Yeah, so I finally realized that I had kind of a plot hole here. Filled in it, hope it dries ok…

VI "Excuses"

"Oh my God…Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Riza turned at the sound of her name. A woman with chin-length, dark brown hair and a very familiar mole had passed within inches of her. "L—Lieutenant Ross?"

She was in plainclothes, but still stood with that distinct military stance. Riza and Roy had both lost it some time ago, bit by bit. She smiled. "Lieutenant Colonel now, I'm afraid. Though I suppose you wouldn't have heard."

"No…I…congratulations." Just when it seemed like she'd finally severed her ties, something else had to come up in knots.

"I barely recognized you," Ross said. "My, you look different—and your hair has gotten so long! How've you been?"

"Oh, well, I guess. You?" Not that she was all that curious, but it was the right thing to do to pretend. Riza unconsciously reached up to run her fingers through her hair, which she'd been wearing down lately.

"About as always. My company was just transferred back to Eastern Headquarters a month ago. They threw us into your old team after the revolution, so we're all here: Blotch, Farman, Breda, Fury, Havoc, Armstrong…"

All of them?

Her surprise must have showed, because Ross offered to buy her some coffee. "It's all right, I was going to get some anyway."

There was a café around the corner, and Riza obligingly accepted the offer. She wasn't supposed to meet Roy for another forty-five minutes anyway, and it wasn't as if she'd ever had anything against Maria. They'd even been roommates for a short time when they'd been at the academy together…but Maria tended to talk too much for Riza's taste.

"Doesn't it seem strange, all of us back together again?" the other woman asked when she learned that the widow Hughes and her daughter were also in Eastern. "Why here instead of Central, I wonder?"

"A change of pace, I'd hoped," Riza said. "I've bad memories of there…growing up, and later of the revolution. This place is smaller, closer to the outside. I can keep an eye on things without being in the thick of them. Why is your company here? Has there been talk of another uprising?"

She had shrugged and talked a little about current policies, said she hadn't heard anything about plans for war. She had always had an ear to the ground, so it was some comfort that she had no knowledge of any rumors.

The topic wound down, and for the second time the Lieutenant Colonel caught Riza unawares. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but have you seen hide or hair of Colonel Mustang of late? He seems to have disappeared. A bit like you, in fact."

"We had a riff some time after the revolution," Riza answered. It wasn't a total lie. "We've spoken since, but…we've both changed, we're both trying to move on. And I've got my own life now; friends, boyfriend, another paper-pusher's job…you know how it is."

"A boyfriend? Maybe being out of the military has done you some good!"

Riza felt herself blushing. She had never liked being teased about her relationship with Roy. "What, you didn't figure I'd stay single forever?"

"Half the company still has a bet going on that you and the Colonel would get together," Ross said lightly, dismissing the claim with a wave. "How juvenile, huh?"

"I suppose everyone has to find some way to throw money away." But Riza had the distinct feeling that this conversation wasn't nearly as over as she currently wanted to be.

She was right. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than she was bombarded with inquiries. "So what's he like? Is he handsome? How long have you been going out? This is your first long term relationship, isn't it? How serious is it?"

If you only knew.She felt terrible about fudging facts, but there was no way around it if she was going to keep it from becoming clear that she was, in fact, three inches from the bedroom (as opposed to the handiest cot or desk) of her former commanding officer. This would all get back to the company, she knew, and was praying that none of them had run into Roy recently.

Eventually she glanced at the clock and, finding salvation, made to leave.

"You sure you don't want me to meet him?" Maria asked as she explained her excuse.

"Well, it is my life," she said flippantly, hoping it didn't sound too flimsy.

"It is that," Maria replied, having picked up on Riza's message and deciding to leave it alone.

Relieved in no small measure to have gotten that conversation over with, Riza bounded out of the café. Roy was waiting for her by the entrance to the fairgrounds. She knew it was him even though her back was turned—nobody else had his highly unusual habit of wearing neatly-folded and starched shirts half-tucked in. She came up and threw her arms around him. "You'll never believe who I ran into a few minutes ago—"

"Ditto sweetheart," he answered, not sounding at all surprised. "Look who I found, wandering around companionless."

Havoc. Why the hell did it have to be Havoc? She'd know that slack-jawed face anywhere. Unnoticed, the man's hand-rolled cigarette dropped out of his mouth. "Sweetheart? Now just hold on a minute—"

"I heard from Ross you were in town," Riza said dryly, half-hiding her face behind Roy's shoulder.

He pried her off, laughing. "I don't suppose you told her what you were waiting around for, did you?"

"L—Lieutenant Hawkeye? Jesus, I hardly recognize you…" Havoc managed.

"Everyone says that," she answered woodenly, as Roy continued to chuckle and pulled her into his own tight, possessive hug. "Oh, stop it, will you?"

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed!"

"Stop, dammit!"

Havoc seemed to not to be able to gather his thoughts enough to do much besides stare. Eventually, after Riza managed to wrench herself away, he pulled another cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. "I thought you two had finally broken up."

"Broken up? We finally got together," Roy answered, rubbing his ribs where Riza had elbowed him.

"Oh, don't try that trick with me," Havoc said, gathering a little steam. "None of us ever believed that."

"What…don't tell me you're still mad about Katie?"

"Who?" Riza asked.

The two men looked at each other, as if trying to tell the other one to explain. Riza looked from one to the other suspiciously. Nothing ever went well when Roy didn't want to tell her a story.

"One of my girlfriends," Havoc said finally, looking about ready to run.

"And what happened?" Riza ignored him and prodded Roy with her shoe, narrowing her eyes. He grinned back, trying for as much innocence as he could muster.

"He helped her cheat on me!"

"Oh relax," Roy said quickly, as she felt her mouth drop open in an imitation of Havoc. "You're definition of 'cheat' is as soft as rotted fruit. She's the one that gave me those theater tickets. I wouldn't have even gone if it weren't for that fact that she probably would have kept bugging me. So I went, told her I wasn't interested anymore. If she didn't come running back to you that's not my fault."

"That's beside the point."

"Why don't I remember this?" Riza asked, a little lost. Certainly no one had clued her in on this story before…although she was beginning to get the feeling that she had iffy jurisdiction in any case.

"I think you were sick." Roy dismissed her easily. "Or you had taken the day off, at least. I didn't think you'd mind, seeing as how we weren't actually, y'know, going out at the time."

"I've never understood you two," Havoc said dully, taking another long drag. "You were obviously together, but we had to work hard to catch you at it…and then when we did you'd make excuses and claim you had other commitments—"

"'At it?'" Riza made a face at him. "What, so you caught us pawing each other once—"

"And flirting constantly. It doesn't take timing with a camera to have evidence. Did you ever get those developed by the way? It's the least you could have done after you swiped my camera."

"Serves you right," Roy said back. In their minds, the 'swiping' had been justified. "And yes, they're in one of my albums."

"Do I ever get to see them?"

"No."

Riza remembered that particular album of Roy's, filled entirely with pictures of the two of them. It wasn't his biggest one, but it might be one day. She wondered sometimes when flipping through it why the photos were such precious memories…she certainly hadn't expected that they would be when they were taken. As Havoc had said, they always ended up making excuses for them.

"Which is why it confused the hell out of us that the Colonel even tried to keep up appearances on the singles' scene," Havoc was saying, when Riza drifted back into the conversation. "We all had a bet going on over what you two were all about. We never really figured it out."

Roy grinned. "I'll explain if you promise to give me all the losers' cash—"

"Oh no you won't!" Riza wasn't going to let him talk about Ishval. Havoc hadn't been there. He wouldn't understand.

The younger man shook his head again, pulled his tobacco stick briefly from his mouth and blew a nicely-practiced smoke ring. "Guess it doesn't matter. I'd probably end up forking my share over to someone anyway. You two go have a nice date…I have to go meet Maggie."

"Who's that, your sister?" Roy snickered again, and Riza wanted to kick him. He could be such as ass some days…and she was feeling humiliated enough anyway.

"My girlfriend. Girlfriend! And you stay out of it!"

"Mutually!" Roy and Havoc were shouting at each other now, as Havoc was moving through the crowd, away from the ticket booth.

"That's enough," Riza told him, elbowing his sore spot again. "Why do you insist on doing this to me?"

"Because you look cute when you're embarrassed," he answered.

"And when I'm not embarrassed?"

"You downright turn me on."

A clever ploy—she debated whether or not to play along. "Best that that wait, then…"

Roy cautiously looped his arm around Riza's waist. She let him, and he settled down a little. She could tell through is touch that he wasn't thrilled about how meeting their old comrades had gone either. They'd agreed long ago to keep the affair quiet, move on from the odd way those years had passed. It was going to be harder to do that now. "Since we're back to the insults, I guess I'm forgiven?"

How could she possibly take advantage of his apology? That was a tough one. "You're paying admission."

"Fair enough. Fair. Get it?"

Riza groaned at his horrible pun, and felt Roy slip her wallet out of her back pocket. "I said you're paying."

"I am."

"With your own money!"

"I'm broke."

How could he possibly be broke? "You've been working overtime for the last two straight months."

"Sounds fishy, don't it?"

"Any more surprises today, Roy, and I swear I'm going to kill you."

"I'd die a happy man."

"You're still paying."