Inspired by Scarborough Fair / Canticle by Simon and Garfunkel and Rain by Brian Crain. The War Dog's Woe is set to Dansbanan by Detektivbyrån. This is part of my headcanon in which Roy and Riza move to Ishval after the Promised Day to help rebuild the slums.
There was no better time of day than the early mornings, just at the crack of dawn. When the sunlight flickered through the window and faint shadows shifted tiredly on the walls, Riza always awoke in time to watch the dusk be chased away by the morning. This morning it was cold, and the draft in the window was as relentless as ever. Riza huddled deeper into the blankets and closer to Roy's arm, which was draped over her shoulders. He still slept soundly. She could hear his steady breathing and was relieved that he was so peaceful. As she shuffled closer to his warm chest, she moved slowly and carefully so as not to wake him, and then sighed contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He mumbled something in his sleep.
'Mm,' she affirmed vaguely, and, seemingly satisfied with her answer, he sighed close to her ear and drifted back into dreams.
A gentle rain whispered at the window. Tiny raindrops pelted the glass and the shadows on the wall flickered in fear as thunder rumbled. Awoken by the sound, Roy stretched and yawned.
'Riza?' he mumbled drowsily against her hair.
'It's me,' she replied, rolling over to face him. Not that it really mattered, because he couldn't see her, but she wanted be able to see him and watch him wake. She leaned over and gently kissed his warm cheek.
'Morning,' she murmured, and he smiled.
'Sleep well?' he asked, and brushed a finger over her lips before kissing her softly.
'Mhmm. You?'
'I was sleeping just fine until the rain,' he grumbled.
'Ah, don't complain,' she chastised him, brushing a wayward lock of hair out of his face. 'That just means we can spend the day inside. Take a day off.'
At this, Roy chuckled. 'A day off?' he asked.
'Yes, sir,' she replied. 'Usually people take those ... when they aren't stubborn, and when they don't have work to do.'
'Tch. It's too early for you to criticize me,' he groaned, and rolled over onto his back. She shifted so that she was laying on his bare chest, his solid muscles and toned abdomen. His body was warm despite the cold air and she sighed contentedly as she used her index finger to trace circles on his abdomen.
'That tickles.'
She laughed quietly to herself and continued drawing circles, expanding the diameter as she did so until her finger ran across the burn tissue at his side and lingered there.
'I can't feel anything right there,' he mumbled. His chest rumbled against her ear as he spoke.
'It healed well,' she mused, rubbing the spot with her finger. 'I remember you were worried it would be ugly.'
'It's an ugly scar,' he grumbled.
'Mm. I don't think so,' she mused, and let her fingertips slide gently over the ridges of scar and burn tissue.
'How about giving that spot a good luck kiss?' Roy smirked.
'How about not pushing your luck?' she shot back, but pressed a quick kiss to the scar nonetheless. 'Next time you'll get a pillow to the face,' Riza threatened. 'And I never miss.'
'You would hit a blind man?' Roy gasped indignantly, and in reply was easily smothered by a flying pillow. A muffled laugh escaped the fabric as he pulled it from his face.
'Fine,' he chuckled, laying the pillow aside. 'You win. I'll stop complaining.'
'Good. Your voice is exhausting.'
'You don't mean that. I can hear you smirking,' Roy accused.
'I might be,' Riza vaguely replied. She twisted her torso and swung her leg over his abdomen so that she lay atop his chest. As she rested her chin on his ribcage and wrapped her arms about his neck she felt him sigh. She could hear the heartbeat that bumped slowly in his chest and the soft rain that spattered the window.
'Ishval really needed the rain,' Riza murmured. Thunder rolled as she spoke.
'The slums won't do well in the storm,' Roy pointed out as he gently ran a hand through her hair. 'There's hundreds of sick and homeless. I feel guilty for even sitting here beneath this roof while they're out there.'
'Don't feel guilty.' Riza massaged the stiff muscles on his chest and attempted to work out a knot by his collarbone. 'We've been working hard, and we've earned our house. Now that we're settled, we can help them. In return, they can help each other. It's a process.'
He winced as her fingers kneaded the sore muscles in his chest and shoulder and she noticed.
'You've been overworking yourself,' Riza accused. 'A day off will do you some good.'
Roy laughed. 'You're really one to talk, Riza Hawkeye. This is the first full night of sleep you've gotten since we arrived.'
'I'm used to not sleeping,' she brushed him off. 'You, however, have led a comfy life while I did all of the work-'
'Where's that pillow-' Roy muttered, fumbling around until he found it, but Riza had already beaten him. A pillow smacked into his face.
'Rude,' he laughed, laying the pillow within arm's reach, but Riza snatched it from him and threw it onto the floor.
'Lie still,' Roy complained. 'This was supposed to be relaxing.'
Riza huffed and laid her head back on his chest. He resumed playing with her hair and she massaged his shoulder again.
'What's this?' she asked. Her finger traced a long and jagged white line that ran from his shoulder to the middle of his collarbone.
'The scar?' he asked. 'From an old break. Years ago.'
'Tell me the story.'
'Ah,' he hesitated. 'It's not a story of heroic deeds and it's definitely not my proudest moment.'
'Well now I have to hear it.' Riza's tone was teasing, lighthearted, and Roy found that he could not help but indulge her.
'I'm going to regret telling this story,' he muttered under his breath. 'It was a training session years ago. We were supposed to be learning physical mobility in rural areas and our main focus was grappling hooks, carabiner clips, and the like. We had gone out to a cliff to practice.'
Lightning flashed in the window, a blinding light that caused the power in the house to flicker uncertainly. Black Hayate's nails clicked against the floor as he entered the bedroom and leaped onto the bed before curling up beside Roy's feet.
'Is that the dog? he asked uncertainly. .
'It's my hairy leg,' Riza answered helpfully.
Roy snorted and began an attempt to messily braid her hair upside down before he resumed his storytelling.
'Anyways,' he continued, 'something was faulty with my equipment. I had climbed halfway up the cliff, and my clip snapped, and I fell down fifteen feet of rock.'
'And broke your collarbone?'
'No, actually,' Roy laughed in embarrassment. 'After I fell I was fine, but they insisted I go to a medic's tent anyways. So I did, but on the way down from the cliffs we had been practicing on it started raining. I slipped and fell and must have fallen far, because I woke up soaking wet and bleeding in that medic tent.'
'Is that what you were like before you hired me?' Riza asked in astonishment. 'You wouldn't have survived a day as Colonel without me.'
'That's very humble of you to say.'
'It's also true,' she countered.
'I know, that's why it stings,' he chuckled. They lay there silently for a moment, with his fingers tangling and disentangling in her long blonde hair and her gentle, calloused fingers tracing circles on his chest as she listened to his steady heartbeat and the rain tapping expectantly at the window. Black Hayate sighed and curled deeper into the blankets as thunder growled in the distance and wind began to blow. Riza could feel Roy breathing evenly as he played with her hair and they rested together, neither of them too deep in thought and both of them simply enjoying the moment of peace together.
Riza began to hum softly, an old war song, slow and mournful but with a hidden strength behind it. The rain and the humming and Roy's warm present had a soporific effect on her, and she found herself becoming drowsy until Roy spoke again.
'I remember that song,' he said quietly. 'I remember it well. They used to sing it around the fires at night, in Ishval all those years ago...'
Riza continued humming and Roy gently massaged her head. When she had finished she began the song anew, and Roy murmured the words slowly as though remembering them for the first time in years.
'Meet me down at the blood red hall,' he sang. 'Find me beside the crimson well.'
Riza continued, singing softly now. 'I'll be lying in hills of grass. I'll be wearing your favorite dress.'
At the chorus, their voices joined together, hers a breathy soprano, and his a rich alto, both slightly out of tune and raspy from sleep.
'Tell me word of the battlefield, tell me stories of victory. Weep in my arms and sing of woe, sing for those who can sing no more. Let me know you are safe from harm, let me know of the nightmares that haunt. I'll kiss away your broken heart. I'll kiss away your broken heart.'
The chorus ended and Riza smiled sadly.
'They called that song the "War Dog's Lament",' she recalled. Her voice was quiet, and he thought she sounded sad. 'It's a fitting title, hm?'
'Very,' Roy agreed. After a moment of silence he spoke again. 'The second verse was always my favorite.'
'I never knew there was a second verse.'
Roy cleared his throat and Riza curled closer to his chest as he softly sang, in his deep, strong voice.
'Whisper you love me and sleep in my arms, sleep fast and dream through the clarion call. Do not return to that hell without me, take me to that field of blood and glory.'
'I'll kiss away your broken heart,' Riza mused. She had closed her eyes while he sang the verse and could feel herself drifting back to sleep. 'We didn't have many kisses in Ishval, did we.'
'Mm. But a lot of broken hearts,' Roy mumbled. He sounded just as exhausted as she felt. His hand had fallen from her hair and now gently rubbed her back and shoulder. His chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed, as his heartbeat gently throbbed in his ribcage.
'I'm glad it's over,' Roy breathed, unconsciously pulling Riza closer to his chest as though he could protect her from the demons of the past.
'It's never over,' Riza sighed against his collarbone, 'but at least we're making things right.'
He hummed in agreement and as he continued rubbing her shoulder he listened to the rain outside.
Roy didn't need to see to be able to find the slight ridge of the flame emblem on her back. It stood out as clearly to him as Braille and he traced it slowly, gently, as though it had just been branded into her skin hours ago and was still sensitive to the touch.
Riza had matched her breathing to his, but now she found that he was suddenly breathless as his fingers followed the mark of flames embedded in her soft skin. Riza lifted her head, looking at him with concern though he could not see her expression.
'Roy, is everything-?'
His calloused fingertips finally reached the burn scars that he had created so long ago and he stopped, hesitated, and then covered it with his hand, cupping the mark beneath his palm as though he could erase it, as though he could somehow heal it.
'I am sorry,' he whispered. She was stunned by his sudden change in tone.
'I should not have made you do it,' she whispered back. 'But I had to.'
'All of your scars are because of me,' he murmured guiltily. 'I haven't forgotten the others.'
'Don't be guilty now, Roy Mustang,' she reprimanded him. 'I am alive because of you. Don't forget that. Don't blame yourself.' She reached around to grab his hand and kept his fingers tracing her skin. 'Keep going,' she said in a much gentler tone.
She felt him sigh and relax ever so slightly. They were still healing, both of them, but they were getting closer every day, and they were helping each other through it all, just like they always had. They would make it. It would take time, but they would make it.
The draft in the window allowed the cold and wet air to seep into the room and Riza shivered. Roy felt the goosebumps on her skin and fumbled for the sheets before Riza pulled the blankets over both of them. The soft linen sheets had just been washed the day before and smelled fresh and clean, and the warm wool blanket that served as a comforter shielded them both from the drafty air. Black Hayate had become trapped under the blankets and grunted as he wriggled his way out. His nose popped out from under the comforter and Roy flinched as the dog's wet nose tickled his elbow.
'What was that?'
'Just Black Hayate,' Riza replied, and scratched the dog's ears, much to his delight. Roy had reached the end of tracing the alchemy brand and his fingers moved on to wander across her waist and ribcage. He longed to touch her, to know that she was real and alive and with him. Only when he touched her was he certain that she was really here. Sometimes he feared she might slip away…
'What are you thinking about?' Riza asked curiously as she watched his face. Roy's fingertips, calloused and burned from years of alchemy, ran across the side of her ribcage and hesitated when they reached a scar the size of a coin just beneath the wire of her bra.
'I'm wondering what this is,' he said absently. 'Bullet wound?'
'Ah, that one,' Riza groaned. She knew he had much more pressing matters on his mind but she did not push him for answers. He would speak when he was ready. She continued speaking, taking the bait of his diversion, 'Yes. That is the one I took when that assassin tried to take you out. Years ago. You had just become Colonel and it was my first week as your guard.'
'I remember,' he replied, his fingertips tracing the scar thoughtfully, 'but I didn't know it left a scar. You told me you were wearing a bulletproof vest that day.'
'Well of course. I didn't want you to worry.'
Roy grimaced. 'Stubborn woman. You could have-'
'-been killed,' Riza finished helpfully. 'But my job was, and is, to protect you. For the record, I have been successful so far.'
'Give or take a few, ah, minor incidents,' he added pointedly, and chuckled. She laced her fingers with his and squeezed his hand.
'Minor incidents, indeed,' she agreed. She could feel the scars on his hand, where the skin had grown back irregularly in lumps and ridges, where pain had created a permanent seal over the once-smooth knuckles and palms.
'Does it still hurt?' she asked quietly. He exhaled and squeezed her hand gently, and she thought it strange that he seemed to hesitate before he finally spoke.
'If those two Elric brothers can get through what they did,' he managed, 'then I suppose we can too.'
Riza smiled sadly. The rain was coming in violent torrents now, and it was nearly impossible to see out of the window at all. The power flickered and finally blacked out entirely.
'I hate the rainy season,' Roy muttered, pulling the blanket closer to them. Riza sighed as she rolled over to lay beside him so that she could hold tight to his warm body. They wrapped their arms around each other and Roy gingerly pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
'What are you wearing?' he asked after a moment. It was a question that he often asked in regular conversation, and Riza knew that he merely wished to see her in his mind.
'Favorite pajamas,' Riza replied with a smirk, guiding his hand to feel the soft material of the tank top.
'The old ragged one with a dozen holes and back practically torn off completely?' Roy scoffed, letting his hand rest on her side. 'Throw that thing away. Of all the things to be sentimental about-'
'No.'
'Excuse me?' Roy feigned shock.
'I won't throw it away.'
'I'll buy you a dozen shirts,' Roy moaned.
'What does it matter, you can't see it. It shouldn't bother you,' Riza shrugged, and a pillow collided with her cheek.
'You'd better not be wearing that when I get my eyes back,' Roy warned, then laughed as Riza retaliated by nearly shoving him off the bed.
'Hey, hey!' he protested, clinging to the side of the mattress before carefully crawling back under the safety of the blankets. 'That was rude.'
Riza shrugged indifferently. 'You started it,' she stated matter-of-factly.
He snorted. 'You are insufferable.'
'I know,' she replied, curling closer to him. 'I'm surprised we've been together for this long.'
'Believe me when I say that it surprises me too,' Roy sighed. 'But I'm glad.'
'Mm.'
Lightning split the dark sky and somewhere in the distance thunder followed with a tremendous crash. Black Hayate growled in his throat.
'Do you want coffee?' Roy asked, at the same time that Riza said, 'Tea?'
'Well I guess that's settled,' Riza said. 'I don't want to get up, though.'
'And suffer in that cold kitchen?' Roy pulled the blankets tighter around them and shivered. 'I can stand to wait here a little longer.'
'Maybe we'll just wait out this storm,' Riza murmured against his chest, starting to feel drowsy again.
'If it ever lets up.' Roy placed his chin on top of her head and held her tightly.
'It always does,' she sighed. He could feel her breath on his chest, and it was reassuring.
For the moment, even despite the storm, all was well.