Chapter twenty-six: Dancing

"Coniniaue, I'm telling you, I suck at dancing…" Edward groaned.

"NONSENSE!" Coniniaue stopped on the dance floor. "Alright. Here, you put your hands around my waist like this…" And so on. Edward stepped on Coniniaue's toes several times, for which he got slapped upside the head by Coniniaue.

And up came the waltz.

"Now take my hand like this…"

"Coniniaue, I know how to waltz.

Coniniaue blinked and stared at Edward. "You do?"

Edward spun her out and pulled her back in gracefully. "Yeah. My sensei actually made me practice…"

"Sensei?"

"Her name is Izumi. She was really cool, but a little strict. She lives in Dublith with her husband and runs a butcher shop."

"I never had a teacher. I taught myself." Coniniaue replied.

"Really?" Edward dropped her into a dip. "That's really hard isn't it?"

"Yeah." Coniniaue came back up and spun around. "I mean, you have to look through textbooks for hours until you get something right."

"Didn't your father help at all?"

"I started alchemy after he died."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay."

"So, how did you discover telepathic alchemy?"

"Well you see, I was wondering if I could help myself learn easier. Because alchemy goes so fast, I began to wonder if you could slow it down to see how it works."

"'To see how it works…' Like a mechanic?"

"Huh?"

"Well, Winry always like to take apart stuff to see how it works and to try to merge it into some kind of automail."

"Really? I guess that sounds logical. She could probably take apart some doll and maybe remodel the joints into a sort of automail."

"I guess so."

"Winry sounds like a really nice girl."

"Yeah…"

"Do you like her, Edward?"

Edward froze. "Coniniaue, what…"

"Do you?" She demanded.

"I… Yeah." Edward looked at the floor. "She's been my friend for so long, I know everything about her… She's pretty, and smart, and she has a great personality."

Coniniaue said nothing. She just blinked and sighed. "I don't feel so good… I'm going back to the hotel."

"I'll take you back…"

"No, no. Stay and have a good time.

When Coniniaue left, Edward went back to his chair. "She's sad…"

Roy put an arm around his shoulders. "You have so much to learn, Fullmetal."