AN: "Ed and/or Al mess up and hurt Roy and/or Riza on a mission" - anon

mica (caesurables) did an amazing piece of art for this fic! thank you!

"Sir, it's fine -"

"It's not."

"Sir -"

"Get Fullmetal in here!" Mustang hollered to whoever was outside his office. Riza sighed, pressing the ice pack harder against her smarting cheek. It was a mistake. The boys were only human - and were barely in their twenties. They could make mistakes in situations like this. Apparently, someone didn't see it the same way and was working himself up over nothing.

"You're being unreasonable."

Mustang ignored her, continuing to pace in his office. Irritation began to blossom inside her at being ignored. He was overreacting, pure and simple - something he'd begun to do frequently recently, and it grated on her nerves no end.

Edward walked into the room defiantly. It was just like he'd done in his younger years, so much so that Riza was hit with déjà vu, except this time, Edward hadn't really done anything wrong. He'd done nothing to intentionally to hurt her.

It was a simple mistake. The guy had swung and missed Edward as he ducked, catching Riza's cheek instead with his fist. For god's sake, when a fist comes flying, it's instinct to dodge. Unfortunately for Riza, she'd bumped into Edward's back after entering the room hurriedly while not fully paying attention right after discovering the shady operation their target was running. Right as Ed ducked, the fist connected with her face. A stupid mistake on her part, but she was only human too. Riza took the guy down without hesitation and guarded the boys just as instructed. There shouldn't be any drama about her simply doing her job, but somebody was insisting on it.

"That's not my name anymore, General," Edward stated as he entered the room with narrowed eyes.

"Cut the shit -"

"No," Edward quickly interrupted. "You cut the shit. Hawkeye explained what happened -" He turned to face her. His expression held regret. "And I'm really sorry about what happened Hawkeye." She waved him off.

"It's all right Edward," she replied sincerely, waving off his apology.

"It was an accident," Edward continued, turning his ire back towards Mustang. "You're acting as though I did it on purpose."

"How do I know you didn't?" Mustang demanded.

Before Edward could reply angrily, Riza cut in. "General," she barked, her tone telling him to stand down right now. Being worried about what happened, sure, she could allow that. Being irritated, maybe, if it was warranted, which it wasn't in this case. Throwing baseless accusations at a twenty-year-old for acting on basic human instinct and dodging a fist coming flying at their face? She wouldn't stand for it.

The tension in the room was palpable. Edward and Mustang glared at each other. Riza rolled her eyes at the General's behaviour and stood from her chair.

"Edward." He glanced her way, breaking the staring contest as she addressed him. "Go home," she ordered gently, a smile on her face. "You and I will discuss the next step tomorrow." Edward's gaze flicked back towards Mustang whose frown had deepened. "Tell Alphonse not to worry about today and I'll be in touch soon."

Edward straightened in place, electing to ignore the General and his grossly unprofessional behaviour. "Right. Will do, Hawkeye."

"Tell Winry I said hello," she smiled. "And the kids."

Edward grinned at the mention of them and nodded. "I will! See you, Hawkeye."

"What -?" Mustang asked in disbelief, unable to comprehend that she'd just dismissed Edward.

"You," she stated, voice hard and tone holding none of the softness she'd shown towards Edward. Riza shoved the ice pack into his chest - quite hard - waiting for his hands to raise automatically to grab it. "I'll speak to you about what happened once you've calmed down."

She turned and left the office, retrieving her jacket from the back of the chair she'd occupied while the General had paced angrily. There was no word of protest from behind her, which she was thankful for, because all she wanted to do was go home and have a nice, relaxing bath.

"I'm sorry," a voice spoke into their bedroom. Riza closed her book calmly and placed it in on her lap. Looking expectantly at the door, she watched as Roy stood in the dark doorway with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I don't think it's me you should be apologising to."

Roy sighed and nodded, stepping into the dimly lit room. He'd taken off his uniform and changed into sweatpants and a grey t-shirt.

"Have you calmed down?" Riza half demanded. She wouldn't talk to him while he ranted and raved about her "safety", when all he was really doing was flapping.

Roy sighed again. "Yeah. Sorry." He perched on the edge of the bed, placing a hand gently atop the duvet covering her thigh. His eyes were cast down, showing his regret for his rash actions. "I already spoke to the boys. That's why I'm so late home."

She'd begun to grow concerned when it hit six o'clock and he hadn't returned from the office. A quick call to Havoc revealed that Roy had just left to go and speak to the Elric brothers about what had happened today. They must have discussed a lot because it was now past nine o'clock.

"I'm more than capable of taking care of myself -"

"I know," he replied quickly. His hand shifted off the duvet, fingers threading through hers atop her lap. "I know. I just... I just get so worked up nowadays. You're carrying a child Riza. A little baby." Instinctively she placed her hand over her stomach. "You can take care of yourself, but they can't."

Riza briefly paused, but a smile broke out over her face as she made her decision. "He."

"What?" Roy asked, brow furrowing.

"He can't take care of himself," she grinned.

She'd just found out that morning after going for her scan. Once she'd returned to the office, she'd been shipped out on duty with Edward and Alphonse as their protection. Roy had been stuck in a mandatory meeting and was devastated about not being able to accompany her to the appointment, but with all that happened that afternoon, they'd both forgotten that today was the day they'd find out the sex of their child.

"We're…" His jaw slackened, eyes widening into saucers. "We're having a boy?" he asked, voice full of wonder and shaking as his emotions overtook him. Even with all his unnecessary flapping and fussing, it was worth putting up with it in the end, because it just showed how much he cared. Growing up Riza had never experienced anyone caring about her welfare so much like this, so she had no time for it. It was irritating. However, seeing the tears collecting in Roy's eyes after hearing the news, she decided it was definitely worth it. She had a lot to learn herself, starting with learning to be patient with him.

Riza nodded, running a hand through Roy's hair. He didn't seem to notice. His entire attention was on her stomach where their child was growing. Both hands covered her, stroking her skin lovingly and sending shivers down her spine.

"Yes," she confirmed, voice barely above a whisper. She kept it low because it seemed as though anything louder would startle Roy from his perfect moment. She'd never take that away from him.

"We're having a boy," he repeated. He took a shaky breath and Riza felt a fear drop onto her pyjama top. She chuckled and ran her hands through his hair again.

"We are."