Facing Mortality

The battle was over.

A strange sense of peace and accomplishment washed over the militia.

Roy fell to his knees, breathing ragged. Riza fell beside him, her body weakened from the fight.

Quiet washed over them from every direction.

"Sir," She began. The words hung in the air like a darkened cloud, threatening to rain on them. She'd accepted his initial need to battle, regardless of circumstance, but she wasn't so prepared for what came afterwards. "How are you feeling?"

"Forget how I'm feeling," He replied, staring off into the distance. All he saw was black. "You need to have your wounds attended to."

"I'll be fine for a few more minutes," Riza reluctantly replied, dropping her gun beside her. Normally she would put it in her holster, but right now she didn't want to ever pick up a weapon again. She scooted a little closer to him and reached a hand out, hesitant at first. "This…this must be a shock to you."

He didn't speak.

"Sir, you'll have to reti—"

"I know!" He shouted at her. Riza flinched away, her body rigid. She hadn't expected such a harsh reaction. The woman reluctantly moved away, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Hawkeye."

"No, it's okay." She smiled softly. "I know that you're likely going through a conflict of emotions. I know how hard it must be for you to accept that everything was forcibly taken from you. Sir, you lost what was most precious to you down there, please, do not apologize for being a burden. You're far from it."

He looked away, his face aimed at the ground this time. The wind tussled his hair softly. He raised a hand to his face, touching his eyes in wonder. "I didn't lose what's most precious to me. I almost did, but it seems her will to survive is a lot stronger than my need to save her."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide.

He wished he could see her reaction, to register her face when he said those words. He wanted to know she felt the same way. It was always such with them, the unspoken words, the hidden agenda. Roy constantly made sure to tell her before they entered a battle, but she never listened and often got into trouble anyway. Though she could protect herself, he was fearful whenever they weren't together. Now, it seemed, she would be protecting him a lot more.

"Sir," Her voice was quiet, breathless. It took her some time to register that the dizziness overwhelming her was partly because of emotion, partly fatigue, and partly her wounds. She closed her eyes and fell forward.

Unsure of what was happening; Roy caught her before she hit the ground, closing his eyes tightly. "You better not die on me, Lieutenant. Now would be a terrible time to back out of this battle." She didn't speak. He didn't know what was happening. "Hawkeye, answer me."

In the few minutes that followed, he pleaded with her to wake up. The medical unit finally arrived, ripping her from his arms, while he sat on the rubble and ashes of the roof, begging her to answer him. He felt fear rip through his body and take over his senses. "Hawkeye!"

Riza awoke in a hospital room, her neck and wrists bandaged. It had been several days since the fight ended, but she hadn't been conscious most of that time. Sitting beside her bed, calm and quiet, was her superior. His head was hung, his hands folded in his lap. She suspected he was sleeping. "Sir?"

The movement startled her.

He moved to look in the direction of the sound, but he registered no reaction in his eyes. The usual beautiful onyx eyes she loved so much were without compassion or emotion. He seemed to be a shell of a human. Roy moved slightly, moving his hands slightly in front of him. They'd stripped him of his gloves, and bandaged the wounds on his hands. The doctors told him he was lucky to have left that battle without severing the tendons in his hands to the point they were useless. If that was the worst that happened, he would have taken it gladly.

"It's funny how we take such simple things for granted," He began, his voice low and gruff. "For instance, I see you every morning and I had never once taken the time to tell you how grateful I am to have you in my life."

"Sir, it's not that—"

"Please don't speak," He whispered. "They told me I was lucky to have left without damaging my hands. I would have been useless to them. I…still am, to some extent. But I don't want to quit just yet. You would probably skin me alive if I did. Especially having come this far already…"

She reached her hand out to firmly grasp his. It was a tiny gesture of reassurance. Something he'd needed to feel from her for some time now. "I'm here. I don't intend on going anywhere, sir."

His small smile was enough to make her feel better. "Even into hell?"

"Gladly," She answered, removing her hand from his. "Though, the thought of you going before me is terrifying. Then who would I protect?"

"There are always our children," He answered flatly. "If…you'd want them, that is."

"Someday, sir, but right now, our biggest adjustment is your eyesight."

Though he never let on, he was surprised at the answer to his unspoken question. Had she inadvertently said yes to his proposal? "It's going to be a challenge, but I'm sure I can do this with you by my side."

Riza smiled and watched him, wishing he could see the determination in her features. "That's good, because I don't plan on marrying anyone less than a furor. And I'm certainly not going to marry one that's blind."

His face fell, the mood killed by that point. "I…I see. What if I never get better?" He inquired softly.

She touched his hand gently again, her voice tiny. "You'll overcome this. You haven't gotten this far without sacrificing things. You knew this would happen the moment you decided this was your dream. And I'm going to be behind you, I'm going to be supporting you and pushing you, every single step of the way. Don't give up on me. Don't give up on your dreams."

Roy nodded. "Well, since you plan on inspiring me like that, I guess it would be easy to work around this. I'll start today. Have Fury gather some books on Ishval from the library. I want to be moved to your room so you can protect me better. Oh, and Hawkeye?"

Riza paused and smiled, shaking her head. "Yes, sir?"

"You'll make a very fine wife to some man one day." He said as he stood to leave the room. As he held out the cane, trying very desperately to find where he was going, she couldn't help but let her face fall into a frown. It was going to be difficult, but she wasn't giving up on him yet.

Oneshot. Just some things I forgot to get out the first time around. Hopefully I'm done with this "Blind Roy" thing. It's making me sad now.

R&R =D