Yo, Alyss again. With another Royai story that I hope you enjoy. This story spoils the ending of the manga and Brotherhood so don't read this if you don't want spoilers. This is a slight AU where Mustang does not get his sight restored by Dr. Marcoh at the end of the series.
03-18-2015: Edited for grammatical and spelling errors.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.
Riza couldn't stand it any longer. His apathy, his lack of ambition, that hopeless look in his eyes, this wasn't her colonel. He'd been like this ever since he was discharged from the hospital. It filled her with sadness every time she looked at this empty shell of a once great man.
He didn't do much of anything anymore. He didn't eat. He rarely said more than a few words. He was suffocating, but she couldn't do anything for him. She couldn't quell the nightmares he would wake up in a panic from. She couldn't stop the pain that came every time he woke up and forgot he was blind, that confused look being replaced first by pain, and then by nothing.
It was an expression she had become familiar with over the past few weeks. His shoulders would sag, his eyes would dull, and his face turned towards the floor. He would stay like that for hours, saying nothing, doing nothing. Riza's heart shattered every time she saw that expression on his face. It didn't fit. It just felt wrong. The thought of who he used to be and who he had become was almost enough to make her cry.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts from her head. Now wasn't the time to break. She had to care for the colonel until he recovered. She glanced at the untouched plate of food in front of him and sighed, "You need to eat colonel," she said in the motherly tone she would often use with Edward and Alphonse.
I shouldn't be using this voice with him.
His face turned naturally towards her before he remembered it didn't matter and turned away, "Don't call me colonel, Hawkeye," his voice was strained, "It's not my title anymore, at least not for much longer,"
Something in her broke at those words. Her patience, maybe, or her heart, it turned her sadness into anger. How dare he. How dare he give up everything they worked for over a minor setback. She ignored the voice in the back of her head, the rational voice, telling her it was a bit more than a minor setback.
"Are you just going to give up this easily?" She growled. Mustang looked up at her with dead eyes. Those eyes didn't belong to her colonel. This...This impostor was trying to take the place of her colonel.
Give me back my colonel.
"Hawkeye, what're you-" the confused impostor stated, but Hawkeye cut him off.
"After everything we worked towards, after everything we've been through, you're just going to give up?" She said her voice beginning to rise in volume, "What happened to becoming Führer so you could protect everyone? Does that dream mean so little to you that you would just throw it away without a second thought?" Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, but she didn't care. She just wanted him to snap out of it
Mustang's face flitted through several emotions before settling on one anger, and Hawkeye couldn't help but feel pleased. Anything was better than the nothing.
"Do you think I wanted this?" Mustang growled back, his volume slowly rising, "Do you think I wanted to give up on that dream? On my ambition?" He was shouting now, "I didn't want for this to all amount to nothing, but I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He was no longer yelling, but his tone was laced with bitterness, "The military has no need for dysfunctional weapons, so what's the point?"
Riza felt her blood boil. No. He didn't just say that. Her Mustang would never give up so easily. She was livid. But even more than that, Riza felt hurt. She felt betrayed and hurt. Tears were spilling freely now, but she didn't care. Only one thought echoed in her head. The same thought that had echoed when she fought Envy and Lust.
I won't lose him.
"What about those words you said to Edward and Alphonse, 'Keep moving whatever it takes?' Was that a lie? Or what you told me? 'Never give up the will to live' isn't that what you said? Did you truly believe that?" Riza took a deep breath, and Roy looked up at her expectantly with sightless eyes, "Do you remember what you said all those years ago? You said you would need my help to protect everything, when did that change?"
Riza saw the hope creeping back into her colonel. She knew he remembered, and she was fairly sure he knew what she would say next, "I will be your eyes," she declared, "I will follow down to hell and lead you back out. I will lead you down the path so that you cannot step off," she smiled, "You don't have to do this alone, colonel"
Roy sat for a moment, processing everything she had just said. Then, for the first time in weeks, Roy Mustang smirked, "You're right, lieutenant," the confidence seemed to flow from his voice over Riza, comforting her. Her colonel was finally back, and she wasn't going to lose him again.
"I am a powerless human. Because of that, I need your help in order to protect everything. I will protect your lives, and you will protect only whom you can... even if it's only a few, protect those below you. And those below you would also protect those below them. No matter what happens, live, continue to survive greedily. Live, and let's change this country together." -Roy Mustang
I'm not really sure how I feel about this one. It came to me one day while sitting in class, but refused to be written especially the end. Anywho, see y'all next time and have fun and stay awesome.
