She could feel the heat from his hand radiating over her behind. She closed her eyes, already feeling the sting...She inhaled and held her breath in anticipation. He could tell her body was tensed. He brought his hand down softly and placed it on her right butt cheek, chuckling as she winced at the light contact. 'shit…' she thought to herself, 'he knew…' "I can tell you are waiting for it, but I want it to be a surprise" he said. "I-I'm sorry sir...I can't help i-" she was cut off by a sharp slap. "A-Ah!" she yelped as the heat from the hit pulsed through her lower body. His tone was smooth, but his demand cut through the air like a knife.

"Count."

"...One…".

(Flashback a month prior)

He was asleep at his desk again. Riza sighed as she approached him and slammed a stack of random papers and manila folders papers on his desk. He jolted at the sudden loud intrusion in front of him and Riza rolled her eyes. "Sir, wake up and do something...please…" he glanced up at Riza with a tired and sly look on his face. "Okay Riza, how about I ask you to dinner tonight? And don't call me sir..." She gave Roy a slightly annoyed look and attempted to ignore the light blush that threatened to spread on her cheeks. "Maybe if you actually get enough work done to leave at a decent time…" she mumbled. He smiled and looked up at her with the palm of his right hand resting beneath chin, "deal." She raised an eyebrow at his agreement and scoffed, 'he won't get anything done…' she rolled her eyes again and walked back to her desk.

Roy watched her as she flounced away and smirked to himself. If this was a chance to get her in his grasp, he was going to take it. He grabbed the closest pen and a paper from the stack Riza dropped on his desk, "Boy Mustang, that's the most determined I've seen you look in a long time," Hughes commented as he walked in the door. Roy looked up at him with an amused face, "Hey, I could be getting a date for doing this," Hughes approached Roy rapidly and got close to his face "With who? Is it with Hawkeye? Did you finally get her to say yes? " Roy glanced around, trying to make sure there wasn't any unnecessary attention being drawn to his desk before he nodded very slightly. He clasped a hand over Hughes' mouth, preventing the onslaught of noises that were to emerge. The ecstatic look on his face assured Roy he made the right decision doing so. "Don't go blabbing about it, it's just dinner...And if you distract me there is no way I'll finish enough. Keep it on the down-low alright?" Hughes nodded and backed away from Roy. "Have fun! Don't work yourself too hard!" he winked as he walked away. Roy looked down at his desk and sighed, 'It'll be worth it…' he thought to himself as he picked the pen back up and opened the next folder.

*many hours later*

It was around 7:00 pm, and Riza walked with her normal confidence into Roy's office. She was very surprised to see him awake...and with a very neat stack of completed papers on his desk. Her eyes widened in shock, "Did you finish all of the documents?" Roy nodded, obviously very pleased with himself. "Wow, I have to say Roy I'm very impressed, I honestly didn't think you'd finish half of those." Roy smiled at her, "So let's go then." She looked at Roy blankly, confused by the statement, "We are going to my place for dinner," he said smoothly as he stood up from his chair and put on his coat. Riza froze for a moment as she remembered her earlier conversation with him. 'oh yeah…' She straightened herself up quickly and cleared her throat, "Yes...A deal is a deal. Let's go then".

She waited for Roy to round his desk and she followed him, grabbing her jacket on the way out. 'Why did I agree to this?...' She became flustered as she was able to easily and quickly answer her own question. She knew exactly why...she'd always had feelings for Roy, but never really knew how to express them. This should work right? He agreed, he must have some feelings for her…Her thought bubbles vanished as she ran into Roy's back. They both jumped at the sudden contact. Roy turned to look at the now even more flustered Riza, "S-sorry sir I wasn't paying attention…" he smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it," he commented. He leaned himself closer to her and looked into her eyes. His grip slightly tightened on her shoulder. She had never seen a look like this before...his deep brown orbs nearly melted her where she stood. "and don't call me sir…" he said, only loud enough for her ears to hear. She felt a small wave of heat pulse through her as his words hit her ears. She was shocked at the feelings he could give her by just looking into her eyes and saying words...He smiled and turned back around, "Let's continue on, shall we?" She blushed and scolded herself for nearly falling apart at his feet as she continued behind him without a word.

The sky was softly lit with light pinks and oranges of the setting sun as the two approached Roy's apartment. He took his key out from his jacket pocket and inserted it into the handle of the door. When the door opened, Riza peaked inside. She had never been to Roy's apartment before. It was surprisingly clean and had a faint smell of coffee and linen. She stepped in after he walked through the door. It was quite nice for an apartment. The living room was visible as she entered. It had a nice black leather couch opposite a medium sized flat-screen sitting on a glass entertainment center. The living area was connected right to the kitchen.

Roy observed Riza as she looked around. "What would you like for dinner?" His voice snapped her out of her trance, "Oh...um…" she hesitated. She hadn't really been thinking about food on the way there...what was something easy…Roy interrupted her thinking, "I could make up some pasta? That's simple enough. Is that alright?" She nodded, "Yes, that sounds wonderful actually." "Take a seat Riza." He motioned toward the couch and she smiled lightly, taking off her jacket. She placed it onto a hook behind the front door. She took her shoes off and sat on the couch. She looked around at all of the other furnishings of the apartment, including a few pictures of Roy that hung on the robin's-egg shaded walls. She smiled at one of them portraying Roy and Hughes. Roy had his usual slightly annoyed but friendly smile while Hughes wrapped one arm around Roy, grinning broadly. A loud crash frightened Riza, she quickly made her way over to the kitchen and saw Roy picking an empty pot off of the floor. Riza let out a sigh and proceeded into the kitchen. "Are you alright?" Riza asked, "Yeah, just dropped it." "Would you like me to help?" she asked politely, "If you feel like helping I won't turn you away." Roy responded.

He began filling the pot with water from the sink, "Could you grab the pasta box from the cupboard over there? It's on the middle shelf." She looked to where he was pointing and nodded, grabbing the green box of linguini noodles from the cupboard. Once the water started to boil, she snapped a handful of the noodles in half and placed them in the pot. She stepped away and began to look around again. She admired the stainless steel appliances and granite counters. This place really was very nice, it made her wonder what the rest of the house looked like. Roy smiled lightly and watched Riza as she inspected his kitchen. She was so beautiful. He finally got her outside of a work environment, something he had been trying to do for so long. He wanted to move fast with her, but one wrong push and she would be gone. He sighed to himself which made Riza turn to him, "Is something wrong?" Riza asked, "Not at all." Roy responded smoothly and smiled at her. His voice made her head spin, but she didn't want him knowing that. The look in her eyes, however, let Roy know all he needed to. When the timer for the noodles chimed, Roy walked over to the stove. He passed by Riza and lightly brushed his hand across hers. The contact send a jolt of energy through Riza's body and made her blush. He emptied the pots contents into a strainer and grinned at himself, knowing he could get a rise out of Riza.

He poured some fettuccine sauce onto the noodles and added some leftover grilled chicken he had in the refrigerator. He pulled down two plates and wine glasses from one of the other cupboards and evenly distributed the pasta onto the plates. Riza sat down on a stool pushed up against the island in the middle of Roy's kitchen. Roy set one plate and one glass in front of her and he smiled, "I feel like a chef," Riza lightly scoffed and commented, "Except for the fact that I helped…" Roy ignored her comment, "And what would you like to drink with your pasta my dear?" Riza flushed slightly at the question, but decided to play along with his little game. "I will have your finest glass of water please." "Are you sure you wouldn't like a glass of wine? I have a perfectly good bottle up in the cabinet over there." he offered. Riza pondered, "Alright, I'll have a glass. Are you going to drink some too?" Roy shrugged, "I don't see why not." He went to the cabinet and pulled out a clear wine bottle filled with a deep red wine. He popped the cork and poured the two glasses a bit less than halfway full. He handed Riza a set of silverware and her glass. "Thank you." She said, taking the items from his hands. "Anything for a guest." He said kindly as he grabbed his plate and glass and walked over to the stool next her. She sipped the wine from her glass. It was a sweet cherry wine. The pasta was decent as well. Riza broke the silence, "I was shocked you finished all of that paperwork. I never knew the incentive of dinner would have that much of an impact." Roy smiled and took a drink from his glass, "It gave me something to look forward to. Maybe we should do this more often, hm?" Riza looked at him and smiled, "Yeah, maybe…" The way Riza looked at him made him feel like a 10 year old with a crush on a classmate. It felt good.

After awhile of sipping wine and eating pasta, Roy wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it on the countertop. "Are you finished with your plate? I can take it for you," he asked. "Oh! Yeah I am, thank you." Riza handed Roy her plate and he took it to the sink. She stood up and brought both empty glasses to the sink, too. Roy looked at her, "Would you like to head home now or would you like to stay for awhile longer?" Riza contemplated for a few seconds. She knew she wanted to stay with him for as long as possible, but she also didn't want to seem too desperate. "Maybe I'll stay next time." she said with a smile.

She walked to the front door and slipped on her shoes and jacket. Roy walked over to her. "May I walk you home?" "I think I can manage, sir." Riza went to open the door, but Roy stepped forward and pushed it shut. Riza turned to face Roy and found herself nearly right in front of his face. His body towered over her; her cheeks flushed the instant their eyes met and her voice tremored. His body was so close and his scent was so strong. She wasn't brought to her knees easily, but he was one of the only people who could make her crumble.

"R-Roy…" she cursed at herself for stuttering. "Riza…" his voice was serious, but there was something different about this. "Don't call me sir…" "I'm sorry Roy...it's just hard for me to get out of habits like that…" Roy grinned and chuckled "Maybe we just need a way to break the habit...a game possibly." "A game?" Riza was intrigued. Roy nodded and let go of the door, slightly backing away from Riza. "That, however, can be a discussion for another night." Riza frantically tried to collect herself. She had never had him so close to her before, and she hated to admit she felt a bit of disappointment when he backed away. "Should we do this again next week?" He asked. "S-sure," she responded and she gathered her shoes, coat and pride. They bid each other goodnight and Roy closed his door. He leaned his head back against the wall. He had nearly broke at the sight of her face when they were so close. He wanted her so badly but he knew he had to give her some time. 'Soon enough…' he thought, 'we will discuss the game"...