Authors Note: Again, sorry for the delay! I should be able to get quite a few more chapters up because it is now the school holidays! :D But I couldn't update the past week because I was on an early holiday. Well, lets move on with the chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! :)
Chapter 12
Riza and Roy had both fallen asleep in the hospital ward. It wasn't a fitful, uncomfortable sleep that they had to wake up from every few hours. Instead, it was what they both deserved: an undisturbed, comforting sleep. Something neither of them had over the last couple of weeks.
Before they had fallen asleep, after they had kissed (Riza was still having a hard time processing the thought, but still quite liked the idea, even though she was quite scared of it), her and Roy had talked for a few hours. Within half an hour, Roy joined Riza on the single bed she was sitting on and slung an arm around her shoulder.
Roy felt Riza's muscles tense as he slowly put his arm around her shoulder. He was about to take his arm away when she relaxed, and slowly rested her head on his shoulder. He could tell she was scared. Hell, he was scared too. The consequences if they did, in fact, decide to go through with the prospect of a serious relationship. Firstly, there was the military. But, both of them had found out that that was why they had kept quiet about their true feelings for each other over the past years. Then, there was the idea that they could fall out. Roy knew it was unlikely, but he also knew there was no way he would be able to rise to the top without his trusted lieutenant's aid.
Roy began to lightly stroke Riza's hair.
"There have been a lot of close calls, you know," he said with a small smile.
"What with?" she asked, one of her hands resting on his chest, while she played with the buttons on his shirt. She didn't undo them, she was more just… examining them.
"You dying," he replied.
She glared at him. "You've almost died lots too, you know," she protested.
He knew he couldn't argue with her there, but Roy couldn't resist getting her a little mad at him. She was cute when she was angry at him. "Like when?" he tested.
Her eyes narrowed. Riza had stopped playing with the buttons on her superior's shirt. Her arms were now crossed tightly across her chest. "What about Ishbal?" she asked.
Roy frowned. Ishbal had scarred him for life, and, she was right, he'd had a lot of close calls during the civil war. He nodded. "Ok, I'll admit it," he said with mock defeat. "Anything else?"
"When we fought Lust," she continued.
He nodded again, knowing she was going to win.
"…. And, I think we all almost died on the Promised Day," she said.
Roy looked down at the bed. He was still so scared about what had happened that day.
Riza pushed his face to look at hers. "Are you ok?" she asked.
He nodded. "Just… remembering what happened that day," he replied.
She smiled at him sympathetically, then kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Well, it's over now," she said, her hand still on his cheek.
Roy grinned, then pulled Riza in for another hug.
Before they were completely peaceful again, Riza broke the silence.
"What about my," she did quotation marks in the air, "'near deaths', then?" she asked with a small smile.
Roy put an arm around your shoulder.
"The same days as me basically," he said.
She nodded, remembering when she had wanted to die when she'd thought Roy had been killed.
As though reading her mind, he mentioned it. "When Lust tried to kill me, and stated she had, you broke down and gave up," he said.
She nodded, again resting her head on his shoulder. "And a fourteen year old kid had to save me," she added with a tiny smile.
"Then there was the Promised Day," he said grimly. "That's why you're here now,"
"It's not your fault, Roy," she said, surprising herself and him by using his first name.
"I did consider doing the transmutation to save you," he murmured, more to himself than to her.
"You know they probably would've left me to die anyway, though, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"I still cannot believe you would've done that to save me, though," she said.
"You sound pissed off," he said.
"Well, considering it's my job to protect you, and you wanted to put your own life in danger to save me, then, yes, I am a little pissed off," she said with a tiny smile. "But…. It makes me realise that there are a few people I can truly rely on."
"You didn't tell me Mei had to stop you from going through the portal after I was sucked in because I did the transmutation," he said, looking at her in his embrace.
"You didn't do human transmutation, you were forced to," she corrected him. She sighed. "There wasn't a good time to tell you, and I knew you would've been angry," she said, sounding almost childish.
He didn't want to tell her that he was sort of angry. But, since she had forgiven him so quickly about considering to do human transmutation, and by looking at her frail, tired body, he decided not to.
They continued to talk more for the next few hours, chatting about the military, and the small relationships that were going around them. And they laughed at the thought of everybody's reaction when they found out that Roy and Riza were in a small, yet steady relationship.
Riza had been too scared to go to sleep when Roy suggested she needed some shuteye.
"I don't want to Roy," she said, her voice wavering slightly.
"Why not? You need to," he said.
"I'm scared,"
"What of?" he asked patiently.
She hesitated in telling him. But, this was the Colonel, the sole person she trusted, the person who knew her best. "Did Wrath, or King Bradley or whoever the fuck he is actually die?" she asked.
Roy smirked. "Language, Lieutenant," he said. Then, being all serious, "I know he did, so you don't need to worry about that,"
"The thought still haunts me, that he'll come back and try to kill me again," she said. Roy was the first person she had told about that.
He pulled her closer, and rubbed her shoulder to give her more comfort. "If anybody tries to kill you again, then I will stop them," he promised.
"What if I go into a coma again?" she asked.
"You won't. The nurse was sure that was unlikely. And if you do, I will stay her every minute until I find a way to get you out of it again," he said.
"You won't break those promises right?" she asked.
He lightly kissed her forehead. "Never,"
She nodded. Despite it being early in the evening she said, "Goodnight, Roy,"
"Goodnight, Riza," he replied, staring out the window. He turned back to her and examined her blonde hair. "Sweet dreams."
Riza, her eyes closed, smiled at his last comment. Still in his embrace, she was asleep in minutes.
By 6:00pm, they had both fallen asleep. Roy was still holding her close to him, as she slowly drifted to sleep, appreciating the warmth her body gave next to hers. Eventually, he had fallen asleep too, his chin resting on the top of her head.
Roy didn't know what it was, but something had definitely changed for him while Riza was in that coma, and he was anxious to find out what it was.
Authors Note: That's the end of this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think! I felt kinda sad because I only got 2 reviews on the last chapter… well, anyway, thanks to Skyethestarlitangel and TheNinjaAlchemist95 for reviewing! You guys rock! :D
