Royai Week Day 7: Trapped

Summary: During a firefight Roy and Riza are trapped in a room while the building burns and collapses around them. They must figure out a way to escape before it's too late.

"You can't use alchemy on the lock," Riza stressed, eyes frantically searching the fallen rubble before them, desperate to find a way out. "There's too much gas in the air from that valve." She nodded with her head, eyes returning to the wreckage. Roy's head snapped towards it.

"Damn, I didn't even notice."

"It's a good job I'm here then," she quipped, trying to soothe the uncomfortable feeling forming in her stomach. This wasn't good. They needed to get out.

"Definitely," he agreed. "All right, what are our options?" he asked, thinking out loud.

"We can try and shift that rubble," Riza offered, holstering her gun and approaching the collapsed wall blocking their exit. She stopped. "There's increased heat on the other side," she murmured to herself. Looking up, there was a gap in the stones. Black smoke was beginning to funnel through the gaps in the rocks slowly. "Fire."

"Shit."

"Agreed. All right help me with this," she commanded, beginning to shove some rubble away from one of the bigger boulders. Roy appeared at her right, helping her lift and roll it away. More rubble fell into its place as it displaced the small rocks. One dropped down from higher above, causing them to jump back if they wanted to keep their toes. It thudded onto the floor but left a gap at the top.

Unfortunately, more black smoke begun to billow through.

Riza felt her stomach drop into the centre of the earth.

"Let's keep moving," Roy stated, his jaw clenched as he moved another larger boulder on his own.

"I don't think we should –"

"Riza," he begged her, expression desperate. Their eyes met and she couldn't say no to him. Despite the crushing defeat that hung over the room at the sight of that black smoke and the feeling of the intense heat, Riza nodded and moved to help him. They created a larger hole, big enough for someone to squeeze through.

"I don't want to die in here," Roy stated quietly as they sized up the gap. "And I don't think you do either."

"That doesn't mean we should be careless," Riza replied carefully.

Roy nodded. "I agree. But, in this situation, risks need to be taken." He turned his head, gaze meeting her own. "If we want to get out alive, we need to try."

After a moment, she nodded. "All right."

"You go first," he offered. "As much as I don't want to throw you face first into danger, it's clear you're better at sizing up a situation than I am." Riza nodded, but as she moved to begin her climb, she was restrained by a hand on her wrist. "Be careful."

Riza smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "I will."

"I'll be right behind you."

Riza slipped through the gap with ease. She landed like a cat, keeping low to the ground to avoid the black smoke above her head. The heat in the room was bordering on unbearable and she could hear the fire from the next room over. She just needed to keep to the right and exit through the hole which had been made in the wall by the rubble.

"Sir, come through," she called. There was a thud behind her and Riza spun, peering through the gloom. She couldn't see the wall of rubble. Her stomach clenched at the thought he was trapped on the other side and unable to escape. "Sir!" she shouted, panic lacing her tone.

"I'm right here," he replied from somewhere to her right. Riza sighed in relief.

"Don't do that to me!"

"Were you that worried about me Lieutenant?" he quipped, and she could hear the smirk in his voice. "Do you doubt my abilities that much?"

"Of course," she replied. If he was going to tease her about it then two could play at that game.

"You wound me, Lieutenant."

"I'll wound you if you don't get your butt moving so we can get out of here," she replied, carefully picking her way through the gap she'd discovered earlier. Sweat prickled over her skin, drenching it. Her thick uniform hung on her frame heavily in the heat, her shirt sticking to her back like a second skin. Her face felt filthy, the substance coating her skin a mixture of soot, ash, and sweat.

She couldn't wait to get out of this fucking building.

They'd arrived with the intention of questioning a suspect, but the bastard has used alchemy to destroy the building from the inside out, causing collapses in the structure. Now, a fire was tearing through the building and the walls were threatening to cave in above them.

"The stairs should be just up… here…"

A wall of rubble blocked their path.

"Shit."

"Let's move it."

They tried, but nothing budged. Roy finally managed to shift a rock, but another fell in its place, nicking his arm and slicing through is skin. With a hiss he clutched the wound, backing up and effectively giving up on that idea.

"We're…"

"Don't say it," Roy snapped, but not unkindly.

"Sir –"

"Don't. We can't die here. I refuse to." A cough overtook his body and Riza spun in her crouch, seeing the smoke behind them growing thicker. They were running out of time.

"What do you propose?" she asked quietly, the reality of their situation – and the outcome – already setting into her bones. It left her slightly breathless and afraid.

She didn't want to die. They had so much left to do.

"I'm not going to sit here and accept it," he replied, voice rising in volume. Standing from his crouch – and wincing in pain – Roy approached the wall of rubble again and begun to move it. Riza watched the stones helplessly before picking out another loose stone shifting. If it fell, it would hit Roy.

She dove for him just as it teetered, pulling him aside. Instead of striking his head, it hit his hand. With a surprised and pained cry, he staggered to the side, kept upright by Riza.

"Sir, please!" she cried. "Stop!"

"I can't!" he replied, anger seeping into his tone. "I can't let us die in here. We've got shit left to do and I won't condemn you of all people to a fate like this!"

Silence fell around them. Recovering from her surprise, Riza gripped his hand tightly and pulled it towards her, examining his wounds. They weren't deep but they were bleeding profusely. She sat on the ground by the rubble wall and tugged him down next to her. The smoke was lowering, a bad sign.

"Don't ask me to give up," he whispered.

"I'm not," Riza replied, shaking her head.

"I won't let you die here, Riza," he added. "I can't let that happen."

"And I can't let you die here either," she stressed. "Acting without thinking will get you killed. That last boulder almost hit you in the head."

Roy chuckled, but there was a hint of sadness in his laugh. "It might have knocked some sense into me." Riza offered him a quick smile.

"It might have."

"I'm sorry. For getting us into this mess."

There was a crack above them and they ducked. The ceiling collapsed above them, shifting the smoke so it could rise upwards and away from them. For a brief second, breathing was easier, but now the heat was as intense as ever. Riza didn't realise it until afterwards, but Roy shielded her body with his own, his arms tight around her shoulders. She noticed when he finally moved, but never removed his arms from around her shoulders.

Looking up, her stomach sank as they saw more rubble had fallen. Sharing a look, both came to the same conclusion.

They were trapped.

"Come on," Roy urged, jumping up and headfirst into the black smoke that now shrouded the room. He coughed loudly as he tried to shift rubble, but Riza grabbed his hand, tugging him down.

"Sir, you can't –"

"I can," he snapped, struggling to stand again. If he did, his entire head and shoulders would be shrouded in black smoke.

"Roy –"

"Don't ask me to let you die!" The only sound in the room was the distant – but creeping ever closer – crackle of fire. She watched him with sad eyes, understanding of his plight, but there was nothing they could do. Trying to shift that rubble would injure them. Not to mention the fact that to make any decent kind of progress, they would need to stand up which would put them amid the harmful smoke. "Don't," Roy added, pleading. "I don't want to do that to you."

Riza gripped his hand tightly, pulling it into her lap after he sunk to a sitting position again. His entire body screamed defeat, a feeling they both shared.

"I know," Riza replied softly, feeling her throat begin to tickle as the intensity of the fire increased, therefore adding more smoke to the room. "I don't want to do that to you either."

"I led us in here, I –"

"Made the correct call and this was an unfortunate circumstance," Riza interrupted, finishing his thought. "I made the choice myself to walk in here. I made that choice when I stepped into work today. The only comfort this… end with bring, is that you're here by my side." She huffed a humourless laugh. "As much as I don't want that to happen."

"I… Agreed." Riza met Roy's gaze. They were shimmering with tears however she wasn't sure if it was because of emotion or the choking air that was becoming more suffocating by the minute. She wanted to believe it was the former. "As much as I don't want you here, I'm glad you're by my side."

Another crack sounded above them, dropping plaster and wood into the room they were in. Again, Roy wrapped his arms around her shoulders, shielding Riza from the rubble. After it had passed, they didn't move. Roy buried his face in her neck and Riza followed suit. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears escaping and hitting the skin of his neck.

"I love you," he whispered. Her stomach clenched, because if he was saying that then this really was the end.

"I love you too," she replied, shifting her hold on him to grip him tighter, her hands fisting in the shirt underneath his jacket.

Nothing more was said. Nothing more needed to be said. Their whole lives they'd spent their time not saying what they really felt. That declaration meant more to them both than hours-worth of conversation.

If this was to the be the end, then Riza was glad that she got to hold Roy Mustang as she slipped away. All she'd ever needed was him.

Riza was moving and moving fast. Opening her eyes, she saw blinding white light pass over her head, connected to a white ceiling. Hurried voices sounded around her, a murmur with an occasional barked order. There was a flash of blonde hair and her head lolled, trying to see who was by her side.

"Hawkeye," a familiar voice whispered. "We've got you. Both of you. You'll be okay."

There was a flash of blue and blonde then a pressure on her hand. With a sigh she felt herself slipping but was comforted by the fact Havoc was by her side.

Both of them… That meant Roy was here too. Where was he? Was he okay? Would she be all right?

"I don't know if you can hear me," Havoc stated. The pressure on her hand increased then relaxed. "But just relax. You're going to be all right," he added fiercely. Riza thought it was maybe for his benefit rather than her own. Giving his hand a quick squeeze in response, she heard a gasp as Havoc realised that she could hear him.

"Lieutenant Havoc, this is as far as you go," someone said. Riza heard them faintly, already drifting again but the pressure on her hand was gone. "If we want to save her, we need to take her now…"

She missed his presence already.

"Get her prepped for the procedure," someone barked. "Colonel Mustang is in Surgery One so we're going to Surgery Two."

"Is he all right?"

"He's stable. It was a success, but we're not out of the woods yet."

Riza relaxed on her trolley. She may be trapped in this weakened state – unable to focus her eyes, unable to move her body, unable to speak – but she'd had all her questions answered.

He'd be all right.

Now it was her turn to survive.

Do it for yourself and do it for him.

Those words echoed around her head as she finally lost consciousness.

It was time to fight. And fight, she did.