It had stopped raining, and though the sky was still overcast, it was already warming again. A mist of steam covered the sand and boardwalk, and was even worse over the black asphalt roads. It had been surprisingly quiet for the past couple days, except, of course, for the other officers. On the other hand, it had been a Wednesday they arrived, and this was Thursday; not the most popular beach days.

Up the road a good way, a few cars, no...vans, were driving towards Riza and Sheska, who was returning with Riza for the evening. A minute later, the first of the vans stopped and the driver rolled down the window. Havoc leaned out the window and called, "Get in, ladies! We've got barbeque and fireworks!" The door slid open and the two girls got in. The van smelled of gunpowder and charcoal. There was a large cooler which radiated cold air and dripped which presumably had meat in it.

"I thought you were going to a bar. Why this?" asked Riza. Usually when Havoc went to bars, it was to get drunk and score. This wasn't new, per say, but it wasn't common, either.

Havoc started the car. His driving was so bad it made Sheska cower in fear and even Riza cringed a little. He turned around and said, "Well, we ran into some people who said they were a band, so we stole them and decided it would be better to have a beach side barbeque, so we rented these vans."

"Turn around!" yelled Riza and Sheska together. Havoc turned around just fast enough to not run into a dune.

Laughing, he called back, "Thanks, that was a close one!" Five more nerve-pinching minutes later, Sheska stumbled out of the van, vomited by the side of the road and stumbled off to cower somewhere. Riza was not in much better shape. God, Havoc must have nerves of steel. Then she remembered; he's always smoking, that probably helps him.

Riza caught her breath and looked around; the other vans had caught up and circled around. They were more or less directly on the beach, and grills and fire pits were availiable. There were no buildings in sight. At least Havoc planned this far ahead so as to not destroy anything.

A friendly hand grasped her shoulder and she straitened to face Roy. Her face brightened when she saw him and he kissed her sweetly. "It looks like all the time at the spa was just undone. I swear, as a governmentally certified driver, he has no excuse."

"Well, I'm fine, but really, I think Sheska was so scared she almost fainted."

"Hey, General!" came a shout from the main fire pit. Some soldiers Riza didn't know well had piled firewood haphazardly in a huge pile in the ring. "Give us a light?" The Flame General turned around and snapped at the logs. A bolt of flame ignited the oxygen and the logs burst into flame. Ever since the gate had opened, he could use alchemy without a glove and the philosopher's stone had cured his eyesight, and then Havoc's legs.

"For all he uses a lighter constantly, you'd think Jean could light a simple bonfire," said Riza sarcastically. Roy laughed at the irony as Rebecca and Maria caught up to them, mischief written all over their faces.

"Oh my god! Did the two of you see that!" shouted Rebecca at them. Riza blushed.

"You're right, I never thought that I'd see something that awesome!" shrieked Maria. What was this about? We were only kissing!

"No, seriously, you two might have missed it! Turn around!" Riza realized that they weren't talking about watching them kiss.

She turned around and saw what Maria had meant; Riza hadn't ever thought that she would ever see dolphins either. "Oh!" she exclaimed, suddenly as enthusiastic as her friends.

They watched for a moment, as the hazy sun shone over the dolphins, illuminating their activity. Roy pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "You know, a dolphin sighting is said to harbinger a good relationship." She turned her face up and kissed him, smiling slightly. Now Maria really did look at her amazedly.

The strange band started to play; they weren't really a proper band so much as they were a group of rag-tags in their early twenties. They played a strange music which Riza was more or less unfamiliar with. It seemed to be a cross between the marches, which had been popular when she was only little and the jazz that was currently popular in Amestris. Nobody among them knew the proper steps, but they tied some of their own steps and made up others to match the rhythm of the "Charleston" better.

The fast-paced dancing left them tired and hungry by the time the coals were hot enough to cook. The musicians took a break as well, as they were exhausted from playing for nearly an hour strait. Drinks were passed around, and a pig, which was slowly being pealed apart and roasted, chopped, and drenched in an all but too spicy sauce which the locals had suggested. Some had been building the fire higher, feeding it out of the back of a van, and the flames were already well over ten feet tall, and though it added to the atmosphere made it feel like a true beach party, the heat made the already humid, scorching day seem almost unbearable.

The band seemed to have the same idea, and as they finished eating, they moved a ways away from the fire so as to keep from being cooked while they played. The next songs were even more peculiar, but easier to dance to. Riza and Roy were able to match many ballroom steps to the rhythmic tempo, and again were able to add some new steps as well.

"This music's the strangest thing I've ever heard," commented Roy.

"But it's nice, if you don't try to make it something it's not, I suppose." After a while, the music changed again and became impossible to keep up with. Only the musicians themselves, if anyone, seemed to have any idea what was going on.

Most people stepped back to just listen, and the only ones who even looked like they had a clue were Havoc and Rebecca, who were doing some fast paced dance thing, which looked strange and animalistic, yet free. Riza figured they had simply had too much alcohol. Roy returned with more drinks for the both of them, and they sat back while the band played, letting the strange sounds and feelings wash over them.

It was Riza who spoke first. "It's so seldom we all get to be so free. I wish...well, no I don't...then these days wouldn't be special."

Roy looked back at the others, all dancing and sweating, drinking and laughing merrily. "It's not every day, but it will be more often soon." He leaned over and kissed her, not gently like before, but passionately. She was surprised, but quick to react, and pressed back against his lips. He set his drink down and reached around behind her to pull her closer. They broke apart after a moment, and watched each other. Riza tilted again, and they made contact. Roy parted her lips and Riza reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair. His tongue pressed past and rubbed over her mouth, making her loose her train of knit up together, they broke the kiss again and just gazed at each other, letting the music, the laughter, and the alcohol course over and through them.

Suddenly, there was a call for fireworks, and everyone started down the beach, away from the now simply obnoxiously large fire. It had grown so dark it was hard to see everything they were doing, but eventually, the rockets were set up and lit. Overhead, as the lights blazed, Roy and Riza watched. They lay down so as to not have to crane their necks to watch. It only took five minutes before they were necking again, growing oblivious to all else around them.

Little did they realize, or anybody else for that matter, as everyone was intoxicated by the music, the strange food and drink, the atmosphere, the sea, and the fireworks, that the very life and soul of the party, Jean Havoc was nowhere to be found. Nobody had seen him for a while, and where had Rebecca gone off to?

I can't believe this is how I ended a chapter. Enjoy and Review!