He held his wife close to him, cradling her in his arms as he gently rubbed her upper arm. He kept trying to speak comforting words to her, but she wouldn't respond. She just kept that same, empty expression on her broken face.

Roy laid his head atop Riza's. Never before had he seen her so emotionally devastated. He didn't really know what to do about the situation at hand. All he wanted was the same Riza that he fell in love with. That same woman who would badger him everyday about how lazy he was, but still hold that compassionate side to her.

Riza leaned against her husband, gripping the bed sheets as he mind raced with thoughts. She knew what was going to happen. Her son would join and they would go to war. It didn't matter that her husband was now Fuhrer, the man could only do so much before a war was inevitable.

And that was the worst part. She knew that it was coming. It would have been a completely different situation if she had not heard the affairs between Amestris and Drachma. She wouldn't be in fear of what was going to happen because she never would have known if war was going to happen.

But that was the problem. These were issues that she and her husband discussed every day in the office and everyday at home. She knew how bad the situation was. Things were literally breaking at the seams and she knew that General Armstrong up in Briggs couldn't hold the invading forces back forever. One day they would make their way into Amestris and she knew that Roy would need to retaliate in order to protect the country.

She didn't want to accept that, however. She didn't want to know what was going to happen to her son.

Riza pulled away from her husband, climbing out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, looking in her direction.

She was silent for a moment, "I just want to check on Maes."

Roy was silent in response. He didn't want her to go. He knew it would end up as the same situation as when Maes and her were in the wreck all those years ago. She would slowly let herself suffer because she feared about the safety of their son. He was tired of seeing her like this, he wanted her to accept that Maes was an adult.

However, he couldn't help but reluctantly let her go. He knew that no matter how much he protested, she would continue to insist on him letting her go. He knew he couldn't win here.

He watched as his wife left the room before his eyes glanced down at the empty space in the bed next to him. The space where his wife, his lover, his partner, used to lay, a smile on her face as she would look into his eyes, telling him how much she loved being with him, how she was glad about how after all these years they could finally be together.

But sadly, as he touched the bed sheets next to him, he felt more distanced from her than all their years of remaining apart in the military.

Maes was lying on his bed, smiling as he looked out his window. The view was beautiful as the moon shone all over Central. The way it illuminated the streets even after all the buildings grew dim was magical.

He was in a great mood despite the fact that Elicia was crying earlier. It was alright regardless, he had managed to calm her down and get her to accept his choices. Not to mention, he could finally be happy with the girl of his dreams. All of it was looking up.

Suddenly he heard a knock on the door. He sat up and looked, "Come in."

Riza slowly emerged from behind the door.

"Oh, hey Mom." Maes said with a smile, turning his body so his feet hung off the bed, "Do you need something?"

She was quiet for a moment before she forced herself to smile, fighting back any pain or tears she was feeling, "No. I just wanted to come and ask you how your birthday was."

Maes smiled, patting the seat next to him, inviting his mother to sit with him, "Come here and I will tell you about it."

Riza nodded, still forcing herself to smile as she sat next to her son. "So, what all did you and Elicia do today?"

"Oh, we just kind of walked around." Maes replied, "We stayed around the park for a long time though, just sort of talking about random things, sharing fun stories. You know…those kinds of things." He looked down at the blonde haired woman.

"That sounds fun." she replied, her eyes actually showing a small glimmer of happiness. She was glad to know her son was happy, that he was enjoying himself and life, even though it was hurting her so badly. She never would let him know, she wanted what was best for him.

"Oh, and you know what was even better?" he asked, his tone enthusiastic.

"Hm?"

"She kissed me!" he replied, his face had a huge smile on it.

Riza chuckled, "Your first kiss?"

He scratched the back of his head, laughing as if he were a bit embarrassed by it, "Y-Yeah…I guess so!"

The woman smiled at her son. She was glad to see him like this. It almost reminded her of when he was little. She thought about how he probably will never change.

"It bothered me though when she started crying." he suddenly admitted with a frown, "She told me that she really liked me, but was afraid that I was going to get hurt, just like her father."

Riza frowned. Elicia had been thinking on the same level as she had.

"I managed to convince her that wasn't going to happen…" Maes continued, "I told her that I would always come back to her…and that I will always be sure to keep that promise."

His mother smiled, trying to fight back her tears. Hearing him say words like that brought some reassurance and ease to her mind. "Thank you…" she whispered.

"Hm?" he asked, looking at her.

She shook her head, "It's nothing." she spoke, looking at the ground, "So what did Elicia say?"

"She seemed glad about it." he replied with a smile, "And you know what I noticed tonight, Mom?"

"What is that?" she asked.

Maes leaned back, resting his hands behind him on the bed for support, "She is beautiful, amazing, fun to talk to, sweet…" he paused and looked at her again, "I think I might just be in love with her."

Riza smiled, patting her son's hand. She recalled the time in which she realized that she realized she loved the man who was now her husband. It was a feeling that compared to no other and that you couldn't really explain. "I'm glad to hear that." she told him, her tone actually sounding as though it was happy for him.

He smiled at his mother, "Thanks, Mom." Maes leaned over and embraced her, kissing her cheek. "I think I am going to go to bed."

She hugged her son back, "Alright. Sleep well." she told him before pulling away and standing up.

Riza placed her hand on her son's head, lacing her fingers in his black hair as she stared into the eyes she gave him, "Happy Birthday, Maes. You have grown into an amazing man."