Despite having realized and given her feelings their rightful name, Lena tried her best to conceal them. Maybe if she ignored them, they'd disappear by themselves? After all, it wasn't going to take much longer before Roy was allowed to leave the hospital.
Speaking of Roy, it seemed he was practically the same as before he went blind. At least, that's what Riza told her with that kind smile of hers. Though there was no way Lena herself could know if it was true or not, because she had never known him what he was like before.
For some reason that thought always made her sad, even though she should be relieved by the fact that he was okay now. But it really just meant that she was of no importance to him, she was merely some woman who was going to accompany him for a short while on his path to recovery.
Carefully sipping her warm coffee, she was so occupied with her thoughts that she almost didn't notice the door opening.
"Ah, Lena…" Riza's voice sounded like she had been searching for Lena, making the nurse look up in surprise. She noticed that Riza was wearing normal clothes and she remembered that she had been released a few days ago.
"Is there something you need?" Lena asked as she placed her cup on the table, folding her hands in her lap and looking at Riza with curiosity afterwards.
That smile appeared on Riza's face and she quickly took place in the free chair next to Lena's, all the while keeping her eyes downcast. Though once she found a comfortable spot, she stared Lena right in the eye, said woman taken aback slightly by the playful shine in Riza's eyes.
"Were you thinking about him again?" she asked in a teasing voice, surprising Lena even more.
This was a side she hadn't expected to be allowed to see (if it existed at all), but here she was, being pestered by someone she had considered a serious and rather cold woman, ignoring all the smiles for her comrades.
"Eh?" Lena mumbled, her cheeks turning bright red, receiving a laugh from her 'attacker'. She let out a small whine and quickly pressed her hands against her hot face in an attempt to hide it from Riza, which only made Riza laugh again.
"I-is it really that obvious?" Lena almost cried out in embarrassment, shaking her head frantically. She stopped as she heard Riza make a disagreeing noise.
"I just happen to be good at noticing those things." Was that seriously a sparkle that flashed next to her face when she said that? Lena stared at her for a few seconds before dismissing it as her mind playing tricks on her.
"Ah, but it's probably just some childish crush that I never got to have when I was still a girl… It's not like I could ever become someone important to him." Lena smiled while playing a bit with her half-full cup of coffee. At the thought that someday, she would be forgotten by the man she currently loved, she felt a painful stab in her chest.
"What're you talking about?" Riza asked in confusion, the playful sparkles in her eyes making place for a more serious look, "I think you're already an irreplaceable someone in his life, really."
Lena smiled at her words, wondering if she was saying this just to comfort her or if it was the truth. Her heart believed it, obviously wishing it to be true, but her mind wasn't quite sure about it.
"Oh well, one can dream…"