Roy + Riza = best pairing in fma :D

I did this while I was supposed to be sleeping... so... please review and I hope you enjoy! This is the first Royai fanfic I have ever done. Favourites are nice, subscriptions are nice, but REVIEWS... they mean the world to me. A MILLION SUNSHINE CUPCAKES to flawed angel for helping me come up with this idea.

DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction. All recognizable characters belong to a ... cow... with... glasses...?

It's another bouquet of flowers. There is no end to them- every week, at the same day and the same time flowers find their way onto her doorstep, their petals curving upwards and forming friendly, welcoming faces. Every Tuesday when she steps out of her safe sanctuary, into the harsh world, she finds flowers… flowers, girly and meaningless. 1st lieutenant Riza Hawkeye is someone of practicality, sense, of things that can be explained. She is not someone who believes in ghosts, fairies, intelligent rabbits and other such nonsense. She knows that happy endings are a rare thing in this imperfect world.

Don't look so gloomy.
Your plan was perfect, but because I didn't make it in time...
There is no such thing as perfection. This world itself is imperfect.
She can still feel his touch; see his little curving smile as he runs a hand through her hair, his expression impossible to pin down.
That's what makes it so beautiful.

Lt. Hawkeye shakes herself awake and examines the roses with a forlorn expression. They lie limp, and yet still retaining a bit of their former glory. She can't help but notice they are nearly the same shade of red as blood. The sky is still plain grey and cloudy. It's going to rain today…. So far the world has been drab, dull, one coloured. She goes back inside to get an umbrella, stopping to stroke Black Hayate before locking the door again. A strong wind blows at her, screaming angry undecipherable words that bite, as the bare branches of the trees hiss and crackle like fire. Its early autumn and the delicious breath of rain hangs in the air.

One must always watch out for whipping tree branches, she tells herself as she barely avoids one. The walk is short- just to Central HQ to begin another day of work. She glances at the bouquet in her hands- what to do? There is no name, no card. It might have been an accident- but every week, at the same time? She's a person who can see trouble from more than a mile away, blindfolded and all. The sky rumbles angrily, hissing at her and small, penetrating droplets fall, splattering, falling harder and harder as they pummel her. She quickly puts up her black umbrella, and runs toward the HQ.

"Why do you have a bouquet of roses, lieutenant?"

"Someone gave them to me, sir."

His eyes instantly gleam as he draws himself up to his fullest height. "And as to why you brought them here….?"

"I'm trying to find the person who gave them to me, sir. There was no card. "

"You don't know who gave them to you! "

"That's what I just said, sir."

Colonel Mustang seems to be in a strangely good mood, as of late. Everyone else may think the reason behind it is a date that went well, a new sweetheart maybe. Riza Hawkeye knows something is amiss, something that isn't quite right. She scrutinizes him carefully, light amber eyes locking with dark, mischievous ones. Definitely something amiss. "Well lieutenant, I was the one-"

"NO WAY!"

The piercing shriek comes from an officer with boyish features, his glasses almost too big for his face. "We can't go home until 7:00 because the weather's horrible…" He looks crestfallen as he adjusts his glasses. "And I had something important…." He trails off, his expression sad and pleading like that of a lost puppy. The day passes by without much event, and the hours drag on with many moanings of "I want to go home." A few papers that need to be signed here, a signature there. Paperwork itself is boring- that's something that will never change. Of course, he never does any of his…. Lt. Hawkeye eyes the large pile of papers on the Colonel's desk disapprovingly. "Lieutenant, about those flowers-"

A voice interrupts her train of thoughts and she looks up to see his expression serious. "Isn't it a bit suspicious that you keep getting them and you don't know who is giving them to you…?"

"She has a secret admirer maybe? "

"It's a ghost…eeeeeeeeeeeeh"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU IT'S NOT THE DEAD YOU SHOULD FEAR, IT'S THE LIVING? GHOSTS. DO. NOT. EXIST!"

Lt. Hawkeye smiles (looks more like a grimace) and says, "I'm sure the Colonel is right. It's nothing serious, probably just a mistake or prank."

"You never know….eheheh"

"Will someone please walk home with me! It's dark outside… PLEASE?"

Riza sighs as she rolls her eyes at the immaturity and begins to pack up. "Lieutenant, let me walk you home." Well, that was unexpected. She makes a surprised face. "That's not necessary, sir. You know I live close and I don't believe in ghosts… unlike the scaredy cats over there…"

"It's late and those flowers you're getting… "

She crosses her arms and gives him her signature "oh why do I have to deal with these idiots" look. "I'll be fine, sir. You're much more needed with… them." She glances at the shivering group of officers, their faces drawn out in horror. Drama queens, as usual….. before he has a chance to say anything, she slips out the door and into the deadly cold, the wind like a flat blade of ice on her cheeks. It's stopped raining but there seems to be something almost ominous hanging in the air. It's an ordinary day, nothing special at all. A grey, rainy Tuesday. And yet

Why does it feel like the earth itself is holding its breath? The rain begins to fall again, hard, pounding on the cement. It bounces off rooftops. It's not angry anymore, though. More like… wistful. The wind moans and whistles, full of longing as the sky darkens and grey clouds dominate the horizon. Riza begins to open up her umbrella.

…Are you alright, sir?

I'm fine. Looks like…. It's starting to rain.

But it's not raining….

Yes. This is rain.

…Yes sir. Let's go back. It's… getting cold out here….

In that instant, Riza Hawkeye sees it. A shadow in shadows- barely visible out of the corner of her eye, something there that shouldn't be. She strains her eyes, wishing she had a flashlight. She's barely 10 yards away from her house, but cold shivers run down her back. There's nothing there, she tells herself. She's someone that believes in the truth, the reality. There are no ghosts, nothing that can't be explained.

Nothing.

I'm just being paranoid, she repeats over and over again in her head. Her fingers brush the cold metal of a gun strapped to her uniform. Now, fair reader…. surely this is the part where something jumps out at her- a ghost, a goblin, a monster with a rotten jack-o-lantern face. The reason why you should never walk alone when it's dark outside….

"Lieutenant!"

But wait. You breathe a sigh of relief. Riza Hawkeye is not a person of fanciful words, of extravagant emotions. She's simply a military officer who must protect someone. And that someone is…

"What are you doing there standing in the rain!"

She snaps out of her daze and sees Colonel Mustang running towards her, his eyes etched with unmistakable worry. She makes her way towards her house, and when she gets nearer, she sees something that shouldn't be there. Something that cannot be explained.

A bouquet of roses, lying on its side on her doorstep. But this time the petals do not form friendly faces. Instead, they mock her, lying safely, sheltered from the rain from the overhang of her house. Knowing something that she doesn't. Limp as always, laughing at her. There is someone that she must protect. Lt. Hawkeye turns around all too quickly.

Not quickly enough.

The world isn't all one colour anymore- now red clashes with the grey, matching the shade of the roses. It's such a stark contrast, to have a brilliant colour explode in the middle of plain, boring, grey.

"Colonel…?"

Her face pales, turning so white. She's afraid to look down. Roy Mustang is standing there, his eyes so freezing cold, as her world spins and her vision becomes littered with black spots.

All she sees is the smoke rising from the tip of his gun.