A/N: This has been floating around on my USB drive for God knows how long xD So I finally decided to finish it. This is another fanfic set after the manga. Actually, it was inspired after watching the last episode of Brotherhood. Riza and Roy were in the same hospital room. My mind went berserk with possible Royai moments when I saw that lD;;

I tried calling her Hawkeye at the beginning of the story, but it was too weird for me, so I switched back over to Riza instead lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.

Back-to-Back, no Matter What

Hawkeye lay in her hospital bed, staring up at ceiling. The gash on her neck was stitched up and covered in a white, flexible cotton bandage. Her shoulder wound was also stitched and covered in the same material, but not as many layers.

Her superior officer, Roy, was laying in the bed to the right of hers. Earlier that day he regained his sight with the help of Dr. Marcoh. The Lt. smiled to herself now, remembering how relieved she was when she saw his eyes after the process. They were back to the same onyx color. Hawkeye hated the way his eyes had looked during the time that he was blind. They were so…void. Empty. And then there was that thick, silvery-blue fog that clouded them. The blond woman shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself, closing her eyes tightly shut. She never wanted to see his eyes like that again.

"Lieutenant," the Colonel's voice startled her and she opened her eyes; she thought he'd been asleep by now. "Are you awake?"

"Yes, sir," she answered, still gazing up at the ceiling.

"I wanted to thank you…for yesterday. With Envy." Riza blinked. This was surprising.

"There's no need to thank me, sir," she said, her tone edged with a sort of gentleness that she reserved especially for him. "I'm just glad I didn't have to shoot you."

There was a long silence after this, and Riza began to wonder if he'd fallen asleep when she heard the rustling of sheets and looked over to see Roy lying on his side, facing her, his dark eyes glistening in the dark.

"Lieutenant…don't ever do that to me again," he spoke, his voice wavering slightly with emotion.

"Do what, sir?"

Roy flinched, shaking his head. "Please, don't call me 'sir'. We're in a hospital, for God's sake. There's hardly any need for formalities now."

The Lt. raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he continued "And…I hated seeing you like that. I mean, I thought….I thought I was going to lose you, too…." His voice trailed off and he stared into her light, caramel eyes.

"Roy, I will never leave you. Ever. I've sworn to protect you at all costs, follow and support you, help you reach the top," she paused momentarily, and Roy could see her amber eyes sparkling with a sense of determination as she looked at him "Fleeing is no longer an option."

Roy smiled blissfully at first, but then Riza saw his smile fade and turn into a frown, his brow furrowed.

"So, what about once I do reach the top? What will you do then?" Without giving her the chance to reply, he continued, "Will fleeing be an option then?"

A pause. Then, "No. Fleeing will never be an option, Roy. Once you reach the top…I'll continue to follow and protect you, just as I always have."

Roy sighed in relief and relaxed visibly. Riza closed her eyes and rolled over onto her other side, not facing him.

Riza had finally begun to drift off to sleep when her superior spoke again.

"What if I don't want you to follow me?"

The blonde woman flipped back over, propped up on her elbows, staring at him in shock. "Excuse me?"

"What if I don't want you to follow me?" He repeated himself. "What if..I don't want you behind me?"

Riza blinked in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand, sir."

"What if I don't want you behind me, but instead at my side?"

Riza's breath got caught in her throat in surprise. What is he saying? But the only words that came out were "I can't watch your back from your side, sir."

"Roy," he corrected, "And I'm afraid I disagree." His voice had lowered now, and she could just barely make out what he was saying. "A king needs his queen at his side, after all. What use is she to him if she's always behind him?"

"Very useful," she whispered back, "The king is despised by many people, despite all the good he's done. So who will protect him when danger arises? His back is his blind spot. Someone needs to watch it for him."

Roy chuckled quietly and shook his head. "That's what knights are for."

"Knights don't know their king half as well as the queen does."

"Very well," he said calmly, though Riza knew from experience that she was just about to lose this fight. "Then who will protect the queen, hmm?"

He had her there. "The queen can protect herself."

"I beg to differ."

Riza frowned and rested her head on her pillow, still looking at him. "Then who do you suggest protects her?"

The man's lips lifted ever-so-slightly into that classic smirk of his, and she braced herself for some stupid remark.

"Why, the king, of course."

Her amber eyes widened in surprise, but she wasn't fazed. "So you're saying they should be back-to-back?"

Roy shrugged. "Why not?"

A sudden jolt through her body made her flinch, as though the reply had set off a spark in her heart. A spark that could grow into a flame of rage if provoked. "Because the king has more important things to worry about than the safety of his queen!" she snapped suddenly.

Her superior was obviously shocked at her sudden anger; his onyx eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. Even she was surprised at her own irritation, though she didn't back down from her position in the argument.

"The king has a goal to reach," she said in a lower voice. "The quee—I can't distract you from that, Roy."

Roy frowned and sat up in his bed, looking down at her. "You're not a distraction, Riza. You help me stay focused, if anything."

Riza gazed into his onyx eyes, their odd, fiery, warmth sucking her in. A heavy sigh passed her lips and she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling once again. "It doesn't feel like I'm helping you at all, sometimes," she admitted softly. "There are times when I feel like I'm just getting in the way, and then there are other times where I feel like I'm actually helping."

"Like when you saved my ass from getting blown to bits by Scar?" Roy asked with amusement in his voice.

Riza laughed quietly and nodded. "Yes, but those are the only times I actually feel like I've helped you any. I don't just want to be helpful when you're useless. I want to be helpful when you're not useless, too."

A small smile appeared on Riza's lips when she glanced over to see that her superior's eyebrow was twitching in annoyance. "I wouldn't call it 'useless'," he said, "And you are helpful. Even when I'm not…"

"Useless?" Riza supplied, a grin plastered on her face.

"I was going to say 'in water'!" he snapped irritably. She laughed at him, and after a moment, he began to laugh as well.

"The nurses are probably wondering what's going on in here," Riza chuckled, catching her breath. When she looked at Roy who had also stopped laughing, he had a suggestive grin on and his eyebrow was raised. Riza rolled her eyes at her superior. "Not like that, sir."

"Back to 'sir' again, are we?" Roy pouted, making her smile again.

"Yes, sir," she replied, putting emphasis on the word 'sir'. Roy sighed and shook his head as though he was disappointed in her.

Things went silent and Riza rolled back over onto her side, facing away from Roy. Her eyes closed and she began to slowly drift off to sleep, positive that no nightmares would haunt her tonight. A smile crept onto her lips as everything slowly faded to black.

All of a sudden, her bed shifted and she instinctively went for her gun, which, of course, hadn't been allowed in her hospital room. Riza was about jump out of bed when two muscular arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back down into the bed. She turned over to find herself face-to-face with her superior, his coal-black eyes glittering with amusement.

"Sir, you're in my bed," she stated, unable to say anything else.

"Yes, it would appear so, Riza," he replied with a grin.

"This is inappropriate."

"But you're not kicking me out."

Riza sighed and snuggled up against his muscular chest. "No," she whispered, drifting off to sleep. "I'm not."

Oh, the questions that would be asked the next morning when Breda, Falman, and Fuery made a surprise visit.

~Owari~

A/N: I couldn't resist putting a fluffy moment in here =_=;

Review, don't flame! ~Sketch