That Which Does Not Kill Us

Riza sighed and tilted her head back.

Behind her, the door opened.

"You know, I really am fine." Roy shuffled over to the chair the now-standing Riza had been occupying.

Riza shook her head, but remembering Roy wouldn't see it, she quietly explained, "It's not that I don't believe you. It's just… I'm worried. And frustrated."

"So am I," Roy assured her. "On the other hand, though, I'm alive, have my wits about me, and all my limbs are intact. And my hearing's getting sharper by the day." He paused. "That's not to say I don't miss being able to see. But just moping about it won't help, no matter how much I want it to. Getting on with life will help, and it does most days."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Riza knew she had to say it, to get it out there. "It's not fair. I should've been able to help you. I should have been able to stop this from happening somehow. I promised…" Whereas her volume had grown at the start, at the end, it dropped to a whisper. "I promised," she hissed again through clenched teeth.

Roy pulled her into a hug. "And so did I. I said I'd make it to the top. You agreed to support me. You're not going to stop now, are you?"

Now that Roy could feel it (and because she didn't trust her voice at the moment), Riza shook her head.

"There's nothing you could have done," Roy continued. "Things went far beyond our control too quickly to do much about it. And yet, here we are, safe and sound. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is."

Riza nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's hard, I know. I wish I didn't have to put you through this. I almost wish life was perfect sometimes. But then, if it was, what would be the point of existence? We just have to do what we can." Roy released Riza enough so that he could roughly make eye contact with her, though he could feel her tense—the sight still unnerved her. "And we'll do it together."

Again, Riza nodded. "Yes." She let Roy's hands slide down her arms to take her hands. "I'm not going to say it's all fine."

"I don't expect you to."

"Sometimes, I just need a moment to let it go," Riza continued. "But thank you for bringing me back."

"Thank you for coming with." Roy squeezed Riza's hands briefly, then dropped them. "Now, what say we go finish what we've started?"

Though Roy couldn't see it, Riza knew he would be able to hear the smile in her voice. "Yes, Sir."

A/N: Agh! 102 made me downright miserable at the time I read it! And then, I thought, well, why the hell can't Roy accomplish his goal, anyway? He's still got brains and determination, and you can go pretty far on those alone. And he's got Riza by his side. And everyone else, too. But especially Riza.

Crap. Only after reading this a few times do I realize that this mirrors pretty much exactly that scene from anime1's episode 51. Crapcrapcrap... I hadn't meant to do that, and now I feel that it somehow cheapens the whole thing. But I just wanted to let y'all know that I'm aware off it.

So, let me know what you think!