A/N: Yeah, skip to like the second third of the story if you don't like reading lemons lol

There were three things that came to mind when Riza awoke the next morning. One, the sun was already streaming heavily into the room so it must have been around 8am already, two hours after her usual awaking time. There was a dull throb inside of her that was no doubt a result from the night previous, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. Lastly, the something in between her arms was definitely a something and not a someone.

It did smell like her darling husband, though, so she figured he cleverly replaced himself with his pillow so that she wouldn't be disturbed from her slumber. Sighing softly, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let out a yawn before she stretched on their bed indulgently. A small smile crept to her lips as the events of last night replayed in her mind.

Not only have they finally consummated their marriage, but Riza felt like they have bared everything to each other now. Furthermore, she felt as if she overcame such a great hurdle in her own self. There was something liberating in shedding everything and just offering herself up to Roy as he did the same in exchange. Riza couldn't exactly explain what it was, but it was a welcome change nonetheless.

"What are you smiling about?"

As soon as she heard his voice, the colonel covered herself with their blanket as if she were a criminal caught red-handed by the law enforcers.

"Go away, you sneaky goof," she grumbled, turning her head away so Roy won't see the blush on her cheeks.

The brigadier general chuckled lightly and shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe of their bedroom. "You are acting like I have never seen everything underneath the blankets last night."

"Last night was different," she scoffed lightly. All right, so maybe she wasn't fully liberated; it was a working progress.

"How different?"

Riza pouted and huffed, pulling down the blanket to reveal her head. She looked up at her husband and blinked. "I don't have an answer to that. It just is."

"You're silly, my darling," he cooed before pushing off the doorframe and squatting down beside their bed. Roy laid a hand on her neck, thumb gently tracing the skin where her jaw met her ear. He looked at her endearingly before he leaned in to press a soft kiss on her lips. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Riza replied, a tiny grin making her lips quirk upward.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right," she said truthfully. "What time did you wake up?"

Roy shrugged lazily. "Not too long ago. I figured I'd make us some breakfast but I sensed you were awake. Tell me honestly; do you hurt?"

"There's a dull ache inside, like at the deepest part, but it's negligible. It's not as uncomfortable as I initially expected," Riza whispered, making room for him as he slipped under the covers.

Roy wrapped his arms around her and pressed another kiss on her forehead. "D'you want me to remedy that?"

Brown orbs looked at him directly, both curiosity and wonder present in those eyes. They blinked slowly twice before their owner cleared her throat tentatively. "What…uh, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean to suggest a little continuation of last night," she heard him say, and the words made her stomach quiver.

"A c-continuation?" Riza squeaked, struggling to keep her breathing normal. "How so?"

Roy nuzzled her nose and breathed in her scent. "I wish to…taste…you. You smelt wonderfully last night and it made my mouth water. It kept me occupied before I fell asleep. I wonder if you taste how you smell. The novels I read said it's almost always the same taste and smell, but I want to confirm it for myself…if you'll let me, of course."

The colonel tried to draw in a large breath to keep her lungs from giving out. With her husband so close to her and making the small distance between their faces dense, her head felt a little lightheaded. Although, it may be, in part, due to his rather sudden suggestion.

"Well, I-I uh…" she started shakily before clearing her throat once more. "I suppose it's all right, but I don't think it's wise if we go beyond that this morning…"

Roy opened his eyes and Riza felt as if the atmosphere was twice thicker than it really was. How was he so damn gorgeous? "No matter, love. I just want to quell my thirst. No need for us to go all the way until your aching has completely gone."

"S-Sure then…now?"

The brigadier general merely let out a hum of confirmation before he tore his robe open and casted it to the side. He rolled the both of them so that his wife was underneath him. Tenderly, he seized her lips, and kissed her slowly. His hands claimed each of her own and he pinned them above her head. Roy deepened their kiss, letting his tongue caress the crevices of her mouth.

Riza's eyes fell close as she lay slack on their bed, falling enslaved by the actions of his tongue in her mouth. A growing warmth was spreading beneath the expanse of her skin, making her spine tingle. She felt tiny flickers of fire dance upon the tips of her fingers and the ends of her toes. At these heated sensations, she let out a small moan which Roy easily swallowed.

Soon, he left her mouth and trailed downwards, leaving a path of kisses and stopping only by her breasts. Roy focused on giving her mounds ample attention to get her further into the mood, which was an easy feat to do that morning. The brigadier general took a moment to tear himself away from his wife, leaving only his hands to work her breasts.

The sight that greeted him left him speechless and in awe. The dark of their room the night before certainly didn't allow him to fully indulge in the view of his wife at such a state. Riza's blush was not confined to her face or even up to her neck. There was a faint red that seemed to cover the whole stretch of her skin. Unable to help it, Roy seized her lips once more; and in contrast to the earlier kisses, this one was hungry.

"There is just no limit on how much you amaze me, is there?" he sighed dreamily against her lips. The alchemist retraced the path of kisses he left earlier and let his body sink further downwards, taking their covers with him as he went. His hands left her breasts and settled on her shapely waist. Roy grazed the skin of the side of her hipbone before sinking his teeth and delivering a bite on it.

The sharpness of his teeth's assault on her skin sent a jolt that made Riza grasp the edges of the pillow her head rested on. A soft hiss escaped her lips but it soon dissolved as his tongue soothed the assailed area. The markswoman waited with baited breath on his next maneuver.

Each hand traced each length of her thighs, and Roy could feel the shiver his wife tried to suppress. His hands felt the bumps on her sensitive skin due to the piloerection, and he had to smile to himself. It brings him an inexplicable mix of pride and glee that she was so responsive to his touches.

His hands settled on the back of her knees as he sought to open her up gingerly. Roy's heartbeat quickened as she let him part her legs without much of a hesitation. Her trust in him handling her the way he wanted sent his mind reeling, but he was set on executing things in such a way that she won't ever regret it.

"So, so ravishing…" he couldn't help but utter before he made another trail of kisses from one back of her knee. His thumb made sure to trace a similar path on her opposite thigh.

Her eyes hooded as soon as he laid his mouth on the inside of her limb and Riza's mouth fell open, letting out heavy breaths with each kiss. The heat began to pool on her core when she felt his lips inch closer to her apex and everything around them just melted away. It was as if there were only her and him now. She blindly reached for his pillow and slid it under hers so that she could watch him, anticipation building within her.

When his face was practically next to her zenith, her smell wafted to his nose and Roy felt his mouth water once more. He could liken it to a tangerine smell with a sizeable amount of peach. She smelt equal parts tangy and sweet, like a fruit whose nectar was stuck in between ripe and premature. In short, Riza smelt perfect and he could only imagine how delectable she would taste.

He lifted his head only slightly to take in more of her whiff before he pressed his lips on the top of her cleft, on the downy wisps of light blonde hair. Roy wound one arm around each of her thigh and he let her legs rest on his back to keep them open. His fingers parted her labia and the pinkness of her pussy was all the more inviting for him. Without a moment's hesitance, he darted his tongue out and traced her entrance.

As quickly as he did, Riza sucked in a breath and her eyes closed tight. His tongue was wet, warm, and firm with hints of delicate tenderness against her naked flesh. It had only been a mere moment when he had introduced his oral muscle on her cunt, yet she was already a happy victim of his devilish mouth.

All of a sudden, however, his tongue retracted from her flesh.

"What—"

"Relax. You're too wound up…tensed," he said.

Riza merely nodded, unable to say anything. The sight of his head in between her thighs was a view that was beyond the wildest of her fantasies. She took a few deep breaths and relax her back, her thighs following suit.

When he saw that she had loosened up once more, he dipped his head back and took a whiff of her once more before he let his tongue out and licked her slit. Roy repeated the action a few times until she started to whimper. His index fingers stretched the sides of her entrance a little more and plunged his tongue into her cavern.

"Oh!"

Delighted at her reaction, Roy swirled his tongue against the walls of her pussy, pressing and prodding in no particular pattern. He heard her whimpers escalate into throaty groans as he began to create friction between two highly-lubricated fleshes. Roy pressed into her further and curled his tongue upwards, hitting a spongy spot that was approximately at the back of her exposed clit.

"Roy!"

Her exclamation of his name made the corners of his open mouth lift upwards. For sure, the alchemist looked most silly as such but he had nary a concern. Roy was too busy driving his wife to the walls. Humming slightly, the brigadier general let the tip of his tongue strike the newly discovered spongy spot in haphazard circles and slapdash lines.

Her head started thrashing when her movements became a little more hurried and far more urgent. Riza's toes curled, pinching a spot or two on the skin of his back. There were many heated ripples moving about her skin, making her grit her teeth as he pressed her further and deeper into the throes of her pleasure. His tongue was both soothing and exciting on her flesh that she felt more than just her stomach quivering under its motions.

"Roy…" she moaned his name indulgently, the monosyllabic word lengthened as her gratification intensified. Riza arched forward when he burrowed deeper into her pussy, her core searing with an intense heat that she didn't feel last night. Her hands left their grasp on the pillow and settled on his hair, fingers sliding amongst his strands.

Moisture collected beneath her shut eyes and the colonel struggled to resist the force of her climax. Every time his tongue drew arbitrary patterns on her spot, she felt as if she was going to combust. A few more of his tongue slashing her flesh sent her over the edge and Riza felt as if she was consumed by his fire, though this was the kind of fire that she could be obsessed with.

"A-Ah, iku!"

Right after he heard her announce her orgasm, Roy gripped her thighs in preparation of what was to come. He made sure his mouth stayed latched onto her cunt as his wife arched off their bed to make way for her release. Her come came in a single, almost catastrophic wave that had him almost drowned. The alchemist opened his mouth to drink her juices, swallowing hastily so he would waste very little of her sweet nectar. Roy hummed in satisfaction when she relaxed back into the mattress.

"O-oh my…" Riza drawled, gasps following her breathless words. Her chest rose up and fell down in a pace that would have been alarming if it weren't for the event that preceded it. Running a hand down her sweaty face, the colonel shivered as she felt the cool air of their bedroom against her heated skin.

"That felt good?"

"Great," she corrected, voice languid.

Roy rubbed the junctions of her thighs and pussy with his hands and smirked. "Good, because I'm not done."

Her brown orbs popped open to let her see the devious look on his smug face. However, her mind was still a mush of endorphins for it to make any sense to her. "H-Huh?"

Riza caught one last smirk from him before the view of his face was replaced by his dark mop of hair. A strangled cry escaped her throat when he blew a hot breath on her still-tingling pussy. He can't possibly—

"Oh, g-god!" Her own pleasured wail disrupted her barely coherent train of thought when he flattened his tongue against her clitoris. Her hands reclaimed their grip on his hair. The splashing sounds his tongue was making as it grazed her nub was so indecent that she felt her body temperature rise once more. "Fuck. Fuuuuck, Roy! Ah!"

His eyes remained open, watching her as her face contorted to depict her pleasure. The tip of his tongue ran up and down her bundle of nerves, as if waking it up. Soon, her true clit erected from its hood and Roy pressed on the sensitive button. He felt her hips retract slightly but his arms tugged her close and back in place.

There was a protest forming on her mouth as the sensation of her tongue became too much to bear. It was like a thousand nerve endings being electrocuted all at once, but her protest thawed into nothingness as his strong muscles pulled her back to his tongue. Her vision blurred then she started seeing double as his tongue drove the naked clitoris in random directions.

Her fingers tugged a little more on his hair and her legs went from resting on his back to locking around his neck. Roy's wicked mouth had her completely enslaved, but she couldn't bring it in herself to complain. Riza wasn't sure if she wanted to.

His ears perked when she let out an unbridled scream when his mouth replaced his tongue. Her creamy thighs seemed to have tightened their loop around his neck but he didn't mind one bit. It only meant she was leaving him no room to escape giving her the pleasure that she deserved. And so, he went to work.

The slicking noises of his mouth suckling on her clit was joined by her pleasured sobs. Soon, their bedroom was filled with a cacophony of explicit desire as he began his task to send her flying to oblivion once more. Roy ravished his wife's cunt, the whole of his head moving in rhythm with his mouth as he sought to stimulate the whole of her apex.

"Fuck. Fuck. Ohh, fuck. Roy…just…don't stop, don't stop! Ahh!"

Her hips rose slightly as the familiar, scorching heat erupted in her core. The reactions of her body to Roy's wicked mouth was already beyond Riza's control and she didn't bother reclaiming it. Instead, she willingly submitted to the urge of releasing the tension that was begging to snap within her.

"Junshou!" she screamed as she came, convulsing on their bed as Roy kept her in place with his arms. His mouth never left her cunt as she rode her climax, movements slowing down into gentle tugs and tender swipes of his tongue until she comes down from her high.

Roy kissed the insides of her thighs before he wiped his chest with the nearby sheet. He certainly didn't expect a second release from her but it was certainly something that utterly fascinated him. Crawling back to his side of the bed, he wrapped an arm around his wife and pressed a soft kiss on her lips.

"You know…" he started.

Several pants escaped her mouth before Riza yawned to take in more oxygen that her lungs definitely needed. It didn't surprise her that her voice was both breathless and scratchy when she spoke. "What?"

"Screaming my rank like that when you came is like the stuff dreams are made of," he crooned into her ear. "I think I might just go crazy when I hear you call me that at work."

Riza buried her face into his neck, smelling a sultry mixture of his sweat and hers. "Let's keep it very modest at work, please."

The brigadier general harrumphed and then smirked. "But of course. I wouldn't want any other man to hear how sexy you sound during sex."

Heat crept to her neck and cheeks. "Stop talking so uncouthly."

"Fine, fine," he acquiesced, even if the smug expression remained on his face. "How about we take a nap? We're not in a hurry to do something today, and I already fed Hayate."

"Sounds good."

"Mm. I was thinking maybe we can grab some brunch later," he mumbled softly.

Riza lazily raised her head to look at him directly. "Like together?"

"Yes, love, together."

She furrowed her brows slightly. "But we can't be seen together."

"Yes, we can. Look, I plan on announcing our engagement when your grandfather transfers his duties to me—"

"Wait, announce?!" The colonel was awoken now, and she leaned slightly away from him to better make sense of what he was saying. "You're going to announce it?!"

Roy looked to the side and puckered his lips. "Maybe announce is a poor word choice. Maybe, insinuate? I don't know. Look, my plan is that you're going to be sporting an engagement ring in the inaugural party and we'll let the rumor mill do its job. The plan of having a quiet and private ceremony with just family and friends still stands, my love. So, don't you worry about that. No public coverage, no media, no anything."

"All right, good," she said, settling back against his warm chest. "Back to your main point, Roy-kun?"

"Right, so. As I was saying, we can be seen in public together. Like maybe once or twice a month. In the eyes of the public, our relationship needs to have some sort of foundation before the engagement-then-ceremonial-wedding thing happens. We can't just pop out of the blue and say we're engaged to be married. There needs to be some kind of build up," he said.

Riza closed her eyes and sighed. "And five years being suspected of fraternization isn't enough of a build up for you, husband dear?"

Huffing, Roy combed her blonde hair with his fingers. "I just want to paint us in a good light. We never went out together alone unless we were wearing uniforms back when you were under my command. They would never have any sufficient evidence of fraternization simply because nothing really happened then. Now, though, we can go out in civilian clothes together for a meal or even a whole day under the guise of courtship. No one will suspect we're already married as long as we act awkward and aloof around each other in public."

"So, Little Roy-boy and Tiny Rizi then," she concluded.

"Yes, but no bow clips on your hair and suspenders on my pants."

Riza smiled gently. "Mm, I kind of liked those suspenders."

"The answer is already a staggering 'no' even before you ask, Mustang."

"Tsktsk. Such a buzzkill," the blonde grumbled.

"Anyways…yes to brunch?" the alchemist queried.

"Yes to brunch."

Two cups of coffee later and the Flame Alchemist was still letting out huge, uncontrollable yawns. It didn't help that the rest of his unit seemed to be under the same sleepy spell that he was under. Sighing, he ran a hand over his face and rested his cheek against his palm. It was far too early in the morning to be in the Central HQ but their job requires them to do so.

It was the day when they were expecting the Briggs forces to come to Central for joint exercises. Old man Grumman had called for an assembly at six in the goddamn morning to brief them of what would happen in the next few weeks or so. If it were up to him, he would have just circulated a newsletter as the publication could very well be enough for the Führer's announcements.

"Havoc, go do something stupid," he lazily mumbled, scrawling his signature on one of the documents on his table. "Like set off a fire alarm or something."

The man in question popped his head up languidly to look at his commanding officer. The now-First Lieutenant knotted his brows and hung his mouth slightly open. "I'm not going to do that, Chief. And why would you even ask that of me?"

"Fuery would be to cowardly to do it. Falman would be nervous to do something potentially dangerous. Breda's expertise doesn't include those types of things," Roy explained, stirring his empty coffee mug. "That leaves you to do the bidding, Havoc. Besides, we could just blame it on your carelessness or something."

Havoc rolled his eyes and went back to the paperwork he was struggling to check. "If you are so bored, Chief, why don't you go bother the Colonel next door?"

Blinking lazily, Roy shook his head and sighed. "And find several bullet holes on my head in the next minute? No, thank you."

"Doubt she'll even aim her gun to you, Junshou."

"Oh, she does that quite a lot when she's annoyed with me," he groaned crossing his arms and laying his head on them. "Besides, that girlfriend of yours will throw me out even before I could open my mouth so that's not even an option in the first place."

Jean chuckled and filed the piece of paper away on his finished pile. "I wasn't aware you're scared of Becky, Chief."

A snort sounded from the Flame Alchemist. "I'm not afraid of her; she just annoys me so much."

"I think the feeling's mutual, though," Jean quipped, pulling another document to check. "I do know of another person in the next room whom you have mutual feelings for."

"She'd appreciate it if we don't talk about it so trivially, Chuui," Roy hummed, closing his eyes.

"Else, you'd run crying to her, Chief?"

"Yes," he answered without even a moment of reluctance. "And you wouldn't like the consequences, Havoc. I'll just be in the corner laughing my ass off."

"It's serious then, finally?"

Roy brought his head up to look at the room and found his unit looking towards him, expecting his confirmation. "Why the sudden interest, minna?"

Breda, Falman, Havoc, and Fuery exchanged looks before the blonde lieutenant shrugged and hummed. "We just wish to extend our congratulations."

"You're sappy, the whole lot of you," he quipped, raising a brow. "Who's running the bets?"

Heymans cleared his throat and smirked. "Truthfully speaking, Chief, there's no betting pool. We just knew."

"Knew what?" Roy queried, wrinkling his brows.

Havoc clicked his tongue and rocked back on his chair. "Oh, please, Boss. We're all men here. Even the Kain picked up on the signs between you two."

"And you talked about us behind our backs?"

"N-Nothing bad, Sir!" Fuery was quick to assure. "It was just that the dynamic between Hawkeye-Taisa and yourself was something beyond professional relations."

"Look, nothing happened between Hawk—"

"We know that, Sir," Falman interjected with a nod. "Just by knowing Hawkeye-Taisa alone, we know that you two never did anything that went against the Military's code of conduct. She is very much goal-driven to have fallen from the path she had chosen."

Roy nodded, glad that his team seemed to be understanding of them both, in their own twisted way. The Flame Alchemist looked at the four men in the room before sighing softly. "I learned everything I know about alchemy from her father; I've known her since she was four, basically the majority of our lives."

Falman put his hand against his chin, expression thoughtful. "That explains a lot then. You simply weren't close friends. You were childhood friends."

"Indeed."

The rest of the day was pretty much a whirlwind for Roy as he buried himself in paperwork and Xing-related meetings. The brigadier general exerted extra effort to avoid running into Olivier Mira Armstrong in the hallways when the arrival of Briggs' forces was announced all throughout Central HQ.

However, his luck ran dry when the day ended, and a knock sounded on his office door. The junshou had dismissed his team an hour before and had hoped that the extra hour would allow him to ensure that Olivier has already left the building. Apparently, that was not the case when the now-Lieutenant General let herself into the room.

Before he could even speak, Olivier did. "Meet me in the second to the last conference room in the west wing, near the exit to the firing range. I have personally secured the area and no one is left in the west wing. Bring Hawkeye-Taisa with you."

Roy raised a brow at her odd behavior. "Am I getting an explanation, at least?"

"You'll know when you two get there. Now, be quick about it, and make sure absolutely no one follows you."

The Junshou could only stare as his superior officer walked out of his room with a flourish that accompanied her when she entered. Sighing, he collected his belongings and locked the room before going to the adjacent one. Roy raised his fist and poised to knock on the door before it opened and revealed Riza's team set on clocking out of work.

They saluted him crisply before their single file dispersed into the hallway and turned to let themselves out of the building. Roy closed the door behind him and smiled at his wife, setting his briefcase on one of the tables. "I'm not here for anything else but to extend summons."

"From whom?"

Letting out a huff, Roy walked to the window behind Riza and carefully peeked outside, making sure that he wasn't visible to the people exiting the Central HQ. "Olivier, my love. She didn't give me a reason. She merely said to meet her in the second to the last conference room in the west wing, near the exit to the firing range."

A brow raised as Riza realized which conference room the Chuujou wanted to meet them in. "That's the conference room filled with numerous bookshelves, enabling for almost no sound to come out. What could she want us there for?"

Roy rolled his eyes and an annoyed expression occupied his face. "Probably our murder, for all I know."

"Then why am I included, then?" the colonel mumbled, collecting her bag and watching as Roy picked up Black Hayate.

"Whatever, let's just go. I don't want to spend any more time than necessary in a meeting with Armstrong."

Riza shook her head and led them out of her office. "Armstrong-Chuujou," she stressed. "She is two ranks above you."

"I don't really care, Ri."

The colonel could only sigh at her husband's petty, childish behavior towards the female general.

As expected, Olivier was waiting for them inside the indicated conference room. Even if she had been in Central for a few hours now, her winter coat was still very much on her shoulders. The female general occupied one end of the table, and Roy sat on the opposite end, wanting to gain distance from her as much as possible. Riza sat by his right.

"I'll get straight to the point only because I don't wish to spend any minute with you more than necessary, Mustang," Armstrong stated, sitting back against the chair she occupied. "I need your help to repeal the fraternization law."

The Lieutenant General's request shocked the couple into silence and Roy looked hard towards the blonde opposite him before sparing a quick glance towards his wife. It took him a minute to recover from his stunned state, and turned back into his borderline-bastardly banter with Olivier.

"The frat laws? Why? Who are you going to bed, Olivier?"

Before the woman in question could even open her mouth to answer him, Roy shrieked in pain when his wife kicked him under the table. The brigadier general shot his wife a pained look, complete with a full pout on his lips. However, he remained speechless.

"I apologise for the Junshou's inexcusable queries, Armstrong-Chuujou. Please continue."

"What I am about to tell you is a well-kept secret amongst our family but the person involved does not know just yet so I would appreciate it if you kept this among us three," Olivier warned, eyeing Roy in particular. "Else, I will castrate you with my sabre, Mustang."

The brigadier general rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "The hell are you singling me out for, Olivier?"

"Reasons," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Anyways, there's no better way to say it than just stating it directly so…"

Roy held back the impudent retort building in his mind as he noticed Olivier's haughty demeanor liquefy into something like dejection. Even the Flame Alchemist who sets out to antagonize her at almost any chance he gets was rendered silent just at the sight of her shoulders dropping and her face turning grave.

Under the table, Olivier's hands shook so she clasped them together. "For the longest time, my youngest sister has been living a lie. Simply put, she is my daughter. I…I got involved with a military man when I was in my late teens and one thing led to another…"

The silence in the room was as thick as the bookshelves that covered its walls. When Olivier sensed that neither of the two were going to say anything regarding her revelation, she continued.

"Of course, it was the scandal of the worst kind, at least in the view of the Armstrong family. My father ordered for anyone who knew not to breathe a word of it to anyone else. Those who did would be killed. My mother had to act pregnant and I had to live in the North in isolation until I gave birth. My father sent me to the military academe as soon as I recovered and made sure I was stationed away from Central so I wouldn't reveal the truth to Catherine. Father also made sure to station him away from me so we wouldn't repeat the so-called fiasco."

She swallowed as the thoughts of her muddled past came back to her in small scenes and chopped episodes. Olivier took another breath and her gloved fingers fiddled against each other. "The reason I brought this on all now is that my parents are getting old. Soon, they will no longer be able to function properly as Catherine's parents. And of course, my goal to claim her and care for her as my daughter never wavered. I figured that abolishing those laws will allow me to do that while keeping my—our—careers."

After her monologue, Roy couldn't contain interjecting anymore. "Wait, so you mean to say this…military man…of yours is still active?"

"Yes, he is. He is also a high-ranking official in the South City. He and I have long planned for this, and now seems to be the right time as the government is undergoing reforms. No more homunculi, no more Bradley. Lt. General Fender and I have agreed that being together as a real family is what's best for our daughter," Olivier nodded.

"Alonzo Perseus Fender-Chuujou, Olivier? You Armstrong women really have a thing for the hunky chunkies."

"ROY!" Riza exclaimed, eyes bulging out and foot delivering another blow to his shin, eliciting another yelp from the alchemist.

"I am very tempted to court martial you just for that remark, Mustang."

"Oh please, it will be just like bringing my own wife to court just because she called me by my first name…at…work…"

Riza's eyes widened just a fraction more at his loose mouth and the blonde colonel had to wind her hands together to avoid slugging the man in his jaw. On top of it all, they ached to reach towards her holster, and ached to make herself a widow.

Silently, she laid her forehead against her tightened knuckles and asked for whatever divine intervention was out there to give her back the last few minutes of her life so she could sew her husband's mouth shut.

Olivier Mira Armstrong's eyes twinkled at the revelation and her fingers tapped rhythmically on the oak table. "Well, now, it seems like we have secrets of our own, Mustang. Or should I say Mustangs?"

Feeling the need to soften the blow he landed on himself, Roy looked towards Riza before glaring at Olivier. "Well at least we haven't an illegitimate child we're passing off as a sibling!"

Riza's ears flared at his statement and she stood up, easily twisting her husband's arm. "Roy, would you stop talking as if your arse is in your mouth?!"

Olivier sipped her tea as she watched Riza threaten to dislocate her own husband's shoulder. A smirk formed on her lips and she hid it behind her cup. It amused her greatly to see the annoying upstart of a Junshou sport a gravely admonished look sponsored by his firecracker of a wife.

"I'm surprised you haven't put a bullet between his eyes, Hawkeye-Taisa."

Roy opened his mouth but as soon as Riza turned to him, his teeth clacked shut.

Riza threw her husband one last hard glare before sighing and shaking her head. "Believe me, Chuujou. The thought crosses my mind several times a day."

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, then soothed the growing tension on her occipitals. "Anyways, we'll be assisting in every way we can, Chuujou, even if we cannot commit immediately. I have the Ishvalan restoration on my plate while Junshou has foreign relations coming up to resolve. I can, however, lend you my adjutant from time to time as she is also a willing proponent for the change in frat laws."

"Any word whether the Führer is for or against the idea?"

The kicked puppy expression on Roy's face was soon replaced by a smug look, making him look awkward with his arm seized in a locked twist. "I can tell for sure that he is not against it."

"How so?"

"Well, he kept on telling me for years to just get up and marry his granddaughter already."

The statement made Olivier pause and a brow raised slightly as she assessed the situation. Certainly, Roy wouldn't have brought it up if—

"Taisa, you are related to Führer Grumman?"

"Directly related, if I may," smugly answered the colonel's husband. "Sole daughter of his sole daughter, if you will."

The Lt. General's eyes bugged slightly before she composed herself once more. "Well, this is easier than I expected then."

"Certainly," Roy crooned.

"And it makes me feel extremely assured that I know two of your secrets now."

Although not affronted, Riza looked at Olivier curiously. "Sorry?"

"The revelation of your marriage pales in comparison to my reveal of my daughter. Your relation with Grumman somehow compensates for it, no offence."

"None taken. I—We— wouldn't have had kept it if it weren't a delicate matter."

"I understand completely," answered Olivier, as she stood up and grabbed her sabre.

The brigadier general stood up hurriedly as soon as Riza released his arm. "Wait. Didn't Alex arrange for Catherine's suitor just a few months ago?"

His question made Olivier stop. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes in both frustration and anger. "Did he?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"I apologise if it's not to your knowledge, Chuujou," Riza offered softly, eyeing the other blonde in concern.

"Make no mistake. Alex is as soft-hearted as he is, and naturally, he is afraid of our father so he does whatever father wills most of the time. It sounds like my father still wishes to get rid of Catherine by marrying her off to just somebody," the female general explained.

Riza frowned deeply at Olivier's statements but she could only let out a heavy sigh, watching as the normally stoic and lofty Olivier Mira Armstrong woefully excused herself from the conference room.

They walked Roy's way of getting home and the uncomfortable silence grated on the brigadier general. Every time he would strike up a conversation with his wife, she would give non-committal hums or ignore him completely. It continued till they were inside their flat, and Riza disappeared to the bathroom. Roy took it as a cue to start dinner.

Her silence continued throughout the night and Roy began to rethink the events of the whole day just to know whether he had wronged her in any way. When mere introspection didn't work, the alchemist turned to his wife to ask what was wrong.

"I—"

"I cannot believe how immature and outright disrespectful you were to Armstrong-Chuujou earlier!" she bellowed all of a sudden, making his heart jump and in a nervous way.

Roy swallowed as he watched Riza storm towards his direction, face livid and fists tightly clenched. There seemed to be a hurricane that aided her step and the brigadier general took an unsteady step back towards the counter. He closed his eyes and braced for impact, expecting a jab to his face.

None came.

He dared open his eyes and saw his wife shaking in fury before him and he stuttered out an apology. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and on his temple, and they slithered down his skin the longer he was under her fuming gaze. Roy was wise enough to stay silent until she had finished berating him.

"The Chuujou came to us for help, for aid in her troubles, hoping that she would come to an understanding with us but you've chosen to ridicule her not once, but thrice!" Riza roared. "I don't know what came over that impish head of yours to say those things, Roy, but I am more than just disappointed in you! Do you have any explanation for your dastardly actions earlier?!"

His jaw tightened as he scrambled for a way to vindicate himself. Before he could, Riza turned on her heel and stormed towards their bedroom. "B-But, Ri, Olivier didn't m-mind. I…uh, I m-mean if she did, do you think I would be alive right now?"

The sniper faced her husband and shoved him away roughly as he tried to catch her in an embrace. "That's not the bloody point, Mustang!"

Roy stood still for a few moments as Riza shut the door to their room. The feeling of extreme guilt overcame him and he lazily walked over to the sofa, burying his face in his hands. His schoolyard banters during their meeting really were uncalled for. Roy was starting to realise the gravity of Olivier's situation, and the selfless courage that urged her to seek help from them when she couldn't take care of the matter anymore.

On top of it all, he made Riza furious. It was probably what caused him the discomfort most. Shutting the lamp, he curled on the cushions of the sofa in an attempt to make himself fit in it. Roy barely got the chance to sleep soundly that night, with his head running several miles a minute.

Which was why he found himself knocking on the door of Olivier's temporary office first thing in the morning.

Miles let him in but every subordinate soon left when Armstrong commanded them to.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Roy bent his waist and bowed, closing his eyes as he did. "I apologise for my discourteous words and blatantly disrespectful insinuations yesterday, Chuujou. They are inexcusable, and you can rest assured that they will never happen again."

Olivier sat stunned at the gesture and her breath hitched as Mustang voluntarily offered to lower himself in front of her. Ever since they met, it seemed that the alchemist didn't mind whether there existed a rank difference between them. He always set out to annoy her, but she was quick to dismiss him because reacting would only goad him further.

Yesterday, however, was a different story when he poked fun at her life choices. If she didn't need their help, she really would have dragged his puny arse to court. "At ease, soldier. Think nothing of it anymore. Did your wife put you up to this?"

Roy straightened himself and looked towards the window, following to dot the military conduct for looking at a superior officer when they were smaller than one was, or situated lower than oneself. "No, Ma'am. She has no knowledge of this."

"And drop the formality. It makes me sick," Olivier grumbled. "Never thought I'd see the day you'll be lowering yourself to anyone…save for your wife, maybe."

"The old me wouldn't have apologised but Riza is more than enough reason to always become a better man," he said, staring forlornly at the floor.

The female general brushed her long fringe to the side. "We all have our reasons to be better."

Roy gave her a knowing smirk and nodded. "Indeed."

A/N: Bowing as a gesture...I know it's more commonly done in the Orient, but remember that the universe of FMA happened in the early 20th century so this is still much a thing in the West, albeit it was more common in the elite. I really research little things like this because I want this to be as accurate as possible! Teehee. Thanks for reading, as always!