Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye

Riza hummed under her breath quietly as she stood in front of the dryer, carefully folding laundry and placing it in a basket to bring to the bedroom. She smiled slightly as she picked up one of Roy's dress shirts; although it has just been through the wash, it still smelled a little bit like him. She couldn't help but bring it to her face and breathe in deeply. It smelled like cologne with a hint of smoke. It smelled like her husband. Roy…

She jumped as she heard the front door opening, and she hastily withdrew the shirt from her face and acted like she was doing laundry normally. She grew slightly self-conscious as she heard Roy walking around the apartment. Her nose twitched as she continued to fold the laundry, her heart rate quickening as his footsteps drew closer. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as the door slowly eased open, and a black-haired head popped out from behind the door.

"Hi. I'm just doing this last bit of laundry," she smiled wider as he came strolling into the room. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her fold another one of his shirts.

"You know, I feel bad that you do the laundry all the time," he frowned as he pressed a kiss into her neck. Thankfully, Riza was practiced in her military bearing, so she was able to squash the urge to squirm and giggle like a teenage girl. He makes a mess of me… she thought with a small smile as she placed the folded shirt into the basket and closed the dryer. Before she could retrieve the basket, Roy grabbed her by the hips and slowly turned her around. "Where's my welcome home kiss?" he purred, and Riza rolled her eyes as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Riza smiled and angled her head slightly to return the kiss, pressing herself against him for a brief moment.

"You know," she smirked when she pulled back, glancing down at the pile of dirty clothes on the tiled floor. "I have a few more loads. Why don't you help me?" she suggested, and Roy's eyebrows crept up his forehead. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing down at the dirty clothes, and Riza was surprised to find a look of hesitation forming on his features. "Do you… know how to do laundry?" she asked slowly, and she was even more surprised to see his cheeks turning pink.

"Of course!" he said indignantly, and Riza smirked slightly. This is going to be fun, she thought as she untangled herself from him and bent down to begin loading the dirty clothes into the washing machine. She was acutely aware of Roy staring at her behind, and she was glad it was her backside to him so he wouldn't see her blushing. She hastily tossed the last of the clothes into the washing machine before straightening up and closing the door.

"All right. Tell me, what now?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips and turned back to him. His slightly reddened face suddenly turned pale as he stared at the machine like it was some foreign object. He shuffled over, rubbing his hands together.

"You, uh, put detergent in it, obviously," he laughed nervously. When Riza prompted him to pick one of the four large containers sitting on the washing machine, he made a wheezing sound and stared at the bottles. "Um. Um. Uh," he sputtered as he reached hesitantly for a bottle, staring out of the corners of his eyes at Riza to try and read her expression. She kept her face still as stone, despite the fact that she wanted nothing more but to laugh. He finally chose one, and jumped when she cleared her throat loudly.

"Honey, that's bleach. I don't recommend pouring that in there," she mused as the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile. He blushed darkly and hastily let go of the bottle, grabbing the one next to it. "There you go," she chuckled, and he pulled the bottle forward and grabbed the little cup attached to the lid. She could hear him muttering under his breath as he measured the detergent and pulled out the slot to pour the viscous liquid into the appropriate chamber. He closed the slot and set the cup down, slightly pleased with himself.

"Great. Now, do you know which setting to put it on?" she smiled as she powered on the washing machine, and the smile vanished from Roy's face instantaneously. He reached up warily and began cycling through the various options, growing increasingly unnerved. He settled on one, and Riza snickered as she peered over his shoulder.

"No, no, we only use that for heavy loads like the bedsheets," she sighed and began flipping the dial to the right setting. Roy looked doubtfully into the loaded washing machine.

"But that's a lot of clothes…" he protested meekly as Riza switched to the right setting and started the machine. As the drum began whirling and water poured into the chamber, Riza smiled and patted him reassuringly on that back.

"It can look like that to a rookie," she mused. Roy bristled, whirling around as she grabbed the full basket of clean clothes and began heading to the bedroom.

"I am not a rookie! I've just never worked on this washing machine," he protested as he stomped after her. Riza smiled as she set the basket down on the edge of the bed and walked to the closet to grab a handful of hangers. She began stringing the clothes onto the hangers, while Roy hovered over her shoulder. "Is it always this much work?" he inquired as he grabbed a hanger and placed one of his shirts onto it. He left it unbuttoned, so he frowned when he lifted it up and it slid right off.

"Yes, it is," she laughed slightly and reached over to place the shirt back on the hanger, buttoning the top button so it would hold. Roy held it up and nodded in slight appreciation. After they finished hanging the clothes, with Riza making slight modifications to Roy's work, she returned the empty basket to the laundry room.

"So, what now?" he inquired.

"Now, we wait," she smiled at him, and she raised an eyebrow as he smiled alluringly and wound his arms around her waist.

"I've got an idea or two about what we can do to pass the time…" he murmured and pulled her up against him, and in response she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and curled her fingers into the ends of his midnight-black hair.

"Oh? That so? Enlighten me," she answered, and he smiled before leaning down to press his lips against her own. Riza's eyes drifted closed, and she sighed lightly as Roy ran his hands up and down her sides while kissing her deeper. "I should have you help me do laundry more often," she joked as he pulled away to plant kisses down the nape of her neck, and she felt him chuckling as she wrapped her arms around his broad, strong back.

After their hour was up, Roy and Riza returned to the laundry room, and she opened the dryer to begin folding the clothes. Roy watched her for a minute, then blinked and picked up a shirt to begin clumsily folding it. He frowned deeply and presented the finished product to Riza, who just smiled and reached up to pat him on the head. "It's a good thing that you're pretty," she chuckled teasingly.

"Come on. I'm trying here. I am your superior and you should respect me! Not tease me!" he pouted at her, and she smiled before laying the shirt out on top of the dryer and showing him how to properly fold it. He watched her intently, then tried to replicate it with another shirt. "Better?" he asked hopefully.

"Better," she smiled and set the shirt in the basket. Roy bent down to get another shirt, then stared thoughtfully at the pile of clean clothes in the dryer. She cried out in alarm as he abruptly grabbed the clothes and flung then over her, and the next thing she knew the world was whirling around her. She landed on something soft and the warm, fluffy clothes rained down around her. As the clothes settled, she looked down to see that Roy had pulled her down to the ground and she was laying on top of him. "What are you doing?" she blinked down at him.

"Enjoying the laundry," he remarked with a snicker, blowing a dress sock off his face. It was nice and warm, between Roy's body heat and the warm clothes scattered over them.

"Now I have to clean them all over again," she sighed as she wrapped her arms around him. Roy smiled and continued holding her hips, lightly running his index fingers up and down the small of her back.

"That's okay. I enjoy doing laundry with you," he smiled up at her.

"Really? Even though you're terrible at it?" she laughed, and he pouted up at her bitterly. "Don't worry. Practice makes perfect," she consoled him teasingly and gave him a peck on the nose.

"So you're saying we should do this more often?" he smiled.

"Definitely," she laughed, and then he put a hand on the back of her head to pull her into a kiss. Definitely. I want to do all my laundry with you, Roy… Now and forever.