Chapter 4

Roy was in a deep sleep. The deepest sleep he had had in quite some time. He could feel himself starting to wake from his slumber, and fought it with everything in him. Unfortunately, the phone on the bedside table began to ring and the annoying sound finished waking him up. Groggily, he rolled across the bed and grabbed the phone. As he lifted it to his ear, he yawned and grunted his usual greeting.

"Mustang here." He stated.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before the caller finally spoke. They cleared their throat nervously and asked,

"Colonel? Oh, I'm sorry, I could have sworn I dialed the Lieutenant's number."

Roy's eyes flew open. Fuery's voice sent a jolt through him and he held his breath, trying to think of a fast excuse.

"Err, happens all the time. Our numbers are similar, after all. Is there anything you need from me?" he asked quickly.

Roy heard Fuery sigh in relief. Apparently he was afraid he would get chewed out for waking the Colonel on his day off.

"N-No, Sir! I just wanted to tell Lieutenant Hawkeye something, that's all! I'm sorry I bothered you, it won't happen again!"

Roy shook his head.

"Heh, it's alright, Fuery. You can calm down. I was about to get up and start my day." This of course was a lie as he ended to stay in bed with Riza all day, but he didn't want Fuery to worry about waking his superior officer for nothing all day long. He may as well save the kid some trouble, after all.

"Oh good, I'm glad I didn't disturb you! Sorry again, Colonel!"

Fuery bid his farewell and quickly hung up. Roy returned the phone to the receiver and rolled back over to Riza. She was still sleeping soundly. Roy draped his arm over her waist and pulled her into his chest. He breathed in deeply the scent of her hair, strawberry and lily scented. He sighed happily and nestled back into a comfortable position. As he got comfortable, his eyelids became heavy once more and he closed them, yawning. Maybe he could get another hour or two in before he got up to clean the kitchen from last night. Just as he could feel himself drifting off once more, the phone rang yet again. Roy frowned and rolled back over to answer it. Did Riza always get phone calls this early?

"Mustang here." He grunted into the phone.

Silence once again before he made out Fuery clearing his throat.

"C-Colonel? I'm so sorry, I could have sworn I dialed the correct number this time! Yours and the Lieutenant's must be off by just one number! I'm so sorry!"

Mustang sighed. He found it hard to be angry at Fuery when the reason he must have been trying to contact Riza was important.

"Exactly what do you need the First Lieutenant for, Fuery?" he asked.

Fuery replied quickly.

"One of the files she gave to Sheska yesterday is missing her signature. Normally Sheska overlooks that stuff but it must have been something important because she told me she can't file it without the Lieutenant's signature. I wanted to call her and let her know that way she could come down and sign it today."

Roy rolled his eyes. While he was very thankful that Fuery was a diligent worker and paid such close attention to detail, there was no way Riza was going back to that office today.

"It will be fine, just leave it on her desk so she can take care of it once she gets back to work tomorrow, I highly doubt she would want to go all the way to the office just to sign a piece of paper."

Fuery bit his lip, unsure. Sheska was adamant, or as adamant as she could be about having Riza's signature. Fuery knew the Lieutenant well enough that if something needed to be done at work, regardless if it was her day off or not, she would do it. However, as he didn't want to anger the Colonel any further, he dropped the subject. Riza didn't live very far away, after all. He could just swing by later to have her sign it.

"You're right! Thanks for your help, Colonel, and sorry again to have called you by accident! What is your number, that way I won't make the same mistake in the future?"

Roy dodged the question smoothly by stating he had no more time to talk and he would relay that information to him later. He hung up the phone and sighed. Now he had no choice but to get up and start his day because he was completely awake. He glanced over his shoulder at Riza and noted that she was still sleeping soundly. Roy saw no need to wake his love, so he stood and made his way towards the bathroom. Roy turned the shower on and waited for it to warm up for a moment before stepping in. He took a fast shower as he wanted to get a head start on cleaning up the kitchen so he could surprise Riza once more with a little breakfast in bed.

Roy turned the shower off and dried himself quickly before he headed back towards Riza's room. He made his way towards his clothes and, as he moved forward to pick them up, his foot touched something warm and wet on the floor.

"Hmm, what the, oh dammit, Hayate!"

Riza stirred at Roy's voice and sat up.

"What is it?" she asked groggily as she rubbed the sleep still clinging to her eyes.

Roy turned to her and pointed to the floor.

"Hayate decided to relive himself all over my clothes! What am I supposed to wear now? That was a really nice suit too…"

Riza looked at him and chuckled.

"Well, love, you shouldn't have left the door to the bedroom open without letting him out first. You can throw your clothes in the wash and just wear my pink robe until they're done. Not unless you want to wear your other clothes from yesterday?" she suggested.

Roy sighed and picked up his wet clothes.

"No, I splashed tomato sauce all over myself last night while I was cooking so those clothes need to be washed as well. Alright, pink bath robe it is. Are you going to stay in bed for a while? I want to bring you breakfast!"

Riza grinned.

"Sure! What are you planning on making?"

Roy tipped his head to the side.

"How about pancakes?" he asked.

Riza nodded eagerly.

"That sounds wonderful! But, I am out of milk, the milkman should be delivering some soon though."

Roy shrugged.

"That's fine, I have to clean up from last night anyways. Get you another bubble bath or stay as you are and I'll bring them to you soon."

With that, Roy left the room and deposited his soiled clothes in the washing machine. He then eyed Riza's pink robe on the back of the door and sighed. Thank god it was just the two of them, he would never live it down if anyone else saw him in it. As Roy exited her laundry room, he noticed Hayate hiding in the corner. The dog knew he had done wrong and stared back at Roy with big eyes and whimpered.

"Little bastard. I love you, Hayate but next time, pee on that depressing plant over in the corner instead of my clothes, will you?" he grumbled.

Hayate barked in understanding. Roy turned the corner and sighed as he looked over all the dishes he had to wash. He shrugged and rolled up the robe's sleeves. It was difficult to wear as it was incredibly snug on his broad shoulders and thick arms, but he made the best of it.

"Time to get to work. The things I do for love…but damn if it isn't worth it."

xXx

Fuery made his way back to the office with Riza's file in hand. On his way back, he noticed everyone else was rushing in the opposite direction. Fuery furrowed his brow as he stepped back into the office. Once inside, he saw Havoc and Breada packing their things for the day as well.

"What's going on?" Fuery asked.

Havoc grinned as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Didn't ya hear? Old man Grumman is sending everyone home for the day so they can either gather in the square to hear his big speech on all of the changes he's made, or listen to it on the radio! And it get's even better, we still get paid!"

Breada nodded.

"You came back just in time, we were fixing to leave. Want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Fuery glanced down at the file in his hand and shook his head.

"I'd love too, but I can't. Riza forgot to sign this file yesterday and Sheska can't put it with the others without her signature. I was going to run it by her apartment since she isn't far to grab her signature." He explained.

Havoc removed a cigarette from his box and searched for his lighter.

"Don't you drive a scooter, Fuery? I think you're gonna have a hard time getting to Hawkeye's with all the traffic for the speech."

Fuery cut his eyes at Havoc and blushed.

"It is not a scooter! Daisy is a moterbike modified for safety!" he exclaimed.

Breada chuckled as Havoc removed his lighter from his pocket.

"Riiiight. So essentially, a scooter."

Fuery's face burned. Before he could say anything, Breada intervened.

"Why don't you just ride with us? We can get you to Hawkeye's faster. We should probably tell her about Grumman too, I'm sure she'll want to listen in. Hell, we can ask her if we can just stay at her place and listen to the broadcast. By the time we get there, traffic will be backed up anyway. It'll probably be impossible to leave."

Havoc nodded.

"Not a bad idea at all, Breada. C'mon Fuery, what do you say?"

Although he hated to admit it, Havoc and Breada were right. Traffic would be bad and Fuery got nervous in copious amounts of it anyway. Despite all the modifications his beloved Daisy did have, she still wasn't as safe as a car.

"Alright, do you think she's up by now? I tried calling her earlier to give her a heads up but I couldn't reach her."

Havoc and Breada made their way towards the door.

"Oh I'm sure she will be, Riza's an early riser. Plus, we haven't seen the pup in a while."

Fuery agreed that they had a point. He quickly grabbed his things and together, the three of them left the office.

"What about the Colonel? Should one of us call him and let him know what's going on?" Breada asked.

Havoc shook his head as they stepped outside and he lit his cigarette.

"Nah, we'll call him from Hawkeye's and he can join us if he wants! Let's head out, it shouldn't take us long to get there."

Little did they know that the colonel in question was already at Riza's, in a state he didn't want anyone, least of all his team, to see him in…

xXx

Roy stood at the sink diligently scrubbing away at the caked-on remains of the tomato sauce from the previous evening's meal. Next time, he noted, he would try his best to contain himself and his desires long enough to get the dishes done first, that way he wouldn't have to worry about them in the morning. Riza had immerged from her room earlier and took Hayate out for a quick walk so he wouldn't have another accident, then returned and stated she would take another bath.

"You know, I do have slippers to match that robe if you want them." She teased playfully.

Roy rolled his eyes.

"You woke up full of jokes this morning." He grumbled.

Riza chuckled.

"That's because you put me in such a good mood last night. Are you sure you don't want me to help you with those dishes?" she asked.

Roy shook his head.

"No, go relax and take your bath. I still intend to treat you today too, you know. Hopefully the milk will be delivered soon and by the time you are finished, I'll have breakfast started."

Riza furrowed her brow as she glanced at the clock.

"Hmm, he's usually here and gone by now, though I did notice that the streets were bustling a little earlier than usual this morning, it could be he's just running behind because of that. Anyways, I'll be out shortly." She stated.

Roy returned to the dishes and finally made progress on the casserole dish that was giving him such a hard time. He placed it in the drainer and then continued to wash the remaining dishes. He knew Riza would be a while in the bathroom as she liked to take long baths, so he knew he would have plenty of time to make breakfast for them. Fifteen minutes later when the doorbell rang, he stood from the table and sighed, relieved that the milk had finally been delivered.

"It's about time." He mumbled under his breath.

Not even thinking, Roy swung the door open wide, ready to grab the milk when he stopped abruptly as he noticed the ringer of the bell was not the milkman…but Fuery, Breada, and to Roy's absolute horror…Jean Havoc. The four men stood completely still and speechless the first few seconds as each of them tried to process the sight that was before them.

What on earth were the three of these fools doing, showing up at Riza's door in their full military gear on a day they were clearly scheduled to work and had not requested off? At the same time, Fuery, Breada, and Havoc tried to understand why their colonel was, one, at Hawkeye's residence this early in the morning, two, why his hair was disheveled slightly, and three…why on earth was he wearing a fuzzy pink bath robe that was clearly two sizes too small for him. As realization slowly dawned on each of the men, it became quite evident on their faces.

Fuery's glasses fogged up as his face turned completely red. Now he knew why the Colonel kept answering Riza's phone earlier in the morning. He hadn't made a mistake, he had been dialing the right number the whole time! It's just that the Colonel was here and had apparently been here the night before. A sense of dread washed over the young soldier as he glanced down at the file in his hand. Had he just done as Roy had asked him, they wouldn't be in the current predicament they were now and Fuery would still have a job as he was quite sure in a few moments, he would no longer be apart of Team Mustang, let alone the military at all because Roy was more than likely going to kill him for this.

Breada tried his hardest to look everywhere else but at Roy. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and nervously started to whistle any tune he could possibly think of, but it came out as more of a mixture of several songs and didn't sound appealing at all. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and felt his mouth become dry. He didn't want to laugh. God knows he could not laugh at his superior, no matter how embarrassingly funny this situation was. On the one hand, he was happy for Roy. He always had an inkling that he and Hawkeye had something going on, and the fact that they were able to be professional in front of everyone else and keep it to themselves was something he commended. He glanced at Havoc and took a deep breath. He knew Fuery wouldn't say a word and he himself damn sure wasn't going to say anything, but the same couldn't be said for Jean Havoc.

Havoc's mouth hung open so far his cigarette fell out and Fuery actually had to snuff it with his boot as Havoc was in too much shock to do so. He eyed the Colonel up and down, noted how that pink robe clearly wasn't his and didn't fit him properly and felt the laughter begin to build up. He snorted and quickly covered his mouth.

"Jean, I swear to God if you say one word…" Roy warned, his voice as cold as ice.

Havoc placed his other hand over his mouth to try and contain himself, but he just couldn't help it. His shoulders started shaking and he closed his eyes, only to open them again, glance at Roy who couldn't have looked any angrier than what he did in that moment before he absolutely lost it. Havoc threw his head back and laughed loudly. Fuery closed his eyes and gripped the file tightly to his chest as he prayed for the best possible outcome, if there was one, for this entire situation, Breada shook his head, trying not to laugh himself, and Havoc bent over and slapped his knee before he stood and wiped away a tear.

"God DAMN where is a camera when you need one? This image right here deserves to be on every street corner there is! Damn, Colonel, I never knew you had such nice legs!" he exclaimed as he continued to laugh hysterically.

Roy growled and pulled Havoc in by the collar of his uniform and slammed him up against the nearby wall. Breada and Fuery jumped into action and hurried inside to save Havoc from certain doom.

"What the hell are you even doing here? Get out, now!" Roy shouted.

Havoc shook his hands.

"Don't look at me! It's all Fuery's fault, he said he had to deliver some file!" he exclaimed frantically.

If looks could kill, the one that Roy shot to Fuery over his shoulder would have killed him right on the spot. Fuery felt himself shrink beneath the intensity of Roy's gaze.

"I'm so, so sorry, Colonel! I thought that I was doing the right thing! I didn't even know you were here! The only reason these two came with me is because Grumman sent everyone home today so he could broadcast his speech later! I swear I had absolutely no idea!"

Roy furrowed his brow before he quickly turned his attention back to Havoc, who was still snickering. All four of the men began talking at once as Fuery and Breada tried to fill Roy in on Grumman's surprise decision, and Havoc, even though he was certain he was going to get punched, kept snickering at the sight of Roy in what was now clearly Riza's robe. All the men quieted down suddenly when they heard the cock of a gun. The four of them slowly turned their heads to see Riza standing at the entrance of her hallway clad in only an oversized shirt and underwear. Her hair was dripping wet onto the wooden floor below her and she frowned deeply at all of them.

"Mind explaining why you're holding Havoc up by his collar, Colonel?" she asked coolly.

Roy blanched. He wasn't sure if she was using rank because the other men were here and she wasn't willing to blow their cover yet, though that seemed a little hard to hide now, or if she was angry with him. More than likely it was the latter. Riza lowered her weapon and removed the ammunition from it as she now knew the voices she had heard muffled in the bathroom were those of her friends. Roy slowly lowered Havoc back down to the ground and took a few steps back, looking at his feet, ashamed that he was found in such a state. Havoc straightened out his uniform, then cast his eyes over Riza and whistled.

"You've got some mighty nice legs too, Lieutenant." He stated.

Riza ignored his jest and turned her attention to Fuery who was looking down at his boots, trying to hide his embarrassment. She walked up to him and took the file from his arms gently.

"You did do the right thing by bringing this to me, Fuery. Roy and I are the ones in the wrong, here. We shouldn't have been doing what we were doing in the first place." She whispered softly.

"And what might that be?" Breada asked, setting up yet another joke for Havoc.

The Second Lieutenant chuckled and stated quite frankly,

"Each other!"

Roy sighed and moved to stand next to Riza. They both blushed slightly and Roy cleared his throat to address his men.

"Riza and I have a history, we go way back, even before the war with Ishval. I stayed with her when we were teenagers, I learned flame alchemy from her father. During my stay with her, we fell in love. I thought I lost her after I joined the military and we lost contact for a while, but the war reunited us and, well, we've kept it secret ever since."

Breada raised his eyebrows.

"For that long? Wow, you two know how to cover your tracks." He stated.

Riza took a deep breath.

"It hasn't been easy, there were several times when we couldn't do anything or see each other, but we made it work. I'm just sorry we kept it from you three. I know we treat each other like family, but this was just something we couldn't share. And with the way things are, we don't know if we will even be able to marry yet, unless Grumman changes things." She explained.

Havoc raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that's a good segway into the second reason why we're here. Grumman's making a special broadcast about all his changes today, it's probably already started. We all came to see if you wanted to listen to it on your radio together, if it's not too awkward, that is." He said.

Roy and Riza looked at each other, then back at their team.

"Of course, let us go get changed and we'll be right back." Roy replied.

Once they left, Fuery collapsed on the couch and wiped his hand against his forehead.

"I thought I was a dead man for sure." He sighed, relieved.

Havoc shook his head, still in disbelief.

"I just can't believe it…who would have even…they sure knew how to hide it well. I don't think I would have been able to do it. Especially working in such close proximity but not being able to do anything about it, sometimes for months on in? That takes dedication."

Breada placed his hands in his pockets.

"That's what love is, Jean. Now, as I recall, you and I made a bet about soldiers in the military falling in love and taking that risk, and I believe you just lost!"

Riza chuckled to herself as she could hear Breada and Havoc arguing in the distance. She closed the door behind her and Roy as he sat on the edge of the bed and folded his hands in his lap.

"This is bad." He stated slowly.

Riza furrowed her brow.

"How so?"

Roy looked up at her and drew his brows together.

"They know now, Riza. They know. If they ever told even one person in confidence…"

Riza shook her head as she sat down next to him. She placed her hands atop his and gently kissed his cheek.

"Everything is going to be fine, Roy. Personally, I'm a little relieved. It's nice to be around friends and not have to hide anything from them anymore. Maybe it was fate that it happened this way, I don't know. But we can't go back in time and change it. We can only embrace it and face what's to come whether that be a good or bad thing. But I am confident that as long as you and I are together, we can conquer and overcome any hurdle thrown our way, we always have in the past, so why should this be any different?"

Roy smiled warmly and kissed Riza softly. As he pulled away, he replied,

"You always know how to calm me, regardless of the situation. You're right, and we may not even have anything to worry about. Let's get dressed and listen to Grumman's speech and face what is to come…together."

Riza grinned and rested her forehead against Roy's.

"Your clothes aren't dry yet but I actually found an old pair of your jogger pants tucked away in the closet with an old shirt. I didn't realize you had any left in here, but they're there if you want them. You are welcome to stay in my robe, however. Havoc has a point, after all. You do have nice legs." She teased.

Roy chuckled and kissed his love once more.

"Thank you for the compliment, darling, but I believe I'll be taking this off now and I don't think I'll ever wear it again. The sheer memory of embarrassment has just tainted this robe for me forevermore." He stated dramatically as he shrugged the robe off his shoulders and tossed it onto the bed.

Riza chuckled as she dressed herself as well. Soon, the couple returned to their friends in Riza's living room and gathered around the radio. To everyone's delight, the milkman had finally delivered the new bottles for the week and Roy was able to make eggs and pancakes for everyone. As they all sat in the floor listening to Grumman droll on about all his changes, none of them heard the one they were most hoping for. Fearing that he had decided to keep the strict regs in place, Riza and Roy looked at each other worriedly before Grumman spoke his final words,

"In conclusion, as many of you know, I am a fair man. I know that there are certain rules in place to keep order and conduct, yet there is one thing I have never been able to understand. Why should we soldiers not be allowed to love one another? To marry one another? There are many men and women within this military that have formed bonds closer than one could even imagine. Why should a silly, outdated rule keep them from expressing and experiencing one of human kinds most beautiful emotions and feelings? Since I now have the power to abolish said rule, that's exactly what I intend to do.

From this moment on, any person within the military may marry a fellow soldier if they so choose without having to leave or retire from their ranks. I can't really see any repercussions from being given the opportunity to be with one another, and I know for some this will be a godsend. Don't abuse it, but don't feel like you must sneak around behind closed doors any longer either. You have my full permission to marry, this I promise you. Now with that being said, I do believe my speech is over. We are making these changes for the better and rest assured, we will rise again from the tyranny of Bradley and his soldiers. Have faith in me, people of Amestris, and I will do all that I can to restore what has been broken. Thank you and good day!"

As Grumman's voice faded out and the Amestrian anthem began to play, the room grew quiet. Roy and Riza looked at each other for a long moment. After all these years, after all the sneaking, the lying, the dangerous game they had played had finally come to an end. It was legal for them to marry. They could still retain their ranks, still continue to work towards making Amestris a better place, and still keep their team together, all thanks to Grumman.

"Well come on, man! Are you going to kiss her or what?" Havoc asked.

Riza giggled softly as Roy turned to her and held her chin in his hand.

"You know what this means, right?" he asked.

Riza tipped her head to the side slightly and played dumb, even though she knew exactly where he was going. Roy pressed his lips to hers and claimed her mouth in a deep kiss. Havoc whistled, Breada hollered, and Fuery clapped. Once the kiss broke, Roy nuzzled his nose against Riza's and grinned.

"Looks like it's time for us to plan a wedding…if you'll marry me?"

Riza blinked back the tears in her eyes and nodded.

"Of course, I will. I'll follow you to hell and back again, Roy. You are my everything and I love you more than I could ever say."

Their friends looked on as they kissed once more. The weight that had been on their shoulders for years had finally lifted and for the first time, Roy and Riza felt as if they could breathe. No more hiding, no more secrets…everything was as it should have been and at last, all was well.

A/N: And at last we've come to the end! I had planned this to be so much shorter, then for some reason, I got the image of Roy wearing Riza's bathrobe in my mind and the rest of this chapter pretty much wrote itself! I wanted to bring Team Mustang back for one more chapter as they are so fun to write and I just had so much fun with this one! Not sure if I'll write a one shot of their wedding or not yet, I do have some ideas brewing though so I'm hoping that something will come of them! A huge shout out to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! Your words mean so much to me, hearing how much you love and enjoy my writing makes my heart smile! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the end! Thank all of you for being your awesome selves, and I hope to have something else posted for you real soon! :)