Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
And learn to live so free

**********

The team took to the halls of Central Command, discreetly asking anyone if they'd seen a suspicious figure creeping around a few nights ago. No one turned up anything aside from Falman who heard that the only person who passed by that night was Aiden. He said he learned it from a night guard just before he was let off. It never occurred to any of them to ask Aiden if she'd seen anything. They knew she stayed late often enough.

Riza found her sitting next to Jack in the cafeteria. Even from the lunch line, she could see something was bothering Aiden. She narrowed her eyes as she drew closer to the two. Aiden would smile at the jokes but she wasn't laughing and she barely talked. Riza sat across from Aiden.

"Good morning Aiden, Lieutenant Jack," she greeted warmly. At first she only ever called Jack his rank as a professional courtesy. Then it became a habit.

"Hey, Riza."

"Hello, Hawkeye." Jack waved and turned back to Aiden. "And then the guy was never heard from again. Crazy, huh?"

Aiden nodded in agreement. "Yeah, even I have to say that's weird. See you later." Jack gave a thumbs up and left, carrying his tray to the trash. "So what do you need, Riza? You rarely ever come down here for food." Aiden stabbed the eggs with her fork and stared as the utensil stayed upright. She poked it and it still didn't move. "Well this is obviously a new life form; I should either bring it to our scientists or incinerate it."

"Just let it evolve on its own," a cool deep voice answered behind her. She tensed and stared at her plate.

"Good morning, Colonel," Riza said, taking a bite of her bacon.

"Hey," Aiden said, looking over her shoulder.

There were no outward signs that Roy remembered what happened the other night. If he did he hadn't approached her about it. He sat down in the seat next to her.

"I know this may sound weird," he hedged, "but did you stay late four days ago?" So he did remember it. Aiden slowly nodded, prompting him to go on. "Did you see anyone suspicious? Someone running or probably fast walking?"

She shook her head. "No, it was just me and a stationary guard in the hallway. I didn't see anyone else after him."

Roy was looking for whoever was in his office that night and almost strangled to death. Which just so happened to be her. It didn't look like he found any evidence if he was asking her opinion. Unless he already knew and was testing Aiden's ability to lie to him.

No... that couldn't be it. Roy wasn't the type of person to confront a suspect without his entire unit, and if he did he was confident being by himself. There was never an in between. If that weren't enough they were in the mess hall, plenty of witnesses. Any one of them could tell the investigators what happened, if anything did.

A grin spread across her lips as the words came rolling off her tongue. "What for? Someone steal your favorite pair of gloves?" she teased.

Roy huffed and rolled his eyes. "As if. We can't all wear our things around our necks as you can," he lazily reached over and flicked her scarf up. Aiden winced and leaned away from him. Her response came across as annoyance and he shrugged. "Anyway, you didn't see anyone else?"

"No."

Roy nodded at her answer and left the table. She was quiet for a moment before picking up her tray and excusing herself. An apologetic look was sent to Riza as she left. Riza had been quiet during the conversation and stared at the door they'd left through.

An image flickered at the back of her mind and she thought of how Aiden had moved away from the Colonel's touch. She hadn't done it violently, just quick enough that Riza had found it odd. There was no reason for Aiden to react that way unless something had happened between her and the Colonel. She couldn't fathom what.

Perhaps one of the two had confessed their feelings and the other didn't reciprocate. She doubted that was the case; the pair were together more often than Hughes and the Colonel, which was saying a lot. They'd known one another for almost seven years and Aiden was always the one traveling between Central and the East. The woman would make it a point to stop by and say hello as often as possible, even if she and the Colonel squabbled over the smallest things. Jean once described their spats as entertainment for the soul.

There had been no change in either of their behaviors up until the Colonel had become a recluse even in his own office. That was only due to what happened a few nights ago. Riza furrowed her eyebrows and she stared down at her plate. Aiden had started wearing the neckerchief after the incident and just the other day she said she'd lost her glasses. She'd also been away from work the morning after the Colonel's assailant fled.

Riza frowned and stood up. She threw out her breakfast and marched towards Aiden's office. Any soldier in her way quickly moved in fear of her turning her darkened gaze unto them. She didn't bother shutting the door behind her when she walked in, startling every occupant of the room.

Riza grabbed her by the wrist, "Come here," and led her into the personal office.

"Riza!" she gasped, startled by the blonde's behavior. Eager to put distance between them, Aiden immediately took a seat at her desk when she was let go. "What is this about?"

"Tell me you're not the one who was in the Colonel's office that night," Riza demanded. There was still the chance of her actions being a coincidence but she had to make sure.

"What?" Aiden answered dumbly. She'd expected someone to figure it out and Riza was at the top of the list. She just didn't think the woman would ask her point-blank.

"Were you the one?"

She sighed and nodded, there was no point in hiding it from one of the sharpest minds in headquarters. "I was." A hand reached up and untied the neckerchief. "And this is what happened because of it."

Riza gaped and stared at the bruises forming a hand wrapping around Aiden's throat. She walked forward with a hand outstretched. Aiden shifted uncomfortably as Riza's hand traced the wound from a distance.

"He did this?" There was a horrified look on her face that slowly turned to rage when Aiden nodded. "I'm going to kill him."

Aiden blinked and shook her head like an Etch 'N Sketch to clear her mind. Surely she hadn't heard Riza Hawkeye threaten to kill Roy Mustang. An alarmed look crossed her face as the sharpshooter turned on her heel. "Don't! It's not his fault. He was having a nightmare and I tried to wake him by shaking his shoulder and..." she trailed off. And then Roy almost killed me. Riza didn't need to hear the ending of the sentence to know it was there. "You can't tell him!" Aiden stated urgently. "He doesn't need to know!"

The woman sighed and nodded. "You're right, he doesn't."

It took a full minute for Aiden to comprehend that Riza agreed with her. "You're agreeing with me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it would be bad for him." Among other things, Riza thought.

"Thank you," Aiden said. She sincerely meant it. After years of friendship, she had learned that Roy would basically punish himself in one way or another when he found out he'd inadvertently injured a friend.

While Riza was in Aiden's office, Roy was in the team office trying, and failing, to fold a piece of paper into another shape. What was supposed to be a boat looked more like a boulder.

"Wow," Havoc whistled, scratching the back of his neck. "You're worse at folding those things than Aiden, even when she has glasses."

A tic appeared on his forehead as he glared at his subordinate. "Oh yeah? Well let's see you do better!" There was no reply from Havoc who was silent at his desk. The rest of his words registered in the Colonel's mind and Roy looked up from the disaster of a boat to stare at the man. "Wilson doesn't wear glasses."

This time Fuery piped up from his own desk. "Yes she does. We have the same prescription. At one point we had to share glasses during the war because mine had been broken. Don't you remember?" Roy slowly shook his head as he thought back to that time. No... He'd never seen Aiden with glasses. Sure he'd heard her make blind jokes, terrible ones at that, but he'd never seen her with any form of visual aid. Fuery shrugged, "It may have been before we met you. She did get contacts at some point."

Somehow he couldn't picture Aiden with glasses. Roy nodded and went back to folding the boat, thoughts distracted by images of Aiden with glasses. She wasn't the type to wear flashy colors so anything flashy was out which left any solid color that didn't pop out. Perhaps a dark purple or blue. So maybe he could picture it.

Havoc cried out in triumph and held up a small paper boat, smug smirk planted firmly on his face. Roy growled under his breath, crumpled up what could still only be called a disaster, and threw it at his subordinates head.

It didn't hit him until later that night that her hair had been growing longer. Of course he'd noticed it, how could he not, but he hadn't really thought about it. The outline of a military uniform and a slim figure. Havoc and Fuery confirming that Aiden wore glasses. Roy shook his head. No, it wasn't possible. If it had been Aiden that night she would bear the markings and there was no way he could miss it!

A red neckerchief flashed in his mind.

The nagging at the back of his mind came forward full force and his two thoughts of the day clicked together. "Oh no," he gasped.

It couldn't possibly be her! If the mysterious person was indeed Aiden then that meant he'd almost strangled her to death. She had stilled in his presence in the mess hall. She'd leaned away from him when he flicked her scarf. At first he thought she'd been annoyed and yet... Both instances indicated how Aiden was waiting for him to take action against her.

Roy was out of his chair and out of the office before Hawkeye could stop him. He ignored her calls and marched down to Aiden's office. He burst through the door and stared down Jack. "Where is Wilson?" he snapped.

"S-she went home already," Jack stammered.

Roy spun on his heel and walked back through H.Q.. No one stood in his path; they knew full well that an angered Roy Mustang was someone to not interfere with. Even if they wanted to the look on his face froze any soldier in their steps.

It only took him a matter of minutes to reach her apartment with his long gait and fast pace. He stopped at the door and took a deep breath to calm himself. There was no need for her to see him so angry. As far as he was concerned she'd seen enough of his emotions.

For Aiden, the knock on the door was unexpected. The book on medicinal alchemy was set down on the table and the scarf next to it was picked up. She tied the knot and called out an answer for the door. Roy Mustang wasn't the person she expected to see on her doorstep. She felt her muscles tense slightly and a sudden spark of panic erupted in her chest.

With wide eyes, a fake smile, and a hammering heart, Aiden greeted the man. "Hey, what's up?"

The complete lack of tone in her voice made him grimace. He'd heard her use every other tone of voice including anger and he'd accepted it as one of her quirks due to her being an emotional person. So the lack of emotion she was showing was jarring. "I have a question for you, may I come in?"

Aiden hesitated the slightest bit. On a normal day she'd grin and answer with an affirmative immediately. Her body however just wasn't complying with her demands. She blinked a few times. "Sure thing."

She opened the door wider and left Roy at the doorstep in favor of walking to the kitchen, asking Roy if he wanted coffee or tea. Or hell, even just a plain glass of water. Her spine tingled and her brain told Aiden to not turn her back on the man. But it wasn't fear! It was just a tactical retreat!

Before she even had the chance to grab any sort of cup Roy burst out, "What happened to your neck?" Aiden froze and he silently cursed his thoughtlessness. His heavy footsteps crossed the floor and there was the sound of rustling fabric before she heard the distinct sound of plastic clinking against the countertop. "These are yours, aren't they?"

Her head tilted to look at the items on her left; glasses and a rubber band. Her glasses and hair tie. She looked away and counted to three. Then she looked back with a smile and walked around him. "Nope! Never seen them before!"

"I see." He sighed and followed her movements. Suddenly her flitting about made him grit his teeth and he grabbed her arm, stopping her in place. He felt her go rigid under his hold. "What happened to your neck?"

"It gets cold in October! You know that!" she squeaked.

"We're inside."

"I-"

"Just tell me if it was me!" Roy yelled. He dropped her arm and stared into Aiden's dark green eyes, daring her to lie and pleading for the truth. "Tell me."

Aiden practically jumped from his hold and backed away. She couldn't meet his eyes and stared at the floor. Roy followed her movements and stepped closer. He reached out toward the neckerchief but she turned and stared at him, an almost panicked look on her face.

She reached up and held on to the knot at the back of her neck. "Roy stop, it doesn't matter!"

"It does to me!"

She took another step and found her hips meeting resistance and suddenly she noticed how he had successfully trapped her between him and the counter. She inched up further and was almost sitting on the counter. Aiden looked left and right for any sign of escape but found none. At her defeated sigh Roy calmed himself and gently reached toward the neckerchief. He paused just inches away.

"Please," he whispered. His voice shook and her resolve broke. She let go of the cloth and he untied the knot at the back. It fell between them and Roy was left to stare at the purple and yellow bruising encircling her throat. He clenched his fists and stepped back. "So it was me. And it was you that night."

Aiden didn't meet his eyes, choosing instead to stare out the window. There was nowhere to go. Even with the distance now put between them, there would be no point. Her legs shook slightly and she was suddenly glad Roy had pushed her onto the counter. Her eyes slid to his form and that single look told her he had become withdrawn. He stared at the floor, his eyes unfocused. She slid off the counter and took a few hesitant steps forward.

"Roy?" A hand reached out toward him but Aiden thought better of it and let her hand drop to her side. "Are you okay?"

Roy's eyes focused and he glared sourly at the ground. "I should be the one asking you that," he said bitterly. "You're the one who was hurt."

Aiden shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's not your fault, you were having a nightmare."

"You always say that!" He barked back. "You always say you'll be fine! This time was different - this time it was me who hurt you!" Roy raised an arm and she flinched back in defense. He caught the movement and frowned. "And now you can't even stay near me when I make sudden movements," he spat.

It took Aiden a moment to realize that she had taken a step away and raised an arm to block any incoming attack. Her eyes widened and she scowled and lowered her arm. Roy turned and walked away, almost stomping his way to the door.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said determinedly. A glare was directed at him. Where the hell did he think he was going? "And you're not leaving until we figure this out."

"You think you can stop me?" Roy asked, a dangerous note to his voice. A clapping sound was his answer and he watched in great surprise as she touched the floor and the door was replaced with a wall.

"Yes," Aiden snarled, "I do." She marched up to the man and stared up into his dark eyes, noting and completely disregarding their few inch difference in height. "It was an accident, you didn't mean it."

"That doesn't excuse my actions!" Roy moved away and Aiden followed. For every step he took she did the same. It was like a game of cat and mouse. "You were hurt because I couldn't control my actions!"

"So what! We're all allowed to mess up once in a while!"

"That's not a luxury I can afford! Especially not with you!"

She narrowed her eyes and set her jaw. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

He was silent for a moment and then, "Nothing."

Oh hell no. You can't just say that and then say it's nothing. Uh-uh, not on her watch. "Tell me."

"It doesn't matter."

"If it didn't matter, you wouldn't have brought it up!"

"Aiden, that's enough."

She ignored the warning in his tone and pushed forward. "No! I want to know why you think you're not allowed to mess up around me, Roy." Aiden groaned in frustration when there was no answer. "Is it because you think I'll abandon you after just one mistake? Jeez, Roy, I thought you knew me better than that."

Roy didn't answer, all he did was stare down at her with a blank face. Aiden huffed and took a step back, shaking her head at both his refusal to answer and her naivety in hoping for one.

"Alright fine. Well, when you're ready to answer me I'll be in my office." She clapped and the door to the outside world was present once more.

Roy moved quickly, reaching out and grabbing her wrist before he pulled her back to him. Aiden froze in his grasp, her mind stopped working as she processed his movements and she stared up at him. Suddenly his hands were on her cheeks and he leaned down ever so slightly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to move away or get closer to him. She didn't have the chance to think it through.

When his lips touched hers, at first she felt nothing. Then something inside her sparked when she felt Roy's mouth shift slightly. Aiden sighed as warmth spread through her. Her hands reached up of their own accord and intertwined at the back of his neck. At some point, her eyelids had drooped and then shut altogether. She was left with the enjoyment of feeling Roy's lips on her own and the warmth he provided from just the kiss.

Then he slowly pulled away and she pushed back against him with her own needy kiss. Aiden's lips were soft against his own and when he felt her return with a kiss of her own, one of his hands wrapped around her waist to pull her closer while the other one stayed on her cheek. He kept his hands gentle as he felt her lean into him.

Aiden felt the solid warmth of his chest in front of her. She wasn't used to being so close to him. And yet with the way his lips pulled her closer, the way he made her shiver under his touch... she didn't care. He deepened the kiss and felt her shudder, her breathing uneven against his face. Roy's own breathing was ragged and he felt her lips shift under his.

Reluctantly he pulled away and rested his head against hers. The only sound in the kitchen was their heavy breathing. Aiden's eyes were half-lidded as she stared up at the man.

Roy Mustang had kissed Aiden Wilson and she had kissed him back. Their hearts were racing and both were trying to form words in their hazy minds.

Aiden licked her lips and immediately Roy's attention was drawn. He blinked a few times but after every blink, his eyes darted down to her lips before returning to her dark green eyes. He could see how her eyes were slightly clouded over. The faint paleness to her skin had been replaced with a faint blush that reddened her face. Her lips were parted and she was still breathing heavily. Even though he had felt her respond it was reassuring to see her affected by him.

"Does that answer your question?" he asked softly.

Aiden blinked slowly. She had a question? "What?"

Roy chuckled and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "You wanted to know why I didn't want to mess up around you." She blinked again as the past half hour came back to her. "So, does that answer your question?"

"Yes." Even with the moments leading up to the kiss back in her memory, her movements and responses were slow. Her brain was still fogged. "Are we... done discussing?"

"Yes."

"Good," she took a step back, "and while I don't blame you for what happened, I do hate that you blame yourself. Do you understand?"

He nodded, "That's fair. But you need to understand that I will always regret it. Deal?"

"Deal."

She wasn't quite sure how they ended up sleeping on the couch. All she knew was that she was laying on him and the man was practically a heater. Aiden wrapped her arms tighter around him and breathed in his scent. The smell of ashwood was expected, considering who he was, and the mint was a pleasant surprise. If she could have purred in contentment she would have. Soon enough she was lulled back into sleep.

Roy woke up hours later, the sun shining in from the kitchen window. For a moment he was confused as to where he was and why there was a person almost on top of him. He hadn't gotten drunk and done anything, had he? He took in a deep breath of fresh air and the scent of oranges assaulted his nose. Roy opened his eyes to stare down at the head of black hair resting on his chest.

He froze at the form of Aiden laying on him. He could feel their legs intertwined and how her breathing was shallow against his shirt. She was basically using him as a large pillow, he thought amusedly. Another deep breath confirmed that the sweet scent of oranges was coming from the woman on top of him.

Like a flick of a switch, all the memories of the night before came back. He frowned when he remembered how Aiden had confirmed she was the one there that night, the result being a hand-shaped bruise on her neck and how she said it wasn't his fault.

Aiden's front door slammed open and the two people on the couch sat up in alarm.

"I can't find the -" Riza cut herself off in favor of staring at the two.

Aiden had grabbed a gun from under the coffee table and aimed at her. She'd been startled by the noise of Riza barging in and reacted by grabbing the nearest weapon. In all honesty, she couldn't remember when she put the gun there, she just knew it was there. Roy had relaxed the second he saw his Lieutenant, but it didn't stop him from threatening a flaming death. Unfortunately he realized he'd left his ignition gloves on the table and there hadn't been enough time to grab them. Had it been a real attacker he would've had to rely on Aiden.

Riza paid no attention to the barrel aimed in her direction, instead choosing to question the pair. "Sir, Aiden, what are you doing?"

There were no words to describe Aiden's utter embarrassment when she noticed the position she'd shifted herself into. When Riza had burst in she'd grappled onto the nearest object, which just so happened to be Roy. Before Aiden had known it was her friend she didn't care what they looked like while defending themselves, in fact, it hadn't crossed her mind. Now she could see that her legs had wrapped around Roy's waist and she was straddling him. One of his hands rested on her hip to keep himself upright due to there being nothing behind his back. The two stared at one another before Aiden jumped off his lap with incredible speed.

"Hey, Riza, what's taking so long?" Jean stopped in the doorway. "Colonel? What are you doing over here? We've been looking for you. You didn't come into work today and you left in such a rush yesterday."

Roy groaned and sighed, wiping the tiredness from his eyes. It was just his luck his Lieutenants would show up. "Did it ever occur to you that today was my day off?"

Jean shrugged. It hadn't. "Not until we were almost here, but by then we were still going to ask Aiden where you were since you weren't at your house. By the way," his eyes caught sight of Aiden's throat, "what happened to you?"

Her jaw clenched and she looked away. "Doesn't matter." She glanced back at the two intruders. "Anyway, what are you doing looking for Roy here of all places?"

"You tend to know where he is," Jean shrugged as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "And if you didn't we'd ask you to help us."

"You mean drag me out of bed against my will like the last few times he's gone missing? No thank you."

Roy inserted himself into the conversation by exclaiming loudly, "I'm right here you know!"

"We noticed."

"We can't exactly not, Boss."

"They're right, you're not subtle."

The alchemist flopped back onto the couch. "You're all picking on me."

Jean laughed and shook his head at his superior. For being just over twice the kid's age, Roy would act like Edward during moments and it left Havoc wondering how much of an impression one left on the other. The Colonel had learned to loosen up after Edward had shown up and kicked in the door his first day as a way of saying hello, he'd almost given the office a heart attack doing so. The squabbles between the two were nothing short of amusing most of the time, yet some of them did end up being actual fights and the team learned quickly which would end with snark and sarcasm or heated glares and furious eyes.

On other occasions, Aiden would be the one to rile up the Colonel. However unlike Ed, she didn't do it on purpose, most of the time. Jean knew better than to say it aloud, but the two really enjoyed teasing one another up to the point of being nose to nose until one pulled back, the one usually being Aiden. Breda had a long-running bet on when the two would get together. Breda and Falman bet that they would get together when someone from the team pushed them together - literally; he, Kain, and Riza said it would happen when one or both of them acted on their feelings; and Maes, when he heard about it, bet that it would happen during a case as if it were some romance mystery novel. The entirety of Eastern Command, and now a small fraction of Central, knew of the bet but somehow the two people in question did not.

"So remind me why you're over here?" he asked.

"He forgot something here and then it became too late to go home so he stayed on the couch," Aiden answered breezily. "I just happened to fall asleep as well, nothing more."

"You sure it wasn't something else?" he teased.

"I don't have nearly enough caffeine in my system for this."

**********

Riza: If these two didn't get together I'll eat the Colonel's paperwork with no sauce.