Theme: Cold
Title: Recuperation
Pairings: none
Rating: K
Warnings: spoilers of the end of the series
Summary: Healing is a long process, sometimes even tedious.
Recuperation
There was no sign of Roy anywhere. Riza had looked through the entire house but had failed to locate the man. It had been a surprise when Riza had come home from the marketplace only to find Roy missing. The dark-haired male had not left bed at all during the time he had been recuperating so Riza has not expected that to change.
Still, Roy would have to be somewhere in the house. It was pouring outside and Riza had gotten herself completely wet in only a few short moments. It was after she had changed her clothes that she went to check on Roy and had not found the man.
Roy hated rain and it had been raining for some time now, ever since Riza had arrived at the market. Because of that Riza was absolutely certain that her superior officer could not have gone outside.
Sighing in frustration Riza noticed that Black Hayate had disappeared as well. She became aware of the sound of barking coming from the backyard. She had told the dog to keep an eye on Roy and she wondered if the man had actually been foolish enough to go outside after all.
Deciding that it was better to check just to be sure Riza made her way to the backdoor and opened it to peer into the rain.
And there was Roy, standing in the middle of the yard with his head leaning back, facing away from the door. Black Hayate was running around in the mud puddles getting himself dirty and Riza frowned at the two idiots.
Roy was still in his pajamas and Riza was ready to bet that the man was barefoot as well. The blonde turned around on her heels and went to retrieve her shoes and an umbrella from the front door. Then she made her way back to the backdoor and marched over to the completely wet man staring up into heavens.
"What are you doing out here, idiot?" Riza spoke in an exasperate tone as she eyed Roy's impassive expression. There was a slow blink before the dark-haired male's face was turned to Riza and the woman noticed that she could see the half-healed scars spreading out in a web on Roy's skin around where his left eye used to be. Roy had taken off his eye patch for the first time since getting it.
"I don't think I really mind the rain…" Roy muttered offhandedly, almost distractedly and Riza blinked in surprise. "Maybe the sky knows something I don't. It sure seems like it."
Unable to figure out an appropriate answer to Roy's statement Riza turned her attention to inspecting the man's condition. She immediately noticed that Roy's lips had started to turn blue.
Reaching out with a hand to grasp a soaked arm Riza spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice: "It's good that you're allowing your wounds to heal properly but you're going to catch hypothermia out here." She gave the appendage in her grasp a slight squeeze. "Come on. I'll take you inside." And with that she started to lead Roy towards the door, pausing only to call over her shoulder for Black Hayate to get out of the rain as well.
"What were you thinking, going outside like that?" Riza questioned after kicking the door shut after Hayate. She had let go of Roy's arm and now the man was standing in the middle of the hall, dripping water on the floorboards and shivering from the cold. A weak, sheepish smile slowly made his way on his pale face as he managed a shrug in response to the question. Riza huffed in an annoyed manner, not showing how worried she really was. This peculiar behaviour was definitely unlike the usually strong man and Riza had to wonder if Roy had been injured in more ways than one.
A soft sigh escaped from between Riza's lips before she ordered sternly: "Go change clothes and I'll make you some tea to warm you up."
While Riza was off making the tea she promised Roy dried himself off and changed clothes in his room. He was constantly looking at the window, watching the rainwater stream down the surface. It was something so natural and so calmingly cold. Ever since his battle against the homunculus Pride Roy had felt like he could never escape the feel of flames burning around him. But when he had stood in the cold rain he had felt something other than intense heat.
It was not something he could tell Riza easily, even though the woman had been very supportive during the time he had been healing. He was already suspecting that Riza doubted his mental stability and he was certain that the woman was even more doubtful now that she had caught Roy standing in the rain. He had not planned on getting caught but he had lost himself in the feeling of being at peace for once.
"Here's your tea", Riza's voice came then and Roy turned to the blonde woman, giving her a grateful smile.
"Thanks", Roy murmured as he accepted the cup Riza was offering to him and took a sip of the hot drink. He watched as Riza walked past him to grab an extra blanket from the closet. Not wanting to be ordered to do so, Roy made his way to the bed on his own and sat down on the mattress where he continued to sip on his tea.
"Honestly, you're like a big child considering how much caring for you need", Riza grumbled as she wrapped the blanket around Roy's shoulders. "You're a grown man and yet you do things that are too stupid for even a five-year-old to consider."
"It was something I needed to do", Roy said simply before gulping down the last of his tea. Riza took the empty cup back and glared at Roy, clearly dissatisfied with the explanation. But Roy was not about to elaborate and as soon as he was healing better he would request for a change in his post. He needed to be somewhere cooler, perhaps somewhere up North.
Owari