Boom!

A loud crack of thunder forced Roy's eyes open in surprise. He exhaled deeply, hoping to calm his rapidly beating heart. Praying that readjusting his position would allow him the opportunity to sleep again, Roy was about to roll over when he stopped, suddenly becoming aware of a light pressure against his back that hadn't been there when he fell asleep.

Roy slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he felt a familiar warmth against his back. Cautiously, carefully, he pulled himself away and tentatively rolled himself over, stopping to admire the beautiful woman that lay sleeping next to him.

He watched as Riza's side rose and sank slowly with the deep and long breaths she took. By the way the sunlight was dancing off of her fanned out hair, it almost looked as if it were made of gold. He allowed himself this rare opportunity to really look at her and take in every little feature. God, he loved her.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. As much as he loved sleeping next to her, there was something else he loved even more… In one fluid motion, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Riza's waist, pulling her into his embrace.

The surprise and abrupt attack woke her immediately. She struggled for a moment, but after realizing who it was, she half yelped and half gasped, "Gener-Roy! What are you-"

"Oh good. You're awake," he said playfully as he drew her in closer to him and rested his chin atop her head. "It's funny how we almost always wake up at the same time, isn't it?"

Allowing herself to relax after the initial shock of being torn from her sleep, she sighed and sarcastically murmured, "Yes, it is, isn't it," though he heard the smile in her voice. "What time is it?"

"About 8:30 or so," Roy replied matter-of-factly, making no indication whatsoever that he was going to let go any time soon.

"You do realize our train home leaves in two hours, right," she asked as her voice slipped into its usual authoritative tone, reminding him that this was their final day in Ishval. "I still have to pack up a few things."

Sticking out his lower lip, Roy pouted, "Just five more minutes…?"

"Roy," she warned.

"Okay, okay," he said defeatedly as he loosened his hold on her. He watched as she wriggled from his arms and sat up on the edge of the bed, her back still to him. Despite her hair covering most of it, he could still make out the lines of the array etched into her skin. Trying to avoid looking at it as a sense of guilt filled him, he attempted to steer his thoughts in another, though similar, direction. "Say," he asked absently, "There's something I've noticed. Why do you always sleep with your back toward me?"

Leaning over and picking up her shirt, she slipped it over her head and replied, "I could ask you a similar question, Roy. Why do you always sleep with your back to the door? You leave yourself wide open."

Raising his brows, he said, "I don't do that all the time… Do I?"

With a light chuckle, she replied, "Oh trust me, you do."

Smirking at that, he said, "I don't know… I'm not so sure. I propose we test that theory every night," making sure to put extra emphasis on one word in particular.

She whirled around to face him. "You're 'proposing' something dangerous, sir."

"This isn't dangerous…"

The delicate smile on her face quickly vanished as she averted her eyes away from him. After a few moments of thought, she rose from the bed and walked over to the pair of pants she had abandoned on the floor the night before. As she slipped them on, she murmured, "It is."

"Hm?"

"It is," she said ruefully as she faced him once more.

Puzzled, he asked, "What are you-?"

"This," she said as she gestured to the both of them. "This is dangerous, Roy."

"Hardly," Roy responded lightly. "You know just as well as I that the fraternization laws were repealed months ago."

"That's not exactly what I meant," she murmured as she shifted from one hip to the other.

"Then what did you mean," Roy pried.

"What I meant was that I can't protect your back when I'm at your side."

"When you're at my side, you can see both my front and back," Roy suggested. "And besides… What brought on the thought of being at my side?"

"Your play on words was hardly subtle," she pointed out. After pausing for a moment, she asked quietly, "How long are you going to ask this?"

"As long as it takes until you say 'yes'."

Instead of shifting and rolling over to see her, he remained adamantly glued to his space on the bed, afraid that any sudden movements would cause her to retreat.

Another crack of thunder shook the home.

Almost instantly the pressure on his back markedly increased as Riza tensed up and pushed herself as close to him as physically possible, trembling slightly.

What he wouldn't give to roll over and wrap his arms around her. To tell her that everything would be okay. That the storm, both the one outside and the one within her, would be calmed and would soon pass. Hold her until it was all over.

He wanted to… but knew that he couldn't.

So for now, he would remain as he was: a steady constant, just as she always had been for him.

Always…

Just thinking of the word caused his chest to tighten. She had always been there, becoming so integrated into his life that she had become a part of him, and him her.

A part of him…

Suddenly, it dawned on him.

He realized what had to be given up for her.

The second Roy Mustang woke up, he knew something was off. Maybe it was the lack of warmth he had fallen asleep to or the absence of the pressure against his back. Registering both as being the truth, he sighed. She was gone. Probably watching Edward make food that she may or may not eat, or possibly-

The sound of rustling jolted him from his thoughts. Immediately on the alert, he flew up into a sitting position, ready for anything.

Almost instantly after that, however, he relaxed.

Across the room was Riza, a small bottle of liquid in her hand. Behind her was his dresser, the top sock drawer open, its articles pushed around haphazardly. He watched as she brought it closer to her face, studying it with child-like wonder; her ears pricked fully in a show of curiosity. When her finger went up to the spray mechanism on top, Roy leapt out of bed and rushed toward her, but it was too late.

When she pushed down on it, the bottle sprayed a single spritz of cologne into the air. She responded by gagging and dropping the bottle onto the ground, stepping back from it as if it were ablaze. When she had moved two, three steps away from it, Roy was already at her side. Registering for the first time that he was awake, she gasped and took another step away from him.

Raising his hands, he took a small step back and exclaimed, "It's okay!"

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, unconvinced by his reassuring tone.

"See," he said as he slowly bent over and picked up the bottle of cologne. Straightening himself once more, he held it in one hand and raised the other. Spraying it onto his wrist, he rubbed it in with the back of his other hand. After setting the bottle back down on his dresser, he presented his wrist to her. "It's used to make one smell nice."

At that she wrinkled her nose again in distaste. Clearly she was not buying it.

After she had woken up, she, or rather it, recognized where she was. But instead of fighting back, it merely sat back, as if it was afraid of acting out again.

She instantly registered that her back was against his. Remembering why she was there, she slowly eased away and off the bed. Turning to look out the window, she saw that the sun had risen and the storm was gone. A sense of relief washed over her; no more nightmares. Stealthily making her way over to the door, she was about to open it when something caught her eye.

Turning her head, she saw the sunlight dancing off of a rectangular object atop a wooden box. Padding over to it, she picked it up and lifted it off the box. Inside of it was a paper with people in it. One was clearly the dark-haired man and the other had hair like the light-haired man's, but was obviously more feminine. That one was vastly familiar…

She silently called upon it to see if it would have any input. However, it seemed that the muted force was gone again. It was doing that more often now, disappearing and then reappearing in a weakened and more hushed state. It hadn't formed words as strong as it had before, but it provided enough to her to give her a sense of what she was experiencing. Like the men that had made an appearance the night before. It told her they were familiars and were friendly. It had said a few other things, but she honestly couldn't recall them now.

Feeling that she had dwelled on the thought for too long, she decided that she would investigate further, hoping that she could figure out the other's familiarity on her own. Pulling on the top rectangle that was lodged into the box, she slowly slid it open. Almost instantly her nose wrinkled, the black contents having a dull, foul odor that smelt of feet. Still, curiosity had taken hold of her, and she was more interested than not.

Pushing the contents about, she came upon a small, black box. Picking it up, she opened it and peered inside. Within the cloth that was meant to protect it was a silvery, round metal band. Stuck to the top of it was a shimmering, pale stone. It certainly caught her eye, so she lifted it out of the box and turned it over in her hand, admiring how the light reflected off of it. Curious as to what the hole in the metal was for, she looked around to see if there was anything to slide it onto. When there wasn't anything else that was the right size, she opted to slide it onto the only thing that was: her finger.

It, surprisingly, fit perfectly. Looking down at it, she rotated her hand around, observing it from different angles. Despite how beautiful it was, however, it caused a knot to form in her stomach. Something about it seemed almost intimate, like it held a significant value.

Not wanting to dwell on its value much longer, she attempted to pull it off, but found that it fit a little too perfectly. After struggling with it for a few moments, she realized that it wouldn't come off without some other outside force assisting her with it. Rotating her head slightly, she saw that he was still sleeping.

So for the time being, she'd leave it there. It wasn't hurting her.

Closing the small black box, she was about to push the drawer back in when a liquid-filled container caught her eye. Grasping it, she lifted it up and tilted her head slightly. It had a different, though equally displeasing, odor to it than the rolled up bunches of cloth inside the wooden box. Rotating it around in her hands, she tried to make sense of what it was. What was the purpose of leaving the liquid in a container like that? Was it to prevent it from smelling?

Tracing her finger along its edges, it finally came to rest at the silver top. It was different than the rest of the clear glass; it was movable. Pressing down lightly, the odd mechanism pumped downward, releasing a revolting mist when it had completed its movement. The resulting cloud had formed just over her shoulder, filling her nose with its putrid scent. Gagging, she let go off the disgusting object and backed away from it, clasping her hands over her nose.

That's when she noticed he was right there.

Whirling around, she was caught off-guard by his close proximity. Stepping back hastily, she tried to increase the distance between them. And instead of lunging toward her like she thought he would, the dark-haired man, "Roy," as it had called him, raised his hands and took a step back.

She didn't like the tone of his voice. He was trying to reassure her. But how could she feel better when the thing had assaulted her senses so harshly?

She watched as he bent over and scooped it up. Then, much to her disgust, he sprayed some on himself and offered it to her, using the words "smell" and "nice" in close proximity. There was nothing nice about its smell.

Obviously seeing the appalled look she gave him, he placed it back into the drawer and closed it, then attempted at explaining it again. The only thing she got from it was that its name was "You-bought-it-for-me." A ridiculously long name for an unnecessary thing…

Upon making it downstairs, Roy discovered a note on the table from Edward, stating that he had run out to get groceries. That left the two of them alone for the time being.

Per routine, Roy eventually coaxed Riza to follow him and sit on the floor. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her, he began to talk about nothing in particular. Random, bland thoughts, the weather, current events; anything that wouldn't delve too deeply into her memories. He knew that she merely tolerated these little "talks," oftentimes humoring him by acting like she was listening, though the way her ears moved away every time he spoke was a dead giveaway to her lack of attention.

He hated it.

Hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

Hated seeing her like this.

Hated seeing the lack of recognition on her face.

Hated that it wasn't her he was talking to.

He knew that it would only be two more weeks until everything would be fixed.

Two weeks until she was herself again.

But also it meant that he only had two more weeks left with her…

It suddenly made its appearance known; its force so strong that it nearly knocked the wind out of her.

It recognized the notion of the little metal band on her finger. But instead of asking it to explain what it meant completely, she realized that it had returned a little… different.

Angry… Bitter.

It is meant to be a promise, it told her harshy. But… that promise was one that could never be. Impossible, it told her. Everything was… impossible now. That was… the Truth.

And he… He had one promise that could have been kept. One promise that could have stopped all of this needless running in circles. He was supposed to make it all stop.

It… -no, she- realized that his promise was not kept. Because she was still here.

"…Why…?"

So surprised that she had chosen to speak, Roy didn't even process what she had said. Smiling lightly in the hopes that she would speak again, he asked, "What was that?"

"Why," she snapped as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Why what-" He reached out to try and take her hand, to pull her from this confusion, when she pulled away. And when she did so, his hand scraped against something on her finger. He looked down, catching a glimpse of it was. His face paling, he stammered, "Where-where did-"

"Liar," she spat as she narrowed her eyes at him and pushed herself further away.

Before she could get further, he grabbed her wrist. When she attempted to pry it off, he firmly grasped her other wrist. "Where is this coming from?! Why are you doing this," he pleaded.

Continuing to pull at his grip, she growled, "I'm… here…"

"What does that mean!?"

All at once she stopped pulling and raised her eyes to really, truly look him in the eye, causing his breath the catch in his chest. He really was looking her in the eye. Everything that was her; mind, body, and soul were all there. Slowly releasing his grip on her wrists, he cautiously raised his hands and said, "You need to stop this…! You can't strain yourself like-"

"Didn't ask… for this," she replied harshly as she struggled to call forth the words she needed. "Didn't ask… for your pity…"

"'Pity,'" Roy echoed back in disbelief as her words slowly sunk in. "No… Not pity," he tried desperately to explain. "A second chance! I had one, so-"

"It's different," she growled. "No price… No chance…"

"There is a chance," he protested. "We've been working on it! We just have to wait a little longer-"

"No," she snarled as she shook her head. "Won't… work."

"It will," he exclaimed. "Please trust us!"

Again she shook her head earnestly.

Feeling his frustrations begin to rise, he argued, "It will work!" As she continued to shake her head, he contended, "Why are you saying this?"

"I… didn't ask… for this…"

She couldn't stand to be around him anymore. If she was, it would vanish again, possibly for good. It wanted to tell him something, but the pull had become too great.

Fool, it snapped bitterly in her head. Stupid, stupid fool…

Hastily getting to her feet, she ignored him as he struggled to his, bolting out of the room. Hearing the pounding of his footsteps behind her, she turned into the first bedroom she came upon. Slamming the door shut, she immediately locked it and leaned heavily into it. As she slid down to the ground, she felt him slamming his shoulder against it, trying desperately to gain entry. Reaching up, she cupped her hands over her ears and tried to drown out his pleas and apologies as her head began to violently throb.

She didn't want him to try. She didn't ask for this! She didn't want this!

Here he was, fighting tooth and nail for a lost cause.

No point… no point…

No point…

She knew now what price he was willing to pay… but it was not enough for the creature at the Gate.

Because once he activated the transmutation circle that would supposedly "save her," he would die.

A/N: Yaaaaay…! Got this chapter out just in time for my birthday (okay, so still a few days away, but I'm celebrating today because I start exams this week and will have zero time to otherwise.).

Hope you enjoyed. Anyone have any ideas what Roy is willing to sacrifice as opposed to what the Truth wants to take?

Thank you to all that have reviewed, favorited, and followed so far! I truly appreciate it.