Winry fumbled with the dial of the radio, trying to find a station that didn't drown out the news in a sea of static. Earlier, she overheard women at the market chattering about an attack on Ishval that occurred yesterday afternoon. Worried about her friends in the military, she needed to know about the situation in Ishval. If there was anything she learned from her parents, it was during dire times like this, an automail mechanic and doctor is greatly needed.

She finally picked up a clear station, "Thirty-six casualties were fatally injured along with 116 injured by the blast on the Ishvalan base yesterday afternoon. It has been reported that this is the third attack on military soldiers and civilians this past year. Major General Mustang has immediately taken action in securing the base and searching for the perpetrators..."

Focused on the news report, Winry hardly noticed Den barking outside. Instead she stared at the radio, unconsciously rubbing her arms as if she were cold. She thought about calling Riza, she always had a special connection with the older woman and surely, she would tell Winry what was going on.

Pinako stared at her granddaughter before finally speaking, "I'll go see who it is," she sighed, exhaling the smoke from her wrinkled mouth.

When the old woman's small steps padded back into the house, heavier footsteps mirrored hers, she was not alone.

"Winry?" a familiar voice called out from behind her. She knew that voice, a large grin adorned her face, already making her cheeks sore from smiling so much.

"Ed!" she squealed, swinging her arms around him. The former alchemist had been on a journey for months to countries surrounding Amestris. As much as it pained Winry to be away from her beloved, it was known that Ed spent his entire life traveling. But to her surprise, he returned months earlier than he said he would in his last letter.

The couple pulled away for a brief moment to share a kiss. The sensation was invigorating and Winry wondered how she lived an entire year without kissing his soft lips. Between kisses the two exchanged words of longing.

"You're...back...early," she spoke softly, her words separated by hungry kisses.

"I Am." he cooed, unconsciously playing with the engagement ring on her left hand. He gazed into her large blue eyes, appreciating his beautiful fiance, the words felt delectable rolling off his tongue. Seeing her again made Ed felt guilty for leaving her behind, though bringing her along wasn't practical with her growing business. He nestled his face in her golden locks, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair contrasted by the bitter smell of automail oil. He couldn't figure out how he survived without her for what seemed to be an eternity.

He looked taller than she remembered, and it amazed her how much he had grown since he was a little boy. She was delighted she got to experience the transition. She cupped her hand around his cheek, brushing her thumb softly across his bottom lip, "I've missed you," she whispered, before she firmly pressed another kiss against his mouth. When she finally broke away from his tight grasp, she slapped his arm, "You idiot!" she exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowing.

"What was that for?" he whined, rubbing his arm as if the slap really hurt.

"For not telling me you were coming home early, I could have at least prepared breakfast for you," she frowned.

"It's fine, I'll prepare something." He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "Besides, if I told you it wouldn't have been a very good surprise," he grinned. Their reunions were always worth coming home for. Time without seeing each other made him appreciate her even more than he already did. He made sure he would bring her along on his next journey.

"I guess I can't argue with that," she smirked.

Winry sat at the kitchen table as Ed prepared a meal for himself. "I was worried when you didn't out to greet me," he stated, "It was a little frightening to see Granny when I expected to see you," he evilly laughed, hoping the old woman didn't hear him.

"I'm sorry," she replied, "I was trying to pick up the broadcast about Ishval."

"Ishval? Why?" Ed questioned, a little hesitant about asking. He knew Winry coped with her parents death, but he usually refrained from talking about Ishval, it was a topic almost as serious as human transmutation. Ed felt senseless for asking, but as much as he hated to admit it, he was worried about Mustang and his other friends stationed in the Ishvalan desert. Even though he and the Flame Alchemist constantly bickered, they deeply cared for one another, no matter how much Ed denied it.

"There was a bombing...a lot of soldiers died," she responded grimly.

Ed's eyes widened, "I need to call Mustang." He frantically walked over to the phone and lifted it from it's cradle.

"W-what? Why?" Winry stammered, worried by Ed's uneasiness.

He stared at the phone clutched in his hand, "Winry," he spoke softly, the tone was almost foreign to her. He spoke in that tone when he was truly worried about something. She remembered the time she tried avenge her parents, the gun shook in her hands and hot tears rolled down her face. With that tone, he convinced her not to pull the trigger and saved her from being a murderer, her parents wouldn't want her to take someone's life even for their sake. That well-known tone was sweet and gentle, yet it was a reminder of how she almost stained her hands with blood. She felt a jolt of fear at the thought.

"I came home early is because it's not safe out there," He felt guilty for not telling her earlier, but he was captivated by their sweet and intoxicating reunion. "It's a war zone outside of Amestris, Winry. I went to Creta, Aerugo, and Xing and it's was all the same. It was only time that it came here... I don't know who's behind it but I had to make sure you were safe and I had to tell Mustang before it got here, but it looks like I'm too late." He wore an expression of regret, feeling like he failed everyone for not coming sooner.

"How do you know they're related?" she queried, her tone laced with fear and concern.

"They were all explosions, but based on the nature of the blasts, there's no way they were caused by regular bombs."

"So...you think it was alchemy?"

He started dialing the number of Mustang's office in Ishval, "I'm almost sure of it," he replied. He turned around to face his fiance as the phone rang, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I was just-" he started, but she silenced him with a kiss. He didn't need to tell her, she already understood. Winry was the only person who could make him not feel useless.

Ed stared at her adoringly as she pulled away, he was happy he returned, he could travel all over the world but there was nothing like being home.

-i-

After leaving the infirmary and taking a well-deserved shower, Roy arrived to work earlier than usual. He waited in his office for Fuery and Breda to return with the soldiers dispatched from Eastern Command. He sat slumped in his chair, balancing a pen between his fingers, and feeling a pang of guilt every time he thought about Riza. He knew she capable of protecting him, but this time he felt like the protector. The object twisted between his rough fingers, hypnotizing him deep into his thoughts.

Healing his eyes with the Philosopher's stone had not been easy, he remembered. In fact, the process had been long and slow because after months of seeing nothing but blackness, his body needed to become accustomed to the sudden change. When Doctor Marcoh used the stone, it disintegrated into small black dust particles and was carried away in the wind. To everyone's disbelief, he still was only able to see darkness and the doctor apologized profusely, thinking the transmutation failed.

He sat quietly on the couch, unmoving, when he and Riza returned to his home. He listened to the muffled sobs she tried to restrain as she made tea in the kitchen. Roy felt worse about not being able to restore his vision than he did when his eyesight was unjustly stolen from him in a human transmutation he didn't even want because there is nothing more heartbreaking than false hope.

Before he knew it, the only sobs he heard were his own.

Riza wrapped her arms around him and although he couldn't hear or see her weep, he felt her chest rising and falling erratically from a sobbing she didn't outwardly express. Roy wasn't one to show his emotions, but the suffocating billow of emotions welled up in chest was overbearing. He placed his desperate lips on hers, savoring the taste of the soft pink flesh, his hands running up along her sides, tracing her curves that he had memorized all those years ago, in a shoddy tent in Ishval. This night became the first of many. The barriers they had put up between them had been broken down again. Their nights had become ones of tangled limbs and panting hot breaths filled with pleasure and despair. They waited so long to do this again, to feel each other again. He had sex with other women, but with Riza it was a fleeing feeling. Sex with other women was arousing until a flash of white ended the charade, a dance he only enjoyed until the music ended. Riza made him feel complete and even after their lovemaking, he wanted more, he wanted her mind and heart, a dance without music.

His blindness made him appreciate the things he couldn't when he still could see.

Their strictly professional relationship had become one of inappropriate pleasure, and he relished the moments they shared. Because they would not last for much longer and they could not last for much longer. He didn't tell her his vision was slowly recovering, maybe if he lied, they could remain as lovers for a bit longer. But soon, lying became impossible and he could no longer pretend he was only able to see her as a blurred silhouette, when she was as clear as the first time he met her.

The seduction of their forbidden lovemaking was short-lived. As right as it was, it was unacceptable. As wrong as it was, it was captivating.

They had one last night of ecstasy, one last night to pretend they were everyday people, one last night to pretend they were lovers. His movements were slow and he memorized her body with his new restored vision, they had come a long way in their intimacy. She was no longer modest about being nude in front of him. She was no longer the anguished, shy girl she was when he took her virginity during the war. She was no longer the unreachable lieutenant she was after Hughes' death. She had become a woman who completely trusted herself with the man she loved and that thought alone could make him weep. Reality had a harsh way of reminding him that tomorrow they would return to a life they couldn't share. They promised that night to never cross the barriers they put between them again. It was unprofessional, it was career suicide. They couldn't do it again. They wouldn't do it again. Their goal was more important than the hunger they had for each other.

That promise was short-lived.

Nightmares tortured them both and soon they found their bodies could no longer deprive them of what their minds tried to. A flurry of desperate kisses and a dance only their bare bodies could dance followed suit. He found it ironic that they could only fend off the apparitions of Ishval by engaging in a satisfaction they didn't deserve. They were murderers, it was wrong. It was so…wrong?

Soon after they found themselves promising again, they couldn't risk everything for a moment of pleasure. Sleep deprivation had returned once their nights of consoling ended. Dark circles around their eyes didn't go unnoticed and although they knew they could take away each other's pain away, it wasn't sensible, they didn't deserve to.

Roy slammed the pen he was twisting between his fingers on the desk. He was frustratingly longing for her touch, he needed her.

He was torn away from his thoughts when the shrill ringing of the phone echoed in the room. Were the Heaven's also against even the thought of them being together?

He picked up the phone and sighed, "Major General Mustang speaking."

"Major General, you have a call from a private line. Would you like to accept this call?" The high-pitched voice of the secretary asked.

"Yes, put me through."

-ii-

Winry watched her fiance as he hung up the phone. "Is everything alright?" she asked, almost afraid of the response.

"Tomorrow I have to go to Ishval," he responded, trying to avoid eye contact. "I leave first thing in the morning." He hated to leave her again so soon, but he had no choice. He may not be able to use alchemy anymore, but he still could help decode the unfamiliar transmutation circle Roy told him about.

"I'm going with you," Winry replied firmly.

"Are you crazy?" Ed became flustered. "Do you know how dangerous it is out there?" it was a shout more than a question. He didn't regret exchanging his alchemy to get Al back but he hated not being able to protect his loved ones anymore.

"Ed, there's a lot of injured people there and I want to help them," she retorted, and he wasn't sure he could deny her from coming along. Winry was selfless, much like her parents, and if someone was in great need, she would do anything to help.

"You stubborn woman," Ed groaned and crossed his arms. "Fine," he pouted.

She triumphantly smiled and began packing her tools, reminding herself to call Garfiel before they left, perhaps he could help.

-iii-

Roy walking to the conference room, the other generals had already filled the entire room. To his surprise Lieutenant General Doyle of Eastern Command, Roy's direct superior, had begun the meeting without him. Doyle had arrived with the other soldiers who had been dispatched to Ishval. Being sent by Fuhrer Grumman, Doyle was commanded to give direct orders to Roy and the other Generals. They weren't pleased to say the least and Roy didn't appreciate Grumman sending Doyle to oversee his project. He knew how fond Grumman was of Doyle but he never expected him to let the Lieutenant General intervene in his command.

Once Doyle had ordered the other generals to return to their posts after the meeting, he let Roy explain the situation of the explosion and his findings. As expected, his comrades were as shocked as he was to find out the explosion was caused by none other than alchemy. Roy was taken aback when the Lieutenant General had praised Roy for helping his subordinates find victims of the explosion, he had expected the man to scold him for being irrational and leaving during the meeting.

"Major General Mustang, as you know the meeting with the other Lieutenant Generals and I had begun earlier than you and Major Miles had ordered. Foremost, I would like to apologize that your Captain, Riza Hawkeye had been severely injured in the explosion," he briefly became silent to let Roy thank him for his courtesy, "but we find that it is in your best interest that her position is filled with a replacement."

"Yes, sir, I already have Captain Havoc filling her position."

"No," Doyle began, "Captain Havoc would be much more useful being in charge of the officers that have been sent from my command. In fact, I would like to promote him to Major." Roy gaped and Doyle continued, "I believe he would do a fantastic job. As for my other soldiers, they can be commanded by your other high-ranking officers, they can fill in the place of those wounded by the blast."

Roy listened to the man, a bit annoyed that he was telling him how to do his job. As much as he wanted to tell the man to kindly 'fuck off,' he refrained, he didn't want to be reprimanded for insubordination.

"We reviewed several candidates and we found that this soldier of Western Command is a suitable choice." Doyle handed Roy a folder containing information about the soldier. "Read her file, I believe you will be happy with our choice," the old Lieutenant General smiled.

-iv-

Roy walked back to his office after the meeting. He felt betrayed Grumman had sent Doyle, who as of the meeting earlier, would now make unexpected visits to administer Ishval Command. Did Grumman really think he was incapable of running his own Headquarters? He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was displeased with Grumman's order, and he made sure to call the old man when he had a free moment, he was going to let the geezer have a piece of his mind.

When he walked through the large doors of his office he didn't expect to see a woman with long black hair and red eyes unpacking her things in Riza's desk.

A/N:

Just to make some things clear, no Riza will not get automail and she won't be temporarily crippled the entire story.

Special thanks to royailight who commented on the first and second chapter. And thanks to those anonymous reviewers, I wish you had an account so I could personally thank you!

Reviews would be very much appreciated. Thank you :)