Author's note: So. heh ~^^~ Once upon a time I told my friend I had this idea for a one-shot about a Royai secret baby and she was like "you gon write it wont you?" and I was like "NAH". Then, about a couple days after that, I started to write. And I SWEAR it was wanted to write a long ass one-shot, but now I ended up with a chapter fic with probably... eight? chapters. I don't know, we'll see. And now I'm posting it! hehe

Sorry, I'm late! I just watched the show (brotherhood) in July, and I'm still on manga #4, but boy if I don't love Royai! And I also love the idea of Parental!Royai+Elric Brothers, so you'll see lots of that dynamic here.

So here it is, a baby fic. I'm sure it's been overdone, but I just arrived and I guess it's alright if I write another "Royai have a baby" fic, huh? If everything goes according to the plan, I'll be posting a new chapter every couple of weeks, fingers crossed! My beta reader is Jenna (littlecajunlady88), go check her works, guys, she's awesome - and she was the one who introduce me to the show.

Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I have no rights over any of Arakawa's characters and I really shouldn't have, because I'd ruin the thing.

Green Meadow

1. Beginning

"Now the wind is blowing, tell me where you're going, I'll be thinking of you.
Go with what you're feeling, this is the beginning of a life you'd never recognize."
Beginning – Capital Cities

It started with a picture.

-xxx-

"What is it, Hawkeye?" Fuery asked from across the table, making Riza look up at him. The smile didn't leave her face, though, and she offered the photo she had been looking at.

"Ed," she said. "He sent a new family pic."

"Oh, really?" Havoc exclaimed and stopped chewing on his pen. "Lemme see."

He leaned closer to Fuery and soon the others joined, but Riza stayed in her seat, and so did Roy across the room.

"General, check it out!" Havoc got the picture and took it to Roy. "Stephen, it's the name of baby #3! Can you believe it? Three kids before they got to the age of 25."

"They are crazy," affirmed Breda.

Roy looked up from the pic in his hands and his eyes met Riza's. He had this smirk on his face that she loved and hated, and as Breda extended his argument against having kids so young and Falman lightly teased Havoc about waiting too long, Roy got up and attached the photo on the board they kept just for that kind of thing. It was filled with family photos and coffee stained notes of their little group, proving that their relationship went beyond the formalities of the military.

There were a lot of photos of the Elric Brothers on there. After coming back from the east, Al was approved as a State Alchemist responding directly to Mustang like his brother used to, but more focused on research than combat. The more recent pic was from a few months ago, at his wedding. It had been in Xing, with all the traditions of Mei's home country and it had been held at the Emperor's palace (it did help that Ling was close to the groom and also the bride's half-brother).

A few months ago… Riza made a face as she felt her stomach protest. That… was not good.

Making good use of the distraction of the men, she slipped out of the room and to the toilet, third time that day. She wondered why Winry didn't mind going through this over and over. Three kids before the age of 25, that was crazy. But then again, Riza was a certified murderer before the age of 25, so she guessed she wasn't supposed to be one to judge.

She washed her face and looked in the mirror. They needed a plan, and they needed it quickly. She couldn't do like Rebecca did and quit the military, and she knew Roy wouldn't either, not when he was so close to his goal. Riza had been trying to come up with something for almost a month already and ended up with no solutions at all, so it was time to think together.

-xxx-

Once upon a time, Riza Hawkeye decided she would not fall into bed with Roy Mustang again. That was right after Ishval, they were both military now and there were laws. But she asked him to burn the tattoos from her back and he stuck around for a week or two to make sure she was recovering alright and it just happened. It just happened many times a week for the past fourteen years.

Now, the master bedroom at Madam Christmas' building was their rendezvous, and that was where Riza was waiting for Roy after a long day of work, stabbing cubes of pineapple with a fork and covering them in peanut butter absentmindedly. Roy had a meeting that evening with Fuhrer Olivier Armstrong and some acquaintances that would form the party for the elections. He had opted to take Falman with him and Riza was glad about it, because she needed to eat that pineapple and peanut butter as soon as possible.

The election was not close, but Olivier had replaced Riza's grandfather the previous year with the objective of gradually introducing the democracy in Amestris, including opening the formations of parties for the upcoming election estimated for somewhere in the next 10 years. If everything went according to plan, Roy would be the Prime Minister of Amestris before the decade was over, as the right name for the transition coming from the military.

It was a little past eight when Roy arrived, smelling fresh and renewed, something that made Riza stop her fork midway to her mouth and raise an eyebrow.

"I thought your shitty house didn't have gas," she said as a way of hello; she had to use her lunch break to go pay his bill just that afternoon. He smirked.

"It doesn't," he said. "But the Armstrong manor does and Alex offered me one of their disturbingly gigantic bathrooms to wash off."

Riza frowned, chewing on her pineapple slowly and Roy tossed his jacket on the back of a chair before getting close to her. She sniffed suspiciously and was surprised to smell… nothing.

"You didn't use any scented soap," she said surprised, her mouth still a little full. That wasn't Riza's nature at all, but her condition made her a little ogre. Roy's smile only widened.

"I didn't," he said and kissed her forehead. "Didn't want to set you off again."

That had been her fear, for any strong perfume had been making her nauseous lately, to the point where she had to request Havoc to do field work sometimes, just because she couldn't handle his cologne. Riza smiled looking up at Roy, then.

"Well, thank you," she said gladly.

Roy gently took the fork from her, setting it on the counter.

"What are you having there?" he asked.

"Pineapple and peanut butter."

"Really?"

Riza nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on his and he raised an eyebrow skeptically before he leaned in for a kiss.

"Huh," Roy scoffed on her lips.

"It's not half-bad, right?" she said and he didn't disagree.

"It really isn't," he confirmed. "Your cravings are getting less weird."

"Don't count on it, Sir," she said and pulled him by the front of his shirt, whispered something in his ear that made both his eyebrows go up. Under her touch, Riza felt his heartbeat increase.

"Yes, Ma'am," Roy said slowly when she was finished with a wet kiss on his jaw, and the five steps to the bed were covered in record time.

-xxx-

They had done it a thousand times, but Riza couldn't help the little squeal when Roy flipped them over, burying deep inside her with a grunt before he picked up the pace again. Her breathing came out in gasps, nails digging into the skin of his shoulders. Roy leaned down to kiss her, weighting on top of her; middle-sex kisses were always sloppy and salty with sweat, and her hands went down his sides and back, legs locking around his hips, slowing him down and she gasped tilting her head back, arching her back.

"Right there," she managed to say. Roy moved slowly, temptingly, kissing her neck.

"Hit the spot?" he asked, even though he didn't need to. He knew what she liked. She nodded vigorously, grasping at his back as he moved at the same time as he left wet kisses on her skin, his left hand tangling in her growing hair.

"Yes," she cried and bit her lip to contain a moan in vain.

Roy took his time; he had the right angle and the right rhythm, and now all he had to do was drive her. Under him, Riza couldn't stop the shivers that built in her core and went up her spine each and every time he moved. Fourteen years, plus the year after her father died meant that he knew exactly what to do. Her moans grew louder and shakier as she let loose like she couldn't do with anything else in her life, and the violence of her orgasm made her dizzy.

With a shaky hand, Riza pushed Roy off of her, closing her legs in ecstasy and gasping for air and he laid on his side, head on his hand, watching her come down from her high. She just had been so horny lately; it had been easy to make her come. She could tell Roy was loving it.

"Gosh, you're beautiful," he said with that damn smirk of his and Riza even had an answer for him, but she couldn't talk yet. Instead, she just hummed; her eyes were a little foggy and she shivered again, rubbing one thigh against the other. "Just so beautiful."

Riza let out a small chuckle then. She was a mess, that was for sure. Her hair was in that weird too-short-too-long length, she was completely sweaty and naked and there were stretch marks on the sides of her hips, but he didn't seem to mind, never did.

He reached out and touched her face, pushing back her hair in the process and she focused on him. Riza had had her share of boyfriends, but it was Roy who she always came back to, same way he always came back to her. He was the only one.

They kissed, nice and slowly at first as he rolled on top of her again, making himself comfortable.

"I'm not done yet," Roy said and she smiled again well aware.

"No?"

"Not even close."

She gave him passage, opening her legs again, letting him slide a hand down her thigh and lift her leg to his waist fixing the angle as he kissed her. Her body still hadn't fully recovered from the orgasm and she whimpered when he entered again. Hot damn, it felt good. He felt so good.

Instead of building up a pace like he would normally do, Roy took it slow, kissed her lips tenderly, touched her lovingly, told her he loved her and she whispered the words back to him in a rare moment of vulnerability, bit on his shoulder, her fingers on his wet hair and down his sweaty back, tracing the edge of the burn on his side from that time she thought she had lost him forever.

Even then Riza knew well that she couldn't live without him, that there was no life without Roy Mustang helping ease the burden of the things she'd done. She loved him more than she loved herself and she knew he felt the same way. They just never showed it outside these four walls, or at least tried not to.

They laid with the sheets up to their hips after they were done for it was a surprisingly warm night of March in Central, Riza's head on Roy's chest listening to his heartbeat as he played with her hair. They had to work the next morning, but when it was only the two of them, time stretched.

"We need a plan," she said casually, fingers tracing the lines of his muscles.

"What for?" he asked and she refrained from rolling her eyes.

"You know what for," Riza replied and her hand automatically went to the small bump that was beginning to show. They had noticed only the previous week, Havoc declaring it a food belly after the big lunch they had, but they could never pass with that excuse in the long run, say that Riza was just getting fat, no one would buy it. She was too disciplined to slip like that.

Roy's hand rested on top of hers and he kissed her forehead. He was enjoying this. Riza knew he'd wanted kids, but he would never ask her to leave the military. They rarely slipped when it came to protection, except…

Except when Xingese weddings proved to be more alcoholic than they expected.

If they wanted to blame someone, they'd blame the waitress that kept their glasses full during Al and Mei's wedding party, but to be fair, they didn't mind, not then and even less now – didn't mind the party and the alcohol, and certainly didn't mind the fancy suite where they had lots of frantic, messy sex in. More importantly, they didn't mind the result of all that messy sex.

They wanted this baby. They just didn't know how to have it without turning into a scandal or ruining Roy's chances at being the military's face of transition and change.

Roy leaned over and kissed Riza's stomach, making her laugh. It tickled.

"Hey little Mustang, you're coming in a complicated moment, you know?" he said to her bump. Roy had been striking conversations with their baby since they realized she was pregnant a little over a month ago. "You're not supposed to be here, but worry not, we've got you. We'll figure something out."

Riza noticed as he frowned, the sign that something was going on in his head, and then he looked up at her again.

"Is your grandfather still in Rheos Falls?"

"Yes…" she said, not sure where he wanted to get with that piece of information. Roy sat up, the frown still there.

"Huh," he said. Just that. And she knew he had a plan starting to form in that weird brain of his.

-xxx-

Riza stopped in the women's toilet on her way to the general's office just to take a look in the mirror. It was potentially warmer today, but that military jacket would have to stay to cover the five month bump. She turned on her side to make sure everything was in place and it was, and then she got her things and headed to the office, back straight, head high.

Three weeks ago, they started to put their plan together. It could go wrong in many points, considering that it was based on trust in many people, but if Riza and Roy knew their friends well, it would work out just fine. The first part of the plan – of her hiding the bump – was to be pushed back for as long as possible, but it was getting warmer and there was just so much the military uniform could cover.

"Hawkeye!" Havoc greeted as soon as she got in. "I thought I would never see you again. Figured you'd enjoy working for a powerful woman and forget about us completely."

Riza smirked and sat down at her usual place, carefully organizing her books. Roy had sent her to Armstrong for the past couple of weeks to work on their side of the plan, and she couldn't deny that the woman was interesting company. For starters, she didn't stay all over Riza asking her to sit down or stretch out a little like Roy did, which was a relief.

She opened her folder and eyed the first paper in it with a lump in her throat. She didn't want to do it so soon, but the baby was growing so fast… Riza refrained from resting a hand on her stomach. The guys weren't supposed to know yet, they had to keep it hidden from them for a while.

"Well, don't get used to it, Jean," she said getting up again and taking the paper with her.

"You're going back to Armstrong?" asked Fuery frowning and Riza shook her head, but didn't say anything else.

The door to Roy's office was closed that day, but Riza left it ajar after she went in. She knew the guys would be eavesdropping anyway, might as well make it easy.

"Lieutenant Colonel," Roy greeted.

"General," she said bowing her head.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Yes, Sir," she said and took a deep breath before handing him the paper. "I need a license, or a hold."

Roy read the request quickly, mostly because he already knew what was in it, and kept a frown. With her back to the door, Riza's posture was flawless.

"For a year? A whole year?"

"Yes, Sir," she answered. "At least. I need to go east… family matters."

"Is old man Grumman okay?" he asked and she nodded.

"He's feeling nostalgic, I think, and it's better if I'm around."

He nodded and reached for the stamp, but paused midway to look at her.

"That's so sudden, Lieutenant," he said. "Are you sure you can't wait a little longer?"

Riza smiled softly and let a hand rest on her stomach showing how big the baby was getting and how close it was from poking through the uniform. Roy smiled too.

"Afraid not, General," she said. "I've waited long enough."

"All right, Hawkeye," Roy looked at the calendar and wrote something down on her request. "Starting Monday, you will have your 365 days, and then we'll work from there."

"Thank you, Sir," Riza said dropping her hand and standing in position as she waited for him to stamp and sign her request. She fixed her jacket and got the paper from him. It was a Friday and she still had the whole day of work.

"If you already have everything finished with the Fuhrer, you can get your things ready here and then come back to help me rearrange the office responsibilities."

"Yes, Sir," she replied and then excused herself, pretending not to hear the guys on the other side of the door fumbling to get back to their seats before she caught them.

-xxx-

They all went to the train station with her the following Sunday, including Rebecca, which was rather sweet. Riza only took a couple of bags with her as well as Black Hayate, knowing that her grandfather would have prepared everything for her.

The only crisis happened when Hayate growled at Falman and Breda when they tried to help her with the bags. He had been extra protective over her lately, and Riza had been trying to teach him that she was fine, at least among friends. For most of the time, he sat by her legs on the station's platform paying attention to their surroundings. Luckily, the place wasn't full of people.

"Do you have your ticket?" Roy asked and Riza turned to him slowly. The others did the same and he cowered under their gaze. "I just want to make sure."

"I have my ticket, Sir," she answered evenly. He sighed, letting show that he was nervous. That wasn't part of the plan, so Riza tried to play it cool. "Sir, there's no need to back down now, I'm sure Havoc will be a decent bodyguard."

Rebecca and Fuery snorted, meaning that her joke served its purpose and Roy smiled, even though there was a thin layer of sweat on his brow.

"I know," he sighed. There was a loud whistle indicating that boarding was about to start. "Hawkeye…"

They never, ever touched in public – it was too risky and too easy for outsiders to jump into conclusions if they did – but at that moment she allowed to reach out and fix his impeccable shirt.

"Don't worry about me, Sir, I'll be fine," she said and he held her hands. For a long moment, they stood like that, just looking at one another without saying a word until Black Hayate barked happily jumping on Roy, who let go of her hands and kneeled down.

"You take good care of them, right, boy?" he said and the dog sat down too, barked once in understanding. Roy petted him proudly, but Riza knew how to read him way too well. He was reluctant to see her leave, even though they both knew that she should. He continued talking to the dog. "I will see you soon."

"Gee, who'd say Mustang was so soft," Breda joked when Riza left the pair to say goodbye to her friends. The only one she hugged was Rebecca, but no one took offense in it.

None of the guys expected her to be soft, she was sure they'd be so confused if they had seen her crying over her dropped red velvet that same morning. She had been so inconsolable that Roy even called the Grumman house to ask them to have another cake ready for when she arrived.

"Take care of old man Grumman, Riza," Falman said shaking her hand. "And don't be a stranger."

"Yeah, one year is a lot of time, don't forget about us," Fuery said next. She shook his hand too.

"Don't worry, guys," Riza said. "I'll keep in touch. And don't hesitate to call me in case you're in doubt about some office-"

"No, no, no," Rebecca interrupted. "Riza, don't say that, they will call you all the time! You know how useless they are with paperwork, if they call you whenever they have trouble with it, your phone won't ever stop ringing! No, you're on a break. I mean, how many years did you push your vacation, anyway, to babysit Mustang?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Riza saw Roy glare at Rebecca, but she couldn't help the little chuckle. Rebecca wasn't done.

"Girl, you go stay with your family for a change, and let the men pretend they are useful. I, on the other hand, will call you whenever I can. You still have to tell me what exactly is making you leave, don't think I'll let it pass that easily."

"I know, Becca," she said and hugged Rebecca again briefly. Black Hayate put his nose under Riza's hand and she petted his head before she got the leash from Roy again. "I have to go."

Roy helped her getting the bags and she picked the dog up. He wasn't supposed to walk freely in the train, and had only been allowed to go with her instead of with the live stock because he was military pet.

"Hey, how come he doesn't growl at Mustang?" Breda protested, getting closer and the dog growled at him again.

"Black Hayate!" Riza commanded firmly and he quieted down. Roy turned to the men all smug.

"It's because he likes me only second to Hawkeye," he said and followed her to the train.

Actually, Hayate's second favorite had always been Kain, but he grew used to having Roy around; besides he had his share of growling at the General and already got used to having him around his master.

Roy approached a station employee to take Riza's bags to her cabin and then helped her get the ticket when he saw her struggling to get it out of her pocket.

"Thanks," she said. He petted the dog again before she entered in the train and from the platform Roy followed Riza until she reached her cabin.

She had to scold and calm down Black Hayate a few times, because he was shooting warning growls to everyone who'd come close enough to her, and waited in the corridor until the employee with her bags had put everything inside before she got in and left.

Riza closed and locked the door and then she set Hayate down, fixed her shirt and sat down by the window. Roy was standing by it and got closer again, leaning against it. She sat more comfortably, resting her feet on the seat in front of her. They had bought a ticket for the whole cabin for a reason, and bothered with her tight pants, Riza decided to open its buttons.

"I need new clothes," she said with a hand on her lower stomach.

"How is it getting so big so fast?" Roy wondered amazed.

"Olivier said that after the fifth month, the baby starts growing exponentially," Riza replied. None of them were experts in pregnancies, but Olivier was the eldest of five siblings and she knew things.

"Oooh, did she go soft on you when she saw your condition?" he asked and she shook her head no.

"Not a chance," Riza said and then flinched. Baby was quite the kicker already.

"Are you alright?" Roy asked worried and Riza waved him off.

"Oh, you know, just the usual kick in the ribs. It's fine. Can't seem to find a comfortable position for this one, though."

"Gonna be a long trip," he said and she shrugged.

"Gonna be a long four months," she replied, but kept a smile on her face. "You really don't have to worry about me, Roy, you know that."

Riza patted the space by her side and Black Hayate jumped in; he dug at the seat a little and then laid down, his head on her lap.

"I know," Roy said. "And I'll go see you in a couple of months, and then I'll take some time off in four months to be with you."

"Roy," Riza interrupted and held his hand. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she guided his hand to her stomach, pressing it on the top of her left side gently. "Come on, baby, you were kicking so hard…"

"You know I can't nev-" he cut it short with a gasp, eyes wide when the baby kicked again right where Riza had put his hand and she watched him all but melt and practically drop to his knees by the train, which made her chuckle. "What, how's that fair?"

"Roy," she called leaning on her window and he stepped back crossing his arms. The train whistled again and Riza saw that Roy was tear-eyed. Her smile softened. "You'll have plenty of time when you come over, don't do that."

"I'm not doing anything," he replied annoyed, arms still crossed and even pouting a little. The train was about to leave and she reached out to take his hand one more time. "And if you stay by Armstrong's side and get the council to drop the no fraternization law, then we'll have even more time. Have a little faith."

Both her grandfather and now Olivier after him had been trying to drop that law for a really long time, and didn't have success so far, but that was the thing about faith, right? It worked in the dark. The train started to move and Roy held on to her hand a little tighter.

"I'll visit soon," Roy said and she smiled. "Good riddance, Lieutenant Colonel."

He let go and Riza looked over at her friends in the platform, waved at them. Black Hayate squeezed by her side and barked. They guys waved and Rebecca ran to Roy's side to watch her go, waving excitedly.

"Bye Riza! Have some hotcakes for me!"

"You bet I will!" she shouted back and Hayate barked a little more, but when he saw his master sit back down, he followed her lead and resumed to his previous position by her side. Riza petted his head. "Yeah, boy. And so it begins."

Sympathetically, he nuzzled her baby bump and the baby moved again, but this time in a much calmer way.