The train moves slowly through the mountains, and the view is spectacular. The day is waning – dark golden sunlight slants across the land, warm and soft. A fresh change of view from the desert.
She doesn't take much notice of it. Neither does her traveling companion – his eyes are shut with the blissful kiss of sleep, brow wrinkled from something she couldn't see, couldn't protect him from.
It is the first time she has returned this way since she left after her fathers' funeral. She knows that halfway up one of the peaks is an old house with a crumbling roof and an overgrown front porch. The deed is in her name, but she hasn't laid eyes on it in almost five years.
With luck it wouldn't be a problem anymore within a few days.
It was a pity she didn't believe in luck.
She sits still for a long time, Roy's head heavy on her shoulder, his breath soft on her neck. She watches him, out of uniform for the first time in she wasn't sure how long. He had dressed casually in a dark green jacket and t-shirt. "My disguise," he had said, when she had commented.
She can pretend that they are younger, just for this hour while he sleeps. It helps her to block out the memories of the last few months – the sand, the grit, the-
Beside her, Roy stirs.
She holds her breath, hoping that he remains asleep. He needs it – if her dreams have been nightmares lately, she can't imagine his.
He had suggested that they go see her old house – his too – as a way to escape. Back in Central he was being praised as a hero, and she could see how it ate at him each time someone brought it up. Out here, in the backwoods areas of the mountains, he could go unnoticed, and that anonymity held a vast appeal.
She had gone along with it – she thought that the return home would help heal the wounds on him that the doctors couldn't. She knew hers would take more, but despite the blood on his hands, he is still innocent, still naïve and idealistic.
Beside her, he exhales.
"Riza," he murmurs, and she looks down, surprised to hear him speak, surprised to hear him use her name.
He is still sleeping, but the wrinkles are gone, replaced by something serene and peaceful.