Thank you for reading and to those who have encouraged me.

Last night…

He took an almost obscene pleasure in the way every mundane motion he made, felt. Even a small, silly thing such as running his tongue across the slick enamel of his teeth, felt special and amazing. Glancing around his surroundings through heavy-lidded eyes, he still felt out of place. The apprehension and nervousness he felt an hour ago had somehow disappeared though. It was funny how half a bottle of wine could make him feel this way.

It had been a year since he had managed to restore Al and about three months since he turned 18. During that time, he sent Al back to live with Winry and Pinako, so he would have the opportunity to have some sort of childhood. Al had somehow managed not to age, and he wanted Al to have what he was denied – normalcy. It didn't matter that he was not able to regain his lost limbs. His brother was a living, breathing child, and the loss of an arm and leg seemed a cheap price to pay.

He, on the other hand, had decided to remain in Central. Although his original reasons for joining the military had been, for the most part, realized, he continued to work for the military. Ed propped his chin up against cool metal fingers as his other hand brought a half-empty glass of shiraz to his lips. Sighing, he took a deep drink from the glass, downing the rest of it.

It was Friday night, and going down to the local bar was a bi-weekly ritual that was religiously followed. Havoc, Breda, Falman, Furey, and on occasion, Hawkeye went. They continued the tradition Mustang had started before he left. Falman and Havoc had repeatedly tried to get Ed to come out instead of spending another late night in a library, laboratory, or office, working on something he really didn't care much about. He had turned down several invitations already. Sometimes he said he had too much work to do, or other obligations. Everyone knew these were lies, but accepted his answers without openly questioning them.

In the end, it was a conversation with Hawkeye that had convinced him that maybe it'd be good for him to get out once in a while. He'd been thinking about this conversation for a good part of the night.

"You're alone here, no reason to continue your service with the military, but you're here anyway. Sometimes I see you with this empty, despondent look on your face, like you have nothing left. Why?" Riza asked him this earlier, not able to contain it any longer. "I'm fine. I just get lost deep in thought sometimes, wondering what my purpose in life is. I never really thought about what I wanted to do when I was an adult, because I was consumed with our goal. When Al was restored, I didn't care that I couldn't get my limbs back. I was so happy I had my brother again, and wanted him to have the childhood he didn't have the first time around. The thing is though, that even though I was happy, I couldn't help but feel empty inside, like there's a void." He looked into her rich eyes of hers and smiled a sad smile. "It's just hard sometimes, you know?"

"What about you? Why are you still here when Mustang left without a word? You know he probably won't return either." Riza's eyes glazed over slightly and looked down as she responded. "Honestly," she said hesitantly, "I'm not really sure. It's what I know, and there are many people here who are important to me. I like to think there's still much I can do for our country. Besides, who'd look after you if I left? I doubt Havoc would do anything much more than a mediocre job at it." Riza's face lifted to meet his and smiled. "At any rate, I think even the strongest of us needs company sometimes."

Riza started to walk away, leaving Ed standing alone. "I'll see you at the bar, Edward." It was more of a command than anything else. Ed stood there, contemplating what she said.

So there he was, sitting there, pretending to be interested in conversation about women, politics, and gossip. Havoc was going on about how he met the girl of his dreams, once again. "Aren't you always meeting the girl you're going to marry, and how often do you get a second date with her," Breda interjected.

Ed sighed. Riza wasn't there yet. She was the reason he decided to come, and he couldn't help but feel anxious to see her again. He didn't know why, but she had somehow connected to him during their conversation, in a way no one had before. Somehow, he felt as if she had admitted to feeling as empty and lonely as he felt, even if she didn't outwardly state as such. What if she decided not to come after all? Reaching for the bottle in front of him, he poured himself another glass, and hurriedly gulped down most of the contents. Falman, noticing this, told Ed to slow down, but Ed replied "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Besides, it's only wine, not like I'm drinking that gasoline you're having," as he pointed to the comically huge bottle of whiskey that stood in the middle of the table. "Fair enough Fullmetal" was the answer, and Ed was forgotten again.

Dejectedly, Ed looked towards the door. As he wondered how late he should stay, he noticed who had just entered. His eyes brightened as Riza stepped inside. It had been raining, and she was shaking out her umbrella. She made her way to the table, pushing aside the wet bangs that had been plastered to the side of her face. Damp, glistening cheeks shone in the dim light of the bar. "Heyyy!" A drunken chorus of men greeted her loudly. "I was running late finishing some paperwork but I see you started without me," she chided as she grabbed the whiskey and a glass. Pouring herself a glass, she looked at Ed next to her and asked him what he was drinking. Almost embarrassed, he simply said "wine" and looked down into his glass. He felt like such a lightweight. If Riza could stomach whiskey, why couldn't he?

Sensing what he was feeling, she suddenly had the urge to comfort him. "Well that's a good thing to try when you've never drank before. Even if you drink too much, you won't be sick the way this will make you," she stated, pointing to the glass she held. "Yeah," he answered, smiling at her. She pulled her chair close to his, and they drank together, joining the political discussion that was in progress at the table.

The next update will probably be lemony! I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you!