A/N: Hello all! I've decided to TRY and keep up with the twelve days until Christmas. Sorry if one of 'em is late. I'll just tell you right now, each one of the days will be in a different fandom, not all FMA. Most likely. I will ATTEMPT to write entertaining and engaging Christmas stories up until the 25th.
I do have to tell you that at the moment, I don't have Wifi at home. I just moved and the house needs a LOT of renovations. There are boxes all along the walls, meaning there is no place to plug in a router. I also live out in the country, 20 miles away from town, so I can't just go to McDonald's or Starbuck's or something to upload, so just bear with me...
I hope you enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters within.
Ed shook his head, wondering why on Earth Al was forcing him to celebrate the birth of the son of a God that he didn't even believe in. In fact, there is actually ample evidence to suggest that this guy wasn't even born during December, but actually in May! So what was the point?
Al had tried explaining to him that it wasn't the birth of Jesus they were celebrating specifically, just time and close ties with their family. Ed had barely restrained a rather snide rejoinder of "what family?" He knew Al wouldn't take that so good.
But Al knew what Ed was thinking. "We do have a family, brother!" He cried. "It's changed a lot in the past few years, but we do have one!"
Ed snorted. "And what family would that be, Al? I swear, if you say something about Colonel Bastard, or even our Bastard of a father- -" Al cut his older brother off, though he chose to bypass the subject of the boy's father completely, knowing it would send Ed off on another tangent..
"The Colonel is a part of our family, Ed. You may not like, and you don't have to. But he cares about us, and somewhere, deep within the recesses of your emotionally stunted - Not physically, brother. Emotionally - heart, you know that and care about Colonel Mustang too. And it's not just him, it the entire team. And Winry, Aunt Pinako, and Teacher and Sig." Al paused, soulfire eyes burning uncomfortably deep into his heart. "Like I said, brother, we do have a family. It's just changed is all. Some members have left, others have come into it over time. That's not a bad thing."
Ed glared at Alphonse a moment before his gaze softened. "Fine," he grumbled. "When's this stupid Christmas party supposed to be anyway?
Al barely kept himself from tackling his brother in a hug, so instead clapped his metal gauntlets together in excitement. "It's at nine tonight in Colonel Mustang's office!"
Ed rolled his eyes at his brother's excitement. "Whatever. We've got three hours before we have to leave. I'm gonna take a nap before then." Edward slid down from his sitting position on the bed to lay down and close his eyes. Soon his breathing evened out and Ed was asleep.
Al sighed and got up. His brother has only been asleep for a few seconds and already he had managed to lift his shirt up in his sleep. Al layed a blanket over Ed and phoned Colonel Mustang to let him know they'd be coming.
Ed and Al walked down the mostly deserted hallways of Central command. Usually the halls were bustling with people, but Christmas parties seemed to be something people actually wanted to be in the office for. As he walked by door after door, Ed could always hear loud strains of Christmas music seeping underneath door frames, or in some cases, rooms that hadn't felt the need to close the doors, echoing through the halls.
Ed approached the door to Mustang's office and debated whether he ought to kick the door down as he usually did, it being a friendly Christmas party and all. After all, Ed wasn't on his way to deliver a report. He was here to...maybe have some fun.
Ed sighed regretfully, then put his hand on the door and pushed it open to reveal the entirety of Mustang's crew sitting on desks, laughing at something someone had just said.
To be honest, Ed was a bit surprised that they were all daring to sit on desks in Hawkeye's presence. Hawkeye ran a tight ship, or office as it were, and she usually didn't let anyone get away with anything. Then next surprise was seeing Hawkeye herself sitting on one of the tables.
Ed shook his head and decided to let that one slide. He (more gently than he usually did) kicked the door all the way open and walked in. Havoc was immediately on his feet, albeit a little unsteady. He gave both Elric brothers the biggest grin, though something was off about it. Ed wondered if somebody had spiked the eggnog and if he should be concerned.
Havoc slung an arm around Ed's shoulder, ignoring the fact that Edward was trying to escape the touch. "Hey, Chief! How you been?" Havoc slurred, and Ed decided that he was going to stay far away from the eggnog when he got a whiff of Havoc. The man smelled entirely like alcohol.
Ed tried unsuccessfully to get out from under Havoc's arm, throwing a look back at Al that said Help! But Al's armor was rattling slightly with suppressed laughter. As Al edged past Ed and Havoc, he whispered "You're on your own here, brother."
Ed's jaw dropped, and he decided he wasn't going to try to preserve Havoc's feelings. "Aw, come on, Al! Help me out here!"
Havoc gave Ed a slightly confused look. "Help you with what, Chief?"
Ed sighed, accepting that his brother was going to leave him with a very drunk Havoc. "Nothin', man. Just nothin'." Ed struggled to carry Havoc over to the nearest chair and pushed him down into it. Havoc passed out almost immediately.
Ed wrinkled his nose and looked up at the group. Team Mustang, along with a few other officers Ed recognized from other offices, were gathered in the center of the room. A bout of laughter came from them, and Ed decided he did not want to go hang out with the adults. Too adult-ish. But looking at the circle, Ed realized that Mustang was nowhere in it. Looking around, Ed found that the door to Mustang's office was open slightly.
Walking toward it, Ed pushed the door open softly. Mustang was talking quietly on the phone.
"Thanks. Yeah, I wish he was here too. I will, thanks. Happy Christmas." Mustang put the phone back in it's cradle and hid his face in his hands. Ed approached the desk where Mustang sat and stood in front of it. "Who ya talking to?"
Mustang looked up, surprised. "Oh. Hey, Fullmetal." Ed watched his superior struggle to contain the emotions that still covered his face. Finally, all the sadness was hidden behind an impenetrable wall.
Ed sat carefully on the arm of one of the couches nearest the Colonel's desk. "You okay?" He asked cautiously.
Mustang looked at Ed, his wall on the very verge of wavering. "I'm fine, Ed," he answered, his voice way softer than it usually was.
Edward raised his eyebrow. "Fine, huh? You never call me Ed."
"I do so."
"No, you don't. What's up?"
"The ceiling, Fullmetal."
"So very funny, Colonel Bastard. Fucking hilarious."
"You know, I don't think you're supposed to curse on Christmas Eve, Fullmetal."
"I don't give a damn about Christmas, Mustang. I'm only here because Al begged me to come."
"Is that so? But why are you in here?"
"What? In this room? Because there's nothing interesting going on out there and I was wondering where you were."
"Touching."
"Right?"
They were both silent. Ed shifted in his seat. "So are you going to tell me what's going on in your head or not?" He demanded.
Mustang sighed and ran his hand through spiky dark hair. "Why do you care, Ed? You never did before."
"...It's not that I didn't care, I don't think," Ed said hesitantly, aware of the Colonel's eyes on him. "It's just that I didn't think I cared." Ed turned bright red. "I mean..uhh...I don't not care about you."
"Because that cleared everything right up, Fullmetal."
"..."
"But I get what you mean."
"Sooo. What's up?"
"Hughes."
"...Ah." It really should have been obvious, Ed thought to himself. I mean, he's only missing his best friend at Christmas.
"Was that Gracia on the phone?"
"Yeah. I felt I ought to talk to her on Christmas. Just talk."
"How's she doing?"
"I think she's doing okay. But I could Elicia on the other end. Asking where he is. Asking her mother if Hughes would be home for Christmas."
"Oh God, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing, Fullmetal?"
"I...don't know. Isn't that something every human does? Apologize for something that isn't their fault?" Ed paused. "I don't think it's apologizing, exactly. I think it's just a way of saying I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm sorry you're in pain. Other than that, I got no clue."
"Do any of us?"
"Probably not."
Once again, the two sank into silence, though this time it was more comfortable. Finally, Mustang shifted in his seat. "Do you wanna go out to the party?"
"Not particularly."
"I see. So...you wanna stay in here with me?"
"No way in hell!"
"Then I guess we're going out to the party."
Ed sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. Mustang stood up from his chair, smiling. He came around to the front of the desk, walked up right next to Ed and slung his arm around the younger boy's shoulders.
Entrapped in this position for the second time this night, Ed once again tried to struggle and get out from under the heavy limb. "Seriously!" Ed complained. "Havoc already did this to me, and he was drunk! What's your excuse?"
"Havoc was drunk?" Mustang asked interestedly, removing his arm.
"Oh, yeah. That reminds me; stay away from the eggnog."
A/N: This can be any type of Roy/Ed that you prefer. I hope you guys liked this, and sorry if it was a little weird. I've been dividing my time between school, writing, and trying to watch The Battle of Five Armies.
PETER JACKSON WHAT THE HELL YOU BUTCHERED THE ENTIRE MOVIE
Like, he does realize that Legolas wasn't even in the book, right? And who the fuck is Tauriel, and why the hell is Kili falling for her?
I'm done, I swear. That is, until I decide whether or not I want to write a LotR Christmas fic. MWAAHHAHAHA!
Anyways, drop me a review if you liked! I LOVE ALL THE REVIEWS!
IF you want to see the continuation of the Twelve Days of Christmas, you'll have to go to my profile. They aren't all going to be FMA.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a good day!
BYE ;3
