"Coronal! Wake up! Wake up!"

Sweat drenched Roy's entire body, wetting the sheets surrounding him. Trembling, he tried to catch ahold of his groggy thoughts.

"You were having a nightmare, Coronal. How are you feeling?" Lieutenant Hawkeye gently asked. Annoyed, Roy tried to brush it off as he sat himself up.

"Do you really think that dreams are going to bother me? After everything we've just gone through? I'm not so weak," he pulled away from her hand resting easily on his shoulder.

"I do think that they bother you and it's okay to admit it. Don't you think I am plagued by the nightmares too? Not just our recent battles, either." He knew she was referring to the Ishvalan war of extermination. What he did then haunted his every moment of rest. He tried to hard not to slow down, not to have time to think about it. Let work take over, don't dwell on the evil done. Riza took his hand in hers, startling him out of his dark thoughts. "Coronal," she started, trying to find the words to say to him. "It's okay to feel. You don't have to put on a brave face, not for me. Not here. Just please," she hung her head struggling with tears, "please know that you can trust me. Be open with me."

Roy shakily put his other hand on top of the one he already grasped. He longed to see her, to look into her large brown eyes. A lump formed in his throat at the reminder of what he lost to the Portal of Truth. Would he ever see her again? He longed to hold her and wipe away her tears. He wished he could have kept her from the military. She didn't deserve any of this. Still, what would he do without her by his side? His Lieutenant. And to think how close he came to losing her just days ago… His resolve broke down as he thought of the words he couldn't tell her. Roy hunched over and began heaving with sobs. Riza stared for a moment, dumbfounded. In all of their years together, she had never once seen him cry. Her heart broke for him, knowing that there was no way to take away the pain.

Riza wrapped her arms around the man she so desperately loved and gave him permission to cry, to feel. He had been to hell and back countless times. She was glad to see him express emotion rather than bottle it up within. He could not keep soldiering on and pretend he didn't hurt. Without words to say, she cried with him. The two of them lost in the painful memories of their past, and the uncertainty of their future. She held him until he exhausted his tears. She laid him back down shushing and soothing him. Wiping his tears, she let the love shine from her eyes, knowing that he couldn't see it. Roy reached his wounded hand up and stroked her cheek, then let his fingers run through her hair, before dropping it back onto the sheets.

Riza got up to go back to her own bed, thinking that he needed some space after exposing his wounds before her. Roy grabbed her hand, "stay. Please". The intensity in his eyes surprised her. Something leaped in the pit of her stomach.

"Scoot over, sir."

"Are we going to keep up with the formalities even now?" He just laid his raw heart at her feet and she wanted to keep their ranks between them?

Riza laid down next to him and rested her hand on his chest. He wrapped a protective arm around her nervously. What was happening? He knew she could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. The walls that they had built up to keep their relationship strictly professional were collapsing. Hopes of new possibilities filled their minds. It seemed to them that after the Promised Day, anything could happen. Rules could change and so could relationships.