Edward looked out of the window of the office lobby, sighing dejectedly. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the blue sky, and he hadn't even had to wear a coat today. Which was complete bullshit, seeing as Christmas was four days away.

Never in his life had Ed not had a white Christmas. As a kid in Risembool, he and Al had always been able to go out and build snowmen with their numb fingers on Christmas Eve. Following the death of their mother and their subsequent move to Central to join the military, Christmases had become more grim, but those little white flakes always seemed to be able to conjure up a memory of happier times. After defeating Father, the Elric brothers had once again enjoyed Christmas with Winry, able to make snow angels with their own bodies (for the most part) for the first time in years. Now, Al had left for Xing, Edward had decided to come back to the military just a few months ago, and the weather finally betrayed him. It was December 21st, but it might as well have been spring.

It just completely drained Ed of his spirit. This time of year was supposed to involve cold, and layers, and rosy cheeks, and hot chocolate, and cuddling by the fire—

He gulped, a faint pinkish tinge rising up in his cheeks, and turned away from the window to glance at the watch on his wrist. He'd been waiting here for General Mustang to call him into his office for half an hour now. Granted, Edward knew that Roy no longer napped at his desk; the older man was genuinely busy. Hell, he even did all his paperwork. Things had changed since his last stint in the military; helping to revive Ishval had given Roy a more immediate purpose than his goal of becoming Fuhrer, and that brought along a real, honest work ethic. Hence why Ed was being this patient.

Footsteps approached from down the corridor. Quiet, light, and yet still surefooted. Edward didn't have to turn around to recognize Lieutenant Hawkeye, having long since memorized the walking patterns of all his teammates. "Send a message to your boss: I haven't mellowed that much since the last go around, and I'm going to start getting snippy."

Riza came around from behind him, smiling lightly. She was in the process of growing her bangs out, and now donned a plain old ponytail, similar to Ed's own preferred style. It was remarkable how open the lack of hair in her face made her look…or maybe it was just that she actually had become less severe over the years. Marginally. "He's making you wait again, huh?"

Since Alphonse was now living outside of the country, Edward had had to pick up a new confidant. After all, everyone needs that someone they tell everything to. And even though Lieutenant Hawkeye was chiefly Roy's go-to person, she'd also taken up the challenge of dealing with Ed, for which he was grateful. His only other option was Havoc, who sang like a canary if you got him drunk enough. This woman was truly a trooper. As such, she was privy to some of the vibes Edward had been getting—and giving off—lately. "I think he's hoping I'll somehow age faster out here."

"And that would make things less awkward, would it?"

"I dunno," Edward sighed. "I mean, I've been putting down plenty of signals, right?"

"Plenty," Hawkeye emphasized dryly, arching an eyebrow. "Everyone else in the office is about to pick up on it, you're so obvious."

"But something's still holding him back. Maybe it is my age. Or maybe he's not actually interested."

Riza rolled her eyes with the kind of exasperation only a wing man (or woman, in this case) could manage. "Need I remind you of the time I caught him practically drooling, staring at you when you walked down the hall?"

Smiling wolfishly, Ed replied, "Well, I do like being reminded—"

"Reminded of what?"

Even though Edward had been trained time and time again to deal with surprise, he jumped in his seat when he heard Roy's voice. He turned around to see the man's head poking out of his office door, hair rumpled and eyes graced by eternal dark circles. Even so, he was an 11 on a scale going up to 10, and he thoroughly took Ed's breath away (mainly due to him sneaking up…or so Edward tried to convince himself).

"Reminded that you're actually working; it keeps him from barging in there after 15 minutes of boredom out here," the Lieutenant replied, straight-faced.

"You know, it's downright remarkable how impatient you are," Roy commented. "Sometimes slow is good."

"No way," Ed argued. "If I can have something now, how is it possibly better if I wait forever to have it?"

"Anticipation."

Slowly and nearly silently, Hawkeye backed away. It wasn't any fun for onlookers when they got all flirtatious like this. Edward winked at her, before grinning and declaring. "Well I've been anticipating your attention long enough. You wanted to see me, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a knot," Roy goaded, opening his door wider. "Come on in."

Needing no further invitation, Ed practically leaped up from his seat, ducking under Roy's arm to enter his office. Doing so allowed him to glance appreciatively at said arm and, more importantly, those muscles that were going to be the death of him. This was a habit Edward had developed fairly recently, and it usually put him in a pretty damn good mood, except today Roy's sleeves were rolled up, which reminded him of why he was upset in the first place. So dramatic was his mood swing that it evidently affected the air, because as soon as the office door was closed again the General looked him in the eye, concerned. "Jeez, Ed, you okay? You're not really that upset I kept you waiting, are you? You look like someone kicked your puppy."

"No way!" Edward corrected him hurriedly. "It's the weather. You've got your sleeves rolled up." Ed rubbed his own arm self-consciously, hoping the older man wouldn't notice that he'd noticed his sleeves of all things. "Christmas is supposed to be cold. And snowy. I don't like it like this."

Though the older man tried to hide it, Ed caught him biting the side of his cheek to keep from smiling. He almost groaned aloud; he sounded like he was pouting. "Come on, it's nice. Don't you like not having to fight to keep warm?"

"Fighting to keep warm is the whole point," Edward disagreed, walking forward and taking his customary seat in front of Roy's desk. "Finding alternatives to just letting the sun warm you up is nice. You bundle up in coats so you can face the elements and enjoy the snow. You drink warm, delicious beverages to heat you from the inside out. You curl up by the fire, you get to live in a blanket burrito, you—"

"Snuggle close to other people?" Roy suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

"Yes." His response was quiet, but vehement. "I wouldn't mind if it was icy all year round, but if I can't have that, I at least deserve a cold Christmas."

Surprisingly, their banter wasn't making the General smirk, as it usually did. Instead, his face seemed to be drooping, growing steadily less lively as Edward spoke. It was wrong, so Ed quickly changed the subject; he didn't know what was bothering Roy, but he didn't like it. "Anyway, what'd you want to talk to me about?"

Roy, however, didn't respond right away. The older man turned away from Ed, gazing out his window at the bright day outside, and Edward swore he heard a faint sigh. Still not looking back at him, Roy finally said, "I just wanted to discuss my vacation."

Ah, yes. Roy was going down south for Christmas, the first vacation he'd taken in years. It was the talk of the office. "What about it?"

Again, the man seemed to struggle for a moment before responding, like someone at a podium who has suddenly forgotten the speech they were supposed to give. Ed wanted to apologize for what he'd said to upset Roy, though he didn't know exactly what had triggered this reaction. "I'll be gone from Christmas Eve until New Year's. I'd like you to take a leave as well. No one else here can keep you in line, so it'll be easier for everyone if you just break."

Normally, Edward would have risen to the insult and shot back one of his own, or possibly started screaming. But now he was just worried. "Roy…"

"You're dismissed," the General interrupted. Roy still refused to turn away from the window. A vague reflection on its surface revealed a blank, distracted expression. Ed gaped, trying to understand what he'd done, not knowing what to say. His already gloomy mood deepened, but he couldn't think of what else to say. "Dismissed," Roy repeated, a little firmer this time. Edward had no option but to leave the room, like a dog with his tail between his legs running from a mess he made.

A hitching sigh escaped Roy's mouth once he heard his office door click. There went Edward's Christmas gift. His too, if he was honest with himself. He'd been intending to ask the younger man to accompany him on vacation, but there was no point in giving a gift Ed wouldn't enjoy, and apparently that nixed everything to do with a warm climate this season.

Defeated, he sat down heavily in his chair. Moments after he got settled in, his door burst open again, this time to reveal his Lieutenant standing there, breathless with an excitement that dissipated as soon as she caught sight of his expression. "Oh, no. He didn't refuse, did he? There's no way…"

"No," Roy explained heavily. "I didn't even ask. Apparently, Edward finds hot Christmases repulsive. I can't invite him to come on a vacation he wouldn't enjoy; as much as this is for myself, I want him to be happy…"

"You…didn't even try?" Riza repeated in disbelief. "But you were so excited. I bought earplugs so I wouldn't have to hear you talk about how amazing this "romantic getaway" was going to be. And you're just giving up?"

"To be fair, I don't know that he would have agreed to come anyway," Roy pointed out. "I maintain that he might not actually be into me; this could all be a joke to him."

At this statement, Lieutenant Hawkeye's eyes narrowed. "That's bullshit. He talks about you nonstop. He actually likes being in the same room with you now. He asks after you when you're away on business. Sometimes I swear I catch him daydreaming. Of course he wants you!"

"Regardless, it wouldn't be a vacation for him. Relax!" Roy added hurriedly, seeing that Riza was opening up her mouth to argue again. "I'm not going to give up. Really, who do you take me for? I may be down, but I'm not out. Let me get over the disappointment and I'll work it out. I'll just have to change my plans a little."

There was a red envelope on his desk. It was torn open now, to reveal a generic Christmas card. And all that was fine. But there was also a smaller slice of paper that had been tucked inside the card now in plain sight on the wood. A train ticket, one to a small town not too far from Briggs. Ed couldn't take his eyes off it, enraptured in the same way one might stare at a mirage. Because that couldn't be real. For the thousandth time, Edward (hand shaking) lifted the Christmas card to read the inscription inside.

Since you're going to be off anyway, I thought you should get to have your white Christmas. You'll be staying at a cabin surrounded by plenty of snow.

Merry Christmas,

Roy

Even though his eyes read the words, Edward couldn't seem to process them. Roy couldn't have…he didn't actually…this was too much. He had to be dreaming.

Of course, there was only one way to find out.

Still trembling, Edward scooped up all the papers in one hand and stepped away from his rarely used desk, walking down the hall towards Roy's office doors. Briefly he considered knocking, then decided this was too important for silly niceties like that. So in he went.

The General, seated at his desk as per usual, didn't even flinch. He just glanced up once, then back down at his papers. "You know, the doors are there for a reason. Namely so that people don't just barge in."

"What's this?" Ed asked, striding forward and ignoring the other man's words completely. He waved the handful of paper about vaguely.

"You know how to read," Roy pointed out. "It's a train ticket. Merry Christmas."

"But why?" For Edward, this was a very important question. People had all kinds of motives for what they did, ranging solidly between hatred and love. Was this a friendly gift, was it an extravagant show of affection, was it Roy wanting Ed out of his hair so much that they needed to be in opposite ends of the country…?

Finally, Roy put down his pen, resting his head in his hands and staring up at Ed (the only time it wasn't the other way around being when the General was seated). "Because you deserve to be happy. You were all bummed out the day before last because it wasn't going to be cold and snowy on Christmas, and I didn't want something as mundane as the weather to ruin your holiday."

"But you're not a spender," Ed protested. "You're the most frugal person I've ever met, and you're already shelling out a ton of money to go on your own vacation. Why would you fund mine?"

"Well, I was hoping it would make you smile," Roy replied. As he spoke, it was almost as though his dark irises melted, becoming liquid and trapping the light. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips as they quirked upwards. Edward didn't think he'd ever wanted to kiss the man as badly as he did then. "And I like to see you smile."

There are certain points in life at which words of any language become pointless. No matter what you say, it can't convey the feeling of the moment, and Edward found himself in one such predicament. So instead of saying anything, he beamed and, before he lost his nerve, walked around the desk, pulled Roy into a standing position by the sleeve of his jacket, and hugged the General as tight as he'd ever hugged anyone.

It took Roy all of a second to reciprocate, and then warm arms were wrapping themselves around Ed. Strong arms. Despite how much he liked to gawk at them, Edward hadn't been able to realistically imagine how wonderful they felt, pulling him in closer. His face was pressed against the neckline of Roy's jacket. It smelled wonderful, like burning wood and brown sugar apples, and Ed had a feeling it wasn't cologne. Unconsciously, he pushed himself closer, until he could barely draw in air. Worth it. Breath tickled his scalp as Roy buried his own face in Edward's hair, inhaling and exhaling deeply. This didn't have to end, right? Because Edward might just have given up his arm again to be able to stay like this forever—

But they were in the middle of Headquarters, in an office that closed but didn't lock, and there was a knocking at its entrance. "Sir—" Lieutenant Hawkeye began, taking a single step inside the still open door. Just one. The quickest of smiles flashed across her face, before it was stoic once more. "Never mind. You're busy."

However, the moment had already been corrupted, and though Riza left the room as speedily as possible, Roy and Ed broke apart. They smiled tentatively at each other, and it was all Edward could do to let out a faint, "Thank you. Really, I mean it. Thank you so much."

Roy's grin widened even as he nodded, accepting the gratitude. "It's nothing. Why don't you go ahead and go? The ticket's for tomorrow morning. You might as well get that vacation started."

With a pang, Ed realized that meant he was supposed to leave. It was almost agonizing, but he did it, murmuring a final thanks and exiting with a light touch to Roy's shoulder. As he walked back to his desk, almost in a trance, Edward decided that hug had been absolutely addictive. He'd been craving it for a while, but now that he had a taste, he needed more. As he gathered up his belongings, Ed resolved to do something about this thing with Roy when he got back. Obviously, there was something there, and damned if he wasn't going to take advantage of it.

Boarding the train on the morning of Christmas Eve had felt wrong on all accounts. Which was stupid, because Ed was getting exactly what he wanted. The only problem was that he couldn't think of anything except Roy. More specifically, Roy also being on a train around this time, heading to his own vacation, in the opposite direction. Every passing minute on the journey north made Edward feel more and more like he should be on his way towards Roy, rather than away from him. Now, he was nearing his destination, and he felt…almost homesick. If the word "homesick" can apply to a person rather than a place. Ed realized that was rather dramatic, but hell, it was Christmas. He was allowed to have a sappy thought around this time of year.

But he wasn't going to allow himself and his achy heart ruin this wonderful gift the General had given him. So Edward looked out his window and let the scenery engulf his thoughts. This was more like it. The only trees as far as he could see were ever greens, though they weren't too green, covered in snow as they were. The sun was bright but not warm enough to melt the blanket that had settled on the ground; all it served to do was make the flakes sparkle, so that the land seemed to be made of icy glitter. The buildings they passed flew by, but Edward could see enough to tell that icicles had formed in abundance, dangling off the rooftops. This was what Christmas was supposed to look like, and the landscape managed to push Roy to the back of his mind (although not out of it entirely), a childish excitement taking the forefront.

When he disembarked from the train, suitcase in hand, it was all Ed could do to not jump in the first snowdrift he caught sight of. There would be time enough for that once he got to his cabin. Hopefully it would be isolated enough for him to be able to enjoy the snow without witnesses. Edward was prone to embarrassing himself at any time, but especially when he was feeling this cheery.

A distinct skip in his step, Ed decided to walk to his cabin rather than taking a cab; what was the point of snow if you only saw it through windows? The further away from the train station he got, the fewer people he saw. Cars and buildings became sparse, until he was following nothing more than a black streak of road in the middle of a white expanse. That was fine by Edward; he finally gave into his baser instinct and fell into the snow, laughing breathlessly as the cold enveloped him. It was interesting that humans could be so elated by something so dangerous, but perhaps that was part of the appeal. Being able to turn a threat into a treat most likely appealed to Ed and other winter-lovers like him on a deep evolutionary level. Not that he was thinking about that.

Shaking snow from his hair, Edward stood and continued on his way, content for now with having gotten a little of that out of his system. He continued walking, a smile pushing his flushed cheeks up as he realized it was beginning to snow again. Ed closed his eyes, imagining that he could feel each individual flake landing on his coat, his gloves, his hair. Even as he continued onward, Edward leaned his head back, poking a timid tongue out to taste the snow. Water, and yet somehow so much fresher for being frozen. This was magical, and perhaps that was why winter mixed so well with the holidays.

His foot crunched through a heavier patch of snow, causing Ed to open his eyes and look ahead once more. Good thing, too; lo and behold, ahead of him on the road was a small grouping of cabins, their windows almost universally glowing brightly. Without further ado, Edward hurried forward, practically running by the time he reached the largest building.

Walking inside, Ed found himself in a homely (and empty) reception area. Empty, aside from the man in the Santa hat sitting behind a mahogany countertop.

"Hi!" he greeted brightly, smiling so widely Edward was sure he'd had some sort of surgery to allow it. "What can I do for you today?"

"I just need to check in," Ed answered, trying to at least half-match the man's enthusiasm. It wasn't that he wasn't excited, but damn.

"Alrighty! What's the name?"

"Um…" Edward thought for a moment. "Roy. Roy Mustang." Knowing the General, he was just self-centered enough to place the cabin under his own name as opposed to Ed's. The receptionist flipped through some papers, then confirmed Edward's suspicions.

"Oh, yes. Everything's already been settled, so you can head right over. It'll be Cabin Eight. Let me just grab you that key." The man turned around, rummaging through a draw, entirely oblivious to Ed's responding frown. How could everything be settled? He hadn't filled out paperwork, or signed anything…Edward had stayed in enough hotels during the course of his military career to know this wasn't the norm. Still, maybe this was just part of the gift? Perhaps Roy had called ahead. Regardless of the circumstances, Ed found a key being shoved into his hand. "Enjoy!"

Wordlessly, Edward walked out, fervently hoping there would be no problems. He wasn't sure he had it in him to deal with someone who was so strangely happy for too long. He followed the signs and walked down a cobblestone path barely visible beneath the fresh snow, which had picked up. It looked as though Ed had just barely arrived in time; a few minutes later, and he might be in the middle of a pretty bad storm. There! Cabin Eight was just ahead.

Jogging the last few steps, Edward pushed the key into the lock and turned, stepping inside as the door gave way. He'd start up a fire, and maybe get some hot chocolate going—

Those pleasant thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when Ed noticed the suitcase that was sitting next to the coat rack by the front door. And the coat hanging on said rack. And the boots left abandoned shortly down the hall in a puddle of water. Years of training kicked in within the second—while this was probably just a mistake, and two people had been assigned the same cabin, he couldn't be too careful. Edward set his own suitcase down softly and slowly, so as to not make a sound. He removed his own boots in the same fashion (because it was infinitely easier to sneak up on a potential intruder in socks as opposed to the noisy clunkers he called shoes). Starting off down the entryway, Ed stuck close to the walls so as to minimize creaks in the floor. He found himself in the main room of the cabin, which contained a fireplace (active) on the opposite wall, and a couch facing the fire. A head was silhouetted against the flames, seated comfortably on the sofa. If this was an intruder, the worst they were doing at the moment was enjoying themselves.

"Don't move," Edward called out, hands raised to defend himself if necessary. "I hope this is just a mix up, but if not, you might want to think before you do anything stupid. You don't know who you're dealing with."

"Really?" replied the man on the couch, turning and flashing a grin that Ed was all too familiar with. "That's a little melodramatic, even for you."

"Roy!?" Ed spluttered, his arms dropping uselessly to the side. He straightened out of his crouch, stepping forward and sidestepping the sofa to get a clear look at the General. "What the hell? It's really you. What are you…you're supposed to be on the opposite side of the country!"

Offering no explanation, Roy merely patted the seat next to him. "Sit."

As he obeyed—due to his feet being tired, not because he was prone to taking orders—Edward realized he had been generous in calling this bit of furniture a couch. It was more of a loveseat, and with the pillows piled high on either end, he ended up sitting with the entire length of his leg pressed against Roy's. He looked up to see the other man's eyes glued to the point of contact, before they flicked up as well. "Comfortable?"

"I will be once I know what's going on here."

Again, Roy ignored his inquiry, instead posing one of his own. "You're not upset that I'm here, are you?"

The poor man's expression was so serious, Ed couldn't help but bust out laughing. "Upset? No way! I'm—" His exuberance evaporated, replaced by a certain awkward air as Edward tried to gauge how much he should say. "I'm actually really excited," he finally murmured. "This is—this is great, but I just want to know why."

"I wanted to spend Christmas with you," Roy responded simply, a smile lighting up his face again now that he was sure there were no hard feelings. Not-so-smoothly, he lifted an arm, placing it a little on the back of the loveseat but mostly around Ed's shoulders. Edward, for his part, turned in so that he could better face the General, glad that the flickering of the fire was (probably) masking the redness of his cheeks. "I had planned on asking you to come with me down south, but since you wanted a white Christmas, I changed my plans a little bit. It didn't matter to me where I was, as long as I could be with you."

Edward found himself, for the first time in his life, genuinely choked up. "Roy…"

"The surprise was just an added bonus."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Ed threw his arms around the older man for the second time in as many days. This hug was easier, somehow, like they now knew exactly how each other's bodies would move. Like they were puzzle pieces that were sliding into place.

"Oh, and Ed," Roy whispered in his ear. "There is one more thing."

Pulling away, Edward tilted his head quizzically, an unspoken question to which Roy gave an unspoken answer by way of pointing upwards. Ed followed the path of the finger to just above his head. Hanging there, as he should have guessed, was a small clipping of mistletoe. A single burst of laughter escaped his mouth, before it was silenced by another pair of lips on his own. Soft and warm and giving, Roy cupped his cheek as they kissed, thumb rubbing absentminded circles by his nose. The older man tried to pull back, but Ed wasn't having it. In retaliation, he pushed forward, fighting to keep their mouths connected. It wasn't a tough fight, or really a fight at all. Roy accepted the advance immediately, grabbing Edward and pulling him halfway into his lap. In between kisses, the General murmured, "A little greedy, huh?"

"Yeah," Ed agreed breathlessly. "Dunno when I'll be done."

"Fine by me."

It was really picture perfect. The firelight illuminated the bodies of Edward and Roy on the couch, highlighting the sighs and the giggles. Behind them, a window placed at the top of the cabin door revealed a veritable blizzard outside, unnoticed by the duo on the loveseat. That wasn't important, for weather is entirely insignificant when you're wrapped in your lover's arms.