Christmas is a Time for GIVING Things

RoyEd Fan fiction

ObsessiveDevil23

Gift Fic for xCastielsGirlx

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, I am not making any money from this

This one is mainly fluff.

Roy Mustang swore at the shop window as something cold, wet and white touched his shoulder, instantly followed by a flurry of similar (but not the exact same, he remembered) versatile flakes.

Snow. Just bloody perfect.

He pulled his Mackintosh closer around him, burying his head further down in to his white scarf and pushed his gloved fingers in to his pockets. He hated snow. Winter. The months when cold was normal and rain was a given. He was the flame alchemist, he liked warmth, pretty colours and cuddling by the fire with a book and some strong coffee.

Not that he would tell anyone as much.

The traits just sort of came with the territory when your primary element was fire. Along with your favourite colour being red. He curled his fingers around his red gloves, which were hidden by his coat pockets, thinking how he was often associated with blue because of the military uniform and his connection with the state. If anyone he knew was connected to the colour red it would be Fullmetal.

The whole reason he was stood, in the snow, outside a shop window staring at gimmick style, gift wrapped boxes and listening to people dressed as elves singing hymns in high-pitched voices.

He fiddled with the change in his pocket, trying to discern what coins were what through the thickness of his gloves. Honestly, he had no idea what to buy the boy. He had no idea whether he even should be buying for the boy.

He hopped from one foot to the other, breathing out a puff of condensed carbon dioxide - cheeks pink from the other and hair growing more and more white as snow piled there.

"Maybe I should just…" He took a few steps away, dress shoes sliding slightly over the marshy pavements underfoot, but he couldn't take his eyes off the shop window, where reflections of families and couples walking along, laughing merrily on the day of Christmas eve, collecting the fresh vegetables for tomorrow's feast, were plastered in dark colours. Their activities seemed so easy and simple. Their present buying was already done, they knew exactly how tomorrow would go, from start to finish. Maybe they'd be going to see his or her parents? Perhaps they all spent the morning round the tree, and the evening round the table, playing card games?

He had faint memories of doing something similar when he was a child. His mother would cook dinner, his father would start on the port early and be merry by lunch-time. Chris would be there too, smoking her pipe and it would be the one day of the year that she would treat him as a child, and not a 'small adult'.

Later he sometimes spent his Christmas' with Riza's family, showing off his fire alchemy by lighting fires of different colours inside glasses and hanging them on the tree. Riza and he would sometimes laugh together and Berthold would congratulate him on his little victories. The only day of the year he would seem less frightening to the two children.

Christmas generally was a small affair, filled with little things that made the day slightly more special.

He laughed slightly, turning away from the window, as the thought popped in to his head that because of his association being that Christmas was a day for 'small achievements', he had wished to get something for the 'little alchemist'.

He briefly closed his eyes, hands still buried in his pockets securely, as he took the first step away from the shop, deciding that was not the place he wished to buy the boy a gift, but opened them again as he felt his feet slip from underneath him. He was tipped, eyes seeing the dull grey sky, with white flakes falling in a flurry towards him as his head rushed towards the ground and he was powerless to even extract his hands from his pockets and place them behind him to stop the fall.

His tail bone hit the ground painfully, and he squeezed his eyes tight for the impact of when his head would connect with the hard pavement, but instead he found it cradled in something warm, and himself being pulled up in to a tight hold.

How embarrassing. Not only had he fallen, but he had been seen, and caught, falling.

"What in the world were you doing!" Yelled a familiar voice. "You could have cracked your head open idiot! Be more careful when you're walking in the snow!"

He opened his eyes, taking in the familiar red coat and tufts of blonde hair that he was cradled too. He was sure everyone on the street must be looking at the scene they were creating. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and manoeuvred them around the boy so he could support himself on the ground and try and push himself up. After and few failed attempts where his dress shoes slipped and slid over the icy pavements, he and Edward found themselves on their feet, standing, facing each other, on the street. Roy apologised, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Ed scowled, brushing the snow that hadn't been disturbed in the fall off of the man's head and shoulders.

"Jeez, just be more careful next time. You need to be alert in weather like this." He scolded. "I bet you had your head in the clouds, what could you possibly be thinking about that is more important than your safety?" He added, a little under his breath but loud enough for Roy to hear. He found himself a little pink and was glad for the cold weather to blame it on.

"I was looking for the perfect gift." He mumbled childishly, grabbing on to Ed's arm as they tumbled over to a less icy area. He heard Ed snort and fought from pouting. "What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be half-way to Risembool by now anyway?" he retaliated. They passed a group of carol singing elves which Ed stared at as he thought of his answer. He sighed, shoving his hand in his pockets and not looking up at his companion.

"I'm… not going back this year."

Roy was about to ask him about it but the boy started making his way again, moving further into the snowy streets, towards the large, frozen over water-feature where he took a seat on the cold stone edging. He scuffed his feet in the snow, making it turn an unattractive brown colour, as Roy sat down next to him, mentally complaining about how cold it was.

"You and Al are staying here?" He asked, watching as Ed shook his head, staring at the pavements.

"Al's already on the train. Winry will probably greet him with a spanner in the head for leaving me here." He laughed, but it was a little bitter. Roy frowned, fighting the urge to reach out and pull the boy close.

"Why did he leave you here?" He asked instead, sitting on his hands to stop himself from doing anything inappropriate. Although if you asked him he would tell you it was because he was trying to conserve heat. Ed looked up at the clouded over sky, letting snowflakes hit his cheeks and turning them red.

"I just didn't wanna go back there. I mean, sure Winry and Pinako cook a great roast, but going back there means skating on the lake and making snow angels and pulling crackers and most of it's cold and it all reminds me of mum…" He kicked at the snow again. "I mean, it's fine if Al wants to conserve those memories at Christmas time but… but mum's dead, Dad isn't coming back and I feel like every time I go back there I'm living in the past."

"You want to start making new memories." Roy stated, having thought something similar just that morning. Remembering Christmas' gone was one thing, trying to recreate them would only lead to loneliness.

Ed turned and offered a small smile to his superior officer.

"Selfish huh?"

Roy shook his head, standing.

"Not at all… Just…" He shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other, glancing longingly at the shops he could trawl through in order to find something perfect for his little blonde alchemist. "Just don't spend Christmas alone."

- X -

He never quite thought he would find himself in front of this particular black door at quarter to ten on Christmas eve, carrier bag full of energy drinks and high-sugar snacks (because Ed wasn't quite eighteen so he couldn't bring alcohol without feeling like a child-molester.) He sighed, running a hand through his hair for what must have been the twentieth time and then raising it to nock. He was being stupid, how was he to know Ed wasn't in there with some cute girl, or friends from work that were closer to his age that Roy simply didn't know about.

He reminded himself that he knew practically everything about Ed's work life, and thought resolutely that if Ed was cuddled up with some girl then he shouldn't be upset. The two times they'd slept together had been sporadic and full of Fullmetal's teenage hormones. They probably meant nothing to the blonde.

He briefly wondered when they had come to mean something to him.

It wasn't as if he actually had feelings for the boy or anything…

Even if he had spent the entire day dragging his feet round every shop in central in search of the perfect gift, only to come up short when he couldn't find anything that said exactly how he thought about Ed.

… Bastard better not be in there with some girl.

"Ah." He stared, shocked eyes as Edward opened the door, Christmas hat placed lazily on his blonde curls, that had been left down and tumbled over his shoulders cutely, to Roy who had been glaring at his door handle like it held the answer to all of his problems. He reddened quickly, shoving the carrier bag at his subordinate and turning his gaze away, embarrassed to think he had come here and didn't even know why. Other than some inane attempt to make-up for his own loneliness on Christmas eve.

Ed took the bag without a word and cradled it to his chest, turning from the doorway and placing it in the off-side kitchen of his basic flat, leaving the door open.

Roy invited himself in, trying to discreetly scan the area for any trace of a womanly companion.

The last time he had been here they had…

He fell on to the sofa, red from his memories and placed his hands in his lap, fiddling with his thumbs. Ed sat next to him, placing one of the energy drinks he'd brought with him in to his hands. He accepted it with a little nod and turned to his blonde friend.

"Sorry, I just thought you might…" He bit his lip, go ahead and make him feel like a reject Roy, he scolded himself. He'll chuck you out if he thinks you were pitying him.

Ed laughed lightly.

"Lonely? Yeah, a little. You too?"

Roy nodded at his lap.

"Christmas is a horrible time of year really." He muttered. "For those who don't have a family, or aren't in easy contact with their family, or-"

He was cut off by the boy pulling his close against his chest, an arm lazily draped around his shoulders and the angle making it seem almost as if Ed might possibly have been taller than Roy. The General let it slide, allowing the boy to wrap himself up in self-importance for the night.

Christmas was a time for giving after all.

If you switched the energy drinks for hot coffee, the lop-sided and badly decorated Christmas-tree that Ed had stood in the corner for a fire, and his cold coat for a fluffy blanket, you could almost say this was a cuddle instead of an awkward lean. He shook his head, changing the position so it was more comfortable, and ended up with his head in the boys lap, his drink placed delicately on the floor and Ed's hand in his hair, tracing circles through the think black locks directly on to his scalp.

He frowned, hoping that wasn't a sign that he was getting old.

"Better now?"

He nodded. The silence oddly comfortable between the two boys as they stared at the tree. The tinsel was too dark to really be seen in the equally dark leaves. The bright red-baubles seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no theme and no memories. It was decorated horribly, with no fairy or star placed atop, and there wasn't a single present underneath the branches.

"Hey Ed, you got any glasses?"

"Like… Wine glasses?"

"Something like that."

The boy stood, disturbing their peace, at the request and retrieved five high-stemmed wine-glasses. Roy concentrated on them, using his little knowledge of alchemy other then that of the flames. He withdrew a pen and pad from his coat pocket (because even if he had his gloves all good alchemists would carry around the basic equipment, and drew the correct circle, morphing each one in turn in to containers with different sized pocket-holes for air.

Then he pulled on his ignition gloves and clicked, lighting each one to a different colour depending on the amount of different gasses each one was able to receive. Blue, green, yellow, purple and red.

Then he placed them around the room, going back to the sofa to observe his handy-work. Ed patted his head affectionately as he sat down, instantly moulding back in to old position, comfortable in the loose embrace.

"It looks more festive now." He noted, sleepily. "Sorry I didn't get you a gift."

Roy thought Christmas was about celebrations and feasts and exchanging presents and laughing until your stomach hurt, but this was the most comfortable he'd ever been on Christmas. Sitting around, enjoying the silence while flames danced merrily in their glasses and his hair was caressed almost tenderly. Everyone talked about Christmas being a time of joy, but then followed it up with talk of 'Christmas Stress'.

Roy would hardly say he was filled with joy, but there was no stress. He was just… calm.

"Did you find the gift you were looking for earlier?" Asked Ed, fingers still playing lazily in his superior officers hair. Roy shook his head.

"You're so difficult to buy for." He mumbled.

Ed laughed.

"That was for me? You almost cracked your head open for me?"

Roy found himself going red, and adjusted the amount of oxygen going in to one of the flames, making it burn a brighter yellow then before.

"I couldn't find anything anyway." He added, using his finger to trace a circle around the blonde's knee-bone, it jolted slightly. "You ticklish?"

"A little." Replied the boy honestly. "Don't get me sidetracked. I didn't get you a gift either."

"You didn't realise we'd be like this." He motioned with his hands. "Together on Christmas eve like a couple of rejects… Two lonely people at Christmas. Twice the loneliness."

Ed laughed, pulling Roy up and placing a small chaste kiss on his nose.

"You do some strange math Mustang." He admonished. "You thought I was in Risembool, and Christmas is a time for giving and I never thought to get you anything… But I don't think this is twice as lonely."

Roy sighed as Ed continued to rant about families and friends as Christmas and about how they were friends so they shouldn't feel twice as lonely but half as lonely.

"You can have me if you want." he offered.

"And even if we're not with out families we… I can what?"

Roy blushed, looking down at his lap, and repeated himself.

"Christmas is a time for giving and even though I tried I couldn't find anything good enough. I know I'm not exactly perfect but… You can have me."

He could almost feel Ed's grin.

"Is that a promise?"

A nod.

"Always."

He felt arms encircle him and bringing him back down to their comfortable bliss.

"I'll take you up on that tomorrow. Since it's not Christmas yet… but rest assured I'll have you.. Again and again and-"

Roy found himself up and across the other side of the room in a heartbeat, flushing and staring at his smaller companion.

"I didn't mean that you pervert!" He all but screamed, unable to keep himself mad when Ed hiccupped and starting laughing.

Really… if this was the way things were going he was making sure he was out of the country for Valentines day.

I did it again…

Haha. IF I make one for Valentines day … I am not sure if I will. Depends on how many people are like 'yes please' XD

Sorry I was late with this one. Christmas. XD

Hope you like it Riza-Baby. : )