Sicktember Day 9: I'm Not Sick
Word Count: 1139
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: K/G
Characters: Riza Hawkeye, Roy Mustang
Warning: NA
Summary: Riza isn't feeling well and isn't telling Roy. She's not sick. Really, she isn't!
Notes: NA

I'm Not Sick

Riza paused, taking a moment to put a hand on the chair next to her as a sudden dizziness hit. It wasn't much, and it wasn't long, but it was there, even it was just for a split second. She fought it off, trying to make it seem like she wasn't pausing because she was dizzy, but because of some other reason. She was lucky that Roy was otherwise occupied. He would have caught onto her ruse immediately.

He was, though, engaged in a conversation with General Hoffer of Northern Command, and no one in the meeting that had just broken up was paying much attention to her. That was good. That was how she wanted it.

The dizziness passed quickly, and she finished gathering the notes and other papers from the meeting. She took a couple of deep breaths as she stood there, making sure that she was centered before she moved on. Roy had finished talking to the other general, and he seemed ready to go. She, as always, fell into step beside him.

He was in a good mood, the meeting having gone well, and several opportunities having presented themselves. Riza had been able to read him for years. She knew that possibilities and plans were being laid in his mind right now, something that always seemed to put him in a good mood. He was, she knew, at his most content when his brain was thinking through a challenge, even if that challenge was a stressful one.

They made their way back to the office where she arranged the files and folders for him as he started going through the day's paperwork. She did her job of arranging and laying out the work that he would need to do even as he talked through plans and the like. She listened as he talked to Breda and Havoc, delivering work to him and then to the appropriate boxes, to go elsewhere when the internal mail system came to pick them up.

At one point Fuery left for a coffee run, and she requested some tea from him instead, using that to help settle her stomach that was feeling a bit off. She sipped on it until Roy requested that she go and get them some lunch.

She really didn't want to go get them food. Just the smell of the coffee was bad enough. But still, he had requested it, so she went to get it. The cafeteria was, fortunately, serving soup alongside the regular meal, and so she got herself a small cup of that to take back as well. The smell of the food made her sick at her stomach, and she stopped more than once on the way back to the office to let her stomach settle, but she managed to shore herself up enough to make it into the office without at least acting like she was sick.

"You've not eaten your soup."

Riza startled, not expecting his voice so close to her. She looked up from her chair at Roy, who was beside her with some reports in hand.

"Oh—so I haven't. I suppose I was too caught up in work." It was as lame excuse, but it also wasn't unreasonable.

He frowned at her, and then reached down for the report she had laid out. "I'll finish this one. I want you to eat."

Her stomach protested.

"I'll be fine—"

"No," he fixed her with a look. "You need to eat. I want you to do it now."

There was no changing his mind, she could see that. She sighed and hoped that her stomach would accept the food. "Yes, sir," she said, and reached for the cup.

He nodded, satisfied, and moved on.

Riza looked at the cup of soup and steeled herself. She reached for it and started eating, trying to look as normal as possible. She could do this. She could do it and not tip him off. She could make sure that she ate seemingly normally. He wouldn't notice anything wrong and then she'd be able to—

Her stomach rolled.

She bolted to her feet, intending to head for the bathroom. As soon as she did, a wave of dizziness swept over her, and she stumbled, falling and just managing to catch herself on the back of Havoc's chair. She could hear other chairs scraping back, the calls of alarm, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, trying not to throw up then and there. She recovered herself, and pushed on, heedless of the calls or footsteps behind her. Instead, she kept going, throwing open the office door and moving as fast as her stumbling feet could carry her to the bathroom. She pushed the door open and stumbled to a stall just in time for her stomach to reject everything she had tried to eat, as well what felt like everything from the week before.

It was only after she had finished coughing and sputtering, and a hand reached over her to flush the toilet, that she realized she wasn't alone. Her head turned, and she looked over to see Roy bent over her, looking at her with concern.

"You should have told me you were sick."

She blinked up at him. "I'm not sick," she said.

He frowned. "Yes, you are. I should have seen it earlier. You've been quiet all day and a little slower than normal in doing things. You're a bit pale. You had tea instead of coffee and didn't eat breakfast or lunch—at least not until I made you. And when you did, you threw it up. Riza, you're sick."

She turned so that she could face him a bit more. "No, I'm not, Roy," she said.

"Ye—"

She shook her head and cut him off. "No, I'm not. I was hoping to wait until tonight to tell you. Roy, I'm pregnant."

He froze, staring down at her with shock. "You—what?" His eyes traveled down to her stomach. "You're—You're—" and hand came down and hovered over her lower belly. His eyes went back to hers. "You're pregnant?"

She gave him a smile. "Yes," she said. "I am. That's why I've been sick and pale and off balance. But I didn't want to tell you like this."

He knelt down beside her, apparently not caring that they were in a stall in the women's restroom. "You're pregnant," he repeated, and then laughed, reaching out and cupping her face, leaning their foreheads together. "Riza Mustang… I love you."

She smiled back at him, leaning into his touch. "I love you too, Roy. Sorry I ruined the surprise."

He shook his head. "Never. You didn't ruin anything." He was smiling now. "Nothing could ruin this moment for us. Nothing at all."

And she believed it.