Temporary Leave of Absence

Ever wondered what happens when Riza Hawkeye misses work?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing is accomplished on such a day. Roy Mustang sits at his desk sulking because he doesn't have his secretary/interest/babysitter. The ever-increasing pile of paperwork remains a constant reminder of her absence.

He always knew when she would be gone; she always called in. The knowledge, however, did not make her appear suddenly.

As for his subordinates, they took it as a day off. Without Riza to tell them to work, it was like Mustang had burned all the paperwork—there was no way they would accomplish anything. They would much rather use the time to scheme and discuss their love lives (or lack thereof).

Yes, Riza Hawkeye certainly was the driving force of this team.

Which is why, perhaps, when she was hospitalized with influenza she received so many Get-Well cards, flowers, candy, and other such gifts.

Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery all purposed to visit her at least once a day. Havoc would tell her of his girl troubles, and inquire advice. Breda sneaked fresh rolls and coffee in for her. Falman sent her books of poetry. Fuery brought Black Hayate to visit his master. But one person never came to see her.

And that person was Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist.

Why should he visit me, anyways? I'm only his subordinate, his bodyguard. There is no need for him to check in on me. I should not be so selfish.

Riza made a full recovery within a week, much to her friends' pleasure. She returned to work the following Monday to find that the men had done no work whatsoever. Not that she had expected them to do it in the first place. She sat wearily at her desk, her puppy trotting at her heel. She reached into the inbox, expecting to find it overflowing with documents needing to be proofread and signed.

To her surprise, however, she found there were no papers for her to read, no reports to check. Stunned, she approached Mustang's desk.

"Sir! There is no paperwork?"

"And, Lieutenant?" he asked, slowly turning his chair to face her.

"Did you burn it?" she glared suspiciously.

"No, Hawkeye. It was all filled out and filed yesterday."

"By who?!" she interrogated, her mask of indifference dropping momentarily.

"I did it; Havoc, Fuery, Breda, and Falman were visiting you and I knew that if the work wasn't done, you'd be stuck with it when you came back," he said simply.

She gaped at him. Cold, business-minded Riza stared at him with shoulders slumped and mouth open. It was one of Mustang's favorite memories in his later life.

"Y-you did it, sir?" she finally stuttered, "But! But you hate your paperwork!"

"That's petty; if something needs to be done, it needs to be done."

She slowly turned on her heel, walked to her desk and collapsed into the chair. She must be delusional. Roy doing his work? Ridiculous! Maybe she should've taken another week off…

Roy smiled at her reaction. "Oh, and Hawkeye," he called softly; she hesitantly looked up at him. Amber eyes met obsidian as he firmly stated, "I'm glad you're back."

A/N: let's hear it for Royai! This story just kinda came out of nowhere...seriously. I thought it was gonna be something else, and then it turned into this thing you just read. In fact, I even wrote this on my sister's boyfriend's laptop. So, yep...if you liked it, please tell me! I like reviews -happy authoress-