Roy needs to move.
He thrashes against the hands holding him back –
Its futile. There's no give and he is only hurting himself by trying.
But he'd never give up. Never stop trying. Not for her.
He's losing her.
His Lieutenant's eyes flutter closed as another pulse of blood escapes from between her fingers and pools onto the ground below. It creeps further out from her body, towards him, and reaches into her hair. It stains it a horrible pinky-red colour.
Roy's body strains forward to try and get closer. His shoulders burn beneath the pressure of the restraint against him. His whole-body aches, in fact. Especially his chest. With every pulse of blood the Lieutenant loses, Roy feels his heart shatter even further. It cracks beneath the weight threatening to cave it in. The pain and anguish are so consuming, Roy's vision swims as his Lieutenant goes still.
The agony was – is – insufferable when he turned slowly and saw the blood staining her neck. Saw her blood on that sword. When her body fell to the ground, the air whooshed out of Roy's lungs as he himself had been struck. When a shaking hand lifted to press against her wound an ache so deep radiated from Roy's chest, so strong, he was left breathless.
"Lieutenant!" His throat is raw. It cracks with the force of his desperation, but he can't help it. He needs…
He needs…
Hands cradle his face. He can't help but smile as calloused thumbs brush over his cheekbones slowly, as if they're trying to map out the contours of his face. She knows every line, every scar on his body by now, but Roy would never stop her.
Her fingers tickle him as her touch lightens further, reaching up to brush hair off his forehead. Roy shivers and adjusts his head on the pillow, trying to shake the feeling but also bringing himself even closer to her. Impossibly close. Their noses almost touch, which makes her laugh.
The sound is music to Roy's ears. A grin threatens to split his face as Riza shifts closer to him.
If he could burrow into her very being, Roy would be more than content to remain there for the rest of time.
"I love you." It's a whisper. A breath. It inflates his lungs, and he heaves a sigh, feeling the love he has for her wash over him like a peaceful wave. It washes away every worry, every bit of heaviness in his heart.
She's a balm. A soothing presence he's never been able to find with anyone else. Never wanted to, either.
"I love you." His arms wrap around her shoulders tight, rolling them in her bed, so he is atop her and kissing her so deeply he forgets about everything else.
Riza Hawkeye is everything to him. All he will ever want and need in this life.
There's a chasm between them now. An unfathomable distance.
If he could just… Reach her…
She doesn't respond to him this time when he calls out to her.
He thrashes again. Desperation and dread are a terrible cocktail within him, a tornado which causes his throat to burn as acid crawls up it.
She's fading. Losing strength and the ability to hold her eyes open.
The bastard beside her continues to taunt him. Taunt them both.
He can't. He can't perform human transmutation. He's made promises which he'll die to keep, but…
But.
Between losing his Lieutenant – losing his Riza – and not performing it…
Roy can't lose her.
There is an aching need to hold her. To feel her warmth and strength beneath his own hands. To run his hands up her back and pull her in close, as if he would never let her go. To see that lovely little smile spread across her face and light up his entire life as she always did, so effortlessly.
His mind races with what they should have done, one last time. The thoughts flash as images in his head. He should have taken her aside before they headed into the tunnels. Before they even put their plan into motion. Murmured sweet words to her he has always desired to say but has always held back. Duty and propriety always won out in the end for them.
Kissed her so deeply they'd both equally lose themselves in each other completely, forgetting about world ending plots and days of reckoning.
Their eyes meet. Roy fears this will be the last time ever.
He stills his fighting as he watches her, eyes wide and full of his despair.
What should I do, Riza?
The thought consumes him. Rocks him to his core and his emotions spike. His breathing stutters as a whisper drags deep from within him, out of his rough throat. It's a quiet breath and desperate plea for her to… To be okay.
To escape this.
But it's not possible.
He's never felt so helpless, so useless, in all his life.
And she will pay the price for it.
He can't lose her.
They're stuck.
She is going to die.
And Roy can't do a damn thing to stop it.
an: hi (: