Author's Notes: pokes head out from under a rock Hey there everyone. I am so sorry it took so long to update. My muse finally struck me for this story again. Huzzah! So, here is the next installment.

Chapter Six
Dance By Shattered Moonlight

Taking a long sip of his wine, Roy Mustang looked about the ballroom with a raised eyebrow. The large dorm-ceiling room was decorated with beautiful Christmas lights which almost looked like stars against the glass roof. There was a large circle marble floor in the middle of the room, which met the base of the large stairs. Off to the side of the large dance floor, there was a small quartet playing simple yet elegant string pieces as couples waltzed around the floor. Everywhere, high government officials and patrons mingled and networked. Almost every person was talking business. In the background of the music, the names of the state alchemists and their escorts were being announced, letting the room who of the best were there.

To the Colonel, it was just like last year, right down to the style of wine he had found himself drinking. He couldn't help but think back to his statement he had made earlier in the week after he had received in invitation: 'It's always the same: Every. Single. Year.' He thought taking yet another long sip of the wine.

"Must you drink so much wine sir?" Hawkeye's voice finally broke his thoughts, causing him to look to his side at his subordinate. Instead of her uniform, the woman was dressed in a strapless long blue gown. Her hair was down and hanging beautifully around her shoulders as she held a wine glass of her own in hand.

Smiling at the comment, Roy turned to place the glass down upon a small table behind them, "I thought I asked you not to call me 'sir' this evening. Its just Roy tonight." He said, giving her one of his trademark dashing grins.

Shoving the glass she held into his hands, Riza kept her normal stern face, "Yes sir."

"Roy! Riza!" a familiar voice called, causing Roy to look up from his alcohol. Walking through the crowd, the familiar smiles of the Hughes' made him contemplate putting the wine down, or asking Hawkeye for another glass. Opting for the first option, he placed the glass down next to his empty one and brought a smile upon his face. As his friend came into an arms length, they exchanged a quick handshake and then a kiss on the cheek for Gracia.

"Not even two hours in and you've already gone for the wine," Maes chuckled, taking note of glasses behind his friend, "That boring, huh?"

Shrugging at the comment, Roy smirked slightly, "Like I said before. It's always the same every year. Same faces and same pointless banter."

But before the playful banter of the two best friends could continue, the name of a certain young alchemist made their conversation be silenced. 'Mr. Edward Elric and Ms. Winry Rockbell' made the Hughes' and the two military individuals turn on their heels and let their eyes lock upon a sight that Roy could only smirk at. There at the top of the large staircase, stood the rather embarrassed Edward, his face slightly red as he heard his name announced. Winry gave a soft smile as he picked up her dress a bit to avoid tripping. They started down the stairs slowly, taking in each step at a time.

Riza felt her eyes widen in surprise at the young couple. Coming up to Roy's side, she crossed her arms across her chest. She couldn't help but smile a bit as her eyes focused the on the reddening face of the young alchemist. "I think Edward is blushing," she muttered, keeping her voice low enough so it would stay between them.

Chuckling a bit, Roy nodded in agreement. Not taking his gaze off the young couple either, all he could do was place his hand into his pocket with a sigh. "He's nervous as all hell." He remarked, averting his gaze a bit.

"Do you blame him?" she questioned back, turning to look at him.

Shaking his hair out of his eyes a bit, Roy could only find a smile, "Not in the least bit."

The walk down the stairs seemed like an eternity to Edward as he looked out across the elaborately decorated room. There were hundreds of faces within the crowd and only a handful of them were familiar to him. He found himself biting at his lip a bit, trying to calm the racing of his beating heart. With how much it echoed in his ears, Ed could have sworn that the entire room heard his pulse.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, the young man could see the girl on his arm. Winry held her head high as she gracefully moved down the stairs. There was not a single flatter in her steps as she held her dress up in her other hand. Her hair was still perfect as she wore a small smile on her lips. Even with what felt like every eye on them, she still held her cool. It was nothing short of what he thought she would do. That was just how Winry was.

Relaxing a bit at the sight, Ed straightened up his posture and continued to move down the stairs with ease. 'Just keep your eyes forward and it will be okay,' he kept thinking to himself. Upon reaching the base floor, the young couple vanished from the eyes of the others and blended in to their surroundings. Ed couldn't help but let a small sigh escape him as his shoulders slumped and his body relaxed a bit more than before.

"Thank god that's over," he muttered under his breath as in the hopes Winry didn't hear him.

Stealing a glance to the blond, she raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" Winry spoke back quietly, causing the young man to blush a bit.

As they moved through the crowded room, Ed did not bother to answer her. He kept his arm linked in her own, letting himself lead the young woman. On occasion, there were be a slight nod of the head as he passed higher ranked alchemists who knew him. It a way, it made him bit more important. And yet at the same time, slightly embarrassed since Winry was seeing every single motion, gesture, and smile he was receiving.

"Edward! Winry!" A familiar voice called over the chatting, grabbing the attention of the two.

Sure enough, as they moved around another group of higher-ups talking, Ed and Winry saw familiar faces waving them over. The Hughes' smiled broadly as they stood beside the one person Ed was hoping to avoid for the evening; Roy Mustang. As they moved closer, the alchemist was surprised to find that the woman on the Colonel's arm was none other than the gun-wielding, stone faced Lieutenant Hawkeye.

Winry tugged on his arm slightly, causing Ed to glance back. "Isn't that?"

"Yeah. It is."

"Why is she with?"

"He was probably desperate and she felt sorry for him." He muttered quietly to the girl, hearing her sweet voice giggle back a bit. They approached the group, trying to keep straight faces as they came up to them. Smiling at each other, they stopped in their place.

Hughes patted Ed the back slightly, "See? Now was it that bad?" he asked with his same old familiar smile on his face.

"As long as I don't have to do it again, I'll say it was the best damn time of my life," the blond muttered, forcing out a smile.

Roy was the first to strike up a new conversation, "I hope you find your new uniform to your liking, Edward." He started, gaining a stare from the rest of the group. Raising his glass of wine up by its stem, he twirled it about slowing, focusing his attention to it, "It was so difficult to find a uniform that was small enough to fit you. Had to have it custom made just for you."

Ed's calm expression turned within a blink of an eye. Steam almost seemed to be pouring out of his ears at the words as he gritted his teeth together in rage. "Ya know what Colonel,"

But before he could finish his sentence, Winry placed her gloved hand to his shoulder, catching him off-guard. Looking to his side, she let a smile cross her face. "Say what you want Colonel Mustang," she started, letting all eyes fall on her, "but I think Ed looks perfect in his uniform."

"Winry…" Ed whispered under his breath as his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink at her words.

Letting a small curtsey escape her, she took hold of the young man's hand, "Come on Ed. Let's dance." Before a rebuttal of any sort could be spoken, the young mechanic started off towards the marble floor, Ed in tow. Her straight forwardness seemed to catch him off guard as he staggered a bit in his steps.

Moving onto the dance floor, Winry lead the way to a small empty spot. There were multiple couples dancing to a beautiful and cheerful waltz. Elegant ballroom gowns flared out as they were spun about by their partners. It was almost like a well turned music box clicking away with how they moved. All of them were in time as the orchestra filled the night air.

Stopping in a small empty place on the floor, Winry released Ed's hand. The young man looked about his surroundings carefully. He watched the other couples smiling and laughing as they danced the night away. There were was almost a sense of light-heartedness in the air as he spotted a few familiar faces. Havoc spun a beautiful young woman into his arms as she giggled happily. On the other side of the room, Lt. Armstrong was dancing with a young lady that looked remarkably like him. From what Ed could make of it, it was probably the sister he had heard so much about.

Looking back at Winry, the girl had a look of question on her face. "Are we gonna dance?" she asked, sounding slightly confused.

All the young man could do was nod a bit. He couldn't think of the words to say to her at that very moment. Sure, there were a million and one things he wanted to tell her at that very moment. How that she looked so incredible standing there, almost like a dream. But he knew that there would never be enough nerve to tell her that. Stepping back a bit, Ed remembered back to Hughes' lesson. He gave a deep bow to her. Placing his hand out to her, he let his gold eyes meet her blue orbs. "Shall we?"

Letting a soft grin come to her face, Winry curtsied in reply to his bow. "Of course." Reaching out to place her hand into his own, everything seemed to fall into place. Taking hold of Winry's waist, Ed pulled her close to him. He held up her hand in his other hand and straightened up his posture. Letting his eyes lock with the girl's, he breathed deep and let the dance begin.

To the surprise of the older friends of the teens, both the alchemist and mechanic moved in perfect time to the music. The two almost seemed to flow across the dance floor as if they had been doing this for years. There were mutters from a few of the backers of the military at how professional they were upholding themselves to the crowd.

Roy held his glass in his hand with a look of surprise on his face, "Since when did he learn to dance like that?" he muttered quietly.

But all Maes could do was chuckle at his best friend's look of disbelief upon his face. "I guess you're not the only one who can teach him something new, eh Roy?" he joked, nudging him in the ribs a bit.

As he watched his friend and wife join in on the waltz, Roy looked slightly flustered at the comment. Glancing to his side at his date, then back to the floor, the flame alchemist threw back the remainder of his wine in one massive gulp. Taking hold of Hawkeye's hand in his own, he moved to the dance floor. Although he expected a voice of interjection from his second-in-command, there was nothing from her. As he pulled her into his grasp, she let a small smile escape her.

"Yes Colonel. I would love to dance." She spoke sarcastically, causing Roy turn fade a deep crimson.

The lively music seemed to carry through the ballroom in what seemed like an eternity. Edward and Winry laughed and danced, stopping only for a few moments for a breather and a drink. Then, it was back onto the floor as they continued into the night. It almost seemed like a dream that they could not break free from, though they weren't trying too hard to do so.

Time had been forgotten as the music slowed down to a much gentle pace. A young woman had stepped up to the orchestra, giving the piece they played a light vocal. A soft piano echoed through the large room as the people on the floor slowed down their pace of the dance. A few grew closer than before, taking in the moment with each other. Most of the people had moved to relax from the faster pace songs and mingle with a few of the other higher ups.

And yet, among the few couples remaining on the floor, were Ed and Winry. The young woman had placed her arms about his neck, giving her head a place to rest upon his shoulder. The young man had slid his arms about her tiny waste, holding her close to him. Her perfume lingered in the air as he rested his head next to hers. In all the scenarios he could have come up with about this evening, he didn't think it would be like this. To hold her close, letting her cling to him tightly; it was like a dream.

A small sigh escaped Winry, causing Ed to raise an eyebrow to her. "What is it?" he asked quietly, pulling back a bit.

Lifting her head up from his shoulder, the young woman's blue eyes met his gold ones. She wore a smile upon her face as she almost seemed to glowing in the lowlight of the ballroom. "Edo, I have a confession to make to you," she muttered quietly, gaining a raised eyebrow from him. "When I was on the train coming here, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't think that tonight would be this amazing. Everything is just perfect. The music, the place," she paused, letting her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink, "…you."

"…Me?" Ed replied as he got the feeling of being slightly overheated himself.

Moving back a bit from him, Winry continued to grin, "I've never seen this side of you before Ed. I always thought that it was all work with you. Like it was the only thing you would ever care about."

Hearing her words, Ed became taken aback. Although she continued to smile and compliment him on the evening, he couldn't focus on her words. The only thing that could come to mind was something that he hadn't thought about in years. A feeling that not even Al knew about. It was that one lingering moment within his memory that made what was a beautiful evening shatter right before his eyes.

"Ed?" Winry asked finally, causing him to shake his head a bit. They had stopped dancing and were now standing in the middle of the floor while the others continued to move around them. Looking at the girl straight on, he was met with a look of concern that wasn't there a moment before. "Are you okay?"

Taking a small step away from her, Ed released Winry from his hold. His arms fell to his sides loosely as he continued to look at her with question upon his face. What were once soft eyes that looked at her with a great comfort were now filled with a distant cold. They narrowed a bit as his eyes cast to the side from her.

"Was it something I said?" she asked him, trying to keep this from becoming a scene.

Looking back at her, Ed shook his a bit. He was confused. There was something there that was coving up the feeling of happiness that he had felt. A fear that he had kept to himself for so long, he thought it wasn't even real anymore. He had been using it as an excuse to keep himself and his feelings from everyone else for so long, it seemed too natural.

"I…"he began, backing away slowly from the girl. "I'm sorry Winry."

"Ed?" she questioned him, taking a small step towards him, outstretching her hand.

Turning on his heels, Ed turned his back to her, "I…can't do this right now."

Before any other words could be exchanged or a scene could be started to call attention to them, the young blond alchemist took off at a quickened pace for the stairs to the lobby. He kept his head down as he moved through the crowd, hoping to go unnoticed. Moving up towards the exit quickly, he didn't want to look back. He couldn't bring himself to see her standing there alone, being very confused as to what had just happened. As much as his heart told him to turn around and go back to her, his head told him that this was the right choice.

'No one get hurt this way,' he thought as he moved to leave. 'That's all that matters now.'

Author's Notes: Huzzah! Its almost finished. Don't forget to Read and Review!