The Value of Things Like Paperclips

Author: MoonStarDutchess

Part Two: Roy's Eavesdropping and Decision

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and gain no profit from this fanfiction.

AN: Not my best writing in this chapter since I'm a bit rusty on writing fanfiction wise due to my short break. I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Roy's Eavesdropping and Decision

Riza looked around her at the other women, wondering exactly what they thought would be so interesting about her life with Roy. She decided to voice her curiosity. "Why are you so interested in my life with him?"

"He's a womanizer, well former womanizer, Roy Mustang. He can't be very pleasant to live with considering he was the most eligible man in Amestris up until you two got involved."

"That's the polite way of asking if he screwed up yet," Rebecca said. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and looking extremely uninterested in the conversation.

"He hasn't, screwed up as you put it," Riza said, "He's just a bit less organized and messier than I am."

"So nothing outrageous? No arguments yet?" another woman questioned.

"You act as if arguments would be something new for us," Riza replied, a light bit of amusement evident in her voice.

"Riza, you aren't telling us anything interesting," Maria said.

Riza directed her gaze to her close friend. "God, not you too. There's nothing to tell. I never let you all know about my personal life before. What makes you think that it will change now that I live with General Mustang? If anything I'll have to be more secretive."

"I don't know why they want to hear about your lapse in judgment anyway," Rebecca said. Riza frowned and narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

"What do you mean lapse in judgment?" one of the women questioned before Riza could scold Rebecca.

"I'm sure when Riza's sanity returns one day, she'll leave him for a nice, handsome, wealthy man," Rebecca said, not really answering the woman's question directly.

Roy made a fist when she spoke those words. If she weren't a woman, he would have already punched her. Of course, to do that he'd have to reveal that he was there and that would piss off the women. The last thing he wanted was to gain the ire of a group of female, specially trained, officers. Obviously, it wouldn't be a good experience. He'd wait and get revenge by sending her so much paperwork she'd be dreaming about documents, fonts, and ink, for the rest of her life. Yes, being a general had benefits.

"Why would she leave him? General Mustang is still handsome!"

"Still?" Riza questioned, not knowing what the girl meant.

"Even though he has the eyepatch!"

"I think the eyepatch makes him better looking!"

"Riza might get mad at you saying that," Maria teased.

"Oh my!" She looked to Riza, "I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright," Riza said, "I don't mind hearing that you find him attractive. Anyone that has eyes can see that he is."

"Then how about you?"

Riza looked down at her gun and continued cleaning it. "How about me what?"

"Do you find him more attractive with or without the eyepatch?"

Riza stopped her hands in their movements and focused her eyes on the dark grey barrel of the gun. She had to admit, she found him to be very attractive with the eyepatch, and it seemed to add a bad boy, rugged look to him. The scar under it, the loss of his sight, and the events that caused the loss was what made her hate the large black patch. Most people who saw it, assumed that there was just a small scar underneath the fabric. In reality, the entire upper side from the eyebrow down to the end of the eyepatch was scarred and mangled. It was a close range shot, using reasoning it shouldn't be that surprising that his face was the way it was.

"Going on aesthetics alone," Riza began, trying to think of how to continue. Roy's ears perked up when he heard she was going to answer the question. "Aesthetics along I would say I like the sense of mystery that the eyepatch brings to him. I have to admit though, I miss staring into both of his eyes sometimes. Really, it doesn't matter to me. He means more to me than what he looks like."

"Okay then, moving away from looks. What is the cutest thing he's ever done for you?" Maria questioned.

"God, you don't have questions too," Rebecca groaned.

"Of course I do."

Riza sighed. While she didn't really want to answer the inquiries, she realized that most of the women had wanted Roy, Maria and Rebecca being the exceptions, and she had gotten him. What harm did it do to answer a few questions to sate their curiosity, even if those questions annoyed her? If they asked about the sex, then she would put her foot down. The cutest thing he ever did for her wasn't a bad question, but there was a problem. She didn't know anything he'd done that would possibly fit in the category of cuteness.

"The cutest thing? Nothing really comes to mind. I mean he does cute things but I can't single one out."

Roy smiled at that answer but it wasn't really up to the standards the women had expected.

"Well, that's no fun," Maria said.

"Okay, how about moving to material things. What's the best thing he ever bought you?"

Riza thought for a moment then shook her head. "I can't think of anything that he's ever bought me."

"WHAT?" all the women, including Rebecca, exclaimed.

"You mean he's never bought you anything?"

"Not that I can remember," Riza said.

"Surely he has! Valentine's Day! Surely he's gotten you stuff on the big V day!"

"We just started dating this year, a bit after Valentine's Day," Riza said.

"Well you've known each other for years, how about Christmas, or your birthday?"

"No, not that I can recall. It doesn't matter though."

"Why haven't you mentioned it to him?"

Riza sighed and finished cleaning her rifle. "Because it doesn't matter to me." She picked up her cleaning kit and smiled softly at the women. "I hope I answered enough questions to last you a while. Now, I have to get to the other range to get my sniper rifle ready. Good luck with your evaluations."

Roy's eyes widened as he heard footsteps coming toward him. He ducked into a closet to hide from Riza. When he was sure she was gone, he emerged from his hiding spot. He leaned up against the wall and lifted his hand to his chin, thinking about what she'd spoken. Was it really true that he'd never bought Riza anything? He ran through the list of gifts he bought in the past that he stored in his brain so that he wouldn't repeat any of them. His mother's name came up, and his sisters, and his birth father, but no matter how far he dug in his mind, he didn't see Riza's name anywhere. He was never around her during Christmas and, pathetically, shamefully, he didn't know when her birthday was. Through the years, he never thought about Valentine's Day and, as usual, Riza never let it be known that his forgetfulness affected her. If it did.

"Poor Riza," one of the women said. "That makes me so mad! All the stuff he put her through and he's never even gotten her anything."

"You have to understand what Riza is like," Rebecca said. "She doesn't really place much value on material things. Still… Roy Mustang is such a jerk!" Roy cringed when he heard Rebecca's caustic tone.

"How could he never buy her anything?"

"I know! Roy Mustang is loaded. Would it have hurt him to buy her a piece of jewelry or flowers, or even just a card! He never even bought her anything on her birthday or Christmas. Maybe he's not the good boyfriend we all thought he'd be."

"I object to that!" Rebecca said.

Roy's eyes widened when he heard Rebecca defend him.

"I never once thought he was a good boyfriend. This just proves it," she said. This time Roy nearly fell over due to the stupid thought that Rebecca would possibly say anything positive about him.

"I bet deep inside Riza really does hurt over the fact he's never thought much of her, especially on holidays. We all know how much she loves him."

When all the women agreed Roy knew it was time to leave, otherwise he'd sink into an even deeper pit of despair. He shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly walked away from the chatting women before he heard another word. He left the range and made his way toward the parade grounds.

Was he really a horrible boyfriend just for not buying Riza's something? He thought about the typical boyfriend's that he saw around when he walked down the street. He remembered the men he often saw buying gifts for their girls, whether it be flowers, candy, or jewelry. Hell, even the gay men he saw bought things for each other. He heaved a huge sigh. Not only was he a bad boyfriend, he was a bad friend to not have given her anything even on Christmas and for not knowing her birthday.

He cursed under his breath as he made his way to where General Grumman was standing. Roy sat down in the chair beside him and continued with his thoughts until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the older man who wore a slight smile on his lips.

"Didn't hear you arrive Mustang," Grumman said then removed his hand from Roy's shoulder.

"Um…yeah, I didn't say anything," Roy said, his words not making much sense because half of his mind was still focused on the plague that had spread over it.

"What's troubling you?" Grumman asked, sensing the man was distraught.

"Huh?" Mustang questioned.

"I asked what was troubling you."

"Oh, nothing, nothing is wrong at all," Mustang lied.

"I've known you for years my boy. Don't try to fool an old man. I can tell when something serious is on your mind."

Roy thought for a moment about whether or not to tell Grumman what was going on. He didn't have to come out and say exactly what the issue was. He could disguise it a bit. "Can I ask you a question without you inquiring as to why I'm asking?" Mustang mentally kicked himself at the strange words that left his mouth.

"Of course," Grumman replied with no indication that he found Roy's words strange, "ask away."

"When Riza's grandmother was alive, did you ever buy her any gifts?"

Grumman quirked an eyebrow at Roy then laughed. "Of course I did, though she usually insisted that I shouldn't. She didn't place much value in gifts but I bought them anyway. I could tell that she enjoyed it, especially when I surprised her with one." Grumman smiled softly at the remembrance of his late wife.

Roy slumped slightly and his face dropped. "I see," he said, then heaved a sigh. "Thanks."

Grumman hummed and folded his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair as he did so. "So, how are you and my granddaughter doing? No trouble I hope."

Roy sat straight and turned to look at the old man. "We are doing really well. Amazing actually," Roy answered. It was the truth after all. As expected, their relationship was almost perfect. The main issues were his lame attempt at being a good man for Riza. "We are thinking about getting a bigger place," Roy said, not sure why he brought that up.

"A house?" Grumman questioned.

"Um…not that serious yet," Roy said nervously.

"That's a pity. There's a beautiful house down the street from my home that just went up for sale."

"Sorry," Roy said, still nervous.

"Not a problem my boy, take your time. I'm not getting any younger and would like to see my great grandchild before I join my late wife. But no hurry you understand."

Roy's eyes widened. Grumman certainly didn't throw any punches. "Um… I'll keep that in mind."

Grumman stood and stretched slightly, his back popping in response. "That's good to hear." He motioned his head forward. "Looks like the alchemists are going to have their evaluations first. I'll leave you to it," he started to walk off but then stopped.

"Roy," he said.

Roy was surprised the old man used his first name but didn't show it. "Yes, Sir?"

"There's usually a simple, obvious solution for problems regarding relationships. We men are just too dense to look at the easy ones. I'm sure you'll think of what you need to do." He then walked off, leaving Roy to his thoughts.

Roy looked confused for a moment then stood and chuckled. Grumman was truly an amazing man and he would take his advice. So, discarding all the difficult things he was thinking about he got to the basics. What was the simplest, most obvious solution to the fact he never got Riza anything? Suddenly, it hit him like a brick and he felt incredibly dumb for not thinking of it sooner. Turned out, as always, Grumman was right. It was simple. He'd go out and buy Riza the best present that he could find. One that would make up for everything he'd forgotten. He'd also look in her personal file to find out when her birthday was.

Roy stuck his hands in his pockets and made his way to the alchemists that arrived for the evaluation, his mood turning to one of happy determination. He would make sure he was the best boyfriend Riza could possibly have. And that would begin with finding the perfect gift.

AN: The stuff in this chapter is loosely inspired by true events. My boyfriend once said what Grumman told Roy. He said men liked to over think on the simple things but tend to under think on the more important events. What do you think? Is Roy going in the right direction in his idea? Thanks for reading this chapter and please drop a review. They are very much appreciated.