A/N: wahh!!! it's the last chapter!!! I hope you all like it! maybe it'll surprise you...

Special thanks to all my kind reviewers!

To my best friend, chibi neko-dono, arigatou gozaimasu! -bows-

STAGE SIX: DISASTER….?

Backstage, most of the cast were cramming their lines, practicing key lines, and a few of the more narcissistic people were bowing to the invisible audience. Meanwhile, Edward was pacing. Winry was frantically running through her lines in an effort to distract herself from the butterflies in her stomach. Al watched. He didn't have any lines, so to speak. Therefore, he didn't have much to worry about, save his brother. Ed kept pacing until Al forced him to go over his lines. He remembered them perfectly. Al was content. Ed resumed the nervous pacing.

Then the performance began. There was no foreword. The director signaled the actors to their starting positions and then the curtain was raised.

The first act went flawlessly. The actors (and actress) successfully set up the situation regarding the Death Star, the drama of impending romance between Solo and Leia, and the tragedy of the death of Kenobi. The lights dropped, and the cast silently exited Stage Left, to be replaced with the audio recording of what they all supposed a space battle would sound like, complete with 'blaster noises'.

Then began the second act. The act Ed was worried about. The act where he would have to snog Winry. In public. The act where he had to tell her he loves her.

Nevertheless, the show must go on; the curtain rose to begin the next part of their play. What did the curtain care if one of the lead actors was hoping that there would be some sort of technical difficulty that would at least postpone the inevitable. Unfortunately for the elder Elric, the hoped-for difficulty did not occur.

Moving on, the dreaded scene came up. Ed froze. Winry froze. Then time froze as he finally got up the nerve to kiss her, in a manner surprisingly similar to the way that Han was supposed to. Then time resumed and they separated, the automated machine built by Pinako coming to their rescue in the form of Three Pio. Ed exited the scene.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. For some reason, after that moment, all of the apprehension Edward had harbored melted away. How strange. The part where Solo was carbonated was poignant. And when Ed said his line, "I love you," half of the audience (and Winry) burst into tears, so convincing was his acting.

Needless to say, the play was a huge success. When it was over, the actors and actress received a standing ovation. The curtain fell and then Pinako's two inventions rolled forward holding a sign advertising for Rock Automail. Got to love free publicity!

-

..…"Remember that?" a much older Edward Elric asked Winry and Al, now finished his recount of one of his favorite memories.

"Of course I remember it!" exclaimed Winry, "I remember being anxious about my first kiss for weeks before the production."

"Yeah, me too."

"I remember all the awkward silences that followed that dramatization," said Alphonse.

"Hehe…kind of funny, though, the way it all worked out in the end."

"All's well that ends well." Quoted Winry, suddenly aware of a cold hand gripping hers. She smiled and returned the gesture. "And look where it brought us."

"Still getting in trouble and being punished publicly for it," Ed alluded to his many experiences with Colonel Mustang.

"What's this about trouble?" questioned Riza Hawkeye, as she and Roy walked into Ed's office, becoming the fourth and fifth people to occupy its relatively limited space.

"Say, Full Metal, this office is pretty small. Almost hazardously so, wouldn't you say? Quite fitting for one of your…status." Mustang smirked.

"I'll show you hazardous, Mustang, if you aren't careful." Ed growled.

It's as Al said. Some things change. And some things never do.

----A/N:heheh...you have no excuses now! REVIEW!!!!