Al hurriedly buttoned up his shirt and began searching for a brush to fix up his hair. Although the festival wouldn't start for another two hours yet he had figured he might as well get ready in advance - at any rate it wouldn't hurt to grab a bite to eat with Mei beforehand since he hadn't eaten since breakfast. As he smoothed his hair into place he couldn't help but wonder if Mei had started to get ready yet.
Mei paced around her room with Xiao-Mei in tow, furiously debating what she was to wear for the festival. During her travels with Al she had grown out of most of her suitable clothing and as such she didn't have much choice left for her. Glancing between the choices she asked Xiao-Mei "What do you think? Whilst the red dress holds more significance I can't help but think it's a bit small, and the pink one feels a bit young for me now." As she said that she thought back to when she first went to Amestris and when she first met Al. For that reason she decided to continue to entertain that possibility.
She was still in a heated internal debate when she heard a knocking on the door and spun round to open it. As she opened it she came face to face with Al, who immediately began to blush. "Mei?" he asked to which she replied "Yes Alphonse - Sama, What is it?". At this he began to stutter for a few seconds before nervously stating "You do realise your in your nightgown right?". Mei immediately looked down to see that she was indeed still wearing her slightly transparent pink nightgown from yesterday - it had appeared that in her haste to decide on clothing she had forgotten to get dressed. "Gimme ten seconds!" She squeaked as she rapidly closed the door in front of Al, her face as red as a beetroot and highly embarrassed.
A few minutes later Mei emerged wearing a plain kimono and called out "Alphonse - Sama I need advice on what I should wear to the festival" and beckoned to him. As he entered her rooms he said "We need to be quick Mei - there's under an hour until this festival starts now and we need to get some good places". At this Mei's eyes widened and she practically shouted "Where has all the time gone!" as a panicked look entered her face "Quickly choose something for me then we will run over there". At that Al slowly walked over to her table and examined the three outfits laid on it for several minutes. At last he decided "That gold one over there" he said pointing to the outfit laid all the way at the back. Unlike the other two it was not a dress, looking more akin to what Mei wore when she first went to Amestris but full of vibrant golds and yellows instead of pinks and purples. At this she pouted a bit - she had only laid that one out because it reminded her of Alphonse with its bright yellow color matching his perfect hair. At this thought she blushed a bit then headed off to put it on quickly.
Once it was on they both began sprinting through the Palace, passing by Ling and Lan Fan who were also on their way to the festival but they sped by before any words could be exchanged. As they weaved in and out of peoples ways it became harder and harder to move as they neared the path of the festival. Eventually it became so tight they had to squeeze through, with Alphonse firmly gripping Meis hand so they wouldn't get separated and Xiao-Mei hanging on for their life.
Eventually they could get no further in the crowd and as Mei began to get more frustrated Al noticed her face began to well up with tears. He could barely began to ask what was wrong before she started to cry as she sniffled "I took too long didn't I Alphonse - Sama and now we're stuck at the back and I can't even see it?" Alphonse frowned and knelt down to hug her but she continued to murmur "Its important I see it! Tradition states that if I miss this the next year will be full of bad luck".
After thinking for a few seconds he spoke to her, his voice soft and full of emotion "Just don't tell anyone I did this or I promise I will die of embarrassment". Before she could react Al had grabbed Mei by the waists and was lifting her into the air. She squealed and squirmed but before she could say anything Al had put her firmly on his shoulders, with her legs wrapped around his chest. "Can you see now?" he asked anxiously as he blushed profusely. Mei sat their in shock for a few seconds, reeling from the feeling of his hands on her waist before responding. "Your the best Alphonse Sama!" As she bent down to hug his head. Xiao-Mei also climbed down from Mei to cozy up against Al's neck.
As the procession passed by Mei described it to Alponse who stood their with his eyes closed, enjoying the moment. "Hey look its Ling and Lan Fan!" She shouted down to him and as Alphonse wobbled onto the tips of his feet he could just make out their pedestal pass by, with Ling dressed in a deep red and sat in an ornate throne and Lan Fan stood beside him, ready to defend her lord from any would be assassins. Although Al couldn't help but notice the way their hands brushed together. As the pedestal passed by he heard a faint murmur from Mei "Thank you for saving today Aphonse" and as he was about to reply he realized she had somehow drifted off to sleep on his shoulders.
As Alphonse began to head back to the palace he couldn't help but smile at today's proceedings and thought himself lucky to be surrounded by people like Mei.