Disclaimer: Don't own, just love.

Chapter Two

Red

Riza regarded the man sitting across from her carefully. Mustang was looking thoughtfully out of the window, a faint glitter in his eyes. She was hoping that the embarrassing conversation that they had shared yesterday had long been forgotten. But she didn't believe that she'd be so lucky. He hadn't said more than a few words to her since they had boarded the train, which worried her. The sneaky look on his face usually meant one thing:

Trouble.

"Where did you go last night?" she asked quietly.

Dark eyes slid over to meet hers, a smile touching the corners of his lips, "What? Did you try to come and seduce me in the night with your red silk panties?"

She merely blinked at him, folding her arms over her chest. She tried to appear calm, cool, and collected, but she felt as if she were loosing that battle.

"No, sir. I heard your door open and shut late last night." She stated.

"I was only downstairs using the phone. I had to call Madame Christmas. Why?" he asked coyly.

Riza shrugged, "Just curious."

Mustang hummed a response, once again shifting his eyes to the passing scenery. It was quickly loosing its rural appeal as they quickly approached Central. After a few moments, he stood to gather their bags. Riza couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. This incessant teasing was never going to stop, and she had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.

He looked down at her as he pulled down their two bags, "You should really reconsider the Military Ball. It's going to be a pretty big deal, what with the inclusion of the Ishvalans this year and all. It's been a-"

"With all due respect, sir," she said, interrupting him, "no thanks."

"Come on. It's been a tough year. You should allow yourself to relax and have a good time. It's two weeks away, so you have plenty of time to plan."

Riza stood in front of him, raising her pixie chin to stand off against him, "What is so relaxing about trying to squeeze into a fancy dress that you only wear once? Splashing your face with some sort of war paint? Or even setting up your hair into ridiculous hairstyles that poodles wouldn't even wear?"

Mustang blinked at her, placing the bags in the seats, "But it's dancing and drinking… and socializing… and drinking…"
"Sir, I don't have a date, dress, or any desire to go what so ever."

He stared down on her, that damn smirk returning to his face, "Like I said, you have two weeks. Just give it a thought."

"Thought about it. Don't want to go." She grumbled as she pushed her way past him, "I'll see you on Monday, sir."

Mustang watched as she stormed off, her bag slinging angrily at her side. He merely slung his bag over his shoulder, whistling as he followed in her wake. Casually slipping his watch from his pocket, he noted the time in his head and tried to will the evil chuckle back down his throat.

'Damn, but this is going to be great.' He thought as he continued his nameless tune out of the train.

Riza was so glad to be home. Fuery had already cared for Hayate, and the dog was pleased to see his owner again. She set her things by the door and knelt down to give the eager animal a pat on the head. Raising up and closing the door behind her, she stepped into the cramped kitchen, flipping on the light along the way. But she kept her hand on the light switch, her breath catching in her throat. A large white box occupied her small kitchen table, almost covering the entire space.

Riza's eyes flicked back and forth across the room as she searched for the person responsible for the gift. It was wrapped with the most beautiful red bow, the ends curtaining over the ends of the table like a waterfall. She slowly stepped towards it, almost afraid of what was inside. Was this a trap? A bomb of some sort from an angry Ishvalan or radical? She slowly outstretched her hand and grabbed the end of the bow, slowly pulling on it. It pulled apart with little effort, and she took a deep breath as she pulled off the top. White, crinkly tissue paper covered the top of whatever was inside, obscuring her view of the gift. But she could vaguely make out multiple colors, dimmed by the paper. As she finally pulled off the paper, she gasped at the sight before her.

In neat little rows were silk panties with a matching bra. Each set was in every color of the rainbow. They looked like jewels, shimmering in the dim light from her kitchen. A small card was tucked underneath the royal blue set, but she didn't have to read it to know whom it was from. She slid the card out from the envelope, her eyes scanning the unfamiliar scrawl.

"Riza-

Just a little something to help you feel like the woman you have always been. Plus, I think this will make our 'I spy' games even more interesting.

~Roy"

Riza's amber eyes blinked a few times against the text she had read. She didn't know whether to be touched or offended. Or creeped out. After all, he had sent her underwear!

A sigh escaped her lips as she grabbed her phone and dialed his number.

"I spy something red." His deep voice greeted as he answered the phone.

"Cute, Sir," she said, suppressing a smile.

"I take it you got the package?" he asked, not making any attempt to hide the amusement in his voice.

"I did, sir," she said as she slid a chair back and sat down, looking at the contents of the box, "but I can't accept."

"Sure you can. You know you like them. I bet you're running your fingers over them right now."

Riza almost objected to his response, but then looked at her free hand. It was caressing the emerald pair, her fingers gliding over the soft fabric. But then, a thought struck her as she cradled the phone against her ear.

"How do you know they're my size?" she challenged as she took a set out to check the tags.

"Oh, I know they're right." He stated with a nervous chuckle.

Her breath caught in her throat as she peered down at the numbers on the tag. She quickly scooped up a bra and checked its label, seeing the correct size on them as well.

"How did you..?" she began.

"Uh… Can we let that be my little secret?" he said quietly as he cleared his throat.

"It depends."

"On what?" he asked, his voice shaky.

"Can a bullet travel through the phone line?"

"I called one of the girls at Aunt Chris's bar. She's about the same height and stuff as you, so I asked for her size. Okay? Okay?" he answered quickly.

Riza uncocked the gun, placing it beside of the box. Thank God that he hadn't went through her suitcase secretly, or sent someone snooping through her underwear drawer.

"Sir, thank you, but I really don't feel comfortable-"

"Look," he interrupted, "Two things. First, I just bought you beautiful sets of lingerie. So, do you think that you could call me Roy?"

Golden eyes blinked at the phone in her hands, stunned. The tone of his voice was almost… irritated.

"Secondly, just accept the damn things. As a token of my appreciation."

Her mouth opened and closed, trying to think of something to say. But she couldn't find the words. Finally, with a sigh, she relented to her commanding officer's request.

"Thank you, Roy." She finally said, defeated.

"You're welcome." Came the gruff response.

They sat quietly for a moment, Riza twirling the phone cord absently with her fingers. As they continued with their comfortable silence, she found her mind trying to picture what he was doing at that moment. Was he sitting in the oversized leather chair, chuckling at her over a glass of brandy? Or was he also as uncomfortable as she over this? Finally, she heard him clear his throat, his voice filtering over the phone line.

"Have you given the military ball any more thought?"

Riza sighed, her head falling back, "I really don't want to go."

"What if you were ordered to go?"

Her eyes narrowed at the phone, all pleasant thoughts towards him vanishing, "That's petty. If you really did that, I think that I would have to defy it and face a court martial."

"Hmm…" his deep voice hummed, the amusement still in his voice, "Well, I guess I'll keep that in mind."

The gears began to turn in her head at his comment. Surely he wouldn't do anything that low… Would he? Riza chewed on her bottom lip as the thought churned over and over in her head. But before she could even voice her protests:

A knocking sound reached her ears.

And Riza Hawkeye knew that she was doomed.

Thanks for all the reviews! I'm hoping that everyone is enjoying this story!

~Aurora