You read the description. It's time to spread Christmas cheer on this site! I hope you enjoy these short stories.
Title: Of Llamas and Christmas trees
Genre: Humor? I don't know lol
Description: Ed, Al, and Winry decide to throw a Christmas party on Christmas eve. They invite Mustang and his team over and things don't go as planned.
Word count: 3,715
Status: Complete
Note: This particular short story I got the idea for after writing a Christmas scene in a different story. I hope you enjoy!
Als pov
"Dammit we have to put this fire out!" Ed shouted running around the burning Christmas tree. "Honestly Ed, this is why you should of told me!" Winry shouted, picking up an ornament and throwing it at him. "Can we discuss this later? We have a burning tree in our house!" Mustang and Hawkeye were getting water from the sink and Fury, havoc, and Falman ran outside to get snow. My new kitten was still running from Den who was chasing her everywhere. Winry tried to grab onto Den but he was too fast for her. I sighed and sat on the ground. The cria (baby llama) came up to me and started chewing on my sweater. I laughed and patted its head. "Some Christmas, huh?"
If I'm going to explain this I'm gonna have to go back to the beginning. It all started two weeks ago. "Hey Al can you find the ladder? We have to put the star on the tree." Ed asked me. I nodded. "Sure thing brother I think it's outside." I walked outside to try to find it. There was no snow in sight yet. I sighed hoping it would snow for Christmas. I found the ladder and brought it back inside. "Thanks Al." Ed thanked me as he took it out of my hands. The tree was decorated with red lace and Christmas lights wrapping around it. It also wore red bows, various ornaments, and soon the star.
Winry was at the fireplace hanging stockings. "Winry, why are you doing the laundry inside?" Ed asked. Winry and I both laughed. "Oh Ed don't be stupid, they're stockings for Santa." She explained. Ed tapped his chin and thought. "You mean that creepy as hell guy in a red suit that's in those childrens books? You don't actually believe he exists, do you?" Ed asked. Winry shrugged. "Who knows. Still I think they make great decorations." She said, marveling at the red and green socks. "I guess but won't they catch on fire?" Ed asked. "Not if we're careful." She said. "As long as it doesn't cause a fire do whatever you want. The last thing I want is this house burning down too." After that statement we all grew silent.
Winry couldn't take the silence anymore and spoke up. "I'll go make us some hot chocolate!" She said before disappearing into the kitchen. My mouth started watering at the mention of hot chocolate. Ever since I got my body back everything seemed to taste a lot sweeter than before. Apple pie, hot chocolate, and stew are my favorites. "So which one of us is gonna put the star on?" Ed asked. "Oh, I thought you were going to." I said. Ed was thinking about it when Winry came back with a tray of hot chocolate. We ran over and grabbed a mug. "Careful, it's hot." She warned. Ed shrugged off her warning and took a long sip. Barely a second later he slammed the mug down and ran to the kitchen for cold water.
"You idiot I warned you!" Winry said, following him. I laughed and watched the scene unfold. Once Eds mouth wasn't burning he came back to the room. I added on the last few bows. Winry followed after him. "Moron, you should listen to me next time." She sighed slapping her forehead. "Alright fine I'm sorry. Hey Winry, which one of us should put on the star?" Ed asked.
She looked at me, then Ed, then me again. "Al, because he's less likely to break it." She said. Ed grew angry, not because I got chosen, but because she called him irresponsible. "Hey I'm not going to break it! I'm a careful person!" Ed argued. Winry and I both burst out into laughter. "Ed, you barely lived on all those missions because you were reckless." I said. "And if you're so careful you wouldn't of taken that giant sip a minute ago." She argued back. Ed sat down, defeated. "Fine."
I grabbed the ladder and leaned it against the tree. Being as careful as possible I grabbed the star and climbed up the ladder. When I reached the top I carefully moved the star towards the branch pointing upwards. "Steady...steady..." Winry repeated. Just as I was hovering it over the branch Den barked at me. I jumped and fell down the ladder and the star fell along with me and shattered into pieces. "AL!" Ed shouted running over to me. I sat up catching my breath. "Al, are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?" He asked, his overprotective older brother side coming into view.
"I'm fine." I assured him. I suddenly felt something wet slide down my cheek. I brought my hand up to the spot and looked at the blood stained on my fingers. Winry ran into the kitchen and brought back the first aid kit. "At least it wasn't anything serious." She said while placing a band aid on my cheek. As she was closing the kit she looked at us. "I take back what I said. Both of you are hopeless."
The next day Winry and I went out to the shopping area to find a new star and get some Christmas shopping done. "Hey Winry I was thinking..."I trailed off until I caught her attention. "Thinking about what Al?" She asked. "Well, what if we had a Christmas party? We could invite Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, Fuery, Breda, and Falman." I suggested. Her eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! Do you think Ed will be okay with it?" She asked. "I don't know why he wouldn't be!"
"No." Ed said. When we got back the first thing we did was run over to Ed and ask if we could throw a Christmas party. "Well too bad. This is my house and I get to decide!" Winry said. It is true, after auntie Pinako died she inherited it. "Fine do what you want but do you have to invite that bastard Mustang?" He asked. Winry rolled her eyes. "Yes Ed, we are inviting him too. This is going to be so much fun! I can get more decorations, Christmas themed dinnerware..."Winry went off talking about all the things she would buy.
By the next week we had sent out all the invitations and gotten replies back. We also got most of our Christmas shopping done. I'm not sure when but at one point Ed went shopping because there were more presents under the tree. It was obvious which ones were wrapped by me and Winry because they were neat. Eds looked like he just slapped it all on last minute. We bought presents for all the guest that would be joining us. "Only six days until Christmas eve, I can't wait!" Winry said. Ed still didn't seem too interested in the party but he wasn't entirely opposed to it.
"Hey Al can you go buy a ham at the store for me? Thanks!" Winry said shoving me out the door without giving me time to answer. I chuckled and started walking towards the store. I passed by the Jacksons farm. Mr. Jackson saw me and waved. "Hello Alphonse, how are you?" He asked. "I'm good. How are-" I stopped dead in my sentence when I noticed an animal next to him. "...Is that a Llama?" I asked. He nodded. "Yup, the little fellow was born the other day. He's smaller than they should be and I'm not sure if he's going to make it since his mother won't let him eat." He said sadly.
"Is there anything you can do?" I asked. "I wish I could nurse the little guy more but with all the other animals I don't have the time."He said. An idea formed in my mind. "Can I take care of it?" I asked. I couldn't bear to see the small thing die. "I don't think that's a good idea. He needs a professional looking out for him." He explained. It made sense, and I've never raised a llama before. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. We can't let him die!" I said. He tapped his chin. "Alright fine, come inside and I'll give you instructions." I smiled brightly and followed Mr. Jackson inside.
He gave me all the necessary things I would need to nurse it. He gave me clear instructions on what to do. If I was able to keep the cria alive for a week I would be able to bring him back to his mom. Mr. Jackson thanked me and then I made my way home with the llama and supplies in my hands. The cria was a lot heavier than I thought it would be. When I opened the door Winry ran up to me. "There you are! Where have you-" She cut herself off when she noticed what I came home with. "Al...what is that?" She asked. "It's a cria!" I said. She gave me a puzzled look and I sighed. "A baby llama." I explained. "Ooooh, what is it doing in my house?" She asked. Hearing us talking Ed walked over from where he was reading.
"What's wrong?" He asked. His eyes widened when he saw the small animal in my arms. "...That's one weird looking cat this time Al." He joked. I sighed annoyed. "It's not a cat its a cria. I'm going to be taking care of it for one week for the Jacksons." I told them. Den came up behind Winry and started growling at the poor thing. "No Den this isn't a cat you be nice." I scolded. Den made a wimper and then walked away. "Well as long as it doesn't eat all my clothes I'm fine with it." Winry said. Eds only sign of agreement was him walking away and waving his hand in the air. "Thanks! I'll make sure he doesn't eat any ones clothes."
The next few days passed by smoothly. I kept the cria alive and healthy. On the day before Christmas eve Mr. Jackson stopped by to see how he was doing. Once he knew that I had taken good care of it he offered to take him back early. I told him I wanted to keep the little guy around a little longer. Ed sighed. "Al, you're getting too attached. It's better if you part sooner than later." Ed said. I knew he was right but I couldn't bring myself to do it. "I'll give it back when the week is up." I said. Ed sighed. "Al, just give him back the llama. We are going to have guest over tomorrow you never know one of them could be allergic to llamas." Ed reached out to grab the llama but I pushed him away. "Don't touch Kristof!" I snapped back.
"You even named it?" Ed asked. I didn't mean for that to slip. It was a name I thought suited him but I knew Ed would think I was too attached and do what he is doing now. Mr. Jackson sighed. "Alphonse it's fine you can keep him for a little while longer. Try not to get too attached." And with that Mr. Jackson turned and left. Ed sighed. "Al I know you love animals but it's time you should give it back to its owner." He told me. "No! Not yet Kristof is not ready!" I said but I knew it wasn't the cria that wasn't ready. "Really? Because where I stand it looks like you're the one who isn't ready. We can get you a different animal-" I interrupted him. "No we can't! You never let me keep a cat!" I yelled.
"...Is that what this is about? Al if you want a cat we can get a-" I interrupted him again not wanting him to speak. "That's what you always say but you always force me to leave them out there to die!" I hung my head low. "...Al..." He whispered. I picked up Kristof and ran outside. "Al get back here it's freezing and you're not even wearing a coat!" Ed shouted but I ignored him. I briefly heard Winry but soon I was far from the house. It started snowing heavily. 'I should of at least grabbed my coat.' I thought to myself. Where was I even trying to go? I sighed and stopped in my tracks. Since when was I the one to get angry and storm off? I turned around and gasped. All I saw was tons of snow falling. I started walking forward but tripped. Kristof was shivering. I had to find home.
It felt like an eternity passed as I went trudging through the snow. Just when I thought I'd freeze to death I looked up and saw a blinking light. I gasped and started running towards that direction. When I got closer I felt something jump on me. "Al! You idiot! Don't go off like that!" Ed shouted angry but I could tell he was relieved. "S-Sorry brother." I stuttered. My body wouldn't stop shaking. Ed grabbed my arm and we both ran back to the house. Once inside Winry already had the fireplace going. "Al you moron what were you thinking?" She asked as she came up and hugged me. "I don't know what I was thinking. Sorry." I apologized. "Geez, it's hard enough keeping an eye on Ed. I hope I don't have to keep an eye on you too." She said making us both laugh. "I'll go make hot chocolate. Don't worry about being careful drinking it at this point it looks like you could jump into a burning sea of it." She joked.
I changed into warm clothes and set Kristofs bed near the fireplace so that he could warm up too. The next day we spent the morning adding decorations. Later in the day I helped Winry cook before our guests arrived. Ed wanted to help but we shoved him away knowing he would only burn it. "You guys have no faith in me, do you?" He asked. We shook our heads. "Nope." We said in union. Ed sighed and went outside to make a snowman for "decoration". Finally it was all done. We heard a knock on the door and Winry ran over to answer it. "Hello! Thanks for coming, come in!" She said. In stepped Mustang, Hawkeye, Breda, Falman, Havoc, and Fuery, all carrying gifts. Ed ran over to Havoc and fist bumped him. "Hey long time no see chief!" Havoc said. "Yeah it's been a while." Ed said back. He glared at Mustang. "Just so you know I don't want you here." He stated. I sighed.
"You never change do you Fullmetal?" Mustang asked. "Does it look like I'm in the military? Stop calling me Fullmetal." Ed said. "Both of you be nice." Hawkeye instructed. "Fine." Ed said. Hawkeye walked over to me. "Alphonse, its been a while. I'm glad to see you're doing well." She said. "Thanks Hawkeye." Fuery saw Kristof near the fireplace and walked over to him. I forgot he was an animal lover too. "Is that a cria?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm taking care of it for my neighbors. I'll be returning him tomorrow." I said hoping I didn't sound too upset. The first thing Breda noticed when he entered was the smell of food. Falman and Mustang were as calm as ever. It was comforting to know they never changed.
When we all sat down to eat several conversations were going on at once. Havoc was telling Ed about his recent girlfriend, Fuery sat quietly, Mustang and Hawkeye were talking to me about a new recruit, and Breda was telling me something but I couldn't understand him because he had too much food in his mouth. Interacting like that reminded me of back then when Ed was still in the military. Strangely it brought a feeling of home even though we had been home for almost two years.
I noticed Mustang had taken off his gloves and sat them next to the table. "Uh, sir, if you don't mind me asking, why did you bring your flame gloves?" I asked. "Because those are the only type of gloves he owns." Hawkeye answered for him. Mustang only nodded. It always seemed like Hawkeye knew everything about Mustang, even more than Mustang knew himself. After dinner we went to the room where the Christmas tree stood. Winrys eyes grew wide. "Oh we never put the star on!" Winry said. She went into the other room and grabbed the brand new star that we absentmindedly forgot about. "Since Al ended up breaking it can I put it up?" Ed asked. "Are you sure you can reach up there Fu- Edward?" Mustang asked. I couldn't help but laugh at Eds reaction to his short joke. "WHO YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT EVEN WITH THE HELP OF A LADDER HE STILL CANT REACH THE TOP OF A TREE?" Ed shouted. Indeed this really did feel nostalgic.
Ed snatched the star out of Winrys hands and unceremoniously got the ladder and climbed up it. When he reached the top he placed the star safely then climbed down. "Take that bastard." Ed whispered. Judging by the smirk Mustang wore, he heard him. "Alright time to open presents!" Winry said. We all dived under the tree at once and bumped our heads. Winry sighed. "Men." We then decided to just pass gifts around. Wrapping paper was everywhere and Kristof walked over and started nibbling on the wrapping paper. I pulled him away from it and started picking up the paper. "Oh I forgot there's one last gift." Ed said. We all looked around. "Where?" I asked. "It's for you Al. I'll go get it." He vanished up the stairs and we all waited curiously for him to return.
When he walked down the stairs my eyes grew impossibly wide. In his hands was a snow white kitten. Den started growling and Winry grabbed onto his collar. "Ed! We can't keep a kitten with Den here! Why didn't you tell me first?" She asked. Ed shrugged and handed the kitten to me. "Relax Winry if Den can get used to a llama I'm sure he will adjust to a kitten." Ed reasoned. The kittens fur was soft. The white was as pretty as snow without one single speck of dirt. Den continued to growl but Winry held onto him tight. "Ed this isn't going to work." She said. Mustang picked up a mug of hot chocolate and watched the scene with interest. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Ed asked. At that moment Den got free and ran up to me. He knocked me to the ground and the kitten ran for its life. It hid under Mustangs feet. Den ran over and bumped into Mustang causing Mustang to drop his glass of hot chocolate. Since Mustang put on his gloves after dinner when he dropped the mug his fingers brushed together causing a snap.
Time froze for all of us when a spark went flying across the room. It hit the tree and soon the small spark grew into an all out fire. "WHAT THE HELL MUSTANG!?" Ed shouted as he ran to the kitchen for water. Everyone jumped to their feet and went to help.
And so that brings us back to where this story started. Finally Ed had enough. "Hold the door open for me!" He shouted. Mustang and Havoc went over and held the door open no questions asked. My jaw dropped as Ed picked up the tree and ran outside and threw it in the snow. Everyone else was wide eyed too. Ed took off his coat and started piling snow on it and slapped the tree with his jacket. Finally the fire was gone and the only damage done was to the tree and a small part of the wall. I walked over and clapped my hands. A flash of blue went across the wall and it was good as new.
When Ed came in Winry saw his hands were slightly burnt. She got the first aid kit and wrapped his hands in a bandage. "You're reckless as always." She said. Ed laughed nervously. When I turned around I was surprised to see Kristof, Den, and my new cat sleeping next to each other. "Well I don't think we have to worry about that happening again." I said pointing to the animals. Everyone looked over to where I was pointing and laughed. The rest of the evening went calmly. Sadly all good things must come to an end. They all had gotten hotel rooms to stay at and would be leaving in the morning. Since it was midnight they decided to leave. We wished everyone merry Christmas and thanked them for coming over. "If you'll excuse me I'm going to go get some rest. You guys are too exhausting to handle without sleep." Winry mumbled and walked up the stairs leaving Ed and I alone.
We sat looking out the window at the gentle snow falling. We could see the tree that sat buried in snow lifeless. "What are we going to do about all the ornaments and bows we lost?" I asked. He shrugged. "Our only choice is to replace them." He said. I laughed. "At least I only broke the star you broke the entire tree." I said laughing. "I did not it was Mustang and his damn flames!" Ed defended. I couldn't argue with him there. "Merry Christmas brother." I said. He laughed. "Merry Christmas Al."