ROYAI HOLIDAY FANFICS

ROYAI CHRISTMAS 2018

Royai Christmas 2018

It was the week before Christmas, and the office at Central was bustling and busy.  The lights and the wreaths on the outside made it have a calming demeanor, but the inside was quite the opposite. All of Team Mustang was frantically filing paperwork and signing documents. 
"Aw man I can't wait til Christmas break!" Havoc said.
"It's not even really a break..." Falman laughed.  "It's only Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  And we're still on call"
"But still.  It's something." Breda adder.
"What are you guys doing for it?" Fuery asked.
"Now that you mention it, nothing." Roy said scratching my head.
"I never really do anything." Riza said.
"That's sad..." Havoc commented.
"My father was never big on anything really.  He was always too involved with alchemy.  I'm used to a low key holiday." Riza responded.
"Well the military ball for the New Years is always nice." Fuery said.
"True.  But for Christmas I guess it is kinda sad none of us do anything." Roy said furrowing his brow.
"Gracia is making a nice Christmas dinner for me and Elysia.  You guys should come over!  There's always plenty of food." Hughes said with a smile.
"Aw yeah!  Home cooked food!" Bread and Havoc high fived.
"But that's your family dinner..." Fuery said with a frown.
"I could never impose on your family time." Riza added.
"Aw no worries!  We can all celebrate together.  Hey- we could even make it a secret Santa party!!" Hughes face seemed to get brighter and brighter with every word.
Before anyone could comment, he ran over to toys desk and began frantically dialing somebody on the phone.
"Hello?" A female voice answered on the line.
"Gracia!  It's me!" Hughes exclaimed.
"Maes?  Are you calling from the office?" She asked.
"Yes.  Do you mind if Mustang and his team come over Christmas Eve for dinner and a secret Santa party?" Hughes asked.
"Oh of course Maes!  Your friends are always welcome.  We always have more than enough food and It'll be so fun to have company this year." Gracia said on the line.  Her voice had changed from a confused tone to a cheery one.
"Thanks my love!  I'll see you later.  I love you!  And tell Elysia that daddy loves her!" Hughes called before hanging up the phone.
He then turned to everyone in the room.  "See!  Not a problem.  You're all invited to our house for Christmas Eve dinner." Hughes said with a smile.
"That's very generous of you Hughes." Riza said with a small smile.
"Thanks man!" Havoc came over and fist bumped Hughes.
"How will be determine secret Santa's?" Falman asked.
"I'll write all our names on a piece of paper and fold them up.  Then we can all pick?" Fuery suggested
"That works." Roy nodded his head as he agreed.
Fuery began scribbling names down, and when he was done he folded them up and put the papers into his empty wastebasket.
He gave a nervous smile.  "I don't have a hat so I figured the basket is empty and it could work."
"Good thinking." Hughes said grabbing the basked and giving it a good shake.
He began walking around the office, and one by one everyone pulled a name out.
Riza was hesitant to open hers.  In all honesty she didn't really know much about her coworkers personal lives.  How would she know what to get them?  She took a deep breath unfolding her paper.  Written in thick black marker were the words "Colonel Mustang"
Riza felt her heart skip a beat.  What was that feeling?  It was just a Christmas gift for her superior.
"Everyone happy with their names?  Well too bad bc you get what you get and you don't get upset!" Hughes chanted.
Riza rolled her eyes.  He was such a child sometimes.
As they continued to work Riza couldn't help but wonder who everyone else got — and more specifically who got her.  She had never done a secret Santa before so even though she would never admit it, she was excited.
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Riza finished her work early and decided to head out instead of hang around in the office.  She headed home to shower and change first before heading out into the town to begin looking for gifts.  She changed into black jeans with a black shirt tucked into it.  Christmas Eve was only a few days away, so she didn't have much time to think of a gift.  She hoped she would see something and just get that feeling of certainty.  Now that she stopped to think about it, she didn't really know what to get Roy.  What was something that he would love?  She didn't want to get him something that would sit on a shelf and collect dust.  She needed something sentimental that he would truly appreciate.  She found herself wandering into a men's suit store.  She browsed around.
"I don't think the Colonel would want a suit or a tie from me." she muttered to herself as she exited the store.  She didn't think that was special enough.
She exited the store and then found herself looking through an antique shop.  Old pocket watches, clothing items, glasses, clocks, books, and more lined the shelves of the tiny shop. 
"Looking for something, dear?" the old woman behind the counter asked looking up from her book.
"I'm just browsing.  Thank you though." Riza responded respectfully.
"Alright.  Let me know if you find anything you like." the woman said before going back to reading her book.
Riza found herself picking up a small yet thick book with a leather backing.  She opened it up to see small, handwritten, cursive writing inside that was beginning to fade.  The pages were yellowing and slightly ripped in some areas, and the leather cover had a coat of dust on it.  She brushed off some dust to reveal a transmutation circle on the front. 
"You into alchemy?" the woman from the counter asked her.
Riza's stomach dropped in surprise, and she almost instinctively went for the gun on the back of her jeans, but stopped herself.  "Y-yes..."
"That's an old alchemist's journal.  Rich in information." she said.
"What kind of alchemy?  Who wrote this?" Riza asked the woman.
"I don't know much about alchemy in there.  Can't read that tiny handwriting too well either.  Did see one page though with a name signed onto it.  Berthold Hawkeye.  Only words I could understand on that page was that it was about fire." the woman shrugged her shoulders.
Riza's face went pale.
"Darling, you alright?  Your face just went pale!"
"I-I'm fine.  Thanks."
"You know Berthold Hawkeye?"
"Just the name.  He was a-uh well known person from my village in uh- Xing." Riza lied.
"Doesn't sound like a Xingese name to me." the woman laughed.  "Must have moved from here."
"How much for this book?" Ria asked.
"Eh, 200 cenz.  I just wanna get rid of it." she laughed.
Riza paid for the book and shoved it deep into her coat pocket before hurrying out of the store.  She didn't know how that woman got hold of her father's work journal, but she was glad she went into that little shop.