Author's note: I realize that technically there isn't a Christmas holiday in Amestris, but I couldn't help myself. I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.

Something From the Heart

Something was up. At least, that was his guess, and it looked like Hawkeye agreed. If Hughes had still been alive, he would have bet that Maes was behind this. As it was, Havoc, Falman, Breda, and Fuery were acting very suspicious. And given the fact that Christmas was right around the corner, Roy wouldn't be surprised to find some, ah, extra entertainment of some sort at the office party.

"Gentlemen, I believe you have work to do."

The little knot of conspirators broke up at Hawkeye's admonition and sheepishly returned to their desks.

"I believe that goes for you as well, sir."

He hid a smile and motioned Hawkeye over to his desk.

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you know what they're up to?"

"No, sir. They have been surprisingly quiet about what ever it is they're planning. It isn't really like them."

"I agree. Keep an eye for me, please."

"Yes, sir."

It wasn't until the next day that they got an inkling of what was going on. And it was actually Lt. Ross who approached him about it.

"Colonel Mustang? We were wondering if we could add something to the office Christmas party this year?"

"What did you have in mind, lieutenant?"

She grinned. "A secret santa gift exchange. We can dole out names tomorrow, and that will give everyone a week to buy gifts before the Christmas party."

As he had no real reason to object to the plan, Mustang felt he had to agree. "That's fine as long as you coordinate everything. Neither myself or Hawkeye has the time right now."

"No problem, sir." She left with a grin.

Roy would regret giving his permission to the idea the next day when they were forced to draw slips out of a hat to decide who their secret santas would be. Ross suggested that they go in order of rank, lowest to highest, which meant he was stuck with the last slip. He unfolded it to read two fateful words: Riza Hawkeye.

What he didn't know was that one Lt. Riza Hawkeye was clutching a slip of paper that read: Roy Mustang. She was also quickly compiling a list of who was responsible for this. There was no way that this was a random chance with all the plotting that had been going on lately. So now she had to buy two gifts for Roy Mustang. They had been exchanging gifts in private for years now, but now she would have to find something that she could give to him in public that could not be misconstrued.

Roy's real present was already bought. Well, technically, part of it was bought. She had framed a set sketches she had done years ago, shortly after Maes and Gracia's wedding. Gracia had given her copies of a number of the wedding photos, and she had taken a set of them and turned them into sketches. A few weeks ago she'd found a walnut frame that would hold all three sketches. To the right was Gracia congratulating her on catching the bouquet. To the left was Maes razzing Roy about the garter. And in the center was Roy putting the garter on her, the bouquet resting in her lap. It was a gift that Roy would appreciate. One that would remind him of the good memories, both in the past and the ones to be made.

Now she had to find something that she could give him that would mean something but wouldn't mean something. She couldn't just get him some random tie or a lighter or a bottle of alcohol. It had to be something that was at least thoughtful. A book maybe. Yes that would work. She sighed. She hated Christmas shopping.

Roy sighed as he slumped in his chair. What in the world could he get Riza that he could give her in public? It couldn't be gun supplies. That was just trite and cliché. It couldn't be jewelry. One, that wasn't something a superior gave his aide, and two, she didn't need any. She already had several very nice pieces that she had very little occasion to wear. At this point the only piece of jewelry he really wanted to give her was a ring. And again, that wasn't something he could give her in public, and he wasn't going to give her a ring until he could give it to her in public.

That still left him with the problem of what to give her. Her real gift was already bought. He just had to wrap it. He had found a gorgeous cashmere shawl that was the shade of burgundy that set off her eyes. It was warm and practical as well as beautiful, and he knew she would enjoy it. However, it didn't solve his latest problem. Roy supposed he could get her a book. She did enjoy reading in her spare time. It was just such a typical gift. Of course, there was the off chance he would find something better while shopping, but he wasn't counting on it.

He spent the next few days avoiding shopping. It wasn't just Riza's secret santa gift either. He had a gift for Elysia, but he still had to find something for Gracia. It had always been easier to shop for Maes than his wife. He could never give Gracia what he really wanted to either which made things worse. She was as much a sister to him as Maes had been a brother, and he couldn't give her her husband back. Finally, two days before the secret santa exchange, he forced himself to bite the bullet and go shopping. Surprisingly enough, he quickly found a gift for Gracia. It was a delicate tea set from Xing, white porcelain with a motif of strawberry blossoms. It was something she would appreciate and something she would be able to share with Elysia when the girl was older.

Riza's secret santa gift, however, proved much more difficult. He had gone from bookstore to bookstore looking for something that would appeal to Riza, but nearly everything he found she already had a copy of or something that Riza would never read. By chance, he started looking at the metal bookmarks in one of the stores. They had the most interesting, antiquate designs.

"Do you like those, sir? They're Oberon designs."

"Oberon?"

The salesgirl nodded. "They make all kinds of things in leather and metalwork. We just have the bookmarks, but there's a shop down the street that carries just about everything they make."

"Do you know what the shop is called?"

"Flights of Fancy. It's just two doors down."

"Thank you."

She had been right; they had all sorts of goods in a number of patterns. What really caught his eye though was the hair clips. They had two kinds, leather and metal. He picked through the selection before settling on a simple golden brown leather barrette that was shaped as a feather and a metal one in the form a hawk with outstretched wings. They were practical and appropriate as well as pretty. It was the perfect thing.

With that taken care of, Roy felt much better. Maybe this wasn't such as bad idea after all. This way he could get Riza an extra present, and she couldn't complain.

Riza was ready to tear her hair out. She had yet to find a suitable book to use a gift. At this point, she figured she had been to nearly every single bookstore in Central. This was the last one she knew of, and she wasn't interested in spending another day like this. Finally she came across an old edition of Pride and Prejudice. It was obviously meant to have illustrations, but they had not been filled in when it was printed. There were a number of blank pages throughout the book with excerpts of text at the bottom, describing what the illustrations should have been of. An idea sprang to mind, and she quickly made her purchase then headed for home.

Back at her apartment, Riza pulled out her colored pencils. The illustrations should be easy enough to fill in once she cast the characters. Pride and Prejudice was one of her favorite books, and it was easy enough to picture herself and her friends as the characters. Gracia and herself became Jane and Elizabeth Bennet while Maes and Roy became Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. It wasn't strictly appropriate, but then most likely no one would see the illustration except for the two of them. She'd figure out an appropriate inscription for the cover, and she would be set.

The office party was quite a success. He and Hawkeye managed to keep Breda and Havoc from spiking the punch. No one managed to hang mistletoe in compromising places either. Roy was actually feeling quite mellow when it came time for the Secret Santa gift exchange. The gifts had all been piled under the itty bitty Christmas tree that Brosh had brought in, and they had gotten Winry Rockbell, who was in town visiting the Elrics, to dole out the gifts.

He perched on the arm of the couch, watching in amusement as Winry distributed the gifts in order of rank. It meant that he would be the last to receive his gift, but Roy could live with that. Besides, watching the other open their gifts was highly amusing. It was clear that some people had more of a sense of humor than others, especially when Breda was the recipient of a chess set with pieces in the shape of dogs. And at least it looked like he had been the only one set up with this whole thing, though Denny Brosh had gotten Maria Ross.

Finally there were only two gifts left, the one for him and the one for Hawkeye. Winry presented Riza with the box wrapped in silver paper and a multitude of crimson ribbons. Gracia had helped him with the wrapping as he was more likely to produce a lump of wrapping paper held together with tape otherwise. With her normal precision, Hawkeye opened the package exactly where it had been taped and folded the paper into a neat square. She opened the box and lifted the two hair clips out of the box with a pleased smile.

"They're lovely. Thank you."

And now it was his turn. Winry handed him a thick rectangle wrapped in dark blue paper. It had a large gold bow and felt like a book. Roy shredded the paper to find a hard bound copy of Pride and Prejudice. He flipped it open to read the inscription then thumbed through it until he found the first illustration. With a smile, he closed the book. "Thank you. It's a wonderful gift.

The party wound down from there, and predictably, he and Hawkeye were the last ones in the office. The two of the closed things up before heading out into the snow.

"Thank you for the hair clips."

"I hoped you would like them. I didn't want to get you something you wouldn't use."

"Well, you succeeded in that."

"I'm not sure Ross and Winry would appreciate being cast as the Bennet sisters after all the good ones were taken."

She laughed. "Well, I needed some one to fill the roles. At least neither of them got cast as Lydia."

"True."

They had reached her apartment building. Riza kissed his cheek. "Thank you for the gift. I'll see you Christmas Eve."

"I look forward to it."

She headed inside, and he waited until he saw lights in her apartment before heading off into the night.