After tea and light dinner, the adults got together in the living room and Riza found herself confronted with the children's unnerving stare. "Is there a problem?" she asked calmly.

"No," Nick replied with a mischievous grin. "We are just assuming that you – like Vicky – know what's up with Aunty. Currently, we are wondering whether we should ask you or not."

Riza frowned slightly. "Are you psychic? Victoria has been talking with the Major General and the Lieutenant Colonel all evening…" she stated.

"Vicky mentioned some kind of realisation before Nerissa shut her up," the blond girl shrugged as she wrapped her arms around her cousin. "You have to see that we have no secrets between us. Whatever Vic knows is our knowledge as well but Nessa has been keeping a close eye on us."

A sharp knock informed them of the arrival of more newcomers and Nerissa rose from her chair to cross the room and just as the both men enter, she grabbed one's hand and beamed at her father. "Dad," she said with grin. "That's Lawrence, my husband. We are expecting a child."

The next twelve seconds set the theme for the entire holiday. Victoria jumped up, yelling 'I knew it!' before her brother shut her up. Peter, the regal general, paled considerably and Olivier was kind enough to check on him before she nodded at the blond man who awkwardly stood next to the happily married and … pregnant couple.

"Whiskey, Peter?" the Northern General asked with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Kay and her younger sisters were going through strange little black notebooks before Serena nodded at her older sister. "This is handsdown the most interesting information you ever relied to us during midwinter holidays," she stated. "Congratulation, Nessa, this even surpassed the time you told us that you quit your well-paying job to travel."

"Thanks," she said cheerfully. "See, I told you that I would be able to top that one."

Jade Tempest who was just as tall and pretty as Riza had always assumed her to be, giggled as she nodded at the tall blond man next to Miles and Nerissa. "I believe that you said that you would spend the holidays with your family, Bendix," she said with a teasing smirk and suddenly, it was so easy to understand why she had it so damn easy to get under the colonel's skin all the time. The black-haired woman was a well-calculated risk and she had to be included into any plan because otherwise, she would be the variable to screw you up.

"Ah well, I was going to visit my family even though I didn't look forward to all the fancy events they would drag me to and so I accepted Kay's invitation, especially after she told me to invite Olivier as well," the blond man replied with a shrug. "Why, worried that secrets of the south might end up in Olivier's hands?"

"Actually, no," she replied as she carelessly toyed with her necklace. "I know you too well to assume that you wouldn't be able to separate duty and personal life. Plus, the Major General has proven to be a valuable ally of the South many times before. I don't think that we have secrets from her, wouldn't you agree, Bendix?" she added and her voice was too soft, too light.

Olivier chuckled as she nodded at Miles. "Lieutenant Colonel, you never fail to surprise me."

"If this is your way of telling me that I am funny, I will have to kill you."

Lieutenant General Hamilton who also happened to be the host gently nudged their sides and held out a tray of champagne glasses. "I apologise for the interruption but would you like to have a drink instead of an argument," he said politely but just like Nerissa's suggestions, his offers always held a certain underlining order which was easily heard by those who cared enough.

Both women threw each other one last glare before they grabbed each a glass.

"They get along quite well," the black-haired man with the automail hand stated as Riza frowned confused. "They are both just far too stubborn to behave properly – that's why they are such kids about it. By the way, I'm Phil. Roy's my cousin so Jade and I take full blame for any bad habits he may have … we should have taught him better."

"Phil, you are one mean traitor," Roy said with a faked pout. "Sorry, Hawkeye, I was the one to fail to raise him properly. He's a bit of a rude fool."

But Riza paid no attention to him. Her eyes were fixed on Serena's hands that were wrapped around the edge of the table. White knuckles were a telltale sign of the inner turmoil of her cousin and for a moment, she did not understand before she saw a dark flicker in Serena's eyes – a surprising sight because Serena had had a reputation of being everything but expressive when it came to her emotions. Right now, she was belying those facts because anger burned bright in her eyes and Riza took a step back even though she had neither been flirting with Phil nor had she intended to. Serena, however, seemed to be extremely angered at something and as she stalked out of the room, head held high and shoulders straight, Riza exchanged a look with Lynn who had also noticed the sudden change in her sister's mood.

"Excuse me, Miss Hawkeye," Phil said as he ran a hand through his hair. "It seems like I have to check on Rena … she didn't look happy when she left."

Roy Mustang's eyebrows reached entirely new levels as he raised them. "So, you do have some social skills and you do realise that pissing off the woman who already cut off your hand once is not the smartest thing to do," he said amused. "Congratulation, Phil, you surprised me."

"You know what, Roy? Before you manage to fix things with Jade and the rest of the female world, you should try to keep yourself from giving advice," his cousin snarled before he turned to leave. "Jadie, if I am not back in ten minutes, send for an ambulance, alright?"

"Yes," she said without turning to look at him.

"She won't," Roy stated amused. "The last time they argued, she went to look after them when they didn't come back after half an hour. She caught them in a potentially embarrassing position and so she swore that she would never check on them again – until she smells death."

"Which is a perfectly good idea because otherwise, I'd be mentally scared for life," the tall woman said with a smirk on her face. "Plus, he'd be a wimp if he wouldn't be able to hold his own against her. Nothing against Serena, honestly, but he is supposed to be stronger than her."

"Yeah," Nerissa agreed as she gently pushed the blond man – Bendix Llewellyn – into Olivier's general direction. "Rena is a tough one but how long did Phil take to recover after the loss of his hand? He took three days off, got the surgery done and was back on normal duty within the next eight days – that's something we cannot say about most people."

"Rubbing his dutiful behaviour into my face won't make me any less lazy, Miss Hamilton," Roy said with an amused grin on his face.

"It should because otherwise, I will hurt your face," she replied sweetly. "Remember, I am pregnant. I am prone to have random outbursts of violence every once in a while."

"And knowing you, you are going to use this in your justifications for the next few months – until the day we will all be praying for you to go into labour soon," her twin remarked drily.

Riza had long noticed that the dynamic with Kay and Nerissa was a strange one. They were constantly bickering and teasing each other but at the same time, they were fiercely loyal and protective to each other. Maybe this was just another twin-thing, just like Jade's claim that she would not check on her brother even though her eyes were constantly fixed onto the door he had disappeared through a few minutes ago. Twins had connected minds and they worked best if they worked together and yet, they forcibly destroyed this connection all the time.


If there was anything that had been frequently an issue between Serena Hamilton and Philippe Tempest, it would be their terrible timing and their inability to communicate when it came to their emotions. They were both terribly jealous and they knew that this would cause them more heartache than anything else one day but they had never expected this day to come to early.

Philippe found Serena on the balcony, her slim form hidden in the shadows. He stepped behind her and rested his hands – the silver and the flesh one – on her shoulders to squeeze them gently. "I am sorry," he said gently because he knew that her silent outburst had been anything but unjustified. He had not even greeted her properly since he had arrived and yet, he had been cracking jokes with her cousin.

"Don't make me feel pathetic," she whispered as she stared at the falling snow. "I feel like some clingy teenager who needs her partner's attention the entire time he is awake."

"You are a mature woman and everything but clingy but at," he opened his pocket watch, "quarter past midnight, you have any right to demand my attention. You know that, Serena."

"I shouldn't have left like that," she sighed, resting the back of her head against his shoulder.

"With the amount of whiskey you drunk, I am surprised that you didn't voice your anger a little bit louder," he chuckled. "We both know that you are bad with the booze."

She smiled as she turned her head. "Where are we going to end?" she asked. "We create beautiful rows of messed up chances, of nearly fatal miscommunication…"

"Tonight won't make a difference," he admitted, "but we still need this break. We are bound by so many rules and to escape from all of this – even for only a night – is already healthy for us."

She interlocked his fingers with hers, a gesture older than time and yet always a new sensation. "You know me too well to believe that we will leave it at that, that we will pass on the cup without emptying it," she said. "We are both too greedy for this."

"That's what I meant to say," he said with a shrug. "But we aren't in WestCity anymore and we both know that NorthCity is dangerous, especially for us. We are in danger."

She rubbed her temples. "Scar makes me worry for Kay's safety," she admitted. "He hasn't been in SouthCity yet but if he goes there … she and Jade have never fought alongside before."

He looked over his shoulder before he pressed his lips against hers. "All of us will be safe before the next year is over," he promised. "We won't get in trouble anymore."

A low rustle behind them announced Lynn's presence and they leaned away from each other.

"We are all going to bed," the silver-haired woman yawned. "I'd advise you to go to bed soon too, Rena, because tomorrow will be stressful for all of us … so many guests … that's new."

"Yes," Serena said as she nodded at her sister. "Alright, Phil … goodnight."

He grinned mischievously at her. "You still have a habit of saying goodnight the same way others would say goodbye," he said. "But this is not goodbye. This will never be goodbye. We are playing this game to win and so we have forever – and to me, forever sounds about fine."

She nodded as she eased the tie that had bound her hair into a braid and long golden curls cascaded down her back. "Forever sounds truly like a nice plan," she said gently as she held out her hand. "By the way, my room is the one with the red and silver frame, just in case that you are looking for me. I will be up tomorrow at six, latest."

He grinned. "I know that," he said. "And believe me six is when Jade's day already halfway over. She usually gets up at four or so and at six she has done her morning workout."

"Did I ever mention how happy I am that she isn't living above me anymore? I would always wake up when she would go downstairs for her run when we still lived in the same house," she said as they stepped into the hallway. "Well, goodnight for today, Phil."

"Goodnight to you as well, Princess," he said amused and headed down the hallway, only to crash into his sister close to their guest rooms. "You haven't checked on me, Jade."

"I was not all that keen on another incident when I would catch you and Serena in a compromising position," his sister replied as a grin played around her mouth. "You see, that was kinda embarrassing for all of us – but especially for me."