"Brother! Wake up Brother!"
Ed rolled away from the insistent hands that shoved at him. "Go pee by yourself Al…"
A small hand slapped the exposed skin of his arm and made the boy yelp. "Stupid! It's Christmas morning! Get up!"
"WHAT!!!!!" Ed shouted, flying out of bed so quickly that he tangled in his sheets and collided with his younger brother. The boys hit the ground with a loud thump. They groaned in unison, a little dazed.
"What are you silly boys doing?"
Ed and Al looked up at their mother, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "I was waking up Brother so we could open our presents…"
"And I, uh, I tripped onto him…"
Trisha smiled at her sons. "Well, hurry up. Santa brought you boys something special this year." The boys clambered to their feet and rushed out of the room, Ed shouting in his excitement. "Be careful!"
The boys practically flew down the stairs and skidded into the family room. As they looked at the cheery little tree with its delicate ornaments, their eyes grew wide. Several boxes in bright wrapping paper could be seen behind the needles of the pine. They lunged towards the gifts, labeled with their names and decked with large bows, only to be held back by warm hands. Al looked up, pouting, at his mother.
"There's a way to open these. You don't want to open all the good ones first do you? Get the green ones, okay?"
The boys nodded numbly, and sat before the tree. They each retrieved a gift with the metallic green wrapping paper and ripped into it. Their smiles turned to disappointed frowns as they pulled out underwear and socks.
"Why does Santa gives us this crap?"
"Language Ed," Trisha admonished as she perched on the edge of the armchair nearest to the tree. "And he gives you these items because, while you may not want them now, you'll need them later. Red next."
Things progressed quickly as they moved from one color to the next. Soon, things like books and toys were mingled up with scraps and balls of paper on the floor. It seemed that all too quickly all the presents were gone and the boys are looking at their mother as she unwrapped the on her sons had gotten for her.
"Did you boys make this?" she asked as she pulled out the small statue. It was a detailed sculpture of her, cooking dinner. In the folds of the statue woman's skirts, two small faces peered at her. It was a far cry from the simple little sheep and cows she'd received only a few short years before.
"Yeah!" Ed grinned as he lacthed onto her arm.
Al crawled onto her lap. "Do you like it?"
"I love it. I know exactly where it's going to go too." Edward and Alphonse grinned at one another, pleased. "Ready for your last present?"
"Huh? I didn't see any more…"
"That's because I hid this one. Now, go sit in front of the tree and close your eyes. No peeking."
"Okay," the boys chorused.
Gently setting down the statue, Trisha left the family room. She was back a second later and set something before her children. "Ready? Open your eyes!"
Ed and Al looked at the little basket before them. Their gold eyes widened as they spotted the small gray kitten peering up at them sleepily. It mewed softly and Al let out a screech of delight. "A kitten? For us? We can keep it?"
"Of course," Trisha smiled softly as Ed gently lifted the kitten out of its basket. The boys were jabbering about what they were going to name the small creature, each running a chubby little hand across the silky fur. "Merry Christmas…"