Disclaimer: FMA belongs to Arakawa Hiromu
Notes: Part 17 of my Future storyline arc. I think this may the only one that actually shows Suri talking . . . odd. She's not a shy girl, but I guess just not talkative. At this age, anyway!
Ninety-six: Tomorrow, Too (Part 17 of the F. Storyline Arc)
It was almost three hours since the children had been put to bed when Roy and Riza started to get ready to sleep. Roy had just gone to make sure they were sleeping peacefully while Riza finished brushing her teeth. It had been a long day, filled with meetings and the State Alchemists' progress reports, including one very excited report from Alphonse Elric on his discoveries about the healing uses of Xingian Rentanjutsu. Then there had been fusses about name-calling at school ("Sasha! You're not allowed to call people mean names at home, so why did you think you were allowed when you were somewhere else?"), and a distinct need for new socks to replace the holey ones remaining. Roy and Riza had shared the load between them, and the handful of reports unchecked would be looked at tomorrow, new socks could be bought, and stubborn children could be disciplined.
As she washed her toothbrush off, Riza wondered why Roy hadn't come back yet to go through his own bathroom routine. Conscious of her light summer pyjamas, she wandered out into the hallway, past the open window, and checked inside Sasha's room, and then Suri's. Sasha was fast asleep, holding tight to a sorely mistreated stuffed rabbit. At the doorway to Suri's room, Riza stopped.
Roy was sitting on the edge of the bed, brushing back his daughter's hair from her face. "I've checked everywhere," he was saying in a low hum of a whisper, so as not to disturb Sasha in the next room – the boy was notorious for taking any excuse to get out of bed if he awoke, "and there are no monsters."
Suri yawned widely as Roy spoke, and then sniffed loudly. Riza winced and tried to remember where the nearest tissue-box was. "Not- Not even under my bed?"
"Nope. None there," Roy said confidently.
She rubbed at one eye with a hand. "But what if they're back tomorrow?"
"Then I'll check tomorrow night, too," he told her.
After thinking to herself for a moment, Suri finally nodded, as though anything else would have been unacceptable.
"Now, are you really going to go to sleep this time?" Roy asked. "That's a long time to stay awake by yourself."
"Yes, Daddy."
Riza smiled as he leant down to hug the little girl and kiss her cheek. "I love you, Suri."
"I love you too, Daddy. Good night."