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They stirred slowly, gazing into one another's eyes. They conveyed all they needed to in a few seconds with their eyes alone, and quickly turned away, Mustang getting up swiftly, but not before Riza gently patted his back. Luckily, all of the refugees were upstairs, due to some sort of comotion. They smiled at one another.

"I think I know just who would cause this much trouble."

**

Havoc tapped the other two soldiers on the back, staring at Hawkeye and Mustang through the crack in the wall from the food-stores connected to the cellar.

"Now that, my friends, is a perfect example of an adoptive Mother-and-son relationship."

"What the hell are you on about, Havoc?! They're clearly in love!" Breda hissed.

"What's your opinion, Falman?"

"I don't have one," the grey-haired officer replied truthfully. Or at least half-truthfully; He didn't consider it important to share it during this conversation. "...But I do think it necessary to question Havoc's understanding of relationships." He continued. "...Considering that you've never pursued a succesful one."

Havoc looked distinctly crushed.

"It's all because of that jerk! And I have had some succesful relationships!"

"Says the guy who got rejected by Armstrong's sister." Breda butted in.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, SHE'S NOT UGLY!!! SHE'S NOT A POMATO!"

The others stared at him.

"I mean she's not ugly!"

"We've never seen a picture of her, and genetics dictates she's butt ugly."

Havoc wanted to cry, but not before he played the ace up his sleeve.

"And how are your personal lives?"

Dead silence filled the room before Elycia shrieked at them down the stairs.

"I asked you to get bread, not circle-jerk!"

They stared at one another.

"Was our Elycia ever like that?"

**

Edward sat at the table, wolfing down the sausage and ersatz bread.

"Steady on, Fullmetal, you'll get indigestion."

He may have been almost forty years old by Earth standards, but Hughes couldn't help but chuckle at Ed's childish glare at Mustang. Not quite sure whether to shake hands or embrace, they had ended up high-fiving one another awkwardly, and now Mustang was looking for pay-back, but not before Ed took a stab at him first.

"If you're wondering whether I missed you, Mustang, you probably don't want to know the answer. I don't want to deflate your ego too much."

"Oh really? Well I didn't miss you at all myself, since I could never see you in the first place."

"I'm not short any more, you lanky bast..." He was cut off by a glare from Winry.

Hughes couldn't stop laughing, and had to ask for a mug of water to stop himself choking. He was seeing a side to Ed that he had never seen before. Something in this man drew out the childish side of him that he had never had time to see before, not with his serious approach to life. He was beginning to understand how Mustang and his other self had become friends: it seemed inevitable. The Brigadier drew others to him.

The good humour in the room was a rare thing to see, and it seemed as if maybe it was appropriate now. Word was that the Americans would be moving into key locations around the city soon, along with the British and French, and that each power would be policing a sector. Being West of the Brandenburg gate, the Hughes' house fell in the American sector.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

**

"Noah, isn't it?" A young girl with messy brown hair asked the Romany girl.

"Yes, it is."

"I'm Scieska", the girl introduced herself, and quickly set about helping her to clear the table. Upstairs, Mustang, Hughes and Edward were all discussing their history and what was happening. Scieska squinted, trying to make out just where the fork was, before gripping it on the first try. She gave an internal whoop of joy: she was getting used to working without her glasses now.

Now that the war seemed over, and looters had been scared off numerous times by Hughes' rifle, it made sense to eat upstairs, at the long dining table, hence the need to clear it now.

Scieska bided her time, trying to judge how to ask her question correctly.

"Noah, do you read?"

The young woman looked down, a little sad. "No... I don't know how to."

Scieska grinned. Not having had much to do, she suddenly had a task for her mind, something that would allow her to read as many of the Hughes' wonderful collection as had survived, and to help someone else at the same time.

"I can teach you, if you want?"

Noah's eyes brightened and she stared at her wondrously.

"Really?!"

"Yeah! Come on!" She gripped her by the hand and ran up to the library, as Gracia nodded at them to go since she had it all under control.

Nietsche, Goethe, Dumas, Verne and many other authors Scieska had seen on the shelves beckoned to her.