There are some Spanish phrases here. They're pretty basic. I always imagined people in Creta to speak in Spanish so I used what I learned in school. I was never the best in Spanish so I'm very sorry if I make mistakes. D:

Hablo Espanol? Si, un poco.

I don't own FMA or its characters. I only own the plot and OCs.


It was a tiring ride, and everyone kept to themselves for the remainder of the journey. Everyone was either reading, sleeping, or engrossing themselves in something gadget or internet related. Roy sat at one of the couches by the window, watching the view pass in 150kph. There were times where the scenery seemed to be at a standstill, though. The rich mountains and forests of Drachma's untouched reserves were truly breath taking. His daughter sat next to him while she was checking her blog on her phone.

"Why didn't I buy a house here, again?" He asked her, not looking away from the scenery. It reminded him of his grandparents' home town in Xing.

She replied without looking away from her phone, "because you don't have the time to go with real estate agents to go looking at available wood cabins and just because you're out here in Drachma doesn't mean that people won't bother you as much as they do in Amestris and,"

Roy looked at his daughter. For a moment, he thought he was looking at a mirror that shows you a younger, female version of yourself.

Micha looked up from her phone and paused.

"and?" Roy prompted.

"We don't have that much protection here?" her voice got smaller, unsure if that was the right answer.

"That's not completely true, princess," Roy put his arm around her thin shoulders and made her lean on his chest. He started looking out the window again. "We can always pull some strings. We can even put up an office here. Our sales are pretty good here in Drachma."

"Not as good down south in—" Roy swiftly looked back at her. Micha was startled and shut up.

"I like the view here." Roy whispered as he continued to admire the view.

"Maybe you like this place for other reasons," Micha mumbled. It was low enough for Roy not to hear her. It's because she loved it here.

(((-)))

Riza was quite happy she didn't have to do any dirty work while they shuffled into the station. All the bags were taken care of and brought to the hotel. A minivan from the hotel was waiting for them. Drachma was beautiful. In the small towns that they drove past, Riza inferred that it was a traditional place, very quaint and cold. Everyone seemed to know each other in the towns and went about their simple yet happy lives.

The snow was starting to get deeper as they drove on. It was pretty toasty in the car ride, but you could see people's breaths form as smoke outside. It was probably negative four outside, more or less. The kids stuck their foreheads on the glass and opened their eyes as wide as they can. The mountain ranges in Drachma were always a sight to see. They never grew tired looking at them. Micha took a few shots of the car ride, the view, and pictures of the whereabouts of those in the car.

It took one hour for them to get to the Hotel. Rizal expected it to be some grand infrastructure that stuck out like a sore thumb but it was surprisingly homey. The exterior looked like an oversized wood cabin with some brick accents here and there. There was a ski lift nearby and there was an ice skating rink too. It was interesting because the ice skating rink looked like it was an actual pond that froze over. She caught herself stating at it.

"It's not a real pond," Roy smirked. "But it's convincing, isn't it?" When Riza didn't reply after a while, Roy looked at her. Her breath was visible, and her cheeks were rosy and warm. "Miss Hawkeye?"

Riza slowly shifter her gaze from the pond to her employer, "I'm sorry, sir. It's just…"

"Do you skate?" He asked. The corner of Riza's lush lips pulled up just a little bit. A smug smile crept on Roy's face. "Let's skate, then."

(((-)))

Everyone dispersed to go and have their own fun in the lodge. Riza wanted to go around and see what the lodge had to offer but before she could even unpack her belongings, there was a knock at her door.

Riza opened her door.

To her surprise, Roy was standing there, holding two pairs of skates. They looked beautiful. One pair was white, and the other black. The blades were as clear as mirrors.

"Yes, sir?" Riza asked.

"Don't sir me here," Roy waved. "You're here as a guest."

Riza's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Sir I don't-"

"It's Roy, Riza," the way his tongue rolled when he said her name sent shivers down her spine.

"It's chilly out there, so wear a coat," Roy gestured to her coat on her bed with his head. "I'll wait for you in the lobby." With that, he left her standing there.

Everyone called her Riza but at that moment, she thought she didn't own her name. It sounded so damn special the way he said it. It sounded like a whole new kind of endearment. She closed her door quietly and picked up her coat.

"Roy," she whispered.

Roy was making himself comfortable on the couch but all of a sudden, someone grabbed his shoulders and shook him from behind.

"Roy, boy!"

Roy was in complete shock. He really let his guard down there. He turned and saw a short, chubby man. He was around fifty years old and had side burns but no beard or moustache. Behind him were three beefy guys and a teenager.

Roy pulled a grin. "Ahh! Don Carlo!" He shook hands with him. "Como esta?" Roy spoke in straight and fluent Cretan. This made the man's eyebrows shoot up in amazement and great pleasure.

"Hablo Cretana, ah?" He laughed. "Bueno, bueno," Don Carlo replied in a heavy Cretan accent. "You're here on vacation?" He asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm staying here with my kids and my Maes's family for a week," he replied as he stood.

"Ah! Maes y Gracia! And their bonita?" He asked.

"Si, Winry and Elicia are here as well."

Don Carlo gave him a knowing look, "another one, eh? Muy bien. The bigger the family, the better!" He laughed heartily. Don Carlo was a pretty loud man. The people in the lobby were starting to stare but once they realized who it was, they all turned away and gave them space.

Roy just nodded his head; he really wished Riza would come already so he'd have an excuse to leave. Don Carlo was a good man, but he really didn't want to get too involved with them.

Don Carlo called the teenager over and he put his arm around him. He was lean and had blond hair and green eyes.

"This is my son, Angelo. He's a bit shy and doesn't really know most of the kids here. He's not like his older brothers, outgoing and good with girls, so can you call your daughter to spend some time with him?"

Roy's eyes widened a bit. "My daughter?" He asked.

"Si, si. Your daughter es muy guapa and I heard she was a lovely girl. Very good with people, very good with people, so do you think they can, ah?" Don Carlo had some of his own hand gestures but the way his fingers were all pressed together, Roy took it pretty suggestively when in truth, it was just a hand guesture to Don Carlo. He was looking at Roy directly in the eye. The boy seemed awkward and quiet. He looked... harmless.

Roy looked over Don Carlo's shoulders and saw the three body guards. They were looking at him grimly. "O-okay, I'll… I'll talk to her," he replied, unsure of what to say.

"Great!" Don Carlo let go of his grip on his son. "I'll set them up for dinner tonight, okay? At the Cellar Rooms." The beefy guys and the teenager turned and started to move away. "Maybe tu familia Y mi familia can have dinner too one of these nights, ah?" He laughed heartily and held Roy's face. He kissed both cheeks before he walked away with his group.

Roy was still standing there, not knowing what to think of the whole thing. Did a guy just kiss me? He felt a hand touch his arm and he jumped. When he turned around and saw it was Riza, he relaxed a bit.

"Sorry," Riza apologized. "Who was that?"

"Umm.. Don Carlo and his.." Roy started rubbing his forehead.

"Don Carlo, the mob boss? He's here?" Riza asked. Roy seemed in distress. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, splendid. I just agreed to let his son go on a dinner date with Micha," he replied.

"A date?" Riza sounded surprised but she really wasn't. She's seen a few boys ask her out before. "Yeah, in the Wine Cellar Room—she's too young to drink!" Roy said, exasperatedly.

"Where? Why in a wine cellar?"

"The Wine Cellar Rooms are the most exclusive and the most expensive dining rooms here. The biggest room can fit four people, and that's it. Booking a dinner there's really hard to get and you get absolute privacy in that room." Roy seemed really troubled.

"If you didn't want her to go then why did you say yes? Will Micha even be up for that?" Riza asked. She's seen Micha go on a few dates with boys over the last few weeks but Micha never seemed too ecstatic before or dreaded any after.

"Cause with these guys," Roy put his arm around Riza's waist as they exited the building he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "It's better to comply."

When they reached the skating rink, there were few people there. There were a few kids, around Ed's age, skating around. Roy sat down on the bench and started putting his skates on. Riza looked around and spotted Micha with a group of other teens. Their eyes met for a while. She raised a hand to her and Micha smiled a smug smile before turning away. Riza looked at the other direction and saw Edward and Alphonse. They were chucking snowballs at each other while Winry and Elicia were building a snow man. Maes and his wife sat at a nearby bench, cuddling close to each other.

"Aren't you going to put those on?" Roy was already standing on the ice.

"Someone's excited," she replied while putting her skates on.

Roy skated in some pattern, "you can say that. I haven't been here in over two years."

"And you still skate like a pro," Riza looked at the marks on the ice that he made. It was a perfect figure eight. She walked into the ice and felt her skates a bit before gliding. She turned and started to skate backwards, a smile on her face.

Roy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Damn, she's good," he muttered to herself. He continued to watch her skate. "Is there anything she can't do?"

"Where'd you learn how to skate like that?" He asked, as he glided towards her, matching her speed with ease.

She resumed to skating backwards and was able to follow. He was right next to her. "Where'd you learn how to skate like that?" She asked him.

"Practice," Roy smirked. His dark, smoky eyes were seducing her. Riza tried to twirl away but he held on to her waist and they both spun three times before he led her to a fast glide.

"What are you doing?" Riza asked him. They were heading right for a pile of snow.

"Trust me!"

Before the impact, Roy turned the two of them so they both landed on their backs. Roy was laughing but Riza was in shock. The snow cushioned their fall but her clip fell out, causing her golden locks to scatter. She could practically hear her heart beating out her chest. She heard Roy laughing like a little boy.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Riza yelled.

Roy sat up. There was snow all over his hair and shoulders. "That was fun, wasn't it?" Roy's face was glowing.

The happiness radiating off him made her smile and laugh along too. She just stayed there, surrounded by snow. Roy moved over to her. Wordlessly, he just looked at her. There was something different in his eyes. He leaned in, almost as if for a kiss but he stopped. He stood up instead and offered her a hand. He didn't speak.

Riza was quite disappointed but she mentally slapped herself for thinking that Roy would actually kiss her. Once she was up, she dusted the snow off her clothes. Roy helped her. He dusted the snow off her shoulders and hair. His hands stopped at her cheek. He had that look again, and smiled. He tucked a stray lock of hair into her ear.

A snowball hit Roy's back. They both looked at the direction where it came from. It was Alphonse.

"Ha! I got youuu," he pointed. Edward threw another one and it hit Roy's shoulder.

"Oh, you boys are dead!" Roy laughed as he crouched down to get some snow in his hands and threw it at them.


I put some fluff action there. Hehehe. Was it weird? It sounds weird. Hahaha.

Thank you for all your previous reviews. I shall look at all that college work in strait in the eye and shoot an arrow right through them. Green Archer style. ;)

I've been painting and drawing a lot lately, too. I've been going back to my old hobbies and I'm pretty happy I did, even if it is expensive. ( Can you believe the paint and canvas prices nowadays? They hurt my wallet. )

Drop a review my way, please! It makes me happy. ^^