A/N: I'm so sorry for how late this is getting uploaded, with school wrapping up, things have been a bit crazy. Regardless, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, and thanks so much for all the support!

This is the end of this installment in the ShesKain saga, but there will be one more fic to complete the little trilogy, so definitely keep an eye out for that.

Still halfway between consciousness, Sheska frowned. Had she fallen asleep with her glasses on? Since when had her pillow felt like hardwood floor?

It took her a moment to realize that there was quite the commotion coming from outside, people were shouting, she kept hearing booms and artillery fire. How had she not been woken up?

Opening her eyes and blinking rapidly, Sheska sat up, wiping the drool from her cheek. She made a guttural noise in the back of her throat, and looked around at the roomful of people, though thankfully no one was paying her any attention. In fact, it looked like they were still in the middle of battle. Half the soldiers were staring out the window, yelling their support, while three of the soldiers sat yelling directions into their communications devices.

The brunette took a moment to herself as she remained unnoticed, trying to piece together what had just happened. It had almost felt as if – her soul had left and then reentered her body. Yesterday, she would have said it was impossible, but after everything that she had seen today, she wasn't so sure that anything was outside the realm of possibility.

Things had been dark and cramped and confusing and -

"Sheska! You took so long to come to we were starting to get worried!" Lula cried once she realized Sheska was coherent.

Sheska blinked a few more times – she felt more dazed and confused than anything.

Someone was giving a running commentary on what was happening outside, but the words were only making half sense to her. Until, of course, she heard 'Flame Alchemist' and 'Edward Elric', and her curiosity was immediately piqued.

"What's going on?"

"They're all fighting one man who won't die." Sara told her, and Sheska nodded.

Right, that made perfect sense. Immortal men, mannequin soldiers and souls leaving bodies. Just a regular day at Central.

The booms and crashes from outside got louder and louder, Sheska was certain the entire fort was shaking, and the soldiers in the operations center started shouting commands at even more of a rapid pace, getting louder and louder as the excitement prickled and sparkled through the room.

Everything rose to a crescendo, and then, almost as quickly as it had come on, it was over.

"So – where do we go from here?"

No one had an answer for her.

Hours later, as the sun began to set, Sheska sat at the table in the operations center with Sara, Lula, Ida, and a few other women from archives who had come to join them. They had the radio on, and were listening to the events of the day being recounted, and it filled in a lot of blanks and answered a lot of her questions.

The Briggs soldiers, along with General Mustang and his squad had saved the country.

General Clemin and General Edison had been apprehended earlier in the day, dragged out of the small room with very little struggle. Sheska wondered if they were both lucky to be alive, or if their plans had backfired so heavily on them that they had no fight left.

Either way, it was making her question everything. What kind of person would she have been in she continued working in such a place where she was expected to keep her head down, not ask questions, and do as she were told?

Sure, she was only transcribing archives, but what if someone else who was even more corrupt than Clemin and Edison got into power, and she somehow helped to put the innocent people of Amestris in danger again?

Standing up, Sheska inhaled deeply, and turned to Sara with a kind smile.

"Sara. I am hereby formally handing in my resignation."

Sara looked shocked for a moment, but she regained her composure quickly.

"Are you sure, Sheska? It's been a long and exhausting day, maybe you should sleep on it and give me your final decision tomorrow."

For the first time in her life, she had no plan. Maybe Sara was right, maybe she was making an irrational decision she would regret later, but for now…

"I'm sure. It's been so lovely working with all of you, and I hope we stay in touch."

Ida burst into tears, and before Sheska knew it, she was being smothered in a group hug.

"You – guys – can't – breathe."

When they were finally cleared, Sheska left Central command with a bounce in her step. Technically she was jobless, but she felt freer than she had in a long time.

There were a handful of people she wanted to visit and check up on, but she found herself back at her apartment. She was exhausted, all she wanted to do was shower and collapse into her bed – she could deal with the rest the next day.

Letting her mind wander, she wondered how Kain was doing, and if he was safe. She would have loved to try to track him down, but she wasn't even fully certain he was actually in the city, and had no idea how she would track him down even if he was.

The day's events were fully starting to hit her, particularly the death of the young soldier, and she really wished she had her best friend back.

She was simultaneously towel dying her hair and chowing down on an apple tart when there was a soft rapping on her door.

Sheska's heart skipped a beat, and she held up her fists.

"Who is it?"

"Sheska?!"

Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice, and she almost burst into tears, leaping to the door in one bound and flinging it open.

"Kain!"

The pair stared at each other, each beaming and taking in the sight of a friend they hadn't seen in months. He'd gotten a little bit taller, and was more tanned than she remembered.

He took a few steps closer to her, still beaming, looking at a loss for words.

Finally, she found her voice.

"You're fogging up my glasses."

Kain laughed, and she realized how much she had missed his laugh.

"You're alive!"

"I'm so glad to see that you're safe!"

There were so many things that she wanted to say to him, so many words that she had prepared for when she finally got to see him again, but all of that went out the window. Running with her spontaneity, she leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck.

Kain stumbled backwards, but caught her, and wrapped his arms around her back as they squeezed each other tightly.

"When you didn't write back I was – I was almost worried that the worst had happened", she said after a few moments, voice muffled as her face was pressed to his chest.

"Were you at Central today?"

Sheska finally pulled away, nodding. "Yeah it was … well, I honestly don't know if you'd believe half the things that happened, even if I were to tell you."

"I don't know about that. Try me."

She grabbed Kain's hand and tugged him inside, closing the door as she launched into her tale, recounting the day's events.

As it poured out, she let herself cry, realizing how much she needed to talk about everything that had happened.

It was the strangest thing, but it felt like absolutely no time had passed since she'd seen him. They may as well have spent the day at the library together.

When she had finished her tale, she took a deep breath and wiped her cheeks.

"What about you, what happened when you were down South?"

Kain took a deep breath, and launched into his tales of the war in the Aerugo. He spoke of front lines, of losing friends, and as he spoke, Sheska could tell he needed to get it out as much as she had. They both cried as he spoke.

"I – I kept all your letters", he ended sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think they went through heavy screening because they were all unsealed when I got them. And I couldn't really write back because, well, they disbanded Mustang's unit for a reason and I didn't want to incriminate you or put you in any danger because I know you work at Central and-"

Usually Sheska was the one to ramble, not the other way around.

Impulsively, she leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

He looked a little startled, but when she pulled back, he grabbed her hand.

Sheska's heart melted as he leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, her nose, her cheeks.

And when they leaned in to kiss again, they did so a little too enthusiastically, and bonked heads.

"Ouch!" Sheska squealed, hand flying to her temple.

Kain laughed, "I'm sorry!"

He kissed her temple.

And then he kissed her lips.

Sheska had never been kissed before, and she had always wondered what the big fuss was about. It seemed a little unhygienic, and quite honestly, something that wasn't for her.

But the rush of admiration that flooded through her from a gentle kiss on the lips made her realize why people kissed.

Sheska pulled back and smiled, a little too elated to be embarrassed, and Kain smiled back.

"I actually don't work at Central anymore."

"You – what? You quit?"

"It might not have been the absolute smartest decision I've made, but I think it was the right thing to do." She paused, and then tacked on, "I know you and General Mustang and ... everyone else will make the nation great."

Kain beamed, and pulled her in for another smothering hug.

Sheska was so thankful that he was alive and well.

"Can you – I mean, if you want to – can you stay with me tonight? I don't really think I want to be alone."

Kain's eyes widened, but he nodded. "Sure! Sure, of course."

And the pair talked until they fell asleep on Sheska's couch, unsure of what was to come, but hopeful that the future would be better.