Roy led his Lieutenant up the stairs to his apartment, insisting on having her hold his arm on the way up. She initially refused, saying that it was silly and that people would talk. He countered that people would think ill of him if he didn't help a lady up the stairs. There was nothing fraternizing about it, just helping a wounded soldier up the steps.

"I'll take the couch," Roy volunteered, taking her bag of belongings into the bedroom.

"Sir, I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed." She rolled her eyes. Despite having a reputation as a womanizer, Roy was always a gentleman. Despite the jokes that went around the office, he respected her too much to ever try anything.

He paused for a moment, "Would you be okay with sharing a bed?" He wasn't sure if that would be too much for her to handle, since old wounds had reopened. It had been two weeks since she retold what had happened ten years earlier but he still worried about her state of mind.

"We did that night," she remembered.

"You can stay on my cot," Hughes cleared up some space in the tent he shared with Roy Mustang. "I'm on night patrol tonight, I won't be using it anyway. I can't have you sleeping on the floor, it wouldn't be right."

Riza smiled softly, grateful for all the kindness she'd been shown by her fellow soldiers, a refreshing break from the harshness of earlier in the day. "Thank you, you've been so thoughtful." She barely knew Hughes, except as a friend of Roy's but could tell he had a good heart. The woman in the picture on his bedside table must have been very lucky.

As they settled in to get ready for sleep, Roy asked her, "How are you doing? And I mean really. None of this stoic, perfect soldier stuff. I'm talking to Riza, not Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Physically? I'm sore, everything aches," she sighed, "Doctor Rockbell gave me something for the pain to take if I needed it. Mentally, emotionally, I really don't know." He knew how to read her, ever since they were children. There was no hiding, and there didn't need to be.

Lieutenant Colonel Basque Grand rounded on the camp, maintaining order, "Lights out, everyone! It's 2100, quit burning up all the oil!" He poked his head into Roy's tent and glared at the two officers pointing at the them, "No, no, no. This is not acceptable and you both know it. And shame on you, Major for trying to take advantage of a woman in her condition!" He shouted.

Roy raised his hands defensively, "It's not like that. We're under orders from Colonel Armstrong. I'm supposed to keep her under my protection until things settle down." He retrieved a hand written note from the Colonel, offering it to his superior officer, "No fraternization here." He was frankly a little insulted at the Iron Blood Alchemist's assertion that he was going to do something inappropriate, especially since he knew what had happened earlier.

"I'll be keeping my eye on you, Mustang." Grand said, exiting the tent.

Shaking his head, Roy offered his canteen to Hawkeye, "You should take what she gave you. You need your rest."

"I'm afraid to," she admitted. "As pathetic as that sounds. I don't want to feel weak, I can't let my reflexes be delayed. I have to be ready at a moment's notice." It was her duty as a soldier. She couldn't risk being incapacitated if someone needed her, or if she needed to defend herself.

"Tonight you don't have to worry about that," he soothed, "I'm here to watch over you. And I won't let anyone on this earth hurt you as long as I'm still breathing." He sat down on the cot beside her, letting her lean against him. She finally agreed to take two of the pills to help her sleep. She soon felt the tension start to leave her body and she wondered if it was from the medicine or from his presence.

They soon lost track of how long they sat, leaning against one another. At some point they stopped sitting up and had laid down side by side. Roy's arm found its way to her waist, drawing her close. He prayed that tonight she would have a dreamless sleep. Her breathing slowed evened out. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing she was finally asleep.

Roy kicked off his shoes and sat on the bed next to her, helping her into her nightclothes. Although her wound was healing well, it was still painful for her to reach her arms above her head to pull off her shirt. She wasn't shy around him. He had seen her bare back for countless hours studying its secrets, and for hours more tending to her burns after he destroyed them.

"Just like old times?" she asked, the slightest bit of red on her cheeks.

He smiled, laying down beside her, "Just like old times," he agreed.

AN: I decided to include this here instead of a separate epilogue. I hope you enjoyed it!