Chapter Two
Roy was leaning back against the headrest of the train car as he and Riza rode towards the Resembool station. He'd struggled with what to pack for this trip and as a result had been up entirely too late the prior night. He and Riza hadn't been alone together for this long in a while and he realized quite suddenly last night that he was both nervous and excited. They thrived on their rare times alone to release just a smidge of the affection they had to keep contained and he didn't know how this extended period was going to go for them. Riza was sitting next to him, back straight as a board as she kept her tired eyes open to keep continuous watch.
"Hey," Roy gently tapped her knee with his fingers. She looked up at him with a smile and raised eyebrow in question. "Why don't you close your eyes and rest. You look tired."
"I may have stayed up a bit too late last night and had to drop Hayate off at Fuery's bright and early," Riza explained. Her dog Hayate had been more than excited to go with her teammate and had immediately curled up on Fuery's couch as soon as the door had opened to him. "But I'm ok. I'll keep watch if you want to get some sleep."
"I don't think anyone will be out to get me way out here," Roy said in reply. "I'm not closing my eyes again until you do too."
Riza huffed in annoyance and gave in. Truthfully, she was exhausted and the idea of a nap before they arrived to take care of an eight-month-old for a week was appealing. She nodded to the door of their compartment.
"Lock the compartment door then," She said with a sigh of defeat.
Roy leaned over and pushed the lock to enclose them in the compartment. As soon as the lock clicked into place, Riza leaned back against the bench and was asleep within a few minutes. Roy glanced around at his surroundings and upon realization that they were alone at this end of the train, he gently placed a hand on her thigh. To his surprise, she shifted in her sleep to lean against his shoulder. She was still fast asleep not that he was all that surprised. They'd all been working a lot lately with the Ishvalan restoration shifting to trade talks and she was no exception. In fact, she'd been working harder than most of his team and had stayed late with him on a regular basis working on reports and dictating notes from his meetings. She never left his side and always put in more than anyone, but rarely did she ever get anything in return it seemed like. After all their long hours she'd always just go home, cuddle up to her dog Hayate and sleep. Sometimes he saw her out for a meal with fellow soldier and friend Rebecca Catalina, but otherwise she was at his side protecting, taking notes and working alongside him.
"I don't deserve you," He whispered to her still sleeping form.
He let his head bump against the back of the bench as he became determined to stay awake and protect her for once. She didn't wake until the train began to slow as it neared the station in Resembool. Blinking her eyes open she shot up from his shoulder and stared at him in shock.
"I'm sorry, sir," She mumbled as she gathered her belongings. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that."
"It's alright," He smiled at her to try and soften the frown that had taken over her features. "I don't mind."
Riza pointedly ignored him and the look he was giving her. Perhaps this whole thing had been a bad idea after all. They normally spent time alone at the office and had to keep their feelings in check still, but this far from civilization with no prying eyes would test their strength.
The train rolled to a stop and they both gathered their belongings to step off to the platform. He nodded to her and they began the walk to towards the Elric home. After Edward and Winry married they decided, along with Al's input and approval, to sell the land the boys' former home once stood on. The bad memories from the place had overridden the good ones and they decided to move on. With the money from the sale, they built a new home right next to Pinako Rockbell's, complete with full guest house in back for Al, so that she and Winry could still work together as each woman had their own clients as part of their family automail business. After Elias was born, Riza and Roy had made a short trip to meet the little boy at both his parents' request and were pleasantly surprised by the size of the home.
As they walked, Roy purposefully let his hand bump against her own as their arms swung between them. Riza would glare up at him each time their fingers touched, but would never move her hand away either. He smirked after she glared up at him for the third time and decided not to dodge the fist she thumped against his shoulder.
"We're in the open," She said through clenched teeth. "Anyone could be watching us."
"In the middle of nowhere?" He smirked back.
"We should still be cautious, sir," Riza took a step away to put distance between them.
"If you say so, Captain," He muttered in disappointment. He knew she was right and that she didn't really want to step away from his hand, but it still didn't stop his heart from hurting just a bit.
The Elric house soon came into view and Den, Winry's automail clad family dog, looked up from his spot on their porch to begin happily barking. Riza knelt and scratched behind his ears as a happy smile graced her face. Den happily accepted the attention and licked her chin in response.
Lucky bastard, Roy thought as he watched the dog get showered with her attention.
Roy reached up to knock on the door only for it to be opened in front of him by Winry with Elias in her arms pulling on her blonde ponytail. The little boy had grown quite a bit since the last time they'd seen him and now sported a full head of thick blonde hair to match his parents along with Winry's blue eyes.
"Riza, Roy! I'm so glad you made it safely," She happily greeted. Elias clapped his hands at his mothers' enthusiasm which pulled a chuckle from her with a kiss to his temple.
"Hello Winry," Riza stood and smiled at the boy, grabbing his foot and giving it a playful squeeze. "And Elias too."
"Come in," Winry stepped back to let them enter and called Ed's name.
Riza and Roy placed their luggage by the door as they took in the home and the changes made since they'd last been there. The kitchen was still as immaculate as always with the addition of a highchair at the table and a drying rack next to the sink full of baby bottles. The living room looked exactly the same except a large basket of toys sat on the floor in the corner, a soft baby blanket thrown over the couch and the pictures had been updated to include family pictures of all three Elrics and individual shots of Elias. The bookshelf was now half full of children's books with the large alchemy and engineering tombs on the bottom shelves. As they took it all in, Ed came rushing down the stairs and smiled when he spotted them.
"Colonel! Riza! Welcome," He said as he came to stand next to Winry with an arm around her back. Elias immediately reached for his dad who gladly took him in his arms.
"Nice to see you Ed," Roy replied choosing to ignore the incorrect rank. It had been a long time since Ed was in the military and in all honesty, it was the title Ed had known him by. He knew it wasn't an insult to his hard work.
"Thanks for coming to do this for us," Ed said. "We were worried we'd have to tell May we couldn't make it."
"Of course," Riza smiled at Elias who'd found Ed's braid and was tugging on it. "How're things going with May and Al? Wedding bells in the near future yet?"
"We certainly think so, but they're so shy about it," Winry shrugged and chuckled. "They're not as loud as we are."
Roy let a startled laugh pop out of his mouth at that. Loud was a perfect word to describe these two. He had a multitude of memories of them bickering and teasing like a married couple before they were even dating. Riza also laughed which pulled Roy's gaze to her happy face. Being away from Central was already doing her a world of good and he nearly kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. He'd spent so much time not openly showing his affection for her that he'd missed how tired and stressed she was.
"Why don't we show you guys where all his stuff is," Winry suggested as she subtly glanced at a confused Ed. They both caught the look on Roy Mustang's face as he glanced at his adjutant. It was not a look they were accustomed to seeing on his face and they didn't think he realized he was letting it plainly show.
Ed led the way to the kitchen, Elias leaning down on his shoulder as his little eyes began to droop, where Winry showed them how the highchair worked and all the necessary food and tools. As they headed towards the stairs to the second floor she pointed out a few things in the living room including the blanket that Elias saw and reached for with his head still on Ed's shoulder. Riza rushed over to grab it and handed it over to the boy who clutched it in his hands with a happy sigh. Upstairs were three bedrooms and one bathroom. They knew that at least two bedrooms were guest bedrooms as Ed and Winry's room was on the first floor. At the top of the stairs, one of the three rooms had been converted to Elias' room. His crib stood at the center of the back wall with a rocking chair next to it and a changing table and dresser along the opposite wall. Another toy chest completed the room.
As soon as they entered his room, Elias sighed as his eyes began to fall shut. Winry pressed a kiss to his head and led Roy and Riza out of the bedroom while Ed put the boy down to sleep. She finished the tour in the bathroom showing Riza all the toys and different items needed to give Elias a bath.
"You guys can have your pick of the guest rooms, but that's it for Elias. I'm hoping he remembers you guys enough that he'll be ok without us," Winry's voice shook just a bit at the thought of leaving him behind for a week. She reached up to swipe the stray tear from her cheek. "Sorry this'll be our first time leaving him so we're both kind of a mess."
"It's ok Winry," Riza surprisingly pulled the young woman into a hug which she eagerly returned. "I'm sure we'll manage."
"Thanks," Winry pulled back and wiped her cheeks dry with a smile. "Now, how about some dinner? I'm sure you both are hungry."
Winry led Riza back downstairs while Roy stayed behind to give them time to talk. As he began to head down to get their bags, Elias' bedroom door opened behind him and Ed stepped out. He gently shut the door behind him and glanced up to find Roy staring back at him.
Roy smiled as Ed joined him at the top of the stairs. "I'm envious of you, Fullmetal. I'd give anything for a life like this."
"Thanks," Ed replied with surprise. As long as he'd known Roy Mustang the only thing on his mind had always been becoming Fuhrer to change the country. The more time they spent with him post-Promised Day the more exhausted he and Riza both seemed. Ed sincerely hoped this time with Elias helped them get a much-needed break. "I think you could have this life too. Eventually. With a certain sniper who's been nothing but loyal to you."
Roy sighed with a glance to the perceptive young man. "I've still got a ways to go."
"Just don't take her for granted you know?" Ed replied and led the way to the stairs to leave Roy alone with his thoughts.
The four enjoyed dinner together that night catching up on everything that had happened in the time since they'd seen each other. Roy was surprisingly quiet as he was lost in thought. Winry assumed he was tired, but Ed and Riza both knew better. Ed worried he'd taken his comment a step too far, but it was in fact the opposite. Roy knew Ed was right and he'd been spending the dinner thinking of nothing but the woman sitting next to him. After dinner was put away and cleaned up, Ed and Winry excused themselves to finish packing and bid them good night. Roy offered to carry Riza's bag upstairs which she accepted. She pointed to the room next to Elias and watched as Roy set her bags down on the bed.
"Goodnight," He whispered to her as he passed her on his way to the room across the hall. Before he could get too far he felt Riza's hand on his forearm.
"You ok?" She whispered. She knew he hadn't been tired at dinner, but unlike Ed she didn't have a clue what had kept him so quiet.
"Yea I'm fine," He smiled somewhat sadly down at her. He reached up, cupped her jaw and swiped his thumb across her cheek. "Sleep well."
"You too," She whispered as shock kept her firmly rooted in place. She watched as his hand dropped from her cheek and he made his way to the room across the hall. Shutting her door, she sank back against it with a shaking hand on her cheek where his warm fingers had swiped across her smooth skin.
Resembool was proving to be a dangerous place for two weary soldiers.