Sound is muffled for a short time. Everything is mixed up and she can't quite tell which noise is which. It's as though she's underwater – stuck in that muffled plane where nothing can quite penetrate the thickness of all that is surrounding her, pressing down on her –

Except from… There's a small burst of light that reaches her, even behind closed eyelids –

Everything comes rushing back.

Riza's body shudders and jolts. Every nerve ignites with such a ferocity it leaves her breathless and trembling.

Riza sucks in a desperate breath into aching lungs. It feels as though it's the deepest breath she's ever taken in her whole life. Much needed oxygen rushes into her blood and to her brain as her eyes squeeze shut against the sudden flood of pain and sensation invading her body. Her limbs start to shake as she tries to right herself and return to the world.

Riza can't remember why she's in so much pain. She can't make sense of it. All she wants is for it to stop.

Her body is elevated off the cold ground at her back. A warmth envelops her. Consumes her, along with the smell of him, which she'd know anywhere. A scent and an existence which is entwined so deeply with her own, woven into the very threads of her own existence. It's as familiar as it always has been. A constant which she instantly recognises, even in her disorientated state.

It's welcome. Although she's hurt, injured, she knows the pressure encircling her upper body is safe. That the presence is safe.

She can breathe for now.

"Oh, thank God." There's a whisper of breath against her cheek. It skates across her skin and lifts the hairs from her arms, even in her current state. Soft lips brush against the skin of her cheek, her neck.

Riza sinks into him completely.

"Riza?"

Her tongue feels like lead. Her lips part but she cannot get her mouth to work, no matter how desperately she wishes to.

"Careful!"

Someone is scolding him for holding her too tightly? Riza thinks that's what's being said. It's difficult to discern. Everything is still muddled.

The arms around her loosen and Riza whimpers in response.

No, no, no! She's not ready to leave him yet. She needs him close and holding her so tightly she won't shatter.

Her fingers twitch as she tries to lift her arm to grip his sleeve, to hold him in place.

But that's as far as they move. Just a small jolt.

Eyes are forced open as she tries to call him back. If her mouth and her tongue won't work, she'll communicate with her eyes. It worked before. He saw and understood what she was trying to convey earlier, after all, so she'll just need to do it again. Call him to her. To make him stay.

But he's there. He hasn't gone anywhere. He's so close, looking over her head and looking contrite. Wet tracks have carved their way through the light dusting of dirt on his cheeks and Riza's heart aches.

"Riza." Her name is nought but a breath. Her heart soars to hear it from his lips. When she's always been "Lieutenant" to him, to hear her true name is a cherished moment.

She feels, rather than sees, hair being brushed off her face. When her eyes finally focus again, she sees him.

His smile is tender. His eyes are so soft it makes her want to melt into his hold even further.

Riza tries to shift and ease the pressure on her battered body, but she doesn't go far. However, Roy shifts intuitively with her, holding her against him even tighter, but doesn't squeeze her as he did before. Riza misses it, relishing in that closeness they'd had, however if her brain had been functioning properly, she'd realise that was probably for the best. She'd reason he wouldn't want to risk hurting her more than she already is.

"Riza?"

"Hi." Her greeting is hoarse, but regardless, she's glad she can even say it.

He huffs out a laugh. Strands of his sweat soaked hair dance with his breath. Next thing Riza knows, his face is buried in the good side of her neck and his body quakes with his relief.

Riza's eyes flutter closed.

She almost died.

"You're okay." His words are a prayer. A declaration of relief. His hands shake as they pull her even tighter against him.

"I'm okay."

When he pulls back Riza can see more tears have tracked down his cheeks. She itches to wipe them away, but her arms feel like they're filled with concrete. They don't go far. She only manages to lift a shaking hand to finally, finally, grip onto the sleeve of his jacket. She clutches at it so she can keep him close to her. As close as she can. Riza can't bear the thought of him straying too far, and from the tortured look on his face, and how he'd called and screamed for her, Riza reckons it will be a long, long time before Roy is able to do the same.

He captures the hand and gives it a tight squeeze. Roy lifts it to his lips, pressing a hard kiss against the backs of her knuckles. Their fingers curl around each other before Roy gently extracts himself.

Riza is crestfallen, hoping he'd hold on to her for longer, just this once –

His thumb wipes away wetness from her own cheeks. Roy's lips press against them, disrupting the path of her tears, before they stray towards her own lips.

Despite her injuries, Riza has the energy to meet him eagerly.

She doesn't mind so much now he let go of her hand.

She's never felt so alive in all her life.

(Roy has an uncanny ability to draw that out in her.)

"I love you." She declares it against his lips, so only he can hear her.

He's obviously trying to me mindful, but the desperation in his kiss betrays him. He presses more firmly, lingers against her lips longer – much to Riza's delight.

"I love you, Riza Hawkeye."

"You brought me back."

"You returned to me."

Their eyes meet and, in the silence cocooning them, it feels as though nothing can stop them. Nothing can break them apart.

"To the very end."

Roy's lips tremble, but finally end in a smile.

"Even into hell, Riza."

Another chaste kiss is pressed against her lips, as though he simply cannot help himself in his joy and his relief.

"Even into hell."