Notifications still aren't working and it's starting to really piss me off. No reply from FanFiction or Google Mail either. Sorry if this is taking longer; I keep hoping the notifications will be back on so that I can actually see the story and reviews.
Do you guys receive alerts at all for new chapters?

Also I upped the rating for the next chapter (14) but it's still borderline safe, kids :D

Without further ado.

Chapter 13 - Days 184-187

"So," Rebecca slung her arm over the backrest of the couch, a smug smirk curling her lips, "how's pregnant sex?"

Riza mildly choked on her tea.

The day after having been brought into the loop, Rebecca had stood outside Headquarters, pestering Roy at his car, then in the office, nearly in the canteen too if he hadn't taken her aside for a quick reminder to keep a low profile. Waiting for precisely one day was apparently a low enough profile for her, because there she was, back in the living room, right after work.

Roy had yet to come home.

"I don't know," Riza mumbled.

Much rather than meeting her friend's rising brow, she inspected the care package Rebecca had brought. Snacks for food cravings – sweet and savoury – body lotion, fragrance candles, novels, and the fluffiest pair of slippers in all of Central. And an erotica. Riza pretended she hadn't found it amongst the other books.

"You don't know?" Rebecca sounded incredulous. "When was the last time you did it then?"

"I don't know," Riza repeated. "Still in Ishval. One or two months after contraception maybe." At least that was how she calculated, using her missed periods.

"Honey, that's four months ago at best. How do you stand it?" Rebecca was leaning into the backrest as if she was the deprived one.

"I have other things I'm preoccupied with," Riza defended herself. That one novel caught her eye again, so she set the entire bag aside. Hayate lifted his head, interested in the rustling sound.

"How does he stand it?" Rebecca asked.

"He…" Riza frowned. And paused. "He's preoccupied too." He was. Work kept him. Planning their weekends kept him. Putting together the furniture she couldn't build on her own kept him. Alchemically welding together what she had broken in her tireless attempts to do just about everything by herself kept him more often than she liked to admit.

"He never once gave you a sign?" Rebecca sounded as if he had grown a second head.

Riza huffed. "He'd never force himself onto me. Although," she mused, "he did enjoy that one shower a little too much."

"Taking care of himself?"

"What? No. We showered together." She blushed three shades of red. Whether about her friend's guess or her own clarification she couldn't tell.

"Oh."

"Nothing happened."

"You say that as if it'd be a scandal."

"It kind of is."

"You're married to the guy." Rebecca shook her head. "Sure, not officially, but what's wrong with a quicky in the shower?"

"Becca!"

Rebecca laughed. Riza grumbled, momentarily glad about Hayate sticking his head into the bag. Scolding him drew the attention off of her. At least so she hoped.

"I forgot you don't enjoy talking about sex," Rebecca mercilessly stayed on topic. "How is it that you're the one knocked up though…?"

"I know, right?" Riza gave a wry smile. Rebecca's smile softened. She patted Riza's knee, then Hayate's head who would have also liked the shift of attention to himself.

"You might wanna give it a try sometime – if you feel comfortable doing it. Could do both of you good."

"I don't know, I really am elsewhere with my thoughts. I don't want to ruin the moment," Riza crossed her arms, holding her elbows. "There's still the issue with the fraternisation laws while continuing to work under the General." Rebecca frowned, so Riza went on. "We're going to try to reduce my position to his secretary and bodyguard," she explained.

"So everything you are now…?"

"Except soldier, yes."

"Why don't you find a different job? If you're more or less quitting the military anyway. Something without frat laws," Rebecca proposed. "A part-time job."

Riza resolutely shook her head. "No, I need to at the very least stay his bodyguard. And aide. Both, everything, oh," she sighed unhappily, "I need to be there."

"Then why don't you just keep your current position? Pretend it's not his kid."

"I—" Riza interrupted herself. She hesitated, contemplating the idea.

"You guys are already practically each other's oxygen. No one would question if he came over frequently to help his precious Captain entertain her kid."

"And the child?" Riza intervened. "Having to keep the secret of who his father is all the time? Living apart?"

"You could get apartments in the same building."

"No," she decidedly said, "if something happened to me, the General wouldn't have custody of his own child."

"Please stop calling him that, I thought you were married," Rebecca deadpanned. A single brow rose when there was no immediate response. The other brow joined. "You don't seriously still call him that, do you?"

"I," Riza schooled her expression, "don't," she said after a brief pause. Rebecca's eyes flashed from her face to her hands which Riza folded neatly in her lap.

"Oh my god, you do."

"I do not." Riza looked elsewhere.

"You know," Rebecca followed her gaze, "we could make that work. Turn it into some kinky roleplay—"

"Becca, really!"

"Here, I brought you something to help with that." She snatched up the care package before Riza could whisk is out of reach.

Just then, the front door opened. Riza rose to her feet, stiff as a plank. The only thing missing was a salute. Rebecca blinked at her posture, then laughed out loud. Blush crept hotly into Riza's cheeks. Her lips curled upwards though, amusement poorly stifled.

She had needed this – a touch of self-irony. She had missed Rebecca's shenanigans, even when paying the price. Rebecca was relaxed enough that it sufficed for both of them, infecting her. Occasionally.

Her ears perked when Rebecca's yowling laughter provoked the fleet susurration of fabric.

"Don't use them," Riza quickly entered the hall, "it's Rebecca." She rounded the open doorway.

Sure enough, Roy had tugged on his ignition glove. His face was pale, a single drop of sweat rolling down his temple as he let out a sigh of relief.

"It's just Rebecca," Riza echoed. Reassuringly, she plucked the glove off his hand. He merely watched it happen. "She's been here since four."

"I see," Roy let out another breath. She glanced up at him worriedly. Compelling his frown to leave, Roy gave a weary smile. "Sorry, love," he pecked her cheek in belated greeting, "Pilatus has been keeping quiet all week and it's almost more unsettling than him prancing around."

"The Lieutenant Colonel?" Riza slid his coat off his shoulders, hanging it in the entrance.

Roy worked to keep his smile in place. "I'm glad you've been entertained." He nodded at Rebecca who appeared around the corner. "I didn't mean to interrupt." He bent down to take off his boots.

"Of course not."
"General," Rebecca teased under her breath. Riza shot her a warning glare.

"If you want me to leave you two alone so you can keep on bragging about your fabulous husband…" Roy straightened, smile broadening into a winning grin.

Riza almost felt the urge to block him from view. Rebecca would only get more ideas and… and that was her look, she admitted with shame. She was the only one with whom he flirted seriously; she wanted to enjoy that privilege alone.

"It's alright," she digressed. "Do you want to eat dinner?"

"Sir," Rebecca coughed. Riza's hip gave Rebecca's a hefty reprimanding nudge. Rebecca only giggled. Roy looked on cluelessly though not without amusement.

"I can turn on the oven right away," Riza overplayed.

Roy's features softened. "No," he interrupted her flaring sense of duty. He had to follow it to the kitchen where she was already busy uncovering the casserole she had prepared in advance. His hand on hers stopped her. "It's fine, I'm not starving."

"But you're hungry?" she insisted. Guiltily, he found. Stressed for sure, diligent to keep up the role she made herself play. The thought had Rebecca's suggestion resurfacing, and Riza nearly shook her head in denial. Dinner was what he wanted; domestic harmony, not more heat where he must have been like a cat on a hot tin roof at work.

His other hand cupped her arm, pulling her back to the present. It retreated to hold her cheek instead. She leant in without thinking. Her eyes darted to the door. Upon finding no one, Riza closed her eyes, enjoying the caresses of his thumb.

"How about," he paused. She looked up to see his eyes taking similar precautions. Coming to the same conclusion as her, Roy used his chance to kiss her properly. A flutter of excitement stirred within her, thrilling, secretive, silly as it was. Roy grinned when she smiled. It made her giddy in a good way. "How about I go and change, and then take Hayate out for a walk. I could use the fresh air."

"If you're sure." She accompanied him to the stairs.

"Oh," Roy swung back, hand on the banister, "and if your giggly friend wants to stay for dinner, she is welcome to."

"Will do!" Rebecca called from the living room. Riza cringed when she found her on the couch, leafing through one of the books. Riza moved in front of her lest Roy return and catch a glimpse. "Here, read this."

"I will not—"

"Relax, it's nothing dirty." Rebecca thrust the open pages at her. "Start here," she instructed, pointing at the third paragraph on the left. Riza rolled her eyes. Obeying, she skimmed until the end of the page. She didn't know the characters, but it was evident that they would become an item by the end of the novel. "Now this." Rebecca was already laughing again. In one precise swipe, the novel disappeared from Riza's hands, instantly replaced with another. "Start anywhere."

Riza frowned. She made a face when the expected licking or touching came, the sounds the characters were drawing out of one another. It wasn't until Roy descended the stairs that she blushed a feverish red, all but hurling the book between the cushions of the couch.

"I'm… off?" He peeked into the living room. Rebecca had collapsed in wild laughter. Riza was standing up randomly, ramrod straight. She refused to enlighten him, even after Rebecca had left with bruised shins from whenever Riza had had to shut her up during dinner.

The night had dragged on for a couple of hours longer when Riza got up a second time. Roy felt her slither out carefully from under his arm. Almost calmly, she made sure to cover him with the blanket, tugging it all the way up to his neck. Then she hurried to the bathroom as if having gulped down two pots of tea in a row. Usually, he would hear her curse at how often she had to go.

Hooking his chin over the blanket, Roy smiled to himself. A motherly instinct, he assumed. She had never tucked him in unless he had suffered some deadly cold or other.

Bare feet pattered around the bed. He didn't move until she had climbed in and under the covers. He enjoyed it too much when she thought him asleep, cuddling up close. And she did. Any attempts not to wake him died in the process of groping for his shirt, slender arms sliding around his torso, and the divine smell of her hair nestling closely below his nose. Riza's chest rose against his, deeply, then fell in a long, glad sigh.

"So much," she whispered. Roy's ears perked. Had he missed the first part or had she not noticed to have spoken a portion of her thoughts? Either way, his heart swelled. He couldn't help but tighten his embrace. "You're awake," she said without much of a voice.

"I have been for a while, don't worry." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. He couldn't help a stronger inhale, sniffing where the scent of her shampoo vanished in favour of what was purely Riza.

"I'm sorry," she said nonetheless. He squeezed again. She waited.

"It's been a long week…" he finally confessed. "Not having you around at the office makes it a lot more difficult to go there in the first place lately, is all."

"You know you can always bring paperwork home with you." She kissed the hollow of his neck. "I'll help you."

"No," Roy shook his head above hers, "that's another problem. You need to slow down."

"Me?" She frowned. "All I do is sit around at home—"

"And yet you get up with me every morning. You make all the meals, you unpack several boxes a day. Yesterday, I came home to two rooms freshly painted – on top of everything else. It's impossible to do all that and take enough breaks in the time I'm gone."

"I just want things to be ready…" she muttered.

Roy gave another longer squeeze. "And it will be. We still have almost three months and even then, the baby will stay with us for so long, it won't need its own room up and ready. I don't want you to overexert yourself."

"It's not like I can catch much of a break with all the kicking," Riza quietly admitted. Roy held his breath, patient, excited – for her to continue as much as for the advertised baby activity. He shuffled his abdomen closer to hers just in case. "I tried to take naps now and again but it never agrees with my schedule."

"Maybe he needs a stern word from Papa." Roy nodded more or less seriously. Calling himself a 'papa' was by far too exciting to be earnest. His hand travelled to her belly. "Or a gentle nudge – a taste of his own medicine."

"I highly doubt that's going to help."

"Did you try reciprocating?"

"No."

Roy began with gentle strokes. First his thumb, then his index and middle finger too. Up, down, open, closed. No response. Riza heaved a small sigh of relaxation though.

"You're a little troublemaker," Roy pouted, "but your mama is up for the job. She won't let you become a spoilt brat," he poked once, "that's my job."

"Hey." Riza scowled. Roy laughed. "I… found a nice name if it's a boy," she whispered as if telling a secret.

Roy was all ears. "Really?" He was overjoyed already that she had given it a thought. He knew the list that he kept by heart, even the order. Would she pick a name he had considered too?"

"Jerome."

What?

"And if it's a girl, Alfredo." Riza giggled.

She squeaked when he mercilessly tickled her sides. "I was five and it was a hamster!" Roy huffed and puffed, indignant. It only made her laugh more.

In one final swipe, Riza finished cleaning atop the skirting board. The dust clung to the rag, but she sneezed anyway. Wet hair didn't help her feel warmer. The disappointment in Roy's face had been obvious when he had seen that she had already showered – without him. It had brought her discussion with Rebecca to mind, and so Riza was fiercely distracting herself by scrubbing the floorboards downstairs.

The extra room as they called it didn't have a purpose yet. An office perhaps, although Roy had never used the one set up at his flat. If she asked him – which she didn't – he would bring up that hypothetical sibling of their baby he seemed so keen on. For now, the room served as storage, hosting the mess that had been Roy's unused office.

Wondering what someone who spent so little time at home could have filled so many boxes with, Riza shuffled over to the first one. Dust coated it as if it hadn't been transported at all, still standing in that stuffy backroom. Even just fiddling with the flaps had dust sticking to her fingers.

Riza harked for a moment. The shower was being turned off upstairs. Fifteen minutes from now.

He travelled in civilian clothes, and he always took great care not to wrinkle anything unnecessarily. It wasn't so much the added effort of having to re-iron everything, but rather that sprinkle of candid vanity Roy carried for his appearance.

Riza smiled to herself. She tried to hold on to that smile, contemplating his journey as she peeled the remains of tape off the cardboard box. The General Council. Grumman swore he had chosen only the most loyal, intelligent high-ranking soldiers of the country. Then again, he indirectly transferred decision rights to Roy when it came to the south – usually convenient, but a tightrope walk when meeting that incapable General in person during the conference.

Five hours by train to Central. Staying the night, attending the meeting in the morning, then rushing to the station in order to get back home on the same day. Rebecca had promised to come by to see Riza, at least to walk Hayate, but Riza wasn't worried. Not about herself.

Roy wanted to talk to Grumman about the possibility of her compromised position. Without giving himself away.

Riza sighed under her breath. It was rare enough that she wasn't accompanying him. Havoc played the bodyguard, but he was no aide and therefore not allowed to be a part of the meeting.

She plucked open the opposite side, unfolding the box. Notebooks. Of course. And just as dusty. Holding back a sneeze, she pulled over the next box. Her nose was slightly runny, something it had been all morning. With the smell of paint however and Hayate's sensitive nose, she refused to shut the windows.

The box was unexpectedly heavy, nearly toppling her over. Kneeling was fine, comfortable even, only bending down had become a nuisance with the belly in the way. More notebooks. Roy wouldn't mind her skimming through them, but she touched none. Alchemy, she could guess. Certainly not an area she liked to entertain herself with.

Opening the third box proved a smidge harder, the lid bulging her way, stretching the tape. Riza didn't dare use a knife, clawing at the edges of the tape instead, tearing off shreds before getting a proper grasp. Tufts of lace sprung out. Eyes wide with surprise, Riza held up what she believed was the hem.

A curtain. An ancient one, judging by the numerous moth holes. They didn't stand out though, the fabric a mostly see-through whisp of lace, delicate embroidery lining the bottom in floral patterns. She didn't remember Roy having owned such a curtain, but she soon found out why he'd never hung it. Half was missing; singed off.

Another bundle of fabric shone her way, white again, ivory almost and made of the loveliest, softest satin. His bedsheets, Riza recognised immediately. He refused to sleep in anything that wasn't luxury. He always argued that the bed had to make up for his troubles of falling asleep.

Another mark, this time of blood and not fire. She recognised the sheet then – she had been the one to strip it off the bed after his homunculus injury had bled through and onto the mattress. A difficult night for both of them. Another argument about his premature hospital release, another moment of weakness, of tears Riza still hated herself for.

Perhaps he kept the materials for alchemy, she pondered as she neatly folded them back into the box.

And then she had a better idea. An idea on what to do with them. Damned be Rebecca's dirty novel.

"Riza, my love?"

Her smile returned. She still blushed when he called her 'love' in front of someone else but he did it with such purpose, enjoying her reaction too much to limit himself. He also really liked to say it, she speculated.

"I'm here," she called back. Getting up was becoming a pain. One knee at a time, Riza got to her feet. She brushed off her thighs, unhappy not to be able to do so with her shins without risking an ungainly plummet.

"Let me." Roy entered the unassigned room, crouched in front of her and cleaned off the rest of her skirt.

Riza settled her hands on her small of her back, forming a hollow to outbalance the baby's weight. "I can't even see knees half of the time."

"Maybe they're gone." Roy shrugged. She gave him a look, but he was already busy elsewhere. With someone else anyway. "You be good now," he said between kisses to her belly, "and let your mommy take a nap. Many naps. Maybe make her crave roasted pumpkin for when I'm back."

"Very subtle," she chuckled. "I think it's still on a berry trip."

"You're just making that up," Roy quipped, rising to his feet. Riza pouted, and he interpreted it as an invitation, lovingly nipping at her lower lip before insisting on a long kiss goodbye. "I can call."

"Please don't. And if you think the Fuhrer isn't in a good mood, don't bring it up." She supressed a shiver with all her might. If he got wind of her sniffly nose, he would abandon the important meeting altogether.

"I won't."

"And Roy," Riza cupped his face in both hands. He hummed, never noticing the way she lightly kicked the box with his curtain and sheets out of his eyeshot. "Be safe."