Author Note: I'm really sorry that this too so long everyone. My motivation decided to take a break for the past month. (In other words; hello writer's block! I blame the soon release of Kingdom Hearts II. My gears have switched over to that.)But I promise that I will finish this story. It's been in my head for so long that I just can't help but NOT wanna finish it.

ANYWAYS! It's short but somewhat sweet! But here is Chapter 3. Enjoy!

Chapter Three

One Step At A Time

The fringed breeze of the late afternoon blew gently upon the rolling hills of Rizenpool. It was almost as if a painting being created with every passing moment. The sky was a mixture of reds, oranges, pinks, and fading blues as the sun began to set upon the horizon. The men were returning home from work that day, being greeted by their families happily. Smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of the scattered out houses, showing that dinner time was approaching quickly. There was a light layer of frost upon the grassy hills as the bitter wind blew through.

Winry gazed out of her bedroom window at the icy landscape. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a low-slung ponytail that hung over her shoulders gracefully. She wore an oversized sweatshirt, with her jumpsuit still around her tiny waist. Her gloves and bandana had been removed from her persona after her work had been completed for the day.

She wore a slightly content look upon her delicate features as she smiled at the sights of her small country town. The light from the setting sun flooded her room, giving it a warm feeling. On her bed, her suitcase sat packed, ready to leave for Central the next morning. On the back of her door, hung a garment bag that held her dress for the night that had been visiting her in her dreams every night.

Glancing away from the window, Winry looked towards her desk. There was a great deal of paperwork there. Different automail orders, appointments, payment slips, her calendar, marked with different important dates and other such things. Small pieces of different styles of automails sat separated among the different papers seemingly have been played with in certain ways to try to make them operate better for a future user.

And there, among the work-related things, sat something that was more important than any automail part or slip of paper. It was a small photograph in a simple black steel frame. It was taken perhaps two years ago, when Ed had returned for a tune-up. Winry was leaning on top of his head smiling a sweet smile as Ed sat below her, smirking his normal 'know it all' grin. It almost seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary. That everything was so simple.

Moving to her desk, Winry took the small photo in her hands. She stared at it carefully, running her fingers around the edge of the frame. The photo was something she looked at every day, and she normally wouldn't pay it to any mind. It was just a photo of her and Ed. The boy that had somehow managed to cross her mind more that once every day since the day he had left home.

'Tomorrow Edo,' she thought to herself, 'Tomorrow, I'm heading to Central. Then, the day after that,' a small grin appeared on the corner of her lips, 'I'll be with you, on your arm, going to a ball.'

"Winry!" the voice of her grandmother called, breaking her train of thought. "Winry! Come down for dinner!"

Placing the picture back onto her desk, Winry headed towards the door, "I'm coming!" she shouted back, spinning around in a small twirl as she headed out.

The streetlamps were beginning to flicker on and off as the sun vanished over the city of Central. Along the sidewalks, there were trances of snow still left along the gutter. It seemed to glow a pinkish orange from the light of the lamps and the sun sinking into the sky. Cars drove quickly down the roads, their engines echoing into the cool early night air. As the people walked along, huddled under their heavy winter coats and hats, the light smoke that was their breaths could be seen billowing out from the redden noses and chapped lips. It was the average winter night in Central City. Very average; except for the screams of pain emitting from the Hughes' household.

Gracia sat down on one of her dining room chairs with a heavy sigh. Her once organized living room had been re-done in a not so traditional look of chaos and confusion. Everything from her couch to the coffee table had been pushed off to the sides and her beautiful floor rug was rolled up and pushed into a corner. In short, it looked like it had exploded.

Hughes stood off to the side of the room, the same tired look as his wife on his face. Ed had started this whole 'dance boot camp' early that morning. Seeing how the boy was a genius in the field of alchemy, he had thought that a simple task of learning how to dance would have been nothing but child's play. Instead, Gracia, who had agreed to help out Edward by being his partner, had her feet stepped on, tripped, stumbled and fell over so many times she was happy to still be in one piece.

"That was….better than before Edward," Hughes stated as he paused the waltz that they had been practicing with. "You only stepped on her foot once. That's a huge improvement."

Ed moved to one of the large armchairs. There was a huge look of disappointment upon his features as he flopped down into the chair. He threw his hair over his shoulder as he couldn't help but play with it slightly.

Gracia, though despite her throbbing feet, rose from her chair. "Edward, please don't be so disappointed. Learning to dance just isn't easy for some people." She spoke softly, moving towards the boy.

Hughes leaned against the wall, smiling slightly, "She's right. You should have seen her trying to teach me the waltz before our wedding. It was a very frightening sight." He joked, attempting to raise the boy's spirits. Seeing his expression only become more depressed, Hughes tried again, "Maybe Winry gave you two left feet by accident." He chuckled, which was quickly silenced by his wife's glare.

Ed looked up at Gracia, trying to force a smile out. "I'm really trying, but this just weird. I never thought I would have to learn anything like this." He admitted sheepishly. "I always thought this would be easy," he continued as Mrs. Hughes sat on the arm of his chair, "You take her by the hand and spin her around a little bit. Bow and then you're done. Not all this," He held up his hand, 'One two three' stuff." As he counting, three automail fingers popped up to stress his point more.

Laughing slightly, Gracia placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Edward," she began, her warm smile making Ed blush slightly, "Dancing isn't just about moving to the beat of a song."

Sitting up in the chair, Ed's ears almost seemed to perk in shock. "Then what is it about?"

Smiling a shy smile, Gracia closed her eyes. "It's a moment that can help change your life with that special someone." Opening her eyes slightly, she looked towards her husband, who was turned an ever so lovely shade of red. Rising from her chair, she moved quickly across the living room and reached out for Hughes' hands, "After all, that's how Maes proposed to me."

The man smiled slightly as he took the woman's hands in his own. "Ah yes. I remember it well." He sighed almost dream-like. "We danced for hours flawlessly."

"If you count the 6 times you stepped on my feet and almost broke my heels." Gracia chimed in, causing the sparkle in Hughes' eyes to quickly leave. He cleared his throat while shifting on his feet uneasily as the woman and younger man chuckled at him.

Letting the laughter subside, Ed watched the couple smile and laugh happily. He never really noticed just how much love Hughes had for his wife. Granted, him and just about the entire Central office knew just how much he loved his little girl, but this was the first time he never saw him spaz out while she was around. They looked like they would have many long years together until the very end of it all. That thought made him smile more than anything.

It wasn't until the thought of Winry came back to his mind that Gracia's words replayed themselves in his mind. 'Special moment…change your life…. Could it really do that for me and Winry?' the thought crossed his mind so incredibly quickly and it almost seemed like a dream. The thought of being to have the girl he had always admired being impressed with him over just trying to be a normal young man made Ed smile slightly.

"Edward?" the sound of Hughes' voice asked, making the young man snap back to attention. He looked up at the couple, who had smiles crossing their lips slightly. "You ready to start again?"

Rising to his feet, Ed tossed his hair over his shoulder and then began to roll up his sleeves as he moved past the two individuals. "I'm ready. Let's keep going."

The clock tower of the Central Headquarters struck eleven that evening as Ed waved goodbye to Hughes. The man insisted that he took Ed back, considering how the streets of Central weren't safe at night, even though the boy proclaimed that he was very capable of handling any thugs and muggers that the city could throw at him. Never the less, Edward appreciated the ride. His whole body seemed to ache and he felt like he would never be able to get out of bed again if he attempted to lay down.

As he turned to walk up the stairs of the dorm buildings, Ed glanced up towards where his room was. There was a low light still flickering slightly. The soft glow stuck out like a sore thumb against the remaining dark windows. He knew Al would be waiting up for him, ready to ask about how the lessons went. And that he would ask how he did and if he would still step on Winry's feet if he tried to waltz with her. Sighing at the thought, Ed began to climb the stairs with some issues. His muscles ached even more so than his first few training sessions with Izumi. And that was a lot of pain to surpass.

'Man I'm exhausted.' He thought as he reached the main doors after what seemed like climbing a mountain. Pulling the doors opened quickly, he moved into the lobby.

The room was large with large oak desks that were used for guest check-ins and mail delivery. The walls had the banners of military hanging off to the sides of two hallways, one that lead to the female dorms and one to the men's. The sounds of Ed's shoes echoed slightly as he moved towards the center of the room, who floor was decorated with beautiful marble designs. Having no one around in the lobby at that hour was no surprise to the young alchemist. He was used to coming back from a late night of studying to find no one there.

Looking around slightly, confirming to himself that no one was around, Ed found a small smile cross his lips. He felt proud of all the hard work he had done that day, knowing that he somehow managed to not step on Gracia's feet anymore and picked up on the waltz a bit easier. The thought of being able to have that moment with Winry, where he could hold her close and not want to let go was a good motive for him to pick up the pace and learn what he thought he couldn't get.

'Tomorrow,' he thought to himself, closing his eyes, 'Tomorrow she'll be here.' Swaying slightly, Ed found his feet starting to move under him as if they had a mind of their own. Holding his arms up as if he was holding onto someone, the blond began to repeat the steps from earlier that evening. From his smile, he hummed a soft tune that was something that just kind of popped into his mind. In his mind, he saw Winry there, smiling at him as if there was not a worry or care in the world. And it was only them.

"Fullmetal? What on earth are you doing?"

The sound of the familiar voice made Ed halt in his tracks and his eyes fly opened to a wide position. His hair fell over his shoulder as he stood frozen in his steps. An icy chill ran down his spine as the sound of boots walking towards him echoed throughout the hall.

'Oh no….not…' the blond thought, dread on every single word as he turned on his heels.

Sure enough, standing over him with a look of pure twisted joy was Colonel Roy Mustang. He looked as smug as always, his hair perfectly styled back in its slicked back position. His uniform was pressed and crisp-looking like it had just been brought back from the cleaners, every metal, bar, and star in perfect position.

Towering over the youth, Roy continued to let the smile come onto his face. "What….were you doing, Fullmetal?" he asked, a slight taunt etched upon the words.

"Not…nothing Colonel!" Ed found himself sputtering out wearily. He felt flustered as he watched the older man's eyes pierce through him. "I was….uh…"

Roy sighed slightly, letting his arms cross over his chest. "Settle down Edward. I won't say anything to anyone," he found himself chuckling.

Edward found himself feeling red in the face as his superior officer laughed at his stupidity. Sure, he let his guard down and let himself get caught up in the worst possible scenario. Now, all he could do was stand there and wait on the crude remark that was going to follow that smug laugh of the older man.

"Let me guess," Roy began, straightening up. He looked Ed up and down briefly as he stepped away and walked slowly towards the door. "You have just gotten back from Hughes' house from your dance lesson;" he glanced over his shoulder, an evil twinkle in his eyes "Am I correct?"

Ed nodded as he grumbled out a "Yes sir."

Turning on his heels, Roy placed a hand to his chin. "The reason you asked Hughes for the dance lessons is because you asked a girl to the ball and you didn't want to embarrass yourself in front of her or the rest of the military." He rambled. Roy could see the boy cringe at how accurate he was hitting the nail on the head.

"So you know everything I do? Are you happy or something?" Ed snarled like a dog that had been backed into a corner. "It just proves you have no life….sir."

Ignoring the remark, Roy turned once again to head towards the door, making sure that he would be long gone before the fullmetal boy could run after him. "Don't worry about it Edward. I'm sure you'll impress Winry no matter what." Roy muttered as he walked out the door.

If he could feel anymore humiliated, Ed would have been the same color of his coat. He watched as Roy walked away through the courtyard towards the parking garage. Gritting his teeth as he saw the man disappear, Ed tossed his hair over his shoulder. "Stupid Mustang. Who does he think he is, my father?" He muttered aloud as he made way to his room for the night.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the briefness of it all. But this was all I could drill out of my head. The story I think will finally get back into some kind of swing once I watch a few more episodes again.

Anyways, please read and review 3