Roy bolted downstairs before anyone could say another word. Riza leapt up and grabbed the gun that was taped behind her headboard. It was a small handgun, but it would do the trick. She rushed after Roy and scurried down the stairs. Before she even rounded the corner, she heard signs of a struggle.

If there wasn't a dire situation at hand, Riza might have been upset seeing her television already smashed to bits, two legs of her coffee table broken, and one of her chairs roasting in the corner. But, currently, her Colonel was wrestling a dark haired person to the ground trying to pry something out of their hands. Trying to remain hidden, but also get a better view, Riza took a step into the room and saw that the dark haired person was actually redheaded, and was a woman. In her hand, she held a vial, which for one heart stopping moment, Riza thought was red with Philosopher's Stone, but she quickly saw it was filled with a clear liquid.

Roy had the woman pinned to the ground, but he was struggling to both keep her down and pry the bottle out of her hands. He dared not use his flame alchemy at close a range for fear the liquid would react poorly to flame, and also because he didn't want to kill the woman, but instead incapacitate her.

All the Colonel had to do was hold her steady, and he was doing his best, so Riza shakily raised her gun. She closed one eye and then the other, trying to get a feel for where her mark would hit. Usually, she didn't need to do something like that but rushing up and down the stairs was catching up to her and she felt a little dizzy.

With a loud, silencing banging sound, a shot was fired right into the woman's shoulder. She screamed and dropped the vial onto the carpet. Shocked, Mustang looked up, his lips parted in confusion and wonder, and for a moment Riza thought he was going to yell at her, but he instead reached and pocketed the bottle.

The woman was writhing on the ground, clearing in pain from having been shot. "Who are you?" Roy shouted at her. "What are you doing here?" She didn't answer and instead rocked herself onto her back to give her the momentum to kick with her legs. Her feet collided with Roy's stomach with surprising force and she managed to shove him against the wall. His head snapped against the wall with a sickening thud and he dropped and lay still.

"Colonel!" Riza shouted, despite herself, giving away her position in the room. The woman turned to her, emerald eyes glimmering with a hint of rage, but also with amusement.

"Ah, Miss Hawkeye. You're… alive. How disappointing." She smirked and pulled a knife from her jacket pocket.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to bring a knife to a gunfight?" Riza asked, holding her gun within range to shoot her in the head.

"Oh, but I'm not fighting you today. Though, it is a shame the plan didn't work. Oh well, there's always another way." The woman turned and in a second she was above Colonel Mustang, ready to plunge the knife into his head. Riza knew the moment the woman didn't come after her that she was going to go after the Colonel, so the two shots to the arm holding the knife came just as quickly.

The woman screamed again and Riza ran forward. She grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the wall. "Who are you?" Hawkeye asked. "What are you doing in my house? What do you want with me and Colonel Mustang?"

The woman looked at her, surprised her attempt to assassinate the Colonel failed. But then, her lips twisted up into a cruel smile and she just laughed. It was a sickening laugh that made Riza want to shoot a bullet through her stupid goddamn mouth, but she restrained herself, knowing having a prisoner would be better for the investigation as a whole.

But, today the woman would not be her prisoner because she clapped her hands together and let the wall encompass her. Before Riza knew what was happening, the woman was gone, and she found herself holding a fist to her own living room wall.

She stayed like that for a long minute, unable to believe that the strange, evil woman was gone as quickly as she had come. A groan to her left startled her and brought her back to reality, and she rushed to the side of her injured Colonel.

"Colonel Mustang?" She asked, dropping to her knees and helping him into a sitting position against the wall. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off and placed a hand on his head. He opened his eyes and looked over at her, in time to see a worried frown turn into a light, relieved smile. He let out a soft breath and reached over, pulling Riza into a tight hug.

The Lieutenant was completely caught off guard and found her arms pinned to her side and her torso pressed awkwardly against Roy's. "Um, sir?" she questioned, but he didn't answer her for a long minute. She placed a cautious hand on his back and gave a little pat, and then a moment later he released her.

"You should have stayed in bed."

"And what, let you get killed?" Riza raised an eyebrow and helped the Colonel stand. She picked her gun that had fallen off of the floor and checked it for damages before returning her gaze to the man.

"Where did you even get that? I haven't seen a gun in your house all week!"

Riza gave him an odd look. "You… didn't think I kept guns in my house?" Roy looked down. Okay, that did sound pretty stupid, but he'd expected to find a storage case or a closet or something. He didn't know that there were plenty of guns hidden in much the same way the one behind her bed was-taped behind furniture in inconspicuous, but easily accessible spots.

"Are you alright?" Roy finally asked as Riza was picking up the broken glass from the television off the floor.

"I'm fine, sir. Just tired. But I think that's from fighting and it being a little late," She responded. "Do you know who that woman was?"

"She matches the description of Julia Huntington," Roy said, bending down to help Riza clean up the living room. Most of it would have to wait until morning, and she'd likely need some new furniture.

"I think that's a pretty good lead, then. What's in the vial?"

Roy pulled the little glass bottle out of his pocket. "I have no idea. Perhaps Fullmetal will know. It's too late now to do anything anyway. You should get to bed."

Riza looked over at him and noticed a few spots of blood on his forehead. She leaned over, one hand holding her weight and the other brushing through the Colonel's hair. "Your head is bleeding. Let me get you some bandages." She didn't respond to his request for her to go to bed. She would, but wanted to be sure he was alright first.

Before Roy could respond, Riza was standing and making her way to the kitchen, where she had a small first aid box of bandages and other medicines. She came back and led Roy to the kitchen table, pushing him into a chair so she could wrap his head.

"I hope you don't have a concussion, sir."

"I'm alright," he replied.

"Yes, you are a little thickheaded anyway." She stole a glance at him and he was smiling back at her. They shared a small laugh together as Riza disinfected the area around the wound and then wrapped the bandage around his head. She stepped away admiring her handiwork before gesturing to Roy. "There, all set. Now, I guess it is time for bed."

Roy paused for a moment and didn't say anything. He gazed up at her and took in the sight of her standing over him. The dim kitchen light only partially illuminated her face, but he could see the dark circles under her eyes that looked like they'd become tattooed on her. Her hair finally had been brushed through, but the battle with the woman sent loose hairs flying, and her amber eyes still shone, though were dulled by exhaustion. He saw her nightgown clung to her, the sweat from the fight turning into glue, and sticking her clothes to her body. Her pale face was flushed and she was panting a little, and he knew she'd likely run a temp. A manageable one, but a temp all the same.

And fuck, did she look beautiful.

And here Roy was, again, saved by her thanks to her big smart brain and her amazingly fast reflexes. One week of taking care of her was nothing compared to what he owed her for her loyalty and dedication all of these years. But, she'd never asked for anything in return. As Roy moved up the ranks she never so much as asked for a dollar more in her paycheck, or a new title, or even new work boots. All she requested was to be at his side and to protect him, and she'd done her job exceedingly well. He knew he couldn't live without her, both because she was responsible for saving his life more times than he could count, and because he loved her more than he'd ever loved anything in the world.

He grabbed her hand and she glanced at him out of shock at how tightly and earnestly he took it. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were lost on her lips as he stood. Still holding her hand and wrapping his other one around to the small of her back, he pressed himself against her so that there was only the smallest sliver of space between the two of them. She looked up at him, confused, worried, and intrigued. But, she knew what he was going to do. She'd always known, it was only a matter of time.

He kissed her.

His lips pressed against hers with fervent passion and, even though she knew it was coming, Riza still found herself surprised at the feeling of bare contact with another person's lips. It had been a long while since she'd kissed anyone, and she had never before been kissed the way Roy was kissing her now.

Heat sparked between them as Roy grasped the clothes on her back and then moved his hand up to run his fingers through his hair. Grounding herself, Riza reached up and brushed her hands through Roy's black locks before resting her arms around his neck, with her wrists pressed together.

Roy ended the kiss, pulling away slowly and pushing back so that they were not separated from their embrace, but just enough that they were able to look at each other.

"We can't do that again," was the first thing out of Riza's mouth. But, Roy expected that, and he wasn't hurt.

"I know. But we will."

"I know."

"And even if we never did that again, I'd be content," Roy continued, running a hand through her hair again and glancing off to the side to watch her hair fall back into place. "Because I've always dreamed of the day I got to do that. And even if I only get to do it once, I can at least say I did." He paused and looked at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "Are you going to shoot me?"

She pondered the question for a moment, as though he was serious. "I suppose I should."

"But will you?"

"Not tonight." She smiled lightly at him and pulled her arms from around his neck. "But tomorrow is another day."

"I guess I shouldn't push my luck, huh?" Roy asked and dropped his hand to rest on her shoulder. He didn't want a moment to go by where he wasn't touching her.

"Yes. But you will." Riza took Roy's hand and they began to walk upstairs. The futon in the office was forgotten, Roy would be staying with her.

"Riza," he said, looking over at her as he sat down on the bed. She'd gone over to the dresser to find something else to wear to bed.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

She'd just grabbed a shirt from the top drawer and turned to him. There was emotion in her eyes that he couldn't quite place, but it was nothing bad. He'd said the right thing.

"You're pushing it, sir."

He smirked. "I know."

Riza turned and walked to the door. As her hand lingered on the handle, she turned to him and let out a small breath.

"I love you too."

Happy Update Day! Thanks so much for all the lovely responses to my story. Reading your reactions makes me so happy to be a writer! Also, I am not very practiced at writing action, attacking scenes and I still struggle with making villans sound believable, but hopefully the end of this chapter makes up for that!