I had too much fun writing this. I hope you enjoy!
Yells echoed throughout the Briggs soldiers as the bright flash of alchemy caught them all off guard.
Roy and Riza realized rapidly what was happening and they ducked as they heard a few errant gunshots, but when the light cleared they found Auren on his hands and knees, the Briggs men surrounded by a jagged-lipped circle of five-foot-thick ice.
Auren was breathing heavily, clearly very out of practice with alchemy.
"Let's go," he gasped nonetheless, climbing to his feet to begin the laborious run to the treacherous mountain pass.
Gregor offered his new friends a grin as he followed his General, easily overtaking him to make sure their route home wasn't lying in ambush.
"Hurry up General," Roy joked as he and Riza easily caught up with Auren. "Move those short legs of yours before you get left behind!"
"Iyach Colonel," he panted, trying his damnedest to keep up. "Automail kills in this-"
Lagging mere feet at the back of their troupe, Auren was the one caught in the few gunshots that echoed out as the Briggs men freed themselves. He went down in the snow, struggling to climb to his feet as Roy turned to see him downed.
"Edward!"
"Automail," Auren gasped, finally making it to his feet just as Roy reached him. "They hit-my automail."
"Lucky shot," Roy said with a gasp of relief. "Gimme your arm, I'll help you to the border."
"I can make it-" Auren would have went down again were it not that Roy already grabbed his arm to support him. He cursed quietly and managed to turn his limp into a run, all four making it to the mountain pass for safety.
"You're a stubborn little bastard," Roy said with a laugh, struggling to get both himself and Auren through some of the tighter spots.
"And you...you are a...you are...my friend," Auren slurred, causing Roy to stop their movement and stare at him with worry.
"Emil?"
Auren fought to keep his head up, his pale skin looking less colorful than usual. Roy turned to see crimson droplets of blood revealing their path and cursed.
"Lieutenant! Gregor!"
Roy set Auren in Riza's arms, inspecting him to find the source of the blood.
The shot didn't hit his automail. The limp was from a gunshot wound to his left side, and from the amount of blood on his clothing, Roy knew Auren had lied about it and tried to keep quiet so that they could keep moving.
"Oh no, you're not surviving ten years and meeting your family to die here, out in this damned cold," Roy growled. He glanced at those nearest him, knowing his best option to keep moving.
Roy judged the severity of the wound. The bullet had passed through Auren and didn't seem to be in the right spot to hit any organs. That made his job much easier-and Auren's chances much better.
With only a clap, Roy placed one hand to each side of the wound and cauterized the flesh.
Auren hadn't been very responsive until that point, but even the Briggs men who had begun their retreat could hear his scream through the deafening blizzard.
Roy honestly couldn't believe it when they reached the base of the mountain in Drachma and found a dog sled team waiting for them.
Though Roy had never met the man, Gregor spoke with him in hurried Drachman, glancing apologetically at Roy before hopping on the sled after bundling his injured General in it safely.
"Meet me later at the Kruza!" He shouted as they rode off, leaving two exhausted Amestrians gathering a rapidly increasing layer of snow.
"The Kruza it is," Roy said with a sigh, the concern in his eyes not missed by his Lieutenant.
"He's going to be fine, sir. He's survived worse, and you stopped his bleeding with plenty of time to spare."
"If he didn't let himself get so damn lazy," Roy grumbled, "he wouldn't have gotten shot or even winded from that alchemy!"
"He's been working on other things recently, and you know that." She shot him a knowing look. "When was the last time you worked out?"
Despite the cold, Roy's face tinged pink. "I-I've been dealing with an ornery General. I haven't had time."
She simply smiled knowingly as they made their way to Kondrav, ready to be warm and receive news of their friend.
"How are you even awake right now?!" Roy cried as he spotted Auren slumped lazily in a chair across from Gregor, swishing a golden liquid in a glass.
"Drachman men are very resilient."
"And very stubborn," Gregor added, earning a tired glare from Auren. "I'm sorry, that is just you."
"Gregor, don't make me-"
"Be quiet and drink, General."
"Alcohol is hardly healthy for you after what you just went through," Riza scolded him. He simply returned her caring words with a scowl.
"Unfortunately. That is why Gregor will not give me any. This is juice."
"Oh. Juice?" Roy repeated dumbly, taking stock of Auren's fresh attire covering his still pale skin. He looked like he could conk out at any moment, despite his claims.
"Yes. To help put the color back in me, I suppose." He put his head in his hand with a heavy sigh.
"Emil, you really should go home and rest," Roy said quietly, himself and Riza accompanying the others at the table. "You don't need to be alert. Nobody in Amestris is crazy enough to invade Kondrav."
"Nobody except a select few Amestrians," Auren said with a tired smile, drinking down his juice all in one go. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life."
"It seems our old debt is repaid," Roy chuckled. "You know I'll always have your back, whether you're Edward or Emil."
Emil mumbled out a heartfelt Drachman thank-you before his eyes finally slipped closed and he fell toward the table, Gregor's quick reflexes catching him and lowering him into a gentle slump.
"He insisted on seeing you," Gregor said hopelessly. "Please excuse his stubbornness."
"Oh, it's just how he is. Trust me, I know." Roy smiled. "Would you like us to take him home?"
"Perhaps we shall all go," Gregor answered, sighing wearily. "I know Emil does not like to discuss politics early in morning, but we will have to face what happened today."
"A hell of a bump in relations," Roy agreed. "Amestris made the first strike."
"He was illegally in our country," Riza rebutted.
"This whole fiasco could start a war," Roy grumbled. "Should we choose to ignore it, which I doubt General Armstrong will, we could avoid some trouble down the line..."
"Strikes were made on both sides," Riza agreed. "What's important now is that we get back to Amestris as soon as possible and continue communications electronically."
"And miss the look on Auren's face when I get called out for treason?" Roy smiled hopelessly. "You're right. We'd better head back tomorrow."
"Tonight, we rest," Gregor said, hailing the barkeep. "First, a round for us on the General!"
Roy had to hold in a laugh. He loved charging things to Edward's tab.
The following morning at Auren's home went much more smoothly than the original visit, although Riza had found Auren so cold during the night that she had slipped into bed with him to give him warmth.
Roy nearly blew a gasket about that silly thing in the morning, insisting she should have just put extra blankets on him, but she reminded him that blankets don't make heat, bodies do.
"Then lay his ass in front of the fireplace and call it a night!"
"Colonel," Riza sighed in weary annoyance, having finally slid out from next to the still-sleeping Auren, "there's absolutely nothing to worry about. He didn't wake once, and didn't move at all during the night. Are you afraid that I intend to sleep with the enemy just to achieve world peace?"
Gregor snorted on a laugh, revealing himself in the doorway. He jumped back as Roy snapped his fingers and created a small explosion where the man had been standing.
"One wants to end war with love, one wants to start it with fire!" Gregor cried, but the humor was clear in his voice. "Wake the General please. I will make breakfast."
"Perhaps you'd better wake him," Roy said to Riza with a grumble. "Kiss him good morning."
"Don't make me find extra paperwork for you when we get home."
"Monster," Roy whined, turning to wake his old friend.
Emil did look better than the previous night, though he still looked incredibly tired.
"Emiiiiiil," Roy crooned humorously. "Morning, time to get up."
Not even a twitch.
"Emil?" Roy gently shook him by the flesh arm as Riza walked off to aid Gregor in breakfast preparation.
At least Roy received a gentle groan from that one.
"Wake up, Emil. We are all waiting for you in the kitchen."
"Leave me sleep, Bernie. I do not want to celebrate my birthday. We go to the Kruza later for it."
Roy stood upright, paused, and then burst out laughing at the comment. He almost doubled over, but saw that his laughter was finally rousing the General from sleep.
"Colonel...?" Auren peered up at Roy before groaning and reaching on his nightstand for glasses...and found only air. "Glasses, where are my glasses?"
"I haven't seen them. Did you put them in your other coat? The one completely covered in blood?"
"I never took them off my face. Did they not make it home with me?"
Roy thought back to the previous day, how Auren had glasses on when the fiasco began but didn't when he had to singe the guy's wounds shut.
"Uh, I think you lost them in the battle."
Auren cursed loudly, putting a hand to his eyes. "I will try to transmute a new pair."
"Can't go without em for a while?" Roy smiled wistfully. "We promise we won't call you Ed."
"Colonel my vision is terrible without them, they are not just for reading." He left his warm bed with a shiver and walked over to a shelf holding a picture frame. Removing the photo and backing with a bit of visual difficulty, much to Roy's shock, Auren set the frame and glass on the table and with a clap, had a new pair of glasses.
"They're not just reading glasses?"
"Nye." After trying them on, Auren adjusted them once more before seeming satisfied. He walked past Roy who snatched them off his face. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Taking a look." Roy put them on, shocked at the blurriness in the lenses. "Your eyes are this bad?!"
"Snow blindness is nothing to joke about," Auren growled as his glasses were returned to him.
"Snow blindness heals on its own."
"Yes, but it worsens early cataracts." Emil shot a glare at Roy before leaving his bedroom, leaving the Colonel slack-jawed.
"Shit, he's going blind?"
"I heard that!" Auren called. "That takes decades!"
Roy skittered after him, joining the others in the kitchen. His thoughts were suddenly on the tantalizing aroma.
Oh, Gregor must be an amazing cook.