Summary: Perhaps they could claim a little sliver of happiness for their own.

Notes: Didn't expect to write a part two, or to do it so quickly after posting the first part, but here we are! Pretty happy with this installment. Hope you enjoy!

1920

It comes as no surprise to teammates and comrades when they finally go public with their relationship. Well, not so much "go public" via an official announcement or even a small revelation to close friends, and more like a casual send out of wedding invites in the mail. And not surprising in the sense that onlookers had waited the better part of a decade to see the enigmatic relationship between one Roy Mustang and one Riza Hawkeye to finally come to fruition. But to do so with no warning or buildup whatsoever, not a word to their coworkers in the office, doubtless left certain individuals rather shell shocked to say the least.

Now, it had been some years since the Promised Day. Fuhrer Grumman, a few months ago, had quietly disbanded the anti-fraternization mandate, surreptitiously slipping it in amongst some other pieces of legislation. Again, with no large announcement preceding such an act.

Of course, these clandestine revelations, seemingly done so in order to subvert the ensuing attention and commotion, had the exact opposite effect.

So, it's of no surprise when, at precisely 0700 on Monday morning, Mustang's office is simultaneously bombarded with an irate long-distance phone call from Risembool from a certain former state alchemist, and a hoard of subordinates clamoring before Roy's desk. Riza is mainly surprised they all managed to be perfectly punctual this morning and that the newly minted father, Edward, is even awake at this hour.

Roy and Riza looked at each other and sighed. Maybe this hadn't been the best way to go about things. Subtlety was indeed one of their specialties, but it seemed their companions hadn't quite the same appreciation for it.

"Fullmetal," Roy spoke over the phone, "I'm going to have to call you back." High-pitched, indignant yelling could be heard over the line before Roy unceremoniously hung up.

Four new voices spoke up at once.

"Chief, what's the meaning of this?!"

"Is this some sort of prank?"

"Are you guys serious?!"

"How could you not tell us?!"

Hawkeye rubbed her temples and exhaled slowly. It was going to be a long morning. "Men," she spoke clearly and firmly, in her 'giving orders' voice. Said group of soldiers immediately snapped to attention - backs straightened and four pairs of heels clicked together in unison. "Now, what seems to be the issue?"

Havoc chimed in first, "Well, boss," he eyed both superiors warily, "Nothing other than the fact that you two sent out wedding invites over the weekend with no announcement!"

"I believe the invite was the announcement," Mustang quipped unhelpfully.

Breda spoke next, brandishing his envelope in the air as he exclaimed, "Are you guys being serious, or is this some kind of joke?!"

"Look at the lacing on that parchment, the scrawling calligraphy. The money spent on that kind of quality is no joke," Roy deadpanned. None of this seemed to be alleviating any of the confusion or frustration in the room.

"What we're trying to say, Sirs," Fuery piped up, "is when did all this happen? How come you never said anything in the office? Not that we're not elated at the news, now that we know it's true, but you left us all a bit blindsided."

Their commanding officer held a slight smirk on his face, amusement clear to those closest to him, which only served to drive his companions more mad.

"Come on, chief!" Havoc exclaimed. "Out with it already!"

Roy waved his hands placatingly. "Fine, fine." He turned to his fair-haired companion. "Well, Hawkeye, I guess the jig is up."

"I see that, Sir." Acknowledging their men, she commented, "Perhaps we had the wrong audience to try and go about this delicately." She looked each man in the eye. "The gist of it is - we're having a small ceremony and we want you all to attend. We kept it under wraps because we didn't want this announcement to be a big deal or distraction, and we wanted to keep the news amongst our small circle of friends as much as possible. You all, the Elrics, the Hughes, and a few others are all we're planning to have in attendance."

"Leave up to you, Hawkeye, to think your wedding wouldn't be a distraction to your loyal subordinates," Breda groaned fondly, smacking his forehead lightly.

"We've waited years for this!" Havoc grinned, finally somewhat appeased. "But when did all this happen? I mean, we all had our suspicions that there was something more between you two over the years," he admitted sheepishly. Fuery's cheeks grew pink, and the other men avoided eye contact. Muttering about 'office betting pool' were stifled. "But we didn't even realize you two were even dating, much less engaged!"

Roy looked positively smug. Much like a cat, who loved toying with his prey, he enjoyed having the upper hand and keeping others in the dark, keeping them guessing. It was a game he had built his entire career on. But, with these trusted few, he knew when it was time to be honest. Though he did love laughing at their tortured expressions. He made eye contact with Riza. A quick, silent conversation passed between them. She gave a slight nod.

"Alright boys," Roy started, "we'll tell you the whole story." Sighs of relief echoed around the room.

"We met when we were children. Berthold Hawkeye was my alchemy teacher." A few raised eyebrows at that. The team knew they had always been close and that they had been working together before any of them had joined the unit, but the pair had always carefully sidestepped questions about how they had actually met. Falman made a mental note that he'd won an old bet regarding just that; he'd had "childhood friends" pegged for years. That winner's pot was going to be so sweet.

Mustang continued, "When I met her, she was just a scrawny but plucky 11-year-old girl, who'd never had a real friend. I came to the Hawkeye Manor to master alchemy, but never did I think I'd meet my best friend and lifelong partner in that old, decrepit house." There wasn't a dry eye in the house after that comment, much to Riza's amusement. "When I was 18, much to my master's displeasure, I left to join the military, with plans to eventually take the state alchemist's test. I was a skilled alchemist by that point, but I hadn't yet learned flame alchemy. Riza and I had begun a budding relationship before I left. And we continued to write one another while I was in the military academy."

Young Fuery interrupted with a sniffle, "That's so sweet, sir!"

"Show us the ring, Mustang!"

Somehow anticipating this reaction, from her coat pocket, Riza pulled out that same old, wooden box from many years ago. She turned to Roy, who, with a clap, unsealed the box. She lifted the lid to reveal that simple silver band, just as beautiful as the day she first laid eyes on it.

The men shoved to get a good look at it, eyeing it eagerly. "You know, I expected something a little gaudier from you, boss," Havoc goaded, "but I'm glad you went with something more sleek and stylish. Though I'm sure you wanted to put a huge rock on Hawkeye's finger!"

Roy ruffled at the comment, rising to the bait. The men exchanged more barbs, meanwhile Falman turned to inspect the ring more closely, noting its craftsmanship. "Lieutenant-Colonel, do you mind if I...?"

"Not at all, Second Lieutenant." Riza carefully handed him the ring.

"It really is a fine piece of work. And very fitting for you, if you don't mind me saying so, Sir." He held the ring up and noticed the year inscribed on the inside.

1905.

Huh. "Is the ring an old family relic?"

"No, the General transmuted it for me."

"So what's the significance of the year?" Falman questioned. Based on their stories and their current ages, it couldn't be the year they met. It was a few years too late for that.

"That was the year he gave it to me."

The other men's sputtering came to a standstill.

"Wait. WHAT?!"

Breda did the math quickly in his head and then accosted Mustang. "You proposed to her 15 years ago?!"

"And what of it?" Mustang fired back.

"You guys have been engaged that long and managed to keep it hidden?!"

"That's why the box was alchemically sealed, wasn't it?" Fuery piped in.

"Yes," Riza confirmed. "It wouldn't do to have just anyone chancing upon it. Particularly when it's very clearly an engagement ring, and not a simple piece of jewelry."

"Wait- What-? How-?!"

"Use your words, Havoc," Roy chided.

"We just didn't realize you two had been together that long," Fuery stated. Realizing your commanding officers had been carrying on a secret relationship for over a decade, pulling the wool over higher ups' eyes, and keeping even their own squad guessing, and knowing that they were only coming clean about it now, to surreptitiously announce their wedding that had been fifteen years in the making, was a lot for one day. And it wasn't even 0730 yet.

Fittingly, Roy and Riza shared a secret smile between themselves. They couldn't really answer to that.

"Finish your story!" Havoc demanded. The others exclaimed in agreement.

"Alright, alright," Hawkeye spoke up. "However, I still expect a full day's paperwork completed after all of this. Understood?" The men nodded eagerly, for once not caring about taskmaster Hawkeye's demands. They were simply eager to finally get the dirty details on these two.

Hawkeye continued where Roy left off, "My father had never been a healthy man. But he became more fervent and obsessive in his research after his only student left, neglecting himself to a new degree." She glazed over the specifics, sparing them the uglier details of her past. "The General returned after his stint at the academy, to find a sickly old man in his deathbed. He passed that very night." Though it had been many years since, her men offered sympathetic gazes and a whispered "I'm sorry, Hawkeye." That their gut reaction was to comfort was very touching indeed. She didn't bother telling them their sympathies were misplaced, only offered a small smile in appreciation.

Roy took over again from there. "Though we'd been close throughout our childhood, and kept in regular contact through our letters, it had been over a year since we saw each other last. And the death of Master Hawkeye was another thing to add into the mix. I knew how I felt about her, I'd always known. But I was definitely nervous about seeing her again," he chuckled. "And nervous about popping the question, even though I knew she felt the same way. Thankfully, the answer was yes."

"What happened after that? You guys decided to put off the wedding so Hawkeye could join the military?" queried Breda.

"Not exactly."

They went on to describe how Riza had secretly joined the military and then found Roy again in Ishval. And, how after the war, scarred and broken, they put the needs of the nation above the needs of their own. And now, finally, years after the Promised Day, and after spending the past couple years fully engrossed in the Ishval Restoration Project, perhaps they could claim a little sliver of happiness for their own.

The men were appeased after their hour of story time and dutifully went to work with a spring in their step, and a cheerful whistle could be heard every then and again.

Riza was glad to have that sorted out. Finally alone, she shared a quiet moment with Roy in his office.

"You certainly have a flair for dramatics."

Roy put on his best innocent face. "Who, me?" He earned an eye roll for his antics.

"Well, you certainly didn't stop me, when we sent out the invites with no other commentary," he shot back.

Riza smiled. "Maybe I have a flair for dramatics too."

While they were on a roll of sharing secrets, maybe it was okay to break the office rules just this once, she thought, as Roy leaned in for what was more than just a companionate pat on the shoulder, certainly a PDA offense. Riza felt at peace.

Of course, that all came to a screeching halt when a mustachioed muscleman burst into the office, tears of joy streaming down his face, and shirt already half torn off. "My beloved General and Lieutenant-Colonel!" he exclaimed in that booming, emotional voice.

"Well, I know someone who has us both best when it comes to dramatics."

And with the phone ringing again, it was going to be a long morning for the happy couple. But, they could handle anything as long as they had each other. They had been together for a long time, after all.

Notes: Hope y'all appreciate that I went the happy route with this outcome lmao. Please let me know what you think!