Succubus
By
Kurama-sweethart
Pairing: Mainly Lust x Roy with
mentions of Lust x Marcoh
Rating: R for general
theme
Warnings: Alternate Animeverse, Spoilers for
Ishval
Words: 1046
I.
The nights in Ishval were hot, even once the sun had dipped below the horizon. Humidity smothered the soldiers of the Northeastern camp, pushing like weights on their chests. Curled in his tent, Roy wished that it would rain, rinsing the thick, dusty air to taste clean and sweet.
He had trouble sleeping, as with most nights, fitful with dreams of shaking children and kind doctors engulfed in flames. It was always the same; he was standing in darkness, tasting gunpowder as it stung his eyes. Screams echoed around him, each undistinguishable except for those haunting few.
"Shedim, r'mast maich dei y'e naamah allu. Ma'at haagenti. Bagat, Gaki, Rusalka, Rahab, Naamah, Andhaka, xio'a Mammon." A woman spoke in a low, hushed voice, as if she were praying. She sounded vaguely familiar. "You did this to me."
There was a dull slap of metal against flesh, followed by a strangled whimper. "You did this to me." She repeated, louder and angrier. "Neqa'el lamia belphegor a'yuda!"
Roy cringed, distantly noting a bruise forming on his back. It throbbed painfully, as if he had been the one struck. Crimson exploded behind his eyes and electricity burst down his spine, collecting in a painful knot in his abdomen.
"You did this to me." She said again, breathing heavily. "Oahu dei asb'el mache."
II.
"Good morning, Major." A familiar voice greeted, and suddenly Roy was painfully familiar of light on his eyes. He squinted his eyes open, trying to make out the figure leaning over him. Outlined in gold from the sun, Riza Hawkeye sat by him, wet cloth in hand. For the first time, he noticed how much fire there was behind her eyes.
Roy groaned, tossing a forearm over his face. "What happened?"
"You blacked out after we left the blockade. The General said we were to stay here until the whole area was secured," She paused, glancing over her shoulder, almost anxiously. "But I'm pretty sure he's stalling until you get better."
There was a long moment of silence, in which both stared into different directions, lost in their own premonitions. Dully, Roy thought that hers were likely very different from his. "The doctor sent over this prescription," She offered suddenly, reaching into her pocket. "He said if you needed anything for your head, that-"
Instantly, nausea overtook him. Memories of Marcoh's body came flooding back like a wave in an ocean storm. "The doctor? He survived?"
Riza almost looked taken aback at his accusation. "The general already had one sent over from one of the other camps. A younger guy, probably as good with first aid as a beetle." She sighed.
"Ha." Roy chuckled darkly. "Replaced already."
"It's not your fault, you know," She prodded cautiously, catching his gaze. He suddenly felt vulnerable. "You couldn't have done anything."
He just scowled and looked away, unable to even look at her anymore. To prove her point, she placed her hand over his, warm and solid and strong.
III.
Clutching the prescription Hawkeye had given him, Roy stumbled to the 'warehouse' that had become a makeshift office for the new doctor, dully noting how quiet things seemed to be.
"Major!" Called a wary voice from inside the building, suddenly. Hopping out was, indeed, a rather young looking man with a lopsided smile and unkempt hair. "Glad to see you're up and about."
Curious, Roy nodded slowly at the excited greeting. "Yes, I'm here about my aspirin-"
"Right!" The doctor chirped. "I'm Doctor Bagat, by the way. I was positive I wouldn't get to be deployed into this regiment because I just graduated last spring," He spun off, talking quickly as he led Roy into the warehouse. "But I was so excited when I got the call last night! The General had me airlifted here this morning and it was really-"
From behind the man's back, Roy rolled his eyes. "My aspirin? I'm really in a hurry."
"Oh, right." The doctor paused, suddenly looking desperate. "Going to the… memorial?"
Roy fought a choke in his throat and nodded. "Yes," He managed. The man had large, innocent blue eyes that seemed to lack in naiveté.
"I'm sorry about your loss." he apologized, like he really understood. "The doctor was a very intelligent man. A lot of his notes were given to me by default, but some of them I can't even understand! It's like they're written in some sort of foreign language… Ishvalan, maybe…?"
Somewhere in his mind, a light turned on. "Doctor," Roy started suddenly, as they entered the warehouse. "Could you lend me some of those notes, when you bring me my prescription? I would like to look at them."
"Um… sure." He replied slowly, pulling a frayed notepad off his desk. "Here, take it now. I don't think I can use it."
Roy held the book in his hands, running fingers over the worn edges. "Thankyou, doctor."
IV.
The memorial was long and slow, beginning with the General speaking atop a large, hastily made podium. "-And showing immeasurable courage in battle, helping our sick and injured soldiers-"
Roy stood motionless before the casket, already being lowered into the sands of the Great Desert. Pity the doctor couldn't have been airlifted to Central, buried in his home with his wife and children present.
"-To selflessly rush into the Blockade, during the attacks, to assist any wounded in the battle-"
Wounded? There were no wounded. There were only dead.
"-Saved many lives during his time in the military. We would have lost many men if not for the brave efforts of Doctor Tim Marcoh-"
But who was there to save Marcoh? Roy thought angrily, clenching his fists. Who was there when someone mutilated him and left him to die?
"-We give his assistant, A'alla Salaam, our greatest sympathies. She is going along with the holiday train next week, to return to her home in Central."
So that was the name of the doctor's elusive assistant, Roy reflected. Although he couldn't remember ever meeting the woman, he had a sense of knowing; like he had met her before.
For some reason, he had a sudden urge to get on that train.
TBC. I'm sorry if this chapter is very vague, but I promise that the clues are there.
