Title: Riza's Day Off

Type: Oneshot (1/3)

Pairings/Characters: Royai

DISCLAMER: I own nothing other than the fanfiction itself

Summary: SPOILERS for chapter 30 of the manga and episode 15 of Brotherhood. First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye's rare days off were hell for all involved – well, at least for Roy Mustang, especially when everyone's favorite serial killer makes an unwanted appearance. Royai.

A/N: Set directly before Riza runs into Barry the Chopper on her day off. I enjoy writing points of view we don't see in the manga or what happens before or after a particular scene, as in my last story Silent Tears. You'll probably see a lot of that from me on here, at least until I run out of ideas, haha! Nevertheless, on with the story!

First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye's rare days off were hell for all involved – well, at least for Roy Mustang. He always hit the snooze button on his alarm clock a few more times than usual and found it even harder to force himself out of bed and get dressed, even less inclined to drag himself to work when his motivation was going to be missing from the office. He once tried to file for leave the same time she did and received a thorough scolding from her – he tuned her out after something about rumors and potential court marshaling. He had nodded, crumpling up the paper and tossing it in the wastebasket while muttering something along the lines of her being a stubborn woman.

On these particular days, something always went wrong with his usually flawless morning routine - he might knick himself while shaving or accidentally put on a pair of mismatched socks. He couldn't help it; he kept thinking about how she would be awake at this time despite having the chance to sleep in, how she was probably out walking Black Hayate while it was still a comfortable temperature outside. When she wasn't there she distracted whim more than when she was in the office, and she didn't even know it.

Once he had stopped bleeding or changed his socks he would make his way down to his car, unused to driving himself to work. He had to remind himself not to wait at the curb or move to the passenger's seat of his own car, and he was always uncomfortable in the looming silence and solitude that made his ride to work almost unbearable. Yes, her absence thoroughly screwed up his morning routine, and it always set him slightly on edge. The security guard who operated the front gate always gave him a knowing look as he let the Colonel inside, and Roy always pretended not to notice. The guard had long since learned not to ask about the whereabouts of the Lieutenant, knowing all too well that the Colonel wasn't frowning because he wanted to.

Roy was late by now, which was nothing strange on these unusual days, and, as always, his office was in a state of chaos that would have had Riza in a fit. On this particular day, Havoc and Breda were playing cards while Fuery blabbered frantically about repercussions, demotions, and several overestimated punishments that could be bestowed upon his friends due to their actions. No one seemed to be listening to the poor bespectacled man. Roy walked in just as Havoc waved a 1,000 cenz bill in front of Breda's face before slapping it onto the table. Breda groaned and threw his cards onto the desk, admitting defeat. The door clicked shut and both men looked over at their unannounced guest, fear and guilt written clearly upon their faces. Had it not been Riza's day off they would have cowered in terror, expecting it to be her. All the same, Fuery looked like he was going to have a heart attack and Falman didn't even bother to look up from his book to see who had entered.

Relief seemed to flood the room as Havoc laughed, his cigarette somehow remaining in his mouth through the action. He gathered his winnings, taunting a bitter and melancholy Breda before challenging Roy to a game. Roy declined and ignored the taunts meant to goad him into playing, instead choosing to sit down at his desk. He cast a glance at Riza's empty desk – everyone saw the look, but no one chose to comment on it.

Things continued in this manner for the next several hours – Roy neglected any and all paperwork while his men found various (often immature and unusual) ways of occupying themselves. He considered calling Riza more than once, at times to make sure she was okay and at other times out of sheer boredom, but he thought better of it. The last time he had called her on her day off she had chewed him out over the phone – telling him to get to work and stop slacking and what was that noise she just heard in the background? – but she just didn't understand. He needed her there to stay sane. Not seeing her or hearing her voice made him anxious, as though something bad might happen to her while she wasn't there.

He forced himself not to call her and began to dig around in his desk for something to occupy his time – in his mind, the pile of paperwork sitting upon his desk didn't count. He found nothing to his liking and sat back in his chair, stifling a sigh. His eyes wandered over to Riza's vacant desk once, and he suddenly realized an important fact. He knew that Riza always kept some book or another in the top drawer of her desk but had expressly refused to let him look at it, even when the cover showed that it was clearly a different book. Roy's curiosity got the better of him, and he stood to walk over to her desk.

Havoc gaped at him, wide-eyed, as though he was witnessing his superior officer growing a second head. Roy searched through her drawers until he found her book and withdrew it with a small smirk. He closed the drawer and walked silently back to his desk, sitting in his chair and opening the book to the dog-eared page Riza had left off on. It took the man a minute to figure out what exactly it was he was reading, but as soon as he did one eyebrow shot upwards. He closed the book and turned it over, reading the back cover. He couldn't believe his eyes. Riza Hawkeye read dime-store romance novels.

Roy coughed once and, after a short internal conflict, opened the book once more. He fought back a smirk as he skimmed the pages – he never would have guessed. Not only that, but now had physical proof that Riza wasn't as cruel or cold as she pretended to be. He had tried to convince his subordinates of this fact once before and had almost succeeded until she decided to lift her gun and shoot at her damned dog just because he peed on the floor. He had a strong feeling that no one at the office would ever really believe him when he claimed that Riza had a good heart and could have a gentle disposition, but maybe that wasn't all bad – it was just another thing about her that only he knew, like her tattoo, or (as of now) the fact that she read poorly written romance novels. He smirked again. He couldn't wait to bring this up in conversation next time they were alone.

…But, then again, what would she do if she knew he had gone through her desk and taken her book without her permission after she had forbidden him to read it? He could feel his heartbeat increase slightly as he thought about it. He figured she would shoot at him, but would she actually shoot him for this? He didn't know, and he didn't want to find out. He turned the page of her book and nearly shot out of his seat when his phone rang. Roy dropped the book instantly, looking extremely guilty. He then took a deep breath, calming himself. Riza never called work on her day off, and there was no way she could have known what he was doing. He withheld a sigh of relief as he picked up his phone.

"This is Colonel Roy Mustang."

"Sir?"

"Lieutenant?" Roy glanced at the book out of the corner of his eye. He had always thought she was a mind reader.

"I found something really… weird."

A/N: And then we have the ordeal with Barry. I enjoyed it so much more in the manga than in Brotherhood simply because of the added sprinkle of Royai we got. I bought volume eight simply for that reason. I had fun writing this one, mainly because I can just see Roy looking incredibly guilty, like he was caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Rate and Review! They make me write more fanfiction XD