Wow, it's been a long time, I'm so sorry! Work and school have got me super busy, but I'm back! Thank you so much for all the likes, reviews, and favorites! It means so, SO much to me! I hope all future chapters don't disappoint!

Canned Island: Wow thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you and others like Linor, I worked crazy hard on her backstory and alchemy haha. While I always understood why the Ishvalans hate Amestris, I was surprised that none really tried to put their spite aside and work to better their people's conditions. Easier said than done, I know, but Linor is gonna be that one to work her butt off to get there! I did have an idea in mind about the non-con and as of right now it's more than a few chapters down the line, but I will def put a warning in the start of the chapter. To be honest, my ideas might change, so it's not even set in stone, but please, feel free to read normally for now as any 'iffy' chapters will be marked with warnings!


When Hughes said he had a few errands to run, neither Sheska or Linor knew he would be out of the office for most of the day. It was Elicia's birthday and both women agreed he could leave them in charge of the workload for a while so he could go out to get some party decorations and a gift for his precious daughter. The man had left the office around nine am and the clock had just hit four. Linor's hand was beginning to cramp from all the writing, but it was nothing compared to poor Sheska's large pile of completed work.

"When is the Lieutenant Colonel coming back…" Sheska groaned, her face planted on the paper-filled desk.

"I couldn't tell you…" Linor groaned right back, flexing her fingers that cracked upon any form of movement. "I thought he'd be back by now." When the door to the office opened, both girls looked up excitedly but groaned in unison upon seeing the receptionist.

"Uhm, you have a phone call, Major Ziegler." She informed, her eyes wide with confusion at their reaction. Beyond not caring anymore, Linor rose from her seat and let the papers in her lap flutter to the floor.

"Ok thank you," She muttered, stepping over the documents on her way out. "Is it the Lieutenant Colonel by chance?" Linor asked, knowing- or rather hoping by this time- she would be expecting a call from Hughes soon.

"Yes, ma'am." The woman confirmed, allowing the alchemist to pass. When Linor picked up the phone, she let her lips purse into a pout.

"Hughes, if you aren't back here in five minutes I-"

"Quite friendly with the Lieutenant Colonel already, I see." A suave voice interrupted, chilling Linor to the bone immediately.

"O-oh, Lieutenant Colonel Archer," Linor stuttered, "I-I'm so sorry, I thought…"

"It's quite alright, I'm willing to overlook it for you, Major." Linor had been away from Eastern Command for a week already and Frank Archer hadn't crossed her mind- almost as if she had forgotten about him- but hearing his voice brought back all her fear and anxiety in a wave, making her stomach drop and churn. "General Hakuro has requested a check-up. Has everything been going smoothly in Central?" Archer asked, Linor standing sharply at attention as if he would somehow know if she wasn't.

"Yes, sir," Linor replied, "We're about halfway done with replicating the case files. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes has even found someone to help with the other cases lost in the fire."

"Good, so then you'll be returning to Eastern Command soon?" He inquired, Linor pausing to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Yes, sir," She tried saying strongly, though her voice came out laced with distress. Archer went silent on the other side of the line and Linor could almost feel him smirking into the receiver. "I should be coming back before the 1st."

"Try not to delay," Archer replied kindly, though the underlying tone sounding anything but. "No one in Eastern Command can replace you." Linor tried to force herself to think he was referring strictly to work, but she knew otherwise. Opening her mouth to try and reply, she heard a slight chuckle from the other end. "Good luck on the rest of your work, Major. I'll be seeing you soon." Archer cooed before she heard a click from the other end and the line went dead. Linor was able to swallow the lump in her throat and shakily place the phone back on the receiver. With a sigh, the woman rested her forearm on the wall and buried her face.

"Major?" Linor quickly looked over to the woman sitting at the Command's reception desk, the other officer giving Linor a concerned look. "Is everything alright?" Pushing off the wall, Linor gave her a forced smile.

"Yes, everything is fine." She assured, "I should be going, have a nice day." Earning a friendly reply back, Linor sluggishly made her way back to Hughes' office. When she returned, Sheska was nowhere to be seen and Hughes had taken her place at his desk. "Lieutenant Colonel," Linor blurted in surprise, though she received no response. "Where have you been?" Still no response. "Lieuten-" With a sigh, she stopped herself. "Hughes," She corrected, Hughes looking up in shock as if he had no idea she was there.

"Oh, Linor! Just the woman I was looking for!"

"Where have you been?" She repeated a bit more firmly, some agitation laced in her tone. "You said you had a few errands to run!" Not at all perturbed with her irritation, Hughes stood from his desk and walked over to her, ushering her out of his office and closing the door behind him.

"It's a big day!" He said almost slightly offended. "My little baby girl deserves only the best! Lucky for you that means we get to leave early!" Linor cocked a brow at this as he lightly pushed on her back to keep her moving at his pace.

"Lucky? You had Sheska and I doing all your work all day."

"Oh yes, Sheska," Hughes blurted, "Don't worry about her, she looked a little tired, so I gave her the rest of the day off as well!" He said, completely ignoring the rest of what Linor had said. "Now hurry up, we have to get home! Wouldn't want to be late for Elicia's party!" Hughes shouted excitedly, picking up his pace and almost making Linor stumble.

#

"Happy Birthday, Elicia!" The small group shouted, earning a joyful giggle from the young girl. Linor sat a bit awkwardly in the corner near the table, the poor block of wood barely able to fit even half of the party's guests. Most of the visitors were friends of Hughes and Gracia, a small handful some of Elicia's friends as well. The table was filled to the brim with a variety of party foods- the cooked ones courtesy of Gracia- and the large strawberry cake was the current center of attention along with the birthday girl herself. As Elicia leaned over the table to blow out her candles, the room clapped excitedly before bursting into idle chatter, Gracia and Hughes taking it amongst themselves to cut and distribute the cake.

Linor watched the exchanges silently, pleased that while everyone seemed friendly enough, they were too busy catching up with one another to bother with her; she was always too nervous to engage in conversation with new people, especially when she cared about what the Hughes' guests thought of her- she'd rather be 'that awkward girl in the corner' over 'that dirty Ishvalan girl'. When a pair of dark blue jeans stopped in front of her, Linor looked up to a smiling Hughes, a small plate of cake in his hand.

"I got you a strawberry," Hughes said gently, handing her a small piece with a bright strawberry on top. Giving the man a genuine smile, Linor took the plate with a thank you. "Not much of a mingler?" Hughes asked, grabbing his chair from the table and dragging it over to sit next to her. Linor poked at the strawberry for a moment before taking a small bite of the cake instead, looking to save the best part for last.

"Not particularly," The younger woman replied, glancing up to the many guests. "I get nervous about what they'd say." While she didn't specify what, Hughes knew what she meant.

"You shouldn't let that dictate your life." the man replied quietly, leaning in closer so she could hear over the noise.

"Easier said than done," Was Linor's mumbled reply.

"Not everyone thinks poorly of Ishvalans," Hughes informed, watching her fork poke at the now semi-destroyed cake. "I didn't tell her," He said suddenly, Linor looking up with confusion. "Gracia. I didn't tell her you were Ishvalan." Linor opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Hughes let out a light chuckle and looked up to his wife who was currently tending to Elicia and the other children, making sure they didn't make a mess. "She's a better person than me, it seems." He mumbled, referring to his less than pleasant reaction to Linor when he first found out.

"I don't blame you," Linor responded quietly. "You were in the war-"

"I'd hardly consider that an excuse," Hughes interrupted, a brief silence passing between them. "I'm sorry," No longer able to make eye contact, Linor looked down at her suddenly very interesting cake.

"You don't need to apologize." She whispered just barely loud enough for Hughes to hear.

#

The party lasted for only a few hours and the last guest to leave was a young girl named Winry who Linor learned was a childhood friend of Edward and Alphonse. Hughes had insisted that Linor at least talk to Winry if no one else, and the alchemist was pleasantly surprised at how easy she was to converse with- to be fair, their conversations consisted mostly of the trouble Eric brothers got into both in and out of Resembool. When Winry said her goodbyes to everyone and left- having to insist yet again to Hughes she'd rather find a hotel instead of burdening them with another guest- Elicia let out an exhausted yawn.

"It was a big day for my big girl," Gracia cooed lovingly, picking up her child and cradling her to her chest. "It's past your bedtime. Say goodnight," She murmured gently, allowing Elicia to mumble some sleepy good nights to Linor and Hughes. "Daddy will be in soon to tuck you in," Gracia explained, carrying the child out of the living room, leaving Linor sitting on the lazyboy and Hughes on the family couch. Linor watched the two leave, a small look of forlorn on her face- when was the last time she saw her own mother? Were her parents even still alive?

"Linor," Hughes' voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "Is something wrong?" Reaching up to take off her glasses, Linor rubbed her eyelids.

"No, not at all, just tired." She semi-lied. Hughes gave her a grunt of acknowledgment, not pushing her on the subject even if he knew she wasn't quite truthful. "I think I should be getting to bed as well. We only have a few more days to finish the files and tomorrow is another long one." Linor grumbled, rising to clock out for the night.

"One moment, I have something for you," Hughes said, stopping a curious Linor in her tracks. As the man went into the kitchen, Gracia came back and smiled warmly upon seeing Hughes digging in the small supply closet. He turned around with a neatly-wrapped box, Linor quirking a confused brow as he came to stand alongside his wife. "Happy Birthday, Linor." Hughes said with a smile.

"Wha? But it's not my…"

"Did you forget?" Hughes poked with a chuckle. "It's the 1st, but you'll have gone back to Eastern Command by then. Gracia and I both wanted to give it to you." The shock at his words made her deftly take the box handed to her. He was right, of course, she had forgotten and she was at a loss for words.

"But… wha… how did you…?" Linor fumbled, this time getting Gracia to let out a breathy laugh.

"Wouldn't be a very good head of the ID if I couldn't manage this." Hughes joked, referring to his job as the lead of the State's Investigation Department. "Well, go ahead, open it. We're dying to see what you think." He urged when Linor just stared down at the box. Folding her glasses over the collar of her shirt, Linor began gently tearing at the wrapping, bundling it up and handing it to Hughes when he reached out to take it. When she was able to lift the lid, her breath caught in her throat.

"We hope you like it, dear." Gracia cooed as Linor reached into the box to unfold the dark orange scarf. "We weren't quite sure what to get you, but Maes thought that maybe something of your homeland might be nice, so we had this specially made." Words failed Linor as she gently brushed her thumb over the Ishvalan fabric. The burnt orange and black embroidery resembled the Ishvalan sash that many of her people wore- traditionally worn around the waist as a child and slung over the shoulder when one came of age. Gripping the scarf firmly, Linor couldn't help but wrap her arms around both Gracia and Hughes in a tight hug.

"Thank you," Linor was able to choke out, burying her face in Hughes' shoulder. She could feel both of them lightly return her embrace. Clenching the scarf tighter and pushing her face deeper into Hughes' shoulder, Linor willed herself to keep the stinging tears from falling but the comforting rubs on her back put her efforts in vain.