AN: i promise this fic isnt dead haha nano has been kicking my butt this month and i didn't have a laptop from about august to november so this fell by the wayside but we're back baby
Riza awoke the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned and managed to sit up in a slouch, cupping her aching head. Thinking nothing of it, she ingested the two pills she found on her bedside through cracked open eyes and guzzled down the pint of water next to them. Not feeling up to much else, she slid back down in bed and closed her eyes. It was a relief to be lying flat again. The world didn't spin so much.
She reached out to her left, feeling for Hayate but frowned when there was nothing but a cold sheet. Even with her eyes closed, the world was spinning. Riza groaned loudly then gave up in her search. It was odd, because he always slept on her left. He was a hot water bottle in dog form, and although Riza would be opposed to having him in the bed, her apartment could get cold in the winter and after that first year, the habit had stuck. She was always cold, so it was a bonus having him there already, but the young pup's presence was comforting as well. It was a reminder that she wasn't as alone as she felt.
She slipped back into unconsciousness fairly quickly and didn't wake again for another three hours.
Before she did so, her nose wrinkled in disgust. Her stomach flipped inside of her, increasing her need to vomit, but she managed to hold it at bay. She just wanted whoever was cooking bacon to promptly stop. It would mean her stomach would stop trying to jump out her throat.
The world returned to her slowly. Feeling much better than she had the last time she opened them, Riza's eyes cracked open. The room was dim still, but it must have been past morning, she figured. She wouldn't have only slept a few hours. The only light penetrating the darkened room was from a door which was resting ajar. Inside she spotted white tile – when she'd finally managed to pry her eyes open for longer than ten seconds – and a black tiled floor.
That was strange. She didn't have a bathroom in her bedroom.
A sinking feeling in her stomach, Riza sat up. Her head throbbed when she moved too much and too quickly, so she kept the movements to a minimum. Finally upright, Riza looked around the room blearily then stopped dead.
This wasn't her bedroom.
Everything in it looked far too expensive to be anything she owned. The white walls were spotless – very absent of dirty marks where Hayate had brushed against it, the oil from his fur rubbing off on the plaster. The bed was massive. Riza reckoned she'd be able to stretch out fully in both directions and her feet would never hang over the edge. The satin sheets were soft on her skin. Riza ran her hands over it, relishing in the soothing feeling. She'd never slept in satin sheets before.
So, where was she?
Her first guess was Roy's house. She'd never been in his bedroom before. That had been left off the tour when he'd given it the first time she'd visited.
Her stomach roiled inside her at the thought she wasn't at Roy's house.
No, she was being silly. Last night was hazy but she remembered it just being her, Roy, Jean, and Rebecca left in the bar. She remembered almost falling asleep on Roy. What, though, had spurred him into bringing her here to sleep, rather than sending her home?
She was appreciative of it, of course, but also curious. She didn't expect him to bring her back to his place while she was almost blind drunk. Most people would turf someone as drunk as that in a taxi to go home.
Well, she was his girlfriend, after all. At that logic, she was touched that he had taken care of her. She remembered the pills and the glass of water on the bedside. With how she was last night, there was no hope in hell she'd left them there herself. He must have done it.
A smile slowly spread across her face.
There was a soft knock at the door and Roy peeked his head in. He looked positively adorable as he glanced over to her bed in concern. Riza offered him a little wave and a croaked hello. Roy returned it with a bright grin that lit up the whole room.
"Good afternoon, sleeping beauty," he chuckled.
She had slept longer than planned. "I can't believe I slept through the whole morning," she moaned.
"I'm not surprised," Roy mused, still grinning. Riza was grateful that his voice was soft, and he was quiet as he entered the room, closing the bedroom door behind him to block out the light from outside. She could see the afternoon sun reflected on the wooden floor outside, reflecting so brightly it hurt her eyes.
Riza groaned. "Don't."
"What?" Roy asked with a light laugh. He perched himself on the edge of the bed, keeping a distance between them. To be honest, Riza just wanted a hug and for him to make her feel like a human being again. A smaller part of her appreciated the respectful distance he kept between them, but she just wanted him to hold her in her pathetic state.
"I feel awful."
"Did you take the tablets I left?" Riza nodded. "Do you know what time?" Riza shook her head in the negative. When she opened her eyes afterwards, she saw him checking his watch. "I heard movement about three hours ago, so you've got at least another hour to go until you can take more. However, I'd like to stay on the safe side and wait a little longer, if you can bear it?"
Riza blinked blearily back at him, too shocked to even answer.
He was being so caring… Riza wasn't used to this. Not that she'd ever been in this state often – in fact, at all, if she remembered correctly – but just in general. Roy cared. That was a foreign feeling for Riza. She could count on one hand the number of people who actually cared for her nowadays. Her father was nowhere near that hand. He was in the centre of the earth, as far down on the scale as he could go.
"What?" he asked, his brow beginning to furrow. He was confused as to why she was just sitting staring at him.
"Nothing, I…" How do you tell your boyfriend that it's nice that someone cared about her for once without sounding so pathetic? "Thank you. For caring."
His face softened. A hand was placed on the top of her hair, and it slid down to cup her cheek. "Of course, Riza. Would you like something to eat? I can have some toast made up for you?"
"That –" Riza was just going to say that she was okay, when her stomach rumbled incredibly loudly. Roy laughed, then grinned.
"Shall I take that as a yes?"
Riza nodded, feeling her cheeks turn pink. "Yes please."
"Coming right up." When he saw she was about to remove herself from the bed – his bed, she'd realised, turning even pinker – he quickly stopped her. "It's all right," he reassured her. "You stay here. I'll bring it through."
He dashed out the door before Riza could protest. Huffing, she climbed back in and by the time she was comfortable, Roy was already back with a hot plate of toast.
"Did… Did you make this just now?" It smelled incredible for something so simple, and Riza was ready to eat, despite feeling so ill the first time she'd woken up.
Roy nodded. "Well, it's been made for a little while. About ten minutes. I kept it under the grill to keep it warm. I heard you stirring and thought I better have something ready in case you were hungry."
Riza swallowed past the lump in her throat, blinking quickly. "Thank you," she breathed, touched by his kindness.
"Don't mention it," he grinned.
Breakfast – or rather, lunch – was spent with her under his satin sheets while Roy perched on the edge of the bed. He regaled her with tales of last night, some of which she remembered, some she didn't. A real thrill went through her every time she remembered that she'd gotten offered a record deal last night.
It felt surreal.
"Thank you for the toast. It was lovely."
"You're welcome. I hope to cook for you properly one day though. I hope you know my culinary skills far exceed just toast."
"That sounds lovely. Thank you for taking care of me, and for the hospitality."
"It was no trouble at all," he smiled, but he looked slightly confused when she pushed herself out of bed, reaching out to steady her when she swayed once. Damn. Getting home was going to be a pain in this state. "Where are you going?"
"I really should get going. I've been in your hair for too long," she added in a mumble, almost embarrassed to admit it.
"What?" he chuckled in disbelief. "You're not seriously thinking of travelling home right now, are you?" She nodded uncertainly. "Riza, you're not fit to drive."
"I don't want to outstay my welcome," she muttered, wringing her hands together nervously without noticing it. Roy did though, and realisation dawned on him. He took her hands in his, prying them apart gently.
"You never could," he vowed with a lovely smile.
"I need to get back to Hayate," she blurted out, the cursed herself. She didn't want it to sound like she was making excuses to leave. She would love to stay for longer, but she'd already put him out too much. And, she really did need to get back to her dog.
Roy grinned sheepishly. "Well, actually…" He whistled and Riza's head snapped up in confusion when she heard… paws?
Sure enough, her pup opened the bedroom door with nose and strutted in, his tail waggling happily when he spotted Riza.
"Did…" Riza face fell. Did he go to her apartment?
"Rebecca dropped him off. She went over this morning to let him out and feed him," Roy explained. The worry on her face was clear as day, and again, something didn't sit quite right with him about how she reacted to him going to her apartment. Just what was in there that she was so terrified for him to see? He couldn't care less where she lived, or what it looked like, so long as it was safe, warm, and it was the best place for her to be.
It would be daunting, he supposed, after she'd been in his apartment, but Roy didn't care. He never had. He wasn't materialistic. Half the stuff in his penthouse was practical and there were no useless knickknacks lying around to fill up space or add to décor. Everything in it meant something to him, and that was the kind of home he wanted.
Riza relaxed after his explanation, and although it may be a touchy subject, he made a mental note to bring up the subject at some point. Not today. She was already at her limit, he supposed.
Baby steps.
Roy would take ant steps if it meant keeping Riza in his life. He wasn't going to mess this up and push her too hard or into something she wasn't comfortable with.
"She was asking how you were doing, and I suggested that maybe bringing Hayate here would help you recover a little bit." Roy watched as she blinked quickly again and looked away. Something told him she wasn't used to this level of care from someone, and that worried him. However, he did vow to himself that he'd treat her like the queen she was to him.
It was no secret he'd fallen for her, hard. These past few months had been the best of his life. He'd never been so happy with a partner before, especially not after becoming famous. Sometimes Riza forgot that was the case, and Roy loved it, in truth. He wanted to be treated as a human being, not as a celebrity. He was proud of his success and the hard work he'd put in, but personal relationships were always going to suffer because of it. He counted himself truly lucky to have found Riza Hawkeye, and he didn't want to screw it up. He'd kick himself very hard where the sun doesn't shine if he did.
"How about," Roy proposed, taking both her hands in his. "You come through and join me on the couch, and we can have a film day? We don't have to do anything. You can sleep off the hangover whenever you want. I've got some snacks so we can have some of them if you feel up to it?"
Riza bit her lip, but then nodded, assurance on her face. "I'd like that," she admitted quietly, a small smile appearing on her face that shot straight into his heart. He adored that little smile of hers.
Leaning forward, Roy pecked her cheek. "Me too," he murmured.
He led the way through. Roy fished the remote for the lights out of his pocket and dimmed them to a lavender colour. It was incredibly easy on his eyes, and judging by the light sigh from Riza, it was better for her too. He pressed the button to shut the curtains, blocking out the sun for them.
"That's better," Riza muttered under her breath in relief as she lay back on his couch, wrapped up in the blanket he'd just handed her. Her eyes were closed, her eyebrows pulling together.
"The light?"
Riza nodded. "Yeah." She cracked an eye open sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful –"
"That's okay," Roy smiled. "That was my intention. As long as it makes you feel better, that's all that matters."
"Thank you," she murmured, sighing lightly again. It was music to his ears. "You're so good at taking care of me."
Roy chuckled. "I don't mind at all. As long as you're all right."
"I'll get there…" She yawned loudly, her eyes drifting closed. Within seconds, she was asleep again. Shaking his head fondly, Roy clicked on a film and hit play, turning the volume down low. He patted his thigh, signalling for Hayate to jump up next to them. The pup was apparently desperately waiting for this command because as soon as he saw it, he hoped up eagerly and made himself comfortable in between Roy and Riza.
Once Hayate was settled, Roy pulled a fluffy throw from the back of his couch and draped it over Riza. Her mouth was parted slightly as she slept. Her eyelashes swept over her cheeks, and it gave Roy the chance to notice how beautiful she looked. In general, Riza Hawkeye was a beautiful soul – gorgeous inside and out. As she slept, she looked positively adorable, and it made Roy's heart flutter in his chest.
Brushing her fringe out of her eyes, Roy finally let himself relax and enjoy the film.