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Games without Frontiers

Chapter 25: Sun Shines through the Rain

Rating PG

Soundtrack: Eternal Flame – the Bangles

They were admitted to Grumman's office without having to wait. Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman waited in the antechamber while they went inside to deliver the report.

The Lieutenant General gave them a welcoming smile and accepted their salute for two seconds before he waved them to seats in front of the desk. "I get enough of that from these toadies around here. Tell me what you found out."

Riza, of course, chose to stand behind the Colonel's chair. Her grandfather looked at her for a moment, then shook his head, smiling.

The Colonel scowled. "Not much, unfortunately. I was...forced to injure the Crimson Alchemist when he attacked the group."

"Attacked? Who did he attack?"

The Colonel looked at his hands for a moment. "He briefly took the First Lieutenant hostage."

The Lieutenant General leaned forward. "Are you all right, First Lieutenant?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

She nodded, "I'm all right, sir. Only minor injuries."

"Hmm," he said. He looked her up and down, evidently not believing her for an instant. "I'll take your word for it for now."

"Kimblee said that this was only the beginning of something larger," the Colonel told Grumman. "That this was just something to shake us up and get our—my attention."

Hughes said, "I'm going to have some of my people return to Tin City, ask a few questions."

The Lieutenant General sighed. "I suspect that is the best we can do. I still need to know why he needed those components."

"I'll get on it as soon I return to Central," Hughes answered.

"The rest of you?" Grumman looked to the Colonel.

"We should be heading back to Eastern as soon as possible..." the Colonel stopped and gave the Lieutenant General a speculative look, which he returned with a keen eye. "First Lieutenant," he suddenly said.

Riza snapped to attention.

He rose and moved to face her. "Due to your injuries, I'm ordering you to seek medical attention as soon as we leave this office."

She nodded, expecting that. "Yes, sir."

"After which, I'm ordering you to sick call here and after, take five days of convalescent leave, effective immediately."

That was wholly unexpected. "Forgive the insubordination, sir, but I would like to return to work as soon as possible."

"You need time to recover."

"Sir, the usual amount is three days," she started.

"True. However, your current condition warrants the extra time."

"Sir–,"

"That's an order, First Lieutenant," the Colonel snapped. Her lover peered out from behind the calm, cool and collected military man and practically begged her not to argue with him.

Riza subsided, her stance rigid. He knew she wouldn't argue with him in front of Grumman. His grim smile – directed only at her – told her so.

Grumman grunted approval. "That sounds like a good idea, Colonel. In fact, I'll amend that order, have your leave taken here."

Riza blinked, in shock. It was a conspiracy; she was certain.

"I haven't spent time with my granddaughter in longer than I can remember," Grumman continued, waving his hand. "If you're being ordered to take time off, I'm taking advantage of it." He picked up the phone before she could open her mouth to offer even a token protest. She listened while he called his adjutant to his office. "Thank you, Colonel, for the chance to take this time with her."

"My pleasure, sir," the Colonel said with a small smile that Riza wanted to wipe off of his face. With her boot.

The subordinate arrived. The Lieutenant General waved him over. "Take the First Lieutenant to the Eastern General, and then bring her to my quarters. Tell Vickers that she will be staying there for five days." He clapped his hands together, satisfied. "Colonel, after you've freshened up, will you take a game of chess with me?"

"I'd be delighted, sir."

Hughes stood. "I should be going." He saluted both of them and followed Riza and the aide out of the office.

"I'm going to kill him," she muttered.

"He's only looking taking care of his responsibilities," Hughes said in an even tone though she could see the smile scattered all over his face.

"Five days? That's skating the line of favoritism."

"Not really. Come on, it's common knowledge that he would do the same for any of his men; that's why his peers can't stand him. In fact, some of the others in his rank accuse him of spoiling the hell out of all of you. But you are allowed extra time due to your condition, that's straight from the books."

"And I'm tired of hearing about my condition!"

"Well, get used to it. You have a condition," Hughes said. "And even if it weren't for your condition, you would still be eligible for some time off after what happened to you." His tone was exasperated. "Stop trying to act like you're indestructible." He stopped her and, making sure the aide was well in front of them, put his hands on her arms. "I know he would like to do more for you," he whispered. "This is the most he can do and not bring undue attention to himself. Would you give the guy a break and let him?"

Riza still scowled, but she knew he was right. She nodded.

That night, after having her shoulders checked and her arm placed in a sling, she found herself in a room she hadn't been in since she was fifteen years old. Her old suite of rooms was as warm and inviting as she remembered it to be. It was a far cry from the mausoleum of the Hawkeye estate. She slipped on the pair of pajamas that were left for her and crawled into the big bed.

Five days. What was she going to do for five days? That was the longest she had been inactive. It would drive her mad.

She looked at the table by the bed and saw a book there. Curious, she picked it up and looked at the cover. And smiled. She remembered the book from before. She even had a copy of it in her home today. Cracking it, she started to read.

Roy would have laughed her out of existence if he caught her with her nose in one of these under-written, over-blown dime novels. Little did he know she had a box of them underneath her bed at home, dog-eared and read over a dozen times.

A knock on her door broke her concentration right as the dashing hero rescued the slightly scatter-brained heroine for the third time. As she finished the sentence, the door opened, and she heard a maid's voice. "Ma'am, here's a tray."

"Oh, I forgot to tell Grandfather," she called as she closed the book and put it on the table. "Tea tends to make me nauseous these days. I'm sorry, but could you bring..."

"Coffee? Black, with no sugar, right?"

She started at the change of voice and gave all of her attention to the doorway. Riza watched, her heart thumping, as Roy came toward her bed. He was in a spare uniform; she could tell that the fit was not right in the shoulders and looked even more haggard than before.

She hadn't meant to start off with an argument. He looked so worn and tired that it didn't seem fair. But, she blurted the first thing in her mind. "I still think five days is excessive, Roy. I shouldn't be treated any different from the others. I should be in the office helping you with this matter."

Roy scowled at her as he not-quite-slammed the tray down. "You should be thinking of something else besides work right now," he snapped.

She flinched at the sharp tone but sat straight up, knowing that it came from the heart. That did stop her from making herself ready to give back as good as she was getting. "It would suit you if I were to collapse completely like one of those helpless little ninnies in the secretarial pool would have, wouldn't it?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "I've already had my dealings with those helpless ninnies in the secretarial pool. And if I thought even for a moment you would behave in such a manner, I would set myself on fire for helping you get in this condition."

Well, that deflated that argument before it could get going. Instead of what she'd wanted to say, she murmured, "There is no need for you to do this. It isn't your fault that this–,"She watched the flush sweep over him and almost bit her tongue.

"Regardless of all of the other variables, I am your commanding officer," he bit out, "It is my responsibility to care for every life under my care." He gave her a hard glare. "Every life, if you catch my meaning."

He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to tell him how much of a cheap shot that was. "And if you won't take certain things into consideration, I will."

And again, he left her with no reply. Usually, she was ready for anything that came out of his mouth. Evidently, that well was suddenly, and annoyingly dry. "What the hell am I supposed to do for five days, then?" she said helplessly.

"Try remembering that you are a human being like the rest of us," he said, his voice was no less relentless for its softness. "You have been through a very real travail. Rest," he said quietly. "Recover." Then he gave her a hooded glance. "Try to forget."

She looked away, hating everything he had to say at that moment. "That's not as easy as it sounds."

He pulled a chair next to the bed and sprawled in it. She wasn't fooled by the natural posture. He wasn't done with her yet.

"I know what I'm supposed to be doing here," he started. "As your Commanding Officer, that is."

So he was going to hide behind those stars on his shoulder? She was curious. "And that is?" she asked cautiously.

"According to my impeccable training, I'm supposed to give you the time off to recover from your immediate injuries. Which I have. Then, I'm supposed to give you access to all the medical care that you could need, for any future issues that may arise. Which I will."

"Roy–,"

He held up his hand again. "And even though I couldn't possibly empathize with what that animal put you through, I am supposed to sit here and listen while you give me a detailed report of what exactly happened to you."

Riza winced. The debriefing. He was right.

"And I'm still working up the nerve to get on that. I suspect we will take care of that when you return to Eastern."

Riza picked at a stray thread on the coverlet. She wasn't sure if she could – or even should – tell him what Kimblee had done to her.

She watched him shift on the chair and found herself drinking in the every movement he made. The way he allowed his hair to fell into his face. The unconscious way he held his hands, right hand folded over left, ready for use at any time. The way his right foot moved in an unusual tap-tap-rest-tap-tap-rest rhythm. It suddenly occurred to that part of her that was just about to dive deep into that dime novel realized that they would be separated five days.

"But, as your lover..."

She gasped, her entire attention now on his lips and the words moving through them. That was the first time he'd called himself that. Since the beginning, they'd done an interesting dance around the name their relationship, avoiding the by not directly discussing it.

"As you lover, I just want to...to..."

"To what? Reclaim what's yours?" Riza blinked. Now, where had that piece of nonsense come from? A reflex? A last burst of impotent anger?

Whatever it was, he reacted as if she'd struck him. "What's mine?" Then his eyes lowered, and he reached out to take her hand. "None of this is mine," he whispered, running his fingers over her hand. "You're not a possession. No matter your place in this game, you are not a possession.

"But, I wish...I wish I could just wipe away what he did to you. I wish I could erase the marks he left on your skin." He lightly touched the bruises on her wrists, then looked her in her eye. "I wish I could help you forget. Right here, right now."

Riza was almost speechless. "We're ... We're in my grandfather's house. He doesn't–,"

"He knows, Riza."

She stared at him. "What?"

"He knows." Roy released her and sat back in his chair again. "He's the one who sent me up here."

"He...knows...?"

Roy nodded. "The last thing he would want to do is hurt you by exposing this." He gave her a sad little excuse for a smile. "We seem to be the lucky two, to know so many people who sympathize with our situation."

"How do you know that he knows?" Riza asked.

"He told me." This time he actually laughed. "He has the horrible habit of leaving me flat-footed like I'd been hit in the head with an iron skillet. Not only does he understand what we are going through, he also knows about quite a few people in our situation."

She'd heard the same thing from Maes and Doctor Winters. "He does?"

"And, believe me when I tell you that he doesn't believe in the regulation about this type of fraternization. Thinks it's antiquated and needs to be reformed."

"Well, it is and it does."

Roy smiled at that statement. "Even though it's written in the stone foundations of this man's army?"

Riza snorted. "Just because I'm one of the dogs of the military, doesn't mean I agree with every little regulation ever put on the books. In particular, I've always failed to understand how the high brass expects those of us who give our entire lives to the military to find someone to share it among those who on the outside."

"Tell me what he did to you."

The request came in a deep voice, raw and unpolished by his usual charm. It dropped into the middle of the conversation like a bombshell, completely out of context, and cut through all attempts to avoid it. Those six words exploded along her skin, leaving her nerves raw in some places.

She couldn't resist the plea, as much as she wanted to protect him from the truth. Even if that truth wasn't what he thought it was.

"He—it wasn't as much as it looked, Roy," she began.

"Maes said he saw you. He saw—that bastard had his hands on you. That's why he struck."

"For which I will eternally be grateful. But, he only touched." Riza shivered. "He only touched me. He didn't do anything more." Her mouth twisted. "I believe Hughes fixed that quite efficiently."

"Riza. Look at me."

She dragged her gaze up to his. "Are you sure you're not just telling me that?"

"Roy." She squeezed his hand and gave up. "I wouldn't lie about this. He did not rape me if that is what you think." Though in the grand scheme of things, it might as well have been as bad.

"But you were still violated," he echoed her thoughts. "There is that fine line between assault and battery and he danced all over it. I hope he dies from his injuries."

She heard the wealth of contempt in his voice, not only for Kimblee, but for himself as well. She whispered. "I hope he does too."

"I almost killed him." She heard him mutter. "Mostly alive, was the requirement." A rough chuckle, like sandpaper across the air. "That's exactly what he is. You don't mind that I might have had even more blood on my hands?"

She tugged his arm, again making him look up. "There will be much more blood on your hands before this is over," she told him. "I'm fully aware of that fact. You should be too. You'd better get used to it if you want to change things in the radical way you want to."

"I know. This isn't going to be a polite dance to the top of the ranks. No one is going to hand me what I want on a silver platter. I'm going to have to take it." His eyes lifted slowly until they caught sight of the book lying next to her on the coverlet. A sparkle of curiosity touched his gaze. "What is that?"

She started. He was taking the conversation over so much terrain that she was about to get dizzy. She looked down at the coverlet and remembered the novel laying there. Mortified, she tried to cover it, but he slipped it from under her hand nonetheless. She closed her eyes as held it up and read the cover, waiting for it.

It came as a soft chuckle. "He wrapped her in his iron-grip, shielding her from the dangers without and within," he read, his smile growing. "She could feel his strong, surging heartbeat within his broad chest–"

"All right, that's enough." She attempted to snatch the book from him and hissed when she pulled at her shoulder.

He held it out of reach. "You sure the bump on your head didn't affect you?" He read some more. "His turgid manhood?" He blinked over the top of the book at her. "What the hell is a turgid manhood?"

"Do shut up."

He laughed until she thought he would have a seizure, and then shook his head and put the book back on the table. "I suppose that's the best way to forget as any," he said, giving her a small grin. "I'm pretty sure I can do better than this guy, though."

"Well, I won't know about that until after my leave is over, will I?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

She blushed. "Well, I won't."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her temple. "I will miss you too, dear," he whispered. She could still hear the tension underneath the endearments. "Do you realize that this is the first time we've been separated in...?"

"Since Ishbal," Riza finished. She hoped she didn't sound as suddenly breathless as she felt. That touch had been triggered a chain-reaction she wasn't prepared for.

He stroked her arm. "I never thought I'd feel the lack so harshly," he murmured.

"Neither did I...Roy, I–," He kissed her. Tentatively at first, to be sure she wouldn't bolt, and she did stiffen for a long few seconds. This is Roy, not the other, she told herself sternly and lowered her defenses slightly. He deepened the kiss, leaning into her, letting her absorb the warmth of his body into her skin. Today, she needed this.

When he raised his head, his face slightly flushed and looked at her carefully. "Was that... all right?"

Riza smiled. "More than all right."

"Tell me where he hurt you, Riza," Roy said in a low voice. "Tell me. Let me wipe it away."

That was too much. She shook her head. "I can't. Not yet." But she wasn't quick enough, and she gasped, as his lips touched her shoulder, the one Kimblee had dislocated, and his hand brushed against her. She shied away from it, and he stopped, pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he said, "That was stupid. Of course, you're not ready for–,"

"It wasn't stupid," Riza answered. "Just..." She pulled and tugged on him until he was sitting on the side of her bed, leaning over her. "I want. Hell, Roy, just hold me."

She didn't need to say anything else. He stretched out on the bed next to her, slid an arm under her and pulled her close. It was just intimate enough to comfort, yet not enough to make her nervous. She took his other hand and wrapped it around her, placing his palm on her stomach.

As lazy as he could be on most days, he wasn't one to shirk his duty when it meant something to him. So he wrapped himself around her, tucking her head under his chin. That was a feat within itself, considering there was only two inches difference in height. She didn't question it though; just feeling him around her was enough.

They lay there in silence for quite some time, until he stirred, half-drowsy. "Riza?"

She stretched her legs, rubbing them against him. "Hmmm?"

"You never did answer my question."

"What question is that?"

"What the hell is a turgid manhood?"