17. "Until the Day I Die" (Story of the Year)
A/N: Mangaverse, end of vol. 9/beginning of vol. 10.
"Elizabeth! Riza!" Roy nearly yelled in desperation, thanking whoever was watching him (probably Maes) that the room had been vacated for lunch. He heard a gunshot on the other end.
That did it. He slammed the phone down and sprinted from the office, nearly careening into a secretary leaving another office.
Throwing some semblance of an apology over his shoulder, he dashed out the front doors, down the steps, and to a car.
Not her, not her, oh please not her! Somewhere, some small part of Roy's brain was telling him that he should be thinking of her as his best sharpshooter, his right-hand lieutenant… anything but how he was thinking of her now. And really, shouldn't he be worrying about everyone else's safety—not just hers? After all, if anyone could take care of herself, it was Riza Hawkeye. But what if today's the day that something just happens to go wrong?
Roy nearly floored the accelerator, paying much less attention than he should have to where he was going, though he knew the route by heart.
When he finally reached the building, he tore out of the car, not knowing for sure if he had locked it (and really not caring at the moment), and into the building. He could hear Kain's footsteps pounding up the staircase. Idiot! You'll give away your presence!
However, Roy knew that there was no time to waste if Fuery was getting into this. He had to compromise between quiet and fast.
He began his ascent.
THREE STORIES LATER
Roy could hear the battle a little better. Just before Fuery had stopped, he heard a voice thick with hunger and malice yell something about it being done. Then, the firing had started.
Forget this—it's not like whoever it is can hear me, anyway! Roy charged up the stairs at full-tilt, nearly flinging himself over the railing to come to a stop. He dashed down the hall. Fifteen paces… Ten… Five…
"Time to eat!" the unfamiliar voice yelled again.
Like hell it is! Roy yanked on a glove and snapped almost before he could see his target. As the… thing flew out the window, he could hear someone else beneath the window yell what sounded like a name. Gluttony? No… Not a—
"Why did you come here, Sir?" Riza yelled at full volume. A small rant about outing himself to the enemy followed and ended with, "Are you an idiot?"
Roy did feel a little sheepish, but now was not the time to relax and laugh it off like he normally would. They had to move.
UNDER THE HOSPITAL
As he tried to bring himself around enough to do something about his wounds, Roy was remembering the strangest things.
For one, he remembered his first kiss with Riza. It had been just before he had left for Ishbal, and he had been surprised that she had even responded as much as she did, let alone at all.
He also remembered the day she had taken Black Hayate in. After work, he had brought over some dog food, a dog bed, and a leash, and had been invited to stay for dinner.
There were several other events he couldn't place, including one where he had complimented her growing out her hair and she had given him that shy smile.
Finally, he managed to wake up enough to cut the circle into his hand and close his wounds. Next, he moved over to Havoc, muttering all the while about stupid subordinates who died on him. He knew it was disrespectful of everyone's efforts to help him, but the anger was helping an adrenaline rush to kick in.
Now he just had to find Riza.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
Roy could hear gunshots, and Riza yelling something decidedly unladylike. Was she talking to Lust? And what had happened to Alphonse?
"Ah!" Roy nearly fell over as he tried to move too quickly. But he had to get there, he just had to, before something happened to Riza, too!
"This woman wants to die!"
No!
"…I said, leave me! Just get out of here!"
No!
"No! I won't! I'm sick of watching people die because of my weaknesses! I won't let another person I care about be killed—not if there's anything I can do about it!"
YES!
"I like what you just said, Alphonse Elric." And before that thing could get its claws into Riza, Roy began to roast it until there was nothing left.
"Colonel!"
Thank goodness she was safe. That was all he had cared about at the moment. Truth be told, he was angry with her for giving up, but that would come later, when he had the strength to make her understand. For now, he let her tend to him.
AT THE HOSPITAL
Now, he could afford to be angry. He yelled at her, almost relentlessly, and she took it. Everything he couldn't say aloud came out in the biting anger. I almost lost you, and I couldn't bear that!
There was a little bit of actual anger, though. How could she trust so little in him?
I had no evidence to the contrary, one of her expressions seemed to say. It shifted into, At least I care!
In the end, at least they had another shot at getting it right. In fact, Roy was almost one hundred percent certain that someone up there (probably Maes again) was not going to let them die. They were going to have to keep on trying.
And when they finally achieved their goal, a whole new life would be waiting, just for them.
A/N: I tried several things before anything would come out of this song. I would just get snatches here and there, but nothing workable. So I went and read the manga to see if anything stood out, and whaddaya know? This popped up!
Even this turned out pretty cliché in the end, but I had a much easier time writing it than anything else!