It was that time of year again. The time when Roy Mustang and his subordinates would venture to the park on a weekend to have a picnic.

This year was no different.

Fuery was throwing the ball for Hayate to fetch, Havoc, Breda and Falman were in a debate over how exactly one should go about wooing the young lady they had passed on the way in, Riza was reading a book, and Roy was valiantly attempting to get everyone up for a game of Frisbee.

The only one joining in was Hayate. He had missed the ball after Roy's frustrated Frisbee throw bounced off a nearby tree and happened to fly right into his mouth. He bounded back to Roy with the fun new toy and laid it at his feet, waiting for another throw.

Roy pretended to throw the Frisbee, and sure enough, Hayate ran off. Walking over to the picnic blanket, Roy sat down beside Riza.

"You shouldn't trick Hayate like that. He won't trust you anymore," she admonished gently.

"You saw?" Roy asked.

Riza looked up at him, her eyes as sharp and as focused as ever.

Hayate chose that moment to come running back, ball in his mouth, and tackled Roy to the blanket.

"Hayate! Down!" Riza ordered, looking worried. The dog obeyed and she held her hand out to pull Roy back up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just have mud all over me. I'll wash it off later."

It was then that the sprinklers popped up. All of them managed to make it out of the way of the water before it hit them, but Hayate ran back in before Riza could get a leash on him.

"Hayate!" called Riza. "Hayate! Come back!" She bit her lip. Getting wet was not exactly something she had planned to do.

But she had to do it. Wrapping her jacket tightly around her so that she could protect her blouse, she tried to run through when the water was not toward her. Despite that, when one jet hit her face and she temporarily could not see, she started getting soaked. She let go of her jacket with one hand to clear her eyes and keep water off her face until she was able to grab Hayate. Leaning against a tree just out of reach of all the spray, she sighed.

"What's the matter?" Havoc called. "Aren't you coming back?"

"I'm not turning this into a wet t-shirt contest!" Riza snapped, blushing and causing a few of the others to blush, too. "I don't have enough hands to hold everything I need to!"

The men looked around, trying to come to a silent consensus, or at least attempting to figure out how to turn off the water. Roy rolled his eyes and carefully began winding his way through the warping maze.

Finally, upon reaching Riza, he held out his hand. "Keep your eyes closed. Hold Hayate's leash and your jacket with one hand."

Riza did as she was told.

When they finally were out, Hayate began shaking all the water off. Breda moaned about the germs Hayate's water probably had in it, while Riza faced a more serious problem: her soaking jacket, and the blouse under it.

Of all the days I wear a white blouse…

"Here." Roy held his jacket out to her. "It's got mud on it, but it's dry."

Riza accepted the jacket and wrapped it around her as quickly as possible. Everyone was looking away when she finished buttoning it up. Sensing the thick awkwardness, she announced, "I guess I'll go back to my apartment and change."

"I think I'll call it a day, actually," Roy told them. "What do the rest of you think?"

Everyone quickly agreed, and Riza got the feeling that the next few days would be full of strange looks, and the next time it was raining when she came in… she did not want to think about that.

Sighing, she began the trek home.

"Lieutenant!" Roy seemed surprised (though somewhat pleasantly so) when she showed up at his apartment that evening. "What brings you out here?"

Riza held out the jacket. "I felt bad about today, so I cleaned it and decided to bring it over."

Taking it, Roy gestured for her to come in as he explained, "You didn't need to. If I hadn't wanted to get you out, I wouldn't have."

"I just came by while walking Hayate. I should really go back," Riza started to turn, but Hayate jerked forward, and this time, Riza held onto the leash. Caught off-guard, she was jerked toward Roy, landing in his arms as he attempted to catch her.

Both stumbled for a moment, attempting to right themselves. When they finally stopped, Roy's hands were at Riza's waist as he steadied her. They were pressed against each other, looking into each other's eyes.

Oh, Hayate, why'd you have to…? She did not complete the thought because Roy kissed her.

He pulled away rather quickly –she made no move to continue or end- and whispered, "Thanks."

In the same tone, she replied, "You're welcome. Good night." She turned and left.

As soon as she was down the street, she stopped and stooped to pat Hayate. "I don't know what possessed you to do that, but I have to give you props. Just don't do it again."

Hayate yipped, as if to respond, then trotted off, tail wagging and head held high.

End

A/N: Thanks to Danelle, who pointed something out, leading me to this omake:

THE LAST ONESHOT'S METHOD OF MATCHMAKING HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!

Yeah, not great, I know, but still… I thought it was a good idea at the time…

Thanks to all my reviewers! Keep on doing what you're doing! It makes me happy. :)

Next time, it will be either the guide to babysitting (Elysia, of course!) or spring cleaning, whichever I finish first.