A Roof With a View

He stuck his head through to door to the Archive room, allowing his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting before he spoke. "Hey. Have you got a second?"

"If it gets me away from dealing with whatever this sorry excuse for a filing system is, I've got two seconds." Leaning back in his chair, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes with minimal success, Hughes reached up and removed his glasses. "What's up?"

Roy grinned. "If you're so sick of sorting through paper, I've got a little job that might interest you."

Groaning aloud, Hughes slouched lower in the chair. One hand rose to rub at his eyes. "Oh, for the love of…. It's not enough that I'm stuck in this tiny backwater of a room halfway across the country from my wife and daughter, but now I've got to deal with one of your hare-brained schemes?" His hand dropped away to reveal an answering grin. "I love it. What do you have in mind?"

Roy stepped inside and shut the door behind himself. "Okay, what is the one thing Hawkeye never, ever wants to celebrate?"

"Victory Day. Amestris Day. The anniversary of the day she met you."

Rolling his eyes, Roy leaned against the wall. "Would you be serious for five minutes? Try again."

A spark of realization lit in Hughes' eyes, and he slipped his glasses back on. "Her birthday!" A quick calculation took place, bringing a hint of slyness to his expression. "Her birthday that's this week."

Roy tapped a knowing finger to the side of his nose. "Now you're catching on. So, listen, I've got a plan that's going to guarantee she has some kind of celebration for it, even if it's just her and me, but —" He broke off as Hughes began making mock kissing noises. "You. Serious. Five minutes."

"It's more like four and a half, now." He raised his hands in the face of Roy's glare. "Okay, okay. You mentioned having a plan."

"Right. I've got the location in mind, and it's ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure to be deserted… but it's a question of getting her there. I don't want to just… you know, walk right up and go "Hey, follow me for a minute." That's not…." He faltered for a moment, trying to find the right words. "It doesn't have enough…"

"'Pizzaz?'" Hughes offered, dryly.

"Yeah, that works. Anyway, what I'd like you to do, is deliver a message, telling her where to meet me. I'll take it from there." Roy suddenly frowned. "…Am I overdoing this?"

"Maybe not overdoing; more like overthinking." Propping his chin on his fist, Hughes smiled. "I'll make sure she gets there. Once you tell me where 'there' is, and also, because I'm curious, what your little celebration plan is."

Roy shrugged. "Nothing terribly special. She'll kill me if I get too fancy with it. All it's going to be is cupcakes, coffee, and some conversation; nice and relaxing." He paused. "On the Headquarters roof."

Hughes gave a soft whistle. "Classy…." He gave his friend a scrutinizing look. "You're sure you're just doing this for our girl's birthday? What you're describing is turning rapidly from 'simple birthday' to 'marriage proposal.'"

Another glare. "It's still firmly on 'simple birthday' and you know damn well why."

Once again, Hughes raised his hands. "Okay, fine, you've got it. I'll make sure she's there." A brief pause. "Though if you wanted it to be a proposal, I've got some tips that —"

Roy turned and let his forehead thump against the wall in exasperation.

Alone, with the office quiet around her, it wasn't hard to hear the footsteps coming down the hall. Signing her own name and forging Roy's to the form in front of her, she placed it to one side of her desk, set down her pen, and was waiting with her hands folded on the surface when Hughes came breezing into the room.

"Hey, there she is!" He crossed the space between the door and her desk with his arms wide and a broad grin. "I've been so busy down in the Archives all day I didn't have time to come say hello."

She rose to meet him, smiling. "You didn't have to take time away just to visit me. You could be on the phone to Central right now."

Hughes' hands settled on her shoulders, and he planted a swift, friendly kiss on her cheek. "I could, and I will be, but there's few things I have to take care of first. That's one —" He seized her in a bear hug, and turned once on the spot, saying over her protestations, "— and that's two!"

Smiling, Riza extricated herself from the hug, brushing her bangs back from her eyes. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture but… what's gotten into you?"

"A little bird told me it's your birthday today, and I couldn't very well let the day end without at least wishing you a happy one." He grinned as her face lost hers. "Uh oh. I know that look."

"The one where I suspect the little bird you mentioned creates fire when he snaps his fingers?" Riza leaned back against the front of her desk, folding her arms. "He got it into his head years ago that I'll actually enjoy celebrating my birthday if he just keeps insisting that I do, and I don't know how to disillusion him of that."

"What's there to say that he needs to be disillusioned?" Hughes held up a finger as she opened her mouth for a retort. "Hold on, let me explain what I mean. You and I both know that Roy cares very deeply about every person under his command. He's not always the greatest at showing it, but he does care. So when he see something bothering you — like the fact that your birthday has rolled around once again and you're dead-set against celebrating it — he takes it like a personal challenge to help you enjoy at least some part of the day."

She grimaced. "I know you're right. I just… I don't want anything… special, anything with the whole office like last year, or really, any large group of people. I don't want to be…."

Hughes nudged her gently in the ribs, teasing. "Treated like an actual lady?"

"Singled out." She looked down at the floor with the admission, not rising to the joke. "I'm not against him acknowledging my birthday, that's fine. I just don't think it deserves anything fantastical or even particularly noteworthy."

"Okay. I'll go tell him that you don't want him jumping out of a cake in front of the entire garrison." He smiled when that drew a reluctant laugh. "Or… you could tell him yourself."

"…What do you mean?"

Standing straight, Hughes held out a hand, his smile turning mischievous. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

He led her to the central staircase of the garrison, and up two floors to where the steps dead-ended in a small landing and a door marked "Roof Access — Authorized Personnel Only." It was propped slightly open, to prevent locking her or Roy on the roof, but otherwise, there was no sign of him.

Mystified, Riza looked back over her shoulder to where Hughes waited several steps below. He made a shooing motion with one hand. "Go on; the sooner you head out there, the sooner I get to call my wife and kid." He smiled. "I don't think it's what you're expecting, trust me. Trust him. Okay?"

With a deep breath, Riza pushed the door open, and stepped forward.

Roy heard the soft squeak of the access door hinges, and glanced back in time to see Riza settling the door back on the small wooden wedge he had used to prop it open. She glanced up, catching sight of him almost immediately. He stood several feet back from the edge on the flat roof, his hands in his pockets, and his jacket discarded on the ground beside a blanket. The only things that rested on it were a white card box, two white mugs from the base cafeteria, and a thermal drink container.

"Hey."

She came a few steps closer, folding her hands behind her back. "Hello. Interesting way you have about getting people to meet you."

Roy snorted quietly. "Interesting is one word to describe Hughes. He didn't drag you bodily out of the office while laughing like a maniac, did he?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, I came voluntarily." Her eyes travelled toward the blanket and its contents. "He hinted you had something set up that you wanted me for." She met his gaze again, the humour suddenly gone. "Something for my birthday."

"Which I'm guessing then led to a discussion about how far I was planning to go." He shrugged sheepishly in the face of her confirming nod. "I've taken it a little far before, I know. And while you were extremely gracious about it at the time… I still got the sense I overstepped."

He moved a few steps closer, watching the unconsciously wary way she observed the approach. She was still suspicious that this was going to turn into more than it appeared. "I'm sorry about that. So I'm trying to do better this time. This time it's just you and me. Just a small acknowledgement, because of how long we've known each other and because you're very important to me." He tilted his head toward the blanket. "If it's okay?"

Roy was still watching her eyes when he saw the wariness fade. A bit of the tension she probably didn't know she carried visibly in her shoulders eased out of sight, and she nodded, her lips twitching upward in a small smile. "That sounds… perfect."

They settled together on the woven cotton of the blanket, Riza waiting as Roy poured coffee from the thermal container into a mug for her, and then one for himself. He rested a hand on the box. "Are you ready to not sleep for the next three days?" he asked, completely solemn.

She wrapped both hands around the mug, smiling at his antics. "Does that box contain paperwork?"

"Better." He lifted the lid, exposing the pair of cupcakes inside…and had the distinct pleasure of watching her mouth fall open. "So the shop these come from calls these 'Death by Chocolate.' I'm hoping it's not true, because… well, that'd be kind of an awful thing to do to you on your birthday." He glanced up. "Might draw the attention you prefer to avoid, just in a way you weren't expecting."

Just as solemnly as he had been a moment earlier, she held out a hand. "I accept the consequences."

It was easily the most decadent thing she had ever eaten. A dark chocolate cupcake piled high with chocolate buttercream frosting, chocolate sprinkles, and topped by a large marshmallow that had been dipped halfway into molten chocolate, its snowy white half pointing to the sky. Neither of them managed to eat more than half before being forced to stop by the sheer sweetness.

Taking a sip of coffee to clear the thick frosting from her mouth, Riza watched as Roy returned each half-cupcake to the box. "I'm going to have dreams about that cupcake. If I manage to sleep between the sugar rush and the caffeine high."

Roy laughed, one hand going self-consciously to the back of his neck. "I promise, that's the only part of my plan that's actually backfired."

"At least I'll stay awake long enough to watch the sunset." She nodded toward the front of the building. "It should only be another half hour or so. And then I think I can safely say I've put in enough hours at the office for today."

"Riza, you could have said that three hours ago."

She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "I had things to finish. And besides, it meant I was here for when this little rendezvous you planned was ready." She glanced his direction to find him already watching her. "Which, I didn't say it before, and I should have. Thank you for this. This is… much different than I thought it might be, and much better than I could have imagined."

"This is more along the lines of what you wanted for a birthday celebration?" he asked. "Instead of the rest of the men and myself surprising you last year?"

"Yes." She looked down into her cup, swirling the dark coffee slowly. "I'm a private person. I like my birthday — and any of its celebrations — to be the same. Private." When she looked up again, it was to direct her gaze around the flat expanse of the roof. "And I don't think you can get much more private than up here."

"Good." Leaning close, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders in a hug, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "Happy birthday, Riza."

"Thank you." She had to half-turn to plant a return kiss on his cheek. "And thank you for doing this."

They sat there together, talking quietly as the sky faded from blue to an array of pastel pinks, oranges, and yellows, the light of the lowering sun bathing both of them, alone together, in a wash of golden light.