A/N: Thank you to everyone who is supporting and reviewing this story! I actually have a plan for this (!!) so it's great to know so many of you are enjoying this. On with the next chapter!

Chapter 6

Maria Ross stared open mouthed at the woman in front of her. She placed her drink back down on the table before she began speaking.

"He actually stopped you from looking at the files? Isn't that sexist or something." she stated angrily. Riza frowned, turning to gaze at her lunch, which she had so far not started eating.

"He was trying to protect me." She replied, rather surprised at the tone of voice that she used. She had aimed at using it as an explanation for Roy's actions, but it had sounded rather harsh and bitter. Maria tutted.

"Yes, because obviously the person who spends most of her time saving his ass is going to need protection. But I'm sure you told him that yourself anyway. And probably a lot more, considering he should know you by now!" Silence was the response she received. Maria frowned and looked suspiciously over at the woman in front of her, who was currently avoiding her gaze.

"Riza... please tell me that you said something about this." Maria asked slowly. Riza sighed

"Of course I said something. I just..." she trailed off absently. Maria looked at her, concern gracing her features.

"Riza, is everything alright between you and Roy? From what you've told me, you both seem to be arguing a lot more than usual." She asked, leaning closer to her friend. Riza's head shot up at the statement.

"No, of course we're fine." She replied quickly. She sighed and then returned to staring at her food.

"It's just... there are things that go unsaid. It's nothing important. Just little things." Riza's usual mask crumpled slightly at this statement, her face showing a rare sign of sadness. Maria glanced back at her friend in surprise. This wasn't like her.

"Maybe you should talk to Roy. Actually, I think you should, because by the sound of it you don't seem to do that much." Maria said with a smile, hoping this will help. However, Riza shook her head violently, her face taking on its usual emotionless stance.

"No, there's no need to concern him. We're fine, I'm worrying about nothing." She stated rather forcefully. There was silence between the two for a moment. Maria sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"So he actually thought that you were cheating on him?" Riza looked up, confused for a moment.

"About the flowers." She added. Riza sighed.

"I guess." Maria grinned.

"You're no good at this are you?"

"Good at what?" the blonde replied, loosing what was, in her opinion, an exceptionally odd conversation. Maria laughed.

"Bitching about your poor excuse for a boyfriend" she stated lightly. Riza shifted uncomfortably at this statement.

"Maria, you are insulting a superior officer, that's a...

"No." Maria cut in determinedly, pointing a finger at Riza "I am insulting your boyfriend. It's completely different." Riza looked at her friend as if she was mad.

"I have no problems with him as a Colonel and as a superior. However, I do have problems with the guy that makes you work on your anniversary...

"It's not that much of a problem..." Riza muttered anxiously.

"...insults your capabilities as an officer..." Maria continued

"But he didn't mean it that way!" Riza countered, not liking where this was going.

"...And forgets your fav..." Maria stopped mid flow, her expression becoming thoughtful. Riza frowned, waiting for her to speak once more. When she didn't the blonde folded her arms and stated

"What?" Maria glanced back up at her, her face wary. Riza raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"You're not going to like it." Riza simply gazed back at her, her expression unmoving. Maria sighed.

"Okay. You remember a few months ago when Havoc was dating that bimbo from the flower shop who dumped him for Roy?" Maria asked. Riza nodded

"Yes, Grace I think her name was. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I remember when Roy decided to wind up Havoc and bought her that really expensive bouquet of flowers, which we both thought was stupid because she works around the damn things all day, but he insisted on doing it anyway. Well it was so expensive because it was made up of four different types of roses. Havoc was ranting about it for days because he said that there was no way she would be able to resist as..."

"Roses were her favourite flower." Riza finished her tone grave. There was silence for a moment.

"Bastard" Maria muttered. To her surprise, Riza nodded glumly. Maria smiled.

"Anything else you want to talk about?" she asked once more.

Winry trudged through yet another corridor of central headquarters, no longer sure if she was feeling annoyed or miserable. She had decided to come here deliberately so she could find out exactly what the brothers were up to. Unfortunately, it just looked like she once again going to be in the dark, as she had been searching for Lieutenant Hawkeye for twenty minutes and so far she had had no luck in finding her.

"Maybe I should just give up." She muttered to herself, hoping that if she did that then she would at least hear some of the last moments of the meeting. Just at that moment she passed the cafeteria. She sighed in relief as she spotted two familiar officer's sitting at one edge of the room. She quickly made her way through the crowded room towards the two. As she approached she noticed that both were laughing, Lieutenant Ross practically crying in amusement.

"You are joking! He actually ate that stuff? Did you tell him?" Ross asked, seemingly regaining control of herself. Riza let out a restrained giggle before continuing.

"I couldn't bring myself to do it. What was I meant to say? No, that wasn't salad dressing; you just consumed my dog's flea medication? I really don't think that would have gone down well." Maria threw her head back and laughed once more. Winry stared at the two officers, not sure if she should interrupt what seemed to be quite an interesting conversation. It was then that Riza noticed the girl.

"Hello Miss Rockbell." She said, letting the girl know that it was alright for her to interrupt. Winry smiled, moving forward.

"Hello Lieutenant. I was sent here to find you by Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." She stated hoping that she could return to the office quickly. Riza sighed and turned to Maria.

"I should go. I'll see you later." She said, getting up and moving away. Suddenly she frowned, turning back to look at her friend.

"You can't tell anyone what I just said." She stated her tone serious. Maria grinned and giggled.

"I don't think I could if I tried. The image is too funny!" and with that she burst into hysterics once more. Riza sighed and turned away, Winry following quickly. They proceeded down the corridor in silence. That is until Winry curiosity got the better of her.

"Did Colonel Mustang really eat your dog's medicine?" she asked quietly. Riza whipped her head around, dismayed that the young girl had heard the conversation. Winry grinned at the woman's reaction. Before Hawkeye could say anything Winry continued to speak.

"It's okay, I won't say anything. When we were younger I convinced Ed that woodlice were made out of chocolate. He ate them religiously for two years. He was such a fussy eater that I didn't have the heart to tell him that I had been lying. " She smiled and continued walking towards their destination. Riza stared after the young girl, allowing a small smile to grace her lips, before joining her.

There was silence in Mustang's office as the five men and two boys stared at the Colonel.

"No way in hell." Havoc stated folding his arms and glaring at Mustang. Hughes looked sideways at his friend.

"Roy, this is not one of your best ideas." He stated carefully, noticing that the flame alchemist was looking slightly irritated at his comrade's lack of enthusiasm. Roy growled and took all of them in his gaze before continuing.

"It is the perfect plan! And as your superior, I am ordering you to take part in it." he stated loudly. Fuery looked pleadingly at Hughes, using his best puppy dog eyes on his superior.

"Chief, I can't be seen near a place like that! It will ruin my reputation!" Havoc yelled, suddenly realising that there was no way out of this. In response Breda muttered "Who's going to care?" which luckily covered the Colonel's answer of "What reputation?"

"What's the problem?" All eyes turned to the Fullmetal alchemist, who for once was not arguing with his superior. His amber eyes gazed up at the adults as he continued to speak

"It's just a simple recon mission. When do we leave?"

"You're not going." Stated Mustang

"WHAT!"

"If we are going to do this, we need to do it properly. You fall short of the credentials for this one." Mustang stated lazily, smirking

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU WOULDNT NOTICE IF HE... BANG" Edward's statement was cut short as a wrench smacked him hard on the upside of the head, causing him to fall to the floor in a heap.

"Thank you Miss Rockbell." Remarked a dry voice from the door way. All eyes turned to see Hawkeye standing there. She saluted, carefully avoiding Roy's gaze as she turned and looked at Hughes.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" she asked. Hughes smiled.

"Yes Lieutenant, but first, I think we should inform you of tonight's mission." Roy paled slightly at the statement. Havoc grinned manically at Hughes's words. He turned and before anyone could say anything, Havoc gleefully informed Hawkeye of the plan. There was silence in the room as they all watched the blonde woman digest the information. Riza straightened her mask perfectly in place.

"Well Sir, I don't see how you need me in this plan of yours" Hawkeye stated icily. Roy flinched at her words. He was now regretting the nature of his plan, considering how it must of look after his blunder earlier. While his mind was busy grasping at any means to rectify himself, Hughes began speaking.

"Actually Lieutenant, you fit perfectly into this plan. In fact I think that you could be the most important part of it." he said with a grin. Edward and Alphonse shared a confused look at this statement, considering that Hawkeye had not been part of this plan in the first place. Hawkeye on the other hand, to everyone's amazement turned a bright shade of crimson and gazed at her shoes. Havoc looked Hawkeye up and down for a moment and then for the second time that day his nose starting gushing with blood. He hastily turned away, stuffing an already bloody tissue up his nostrils,praying that his superior hadn't caught his wandering eyes. Fortunately for him Mustang was staring opened moved at Hughes, seemingly incapable of speaking. Edward took this as an opportunity to put in his opinion.

"I still don't see why I can't go." He stated loudly. Everyone's attention immediately turned to the young alchemist. However, Ed was more concerned with the look on Winry's face. He gulped as he realised that whatever this plan was of Mustang's, for his own health, he really shouldn't be a part of it.

"Edward." Winry hissed through clenched teeth "I swear if you go anywhere near that place tonight I'll make you wish that whatever destroyed your arm had taken you with it." and with that she turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Ed to the horrors of his imagination. From the corner of the room, Alphonse stared around the room, completely perplexed. I wonder what's so bad about a place called the sugar bowl. It doesn't sound too threatening to me. I guess I'm missing something he thought sadly to himself.

Riza sighed as she began to tidy the remnants of the day's paperwork from the desks. She was dreading this evening. For once in her life she actually agreed with something Havoc had said. There was a damn good reason why she usually helped the Colonel devise most of his plans.

"Riza?" a voice asked tentatively. She looked up and met eyes with Roy. He smiled slightly at her, but her face remained cold and emotionless. Feeling slightly nervous, he watched as she gathered her belongings together.

"Is there something you need Colonel?" she asked softly. Roy started, not expecting her to speak. He shook his head silently. Riza nodded then headed towards the door. Roy realised that he couldn't leave it like this. The two of them had barely exchanged eye contact, let alone spoken to each other since their argument this morning. He was going to lose her if he didn't do something soon.

"Wait." She stopped just before reaching the door. She turned and waited for him to say something.

"Can I walk you home?" he asked quietly. Riza raised her eyes to look at him, some of her anger fading at the desperate look in his eyes.

"I have to pick up Hayate on the way." She stated. Roy smiled and followed her out of the office.

"Good evening Lieutenant." Jessica stated brightly as Riza and Roy as they entered the kennels. Riza smiled

"Good evening Jessica, I like your hair." The red haired woman beamed at the statement, before leaving the reception area to fetch Hayate. A few seconds later the door to the kennels opened and Adrian walked out, carrying the dog in his arms, as Jessica walked out and returned to her chair.

"Here you go Hayate." He stated, putting the dog on the floor. Riza smiled and patted her dog on the head before turning back to Adrian.

"Hope he wasn't any trouble." He laughed

"No, he never is. He's a good dog." Roy shot the man a glare. He did not like the way he was speaking to his Riza. Riza looked up at him and frowned at his expression. She sighed and bid the two of them goodnight before leaving. The two walked towards Riza's apartment surrounded by an awkward silence. Roy kept stealing glances at Riza whenever he could. He was no good at this. He knew he had hurt her, but he had no idea how to start making it up to her. Hesitantly he reached out his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Riza allowed a small smile to pass her lips, gripping his hand tighter. By this time the two of them had reached Riza's door. Without letting go of Roy's hand she pulled out her keys and let them both in, Hayate skipping in after them. As soon as she closed the door Roy grabbed her from behind and hugged her tightly. Riza smiled and leaned back slightly.

"I'm sorry. Really, you have no idea how sorry I am. I just don't want to loose you. Not anyone, you know that right." Roy whispered into her hair.

"I know." She whispered, turning in his arms and kissing him gently. Roy was surprised at her actions. Riza smiled and leaned against his chest.

"I just don't want to fight anymore." She muttered, her voice muffled by the many layers of the military uniform.

"Did you say something my love?" Roy asked, pulling back slightly. Riza hesitated for a second, remembering what Maria had said to her earlier. But she shook her head.

"No, it's nothing." Roy smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but Riza stopped him with her fingertips. He pouted. Riza grinned.

"We don't have time, we need to get ready." She stated, breaking his hold on her and walking towards her bedroom.

"We don't even have time for a makeup kiss?" Roy wined as she disappeared into her room. Riza stuck her head out of the door.

"Don't even pretend it was a makeup kiss you were looking for her. As I said before, we don't have time." Roy smirked at her and with a smile Riza closed the door to her room. She flicked on the light and opened her wardrobe door, staring at the contents.

"Why do I have to do this?" she asked herself as she began pulling out an outfit that would work for their mission tonight.

A/N: This is dedicated to one of my best friends who, bless her heart, did honestly think that woodlice looked like chocolate and therefore spent much of her childhood eating them!

Hope you all liked that chapter. Please review with your thoughts.