Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ Of Ballet and Bullets ❯ Must Love Dogs ( Chapter 4 )

Of Ballet and Bullets

 

Part 4 - Must Love Dogs

 

A Full Metal Alchemist fanfiction, By Serenanna

 

Warnings and Disclaimers: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them to play with. I'll return them later, promise. There is violence, adult content, and sexual situations in this story. So, if you're under 18, leave now before your virgin eyes are scarred forever, if you're over 18, enjoy!

 

Story Notes: Time frame for this fic doesn't matter as my knowledge of FMA is a bit scattered but obviously before the ending and Maes's death, and set during the anime series. Also, this is an Ed/Winry and Roy/Riza fic (Two for the price of one!). Being this is fanfiction, liberties were taken with the actions of the characters and certain parts of the fic are not canonal, I just don't know which ones. This fic hinges on a lot more plot compared to the last time out in Overhaul, Overhaul 2, and A Betting Crowd, which I recommend reading before diving into this. This one has violent action scenes, suspense, humor, and mild angst in it, so the sex and romance may be few and far between. In summary, you're all getting what I call a real plot. No, really, I'm actually working on a real plot this time! Beta reading has been done by Darkilluser. (Thank you!) Read the above disclaimers again if you're still squeamish about reading this, blood splatter included, but I assure you, it'll be worth it in the end probably. Again, no pieces of automail, skirts, guns, tuxedoes, or ballet dancers were harmed in the production of this piece of . . . well . . .

 

***********

 

Everything about the past day and a half seemed like a dream as Riza tried to roll over in her sleepy pre-morning haze, only to be stopped by an arm clinging to her waist. As she tried to move it, it only gripped her more tightly, pulling her backwards till she felt a flat, muscular chest press back against hers. Slowly, as the fog in her head cleared, she opened her eyes to see Roy's bare neck right before her. She blushed, all of yesterday and the night before that coming back to her. So this was real, the three of them stuck in her apartment till the assassins that tried to kill the young alchemist were captured or dead. It wasn't exactly an ideal circumstance to prompt communal living, but when in desperate times . . . and there were certain benefits with the deficits, waking up with the Colonel next to her being one of them.

 

She grinned to herself as he halfway rolled onto her, using her body like a giant pillow. He always cuddled like this whenever he slept over the whole night, and she secretly loved it. Riza was of the firm opinion that despite himself, he was still a kid sometimes, ironic given his treatment of FullMetal. Speaking of which, she needed to shower and get dressed before their guest woke up, and so did Roy. Edward was scarred for life enough as it was. She tried to remove herself from his arms, but he stubbornly clung to her, murmuring enough that she knew he'd be waking up any moment. And awaken he did as his lips were on hers, pressing her back down into the pillows. He was always a lazy kisser in the morning, their mouths just touching each other without any of the fire she was used to from him. He also made love slower in the morning too. It figured since he was always lazy except at night. Roy pulled away as she was pinned under him totally, the rest of their bodies tangles in the sheet. He didn't miss a beat, kissing her cheek and down her neck before she could protest, murmuring into her skin, “Good morning.”

 

“God, Roy . . .” she moaned with as much annoyance as pleasure when his hands slid up her back and around to her chest, “Do we have to do this now? I know you like it better in the morning, but we have a fifteen year old sleeping right across the hall this time.”

 

“Then don't scream.”

 

“I don't scream,” Riza protested, trying to push him off by the shoulders. She could feel him grin as his lips descended over her breasts, groping an orb in one hand as he kissed the peak of the other. Sagging back into the pillows, her resistance was undone as she said weakly, “I don't scream.”

 

“You do too, darling, and I'll prove it to you,” Roy said before capturing a nipple with his teeth, lashing it with his tongue as she whimpered. The argument was lost as she squirmed under him, partially humiliated that he could get her worked up this easily. Despite herself, Riza moaned, her hips thrusting upwards to bump against his body. He pressed back, keeping her pinned to the bed as he slid down further, kissing her stomach. Her legs tightened closed as she knew where that mouth of his was heading. She should have known he would do this, as she grabbed his black hair to pull him away. In the months they'd been together thus far, he knew her body better than she did, more than living up to his gift to women-kind status, at least when it came to matters of intimacy. If he did what she knew was coming, then she would indeed scream loud enough to wake the whole building, and not just her little apartment. She yanked on his scalp to stop him and Roy twisted her wrists to pin her down, the pain slight, mostly from her own struggling. She gasped, and squirmed harder, “Roy, you don't have to prove this, I concede, I do scream, now stop fooling around before Ed wakes up.”

 

“No fooling around, got it, right to business.”

 

She groaned, trying yet again to break free. His nose didn't move from being buried in the blond nest of fine curls covering her mound, the pink flesh underneath already hot and wet. He was beyond listening to whatever else she said, transfixed as she tried to pull away even if it drove her hips up. Out of all the blondes he's dated, Riza was about the only one he could confirm as a natural blonde, the paleness of the hair covering her stimulating as he wedged her legs open. She resisted, weakly, and then collapsed entirely when he kissed the inside of her thigh, nipping the skin with his teeth. As she felt his mouth move closer, she silently swore retribution. Someway, somehow he would pay. She wasn't the only one out of the two of them who could scream when driven. Her thoughts were cut off as his tongue flicked closer to her folds, his head turned as his cheek nuzzled her. “Did I ever tell you you're pretty?” he purred, a very cat-like glimmer to his dark eyes as he rubbed his face against her.

 

Riza bit her lip to keep from moaning, her whole body pink, “Yes, but-.”

 

He never meant down there before. She would have said that to him, if he didn't choose that moment to lick. Her voice gasped instead, jumping in her throat. His hands let go of her wrists, curling over her hips and diving between her legs to hold her open. Roy's mouth moved quickly between long, drawn out licks, diving into her as she tried to hold back. She didn't know what was worse, the slow torture of his mouth or trying to contain it. Fire burned under her skin, consuming her nerves inch by inch as she shivered. The heat was in dire contrast to the cold morning air, her pale skin raised in goose-bumps while she moaned. Oh, did she hate him for this. He always had to prove her wrong when it came to the bedroom, and not just the office. Stubborn, manipulative man didn't even notice that sometimes she got her own way when it came to their brand of fighting. He never complained when she actually won either.

 

As he flicked the very tip of his tongue over her clit, Riza found little use in resisting. He wasn't stopping and he was trying his hardest to make her scream as his lips latched onto the engorged bud and sucked. She might as well enjoy it. Giving in, she grabbed one of the pillows still on the bed and screamed into it to relieve some of the tension strumming through her. The noise only seemed to prompt Mustang to move faster, his mouth covering her entirely to suck. She writhed, her hips pushing up to feel more of it but his arms held her down. His tongue lapped at her again and her breath came in pants, her moan on each one sounding strangled into the pillow. Her hands tightly gripped the sheets and the pillow as it finally snapped, release rolling over her with a screech before it was muffled under cotton and feathers as well. Roy held her close, drinking in the flood while grinning to himself. He did tell her that she screamed. Not his fault if the whole building knew now.

 

Winning was the last thing on her mind as she moaned, her body slowly unwinding as he crawled up beside her again. She murmured his name as he kissed her neck, throwing the pillow away as he pulled her closer to him. Pressed together, Riza could feel his hardness trapped between them, poking her abdomen as he groaned. She kissed his throat in return then strained to up to his lips, yet he moved away, rising above her to sit on the back of his legs. He was still grinning as he started to move from the bed, “Point's made, you do scream, darling, but you obviously don't need me anymore, so now it's time to shower.”

 

She pounced on Roy before he could get very far, the springs under them squeaking with a whine as she pushed him back down, “Not so fast, don't start things you don't intend to finish, sir.”

 

“Ack, there's that title-,” she silenced him with a kiss before he could finish scolding her, moving on top of him. He twitched as she hovered just over him, her nails scratching down his chest and stomach before reaching between his legs. His lips broke away from hers with a hiss as her fingers dragged along his length. She was being delicate with him, too delicate, the touch making his skin crawl with flushed heat. His hips tried to push up towards hers, the tip brushing against her center. She wasn't this teasing last night, but then again, he didn't give her a chance to tease. He groaned, lying there, harder than a rock, and steaming with heat that begged to be quenched inside of her. Just when Roy couldn't take it anymore, Riza gripped him firmly as he cried out. Damn her, she knew him better than himself as it took all his control to keep from coming right then and there, the stroke of her hand making him arch off the bed. His breath came in gulps of air, his voice barely there, “Riza . . . .”

 

She kissed him, her hips sinking down as he pushed up. Being buried inside of her felt better than anything else he knew, better than the rush of his alchemistic fire, better than a lazy day. The only thing that came close to comparing and exceeding it was kissing her. When Riza bent down to kiss him again, his arms trapped her there, determined to touch her everywhere he could reach. Her hips rolled and Roy's dark eyes shut tightly, concentrating on keeping up with the rhythm she commanded from him.

 

Whenever she was on top she always went slow, knowing it annoyed and teased the hell out of him. It was different from his early morning routine of making love to her slowly, because eventually he did go fast. But this, this was agonizingly slow. It made him work harder to remain in check, too damned sensitive to her touch after years of practice for his own good. She growled into his lips as he groped her ass, trying to drive her to be quicker, and was unsuccessful at that. And yet, the blonde gave in as he pushed up into her forcefully, needy. She pushed back just as much, determined not to let him win again in their make-believe little struggle. Her voice cried out on each thrust and roll while he tried to silence her, kissing her with almost bruising passionate force. They just needed a little longer . . .

 

But then there was a knock on the door, followed by Hayate's barking.

 

“No!” Roy howled in anger as Riza collapsed at the sound, groaning, “No, no, no, no, no, no!”

 

“I'll shoot him . . .” she muttered, about to move off of the dark-haired man when he flipped them over. There was another louder banging on the door, more insistent while she remained pinned under him. Her ardor had just about evaporated, turned into frustrated anger as he moved within her still, “Roy! We don't have time-!”

 

He growled back, kissing her rather violently instead of lodging a verbal answer to her complaint. The knocking on the door continued unabated along with the squeak of the springs only sped up. Riza thrashed under him, her nails digging into his back with a moan she quieted in his neck. He whispered into her ear as he bent over her, intent evident in his voice, “I only need sixty seconds.”

 

“Sixty?! Is that all I mean to you?!”

 

“Darling, you're coming with me,” he said with a grin before she bit his neck at the sudden deep thrust. Roy pushed into her hard again, and she nearly screamed in her undoing. Suddenly, she believed just one minute of her undivided attention would be enough.

 

***********

 

This was really very annoying. After last night, you'd think the two adults would have better things to do. What did they think this was? Their honeymoon? Ed pounded on the door furiously, the pup beside him equally put out as he barked. It was their fault for waking the little guy from his puppy bed that had been moved into the guest room. The fast rhythmic sound within stopped, and he felt a lot better, almost. At least that was the only sound he heard. Last thing his fragile mind needed was vocal proof of what they were doing. There was mild cursing and the sound of movement on the floor from the other side of the door before it opened, a disheveled Riza in a light blue robe glaring at him as he glared back. “FullMetal, there had better be a very good-,” she started to say, but stopped as she heard a second knocking on a far away door.

 

“That.”

 

With a frustrated growl, she pushed past him and went for the front door, leaving the teenager to glare at a brooding Colonel Mustang wrapped up heavily under a dark robe and many layers of bedding instead. “Not one word . . .” Roy said threateningly as Edward grinned.

 

“Trust me, this is too embarrassing for the both of us to recant, ever, but I guess it does prove you really are a minute man.”

 

A pillow flew at the young alchemist's face before he could even blink; striking him upside the head and knocking him over, “Get out, brat!”

 

Roaring in rage, Ed got up and threw the pillow back at Roy, but the door slammed shut before it could connect, falling back onto his head. He groaned under the fluff of feathers and cotton till Hayate pulled it off of his face with a growl, still muttering to no one but himself, “I hate mornings.”

 

**********

 

Ignoring the sounds of fighting from the hallway in her wake, Riza marched towards the front door, her handgun held behind her back just in case. Whoever it was, they knocked loud enough to wake the dead, but then again her bed creaked just as much. Cautiously, she peered through the small hole in the door, and groaned to herself, “God, not her, not this early.”

 

Quickly, Riza put the gun down on a nearby table, and tried to flatten her unruly hair before it raised too many questions. She then opened all the latches, followed by the door itself just as another knock sounded on the wood. There was a start from the old woman on the other side, before she smiled sweetly. The Lieutenant smiled back, as best as she could while being annoyed as hell, “Mrs. Greagor, good morning, you're early . . .”

 

“Ah, yes, good morning, dear, I hope I'm not disturbing you?” the old woman asked. It took all of her mental effort to keep from screaming at the irony of that question. Instead, Riza did the next logical thing, lied her ass off with a smile on her face, “No, of course not.”

 

“Yes, well, my train is leaving earlier that I thought, so . . .” Mrs. Greagor said as she started rooting around in her handbag, taking a long time till she fished out a pair of keys, “Ah, here you go.”

 

Her smile was still in place as she gracious accepted them, “Thank you, I'll make sure to take good care of the place.”

 

“You're such a nice girl, Miss Hawkeye, and to be living so alone is a crime. Why don't you let me fix you up with one of my relatives?”

 

“That is kind of you, Mrs. Greagor, but it isn't necessary, really.”

 

“Oh, but I insist, let me talk to some of them, please?” she asked so sweetly, and yet so familiarly too, the pleading look in her eyes bordering on caricature. She couldn't tell who the old woman reminded her of more: Roy, or her dog. Why was she was stuck living next to this woman anyway? Was it the rent control in Central, or her own self-torturous ways for not moving out sooner? Maybe she'd get lucky and the woman wouldn't find someone to set her up with, and the whole matter could be avoided. And yet, Riza doubted that would end the old woman's arranging completely. Nope, the delay tactic was best. “Perhaps we should discuss this after your trip Mrs. Greagor, you're going to be late.”

 

“Ah, right, right, take care, dear, and watch out for that shady fellow.”

 

“I will, good bye.”

 

“Good bye.”

 

Slowly, she closed the door again and locked it before banging her head against the surface. What had she just gotten herself in to? Grumbling despite being a morning person, she dropped the keys next to her gun, and walked towards the hallway, stopping to pet Black Hayate as he sat outside her door. Roy emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but towels and grinning. Normally, the sight would have cheered her right up, but at that moment it would have taken a lot more than just him half-naked to raise her spirits. The Colonel frowned as well, walking up next to her, “Something wrong?”

 

“Nosy neighbors.”

 

“See, darling, this is why I own a house, no neighbors living close by to snoop on you, you should consider it, I have quite a few rooms . . .”

 

“Roy, no,” she said, not in the mood for this discussion right now, “Where's Ed?”

 

“Back in bed, the lazy brat . . . say we could go back to bed too?”

 

That was a tempting offer if she ever heard one, but, “No.”

 

His mouth dropped open, moving up and down in surprise at being rejected. Riza took that advantage to kiss him, quickly, in one heated moment as her hands held either side of his face. Roy was too stunned to resist or to grasp the upper hand and kiss her back, blinking when she pulled away. A beautiful smile danced across her lips and his heart jumped up, making him smile too, at least until she spoke, “I hate you . . . at least until you make me some coffee.”

 

His mouth dropped open again as his dark eyes were big with horror till she giggled. Theatrics finished, Mustang frowned, “Remind me why I love you again?”

 

“Because I let you push me around, and I look good with a gun?” she answered with a grin as he snorted, “Roy, get dressed, and start breakfast.”

 

“I out rank you, Lieutenant . . .”

 

“I'll be much more agreeable to you pulling rank with coffee in me.”

 

“Insubordination!”

 

“Sir . . .”

 

“Right, coffee . . .” he muttered, kissing her quickly again before he disappeared into the bedroom. Riza sighed somewhat annoyed but still happily, smiling as she went into the bathroom, her puppy springing up to follow her. At this rate, she figured she'd have both of the men trained as well as Hayate by the end of the week. “You know,” she mused to herself, “This isn't so bad after all.”

 

**********

 

It took the smell of bacon to coax Edward back out of sleep after his earlier interruption. Once the smell of it moved throughout the small apartment, he was dressed in record time and out of his room, practically salivating. It was odd seeing all of them in normal clothes, the strangest seeing the Lieutenant in a skirt, again. She wore a light blue sweater that was high and tight around her neck, a dark pair of laced boots, and a long straight skirt of brown and black tweed. Mustang looked more relaxed as he sat next to her in a white dress shirt and jeans of all things, dishing out food from a worn frying pan. He almost wanted to go back and change into his normal outfit as they were close to wearing the same thing, the only difference being his white tank top instead of the shirt. It was a good thing he was more interested in the food than in clothes as he sat down without a second thought, digging in. “I can't believe the Colonel cooks,” he muttered, sparing his arch-nemesis a disbelieving look.

 

“I can't believe he can make palatable coffee either,” Riza said before sighing almost wistfully over her mug. Roy grinned as he was already diving into his food. “The joys of military life: conflict with the elements, each other, and lousy cooks,” he said between bites of scrambled eggs, “It forces adaptation to survive.”

 

“Including cooking skills, sir?”

 

“Yeah, if only because I was never interested in finding out the mystery in mystery meat,” Roy said, turning a pale shade of green, even if he didn't stop eating. Ed chuckled, and Riza groaned, dropping her fork. It was only the first day, and she could tell this wasn't going to be a quiet week. But at least they had migrated from fighting to turning into comedians, something less annoying and more bearable. After the jokes had stopped and breakfast was cleared away, the two of them finally seemed sensible enough to talk to, “One of us needs to check in with the office, and Hayate needs a walk, even if he can practically walk himself . . .”

 

Roy was already up and moving for the leash and his black coat before she could request it. A small smile tugged onto her lips, grateful. Ed was up too, following him. Despite being the target, and hating the Colonel, if he didn't get outside today, he'd go crazy, “I'm going too.”

 

“But-,” she started to protest till Mustang caught her in a sudden hug. Riza blushed, growing annoyed at that effect he had on her. He grinned and kissed her cheek, “Relax, I got the brat covered. Even prisoners get time outside remember, just set up for work when we get back, I have a feeling this is going to be a long series of phone calls.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Riza . . .”

 

“Have a fun time, Roy, and try not to play in the snow?” she said with a grin as she moved out from his arms to disappear into the kitchen. He grinned back, even if she was gone, turning back towards the door to see the young alchemist and the puppy practically jumping up and down to be let outside. Maybe he needed leashes for both of them.

 

**********

 

Once they were out in the cold winter air, the boundless energy the pair seemed to have stopped, much to Roy's relief. Edward's mouth had stopped, too probably because he was too busy chattering his teeth to spare on insults. That was also to his relief. It was much too nice of a lazy day to spend it throwing arguments back and forth with the brat. They walked around the block surrounding the Lieutenant's apartment, stopping only when the puppy paused to sniff at various things. Both of the alchemists kept scanning the rooftops of the building the longer the walk went on. Mutual paranoia, that was it, just being cautious, it wasn't like they had anything to fear, was it? There weren't that many people out that day, probably too cold and too late in the morning for random pedestrians. “You don't think we're being watched, are we?” Edward asked cautiously, his amber eyes sweeping over the people on the street, “Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.”

 

“Scared?” Mustang asked with a grin.

 

“Who? Me? Of course not! Just . . .” he started to say before glancing over his shoulder, “Cautious, that's all, you keep looking back too.”

 

“Yeah, well, it's hard to transmute protection from bullets if you don't know it's coming, and it's not like your tin can brother is here for coverage either.”

 

“Al's more than just a tin can, you bastard!”

 

“Keep it down, pip-squeak.”

 

“Grrrr, I thought we agreed to no short jokes,” Ed growled, his temper on a low boil, “Who you calling smaller than a grain of sand anyway?”

 

Roy snorted in laughter, distracted enough not to notice Black Hayate stopping to sniff at a large pile of snow, “That wasn't a short joke, it wasn't even a short insult. You really gotta give it up. One mention of your vertically challenged proportions, and you make it sound twenty times worse.”

 

There was a tug on the leash, and Mustang stopped, turning back to see the puppy digging into the snow, “Guess he likes this spot . . . you didn't happen to grab a trash bag did you?”

 

“No, why?”

 

“Err, city ordinance 304, all pet owners must clean up after their pets, err, if they do their business on city grounds or the right of ways, including . . .”

 

“Ew, gross, this is why I tell Al no cats. He doesn't have to clean up after them,” Ed grumbled as they ignored the puppy for the moment. Mustang smirked, curious. It was odd how the kid was dead set against animals, except, “But you seemed to like dogs? Admit it, you were playing with the little guy earlier.”

 

“Our best friend has a dog, but she doesn't have to clean up after him on walks or change litter boxes or clean the inside of armor, and Rizembool isn't exactly the big city either, no fancy dog walking ordinances.”

 

“You know, this discussion isn't helping our new . . .” Roy trailed off as he turned back towards Hayate, watching as the dog kicked snow back over whatever pile he had left, “Problem?”

 

Edward stared too, his amber eyes big in shock at the puppy as a grin twitched up the side of his face, “You know, I think I just might change my mind, if I ever get a dog, I'm leaving obedience training to Hawkeye.”

 

To that sentiment, all Roy could do was nod. Finished, they started to walk back towards the apartment building, still alert to their surroundings. It was peaceful, almost too peaceful compared to the day before, and it was making the Flame Alchemist jumpy. His gloved hands dug into his coat pockets along with the leash. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he thought he felt eyes on him. Paranoia, again? He glanced back over his shoulder, and sure enough the red-haired woman, who was a distance away a minute ago when they rounded the block corner, was now only a few feet away. This was fishy, and yet, she seemed familiar. Deciding to take a risk, he slipped his hands out of his pockets, tugging on Edward's shoulder. The teenager stopped alright, and turned to shout at him till he noticed the woman too, who had also stopped before them. “Who are-?” Ed started to ask as the Colonel turned around as well.

 

“Mustang? Roy Mustang?” the woman asked, the smile on her face turning into something that was at once beautiful but . . . a little scary too. Roy's mouth dropped open in surprise, “Marguerite? What you doing here?”

 

“You used to call me Margie, Roy,” she said before turning to look at Edward. The young alchemist swallowed hard on the lump in his throat under the gaze of her green eyes, their color like pale jade. Whoever she was, she was a knockout in a different class of beauty from the other women he knew. Only one word could come to his mind, voluptuous. Perfect white skin, flaming red curls that cascaded down her back almost to her hips, all delicate features on her faces, and curves, lots and lots of curves under the dark slim coat hugging her body. And yet, there was something dangerous about her red painted lips, and the smoky edge on her voice, “I hope you haven't been keeping too much from me.”

 

Ed glanced over at the Colonel, who was standing very still despite the clear panic in his dark eyes. Oh, so he did know this woman, and from the way Roy gulped, he knew her too well. “Margie . . .” he started to say, the nervousness squashed from his voice, “How wonderful to see you again.”

 

“Hummm, isn't it? Last time I remember seeing you, it wasn't that wonderful,” she cooed, the dangerous smile back on her face as she moved closer to Roy, “Who's the kid?”

 

“Nephew of a friend, I was just visiting them for midwinter.”

 

“I'm not a kid, lady,” Ed muttered, suddenly annoyed with her as she ignored him, and was rather too close to the Colonel, “I don't know who you are, but-.”

 

“Go back inside, Ed.”

 

“What?!”

 

“You heard me, Edward, now get. I think the lady wants to have a discussion . . .” Roy threatened, sounding just a dangerous, even if it was only a slight edge on his voice, “I'll be up soon . . .”

 

“Fine . . .” the blonde boy muttered as he ripped the leash from Mustang's hand, stalking back towards the apartment. He didn't like this at all, as he walked in through the front door and trudged up the stairs with Hayate close behind him. There was something decidedly wrong about that woman's familiarity with the Colonel, and how he was humoring her. Something was also wrong with the way she smiled, and with her eyes, something too . . . he couldn't put a finger on it. Whatever it was, it gave him the creeps remembering it. His mind finally clinked on what that look in the woman's eyes was as he walked into the apartment. It was lust, and jealousy. That wasn't good. He blushed when Lieutenant Hawkeye looked up at him from the table, a stack of papers in front of her. The way her brown eyes narrowed on him only made the sinking feeling he had worse. “Where's the Colonel?” she asked as he cowardly looked away, crouching down to unhook the leash from Hayate.

 

“Ummm . . . he's still outside, talking to some woman. I think he knew her once,” Ed admitted, wincing.

 

Riza shot up from the table to grab her coat and the rifle by the door, “Stay here.”

 

“You're not gonna shoot him are you?”

 

“Who said the gun was for him?”

 

**********

 

“You didn't call, you didn't even write when you left East City . . .” Margie said as she reached up to touch Roy's cheek, her dark gloved fingers threading into his hair. He should have seen this coming. Normally, he was a gentleman with the women he went out with before falling for Riza, but this woman, Margie, was the exception. He grabbed her wrist, gently, but firmly, extricating himself from her, “There are reasons for that, pet, probably because we broke up.”

 

“No, we didn't break up, you just weren't there anymore,” she hissed at him before the warm smile was back on her ruby lips, “But you're back now, after I found you, so it's all better.”

 

“As much as you'd like to think that, I believe our last conversation consisted of a lot of thrown objects, and you kicking me out. It was sheer coincidence that I didn't call you a month later when I was reassigned to Central, but you know, maybe I just forgot because you never called either.”

 

“Oh, so cold!” she squealed in the breeze, but he knew she meant his words more than the weather. And yet, she still wrapped herself around him, burying her face into his chest, “I forgive you . . .”

 

“How great,” he muttered, not holding back anymore on the sarcastic edge. This was why he wasn't a gentleman with Margie during their tumultuous three month relationship. He could see after the first week they'd met that she was needy, clingy, and had a temper that matched the color of her hair, but that she was also drop-dead gorgeous and passionate in bed as well as smart and rich. She was a change from the pretty, kind but ultimately unchallenging women he dated before. It had been enough for him till her temper and possessiveness outweighed the benefits. Maybe there was a reason he avoided the fatally attractive ones till her. It took half a bottle of whiskey and lots of shattered glass to get the point across to her that he didn't like her anymore. And yet, with her clinging to Roy as if they were still lovers, it apparently had only cemented the end of their relationship for him not her. He pushed her away, coldly, colder than he'd ever been with a woman before, “It's over, Margie, I've moved on.”

 

Her mouth parted in shock, her green eyes wide, “But you said . . .”

 

His heart turned to stone at that utterance, knowing the three words she was going to say next were a complete lie. Was she delusional too as well as a touch desperate? Either way, Roy's patience had run thin enough, “No, I never said that to you. I've only ever said that to one woman, and you are not her.”

 

The smack across his face was instantaneous, stinging from the slap of leather, “Bastard.”

 

Her heels clinking on the pavement were the only way he knew of her leaving, still dazed from being hit. At least it was over. Roy winced in pain, rubbing the red imprint left on his face while moving his sore jaw up and down. Why did women always hit like that? The instant they slapped a man, their hands turned into twenty tons of unstoppable force that not only rearranged every cell in the poor smuck's face, but turned their intelligence into dripping mush. Mustang walked back towards the apartment in the aftermath, frowning at the whole encounter. As soon as he looked up to see Riza hanging outside the open door in her grey longcoat, his frown deepened even further into almost a pout, “You saw all that didn't you?”

 

She grinned and he groaned, “She's an ex.”

 

“I could see that,” Hawkeye said with a slight smirk, moving to let him in, “Do they always hit you like that?”

 

“You did too, once.”

 

“That was because you were being an idiot.”

 

“When am I not an idiot?” he asked with a grin, knowing it was practically a rhetorical question. Riza sighed as he walked inside. She closed the door behind him, turning towards the stairs to walk up before he grabbed her hand. Roy pulled her back towards him and into his arms. She melted in the embrace, letting the jealousy she felt, and was hiding since Ed's mention of another woman, recede away. “I love you,” Mustang whispered into her ear as she flushed pink from more than just the winter cold, “Don't ever doubt it.”

 

“I won't . . .” she said with a small smile that turned into a grin, “Especially if you keep getting slapped by other women.”

 

**********

 

Day flowed into night as Riza and the Colonel sat at the dining room table, the top of which was covered in an avalanche of papers, various plates, mugs, books, writing supplies, and one large phone. Ed had been watching them work all day from his spot of the couch in between reading the books Mustang had given him, the ones on Riza's shelves, playing with Black Hayate, and chores. Never once did they argue or go back to the topic of that woman. He couldn't see why not? Something had happened. He just knew it from the hand imprint on Mustang's face. He was curious about her, but not stupid enough to ask the Colonel after it seemed like they were trying very hard to forget it happened.

 

He was also curious after all the phone calls to the office, but wasn't about to ask about that topic either. Both of the adults had grumpy expressions by the time the dinner plates had been cleared away. By their gloomy looks alone, he figured out as how things were going, and it wasn't good at all. It was dark despite the electric lamps around the room, the moon not up yet. Ed looked up at the sound of their voices from the table, a low murmur between them. Was something up? He couldn't tell. Roy was on the phone, again, but trying to talk to Riza as well between pauses. When he hung up, both of them looked towards FullMetal as his eyebrows arched up. The Lieutenant stood up and grabbed the set of keys she'd gotten this morning from her neighbor, walking with them in hand towards him, “Why don't you go feed the nice lady's cats? I need to have a word with the Colonel for a few.”

 

“If this is about the assassins, I'm not going anywhere.”

 

“To be perfectly honest, we're no further along today than we were yesterday,” Roy admitted from across the room, his elbows on the table while his head rested above his folded hands, “All we have is a long list of names, and we're checking them off one by one, but . . .”

 

“It's not looking good is it?”

 

“You certainly pissed off someone, brat.”

 

“Stop calling me that, bastard!” Ed said as he jumped up, slamming the book in his hands onto the low table in front of him, “And that's a hell of an accusation from the person sending me in to piss people off!”

 

“Edward!” Riza yelled at him, thrusting the keys into his metal hand, “This isn't about you! Go, now!”

 

“Fine! Fine! Just don't expect me back soon!” he grumbled as he stomped towards the door and went out, slamming it behind him. His heavy steps sounded down the hall in his wake, and they knew he wasn't heading for the stairs. Riza sighed in relief before turning towards Roy to glare at him, “I wish you wouldn't antagonize him.”

 

Roy sighed and brushed a hand through his dark hair. He knew if he didn't tread carefully, it wouldn't be just the shrimp he was fighting with. The last thing he wanted was to fight with her right now. His thoughts were hung up not just on the investigation, but also on that bitch Marguerite. He shouldn't have made her pissed like that, even if it finally ended their relationship. Ending relationships that poorly wasn't his usual style. And . . . there were other reasons too. “I'm sorry,” he said as he dropped his head, admitting defeat too easily, “I'll try not to.”

 

Riza could see right through his gesture, even if she knew he meant it regardless. The Colonel never did anything easily when it came to FullMetal, but to give up picking on the kid that effortlessly? He was hiding something. She moved behind his chair from across the room, wrapping her arms over his neck. Roy sat back, letting his head fall against her shoulder with a sigh. She always did know how to comfort him when he needed it, letting his eyes close, and yet, she also knew when to question him too. “What's bothering you?” she asked, brushing her hand over his cheek, “It isn't the investigation, it's something else . . .”

 

“Your paranoia has been getting to me too, you know?” Roy admitted as his dark eyes slowly opened again, “Before yesterday, I have been getting weird phone calls at home; I thought they were prank calls, but now? I don't know, I got another one yesterday, when I went home to pack, but . . . seeing Margie again has got me even more paranoid.”

 

She almost wanted to snort in laughter, but didn't for his sake, “You think she's stalking you?”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Darling, that is paranoia talking. She slapped you. She may have before, but now it's pretty much over, isn't it? . . . You don't regret it, do you?” Riza asked tentatively, “I know she's gorgeous and everything, so . . .”

 

“She isn't you.”

 

“Oh . . .” it was a very good answer, one that made the blonde over his shoulder blush and smile, knowing he meant it, “Besides, no one knows you're staying here, so it was probably just sheer coincidence.”

 

“You're right, I'm just being paranoid, and we need to focus on this case, for Edward's sake.”

 

Riza smiled a little brighter at the boost of confidence in his voice, kissing his cheek, “Yes, but we need leads first.”

 

Groaning, Roy looked back at the page in front of him, “Don't remind me. All the enemies this kid has racked up are either six feet under, locked up tighter than a drum, homicidal maniacs that are wanted anyway, or missing. None of them fit the profile, the profile doesn't even fit the profile. The shootings haven't involved the use of alchemy, nothing about the Stone, no chimeras, no homunculi, all . . . bullets . . . practically medieval.”

 

That comment earned him a punch in the shoulder from the sharpshooter, making him grunt in pain, “Ok, sorry, sheesh, but you see my point, don't you?”

 

“I do . . . and I don't like it, I don't like that we have a mole somewhere in Headquarters either, it could be anyone.”

 

“I know, but at least we know it's not in our department, just wish we'd hear back from Internal Affairs.”

 

“Me too . . .”

 

“We're back where we started unless Fuery, Breda, or Havoc unearths something on our suspects, you do know that?”

 

“I do, but I figure you have a back up plan, sir,” Riza said with a grin, hugging him a little tighter, “You always have a plan.”

 

A grin worked its way onto Roy's face. She was right about that. He did have a secondary plan, but he didn't want to rely on it yet. He didn't even want to tell her about it since it was still a half-baked idea that had too many holes in it as it was. “We'll see,” he said cryptically, patting her arms, “How about dessert?”

 

“Hot chocolate sound good?”

 

“You and chocolate, nothing vanilla in this place?”

 

“You like it, admit it.”

 

“I do, but it tastes even better when it's spread all over you,” Roy said with a lecherous grin on his face. Riza gasped, quickly letting him go. She would have yelled at him if she didn't feel the need to leave the room, the temptation to take him up on the offer dangerous. Before she could get very far though, his arms grabbed her waist and yanked her back. She stumbled back, landing in his lap with a short shriek. There was a sinister chuckle in Mustang's voice as he leaned down to kiss her, enjoying how she struggled weakly till his lips touched hers. Riza's arms threaded around his neck, deepening the kiss as it became apparent that she wasn't going anywhere. He didn't object to it, or how she turned in his lap, rather enjoying the way her tongue darted into his mouth along with her soft murmurs. No, he was much too happy letting her do all the work, including pulling at his shirt and undoing the first buttons of the collar. And yet, that moment of happiness was shattered when an ear splitting cry tore through the hallway outside the apartment door with a giant, “Yeeeeeeoooooooowwwww!!!”

 

They looked at each other, stopping cold as the same thought occurred to them, “Edward.”

 

**********

 

This was too amusing, much too amusing as Roy sat in the chair across from the teenager, grinning like there was no tomorrow. “Ow!” Ed snarled as Riza tried to swipe another cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol over one of the battle wounds, “I can do this myself!”

 

Mustang couldn't take it anymore, chuckling with a madness he hadn't felt in a long time. In no time he was howling with laughter, getting dark looks from the brat and the Lieutenant for the ruckus he was making. She sighed, choosing to ignore him for the moment. “You're not treating yourself, FullMetal, it is bad enough you're covered in cat scratches,” Riza said as she slapped another bandage onto a long but shallow scratch, “I warned you about the ginger one.”

 

“At least the cat didn't get your tongue,” Roy muttered, coming off his high of humor before howling again at his own joke. Growling in annoyance, she threw one of the used balls of cotton at the Colonel, hitting him in the forehead, “And you're not helping, so I suggest you quit it.”

 

“I out rank you, Lieutenant, but you have to admit, this is damned funny.”

 

“Roy . . . do you really want the couch tonight?”

 

“. . . Ok, I'll stop, but this'll give me enough material for a month,” he grumbled as Ed's eyes narrowed on him, “Don't make that face, kid, it might stick like that.”

 

“Whatever you say, minute man.”

 

Roy sputtered, turning bright red while Riza's mouth dropped in shock, “Deal's off, shrimp!”

 

“Who are you calling a shrimp who's no bigger than an ant?!”

 

The two of them glared at each other till Riza collapsed into her chair in a bout of laughter so strong that tears to stream down her face. As she tried to calm down, a single look at either of the males made her crack up even more, having to cover her mouth to keep from shrieking in mirth. It was so bad that she could barely talk, frantically pointing towards the bedrooms with a simple, “Go.”

 

“I think you broke her,” Roy muttered, unable to help but grin at his lover's complete collapse into hysterics. Ed didn't answer, snorting instead as he left for his bed room, Black Hayate right behind him. Once they were gone, Riza finally calmed down, shaking her head as she giggled to herself. It was amazing, simply amazing as she sat there in wonder. If the two of them could put aside their differences then maybe they'd see how much alike they were, like opposite sides of a coin, like father and son. At that last analogy, she sighed, knowing that would just about never, ever happen. The best she could do for now was to put up with the two alchemists and their stay, which was looking to be anything but quiet or restful.

 

**********

 

To Be Continued in Of Ballet and Bullets, Part 5, Flirting With Disaster.