A Valentine Carol
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 1: Roy's Thoughts on Valentine's Day
Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist and all its characters are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No profit was made from this fanfiction. The only things that I do own are the OC's if any. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to the overall course of the plot. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. I claim full ownership of my character Raven except the name which belongs to my new friend Raven.
AN: Well here's another holiday fic inspired by something Nature 9000 said on messenger. This will be another multichapter and I hope that you enjoy it. I promise it will have comedy, drama and a nice bit of romance at the end, not a lemon though; hence the T rating. I'm looking at 6 chapters for this but with me you never know. Hope you enjoy it.
Note: I mixed manga with anime. The anime events happened with the movie but I used the *spoiler* Madam Christmas as Roy's foster mother.
Roy's Thoughts on Valentine's Day
Roy Mustang sat at his desk and sighed as he stared out the window, the paperwork being ignored in favor of looking out at the cityscape as the sun began its descent behind the mountains in the distance. His eyes moved to stare at the large ball of fire, his mind making a mental note to never take something like the setting sun for granted ever again. While he was up North the sky was always so dark and it was always snowing. During that time he thought it was a fitting place for him to be. His soul was darkened so why not be in a complementary environment.
He turned around when he heard the door open and saw Hawkeye walk in with a bunch of file folders. Falman, Breda, Havoc, and Furey were walking behind her carrying boxes of pink, red and white items. He was surprised when they walked over to him and sat them beside his desk.
Roy directed his eyes down at the boxes to see that they were brightly decorated boxes of chocolates, valentine day cards, and various other types of the standard gifts of affection that women gave him this time of year.
"Just what are these?" he questioned, letting the displeasure sound in his voice.
"Valentine's chief," Havoc said. "The girls in Central must have heard you were back and decided to get a head start on the eve of Valentine's Day."
"Okay, let me rephrase that. Why'd you bring them here?" he questioned with obvious distaste.
"That's probably because they are addressed to you, Sir. I can think of no other reason that the men would bring you gifts such as those. Did you not ask them to bring your mail to you?" Riza questioned him.
Roy leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I guess I did. It's just I hate Valentine's Day. It's so damned pointless. Why do people need a day of the year to lie to someone about how much they love them?"
"Wow chief, I figured that you'd love it since you get all the attention."
"I don't want the attention; I want to be left alone. Valentine's Day, as I stated, is a day full of lies. It's a day when a man or woman treats the opposite sex like queens and kings in hopes that later in the night they will act like a porn star."
"That's not really a fair thing to say, Sir," Riza spoke. Roy turned his gaze to her, interested in what she meant.
"Wow Lieutenant, you surprise me. Do you actually like this holiday?"
"Why is that so surprising? I believe some couples out there celebrating are truly in love and not celebrating for the reasons that you have stated."
"Are you in love Lieutenant?" Furey asked, getting stares of shock from Falman, Havoc, and Breda. They all wondered if he had some kind of death wish.
"I don't know," she answered, and looked back down at her paperwork.
Havoc stared at her and tried to hold back a smile. Oh, she knew full well that she was in love with none other than her commanding officer who hated Valentine's Day.
Roy laughed. "It's great I suppose if you put a lot of stock in being in love. Love is a foolish thing and it makes people act like idiots. I wouldn't lower myself to that."
"So you've never been in love sir?" Furey questioned.
Havoc wanted to smack Furey upside of the head.
"No, I haven't and I don't plan on letting myself fall," Roy said.
Havoc glanced over at Hawkeye, who had visibly tensed when Roy said that. After he smacked Furey he would go and punch Roy out. He knew the man loved Riza but he just didn't want to admit it to himself. However, Riza didn't know that and it was clear that his words had hurt her. He looked at the other men to see if they noticed Hawkeye's actions: they didn't. It looked like he was the only one that clearly saw the affection she held for the man. Either that or the other's did a good job hiding their knowledge.
"You don't exactly let yourself fall in love. Some people that fall in love are just too stubborn to admit it. Some people don't even realize that they are in love."
"Some people only think they are and then they really aren't. Sometimes it is only one-sided love. You can use all the some people's and sometimes that you want but that won't make me change my mind," Roy said.
"Something will change your mind someday," Havoc replied.
"Havoc, I am thirty three years old. I doubt that."
Riza stood and gathered her paperwork. "It's lunchtime," she said.
The men filed out of the office quickly as Roy stood and stretched his arms over his head.
"Want to get some lunch with me Lieutenant?" he asked.
"Sorry sir, I can't. I am having lunch with Jacob," she replied.
"Jacob down at the range?" he questioned, his voice taking on a surprised and to his shock, jealous tone. No no, it wasn't jealousy. He wasn't the type to get jealous.
"Yes sir," she replied. They walked out of the office and down the hallway.
"I didn't know you two were..." he trailed off.
"I tend to keep my social life private," she responded and turned toward the filing office. She tucked the folders she was carrying under one arm and saluted Roy, surprising him. She never felt the need to salute when saying goodbye before.
"I'll see you after lunch, sir," she said.
"Yes, all right Hawkeye," Roy responded and watched her as she made her way down the hall and out of sight.
He made his way out of headquarters and down the street. He heard his name called many times by women passing by, both married and single, yet he didn't respond to them. He didn't really care that they wanted to show their affection to him. He didn't care that he could have almost any woman in Central that he wanted if he asked. All he could focus on was the fact that Riza Hawkeye was going on a lunch date. He shouldn't really care considering they weren't and never were involved romantically in any way. However, when he thought of her laughing with Jacob or going out to dinner and dancing, or going back to her apartment and…he cut himself off at that thought. His stomach felt funny and his chest felt congested upon thinking of things such as that.
He turned the corner and smiled as Madam Christmas's new place came into view. Madam Christmas would know why he was feeling the way he was.
Roy walked through the door and over to the bar to sit down. Not even a moment later, he laughed when Vanessa latched herself onto his arm and smiled.
"Happy early Valentine's Day!" she said gleefully and rubbed her head against his shoulder as if she was a cat nuzzling her master. She let go and looked around.
"What's wrong?" he questioned.
"Where is Elizabeth?"
"We don't need the code names anymore Vanessa. You can call her Riza now," he said.
"Oh, yeah! Old habits die hard I suppose," she said with a giggle.
"So where is she?"
"She's having lunch with someone," he replied.
"A guy?" she questioned.
"Yeah," he said.
Vanessa stood. "Why didn't you say something to stop it!" she exclaimed, as if not by doing so, he was doing a large disservice.
"It's none of my business who she decides to have lunch with," Roy said with a huff.
Before Vanessa could respond, the door to the right of the bar opened. Madam Christmas came walking out. Her red dress dragged the ground slightly and her black boa made an odd ruffling sound as she made her way over to the bar. She sat up Roy's typical drink but stopped pouring when she saw the huffed up look Vanessa displayed.
"What did you do and what do we have to do to fix it," Christmas questioned, sitting down the bottle of liquor on the counter.
"What makes you think I did anything?"
"Vanessa never gets that look on her face unless she's bloated or angry with you."
"She's just acting that way because I didn't stop Riza from going out to lunch with Jacob. Not a big deal."
"You let the woman you love go out with another man on a lunch date?" Christmas snapped, narrowing her eyes at her son.
Roy scooted back slightly. He remembered that look from when he was a child, and knew that underneath it simmered a super volcano of annoyance and anger ready to explode if he uttered the wrong words.
"…Um…"
"Zhou Shin… "
Roy cringed at the use of his ugly sounding Xingese name. He never liked it, and much preferred the Amestrian name that Christmas had given him.
"How do you expect to get the woman you love if you keep letting her go on dates? If you don't tell her how you feel you will lose her." Christmas questioned, trying to calm her nerves. For being so damn smart he sure was stupid when it came to matters of the heart.
"Whoa…whoa…back that up. Love? I don't do the romantic love thing. Riza is a grown woman and free to find love if she wants it. I have no interest in it."
"Liar liar pants on fire! You love Riza and you know it. Stop trying to deny it!" Vanessa said.
"What did Roy do this time? Fuck up again?"
Roy turned to see his "sister" Raven, walk down the steps with her long supermodel type gate. She walked over and stood at his right side.
"Just what is this about denial," she questioned, her thick Cretian accent coming out at full force.
"He let Riza go out with another man for lunch!"
"What? I figured you had her elevated to at least girlfriend status now!"
"He says he doesn't love her!" Vanessa said.
"Wow, what sunk your ship into the river of denial?"
Roy stood and growled. "Nothing has sunk my ship! I am not in denial about anything. Love is foolish and having a day every year to celebrate such foolishness is idiotic. There's no such thing as being in love. I don't love Riza a bit and wouldn't ever. She's not my type even if I believed in falling in love. "
Riza stopped at the door as she started to make her way into Madame Christmas's place. Roy had forgotten the papers he needed to give his mother. She decided to bring them over to the place before leaving for her lunch with Jacob to discuss the new sniper rifles and her help with the testing of them.
She'd only opened the door a few inches before she heard what he said, her heart dropping at his words. It was bad that he said those things in the office, but to hear him say specifically that he didn't love her and wasn't her type really shattered her heart. She took a step back and plastered on her mask that she'd prepared for revealing the death of a soldier to their loved ones. She knocked on the door twice before coming through, as customary for customers not wanting to …partake…in the upstairs entertainment that the girls there provided. She walked through the door and over to Roy who looked a bit pale.
"Speaking of…" Vanessa muttered.
"Riza, what brings you here? Roy said you had a lunch date," Christmas said.
"Yes, I did," Riza replied plastering on her professional tone. It was the first time she'd ever used it with Madame Christmas. If she was going to distance herself from Roy then she needed to distance herself from his family as well. As much as she cared about them, it would be too difficult to maintain a relationship with them considering her status with Roy. She laid the papers up on the counter in front of him. "You forgot these at the office and I thought I would bring them to you sir."
Roy took the papers off the counter and nodded. "Um… thank you…" he said awkwardly, hoping that she didn't hear what he said before she came in the room.
She nodded, turned around and walked out the door not giving so much as a departing gesture.
"RIIIIIIIIIIIZA! Wait!" Vanessa said, shooting a glare at Roy before she followed the blond lieutenant out of the business. "Riza, stop! I can't run in stilettos!"
Riza stopped and turned around to see Vanessa walking as briskly as possible toward her. She was surprised when Raven passed Vanessa in a couple strides.
Vanessa arrived at Riza and turned her head to glare at Raven who was already standing at her side.
"Do you have to flaunt your long legs all the time?"
"If you haven't figured out the answer to that after growing up with me then you are a lost cause," Raven replied and turned her sights to Riza. "You overheard what he said didn't you?"
"No, of course not," Riza replied, and then cursed at how unconvincing she sounded. Around anyone else, she could lie, but Raven had something about her, some kind of power to draw the truth out of people. The interrogation team at Central could really use someone like her.
"You are lying. You heard everything! Roy didn't mean what he said! We all can tell that he's gaga over you."
"Look, I really don't care whether he loves me or not," she said, while trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Even if I did love him-which I don't- you heard what he said. I'm not his type. I'm too normal."
"Normal? How are you too normal?"
"I have to get to lunch. It's an important meeting to discuss a few things," Riza said, trying to end the conversation.
"Ah Ha!" Vanessa said, causing Riza to take a step back in surprise. "So it's not a romantic date!"
Riza looked confused. "No, Jacob is just a friend. It's a business lunch with some people who want to test out new sniping equipt-"
"Yes! Now we don't have to worry about breaking you up with whoever you date!" Raven said.
"Dear God! Give it a rest! Roy and I will not happen! Do you understand? I will not ever date someone that doesn't believe he can fall in love. I like my life the way it is so please just stay out of it," she said.
Vanessa and Raven looked at each other and laughed.
"What is so funny?" Riza questioned.
"You called him Roy," Vanessa said.
"I hear wedding bells and honeymoon moans already," Raven replied.
"You two…just give up," she said with a sigh and walked away, leaving the two women standing there quite amused and pleased with themselves.
"That went well," Vanessa said.
Raven looked down at her and grinned. "I give it until the end of Valentine's Day before they are rolling around in the covers.
"That soon?"
"Yes, with my Valentine's Day plan it will happen. You see, I've been reading this holiday book by some guy named Charge for Dickens and-"
"You mean Charles Dickens," Vanessa said.
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, there are these ghosts that visit this guy name Sc-"
"I'm going back to the office to finish my paperwork early so I can go home and go to bed. I need to think," Roy said, interrupting the conversation the two women were having. They straightened up and turned to him, plastering huge smiles on their lips.
"I grew up with you two and I know those smiles. Just want are you planning?"
"Nothing, there's nothing we could possibly be planning. Anyway," Vanessa said, grabbing his arm. "You should really mend things up with Riza. We think she overheard what you said and we know you didn't mean it."
"I did mean it though. I don't want to fall in love and she isn't my type really," Roy said.
"If you don't believe in love and all that jazz then you don't have a type because you can't fall in love unless you do indeed have a type. Then if you fell in love then that woman would be your type because you fell in love with her. Right?" Raven stated.
"Exactly!" Vanessa replied. "That was completely the most brilliant thing I've ever heard!"
Roy stared at Raven for a moment. . . "What?"