They awoke in the morning to a new world. It was exactly the same as the old one, with all of the same people. Black Hayate was still nestled at the end of the bed, the glass still littered the downstairs living room like sharp crystal. But, this was a world where Riza Hawkeye knew Roy Mustang loved her, and she loved him back, and that was the kind of world Roy had always wanted.

It was going to be a different world, one with more secrets and sneaking around. It was a forbidden romance, and they would have to learn to balance their private and public lives. He knew that everyone else knew about his feelings for Riza, but when they weren't spoken aloud, there was plausible deniability. But, once the words came out of his mouth and lingered in the air, once they reached Riza's ears and lit up her eyes, they were real. Roy never weighed the value of well-placed words before, but now he had a newfound respect for just how quickly and totally a few simple words could change his world.

All of that could wait, though. The same military who didn't have time to promote him and didn't have time to move his office or even so much as open the post office, would not have time to care about the personal lives of two soldiers. That isn't to say there may not be consequences down the line, but he felt safe. Besides, as he had learned in the past week after nearly losing Riza, there were more important things in the world than power and status.

Roy's head hurt from hitting the wall last night and as he opened his eyes to let the sunlight fill his vision, he winced. It was going to hurt for a few days, that was for sure. But as he looked down at the golden mop of hair, loosely strewn around the pillow, he found he didn't care much about his headache. As long as Riza was safe, he was content.

She stirred a little as he picked himself up off the bed, but didn't wake. He placed a kiss atop her head and went downstairs to inspect the damages in the full morning light. It was an absolute mess, though that wasn't entirely surprising. Glass was everywhere, the television was broken, and a chair in the corner was still smoldering. He'd left the glass vial on the kitchen table the night before and he went to that first, examining the contents. The liquid was clear and thick, and the bottle reminded him of something seen at a hospital. The mesh on the spout told him it was there so a syringe could soak up the liquid and then be transferred into someone. And, while he didn't have Edward's extensive knowledge on chemicals, he knew that if the red haired woman had it, it was likely lethal.

The question, of course, was why she had it in the first place and what she intended on doing with it.

He grabbed the phone on the end of the counter and dialed Edward's number. It rang quite a few times and, glancing at the clock, Roy wondered if the boy had already left for the day.

Finally, there was an answer. "Ugh. Hello?" called the tired voice into the line. Roy found himself irritated. It was almost ten o'clock and Edward was just getting out of bed. Though, he noted, he was also just getting out of bed himself. But, he'd put away that little bit of hypocrisy in favor of a good morning scolding.

"Were you asleep?" Roy asked, forgoing a typical greeting.

"Wha-Who…? Oh. Mustang. Great." Edward said dryly. "What do you want?"

"Almost the entire morning's gone and you were asleep?" Roy asked again. "If you want to join the military, you have to get up at a reasonable hour! You know this! What will your commanding officer say?"

"Uh, I dunno, dipshit, seeing as you're my commanding officer." Waking up was not one of Edward's strong points, and being woken up, especially by someone like Roy, only made him more grouchy.

"I promise you I'll make your life hell," Roy warned.

"Yeah, yeah, you already do. Anyway, is there a reason why you're calling me this early?"

"This early?" Roy shouted, but then decided there was a slightly more pressing issue at hand. "Nevermind. There was a… situation last night."

"Oh no, is Riza okay?" Edward asked, the tiredness and irritation gone from his voice. He loved making Colonel Mustang mad, but he knew his Lieutenant was a sore spot, especially when ill or injured. Even Edward had enough tact to be sensitive to that.

"Yes, believe it or not, she's actually doing much better since she stopped eating poison," Roy replied dryly. "A woman broke into her house last night. Red hair, kind of tall. She matches the description of Julia Huntington. She escaped after Hawkeye shot her and left behind a vial of some clear liquid. I was wondering if you could come see what it was."

"Yeah, sure I'll be right over," Edward replied quickly, sounding much more mature than the tired boy who'd answered the phone minutes before. "I'm glad you're both okay. And Riza's doing better today?" he asked again, just to be sure.

"Yes, Lieutenant Hawkeye is doing much better and should be back to normal within the week at this pace," Roy confirmed sharply. "I think having Winry come helped too, so be sure to send along my thanks."

"I will, she was glad to come. I'll see you in a bit." They exchanged goodbyes and Roy, who had been toying with the vial between his fingers, set it down on the counter. He walked around the kitchen, deciding to make a little something for breakfast, but couldn't decide what. He wasn't exactly the world's best cook and usually went with pre-packaged granola bars or toast. But, he felt the need to make something special for Riza. The kiss from last night was still making his lips tingle.

"Oh, screw it," he muttered to himself and popped some toast in the toaster. He'd bring up some orange juice and whatever jelly Riza had around the kitchen and call it a breakfast. Besides, he wasn't sure how hungry she'd be, and he didn't want to waste her food.

Meanwhile, Riza had woken up to the sound of shouting, but after understanding the words, she knew that it was just Roy yelling at Edward over the phone. She sighed, shaking her head at the man's antics and buried her face into the pillow. She didn't want it to be daytime and instead wanted the night in Roy's arms to last forever.

Her memories came crashing back to her and she remembered the kiss. Her face heated up with embarrassment as she recalled how they had touched, and told each other of their feelings. It was so sudden, but then again not sudden at all. It was strange, but also it felt so right. But, at the same time, it felt wrong, and Riza knew it was wrong because there were rules against this exact sort of thing. Those rules hadn't changed just because she got sick and she felt guilty for letting her emotions get in the way of being a good Lieutenant. If Roy was ever going to be the leader of this country, he wasn't going to get there by breaking basic rules. And, Riza had to stop him, even if he couldn't stop himself.

She sighed. At least they'd shared one kiss, one night, one moment of open feelings and open hearts. It pained her it would never happen again, but Roy had been right. Even if they never held each other like that again, it would not be a sad thing, because they'd gotten to do it at least once.

She was broken from her thoughts by the sound of the door opening, and Roy entered carrying two plates of toast and two glasses of juice. He was struggling but managing, and Riza stifled a laugh. He smiled over at her and set everything down on the end table.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said in perhaps the most chipper voice she'd heard from him, at least at this hour. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her head, which she seemed to wince at. This was going to be harder to pull away from than she'd hoped.

"Sir, I-"

"So I called Fullmetal and he'll be over sometime today. I bet he'll know what was in that bottle. Then we'll start looking for that woman." Roy handed her a plate of toast which she accepted. She still had words on her tongue and wanted to share them, but Roy was lost in detective-mode.

"Sir, I think-"

"I bet she's around some medical facility. Since they're closed, it's probably easy to break into, especially if she worked at one before. We'll start there and then spread out around the city. I'll get Havoc to start working on this case." Roy laughed as he took a sip of juice. "I'm sure he won't mind getting out of doing official work.

"Sir!" Riza grabbed his hand and he looked over at her. Caught up in trying to figure all of this out and set a course of action, he'd completely missed the woman next to him trying to talk. Also, he noted with a pang of hurt, she wasn't using his real name.

"What's wrong?" he asked and touched a hand to her cheek. "You're not running a temperature. Do you feel sick?"

"No, sir, I'm fine." She said and looked away from him. "But what happened last night… We can't do it again. You are my Colonel and I am your Lieutenant, and we must not lose sight of those roles, no matter how much we would like to." She'd wanted to break the news more gently, but he was giving her no chances to speak, so it all came out at once.

Roy found himself speechless, though not entirely surprised. Riza was always the more cautious one, and she was also often more rational. She was completely right-they had to be careful, otherwise all they'd worked for would be for nothing.

Then again, was it worth it? Roy could have all the power he'd ever wanted, but was it worth the price of not having Riza? She would always be by his side, and he knew that, but her skin was like a drug and he was addicted to it already. He wondered if he would be willing to give it all up for her. But, that wasn't a decision to be made right now.

"Riza," he started, but the Lieutenant cut him off.

"Sir, please," She pleaded. "This is difficult enough as it is."

"Let me plead my case," Roy asked of her and she looked interested in what he'd come up with. While Riza was more rational, Roy had a way of changing the tides to his liking with his gift of charisma. "You're absolutely right. But, right now, the country is rebuilding itself and everyone is so caught up in everything else to notice. It won't be like this forever, but while you're sick, while we're still trying to find who did this to you, can we just… pretend?"

"Pretend, sir?"

"Yes, pretend there are no laws or rules. That what happened last night can last forever. And then, when this is all over, and we go back to our normal lives, we can return to how things were."

Riza pondered this for a long moment before speaking. This had "bad idea" written all over it. "Are you sure that is wise?"

"No," Roy said honestly. "I know it's extremely stupid. But this week has been stupid and this whole thing is stupid and I, Riza, and stupidly in love with you. So I think it all fits."

And there, she figured, he had a point. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "Look, let's just figure everything out when this is over, and you're safe. But for now, can we just go with it?"

It was a dumb idea and would likely only hurt them more. She felt like they were tying a tight knot that would be extremely difficult to undo. But, it was a knot they'd wanted to tie for so long and maybe being tangled together more fully wasn't the worst idea in the world. A part of her wanted to be hopeful that love would find a way, though the rational side of her knew this was far from being a fairy tale.

"Alright." She sighed. "But there's no promises after this is over."

"None at all?" A playful smirk danced on the man's lips.

"I made my promise to you a long time ago," Riza replied. "And that is the only promise you're going to get out of me." She smiled back at him and was glad that the atmosphere in the room had lightened. Thinking about love and loss and relationships and laws tired her, not physically, but emotionally. Going down this path was trying, but when the Colonel leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, she didn't care. For once, she was going to let the hopeful, idealistic Riza win over.

Edward came over later that afternoon, a little later than Roy had been expecting. As it turned out, the boy had fallen back asleep, and the Colonel took some time to yell at him, but eventually, they were all sat in the living room, discussing actual business. Roy and Riza were on the couch, and Riza had a blanket draped over her arms. She still looked a little pale and was just a little bit warm, but her appearance was like night and day when compared to a few days before. Edward did notice that Roy was sitting closer to her than normal, and seemed fiercely protective, more so than usual. Ed worried that if he even got up to go near her, Roy would set him on fire.

Edward shifted the small bottle in between his fingers as he gazed down at it. Carefully, he held it still and opened the top to take a sniff. He then spent a bit of time with the equipment he brought with him so that he could better see what was in the vial.

"Poison, lots of it." He reported to the two who were waiting with bated breath to see what was in the bottle. "I can't quite tell everything apart by name, but there are a few different things in here and none of it is good."

"Then it's obvious she was here to kill one of us," Roy said grimly, looking at the bottle as though it could jump up and kill them all itself.

"During the fight last night, she mentioned that it was a shame I was still alive," Riza said, her hand cupping her chin. "And that a 'plan' didn't work out. I wonder if it was me they were after. They did break into my house, after all."

"But they must have known I was here too," Roy countered. "So the poison could have been for me."

"Are you two seriously debating who they were trying to kill?" Edward asked with a bemused laugh. "It was probably both of you if given the chance. I think the bigger question is why."

"Someone, or a group, wants to kill a high ranking Colonel who has his eyes on the Fuhrer's seat at a time of great disruption and distress," Roy shrugged. "I don't think that sounds completely out there."

"Yeah, Colonel, but why," Edward stressed. "Everyone has a reason for doing things. It's not surprising they want to kill you, but it is a little weird they went after Hawkeye, and we need to know why they're doing it. The more we know, the better chance we have of stopping them."

"We don't know if they were targeting my Lieutenant," Mustang said quickly and with a harsh tone in his voice. Both Ed and Riza looked over at him, startled by his tone and confused as to why he seemed to adamant about that particular point. Roy himself didn't know, but perhaps he just didn't want to feel even more responsible for Riza's illness than he already did.

"Anyway…" Edward started slowly, deciding to put the comment behind them. "I have Alphonse scouting the area hospitals. I'll let you know if we find anything." He stood, getting ready to leave and looked down at the pair. "Something's different about you two."

Hawkeye averted her gaze and Roy narrowed his eyes. "Yes, my Lieutenant is feeling much better," he said in what could have easily been a warning tone. "Thanks for noticing."

"No, no, it's not that," Ed pressed. He then looked between the two again before meeting Mustang's eyes. He'd not forgotten their conversation in the bathroom a few days before, and judging from the glare he was getting, Roy hadn't forgotten either. "Whatever doesn't matter. Glad you're feeling better, Lieutenant. Bye, Colonel!"

The boy left and the Colonel and Lieutenant exchanged a look. "You don't think he knows…?" Riza started, but Roy shook his head.

"Probably does. But he's a smart kid, he won't say anything." Riza was surprised to get that as an answer, but if Roy was sure, then she wasn't worried. Besides, she was too busy trying to get better to worry about things Roy obviously saw as not a problem. There were bigger things to worry about.

And she was right. Just two nights later, they were getting ready for bed. Riza was almost all better, save for a lingering cough, and they knew they were going to have the discussion about leaving each other. Roy firmly believed she needed protection, and Riza believed Roy needed protection. They hadn't really talked about it, though, because they knew they'd just end up yelling at each other.

The light was turned off, the blinds closed, and they were tangled in each other. And then, the phone rang.

They had cornered Maria Huntington at the General Hospital. Before Roy was even off the phone, Riza had a gun in hand and was reaching for another one

"Put your gun away," Roy said as he slipped on his coat and grabbed his two precious white gloves. Riza's eyes narrowed at him and she pursed her lips.

"I'm going with you."

"No you're not, you're sick."

"I was sick, I'm better now."

"This is an order!"

Riza glare turned even darker. "You can't do that," she said in a low voice. "I'm either your Lieutenant or your lover. You can't just order me around because you're angry with what I choose to do."

Roy groaned in frustration. "Fine, then you're my Lieutenant and am telling you to stay here."

"I refuse, sir." Riza's voice was still hard but took a much more professional tone. Roy was astounded by how quickly she could snap into military-mode, and also by the fact she refused the order at all. He wasn't used to being told no by her, but when he was he knew she was stuck on her decision.

They shared a long look, Roy looking at her in angry surprise, and Riza staring him down with determination. Roy did not want to back down. He couldn't let Riza get injured or worse. If they were really after her, this was like knowingly walking onto a landmine. It had also been a while since Riza had trained since her injury and later illness had kept her down for almost a month. But, he knew that when Riza gave him that look, she wasn't going to be backing down easily.

"Fine," he growled. "But I swear to god if you do something stupid and get yourself killed-"

"I won't, sir," She promised quickly and holstered her gun.