day 5 - gift
summary: gifts exchanged between friends, which remain with them always
rated: g | words: 1024 | tags: pre-canon, young royai, gift giving, presents
For the last few weeks little gifts and trinkets have been making their way onto her bed every night.
Riza narrowed her eyes at the latest one. It was a small, alchemised, iron animal.
It was a little dog – a Shiba – who stared up at her from the centre of her pillow.
Riza took a step closer to her bed. The shift in the floorboards nudged her bed, knocking the little dog off balance and making it fall forward onto its nose.
Riza lunged for it quickly, heart leaping into her throat despite the fact it was an inanimate object.
She rescued the little dog and cradled it between her palms. It rolled and looked up at her, a small tongue peeking it out.
There was only one person who would create such a thing.
Heart pounding, Riza turned it over in her palm.
Only one person could have made this –
There was a sudden thump outside her door causing her to jump. A familiar voice yelped, followed by the sound of footsteps scampering away, down the hall.
Riza clutched the small dog to her chest as her heart continued to pound after her fright. But a small smile curled her lips.
Roy had made this.
For her.
A flash of white caught Riza's eye. There was a slip of paper on the floor by her door.
As a little thank you for all you do
No name, but Riza would recognise the scrawl anywhere.
The note ended up crumpled, clutched tight against her chest.
She hesitated then slipped it into the latest book she was reading until she found a safer place for it.
The little dog was placed – almost reverently – on her bedside table, where it remained for years.
It made its way from East City to Central.
And twenty years later, Riza still smiles and thinks of her Colonel when she sees it every night before she goes to bed.
Roy ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
He stared down at his hands, turning them over, as if his skin would hold all the answers he sought.
But he was coming up with nothing.
A deep sigh left him and he hung his head. He'd been at this for hours but could not, for the life of him, come up with how to make it work.
A quiet knock sounded at his door.
Roy snapped his head up, his exhaustion forgotten, and beckoned them in.
A blonde head popped around the door. Large eyes peered at him as her hand curled around the wood.
"Roy?"
Their eyes met and Roy felt his heart rate kick up. As it always did in her presence.
"Hi, Riza." He stood from his chair and looked at her expectantly, trying to calm his pulse. "Do you need help with anything?"
She shook her head. Her hand dropped from the door and she stepped further into the room.
Today she wore a yellow dress which had a daisy print. The colour matched her hair perfectly, and she was radiant, exactly like the sun shining high in the sky outside. The dress swished around her knees when she came to a stop, hands clasped behind her back.
Roy's breath caught.
"I was in town earlier and found something which might be useful to you."
He took a step forward, eager to see what she could possibly have found for him.
Riza met him half-way, a piece of cloth in her hands.
"You got me something?"
She nodded. "Think of it as a thank you. For all your help recently around the house."
He'd finally torn his nose out of his books long enough to recognise just how much Riza did around this house – and how much she did alone. So he'd tried his best and stepped up to offer any assistance she might need.
"What is it?"
"Ignition cloth?" Her face scrunched as she glanced down at it. "There was a small roll of it in the tailors this afternoon. He was talking about it, how useless it was to him, and I thought –" Her cheeks turned pink and Roy could only stare at the pretty blush which spread across her nose. "I don't know," Riza shrugged. "I thought it would be useful to you. That it might help you out."
Roy's heart thudded in his chest.
She'd seen this and thought of him. Bought it with her own money because she thought it might help him.
To try and contain his joy at receiving such a gift, he turned his gaze down upon it, rolling his wrist to get a better look, however it was just plain, white cloth. There was a different, sharper texture to it than linen or cotton, but it was light and looked durable enough.
"Ignition cloth?" Roy didn't think he'd ever heard of such a thing. It certainly wasn't common. What could it possibly be used for –
Roy blinked down at it. Gently, he took it from Riza and ran his hands over the material.
A sudden idea popped into his mind.
"Wait a second," he muttered. He grasped it between his thumb and middle finger, drew on all his alchemical knowledge, and snapped.
A burst of flame lit up the room, illuminating Riza's surprised face across from him. She didn't flinch back from the sudden burst of heat, just simply stared with a look of wonder on her face.
"So, that's what it does," she murmured.
"Riza… Thank you." He grinned at her, his relief and his joy almost overwhelming him.
She'd just given him a gift.
She'd just solved all his problems.
"It's okay," she shrugged, downplaying it.
Roy reached forward and grasped her hand. Again, another flush appeared on her cheeks. He gave her hand a squeeze. "It's more than just "okay". This is great. Thank you." Every ounce of his pleasure and his gratitude, he poured into those two words, desperately hoping he was earnest enough. That she understood.
"You're welcome, Roy." Her answering small was tiny – shy – but it lit up the whole room brighter than any flame ever could.