Christmas Special; Parental Roy Ed

-She-wolf Vixen/aka EveeElric-

"Blizzard"

!Merry Christmas!

A Christmas fic for all you amazing fans out there! I love you all, thanks sooo much!

"Dammit."

Ed cursed as another gust of icy wind almost blew the alchemist off his feet. The teen stumbled back, propelled by the force of the wind pulling at his red cloak and fell against a snowy bank. The snow slipped down Ed's back and made its way into his shirt. "Nggyahhh! Damn winter!" Furious, Ed stepped back up and placed both of his gloved hands over his ears, which were red and frost bitten. Why hadn't he listened to his brother and worn a hat?

Just a moment ago, the young alchemist had been in Central to deliver a small report to his commanding officer. When he said commanding officer he meant it in a sarcastic way for that man was none other than Colonel Roy Mustang. It was starting to snow heavily by the time Edward arrived at Central in the first place and Ed was forced to slip across the icy ground towards Central Command just to hand in a few pages of paper. Not only that but the idiot Colonel wasn't even at Central when Ed got there. He had already left for home due to the bad weather according to Havoc, who had stayed behind to work overtime on his own work.

Ed had groaned and rolled his eyes. The Colonel was just too lazy to work and used the weather as an excuse to go home early. Havoc had offered Ed a ride to the Colonel's place, eager to get away from the mounds of paperwork however Havoc's car wouldn't start. Ed had spent forty-five minutes tromping around Central looking for someone who could drive him to the Colonel's house. When he had come back, furious and irritated, Havoc had suggested turning the report in the next day but Ed frowned and shook his head. He and Al had important clues on the stone and were hoping to leave first thing tomorrow. Ed's last resort was to tuck his report in a manilla folder, put this under his shirt, and proceed to walk through the storm-turned-blizzard to Roy's home.

Ed sighed and leaned back against the snowy mound he had fallen on. The snow drove into his face painfully and Ed squinted to keep the ice hard flakes out of his eyes. The sun had gone down and one by one, nearby lamp posts flickered on, illuminating the snow swirling in its presence. Ed watched his breath steam out into the air periodically before sitting up as a car came inching up. The blond jumped up and raced towards the oncoming car. Brushing himself off, Ed waved his arms frantically in the air. If he was lucky, he could get a ride with this driver to the Colonel's home. It could be a kidnapper but Ed didn't care. It was worth the risk. The car ambled up and halted next to Ed and Ed peeked through the glass before letting his jaw drop. It was Roy. Roy looked equally as astonished but quickly regained the smirk of his. The glass window separating the two state alchemists rolled down.

"Well, well, if it isn't FullMetal. What are you trying to do, catch a cold?"

Ed frowned. "Don't be funny. I was walking to your house because I had to turn in your stupid report."

Roy's smirk faded a little. "You walked all the way from Central to here?" He opened the car door to see Ed clearer and Ed was glad to be hit by a wave of warm air from the vehicle.

"Well...yeah." Ed said this as if he was out for an afternoon stroll instead of a mid-blizzard expedition. Ed stared in bewilderment at Roy's expression. "Are...are you worried about me...Agh!" Ed let out a little yell as Roy grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him into the car. Reaching across him, Roy pulled the car door shut and began to drive again.

"Try not to melt too much on the seats," Roy put in. Ed allowed himself a small smile and nodded. He pulled the folder from inside his shirt, kept dry by the layers of fabric. Ed placed this folder on the dashboard where Roy could see it out of the corner of his eye.

"Now that you have my report, could you head back to Central? I need to find me and Al an inn to stay at tonight."

Roy nodded but didn't say anything.

"Hey, Colonel, are you still there?" Ed waved a hand in front of Roy's face.

Roy pushed Ed's hand away. "Do you know what day it is?"

Ed stared at Roy curiously, "Wednesday?" Roy smirked and shook his head. As he rounded the corner, Ed noticed that they weren't anywhere near Central. "Colonel! Where are you going?"

Roy grinned. "I'm taking you home of course!"

"What?!" That was when Ed realized that they had pulled up next to a rather large house. "...but I don't have a house."Roy turned off the car and got out. He tromped over to Ed's door, opened it, and promptly pulled Ed out again by the sleeve, leaving the folder with the papers in it on the dashboard. "H-hey!" Ed stammered. "The report..."

"Forget about it..." Roy smirked. Stunned, Ed allowed Roy to drag him towards the house and unlock the door. Only when Roy had pulled him inside and closed the door that Ed realized. "What? Why are you bringing you to your house Mustang?!"

"Could you come with me? I have something for you..." Roy beckoned. Ed shrugged and followed Roy around the corner, past a flight of stairs, and into a room where Roy turned the lights on. It was a warm room, a large pine tree standing against the wall. There were lights, round ornaments and tinsel on the tree. Roy glanced over at the empty fireplace and maybe just to show off, flicked his fingers and lit the fire with a well-aimed flame. Roy stepped neatly over to the nearby kitchen and messed around for a while before returning with two cups of liquid. He handed one to Ed who looked down and smelled hot chocolate. Ed assumed the other cup that Roy was drinking out of was coffee. Looking around, Ed realized the he room had some other furniture including a couch, rug, table and chair, all warm colors.

Roy flopped down on the couch and stretched, pulling his shoes off. "Ah! It's nice to be home."

Ed stood nearby, shifting uncomfortably. What was the Colonel doing bringing him to his house?

"Today..." Roy spoke. "Today...is Christmas Eve, dear Edward."

"Christmas Eve?!" Ed hit his head. "Crap! I totally forgot! I need to get back to Al! Mustang, can I borrow your phone? I need to tell Al where I am. "

"Actually, Alphonse already knows where you are Edward, I told him." Roy said, and got up to bend under the tree.

"What?"

Roy came back out from under the tree with a package in his hand. "I told him, you're spending the night with me. Hawkeye should be over in about an hour with him too."

"What?! ...and did you just call me Edward? What's the meaning of this, you're creeping me out!" Ed backed away slightly.

Roy sighed. "I'm not trying to kill you FullMetal, sit down..." Ed blinked, then nodded. He sat down next to Roy on the reddish-orange couch and gasped as Roy tossed the package into his lap. "Go on, open it Ed..."

Ed carefully unwrapped the package, and then felt a twinge of shock and excitement. "It's...a book! Several books...wait! It's the whole collection of 'History of World Alchemy'! All 15 of them"

Roy laughed, "So it's a good gift I assume? I really hope that you'll keep it because it took me a couple months to hunt them all down!"

"You been looking for all of these books for the past few months...just to give them to me?!" Ed couldn't hide his awe.

"That's why I was able to pick you up on your way to my house." Roy grinned weakly, " I had to detour to a shady bookstore to get the last one, but I'm glad I made it in time."

"T-thanks a lot!" Ed felt bad looking at the extravagant gift that Roy had given him. "I don't think I can accept it though...I don't have anything for you..." Ed made a movement to return the books.

Roy pushed the books back toward Ed. "Actually, yes you do."

"Really? What can I give y-" Mid sentence, Ed found himself quieted as Roy pulled Ed close to him and into his arms in a hug. After a second, Ed brought his arms up and wrapped them around Roy's waist.

"It's OK to cry...I won't blackmail you..." Roy's hand squeezed Ed's shoulder. With that, and before he knew it, Ed's vision began to blur with tears. The warm water ran down his cheeks silently and he buried his face into Roy's chest. Ed was appalled. It had been years since anyone besides Winry and Al had given him a hug. He couldn't even remember the feel of his mother or father's arms. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be held by strong firm hands. He had almost forgotten what is was like to depend on another person's strength. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have a parent.

Roy held the boy close and gently wiped the tears from Ed's cheek with his shirt while patting the boy's blond head. "This is what you want for a gift?" Ed murmured through tears.

"Trust." Roy said simply. "That's all I ever wanted from you...trust and the faith in me to let go and cry to me. You're always acting tough and putting on a face but no one can be that strong. All I want is for you to trust me. From the first time I saw you, sitting in that bed with a stump for your arm and leg, bleeding profusely without a single real parent to hug you and tell you it's alright, I've watched over you. You're very precious to me, like my own son even though I've never had one...but if I did, I would want him to be exactly like you..."

Ed began to cry again but smiled through the tears. The boy nodded. "You know..." Ed spoke quietly, pulling himself upright and drying his tears. "It's Christmas Eve and I've done nothing but cry and complain. How about some fun?"

...

"Do you really think that the Colonel and my brother will be alright cooped up together Lieutenant?" Al asked from the back seat of Riza's car.

Riza smiled. "They'll be perfectly fine...maybe even better than that!" Armor can't smile but if it could, that's exactly what Alphonse did. "We're here!" Riza announced, and pulled up on the driveway of Roy's house. They got out and realized that the blizzard had let up and a fine sheet of snow lay on the ground. Riza and Al stood there, admiring the snow when at the exact same time, two snowballs flew from the bushes and splattered against both Riza's face and Al's armor head.

"HAHAHAHA, TAKE THAT AL!"

"SORRY 'BOUT THAT HAWKEYE!! HAHAHA IT WAS EDWARD'S IDEA!!!"

"BROTHEEEER!!!!!"

"COLONEL!!!! EDWARD!!!! YOU TWO GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!"

Hoped you liked it everyone. It was a quick one! ^^ Merry Christmas all!!

Christmas Special; Side Story

"White Flower"

!Merry Christmas!

Edward made his way up to the hill side, where tombstones lay scattered about, a layer of snow on their tops, making them glisten in the early sunlight. Ed didn't even have to look for the grave he was visiting, the path was so familiar he could close his eyes and his feet would take him there. Ed looked up as a cloud passed over the sun, momentarily plunging the world into darkness. Ed's mind wandered...

"Edwaaaard!" Hughed laughed, "Want to see a picture of Elysia? She's wearing the Christmas dress that I bought her! Isn't she adorable?"

Ed rolled his eyes and almost dropped the middle section of a snowman. He paused to regain his grip and continued to lift an enormous ball of snow onto another, Elysia jumping up and down beside him and marveling at his strength. Ed and Al were spending the Christmas season with Maes Hughes. Rather, they were abducted by the hyperactive father and brought home to his astonished wife, Gracia, for dinner. Ed wasn't complaining about the dinner part of the evening, but Hughes was often pulling out pictures at the most inconvienient times. With a grunt, Ed finally lifted the ball up and stood back to examine his work.

"Wooow Edwhard! You amazing!" Elysia said in her broken and some-what altered voice. She was young but quite skilled in her language abilities. Ed figured it was due to the talkative father she had.

Patting Elysia's head Ed called for his brother. "Alllll? Where's the head?"

"Got it!" Al replied and came stumbling into view with a snowman head and the armor alchemized it to the top. "Whooah! That's huge!" The snowman was indeed huge, nearly towering over Hughes's house. It was remarkable feat and with the help of the two boy alchemists, Elysia was lifted up by a giant pillar of snow to place the features on the head.

"Hey." Hughes elbowed Ed. "Could I have a moment with you?"

Ed nodded and after telling his brother where he was going, followed Hughes to the back of the yard. "So, what is it?" Ed asked. Hughes bent down, and brushed aside some trees and disappeared behind the fence. "Hey, wait!" Ed called and quickly followed the older man. He was surprised at what he saw. Behind Hughes's home was a huge field, completely filled with snow. Hughes was standing a little bit ahead and Edward ran up next to him. Just as he was about to pass him, Hughes's arm shot out and grabbed Ed.

"Hold on a second Edward."

"What?" Ed stepped back and gave Hughes a curious glance. The older man stooped down and lightly brushed off some snow at his feet and Ed was surprised again. "A flower! It's pure white too, I didn't even see them!"

Hughes nodded. "These are Amestrian Snowflowers, they only bloom on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They're really quite special..." With this statement, Hughes pulled off his jacket and swept it across the snow in front of him and flapped it. Ed watched in amazement as suddenly, an entire field of flowers bloomed in front of him. It was a beautiful sight and each of the flowers shined like their petals were diamonds.

"They're so pretty!" Ed gasped in delight.

Hughes nodded and plucked one deftly. "I thought you might like to put one on your mother's grave? These flowers bloom only on these two days but they last quite a while...until the snow melts at least."

"Can I really?" Ed grinned. "I'd love to!" Hughes handed the delicate flower to Ed. It was light, so light. Like a feather. "Thanks Hughes, I really appreciate it! I'm glad you were thinking of my mother for me!"

Hughes smirked. "You can always come here for these flowers on Christmas...on one condition..."

"What's that?" Ed smiled.

"That you never, ever, tell anyone else, alright?"

"Promise..."

Ed smiled as the sun blinded him momentarily as it came out from behind the cloud. Without stopping anymore, Ed turned and made his way up to the top of the hill. When he got there, he walked up to a grave and placed a single snow-white flower on it, light as a feather. He stood there a moment when suddenly, another hand placed another flower on the grave. Ed turned.

"Mustang!"

Roy smiled down at the grave. "It looks like Hughes told someone else about that special field even though he told me not to tell anyone else."

"He showed you too?" Ed's jaw dropped.

Roy smiled and placed a hand over his eyes as a single pure tear escaped. "It's starting to rain...We'll never forget you, and never break our promise to you" Ed turned away and the two alchemist stared at the grave where now two Amestrian Snowflowers lay over the words...

"In Remembrance of Brigadier General Hughes"

Kind of sad. In remembrance of Maes Hughes...

Merry Christmas everyone...