Author's Note:

I'm actually supposed be working on my other story, but this idea just came to me and I'm a sucker for Royai, so I was determined to write it. I tried to write this piece many times, but for some reason it was very hard to write. I'm trying to convey a lot of emotion so it just might have been hard to articulate them.

Takes place maybe 5 to 7 years after the events of brotherhood. Roy is a General at Eastern Command. Roy and Riza are married and have a son named Maes.

Reviews are always appreciated.

I own nothing.

It had been a long day.

Ishval was slowly beginning to thrive. The country had come a long way, but there was still a lot left to do. There was an economy to strengthen, an education system to fix, hospitals to build; the list when on and on.

That was stressful enough on it's own, but now they had an even greater setback.

A group of Ishvalans refused to forgive Amestris for the war. Refused to forget what was taken from them. Refused to forget all the pain and agony they had endured. They had a right to. Wounds take a long time to heal, especially emotional ones. Though they had come to believe that Amestris had helped enough; in fact they had helped too much. They were unwilling to trust a country that had betrayed them. And they most certainly were unwilling to rely on that country for long.

It didn't take a scholar to see the benefits of the Amestrian-Ishvalan alliance. It only took a little bit of logic to see that Ishval wasn't ready to be on its own. However these people weren't seeing with logic, they were seeing with eyes full of unforgotten pain and suffering. They wanted Amestris to leave. Now.

The resentment was starting to take hold in their own country. People were extremely wary with having "The Hero of Ishval" and "The Hawk's Eye" leading the rehabilitation. For two weeks now a steady group of protesters had set up outside Eastern Command. And just today in the cafeteria, Riza had caught a group of young Corporals gossiping, glaring over at her every few minutes. She didn't tell Roy though. She knew he was going through much worse.

One of the other Generals had challenged him during a meeting. He insulted Mustang's tactics and questioned his judgement. He said that Mustang's history was irreparable and that he didn't blame the Ishvalans for feeling the way they did.

Mustang had remained expressionless through the whole ordeal, but Riza could see the subtle shadows gathering behind his eyes.

It had been a very long day.

So when Roy had went straight to bed after work, saying nothing to his wife or his son; they let him sleep.

Their son knew better than to disturb his father. Over the past few days, Maes had begun to pick up on what was going on. Riza wasn't sure if he truly understood, but he had become more quiet, saying "I love you" more frequently, and doing his chores without complaint. Riza hadn't discussed with Maes what was going on at work, but acknowledged his behavior nonetheless.

Riza knew she wouldn't sleep well that night, but she didn't care. She would rather bear the horror of her mind than endure the whispers and glares. At least in sleep, she would be alone.

So at the end of the day, Riza slept with her gun under her pillow.

They both dreamt of Ishval.

Roy dreamt of raging fire and burning flesh.

Riza dreamt of gunshots and splattering blood.

It was well past midnight when a sudden scream jolted Riza awake. Her eyes flew open, wide and fearful, her breath hitched in her chest. Where was she?

Another scream echoed through the house.

The house. Right. Riza was at home.

And there was someone screaming down the hall.

One terror was suddenly replaced by another.

Maes

Riza jumped out of bed, reaching madly for her gun. She grasped it tightly in her hands, eyes already moving to the door.

Roy woke up more slowly, unable to differentiate between the fiery sands and the soft comforter of his bedroom. The sight of Riza, gun in hand, eyes wide, sent ice through his veins. He leaps to his feet, blindly reaching for his gloves.

Riza walks rapidly down the hall towards Maes's room. She can hear Roy's footsteps behind her, but doesn't wait for him to catch up.

She can't afford to wait.

For heavens sake, her son could be in danger.

She reaches the door and opens it, gun raised, scanning the room for possible threats.

Maes is lying in bed, eyes shut tight and sheets in disarray. He is trapped in some sort of nightmare, but he is otherwise fine.

Riza feels her heart rate begin to slow down. She scans the room once more to make sure that nothing else is amiss. Finding nothing else out of place, Riza sets her gun on a nearby shelf and approaches her son.

"Maes," she says softly and gently touches his shoulder.

Maes wakes up with a started scream. He sits up, eyes wide, breathing hard. Riza pulls him into a hug.

"Shh," she says, holding him close. "I'm here. You're safe,"

Maes clings to her, sobbing softly into her shoulder. After a few minutes he begins to calm down. Riza leans back and wipes the tears from his cheek.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

Maes nods.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks.

Maes looks down at his sheets and shakes his head.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "You'll feel better if you do,"

Maes leans closer to her, grasping onto her nightshirt once more.

"It was you and Daddy," he whispers, "The darkness took you away,"

"What darkness?" Riza asks, tilting her head.

"The darkness. The things that hurt you," Maes says.

Riza furrows her brow. What is he talking about?

"The things that make you sad. Like the people who talk about its-val," Maes explains.

Riza breaths out a sigh. Maes must have realised how stressed his parents were and was trying to comprehend it the best he could.

Riza put her hand under his chin and tilts his head up, looking him in the eye.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that" she says. "The darkness won't take us away, I promise."

Makes looks down, still a bit unconvinced. Riza wraps her arms around him, holding him close.

"Your mom and dad are fighters. We are warriors. We won't let the darkness take us," she says.

"Really?" Maes asks.

Riza nods, "Really,"

Maes nods softly and lets out a yawn.

"You should go back to sleep," Riza says.

"Mommy, can I sleep with you guys?" Maes asks, looking up at her.

Riza is about to decline. Maes is old enough to sleep in his own bed. However something makes her glance back at Roy, who is still standing by the door.

His eyes are cold and filled with fright. In the slow light she can tell that his shoulders are trembling softly.

Roy returns her gaze, informing her with silent words that they would both feel more comfortable if Maes slept between them, within arms reach, so they can ensure his safety.

"Alright," she says softly, lifting him up into her arms. He smiles and leans closer to her chest.

She carries him back to their room and sets him down on the bed. She then lies next to him, pulling the covers over them both. Behind them, Roy follows. He puts Riza's gun in the nightstand, out of sight, but leaves his gloves under his pillow. He lies down on his side of the bed, facing his wife and child. He raises his hand and softly strokes his son's arm.

Maes looks up at his father, studying him.

"Daddy, why are your hands shaking?" Maes asks, innocently.

Roy forms his hands into fists, in an attempt to hide the trembling. He blinks slowly, faking a smile.

"I'm just tired," he says in a soft tone. "Go to sleep, now,"

Maes nods and closes his eyes. Soon he begins to snore softly.

Riza looks up at her husband, taking note of the shadows in his eyes. She reaches up and runs her hand through his hair, attempting to comfort him.

"For a moment there, I was so scared," he says in a broken voice.

"I was too, but Maes is safe, now,"

Roy blinks hard, bringing his hand up to his face.

"Riza," he says, "I don't know what to do. This situation with Ishval. It is eating away at me... and all we can do is wait it out." He shudders. "I feel so helpless, so useless."

She rubs his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm here,"

He shakes his head. "I don't want to burden you or Maes. You don't deserve this,"

"No one deserves this, Roy. But like it or not, we have to deal with it. So we'll do what we always did. We keep moving. Take it one struggle at a time,"

Roy entwines his hand in hers and leans forward to kiss her forehead.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he says.

Riza looks up into his eyes. For the first time in weeks, the shadows don't look so bad.

Riza smiles warmly and squeezes his hand. "Get some sleep, we'll talk more at breakfast,"

Roy nods and closes his eyes, slowly drifting off into a dreamless doze.