Author's note: I do not own FMA or its characters. Spoilers for Hawkeye and Mustang's past. This is AU.

I Could Have Danced All Night

Roy was beginning be sick of these events. This was a bad thing since the second one had barely started and there was still one more after this. He knew part of his bad mood stemmed from his irritation with himself. He hadn't been able to find the right time or opportunity to ask Riza to marry him yet. And he hadn't had the ring with him at the first ball since she had said she wasn't coming to it. He did have it with him tonight, though he hadn't seen Riza yet.

Tonight he was dressed as a pirate. He didn't know what Riza's costume was, but given that the same people responsible for both of their costumes, it would probably be something that complimented his. He kept an eye out for her as he circulated around the room. Roy tried to be on the move at all times. If he stopped some place, he was likely to get mobbed by women. He wasn't sure why they thought fawning over him was going to earn them special consideration over each other. There had yet to be one of these women who had attempted to hold a real conversation with him.

If he tried to talk with people who didn't want to marry him, most of them kept asking if he had made a decision or if he had anyone in mind yet. It made him want to tear out his hair at times. Roy supposed that he could say that he did have someone in mind, but once he admitted that, no one would let him rest until they knew who he was considering. He wouldn't do that to Riza. She was going to hear about his proposal from him and from him alone. He didn't need the grapevine mucking things up for him.

Roy meandered his way over to the refreshments and helped himself to a cup of punch and some of the finger food. At least there was plenty of food at these things. He wasn't going to starve, just die of boredom. A gypsy lady reached around her to snatch one of the mandarin oranges, and it wasn't until she flashed him a smile that he realized who she was.

"Riza?"

"Yes?" She deftly unpeeled her orange.

He shook his head. "I almost didn't recognize you. How did you get your hair to do that?"

She laughed and reached one hand up to touch the tangle of curls that tumbled from beneath the cloth headband she wore. "Several hours and Gracia's help. It isn't something I would have normally tried, but Gracia insisted."

He reached out to tug on one of her curls. "It's pretty."

Roy almost kicked himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth. It was hardly the best compliment he could have given. Riza didn't seem to notice or mind though.

"It's more trouble than it's worth if you ask me."

Spotting several women moving to intercept him, Roy reached out for her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Come dance a set with me?"

Riza had clearly spotted the women as well. "All right."

They made their way out onto the dance floor. The musicians were currently playing country dances, something he and Riza had done since childhood. It was easy enough for the two of them to fall into familiar patterns. Gracia and Maes joined them; this time the couple was dressed as a highland couple. When the set was finished, the four of them managed to slip out onto one of the balconies for a break. It was nice to be able to chat and laugh with friends. There hadn't been much chance for him to simply relax and enjoy himself at these events.

Once they had gone back inside, Roy found himself pulled into a conversation with General Grumman and several other generals. Riza excused herself to go find the bathroom. Roy got caught up in the discussion, and it wasn't until much later that he realized Riza had not reappeared. He scanned the room for her but didn't spot her anywhere. Her absence worried him more than a little. Riza did not have the tendency to disappear on him with no word.

Unfortunately, Roy didn't have a chance to go and look for her. His uncle had found him and was sticking with him like glue as well as making it a point to introduce Roy to noblewoman after noblewoman. He would just have to trust that she was all right. If something was wrong, he would expect that there would be a little more noise about it. Roy spent the rest of the evening keeping one eye out for Riza and trying to get away from his uncle. It was frustrating on a number of levels, but especially since it was interfering with Roy's plans to propose. He was running out of time for that.

It was past midnight when Roy finally managed to get away from his uncle, and he was rather exhausted. He also hadn't seen any sign of Riza at all. Given the hour now, she had probably already gone home. He didn't blame her. Home and bed sounded good to him right now, even if they would better if Riza was with him. Still, he was running out of time. He only had another three days before he had to announce his choice of bride at the end of the last ball. That gave him three day to find the right moment to propose.

Theme: Dance