Tell me what you want to hear
Something that will light those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time
Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics ever jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

**********

Recovery was a slow and rather boring process. At first, every small process that required stomach movement floored her for minutes on end. Even hyped up on meds the dulled pain still managed to kick her ass for the better part of two weeks. For the first week, Aiden was bedridden and served light meals until her stomach could handle harder foods - and when that happened Kain brought her a burger (which she almost cried over). Though she did cry when the doctor scolded them for bringing her greasy foods. She blamed it on the medication.

With so much time on her hands, she found herself regressing back into her teen-like mindset. Sue her if needed, but Aiden felt that her Millennial needs weren't being met when no one responded to her death jokes as she wanted. Well, the nurses and doctors didn't. The team had grown accustomed to her strangeness and didn't bat an eyelash at the stupid things spewing from her mouth. Ed took it in stride and they bonded over all things self-deprecating while Alphonse, the poor soul, was now on the receiving end of two conniving children.

Nearly a month after she'd woken up Aiden had been cleared for mobility via wheelchair. Jean became her new buddy in racing down the halls, much to the displeasure of many nurses and Riza. Roy on the other hand found their races amusing and often acted as the finish line while Maes and Elicia commented on their superb performances.

Walking was easy, all she had to do was keep to the crutches she'd been given and avoid stressing her core. If at any moment she felt pain that was too much to handle, Aiden was to find a doctor or nurse immediately or sit and wait while someone else did.

As the two and a half mark of her stay at the hospital neared, three weeks of it being spent unconscious, Aiden was approached by doctor McCoy. A knock sounded at the door and Aiden glanced to her right. "Come in," she said, breathing deeply.

Not all of her time was spent goofing off with whoever decided to visit her. Aiden spent a large amount of time trying to stop her muscles from atrophying further than they already had. Stretches came first and when those no longer hurt she moved onto push-ups and planking as long as she could, building up both endurance and muscle. Of course with only a few weeks of practice, there wasn't much improvement. Still, something was better than nothing at all.

Shoes clapped against the tiled floor and stopped very near. "I thought I told you not to do anything too strenuous."

Aiden sighed and shifted into a sitting position before getting up, brushing away the small specks of dirt from her sweatpants. She then deposited herself onto her hospital bed and raised an eyebrow. "Happy?"

"Immensely," McCoy replied just as blandly.

It was very early on when she learned that, while her doctor was a trained physician, he rarely acted like one. He preferred to act more like a friend to his patients rather than a stone-faced machine that spouted answers like they were common knowledge when they weren't. The man earned her respect when one time he walked in with tousled hair, dreary eyes, large coffee in hand and growled, "I fucking hate mornings."

The admission startled her and Aiden almost choked on her breakfast when her laughter became too much. He had to slap her on the back and clear her airway. The man was an overall chill kind of doctor. Which was like a breath of fresh air in the stifling hospital.

She snorted. "What's up Doc?"

"Just a few things to clear up before you're released into the world."

"You make it sound like I'm some menace that needs to be locked up."

"To some nurses you are." 

Recalling the racing and loud board game days, Aiden nodded in agreement. There was no point in arguing when she herself knew her habits.

"First, I've prescribed medication for you to take when your wound starts hurting. It shouldn't, unless you're doing something you're not supposed to, but it's just in case. After that, I've got an appointment set up three weeks from today to clear anything that might come up and hopefully get rid of those bandages." He pointed at her abdomen covered by a black tank top.

The bandages were there mostly to keep Aiden from moving too much one way or another. They'd removed the stitches only a week ago but the tissue was still very sore and red, and there was no doubt it'd scar. She wasn't bothered too much by the information, she already had scars from being part of the military, and it wasn't like being impaled and leaving a scar was news. It was common sense.

From there the conversation evolved into questions on biology (due to Aiden's curiosity) until McCoy announced he had other patients to attend to. He did not, she knew his schedule too well.

Throughout her stay, Maes had been urging her to speak with Roy about her past and had all but stopped coming to see her until she did, though he wasn't cruel enough to stop altogether. Apparently he passed on the word to help kick her ass in gear because visits from Riza and the boys were less frequent as well. When they did come around, her past and Roy's lack of knowledge always came up.

Their insistence wore at her patience until she finally snapped at them to let her be. That she was fine and she had it handled. Yelling at her friends may not have been the best choice, but they did indeed leave her alone to collect her thoughts.

She didn't want to lose Roy, the was a fact. She'd been keeping her past life from him, that was also a fact. Aiden could only guess at his reaction. Would he accept it like Alphonse, Maes, and Riza? Or would he scream and yell like Edward? The problem was she didn't know. And it scared her to her core.

But a person couldn't avoid their problems forever. So she dove into the rabbit hole face first.

"I let you down," Aiden said. "I've been lying to you."

No one but Roy was around and they'd been sitting in comfortable silence, basking in the presence of the only other person in the room. It'd been a silent day they could enjoy without feeling the need to act like an officer. Aiden had her hair pulled into a low ponytail. The bleach blonde had long since faded and all that was left was black hair reaching the middle of her back. Roy had donned a casual white button up shirt and rolled the sleeves up, pairing it with light blue jeans and basic grey tennis shoes. Seeing the man out of uniform was a rarity and Aiden could remember every event it happened.

He glanced up from the book in his hands, question at the ready. "Is this about those secrets you've been keeping from me? The ones you say I won't particularly like?"

When had she said that? She wracked her brain for an answer. It was... the night they babysat Elicia. Hadn't the girl also asked about marriage? Specifically theirs?

Aiden nodded. "Yeah."

A frown replaced his blank face and he closed the book, placing it on the bed. Eyes focused, he faced forward, placed his hands in his lap; all attention was on her. 

Strangely enough, telling Roy her past was the easiest thing she could remember. The words didn't spill out her mouth like a dam's spillway opening, she didn't stutter or trip over words... As her past was laid out in front of her, Aiden could feel the tension in her shoulders melt away. Like everyone before him, Roy didn't say a word as she spoke and she didn't dare watch him. Aiden kept her gaze firmly fixated on the sheets covering her legs.

"...and I guess after all that, I can say I'm happy," she said. A smile worked itself onto her face and Aiden sat up, a single tear dripping down her cheek. Her eyes were closed yet the smile didn't waver. "I may have lost them but I got all you guys. I have you."

Dark green eyes blinked open and she stared at the man she'd opened her soul to. He wasn't blank-faced like Maes had been or understanding like Alphonse. Hell, the man wasn't even showing anger like Ed had. Instead he was calm and silent, a contemplative expression resting on his face as he stared at the bed in front of him rather than at her. His eye had shifted from her face to the bed at some point apparently.

The silence reigned and Aiden twitched as the healing wound pulled slightly. She'd still need to be careful not to exert herself too much in the future. Nothing she wasn't already doing anyway.

"So that's what happened to you," Roy said softly to himself. He shook his head in disbelief. "I can see why you'd have trouble in the beginning but after..."

"I was scared and I got too complacent," she said, fisting the sheets. "I think... I wanted to pretend I wasn't in the situation I was in and just left it be for too long. Got the ball rolling when Truth decided to crash my nightmare the night you took care of me. It was right after the Tucker incident, remember? Anyway, from there I worked out a way to save Maes."

"Why did we have to believe he was dead?" he interrupted. The question had been floating around his mind since the Promised Day and Maes hadn't answered him, stating that any reasoning should come from Aiden herself. "Why did Riza and Jean know before I did?"

"Maes knew too much, so the homunculi wouldn't have wanted him around. Ultimately it was his choice to stay in hiding or risk endangering Gracia and Elicia. Riza found out after your alchemy battle with Ed because she could relay messages the easiest. I don't know who clued in Jean while I was on the run so that's on them.

"You... I hate to say it this way, but if you knew Maes was alive you wouldn't have looked into the military and found the corrupt higher-ups. You would've looked into the same things he did and since Lust had no qualms about killing you, I doubt they would've stopped her from doing it earlier and finding another sacrifice. Short notice or no, there are a lot of State Alchemists in the military, any one of them would do. Overall, I guess it was to keep the timeline intact and still have an upper hand while protecting you."

"Though I may not like it, it's sound reasoning and you did what you could with what you had at the time."

He didn't sound mad, just a little put-off. Either way, Aiden was glad he hadn't stomped from the room or started yelling like Ed probably would have and did in the forest. Roy was listening and taking in the facts and forming his own opinion as he went, just like the logical man he was. Why was she worried again?

Memories of the events came forward and she began her point of view once more.

"After Tucker, I stayed to train you because you sucked-" Roy lightly punched her shin and she giggled. "Apparently the river was unique to us because that was never in the journal."

"Oh we're special are we?"

"My leg didn't feel special at the time."

"I sure felt special when I got a love confession." Roy grinned broadly and Aiden shook her head, cheeks burning subtly.

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"No?"

"Nope!"

"Really? Because I remember you saying something along the lines of, 'Don't kill him Scar! He's not a bad person and I love him oh so much!'"

Aiden scoffed and rolled her eyes, a light smile twitching at the corner of her lips. "First, I sound nothing like that! Second, Scar was saying that there was nothing about you worth saving and I corrected him."

Roy grinned triumphantly. "So you're saying you do remember."

"I..." she opened her mouth and closed it, "remember giving you a lighter that I forgot about in the heat of the moment."

"You changed the subject."

"Screw you."

"You already did."

Aiden groaned loudly and flopped back on her hospital bed. She'd been worried about telling her past to this guy? What had she been thinking?

For the sake of her sanity, Aiden moved the conversation back to the original topic. The ice had been broken with Roy's joking (which was a complete role-reversal now that she thought about it) and things progressed smoothly as Roy added in his own input here and there. Eventually, she gravitated to the end of the bed and laid down, her feet resting where her head would normally be. It was a rather great view of an upside-down Roy in her opinion.

Aiden learned the lighter she'd given him was apparently the one he used to incinerate Lust and sear her and Jean's wounds closed. He also kept it on person at all times. Roy learned how Riza had been six seconds from shooting him when she found out their little... incident at the office. He merely shook his head when she said she imported illegal Milosian gear via multidimensional being. Only an idiot wouldn't have noticed the glider but they hadn't had time to discuss it at the time. There was nothing he could possibly say about Katy Erwin.

When she got around to telling him how Truth, the ass, told her to get a life because she was being too cautious - boring in his words, Roy burst into laughter. Sure he hated the thing, but to be told by Truth that you weren't entertaining?

"If it helps any," he said as she sulked, "I find your drunk self amusing."

"The life of a happy drunk is sad when you can't remember shit."

"True, but that's what you have friends for. Also, you are strangely literate when drunk."

Aiden snorted and nodded. "So I've been told. Back before I met you in Ishval, Kain and I were in a drinking game with another few guys. He stayed out of it but according to him, I recited an entire Shakespeare sonnet word for word. Blackout drunk I may be, but I can talk anyone under the table."

"Sounds about right."

An eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Did I ever tell you I know how your alchemy works?" Guy sure was quiet after that. "When you snap it makes a spark. After that, you use alchemy to change the oxygen density in the air. You're not actually snapping though. The sound is created from the spark rather than the regular slap of skin and friction we hear when we snap.

"The change in oxygen density I figured out in Ishval. I knew something was about to explode when I suddenly felt energized, because you know, more oxygen is noticeable if you know what you're looking for! The effect wasn't noticeable at first but the constant exposure to fluctuating air caught my attention. Saved my ass more than once I'll tell you. I will admit I was almost caught up in an explosion of yours because I hadn't been paying attention."

Roy blinked several times and Aiden had to keep herself from laughing at his sucker-punched expression. He slowly reached out and arm and swiped a pillow from behind her. Aiden's form was shaking as she bit her lip. Roy planted his face in the pillow and began to scream. Her laughter broke from her and bypassed regular laughter and landed on wheezes.

The whole scene must've looked comical; a grown man screaming into a pillow out of frustration while the woman on the hospital bed leaked tears through almost silent wheezing. Even Roy joined in her laughter.

By the time they'd calmed enough to not be sent into another round, both were tired and spirits infinitely lighter. 

Aiden yawned and stretched as best she could with her body at the end of the bed. "Call it a day?" she said, nodding pointedly to the darkening skies outside the windows.

Roy nodded. "Sure. I have a cat to take care of after all."

Aiden bolted upright. Her eyes were wide and she whirled around to face him, horror on her face. "Oh shit! Sebastian!" She slumped over. "I'm the worst mother. Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone."

He sighed good-naturedly as he slipped on his black coat. "To be fair, you've had a lot on your mind. Though that reminds me. After your disappearing act, and no one to pay for your apartment, your things had to be moved. Hawkeye took care of your clothes and any furniture was put in storage."

"Well shit, I'm getting out tomorrow and have nowhere to go. I assume the military seized any monetary value I had saved up?"

"More than likely. But it doesn't matter right now, you'll be staying with me."

It would be useless to fight, she knew that. So she sighed and nodded. "See you tomorrow. Ten?"

"Ten."

The next day Aiden gathered her clothes in the duffle bag Riza brought them in. The clothes she wore on the Promised Day were washed and thankfully hadn't been scrapped, they were military after all. She simply tossed the items in the bag without care and waited for the nurse to give her the okay.

Roy's late, she thought, knee jumping up and down. I could've avoided this if he'd been on time.

She watched as the nurse placed a needle on a tray. Her face paled and stomach churned at the sharp object.

Oh hell no. 

Aiden almost bolted from the room but an all too familiar grip on her elbow short-circuited her mind.

"Where are you going?"

Her fingers twitched and her eyes shifted between the nurse's back and Roy. "I don't need a shot so I think I'll be going now."

"It's just a booster shot."

The nurse turned around, needle in hand, and scooted the chair over to her right side. Aiden was effectively trapped between Roy and the nurse on the hospital bed. A cold sweat began to break over her and she shuddered. Eyeing the needle, she tried to put as much distance between herself and the offending object.

Roy raised an eyebrow at the behavior he'd never quite seen before. Why on earth was she shying away from the nurse when she could go home in a moment's notice? The other eyebrow rose in astonishment as he took in her pale face and ever so shaky hands. "Aiden... Are you afraid of needles?"

"Yep," she squeaked out, head nodding rapidly. Her eyes still didn't leave the needle.

The nurse hadn't moved and was patiently waiting for Aiden's okay to administer the shot.

"You've had plenty of IVs in the military. How-"

"Somehow I've managed to be unconscious... at least eighty percent of the time when they put them in. Coming out is just fine but going in?" She glared at the needle. It had to be done. so Aiden gritted her teeth and slowly stretched out her arm.

The nurse gently cleaned off the area as she hummed. "A lot of people are like that, honey. Don't worry."

The needle came near her skin and Aiden squeezed her eyes shut. It was too close to her and any second she'd feel the damn thing. She hated it in her personal space. It felt weird. It was small like a bee sting and she hated bees (she feared them). It was going to hurt like a - she felt a prick and nearly jumped only to feel something warm pressed against her lips.

"All done."

The warmth was gone as fast as it came and her eyes snapped open to watch the nurse apply a band-aid and excused herself. She turned to glance up at Roy who was staring down at her, eyebrow raised and mouth quirked at the side in question.

"Are you alright?"

She stared a few moments longer. "Yeah."

**********

Aiden: So this is how your alchemy works.

Roy: *Pikachu face*

Also Roy: *kisses Aiden*

Aiden: *dial-up tone*

I am here! With a late update and I apologize for the wait! Four chapters left? How did the time fly so fast? This chapter was particularly difficult (I scrapped the thing 4 times until I got here) and I can't say if I'm 100% satisfied with it, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging any longer.

Side note: The MHA fanfic is in the works! However, Aiden is not the main character. As someone brought to my attention, which I thank them for, Aiden's story needs to stay here with Roy. You can't be a one-trick pony now can you?