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cornerofmadnessThe Hour of Separation
Shades of Grey Series #6 - Shade Mist
D M Evans
Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al, Square Enix and funimition.
Time Line - This has elements of the anime up to about #25 and definite spoilers for the manga past #38 and beyond. More manga-based than not
Rating – FR
Summary - Riza and Roy’s life takes an unexpected turn, especially when old enemies put in an appearance
Author’s Note – Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
evil_little_dog for the beta. This is one story in a series but is a stand alone. This series was started long before the lovely Ishbal arc so it’s AU for the Mustang and Hawkeye history and there is no real way around that I’m afraid. Also, the Ravensdales are original characters that have small recurring roles in the series. The other stories in this series are Roots of Violence
Ashes and Bone
Why They Call it Falling
Point of Fracture
With Silence
And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Kahlil Gibran
Previous Chapters
Chapter Four
Roy’s stomach felt like it had knotted up then shoved into his throat. He didn’t know how he managed to put the phone down without dropping it. Roy wanted to go to Riza, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay but he couldn’t move. He felt like he was made of heavy, locked-up old automail. “Pregnant?” he managed to get out. From the hot look on her face, Roy figured Riza was expecting more from him and wasn’t getting it.
He watched as her usually placid, controlled face crumbled. Tears started tumbling down her cheeks and still he could do nothing. Finally Roy managed to make it to her side and folded her into his arms. “Riza, I…I…” He couldn’t make the words in his head move past his teeth. He just held her quietly.
Riza pulled away, agitation in her dark eyes. “Say something, Roy.”
“I’m too stunned to talk,” Roy babbled then blundered into, “Are you sure?”
Riza’s hand slapped across his face so hard and fast he had no chance of dodging.
“I guess you’re sure,” Roy said ruefully, touching the hot spot on his cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be an ass.” He pulled her gently to the couch, gathering her to him as they sat. She let him do it but her body seemed stiff and unyielding. He was failing her. Roy stroked her hair. “I don’t know what to say.” He felt her tense against him. “I know that’s not helpful.”
She put a little space between them, absently giving Hayate’s nose a scratch as the dog bumped her legs, nervously picking up on his owner’s distress. “Not really.”
Roy still didn’t know what to say. Fear crystallized in his gut. “I’m sorry it’s making you sick and I’m sorry I’ve been too distracted to listen to you.” He trembled a little, sweat slicking down his back. Her little apartment seemed tighter than a vise around them. “You’ve been trying to tell me, haven’t you?”
She took his hand. “Only since last night. I just found out. I thought I was sick.”
“How do you feel, Riza?” he blurted out and got a look that said he was an idiot. Roy winced and thought before speaking, “I mean, I know you’re ill but how do you feel about this?”
Her face softened. “Scared. I don’t have to ask how you feel. Angry. Scared.” Riza glanced away, rocked by a sudden tremor. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“I’m stunned, not angry, scared, too, but I’m not angry,” Roy said in complete honesty. “What…” His shaking moved well beyond his control. “What are you going to do?”
“Is that your way of asking me am I getting rid of it?” Riza started to push off the couch. Her face pulled into a rictus of pain, imagining the worst from him even though she didn’t want to.
Roy caught her arm, dragging her back. “No. I want to know what you’re thinking.” He stroked her hair. “I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that,” she said, bitterly. Her eyes begged him to do more but he didn’t know what to do. “What do you want me to do?”
He caressed her arm with a quivering hand. Why couldn’t he find the right thing to do or say? He was usually so much better with words. “I want you to do whatever is best for you?”
Her eyes narrowed as she shoved him. “Get out, Roy!”
His mouth dropped, a dangerous thing given how his belly roiled. He didn’t know what he had said wrong but it was obviously deadly. He thought he was being fair but Riza looked at him like he was something that crawled out of a sewer. “What?”
She went so pale he thought she’d faint. He reached out to her and Riza batted his hand away. “Get out of here. Go help your damn friend. You’re useless to me. Get out!”
“Riza, please.” He only managed a tight whisper past his constricted throat. His eyes misted so badly he could barely see.
“Go now!” She jumped to her feet and thrust her arm toward the door. Her whole body shook hard. He never seen her this angry before. “Go!”
That came out as a scream and blasted him off the couch. Roy all but ran for the door, hesitating just a moment. He looked back at her. “I’m…”
“If you say you’re sorry, I swear I’ll shoot you.” Bright red patches flamed on her cheeks. He thought she might really mean it.
Roy swallowed his words and his pride and dashed out the door. He slammed it shut and leaned against the painted wood. He couldn’t make his mind work. All he really wanted was to go back inside and make it right but he didn’t know how. Fearing she might just shoot him through the door, Roy moved off, heading for the Wobbly Boot. To hell with Maes being there keeping an eye on Kimblee, the only thing of importance was Roy could get drunk there. That way he could pretend it wasn’t tears stinging his eyes. He’d blame the cigarette smoke. Oh no, he wasn’t about to cry. He wouldn’t allow it though, even if being able to cry might be a good thing. Damn his male pride.
Roy’s eyes might have been dry by the time he made his way into the Wobbly Boot but he could barely swallow past the tightness in his throat. He found Maes towards the back of the pub. He flung himself into a seat across from his friend and reached for Maes’ beer. “Is Kimblee just getting drunk again?” Roy grumbled.
“Yes.” Maes grabbed the mug away from Roy. “You don’t drink until I get some answers. I almost left Kimblee here but I figured I’d be in the way at Hawkeye’s…not to mention a huge shock since she doesn’t know I’m alive. Why are you here, Roy?”
Roy looked down at the scarred table unable to meet his friend’s citrine eyes. Maes must have overheard on the phone. “To help you.”
Maes’ eyes narrowed. “Like hell. I heard what she screamed at you, Roy.”
Roy tossed his head like a proud stallion. He wasn’t going to break down. “I don’t know what you think you heard.”
“Don’t be like this.” Maes leaned on the table. A hint of rage played across his long face. “Roy, why did you leave her? She needs you if what I overheard is true. She needs-”
“Me to get out,” Roy interrupted the tirade, slamming his hands on the table. A few patrons turned and stared at him. “She threw me out.”
Maes’ mouth pulled into a thin line. “What did you do, Roy?”
Roy glowered. How dare his friend suggest this was his fault? “Nothing.”
Maes drained Roy’s beer, probably out of spite, Mustang decided. The world was against him tonight. “You didn’t get thrown out for nothing.”
“But I did. I couldn’t…think, talk. I couldn’t do anything.” Roy ran a hand through his hair, tearing at it. “She asked me what I wanted and I told her whatever she wanted.”
“Oh hell, Roy!” Maes pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me you didn’t.”
Roy shriveled in on himself. “I didn’t think it was so bad.”
“You might as well just say you didn’t care.” Maes poked a finger against Roy’s chest.
Roy frowned miserably. He hadn’t meant it that way. “I didn’t want her thinking she had to have the baby if that’s what I wanted or lose it if I didn’t. I didn’t want her to think that I married her because of this.” It still seemed reasonable to Mustang.
“I should hit you.” Maes grabbed Roy’s sleeve and yanked on him hard.
Apparently it wasn’t reasonable. Everyone seemed mad at him. Roy sighed. “What?”
“Get up,” Maes demanded in a tone Roy didn’t really want to argue with but he still refused to comply. “We have to get out of here.”
“What about Kimblee?” Roy took a look back to where the Crimson Alchemist sat. If Kimblee turned around there would be no way he wouldn’t recognize Roy who hadn’t been clear minded enough for a disguise.
“You asked your men to watch him, right? I spotted Falman over in the corner near the fireplace. Now get up.” Maes pulled on Roy’s arm. “You’re going back to Hawkeye’s and you’re going to make things right.”
“Suggestions?” Roy meekly followed Maes out of the pub. Maybe his friend, who was even better with words than he was, would know what to say to fix this.
“Tell her what you’re thinking. Tell her if you want this baby. Tell her if you don’t. Tell her that you love her no matter what because I know you do,” Maes insisted as if reading Roy’s mind. How Roy felt about Hawkeye was no mystery to Hughes.
Roy stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. “I do, more than anything. I can’t imagine my life without her. When I thought I lost my best friend,” He gave Hughes a look as he was remembering hearing of Maes’ death in a phone booth. “I nearly died. I wouldn’t survive if she left my life.”
“Then tell her that. In fact, that might be the place to start,” Maes said, encouragingly. Hughes finally looked less pissed.
Roy glanced back at him, studying his friend for a moment. “Why are you following me? It’s not like you’re going to hold my hand while I grovel for forgiveness.”
Maes pointed a finger at Roy. “I’m making sure you don’t take the coward’s way out.”
“Oh, thanks for the support,” Roy grumbled and stalked off up the street. He knew Maes was following him but his friend didn’t bother to try and speak to him again. What more was there left to say? He knew Maes was right. He needed to fix his own mess. Roy figured Maes would hang out in front of Hawkeye’s apartment complex for a while before leaving, just to be sure Roy didn’t do anything stupid.
Roy knocked on Riza’s door, fully prepared to use his key if she wouldn’t let him in. She opened the door without a word. He had to fight to not drop his gaze in shame as her eyes seemed to accuse him of a hundred things at once. “I know I failed you earlier and I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want to hear that word again but I really am. You are the only light in my life and I can’t live in the darkness.”
Riza put her hands on his cheeks. They felt cold against his flesh. Tears slowly wended down her cheeks. Roy took her in his arms, pushing the door shut with his foot. His lips found hers. Even though his eyes were misted with tears again, he managed to keep them in check as he slipped his arms around her. He carried Riza to the couch.
“Roy,” she murmured against his neck.
“What I messed up saying was I love you so much, Riza and nothing you do will change that. I just wanted…I didn’t…” Roy shook his head. This was so hard. What had Maes told him to say? Those words Hughes had all but plucked from Roy’s own mind, he couldn’t capture them again. “I didn’t want to pressure you into a decision.”
She cocked her head at him. “How could you pressure me?”
He smoothed her hair. “If you really wanted to have this child and I didn’t and you went off to have the baby anyway, what then? What if I did want the baby and you didn’t, would you think you’d disappoint me by aborting? I don’t know if you’re willing to give up your career to be a mother. They won’t allow you to stay in regardless of what I do. I know you take your job very seriously. I didn’t know if you wanted to marry me and face the sniggering idiots whispering behind our backs about having to get married.”
Riza broke in with a brittle, almost hysterical laugh. “Roy, you thought of all this in those short moments after I told you I was pregnant?”
“It’s what happens when your brain explodes,” he said miserably. His head drooped back against the couch pillows.
“I shouldn’t have told you like I did.” Riza tucked her legs up on the couch, leaning against him. “I know that your friend is in real danger and I could have waited until you helped him.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead. “And I should have paid attention when you said we have to talk.”
Riza laced her fingers with his. “I want you to tell me what you want, Roy. Don’t weigh it against what you think I want.”
Roy wet his lips, looking down at Hayate who was whining for attention. He petted the dog then shooed him off as Roy collected his thoughts. “I want you to know that no matter what, I’ll always love you. I know I’m repeating myself.” Roy took a deep breath then blurted out, “I want you to have our baby. I’ll miss you as my aide but I’d rather have you by my side as my wife for the rest of my life.”
Riza’s lips trembled as she cupped a hand over them. She just rested against him as he folded his arms around her. Roy tucked his chin over her shoulder. She shook hard. “That’s what I hoped you’d say,” she whispered.
Roy buried his hands in her hair and he kissed her wet face. “I love you so much.”
Riza sat back a little so she could look him in the eyes. “I love you, too.” She squeezed his hand. “We can’t tell anyone yet. Well...Jenna knows. She took one look at me when I went to get something to settle my stomach and she knew. She’s the only one. I don’t want anyone to know yet until I’m more settled and have a plan for resigning. And if something happens...” Riza trailed off, her face clouding like a summer storm.
Roy shook his head frantically. “Don’t think that.”
“It happens, Roy. It’s a part of it.” Her lips trembled. “Miscarriages... if that happened, things might not change.”
Roy’s grip tightened around her. “Does that mean you wouldn’t marry me if not for this baby?”
She sighed, rubbing her face. “I love you, but you need me more as your aide than your wife.”
Roy almost opened his mouth to argue, especially since he had just declared his feelings about this, but decided she didn’t need to be upset any further. He stroked her back, feeling the ridges of scar tissue under his hand. “Whatever you need, I’m willing to give it to you.”
“Right now, I just need you to hold me. We can worry about everything else as it comes,” she said, snuggling into him.
“I can do that,” Roy said contentedly, wrapping his arms tight around her.
Riza seemed to be concentrating on his breathing as she cuddled with him. Finally she got to her feet and gave him her hand. “Stay tonight,” she said. “I need you to stay.”
He let her pull him up then he kissed her softly. “Of course.”
She kissed him back, full of promise of more than sleep. Roy smiled at her, picturing their new life. It was very pretty.
Shades of Grey Series #6 - Shade Mist
D M Evans
Disclaimer - not mine, all characters belong to Hiromu Arakawa et al, Square Enix and funimition.
Time Line - This has elements of the anime up to about #25 and definite spoilers for the manga past #38 and beyond. More manga-based than not
Rating – FR
Summary - Riza and Roy’s life takes an unexpected turn, especially when old enemies put in an appearance
Author’s Note – Thanks to
evil_little_dog for the beta. This is one story in a series but is a stand alone. This series was started long before the lovely Ishbal arc so it’s AU for the Mustang and Hawkeye history and there is no real way around that I’m afraid. Also, the Ravensdales are original characters that have small recurring roles in the series. The other stories in this series are Roots of ViolenceAshes and Bone
Why They Call it Falling
Point of Fracture
With Silence
And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
Kahlil Gibran
Previous Chapters
Chapter Four
Roy’s stomach felt like it had knotted up then shoved into his throat. He didn’t know how he managed to put the phone down without dropping it. Roy wanted to go to Riza, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay but he couldn’t move. He felt like he was made of heavy, locked-up old automail. “Pregnant?” he managed to get out. From the hot look on her face, Roy figured Riza was expecting more from him and wasn’t getting it.
He watched as her usually placid, controlled face crumbled. Tears started tumbling down her cheeks and still he could do nothing. Finally Roy managed to make it to her side and folded her into his arms. “Riza, I…I…” He couldn’t make the words in his head move past his teeth. He just held her quietly.
Riza pulled away, agitation in her dark eyes. “Say something, Roy.”
“I’m too stunned to talk,” Roy babbled then blundered into, “Are you sure?”
Riza’s hand slapped across his face so hard and fast he had no chance of dodging.
“I guess you’re sure,” Roy said ruefully, touching the hot spot on his cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be an ass.” He pulled her gently to the couch, gathering her to him as they sat. She let him do it but her body seemed stiff and unyielding. He was failing her. Roy stroked her hair. “I don’t know what to say.” He felt her tense against him. “I know that’s not helpful.”
She put a little space between them, absently giving Hayate’s nose a scratch as the dog bumped her legs, nervously picking up on his owner’s distress. “Not really.”
Roy still didn’t know what to say. Fear crystallized in his gut. “I’m sorry it’s making you sick and I’m sorry I’ve been too distracted to listen to you.” He trembled a little, sweat slicking down his back. Her little apartment seemed tighter than a vise around them. “You’ve been trying to tell me, haven’t you?”
She took his hand. “Only since last night. I just found out. I thought I was sick.”
“How do you feel, Riza?” he blurted out and got a look that said he was an idiot. Roy winced and thought before speaking, “I mean, I know you’re ill but how do you feel about this?”
Her face softened. “Scared. I don’t have to ask how you feel. Angry. Scared.” Riza glanced away, rocked by a sudden tremor. “I can see it in your eyes.”
“I’m stunned, not angry, scared, too, but I’m not angry,” Roy said in complete honesty. “What…” His shaking moved well beyond his control. “What are you going to do?”
“Is that your way of asking me am I getting rid of it?” Riza started to push off the couch. Her face pulled into a rictus of pain, imagining the worst from him even though she didn’t want to.
Roy caught her arm, dragging her back. “No. I want to know what you’re thinking.” He stroked her hair. “I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that,” she said, bitterly. Her eyes begged him to do more but he didn’t know what to do. “What do you want me to do?”
He caressed her arm with a quivering hand. Why couldn’t he find the right thing to do or say? He was usually so much better with words. “I want you to do whatever is best for you?”
Her eyes narrowed as she shoved him. “Get out, Roy!”
His mouth dropped, a dangerous thing given how his belly roiled. He didn’t know what he had said wrong but it was obviously deadly. He thought he was being fair but Riza looked at him like he was something that crawled out of a sewer. “What?”
She went so pale he thought she’d faint. He reached out to her and Riza batted his hand away. “Get out of here. Go help your damn friend. You’re useless to me. Get out!”
“Riza, please.” He only managed a tight whisper past his constricted throat. His eyes misted so badly he could barely see.
“Go now!” She jumped to her feet and thrust her arm toward the door. Her whole body shook hard. He never seen her this angry before. “Go!”
That came out as a scream and blasted him off the couch. Roy all but ran for the door, hesitating just a moment. He looked back at her. “I’m…”
“If you say you’re sorry, I swear I’ll shoot you.” Bright red patches flamed on her cheeks. He thought she might really mean it.
Roy swallowed his words and his pride and dashed out the door. He slammed it shut and leaned against the painted wood. He couldn’t make his mind work. All he really wanted was to go back inside and make it right but he didn’t know how. Fearing she might just shoot him through the door, Roy moved off, heading for the Wobbly Boot. To hell with Maes being there keeping an eye on Kimblee, the only thing of importance was Roy could get drunk there. That way he could pretend it wasn’t tears stinging his eyes. He’d blame the cigarette smoke. Oh no, he wasn’t about to cry. He wouldn’t allow it though, even if being able to cry might be a good thing. Damn his male pride.
Roy’s eyes might have been dry by the time he made his way into the Wobbly Boot but he could barely swallow past the tightness in his throat. He found Maes towards the back of the pub. He flung himself into a seat across from his friend and reached for Maes’ beer. “Is Kimblee just getting drunk again?” Roy grumbled.
“Yes.” Maes grabbed the mug away from Roy. “You don’t drink until I get some answers. I almost left Kimblee here but I figured I’d be in the way at Hawkeye’s…not to mention a huge shock since she doesn’t know I’m alive. Why are you here, Roy?”
Roy looked down at the scarred table unable to meet his friend’s citrine eyes. Maes must have overheard on the phone. “To help you.”
Maes’ eyes narrowed. “Like hell. I heard what she screamed at you, Roy.”
Roy tossed his head like a proud stallion. He wasn’t going to break down. “I don’t know what you think you heard.”
“Don’t be like this.” Maes leaned on the table. A hint of rage played across his long face. “Roy, why did you leave her? She needs you if what I overheard is true. She needs-”
“Me to get out,” Roy interrupted the tirade, slamming his hands on the table. A few patrons turned and stared at him. “She threw me out.”
Maes’ mouth pulled into a thin line. “What did you do, Roy?”
Roy glowered. How dare his friend suggest this was his fault? “Nothing.”
Maes drained Roy’s beer, probably out of spite, Mustang decided. The world was against him tonight. “You didn’t get thrown out for nothing.”
“But I did. I couldn’t…think, talk. I couldn’t do anything.” Roy ran a hand through his hair, tearing at it. “She asked me what I wanted and I told her whatever she wanted.”
“Oh hell, Roy!” Maes pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me you didn’t.”
Roy shriveled in on himself. “I didn’t think it was so bad.”
“You might as well just say you didn’t care.” Maes poked a finger against Roy’s chest.
Roy frowned miserably. He hadn’t meant it that way. “I didn’t want her thinking she had to have the baby if that’s what I wanted or lose it if I didn’t. I didn’t want her to think that I married her because of this.” It still seemed reasonable to Mustang.
“I should hit you.” Maes grabbed Roy’s sleeve and yanked on him hard.
Apparently it wasn’t reasonable. Everyone seemed mad at him. Roy sighed. “What?”
“Get up,” Maes demanded in a tone Roy didn’t really want to argue with but he still refused to comply. “We have to get out of here.”
“What about Kimblee?” Roy took a look back to where the Crimson Alchemist sat. If Kimblee turned around there would be no way he wouldn’t recognize Roy who hadn’t been clear minded enough for a disguise.
“You asked your men to watch him, right? I spotted Falman over in the corner near the fireplace. Now get up.” Maes pulled on Roy’s arm. “You’re going back to Hawkeye’s and you’re going to make things right.”
“Suggestions?” Roy meekly followed Maes out of the pub. Maybe his friend, who was even better with words than he was, would know what to say to fix this.
“Tell her what you’re thinking. Tell her if you want this baby. Tell her if you don’t. Tell her that you love her no matter what because I know you do,” Maes insisted as if reading Roy’s mind. How Roy felt about Hawkeye was no mystery to Hughes.
Roy stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. “I do, more than anything. I can’t imagine my life without her. When I thought I lost my best friend,” He gave Hughes a look as he was remembering hearing of Maes’ death in a phone booth. “I nearly died. I wouldn’t survive if she left my life.”
“Then tell her that. In fact, that might be the place to start,” Maes said, encouragingly. Hughes finally looked less pissed.
Roy glanced back at him, studying his friend for a moment. “Why are you following me? It’s not like you’re going to hold my hand while I grovel for forgiveness.”
Maes pointed a finger at Roy. “I’m making sure you don’t take the coward’s way out.”
“Oh, thanks for the support,” Roy grumbled and stalked off up the street. He knew Maes was following him but his friend didn’t bother to try and speak to him again. What more was there left to say? He knew Maes was right. He needed to fix his own mess. Roy figured Maes would hang out in front of Hawkeye’s apartment complex for a while before leaving, just to be sure Roy didn’t do anything stupid.
Roy knocked on Riza’s door, fully prepared to use his key if she wouldn’t let him in. She opened the door without a word. He had to fight to not drop his gaze in shame as her eyes seemed to accuse him of a hundred things at once. “I know I failed you earlier and I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want to hear that word again but I really am. You are the only light in my life and I can’t live in the darkness.”
Riza put her hands on his cheeks. They felt cold against his flesh. Tears slowly wended down her cheeks. Roy took her in his arms, pushing the door shut with his foot. His lips found hers. Even though his eyes were misted with tears again, he managed to keep them in check as he slipped his arms around her. He carried Riza to the couch.
“Roy,” she murmured against his neck.
“What I messed up saying was I love you so much, Riza and nothing you do will change that. I just wanted…I didn’t…” Roy shook his head. This was so hard. What had Maes told him to say? Those words Hughes had all but plucked from Roy’s own mind, he couldn’t capture them again. “I didn’t want to pressure you into a decision.”
She cocked her head at him. “How could you pressure me?”
He smoothed her hair. “If you really wanted to have this child and I didn’t and you went off to have the baby anyway, what then? What if I did want the baby and you didn’t, would you think you’d disappoint me by aborting? I don’t know if you’re willing to give up your career to be a mother. They won’t allow you to stay in regardless of what I do. I know you take your job very seriously. I didn’t know if you wanted to marry me and face the sniggering idiots whispering behind our backs about having to get married.”
Riza broke in with a brittle, almost hysterical laugh. “Roy, you thought of all this in those short moments after I told you I was pregnant?”
“It’s what happens when your brain explodes,” he said miserably. His head drooped back against the couch pillows.
“I shouldn’t have told you like I did.” Riza tucked her legs up on the couch, leaning against him. “I know that your friend is in real danger and I could have waited until you helped him.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead. “And I should have paid attention when you said we have to talk.”
Riza laced her fingers with his. “I want you to tell me what you want, Roy. Don’t weigh it against what you think I want.”
Roy wet his lips, looking down at Hayate who was whining for attention. He petted the dog then shooed him off as Roy collected his thoughts. “I want you to know that no matter what, I’ll always love you. I know I’m repeating myself.” Roy took a deep breath then blurted out, “I want you to have our baby. I’ll miss you as my aide but I’d rather have you by my side as my wife for the rest of my life.”
Riza’s lips trembled as she cupped a hand over them. She just rested against him as he folded his arms around her. Roy tucked his chin over her shoulder. She shook hard. “That’s what I hoped you’d say,” she whispered.
Roy buried his hands in her hair and he kissed her wet face. “I love you so much.”
Riza sat back a little so she could look him in the eyes. “I love you, too.” She squeezed his hand. “We can’t tell anyone yet. Well...Jenna knows. She took one look at me when I went to get something to settle my stomach and she knew. She’s the only one. I don’t want anyone to know yet until I’m more settled and have a plan for resigning. And if something happens...” Riza trailed off, her face clouding like a summer storm.
Roy shook his head frantically. “Don’t think that.”
“It happens, Roy. It’s a part of it.” Her lips trembled. “Miscarriages... if that happened, things might not change.”
Roy’s grip tightened around her. “Does that mean you wouldn’t marry me if not for this baby?”
She sighed, rubbing her face. “I love you, but you need me more as your aide than your wife.”
Roy almost opened his mouth to argue, especially since he had just declared his feelings about this, but decided she didn’t need to be upset any further. He stroked her back, feeling the ridges of scar tissue under his hand. “Whatever you need, I’m willing to give it to you.”
“Right now, I just need you to hold me. We can worry about everything else as it comes,” she said, snuggling into him.
“I can do that,” Roy said contentedly, wrapping his arms tight around her.
Riza seemed to be concentrating on his breathing as she cuddled with him. Finally she got to her feet and gave him her hand. “Stay tonight,” she said. “I need you to stay.”
He let her pull him up then he kissed her softly. “Of course.”
She kissed him back, full of promise of more than sleep. Roy smiled at her, picturing their new life. It was very pretty.
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Date: 2006-12-27 09:30 pm (UTC)Is this the end of this series then or is there more?
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Date: 2006-12-27 09:39 pm (UTC)and there was the idea for one more after this
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Date: 2006-12-28 12:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 02:11 am (UTC)"Roy smiled at her, picturing their new life. It was very pretty."
perfect ^^
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Date: 2006-12-28 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 10:18 am (UTC)Your characterization of Roy and Riza is always so very true and believable. Roy, in particular, in this chapter, was as human as I've ever seen him portrayed, I think. What with trying to comprehend in one hand and having his mouth spew words that he isn't controlling in the other.
Marvelously done. Thanks!
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Date: 2006-12-28 05:16 pm (UTC)