Author's note: So here's chapter 2! And just a warning, this one has some graphic "images" in it so I've changed the rating to M to be safe. Also I don't think I made it really clear in the last chapter (or this one for that matter but I'm way too lazy to add it in somewhere) but Riza is 10 and Roy is 13 when they first meet. So in this chapter they're both a year older.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters
In all her 10 years of life, Riza had never had a friend. It had started from hatred and ended up in a garden. Literally, flowers had grown. Figuratively, friendship had bloomed. Of course, it had not been instantaneous. Roy's distant coldness had melted from the fiery spirit he had discovered in the girl. For her it was gradual. It began with nodding at him whenever they passed each other in the hallways, then she felt comfortable with being in the same room as him, and eventually she warmed up to the point where the two could actually hold a conversation without any hostility. And now, here was this boy – a boy whom she'd loathed for months without reason – who looked at her with joy in his eyes and she was more than delighted to call him her friend. And in Riza's eyes, calling him friend was now a valid reason to go to him whenever she was troubled, though most of her troubles occurred at night.
It was not strange that Riza suffered from nightmares. As a young child, she had been traumatized by the death of her mother and was then left in the hands of a very abusive father. For years she'd dreamed of her mother, a great fire consuming her while her father watched on with a smirk. Riza would always try to save her. She'd reach out and attempt to grab her mother only to have the flames lick away the flesh on her hands. She'd cry out and her father would laugh. It was then that Riza would awake drenched in sweat, tears in her eyes. She never dared disturb her father to comfort her. And besides, the maniacal look on his face always seemed too real to be a part of the dream. So she would sit in the darkness of her room and think about it logically: yes her mother was dead, no her father did not use his alchemy to kill her. It was a fever, that's all. And her father had tried everything in his power to make her better. Although she'd think these words over and over, it did not help to quell her frightened mind. She'd sit awake until morning.
When Roy came to stay, the nightmares did not cease (not that she expected them to). Neither did she consider going to him whenever she awoke from fear. In the development of their friendship, however, she had begun to consider it though had not acted upon it in fear that her father would find out. The man had already overreacted and given the two of them quite a beating after hearing Roy address his daughter as "Riza". Besides, Roy's room was directly across from her father's; she did not want to risk it. That is, until one night about a year after Roy had been there.
Riza's nightmare began as it usually did: she stood at the edge of their property, watching a figure off in the distance slowly coming closer.
"No!" she cried out. The figure either did not hear her or chose to ignore her and continued its advance forward. Her father came out of nowhere. He placed a hand on her shoulder, his nails crooked and yellow. They dug into her skin and he cackled. At last she could make out the figure, but for the first time it was not her mother. Rather it was Roy Mustang, young and tall, moving closer and closer to ignition. He looked calm, as though he did not realize what was coming. Riza attempted to step closer but her father's nails dug themselves further into her skin. She could smell the blood.
"Run!" she screamed. Roy glanced up in her direction but seemed to be looking beyond her. Then came a great crack through the air, a sound signifying the igniting spark. Within seconds flames engulfed the boy. His cries pierced the air and his skin charred. The smell was repulsive. Riza watched on in horror as her friend's body contorted and split into burnt fragments. The grip on her shoulder loosened and she ran to him, reaching into the fire in an effort to pull him out. Like always, the skin on her hands began to melt. They dripped into the inferno, almost helping it to burn. Her father had disappeared, fading into the thick smoke with a smirk. The two children screamed and burned together.
Riza's eyes flew open, her body lurching up into a sitting position. Her heart was racing. Sweat trickled down her face, dripping off of her chin and onto her blanket. Terror swam in her head. This nightmare had been much more vivid than any of the others. She placed her head in her hands and tried to slow her breathing. She sat like that for several minutes. She knew she could not wait until morning to make sure that Roy was safe. Pulling back the covers, she slipped out of bed. She crept through along the corridors as quietly as she could, avoiding any creaky spots. As she rounded the corner to where Roy and her father's rooms were, she paused. This was an incredibly dangerous task, but she just had to make sure that the apprentice was soundly sleeping in his bed. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Riza took a few tentative steps towards his door. Sticking to the right side of the hallway, she reached Roy's bedroom. She gripped the doorknob and twisted. She peeked inside but saw nothing but darkness. Opening the door further, she took a step inside.
"Roy," she tried to whisper, her stifled sobs making it come out louder and harsher. The boy stirred awake suddenly, sitting up in bed. She closed the door slowly so as not to make any noise. Roy squinted into the darkness. He reached for the bedside table and flicked on the lamp.
"What are you doing?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When he looked up at her, he noticed the state she was in and his eyes shot open with worry. He leapt out of the bed and rushed over to her. Relieved that her friend was indeed alive, Riza closed her eyes and sighed.
"Riza, what's wrong?" His voice was pained. A half smile appeared on her face, confusion emerging on his.
"A nightmare," she replied after a few moments, opening her eyes again. Roy's eyebrows came together in concern.
"Do you want to talk about it?" The half smile vanished and fear replaced itself upon her face. She seemed to shrink back a little.
"No," she said. She opened her mouth to continue speaking but stopped herself. Oh, how badly Riza wanted to ask if she could spend the remainder of the night with him – just in case she had another nightmare, of course. But she felt it would be too much. Roy could tell that she was mulling something over. He placed a loving hand on her shoulder hoping it would comfort her. She thought of her father's nails and cringed at his touch. He pulled his hand away.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, not wanting to insult him. But he was clever, and he realized that it must have been something from her nightmare that disturbed her. He offered her the only other piece of comfort he could think of, though it could lead them to severe consequences. He swallowed before speaking.
"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" he asked confidently. Riza's head snapped up. It was as if he had read her mind. Of course she had wanted to, but it would be too absurd. The compassion in Roy's eyes, however, quickly convinced her otherwise. She gave a stiff nod. He led her by the elbow over to the bed. She sat down on the edge as he went around to the other side. The bed shifted as the boy climbed under the covers. Riza took a deep breath and dared to lie down, scooting closer to Roy. He pulled the covers over her.
"Comfortable?" She nodded and stared at the ceiling. Roy chose not to say anything further, for he believed that his friend needed the comfort of proximity and not necessarily comfort with words. He closed his eyes and drifted off back to sleep.
When he awoke later that morning, Riza was gone. Not that he had expected her to remain there – the prospect of Master Hawkeye's belt across his hide was enough explanation – but he wanted to be sure that she was alright. Never before had he seen her in such a state; it had frightened him. But Riza was like the sky: sometimes clouded with darkness but nevertheless the sun would shine again. Roy would see her later that day, a smile on her face as if nothing had ever happened.
Riza's thoughts during the night while Roy slept will be examined further in the next chapter. So if anybody's wondering or thinking there's something missing, don't worry! It's coming :)
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think if you feel so compelled.
P.S. Might be a while before the next chapter as I have returned to school and my creative juices may not be flowing as much. But I'll do my best to write when I can