Author's Notes: Next chapter nice and quick. Its so nice to be out of my slump. I guess putting off studying for my final is really helping. Besides, its kinda a nice winter story for all the awesome EdxWinry fans. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter Seven
Hidden Truths

The large lobby of the dorms that was filled to the brim with people not even a few hours ago was nothing than a large cold room now. What was once a room bustling with noise of excitement and enjoyment now seemed almost vacuumed sealed from letting joyous sounds enter within its walls. The simple sounds of boots upon the marble floors echoed loudly throughout the dome as Edward Elric entered the building at a quickened pace.

Moving into the room, the young man made a direct line for the elevators. As he hurried along, he began to remove his coat and hat. He was in such a rush to get out of there; he didn't even bother to check to make sure the items belonged to him. They seemed like the right size, so that's all that mattered. One thought kept running through his head that seemed to stab him in the gut multiple times and then twist itself deeper.

Pressing the button for the elevator doors, Ed couldn't help but let his eyes close as a small sigh of air leave him. 'She must hate me,' was the first thought to his mind. 'I left her standing there and I couldn't even explain myself to her. But,' he let his back slump a bit, his ponytail falling about his shoulders, 'she wouldn't understand, I guess.'

A light ding cut the alchemist's thoughts off-guard as he jumped a bit at the sound. Raising his head up to look at the doors, the sight he was met with was not one he was proud of. Ed looked as if he had just run a mile and he was still recovering from it. His hair was messed a bit around his face and shoulders as his eyes were a bit heavier than usual.

As the doors to the shaft slid opened, the sounds of entrance to the dorms opening caught the tips of his ears. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Edward felt his blood turn cold. Two people that he did not expect to be seeing in this building stood in the doorway, looking about franticly.

"Edward!" Hughes' voice called, looking left to right.

Roy glanced around as well, his eyes narrowed in a fashion whenever Ed came back from a mission with the damage reports. "Full Metal?! Where are you?" he shouted, anger in his voice.

In an attempt not to be seen, Ed quickly slid into the elevator and hit the button to his floor. He heard the sounds of boots moving about, growing louder with each passing step. Reaching over to the panel of numbers, the young man slammed his finger to the 'door close' button and held it down tightly. Standing against the wall while keeping his finger upon the key, he found himself biting down on his lower lip. Within the ten seconds of footsteps coming closer, Edward nearly forgot to breathe. The steps came closer and closer to the slowly closing elevator door, letting Ed's breath silence completely. He pressed the door shut button in a quiet rapid fashion, trying to avoid contact with the military men.

Once he felt the floor moving beneath him, the blond released the button from his finger and let a breath escape him. Throwing his head back against the wall, he let his eyes close. The evening that had started off as something wonderful had just shattered into a million jagged pieces of glass. That beautiful smile that made him go weak in the knees seemed to fade from his mind. The happiness he felt dancing with her, listening to her laugh from joy and fun seemed distant and cold now.

'It's better this way,' he thought to himself. The words made his heart almost ache as the elevator came to a halt. '….at least I hope it is.'

Stepping out into the hallway, Ed walked slowly towards his room. He dragged his feet a bit on the wooden floors, letting his steps be the only type of noise. Moving closer to his door, he began to undo his collar to his coat and unsnapped the front of it, revealing his white dress shirt beneath. His long hair fell over his shoulder as he withdrew his key from his pocket.

Placing his hand upon the brass knob, Edward was about to place the key into the lock. But before he could do so, the door creaked opened slightly. He raised an eyebrow in question. Was Al back from babysitting? That was impossible. The Hughes' were still at the ball. Maybe he forgot to lock the door before he left, but that didn't make any sense either. He remembered almost missing the elevator because he had to lock the door. Letting his eyes narrow, Ed pushed the door opened without hesitation.

The room was almost as he left it. His normal clothes were still folded up on his bed while the rest of his room was clean and organized. The only things that were most definitely out of place were the two men leaning against his desk and bed, both having their arms crossed as they watched him come through the door. Hughes and Roy both wore looks of disapproval upon their features, looking as if they were his disapproving fathers.

Looking at the two military men, he placed his coat and hat onto a chair next to the door. Ed took hold of the knob, lingering in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing in my room?" he muttered quietly.

"Haven't you learned the stairs are faster then those old elevators?" Hughes remarked, almost as if trying to lighten the tension. He didn't move from his spot, just let his arms uncross and fall to his sides. "But I could seriously ask you the same question Edward." He began. As he straightened up, the man adjusted his glasses a bit on his nose, the young man cast his eyes away from him. "Considering you caused a small scene at the ball, I would like to ask you why exactly is my wife sitting back there comforting a very sad young woman who didn't deserve to be left in such a manner. Not to mention that not even two days ago you could not wait to see?"

Feeling his body stiffen at the man's words, Ed released the handle from his gasp. He had never been spoken to in such a manner by Hughes. Normally, there was a warm type of father figure in the man, willing to help him out in any way possible. Granted, he should have suspected that he would have had to deal with the angry father figure sooner or later. Keeping his eyes away from the sight of his higher ups, he walked into the room. The only thing he wanted to do was to forget all of this evening. Neither of them could understand the feeling or thoughts he had within him at that very moment.

"I don't think I will ever understand that thick headedness of yours Full Metal," Roy's voice piped in, causing the young man to halt in his steps. The raven haired man looked directly at him, his narrowed eyes piercing through him like knives through the young blond, making him shift uncomfortably. "If there is something in real life that you don't understand, you just run away. You don't look back and try to keep everything to yourself."

"Why do you care?" Ed growled slightly, unsure of what words to speak back to his commander. Looking at the older man, he returned the icy stare. "Why do you insist on trying to understand me and what I want?"

Pushing off the bed, Roy straightened himself up to give himself a look of intimidation. The words that had just been spoken from him almost seemed like a swift kick to the stomach. Granted, the man never wanted to consider the Elric brothers like his children. That was more of Hughes' department and he seemed to be doing a fine job of it. But he couldn't help but feel responsible for the actions they took in life. Perhaps over the years, it had just become second nature to try and help Ed, even in matters not alchemy related. The young man kept his eyes locked with his as he stood there, looking ready to fight him on his words.

"Life isn't all about work and alchemy Edward." Roy told him flatly, causing the golden eyes staring back to widen in shock.

"I thought you said you cared about her Ed." Hughes added in, his tone calmer than before.

Withdrawing slightly, Ed took a step back into the center of the room. 'I do. More than anything.' He thought to himself as he let his eyes fall to his boots as he continued to listen to the men speak.

"If you care about someone, you don't hurt them like you did tonight." Hughes concluded.

The young man closed his eyes at the words, "I'm keeping her from hurting even more later on down the road." He muttered quietly.

"That doesn't make any sense Ed," Hughes answered, moving towards the young man slowly. "Why are you doing this?"

But Roy shook his head in annoyance. Holding up his hand to keep his friend from taking another step forward, he moved in a bit closer to Ed. "It that you want? By making yourself more miserable than before?" He paused, waiting for some kind of rebuttal from the blond or some kind of reaction. Ed's face had become hidden from view, for his long bangs had covered his face from view. His hands had formed into tight fists that seemed to be shaking with rage at the words that were being spoken to him. Pulling back a bit, Roy sighed, "Honestly Edward, you are more of a child than I thought. Where is the logic in-"

"I don't want to be like my father!" The youth shouted in frustration, silence falling upon the room. "I refuse to be like that coward and leave without trying to contact his family! Never! No way in hell will I be like him!"

The two men stepped back from the youth as he panted from his scream. Shock and surprise fell upon their features as they watched Ed trembling with anger and frustration. They had never heard the teen speak about his father, knowing that he never exactly liked the man. No one ever questioned his hate for the man or ask why it was justified. They thought it better not to pry until he was ready to speak of it.

Hughes was the first to break the silence, "Edward?" he questioned softly, not wanting to anger the young alchemist more.

Turning away from the two, Ed moved away towards the window. The parade grounds were still lit up in their glory and beauty in the late hours. Frost had begun to form around the edges of the glass as he let his eyes wander a bit around at the sight of Central.

"You all remember my father as some brilliant alchemist," he began, placing his hand to the glass. It was cold even through his glove that he didn't bother to remove. "But I only remember the hurt in my mother's eyes every single day after he left. She died waiting for him to come back to her. And no matter how many times that we thought he would walk through that door, he never did. My father left the woman he loved and never came back. She only wanted to see him on her deathbed, and she couldn't even have that."lf more miserable than before? Honestly Edward, you are more of a child than I thought."eturned the stare. "ing

Roy glanced over to Hughes, who returned the stare as well. Both could not believe the words that were coming from this young man. Never, in all the years that they had known him, had they ever hear him speak with such truthfulness about his life before the military. It was almost as if the young kid that everyone picked on for being so short and hot headed had suddenly grown up right before their eyes. There was hurt and frustration in his reflection in the glass, something that he always tried to hide from his superiors. It showed weakness and it was something that he refused to have.

Turning around to face them, Ed looked the both of them square in the eye. "I don't want to make a promise to her I can't keep. I want to be able to say that I'll be home and then keep my word."

Smiling at the boy's statement, Hughes moved towards him. "Right there Edward," he began, placing a hand onto the teen's shoulder, "is where you are different from your father."

The teen furrowed his brow at the words, "What?" he questioned.

"What you said right then," the man told, smiling a bit at his words, "You are willing to try and make it work. No matter what. You don't want to hurt her like what your father did all those years ago."

"Yeah," Edward spoke quietly, understanding what the man was saying. "I don't want to leave her."

Chuckling a bit, Hughes released the boy's shoulder and adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Then tell her that yourself." Looking down at the young man, he couldn't help but let a smile escape him. Ed seemed deep in thought over the words he had been told. From the first day Hughes had met him on that train to Central, he knew that the teen was gonna be a handful. But, despite everything that had happened with missions and work, he still found time to help the two Elrics along their journey, whether it was military related, or just very good advice. "I think it's about time that you start thinking with your heart instead of your head. You'd be surprised what you can learn from it."

Ed shook his head a bit, "But I—"

"You love her, don't you?" Roy's voice chimed in, causing the two to face him. Roy stood near the doorway, his hand in his pocket. He gave his normal smug expression as strands of his hair fell into his face. Looking right at the young man, he let his smile grow a bit as he watched Ed ponder the words spoken. "Am I right Full Metal?" he asked again.

Shaking his head a bit, confusion came from the thought, "She is my best friend."

But the flame alchemist just continued to let his smile grow, "Any woman who is your best friend Ed, will be the one you will fall for in the end."

Straightening up a bit, Ed let the words hit him straight on. Everything was falling into place. The feeling he always got when she came close to him. How he would always find a reason to fight with her about anything, just to be able to get closer to her. Whenever she would come close to him, how his pulse would quicken and he had to try to act relaxed. Could all of that really have been what the man said?

Roy could see the light bulb go off within the young man's head, letting the smugness in his expression fade away a bit. Stepping to the side, he made a clear path to the door for him. "Go on Edward. There is a girl sitting alone at the ball who needs to hear all of this."

"But how do I apologize to her without getting a wrench to the head?" he questioned, stepping forward towards Roy, "I did just leave here without saying a word."

Removing his hand from his pocket, the Colonel pointed to the young man, "As your commanding officer, I order you to return to the ball and set things straight with Winry." He bellowed slightly, catching both Hughes and Ed off-guard.

A smirk crept slowly to Ed's lips as he watched the man withdraw his hand. Straightening up, he tossed his long blond hair over his shoulder. "This is one order I will listen to Colonel." He said, moving towards the door. Grabbing his coat and hat from the chair he had left them on, the young man let his smile turn to Roy, "For once."

Within a blink of an eye, Edward bolted from the room and hurried for the stairs of the building. As he ran, he pulled his coat onto his person and placed the hat back upon his head. There was determination in his strides as he made his way for the door and back to the ball. Stepping out into the hallway, the two men grinned a bit as the watched Ed disappear through the door for the stairs. The glanced at each other for a job well done. "We should head back," Roy spoke, letting the smile leave his persona.

As they started for the elevator, Hughes looked to his friend with a sly grin upon his face. "Ya know, you should really take your own advice Roy." He said, a slightly smugness in his tone.

"Huh?" Roy questioned, raising an eyebrow at the comment. "What do you mean?"

Pressing the button for the elevator, Maes focused his stare on the brass doors before them. "Oh nothing. Just thinking about a certain blond, gun-wielding lieutenant waiting for you outside the ball."

The flame alchemist suddenly grew crimson at the words. "What are you implying Maes?!"

As the doors opened, the man stepped into the elevator, blocking his friend's path into the small shaft. Smiling a bit at Roy's bright red face and wide-eyed expression, he reached over to the button. "I think you know what I mean." He smirked, letting the doors close on a very confused and embarrassed Colonel.

Author's Notes: Hope you all are enjoying the story! Don't forget to read and review!