A/N: I love this chapter. :) Please read and review!


Chapter Three: The Miniskirt

Roy had said that he would call Riza to set a time for their date. Riza had waited a whole week, and he still had not called; it was already Friday.

She was pacing nervously in her office, amber eyes wide with loose strands of hair in front of them. Roy never said whether he would call her at home or at work and she wished she had given him her cell phone number. Even so, she still had her phone turned on 24/7 just in case he somehow got a hold of her number.

She didn't know why she was such a wreck over this. Monday and Tuesday and even parts of Wednesday she had been totally fine – calm, cool, collected, just like usual. But come Thursday, she was getting antsy for Roy's call. He didn't forget about her, did he?

Clenching her fists against the desk, Riza growled under her breath. Ooh, that's just like him to say he'll call and then completely forget! That jerk! Why did I agree to go out again…? She was just starting to get seriously angry when an image of Roy's smiling face suddenly floated into her mind and set up a roadblock in her train of thought. Riza found herself lost in that arrogant smirk of his and sank down in her chair, sighing.

Now I remember… She silently cursed herself for falling under the vice president's spell.

She looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. She would be leaving for lunch in about a half an hour, and she still had plenty of work she needed to do. She was one of the higher-ranking administrative assistants who got to type notes, file papers, copy papers, and stamp things all day. She had a pile of outgoing mail that needed to be sent, and the mail carrier had already stopped by to pick up and deliver mail. Her desk carried an assorted array of uncapped pens, some leaking ink onto what she assumed, with her luck, could only be highly important documents. Yes, she was indeed a mess. All because of Roy…

Her office door clicked open and a body attached to a smiling face walked in. It was Riza's good friend and co-worker, Maes Hughes. Seeing him made Riza smile and finally feel lighthearted again. He always knew just the things to say to cheer her – and anyone, for that matter – up.

"Maes!" she cried, welcoming him into the office.

Maes took a seat in front of Riza and put his elbows on the desk, brushing a few paper clips and fasteners out of way. "Hey there," he said, placing his head in one of his hands.

Maes Hughes was a handsome man himself – not quite as much as Roy, Riza thought – with his dark hair, stubble, and glasses. He was already happily married to his charming wife, Gracia, and had a four-year-old daughter, Elysia. He was the perfect business man; he never complained; and he was the perfect family man; he carried dozens of photos of his wife and daughter in his bulging wallet, in his office, on his computer, and anywhere else pictures could be stored.

"It's about quittin' time for the morning," said Maes, tapping one of Riza's pens on the surface of the desk. "What do you say about going out to lunch together?"

Riza hadn't seen much of Maes lately and was happy to accompany him to the building's cafeteria. Maes always called it "going out", but truthfully, the two of them never left the building since the cafeteria was only about two floors down from their branch offices. "Sure, I'd love to," she said.

Maes stopped tapping the pen and looked at his co-worker's face. Something was different… Normally, Riza was straight-faced and spoke in an even, level voice that signified that she was a composed woman, not easy to ruffle and almost never stressed. Maes secretly couldn't wait until she got married just to see if it would do anything to that calm demeanor, and today, something looked like it had disrupted her usual tranquility.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked. "You look a little… less in-control than usual."

Riza flushed; was it really that obvious she was a nervous wreck over Roy? Damn him… she cursed under her breath. Smoothing back her hair just to have it bounce back in her face again, she replied, "Er… nothing's wrong… not really. I'm just waiting for someone to call."

Maes looked at the telephone on her desk and then back at her face. "Who?" he asked quizzically. "You couldn't possibly be waiting for that lawyer and have him bitch at you about who knows what—"

"No, no," laughed Riza. She had completely forgotten about the lawyer and how he was supposedly suing the company for not hiring his client because she was a midget. He called it "discrimination" and a bunch of other big words and hadn't realized that he was calling the wrong company about it. Riza smiled at the memory of transferring the lawyer's phone calls to Roy every time he called, then frowned because thinking of Roy got her thinking of… Roy. She sighed. "I'm waiting for Roy Mustang to call."

"Roy Mustang?" Maes repeated, taking his elbows off the desk and putting a finger to his chin. He chuckled lightly. "The VP? Why do you want him to call? Is he giving you a promotion?"

Riza shook her head, her cheeks still slightly tinged red. Maes looked at her closely and eventually figured out what she was hiding. With a knowing smile and a nod, he leaned back in the chair and went on. "He's an odd one, Roy Mustang. He kept hitting on my wife at the company Christmas party last winter…" Maes stroked his chin, trying to think of anything else he knew about Vice President Mustang. Not much, he found out. He barely ever talked to the guy, but he saw him just about every day as he rather Royally strutted his way to the restrooms at three. Finally, Maes found another tidbit of information which he fed to Riza. "He has a thing for miniskirts."

Now Riza's cheeks were coated in a full-on blush. Awkwardly, she thanked him. "That's… er… good to know." To save her from hearing Maes telling her anything else she wasn't sure she wanted to her, her cell phone rang.

Quickly composing herself, Riza picked it up and answered it. "Riza Hawkeye speaking."

"Hey, babe."

Riza's face paled. She gave Maes a frantic look and mouthed the words "It's Roy" to him. Maes scooted his chair away from the desk and excused himself. "I'll wait outside," he whispered.

"Riza?"

Riza turned back to the phone. "Uh-um… yes. Hi, Roy." She grinned, fighting back the impulse to laugh nervously. What are you, sixteen? Pull yourself together, Riza!

"Sorry it took so long to call—"

"How did you get my cell phone number?" Riza blurted.

Roy paused. She could feel him smirking on the other end. "I have my ways," he answered simply, letting Riza ponder that for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, I got a date place for us tonight."

Riza smiled. "Oh yeah? Where at?" She had completely forgotten how disastrous their last date had been; all she knew was that she was eager for more.

"It's this dance club," Roy told her. "Down on Sixteenth Avenue? You seen it? The one with the neon lights all over it? 'Sparky's Place'?"

Once again, Riza had never heard of the place. "Of course I have," she lied. "I drive by it all the time on my way to the laundromat."

"You don't have a laundry machine?"

Riza sweatdropped. "I meant dry cleaners."

"Ah. Right. Right." Roy cleared his throat. "But what do you say? Tonight at nine? The club's open 'till two. And don't worry, drinks are on me."

Riza got the strange feeling that Roy was smirking again. Does he think I can't afford my own drinks…? Now that he thinks I don't have a laundry machine, he's going to think I'm some kind of bum who lives in a trashy apartment dump… She wasn't offended, though, since she sensed he was winking also. Or maybe he's just trying to show off how rich and cool he is… Riza sighed. "That sounds great," she said.

"I'll pick you up."

Riza paled. Now he'll know I'm poor… Then again, it's not a bad house… Just small… At least it's clean… "Oh… okay. Do you need directions?"

"Nope. I got your address the same way I got your phone number." Click. Riza disconnected from the call as well and slipped her cell phone back into her purse. It was now eleven-twenty. Screw it, I'm going to lunch a little early today… she said to herself as she went outside and nearly dragged Maes Hughes down to the cafeteria.


"Woah, who lit a fire in your shorts?" Maes teased as the both of them had nearly tumbled down the stairs. "Did Mustang piss you off or something?"

"No," said Riza. "He finally asked me on our second date."

"You mean you had one before?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it."

Maes shrugged. "Fine by me. But why don't you let me treat you to lunch just this once? As a celebration for you finally finding a husband—"

"Husband?" Riza cried. "Maes, that's hardly—"

Maes just grinned and wiggled his eyebrow.

Grabbing a fistful of one-dollar bills from her purse, Riza slapped them on the counter of the cafeteria. "No thank you. I'll buy my own turkey sandwich."


It was eight o'clock and Riza was getting ready for her Friday night date once again. She had already showered and was feeling fresh and great. Maybe this time the date won't be a total waste of time… She fastened her bra in the back and opened up her wardrobe. She knew she was going to be late if she didn't hurry up and get dressed soon, and showing up late two dates in a row was not something she wanted to do.

"Augh…" she grumbled, slamming the dresser drawers closed. "Too 'conservative'," she mumbled to herself. This time, she was determined to look good for Roy. "I'll show him 'conservative'…" She strode over to her step-in closet and looked around in the shadows for something to wear.

There was her old prom dress… No, too formal. It's a dance club… Not like I'd still fit into that size three anyway… And there was a sharp blue blazer… Definitely too "conservative"… Riza pushed aside some more hangers and finally found something worthy of Roy.

It was a tight black leather tank top that she couldn't remember ever purchasing, but Riza mentally thanked herself for buying it. "This will be perfect." She slipped herself into it, noting with a smile that it covered everything she wanted covered but was still sexy. It was a little tight, but she figured that Roy would probably want it that way. It wasn't too uncomfortable, either; it was easy to move in and breathed well for leather.

She then moved to her vanity mirror and carefully applied makeup. Usually, she only wore a tiny bit of eyeliner and foundation and that was it, but tonight she knew she had to look a little less "conservative". She lightly painted her eyes with dark blue eye shadow and applied eyeliner, foundation, blush, mascara, lip gloss and lip liner. Next, she pulled up her shoulder-length hair into a messy ponytail, letting it fall loosely down her neck and down her face. Her hair was wavy since she had not dried it, but she decided that she would leave it that way. Normally, she spent about twenty minutes straightening it and pinning it up with a clip, but the wavy look took less time and looked good too – definitely not very "conservative".

After she was finished with her hair and makeup, she strapped on a choker necklace and poked in two dangling gold hoop earrings. It had been a long time since she wore any other earrings besides posts.

Looking down at her bare legs, she wondered what else she would wear to complement the nice top. Jeans? she wondered. She was about to dig through her drawers to find a pair of nice jeans that weren't ripped or too hideous to wear in public when she remembered what her friend Maes Hughes had said:

"He has a thing for miniskirts…"

Riza's eyes widened. No way. I've just met the guy. I'm not going to give him that kind of satisfaction… Besides, do I even have a miniskirt…? She shook her head. None that I can remember… She opened up her closet again and stepped in when she saw something that made her jaw want to crash right through the floor.

Hanging innocently on a clip-hanger was a short, army green miniskirt. It seemed to sway in an imaginary wind; enticingly, invitingly. Biting her lip, Riza hesitated, hand twitching to reach out for it. After a minute of standing in a state of uncertainty, she closed her eyes and grabbed the miniskirt off the hook, cringing at what she was about to do.

One leg after the other, she stepped into the tiny skirt and looked at herself in the mirror. She half hoped that she looked hideous in the miniskirt so she could take it off and say "screw it", but she found, almost to her dismay, that looked pretty good. Sighing, she strung a thick, studded belt through the loops and sat down on her bed to tie on her shoes.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…"


Roy's fancy Audi A8 pulled into her driveway seconds later, and he stepped out to ring her doorbell. Riza had just finished tying the strings to her combat boots and was zipping up the sides when she heard the chime of the doorbell calling to her. Quickly, she finished zipping and sprinted down the stairs, swiping her purse from the kitchen table and all but flying out the door.

Smiling, she greeted Roy, trying to cover the sound of her heart pounding. "Hello, Roy."

Roy surveyed her outfit just like he had on their first date and grinned back. "You look great," he said honestly and truthfully.

Riza blushed and grinned nervously. She wasn't sure if he really meant that of if he was just saying that because she was in a miniskirt. Either way, the compliment was nice, and Riza appreciated it. "I didn't want to look too conservative for you," she replied.

Roy winced, remembering his mistake on their last date. Ooh, that's on your record forever, Mustang. She's not gonna forget that… He recovered himself quickly and offered Riza his arm. "Shall we go then?"

Riza nodded and almost had a heart attack when she saw the car parked in her driveway. It bore the Audi insignia and was as sleek and shiny as if it were right from a computer-edited TV commercial. It must have cost at least one hundred thousand dollars.

Roy grinned, noticing Riza's shocked face. Score one. She likes my car… He put his arm around Riza and ushered her into the passenger's seat: plush black leather with grey stitching, comfy, cushioned, and heated. Riza relaxed into it, closing her eyes and smiling, inhaling the scent of Roy's cologne that lingered in the air. And she thought the restaurant was ritzy…

"I love your car," she gushed, running her hand on the leather armrest. "It must have cost you a lot of money…"

"Almost one hundred and twenty thousand dollars." Roy grinned.

Riza almost fainted.

Roy accelerated the car, and the two of them were off for the dance club, Sparky's Place. Just like Roy said, it has bright neon lights all over it, depicting scenes of curvy women dancing and men drinking. Riza frowned. Just what kind of club would this be exactly…? It never occurred to her Roy might bring her to a strip joint…

Tensely, Riza allowed Roy to help her out of the car and hook arms with her on the short walk up the steps to the building. Loud music was blasting inside; the Plexiglas windows could do nothing to muffle the noise. A bouncer nodded them in, figuring that the two of them were definitely over twenty-one years old.

Strobe lights flashed before their eyes, blinding them almost as they made their way into the thriving club. Tons of young college kids barely days over the drinking age were laughing, dancing and drinking, and girls in outfits that made Riza feel like an eskimo wiggled about to the beat of the music, men clapping their approval and drowning themselves in every alcoholic beverage imaginable.

Overall, the club was nice. It looked like it would be a lot of fun; the college girls Riza could ignore easily as long as Roy wasn't caught staring at them for too long. But Roy only had eyes for Riza, and he led her over to the bar stand. The two of them took seats on the comfy stools (not as comfy as the seats in Roy's car, of course), and Roy ordered them both apricot brandies.

After nearly an hour of getting nice and drunk at the bar, Roy finally asked Riza to dance. "It's about time you asked me," Riza replied, her voice bubbling over with a rarely-heard-around-the-office giggle. Roy smiled and picked her up off the bar stool, carrying her into the middle of the dance floor. Riza laughed and kicked her feet, feeling like she was floating in the arms of heaven.

Roy gently placed her down and wrapped his arm around the small of her back. Riza leaned backwards and let Roy dip her then quickly snap her back up. She decided she would let Roy do all the work for two reasons: one, she didn't really know how to dance, especially not in the "cool" style that all the college kids were doing, and two, she was too drunk to even think about doing something cool anyway. She had never had so much alcohol and liquor since her own college days…

Roy apparently didn't really know what he was doing, either, so he just made stuff up, half following the moves of the other kids nearby and half following his body which seemed to have detached itself from his mind. He spun Riza around, brushed his hips with hers, and even (with plenty more drinks inside him) attempted to river dance.

It was toward one o'clock in the morning that Riza was finally starting to sober up a little. She knew that Roy was past wasted and wouldn't be able to drive, so she took it upon herself to be the responsible one. Roy was ordering another beer and staring lazily at Riza who watched him stare at her.

Moments later, Roy finally mumbled, "Are you having a good time?" He was difficult to understand with so much alcohol muddling his speech, but Riza smiled prettily and nodded. "Yes, Roy. I am having a wonderful time. Thank you for taking me out."

Roy fumbled for Riza's hand and gripped it tightly. "Good," he said. "I'm glad I didn't fuck it all up like last time." Riza smiled again and stroked his gentle fingers. Roy straightened himself up in his bar stool and suddenly announced, "I love you, Riza."

It wasn't the alcohol talking.

Riza stood in shock, yet she knew that her own feelings for the vice president were similar. He was attractive, yes, but he also knew how to have a good time, and he was definitely entertaining. She could live with his faults; after all, everyone had them. Maybe her own fault was not seeing that other people were allowed to have flaws. Smiling, she decided that she liked Roy a lot, too… maybe even so far as love.

What are you thinking? It's only been two dates… Come on, Riza, things like this don't happen. You are not in love with Roy Mustang, and he is not in love with you. He's drunk. He doesn't know what he's saying… But the thought only made her sad. What if… what if he is only just saying that…?

Roy noticed the look on Riza's face and frowned. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Riza shook her head. "It's nothing. Thank you again, Roy."

Roy still didn't look convinced, but he leaned forward and kissed Riza tenderly on the lips and stroked her hair. Riza felt like crying. It wasn't just the alcohol after all… Roy Mustang, Vice President of WorldSpin International, Central Branch, Department of Human Resources, really did love Riza Hawkeye, the secretary.

And Riza loved Roy back. She never wanted Roy to let go.


Reviewer Responses!

Tsunade-chan: O.o Huh… now that I think about it, Roy is a bit metro in here… But hey, that's sexy, come on! Lol Thanks for the review!

gundams forever: Thanks very much for the review! I'm glad you like it!

unexpection: Ha ha, thanks. Describing Roy has been passed down the crazykitsune17 line for genera—augh, darn it, went and got all Armstrong-y… v.v Uh, thanks for the review!

KamauFox: I'm glad you think I've captured Roy well! I'm always worried about the characters being OOC (maybe because it's a nasty habit of mine)… But yeah, I just love Royai (I love Roy x Ed too, but I can see where you'd get annoyed with the lot of them). Thanks for the review!

don'tbreakme: It's never mentioned, but if you really want to know who wrote it, it was Havoc. At least, it was supposed to be, but now that I think about it, that doesn't really make sense. So actually, I don't know who wrote her name on the wall. It's a mystery. :-P heh heh. Thanks for the review!

Mookie and Moofie: Ahh, a Roy fan too? n.n I love Roy! He is teh luvly!11one!7 :D :D :D Lol, anyway, glad ya like my story! Thanks very much for the review!

guest: Aw, I'm glad. I know not everybody is a fan of AU's, but I'm happy you are! Thanks very much for the review!

Sniper Hawkeye: I'm so glad you like it! I hope it's fun to read; it was fun for me to write. :D Ha ha, I'm also glad ya liked Roy's car… I got a thing for Audis… :grins: And don't worry, I have all of the chapters all written out. I had written this story earlier in the summer. Thanks for the review!

Lady Mirror: Like I don't don'tbreakme, it's never mentioned, but Havoc wrote her name there. Well, he did when I had first planned the story out. But that was just an interesting little tidbit of information that only I would know, because well, I never mentioned it. But it doesn't really make any sense now, so I'm just letting it be a total mystery. Thanks for the review!

Tsuiraku Nami: Yaay! I'm glad I've moved up .2 points in the ratings place. I hope I've improved here. Please let me know! It's nice to have honest opinions rather than "omfg love it!" (although those are nice n.n') Thanks for the review!


--crazykitsune17--