Complete at last! I hope you enjoy this one. Although this song (op 8 no 12) is an epic song, this story is nothing in comparison. It is not epic at all, nor it's the best in this collection... But I think this piece fits the etude, though I must admit it's not so well-written. I wrote a bit of this while listening to Riza's Bonne Nuit - her song in the Theme of Fullmetal Alchemist or something like that. Honestly, that is not my favorite of Orikasa's songs, nor it is the best (my favorite is Moon; Oririn sang it as Kuchiki Rukia from Bleach), but that song still seems fitting. This is the only piece I wrote while not listening to the song the entire time - some of the time I simply let the song play in my head instead of my ears. I know every bit of the song by heart... after playing it for five months o.O Okay, this is getting nonsensical. Ignore me.

Oh. And one more thing. Before I disclaim, I'm sorry the gaps between uploads are not so far so that this gets under other stories and seems like it's not updated.

Disclaimer: Both Fullmetal Alchemist and the Scriabin etudes DO NOT belong to me. I am only borrowing them for my own pleasure.

And Warning: Spoilers for 108, though not major, in this story! I highly recommend you to read it, though the spoilers might just seem like any other fan prediction (because there are stories made before 108 that have this kind of... ending).

Moments

They had been together for a long time. At first they didn't acknowledge each other much, but eventually they began to tolerate each other's company and soon enjoyed it. They had been together for so long that they could recognize what each other meant by looks and gestures only. They had been together for so long that time always passed so slowly when they were not in each other's company but so quickly when they were together. They had been together for so long that they could not even remember when their first meeting was (though they remembered how).

Of all things they could remember, the memories of their time together that stuck the most in their mind were the memories they got after they joined the military. And that part of the memories began with… the Ishbal Massacre.

They had only met in the blood and sand of Ishbal near the end of the Massacre. State Alchemists had only been deployed about a year before the end of the war, and she was only sent about eight months before the massacre's end, for she had not yet graduated from the academy at that time. They had not seen each other for so long, and killer's eyes were what greeted each other. In comparison to the other places and situations they had met in, this was the most inconvenient of all.

Then there was the time when he trusted her with his back just like she had trusted him with hers, and asked her to follow her. That was the renewal of their pact, and since then she had always followed him everywhere, not complaining even once. Always two steps behind him, wherever he went, always protecting his unguarded back.

But then there was the time when she was taken hostage by the Fuhrer, and they'd not met a lot then. They no longer shared the same office and she could no longer drive him home as well as he could no longer drive her home in return. That part of their memories was no one's fault but his, he insisted, because he was the one who was too curious, too bold to prove that King Bradley was a homunculus.

The most frightening memories were the ones they got from the coup. His planned coup, assisted by her and his other subordinates (now not ex-subordinates anymore, since they drifted from the military for him. That made him feel special). She had almost died in the coup twice, and both times were caused by his faults. He still often thought about it until now. If only he hadn't been consumed by rage and anger, if only he hadn't been blinded by revenge, she wouldn't have gotten that shoulder wound. If he had been quicker and swifter and mightier, he would have been able to save her from the gold-toothed doctor and his ex-Fuhrer-candidate pawns. She would have no idea how relieved he was when he found out her wounds were not as major as he had thought and it would heal very soon.

She, too, would agree if he said their little rebellion held most of the frightening memories. No, she didn't fear her own death- her reasons differed from his. It was his death she had been scared of. He would never know how scared she was when he disappeared in the middle of that transmutation circle and Bradley said he wasn't sure if Mustang would come back with all his limbs. He would never know how she felt guilty about his eyes, for it all happened because she had been inadequate. If only she was strong enough, if only she hadn't let her guard down, he would have never lost his eyesight. She was very relieved when he had gotten his eyesight back. It was rather selfish, really, but she was relieved that she did not have to add another guilt to the guilt she had to carry for the rest of her life.

At the end, he had not reached one of his goals: to become the Fuhrer – or not yet, anyway. But at least he could atone a bit of the sins he committed in Ishbal: he had been given the chance to help reviving Ishbal. And they were still together, at the very least. His goals might not have been all complete, he might not be able to protect all around and below him yet, but at least they were still together. And when they were together, nothing was impossible.

A/n: And so that is it. The end of the story and the end of the collection. I wish you a very Happy Royai Day for this year, and happy holidays too! See you after I come back from mine, probably with chapter 8 of 'Snapshots' and the epilogue of 'Letters'. I have concentrated too much in this project that I neglected those two. And while I might not be able to reply to your reviews or PMs (for FFm doesn't seem to allow me... and every FFN address I type in my phone is automatically redirected to FFm...), review, please! I want to hear (or read) your opinions for the one last time!

Oh, anyway... Thank you for sticking with me these twelve days. Special thanks to those who reviewed (and will review) and favorited, especially to the reviewers! You guys rock.

One more thing, I promise. Only one more thing. There are so many versions of this etude (op 8 no 12) on Youtube, and there's even Scriabin's own playing, but I still recommend Horowitz's. Thoroughly.