One Christmas Eve
Hello, my minions! Er, I mean, readers. This is my first fanfiction, so please be lenient in terms of mistakes. If there is anything you think should be changed, I would love to know. Please feel free to tell me your opinion. Constructive criticism does help people get better at what they do, after all. Thank you and please enjoy.
Disclaimers: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, even though I wish I had been the genius to create it. "The Night before Christmas" was written by Clement Clarke Moore and is not mine, either.
"Some winter, huh, Al?"
Alphonse Elric turned to ask his brother what he meant when he stopped short; Ed was staring off into the distance. Al followed his gaze before noticing rain on the horizon. The younger brother looked up. Dark clouds were blowing swiftly along and it appeared that the rain would be headed their way.
Al sighed. "Yeah." Ever since he'd gotten his original body back, Al had been doing everything that he'd been unable to in the metal shell: eating, sleeping, drinking, feeling the grass beneath his feet. But there was one thing he was still wondering about.
He turned to look at Ed, who was now observing his younger brother, curiosity painted on his face.
Alphonse voiced his thoughts: "What does snow feel like, brother?"
Edward blinked; he'd obviously not been expecting that. "Cold. Wet, I suppose."
Al sighed. "Yes, I know; that's what everyone says. Besides that, what is it like?" he inquired, annoyed.
Ed shrugged. "Sorry, Al. It's just one of those things you have to experience on your own, ya know?"
Al looked down at the muddy ground beneath his shoes. "I guess so."
"Tell you what, after we get back to Central, I'll see if there are any jobs in the North that I can do and, while we're there, you can spend some time out in the snow. Then you can see it for yourself."
They had just completed a mission Roy Mustang had asked of them as a favor. Currently, they were staying in a small town in the Great desert, near the ocean. It was humid and- according to the locals- always saw a plethora of rainstorms.
Alphonse said, "I'd like that. Maybe you could take a vacation and we could spend time there together?"
"I dunno," Ed replied doubtfully, "I guess so. Things have been pretty busy ever since the Promised Day, what with all of the repairs and reconstruction and all."
They fell silent once more, staring up at the darkening sky. The short, brown and yellow grass swayed gently in the breeze around the soles of their shoes. Behind them, the town was buzzing with activity as the denizens hurried to complete various tasks before the bad weather set in.
'They must be used to it, though, having lived here their whole lives,' Al told himself. He quietly noted that one of the tasks was decorating their doors with wreathes and leaves with red berries at their ends. 'That's right,' he recalled.' Tomorrow is…" He shifted on his feet, drawing his brother's attention once more.
"Hey, brother?"
"Yeah, Al?"
"Don't you remember what today is?"
Edward paused, frowning at his brother; his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as he thought about it. He gave up and replied, "I have no clue."
"It's Christmas Eve."
"Oh? How can that be?" Ed frowned.
"Well, we got here yesterday night," Alphonse began, ticking off the days with his fingers. "The day before that, we completed the mission and left the town. It was about half a month ago that Mustang asked the favor of us. And before that- in November- you had an alchemy assessment."
The state alchemist scowled. "Yeah, one that I hadn't been prepared for. Seriously, I didn't think they could pull unscheduled assessments on me like that."
"Brother!" Al exclaimed impatiently.
"Oh, right. Back to today. So it really is Christmas Eve?"
His little brother nodded.
Ed frowned. "Huh. Time flies, I guess. Speaking of which, we should go back and get something to eat. I'm hungry."
"Of course you are, Ed."
They trudged down the small hill to the dirt road that served as a main street for the town. Stopping at a small grocery store, they purchased a bundle of food from a smiling owner, including a small slab of ham, a couple potatoes, and rolls of bread. Across the street was a building that served as the only inn for miles. The two brothers entered through the front door, stomping mud off onto the rug before heading up the wooden staircase. Ed unlocked their room with a small, golden key; he pushed the door open and sat the cloth bundle on the table. Al shut the door and the Elrics kicked off their dirty shoes.
There was a quaint kitchen attached to the main room complete with dishes and silverware provided by the inn keeper. Ed pulled out several of these dishes and distributed the food. Alphonse joined him at the table as his brother dug into his own share of the food.
Outside, the storm had arrived. Lightning flashed ominously, followed by periodical rumbles of thunder.
They quickly finished their meal in silence. The two teenagers washed, dried, and returned the dishes to their places in the cabinets once they were done. They changed into their pajamas and took turns using the small bathroom to brush their teeth.
Half an hour later, Al lay down on the bed next to the wall while his brother sat on the edge of the one which was placed beside the glass window. Al watched as his brother leaned down to adjust something on his automail leg, feeling a small pang of regret that they had been unable to get his original limb back to normal. Back to the way things used to be. Something came to the front of his mind and Alphonse could not help but act on the thought.
"Uh… big brother?"
Edward looked up, brushing his bangs from his eyes. "Yes?"
Al pushed himself up onto one elbow, facing the older teen. "Remember how when we were little, mom would always read to us on Christmas Eve?"
Ed nodded, a faraway look coming into his golden eyes. "The night before Christmas."
Alphonse blushed as he continued speaking. "Well… I, uh… I wondered if you would, you know, maybe read it."
Ed looked at the younger boy for a couple more seconds. Al quickly tried to backtrack. "Never-never mind. It was just a thought. You don't have to…" he trailed off as Ed stood and moved over to where the desk was.
Ed clapped his hands together and pressed them against the oak table; the light from the reaction momentarily filled the room with an eerie blue glow. When he turned, there was a book in his hands, one familiar to both Elrics.
"You transmuted a copy," Al whispered.
Ed nodded, sitting on the edge of Al's bed. The mattress squeaked beneath their combined weight.
Ed smiled at his brother before opening the book, turning to the first page of the story. Al lay back down, shifting to get comfortable as his brother began to read.
" 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." He glanced up at his brother, who smiled n return. Ed flipped the page. "The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." Edward frowned, remembering that it had been years since he and Al had last truly celebrated Christmas. He had to clear his throat in order to continue. "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."
Al looked like he wanted to fall asleep, drowsy from the day's events.
"And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter."
A tree branch struck the window with frighteningly precise timing, causing both Elrics to wince. Then, the older brother offered an explanation, "The storm must still be bad. Or the wind, at least." Alphonse lay back down, leaning against the pillow.
"Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the luster of mid-day to objects below," Edward read, recalling his earlier conversation with Al. He made a mental note to speak to Mustang as soon as he got back so that he could reserve seats on a train.
"When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer."
Alphonse interrupted his golden-eyed sibling. "Do you think they exist? Reindeer, I mean."
The state alchemist shrugged. "I don't know; we've seen some pretty strange things. It makes me think that almost anything is possible."
Al nodded and gestured for his brother to resume with his reading.
"With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, and he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!" For the next part, Edward was amused to notice that Al moved his lips, silently reciting it from his memory. Together, he and his younger brother had always used to shout the part, their mother laughing at their energy. He smiled at the memory.
Edward adopted the voice of an elderly man to say the next part.
""Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer, and Vixen! On, Comet, on, Cupid, on, Donner, and Blitzen! To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall! Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
His brother giggled at his strange imitation of the jolly fat guy.
"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky." Edward glanced behind him, through the window. Outside, the storm raged fiercely. He swallowed hard, a little nervous; the storm was worse than the ones that could be considered the norm to him. "So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, with the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas, too."
It began to hail, the icy stones pelting the roof.
"And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound."
The wind whistled outside, tossing more branches around. "He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack."
Alphonse closed his eyes, probably to imagine the description which Edward was about to provide. "His eyes- how they twinkled, his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow. The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!" Ed's stomach growled, despite having eaten only an hour or so ago.
"He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself! A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread."
Outside, the storm had begun to subside; the wind was dying down. The hail had turned into a steady rain.
He paused, noting that his brother had begun to drift off to sleep.
No longer hearing his brother's voice, Alphonse forced his eyes open and yawned. "Brother?"
Edward sighed, continuing. "He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle."
Before he had even finished reading the story aloud, Al had- as it appeared- fallen asleep. He ended the tale in a quieter tone, cautious not to wake up his brother. "But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight…"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."
Edward shut the book, carefully placing it on the nightstand beside his brother's bed.
"Merry Christmas Eve, little brother. I love you," Ed whispered, pulling the sheets up to his brother's collar bone. He switched the lights off and climbed into his own bed. He began to drift asleep.
Before he was enveloped by his dreams, however, he could have sworn he heard Al sigh, sleepily, "I love you, too, brother."
The end! Please let me know what you think. Happy Holidays!