Perfection
"Al?" Asked Ed, staring at his white gloves in apprehension.
"Yes, brother?" Replied Al, staring at the window arrangements with something like euphoria. Even with armour. Ed planned to figure out how Al could be so emotive while still being steel some day.
"We have a budget..." Ed said, "Remember?"
"I remember," Al said distantly, focusing on the glass ornaments. An obsessive light shimmered deep inside where the armour's eye holes were.
"And you are going to follow it, right?" Ed said nervously.
"Hmmm... No, brother. It is Christmas, as you know, the season where we celebrate the beauty of life and..." Al trailed off. "I want this." He pointed to a beautifully craved wooden decoration set.
"It costs!" Ed gasped, rubbing a hand against his now weak heart. "So much!"
"We must have the most beautiful tree in all of the world," Al intoned.
Ed sighed and felt for his wallet. He pitied it. "I guess," he mumbled, "We could bill it to the bastard Colonel." Ed grinned, this was actually sounding like a great idea. "Yes, Al, go wild!"
Al didn't seem to notice as he clapped his hands together and murmured excitably, "That reindeer is so cute!"
Roy Mustang looked at the receipts. He looked at Edward Elric.
"I'm not sure this qualifies as State Alchemist expenses," Roy said tightly. "Fullmetal."
Ed looked ridiculously pleased. "Ah, but it does!" He waved a condescending finger in front of Roy's nose. Roy fought the urge to snap his fingers and see how theFullmetal dealt with that.
"How so?" Roy instead gritted out. Goddammit, he was supposed to be the smug bastard and not Ed.
"It is the festive season," Ed said chirpily, "Your office needs decorating."
"My office does not need decorating," Roy said. "Not only that but Hawkeye - "
"Already agreed. She's putting tinsel up on the windows," Ed grinned and leaned back on his chair.
"Under regulation 6a chapter 47bii," Roy muttered, "It is against Army policy to - "
"The Fuhrer already agreed," Ed interrupted. "When Al and I were shopping. He encouraged it!" Ed looked practically devilish.
Sometimes Roy wished there was someone sane running the country.
In the end in turned out well enough.
"Fullmetal, if you cannot get the angels to be in proper symbolical order according to their position in the hierarchy of heaven, just what kind of alchemist are you?"
Al would tread ever so softly on the floorboards as he surveyed his masterpiece. Roy made a note to thank the younger boy some time for getting him an excuse to get out of work.
"What is this Fullmetal? We are going red white green, not green white red!"
Roy even took it upon himself to buy a box of mistletoe. It was all in good spirit when Havoc had to french Fury. Thankfully he had a camera. Pity his laughter had blurred the picture slightly. But genius was often marred by reality.
"Those are the frosted baubles, Fullmetal, not the shiny baubles! Sometimes I just don't know what to do with someone of your small intellect!"
The resulting explosion over his lack of height was nothing compared to when Roy suggested that Ed place the star at the top of the tree. Watching him jump fruitlessly had been too much for Roy's sense of humour. He had to sit down for ten minutes as he had laughed.
"Beautiful," Al whispered when the last tinsel had been wrapped, when the last bauble had been placed on a branch. "Just beautiful."
