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It was sometime past one in the morning when Al stumbled up the front steps to Riza’s house, nearly slipping on a patch of ice. The porch light wasn’t on; the bulb was probably burned out. He could barely feel his fingers as he fumbled for the keys in his pocket, and his lungs protested every freezing breath. The wind chill was brutal, and he huddled behind the storm door until he finally got the key in the lock.
He shut the door behind him carefully, trying to keep it from slamming. Riza was a very light sleeper, so he tried not to disturb her when he worked a late shift at the hospital. Al set down his bag, surprised that the hall light was turned off. He reached out tentatively, feeling his way through the dark until he found the table and felt for the lamp switch. It took several clicks before he realized the power was out.
Groaning, he shrugged out of his wet coat and boots. He made his way slowly down the short hallway to the living room, the wooden floor cold against his feet. If there was no power, there was no heat, and if there was no heat, Riza would be very cranky. As he entered the living room, he saw a faint flicker coming from the fireplace. The couch had been pushed closer to the hearth, and she lay stretched across the cushions under several blankets. He stepped closer, afraid to wake her. Riza wasn’t the sort of person you wanted to startle at any time, especially when she was sleeping.
He opened his mouth to say her name softly, but before he could make a sound, she sat up suddenly and picked up the fireplace poker from the floor in one smooth movement, pointing it at him.
“Riza! It’s just me!” Al took a few steps back, hands raised.
“Al.” Her gaze focused on him for a moment, blinking slowly. She exhaled, dropping the poker, pulling her arm back under the blankets. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He sat down on the edge of the couch beside her, pressing a kiss to her temple.
She flinched away from him. “Oh my God, you’re freezing.”
“Sorry.” He edged away, feeling doubly guilty. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I was only half asleep,” she said, yawning. “Cold in here.”
Al looked up at the fireplace, watching the embers as they flickered and died. “What’s wrong with the fire?”
“The damn wood’s all wet. I was out in the backyard trying to find anything to burn that wasn’t covered with snow. It took me an hour to get something to light; it just kept going out.” She snorted quietly to herself, a smile softening her expression. “Useless as Mustang.”
Al shook his head at the old joke, and then crossed to the fireplace, digging around in his pocket for a piece of chalk. He often thought how useful it was that his profession called for a long coat with lots of pockets; it suited an alchemist perfectly. “Don’t worry. We’ll get this going in no time.”
He knelt to draw an array on the stone in front of the hearth, and after a moment’s pause to study the lines, he activated it. There was no discernable change to the wood itself, but after several moments, the fire took hold. He turned around with a grin, watching as the flames cast a warm light over Riza’s face.
“What did you do?”
“I just took the water out of the wood. No big deal.”
Riza shook her head at him. “Showoff.” She lifted the edge of the blanket, waving him over. “Get under here.”
“Let me warm my hands up first.” Holding his palms out to the fire, he let the waves of heat suffuse his skin, stripping away the cold. When he was satisfied he wouldn’t made Riza flinch again, he shrugged out of his white coat and then climbed onto the couch. He slid under the blankets beside her, laughing as he tried to keep his ass from falling off the cushions. “You sure there’s enough room for me?”
“Honestly.” Riza snorted softly as she rearranged herself, sitting up until she was able to straddle Al’s body, coming to rest on top of him. “We should have bought the bigger couch.” She laid her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad you’re home safe.”
Al exhaled, soaking up Riza’s warm weight against him. “Me too.”
She sighed, and he felt the gentle puff of air across his skin. “Can we just sleep until spring?”
“We could get a cave. Hibernate like bears.” Al grinned, smoothing a hand over her hair.
“They’d never find us.”
“Oh, they’d find us. There’s no place on earth that Roy and Ed wouldn’t find us.”
“True enough.” Riza patted his chest gently. “We might get a few days, though.”
The fire crackled pleasantly, sending up tiny sparks into the darkness of their living room. Al breathed Riza in, and fell asleep inside her arms.