Maes had his own job to do, and Riza had hers, and they both were needed for Roy's plans to succeed.
She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the colonel's entrance until he dropped the paper cup of coffee in front of her. Riza jumped, and Roy gently squeezed her shoulder.
"Stop thinking so hard, Hawkeye. We'll take this as it comes."
Riza just sighed. "You need me as your aide and bodyguard more than you need a wife."
"That's true." He ran a hand through his hair. "But if it does happen, Havoc can replace you as bodyguard. It's not ideal, but it would work for the most part. What I can not lose is my partner and confidant. Being my wife wouldn't change that."
Riza just looked at her hands. "But I don't know how to be a wife. I can be your bodyguard. I know how to do that."
To her surprise, Mustang pulled her out of the chair and cupped her face in his hands. "All you ever have to be is Riza. That has always been enough for me."
The moment was interrupted by the rest of the staff arriving. Roy let her go and headed over to his own desk. Riza just stood there for a moment; she wasn't sure what had just happened, but something had changed. She shook her head to clear it and settled back into the paperwork of the day.
It was a fairly normal day with one exception; Roy was doing his paperwork without any prompting on her part. That was probably a good thing even if it left her feeling a little off balance. She wasn't really in the mood to play the stern lieutenant right now. This morning's revelations were still bothering her. They really didn't need this right now. Mustang had been promoted after Ishbal, but they both knew he still had a lot of work to do before he'd reach the top. There was rumor he might be transferred to Eastern and given a full team of his own choosing there. It would be an important step, and they couldn't afford to let this trip him up. There was too much at stake for the two of them to be selfish about this.
And she had told him the truth. She didn't know how to be a wife. She had never been polite society's image of a proper lady, and truthfully, she didn't really want to that. Riza wasn't even someone like Gracia who could act the part when she needed to. Mustang may have said that it didn't matter to him, but she didn't want to fail him in any capacity. As it was, most upwardly mobile officers had wives who were very active in the social circles. Gracia was the exception to that, and Riza was sure there were others, but with his plans, Roy needed someone who could move in those circles if he took a wife. Which was probably one of the reasons he had cultivated his playboy image. At this point, a wife would be a liability because keeping his plans from her would be difficult to pull off while still depending on her help with social networking and other things.
"Hawkeye?"
She actually jumped then blushed. She hadn't realized she had zoned out so badly. Mustang was looking at worriedly.
"I'm going out to lunch, Lieutenant, and then I have a meeting with our quartermaster."
Riza recognized the unspoken command to come along. She retrieved her purse and fell into step behind him. They didn't speak as they walked, but that was fine by her. To Riza's surprise, Mustang didn't head for the little deli he normally frequented. Instead, he led them to a little out of the way bistro. He gestured for her to take a seat.
"We need to deal with this, Riza. Neither of us can afford to have you worrying about this." He reached over to take her hand. "What's wrong?"
She bit her lip. "I just don't want to fail you. I can't be the wife you need. I don't know how."
"Do you know why I'm not married, Riza? There are three main reasons. One, I didn't want to put someone in danger with my plans to change the government, and we both know my wife could become a target. Two, I want what Maes and Gracia have: a partnership. I have no interest in the little social fluffheads that I'm so often seen with. There are very few women I have met who could give me that." He paused to look her directly in the eye. "Three, I couldn't ask you to leave the military until I had reached my goal. It would be unfair to put my desires before you wishes. And I was never truly sure that you shared my feelings."
She looked at him, eyes wide. And for once, her mouth got a head of her brain.
"You love me?"
He let go of her hand to touch her face. "Very much. I need you, not as anything, just you."
"I love you." The words slipped out of her mouth.
"I know, sweetheart. Are we going to be okay now?"
She nodded. "If we're going to make this work, we're going to need some ground rules."
"Such as?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her switch from nervous to practical in the space of a few minutes.
"Behavior at work for one thing. We'll need to keep this quite until some sort of decision is made. Also, there are a number of logistical things like housing. I don't even know if you want to live together. We could, of course, continue as we have, but if this is going to become public knowledge, the higher ups are going to expect some sort of change in behavior."
He traced her ring finger. "Could we wear our rings?"
"When we're not on duty maybe." She looked into his eyes. "You're taking this much better than me."
"I've wanted this since I first met you in Ishbal, and I tend to worry less than you." He smiled. "I'll probably freak out at some point later on if that makes you feel better."
Riza sighed. "You're sure this won't be a problem for you plans? I don't want to be what keeps you from the top."
"I don't know if I can make it to the top without you. In some ways, this causing trouble for me could be a good thing. Gives the brass something other than my ambition to think about." He twined their fingers together.
"We should get back, sir." She left her hand in his though.
Mustang rose to his feet, pulling her with him. "You're right as usual. It's going to be okay, Riza. We'll be fine."
They headed back to the office, both hoping for some news. There was nothing from General Grumman unfortunately, but there was a message from the auditors, informing the office of their arrival the next day at 10 o'clock sharp. That meant they had less than twenty-four hours to get everything in order. In some ways, it was a relief for Riza. With all the work to be done, she didn't have the time to worry about how the military would react to her marriage to Roy.
By eight o'clock in the evening, almost everything was ready for the next morning, and Riza was half asleep. She just had one last set of papers to get done and then she could go home and get some sleep. Thankfully, it hadn't been too hard to keep the colonel on task, and it looked like they both were going to get out of here at a reasonable hour. With a sigh, she stretched, feeling the vertebrae in her back pop.
"Finished, Hawkeye?"
"Almost, sir. We have one last set of paperwork to deal with."
He sighed. "I will be very happy when this is all over."
"The audit shouldn't last more than a day or two."
"Thankfully. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, sir."
"Neither have I. If I promise to keep working on the paperwork, will you run out and grab us something to eat?"
She gave him a stern look. "You're not going to mess around while I'm gone?"
"I promise. I'm just starving."
"I'll be back in twenty minutes, sir. I expect half of that paperwork to be finished by the time I return."
Riza headed for a little restaurant the frequently provided take out dinner for the office. It didn't take them long to throw together the usual order of a salad and half a roast beef sandwich for her and a Ruben for the colonel. She returned to find Mustang was actually halfway through the stack of paperwork. She set the sandwich and a cup of coffee on his desk before returning to her own paperwork.
It didn't take her much longer to finish with the papers. Once everything was signed and filed, she began to neaten up the office. It wouldn't do to have all the paperwork done and make a bad impression with a messy office.
"I'm finished, Hawkeye."
She turned to find him standing behind her, holding out the file.
"Thank you, sir. I think we're set for tomorrow."
"Then may I walk you home, Lieutenant?"
She gave him a long look before replying, "If you insist."
"I do."
They walked in silence for the most part. Mustang kept his hand at the small of her back, but other than that, he seemed content to just walk with her. As they reached her apartment, she turned to him with a smile. "Thank you, sir. Please be careful on your way home."
He caught her face in his hands, leaning down to kiss her. It was a soft kiss, gentle and coaxing. He pulled back. "Goodnight, Riza. I'll see you tomorrow at work."
She watched as he disappeared into the night's shadows, her fingers linger on her lips. Roy Mustang had just kissed her. Technically, it wasn't their first kiss. They had been stuck under the mistletoe once, thanks to Maes, and there had been one or two other kisses, including the one at their wedding but nothing like this.
Riza let herself into her apartment feeling sort of dazed. It had been a long day, and she was definitely feeling the effects. Fixing herself a cup of chamomile tea, Riza finally allowed herself to deal with all the emotions of the day. She found herself smiling. She was married to Roy Mustang. She was married to Roy Mustang, and he was happy about it. He wanted to be married to her. She curled up in bed with her tea and a well worn copy of Pride and Prejudice as she had a feeling sleep might be elusive.
However, she woke the next morning with the book barely started. She dressed with a sigh. The auditors' presence required the more formal version of her uniform, including the skirt. That would slow her down if they had to deal with any threats today. As usual she was the first one in the office. Riza kept her hands busy with fixing the morning coffee and making sure everything in the office was tidy.
Roy appeared fifteen minutes before eight, smartly dressed and looking in sore need of coffee. He had, at least, stopped to get pastries for breakfast. They should have plenty of time to eat and clean up before the auditors arrived. By nine, they were both working on the newly arrived paperwork. Roy albeit reluctantly but he knew how important today was and was being less hassle than usual.
When the auditors arrived, they were both hard at work. Mustang played host, and things actually went quite well. The entire ordeal was over by lunch, and Riza was fairly sure they had impressed the auditors. They were also informed that they would be assigned to a new posting by the end of the week. Once they had gone, Mustang let out a sigh.
"Well, I think that went well. With any luck I'll be putting together my own team by next week. It shouldn't be too hard to get Havoc reassigned to me, and we'll have to start making some discreet inquiries about some of the others on the list." He smiled at her. "One step closer."
"You still have quite a ways to go, sir."
"True. I suppose that was a subtle hint that should attend to the paperwork on my desk?"
"Yes, sir."
The rest of the week was quiet enough. There wasn't too much too do what with the assignments being decided and all. They still had not heard back from Riza's grandfather. It was making Riza slightly nervous, but at least there hadn't been any major negative reactions. The fact that no one had immediately called them on the carpet was a relief. She just hoped that some sort of decision would be made before too long; the waiting was getting to her.
It was Friday when her grandfather finally called them back to his office. They did not run, but others in the building noted that both their steps were more brisk than usual. The secretary waved them into the office.
"Take a seat, both of you."
Reluctantly, Riza sat. Her grandfather smiled at them.
"First of all, you are both being transferred to Eastern Headquarters. You are to assemble your own staff, Mustang, and will be in charge of quite a bit more from now on. You are to submit your staff request within the next two weeks and are expected to report for duty at Eastern by the end of that time."
Grumman nodded. "As to the other matter, they have decided to keep you two together for now, mostly because you come off as incredibly professional in the past and I convinced them that you truly didn't realize you were married to each other. I honestly think they will forget the whole matter in time, but for now, I would be discreet. Living together is permissible as is anything that happens in your own home, but I would be extremely circumspect in public and especially at work. Do nothing to advertise your status either. If you have to inform someone of your marriage, you may do so, but do nothing to flaunt it. They will be watching you more closely than usual for the next year, so I would be very careful in what you do."
Riza found herself relaxing for the first time in ages. Everything was going to be fine. Mustang reached over and squeezed her hand.
"Thank you, Grandfather."
He beamed at her. "I'm just glad you have a man worthy of you. Now off you go. You two have plenty to do. I'll expect to see you both in my office two weeks from now at eight o'clock sharp."
It was a clear dismissal, and they headed back to Mustang's office. Riza felt much lighter and began to compose a list of the things that would be done in the next few weeks. There was packing to be done, paperwork to be filed, apartment hunting, and shipping their belongings.
"Hawkeye, what do you say to having dinner to celebrate?"
Riza smiled. "Maybe. If you finish your paperwork."
"I promise." He sounded very much like a little boy. "I'll pick you up at eight. And wear something nice."
Rather bemused by the request, she headed home around seven. True to his word, the colonel had finished all his paperwork. Which left her sorting through her wardrobe looking for something that qualified as 'nice'. That didn't give her much of a selection. While she did have civilian clothing, most of it was practical things for running errands and working around her apartment. There was the dress she had worn at Maes and Gracia's wedding, but that was a little too formal for a dinner out with a colleague. That just left her with a simple russet dress that Gracia had convinced her to buy for the holidays.
She had just enough time to shower and change before there was a knock at her door. Opening it, she found Mustang dressed casually in a suit and bearing a bouquet of gardenias. He smiled at her. "Shall we go?"
"You didn't have to go to such trouble, sir."
"Roy," he corrected. "At least for tonight. Nobody's going to make a fuss over a promotion celebration, and we never got a chance to really get to know each other before the wedding. I thought a proper first date was in order."
"We're supposed to be keeping a low profile."
"As I said, nobody's going to make a fuss over a promotion celebration. It's a quiet little place, Riza. No one is going to notice us."
Dinner was lovely. The little bistro was fairly quiet, and they were just another couple among many. Despite the fact that they were supposed to celebrating his new assignment and team, most of the conversation was actually about the two of them. Riza had always known what was important about Roy, but now she knew that he loved classical music, hated broccoli, and knew how to cook seven different kinds of pie. It was a good evening.
"I sort of have a question for you." They were taking the long way back to her apartment along the riverside. The sun had already set, but the moon and the twilight provided a means of seeing the path.
"We're already married," she teased.
"Yes, I know. I was wondering if you wanted to get an apartment together when we move to Eastern? Or maybe a small house."
Riza blinked. "Are you sure about this?"
"I want you in my life as more than just my adjunct. And Grumman said we could live together."
She frowned a little in though. "An apartment. You'll be transferred back to Central at some point if everything goes as planned. And the housework gets split between us. I refuse to have to pick up after you at both the office and home."
He nodded. "I'm sure we can work something out."
They had arrived at her door. Riza hesitated. "Would you like to come in for some tea? We could start planning the move to Eastern."
"I'd be delighted to. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
Roy slipped his hand in hers and followed her into the apartment.
Theme: Rings