Ed spent most of his eighteenth birthday in his dorm room, which worried Al. Gracia had invited them both. Al had been in the library, and had come expecting Ed would show up as well. And yet Ed hadn't come, and he hadn't come, and he hadn't come, and so they headed as a group over to the dorms and knocked.

Nobody answered, and they stared at each other in concern.

"Maybe he's out?" Al asked dubiously. "This isn't the first time he's forgotten his birthday..."

Lieutenant Hawkeye was passing with a look as if she were waiting for something, and pondered them. "Are you looking for Edward?" she asked.

"Mm. It's his birthday, but..."

She coughed. "Ah. The Colonel went in a while ago. I didn't ask why, perhaps to convince him to come out."

Al frowned. "But why would he need convincing?"

Just then, the door opened, and Colonel Roy Mustang stepped out, face solemn and bland but for a white splash on his cheek.

Gauntlet trembling, Al pointed. "Colonel. What's that?"

The Colonel raised fingers quickly to his cheek. They came away wet. "...Cake," he said, and walked off in a hurry.

Whatever the Colonel had said to him was convincing, at least. Ed emerged a few moments later, grinning broadly.

"Hey," he said. "I hear it's my birthday. Let's party."

Al decided to thank the Colonel later. He didn't know what the man had done, but convincing Ed to come when he didn't want to was never an easy task.

Man practically deserved a medal.