That night, Riza dried her hair after a relaxing bath and faced the mirror. She unraveled the towel from her head and let her long wet tresses fall freely past her shoulders. It had been an exhausting day, making sure that Roy made all his deadlines and got all the paperwork aside, and enduring the random snippets of conversation about Havoc's new love interest. However, it wasn't all bad, especially not with Roy preparing a mock speech while he signed several documents. Riza grinned, shaking her head. He still had that slightly disturbing desire to make all women officers wear tiny miniskirts if he became Fuhrer. It was adorable, in a way.

She paused.

Adorable?

Why in the world would she think of Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, as ADORABLE? Maybe because when he was not working (or probably avoiding working) and boosting his ego, it was fun to listen to him make random declarations as to what would happen if he were Fuhrer, or tell off Fuery and Breda for whatever mishap they got themselves into.

Riza scratched her head, but thought nothing else of it. She was just quite close to him, and sometimes thought of him as a pampered, precocious little prince she had to safeguard. Of course, he wasn't exactly little...

And she felt a little flip inside when she thought of Roy. It was as if she did enjoy thinking of him.

But why would she enjoy thinking of a sometimes-arrogant procrastinating alchemist whose only dream is to be on top of the world and live to tell the tale?

Then again, why would Ross enjoy thinking of Havoc, with all the other men available within her grasp?

This was too crazy. As if life in the military wasn't crazy enough, she added to herself.

---

"So, how was your date with Havoc last night?"

Maria Ross found herself cornered in the headquarters' hallway by Falman, Breda and Fuery. "Huh?" she asked. It was hard to tell whether she didn't understand them or if she was just pretending to not understand them.

"I said, how was your date?" asked Heymans Breda, barely fighting down a very obvious smirk crossing his face. "Did you get thrown out from the restaurant because he wasn't allowed to smoke in it?"

"Nah, maybe they got thrown out of the theater first," quipped Fuery, adjusting his glasses. "And - " He gasped as someone grabbed his shoulder and pushed him aside.

"Didn't anyone tell you it's not polite to stare at a lady, or ask her stupid questions?" demanded Havoc, shoving past Breda and Falman, his mouth devoid of his usual cigarette. "You're crowding her personal space."

Maria gave the men a small grin as she turned her back and walked past them. "Besides, I have to talk to two newly-promoted lieutenants today about our duty. I'll just..."

Havoc strode forward before she could even take two steps, deliberately blocking her path, and swept her into his arms. Although he had reminded his comrades that it was rude to stare at a lady, they stared nonetheless as Maria found herself on the receiving end of a huge kiss. Denny Brosh took this moment to pass by with a few books and references, and instantly stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene, dropping everything in his hands. Nobody took much notice of this at first, too speechless to say anything, even as Havoc finally relinquished his grip and gave a little mock salute to Ross before sauntering away.

"First one to say anything gets to become Lieutenant Hawkeye's next practice dummy," said Ross sternly, as Brosh hurriedly scrambled to pick up all that he had dropped, his right eye twitching. Falman, Breda and Fuery scattered, while Brosh mumbled under his breath, "No wonder he wasn't smoking today." before leaving as well. Once Maria was alone in the corridor again, Riza joined her, closely followed by Black Hayate, who began sniffing Maria's shoes.

"So, how was your date with Havoc last night?" she asked nonchalantly, as though nobody else had asked the question before. But this time, Maria was able to answer.

"Fine," was the calm reply. "The usual eating out, conversation, and then we watched a nice show. Nothing much, really."

"Well, what about that little smooch he gave you?" asked Riza with the intonation of someone discussing the weather. "Is that nothing much?"

Maria turned a very delicate shade of scarlet, very much unlike her usual self, and smiled before meeting the two lieutenants whom she had wanted to talk to, waving to Riza and taking them into a small office. The First Lieutenant grinned, wondering what it must have been like for Maria to be on a date with a guy who seemed really into her and feeling a little pang of jealousy. Maybe she did need a man in her life...

Or was it the other way around?

"Greetings, Hawkeye."

Was it just her, or did Roy Mustang suddenly develop a penchant for suddenly coming up behind people? Riza whipped around and had her pistols up in a split second before realizing that it was merely her superior. Black Hayate's hackles were up, but he calmed down after seeing Roy's face.

"Is this a heinous plot of some kind to keep me from becoming Fuhrer, Hawkeye?" asked Roy lightly, putting his hands on his hips.

"You may have the nerve and the skill, but it'll take a lot more than some fancy battle pose and a couple of guns to knock me aside.

And of all people, why would you pull a crazy stunt like this?"

"My apologies, sir," she said quickly, putting down her weapons. "I was...surprised."

"Surprised to see me?" Roy raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Never mind," Riza dismissed the discussion, realizing that strange fluttery feeling inside her again. "So, have you gotten any new assignments so far? For the past few days, you've been doing mostly desk work, I noticed."

The Flame Alchemist was strongly reminded of his best friend, Maes Hughes. He paused for a second and answered, "I'm not saying I like it, and I don't have to like it. And this haul's even bigger than the last one...mostly outdated documents I have to file and organize and keep away from strong winds and/or hyperactive dogs."

Riza raised an eyebrow. "I'll have you know that Black Hayate is trained under my strict supervision." She nodded at the dog lolling about on the floor beside her.

"That's what I was worried about," Roy mused, fighting down a laugh as Riza glared at him. "You know I'm only joking, Hawkeye. You're probably doing a better job with him than I would ever do."

"Okay then, let's get to the paperwork. We're wasting time hanging around in the hall that you could spend clearing your next workload out of the way."

He gaped at her. "Not this time," he declared. "I can't keep stringing you along so I can prove how exceptional I am at meeting deadlines. You aren't my secretary."

"I promised to protect you while you climb to the top - " Riza reminded him.

"Protect, maybe...not dive into a pile of stupid documents with me," said Roy. "Listen, Hawkeye, I don't want you to exhaust yourself and the hands you need so much in your line of work. I'll do them myself."

A strange sensation within Riza made her reach out and grab his shoulder before he could turn and leave her. He looked back and gazed into her eyes. For a moment they were locked in a staring game, Black Hayate watching them intently as though thinking they would start eating each other's faces soon. She gasped, feeling his hard gaze. But it softened, and Roy slowly put her hand down from his shoulder, as though it were porcelain. Riza fought down a second gasp and maintained eye contact.

"I will call for you when I need your assistance," he said with finality. "I don't want you to become my personal lapdog."

With that, he walked away without looking back. The lieutenant felt as though a drain plug had been pulled inside her, and she balled the hand he had held into a fist. Riza looked on until he rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

She was used to banter sessions like these, knowing how egotistical and argumentative Roy often got whenever he was in a mood.

But why did she feel...hurt, offended, concerned? Why did she suddenly care so much about helping him out...as in, a lot more than usual? Her mind spun with a myriad of questions that she couldn't - or didn't want to - answer. And neither could she confide in her other comrades, much less Black Hayate...they would probably think she was going mad.

Or was that what romance was all about?

"I think I'm in the mood for a little practice shooting, Black Hayate," she finally said to her dog. "Coming?"

Riza didn't have to ask, watching his little tail swish back and forth before she set off, sensing heaviness somewhere in her heart despite the fact that she was going to do one of her favorite hobbies.