Holidays are Heavy formerly Holidays Are Hell
Author: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 1: Christmas Trip
Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist and all its characters are the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No profit was made from this fanfiction. The only things that I do own are the OC's if any. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of original characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to the overall course of the plot. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited
AN: This is a repost of an old holiday fic I had up before the purge. I assume that it was taken down by the site because of the word Hell in the title, until I realized that the site, and in general, considers the word hell to be G rated. I don't know why it was taken down, but now it's back up due to a few requests I get for it. It has been rewritten from the old version. I retitled it for safety.
It was understandable that the train was late during this time of year. The storms were being brutal in other cities, the snow blocking tracks and causing delays. It was snowing and the wind whipped through the air, but the temperatures weren't quite cold enough for the snow to stick to the ground. Maes Hughes and his family were waiting on the boarding platform.
Maes pulled his hat down so it blocked the air hitting his ears. He had one arm around Gracia's shoulders, and she was snuggled next to him even though she was wearing a thick cream-colored coat and cotton mittens. Elicia held his hand and bundled up in a tiny pink coat with snowflakes, a fur lined hood, and puppy mittens (a gift from Roy).
Elicia looked up at Maes and squinted her eyes so the snow wouldn't fall into them. "Why isn't Uncle Roy coming with us? He comes every year and we always have cocoa and candy canes together." She sighed. "I want Uncle Roy to come."
He'd been just as disappointed as Elicia when Roy said he couldn't make it. "Roy is a busy man and sometimes can't take time off." He shot her a huge smile, trying to get her to return one to him. "We're still going to have a lot of fun."
"But it's not the same without Uncle Roy," she said. "Doesn't he like us anymore? Uncle Roy will be all alone on Christmas. No one should be alone on Christmas. Right, mommy?"
"I feel the same way, Elicia. He's like part of the family," Gracia said. Maes knew she meant it. She credited Roy Mustang for saving him. If it weren't for Roy's quick thinking, he would've died in that phone booth.
Maes wanted to stay in the military after he recovered, but Roy convinced him to get out and move on, out of the country, until things were safer. Within two years, it was. Now he was a general and next in line to be fuehrer after Grumman decided to retire. He hadn't seen much of his friend other than on Christmas, and now he was going to miss this year's Christmas.
"I love Uncle Roy."
Maes frowned. "I know Elicia. Tell you what, we can call him and wish him a Merry Christmas and give him a phone hug. How does that sound?"
"Will that make Uncle Roy happy?"
"It will make his day. And let's not forget to let daddy give him a few words of advice as well," he said just as the train pulled into the station. They wouldn't be able to board for another ten minutes.
"How about that pretty blond lady?"
"Pretty blond lady?"
"The one that's always with Uncle Roy. Will she be there too? I like her. She looks like my dolls."
Maes chuckled that she'd noticed Riza's ever-present existence. "I believe she'll be there. Let me tell you a little secret, okay?" He leaned down and closer to her. "I happen to know that Uncle Roy loves Miss Riza just like I love your mommy."
"Whoa, that's a lot."
"And she loves Roy the way your mommy loves me. I think they should get married and have a little girl like you."
"Really, Maes," Gracia scolded.
Elicia giggled. "Daddy, you sound like that guy that shoots the arrows and makes people fall in love. You should act like him so they get married and have a baby!"
"Elicia, don't put your father up to things like that."
Even if he did have a plan to get the two together, he didn't see them enough to put it into action. The most he could do is nag by phone.
After everyone disembarked from the train, they boarded. Most people had already traveled to their destination earlier in the week, so they were able to find a compartment with an elderly couple occupying it. They went over to the corner of the car and sat down. It wasn't long before the train whistle's sharp resonance flew into the air and the train began to move.
An hour into the ride, Elicia fell asleep on the seat. Maes took off his coat, the first layer of many, and covered her with it.
"So you really think a woman like Riza Hawkeye is good for Roy? Is she what he needs?" Gracia said.
That caught him by surprise. "A woman like Riza?"
"I mean . . . I guess I'm being unfair since I've only met her once, but she seemed so cold."
Yes, she was being unfair. He knew Riza had things like that said behind her back all the time. "I don't know her as well as Roy does, and she keeps to herself most of the time, but if you saw them together, you'd agree she's perfect for him."
"A man like Roy needs a wife, not a bodyguard. Maybe we should try to match him with my sister Lacy. She'd be good for him."
Maes knew Gracia had good intentions, but he also knew how so very wrong she was. He'd seen Riza bring Roy back from places he wouldn't attempt to draw him from. She was in Ishbal and knew everything he went through. Maes himself had his demons, he'd murdered, but not on the level that Riza and Roy had. And he'd had Gracia to depend on. Roy and Riza were alone during nights the nightmares and flashbacks became too much.
"She isn't the ice queen I've heard about?"
"She can be when she needs that persona, but that's only a work thing. She's uncomfortable showing her emotions to most people, but she's no ice queen. That title belongs to Olivier Armstrong. "
Gracia nodded and looked down at her lap. "I'll invite her for tea sometime, so I can get to know her. I feel horrible for thinking all the things I did about her."
"Don't worry about it. You'll see how perfect she is for Roy once they get together. I wish they would stop being so stubborn about the whole thing and just get married."
"If they care about each other as much as you say, it will happen eventually."
"They've known each other since they were teenagers, if someone doesn't push them now, it may never happen. I'm going to have to think something up for the two of them."
She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"
He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I could make a few suggestions, but we're on a train right now." Gracia blushed and turned her gaze toward the window.
-/-/-
Elicia woke when the train pulled into the terminal at their destination. Maes put on his coat and got their luggage just as the train stopped. When off the train, he shivered and opened his mouth wide to stretch his face to relieve the frigid prickle on his skin. He helped Elicia and Gracia onto the platform and they left the depot.
Mason was the family's favorite town. It was large enough not to be considered a small town, yet it was much smaller than the crowded Central City. In Central, the Christmas season gave off a more commercial feel. People in Central often decorated their homes and businesses, but it was structured, as if paid for by some designer to make it look perfect. The decorations showed little to no dedication into making Christmas special.
In this town, the decorations were imperfect and put up with love and excitement. There were green streams of pine with red bows that screamed tradition every time one looked at them. Every few feet along the cobblestone street sat a four foot tall Christmas tree, not decorated but the thick snow cover was a lustrous ornamentation that rivaled lights or candles.
All the businesses had lights along their windows and the restaurants had signs wishing patrons a Merry Christmas and advertising their special Christmas treats. Maes could tell Elicia wanted to run everywhere and look at everything.
"After we check in, we'll look around," Maes said before Elicia's excitement got the better of her.
"Okay!"
They entered the hotel where they stayed every year. Everything from the decorations to the woman behind the desk was the same as the previous time they were there. Maes had seen the place so much he could draw it by memory.
The plump woman at the desk wore a Santa hat and the standard Christmas sweater like one would wear at the ugly sweater parties. Her gaze went to them the moment they walked through the doors.
"Merry Christmas, welcome to Hotel Fromage."
"Merry Christmas," Maes said. "We have reservations under Hughes."
The woman thumbed through a book on her desk and then ran her index finger down a list of names. "You've been upgraded to one of the suites."
"Who did that?"
"The name here says it was someone named Roy Mustang," the woman said before going over to a safe to get the keys.
Maes laughed and looked at his wife. "That rascally dog managed to do something for us even when he didn't come."
"He's too generous. The suites here aren't cheap."
"They are to him. I guess this is his Christmas present to us," he said. The woman handed him the keys.
"Please enjoy your stay."
"We will," Maes said. "Thank you."
-/-/-
After unpacking, they went to the café where they had lunch every time they came to the town. It was as crowded as a Central City café but not nearly as boisterous. Everyone was calm, quiet, and friendly. They found a corner booth next to the heater and enjoyed some warm soup and peanut butter sandwiches. Elicia got a special treat when the waitress brought a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows.
When finished, they went around the shopping district. They sent Roy a few gifts via post along with gifts for a few other relatives living in other parts of the country. The street lamps emitted a soft orange glow as the family began their trek back to the hotel. As they were about to turn the corner to go back to their hotel, someone caught his eye. He gave a second look and stopped walking.
What's she doing here? Riza Hawkeye was sitting on a bench next to a frozen fountain. She had a small blue bundle in her arms. Her gaze twinkled as she stared down at the baby. He would've chalked her up to being a look-a-like if Hayate wasn't sitting beside her. The dog would look at her for a few seconds then scan the crowd. Much like Riza did when guarding Roy.
"Maes, what's wro—Is that Riza?" Gracia asked.
"Yeah, but what's she doing here, and whose child is she holding?" If Maes hadn't been so surprised seeing Riza, he would've laughed at how Gracia was just as curious as he was.
"Maybe she had Uncle Roy's baby," Elicia said.
"He would've told us if he became a dad," Maes said. Wouldn't he?
"It's not mine. It's her cousin's baby." They all turned. Roy stood there with his typical smirk. Maes hadn't seen his friend in a year and noticed several differences in appearance with him. He hadn't asked and Roy hadn't told him what happened during the coupe, but Roy had aged during that time. His eyes that were once black were now greyish, and he walked with a limp so slight very few would notice it. Maes had never mentioned those two observations, nor had he ever mentioned the nasty scars on Roy's palms he saw once when Roy briefly removed his ever-present gloves.
"Uncle Roy, you came!" Elicia rushed over to him. Roy hugged her.
"Hey kiddo," he said. "I had to do a bit of work before I came up here. I can't stay as long as usual though."
"That's okay, as long as you can come for a little while." Elicia pointed. "You brought the blonde lady too?"
"Riza?"
"Yeah, Miss Riza!" She gave her parents a scolding look. "Mommy, Daddy, why didn't you tell me her name. I've been calling her the blonde lady." She turned back to Roy. "Miss Riza looks like a mommy."
They looked at Riza. She was on her feet and handing the child back to a woman. "We needed to pick up some paperwork at the small outpost here before we headed back to Central. Grumman asked us to stop by their home. This was the first time she realized she had family other than her grandfather."
"Wait, Fuehrer Grumman is her grandfather?" Gracia turned to Maes. "Did you know?"
"N…No! I had no idea. How long have you known, Roy?"
"For a while. I would've told you, but she made me swear to keep it a secret."
Riza walked over to the group when her cousin left her company. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, it's good to see you," Maes said and extended his hand. "Oh, you're a captain now though, right?"
"Yes," she said and shook his hand. "It's good to see you again."
Gracia extended her hand to Riza. "Hello."
"Hello."
Maes could sense the unease between the two women, but more on Riza's than Gracia's part.
"Hi, Miss Riza."
Riza smiled and crouched down. Elicia hugged her, to both her parents' shock. "Hello, Elicia. Are you having a good time?"
"Yes, Uncle Roy is here now!"
She stood. "Sir, I'll be heading back to Central tonight," she said. "Do you need me to take anything with me?"
"Oh, do you have to go?" Gracia asked. "Why don't you join us for Christmas?"
"That would make Uncle Roy happy, Miss Riza."
"The more the merrier," Maes said.
"You've never spent Christmas with us before. It'll be fun. I have a suite at the hotel," Roy said.
Her posture stiffened. "I…I can't. I'm sorry. I don't celebrate Christmas." Her voice lowered and she avoided eye contact. "I'll see you in Central, sir. Please, excuse me." She turned, called Hayate, and hastened down the sidewalk that led toward the residential neighborhood.
AN: I get a dozens of requests for this fiction and for a fiction called Going Home Is Hell, every year to be reposted. I'm still working on "Going Home is Hell" so I thought I would post the rewrite of this. This story is completely finished and betaed and will posted a few times a month. Mostly likely I'll post it twice a month but it depends on chapter length. It won't interfere with my two ongoing fics. There are 12 chapters total (really 11 since one is an epilogue/chapter type thing.)