"Training"

Eastern Headquarters. The weather had been miserable

all day.Roy Mustang sighed as he shuffled through the pile of papers

on his desk, which was turning out to be too large. Rain spattered the

window panes behind him, reflecting his groggy mood. He had only

just been caught by Lieutenant Hawkeye napping when he was

supposed to be signing papers, again. Actually, for the third time.

Hawkeye scolded him, saying she was surprised he had made it so

far up the ranks. He smirked slightly. Riza was the only one who

diciplined her superior on a daily basis, and yet was his most loyal

officer.

It was she who walked in now, holding a clipboard in one arm.

He had only finished his second paper.

"How is your work going, sir?"

Roy frowned in such a way that she needed no other answer.

"That much fun, hmm, sir?"

"If it wasn't raining I could go outside and practice my alchemy.

But, no, I'm stuck doing this." Roy slouched in his chair.

"Paperwork is another necessary requirement if you want a higher

rank, Colonel."

"I know." Roy stared at her, imagining sweeping her up and kissing her.

"Well, sir, plan for more action later this week, at least. The

President is coming out soon to test the officers. As ranking officer, it's

your responsibility to make sure we are all well trained for action." she

said, breaking the silence and cutting off Roy's fantasies.

"Oh, great. I get to try to get a group of smartasses and wimps how

to be field officers," he said, signing off another paper and tossing it aside.

The rain beat down harder outside, drumming on the windows.

"They're good men, sir, they just need a little guidance."

"A little guidance, my foot. They'd probably knock each other

out first."

"Way to have faith in your men, sir. I told them to meet you in the

training courtyard tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully you will be able

to give them the training they need so they won't be 'knocking each

other out'," she said, with a of hardness in her voice that suggested that

if he didn't come, she'd reprimand him herself, let alone his superiors.

The prospect of facing her seemed almost scarier.

"Yes, yes, I'll be there," he said, avoiding her eyes.

"I'm sure you will. I will see you later, Colonel." She left the room,

leaving him to think up some sort of training regime for his group. Riza's

head popped back around the edge of his office door.

"By the way, those papers are due in ten minutes."

Hawkeye left then smiling as she heard Roy cursing and furiously

signing papers. Not for the first time.

To be continued. All respects to Hiromu Arakawa