Thank you Opft12, Peachiereads, Colonel Pepper and Nuzha (omg you're here! Missed ya) for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2
"My, Roy boy, it's been awhile." Madame Christmas looked up from the counter to the door when she heard the sound of it open, just to see her foster son enter with his cheeks tinted pink. She chuckled, "Oh lord, what happened to you, Roy boy?"
An embarrassed scowl stretched across his features, and he sighed as he settled on a bar stool, and rested his head on the counter. Madame Christmas placed a glass in front of him and asked with a teasing tone. "Well, what's bothering you this time? Is it Elizabeth again?"
He took the glass and swigged the liquid down his throat, and he grimaced. "Was there any point in giving me water in a bar?"
"Deal with it. Wouldn't want to cause little Elizabeth any trouble if you get drunk, would you?" She snorted, then sat on the stool on her side of the counter, and rested her elbow on it. A knowing smirk appeared on her lips, and she lit a cigarette, then placed it between her teeth. "So Elizabeth does use lipsticks."
Roy raised a brow at her questioningly, and she tapped the corner of her mouth. He knitted his brows and touched the corner of his lips with knitted brows, and his eyes widened as he stared at his foster mother, flabbergasted.
"I didn't think that the infamous womanizer would be able to make a face like that, how unlikely of you." She puffed the smoke out.
He chuckled a mordant one. "Neither did I, Madame."
She chortled, then asked. "Well, what are you here for, Roy boy?"
"Can a man not visit his foster mother?" He mocked a huff and heaved a sigh when she kept her fixed gaze on him. "I… I'm planning to propose. To Riza."
She hummed, then grinned. "And?"
"I… don't know how to." He scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly red. "And I don't know what kind of ring to propose with."
"I don't think Elizabeth would mind any kind of ring, Roy boy." She said, and she patted his shoulder as her grin widened. "My Roy boy has finally grown up."
He frowned slightly, before laughing. "Wish me luck, Madame."
Rebecca Catalina sighed as she wandered around the city centre, while mindlessly glancing at stores and boutiques, and she muttered under her breath. "Just why do Riza and I always have our days off on different days?"
She continued looking around till she saw a glimpse of a familiar black-haired man in a jewellery store, and a smirk grew on her lips. "Ho ho… General Mustang, eh?" She peered up slightly and grimaced when she saw and recognised the store brand. She huffed, Must feels good to be rich.
Seeing him stay in the same position and occasionally scratching the back of his head, she stared at him incredulously before sighing to herself again and stepped into the store. She peered at the section he was staring at, before letting out a loud gasp, and startled the man as he turned to look at the source of the sound.
Roy furrowed his brows and heaved a relieved sigh. "You gave me quite a scare, Major Catalina, and hello. What are you doing here?"
"Good afternoon, General Mustang." She waved a casual salute and squinted her eyes at his attire. "What are you doing here, sir? It's way past lunch break, shouldn't you be at work?"
"I won't tell if you won't, Major." He waved it off nonchalantly and adverted his attention back to the pieces of jewellery in front of him.
Rebecca couldn't help but roll her eyes with an impatient scowl. "Now I feel bad for Riza. Don't expect that you can skip work anytime you want when you become the Führer, sir."
Roy stayed quiet for a few seconds, before speaking. "So Führer Grumman told you?"
"Yes, sir." She replied idly, then asked. "So are you finally proposing to Riza, sir? Or do you just happen to be very interested in engagement rings?"
He sighed heavily, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hide his intention from her, and muttered a reply. "… The former."
She gasped, her tone full of excitement as she exclaimed. "When? When are you planning to propose? Oh! I can help you out a bit if you don't know which ring to pick!"
He let out a light huff. "No thank you, Major. I can manage-" He halted, sucking in the breath as he hesitated, then sighed again when his mind reminded him that he was standing in the same position for an hour (while leaving the shopkeepers helpless and slightly annoyed). "… That'd be very nice of you, Major."
She placed her hands on her hips and grinned proudly. "That's a very wise choice you made, General. Knowing her since she was a teenager, I would know her preferences and tastes. Hopefully." She quietly added.
And I knew her since she was a child! He mentally uttered as he nodded, and moved slightly for Rebecca to see the rings properly.
She chuckled. "Yes, yes, I know, you knew her since she was a child. Riza told me, about this certain young and kind, Mister Mustang." She then added when he gaped at her, stunned and dumbfounded. "It's written all over your face, General. Ooh! Wouldn't this one look good on Riza?"
He swallowed the irked groan and turned to look at the ring Rebecca was pointing at. It was a platinum, thin diamond band with a slightly bigger diamond sitting in the centre; sparkling and shining brightly under the lights in the store. Hmm. He recalled staring at that ring for more than half an hour.
"I was thinking of that ring too. But I wasn't sure if Ri- the Colonel would've like a thicker band with bigger diamonds, or just a simple solitaire ring." Roy rubbed his chin.
"This one's simple enough! I mean, if you intend to propose to the future First Lady, then the design can't be too simple, so maybe not solitaire. But it's also a no-no to thicker bands with more, bigger diamonds since Riza wouldn't really care about the number of diamonds on her ring or the carats. Plus, she wouldn't like something that's too extravagant." Rebecca explained tirelessly.
"You have potential in being a shop sales, Major." He joked, then said. "Alright. I'll go with this then."
A relieved yet surprised look appeared on the shopkeeper's face, and she quickly thanked Roy and packed the ring. He turned to Rebecca and offered a tiny grin. "Thank you, Major Catalina."
She grinned back as they left the store, "You're welcome, General." She peered down at her watch, then waved. "Well, if you would excuse me, sir, and please go back to the Headquarters now! Oh, and good luck!" Her merry grin widened.
"Thank you…" He chuckled lightly, tire evident in his tone, and waved back.
Riza couldn't help but glare at the clock for the twelfth time since the lunch break was over, and her General still hadn't returned to the office. It's been more than an hour already! She mentally protested, a frown stretching across her features.
"Umm… Colonel Hawkeye? Would you like me to… to look for the General?" First Lieutenant Kain Fuery piped up timidly when he noticed her glaring daggers and nearly seething at the clock on the wall again.
She glanced at him and exhaled deeply. "No… it's fine. Thank you, Lieutenant. Hopefully, he'll come back soon." And I hope he's not on another date, she thought as her eyes subconsciously narrowed, but they soon widened slightly in surprise when Fuery flinched at her expression, and she smiled apologetically at the younger man.
"Speak of the devil." Major Jean Havoc spoke with a tiny smirk and a cigarette dangling between his teeth when the door swung open, and their black-haired superior officer entered the room, with his expression being a mixture of perplex, joy and worry, and Havoc asked idly. "How was the date, sir?"
Date? ...Oh. Roy thought as he remembered the excuse he quickly threw at his subordinates just before he left to find the perfect ring to propose. "It was marvellous, Havoc." He shrugged the black coat off and hung it on the coat hanger as he replied as calmly as he could manage to, then felt his trousers' pocket for the little box. Phew, still there. He mentally heaved a sigh.
He adverted his sight back to his subordinates, and his onyx eyes met Riza's honey hazel ones, that seemingly had a spark of annoyance in them, and he raised his brows and frowned slightly. She broke eye contact and huffed. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your lunch break, General. Now please go back to work, you're an hour late."
"Y-yeah. Sorry." He replied meekly, and turned and sent a questioning look at the rest of his subordinates, in which Havoc and Major Heymans Breda responded with a wide-eyed shrug. He then walked to his desk, and right when he was about to sit down, a loud grumble escaped his stomach, enticing a raised brow from Riza and a concerned expression, which she could never hide.
"Did you not have lunch, sir?" Captain Vato Falman asked.
Roy muttered a curse and slumped on his chair, and waved the Captain's comment off. "No. Don't mind it."
"So what've you been doing on your date, sir?" Havoc wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "C'mon, you couldn't be that urgent, could ya- Oof!"
He finished the sentence with a grunt as Breda elbowed him, his eyes glaring at his friend, telling him to shut up.
Roy huffed and opened the drawer where he kept his ignition gloves and drawled. "Tell me, Havoc. How cooked do you want to be?"
"Did I do something that upset you, Colonel?" Roy asked as soon as the others left for the day.
"No sir, you haven't," Riza said, keeping her eyes on her paperwork, unwilling to lift her head up to look at him. Now that's very childish of you, she mentally thought scornfully to herself. Aren't you just jealous?
She scoffed at that thought and finished the paperwork she just worked on. Her attention was then quickly adverted to the General as he spoke and stretched his arms. "Hmm, are you done with that, Colonel? Why don't we have dinner together, like last night?"
She sighed, "General, please finish your-"
"I finished it."
Her eyes widened in disbelief and she abruptly turned her head to face him. She uttered a nearly inaudible "What?" as she walked towards his desk, and inspected his work. She then glanced at the clock that read 6:30. She managed a small grin, "Impressive, sir."
He grinned a wide one back at her and stood. "So, what do you say, Colonel? Care to join me for dinner?"
She laughed lightly. "So is it that every time you finish your work on time, I have a meal with you?"
"There's nothing wrong with that."
"You'll go broke, sir." She joked.
"It'll be worth it." He crossed his arms and said proudly.
An unnoticeable blush floated on her cheeks, and she widened her eyes slightly again, before responding with a simple, soft smile.
Roy's heart fluttered at the sight of her gentle features and the angelic smile she offered, and he mentally swore at himself. Get a grip; you're thirty-five for goodness' sake!
"General? Is something wrong?" Riza asked, curiosity now displayed across her features.
"No, nothing's wrong. Let's go." He replied hastily, and reached his hand into the pocket, and gripped the velvet, ring box.
A/N: I know, this chapter's kind of plain and boring, Roy's a bit OOC, and I always write unnecessary things, but I promise it'll get better!
Reviews are much appreciated :)