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Just because Ace was part of the military now, it didn't mean he was going to JUST be a military man. He wasn't going to stop being himself and it definitely wasn't going to stop him from having a good time. It was easier for him now to have a good time instead of constantly worrying about where he was going to sleep next or looking over his shoulder in fear of getting caught for the way that he lived. Honestly, things were a little easier on the teenager now. It was nice to have a bed to sleep in and know that he would always have a bed to go back to even though his dorm was a temporary one. Soon enough, however... he would have to get his own place to stay. Though he wasn't particularly worried about this.

The young soldier was currently outside of the library in front of the wide staircase that led up to the building. He was dressed in full uniform, though his hat was in place on top of his head as usual. And the top buttons of his uniform was left undone. However, Ace wasn't out there alone. He was standing with the girl he had been chatting with before who worked at the library. Of course, she was in full uniform, though she wasn't a soldier. She worked for the military by working in Central's library. So she wore a knee-length pencil skirt instead of pants.

The young woman was holding onto one of Ace's hands and her other hand was placed on his shoulder. He had his other hand on her waist. She was laughing lightly. Ace looked rather flustered. "If you don't stop stepping on my feet then you'll never get it right." She lectured him. "I don't have any use for dancing." Ace responded, a bit of color in his face. "Here, here. Let me lead." The woman insisted, grabbing hold of the hand on her waist and placing it on her shoulder and then resting her own hand on his waist. "Follow my lead now." She instructed.

She took a step forward and Ace took a step back. Then she took a step to the side, but this seemed to be too fast for Ace and he stumbled a bit in a clumsy manner. She laughed.

The young librarian stopped leading Ace very abruptly when Adam came upon them. Ace stumbled a bit once more, but managed to keep his balance. It was really obvious that he was not coordinated enough for dancing. Whether he was being led or he was doing the leading. The woman who was trying to teach him found this highly amusing. Ace seemed like such a confident teenage boy, it was funny to see him get all flustered about something that he wasn't at all good at.

"Well, you must be Prince Charming then." The librarian responded just as sarcastically to all of Adam's sarcastic remarks. Her name was Irene Banister. She had become part of the library staff several months ago. She was a pretty thing, and she wasn't exactly shy, but she was soft spoken. Despite this, she sure did seem like she had some sort of edge to her.

Ace was frowning in a grumpy way at Adam. He knew the young soldier of course. He was well known, and popular, and everyone seemed to like him. Which was probably the reason why Ace didn't particularly care for him too much. "You the funniest person I have ever met. Seriously. You are so funny. I can see why everyone likes you so much. It's because you're SO damn funny." The teenager's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and of course he didn't look as if he were anywhere close to laughing, However, Irene did laugh at Ace's spiteful remark.

And then Warrick had joined the little group, and Ace found himself releasing Irene immediately. The young woman didn't seem to mind so much. She let her hand slip away from the state alchemist's waist. She stood at attention and saluted the lt. colonel. Ace however, did not. Either he forgot completely because he had become so close to the older man, or he just lacked the respect. It was possible that it was both of those things.

"So what kind of lady are you? And who are you for if not for a gentleman?" Ace asked, that impish smile in place on his mouth. He seemed to have completely gotten over being embarrassed because he couldn't seem to dance. Irene gave him a rather bewildered look because, of course, she was not aware that Ace and the lt. colonel were friends. And even if they were, the young man hadn't even bothered to salute. Ace glanced back at her briefly before returning his eyes to Warrick. "Oh, sorry. What kind of lady are you, sir?" He corrected himself, tone just as sarcastic.

Ace couldn't help but to be generally confused about Warrick's statement. He wasn't exactly sure what the older man meant by saying that himself and Irene looked good together. Briefly the young man glanced over at her. There was a little color in her cheeks, probably also in response to what the lt. colonel had said. Ace took a minute to just look at her.

Irene was definitely a pretty young woman. Her haircut seemed to be the perfect match for her face. Her eyes were vibrant, which contrasted nicely with her dark hair and fair skin. ((even though her skin had a bit of a pink hue to it currently.)) She was thin, but not too skinny at the same time. However, she was taller than Ace was... which was kind of awkward for him to be perfectly honest. She was a nice girl, and she was friendly. From what he knew about her she was pretty smart too. But he hadn't actually thought about her in the way that Warrick seemed to be suggesting.

Of course, the young alchemist had recognized that she was pretty from the beginning. However, there had been no attraction in that way. There had been attractions in other ways, but not in the way that a man would be attracted to a woman. Ace hadn't really thought about it until now. And now he was wondering if there was something wrong with him for that. Shouldn't a teenager his age be attracted to pretty girls in that way?

And now Warrick was taking his leave, and Irene saluted him respectfully as he went on his way. Ace's eyes followed him. He watched the back of the older man for a minute or so before he turned back to Irene. "We should continue my dance lessons. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow?" He smiled at her. Irene laughed. "I want to say you're a lost cause when it comes to dancing, but if you are willing to learn... then maybe I'm willing to teach." She responded. "Get back to work." He teased. "Aye Aye, sir!" She said, reaching over and flicking the brim of Ace's hat so that it was sitting askew on his head. Then she turned to head back up the stairs into the library where she would resume her work.

Ace couldn't help but to laugh a little bit as he re situated his hat. For a moment he watched her go, and then he turned to hurry after Warrick. Once he had caught up with him, he fell into step beside the man. "Permission to walk with you, sir?" He asked.

"I don't claim you to be a smart man either." Ace responded, smirking a little bit at the other soldier. Of course, he was only teasing like he tended to do. He liked being able to joke like this with Warrick like this. It was a comfortable feeling. It was even a comforting feeling. "But you're right. Irene is very pretty." The young alchemist agreed as the pair of them continued to walk down the road.

And she WAS. Ace had no problem admitting this about the librarian. She was very attractive, though Ace didn't find himself attracted to her for some reason. "I don't think of her that way though." He added. This was kind of a troubling thought to him. Warrick was right for the most part. He had practically ditched Irene to walk the older man home. It was no secret that Ace liked to spend time with Warrick. And it was probably the same the other way around. At least that was the impression that Ace got out of their relationship.

"Irene is nice. I guess she's a friend. I didn't even... think about her the way that a man should." Ace shrugged casually as if it were not a big deal at all. But it was actually really troubling. Here he was making a new life for himself and he hadn't even THOUGHT about the librarian that way. "Maybe there's something completely wrong about this, but I'd rather spend my time with you."

Ace couldn't help but to feel slightly nervous and anxious when Warrick assured him that he was great. He got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach and that spread out through his entire body to create a warmness right beneath his skin. He felt it there... was he blushing? He thought that there must have been a pinkness to his face. This only caused Ace to become further confused and embarrassed.

Of course, Ace felt very differently when he spent time with Irene as opposed to spending time with Warrick. But if he was being perfectly honest, he enjoyed his time more when he was with the lt. colonel. He felt so many things when he was with him. He felt comforted and safe. He felt trusted and he felt as if he could trust. He could tell Warrick just about anything and he felt as if the older man would never judge him or think badly of him. There were also feelings he couldn't exactly put into words. A closeness that he had never felt before with anyone. Maybe it was because he had gone so long without a family. Maybe he forgot what it was like.

Ace found himself stiffening a little bit when Warrick's hands came to rest on his shoulders. He looked up at the man's serious face... or what he could see of his face anyway. He felt his chest tighten a little bit in a strange way at the seriousness of his tone. But then all of that went away when Warrick more or less made a joke. And he smiled. Ace could tell by the sudden change in his eyes. Even though he could not see the other soldier's mouth, his eyes were always very expressive. The younger man couldn't help but to return the smile, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.

"I suppose not, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head though he was still smiling. For a moment he averted his eyes, but he didn't look away from long. When he glanced back up at the older man, he was still smiling. However, there was a different look to his features. A more serious look. Slowly and carefully he reached up and if Warrick allowed him to, he pulled the scarf away from his face. For a moment or so Ace just looked at him, but then slowly he leaned up, probably almost standing on the balls of his feet so that he could press a light kiss to Warrick's scarred mouth.

He allowed it to linger, but Ace eventually pulled away from the other man. "...I can't be anyone but myself. I hope you still like me anyway."

Warrick's response was not what Ace had been expecting at all. He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting in the first place in regards to his actions. He probably more expected the older man to push him away or get angry or frustrated with him. Ace knew that he could be pretty frustrating sometimes. He probably would have apologized to the other soldier. Though Warrick told him to continue doing what he felt, right? He had felt like he wanted to be closer. He had felt like he wanted to kiss him.

But he definitely did not expect Warrick to jump at the chance to grab him and pull him into a much more serious kiss. As bewildered as he was, Ace didn't hesitate. He returned the kiss, immediately latching onto the other man, his fingers clutching at the material of his uniform. For some reason he felt as if he couldn't get close enough and he was struggling to be as close as possible.

From the very beginning Ace had felt a connection with Warrick that he had never felt before in his life. It was some strange bond that he couldn't really explain. For some reason he felt drawn to the lt. colonel which was why he ended up back at the camp the first time. Warrick played a big part in his decision to join the military. He had wanted to see the man again. He couldn't even explain to himself why. He just felt like he had to.

And as quickly as it had happened, it was over. Warrick pulled himself away, more than likely looking equally as confused and disoriented as Ace felt. Then he was dismissed and the lt. colonel was already headed on his own way. Ace stood there for a moment, staring after Warrick as his form retreated. "Yes, sir..." He said, that teasing, sarcastic tone no longer part of the words as he spoke them. The young man almost sounded kind of... sad. Ace looked around briefly. There were people about, but no one had seemed to notice. Or they weren't acknowledging it anyway. One more time Ace glanced at Warrick's shape as it grew smaller the further he got away and then Ace turned away himself to head in the opposite direction.