I don't own FMA. I only own the OC's and the plot.
The next morning, the CEO of Mustang Corp. woke up to the sound of his ringing phone. Roy rolled around his bed for a while, hoping that whoever was calling would give up and think that it was too early to call but the phone didn't stop. He let out a growl and touched around his side table for the damned mobile. He placed it at his ear and answered.
"Hello?" He answered groggily.
"Yo, buddy! 'Morning! How's my precious Winry doing?" The man on the other line boomed.
Mustang felt a wave of anger crawl up his whole body. "Hughes, what the hell? It's six in the morning! Couldn't you at least let me sleep in a bit since I'm not going to work today?" Exclaimed Roy.
"Ooohhh… Someone's grouchy. Micha brought up Rachelle again, didn't she? Looks like the talk didn't work out so well, huh, Roy?" Maes said quite mockingly.
Roy sank down to his pillow. "I got it… And yeah… she did."
"I feel for you, Roy." Maes said. "Anyway, what's the kid's game plan for today? Maybe I can join them for lunch later. How about you, buddy?"
"Can't. I have to get this interview over with and I don't have a lunch break."
Hughes had a sharp intake of breath, "harsh. Well, a parent would do anything for their kids."
"Yeah," Roy was falling asleep again.
"Well, buddy, I'll go now. I have some things to work out in the office in a while. See ya."
"Yeah, bye." Roy ended the call and closed his eyes again. Only to be interrupted by three little kids jumping on his bed.
"Wake up, daddy! Wake up!" Alphonse jumped on his back, causing Roy to be in pain.
Edward started hitting him with a pillow. Damn, that kid can land a strike! "Wake up! Wake up! Dad, you smell like alcohol again." Edward said.
"Hey, Uncle Roy…" Winry was on the floor, poking his cheek. "Are you awake?" she leaned in closer, to see if he was.
Roy was still in the clothes he wore last night. He was probably too busy thinking to take a shower and change. Mustang felt all the little children's attempts to wake him up. His youngest son was jumping on his back, while his eldest son was hitting him with a pillow while his adorable little daughter was poking him in the face. Yup. This seemed like a regular morning, all right. Just plain normal.
Winry poked him again. "Uncle—"
Winry let out a scream when Roy roared, pretending to be some type of monster. Alphonse fell onto the bed while Edward's golden eyes lit up in excitement. He then, started to hit his father again, trying to make him stop. Roy was too focused on chasing Winry around the room. The little girl was screaming with glee. She then hid behind Edward, her knight in shining armor. Al stood next to his brother with pillows at hand.
Micha woke up to children's screaming. She groggily got out of bed, dragging her long pillow with her. She made it to her father's room. She saw Roy's good down pillows break, making the feathers spill all around the room.
"What the hell is going on here?" She asked, grumpily.
Everyone was on top of Roy. They all looked her way and then looked at each other and back at her. Micha's hair was still a puffy mess and her eyes seemed tired. Mustang, Edward, Winry and Alphonse looked her with an evil smile on their faces. Their hands out in front of them, like claws.
Her tired eyes widened. She knew what they were up to. "Oh, shit." Micha ran away from the room as fast as her legs could take her. She wasn't the star of the track and field team for nothing. Micha was already a floor down, standing at the foyer. But her own brother outsmarted her. Edward jumped at her from the stair case, and landed on her directly with a thud. Micha was on the floor with the golden haired boy standing on her back.
"I got her!" He yelled. Roy and the two kids came prowling in.
"Oh, shit!" Micha felt a frenzy of fingers tickling her. It wasn't long until she turned red and couldn't breathe anymore. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their morning. They were interrupted when a lady with short ebony hair and a mole under her left eye cleared her throat.
Everyone stopped and looked at the woman who held a clip board near her chest.
"Good morning, Mister Mustang, Miss Micha… Kids." She greeted. She was weirded out by the scene, but one can say that she was already used to it. She had been working as Roy's PA for more than six years now.
"Ah, good morning, Maria." Roy straightened up. Turning from a playful father, to a formal business man.
"Sir, I have called every one of the applicants, informing them that interviewing will start at eight."
"Ok, how many responded?"
"More than what we bargained for." Maria gestured out the window. At six thirty in the morning, there was already a long line of ladies outside his mansion's gates.
"I already arranged for security and a restraining order for paparazzi. Though I'm sure the early morning news will be here any minute. I suggest you get prepared, sir."
(((-)))
Riza woke up at five in the morning to get ready for the interview. She had a hard time deciding what to wear. Wearing her uniform would be over kill while wearing jeans would be too typical. She decided to go with a semi formal look. A black skirt that reached up to her knees, a black tank top with a lavender polo shirt on top with the first three buttons open. It flattered her breasts and curves very well, but she still looked like a properly dressed woman. She sneakily hid her gun under her skirt. No one would ever notice. She left her hair down, like she did in her 1x1 picture.
Hawkeye made herself some breakfast and prepared Hayate some food and water. She left the house at seven in the morning, hoping to get there at seven-thirty. The bus wasn't jammed pack, neither was it empty. It had a comfortable number of passengers, making it easy for her to breathe. She took a seat by the window and looked out. Riza got off at the first stop, took the underground train and took a cab proceeding to Mustang's house. If she did get the job, commuting would be a problem. She had to pay a hefty sum for public transportation.
When Hawkeye got there, she was surprised. There was already a long line of ladies waiting outside Roy's five-floored mansion. She saw security crawling everywhere. The paparazzi were being pushed back once Roy came out through his doors with his children behind him. All the younger girls started screaming in adoration. It was like being in a concert, rather than a job interview. The news reporters hurried over to him, asking him questions. They were even sticking microphones and recorders up Alphonse's face, making the poor boy back up in fear and tear up on his sister's skirt.
"Please," Micha said to the cameras, "stop harassing my brother." Edward gave them a glare before tugging at his father and whispering something to him.
It didn't seem to be real to Riza, actually seeing the family a few feet away from her. Alphonse really was—according to her research—really a sweet little boy, while Edward seemed to be a more stubborn, protective brother. He was a child prodigy, as she read. And Mustang's eldest, Micha, seemed very caring for her brothers. Making all the reporters stay away from them; and Mustang… He looked as handsome as he did in the pictures, even more, actually. His strong build, sharp eyes and Xingese features were indeed, very attractive.
The security was able to make the reporters back down a bit, giving him and his family some space.
Winry peeked out from behind Edward, who kept a protective arm out for her. She wasn't used to all of this. She has seen her Uncle Roy and her Papa on TV and at times Mustang's kids, but she never knew it would be this scary. People screaming questions, people pushing microphones at your face and those big cameras pointed at you. She cowered behind Ed.
"It's ok, Winry. They can't hurt you." Ed said.
Mustang then started to speak through a megaphone that Maria handed over to him. "Firstly, I would like to greet you all a pleasant morning, and welcome to my home. Thank you for spending time and wanting to be a possible candidate to take care of my children. Please, wait for your turns patiently. This is a first come first served interview. My personal assistant and the security will escort you ladies into the court yard. There, my staff will be more than happy to serve you with drinks and sandwiches we have prepared for you. Lunch will be provided for those who haven't been interviewed until after twelve. I will not have a lunch break so that you ladies will be all accommodated as fast as possible."
Riza was registering on the sheet and got her number. She was number 155. Great. Even if she did come thirty minutes in advance, she was still on the hundred's digits. It was a good thing she didn't have anything planned for today.
"One more thing," Mustang announced. "I will call the person who has been chosen tomorrow. That will be all and again, thank you." Mustang scanned the crowd. There were more people than the application forms. According to Maria, only one hundred application forms were given, but there were already more than three hundred girls outside and there were more to come.
Mustang ran a gloved hand on his soft dark locks and told Maria to give them application forms so that he can have a back ground on them. He then entered the house and the doors closed behind him.
Maria and the other security guards flocked the ladies into the court yard. There were tables and chairs scattered along the well maintained Eden. Riza took a seat on a bench, near the marble fountain. She then observed all the other girls from there.
There were a lot of women who looked like they were in for a fuck instead of a job. There were also young girls, probably sixteen to eighteen, most likely looking for a summer job. There were also ladies who looked like they were in their fifties. The defined lines on their faces signed that they were widowed early and had a lot of experience being a nanny. That thought made Riza think. What experience did she have with taking care of children? Nothing. She knew how to polish guns, aim and fire with perfect accuracy, but she didn't know how to actually take care of a hysteric child, wanting their mother.
Riza thought of leaving before she would embarrass herself, but thought otherwise. If she could live through Ishbal, she could take care of three children. How hard could it be?
(((-)))
Inside, Micha and the three kids were in the kitchen, making breakfast with the cook. Mustang had a piece of toast and coffee. He sat down on the winged back chair in the living room, where they will be having the interviews. He finished up his breakfast. It was almost eight o' clock.
"Maria, let the first applicant in. I better get started." He sighed. Maria nodded and went out to the courtyard. There was a microphone attached to a huge speaker near the door with security hovering everywhere.
"Calling applicant number one, Yvette Dans." Maria called and repeated. A woman with blond flouncy hair in high heels stood up and made her way for the door. Maria rolled her eyes at the young ladies looks and escorted her in.
Mustang was laid back and very polite to all the applicants. But there were some answers that make him want to jump out the window.
"So, Miss Yvette. First of all, thank you for taking your time on being here," Mustang smiled. "Tell me, what experience do you have?" He asked very gentlemanly like.
"Oh, darling, I have experience, all right. You want to see how good I am?" She asked seductively.
First applicant and I get a whore. Oh joy. This is going to be a long day. Thought Roy.
"I think Miss Yvette applied for the wrong job, sir." Maria said, signaling security to take her out.
Yvette seemed surprised. "What? You don't believe me? But Rooooy I really do have experience!" She whined while being dragged away by two beefy guys in tight black shirts that said 'security' on them.
"But Rooooy I really do have experience!" Micha imitated with a sugary voice. This made Maria snicker and Roy roll his eyes. Micha let out a laugh. "Dad, why didn't you just let Maria handle this? You could be doing more important things right now."
"I told him that, but he wouldn't listen." Maria said casually.
"It's my dad you're talking about, of course he won't listen." Micha replied.
(((-)))
As the applicants went on, there were more sluts than serious applicants. Roy started to get tired of it. The kids already left for the mall meaning he was left all alone with the applicants and his PA. Roy thanked the heavens for having Maria. If she wasn't there, he might have already called it a quits.
"So, Felicia, I see that you like riding horses." Mustang said as he scanned her hobby list.
"Horses aren't the only things I ride, sir."
"Cherry, it says here that your previous work was in a candy shop. May I ask why you moved?"
"Oh, the shop owner got mad because he said I licked the lollipops too much." She purred.
"Stephanie, you are still a student in college and you want this as a part time job? It says here that you usually do night shifts." Mustang then realized what other horrible and disturbing punch lines anyone else so he interrupted her before she could answer. "Thank you, Stephanie, I think I heard enough… NEXT!"
Mustang took a five minute break. He looked like he was about to cry or something.
"Cheer up, sir. I'm sure you'll find the one." Maria said.
"You don't sound convinced." Roy replied flatly.
"I shall stay optimistic for your sake, sir. And if you really can't I'll do the sitting." She sighed.
"It's alright, Maria. I have maximized you enough. Being my PA can be really hard."
"Thank goodness you understand." Maria let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't like she didn't want to take care of the kids. They liked her and played nice. In fact, she practically watched them grow but being Mustang's PA was hard enough. Squeezing story time and cooking will be one hell of a job.
"What's the next number?"
"One hundred fifty-five, sir. Only one hundred and seventy-two more to go."
Mustang ran a hand through his dark locks and sighed. What's her back ground?" Maria took out her application form and scanned it.
"She's the one from the Military, sir. A 1st Lieutenant Elizabeth "Riza" Hawkeye. Sniper, with 99.98% accuracy and graduated the academy at the age of eighteen. I'm sure she can more than handle the kids and anyone who wants to hurt them, sir." She said softly.
"I'm sure. But she's part of the military. I have to take extra precautions and if she does get the job, I need her to resign from her services with the army."
"Yes, sir. Shall I bring her in?"
"Please do." Mustang replied calmly.
Fourth chapter and still no RoyAi! Please don't kill me. *hides in a corner* Tell me what you think, though. Please drop a review my way. The button doesn't bite. ;D
OH! OH! OH! I HAVE HITS! 8D *does happy dance* I'm happy I can finally keep track of my stories again. ^^ thanks for all the support and reading. :D
