Lux Aeterna Luceat Eis

Author's Notes: I have been working on this story for months now. I don't want to translate the title now--please bear with me and wait until the final chapter. I'll give you the translation then.

I don't own FMA. Really.


Day in and day out, his loyal subordinates arrived, prepared to complete the given tasks for the day. As loyal and dependable as a perfectly wound timepiece, they invariably each appeared at the same time each day without fail—so much so that their habits could be used to keep the time. True to their word, they followed him to the top without a hint of protest, determined to support him no matter his endeavors.

Ironically, after so many years of coming to work alone, he never once arrived without her, his second-in-command, his back-up plan, the closest subordinate in the entire Amestris military, and his most trusted aide. He came to realize that he never went anywhere without his sharp-shooting confidante, and that he never had to ask her to accompany him. Without a second thought, as instinctively as breathing, she appeared when he needed her, with the resolve and patience to assist and solve whatever the task at hand was.

Corruption was cleared and every higher up that played a role in the tarnishing of the military was immediately removed. Each corner of each military headquarters in the country was scoured for information to remove all of the crooked officers. With a newly trustworthy staff and military higher-ups who obviously cared for the people, trust in the fragmented Amestris government was slowly starting to return.

Führer Mustang was proud of his work, and had every reason to be. It was his diligence that had gotten him to this point, along with the help of his trusted subordinates. It hadn't surprised anyone, then, when Mustang immediately promoted the then-Colonel Hawkeye to General, again making her his second-in-command—only a few hours after his promotion. In the following days, both Heymans Breda and Jean Havoc became Major Generals and took their new offices. Two days later, Vato Falman was promoted to Brigadier General. And lest he think himself forgotten, three hours later Kain Fuery was promoted to Colonel.
What did surprise both his immediate subordinates and the many people in the country monitoring their Führer's behavior like hawks was what he did next. It had started subtly; Mustang and Hawkeye would spend more time together. More often than not, they could be found talking over their lunch or walking home together in the late-night chill—just a bit closer than was appropriate. Five months into his term, it was revealed that a marriage proposal had been made. Though Havoc, Breda, Falman and Fuery had suspected that things were growing more intimate, they had not expected a marriage proposal at 2134 hours on a Tuesday evening during a bout of overtime paperwork.