Work Text:
Date: December 20; Time: 2030
“Lieutenant?”
Riza Hawkeye looked up to see her superior’s heavy gaze resting on her. It was a lot to be the sole focus of Roy Mustang. “Sir?”
“I…” Roy’s fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, mimicking the position he frequents when there is a unit inspection or Edward Elric is in the office. “My aunt is insisting that I spend Christmas in Central this year so I will be taking the train out on the 23rd.”
“That’s lovely, sir” Riza replied half-heartedly ignoring the sudden weight on her chest and returned her focus to the documents in front of her.
“I was wondering if perhaps you would consider accompanying me?” He tapped his pen on the desk sporadically, as if he lost all interest in the conversation. “As my bodyguard of course.”
For a moment he resembled the 18-year-old boy who asked her father if she could accompany him to the annual Harvest festival, not the suave, preening, cocksure upstart Colonel he’s become. No one else would have caught the ever-so-slight nervousness in his voice. The vice that wrapped around her heart and lungs released slowly, she could always see right through him.
“You know that would be inappropriate, sir” she sighed.
“Surely it’s not, the holidays can be an incredibly dangerous time of year. I would even go as far as claiming it would be irresponsible of me to travel without my bodyguard.”
“Respectfully, the Fuhrer doesn’t bring his secretary home for holiday dinner. It’s unlikely that an exception would be made for you.”
“I am the Fuhrer’s most valuable asset. If I felt it was essential for my wellbeing, it would be in his best interest to look past it.”
“The Flame Alchemist should be more than capable of protecting himself.”
“Surely you don’t actually feel that way”
Riza chuckled, loudly even, for the first time in longer than she can remember. A touch of light brightened Roy’s eyes and his lopsided grin escaped.
“My apologies, I should have mentioned weather dependent”.
The two officers sat silently for a moment. Riza watched the snow pile higher outside while the wind cracked against the building, plastering flurries against the window.
“You’re sure you won’t come?” Roy asked, the faintest hint of pleading in his voice.
“Sir.” Riza reprimanded.
“We haven’t spent a Christmas apart since– “
“Ishval” Riza answered his unasked question.
“Right” Roy choked awkwardly. “It won’t be the same this year without my adjunct.”
“Perhaps Christmas isn’t an appropriate time to be catching up on paperwork anyways. ”
“Ah, on the contrary, I’ve found that it’s the best.”
The first Christmas that Roy refused to travel to Central was shortly after their return home from the war. Riza’s back was still recovering and while she had regained enough functionality to complete basic tasks, he wouldn’t leave her side. Ever since then he has remained in East City for the holidays under the guise of ‘not starting the new year even further behind’ on work. His productivity comes to a scraping halt several days before Christmas Eve further supporting his alibi. She would never admit it, but she was always immensely grateful. The Colonel has been her best friend, her home really, since they were teenagers. She never did have anywhere else to go.
Before she could change her mind she quickly arranged the papers on her desk and stood up. “I’m going to head out for the night, sir.”
Roy’s eyes darted between her and the window with concern. “Would you like a ride home, Lieutenant?
“It’s alright, I could use the walk.”
“Goodnight, be safe.”
“You as well, sir.”
__________________
Date: December 21; Time: 1300
Roy waited until the door closed behind his Lieutenant to rest his head on the desk. There was always an overwhelming amount of work thrusted onto the generals (and in turn to their colonels) around the holidays and Roy was just… tired. But, there was never any time to waste (no matter how much he made it look like there was).
“Are any of you going to remain in East City for the holiday?”
Havoc shook his head and threw his feet up on the table. “Negative, boss. Heading to see my parents on Christmas Eve.”
Roy’s eyes fell on Breda who grunted. “My sister is hosting down South this year.”
“I’ll be with my girlfriends family in the North” Falman replied.
“I’ll be around, sir.” Fuery replied hesitantly, unsure of what he was committing himself to.
“What about your family, Sergeant?”
“They’re going to spend the week in Creta, sir. I didn’t have enough vacation time to last the entire week so I couldn’t go.”
“We can work around that Sergeant. Do you want to go?” He would try to be a little easier on the team. This should have been something his subordinate could have asked him about.
“They’ve already booked the tickets. It’s alright, I’ll consider that for next time. Thank you, sir” he smiled. “Since I’ll be around, was there something that you needed?
“I was hoping you would consider spending some time at the office on Christmas and Christmas Eve. I would pay you overtime.”
“Of course. Do we have a new assignment, sir?”
Roy looked out the window for a moment. The snow was starting to melt under the winter sun. He watched a droplet rolldown the glass pane until it past his visibility.
“Please refrain from mentioning this request to Lieutenant Hawkeye. She has no living relatives and would be spending the evening in the office alone otherwise.”
Fuery nods “I’ll be there, sir.”
“Thank you” Roy smiled genuinely feeling a slight relief. He would’ve prefer to spend the holiday with her in the East, but at least this way she wouldn’t be alone. He loves his aunt and his sisters, truly, but he’s spent the holiday with his best friend for years now and it’s not a tradition he was planning to break.
“We could help bring some Christmas spirit into this office though.” Havoc suggested. “Breda and I could haul a small tree in here, I’m sure the kid and Falman could find some decorations. What do ya say we spice it up a little bit for Hawkeye? Can’t imagine she decorates at home.”
“Excellent idea, Havoc.” Mustang gleamed.
Conversation erupted amongst the team – decorations, gifts, divvying up tasks. Roy’s attention fell back to the droplets on the window momentarily. He really did have a great team.
“Don’t you usually catch up on extra work in the office during the holidays, boss?” Havoc asked rolling an unlit cigarette around in his mouth.
“I will be spending the holiday with my aunt this year.”
“So you’re telling me you’ve been pretending to be overloaded with paperwork just so you can have an excuse to spend time in the office with Hawkeye?” Havoc winked at him.
“I said no such thing.” He looked down feigning interest in whatever project Grumman had dumped on his desk when Hawkeye walked back in.
__________________
Date: December 21; Time: 1300
Riza stepped out into the hallway and took a couple of paces before she overheard familiar voices.
“We don’t have time this year, Al. We have to be back in Liore next week, we can’t make it to Resembool for Christmas.”
“Come on brother, Granny and Winry will be so disappointed.”
“Well they can suck it up this year, Al. We finally have a lead on the stone. We can make it to Christmas once we get your body back, alright?”
“I would rather delay it a few days. Mustang will understand.”
“Yeah yeah Colonel Bastard will understand.”
“You know you don’t give him nearly enough credit.”
“Not this year Al, I’m sorry.”
Riza shortened her strides so she didn’t catch up with the two teenagers. She hadn’t seen any family for the holiday in over a decade now. She remembered the first Christmas without her mother like it was yesterday. Her father had forgotten about Christmas in its entirety, and Riza spent the evening crying under the stairs. The subsequent Christmases hadn’t gotten better, she supposed she had just became numb to it. That was until a certain black-haired apprentice showed up on her doorstep. She wasn’t alone again after that. Her thoughts turned back to the two blond boys. Perhaps she could ask them to stay late at the office on the Eve, and she could make them the stew that her mother used to make. It’s been a long time since she made it but the thought brought warmth to her cheeks. She sped up her walk.
“Hello Edward, Alphonse” she smiled softly as she stepped into pace side-by-side with the Elrics.
“Lieutenant Hawkeye!” Alphonse greeted with his youthful enthusiasm.
“Hello, Lieutenant.”
“What are you up to?”
“Just collecting something for the Colonel in the records room.”
“We were planning to spend the rest of the afternoon in the records room! There are a couple files we wanted to check out on Liore” Alphonse offered.
“The holidays are one of the busiest times of year in the office, unfortunately”
“You’re telling us.” Edward groaned.
“Speaking of, would the two of you be able to assist me at the office on the 24th? I hate to ask, but everyone else will be out for the holiday, and I won’t be able to complete all the additional work by myself.”
“Of course. When do you need us here by?”
“Would you be able to come for five? I was planning to make some of my mother’s homemade stew for dinner so I could bring enough by to share as we worked.”
Edward’s eyes lit up at that. Riza beamed.
“We will be there Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate it. This is where we part ways but I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
Riza collected the files she needed and made a phone call to a certain long-haired blond in Resembool.
__________________
Date: December 21; Time: 1400
By the time she got back to the office, everyone was seemingly very busy. Odd.
Winry was planning to take the morning train out of Resembool in a couple of days which would get her to the East by Christmas Eve. She really was a lovely girl and Riza was thrilled that she could work this out for the Elrics. Their lives had been difficult enough, they at least deserved to have Christmas.
She dropped the papers off with the Colonel and began filling out her own work for the afternoon. She always purchased small gifts for her teammates during the holidays but she wanted to do a little more for Edward and Alphonse this year. She knew intimately what it was like to not have family on Christmas and she would make this year special for the two of them if she could.
She contemplated involving the rest of the team. She didn’t typically stray outside the bounds of professionalism by asking them to do activities outside of work (she had the Colonel to do that), but she felt like she could make an exception in this case. She briefly considered involving Mustang as well but decided against it. He already felt guilty enough about going to Central this year, she didn’t want to make him feel worse knowing that the Elrics would be alone as well. As much as he tried to hide it, she knew Mustang saw Ed as a little brother.
She decided to wait until Roy left the office for his afternoon chess game with General Grumman. He’s a bit of a sly man who Riza hadn’t quite taken a liking to, but these “meetings” were important to Mustang and he valued the man as his mentor.
“Are any of you planning to stay in town for the holidays?”
The men looked around the room at each other. Peculiar.
“I’ll be around, sir” Fuery offered.
“The rest of us will be out of town, Hawk. What’s up?”
Riza explained that the Elrics weren’t able to go home for Christmas and that she was planning to have a small celebration at the office on Christmas Eve so that they wouldn’t be alone.
“What about the Colonel?” Breda asked, knowing full well exactly what about the Colonel. “Are you going to ask him as well?”
“No, she’s trying to give the kid a break for Christmas” Havoc chuckled to himself.
“He will be with his aunt. He doesn’t typically visit family for Christmas and I didn’t want him to feel obligated knowing the Elrics won’t be able to go home”.
“I’ll be there Hawkeye” Fuery smiled.
“Perhaps the rest of us could offer you gifts for the Elrics instead of our presence?” Falman suggested.
Riza smiled broadly “Don’t feel obligated to do so, but thank you for the kind offer.”
“I think we can spare a little cash to get the kids a gift, yeah?” Havoc looked at the men who shook their heads in agreement.
“Would you be able to drop them off at the office before you head out for the weekend?”
The sounds of “yes”, “of course”, and “sure” chorused throughout the room.
“Thank you all, I’m sure this will mean a lot to the boys.”
It certainly meant a lot to her.
__________________
Date: December 23; Time: 1900
Havoc lugged a large pine tree through the office doors and placed it on top of the Colonel’s desk.
“Hey!” Roy grumbled, “use your own desk!”
“If you’re not going to help boss, the least you can do is offer up your workspace.”
“You should probably clear if off afterwards, sir. Lieutenant Hawkeye won’t appreciate it if your assignments are covered in pine sap.” Fuery offered. Falman and Breda snickered behind him.
Roy rolled his eyes and started fluffing out the branches on the tree and sweeping the pine needles to the floor.
Breda and Falman started to shove the desks towards the wall to create more space in the center of the room.
“Let’s push those two desks together over there to create a table” Roy gestured to the right side of the room closest to the closets “and the remainder can be used as a table for food, if you’re so inclined” he looked over to Fuery who nodded.
“We didn’t get a tree stand” Falman commented, scanning the room for a solution.
“Breda, do you know if we have any spare materials anywhere in headquarters?”
“What kind of material?”
“Anything durable will do.”
Breda disappeared out the door while the remaining team members continued to string Christmas lights and hang garland at Roy’s direction. By the time Breda returned, there were lights covering the windows and tinsel draped across the remaining walls.
“Will this work, sir?” Breda stood in the doorway holding up two large pieces of wood.
“Excellent.”
Roy removed a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew a transmutation circle on the floor. Placing the wood inside, he dropped his hands onto the outside of the circle and a bright blue light flashed, transforming the wood into a box with a circular hole in the top. The team stared at him. “I am able to do basic alchemy you know.” And by the way they were looking, they in fact did not seem to know.
Havoc ripped open a cheap box of ornaments Falman brought. “Alright, let’s get this party started!” He took a cigarette out of his pocket and held it out to Roy.
“Can I get a light?”
“You know you can’t smoke in the office.”
“Oh come on, make an exception. It’s Christmas for cryin’ out loud. Get that stick out of your –” before he could finish his sentence, Roy snapped, lighting up his smoke. Havoc just nodded in his direction.
All the men grabbed an ornament and start working on the tree. Roy mostly moved around ornaments that had already been hung. If the Madame taught him anything, it was how to keep up appearances. It was nice, really, spending an evening like this with the team. He used to take them out for drinks on Friday nights but then they started to get more assignments and he started staying at the office later and then it all began to fall by the wayside.
Once they had the tree set up and decorated the fall of night completely blanketed the window.
“Wait, I have just one more to add.” Roy opened a small box and removed a framed photo. It was taken just after the Elrics had joined the team. Havoc and Breda were laughing at a joke Havoc crafted, Fuery and Falman just looked happy to be there, Edward looked pissed as always and Alphonse had his long metal arm around him Ed. He and Hawkeye were standing off to the side. She smiled softly at the camera and luckily he was caught looking at her instead of two seconds later when he was yelling back at Edward. He hung the small ornament in the front of the tree. Perfect.
“Thank you all for your hard work tonight.”
“Anything for Hawkeye, boss” Havoc grinned and everyone nodded in agreement.
“I hope you all have wonderful holidays.”
“You too, sir!”
Team Mustang packed up and headed out of the office.
__________________
Date: December 24; Time: 1500
Riza walked into the office and was shocked to see bright colored lights twinkling across the window. Hayate darted into the room and ran around in the empty space, chasing his tail and barking. She took another step and a big Christmas tree in the corner of the room caught her eye. And even further, an ornament with a picture of the team. She’s touched. She’s beyond touched. She’s… extremely grateful.
When she trekked back outside to grab the remaining food dishes from the cab, snowflakes started to freckle her face. She grinned. There were very few joys she found in the holidays but snow was one of them. The last Christmas she could remember with her mother they were completely snowed in. Her father had set a fire. Her and her mother baked cookies and read Amestrian tall-tale stories. She let the crisp winter air fill her nose for a moment and then rushed inside the building so the food didn’t get too cold.
She set up the tablecloth, laid out all the food, and found herself with a pretty significant amount of time before the boys were expected to show up. She pulled out a file from the top drawer of her desk and got to work.
__________________
Date: December 24; Time: 1700
“Lieutenant!” Alphonse called as he pushed open the door. “Wow” his large metal body shifted back and forth taking in the entire office. “Is this all for us?”
Hayate barked and trotted over to greet the boys.
“Yes, the men really did out do themselves, huh?”
Edward stepped out from behind Alphonse with his hand on his hips. “Mustang was involved?”
“The Colonel is out of town for the holidays, it was the rest of the team.”
“Figures” Ed muttered.
“What brother means to say is thank you Lieutenant, really. It’s been a while since we’ve had a real Christmas.”
Riza couldn’t help the corners of her mouth upturning. She gestured broadly to lead them into the room.
“I’m assuming there isn’t anything you actually need our help for then?”
“No, my apologies for leading you here under false pretenses. I wasn’t sure if you would be willing to come here otherwise.”
“Of course we would have wanted to spend Christmas Eve with you!”
Riza raised her eyebrows.
“Brother may have been a tougher sell.”
“I just don’t need anybody’s pity.”
“Oh Edward, it’s not pity. I spend every year in the office with the Colonel for the holidays. I have no remaining family, unlike the two of you have with Winry and her grandmother. I know what it’s like not to be able to go back home for Christmas.”
Edward turned beet red at just the mention of Winry’s name for which Riza was extremely endeared.
“The Colonel is out of town this year so really you’re doing me the favor.”
“Well, if you put it like that…”
Edward petered back and forth on his toes for a minute then removed his long red coat. Alphonse walked over to admire the tree.
Riza turned to Ed. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.”
She led him through the options for dinner. She had cooked her mother’s stew, alongside a chicken dinner, mashed potatoes, a massive vegetable medley, and her favorite turnip casserole. All devoid of milk of course. Edwards eyes went wide as he grabbed a big bowl and started to dig in.
Alphonse and Riza made light chatter while Ed began to eat. They were planning to head out to Liore tomorrow afternoon when the train carts would likely be the least busy.
“Sorry I’m late!” A short figure carrying a box much too big for his body rushed into the room.
“Good evening, Sergeant.”
Fuery set down a giant cardboard box on the desk nearest to the closets.
“Merry Christmas!” He responded cheerfully. He pulled a record player out of the box followed by a stack of records. “Would anyone care for some music?” After an enthusiastic group of head nods, Fuery got the music going and then made his way over to the food table.
Riza was content. It had been a while since she genuinely felt this way, and she was confident that she would later fall deep down the rabbit hole of whether or not she deserved to feel this way at all, but nonetheless, for this very moment, she was content.
Fuery and Edward were discussing something about audio processors in depth while Alphonse was playing fetch with Hayate. She never allowed him to play in the office but she could make an exception, just this once.
The office door burst open with a huff. Everyone looked over to see a soaking wet, red in the face, exasperated Breda. He removed his military jacket and hung it over the coat rack.
“Have you seen the weather out there?”
It had been an hour since Fuery had gotten there, a couple since the boys, and several since Riza had been outside.
“It’s a nightmare. No way I was getting out of town tonight. I need a beer.” He stumbled back out of the door.
Riza had closed the blinds earlier as they didn’t have formal permission for this gathering and she was not looking to invite more trouble for Mustang. She pulled the curtain halfway across and to her surprise snow and wind was slapping rapidly as the window. She wasn’t expecting a blizzard.
“It’s an absolute mess out there. Cars all over the road, trains stuck sitting in the station.” Breda trekked back in and as per typical Breda, had strategically set out a route where he could greet the Elrics, grab some hot food, and end up sitting by Fuery without needing to back track.
Riza’s mind immediately went to Winry. Riza purchased her train ticket but the girl had steadfast refused her picking her up from the station. I can take a cab Miss Riza. Honestly, I’ll be perfectly fine. I need to pay for some part of this trip by myself. Riza desperately hoped she had gotten on the morning train like she intended. It was a long way from Resembool to the East Station.
“This is fantastic, Hawkeye” Breda bobbed his head at Riza. She never was great at taking compliments. Though when most compliments regard how skillfully she murders it’s difficult to respond either way.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah Hawkeye, it is. It reminds me of our mom’s”.
That was the most meaningful thing Ed could say to her.
“Edward!” a feminine voice yelled from across the office and a wrench came flying out of her hand and smacked him right dab in the forehead.
“Hey! What was that for, you gearhead?!”
“You weren’t planning to even call home for Christmas, were you?”
Edward turned bright red and was effectively bouncing off the walls of the office.
“So good to see you! Of course I was planning to call!” followed by some other mumbled garbage.
“Winry!” Alphonse’s large metal feet crashed against the floor as he ran over to hug her. “I’m so happy to see you! Why are you here though?” and then more seriously “is everything alright with Granny?”
“Miss Riza invited me. She thought you might want to spend Christmas with your best friend.”
Ed reached his hand to rub the back of his neck nervously. “It is good to see you, Win.”
“Oh just come here you idiot.” She pulled him into a tight hug.
A couple of minutes later the door flew open and out popped Havoc with a pack of beer in his hand, a cigarette in his mouth, and a big smile on his face.
“Now the party’s really gonna start!” He held up the beer in cheers.
Breda grinned “man you made it!”
“Hey, you too! It’s absolutely nuts out there. I really tried to make it out of here this afternoon. Made it about 30 minutes then had to turn around and call my ma telling her I couldn’t make it. Figured I’d try to see if I could get my ass out here and I am definitely not disappointed.”
Havoc started to wander around the room trading greetings with everyone. “Chief! Glad to see your girlfriend made it. Was getting a little worried she’d be stuck out there.”
“She’s not my girlfriend!”
“Alright, whatever you say.” He turned and winked at Alphonse then bent down to pet Hayate who was sitting by Fuery’s feet.
“Looks like you got a decent turnout here, Hawkeye.” He saluted her politely in greeting. “Why don’t you dress like that in the office more often?”
She was wearing an Amestrian blue velvet dress that covered the entirety of her back completely but hung slightly lower in the front. It hung to just above her knees. She had on black tights and practical yet classic appearing black lace boots. Her hair was for once not up in her dove tail clip but dripping down her back.
She rolled her eyes and he winked at her before he walked in Breda’s direction. “I’m just sayin’, maybe that miniskirt manifesto the boss has been going on about wouldn’t be so bad.”
She sighed fondly and everyone returned to their small groups. There was light chatter in the room for the next 30 minutes or so, but Riza found herself mostly sitting quietly by Havoc and Breda listening to them bicker.
A “yoohoo, Riza!” startled her from the door. Her best friend barreled through carrying her famous Christmas cake, black hair flying everywhere. She shoved the cake into the hands of the man walking in behind her and threw herself into Riza’s arms.
“I missed you! Why didn’t you tell me about this?” She demanded.
“You always spend Christmas Eve at your aunts! I also wasn’t planning for this to turn into such an event” she said looking around and again marveling at the room and the people. “How are you even here? Isn’t the weather horrid?” Riza asked confused.
“My cousin requested to be picked up along the way. Seemed reasonable at the time but shortly after I grabbed him I realized we were trapped. Second Lieutenant Havoc here mentioned that you were planning Christmas for the boys who I still have yet to meet so I figured I’d much rather see you than be trapped in the house with that all evening” she gestured generally in the direction of a tall figure wearing a crisp white suit.
“Ah, Lieutenant Hawkeye, what a pleasure.”
“Kimblee.” Riza responded politely, however less amused than he appeared to be.
“I hope you don’t mind my crashing your soiree as a guest of my cousin.”
At this, Rebecca rolled her eyes.
“No, of course not.” Riza smiled civilly.
“Wonderful.”
“Jean!” Rebecca exclaimed and dashed across the room to see her old academy buddy. Riza laughed lightly, she figured the two of them would end up together eventually. Rebecca was always on the hunt for what’s new, what’s next, and was ever so slightly less astute when something was right in front of her.
“It’s been a while, Hawkeye. How has Eastern Command been treating you?”
What Riza wanted was to enjoy her night with her team and Winry. The mock family she had stitched together so the Elrics could retain even a touch of their childhood. What Riza did not want was to be spending said evening making small talk with a man she had historically considered a psychopath. Or perhaps sociopath was the correct term.
“It’s been treating me well, sir. And yourself? I believe I last heard you were working in Western Command?”
“It seems you have kept poor tabs on me Lieutenant Hawkeye, I’m disappointed.”
A sarcastic comment was dripping from her tongue but she refrained. Just barely. “My apologies. What have you been up to, Commander Kimblee?”
“I’m flattered, you’ve gotten my proper rank at least. I’ve been doing some reconnaissance work for the Fuhrer. Ah, yes, I was just as surprised as yourself. But I find peacetime extremely dull. This has permitted me a job thinking on my feet instead of the doing the desk work you’re stuck with. Really it’s such a pity, the Hawk’s eye trapped behind a desk. Wings cut and bound by a man with much less potential than yourself. I wouldn’t have chained you to a desk if you were under my command.”
Riza was not entirely sure what to say to that.
“I would however chain you up temporarily, were you to be willing.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“The Amestrian blue suits you in all forms, Lieutenant. But this one in particular makes me wonder what your thoughts on handcuffs are.”
She certainly wasn’t sure what to say to that. It has been a long time since Riza had been propositioned by anyone. It had been longer since she even last wanted to be propositioned.
She leaned on the backs of her heels.
She had always struggled with Kimblee, both the idea of and as a person. The last time she saw him was in the middle of the desert when she was struggling with her morality, her humanity. She didn’t think… she never thought herself better than him. Despite her crushing grief and his blasphemous enthusiasm for success in war, she was just as much of a monster as him. Perhaps she even worse. Her, a murder, turning against her own moral code. He, who felt he was just successfully fulfilling the job he was hired to do.
She stepped forward on her tip toes.
She couldn’t ignore the fact that she found him handsome. Tall, well built, always over-dressed and prepared for any occasion. He was cruel yet exceedingly polite. Self-centered, yet, that was a trait in Mustang she could seemingly look past. For the non-martyrs really it was a trait of self-preservation. For every vile thing she could say, she could conjure one more complimentary. She noticed a red handkerchief peeking out of the top of his pocket.
A slow, melodic Christmas hymn cooed through the room. Kimblee held out his hand. Riza hesitated.
“I may be a heretic, Lieutenant Hawkeye, but I am no less a gentleman.”
He bowed respectfully and started to walk away.
She followed after him.
“Wait.”
__________________
Date: December 24; Time: 2100
Walter Grumman decided to come into work on Christmas Eve. It was always a toss-up what he did from year to year. Some years he would spend the day at Eastern Command, catching up on work, reliving old memories through the relics on the shelf in his office. Other years he would bring a picnic to the grave site of his wife and enjoy an evening with her. Every few years he would dress up in one of his favorite disguises, an elderly woman, and sit in the Central train station and people watch. The holidays were one of the few times a year he didn’t want the attention on himself. He just wanted to blend in. A man spending the day sitting on a bench in a train station looked suspicious, drew attention. But an elderly woman is endearing, so that’s who he would be if he needed to. He would sit by her grave, his daughter that is, if he knew where it was. He reached out to Berthold, much against his better judgement, after he saw news of her passing in the paper. He never heard back. He and Elizabeth spent many Christmases in the train station. She loved watching the children, the trains, the people, the presents. And he loved her.
He knew she had a daughter, that he had a granddaughter. He knew his granddaughter was the most skilled sharpshooter in all of Amestris and that she was a damn fine soldier. What he also knew was that she looked exactly like her mother. What he didn’t know was if he would ever have the courage to introduce himself to her formally, outside of his role as her superior.
As he was heading out for the evening, he heard the gentle trill of Christmas carols coming from an office at the end of the hall. He had never heard music in Eastern Command on Christmas Eve before. It brightened his spirits. He followed the music.
He peaked through the window on the door leading in to the office. It was Mustang’s team among a few scattered others. His granddaughter was laughing, a genuine smile plastered across her face as she chatted with her colleagues. An arm covered by a white jacket was around her waist. The window was too small for him to see who it belonged to, but nonetheless he felt more joy than he had in a long time. He wanted desperately to knock, to tell her who he really was, and to spend a holiday with family after all these years. But he didn’t. Not tonight.
For tonight, it was enough to know that she was happy.
__________________
Date: December 24; Time: 2200
The holiday was a raging success, and Riza could not have been more pleased. Most of the food had been consumed. Havoc and Breda moved the desks so that everyone could sit at a makeshift table together. Breda, always planning ahead, brought a deck of cards that the group played for a good remainder of the night. They started placing bets but in all honestly the game was really just between Breda, Riza, and Solf, and everyone else slowly started losing interest.
“I think we’re going to head out” Edward said as Winry’s head was resting on his shoulder, completely asleep.
“Wait Chief, you didn’t open your gifts” Havoc said quietly, trying to maintain some courtesy for Fullmetal’s sleeping girlfriend.
“Gifts?” Ed was trying not to move.
“Yeah, under the tree” Fuery pointed.
Edward and Alphonse looked at each other, confused.
“Merry Christmas, boys.” Riza smiled.
Ed shook Winry lightly to wake her up. She turned tomato red when she realized who she had been sleeping on.
Ed and Al started working on unwrapping the gifts. Both thoroughly appreciative yet awkward in their thanks. Havoc had gotten Ed a jacket so that he would look ‘cooler around the ladies’ and Al a book on Xingese cats because he ‘looked cool enough’ and thought it was something the kid might enjoy. Ed ripped open the packaging on a brand new book Falman had gotten him and Al on the history of Liore and it’s surrounding cities. Al was about to open a gift from Riza when the door smacked open hard against the wall.
“What is going on in here?” Roy Mustang bellowed from the door.
“Sir!” Riza stood up quickly. “I thought you were spending the holiday in Central?”
He ran his hand through his hair, slightly awkward that the entire team (and others? Minus Falman who must have made it to his destination) were witnessing this discussion.
“I did… I returned early. The storm finally settled down. I thought perhaps I may be able to catch you in the office.”
Riza was eternally grateful for Roy, Mustang, the Colonel, her best friend. “Looks like you’re just in time” she beamed.
He smiled back, removed his heavy black coat, and stepped through the door.
__________________
Date: December 24; Time: 1700
15 years later
“Fuhrer, sir. Are you ready to head out for the evening?”
Roy removes his fingers from the braille typewriter Riza had commissioned for him, traces his hand along the wall looking for his cane, and stands up.
“Sounds like you had enough of bedtime stories, huh General?”
“Oh hush” Riza laughs lightly. He had always loved her laugh.
He could hear her gentle steps and the rustling of her thick winter coat. One of the unique things about being blind was the timelessness of everything. He imagines her just as she was before he lost his eyesight, bundled in a coat sufficient enough to permit survival in Briggs. He chuckles lightly at the image.
He turns the door knob and holds out his arm for her. He can feel her eyes searing through him, turns out he doesn’t need his sight for their silent communication.
“Oh come on now General, there is no one else in the office but us. And I’m nothing but a gentleman. I’m just escorting a taken woman to her car.”
He knows she’s rolling her eyes, but nonetheless he feels her warm arm slip into his as they head out to the parking lot.
In the car on the way home, Riza describes the road, the traffic, the weather. It’s something she’d quickly grown accustomed to doing when she realized it comforted him to know what was going on in the world around him that he couldn’t hear or touch. She rolls down the window, presumably so he can smell the fresh winter air.
She takes his arm silently as they walk up the stairs to his apartment.
“Do you have time for a drink, General?”
“I suppose I have time for one.” She lets herself into his apartment and starts pouring their drinks.
“You never let me serve you.”
“I don’t want a mess to clean up, sir.”
“I do live on my own. I occasionally have to get my own beverages.”
“The Fuhrer doing something for himself? Unheard of.” She jokes.
She hands him a cold glass and the burn of whiskey fills the back of his throat. He hears the clambering of metal coming from the direction of his kitchen.
“What are you looking for?”
“A kettle. You move it every single time…”
“What do you need it for?”
“Tea sir. Sweetened with just a bit of rum.”
“Just pour water for the tea and hand me the cup.”
She does as he asks. He warms the cup with his hands.
“Impressive, sir.”
He just chuckles and hands her back the mug.
And they talk. They spend the evening talking about everything and nothing. He had asked Riza what her favorite Christmas Eve memory was earlier in the day and together they relive Christmas the first year the Elrics were in the unit.
A lot had happened since then. The Promised Day, the Elrics getting their bodies back, him losing his eyesight, Grumman becoming Fuhrer, restoring Ishval, both Elrics getting married, the Ishval war crime trials, the beginning of a democracy in Amestris, and now his first year as Fuhrer. But even through all of that, they hadn’t missed a Christmas Eve together.
“Would you like another one?”
“I need to be heading home.”
“You spend every evening with him. This is the one night a year reserved for me.”
“I spend every evening at the office with you, sir. I think Solf has been extremely generous.”
Roy sighs. “I suppose, General, you could look at it that way. But you were my friend first, so perhaps you could learn to see it the other way around”.
She laughs “As your Christmas gift, I’ll consider it, sir.”
“It’s all I ask.”
A knock comes unexpectedly at the door.
“Would you mind–” He begins as Riza was already standing.
“Of course.”
She opens the door to find the ex-Fuhrer, or more commonly known as grandfather these days, standing on the other side of the door. He grins widely.
“Ah, I was hoping to find you here.”
He holds out a small box to Riza and kisses her on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Riza, my dear.”
Grumman steps into Roy’s apartment and he can hear soft voices and the clinking of ice in glasses in the kitchen. Grumman’s telling Riza about his part in her favorite Christmas Eve memory.
Roy takes a final swig of his whiskey and thoroughly enjoys the pleasant sting in his throat and heat that radiates throughout the entirety of his body (whether that was caused by the liquor or the company he was unsure).
Merry Christmas was right.