"You must be bold, daring!" Roy advised.

"Bold, daring," Edward repeated back to him, before making a sort of rumbling sound as he shook a bunch of water off of his fur. His golden fur gained a fluffy appearance from it, making him look surprisingly taller.

Alphonse would probably have laughed, if he wasn't in a similar situation. Servants were basically painting him with wax. He wanted to look nice for (Y/n), but he wasn't trying to blind her with shininess. A clean, new apron was on him, along with a black bowtie. He hoped he looked good enough to compare to (Y/n).

"There will be music, romantic candlelight," Roy quickly set fire to one of his candle-hands, "provided by myself," then quickly lit the other side. "And when the moment is right, you confess your love."

Edward stepped over towards a mirror so that the servants could comb and style his mane, getting dried off as he came to a standstill. The servants immediately got started.

"Easier said than done," Al mumbled.

Roy shot a glance over to him.

"You too, Alphonse. I'm talking to both of you. Man up and tell them how you feel."

"Yes, I con- no, I can't," Ed cut himself off.

"S-same here," Al added.

"You both care for them, don't you?"

"Well, yeah," Edward trailed off.

"More than anything," Alphonse said quietly.

"Well then, you've got to tell them!" Roy practically shouted.

"Yeah, and while we're at it, you should fess up and tell Hawkeye that you love her!" Ed snapped back.

The servants soon finished getting them ready, Edward all groomed and Alphonse squeaky clean. Soon Alex entered the room and cleared his throat. All of them turned to look at him.

"Your ladies, await," he bowed, chuckling.

***

You watched silently as Winry made her way down the stairs ahead of you. You remained where you were, watching as she was joined by Edward, his usual torn up clothes replaced by a nice red suit, and his usual shaggy, disheveled hair in a neat braid. You couldn't help but notice something.

Edward had gotten taller. He was taller than Winry now, by several inches.

Which meant you were the short one now.

But you didn't really care at the moment. The two of them looked adorable together, and the promise you had both made came back into your mind.

You had to tell Alphonse tonight. But, that didn't mean you had to tell him immediately.

Izumi cleared her throat behind you, causing you to look at her. She signaled with her eyes for you to look towards the staircase again. Your (e/c) orbs followed her gaze, and as soon as they found their target, you felt your face heat up.

Alphonse may have been only a suit of armor, but to you he looked amazing. He seemed to shine, his apron looked new, and the addition of a black bowtie was not helping your blush to go away.

You felt your legs start to move by themselves, carrying you forward. Al stayed where he was, staring at you, frozen in place. Sig moved forward and gently gave him a push from behind.

Alphonse nearly tripped down the stairs as he stepped forward, saving himself at the last second. He hastily joined you to try to keep himself from further embarrassment.

"H-hi (Y/n). You look, r-really beautiful," he stuttered.

That only made your blush worse.

"Th-thank you Alphonse. You look really c-cute," you stuttered in response.

You both walked awkwardly together, arm in arm, too nervous at the moment to say anything. You glanced behind you to see Izumi and Sig walking together, grinning at you. Izumi even gave you a wink.

You hastily turned back around and stared forward. In front of you, Edward and Winry were smiling at the two of you.

"I don't like being in the middle, everybody ends up staring at you," you mumbled to Al.

"Agreed, they're all looking at us like they know something we don't."

'They know that I like him,' you thought internally.

You all sat down, seated in pairs at a long dinner table full of food.

It felt oddly like a date. Not that you'd ever been on one.

But this is what you had imagined it would feel like.

After everyone that could had eaten, and some casual conversations had occurred, Winry grabbed Edward's arm. She started pulling a very nervous and confused looking Ed towards the ballroom.

You looked after them, finished with your food and unsure what to do next. The sudden sounds of clanking caught your attention.

"(Y-Y/n)? May I have this dance?" Al's hand was held out to you to help you to your feet, in case you accepted his invitation.

Pink once again dusted your cheeks. You nodded, shyly accepting his hand.

"O-of course."

"Come on, honey, we can't let a group of youngsters show us up on the dance floor," Izumi stood up, before quickly sitting back down.

"Izumi, are you okay?"

"Just a bit lightheaded. On second thought, I think we'll just watch from the sidelines," she waved for you two to go on ahead.

After you and Al exchanged a cautious glance towards her, you continued to the ballroom. Edward and Winry were waiting for you, having already found their place in the room. You and Alphonse moved to the opposite side of the room, getting into the position to begin the dance.

Music started up, a familiar tune. You couldn't place where you'd heard it before, but you were certain you knew it.

You heard a feminine, caring voice begin singing. It was Gracia, and out of the corner of your eye, you could see the rest of her family standing behind her from her location near the side of the room.

"Tale as old as time, true as it can be, barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly."

You felt yourself shift closer to Alphonse as you moved in synch. You could feel your heart racing, a smile on your face as you looked up at him. He looked back down at you, and though you couldn't see well in the dimmer light of the ballroom, you guessed his face had a pink tint to it.

"Just a little change, small to say the least, both a little scared, neither one prepared, beauty and the beast."

Both Edward and Alphonse started processing the words of the song as they danced. Both of them realized that the words were strangely close to describing their own situations. Edward looked like, well, a monster, and Alphonse was only empty armor, some would consider him a monster.

And both of them thought no girl could ever love a monster.

But unknown to them, both you and Winry saw past their appearance. On Edward and Winry's side of the room, Winry was dancing with a cautious Edward. Even though they had danced before in the music room, Ed felt a lot more nervous. This time it was formal, it seemed more important. Winry even leaned her head against his shoulder.

That somehow boosted his confidence, but only a little.

"Ever just the same, ever a surprise, ever as before, ever just as sure, as the sun will rise."

You were trying your best to hint at how you felt about Alphonse, hesitantly following Winry's example and leaning your head against him. Of course that only resulted in two blushing faces rather than one.

Why did love have to be so difficult to show?

"Tale as old as time, tune as old as song, bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong."

Alphonse tightened his grip on you slightly, trying to show his feelings through contact as well. You smiled and closed your eyes as you stayed where you were. You silently sighed happily.

"Certain as the sun, rising in the east, tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast."

"Hey Alphonse?" You whispered.

"Yes (Y/n)?"

"There's something I need to tell you. Can we go to the library after this dance is over? I'm sure Spook could use the company."

"Sure thing, (Y/n)."

"Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast," the song finished.

You pulled away from Alphonse, taking his hand as you moved and leading him towards the location of the library. Your eyes remained forward, facing the direction you were moving.

Behind you, Al's blush had deepened in color from the fact that you were holding his hand.

You glanced over towards Ed and Winry to see Edward leading Winry out to the balcony. You chuckled to yourself as you guessed that he had a similar idea to you. You looked back ahead and continued onward.

As you reached the library, Alphonse stepped ahead and pushed the door open.

"After you," he said.

"Ever the gentleman," you smiled, entering the room.

You could see Spook, a small bundle of snowy fur, curled up on some blankets near the chairs in the library, likely left over from forts. Fond memories swept over you, the first night you were here, the pillow forts.

The thunderstorm, especially.

You sighed again, your blue dress nearly getting stuck on the table. Fancy clothes may have looked nice, but they weren't very functional for everyday activities. Like moving around easily.

You carefully sat down in one of the smaller chairs in the room. Al joined you in the larger chair, the only one he seemed to fit in.

"S-so, I have something I want to tell you, too," he said once he was seated.

"Oh, y-you should go first then," you replied, hoping to delay the truth as long as possible. Once you confessed your love, you knew there was no taking the words back. "Mine might take some time to say."

"N-no, you can go first."

"No, you go first. Please," you pressed.

Alphonse stared at you, your eyes remaining locked for a moment, before he broke eye contact by looking at the floor.

"O-okay, if you insist."

He stood from his seat, pacing the floor, trying to find the right words to say. This went on for a few minutes as you sat silently, patiently waiting for him. The longer he took, the later you would have to confess. Eventually he stopped, standing in front of you and staring down. A blush once again was on his metallic cheeks. He audibly took a deep breath.

"(Y-Y/n), ever since you came here, I-I've felt happier than I ever have before. I know that it was hard for you, being stuck here, but, d-do you like it here? A-are you, happy here? With me?"

You looked surprised, but smiled, chuckling as you replied.

"That's a strange question, but I can answer it easily. Of course I'm happy here. You're here, along with Riza, and Sheska, and all the other servants. And Winry's here with me, and Spook's here, even if she can sometimes seem like more trouble than she's worth. And even though I didn't like him at first, I've even grown to like Edward. Not in a romantic way, just as a friend. And now Ms.Izumi and Sig are here, and I've got enough books to last a lifetime! Of course I love it here. A-and I love being here with you," you finished, looking down at the floor, blushing.

That came dangerously close to a love confession.

"Y-you do?"

"O-of course."

"U-um, well, in that case," Alphonse stepped closer, cautiously taking hold of your hands in his larger gloved ones. You could feel your blush increase as your (e/c) eyes raised to meet his glowing red ones.

"A-Alphonse?"

"(Y-Y/n), I, um, I-"

"(Y/N)!" Winry's voice resounded through the library as she slammed the doors open. Her blonde hair whipped around as she spotted you two.

Deja vu.

"W-Winry? What are you doing here? What's going on?" You let go of Al's hands, standing from your seat.

"(Y/n)! Granny's in danger! She needs our help! We need to go find her! Edward gave us permission to leave to go help her! If we hurry we can find her before anything worse happens to her!"

"A-Aunt Pinako's in danger!? W-we have to go! Go get changed into better clothes, I'll go change in a minute, I need to finish up business with Al."

Winry nodded in understanding, racing back toward your rooms.

You turned back towards Alphonse, an apologetic look on your face.

"W-what were you saying Al?"

"O-oh, i-it's not important. You need to go help your Aunt Pinako," he paused, thinking,"I-I guess this means you have to leave."

"I," you slowly looked towards the ground as realization dawned on you. You had to leave. You weren't even going to get to tell him how you felt, there wasn't any time to. "I guess so."

"S-so, does that mean this is goodbye?" He asked sadly.

"I, I guess so, for now at least. I-I honestly don't really want to go. B-but, I can't leave Pinako in dan-"

"It's okay, I understand. I-I just wish we had more time to say goodbye," Alphonse had his eyes downcast. He looked so sad, you couldn't bare it. So you did the thing you thought would be best.

You rushed forward and hugged him around the waist.

He couldn't feel it, but he returned the hug anyways.

"I-I'll try to come back, to visit at least. I-I really do like it here. I'm going to miss everyone. All the servants, Edward. A-and I'll miss you most of all," you choked out, tears starting to fill your eyes.

"H-hey, it's okay. You don't have to rush back if you don't want. T-take your time. M-maybe I'll have my body back next time you come," he tried to comfort you.

You chuckled lightly, thinking 'I don't care whether you have a body or not,' inaudibly. You weren't going to say it out loud, though.

"Thank you Alphonse."

"For what?" He asked, pulling away slightly so he could see your face.

"For everything," you whispered, tears finally spilling as you hugged him one last time, before running towards the library door. When you reached the door, you stopped and turned around.

Alphonse remained where he was, frozen to the spot.

"Spook," the white kitten's ears perked up and she looked at you, "don't cause too much damage while I'm gone. And keep Al company for me," you smiled weakly. Your eyes moved back to the suit of armor, looking as lovingly as you could in your current state at him.

"G-goodbye, f-for now," you choked out, tears continuing to run, before you sprinted down the hallway to your room to change.

After a quick change into more appropriate clothes, you met Winry by the front door, a messenger bag with some of your prized items from the castle (none of actual value, just sentimental attachment) in it.

"Ready to go find Pinako?"

With a last glance at the castle's entrance room, you sighed sadly, turning back around to face her.

"Ready to go."

And so, the two of you stepped out of the castle and made your way back to the last of Winry's family.