Disclaimer: You know I don't own FMA, because I'd never think of a dust bunny swallowing god. Seriously, it would never cross my mind.

Revelation: Part 3

Lust playfully squeezed despite her warning, but his hands did pull away and settle loosely around her shoulders. "They were just... so convenient." That smirk was still in his voice. Even injured, Lust was still Lust.

Hawkeye only gave a light grunt at the pressure, too cautious to vocalize now that she was winding her way through the halls back to the exit. At each intersection and turn, she paused to listen for any signs of pursuit. There was no sign of chase at all. "I don't think they're looking for you," she whispered.

"Mmnn... Probably waiting... for me to die..." His voice then became more serious as his face pressed to the back of her neck. "Riza... I don't have... any stones in me. I can't heal."

Her head shifted to peer at all she could see of him from that angle, a messy spray of short black hair from the corner of her eye. "No stones..." The officer tensed and moved more quickly up the dark stairwell. "Why would they want to kill you? You're one of them, their own kind. Think they gave up on erasing your mind?"

"I'm... I'm not one... of their merry band... I refuse to follow... So... they kill me... wait for a new... Lust... different face."

The grip around his thighs tightened in the process of hitching him up higher on her back. The exit was just ahead, she knew that from memory if not by sight due to the increasing darkness as they ascended up from the depths of the strange church. "Without stones... with that injury..."

She ducked low through the secret entrance and carried him faster through the open night air towards the only familiar safe place she knew, her own home. The metal door squeaked to a close behind her.

He was growing weaker, his grip loosening upon her. "If... if I can... get at least one... in time... maybe it will..."

"I don't have any stones, Lust," she hissed. It wasn't anger directed at him, but the anxiety of losing him. "Men search for the stones their whole lives without grasping one! If you know where I can get one then tell me."

"An... apartment... seven streets west..."

"You're telling me that the legendary Philosopher's Stone the Elrics have been searching for all these years was just a few blocks away from my own home?"

"No... just an incomplete... red stone... Gluttony made..."

"If you're taking me to a hooker's apartment, I swear I'll let you die," she growled, turning immediately at the next block to head directly west.

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. That sound brought her a tiny offering of solace. Dying men didn't often laugh at jokes, did they?

The calendar dictated that true winter was still a few good weeks away, but its grand entourage of delicately frosted car windows, flat and fallen leaves trapped in frozen puddles on the walks and gutters, and billows of misty breaths from anyone bold enough to step outside to meet the bitter cold were in firm attendance. The silent rows of apartment flats stretching as far as she could see in every direction trailed up lazy wisps of thin white from countless chimneys, each a hearth keeping a home warm and comfortable.

The vast chasm that gaped between the two figures hurriedly trudging down the darkest side of the streets and the sleeping inhabitants of the city could not be justified by just the few inches of brick and concrete walls that separated them.

The man on her back didn't shiver the entire time, not even once.

"Which building is it?"

One hand released her shoulder long enough to point to one of the smaller buildings. "Top... floor... 421."

"The condemned building?"

"Home... sweet home."

Of course it had to be a top floor with such a heavy weight on her back. Lust was more than her own body weight by at least fifty pounds, probably more. Taking a few deep breaths without slowing down, Hawkeye took the stairs as fast as she could. A wet warmth had by now spread through to her back, his blood soaking both her overcoat and uniform jacket. The difference from that heat and the chill of the night only made a more glacial shiver snake up her spine and curl around her insides.

"Hang on, we're almost there," she panted softly.

At this hour, tenants would be awakened with irritation at any noise. Thankfully there weren't too many tenants actually in the condemned building. It was mostly abandoned save for a few squatters who knew enough to not question other people's business. The door to the desired apartment was thankfully unlocked and the door could be nudged open easily. Lust apparently didn't fear being found there, a bit of his cockiness that needed to be dealt with. The 'home' was sparely furnished, the living area dominated by a rather well-worn couch lining the wall opposite the door.

Once at the top and safely inside the apartment, Hawkeye paused in the main room to catch her breath. The exertion made her legs shake and nearly buckle under her, but she wasn't a novice to hard work.

"Where is it?" she gasped.

"...bedroom... dresser..."

The officer made her way to the bedroom with heavy steps, kneeling down and leaning backwards enough to gently deposit Lust on the threadbare twin bed. She paused only a moment to gently straighten out his legs before heading to the dresser and flinging open the drawers in search.

"...ngh..." Lust immediately laid back upon the bed. The one arm holding the field dressing glistened in a solid coat of bright red while the other rested heavily over his eyes.

In the empty middle drawer laid a small velvet bag. Her hand closed around the small bag and withdrew it, its tiny singular content quickly deposited into her open palm.

"Got it," she breathed with relief. The blonde perched on the edge of his bed and offered the single stone to his lips. "I hope all you need is one."

Parting his lips, he took the single stone into his mouth and swallowed it whole. He couldn't seem to help the soft moan that escaped with the taste of the stone. Almost immediately his muscles began to ease.

The human cost for the creation of each stone is something the Lieutenant would never be able to ignore or become callous to, but there was no other option to keep Lust alive at that point. The pleasure he took in his meal was hard to ignore, but she did her best, untying the coat from around his waist and peeling away the fabric to reveal his wound.

"How long will it take?" she asked anxiously, eying his injury. It would be fatal to a human, and without those stones he was little more than that right now.

Lust remained still for a few moments, but a soft groan soon sounded and he rolled his head on the old pillow towards her. "...don't know... haven't been... this way before."

"Stay still." With that instruction, Hawkeye rose and left the room, checking around the door for any drops of blood that may have led the other homunculi to this location, but found none within the apartment. The front door securely shut and locked behind her, she moved into the kitchen. "Are there any towels here?" she called out to him.

"Some- somewhere... " he answered groggily. "Maybe in there..."

Wherever "there" was. A groan sounded from the kitchen, the Lieutenant only finding a couple thin towels in a cupboard. Homunculus or human, men were similar all over. It may be a home, but it was lacking in all the basic niceties found in one. A quick stop in the bathroom produced a few much more useful bath towels. Once again at Lust's bedside, the woman pressed a towel to his wound.

He refused to lie still, shifting his shoulders and rolling his head on the pillow with a wince. "Riza... I..."

The tense line of her jaw and sharp eyes belied the fact that for all her harsh words, Hawkeye was worried. "What is it?"

Lust opened his eyes to meet hers with intensity. "Riza... I know... who... killed him..."

Hawkeye's eyes widened. "You do?" Her grip readjusted over the sword wound, the towel getting slippery with blood.

He nodded once before his eyes slid shut, his chest rising and falling with very slow breaths. His body needed to heal so badly and it was taking needed energy to speak.

Her teeth clenched together in anxiety. The truth was so close, yet could slip away so easily. "Rest, Lust. It can wait." It pained her to say it, but the man was so near death. Images of the fallen and cold Mustang laying so still on the floor of his empty office flashed unbidden in her mind. Hawkeye closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

This looked just like...

"This... is just like... that night..." He swallowed before letting his lips part again. "Pride... did it."

"Pride," she repeated hollowly. "Who you didn't tell me was the Fuhrer. Whom I worked with every day. The man who killed Roy..." Halfway through the sentence her voice lost its strength, the end only coming out in a whisper as she sat further back. The pressure on his stomach never lessened at least.

"I... didn't know... he did it..." Lust clenched his eyes but relaxed again in his groggy haze. "And if you knew about him... if he knew... you knew..."

"You were trying to protect me."

That would explain why the Fuhrer kept her so busy, and transferred her directly to his office. To keep her under his thumb and off the murder case. Hawkeye just shook her head, staring blankly at the reddened towel she held in her hands through the fringe of her bangs. "Just stay quiet now, save your strength."

But her words fell on deaf ears. His eyes were closed and his body limp against her touch.

"Lust?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Again, louder, pressing into the wound enough to cause a pain response. "Lust?"

No, not now, not again!

Lust's form remained still with no response from the new pressure.

Covered with the bloody towel, the injury wasn't immediately visible. It crossed her mind to check, however, the towel being useless now anyway. She tossed the sodden thing away and leaned in to inspect the stab wound, picking up another towel. Upon closer investigation, the injury was actually healing with agonizing slowness. He must have passed out, his respirations so weak it barely lifted his chest. She exhaled her held breath heavily, covering the wound again. No need to attempt to stop bleeding any more, but it would prevent a bigger mess. "Lust, you fool," she sighed with relief.

Life associated with a Sin was never dull, always providing plenty of drama. It was exhausting. Hawkeye sat on the edge of the bed holding the towel in place, bowing her head low over his body. At least he was still warm, the only obvious sign of life he still showed. It was quiet. Lust was healing and for now they were safe in his squalid home. She let out a long breath and looked around the dingy room. For all the disrepair of a condemned building long overdue for structural and electrical renovations, it had such a mundane, quotidian atmosphere to it that it seemed the dangers of just a short while ago were a thousand miles behind them. Using a clean corner of the towel, she wiped her hands of his blood as much as she was able until all that was left was a pink tint to her skin. Moving gradually in an effort to keep him as still as possible, she leaned over and laid by his side facing him. The hush and stillness of the room laid over her tired body like a heavy blanket. Finally she could allow her eyes to drift closed and lightly doze. Just for a while. Then they could plan their next move when he woke.

The front door burst open in a shower of splinters around the doorjamb.

Hawkeye bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide and staring at the loud and sudden noise. It was too late to make plans, too late to run or hide. She grabbed at Lust's arm and shook it violently while pulling out her firearm with her free hand.

"Lust, now is not the time to sleep," she said tightly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was on her feet and aiming the barrel at the doorway. Lust remained as insensible to the world as before.

Pride stepped around the corner and showed no surprise at seeing Hawkeye with the Mustang look-a-like. Standing in the doorway, he smiled with his usual confident facade.

"Well, Lieutenant, seems you found the man I've been tracking."

Too late for pretenses, too late for anything now. "It seems we both have, Fuhrer Bradley, sir." The gun didn't lower or tremble in her hands, her eyes aiming directly down the sights of the weapon to the dead center of his chest.

His exposed eye narrowed. "Lower your weapon, Lieutenant. I'm here for him. I'm taking that... creature from here and making sure he's no longer roaming the streets."

"These days you can't trust anyone, sir. Creatures like him can look like anyone, their bodies metamorphosing into exactly like who they want to look like." A warning, an incentive, and a way out. If he would just play along with the bluff this time. Such insubordination and outright rebellion could be blamed on mistaken identity.

His eye narrowed. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, I am ordering you to step aside."

Thinking fast, Hawkeye retorted, "You can't be the real Fuhrer. No driver, no bodyguards, you're alone. And there's no way you could have found us so easily. No, you have to be just like him. You must be the one called Envy. I've seen how well you can disguise yourself, so copying someone as powerful and recognizable as the Fuhrer should be easy for you."

What was really important to Roy and Maes? Was it for her to solve their murders and bring their killers to justice, or was it to live on in whatever safety this world could offer, or would they say one thing and yet expect her to do as she always did, protect another in her own sense of justice and right?

Pride sighed softly, but then smirked. "I am the Fuhrer, and if you won't move out of the way, I'll be forced make you. Perhaps they'd like to meet the one who has been keeping him from us."

Hawkeye's eyes narrowed, resembling even more her raptor namesake. "If you're not going to pretend then nor am I." As she had silently promised the fallen men, her gun did not waver, nor did her resolve. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly, the sights trained on the Fuhrer's forehead. "I'm not going to let you take him from me. Especially not twice." The shot exploded from the weapon, the sound shattering the quiet of the room.

The Sins were fast, but a bullet was one of the few things that was faster. The bullet struck his forehead, Bradley not even attempting to dodge. His head snapped back with the force, bending back at a sharp angle. An odd and disturbing sight that caused a slight twist in her stomach while his body remained standing for a few moments, but he finally looked up again, his flesh squirming around the wound as it pushed the metal from the hole in the process of instant healing. "So you finally learned the truth."

Dammit, he recovered so much faster than Lust had. Hawkeye kept her composure, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing fear. "Disappointed, after all your efforts to keep me off the trail?" She stole a glance to the still form of Lust on the bed beside her for only for a second before snapping back to her superior. "Did you kill Maes Hughes as well?"

Pride smirked as he reached and brushed the bit of blood from his forehead. "I didn't have that pleasure. That was someone else, though I do know who." He stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and the blonde. "Now, enough of this." Drawing his sword from its sheath, he took a step forward into the room and let the tip drag along the floor, the cheap carpeting slitting open smoothly before he aimed the weapon at her. "I tried to keep it from you as long as I could, but," he sighed regretfully. "I knew you'd learn eventually."

Reaching around back to withdraw her other weapon, Hawkeye looked to the still form of a black-haired man on the bed. "Nice knowing you, Lust," she murmured. It surprised her how peaceful she felt about her own impending death. She looked away to face his murderer stoically. Though she now had the truth, justice would not be possible any longer. This wasn't a matter for human courts anyhow. Both barrels pointed at the homunculus, she took a step forward and pulled the triggers in rapid succession, one after the other.

Pride's single visible eye narrowed as he shifted fast to avoid a few bullets but taking a good number of them to both shoulders and arms. "Trying to go out just like Mustang did?" he scoffed. "I'll be glad to send you to him."

With a sudden lunge he swung forward, the blade only narrowly dodged by simultaneously ducking low and weaving toward the wall at her left, feeling a rough tug on her arm but nothing more. The rain of bullets didn't stop, but instead of hitting his head and arms which seemed to have little effect of slowing him down, she shot his blade arm and kneecaps like she had done with Lust in the very beginning. Ducking a another slice aimed for her throat, she darted under his arm and rolled to Pride's back. Her inhuman opponent spun in place, the various bullet holes blossoming a deep red color in his flesh but promptly healing closed after ejecting the bullets.

The Lieutenant slowly rose to her feet, the guns silent in her hands. Each round had been counted; all fourteen had been emptied into Pride. He smirked confidently and drew his blade sideways, his expression now deadly serious. There would be no time given to reload.

Reluctant but without options, Hawkeye lowered the weapons and glared boldly into the man's single eye. "Fine. See you in hell, bastard."

"Send my regards to Mustang." The blade flashed in the light from the bedside lamp and seemed to disappear as it sliced through the air to her exposed neck.

A heavy blow knocked the wind out of her, but it wasn't from a slice from the blade. The force that struck her was heavy, large, and solid, bringing with it a sudden ripping pain from her upper right arm. She was forced off her feet and backward through the apartment until she flew through the far living room window, a hand at the back of her head to protect her from the shattering glass that completely deafened her ears. Her eyes went wide as she sailed backwards, watching Pride's surprised and displeased face grow more distant until it was blocked by the rising wall. She fell backward through the air to the ground four stories below, but the hard impact that would mean instant death never came. The man holding her took most of the rough landing himself, staggering a few steps before stumbling to the ground on one knee.

Once they hit the ground, Hawkeye threw her arm over her face to protect herself from the glass that rained down on them. Gulping desperately for air to fill her lungs again, she tried to roll over, pushing the arms off from around her. "What... Lust..."

Still in the crouch, the Sin placed her gently upon the concrete sidewalk. He didn't answer her yet but his gaze traveled upwards to the now broken window. Pride peered down at them, his anger obvious even from that distance. The noise had attracted the attention of other tenants both in the condemned building and the other homes along the street. Windows lit up and shades were pulled open to see sudden the commotion. A couple doors opened and more bold neighbors stepped out to settle whatever trouble dared show up on their block. Pride frowned and turned away from the window.

"Come on."

Even if Lust was ready to escape, Hawkeye needed some time to recover before she could move. She looked him up and down, seeming fine after nearly dying just a few minutes ago. That wasn't the hardest part of getting her legs to move, however. Just a moment ago she had been fully accepted her own death, had a goal to go down fighting, but now... Now she would be targeted by the very military she had served her entire adult life. The officer lay frozen and gasping for breath on the glass-strewn concrete, still staring at Lust in complete shock.

Standing, he gently patted her upon the cheek before pulling her up forcefully to her feet. "We need to go now."

She blinked at the patting, shaking her head as if clearing the cobwebs. The gesture worked. Her boots crunched glass under her feet as she regained her footing and shakily began to follow.

"W-where?" Hawkeye glanced over her shoulder to the window they had just crashed through but found it empty. "Where can I go now? He knows I know, and he'll have me arrested and executed. I can't go home again now, can I." It wasn't a question, but a statement made in a wavering voice.

He sighed and wrapped a securing arm around her torso to hold her upright, firmly escorting her away and forcing her dragging boots to move. "No, you can't... I'm sorry."

Hawkeye had somehow managed to keep her grasp on at least one of her empty guns, which she slipped securely into its holster and was now checking her pockets with her left arm to see how much money she had on hand. "I... I need to call Havoc," she sighed, doing her best to hurry her steps. "I need to talk to him before Bradley sends out any announcements. We need to find a phone." At least her brain was starting to move forward from its complete shuttering stop.

"There's a pay phone on the corner a couple blocks ahead." His alert eyes scanned the area, looking for any sign of the others, and ushered the woman from the speculation of prying neighborhood eyes. The night was still enough for Lust to be able to hear anyone approaching.

Once they reached it, she slipped into the booth and cupped the phone between her right ear and shoulder and slipped a coin in. Her right arm was sluggish for some reason. Once again she was grateful that Mustang had insisted that all his staff have phones installed in their homes. The phone on the other end rang and rang, but the blonde was willing to wait as long as it took.

"Come on, Jean, pick up!" After two more rings, the man finally answered.

"Hello?" came a particularly grumpy and sleepy voice.

"Havoc, this is Hawkeye. Listen, something happened. I know who killed the General... and I know why both he and Hughes were murdered. I need your help."

On the other end of the line, Havoc shook his head and ran a hand over his face, the sound temporarily muffling his voice. "Wait, what? Lieutenant? Where... Of course, what do you need?"

Lust pressed his back to the booth, constantly scanning the street for the slightest hint of life. She glanced through the glass to Lust keeping watch. There was no way she was going to leave Lust behind; she had just given up her entire life in an attempt to protect him. What she wanted, what they needed, she had no answers.

"I'm going to be on the run for a while, indefinitely. The ones responsible for their deaths are after me now, I know too much. I need you to be my eyes and ears in the military for a few days. I know you're leaving soon to Lior, but I'll find a way to get in contact with you. We can't use this line again."

Havoc focused hard on every word Hawkeye said despite having been abruptly awakened in the middle of the night. "Right, but Hawkeye, what's going on? Who's after you?"

"I can't tell you that yet, Jean." The blonde woman stared hard at the phone cradle in front of her, a hand on its side for support. If he knew the truth, he would be a target as well. "I will tell you this: don't trust anyone, especially in the military."

"Don't trust anyone? Is someone after you?"

Catching sight of her own reflection in the opposite glass, Hawkeye spotted a swath of black spreading down her arm from her shoulder. Squinting her eyes in an attempt to identify it, she leaned in a bit closer then twisted her shoulder around to look at it.

"What...?"

"Hawkeye?"

Switching the handset to the other side of her head and raising her shoulder to hold it in place, she grasped her uniform sleeve and tugged it, her fingers coming away slick. Holding her fingers up to the light cast by the nearby street lamp, the pale fingers were revealed to be coated in crimson. She quickly looked at the sleeve again, eyes following the trail of black all the way down to the end of her sleeve... and a few drops on the floor of the booth. She had left a blood trail.

"Oh shit!" she hissed. "Havoc, I have to go. Keep your head down, and don't show that you know anything. Please be careful. Oh, and take Hayate to the Hughes family for me." The receiver was slammed back into the cradle in the middle of his protests. In her mind's eye she could see him staring in consternation at the dead phone in his hand.

The booth door slammed open and Hawkeye rushed out while pressing her hand over her darkening sleeve. "Lust, I've left a blood trail right to this phone booth. They'll know I called someone. We need to stop the bleeding."

When had this happened? Just barely she remembered a tug when Bradley had sliced at her with his sword... then the ripping sensation when Lust had tackled her through the apartment to their escape from the window. In the process of the flight from certain death, the deltoid muscle had torn deeply through her arm.

Lust cursed under his breath and quickly moved to her side. "I hadn't noticed... I thought it was my blood." Fingers of one hand clawing, he tore through the fabric of the cloth and pulled the sleeve down to reveal the wound. "Dammit... and I can't burn it closed like he could."

"I'm lucky to have gotten away with only this," she answered, holding her arm out to him for inspection. "I don't think I lost much blood. It needs to be treated, though." She sighed, looking to his own strained face and fighting another engulfing wave of despair that threatened to drown her.

"What are we going to do? Havoc can let me know when the military sends out a warrant for my arrest, but..."

He shook his head. The jacket already ripped, he tore the sleeve off completely and wrapped the cloth at the wound and slightly above to slow the bleeding. "Don't focus on that. Unless this phone was already bugged by them, they can't trace the call to another private residence. I've never worked with anything like that, but I see the information from... you know. But this will probably put the warrant into effect faster."

"I got so close, and now... I don't know how to fix this." Adrenaline was rapidly draining from her body; the short few moments she had been able to rest her eyes before this latest adventure had only deepened the exhaustion. "I hope you know of a good hiding place somewhere nearby. I can't go very far," she said in a soft voice.

"I do." Lust spoke up after a moment of thought. There was no attempt to reply to him, so he lifted his eyes to meet hers after tying the sleeve securely over her arm. Never had he ever seen such hopelessness and despair written in every feature on her face before. The closest he could remember was when she had thought Mustang had been murdered by Lust and had given up the will to live, but now there was no passion left to even die.

He pressed both hands firmly to her cheeks and held her eyes. "Riza, we'll fix this."

More walking, but she would make it; failing was not an option. With her uninjured arm, she cupped a hand to the back of his neck and pulled his head close, pressing her forehead to his. "We're just two. But I'll do my best."

Lust gave her a small smile before reaching up and touching her cheek. "We'll both do our best. We'll both make it. I swear I'll protect you, Riza."

Her eyes closed at the touch, taking the brief moment of comfort he could offer. The grip on his neck tightened, her head nodding once. "Let's go."

Central always was built like a maze, or even a rabbit's warren. Upper-class neighborhoods pressed close to slums and squalor, all tangled up in roads that twisted and disappeared almost randomly into alleys and dead ends. It was through these streets that ended in a near labyrinth of alleyways that Lust escorted Hawkeye to the dim basement hidden under a small pawn shop. They descended into the darkened stair behind the building almost an hour after they had escaped Lust's temporary home. By this point the sniper was leaning heavily on Lust for support. He was forced to rest her against the rickety wood railing to close the basement doors while he drew the heavy gage chain through the large bolts on the doors and clamped the padlock closed.

"Are you okay, Riza?" he asked as he gently collected her from the rail and helped her down the steps.

"I just need to sleep," she murmured, eyes already at half-mast. "Just show me to a comfortable spot and I'll be out like a light."

"I will. Hang on a little longer."

Lust led her deeper within the small basement, taking her to the back wall lined with old crates and a stack of dusty blankets. Guiding her down to the concrete floor with her back to the wall, he took a few blankets to the other side of the room and shook them out hard before stacking them on top of the others for a makeshift bed. Folding a blanket over a few times made a rudimentary pillow for her head. His arms reached around and lifted her with great care to slip her into the 'fresh' bedding.

Now that every drop of adrenaline had burned away, her sliced arm hurt terribly. She kept it close to her side and winced with the slightest movement, groaning softly.

"Rest here, I'll go call for help," he whispered, brushing her bangs from her forehead.

"No," she said quickly, reaching out with her left arm to grasp his coat sleeve. "Don't leave me."

He hesitated and brushed his thumb over her flushed cheek. "Alright, Riza. I won't leave you just yet."

Hawkeye laid back into the pillow, losing the fight to keep her eyes open. "I thought I lost you. Then I thought I would never see another sunrise. The two loses didn't feel much different, actually."

"I knew you were in danger. You woke me up faster." Lust laid out beside her, taking care to not disturb the bed much.

"Mmm." Her head rolled into his shoulder, nuzzling against the leather of his coat. "Are you okay? You were hurt so badly."

He did his best to wrap an arm around her, resting his head against hers. "Don't worry. Just time. Besides, I'm sure I can get hold of more stones from Greed."

"Good," she murmured. "We need more bullets, and at least a sewing kit for my arm, and some food and water..."

"Riza, relax, I'll take care of everything. Just rest." Cuddling closer, he nuzzled his nose against her cheek.

She was already asleep, probably drifted off as soon as she had finished speaking. Her breaths came deep and even, resting as comfortably as her aching body could allow. The physical, mental, and emotional strain the sniper secretary had endured that day and night would ensure she slept a long time if allowed.

Lust smiled lightly as he watched her sleep, his eyes roving over her face at this closeness. Her warm breath flowed over his own lips like a ghostly kiss he yearned to indulge in, but restrained himself to let her rest. His arm held her secure to his side while his free hand tenderly caressed her cheek in adoring captivation. What a shame she was unconscious to it all.

AN: Here ends Revelation, marking our halfway point through this saga. Up next, Intermission: a few vignettes of little nothings that mean... everything.

Curses. Don't have four open documents and download Scorch. You WILL crash your documents and lose an entire day's work of your fanfic, even if it autosaves.

Much love and honor to mebh for her support for this fic. Be sure to check out her current work Quiet Crown, which has me captivated and at the edge of my seat. Excellence.

If you want an update... you must review!