Hey guys! It's me again and I had another great idea! When I've been listening to the radio for songs to change into FMA versions, I heard 'Christmas Shoes' and that pretty much screamed out: 'TURN ME INTO A STORY KATE!!!!!!!!!' so instead of just changing lyrics and putting it in my FMA Christmas Carols, I decided to make it into a one shot!

So, this takes place when Ed and Al are kids and their mother is alive, but barely. The kids, seeing that there isn't much time left, decide that they're going out to Central and try and get their mother a gift before she passes away since Riesembool is practically empty during the winter.

So, this is when Ed is 7 and Al is six while Mustang is 21, Hughes is 21, and Hawkeye is 20!

Hope you enjoy this guys and when I came up with this, I started crying. I'm such a sap! XD

The Christmas Shoes

It was the morning of Christmas Eve and Major Roy Mustang had put off his Christmas shopping till the last minute, again. Maes had prodded him into shopping instead of just coming up with crappy presents for everyone so here the two men were: in a crowded store picking up gifts.

"Come on Roy! Cheer up! It's Christmas Eve!" Maes beamed while Roy merely sighed and rolled his eyes. He'd been overly peppy ever since they had gotten to the jewelers this morning so Maes could pick up an engagement ring for his girlfriend, Gracia. They had been dating for over a year and Maes finally decided to make her his wife by proposing at the Christmas party tonight at Roy's house. However, Roy hadn't wanted the party in the first place so Maes used the best way to sway his mind: booze.

"Right now it's just people going crazy about buying pointless gifts for people for a holiday." Roy replied while he looked around, scanning for a gift for Riza. Maes took notice and smirked.

"Looking for a gift for Private Hawkeye?"

"NO!"

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Then who are you buying a gift for?"

"..........." Maes laughed before pulling his friend further into the store.

It had been over an hour of looking for gifts and both men had succeeded in their missions of finding the perfect presents for their friends. Now they just waited in the cashier's line. They made small talk, mostly with Maes trying to persuade Roy into making Riza his wife and Roy threatening to pull out his gloves out and have roasted Maes instead of roasted chestnuts that night. Maes laughed and Roy rolled his eyes before seeing that they were next up to the purchase counter but in front of them were two small boys and a box sat on the counter.

The two seemed anxious and pretty dirty compared to some of the rich people in the store, and Roy noticed what was in the box. It was a pair of some red shoes that Maes and he had seen earlier and there was only one pair left. That must have been the ones that these boys had now. Thing is, they were pretty expensive.

"Brother, how much longer until the train leaves?" The sandy blonde kid asked and the gold haired kid turned in response and smiled weakly at the other.

"In about half hour Al. We need to hurry up and get back. This may be our last shot." Roy looked at the two and pondered. They seemed pretty anxious, were they out of town or were they running away?

"I'm sorry boys, but there's not enough here to pay for these shoes." The woman said sadly as she counted out the last of the hundreds of pennies. Both heads shot up to look up at the woman.

"There has to be enough!" The gold haired kid exclaimed, "We've saved this for years and this is the last thing we can do for our mom!" Roy looked over at Hughes who was also watching the scene unfold. Who exactly were these kids?

"Ed, I thought we were going to get these for mom before she leaves. The doctor said this is probably her last day left!" Al sobbed and Roy felt a pang go through his heart.

"Al, we aren't giving up." Ed said at looked back up at the woman with determination.

"Ma'am we want to buy these shoes; for our mother, please! It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size!"

A shout came fro the back of the line "Could you hurry-"

Ed merely ignored the annoying man and continued on, "The doctor says there's not much time. You see, she's been sick for quite a while. These shoes will make her smile. We want her to look beautiful if mom leaves up tonight." Roy looked down at the two. They were both wearing clothes with mud on them, probably from the traveling since they had said that they had to catch the train. The sandy blonde, Al, was still crying silently while the gold haired kid, Ed, stared up at the woman pleadingly. The woman looked like she was going to burst out crying at the two and bit her lower lip.

"I'm so sorry boys, but I can't let you buy those if you don't have enough money."

"Oh." Ed replied and turned to look at Al. "Thank you anyway ma'am. Merry Christmas." He said quietly before grabbing Al's hand and turned to leave.

"I'll pay for it." Roy said and Maes turned to his friend in surprise. Ed and Al looked up at Roy and both had happiness flooding into their eyes.

"Really sir?!" Al exclaimed and Roy simply nodded and pulled out his wallet and asked the woman how much more the boys needed. It was about fifty dollars but Roy didn't mind. The two needed it more than him and he could always get Riza a ring later on. She would understand.

"Thank you sir!" Al beamed and Roy nodded while Ed just stared at him.

"Why are you helping us like this?" Ed asked and Roy looked down, amused at the contemplating look on the boy's face.

"As you said before, it's Christmas Eve and you need this more than I need it." He said as he paid the cash to the woman and she began to bag up the box.

"Brother, when does our train leave again?" Al asked and Ed looked over at the large clock and paled.

"In five minutes."

"But the train station is on the other side of the city!" Al exclaimed and Maes and Roy looked at each other. They told the cashier to hold their purchases until they came back and they swept up the boys and the gift and they were quickly driving through the city in Maes's car.

"Why are you helping us so much?" Ed asked from the back seat. Al was clutching onto the shoes tightly as he looked up at Roy who looked back at them while Hughes drove.

"It's Christmas and we heard you talking about your mother. This is most likely the last train out of Central for the next few days due to the snowstorm tonight and if your mother is as bad as you said she was then you need to get on this train." Roy said and Ed stared at him before nodding.

"Do you have you tickets already?" Maes asked as he swerved to the right which resulted in three small yelps from the passengers.

"Yes we do!" Ed said as the car pulled up to the station. Each man grabbed a kid and ran inside the station.

"I know it's a little late but, what's your name kid?" Roy asked the golden eyed kid in his arms.

"I'm Edward Elric and that's my younger brother Alphonse." He replied. Roy smirked as he dodged some people with Hughes and Al following right behind them. There was one and a half minutes left before the train left.

"I wouldn't have guessed that you were older except for your commanding attitude."

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SMALL?!"

"Just be grateful that it's Christmas, shrimp." Roy muttered and Ed grew quiet, remembering the box in Al's hands.

"What's your name?" Ed asked and Roy glanced down at him.

"Major Roy Mustang." He replied. They had reached the platform and the train had just begun to move. Roy and Maes looked at each other and ran after the train and held out the kids so they could reach the hand rails on the back car of the train. They had made it!

"Thanks Roy Mustang!" Ed yelled as he and Al waved.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Al shouted before the train began to go out of sight.

Panting, the two men walked back to Hughes's car and began to drive back to the store.

"Wow Roy, you were pretty caring today." Maes commented, breaking the silence in the car. He was answered by a shrug.

"Well, those boys did save me a lot of money and an awkward proposal."

"Oh...............wait........WHAT?! You were actually going to buy Riza a ring?!"

"Well, the boys needed the money more. Plus I don't know if I'm ready yet. A lot of other girls in Central also love Roy Mustang."

"Great, and as you go up through the ranks you'll become more of a womanizer Mr. Flame." Maes groaned while Roy contemplated with a grin on his face.

"That's not a bad idea Maes..."

"What?! Ugh! You need to get yourself a wife!"

"Don't start with me Maes!"

"What?"

Ta da! I hope you liked it! I also wanted a little Royai in there as well. We also know now how Roy became a womanizer and Maes started declaring that Roy needed a wife! It didn't turn out as sad as I thought it would be, but the actual song brings me to tears! Well, I hope you enjoyed this and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night! =D