AN: I don't own FMA or any related characters - and I don't own the pink lunchbox as well. I just own the idea.

Attention! Time skip chapter! Some ages are given in the chapter but for more information...
Riza, Serena: 31
Jade, Phil: 32
Roy, Maes, Nerissa: 33
Cai, Laila, Nick, Victoria: 12
Owen: 16

Sira-the-Awesome: O thought you had dies again,and couldn't shake loose the thought.
Ava: Death is afraid of me^^
*sigh* so romantic... I like the wrench cut on Winry's dress. Beautiful~ I'm so glad I was invited! It was beautiful to behold.
Ava: I know! The cake was delicious! Remember the girl in the golden and black dress? That was me!
So, I guess that means that, like usual, you did a brilliant job! Hurray! Great job, Ava! Here's your cheer for the day" WITH AVA HERE, THERE'S NO NEED TO FEAR! It rhymes.
Ava: These cheers are always great!
Edward, you don't have to be so mean about my hight. I can't help being smaller than you. Riza, Jade dear, Nessa, Liv, Serena... Help me defend myself against Edward *cowers behind them* He was being mean something!
Jade: I am on my way!
Edward: Haha, I read the next chapter. You are such an unlucky woman, Mustang
Oh yes, Jade dear, I want that report, okay? I'm sure youve gotten through enough piles of processed tress to make the time.
Jade: Nearly finished!
Oh, Roy? I was wondering, with Riza's permission of course, if you would be open to taking an apprentice? My youngest sister wants to learn flame alchemy, and be just like you.
Roy: Sorry … but the whole let's-burn-the-tattoo-business would be a little bit worthless if I would do that…
And Jade dear, your stalker is still here. waiting. sorry about that.
Jade: I dealt with stalkers before, so it's alright as long as I don't get dead rats as a present
So, Goddess of Literature, sleep well. sweet dreams, get well soon and have a nice day!
Ava: *sneezes* thanks
Oh my Glob! Sorry this is si late! I fell asleep typing it...
Jade: We all know the problem

kroutonrex: Congratulations Winry and Edward! *throws rice and watches as the birds explode*
Nerissa: The poor birds!
Kimblee: I LOVE EXPLODING BIRDS!
Kay: And no one is even surprised

The following three years were hell for everyone who was close to the government.
Roy won the second democratic election and stayed chancellor without any changes in his cabinet.
Olivier managed to get the Drachmanian Tsar to sign a peace treaty.
Riza had finally gotten through to the people who managed the orphanages and made it easier for children to be adopted while she also raised the controls.

But despite their many successes, all of them had been bought with more injuries and illnesses than anyone could have wanted.

One year after the wedding, Victoria fell gravely ill and fought for her life for months in hospital before her frail body finally won.
Her brother broke his leg some weeks afterwards during a match because he had been distracted and was brought to hospital as well.
One week later, Serena tripped over her own feet during a mission – she had always been hopelessly clumsy even though she hid it well – and twisted her ankle in such a complicate manner that she needed a surgery.
Nerissa broke her arm one mission later and lost the fight – for the first time she wasn't the victorious one.

While Victoria was still in hospital, Laila had a nervous breakdown during her math exam because all she could think about was her younger sister who was close to dying in the freaking hospital and how unfair it was that Victoria never got the chance to live like she was supposed to. To cut it short: every number and every equation reminded the blonde of her dying sister.

Owen also failed his graduation exam for the same reason Laila nearly failed it.

After the graduation of Laila, Cai and Owen, Jade got herself nearly killed on a mission and if it hadn't been for Edward's quick judgement, she would have bled to death but her usually very fast recovery was disturbed by some poisonous substances that found their way into her blood circulation so she was even three months after the attack in hospital.

"Mustang, I told you to get better soon," Edward sighed as he sat down on her hospital bed. "Serena said that I don't get another mission until my partner is fit again."

Jade looked up from the book on her lap. She had grown old over the last few months. The drama aroundVictoriahad weakened her considerably and when she had taken the poisoned knife for her little brother whom she had vowed to protect to the very end, many people had thought that she would never get up again. "I am sorry," she said quietly, "but we are working on a mission right now."

"You mean … you are working on some strange decipher mission why I watch you, Mustang."

"You could be home with your wife and take care of your son, Edward," Jade smirked. "But since this job is how you pay the bills, I wonder why you don't do some regular state alchemist work…"

"It's too boring for my taste," he sighed. "I mean, why is the chancellor so keen on getting his hands on this code? It's not like t would be extremely useful or something like that."

"According to the headline, this kind of alchemy allows you to retrieve something which was lost before," the sick woman shrugged while her dark eyes shined without their usual gleam. "Alchemy like that will be useful for Vicky later on in her life … and seeing that I might die anytime soon, I should focus on leaving more behind than necessary."

The blond alchemist grabbed her shoulders and shook her roughly. "You will not die on me in a petty hospital!" he ordered strictly. "Hell, I told Vicky when she was ill that she should take after you and fight until her last breath – which she did, by the way – and here you go and give in like that?"

"Edward, I hate to remind you but Vicky had the better chances from the beginning," she said calmly and it was her serenity about everything what had happened that finally betrayed her.

"You had decided to accept whatever your fate would be when you took the knife for your brother," he whispered. "You accepted death or at least a grave injury when you allowed the metal to cut your skin. I saw how your lips moved when you went down … you mouthed 'Forgive me', right? You accepted the possibility that you could die from this wound."

"I accepted the possibility that a mission could take my life as a toll when I first joined the army," she said casually. "That it would happen so soon was never a part of my plan but fate's ways are twisted."

"You are insane," he said while he glared at her. "You can't give up like that. You have so many people worth fighting for, Mustang. You are … thirty-two years old! You have so many years left before you really have to go! And to tell the truth: the Jade Mustang I used to mock for the last seven years was never one to back down that easily! She was a woman who always stood up again, no matter how hard I hit her because she knew that it wasn't worth crying for … and now you dare to give in?"

"I met Lynn, my best friend, on my first day at the academy," Jade said calmly while she looked at the flowers on her nightstand. "We … we were really similar to each other … a little bit too optimistic, a tad too naïve. The day we received our first real uniform as a sign for our accomplishment, we went and buried a part of ourselves to show that there was no way back."

He knew what she expected him to ask and decided that he would annoy her a little bit before he would ask the question he really wanted to be answered. "What did Lynn bury?" he asked quietly.

"Her sense for fashion," Jade said without batting an eye. "After that fateful day, I saw her never out of her uniform or her baggy clothes. It was such a shame – considering her shape…"

"You are weird."

"And kidding," she smirked. "Lynn buried her fear of failing someone. When we left the graveyard, her step … it was lighter than before … like she had removed a huge burden from her shoulders. Her gaze was so focused … she was always a lot like Roy in many aspects but that day, she could have been his twin sister. She seemed … so incredibly strong … and yet she fell…"

"It usually comes surprising when someone dies," Edward nodded. "What did you bury?"

"Guilt for things I never had the chance to change," she replied. "Guilt for things out of my control…"

Serena's hair was drenched with sweat as she continued to treat the training's dummy like it had insulted her honour. Her fists were hardly visible and her mouth was nothing but one hard line as she stopped for a second to wipe away the sweat. "…too weak … still too weak to protect…" she muttered while she used one particularly hard kick to send to dummy into a corner of the gym before turning against the next one.

Her father who watched how she abused to innocent dolls sighed deeply as he took of his uniform jacket and entered the arena. "Rena!" he called out calmly before he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to look at him. She looked pathetic. The old wound on her forehead, a reminder of her last mission, was bleeding again. Her golden hair was wet and she had lost her red ribbons a long time ago. Her t-shirt was glued to her body by all the sweat and her pants were ripped open on both her knees. Her knuckles were bleeding from the force she had used to attack the dummies and dyed the bandages around her hands crimson.

"Dad," she said calmly and opened her waterbottle.

"Care to explain what the poor dummies did to you? You are massacring them down here…"

"It's hardly their fault … I am just so angry … I have no control at all right now! Jade is still in hospital. Roy is panicking as soon as Vicky sneezes because he fears that she could fall ill again. Riza is nervous because Laila is taking a break from learning at the moment, so Rize fears that Laila may lose her touch – especially since Cai is back in Xing for a year or two … and that despite the fact that they just started to go out with each other!" she twirled around and sent another had kick to the dummy's head. "Nick is constantly worried about his sister when he isn't worried for Jade who is – by the way – still in hospital because no doctor is able to get the poison out of her system."

"I agree with you. Our situation could be better, yes."

"But just a tiny little bit," Serena rolled her eyes. "Oh, the only ones who are doing their jobs without any hesitation are Olivier and Bendix but that had been to be expected from them."

"Well-experienced soldiers who are used to work under difficult circumstances, surely," her father said in agreement. "But what's about your sister? Usually…"

"…she is the one who turns the tables when everything seems lost … but did you see her eyes since the day she lost her fight and broke her arm? I believe that she lost her nerves. She is used to have a more or less perfect control about whatever happens. She said it more than once: she is used to winning. But when she lost her fight, something inside of her snapped … and now … I don't know. Sometimes, when we are in the office and talk, it feels like we are drifting apart. She goes left, I go right…"

"It's normal, considering that you are both two grown up women," her father said calmly while he smiled brightly at her. "And I am a little bit disappointed, Rena. You should know that it doesn't help you to go against a bunch of dummies. That didn't help you when you are four and it still doesn't help you when you are thirty-one."

"…it seems like some things will never change," Nerissa's calm, slightly superior voice resounded in the gym hall. "When Serena doesn't know what to do, she goes and beats up some innocent dolls. Very, very mature from you, little sister. And no matter what, daddy is there for you. But don't you think that you lack a referee? That's what I am here for."

"…you are a fool, Jade," Olivier scolded as she held her friend's frail hand. "You know that this poison wouldn't kill you if you would finally allow your body to fight it with his own power, right?"

"I can't take such a risk."

"It's the difference between a short and nearly painless fight and a slow and painful death," Bendix stated, "and I know what I would prefer if I was in your place."

Jade sat up in her bed and long dark hair flooded down her back and touched the pillow. "I can't believe that two honourable soldiers have to blackmail me into something I didn't even think about!" she said insulted. "I should rip off my own head for such … such foolishness!"

Bendix smiled softly at her. "You never learned anything about toxics and poisons, huh?" he asked.

"I never was interested … I had other things to worry about," Jade said while a faint blush crossed her face. "I cared more about alchemistic codes when I was a child and a teenager."

"Weird little girl," Olivier said as she patted her head. "Well, make your decision … oh, and I would like to fix the date for our next spar session. What do you think about next Friday? Can you make it? Or will you need more time to recover properly?"

"Never underestimate a Mustang's determination."

"Well, we saw what happened to Bradley, right?" Bendix asked. "Oh – and in case that it interests you: Elric is redecorating your office … maybe he already sees himself as the next minister of science…"

Jade glared as she threw her pills across the room. "Tell him that he should take place on a chair that is still taken by me," she said darkly. "If he forgets that I kicked his ass on countless occasions, he is in for a big surprise." She crossed her arms. "And tell him that I see one single black Flamel seal upon my return somewhere in my office, I'll kill him painfully."

"Dutifully noted," Bendix grinned as he took his wife's hand. "Well, we need to get back to work … and you should do your paperwork now too, right?"

"Exactly," Jade chuckled. "Tell Lars and Laura that I said hello, will you?"

"They are missing you nearly as much as they missed Vicky," Olivier smiled. "Get well soon, will you?"

"Well, it's not like I have many options considering that Elric is already moving into my office."

Olivier and Bendix had just left the hospital room and could still hear Jade's muttered curses into Edward's general direction as Nerissa appeared in front of them. "Can I speak with you in private, Olivier?" the taller blonde asked seriously.

"Of course," Olivier said amused. "I'll catch up with you, Benny, alright?"

"No problem, princess snowflake," her husband smiled.

The both women walked straight to the garden and while Olivier sat down, Nerissa started to pace up and down, betraying her own nervousness. "I want to be absolutely honest with you, seeing that we are allies," Nerissa said collected. "I believe it's better when I tell it you myself. Hell, I don't know how I should explain but … Miles, no, Teddy and I are still in love with each other. I apologise for any pain my existence may have caused you along the years but … I can't stop loving him. I am so, so sorry…"

For a second, Olivier was frozen and in shock but she was no selfish woman. She smiled as she got up and put one hand on Nerissa's shoulder. "It's not your fault," she said. "Fate has a twisted way to make the things work. I am not angry with you … in fact, I always admired your ice cold honesty, Nessa."

"You are crazy. I expected you to be mad at me…"

The older woman grinned. "Well, I have everything I ever wanted so who am I to tell you that you can't be happy too, Nessa? And you said it yourself: we are allies … well, I believe we are even friends."

First of all:

You need to know that I usually update right before I go to bed and since I check my mails with my handy every morning because some teachers would write us a mail if he would miss the first 2 hours. I also check my reviews every morning. That means that I have a really good morning when I get many reviews. Save my morning - review now!

And everyone who puts this story as a favourite should take the time to write at least one review. 47 people have it as a favourite but it seems that the people who are reviewing are always the same 5-10 :(

Vote, people, vote! Vote, people, vote! Vote, people, vote! Vote, people, vote! Vote, people, vote! Vote, people, vote!

Thank you, everyone who reads this story! It makes me really happy - and happiness is something I miss since I had to stop swimming because of some serious problems with my right shoulder which aren't solved yet :(

Announcement 1: I opened a poll on my profile, so I would be happy if someone would use it^^

Announcement 2: what-is-the-color-of-love pointed out that 'Aerugians' as name for the people of Aerugo looks/sounds better than 'Aerugoans' ... who besides me agrees with that?