Chapter Text
A beautiful display of festive décor adorned the walls of Central headquarters. Wreathes of emerald green were hung on every door. Shimmering golden lights lined the doors and halls, and bright red tinsel added flair to the once plain white walls. This colourful exhibition was courteously done by Maes Hughes for the upcoming holiday season. The lieutenant colonel was so proud of his work, that he decided to help decorate some of his colleagues’ offices as well. Colonel Roy Mustang was one of the victims of his holiday cheer.
Roy walked into his office that Monday morning to find his floor completely covered in sparkles, as if a bomb made of glitter exploded right in front of his face. The colonel glanced around the room and with Maes nowhere to be seen, he let out a sigh, followed by a small snicker. Though Roy found the array a bit too gaudy for his taste, he hated to deny his friend’s enthusiasm for the upcoming holidays. Admittedly, the slight change of scenery was a breath of fresh air.
“Good morning, Colonel,” Roy heard a voice greet him. He turned around to face his adjutant, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye standing in the doorway.
“Ah, good morning to you too, Lieutenant,” Roy replied with a playful smirk. “What brings you to my office this morning?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know the dreaded answer to his question.
“Special delivery,” She said sarcastically, entering the room to hand him a rather hefty stack of paperwork. “All to be completed by the end of the month, sir.”
Roy let out a groan before he cracked a joke, “Is this supposed to be my Christmas present? It’s not exactly what I asked Santa for.”
He gently nudged her.
“Why don’t you give me the rest of the month off instead?”
While pushing back his arm, Riza rolled her eyes. She was quite used to the colonel’s lazy demeanor by now. “It’s the fourteenth of December, sir. Surely you remember that we’re here to do our final assessments, correct?”
“Assessments?” Roy cocked his head, feigning ignorance. “That’s all you. I came for the Christmas party.”
Riza couldn’t help but to stifle a chuckle.
The pair continued to talk before being interrupted by the sudden bellowing voice of Major Alex Armstrong, noticeably more excited than usual. Roy and Riza both peered out from behind of the office door, but before they could ask what was the matter, a blonde woman appeared from behind the major. Her threatening aura came not from the sword she held by her side, but the harsh look of disgust on her face as she strutted past the taller man, trying to ignore him entirely. Roy recognized her as none other than Major General Olivier Armstrong. The ruthless commanding officer of Briggs, and Alex’s big sister.
“Sister! I’m so happy that you decided to come visit me for Christmas!” Alex exclaimed, but his sibling did not return the affection.
“I’m here for work, not to hang around with cowards like you,” she hissed behind gritted teeth. “Leave my sight.”
Riza was surprised to hear the major general speak so cruelly to her own brother. While she never met her in person, she knew of the older woman’s name. Riza heard many stories of her brute-force tactics in the war and up north, but never assumed that they extended towards her family. She noticed a sad look on Alex’s face as he began to go after her, but ultimately decided to walk away.
The Armstrong woman continued to make her way down the hall, but she halted as she noticed Roy standing in the doorway.
“Speaking of cowards, I forgot you were invited here too. You two wouldn’t last a day at Briggs,” she said bitterly. As she almost turned to leave, the blonde woman behind the colonel caught her eye.
“Who are you?” She asked.
“This is my lieutenant-“ Roy began, but was immediately cut off by the cold, steel blade of her sword hitting his lips.
“She can speak for herself, Alchemist,” Olivier scolded him before pushing him out of the way, looking back at his partner. “Now, who might you be?”
“Lieutenant Hawkeye,” she replied, properly extending her hand for Olivier to shake. The taller woman complied and smiled, something Riza couldn’t imagine she was capable of doing just a second ago.
“Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Hawkeye. I’m Major General Armstrong, but you can just call me Olivier. I have a feeling that I’m going to like you.” Her last statement was said with a subtle wink in her direction.
“Lovely to see you, miss-“ Roy started to speak before he was cut short yet again.
“Sir.” She corrected him, glaring him down.
“Sir Armstrong, but you see,” Roy
continued, “I’ve been working all day on this paperwork, and I really must have Hawkeye look over it for me to make sure there’s no mistakes, so we’ll be going. Enjoy your time in Central mi- Sir!”
Riza wanted to apprehend him for his blatant lie, but the colonel had already pulled her inside, slamming the door shut behind them. He leaned his back against the wooden door, listening to the sound of Armstrong’s footsteps fade out as she left the hallway.
“Now, what was that all about, Roy?” Riza asked him, a concerned frown spread across her face. He frantically waved his hand, shrugging off her concern.
“Don’t worry about it! Now, I don’t want to make a liar out of myself, so why don’t you come look over these papers for me?” He suggested to his partner.
Riza looked at him, raising an eyebrow. She couldn’t comprehend why the major general had suddenly given him so much anxiety.
“What am I supposed to look over? I just gave them to you. They’re completely blank.”
Roy looked at her and grinned as he laughed. “Only because Havoc hasn’t filled them out for me yet!”
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The major general slowly paced around the front courtyard of Central Headquarters. Her narrowed eyes focused on the ground as she held a thumb to her lip, pondering a single thought. One that hadn’t left her mind since she walked out of the building.
“Hawkeye...” Olivier softly muttered, thinking aloud. “So that’s her... Best sniper Amestria’s ever seen, and they’ve got her reading papers for that damn Mustang.” She scoffed at the absurdity of it all.
“What was that about Hawkeye?” Alex asked, stopping Olivier in her tracks. She wondered how long her brother had been following her.
“Nothing,” she said sternly. “I was just thinking about something. You can go back inside now.”
“Thinking about Lieutenant Hawkeye? Why so?” The major questioned.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the pieces clicked together in his brain.
“Oh... Oh... I think I understand.”
“No you most certainly do not,” she snapped, but it was too late. Alex already noticed the burning red in her cheeks, and he knew for sure that it wasn’t because of the cold, winter air. It was a rare occurrence, but he had seen the same look on her face a few times before whenever he mentioned a particular woman’s name in front of her.
“You know, Sister, I could tell you a little about her!” Alex offered, smiling kindly. “I know a few things that she likes. It might help you start a conversation with her.”
“Absolutely not,” the Armstrong woman declared. “I don’t need your help. I can find out on my own.”
Olivier pulled the collar of her coat around her cheeks in a fruitless attempt to hide her blushing face in the stark white fur. Not wanting to be embarrassed by her brother any longer, the major general quickly made her way back to the front of the Central building. She entered the headquarters and shut the doors behind her. The Armstrong woman had a plan, and she wasn’t going to let her brother or the colonel stand in her way.