A/N: I'm back. I know this should've come on the 5th, but better late than never, right? This one takes up from the beginning of Episode 4 of Brotherhood, An Alchemist's Anguish.

I am trying to make my updates more regular, but thanks to all who've waited patiently and those who will. Also if you haven't read my Christmas story, go try it, it's Royai too.

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CHAPTER 5 – REPAYMENT

She could feel the complaints of her colleagues in the air around her, and as much as she would've liked to deny it, it partially was her fault (not that anyone would dare to point that out) that there was so much to do. Colonel Roy Mustang had yet again allowed his paperwork to pile up to the roof and here the 'team' was, working their minds into insanity to try and get it under control.

Riza handed over a bunch of forms to Breda and cringed internally when she heard him say, "Geez, the Colonel's sure letting his work pile up again." Slouching into his chair he mumbled, "Havoc, give me a hand, will you?"

Havoc refused outright which wasn't a surprise, but further when Falman and Havoc were discussing a certain Lieutenant Yoki and his transgressions , she decided to focus her attention on her own work. Which in itself was a pretence today; her mind was too preoccupied with other things to actually concentrate. She'd let Roy go home earlier than his schedule twice that week; but she couldn't be blamed, after all no one could know better than her when he was having those sleepless nights accompanied by rather disturbing flashbacks.

Genuine worry about him, the stress of unfinished work and the fact that they were expecting another boisterous alchemist whose arrival, more often than not, led to a full-fledged row – were among the few things on her mind. Another thing popped up instantly as her eyes landed on the youngest member of their team. "Master Sergeant Fuery, how's the radio?" She asked.

The bespectacled man looked up from where he was fidgeting with the instrument, "The receiver on this thing seems in a daze, I think I'm going to have to replace it."

The words had hardly left his mouth when a half-metal, half flesh clap was heard, followed by a blinding blue flash. When it was over, the once rickety radio had transformed into a handsome, shiny one. Fuery looked up with a huge smile, "Hey, it's Edward and Alphonse!"

The boy in the red-coat stood with a smug smile on his face, flanked by a seven foot tall suit of armour on his left.

"Welcome back boys," Riza smiled as she moved out of her chair and gestured toward the door at the back of the room. "The Colonel's expecting you."

She had to bite back a smirk when a frown crossed Edward's face at this piece of news; earlier that morning Roy had frowned too on hearing of the Elric brothers' arrival in East City and the similarity between those two was striking. "You worked well at Liore, Ed. Though I'm sorry it turned out to be a dead end."

"Yeah, but that won't stop us," Alphonse answered cheerfully.

Smiling to herself at the unsurprising remark, Riza knocked at the door of Roy's office and without waiting for permission she opened it. Her superior's head came up, eyes holding a simple question. "Ed and Al are here, Colonel."

"Oh," Roy sat back in his chair just as the boys stepped in. He popped open his pocket watch and smiled down at Ed who'd settled on one of the couches. "Just nineteen minutes late, you're improving Fullmetal."

Before Ed could answer, Riza stepped in, "Sir, don't forget you have a meeting at eleven thirty this morning and General Hakuro is convening this one. I'll be waiting with your files at the conference hall."

She turned on her heel to leave only to be stopped by Roy, "Hawkeye, you could wait here, this conversation is going to be anything but private in terms of the sound levels."

"Sorry sir, but we all have a lot of work, especially you and I." Having said that, Riza waited to make sure he'd made out what she really would've liked to say.

Don't push it Roy, one toe out of line and you know I'll have you do most of today's work.

Riza was really glad that the two alchemists got through their discussion without giving their lungs and her head too much strain. Half hour later Roy unlocked the door and asked Falman to get him a Military car and driver, while Ed and Al settled down on the couches in the office.

If they were going somewhere, Riza sure needed to know where and why, she only wished Roy had thought of maybe telling his bodyguard. The documents she'd already completed were reason enough to get into his personal office. Shutting the door behind herself, Riza found him winding up his things. Placing a clipboard on his desk she told him, "I need your signatures on those, sir." With a nod he got to work, giving her the chance to ask, "Going somewhere? Need I join you?"

"Mm, taking Fullmetal to Shou Tucker for a visit," he answered distractedly. Signing off his name on the last sheet he looked up with a smile, "That's done. And, I think I can manage this little outing on my own, thanks."

"Not a problem, sir. Though if I might ask, why does he find interest in the Sewing-Life Alchemist?"

"The boys expressed a curiosity toward bio-alchemy. And you know how they helped with the Liore situation," she nodded as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "Well, I'm just introducing them to Tucker as a return-favour for exposing the true affairs at Liore. Nothing more, nothing less."

"That's nice of you, though Ed must be really surprised," she commented picking up her clipboard and rearranging the papers at his desk.

"Certainly," Roy snorted. "He thought I had some evil ulterior motive behind helping him."

"Just don't fight in the car, okay?" She warned with an amused smile, already moving to leave, but he grabbed her by the elbow and stopped her from doing just that.

"I need to say something," he mumbled.

She was slightly taken aback at that because she knew it wasn't a mere statement – it was a question, it was him asking for her permission. Why did a senior officer need to take his subordinate's approval before speaking? "Go ahead, sir. After all, you do outrank me, don't you?"

"Right," he took in an unnecessary breath and she knew he was uneasy, something she'd never want him to be in her company. "Since the moment I decided to take Ed to Tucker as a repayment, I've had something on my mind."

Quirking a brow at him, she wondered casually, "And that is?"

"Well, if there's anyone in my life that I really need to repay, it is you. So I -"

"Colonel, you know you don't owe me anything no matter what," She cut him off.

"And you know I'm not done speaking," his mock-glare was anything but effective but she decided to let him continue. "Just so you know Riza Hawkeye, I intend on repaying you for everything that you've done for me. Be it Flame alchemy, watching my back or slave-driving me, I'd want to clear all debts between us."

Somewhat miffed at him for thinking that she'd ever want a compensation, she asked sharply, "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Roy narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Angry? There's no need for that because I know you don't side by a fool like me to get any returns out of the deal. This is just so I feel better."

Her voice dropped to something just above a murmur, "Roy Mustang, you're taking this a bit too far. I made you a promise and I don't want you to repay me for it."

The man had the nerve to ignore her statement and ask, "How would you like to join me for dinner tonight, Lieutenant? As the first step of the repayment?"

But she wasn't going to lose this one, he was just being downright silly. "Sir, you know I have to take Hayate to the vet this evening."

"Very well, tomorrow?"

"No."

"Hawkeye, c'mon don't be a spoilsport."

"You don't have to be insistent about this either sir," she shot back.

A knock resounded at the door and a moment later – during which Roy took a step back to lean against his desk – Falman poked his head into the room, "Sorry to disturb you sirs; but your car is waiting by the entrance Colonel."

"Thanks Falman, tell the boys to get going. I'll be there in a moment." Roy ordered, moving to grab a file from his desk; with a nod Falman had left.

"Don't think you've won this one, Hawkeye," he said over his shoulder with a playful smirk just as his hand fisted over the doorknob.

"Neither have you, sir," she said evenly. "For the time being Colonel, just make sure you're back before eleven thirty. We wouldn't want to hear General Hakuro's taunts."

"Not now," Riza muttered darkly when the doorbell rang. She stood in her room, one foot half-way into the leg of her pyjamas and the other on the floor. Hayate had started barking so there was not much left to do now. Hurriedly pulling up the blue garment she threw on a t-shirt despite being partially wet from her shower, and practically bolted out of her room.

In about five heartbeats she made it to the door, yanking it open with one hand, the other feeling along the surface of her side-table just in case a gun was needed. Hayate stopped barking and yelped happily as he rushed past her feet to greet their guest.

Roy bent down to pat his little head and let the friendly beast lick away at his cheeks, saying, "At least someone's happy to see me." He looked up at her meaningfully, her brown eyes were still somewhat baffled.

"Get inside Hayate, now." She commanded in a not-so-stern tone. "Colonel, what are you doing here?"

"You get straight to the point, don't you?" There was a killer smile on the man's face as he stood back up, holding out a plastic bag to her, "I'm here to have dinner with you."

"I do not mean to be rude, sir, but you are the most stubborn man that I've ever had the misfortune of knowing." She was saying as she pulled out dishes from a cabinet by the kitchen entrance.

"It's my pleasure," he laughed as he washed his hands at the sink. "Honestly, you are equally stubborn Riza."

She looked up sharply at the sound of her first name and he had to suppress another snort. Roy held up his hands at his chest in a placating gesture, a smile on his face and mischief in his eyes. "You won't shoot me for calling you Riza, will you?"

Unmoved, she proceeded to set the table. "The fact that you're still standing answers that question I guess."

"So, what did the vet have to say about Hayate?" Roy wondered, sincerely interested, going over to unpack the take-out.

"He's growing well, though a little more walk wouldn't hurt," she answered, followed by a soft sniff. "Is that-"

"Xingese noodles with extra garlic-pepper sauce? Yes; and this new something which I can't pronounce, but is basically a dish of chicken kebabs," He smiled proudly as he set the two large boxes on the table.

"Alright then, let's get this over with," she murmured with a sigh as she settled in her chair, Roy doing the same across from her.

He told her about Tucker and what went on between him and Edward but the conversation was short-lived, because the delicacies before them were more demanding.

The noise of chopsticks intermingled with the aroma of food took over the room, the people making the clamour falling silent. Furtively, Roy watched Riza as she ate, noticing every detail that could help gauge her mood. She was eating quietly, brown eyes alight with interest as she chewed on the new recipe. Blonde hair falling around her, flowing, appearing like a vivid aura that only someone like her could possess, and he couldn't stop staring.

"Mm, I must say this is good," His eyes went down to his plate the moment hers came up. Just saved, he thought, bringing his head back up with a smile. "Colonel, you didn't have to do this."

"Like I told you," he began, eyes hauntingly honest. "I want to repay you. I know it's impossible and you don't want it, but to be very honest, this is just an excuse to spend some personal time with you as a …"-his brows creased, looking for the right word – "… companion. Just let me do whatever I can, alright?"

"Is this an offer?"

"If you want it."

"You know as well as I do, anything that suggests fraternization sets your career at risk. Not to mention that I don't like how you're trying to basically compensate for something that I'm fond of doing," she gave him a stern look, one that couldn't let him predict what was yet to come. "Despite all that, if you're willing to keep these encounters covert and few, I won't mind having a companion."

His truly happy smile was worth anything and everything, and she was glad to be the reason behind it. She shifted to clasp her fingers around the hand beside his plate, giving it a reassuring squeeze to seal the deal. "Thanks Roy, I'm glad you came up with this."

"Me too," he said in an excited whisper. He turned back to his food, she followed suit; now that she was okay with whatever he was doing it'd be much better. He knew they would hardly get enough respites for anything like this, what with Fullmetal's endless shenanigans and inter-military politics, and she knew that too. But just knowing that after all these years, and after so many disasters of trust, war and work, she was willing to follow him gave him an inexplicable sense of positivity. Their story was on a new beginning, so to say, and this would be one heck of a journey.

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