As the day came to a close, Elicia and Maes began to head back to his house.

A wide smile remained on Maes' face. For him, the day could not have possibly been better. He was greeted by an amazing breakfast, spent the day with the girl he had loved for years, actually got a kiss from her, and now he was going home to cake. This day was probably one of the greatest he had ever had.

The two walked up to the front door of the Mustang residence, slowly opening it. They were greeted by an array of people, coming up to with the boy a happy birthday.

It was nice. The get together wasn't all that large, but it included the people that mattered. There were several of Maes' peers, Gracia, Military officials who Maes had grown up with such as Maria Ross, Denny Brosh, Jean Havoc, and so on.

Maes walked over to his parents, who were standing there with an arm around the other.

"Thank you," Maes told them with a smile on his face, embracing his parents each individually.

Riza smiled at her son, taking his hands in hers. She looked at him and couldn't believe how much her son had grown. It seemed to her like only yesterday he was a small child that would snuggle into her and say how much he loved his mother and how he always wanted to take care of her.

She tried to hold back her tears as she continued to smile. She couldn't believe any of this. The face that so many years ago, her and Roy were simply partners in the military that eventually grew to more, and then…eighteen years ago produced a child. This child to be exact.

The older woman leaned into her son, unable to hold back her tears but not wanting her boy to see her cry. Her tears dampened his shirt as she smiled, wrapping her arms around the boy again.

"Hey…mom…" he smiled and looked down at her, his tone was soft and comforting as he placed one hand atop his mother's head and the other around her shoulders, "It's going to be okay." he tried to convince her, "You and dad raised me well, I can take care of myself."

She nodded and wiped her tears, pulling away from her son. "I just can't believe how big you have gotten." Riza stepped back to stand next to her husband. She felt Roy wrap his arm around her shoulder as she continued to look at her child. Possibly it was the fact that she was a mother that completely changed her, but she never presumed doing something like letting go of her son would be so challenging.

"Come on, let's cut your cake." Roy suggested, leading his son and his wife over to the table.

Everyone gathered as his father snapped, lighting all of the candles in a split second. Maes sat down in front of the cake smiling, looking out at everyone. He couldn't believe it. All of the people he spent his life growing up next to were there with him right now as he took his step into adulthood.

He listened as they sang, still looking at each of their faces individually. How they aged over the years. He had never been so aware as to how much the others had changed.

As the song ended, he blew out the candles, listening to everyone cheer for him, wishing him a happy birthday.

Maes smiled and stood, raising his hands as he stated, "Hey, can I say a few things before we cut the cake?"

Everyone grew quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"Go ahead." Roy encouraged his son.

Maes looked back at his father before he looked back out at the people standing before him. "First, I want to thank all of you for coming. The years I have known you are probably some of the best I could ever ask for. Each of you have made my life in some way enjoyable and amazing."

He paused and looked over at Elicia. She was standing next to her mother, a smile on her face as she looked at Maes.

"And um…" Maes stopped talking again, looking down, "E-Elicia could you come here?"

She blinked, a little confused as to why he was called her over during his speech. However, she nodded and walked over to him, "What is it, Maes?"

His face turned a deep shade of red, "Well…I was just wondering…because, you know…we've known each other all these years and such…" he stopped and looked at her. Her green eyes were staring at him, waiting for him to finish, "Well…I was just wondering…if you would do me the honor of…" he stopped again, looking to the ground as he scratched his head, glancing back up at her, "Possibly being my girl friend?" he asked in a quiet tone.

Elicia stood for a moment and let the words sink in. Several moments later, a smile crossed her face, "Of course I will, Maes."

His eyes widened in disbelief as a huge smile crossed his face, "Y-Y-You mean it?"

She nodded, "Of course."

Maes felt excitement over come him as he took her hand and held it in his, "Well, this birthday just got ten times better." he commented.

Everyone laughed.

Gracia looked over at her daughter with a smile on her face. It made her happy to see Elicia be with someone who always made her smile. It was something that the girl had always needed in her life. Now that she thought the situation reminded her a lot of when her deceased husband asked her out for the first time. It was almost déjà vu seeing these events play out before her.

"Alright, alright." Maes called out, raising one of his hands again, "Now that we have that excitement out of the way, I have another announcement."

He watched as the group grew quiet once more.

"Alright," he continued, "So one last thing I want to say." He lightly squeezed Elicia's hand, "With the fact that I am now eighteen, I have decided that I am going to enlist in the Amestrian state military."

Everyone clapped and several wished him luck and congratulations. There were only two people who didn't respond in a positive manner.

Maes looked down at Elicia with a smile, hoping for some sort of congratulations from his new girl friend. However, she was staring up at him with her green eyes filled with shock and sorrow instead of joy and happiness like usual.

He watched as her eyes filled with tears, "E-Elicia what's wrong?" he asked, sudden concern crossing his face.

She ripped her hand away from his and darted out of the room and out of the house into the backyard.

"Elicia!" Maes called out, following after her. He couldn't understand as to why she was so upset about an announcement such as this.

Everyone watched as he left the room. People turned and muttered to one another things such as, "What was that all about?"

When the young couple left, it abandoned the one other person who didn't hold a positive reaction.

"Riza?" Roy asked, looking at his wife's face. It was frozen, mouth gaping up and eyes wide. She didn't respond to his voice, she just stared at the direction in which her son had left.

Her son…

He was joining the military.

Slowly, the cup she was holding in her hand slowly slipped, falling to the ground and shattering into a million pieces. Just like her heart.