"I'm home!" The door slammed as Ed entered the apartment. He started the process of shucking off his scarf, coat, sweatshirt, sweater, and gloves. A puddle of melting snow began to form around him. It was cold as fuck outside and he might never get feeling back in his toes, but their apartment was warm and he was surrounded by the smell of cookies fresh from the oven. It was so domestic he could barf, but it was secretly also kind of amazing.
"Gosh, I never would've known if you hadn't told me. It's not like you're loud enough to be heard clear across the city." Al's voice was filled with amusement as he emerged from the kitchen.
Ed opened his mouth, ready to fire off a retort, but had to stop and stare in horror. His brother was wearing the single ugliest… thing he'd ever seen. It almost caused him physical pain to look at it, but he couldn't look away either. It was like watching Animal Planet, when the little baby gazelle was ripped apart by the vicious lionesses.
It took him several seconds of dumb blinking before he managed to find his voice. "Al, what the fuck ." He was honestly baffled. Everyone always said Al was the better dressed of the two of them, and he'd foolishly believed them, but no more. Not after this.
The brat had the audacity to laugh at him. "Oh, you mean my Christmas sweater? I found it when I went shopping with Winry the other day, isn't it great?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I've never understood what people meant by 'cursed object' until now. You have to burn it."
For some reason, Al didn't seem to appreciate his honesty, judging by his narrowed eyes. "It's festive. It's filled with holiday spirit. Something you could use a little more of, Mr. Grinch." He started walking back to the kitchen, so he missed Ed's eye roll.
"It's filled with Satan , Al. We're gonna have to ritually cleanse the apartment," he said emphatically as he followed his brother. That earned him a snort.
"You don't even believe in Satan," Al informed him smugly.
"I do after seeing that. My poor innocent eyes," Ed complained. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he reached for one of the cookies set out to cool on the counter, only to have his hand smacked away.
"Those are for the guests!" Al glared.
"But I'm hungry now," he whined. "When are they getting here, anyway?" He abandoned the counter and went to rummage in the fridge instead, pulling out some cranberry juice and drinking straight from the carton. He didn't need to turn around to see the grimace on Al's face.
"They were supposed to be here half an hour ago. I was just about to call Winry when you got home and distracted me."
Ed did turn then, about to say something snarky, but caught himself when he saw Al biting his lip in worry. "I'm sure they're fine, Ling probably did something stupid to hold them up."
Al pursed his lips, but he was distracted by the ding of an incoming text. He quickly pulled out his phone and scanned the message, frowning harder the more he read. He typed a quick reply before looking back to Ed.
"That was Winry. Granny arrived at her house earlier today and they went to the airport to pick up Ling and Lan Fan, but she said the storm's getting too bad to drive in and there were a lot of warnings on the radio about staying off the road. Her house was closer so they all went back there."
Ed frowned. He'd walked home from the lab not twenty minutes ago, and sure it hadn't been fun, but it hadn't been so bad that there weren't cars on the road. He went to the window in the living room and pulled aside the curtain.
"Wow. No wonder they didn't wanna drive through this," he said with a low whistle. It'd definitely picked up since he got home. Snow was falling thickly as far as the eye could see, obscuring everything of the world beyond.
"Looks like it's a blizzard. I can't believe it got so bad so fast," Al commented in wonder from over his shoulder. Ed hummed in agreement.
They were jerked from their musing by a loud knock at the door. The brothers exchanged glances before Ed shrugged and went to answer it.
On the other side was possibly the last person he expected. Tall, broad shoulders, black hair that looked like it'd be silky to the touch, and black eyes that had the ability to peer into your very soul.
Roy Mustang. A smug, arrogant bastard, in Ed's opinion. Their nice neighbor from across the hall, in Al's.
His mouth curled into a smirk when he saw Ed. "Hello, Edward. It's good to see you. It seems like forever since we've had a chance to catch up." The bastard had the nerve to make it sound like he actually cared.
Ed gritted his teeth and reminded himself of how apoplectic Al would be if he cussed out their neighbor on Christmas Eve. He managed to bring something approximating a smile to his face.
"Hey, Mustang. Yeah, I've been out late at the lab a lot," he swallowed, wishing for Al to come and save him from the awkward smalltalk. Alas, no Christmas miracle for him. The little gremlin was probably listening from around the corner and silently laughing his ass off at Ed's discomfort. Ugh, siblings.
Mustang cleared his throat. "Ah, merry Christmas. I wanted to give you this wine." He held out a package that he'd been carrying under his arm.
Ed was startled, because he hadn't even noticed he was holding something before. But his lapse in attention definitely wasn't because he'd been too distracted looking at Mustang's face. That shit was for Al's smutty romance novels, not real life.
"Thanks? And merry Christmas, I guess," he said, reaching out to take the wine when Mustang offered it.
"I know it's a bit sudden, but I got the wine as a gift for a Christmas party some friends and I were planning on going to, but the blizzard hit right after they arrived to pick me up." He somehow managed to roll his eyes fondly. "They've already spiked the eggnog, they don't need anymore alcohol while in my apartment."
A sarcastic reply was on the tip of his tongue, about how thoughtful it was of Mustang to give them something for the express purpose of getting rid of it, when a loud crash came from the man's apartment, like a body hitting the floor, followed by what might have been gunfire. They both turned towards the noise, and then each other, Ed raising an eyebrow slowly. Judgingly.
"Perhaps I should go check on them," Roy said with the ghost of a wince.
Al chose that moment to pop out from wherever he'd been lurking. There was a disconcertingly bright smile on his face. Ed didn't trust it one bit.
"Roy! Merry Christmas! I couldn't help but overhear that you and your friends are missing a Christmas party because of the weather." Yeah, right, he couldn't help but overhear . Ed had long been of the opinion that butter wouldn't melt in his little brother's mouth. "Why don't you guys come over here? We were planning on having a little party with some friends and family, but they were stopped by the storm too." And Ed was right not to trust Al, because he'd just gone and invited Roy-Fucking-Mustang to a party in their apartment.
Mustang was clearly hesitant. "I wouldn't want to put you out…"
Al hurried to assure him, and Ed decided to leave the two of them to the social niceties. He held up the wine and motioned towards the kitchen to let them know where he was fucking off to, and then quickly made his escape.
He sat the wine down on the counter and then leaned against it with a sigh.
It wasn't that he hated Mustang. The opposite, actually. The man was so damn attractive and suave and perfect that Ed didn't know what to do with himself whenever he was around him. He felt like a little kid with their first crush every time he saw him; tongue-tied, pulse racing, weak-kneed, the works. It made him feel like a fool, and that was what he hated.
So he avoided Mustang, to avoid the possible humiliation. But the guy just wasn't having it! He was always looking at Ed and smiling, and it was weird because people didn't do that. They usually frowned, if anything. And he could understand that. He was loud and demanding and got angry easily, all things that put off normal people. It didn't seem to work on Mustang though, and Ed didn't understand why. Maybe that was part of why he avoided him, too. He hated not understanding almost as much as he hated looking like an idiot.
There was a swell of voices from the living room, and Ed lifted his head from where it'd been resting on his chest. Al had won the (very polite) argument, then. It was only to be expected. Even Roy Mustang had nothing on Alphonse Elric when he wanted something.
Well, he'd had his moment of peace. It was time to go out and be a good host, or whatever the fuck.
Of course, considering Ed's luck, it wasn't surprising that as soon as he started walking, someone came through the doorway and they slammed into each other. The world tilted and he pinwheeled his arms, thinking of nothing but the countertop he'd break his head open on if he fell backwards.
An arm looped around his waist and pulled him into a muscled chest. Ed blinked a few times to stop everything spinning before looking up at his rescuer (and also the reason he needed rescuing, can't forget that). Their faces were so close together he almost bashed into his nose. Gold eyes met black and they both froze.
Ed could feel the blush breaking over his face and didn't think he'd ever been so embarrassed, but then he noticed something weird. Mustang also had the slightest hint of pink on his cheeks, barely noticeable unless you were approximately five centimeters from him.
Was Mustang… blushing? Why would he-?
"I'm sorry, Edward, I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alright?" Roy asked worriedly. Ed couldn't help but notice that he made no move to step back or remove the arm from around his waist.
"What are you doing in here?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Ed wanted to bash his head into the wall. Why couldn't he have a single conversation with this man without blurting out something embarrassing?
He might go easy on himself just this once, on account of how surely no one could concentrate with their bodies pressed to Mustang's, and their faces so close, and his warm breath brushing against their lips on every exhale.
Mustang didn't laugh at him, though. (Fuck him, why couldn't he ever react in a way that made sense?) "I offered to bring some of the refreshments out while Alphonse got to know everyone. Speaking of, he asked me to tell you to come be introduced to everyone if I ran into you." He paused before adding, "I don't think he meant it quite so literally, though," with a wry smirk.
Oh. That made sense. What didn't make sense, however, was why neither of them had made any move to disentangle from one another. Tingling warmth was washing over Ed, concentrated wherever they touched. It was made worse by the close scrutiny from those black eyes. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips and Mustang's eyes followed. They didn't move away for several long moments.
Their eyes met again. The tingling intensified. Ed wanted to close his eyes, lean in, feel warm lips against his own.
He breathed in a small gasp and jerked himself away. He had to control himself. Mustang wasn't interested in him like that, and Ed was reading way too much into it. Sure, it had seemed like the other man wanted to kiss him, but it was just his imagination. He firmly reminded himself how depressing it'd be to be rejected at his own Christmas party, to squish the little shoots of doubt.
Mustang looked surprised, and then contemplative. He said nothing as Ed wiggled out from his hold, but cleared his throat when it looked like he was going to leave. Ed didn't turn around at the noise, but stopped when he felt a hand gently grab his wrist. He could break away easily if he wanted to, but he didn't. Even though most of him was scared to hear what Mustang had to say, part of him wanted to know.
He turned around but didn't know what to say. He didn't want to admit that he had to leave because he'd almost kissed Mustang, and he knew the other man didn't want that.
Mustang didn't seem to have so many reservations. He closed the gap between them once more and lifted a hand to cup Ed's cheek, forcing him to look up and meet his eyes. They were caught in each other's gaze again, and Ed could feel a blush on his face to rival the one from before. Mustang obviously noticed, as he gave a smug smirk. Ed was ready to rip him a new one for laughing at him, but didn't get the chance as Mustang leaned in and brought their lips together softly.
Ed's eyes fluttered closed and he leaned further into the kiss. Without conscious thought, his hands settled on Mustang's shoulders and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt for purchase. He felt Mustang's arm return to its previous position around his back and pull him even closer, while another hand went to the back of his neck and tangled in his hair. A tongue swept along his lip, asking for entrance, and he granted it with a low groan.
Eventually they had to break apart for air. Ed rested his head on Mustang's shoulder and Mustang nuzzled the side of his face. Ed couldn't say how long they'd kissed. Too long for a Christmas party with friends and family waiting for them in the other room, probably. He couldn't find it in himself to regret it, but he was very confused.
"Uh, Mustang-" He broke off and cleared his throat, embarrassed at how breathy he sounded. "What was that about?"
"You really don't know, do you," Mustang asked, but it didn't sound like a question. Ed 'hmm'ed, too comfortable to move at the moment. That got him a snort, and more quietly, "I've been trying to find the courage to approach you for ages, but I could never tell if you were interested or not. It seemed like you were whenever we talked, but then you also seemed to be avoiding me, so I couldn't figure out if I was just imagining things or not." There was a pause, during which Ed didn't even dare to breathe. His blood roared in his ears. He'd never felt such aching, yearning tenderness towards another person before.
"And when you started walking away, I was confused, and then I was terrified. It felt like, if I let you leave, that was it. I would've missed my chance. And even though I wasn't sure of anything, I knew that I couldn't let you go without at least trying," Mustang whispered into his ear.
Well. It wouldn't be equivalent at all if he let Mustang say all that and then didn't say anything in reply. That didn't make it easy, though. Ed had to take a couple breaths before he could get his voice to work. "I was avoiding you because I wanted you so much. And I walked away because of that, too." That got him a kiss on the ear, which seemed like it would be weird, but was actually just as nice as everything else Mustang did. Of course.
"Roy, could you not find the cookies? They should be on the counter, unless Ed-" Al's voice suddenly cut off as he stopped in the doorway and stared at the two of them with wide eyes. Ed and Mustang froze like deer in the headlights. "-ate them," Al finished in a much quieter volume.
Trying to diffuse the situation, Ed drudged up some sarcasm. Luckily it came to him as natural as breathing. "Are you really suggesting I could eat all the cookies, Al? I'm pretty sure you could feed a small army with all these."
Al didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he broke out into a smile that grew at an alarming rate. Soon he looked like the cat that got the canary.
"This is great! I'm so happy for you two!" Al gushed. Ed waited for it, because his brother wouldn't have that look unless he had more to say. "I'm sure the others will be happy for you too, but maybe less than me since I won the bet." Ah, there it was.
"You've all got bets on us already? You were introduced less than an hour ago. They've never even met Edward," Mustang spluttered.
His only answer was a Cheshire grin. "We made time for the important stuff, of course." Saying that, he took a plate of cookies in each hand and left the room, making sure to stop and give them a big wink as he did. Ed wasn't even surprised, honestly.
He and Mustang (or Roy now, maybe) stepped apart, although they still didn't go far. Roy had a confused look on his face. "I never realized Alphonse could be so…" It seemed that he couldn't find a word to describe him.
"Demonic? Yeah, most people don't," Ed supplied helpfully. "What d'you say to popping open that bottle of wine you gave us before heading out there? I feel like we might need it to get through the rest of the night." That got him a rueful grin.
"I think that's an excellent suggestion."
As he hunted for a corkscrew that they might or might not own, Ed realized that it had been years since he'd had such a good Christmas. Sure, it hadn't turned out the way he'd expected, but it was amazing in all new ways. He was in his warm apartment, the smell of cookies was in the air, Al was happy and talking and laughing with Roy's friends in the living room, and Roy himself was standing close by, calling out increasingly unhelpful suggestions for where the corkscrew might be. (Honestly, why would it be in the fucking freezer? He and Al weren't raised by wolves.)
He didn't know what they'd face in the future, but the present sure was perfect, and that's all he could ask for.
This was my gift for Sassyfirealchemist for the RoyEd Gift Exchange 2017. They asked for fluff, modern, and slow-burn. I think I got the first two, at least.