Let it Snow

A/N: Alrighty guys, I had a request to update this one next (probably because I've updated the other one so much more than this one). So…I am here in a creative mood and ready to write. To be honest, I don't know how long this one will last. I didn't really have a plan for this one, so you guys are more than welcome to tell me what you want to happen.

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Chapter One

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I drew in a deep breath when the door opened up to a pair of honey glazed eyes looking into my own. His long, golden locks were free from any sort of restraint. I realized that I hadn't released my breath and exhaled slowly.

"Alphonse…"

"Brother," I replied almost under my breath. I didn't know what to say. I knew what I wanted to say…There were ten-thousand words that I wanted to tell him. But…I couldn't bring myself to say even one.

He started quietly chuckling to himself before he moved to the side of the doorway. "Come on in, Alphonse. It's cold."

I nodded and did as I was told. His house was very cozy. It was dimly lit by the light of the fireplace as well as by a few tea candles spread throughout the area. About a third of the way up the walls, there were thin logs separating the wood paneling and the almond-colored plaster. The walls themselves were tastefully decorated with various paintings and framed photos.

"Have a seat Alphonse. Make yourself at home," he softly spoke to me. "I'll brew up some hot cocoa for you. How long were you standing out there? Your cheeks are red."

Being outside was not the reason why my cheeks were red. After all, I hadn't been outside for more than two or three minutes. However, there was absolutely no way that I was going to tell him that, although that was the whole reason that I was there. It was much too soon to say anything though. "Not too long." I put my coat and hat up on his coat hanger just inside of the door and took my boots off.

"Would you prefer the cocoa or some coffee?"

I wanted to tell him that I would prefer to spend the little time I had with him, with him. I wanted to tell him that I would prefer to live the rest of my life with him. I wanted to tell him that I would prefer to stay here with him and completely forget about Winry. "Cocoa, if you wouldn't mind."

"I knew that. You never did like coffee much. You like much sweeter things than that," he answered lightly. "Like I said, make yourself at home. I'm going to go make your cocoa."

"Would you mind if I gave Winry a call and let her know that I got here in one piece?" I asked timidly.

I thought, for the briefest moment, that I saw a flicker of sadness cross his eyes but brushed it off as nothing. I was just hoping, wishing, I was sure. I was seeing what I wanted, not what was really there. "Not at all. The phone is on the wall right over there," he said, gesturing to his right hand side. "I'll be in the kitchen, Alphonse."

I wished that he would quit calling me "Alphonse". I had always been just Al to him. I wanted to ask him why he was being so formal with me, but figured that years of not seeing one another and rarely talking would do that to our relationship.

I made my way over to the telephone and dialed home. I talked to Winry briefly before Edward came back into the living room, holding two cups. I turned around to face him with a wide smile spread across my lips. "I'll call you when I head out of here, Winry. Yeah, you too. Bye." I quickly hung up the telephone and approached my older brother.

"Here you go, Alphonse," he said, handing me the hot beverage. "Hope you like it. Rose gave me the recipe for it."

"Rose?" I asked, "You and her are still in touch?"

A sad smile washed over his lips and he looked down into his steaming cup. "I married her."

I was broadsided by a train, completely and utterly shocked. I had never expected to hear those words uttered from Ed's lips. Ever. And most of all, it hurt. My stomach felt like it had been split open. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.

"What's wrong, Al?" he asked, a certain degree of worry was evident in his tone.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, exhaling very slowly. "I just wasn't expecting to hear that. So is she here then?"

Ed chuckled and shook his head no. "She and our sons are out of town visiting one of her childhood friends."

"You have children?" I inquired, nearly choking.

"I do. They're beautiful. Want to see a picture?"

I found myself biting my lip and finding the one remaining marshmallow very interesting…just sort of floating there, slowly disintegrating. "Sure…I brought pictures too, Ed."

"I've been wondering how your children are growing up…"

"Just like us," I replied, smiling. "Edward doesn't like milk and little Ellie always sneaks her older brother cookies while he's in the corner."

"You're right. They sound like they're close."

"Like we were."

A silence filled the room. Neither of us looked the other in the eye. After a few minutes, Edward finally spoke up, "I think we should close the years of distance, Al. I miss you."

I sent a smile in his direction and nodded in agreement. "How do you propose we do that after so many years, Brother? Can things really go back to how they were?"

"No. I don't think that they can."

"I don't know, Ed," I started, sitting down on his lightly colored couch. "I think that too many years have passed by. I don't think that we'll ever really be close ever again."

He took a seat next to me and set his cup of, what appeared to be coffee, down on the coffee table in front of us. "I think you're right. We'll never be what we once were, Alphonse Elric."

All I could muster was to nod in agreement. I finally took a sip of my cocoa and set it down on the coffee table, next to Ed's cup. I was at a loss for words. I had forgotten everything that I wanted to say to him from when I got my first glimpse of him. I had lost everything.

"What are you thinking about, Al?"

"Not much really, Ed. What about you?"

He shook his head, "Nothing."

We spent our first night together drowning in an awkward sea of silence. Neither of us had much to say to the other, though there had been so much that I had wanted to say before I found out that he was married to Rose and that they had started a family.

Finally, after two hours of idle conversation, Edward had decided that he was ready to turn in and told me that there was a guest room next to his room, whenever I was ready to turn in. I had thanked him and continued to sit on the couch, staring into the dancing flames consuming the last bit of a log.

After I was sure that enough time had passed and that he had fallen asleep, I stood up and looked at all of the photographs posted up on the wall for the whole world to see. I looked over each and every one and found most of them to be of his two sons, though one of them must have been the one that Rose had; he was significantly older than the younger child.

I bit my lip; seeing how happy that Edward looked in some of the pictures of he and Rose made me wonder if I could've made him as happy as she. "Probably not," I whispered to myself, "After all, you don't have a womb."

I decided that it was time to go to bed. I walked quietly down the narrow hallway and found the guest room on my second try (my first try had been the bathroom). I emptied the contents of my pockets onto the ivory nightstand next to the headboard of the very large, very comfortable looking bed. Maybe the next day would prove to be more fruitful for our relationship.

After stripping down to a pair of pants and pulling my hair into a braid, I tried to make myself comfortable on the bed. It wasn't that hard…after all…Edward's scent completely surrounded me. Alas, along with the comforting scent came an overwhelming sense of sorrow and a terrible realization: I would never be with him. He would never be mine; he belonged to Rose, and I to Winry.

The pillow under my head was slowly but surely beginning to fill up with my tears. A lump built up inside of my throat and to release it, I had no choice but to cry out in pain. My sobs began few and far between but they eventually grew in number and came more frequently.

"Al? Are you okay?"

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A/N: How's this for the first official chapter in the story? Kind of angsty to me…but I promise, the story will get happier. And the chapters should start to get longer after this!

With all of the love I bestow upon my readers,

Sincerely and Truly Yours,

Jayden Winters