Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Riza Hawkeye and Roy Mustang

Riza sat patiently on the hospital bed, gazing at the wall with tired eyes as the nurse wrapped her arm in thick, white bandages. Her shoulder was throbbing with pain, despite the painkillers that they had administered her, like snakes of fire shooting down her arm and back from the gunshot wound that had only been stitched shut a few minutes ago. As the nurse tied off the bandage, Riza glanced down to see that the wound was still leaking blood, staining the pristine whiteness a dark shade of red. Not that she could complain about any of it. It had been her own reckless actions that had earned her yet another scar on her body.

"Now, try not to move too much so that the wound can fully close," the nurse instructed as she rose straightened up. "For the next week, the bandages should be changed approximately every twelve hours. Would you like for me to explain how to do so, Miss Hawkeye?" She asked politely. Riza shook her head and stood up to grab her uniform jacket and slide her good arm into the sleeve.

"No need. This isn't my first gunshot wound," she responded simply, wincing as she eased the other arm into the sleeve. She moved stiffly, but her shoulders still flared with intense pain. I don't want to take any more painkillers. It will dull my senses, she thought as she carefully buttoned up her jacket. She bowed politely to the slightly stunned nurse, who was clearly not accustomed to dealing with members of the military, before retrieving her things and exiting the room.

"Lieutenant," came the voice she had been dreading and hoping to hear. She stopped at the door, her eyes sliding to where Roy was leaned against the white walls with his arms crossed and his expression taut. He's angry with me, she realized. That was to be expected. Roy Mustang was the type of man who would sacrifice himself to ensure his underlings remained out of harm's way. It was a part of him she loved, but also a part of him that made them clash incessantly. She saluted him properly, thankful that it was not that arm that had suffered the injury, and he sighed deeply and straightened up to walk over to her. His eyes fell on her injured shoulder, his expression growing sad.

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"Not really, sir," she answered, then swallowed as he suddenly slammed a fist into the door frame beside her head. His expression had turned thunderous, now, and she heard the nurse in the room squeak in alarm. Trying to contain his rage, Roy grabbed her by her good arm and dragged her over to an empty side hallway. "Colonel, sir-" she objected, but he whipped around on her and her words died in her throat.

"I told you to run away. What part of that wasn't clear?" he growled at her. Riza's cheeks flared with anger, but she remained composed as she stood stock-still in front of her superior.

"I wasn't going to leave you, sir," she answered firmly.

Earlier that day, Colonel Mustang and his squad had been dispatched to deal with another rogue alchemist. They had been cropping up frequently as of late, leading to many dangerous situations and quite a bit of paperwork. The confrontation had been with a specialist in gun transmutation, and the situation had gotten dicey when they had fallen into an ambush prepared by the perpetrator and his small gang of followers. Having not anticipated a group assault, the colonel had ordered a retreat, but had of course intended to fend off the foes himself. The fool had his pride, and Riza wasn't going to allow him to die for it. So, she had stayed, and had earned the gunshot wound and their victory. Roy, however, was more concerned about the wound than anything else.

"I had the situation handled," Roy mumbled grumpily. His anger at her was fading, now that he realized that she was more or less unhurt, but her insubordinance, particularly the kind that ending up with her in harm's way, was a sore spot for him. "I ordered you all to fall back. Why did you stay?"

"I thought you needed some backup, sir," she answered honestly. Why doesn't he understand? It's my role to protect him, she thought in frustration. Roy didn't take lightly to that, and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. She wanted to yell and scream at him to get it through his thick skull, but she knew that wasn't her place. I know he cares about me, but he has to understand that I am completely capable of holding my own. After a minute of stewing, he sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face, gazing at her with his intense, dark eyes.

"You have the rest of the day of, Lieutenant. Go home," he muttered. Riza had no choice but to bow her head in submission. After clapping her lightly on her uninjured shoulder, he walked past her, brushing against her slightly. He paused for a moment. "Lieutenant… Don't you dare disobey another order." She felt like a sharp knife slashed through her heart as he said that, and continued to walk away without looking back. She couldn't help but turn and watch him leave, his cape billowing after him. Why can't he understand? I want to protect him, she thought miserably.

Riza did as she was bid and returned home to her apartment. Black Hayate picked up on her gloom right away, for when she walked into the door he ran up to her legs and began wagging his tail, whimpering. Smiling slightly, she leaned down to pat him on the head before walking over to the couch and sinking down into the cushions. She leaned back, relaxing as much as she could with her aching shoulder, and Black Hayate hopped up into her lap. Through half-lidded eyes, she stared up at the ceiling while scratching her puppy's head half-heartedly. It was always when she went home alone that her heart ached. He can be so kind, but sometimes he can be so cruel, too.

The rest of the day passed like a dream as she brooded over the argument. She tried to distract herself by cleaning her gun or reading or playing with Black Hayate, but the damned fool always crept back into her mind. That night, she lay in her bed in her nightdress staring at the ceiling with tears stinging her eyes. Why? I just want him to understand.

She jolted upright as a knocking sound echoed through the small apartment, and the rapid motion made her gasp as fiery pain bloomed up her arm. She glanced down to see that a red stain was spreading across her bandages. Sighing deeply, she endured the pain to stand up and walk across the apartment to see who was knocking on her door. She unlatched the lock and turned the door, swinging it open. Her eyes widened at the man standing in the doorway.

"Hey," Roy muttered awkwardly, avoiding her gaze with one hand shoved into his pants pocket and the other clutching a bottle of wine. He was in his civilian clothes.

"Hey," she stammered back, unsure how to react at the sight of her grumpy superior in her doorstep. He swallowed nervously, fidgeting, before thrusting the bottle into her hands.

"Here. I know you like it. It's, um… an apology," he sputtered, and she was shocked to find that his cheeks had grown slightly red. Riza blinked, then chuckled and accepted the gift. My favorite, she thought with a small smile. Roy shoved his other hand in his pocket, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It was amazing how confident he was on the job, but all of that melted away when it was just the two of them on the outside. Gazing down at the bottle and feeling her gloom finally fading away, she just stood there in silence until she heard him cough uncomfortably, "You're bleeding."

"Oh," she murmured, returning to reality. Blood was dripping down her arm now, the bandage too full of the substance to absorb any more. "I guess I moved it too much."

"Come here," Roy sighed and grabbed her hand, shoving past her to pull her into the kitchen, pausing only to kick the door shut behind them. He plopped her down into one of the kitchen chairs and began rifling through her kitchen drawers, searching for the first-aid kit.

"Third drawer on the left," she called quietly as she set the wine bottle on the table and leaned back in the chair, not sure how to feel about the situation. Roy found what he was looking for and walked back to where she was sitting, grabbing a chair in spinning it around to drop it in front of her. He sat down in front of her and indicated for her begin taking off the bandages.

"They're wrapped around my chest, you know," she told him as she shrugged out of the top of her nightgown, letting it fall around her waist. Thankfully, the wrappings covered her entire bust, but that didn't stop her from feeling mildly embarrassed. If it bothered Roy, he didn't show it.

"I'm just going to change the ones on your arm," he responded as he took out a small pair of scissors and began cutting away the soiled bandages. Riza sat patient and still as he went to work, but the feeling of his fingers brushing across her skin made her heart begin to palpitate. Roy remained strangely quiet as he worked, tossing the ruined bandages onto the table. After a minute her entire upper arm and shoulder was exposed, with just a thin thread of bandages holding the wrappings around her bust in place. She prayed for them to hold. Roy stood up to wet a dishrag, then sat back down in front of her to clean the blood off her arm. It was a lot more than she had realized; soon the soft cloth was stained dark red all over. As the stitches of her gunshot wound came into view, the colonel's hand faltered.

"Sir?" She inquired, wondering why he was staring so intently at her injury. She blushed lightly when he suddenly sighed and leaned his forehead against her upper arm, a few inches down from her stitching.

"It's my fault," he muttered suddenly. He's… blaming himself? She blinked. It wasn't unlike him, but he had been so angry with her before. "I yelled at you, but really I was just projecting my own self-loathing. I shouldn't have let you get hurt." Riza gazed down at him for a moment, and then her eyes softened and she reached up to gently pat him on the head, softly stroking his black hair. She wasn't sure why, but it seemed the right thing to do.

Here, he's just Roy, and I'm just Riza, she reminded herself as she felt a little awkward. Roy didn't admonish her, just remained still as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I think it's safe to say that we're both to blame here," he conceded. "You shouldn't have tried to shoulder everything on your own, but I shouldn't have been reckless, either." At that, Roy turned his head to gaze up at her with sad but hopeful eyes. "It happened, though, and if I had to do it again, I would," she told him firmly. His lips curled into a smile, and he reached up to take her hand as he sat up straight. He held her hand in his for a moment before letting it drop into her lap.

"I guess that's fair," he mused quietly. "You're so stubborn, Riza."

"You're just going to have to learn to live with it, sir," she smiled warmly. He does understand. He just wants to do the same for me. That thought made her heart swell, but she refrained from allowing the emotion to show on her face. Roy, seemingly cheered up, finished cleaning off her arm and wound a fresh set of bandages around her arm. When he finished, she slipped back into her nightgown while Roy cleaned up after himself. "Are you leaving?" She asked abruptly as he made for the door.

"I see no reason to stay," he replied, and she felt slightly sad. Her eyes slid to the bottle of wine.

"I was just thinking it would be a shame to drink this all by myself, sir," she said casually. He gazed at her long and hard for a moment, and even she wasn't sure what was going on inside that head of his. Then he smiled, and walked back over to reclaim his empty chair.

"Yes. What a shame that would be," he winked at her, and grabbed the bottle of wine by the neck. Riza couldn't help but let the smile spread over her lips.

Roy… Someday I'll be able to tell you just how I feel about you. The time hadn't come yet, though. For now, she was just content to drink the night away with him by her side…