Prize fic for Q-A the Authoress! She was the 400th reviewer for A Source of Hope back in September and it took me till earlier this month to realize that she had done that. But I keep my promises of a prize for '100' reviewers even if the story is finished. She asked for something AlMei with a happy ending and I had happened to see a question arlphone/thesoulboundalchemist had answered on tumblr that I immediately headcanoned so decided to hit two birds with one stone. Plus I took a ballroom dance class last semester and had a ton of fun.
This fic was ridiculously easy to write. It felt so good. Now if only I could writing religion essays this easily.
Winry was actually slicing apples for an apple pie (they were celebrating Al walking all the way to town without his crutch) when the youngest Elric walked into the kitchen rather shyly. He was using his crutch now, the walk had taken quite a bit out of him, but he still carried himself much more assuredly than when he first came back to Resembool. Or at least he would be carrying himself much more assuredly if he didn't look so embarrassed.
"What's up, Al?" Winry asked, putting down the knife she had been using automatically.
He cleared his throat and opened his mouth… but no words came out.
"Al? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong," he quickly assured her. "Just… well I was wondering… I was hoping… could you… would you be able to—" The boy was turning progressively redder and redder the more he rambled until Winry crossed her arms, obviously signaling to him that he needed to stop. "Couldyouteachmehowtodance?"
Winry blinked.
"Sorry?"
"Oh that's fine. It's alright I'll figure out from someone else," he said quickly, now flushed to the tips of his ears.
"Wait, no, Al, I was just surprised. You want me to teach you how to dance?"
He nodded, still bright red. "Well you did take that one dance class and your partner was that boy that Ed really hated and we were all surprised when Ed didn't make him fall into a pit or something. And Colonel Mustang tried to teach Ed once so that Ed could go to one of the military balls, but it didn't work and he started talking about how a man that can dance is really respected and civilized and—"
"You got a letter from Mei, didn't you?" Winry asked shrewdly. If Al had been red before, it was absolutely nothing compared to the shade he turned now. "And she said she likes to dance."
"She said that she's always loved Amestrian formal dancing and wanted to try it one day, but she doesn't know anyone who knows how," he mumbled, staring directly at his shuffling feet.
Winry smiled brightly. "I'd love to teach you how to dance."
"Really?"
"Of course, Al. Do you want to start now, or wait until tomorrow when you've got more strength back? If you're talking about ballroom dance, you're going to need both of your hands."
"I can do it without the crutch," he said confidently, propping it up against the table and walking haltingly to a more open space. Winry joined him, wiping her sticky hands on her apron.
"Alright. What kind of dance would you like to learn?"
"I don't know," he said, shrugging.
"The waltz seems like a good place to start," Winry mused. "You can usually get away with that at any kind of formal event. It's not the most creative dance, but it'll suit your purposes just right. Put your right hand on my shoulder blade—"
Al smiled at his daughter, then with a slight tug pulled her up so that her feet were resting on his toes.
"Normally you would want to put your hand on my shoulder and your other hand in mine like this, but since you're so small, we can just hold hands like this." He gripped Nina's right hand in a proper hold, while simply holding onto her other hand. Then he began to move around the room in quick patterns, slow patterns, stopping suddenly so that she rocked backwards or forwards. She was giggling and screaming in delight the entire time, so Al couldn't help but grin at her.
"Well if it isn't my dancing protégées. Are you teaching Daddy how to dance, Nina?" Mei asked from the doorway, he hands on her hips.
"Uh huh!" Nina proclaimed, dismounting from her father's feet so that she could run over to her mother. "Mommy, will you dance with Daddy now? I want to see you two dance! It's so pretty!"
"Your mother is very busy, Nina," Al said softly, but Mei was already moving further into the room. Al raised an eyebrow then grinned and held out a hand for her to take. They took the proper position, Al's muscles forming the frame of the dance without him even having to think about it. He automatically began to remember all the times they had assumed this position, the sounds of the music, the people moving past them, the smell of food, Mei's smile…
"Ready to dance?" Mei asked and Al ginned, then took the first step.