Chapter thirty-four

The phone rang and Roy picked it up. "DCI Mustang speaking."

"Hello, Roy, it's Al... I was hoping you could help us out a bit because it's Riza's birthday tomorrow and Herb has already taken us to where we're celebrating it since he's babysitting. But we were wondering if you could pick Riza up and tell her that there's something you'd like her opinion on in relation to your case?"

"Oh, of course, Al. Why is Superintendent Grumman babysitting, though?"

"We decided that Riza deserved some alone time for once, or at least that's what we told her... So Herb gave her some money to buy herself something she'd really like as her birthday gift. But she'll be back in about forty minutes or so, so if you could pick her up and then bring her here? We're at warehouse eight at the old docks."

"Yes, of course, Al."

It wasn't long after that he followed Riza inside the warehouse, to which the lamps in the ceiling were suddenly turned on and a chorus of "SURPRISE!" echoed through the entire building. Ed and Al were running up to them, Al with a large, neatly wrapped present, smiling brightly, Ed with a gold-coloured birthday crown, plus a violently pink, sparkly party hat that he held to his chest with the help of his broken arm. Al was immediately handing a very surprised and smiling Riza the present, while Ed descended upon Roy, smiling innocently. "The hat's mandatory, Old Fart, now join the celebrations!" Ed himself was wearing a bright red party hat, while Al's was green. In the background stood the rest of the team, plus Superintendent Grumman.

The latter began firing confetti at them with what looked like a bazooka.

Everyone were laughing and smiling and hugging and eating cake and Roy found Riza and hugged her.

Then Grumman held up a glass of fizzy drink, smiling brightly. "To Riza Hawkeye! Whom we can all agree is someone to be very p-"

Then everything exploded. Roy was thrown against the wall by the force of the blast, and he began coughing violently as the dust swirled through the air. He looked about, dazed. There was smoke everywhere. He stood up, panicking, supporting himself on something that turned out to be far softer than it should be, and he turned towards the thing he had leant on.

Only to find DC Havoc staring at him with unblinking eyes due to the iron pole that had run straight through his heart.

Roy got to his feet, barely keeping himself from throwing up. "RIZA! ALPHONSE! EDWARD!" He felt a trickle of blood running down the side of his face, but he didn't care.

And that was when a blood-curdling shriek pierced through the crackling of the burning building.

And he recognised that sound. "EDWARD!"

The scream continued, but it was growing weaker and weaker and when he found the source, he found Ed lying on the ground, crying weakly in a pool of his own blood.

A pool caused by the way that both his legs were missing.

Roy could tell that Ed wasn't going to survive this, but he still ripped off his own coat and pressed it to the bleeding stumps. "Ed, just... Just stay still..."

The boy looked at him tearfully through his drooping eyelids.

"DON'T YOU DARE, ED!" Roy shouted through his desperation. Breathing was becoming harder. His entire chest was hurting.

"We trusted you to keep us safe, Roy..." Ed whispered weakly before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, his laboured breathing ceasing completely.

Roy began crying. And he knew that he had to leave him because there might be people he could still save. He couldn't waste anymore time.

And so he got back to his feet, coughing and stumbling forwards.

Which was when he found Riza sobbing her heart out, cradling Al's body. The boy's eyes were glazed over, unseeing, blood pooled around him.

And lodged in Al's throat was a cake shovel that had halfway decapitated him.

Riza was sobbing and coughing, but otherwise looking unhurt.

Then Roy heard the ceiling above them collapse and he immediately got to his hands and feet to shield her with his body, closing his eyes as they watered from the smoke and his chest was burning.

And then Riza shrieked below him and he forced his eyes open and looked down at the iron pole stuck in her chest.

The same one that had impaled his own stomach. But there was no pain. The pain was only reserved for Riza.

And Roy couldn't move as she screamed and coughed and died slowly in front of him.

Then she looked at Roy through tearful eyes. "Why do you burn everything you touch?" she asked weakly.

...Then her eyes glazed over.

Roy couldn't cry. He couldn't speak. He wanted to scream, but his body wasn't listening. He wasn't in pain anymore. He could breathe just fine. All he could do was lean over Riza, looking down at her and Al's corpses.

Then suddenly the pole was torn right out of their bodies and Roy fell forwards, immediately getting soaked through by their blood.

He was yanked back and he found himself looking at Dad's grinning face as he pulled him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Roy, you always take such good care of those around you. Now let's go have some cake."

Roy tried to scramble away from him, still unable to speak, as Dad's face suddenly began melting before him.

His eyes snapped open to reveal the moonlit ceiling of his bedroom.

Riza was at first highly confused when she woke up at the sound of keys unlocking the front door. The alarm clock on the coffee table in front of her said half past one in the morning. She quickly grabbed the gun that she had begun to keep under the couch pillow behind her head. She had done it ever since the boys first got involved with Yoki.

And so she got to her feet and pressed her back against the wall, getting ready to attack whomever the intruder was.

"Riza?"

She froze. She had completely forgotten that she had given Roy a spare set of keys to the flat earlier today. They had decided that it would probably serve to make the boys a bit less nervous after what happened with Archer and Kimblee. "Roy? What's wrong?" she asked, turning around to meet him in the hallway, her gun still in her hand.

It was only when she saw the surprised look on his face that she remembered that she had discarded her pyjama bottoms because of the heat.

...Meaning that she was standing there in a singlet and a pair of dark blue knickers with a small bow at the top.

Although her eyes immediately fell on the paper bag in Roy's left hand while the keys were still in his right.

And his face betrayed some kind of confused embarrassment.

...But most of all, relief.

Next second, he put down the paper bag on the shelf next to him before he quickly strode over and hugged her tightly.

Riza hugged him back, already knowing what this was about. The boys had the same frightened look in their eyes after their nightmares. And so she sighed and hugged him tighter, knowing that covering herself up now was fruitless. She'd invite him to sit down on the couch and then she'd pull the blanket over herself. "Roy, why don't you lock the front door again and then come over to the couch? You look like you could use someone to talk to."

"I'm sorry to come this late... It's really just stupid..." he said quietly.

"Roy... You've had a bad nightmare, your hair's still wet because you've just showered after waking up soaked through by sweat no doubt, and judging by your behaviour, you've dreamt about me and the boys getting killed," she told him softly with just a bit of exasperation. "And you can't honestly believe that I'll just tell you to leave now, can you?"

He pulled back with a sigh. "I brought nuggets and milkshakes."

Riza snorted slightly in fondness. Roy was a gentleman, there was no doubt about that. Even when waking up after whatever hell he had seen, he still felt like giving her something in return for letting him stay. To give her something to let her know that he really just needed to make sure that they were all right and that he just needed to talk.

...Which actually made him even more attractive. It was like he was showing her what a boyfriend really should be like. That he actually respected her.

...Although she was still very lightly clad and should get covered up soon. "Then go lock the door and come to the couch with the nuggets... You look like you could definitely need some milkshake at the very least," she told him, giving him a peck on the cheek.

He sighed gratefully. "I'm sorry..."

She cupped his cheeks with her hands. "Stop being so stupid, Roy... Now let's eat and then talk." She honestly didn't have any problems with having him stay the night. Whatever he had dreamt had scared him immensely, and she had no desire to tell him to leave. It would only serve to have them both have trouble falling asleep again. Riza out of worry and Roy because he'd obviously be scared of having more nightmares like that.

...And falling asleep in a pair of big, strong arms made her feel very safe and loved. Because she too was worried. The couch wasn't really the best bed and she spent a lot of time feeling sick and angry because of Will. He had just discarded her.

And she found an odd thought strike her. She was very happy that he was unable to have children because he had no business being a father. Had he been, then she would probably have been locked in an unhappy marriage with a toddler to care for.

...It was weird to feel a wave of gratitude for someone like that man.

Roy nodded at her with a smile and she left for the couch, still feeling very awkward about her state of dress as she let the thought slide in favour of looking after someone who was actually worth her time. She quickly grabbed her pyjama bottoms and pulled them on, before she sat down on the blanket that served as a bed sheet and pulled the other blanket up to her collarbones.

Her bra was still in the bathroom because if one of the boys woke up and needed to talk to her, then she couldn't exactly have that particular piece of clothing lying on the floor. And going after it now would also be awkward because he had honestly already seen her and it was still warm enough for there not to be anything that would draw particular attention.

Roy came over, and she had a proper look at him. He was slightly dishevelled, his eyes were bloodshot, he was wearing a green sweater, a pair of jeans and white socks.

Basically, he did not look like a DCI, but just someone who really needed to talk to her and to make sure that the three of them were all right.

And so he put down the paper bag on the coffee table and sat down next to her, sighing. "Thank you, Riza... I would have just called, but I didn't want to wake the boys... And I knew you'd just be angry with me if I didn't come to you because you'd be able to tell in the morning..."

Riza smiled at him fondly. "So you know me that well already, good."

"I know nuggets are a bit unorthodox, but there aren't many places that are open at this hour..." he said awkwardly, reaching into the paper bag, pulling out a box of nuggets, some fries, ketchup and two milkshakes. "I bought enough for the boys to have for breakfast too... Although there's a couple of bottles of that orange fizzy drink Ed loves instead of milkshakes for them, so I'll just go and put those in the fridge. Otherwise I'd probably forget about them and the boys will get severely disappointed come morning..." he said quickly, pulling out two glass bottles of fizzy drink that were those 0,33 litre sizes. Then he quickly got to his feet, looking very awkward and like he desperately needed to stop sitting still because of whatever he had dreamt.

Riza stood up herself and followed him over, placing her left hand over his as he closed the door to the fridge.

He just looked back at her, and she gave him an encouraging smile. "Roy, you seriously need to stop thinking that you're being a burden because of a nightmare." She placed her right hand on his cheek, looking straight into his eyes. She could see that he was most of all tormented by the mental pictures that were still lingering in his mind. She leant up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "Now come and have some fast food with me and then tell me exactly what's wrong."

He nodded with a sigh. "Thank you, Riza." His voice was soft, and his eyes betrayed the way that he felt ashamed.

She led him back to the couch and sat down with him, popping open the lid for the nuggets, picking one of them up and shoving it into her boyfriend's mouth.

No, he seriously looked like he needed some fast food at the moment.

And yet he was adorable with the way that he had made sure to buy enough for the boys too.

She smiled at him and turned around ninety degrees so that she was sitting on her knees as she kept popping food into his mouth. He looked slightly confused at first, but then suddenly smiled and sighed and picked up a nugget and shoved it into her mouth too.

...For some reason unknown to man, ten seconds later, it became a competition of sorts that ended with them both locked in a furious battle to be the one to first finish their chocolate milkshake.

Which in turn ended up in an equally furious battle to be the first to use the toilet.

It ended with Riza plopping down on the toilet lid triumphantly, forcing Roy, as the gentleman that he was, to turn away so as not to look at her. That was because they were bound to wake the boys if they made anymore noise by opening and closing the bathroom door more than necessary... Especially as the floorboards in the hallway outside the bathroom had a nasty habit of creaking.

Which meant that once they were both done relieving themselves, Riza checked in on the boys, finding Ed snoring and Al sleeping deeply.

She smiled slightly and went back to the couch, before sitting down with Roy, looking straight at him, seeing that haunted look in his eyes. She grabbed his hands in hers. "Now tell me what happened, Roy."

A selfish part of her wished she hadn't said that ten minutes later. Her mind was filled with horrifying mental images, and there was only one thing that she could think of saying. "Thank you for trusting me with this."

Roy sighed at that, hanging his head. "Of course I do, Riza... I just... It's probably because I've been losing so much sleep lately, plus the stress of this whole Yoki business... Mixed with thinking about the explosion and now the fact that Archer has decided to discredit you three too, I guess it all just got scrambled together into one hellish thing with a birthday theme."

Riza sighed and gently ran her fingers through his hair, placing a kiss on his forehead. She was horrified and sickened by what he had told her, but she was also touched. She was feeling an enormous sense of gratitude for how much pain and fear it caused him to dream like that. The way that his nightmare had valued her and the boys equally. The way it showed her that his biggest fear was letting all three of them down because he wasn't just after getting into bed with her. There was so much respect in that nightmare.

...And that made her feel safe when with him. Safer than she had ever felt with Will.

She thought back to what Roy had told her that her "last" words were. And so Riza took his hands in hers and placed them on her waist, earning a look of confusion.

"Riza?"

She gave him an encouraging smile. "Your touch isn't burning me, is it?" she asked softly, the warmth from the hands spreading through her.

He just stared, his eyes just a bit shinier than they had been a moment before.

And so she took his right hand and placed it on her stomach underneath the singlet, feeling the comfort of the gentle touch. "Your hands aren't causing me any pain, are they?"

"...Riza, you..." Roy said quietly as she pulled him into a kiss, the hand under her singlet finding its way to her back instead. And it was warm. It was so warm and safe and she loved it because it was so gentle, undemanding.

And so she leant back, pulling him with her with her hands on his neck and back. He was looking down at her, genuine tears in his eyes, as he stood on all fours above her. He was obviously thinking back to the nightmare, just like she had planned it.

Because she then took his right hand, letting him stabilise himself slightly, before placing it at the middle of her chest. "And I definitely haven't been impaled."

Then she drew him down for another kiss, hugging him to her. "And I am very certain that you're staying for the night," she said, smiling into his lips.

Roy woke up as the alarm clock on the coffee table went off.

He slammed his hand down on it and then froze. His arms were bare. His chest was bare. His whole body was.

And an equally bare Riza Hawkeye was using his left shoulder as a pillow, her left arm lying across his chest. His own left arm was hugging her waist and her left leg was bent around both of his.

...And Roy remembered all of it. The way it had all escalated. He hadn't planned for this at all. It had just happened and their usually good judgement had been severely impaired by lack of sleep, emotional exhaustion and a desperate need for comfort from both parts.

And there was no doubt that it had been both comforting and comfortable, but this...

...It wasn't a mistake, per se, but more like a very ill-timed moment for it to happen.

...And they should definitely get cleaned up before the boys woke up.

Riza shifted next to him and he looked back at her, very happy that they had at least covered themselves up with a blanket, even if their feet were bared and only covered them up to halfway up Riza's breasts.

Basically, they had been lucky just in case the boys had walked in on them while they were asleep.

Riza woke up, looking up at him with her eyes widening abruptly. "Oh..."

"Delete all traces before the boys wake up? I've got my work clothes in the car... I could go grab them and try to make it seem a bit less conspicuous?" Roy suggested awkwardly.

"You brought your work clothes in case you stayed the night and left them in the car in case you had to leave?" She poked him in the forehead. "You're a gentleman... And yes, but grab my bathrobe on the peg first." She was still blushing and looking awkward, but her eyes betrayed just a hint of fear.

Roy would have to talk to her about this later, but right now they needed to clean up the crime scene. Riza quickly sat up so as to let him free and he got to his feet before quickly pulling on his boxers and went over to the window and opened it to air the room out.

He reached the bathroom door before he heard scratching on the door to the boys' room, and he froze.

...Because someone had closed that door tonight and it hadn't been neither Roy nor Riza, because Ed was supposed to have a small gap so as to hook his toes under. That way he could ask Riza for help during the night.

...And the fact that he only now registered the way that the radio inside the room was playing constituted another damning piece of evidence.

And the only one who would be scratching on said door was the one with the broken arm because Al could just open it himself.

...Said boy who was also the one who had screamed himself hoarse only seven says ago at his disgust of how he thought that Roy had slept with Riza.

"Hey, Old Fart, are you gonna let me out and help me pee or what?" Ed said in whispered annoyance.

Roy paused and then opened the door, looking down at the young boy who was in turn looking up at him impatiently. "...I have no idea what I'm supposed to tell you right now," Roy told him in all honesty.

Ed just scowled at him. "Then I suggest you shut up and help me pee even so."

Roy didn't dare do anything but step back and open the bathroom door for him, before locking it behind them. He helped Ed quickly and efficiently, and then went over to the toilet lid and closed it so as to look less imposing to the boy because of their height difference. "Ed, listen..."

"I was fake snoring," Ed told him, before looking down at his feet. "You guys didn't wake me up with your business."

Roy froze. "...So you're okay with it?" he asked quietly.

"I just... I heard you when you came here and you definitely weren't planning on anything like that... You weren't trying to make her pity you so that she'd... You weren't trying to take advantage of her..."

Roy sighed heavily, feeling his cheeks reddening slightly. "Ed, I would never want to do that."

"...That's what I realised 'cause I heard you explain about the nightmare and I... I know how bad stuff like that is... So when I heard that she was obviously gonna kiss you and it seemed like it was going to end very predictably... I figured that you could use a break... 'Cause that stuff's supposed to make you really happy and would definitely distract you from that nightmare and then apparently people get seriously zonked afterwards... I figured it ticked all the boxes for what you really needed after something like that, because falling asleep again can be really hard..."

Roy sighed again, not really knowing what to say. Ed had a very ...virgin understanding of how it was, but he had acted on what he knew so as to let Roy have an easier night. "Ed... You're ... Thank you, Kiddo... That means a lot," he told him quietly. "...But that still doesn't excuse the lack of good judgement on my part..."

"Riza knew I was okay with it... We have this three-step stomping code the two of us planned out for when you two are in the office... Once means "No"... Twice means "kissing only"... Three times is "snoggy-time, but no bangy-stuff"... I guess she got the message when I stomped my foot five times..."

Roy paused. But it did make sense for Riza to let her guard down completely like she did tonight because Ed gave her the all-clear so that she didn't feel guilty.

...Which was probably something that Roy had picked up on subconsciously.

"...Don't get me wrong, you're still a horny, old fart... But she's definitely not one to let you do anything to her that she doesn't like..."

Roy couldn't help the little smile forming on his lips. "...Thank you for trusting me like that, Ed... But you had every right not to... We're the adults here, and that was just..."

He wasn't prepared for Ed to kick his right shin. "Listen to me here, Old Fart, I gave you my blessings and I don't like it if you don't act on that! I was damned sleepy and it actually made it a hell of a lot easier for me to fall asleep when I knew that you two would be doing things that made you feel good instead of just having a shitty night! You don't get enough sleep and you spend so much time looking after us and you have no reason to and then you come here and say that your worst nightmare includes Al and me dying! Your voice broke just from the mental pictures you got of trying to keep me from bleeding out even when you knew it was pointless! You don't get it, do you?! It's not just about permissions, it's about taking care of you too! Because kids aren't supposed to replace boyfriends and girlfriends! That's why they're called kids! You and Riza give each other something that we can't because you fill some weird grownup need because humans aren't meant to be alone! When I tell you that you have our blessings, it means that I damn well WANT you two to act on it! Because I get sad and angry and frustrated because you two don't actually have time to even go on a date! And you get guilty if you try to find an alternative and you get scared about me and Al getting hurt if you leave and we have no idea how long that's gonna be the case! You two have given us one hell of a break and actually hope that we're not gonna get sent away all the time so that now we can actually feel safer and better than we have for the first time since Mom! So I just wanna give you two a break! Because it actually makes us happy that you two can just be healthy, normal adults instead of running yourself into the ground out of worry and selflessness! So this isn't about me being selfless, it's about me being selfish because I feel like shit when you're exhausted after trying to help because of the things that happen to us!" Ed suddenly broke down into sobs. "Because when you're worried about us, then we get worried about you and it sucks because we just wanna have a happy home!"

Roy stared, his stomach clenching. Most kids that age with that kind of history would be pissed off by something like this. They would feel ignored and neglected and turned down.

...And yet Ed and Al were actually sad about getting all of the attention.

Roy knew he was smelly and unpleasant and not one you wanted to be hugged by at the present time... But Ed also obviously needed a hug.

And so he grabbed a towel from the shelf next to him, wrapped it around Ed and hugged him, careful because of his arm.

"Riza knows! I told Riza yesterday and that's why stomping was all I needed to do! So just..." He began crying wheezily into Roy's shoulder, his voice small. "Just please be happy and please stay because I'm sick of being left behind... P-please just... Just stay with her and us and be happy..."

Roy put his left hand at the back of Ed's head. "I won't. I won't leave. I promise that I'm not going to leave."

Ed just nodded weakly, crying, before he pulled back, looking at Roy with a loud sniff, snot running down to his chin and tears down his cheeks. Roy gently wiped his face dry with a corner of the towel. Once Roy was done, Ed stepped back completely. "So just... So just talk with her while Al and me have some nuggets... Okay?" he asked quietly.

Roy nodded. "Yes..." He reached out and placed his hand on Ed's cheek. "Thank you, Ed... You're an awesome kid, you should know that."

Ed smiled weakly with a nod. "Yeah, and you're not the worst Old Fart there is..." Then he stepped back, letting the towel fall to the floor, and nodded towards the still locked door. "You gonna open that?"

Roy chuckled slightly and opened the door for Ed, immediately finding Riza standing there in the hallway with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, a frightened look in her eyes.

Roy paused, getting a bad feeling about what she was about to say, and immediately closed and locked the door behind her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Riza?"

"There... There's one small detail I forgot to think about earlier..." she said quietly. "...I-If it's on time, my next period's in about fifteen days..."

Roy's eyes widened. It didn't mean that she would become... but it certainly upped the chances of something that could very easily become a big problem.

And Roy couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. "Riza... I'm s..."

She pressed a hand over his mouth. "Before you speak, Roy, just think about this: How messed up would you be if you had come to my flat at half past one in the morning to discuss a nightmare over fast food, because you had a desperate wish to make sure that we were all right, and you really needed to talk... While bringing a condom?"

Roy paused. She had a point, but this...

"We'll just have to see where this goes, Roy..." she whispered tearfully. "...And if... If it should be that..."

Roy could tell from her look that after trying for a long time with a man who broke her heart, should it happen now...

He sighed and hugged her tightly, closing his eyes while his stomach was clenching. If she did become pregnant, then Roy wouldn't really want it terminated. Because he couldn't help but feel that something that would someday become his child would just be brought to an end. If Riza had wanted it, then he didn't exactly have any right to object.

...Which all added up to the fact that Ed's labradoodle could quite possibly come a bit sooner than they had thought.

And if it happened, then the baby would also be born before they could get married because of the separation.

...Which would technically make my child a bastard.

And please leave a review!

But please no flames, they can be really uninspiring ;)