CW: implied assault
When Riza entered the living room, she found only Rebecca. "Where's—-?" was cut off by the distinct creak of the bathroom door closing. Riza's heart skipped a beat. Rebecca saw what little color was left in Hawkeye's cheeks quickly drain.
"What? What is it? Come sit down." She crossed the room and reached for Riza's arm.
"Th...the test." Her words were barely a whisper. Rebecca tensed, and they stared at each other in electrified silence.
"It's...is it in…." Riza squeezed her eyes shut, bit her lips, and nodded. After a short silence, Rebecca began whispering and moving them both towards the couch. "Maybe he won't even notice it, and even if he does, would he really even know what it is? Or how to read it? Maybe he'll think it's just a weird looking thermometer! What are the odds he just checks his hair and doesn't even glance at the sink? Wh—" They had been so caught up in Rebecca's rapidfire possibilities they had not heard the bathroom door creak back open, or Roy's footsteps as he approached. All froze mid gesture, and for a moment, time stopped. They all stared at each other with the same wide eyes. The silence came to a crashing halt as Roy and Rebecca started to speak at once, each trying to out loud the other, Rebecca going on about newfangled thermometers and how the flu seems to be going around early this year, Roy trying to start and finish any whole sentence, somehow making noise and blurting words, but not enough to be coherent. Suddenly, Riza put her foot down and snapped,
"Hey!"
Both Rebecca and Roy stopped, not breaking eye contact with one another, mouths still agape. "It is late. I have neighbors. Please contain your rukus." Their mouths closed, and in a moment everyone in the room was studying the floor. Riza took a deep, audible breath, trying to calm her nerves and shaking body. Rebecca looked at her and began softly,
"Ri, I—" Riza looked away, directly to Mustang.
"Sir. I think you should sit down." Nobody moved. She tried again, "Let's all...let's all have a seat." More silence. Her face fell, and she suddenly sounded small, "Please."
This snapped Mustang out of whatever petrified state he was stuck in. All three quietly padded to their places, Roy taking the armchair, Riza and Rebecca settling on the sofa. Roy leaned forward and looked directly at Hawkeye.
"Lieut...Riza." She met his gaze. "Are you alright?" His tone was soft, his face etched with concern. She stared down at her hands.
"I don't know, sir. Roy. I…" she trailed off, eyes sliding sideways to Rebecca, who sat with her face propped in her hands and was studying them intently.
"Riza, what happened?" His was the small voice this time, laced with worry, fragile around the edges. Rebecca's brow furrowed.
"What do you...excuse me, Roy, what do YOU mean, what happened?"
Riza did not look up from her hands. They felt very far away from her, the whole room felt far away. She was dizzy, and the voices around her were beginning to get fuzzy.
There was a tense silence. Rebecca spoke again.
"You mean you didn't…" Mustang looked at his hands and shook his head. Rebecca frowned. "You ...never…?" She did not finish the sentence, her heart began to race even faster than before. He gave the smallest of head shakes, nails now digging into his palms. Her attention snapped squarely to Riza, whose shallow breaths were becoming faster. Roy was beginning to shake. Rebecca gently reached out a hand towards Riza, who pleaded, "Please, d-don't touch me right now." Hayate jumped up on the sofa and wriggled his way onto Riza's lap. She hugged him tightly and hid her face behind him.
"I'll kill him." The words were barely audible, seething, hissed between clenched teeth. Riza shook as a sob escaped and Rebecca wrapped her arms around both Riza and Hayate. She stared at Roy, who met her eyes. There were tears in both, and an understanding.
Hawkeye began to let go of any stubborn composure left and sobbed in earnest. Rebecca held her, gently rubbing circles across her back. Roy cautiously reached out a hand and, with the utmost care, placed it softly on Riza's shoulder. Rebecca shot him a warning look to which he winced, nodded, and began to retreat. To everyone's surprise, Hawkeye let out another sob and reached up to find his hand, guiding it back to her shoulder and placing hers on top of his. They sat like this for minutes, only the sounds of a clock ticking and a woman finally letting go. After the initial shakes subsided, Rebecca softly suggested a shower and some food. She pointedly made eye contact with Mustang, and then subsequently looked at the things around the room that she was sure Hawkeye would want cleaned up. She finished with a lasting head tilt from the plate of half eaten toast to the kitchen, and Roy understood. After Riza let her hand fall from his and leaned fully into Rebecca with an exhausted sigh, he quietly stood. Rebecca gave a gentle squeeze and began coaxing,
"C'mon, let's go get you cleaned up." Riza did not look at either Roy or Rebecca, just sniffled and nodded. Roy quietly went to the kitchen to get out of the way and heard, "Alright, up we go!" followed by some feather footsteps and the creak of the bathroom door shutting. He was still shaking himself, and cursed when he noticed his vision blur and water sliding down his cheeks. He returned to the living room and quickly tidied up, recycling water bottles, setting glasses and the bowl by the sink, slipping the toast to Hayate and finally unloading the bag he had come to deliver in the first place.
Rebecca turned on the shower, a rush of water eventually followed by a haze of steam that clung to the mirror and soothed Hawkeye's raw throat. The sound softened the edges of the scene: Riza sitting on the edge of the toilet seat cover, Rebecca on the rim of the tub, clasping hands between them and waiting in cautious silence for the other to speak. As usual, it was Rebecca who tried first.
"Riza..."
Riza shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, "I can't. I can't...say it." She cast a glance at the door, images of the man beyond it briefly running through her head and the tears spilled over again. Rebecca shook her head and squeezed their hands.
"He can't hear us in here. Plus he's got an assignment right now too. You have my discretion, Riza, in whatever you need to say or not say."
Silence passed, and a few times Riza opened her mouth to speak, only to find no words would come out. She glanced at the shower and mentioned what a waste of hot water it was. Rebecca gave a nod and broke away to stand by the sink and give Hawkeye privacy as she got into the shower. Rebecca stared down at the small pink plus which had wreaked havoc on this Friday night, futures and dreams thrown into doubt and flux due to a small flutter of cells constantly duplicating. A partner, a child, both things she could not see her future without. She knew it was almost the opposite for Riza, or at least a great deal more complicated. But she also knew that Riza was a woman with a support system, and therefore a woman with options. The water shut off and steam hung in the air and the surfaces of the room, the small fan whirring its best to clear it with little to no effect. Riza stepped out with a towel wrapped around her, hair dripping. Rebecca held up a comb and tilted it toward Riza, who nodded and sat back where she had been fifteen minutes ago. Rebecca carefully combed Riza's hair, gently working out knots from the bottom and parting it in Riza's usual way.
"You good to finish up here?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"I'll be right back, I'm gonna bring you some pajamas."
"Rebecca...thank you." Rebecca gave a small smile and a not before slipping into the relatively chill air of the hallway. She shut the door and took a deep breath. She glanced toward the living room and was met with the piercing and desperate question of Roy's expression. She shook her head and turned to Riza's bedroom.
Roy surveyed his work: a tidy living room and a small tray with an assortment of soothing food and beverages. Her favorite soup from the shop by the market, a can of ginger ale, saltines, water, a small teacup in case she wanted herbal blend instead, and bread prepped in the toaster. He had worked efficiently, focusing on his hands, focusing on the details of the room, of the food, narrowly avoiding the inevitable wreck that was looming over his head at every moment. He sighed and smoothed his pants with his hands, taking a seat on the sofa and staring at nothing in particular in front of him. Riza and Rebecca soon joined him, Riza in pajamas and slippers, a small blanket draped around her shoulders. The soothing aroma drifting from the bathroom calmed the room. Riza's expression softened as she took in the spread of choices. She noted the soup.
"You went to east town, sir?"
His face relaxed and he continued to stare forward. "I had to drop off some of the files out that way. It worked out nicely."
"Thank you." She started with water, the safest option, to ease her body into keeping something down for the first time in about a day.