I'VE PASSED HALF OF MY EXAMS! WOOHOO! (happy dance) I still have one practical exam on Wednesday and preparations for all sorts of presentations and the rest of the exams but...yeah... I'm beat, seriously just really, really tired, physically, mentally, everything ^^ I really hope I'll manage to get a rest and a good night's sleep sometime by the end of this week.

Anyway, I'm really sorry I didn't update sooner, studying has been taking away most of my free time I usually spend on creating plots and writing T_T

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Sherlsepeare: Ah that, I know some readers may think that's a mistake on my part, but actually it's just as you said: Ed really did forget that Winry mentioned that her dog's name was Den, after all the teasing from Mustang and the others he completely didn't connect the dots and thought she would have a boyfriend or husband since many other people he knows have significant others as well ^^ I can't wait when I get to the part where Winry tells him Den is actually her dog and it hits him like a train...:3 haha Thank you, I imagine I would react in some situations too...I have to joke in awkward / tense situations, it's like my defense mechanism, so many of the jokes here would come from me in these situations haha. Thank you very much, I'm sorry for the late reply and all the best luck for your exams too! :)

QuinzMoon: Well...I think I'm not the only one, but I like to link Drachma to the real life Russia (you know, country up north, arctic country, strong military...etc..etc.) of course in my story, I'm exaggerating the leader but yeah... ^^ Drachma's mantra is this: "survival of the fittest" and "kill or be killed" similar to Olivier's mindset, although much more extreme. I'll include a scene where Drachma's leader once wanted to recruit her into their ranks but she refused because of Alex...etc. Thank you for the nice compliments! :)

Panic: haha Hey there, thanks for the compliments :) I admit, I have a slightly difficult time explaining their powers in real life, like Pride's abilities for example or Gluttony's and Wrath's Eye. Thanks! I really don't like it when people often tend to focus on the romance (maybe because I can't really imagine myself writing a romance novel or the like) but often forget to portray and focus on the friendships as well, since they can be just as strong as love and are a form of it too. So I try to focus on friendships in my stories too.

Lily: :O Oh...there was a flood? Oh jeez...don't know if one should be glad school got cancelled or because there's a freaking flood on the way... .

Enjoy! ;)

FUN FACT: Originally, I wanted Greed and Ling to share a body and classify them as having a "multiple personality disorder" but then again, it wouldn't have quite worked out with the couples and some scenes in this fic so I had to give up the idea ^^

Of Video Calls and Army Talk

"Hello Ed,

Any injuries are important, soldier or not, you're just being an idiot. You wouldn't be the first soldier that's an idiot, that's for sure.

Ah, flattered you say? Oh I'm sure you do, after all, misinterpreting my kindness as flirting only seems natural to a douche such as you but I'll have you know my flirting skills are superb!

And...thank you, for the compliment about my eyes...I never knew even soldiers can be so cheesy, that's a nice change of attitude for once.

What? Really? Nobody knows Greed's real name? Hm, you're right about Lena though, I'll try and report back on my success rate, sir! I don't think searching their bedroom will do me any good but suffer a black eye..or since we are friends she would just brutally ban me from the house. Either way, I'll try to squeeze it out of her.

I'm doing alright, business is doing alright too, though I have a automail leg I just can't seem to fix anytime soon, the owner says he wrecked it when his tractor accidentally ran over it, thank god it had been his automail leg. It's in shambles, but the wires got destroyed beyond repair and I need to buy higher quality as well as high quality metal since he's a farmer and that may happen again. At least next time it will withstand the pressure better or in the worst case, get dented.

How is it going back there? I heard from Riza that General Mustang or uh, Colonel as some still call him out of habit, is doing fine. What about you and the rest? I heard Lena suddenly rushed toward the State Military but I haven't gotten around to talking to her yet, do you know if Greed's alright too?

Be reading you soon, Ed. Take care!

P.S: Be prepared to suffer my wrath screen to screen once we start video chatting!

-Winry.

The letter was safely transported to the State Military, where the envelope's contents were quickly scanned for any suspicious items stored inside of it, before they were officially ready for transport toward the border, where a courier was already waiting on the chopper.

Riza had smiled when she recognized Winry's name and address on it, so she had answered Edward's letter...

Riza leaned back in her chair in the quietness of her office and smiled in amusement, remembering a conversation Lena and her had shared not long ago...

Flashback

"Yo sharpshooter!" Lena greeted casually, plopping herself down on the chair opposite of Riza as the elder woman smiled.

"Hello Lena, I assume you're open for negotiations?" she clasped her hands together with her elbows resting against the dark mahogany desk.

Lena smirked, chuckling softly, "Well, since you've made me that lucrative offer I simply can't refuse. So, pay up," she grinned, holding her hand out.

Riza playfully rolled her eyes before opening the second drawer of her desk and handing Lena an envelope, the words "CLASSIFIED" written in bold letters on its front.

Lena's eyes developed a wicked gleam in them as she carefully opened the envelope, peering inside it as if looking at classified information of the state itself.

"OH YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT SHARPSHOOTER! WOOHO!" she fist bumped the air, smiling wickedly and laughing.

Riza couldn't suppress the giggles escaping her as she regarded the pure glee Lena was in, "I can't believe you're a grown up woman sometimes,"

Lena scoffed, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm a child at heart! Thank you ma'am!" she grinned, safely tucking the envelope in her pocket, "I thank you for the kind blackmailing material, Mrs. Mustang,"

Riza turned mock professional, nodding and smiling, "And I thank you for accepting my offer," she smirked, "Now let's fulfill your end of the bargain,"

Lena smiled slyly, "Ah, of course you were waiting to hear it huh? I don't get why people make such a big deal out of it, Greed just doesn't want to get laughed at but I think it's hilarious," she snickered, "I think his parents made a bet and his mother lost and then his father got to decide what to name him...poor thing, I suspect they may have known he would turn out the way he did," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, seeing the impatient look on Riza's face.

"Alright, alright, don't kill me with your stare, Riza," Lena leaned forward, cupping one hand over her mouth and whispered her boyfriend's biggest secret,

"Don'yoku,"

Riza's eyes widened before she desperately tried muffling the fit of giggles that threatened to break her defense, both hands clasped before her mouth.

Lena grinned and burst into laughter as well.

Flashback End

She shook her head, dialing a very familiar number on her phone and after suspiciously long minutes of waiting, she finally got through, "You'll never believe what I've got to tell you,"

The ragged, slightly breathless voice of her husband drove Riza to sit straight and a spark of worry and fear to invade her heart, "I think you should let me go first,"

Her voice instantly turned firm and sharp, eyes narrowing and hands quickly spreading out a map, "What happened Roy? Where are you?" she grabbed a red marker and waited for Roy to tell her their location.

He wheezed, "Drachma's...troops ambushed us, they caught us by surprise and destroyed our base. We're waiting at the chopper for Edward and Greed to get back, Hughes went after them, I suspect it shouldn't be long before they arrive and we can head to our secondary base to the south,"

Riza didn't hesitate to ask the question she had been dreading ever since hearing his breathless voice, "How many are injured? Any...casualties?" she knew it to be a foolish question to ask if there were any injured, considering this was a full scale war they were participating in.

Roy released a small chuckle, "Not many, thanks to Edward and Greed, as well as Kimblee for providing the distraction so we could get away. There have been no casualties so far, but we have a few injured, Greed and Kimblee aren't fully healed yet,"

"Are you alright?" Riza allowed her voice to soften as she asked this, this was about her husband after all.

"Oh? Worried about me Madam Mustang?" she could almost see that cheeky grin of his.

"...I'm considering seeking a divorce counselor," she rubbed her forehead, sighing softly as a small smile adorned her face.

He laughed, a rich, deep sound that calmed her nerves and put her racing heart at ease, "I'm sorry to disappoint, but you won't get rid of me that easily," she smiled in relief, glad to hear he was alright enough to joke around.

"Do you require assistance?" she hoped he would be honest with her.

"No, not at the moment, we just need a quite, safe place to regroup and plan our next actions. I'll call you as soon as we arrive at the secondary base,"

Riza made a split second decision, "Wait, Roy."

"What is it?"

There was a moment of silence before Riza chewed on her lip, "...There is something you need to know. Have you spoken with Lena recently?"

"No, why?" there was confusion in his voice but he listened attentively.

"I think this will interest you quite a bit," she smiled and giggled.

"You think the prince had something to do with this?" Hughes asked as they jogged toward where the choppers were hidden.

Ed scoffed, formulating possible theories and plans in his head, "I don't know, it's hard to tell with that bastard. Granted, I've saved his life once or twice so he shouldn't feel all that confident getting tangled up in this war if it means trying to kill me," he growled.

Greed snorted, "Wait, ain't that the snobby, arrogant ass we've visited a couple of times in Bradley's name?" he rose an eyebrow, faintly remembering a tall, brown haired man in his late twenties till early thirties once or twice.

Ed nodded, "Yeah, that's him. His father stepped down and he took over, since then things had been a bit chaotic." He frowned, "Aerugo's suspected of lending small firearms to Drachma,"

Hughes rose an eyebrow, "Despite that claim, where's the point? Drachma has a military might rivaling ours, Aerugo is nowhere near that level, so why should it make a difference if they lend second rate weapons to someone as powerful as Drachma? It doesn't add up Ed,"

Edward frowned, fisting the red material of Aerugo's flag in his hand, "I know, that's why we will have to arrange a meeting to talk things out with Rico. I suspect there's more to this than we think,"

"You mean those were just rumors and Aerugo is being threatened by Drachma?" Greed suggested, staring down at his superior.

"Something like that," they continued walking forward, orientating themselves by the marked trees around them, they were close to the choppers now.

"I thought you'd never come," the voice of the man in uniform sounded a bit smug.

Ed smirked back, "Yeah, you wish," he locked gazes with him, "Mustang,"

Roy smiled.

"Oh no, no, no what do I do, what do I do, what do I DO?!" Winry kept pacing back and forth, Den's ears flat on his head as he watched his master stress herself.

"Now calm down Winry, I don't see the problem here," Pinako commented as she sipped on her tea, sitting on the couch and scratching Den behind his ears.

"G-Granny, I wrote him that we could video chat! T-that means that we will see each-other! W-what if he doesn't like how I look? What if I don't like how he looks? I know looks are secondary to personality, but since his personality isn't all that great, I mean, he isn't such a big jerk but-"

Pinako laughed, waving her pipe around, "Oh my dear, I suggest you stop worrying so much over it. I've heard he's quite the handsome young man, he was as a young boy anyway," the moment the words left her lips, Winry nearly tripped over her own feet.

"W-what? Wait, you mean to tell me you knew Edward when he was little?" Winry ran her hands through her hair frantically, "Why does everyone know him but me?!" she groaned and Pinako smirked in amusement, smoking her pipe.

"I recall you've played together a few times Winry, but you were quite young back then, you most certainly forgot." She smiled, "His father and I had been drinking buddies at one time and his mother had been such a lovely woman," she smiled sadly.

Winry perked up at this, "...What happened?" her voice was quiet, as if anticipating what her grandmother was about to tell her.

Pinako frowned, "The plague had caught up to her...back then, Resembool had been nothing more than a simple rural village and medicine had become scarce for folk like us. Edward's father had left after the incident and left Alphonse and Edward in our care for some time." She met Winry's eyes, "...that had been before..." she couldn't bring herself to say it, not even after all these years.

...Before her own parents died in the war.

"Edward had been pretty headstrong and so he left us fairly quickly and went to live alone with his brother in their family home. We haven't had much contact since then, that's why you also never really met him anymore afterwards. Once Edward had come of age, he had joined the military and Alphonse followed after him, just like he always has," Pinako took a long drag out of her pipe, exhaling softly.

Winry's eyes saddened as she fisted the material of her pants, "...What happened to their father?" she looked at her grandmother again.

Pinako smiled dryly, "Ah...Hohenheim...who knows where he is, he may be dead for all I know. He had a penchant for travel I recall and getting himself into trouble, he may have not been the best father in the world, but he always made sure his boys were taken care of. He had left me money to give to the boys, just before they joined the military, so they had financial support in case something went wrong," she chuckled, "That old fool...so heartbroken that he had left.." she shook her head.

Winry frowned, looking down at her hands, "So...you mean their father left because he was so heartbroken over his wife's death?"

Pinako sighed heavily with a heavy heart, "That's what I would like to think, yes." She remained quiet for a moment and that had been the first time Winry saw her be so quiet and still. Usually the woman detested sitting still for a moment, always needing to do something to keep her hands and mind occupied and that had not changed with old age, a fact Winry was grateful for.

"Anyway, make sure to dress up prettily for your date with Edward, wouldn't want him to think I raised a lazy granddaughter," she winked, snickering playfully when Winry's face flushed in embarrassment.

"G-G-Granny!" after several moments of listening to her grandmother's laughter, Winry gave in and started laughing with her, enjoying the familial atmosphere surrounding them.

"He can't be...Riza said..." Lena stilled, holding the phone in her hand in a death grip, knuckles white from strain.

I don't know what happened Lena, I'll investigate into it, but as far as I know, we weren't able to reach them yet.

She grit her teeth, "Not able to reach them yet..." her whisper was met with silence, her thoughts in turmoil.

She wasn't dumb, she had heard the unmistakable sound of a bomb going off. The abrupt cutting of their conversation hadn't been a coincidence either. If they managed to cut off the connection, that would mean their base was directly attacked.

Or destroyed.

She whimpered, a part of her shouting at her suspiciously like a drill seargeant to get her shit together and stop whimpering like a baby, that she should trust Greed and the others, they were capable soldiers, otherwise they wouldn't have been sent to the frontlines of this particular war.

Mustang was with them, he was a good strategist, he had his handy pyro abilities too. Hughes was with them, he was the best intelligence officer and strategist she knew, he would plan a route to safety. Kimblee was with them, he was a bit hit in the head, but he could eradicate any enemy their way with a few of his handmade bombs. Alphonse was there too...he was the best medic she heard of, even if there were injured they would be up and about in no time thanks to his expertise. Ed was there too, he had his own unique abilities to aid him in battle, he was a foe to be reckoned with. Ling and Greed too...they were a jumbled mess of idiots sometimes but they were always serious in battle, they would protect each-other.

Despite herself, she giggled and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wiped it away and stared at the moist spot on her palm, eyes narrowing and hands clenching into fists.

"Tch...pathetic...I've got friends in the military and here I am bawling like some baby..." she didn't care that she sounded crazy, talking to herself, nobody was there with her now so she needed to reassure herself. She couldn't go sulking like that, she had her martial arts class to worry about, Greed, her friends...

"Yeah...everything's gonna be fine," she smiled, a dry smile that meant to lift her spirits.

She only felt herself becoming angrier.

And then her phone rang.

Riza waited patiently for Lena to pick up, eyes briefly scanning over papers she had filled out in case Roy decided he needed more back up.

After the third ring, she finally picked up, her voice slightly raspy, "What's up sharpshooter?" Riza's gaze narrowed and she tightened her grip on her phone.

"Are you alright?" it was the first thing she asked, she knew when someone had been crying, it seemed like Lena was going through tough times, especially considering how she stormed into her office only a few days ago, reporting how the connection between her and Greed had been abruptly cut off by what she suspected to be a bomb.

Riza had tried calling the base multiple times, but the lines were dead.

Only today had hears fears lifted by hearing Roy's steady voice and the assurance that everyone was fine.

"Yes, of course. What's wrong?" she didn't buy it in the slightest, but Riza swore they would talk as soon as work was over.

"I have news. I called Roy and came through, they're all safe. Drachma had surprise ambushed them unexpectedly and the lines had been dead for a while, but there were no casualties. Greed hasn't fully healed yet, but he didn't seem to have sustained any further injuries according to Roy. Edward and the others are fine too," she couldn't help but smile at the slight hitch in her voice when Lena spoke again, relief flooding through her.

"T-tha-that's great to hear, thank you Riza. Do you know when I'll be able to call them? When it's safe?" Riza chuckled.

"Give it a few days time, they've reached the choppers and are heading toward the second base. Until they're settled, it should be alright to contact them. I'll inform you when the time comes, don't worry." Riza smiled hearing Lena's chuckle.

"Yeah...thanks, I know I can count on you," she giggled, a sound Riza was relieved to hear.

"Good, because as soon as I'm done here we'll talk a bit over a cup of coffee," she grinned cheekily, smirking when she heard Lena's exasperated groan.

"You know I don't drink coffee often! Only in the morning when I feel like shit," Lena whined, prompting a chuckle to escape the soldier.

"Don't worry, I think I'm willing to allow you to put more sugar in it if it prevents you from nagging me for the rest of the afternoon," she joked playfully, already imagining how sparkling her eyes must be and how bright her smile got.

"You got yourself a deal, woman, hurry up with work! I ain't growing any younger here!" both women laughed at the jabs and jokes and hung up, Riza felt better, the raspy edge to Lena's voice was gone.

She understood her only all too well, but she suspected it was harder for her to accept all of it. Having to wait here while her significant other was risking his life in a war no one was sure would be won by the right side.

Sometimes, Riza asked herself what that "right" side was supposed to be.

Edward's face was pale white and Hughes had a hunch, "...What? Did you forget to send a letter to Winry?"

Ed shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "I think I asked her if she wanted to video chat with me..." he groaned and Alphonse soothingly patted his brother's shoulder while Greed and Ling guffawed like idiots in the background.

Roy cleared his throat with a barely suppressed smile, "Well, Fullmetal, I suppose it's time I'll have to enlighten you about things concerning women..." Roy was positively amused when Edward reacted just the way he expected.

Red faced and armed with the blunt end of his rifle, Ed mockingly swung it at his superior, "You stupid, perverted pyro maniac! I know about those things! For the love of- I'm twenty-six! Of course I know about those things!" he whacked his superior upside the head.

Alphonse stared at his brother, "...But you never had a girlfriend brother-"

"THAT IS NOT THE POINT AL!" he barked at his younger brother's face, rubbing at his forehead in frustration.

"Anyway, when are we there yet?" Ling suddenly asked from his seat next to Greed, who stared at pictures of Lena in his hands.

Breda scanned their surroundings briefly before answering, "Give it another twenty minutes, we had to choose the longer route to not be spotted," Havoc nodded from beside of him, sunglasses in place, "What are you sitting there for anyway? You can't even fly the bird!" he barked at his blond friend, who just grinned at him.

"Heh, relax Breda I'm just here to look pretty in case we meet some beauties here," he chuckled, the mock straw in his mouth meant to replace his beloved cigarettes, precious cargo that had been destroyed during the surprise attack on their camp.

Mustang sighed and shook his head, "Hey Havoc, try not to drive our only pilot insane would you? Fuery is currently incapacitated to fly," he gestured to the poor, shivering mess just next to their feet, poor Fuery was curled up in a ball, shaking violently and muttering.

Havoc shivered, looking at his friend in sympathy.

"Hey, if I were such a innocent goodie-two-shoes like Fuery I would be scared shitless if someone aimed their gun at my-"

Ed held Al's ears closed, "Hey, younger brothers on board!" he stared pointedly at Greed, who shrugged.

"Meh, there's nothin' he didn't learn from me anyway," Ed slapped his face at the comment and Ling only grinned.

Hughes surprisingly enough was lost in thought, a serious expression on his face as he rested a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"What's wrong Hughes?" Roy's attention was drawn to his friend, it was rare to see him so serious outside the battle field like this.

Hughes glanced at his best friend and clasped his hands together, "I'm thinking...maybe we missed something,"

Ed rose an eyebrow, tightening the bandaged around his bicep, "What do you mean?" the atmosphere in the chopper turned serious again, the playful banter gone now.

Hughes lips formed a thin line, "Edward found a piece of cloth representing the flag of Aerugo on a soldier which we suspect was Aerugo's man dressed as a Drachma soldier. Now, what could Drachma possibly gain by using Aerugo's very limited military power? They have enough soldiers as it is, more powerful ones anyway. Aerugo is located south, Drachma in the north, the path to Drachma is long and dangerous as circumstances are now, they would be suspected of violating our non aggression pact and risking to be arrested." He looked at Roy, "This doesn't make any sense at all,"

Roy hummed thoughtfully, "You may have a point there, Hughes but let's not forget, Aerugo was the one aiding Ishval when we had been at war as well," Hughes frowned.

"That may be Roy, but this is different. These aren't Amestrian citizens that have been wronged, these are powerfully trained and corrupt soldiers controlled by a power hungry man that shares a bitter one sided rivalry with Bradley." Ed's eyes widened slightly, he wasn't used to hearing Hughes speaking like that, so frank and slightly harsh. But he couldn't deny it was the truth.

"You're saying Drachma plans on erasing the other countries off the map to claim more territory for themselves?" Greed's voice penetrated the air, frowning at the ridiculous thought.

Roy bit his lip, "Maybe not erase...but bring under their control,"

"But...wouldn't it sacrifice many innocent lives?" Alphonse suddenly voiced his thoughts, "I mean, if Drachma really is planning on taking over the other countries, they would have to go to war with them too, right? That would only lead to more pointless deaths!" Ed's expression softened at his brother's words, not denying the truth in them.

Roy nodded, "You're right Alphonse, it is insane..." his gaze narrowed, "...insane enough for a man like him anyway," he sighed, white gloves clenching into tight fists.

Havoc turned his head slightly to address everyone, "Don't get your panties in a twist, once we're there we have to set up camp and gather the troops and think of a way to pay them back for making us run with our tails between our legs," he reached into his pocket out of habit and meant to pull out a cigarette, then remembered his recent, painful loss and started sniffling quietly next to Breda, who only rolled his eyes at the passionate smoker.

A month later...

Edward smiled, re-reading her letter over and over again and finishing up with logging into Greed's account on skype.

"Finally, I guess I...I guess we will see each-other now for real..." he thought with a small smile, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair.

Greed had kindly offered to provide his account for their video chats, at least until Edward had set up an account of his own.

And now the time was finally there.

After half a year, they would be able to see each-other, funny, to Ed it seemed a bit longer than that, maybe because of how they would bicker back and forth between letters, how his friends teased him mercilessly, the war that waged on, her letters that made a smile magically appear on his face...

It was nice...having a friend.

A friend outside of this whole thing. Outside of war and the military, one where he could talk to about normal things and she had friends from the military too, which meant he could also talk to her about that without scaring her, she had made that pretty clear from the start.

And when he finally found her on skype, clicked on the "Video call" button and the window opened, he waited with baited breath, lungs ceasing to function for the moment, brain racing a mile a minute, eyes fixated on the black screen with the loading sign on it and then...

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?" an image of a pretty blonde young woman in overalls greeted him and it made Ed chuckle, she froze for a brief second, having heard him before nervously and shyly glancing at the camera she readjusted so it rested straight perched on top of her laptop.

"Hey," and he smiled.

"Hey," came her reply and her voice was the sweetest thing he ever heard until now.

CLIFFHANGER! T_T Sorry my people, but I plan on dedicating the next chapter entirely to our two lovies! ;) BTW: What do you think of Greed's "real" name? Is it lame? T_T