AN: I've been trying to type up the 15th chapter as "Hit or Miss" and sadly, I kept missing the point. Decided to go with a different chapter title for now.

Hope you enjoy!

Running Battle

"You deserve so much better than me."

There he was. Again. Like how he used to be when they were stationed in East HQ and handling fraternization paperwork. Riza dug her toes into her shoes to remind herself not to say the first thing that popped into her mind, which would no doubt spark an argument. Steeling herself, she approached her husband with cautious steps like one would approach a skittish horse.

"That's for me to decide, isn't it?" Her feet halted a good distance from him, enough for her fingers to reach him if she needed to either slap him or hug him. It was much too late to be questioning her motivation to stay by his side, with so many years down the road together.

Work had been called off for the rest of the day due to a storm so she and Roy brought home whatever paperwork had to be turned over the next day. That included their team's annual personnel file updates.

"But you're… You didn't." He backed away from her and shot out an arm at the scattered disarray of papers on top of his desk. "I didn't know about all this!"

As if she had no idea what he was referring to, her sharp eyes fell to the papers where she spotted her own personnel file, her large photo an indication it was no doubt hers.

"We promised no secrets," he said accusingly.

"We did," she exhaled, still focused on her photo atop the files, "Those aren't exactly confidential information, especially not to my commanding officer." She raised her head to meet his dark gaze.

"You could have told me about them." He grit his teeth and rounded his desk again, their distance growing larger, spreading the pieces of paper that comprised Riza's personnel file. He wasn't about to admit he failed to read any of the reports passed to him in relation to this matter.

Roy glanced down at the black ink. "Rejected: Executive Assistant to the Central HQ Personnel Records Division Deputy Chief -"

"Not the shortest title, is it?" she tried with a smile. When it didn't work on his sour mood, "That would have been a demotion wrapped up like a good thing -"

"Deputy Chief," he insisted.

She put her foot down. "- And you know it."

He read the next line off her file, acknowledging Riza won that round of verbal sparring. "Rejected: Adjutant to Brigadier General Edison."

She raised a brow at him when he redirected his ire back at her. When he remained silent, she argued, "That would have been a linear transfer." And you know it too!

"Rejected: Lieutenant Colonel post."

She exhaled through gritted teeth. "Have you read where?"

"Yes, still -"

"Still nothing."

"You like General Armstrong."

"I do," she paused. She considered making this personal and telling him General Armstrong was not her husband, and how she refused to serve under anyone who wasn't him, but decided against it. She chose the professional route and followed up with, "but her domain is still up at North HQ. Regardless of the shiny position she tried to tempt me with."

He cleared his throat and straightened his back, assuming the air of a higher-ranking military officer. "Major," he said, deliberately throwing her 'professionalism' back at her.

Riza was forced to rethink her strategy. Even if they were still technically on the clock and in uniform, discussing her personnel files…

This was her home. Their home. "Roy," she shot back, reminding him of his position in this home. To further emphasize her point, she unbuttoned her blue military jacket and shrugged it off, draping it over one arm. She moved to unclip her hair as well.

His jaw tensed at the sight of her tight black shirt and her loose blonde locks.

"I can't let you take over the military without me by your side."

"You could have been General faster…"

"Up north," she huffed. "Where would that lead you and the boys?" She thought he was a more worthy opponent years ago, when they fought about almost the same thing stemming from his insecurities that sometimes acted up, except they didn't have kids back then.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He gathered her files and slid them back into the folder they came from. "We could have discussed the possibility."

What possibility?! Her mind protested. "My mind was made up," she dropped her hair clip and uniform jacket on his desk and moved closer to him, "even before the offer." She kept her gaze steady on him as her palm grazed his cheek. "You of all people know how stubborn I can be."

"Yes, even when not to tell your husband things."

She thought it a good sign he used the word 'husband' instead of 'superior'. She slid her hand off his skin. "They were things I thought pointless. Like… Like the finer details of your game nights with the men." She knew their exact conversations were never retold by the detail to her once he returned home, and she never asked it of him.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. A loud crack of thunder followed by a door slamming shut outside signalled the boys were home. "Are you sure?" he said in a whisper, like the boys could manage to hear them despite the distance and rumblings of the storm outside.

With a firm nod, she picked up her uniform jacket and hair clip and walked out of his study, thinking that was the end of it.

/-/ /-/ /-/ /-/

"You deserve more."

Despite herself, Riza rolled her eyes. So Roy wasn't about to drop their earlier topic even after the Elrics had gone to bed.

"You with the boys at dinner…" he smacked his lips together as if the image left a bitter taste in his mouth.

She tried a new tactic she never tried before. "Stop lying."

His head shot up at the accusation.

Good, she thought bitterly to herself. She had his attention. "You think if I honestly believed what you assume… I wouldn't have a different life by now?" Her eyes flashed with reproach. Had he forgotten she was a woman who could make her own decisions?

Then again, he was also the kind to accuse her of infidelity in his most petty state of mind. Riza took a deep breath and walked further into their room. "Whether you like it or not, Roy Mustang, I am your wife first. Your subordinate, second. Alright?" she hissed, tired of this argument springing up time and again. "For better or for worse… I love my life. With you."

He rubbed the back of his neck, refusing to meet her gaze.

She didn't let up on the point she was trying to make. "You ranting about me deserving more or better doesn't work when I already think this - us - can't get any better." Until he reaches his goal, but still.

"You don't ever - I mean, what if…"

"If it's a question I never asked you, the answer is no. I'm content and alive." She wondered how many times did they have to repeat this argument for him to understand? "Which is a lot more compared to what other people have."

"Says you," he said, making a face to mock her. "I doubt your standards are very high with the way you grew up."

She clicked her tongue in exasperation. "Roy," she tried again. She just wanted to sleep. "I am your wife," she repeated, believing it had to be more than enough of an explanation to stop this lunacy. "We took our vows, and I don't think either of us treat them lightly. Whatever demon you conjured in your mind… Please," she sighed, "Leave me be."

"Leave you be," he muttered under his breath.

The blonde knew she made a miscalculation when she heard him.

"Leave you be," Roy huffed, both out of satisfaction he was correct and distrust for her. "How long have you been holding that one in?"

"You're not thinking straight. I only want to go to bed." She moved closer to the furniture in question.

"Without me, right?"

He turned to leave, but halted when she snapped, "Damn it, Roy! You're being a child." Like you couldn't pin me down and lashing out because of it.

"A child, huh?" He stalked toward her and took hold of her arms.

Sniper as she was, his movements caught her by surprise that her thighs hit the edge of their bed and she fell to a sitting position. She craned her neck to look up at him.

As if reading her mind, he pushed her back flat on their bed and pinned her wrists to their sheets, his knees snug against her sides.

Her mouth hung open. What are you doing, she wanted to ask, but decided to wait. She made a half-hearted attempt to break free, which made him grip her wrists tighter.

He dipped low on top of her, sniffing her hair and placing a kiss on her temple.

She squirmed in his grasp, her chest brushing against his. "Are you drunk?" They were sort of in the middle of something else, not that she minded… whatever this was.

"No, I -" His breath hit her skin as he exhaled.

She lifted her face and captured his lips. It proved to be effective in shutting him up, so she allowed him to keep her bound to their bed as long as she had him bound by their mouths.

When they broke for air, she smirked and was answered with a stunned expression from him. "You see," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I refuse to serve under anyone," she thrusted her hips upward and flipped him flat on his back, settling her weight on his thighs, "who isn't you."

"Serve, huh?" He smirked too as he unbuttoned the top of his shirt. "You're not -"

"I'll work on being under you… later." Smothering her smile, she stopped his fingers from going further and pulled the shirt open for him.

"Mm." She pressed her chest against him and trailed kisses down his exposed chest.

Riza knew this might not be the last time they argued which stemmed from either of their insecurities, but she trusted to be more equipped to deal with it the next time it comes up again. After all, their lovemaking was always done on equal footing and it was the best way to keep both of them quiet and tired in satiation.

AN: Our country is going to enter into another "lockdown" of sorts… so there's that.

I hope everyone is keeping safe and sane. (insert crazy eyes emoji)

'Til next time!