Title: It's Okay Just to Say I'm Not Okay
Day: Whumptober 2023, Day 30
Prompt: "It's okay just to say 'I'm not okay'," Borrowed Clothing/Bridal Carry/ "Not much longer"
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Word Count: 1526
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: K/G
Characters: Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye
Warning: NA
Summary: A young Roy and Riza get caught out in the rain while traveling back to Riza's house through the woods. They take refuge in a hunting cabin, but Riza is mad at Roy for getting them lost—and might have hurt her ankle. Somehow, they'll make it home.
Notes:
It's Okay Just to Say I'm Not Okay
Riza Hawkeye was mad. She was mad, she was drenched, she was cold, and her ankle hurt. And none of it would have happened if stupid Roy Mustang had just listened to her. She should have just walked away and let him get lost in the woods or something. Then he could be drenched and cold and probably still wandering around outside, and she would be in her house warm, dry, and without a hurt ankle.
She turned around to glare at him, being careful of her ankle, as he did his best to secure the door of the small hunting cabin they had broken into. It likely belonged to Old Man Earnst, and it was a fifty-fifty shot on whether he would be angry with them for being here or not. His wife, though, wouldn't mind. But either way, for the moment, they were stuck here, and it was Roy Mustang's fault.
He turned back around and froze for a second at her glare. Then he let out a sigh, and his shoulders dropped a little. "I'm sorry, alright?" he said. Riza continued to glare at him. "How was I supposed to know it was going to pour rain that quickly!" he said.
"Maybe by listening to me!" Riza shot back. "I told you those clouds looked like rain, and I told you they looked heavy with it!"
"That doesn't mean it's going to suddenly pour rain from the sky!" Roy shot back. "You're twelve! You haven't even studied meteorology at your school! Why would I believe you?"
"Maybe because I've got lived experience with this sort of thing where you don't, city boy!" she mocked. "You might be sixteen, and you might have been here three years, but you still don't know anything about how to live out here!"
"I know more than you think!" he shot back at her.
"Oh yeah?" she challenged, bringing her arms around herself again as she shivered. "Then tell me what we do now and see if it'll get us out of this situation!"
Roy opened his mouth, still glaring at her, but quickly closed it again. He looked around the cabin, and then pulled a shirt and a pair of pants off of a wall. He threw them at her. "Here. Change out of your wet clothes at least. I'll change after I get a fire going. Neither of us need to catch cold out here."
Riza blinked at him, a little taken aback at the sudden change. Still, though, she took the clothes, and turned her back on Roy. "Fine," she said. "But you face the other way while I change!"
"I will," Roy said, and turned to the small pot-bellied stove in the corner.
Riza quickly divested herself of her wet clothes, having to peel her soaked stockings off of her legs, wincing when she peeled them off of her ankle. She was still a little wet, but the clothes, at least, were dry. She had to roll up the sleeves and the pants legs and grab a rope that was nearby to cinch the pants around her waist, but the dry clothes did make her feel warmer.
"I'm finished," she said, keeping her tone firm as she turned around.
"Good," Roy said, still not turning around. "I've got the fire going. I'll change too, and then we'll figure out what to do with our clothes."
"Fine," Riza said. She made her way over to the stove, doing her best to pretend that her ankle didn't hurt.
She apparently did a good job, because Roy didn't say anything about it. He took clothes and went back to where she had been while Riza settled herself down next to the stove. It felt warm and she closed her eyes, leaning into the heat. It didn't take Roy long to change, and Riza heard him moving about the small cabin. She didn't turn around to look, though, stretching out her leg and rotating her ankle around. She winced. Yeah, that hurt. That wasn't good.
"I found a string," Roy said, coming back towards her. "If we can get our clothes on it and put it up, they might dry faster."
Riza eyed the string, and then their clothes. It was, she had to admit, a good idea. "I suppose so," she said reluctantly. Roy looked at her oddly for her reluctance, but he didn't comment. Riza pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the way her ankle felt, and helped. Once they got the clothes strung up, they both sat back down again, near the fire. Outside they could still hear the rain pouring in droves. For a while that, and the sound of the fire, were the only sounds that they heard. Finally, though, Roy spoke up.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You're right, you do have more experience. But I honestly thought that we had enough time," he said.
Riza was silent for a moment. "…I shouldn't have yelled at you. We probably would have gotten wet either way." She glanced at him. "But I'm not apologizing for taking over the lead. You had no idea where we were."
Roy grimaced. "I thought I did," he said. "But I guess I didn't."
Riza huffed. "I'm out here hunting in these woods all the time. I don't get lost out here."
"I know, I know," Roy said with an embarrassed grin. "But I just wanted to be able to do it."
Riza frowned and turned her nose up. "You'll have to do a lot more galivanting around the woods before you can do that, Mr. Mustang."
Roy drew back a little and gave a mock bow. "Oh, forgive me, Miss Hawkeye. I didn't know I had to gain so many hours of experience. I'll add it to my regimen."
There was a pause, before both of them relaxed and laughed a little.
"How long do you think the rain will last?" Riza asked.
"Hopefully, not much longer, but apparently I'm not very good with weather," Roy said, slightly teasing.
Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed, and the rain lasted several more hours. By the time it let up, it was already dark outside. Neither of them was thrilled about the idea of walking through the woods in the dark, especially out in the rain, but they saw that there was very little choice. They put their own clothes—now mostly dry, although Riza skirts were a little damp—back on and headed out.
The one good thing about the dark, as far as Riza was concerned, was that it was good cover for her hurt ankle. She could limp around, and Roy didn't take much notice of it, thinking she was being careful of branches and slick leaves. That was, until she found some of those branches and leaves.
In the dark, she didn't see the raised root and tripped over it. The wet leaves on the ground gave her feet no purchase and she tumbled to the ground, her ankle twisting painfully.
"Riza!"
Roy stumbled to her side, trying to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm—I'm fine," she said. "Help me up."
Roy wrapped his hands around her arms and helped her to stand—only to catch her as she tried to put weight on her ankle and fell again. "You're hurt!" he said.
"I'm fine," Riza insisted.
Roy frowned and shook his head. "No, you're not." He sighed. "Riza, it's okay just to say 'I'm not okay' you know. No one is going to think less of you."
Riza stubbornly didn't say anything, and Roy sighed again.
"How far are we from the house?" he asked.
"It's not much longer," Riza said. "I'd say another fifteen or twenty minutes?" Maybe slower now that she had really twisted her ankle. "I think I can make it—"
Riza was cut off as she was suddenly lifted up into Roy's arms, giving a little squeak of surprise.
"Alright. I can do fifteen or twenty minutes of carrying you," Roy said. "It's not like you weigh much."
Riza smacked his arm. "I weigh just fine, thank you!" she said. "And it would be easier for you to carry me on your back, then in your arms!"
Roy grinned. "I know. But this has better optics."
Riza just stared at him. "You are. So weird. No one is going to see you out here."
Roy shrugged. "You never know. Now—settle in and tell me where to go."
Riza sighed and pointed out the direction they needed to go in, looping her arms around Roy's neck to hopefully take some of the strain off of his arms.
It was still his fault that they were in this mess. But Riza wasn't mad at him anymore. He was too silly to be mad at for too long, and this whole thing just proved it. Hopefully her father wouldn't be mad at them, but if he was, he was. In the meantime, she'd let this silly city boy carry her home—and this time, she'd provide the directions from the get-go, so they wouldn't get lost.