Chapter 8 - Day 149

Roy turned over when he heard the shower run. Just another five minutes, maybe ten. Or fifteen. It was Saturday. They had brought enough food for breakfast and lunch; there was no reason to get up. None that could get him to do so anyway, he thought.

The shower stopped. Roy didn't realise that it had until bare feet pattered over to his side of the bed. A finger prodded between his brows. He frowned against it.

"General," Riza quietly said, out of habit.

"Uh," Roy slurred.

"I'm afraid the shower won't stay warm for a long time," she informed. Somewhere in the haze of his dozing, Roy wondered how that was relevant. He didn't voice his doubts though, instead giving another half‑dead groan. "It will be cold once you're up."

"I'll just," he had to clear his throat, voice croaking, "go tomorrow…"

"You could…" Riza hesitated. She took her finger away. "You could join me. If you wanted to." She retreated, wet feet squelching back across the old floorboards.

Roy lied still for a heartbeat. Realisation hit. He shot up straight in bed, forcefully ramming his head into the sloping roof.

"I'm here!" he yelled, stumbling out of bed. The blanket bundled under his feet, almost making him meet the wall face first. Somehow, he made it to the bathroom without further injuries. It was tiny, the opening door almost colliding with Riza in the shower. "I'm here," he panted. Her lips curled into an amused smile.

He didn't have the time for being teased, staring at her – her back, her hair sticking to it, the curve of her hips. Her thighs. Gods, he loved them.

"I love you too."

"I didn't say anything." Her eyes twinkled over her shoulder.

"Did you already wash your hair?" Roy awkwardly digressed. She had spotted his excitement – the physical one. A quiet snort escaped her throat. "That's not exactly the reaction a man is hoping for," he grumbled, taking off his boxers anyway.

"Sorry, it wasn't my intention."

"It wasn't?" Roy almost whined, feeling very much like Hayate begging for treats. Regardless of his momentary disappointment, he gladly took the shampoo she held out, massaging it into her scalp. Washing it out was better than treats, his fingers greedily running through silken golden tresses. The shower was warm, but it still calmed his excitement. This was why he had schemed their little getaway – relaxation. Time together, a speck of freedom to roam outside too.

Roy imagined the woods and Riza's smiles upon seeing Hayate run about. If there were a lake nearby, he was prepared. Not least because he was dying to see the bump she hid from both of them. No rushing, he had to tell himself. She had estimated that she was in the firth month – there would be plenty of time to see it in its full glory.

"I'm sorry," Riza interrupted his train of thoughts. "I didn't say it back." She turned. His pulse sped up, eyes flashing down for the split of a second before forcibly snapping up to hers.

"Say what back?" Roy asked. Her hands found his forearms. She trailed upwards, leaving goosebumps in her wake. Delicately tracing all the way up and behind his neck, she gently tugged on him.

"That I love you too." Her lips ghosted against his. "More than you know." She kissed him tenderly, gratefully. Roy melted into her, his knees wobbling for just a second. His ears tingled, heart throbbing madly. It nearly shot out of his chest when her bump briefly touched his abdomen. He sucked it in out of habit; out of the fear that she might not like it.

Riza paused. No breath flowed against his, her chest tight. Slowly, tentatively, one hand wandered back down his arm. Roy stood absolutely still when she enclosed his hand, guiding it. He unknowingly joined her in holding their breaths. She was…

Hesitating for an agonisingly long moment, Riza let his hand hover between them. She didn't look; didn't dare finish what she had started. He turned his hand in hers, giving a squeeze. Then he let go, almost in slow motion, waiting for protests. She gave him none. The tips of his fingers brushed her belly. Riza swallowed audibly. Her breath hitched, then stuttered against his collarbone when he tenderly spread his fingers, cupping the baby bump.

The water of the shower turned cold. Like icicles, it suddenly pierced their backs and heads. Roy wanted to curse, having winced away. The entire buildup, the trust she had blessed him with, gone. But Riza's hand from around his neck flew to the faucet, turning it off. Gasping in the relative warmth of the air, recovering from the additional tension, they panted slightly.

Riza never ceased to do so when he returned to holding her belly. He wasn't sure why, but Roy felt as aflutter as if already cradling the newborn baby to himself. He brought down his other hand, thumbs mellowly rubbing over her stretched skin. For a moment, he thought she was going to bite his shoulder in agitation or pain or whatever it was that made her grasp his biceps with pinching nails.

"Does it hurt?" he whispered.

"No," she breathed. He didn't know why they were being so quiet but it felt right. Her lips brushed his ear, chapped and chewed-off. Still refusing to look. "Sometimes it does. At night," she admitted. "But this is…" Her chest stuttered again when he continued rubbing, tracing soothing circles around her navel. "It's nice."

"It is," Roy mumbled huskily. Leaning away slightly, he let her hold on to his shoulders instead. He didn't need to seek consent – her eyes were screwed shut. It made him frown sorrily. Just what would it need for her to feel any attachment to the child? At least something besides fear and confusion.

Going down on one, then both knees, Roy brushed a kiss to her belly. Riza shuddered. A shiver travelled down his spine too, and Roy realised for the first time in minutes that they were both still wet and prone to catch a cold. A moment went by, his hands greedy, selfish as they continued to hold her bump with fierce tenderness.

His voice was hoarse when he broke the silence. "We should probably dry off."

"Right," Riza croaked. With her nails, she had left light red streaks on his shoulders. Her own were drawn like a bow. Roy took it upon himself to loosen them. He stood, picked up her towel and wrapped it around her. Moving his hands behind her back, he began to rub, going up to massage her shoulders. Riza made a small sound of approval. She used the opportunity of him being at her level to nestle her face into the crook of his neck.

With exceeding care, Roy continued drying her lower back and finally stomach. She didn't hold it in this time, barely wincing. Humming delightedly in her ear, Roy planted a long kiss to her crown. He secured the towel around her waist, sensing that she wouldn't like retreating from her safe haven any time soon.

One arm slung around her, he made them both shuffle towards where his towel was. An amused smile stretched across Riza's lips when he then shuffled with her in the other direction, out of the narrow bathroom and towards the bed beneath the slope.

He lied her down on the bed, drying off her legs. "Does anything else hurt?" he asked once having arrived at her toes. She wiggled them in his grasp but never pulled away.

"My back, mildly," Riza sighed. It didn't sound half as strained as before. His heart skipped a merry beat, reflected in his smile. "My feet. My head, though it hasn't yet today."

"Good." He kissed her instep, her heel, her ankle. Riza sighed more deeply. Roy found her a pair of knickers and a skirt. He had intended to help her into both, but when he arrived at her waist with the knickers, his hands strayed, eagerly caressing the mound that was their baby again. "Hey…" he whispered to it, not knowing why.

Blush warmed his cheeks, seeing as she smiled. He also had to smile. It was too good to see her do so. That, and she was blushing just as much.

"I don't think it can hear you," Riza said. It she said, but at least she addressed it. In his head, Roy made a note to plan them a getaway for each coming weekend – what mental hurdles of anxiety she was overcoming in such a short time!

"It won't until at least 27 weeks old," he agreed. She arched a single brow. Roy's smile widened, regardless of his darkening blush. She was watching him, meaning she was at least seeing his ministrations on her belly through peripheral vision. "It has been able to hear your heartbeat for a while though. At approximately 18 weeks," he went on. Her other brow rose. "And your grumbling stomach," he humorously imitated a growl. It made his cheek vibrate against the bump, so he promptly covered the spot with a kiss.

"Did your mother by any chance send you more than just the pieces for a crib?"

"'From Begetting to Birth: A Trilogy'."

"You're joking."

"Read them back to back," he boasted. "So I know that your torso hurts because of the rearranging organs and expanding uterus, your back because your centre of gravity is shifting with the additional weight of the baby – about two hundred grams by now – your feet due to the change in blood circulation, and your head hurts because…" he faltered, "because why wouldn't it?"

"I'm impressed," Riza honestly said. "Except for that last thing." She called him out teasingly. Roy flashed his dorkiest grin. "You're really into this," she noted with a hint of unbelieving, honest surprise. "And didn't you say you had about two nights after figuring out what was going on?"

"I already decided that for the first day of school, I'll wear a suit," Roy sputtered ecstatically. "Something proper. It's an important day and I don't want the military to have anything to do with my little girl's inauguration, so no uniform."

"Inauguration?"

"What? Oh, uh, first day of school." His grin turned into an innocent one.

Riza's frown softened. She reached out both hands. "What would I do without you?"

He crawled up happily, enjoying the way she cupped his face, guiding it to her own. "Not be knocked up unintendedly."

She shushed him with a kiss. He didn't complain.

For breakfast, they once again chose the couch for maximum closeness. Afterwards – and Riza insisted on wearing her headscarf, packing a pair of sunglasses just in case they would meet someone – they went on a walk. For three hours, they strolled through the woods, climbed small hills and weaved their way through the fields. Never did they meet anyone who wasn't a rabbit or sheep. Roy made use of their solitude in the form of holding hands.

After a lengthy lunch on the porch outside their cabin, they dared to make their way to town. It took long enough to get there for them to weasel out turn on the heel prematurely. With Riza wearing her scarf and Roy having put on an uncharacteristic hat however, they enjoyed what was left of the emptying market. Hayate resigned first, his sluggish gait and hanging tongue prompting them to slow down on the way back.

"There is something I don't understand," Riza said, standing at the counter of the kitchen.

Roy pulled the cord of the old lightbulb in the middle of their downstairs area. With a smirk, he slithered behind her where she was chopping up their dinner. "You mean how I'm so excruciatingly handsome, even in that unbecoming old billycock?" His arms wound around her. He quite liked the way they fit under her from the pregnancy heavier breasts, right across her ribs.

"I believe you know my answer to that," she deadpanned. "But General—" she paused. Roy curled in his lips, anticipation buzzing in his chest. "Roy," she corrected. A small swarm of butterflies escaped the cage that was his stomach.

"Riza." He pecked her temple.

"Why did you send me all that money, not yet knowing I was having your baby?" she asked.

He had no capacity to process the question. "My baby!" Was all Roy squeaked. She hissed when he unknowingly squished her tighter. Immediately, he loosened his grip, never retreating from his precious spot though, lining her nape with apology kisses instead.

"I could have been dying like Havoc suggested and you'd have never seen your money again," she called back to the topic at hand. "Or I could have run away with it."

"Which is precisely why I transferred it to you," Roy intervened. Riza frowned. "I told you, I was afraid you were going on some solo mission. It didn't occur to me that you'd stay away forever. I wanted you to be properly equipped to fend for yourself, protect yourself, escape by any means possible…" He dropped his chin onto her shoulder, absently observing her dicing vegetables. "I wanted to be sure that you could rent a car or hotel. That you were comfortable, but most importantly, I wanted you to come back and not be stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"How much of your funds did you spend on my 'mission'?"

Roy sighed. "We're not lacking any, you can be sure of that."

"But my rent—"

"Won't matter once we quit the apartment," he argued. Riza thrust the knife into the fennel bulb. She dropped it on the cutting board. "We're quitting your apartment," he repeated when she turned, "as well as mine." Her mouth, ready for protests, stayed open. "We're going to buy ourselves a house in the outskirts."

"Buy a house?" Riza asked dubiously.

"Yes, a house with a garden for Hayate and enough room for the three— four of us." He glanced over his shoulder to where Hayate was curled up, sleeping soundly. "I already looked at some and copied the blueprints when no one was looking for you to consider."

"And how are we going to pay for a house, let alone one with a garden?"

He smiled a little cheekily. "Do you remember when we went on that stupid mission where it rained like hell?"

"You fell into a river."

"And then I didn't find it so useless after all."

Riza tempered the disgruntlement in her tone. "You said you'd come up with some interesting alchemy by glimpsing at standard weather charts."

"Hydrogen polyoxides. A theory on trihydrogen oxide that could withstand incredible pressures of over a hundred gigapascals, maybe more."

"Right," Riza nodded, clueless.

"Now I haven't made it into a proper report yet, but that finding is huge enough to last me at least two years. Two full years of not having to do anything besides exploring my findings in theory and noting them down – that's two full years of research funds I won't have to spend on actual research. It'll enable us to buy a house with one of those broad shower heads you like so much."

"That's great…" Riza's gaze drifted downwards.

"Not so enthusiastic." Roy pouted.

"No, it is great, I just…" Her arms came up to return his hug. "I'm not contributing anything…" she mumbled sadly.

"You get to hatch it," Roy emphasised like he had before. She was the one having to bear with pregnancy – she had to see his point! "You're already doing so much and I can't help you with any of it. I can't share your pain or your aches and hormone moods. But I can provide – and I will gladly provide because you're my wife and this is my baby."

"Our baby," she said in an attempt to draw attention to her debts again, only then realising what she had said. Roy's lips stretched all the way to his ears in a huge, deliriously happy smile. "Well, you know…" she muttered, looking elsewhere.

"I do." He nudged her nose with his.

"At least let me pay half of it. A house is expensive."

"We'll take the money you would pay for rent. That way you're contributing monthly to the loan. I'll do the same and add some savings – I've always had the military pay me a little extra for accommodation and such when going to Central. I actually secretly stayed at Madame's." He grinned.

"Conning the military? Really?"

"It's conned us enough, don't you think?" He hesitated before he continued. She had taken the news about the house well enough, so perhaps if we went about this the right way… "I also," Roy stalled. She tilted her head. He didn't dare meet her eyes as he spoke. "I also talked to the Fuhrer."