A/n: Manga continuity is bull but Roy/Al is Roy/Al! The rarepair life is so lonely (by definition I guess...)

Roy awakens to find himself in a bed, staring at a beige ceiling far above his head. It's an unfamiliar one, he realises as the fog slowly lifts from his mind. The beveled swirls are almost garish compared to what the army had slept under for the last few weeks.

The army...?

He tries to push himself off his back but his arms berate him for trying, a cacophony of exhaustion and pain as he flops back onto the pillow behind his head. With a groan, he twists his neck to stare at the open doorway in his peripheral vision.

He's still not entirely sure where he is or what just happened. It's then that he spots a sliver of a bandage under the covers. He grits through the pain to lift a hand to his chest to find that it's been completely wrapped up in bandages and the rest of him is patched with dressings. Ouch.

He remembers only drifting in and out of consciousness. He has an inkling that he'd just emerged from a battle, but it feels like a dream, as usual. Then, a gargantuan blade fills his mind's eye, and he dashes the thought with a startled flinch. He just wants someone to come and tell him that he's not hallucinating.

Someone?

Al!

His heart lurches as he sits up. He cries in pain but blinks through the tears in his eyes to scan the rest of the room.

Where was Al? He could only remember light searing his eyes. Kneeling on bruised knees, severed hands pressed to warm, prickling crystal, and the sight of an unconscious, half draconian face refracting through.

"No, no," he rasps under his breath. He throws off the covers but seizes up with a yell, nearly toppling off the bed as he curls up in agony. The muddled sound of urgent voices and hurried footsteps reaches his ears as if he's underwater.

"Roy!" It's Lilina's voice as she brings her arms up to catch him.

"Milord!" Wolt's there, too, hovering worriedly above the two of them. "Don't strain yourself."

"Where's Al?" Roy coughs, eyes shut tight as his upper body flares. He can barely hear the answer.

"He's fine, just rest," Wolt says, almost as much a command as he could muster. "Please."

Lilina gently pushes Roy down onto his back and stares at him, face strained with concern.

Roy looks up at the two of them. Lilina's hands are bandaged and there's and a piece of gauze on Wolt's cheek, but otherwise, they're tidy and in good condition. His heart calms a little.

"I'm happy to see you two," he rasps. "Are you doing well?"

"Of course," says Lilina, grinning softly. "As you can see, we're both on our feet."

"It's a relief to see you finally awake, Lord Roy," Wolt mutters. Roy scowls at the title, but forgives Wolt for not yet dropping the habit—it was just the three of them, after all.

Lilina leans down gingerly for a hug, making sure not to put too much weight on his chest. Wolt joins in too, eventually. Roy wraps his arms around them both, sighing in relief.

"Do you know where we are?" Lilina asks, finally.

"I don't recognise this room," says Roy, "but I do remember that Al and I were fighting..."

Lilina nods. "We're in Bern keep. This is one of the guest's quarters."

"I imagine we've been able to take control of the castle," Roy says solemnly.

She nods again. "You've been out for two nights, but it wasn't as severe as it could have been."

"Al is in the next room," Wolt hazards. When Roy's arms twitch to push himself back up, Wolt blocks him by putting a hand in front of his face.

"Don't make me regret telling you, Lo—" he grumbles, cutting himself off before he can irritate Roy further.

"It's okay, Al is sleeping," says Lilina. She shoos Wolt's hand away.

Roy exhales in relief. "Good, good..."

"Don't worry about it, now. Just get some rest—you'll be able to see him sooner if you do."

"We won't miss you for so long if you do," Wolt reiterates, finally managing a weak smile.

Roy nods and eases back under the covers as his friends prepare to leave.

"I'll get you some food and drink," says Lilina. "If you need anything, just let us know. Wolt, could you let the clerics know that he's conscious?"

"Right," says Wolt. He immediately hurries out of the room.

"Behave, Roy," says Lilina.

Roy smirks. "Fine, fine."

"Good. I'll be right back."

She leaves with a sweep of her robes, Roy watching her go. After a moment, he catches sight of some books on a nearby bookshelf, but suddenly feels too tired to make his way over to grab one while he waits. He leans back, struggling to keep his eyes open until he hears the soft sound of footsteps and rustling fabric enter the room.

"Welcome back, milord!" Clarine sings, a blob of yellow and purple until the fog in his eyes dissipates. Wolt trails behind her, pulling up a chair for her and staying alert for any commands Clarine might give him.

"Lady Clarine," Roy greets. "Sorry to be a bother."

"Oh, you're not that special of a case," she says matter-of-factly, unraveling a kit onto the bedside table. "A regular occurrence, as you know, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately," Roy agrees, feeling a little guilty that no one else's conditions had crossed his mind until then.

"I at least trust that the room is to your liking?"

He shrugs weakly. "There's plenty of books."

"I should have known you'd be pleased." She hands Wolt a bundle of parchments and a piece of charcoal. "Could you record his results? Just worry about the first line."

"Of course," Wolt says, at the ready.

Clarine takes his temperature, pulse and some other details and makes sure that he isn't in too much pain. She then raises her staff and lets it channel for a few moments. When she's done, Roy's chest is warm and the pain elsewhere in his body has subsided a little.

"Now, I'm a busy woman," says Clarine, packing up her equipment, "so I'll leave the responsibility for looking after you to your friends until Sister Elen is free."

"Take care," Roy says.

Clarine bows her head and with a satisfied smile, leaves the room just as Lilina returns with a full tray.

"I grabbed us some, too," Lilina says to Wolt, handing him a mug of tea.

Wolt flushes a little and mutters a quiet thanks. She hands a bowl of soup to Roy.

"You know the drill," she says. "Get some of that into you."

Roy nods, even though he feels a little off. He's never been able to argue with her on that, and luckier for them both, he doesn't feel the impulse to try right now.

Lilina takes a seat on the edge of the bed while Wolt claims the chair. The three of them eat mostly in silence, just taking this precious moment to relax. While the windows are small, the mid spring light that shines through fills the room with a soft, warm glow.

Roy finally sets his bowl down and asks Lilina, "Did you want to practice your healing on me again later?"

Her eyes sparkle as she exclaims, "Yes! It shouldn't be any worse than our episode at the Shrine of Seals. I've had plenty of practice on other people while you were snoozing the day away."

Roy laughs, then turns to his other companion. "Wolt, have you been keeping Ogier company?"

"Sometimes," Wolt replies. "He still spends a lot of time sparring with Gwendolyn."

"Are you jealous, Wolt?" Lilina says, smirking.

"Why would I be?" Wolt frowns in apparent confusion. His tone is too flat for him to be telling the truth. "He does melee combat, anyway."

"But you still sneak in some close-range practice with them every now and then, don't you?"

"By Roland's—" Wolt puts his head in his hands. "You, too?! Please don't tell Marcus."

"I won't, it looks like you've got enough in your plate."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry!"

Roy feels his mind wandering to Al. It's unproductive, but he's not going to be doing much for at least another day.

"How's Gwendolyn?" Wolt asks Lilina, eyes aflame.

"Haven't you been sparring with her enough to know?"

"Yeah, but that's sparring."

"You spar with her too! I've seen you pummel her with fireballs. She must trust you a lot to let you do that to her."

"Fine," Lilina sighs, dramatically. "Wendy and I have been spending some time together outside of that. But I still think you're jealous."

"Gwendolyn doesn't really need me around."

"I'm not talking about her, dummy! Though if it was her, I might be the one getting jealous."

"I don't—"

"You guys are too much," Roy laughs. "I think you two should fight each other, too. You seem pretty good at it."

"We already do target practice," Wolt states.

"You know what I mean."

Lilina clambers over to the far side of the bed and lies down next to Roy.

"You hate me that much?" Wolt accuses from the other side.

"It's not all about you," she taunts, making herself as comfortable as she can in the limited space on the bed. "But I'll let you come join, if Roy does."

Roy pats the mattress. Wolt eventually accepts the invitation and lies down stiffly next to the pair.

"Relax," says Roy, ruffling Wolt's hair. Wolt utters a displeased grumble but heeds the command, loosening his shoulders and settling further into the pillow.

"You comfortable?" Lilina asks Roy. He hums an affirmative, upon which Lilina closes her eyes.

"Good night," says Roy to his friends. Almost as soon as the words leave his lips, he drifts off.

Roy awakens to candlelight and a distressingly empty bed. Silver moonlight is filtering in through the windows, now. Elen and Wolt are by his bedside, the former wearing a gentle smile.

"It's good to see that you've awoken, milord," says Elen. "I'll need to take a look at you, okay?"

Roy nods. The process starts off similar to before, with Wolt taking notes as Elen speaks. After that, she prepares a healing tonic of some powdered herbs and lukewarm water. It's a recent invention—Roy still hasn't figured out what's in this one in particular, even though it's been common intake among the army after their engagements. Elen's unique concoctions have been shown to be quite effective.

Elen raises her staff for a moment, for a shorter time than Clarine had, and fixes her warm, brown eyes on Roy.

"You should be able to walk around by tomorrow," she says. "But take it easy, as always. Don't skulk around on your own."

"Thank you, sister," says Roy, grinning first at her and then at Wolt, who visibly lightens up a little.

"If you can, and if you need to, I brought you a fresh robe." Elen gestures to a dense, fluffy pile of fabric folded up on the bedside. Roy nods.

Elen collects her kit and with a bow, she leaves the room.

"I'll help you with the robe," Wolt offers.

Roy thanks him and gets up gingerly, trying not to rotate his shoulders more than necessary. After they manage to slip the robe on him, Wolt rests a hand on Roy's arm.

"I should be going," says Wolt. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. Alen and Lance might be around, too, so if I'm not there—"

"Are you planning on slacking off?" Roy teases. He watches Wolt's eyebrow twitch and immediately regrets the comment. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Just rest, now."

Roy raises his arms for a hug, which Wolt accepts after a moment of hesitation. Wolt then extracts himself from the embrace and makes his way to the door.

"Look after yourself," Roy calls after him. Wolt gives him one final nod before disappearing through the doorway.

Roy sighs. While he'd have preferred to see Lilina one more time before the day was up, he knows well that it's an unrealistic expectation. His mind then drifts to Al, one of several friends who he hadn't managed to see, yet.

With a resigned sigh, he closes his eyes and slips into a dreamless sleep as easily as the last.

It turns out that Elen is right, as usual. The next morning, Roy finds himself able to walk around the room a little stiffly, but if he doesn't twist his upper body too much, it's a relatively painless affair.

It's mid-afternoon—a little later than he wanted—when he finally approaches Lance standing guard down the hallway. Lance offers him an arm.

"I think we've done well," Roy says, manifesting the belief so that he might believe it in himself.

Lance nods. His expression is a little brighter than usual, perhaps with their latest victory, and his eyes practically turn into lanterns when Alen happens to turn the corner.

"There's someone you might like to see," Lance announces. Alen whirls around in surprise, not having seen them til now, but he grins widely when his eyes fall on Roy.

"It's good to see you back, milord!" Alen exclaims. He nearly runs over to clamp his arms around Roy, who grimaces in pain but is otherwise delighted to see him. Alen then reaches an arm around to encompass Lance, too. Lance doesn't bother reprimanding his partner's roughness, just rolling his eyes at him once the three of them part.

"If you need anything in particular, Lord Roy, don't be afraid to ask us," says Lance, giving Roy a small smile.

Roy's stomach twists. He can't entirely explain the severity of the feeling, but it knots his tongue for a long moment.

"Is something the matter?" Alen asks.

"Could you show me to Al?" Roy finally manages to utter. Despite himself, he can't meet the others' gazes.

"He's right here." Alen gestures to the next room over. They lead Roy to the doorway, where he sees a room that looks very similar to his. In the bed, he spots a mess of silvery blue hair crowning a small, still figure under the sheets.

"He's okay, right?" Roy asks. Recalling Wolt and Lilina's assurances doesn't stop his limbs from slackening. Alen and Lance catch him.

"Did you want to go back?" Lance urges.

"No, I'm fine. I just wanted to see him." Without another glance at them, Roy pulls away from the pair and walks carefully across the carpet, stopping at Al's bedside.

He doesn't have any visible injuries apart from a few minor cuts and bruises. What's unusual are the flakes of amber crystal in his hair and down to his arms, freckling his skin like dragon scales. Roy reaches out to touch them, but stops himself.

With a chill, Roy wonders if that could happen to him. Did the seal have such a long-lasting effect?

When Alen and Lance catch up to him, Roy asks, "Could you come get me if he stirs?"

"Of course," they say, almost in harmony.

"Thank you," Roy sighs. He feels the world begin to spin. "I think I should get back to bed."

"That's a good idea," says Lance.

They lead him back and inform him of their roster, before bowing and leaving with smiles. Roy grabs a random book from the shelf and lies back down on the bed. Half a worried thought for Al passes through Roy's mind before he sleeps again.

It's dark when he awakens. He pries away the book that had fallen onto his face to find that the room is not much brighter than a second ago.

If Wolt or Lilina visited him during the day, there's no sign of it, and he misses them. But he's not going to go look for them when he can't tell how late into the night it is. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and lights a candle. There's torches outside, but he might need the light at his destination. He makes his way to the doorway and looks down the hall.

No one's there—good. He's not particularly keen on anyone worrying about where he's going, right now. He reflects on the thought but remains at a loss as to its exact reason, and rubs his eyes to make sure he's awake enough to keep the candle steady. With that, he makes his way to Al's room halfway down the hallway. The room is dark—good thing he brought the candle. He tiptoes over to Al again and takes a seat on the adjacent stool.

Then he feels awkward. What's he gonna do there, stare at Al all night? He should have brought his book, but he probably wouldn't be able to see it, anyway.

He takes a look at Al anyway. The crystals glitter in the moonlight—they seem larger than they did during the day. He doesn't entirely trust them. Are they keeping Al in this stupor? Part of him wants to find a way to study them, but in a flash of anger, the rest of him just wants them gone.

He's not sure if he's a fan of the blade that did this.

He places the candle on the bedside table and rests his chin in his hands. There's not much he can do but wait.

Time lurches forward when his head begins drooping towards the ground. He catches himself on the side of the bed and stays still for a while until his head stops spinning.

Then his heart stops when he hears the quiet groan of someone emerging from sleep. He's horrified by the possibility that he just woke Al up, but even more than that, his spirit shines when he sees Al stretch and crack open his eyes.

Roy opens his mouth to speak but holds his tongue until Al dredges himself from sleep a little more.

"What the..." Al murmurs. Suddenly, he lurches and sits up against the end of the bed, his head darting in all directions. "Where—?!"

"Al!" Roy cries. He lurches forward but stops himself at the edge of the mattress. Al's gaze finally stops on him.

"R-roy?" Al stammers. "Roy, you're okay!"

"Yes, but what about y—"

Al's face lights up brighter than the moon outside and he throws his arms around Roy.

"I lost sight of you!" Al squeezes Roy, and Roy feels his cheeks burn and his brain fizz out. "I was kinda scared. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, now," Roy croaks, his throat dry.

"So, where are we? Are we still in Bern?"

"Yes. We won the battle." Roy's voice quietens as he says, "we defeated Zephiel."

"Oh wow, you're amazing," Al says. He eases Roy away by the shoulders to look him in the eye.

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"Me, neither. We make a great team, don't we?"

Roy laughs. "I guess so."

"But I'm kinda tired..." Al yawns. When he regains focus, his eyes widen and he throws himself away from Roy. "What happened to me?!" He flings his glittering arms out in front of himself and nearly pokes Roy in the eye.

"It was the dragon's seal," says Roy.

"Oh, right. Gross!" Al pokes his tongue out. "Did you get me out?"

"Princess Guinevere did."

"What, with a pickaxe?"

"With the power of the Fire Emblem."

"The Fire Emblem..." Al echoes. "That's so cool."

Roy raises an eyebrow. "And shortly after, I passed out as well. You don't mind that there's still some seal on you, do you?"

"Of course not! I'm sure she did her best."

Roy stifles another laugh. Al is inexplicable, but he doesn't mind. Maybe he's too tired to care.

"You should sleep," Roy says. "It's night, anyway, we can't be disturbing people."

"Okay..." Al groans and collapses back onto his pillow. They're both silent for a considerable moment until Al says, "I can't sleep."

"It's only been a minute!" Roy cries. "Don't try too hard. What do you usually do to fall asleep?"

"I'm either on my feet or dead asleep, there's no in-between." Al shrugs, then his eyes light up. "Are you suuuure we can't walk around a little?"

Roy hums in displeasure, but he's running out of rebuttals. Al's already looking pretty strong, at least. "Okay, let's go."

"Yes!" Al throws off his blanket and hooks a crystallised arm around Roy's as he gets up. Roy stumbles after him as Al makes for the hallway. "I'll be quiet, I promise."

Roy finds himself laughing again, but heeds his end of the deal and doesn't say a word as they venture down the hall.

Roy wakes up exhausted, but can't find it in him to blame Al for his tiredness. After all, Al had led them to one of the gardens, and they'd located the kitchen on the way.

"I heard you snuck around last night," Lilina pouts as she enters the room.

"It was—" Preemptive regret ties his tongue, and he heeds it gladly. "My bad. Sorry."

"Don't worry, I know it was Al's idea."

"Please don't tell on him."

"I had no intention to!" Lilina declares. With a twinkle in her eye, she adds, "The fresh air was probably good for you, anyway."

"Maybe so." Roy feels like he's missing something, but he doesn't say as much.

"But I can't say I'm not jealous. Did you want to take a walk with me?"

"I think I'm up for that."

Lilina leads him by the arm around the keep. Every room they come across is immense and intimidating, full of Bernese regalia, while the gardens are austere but spacious. The keep has been cleaned up rather well within the past four days, or Lilina has kept him from the messier places. He still doesn't run into a lot of his closer members of the army, but he's still happy to be outside (it's not something he sees himself thinking a few months ago, or a year, or even two—he's lost track of time, and he can't be the only one). They catch Wolt as he bustles to and fro, doing chores alongside Alen and Lance.

On Roy's request, Lilina eventually leads him back to Al's room. There she rests a hand on a gash on his forearm and closes her eyes until it's merely a raised imprint on his skin.

"I've got to go," she says, her small victory soon forgotten in a frown. "You'll be alright, won't you? Don't bully Al!"

"I won't!"

Lilina gives him a quick hug before dashing away. She's surely got many places to be at once, like he will, once he can walk around on his own and the leadership are convinced that he's recovered enough to make rational decisions—before tomorrow, he estimates.

"Hey, Roy!"

He hears Al's hail from the bedroom and he walks over to the bedside, crouching down next to the mattress.

"Good morning!" Al beams. "They won't let me out of bed."

"I had to deal with that, too."

"I know, but I'm bored. I want to see more of the castle."

"Maybe we can go again tonight," Roy says, his mouth getting ahead of his mind. He covers his face, but he's already spoken—why did he insist on them breaking the rules again?

"Yes!" Al's ecstatic expression holds no acknowledgement of misjudgment, and Roy releases the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. His eyes drift to Al's crystal-covered arms.

"Are you sure those aren't hurting you?" Roy asks.

Al shrugs. "Yeah. They itch sometimes, but otherwise they're not doing anything to me."

"Hm..." Roy rests a hand on his chin, contemplating a plan. The crystals don't seem to be sapping Al's strength, which was his initial worry, so there might not be any complications...

"Did you want to feel them?"

Al's voice breaks through Roy's reverie and he jumps. He runs the unexpected offer through his head several times. Al must not mind—Roy knows well enough that Al is a terrible liar.

"If you want me to..." Roy murmurs. Al offers up a forearm, resting it on the edge of the bed.

"They're so weird," Al jitters as raps his fingers on the mattress. "It's like I'm growing salt."

"I suppose it is..." Roy pokes a crystal on the back of Al's hand with the tip of a nail. He blinks, and then the crystalline hand suddenly materialises on his cheek. He yelps and falls backwards onto the floor. Al cackles in delight.

"Weeeeird!" Al drawls, wiggling his fingers in Roy's direction.

"Al!"

"Sorry!" Al stifles a giggle. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah," Roy stammers, pushing himself back up onto his knees. His cheek is tingling fiercely—hopefully it's not a reaction to the seal. "Hey, Al?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, no. Um..." Roy takes a breath. "My mother kept some notes on manakete health. I don't know much of the top of my head, so it would be better if I could review the rest. I just wanted to make sure that you'll be alright."

Al's eyes light up in excitement, which somehow doesn't surprise him. It's a sight he's looking forward to seeing more of.

"What I'm saying is, uh..." Roy clears his throat and his gaze falls into his lap. "Would you like to come back to Pherae with me? It's not a very large place, but it ought to be helpful."

"I've never been to Pherae before," says Al. "Of course I'll come!"

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry in advance if it's not very exciting."

Al scoffs. "No worries."

Roy finds himself smiling again. "I look forward to it, then."

"Me, too." Al holds out a hand, which Roy clasps in his own and shakes gently. "To another adventure!"

Roy catches Al in the hallway during the evening. He calls Al's name just as he's about to turn the corner and grabs his shoulder, pulling him back a little. Al spins around with a grin on his face that morphs into a frown that silences Roy's incoming inquiry as to his health.

"Where were you?!" Al accuses, before swallowing at Roy's red face. "You didn't drop by after this morning. Were you okay?"

"Very much so, in fact. We were discussing our next course of action." Roy takes a breath before continuing. "We're following the light of the Legendary Weapons. We suspect that it leads to the Dark Priestess."

He averts his gaze. "You don't have to come with us, especially after what happened to you with the Binding Blade. We'll understand if you need to—"

"No way," Al starts. "You can't—"

"We're reducing our force to let them rest. It's a good opportunity for you to withdraw. I need to make sure that you... make it to Pherae." Roy bites his lip, stealing a glance at Al's crystallised arms and neck. "We need to take care of you."

"How many of them rejected your offer? Are you letting any of your friends go? Are Wolt and Lilina coming?"

Strike. Al's eyes are suddenly the coldest that Roy has ever seen them, arctic crystals stubborn in the torchlight. Roy is speechless for a second, ice in his veins and beginning to see where the conversation is going. But he can't lie to Al. It wouldn't be fair. "They decided to come."

"And I'm sure you pressured them not to, as well?"

Roy says nothing.

"Then you can't stop me, either. I'm coming with you all." Al raises his arm to pat Roy's hand, which he notices he never took off Al's shoulder. "I want to help you."

Roy's vision suddenly blurs and he dips his head.

"I just have a bad feeling," he mumbles hoarsely. "I don't want to lose you all."

"We've gotten this far and..." Al says. "Well, you know the rest. What am I going to do while I wait, chop wood?"

Roy stifles a laugh that dissolves into a sob.

"I-I'm sorry, Al." He sniffs and turns away to collect himself. "For such a typical situation, I'm acting out."

"You must have been at it all evening," Al says with a frown. "We don't want to leave you alone." Al's voice softens in a way Roy hasn't heard before. "It'll be okay, it'll be okay... Don't feel bad for not getting us to stay back."

Roy nods. Al's hand is on his shoulder, now.

"You'll be fine. Also..." Al's gaze flickers away for a second, mischievous. "Did you want to come check out the pantry? I didn't have enough for supper."

Roy's heart lightens—the sudden change in topic is a sign that Al is recovering. He hums in the affirmative.

Al hooks an arm around Roy's again and grins. This time, he waits for Roy to lead on. He does that, and with each click of their feet on the cobblestones, he recalls Al's extraordinary feats on the battlefield, the faces of his friends, the determination of the army that got them all this far. Maybe the worst truly has passed—maybe they'll come out of this alive.

As usual, the doubts are strong and they throttle his heart. But he's proven Zephiel wrong. Now he has to prove himself wrong, too.

Roy: "Today I will fall in love with the stupidest boy in Elibe"

What if they added the manga crew as remake dlc lol. Hc they just picked up Al and co. in some village, maybe the sword village.

I still have issues w/ this fic, especially the sloppy ending, but I hope you had fun fe6 rgb are my children (repeats for emphasis), please let's expand both these tags—Al didn't even have his own!

Also if I end up drawing this it will be on my twt :) Thank you for reading!