Chapter 6: The Dinner Date 2

Roy scribbled his name over countless reports and papers. What time is it? he wondered, though he had been sneaking peaks at the clock throughout the day. The clock read four thirty, which meant that Roy's time to complete his daily paperwork requirement was beginning to reach the fine line between 'just finishing on time' and 'spending some quality time in the office volunteering unpaid overtime.' Roy's eyes shot back to the report at hand and then over at the stack in front of him. Okay…if there are absolutely no distractions from here on out, I should be able to get them all done in time for my date. He glanced over at Riza and smirked. Our date.

Roy started scanning over the papers in front of him when the door to his office crashed open.

"HEY EVERBODY, LOOK! IT'S THE WORLD'S FIRST MIDGET ALCHEMIST!" Major Jack Alexiv bellowed as he burst through the doorway with Edward Elric's head tucked under his arm as the rest of Ed's body, being dragged, struggled to get away. Popping his head out, Ed shouted back, "I'M NOT SHORT!" Almost unable to hold back his laughter, Jack simply replied, "I didn't say you were short…" Ed gave him a suspicious look which mingled with the death glare he was already shooting at Jack. Finally Jack couldn't resist. "You're not short… You're just a midget!"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Ed howled and began to chase the Shadow Alchemist out the office and into the sea of desks in the outer corridor. Laughter rang out and mixed with angry shouts and curses as the chase moved throughout the room. "Big Brother! Don't!" A giant suit of armor came running into the room, clanking on the tile floor with each footstep.

The chase grew into that of three: Jack leading, followed by Ed, followed by his brother, Al. The corridor rang with the sound of laughter, shouts/curses, and clanking metal as the chase continued to wind through the maze of desks. The officers sat stupefied as the chase came to include leaping over desks, except for Al who had to run around them (poor Al!).

Finally Roy walked out of his office, slipped on hid gloves, and waited for just the right moment. As the chase swung around towards him, Roy snapped his fingers. A large blast of fire ended the chase abruptly.

"Now if you all would like to put a stop to screwing around on military time…" he began, attempting to conceal his rage and desire to incinerate them both for the large disturbance. Unfortunately, Roy never got to finish the statement as he was cut off by more fighting, as Ed and Jack rolled back and forth on the floor as Ed tried to pound Jack flat.

"SO I'M SMALL, AM I!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"I'M NOT SMALL!"

"Then we're all just really tall!"

"SHUT UP!"

"Don't get so worked up, little guy!"

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

Finally a gun shot ended the fighting for good.

"The next one will not be a warning shot," Riza warned, still holding the gun aimed at both Ed and Jack.

"Ah, you're no fun," Jack sighed as he stood up. Riza still held the gun at the both of them for a minute before slowly holstering it. Slowly.

"Do you really want to be shot, Sir?" she asked sarcastically.

Jack shrugged as he mumbled, "…wouldn't be the worst thing I've been through."

Meanwhile Al was holding back a ravenous Ed. "Big Brother, please…" Al pleaded, trying to calm down the elder of the two Elric brothers. Finally Roy took control of the room again, clearing his throat loudly to bring emphasis back to himself.

"The next person who moves is charcoal," he growled in a low voice, "Is that crystal clear?" His black eyes penetrated both of the alchemists in front of him, conveying the fact that he truly was pissed off. Both Ed and Jack nodded. Although neither were particularly scared by the colonel's threat, enough was enough.

"Now what is so damn important that the two of you come barging in like this?" Roy asked while glaring at the Full Metal alchemist then the Shadow alchemist.

Jack grinned. "Actually I was just looking for a laugh or two." Multiple scowls and the sound of a handgun being cocked told him to stop talking.

"And you Ed?" the colonel asked, directing his full attention to the automail equipped alchemist in front of him.

"I, uh, was investigating a, uh, lead on the Philosopher's Stone… and then, um…here we are," he finally finished with an unconvincing grin. Roy glared at him suspiciously until finally Alphonse piped up.

"Actually, Brother, you mistook Jack for the Homunculus Envy and basically chased him here until he got you in that headlock," Al informed to his now sweating brother.

"AL!"

"Sooo, the truth finally comes out," Roy said with a smirk appearing on his face. He looked down at Ed, who was still on the floor and frowned at the look he was getting from the colonel. "Ed, if I'm not mistaken, you were last in Central about two months ago when you took a substantial part of you research grant to continue your investigation. Am I correct?"

Ed scowled. He knew where Mustang was going with this. "Yeah, so what?"

Roy's smirk grew slightly larger. "Well, protocol calls for a report following a designation of military research funds. I expect it by tomorrow no later than fourteen hundred hours."

Ed's scowl exploded into rage again. "Oh c'mon! How am I supposed to summarize two months of research in one night?"

Again, Roy's smirk grew. "I'm sure Alphonse will be able to assist you as well as Major Alexiv here," he added, motioning toward Jack who was standing next to him.

Jack choked. "What!" he managed to cough out finally.

Roy turned around and began to walk back into his office. "You heard me. Dismissed."

Jack stood there for a second before walking over toward the two Elrics. "Thanks," he said, "…Colonel Bastard." Ed laughed as they began to walk out of the corridor.

Riza passed by the trio as she made her way toward Roy's office. "Oh, and nice hair, Major Alexiv," she added with a laugh.

Jack ran his fingers through his spiky hair. "Why… thank you very much," he smiled with a wink. Suddenly his head jerked back as Ed grabbed a handful of hair and continued to drag Jack towards the door. "C'mon, we got papers to write," he said with a frown. A dark smile crossed Ed's face. "I mean you've got papers to write," he added with an evil laugh. A single tear ran down Jack's face as he was dragged out of Eastern Command.

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Riza sat back down at her desk.

"Sir, was it really necessary to assign them to work together? I have the suspicion that it will lead to some sort of… destruction," she stated as she stacked her completed paperwork. Looking at the clock it was now five o five.

Roy continued to scribble madly on the reports in front of him. "Why, no, it wasn't necessary," he said as he finished his last sheet of paperwork. He walked over to Riza's desk and collected her papers as he prepared to have them filed. "I just wanted to keep those idiots busy for the rest of the night," he said with a smile as he kissed her.

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Seven Fifty-eight. Roy silently read the time off his wristwatch as he sprinted down the street. Somewhere between getting back to his own apartment from walking Riza home at around six fifteen and two minutes ago time had decided to accelerate dramatically. Almost there…Roy thought to himself, taking in gasps of air as he closed in on Riza's apartment. A block before reaching her door Roy stopped, took several deep breaths, and began to walk casually on the rest of the way. Running his hand through his hair he took a deep breath and exhaled before knocking on the door. Technically this was the first time he had arrived at her apartment alone and his nerves were slightly tensed.

As the door opened, Roy nearly choked as his eyes came to rest on the woman in front of him. Before him, in a stunning, silky black dress and black high heeled shoes, was Riza Hawkeye as Roy had never seen before. To complete the transformation from soldier to beauty, Riza's hair flowed freely down as opposed to the normal clipped-up style she donned each day for work. A slight dash of makeup and it was as if an angel had landed on Earth.

"Hello Roy!" she said with a bright smile. "Roy?" Riza waved her hand in front of Roy's face a few times. He was frozen in his tracks. Sighing, Riza drew a pistol from her purse and fired it next to (not at) Roy's ear. The loud noise apparently snapped the colonel out of his infatuated stupor as he looked around wildly, as if awaking from sleepwalking. Riza laughed as Roy shook his head to shake off the last bits of his daze.

"Do all women have this effect on you, dare I ask?" Riza asked with a grin.

"Are all women named Riza?" Roy asked back with a grin of his own. Riza could only laugh at the somewhat lame comeback, but decided to let it slide.

"What, no flowers?' she teased. Now it was Roy's time to laugh.

"Not quite none," he said with a smirk. Riza noticed Roy was wearing one of his gloves. Snapping his fingers, a small flame exploded in the shape of a rose.

"Impressive," remarked Riza, but her eyes told Roy that his trick had really left her speechless.

Roy held out his arm. "Shall we go, my dear?" he said with a feigned grandeur. Riza stifled a laugh as she took his arm.

"Why, yes, let's," she said as they set off for their dinner date.

The night was cool with a light breeze. As the couple made their way down the quieted street Roy instinctively took off his jacket and draped it over Riza's shoulders. I wonder how he knew I was freezing, Riza wondered as she drew closer to Roy, whose arm wrapped around her in response. A blush came across both their faces as they made their way down the street, passing by the Second Branch of the National Central Library.

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From within the library, two faces were pressed against one of the windows, showering the passing couple with scathing looks.

"I-Hate-You-Mustang," Ed growled, emphasizing each word with venomous disdain.

"Ditto," Jack muttered, face pressed next to Ed's and wearing the same irritated expression.

From farther back in the room, Alphonse's voice rang out.

"Hey guys, come on. We've got another twenty or so pages to go before we're done."

Two simultaneous groans replied to the younger Elric's request as the two faces peeled off the window and trudged back to the paper-littered table behind them.

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(A/N) Hey guys hope you liked this chapter! I tried stretching the dialogue and paragraphs out so it'd be easier to read; let me know if its better, worse, or whatever. Oh, and I just wanted to say that if you think I'm putting my OC too much into my story well fear not as it will not be becoming a story about him plus FMA. (I just love my OC soooo much though!  ) Okay so review, oh merciful readers! PLEASE!