Author's note: I realize that technically there isn't a Christmas holiday in Amestris, but I couldn't help myself. This is AU. I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Her hand swatted at the clock radio on her nightstand, trying to silence it. Riza snuggled deeper into her covers. She did not want to get up. Not only was it cold outside her covers, but today of all days she really didn't want to face being alone. Normally, it didn't bother her that she had no where to go during the breaks, but tonight was Christmas Eve, and the fact that she was the only student in the entire apartment building was bothering her. The university was practically dead at this time of year.

A loud splat against her window distracted her from her attempt to seek sleep again. It was closely followed by a second. The third roused her from her bed. Trailing blankets, she headed for the picture window that took up most of her outward facing wall. Yanking the blinds up, Riza found three snowballs splattered against the window and a grinning figure below holding a fourth.

"Can Riza come out and play?"

She opened the window. "Roy?"

"Buzz me in, and I'll make you breakfast." He smirked. "Or I can stand here and throw snowballs at your window until it annoys you enough to come out."

She laughed. "I'll buzz you in. It's apartment 204."

Five minutes later, Riza had retreated to the bathroom to dress since her guest had taken over the rest of the studio apartment to fix breakfast.

"So what are you doing here?" she called through the door, pulling on a pair of jeans.

"What? I can't visit my favorite college student?"

She tugged on a sweater and opened the door. "No, but the last time you visited me was to help me moved in."

"I missed you." He waved at her with the spatula. "Go sit down. This will be ready in a minute or two."

She obeyed, taking a seat at her little table where she could watch him. "So you missed me?"

He presented her with a plate of French toast with a flourish then ruffled her hair. "I missed you. And I was in town visiting Maes and checking out the new lab, but since he's just gotten engaged, and I was something of third wheel with them and her parents. And I missed you."

He took the seat opposite her, his face becoming serious. "I worry about you, you know."

She paused, fork halfway to her mouth. "Why? You know I can take care of myself."

He sighed. "I know you can. At least physically. But you shouldn't have to deal with everything on your own. Besides, no one should have to be alone on Christmas, and I'd rather spend it with you than anyone else."

She smiled at him before applying herself to the meal. "Thank you."

When she had finished the meal, he insisted she get bundled up, so they could go get a Christmas tree.

"But why? Christmas is tomorrow. Besides, I don't have any ornaments for it. All of that stuff went into storage after my father died." She paused, "Not that there was much. We barely celebrated Christmas after Mom died."

He dropped her hat on top of her head. "We'll figure something out. You deserve to have a happy Christmas. Just because you didn't have many in your childhood doesn't mean it always has to be that way."

He dragged her off first to shop for necessities, such as a tree stand, lights, and ornaments, and then to three separate tree lots to find a tree that satisfied his requirements. And one that was either a noble fir or a Douglas fir. She still thought it ridiculous to have an eight foot tree for her apartment, but Roy would not be denied. As Riza began unpacking the bags of ornaments she found he had bought numerous other decorations for the apartment besides the tree. They decorated with momentary interruptions to order a pizza and bread sticks and to buzz the delivery guy in. By the time they were done with both lunch and the tree, Riza's apartment had been transformed into the picture of the season.

And once this had been accomplished, Roy insisted on dragging her out again. This time his excuse was that he needed help with Christmas shopping.

"Let me get this straight? It's Christmas Eve, and you haven't bought any Christmas presents. Why does this not surprise me?"

Roy shrugged. "I bought things for my family and shipped them, but those aren't the important gifts. I still have to pick out gifts for Maes and Gracia as well as my new research assistant, his brother, and his girlfriend."

"Gifts for your best friend and his fiancée I understand, but gifts for your research assistant and his family?"

"Elric may be a pain in the ass, but he's been invaluable, and his brother helps just as much even if he doesn't quite have his degree yet. His girlfriend, Winry, is always stopping by the lab with food." He offered her a smile. "She reminds me of you back when I was working with your father. Besides, they don't really have anyone else. Winry's grandmother died earlier this year, and she was all they had left. The boys' mother died when they were kids, and their father hasn't been around in years."

Riza couldn't help smiling back. "Okay, then, do you have anything in mind?"

Nearly three hours later, they stopped at the local skating rink. About half the shopping was done, but she had insisted on a short break. After a half hour of skating, she was feeling refreshed enough to finish the shopping. They were down to the gifts for Roy's assistant and his brother. The gifts for Maes and his fiancée had been simple enough once she had gotten the fact that Gracia was Scottish on both sides of the family. So now one of the bags contained a pair of whisky flutes etched with thistles and another held matching sets of earrings and a broach for Gracia and cufflinks and kilt pin for Maes. Winry, the research assistant's girlfriend, had also been easy to shop for. After all, what girl didn't like chocolate, especially a box of gourmet truffles? She was just waiting for Roy took get back from Starbucks with hot drinks for them both when she caught sight of a familiar blond watching the skaters.

"Quistis?"

The young woman turned. "Riza, hi."

"I thought you were going to get together with your friends from the orphanage for the holiday?"

The other woman smiled wistfully. "I was. I did. It's just…they all have someone at this point. I'm the only one who's single, and they don't mean to exclude me, but they do. And then there's Seifer."

Riza leaned against the railing next to her friend. "Seifer?"

"Seifer grew up with us. Like me he's a year older than the rest. Back when we were all in high school there was this incident, and the others have held a grudge since even though it wasn't really his fault and later he did apologize. But they didn't forgive him. I did. Anyway, since we're holding Christmas at Matron Edea's home, he was invited too. And I don't know what to do."

"Do? I still don't understand, Quistis."

She sighed. "Seifer has been there for me since high school. The others often didn't notice when I was the one who needed help. They're used to me being the strong one. But it's nice to have someone to lean on myself sometimes."

"You're in love with him."

Quistis smiled rather wistfully. "I am. But I don't want to have to choose between my family and the person I love, and I'm afraid I might have to. Besides, he used to be involved with Squall's girlfriend, and I don't think he ever stopped caring about her. I'm afraid to find out. I just needed some time alone."

Riza reached for her friend's hands. "Quistis, you deserve whatever love and happiness you can find. You're going to tear yourself apart if you don't do something. Find out what he feels and go from there. And if the others can't accept him being in your life in any capacity, you may need to make some decisions about who you need in your life more."

The other woman squeezed her hands. "You right as usual. Thanks for listening."

"No problem. I'll see you after the break." Riza frowned slightly, taking in the fact the Quistis' fingertips were blue and she wasn't wearing a coat. "How long have you been out here?"

"Not long." She wasn't meeting Riza's eyes.

"Quistis," Riza started but she was cut by a tall young man striding towards them.

"Quistis! There you are. What were you thinking running off like that? Here." He shoved a tall paper cup into her hands. Riza watched bemused as the man pulled off his own coat and wrapped it around her, grumbling all the while.

"You didn't even take a coat. Do you know…"

"Seifer."

"…how worried Matron is? You should know better. You always were…"

"Seifer."

"…the responsible one of us. And here you are…"

"SEIFER!"

Riza bit her lip to keep from laughing. In her opinion, this guy was exactly what Quistis needed.

"Everything okay?" Roy appeared at her elbow, holding out what she assumed was her peppermint mocha.

"Just fine. Shall we go? You said you wanted to be done with the shopping before dark."

They headed back to the store lined streets. Roy had very little clue about what to get the Elric brothers. Finally, she pried the fact that Edward's hobby was researching the Philosopher's Stone myths and that Alphonse loved cats. That made her life much easier. They managed to find an out of print book on the Philosopher's Stone as well as a rather adorable pair of bookends in the shape of kittens.

With the shopping finally accomplished, they headed back to her apartment for the task of wrapping the presents. Riza also had a gift or two for Roy hidden in her purse. It had been easy enough to make a few purchases for him while he was busy looking at other things. She had found a collection by his favorite poet in the rare bookstore, and at the Scottish shop she had found a silver pocket watch. Roy had mentioned, back when he was studying with her father, that he had always wanted one. She had gotten the inside of the cover engraved with a verse of poetry and the date. The last of the gifts was rather silly, but Riza thought it was fitting. It was a little paperweight inscribed with Rain Rain Go Away. Roy's hatred of the rain was notorious.

They got back to her apartment just before true dark. The two of them spent a half hour wrapping gifts beside the Christmas tree. Roy had fiddled with her radio until he'd found a station that was playing nonstop Christms songs. After the gifts were wrapped, he shooed her into the bathroom to change into the dress he'd pulled from her closet. Aparently he was taking her out to dinner and wanted her to dress up. When she was done, Riza found herself being bundled into her coat and herded out the door.

Roy had reservations for them at a little place she had heard of but never been to. It was very nice, but Riza was beginning to be suspicious.

"How long have you been planning this?"

"Planning what?" He might have gotten away with the innocent look if it weren't for the smirk.

"Roy."

"All right, I did plan the trip with seeing you in mind. I miss you. Phone calls just aren't the same."

"So what other plans do you have for us?"

He smiled at her. "You'll find out."

It was a lovely dinner. Roy had her in stitches with stories about events from the lab. She had missed spending time with him. They had shared most of their meals together back when he had been working with her father. It was just the two of them at the table for the most part since for the most part her father took dinner in his study. One of the hardest parts of his departure had been eating alone. She had done better since college. She and a pair of the women on her floor would get together at least twice a week for meals. Still it wasn't quite the same.

"So who was that woman you were talking to earlier?"

"Quistis? She lives in my building. We've had a couple of electives together and sometimes get together for dinner."

"She looked upset. Everything okay?"

She smiled at him. "She'll be fine. She just needed an ear. So what's next?"

"Dessert. Their chocolate mousse is highly recommended."

She laughed. "Are you ever going to tell me what you have planned?"

"Maybe. Probably not."

He was right, though. The chocolate mousse was fabulous. Afterwards, they headed out into the night again. Roy led them back towards the campus before turning towards the old stone church building that lurked at its edges. There were luminarias lining the walk up to the doors.

"Isn't it a little early for the service?"

Roy smiled. "Yes, but there was a caroling party earlier. They should be wrapping up about now. I know you've met Maes, but I'd like you to meet Gracia. You two would really get along. Besides, the Elrics should be here too. They're going to share a house with Winry once the lab relocates here in January. I though we could deliver the gifts and maybe steal a cookie or two."

He led her in through a side door and down a hall. The room they entered held a fireplace and nearly two dozen people. A tall man caught sight of them and waved.

"Roy, I thought you had plans."

Grinning, Roy reached for her hand. "I do. You remember Riza Hawkeye, right?"

Maes Hughes smiled down at her. "Of course. I'm not the one who forgets girls' names right after I meet them. I hope Roy hasn't been too annoying."

A young woman with short brown-blond hair appeared at Meas' elbow. "Maes? Roy, I didn't know you were going to be here."

"Gracia, this is Riza Hawkeye. We grew up together. Riza, this is Gracia Isley, Maes' fiancée." He held up the bag he'd been carrying. "I thought we'd drop off presents since we were in the area."

Gracia held out a hand to Riza. "It's nice to finally meet you. Roy speaks of you so often I feel like I already know you."

Riza blushed. Roy talked about her? She hadn't known that. She took the offered hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Roy seemed to notice her sudden shyness and provided a distraction by producing the neatly wrapped presents from the bag. "These are for the two of you. I hope you enjoy them."

Gracia accepted the gifts with a smile. "You didn't have to, Roy. It's really quite sweet of you."

"No problem. Do you know if Edward and Al made it?"

"They're over by the fireplace with Winry."

"Thanks, Gracia. We'll see you at the service."

With an arm around her waist, Roy headed for the fireplace where three blonds were hold court

"Hey Fullmetal, I see you actually made it." He smiled at Riza. "Riza, these are my lab assistants, the Elric brothers. The tall one is Alphonse, and short, annoying one is Edward."

"Who's so short he can't be seen over the couch?"

"And the lady with the shrimp is Winry Rockbell. This is my friend Riza Hawkeye."

The young blond woman smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Ignore Ed. He has no manners."

Riza smiled. "That reminds me of someone else we both know."

Roy huffed. "See if you get any Christmas presents this year."

"Speaking of presents," she prompted, "don't you have some gifts to distribute?"

Roy sighed but began producing packages from the bag. "The blue one's for Al. Ed, yours is the red package. Winry, you get the silver one."

The explanations were necessary mostly because Roy had simply handed each package to who ever was closest, not who ever it went to. Riza just shook her head. Winry smiled and pressed a kiss to Roy's cheek.

"Thank you, Mr. Mustang. You really didn't have to go to this trouble."

Roy smiled. "Yes, I did. Anyway, those are for you, and I wanted you all to meet Riza. Once we get set up here, you'll probably be seeing more of her."

That got a grin out of Winry. "Great. Maybe we could arrange a girls' night out sometime. It will be a relief not to be constantly surrounded males."

"Sure. Roy mentioned you're an engineering student earlier, and I know there's a group on campus for those of us pursuing traditionally male careers. Once you get settled in, you could join us for a meeting."

Riza found herself at ease with Winry and barely noticed that Gracia had joined them until she inserted herself into the conversation. It didn't take long for Riza to lose her shyness around the woman, and the three of them comfortably chatted until Alphonse informed them that the service would be starting in ten minutes.

She and Roy ended up sharing a pew with the others, and to Riza's surprise, she spotted both Quistis and her young man from earlier across the way with a group of people their age. Riza found herself caught up in the service. She hadn't been to a Christmas Eve service since she was six, but she found that the songs and format were still familiar. By the time they had gotten to Silent Night, Riza was supremely content. The entire day had been much better than the one she had planned.

As they headed out of the church and into the night, she and Roy received invitations to join Maes and Gracia for dinner the next evening, and Riza was surprised with a hug from Quistis and a kiss on the cheek from her young man.

"Thanks for the advice, Riza."

Roy seemed rather bemused by the whole scene. He slipped an arm around her waist, and they headed back to her apartment. It had stopped snowing, and Riza could see the stars peeking through the clouds.

"Thank you."

He looked down at her. "For what?"

"Today. This was much nicer than the day I had planned for myself."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You're quite welcome. I've been planning to visit you for ages and just never got around to it before. Besides, I would have been just as lonely without you to share my day with, and you're supposed to spend Christmas with those you care about most."

They had reached her apartment by now, and she shyly invited him inside. Riza wasn't sure why she suddenly was feeling so uncertain. They had been close most of their lives, though they had never really acknowledged it. She busied herself fixing hot chocolate for them both while he investigated the packages under the tree.

"You got me something?" He sounded both surprised and pleased.

"It's Christmas. Besides, it seemed an appropriate thank you."

"Do you want to open the gifts tonight or tomorrow?"

"Technically, it is tomorrow."

He took his mug from her. "You know what I mean."

Riza considered her options for a moment. "We each open one gift tonight and the rest tomorrow."

Roy grinned at her. "So which do I get to open? You pick mine out, and I'll pick yours."

She quickly retrieved a small square box wrapped in crimson paper with gold ribbons. "This one."

Quickly shredding the paper and nearly tearing open the box, Roy soon found the watch nestled inside the tissue paper. He lifted it out with an expression near awe. Gently, he turned in his hands, taking in the details.

"Open it."

He looked at her blankly.

"The watch, silly."

Roy traced the inscription with a fingertip. "You remembered. Thank you, Riza."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Which do I get to open?"

Roy held out a small box wrapped in snowflake patterned paper with a multitude of slim, silver ribbons wrapped around it. "Merry Christmas, Riza"

She opened the wrapping gently, carefully. The little jewelry box appeared, and she eased it open. Resting on the velvet inside was a delicate filigree locket of silver and gold. Riza thumbed it open to find a picture of herself and Roy at her high school graduation on one side and a picture of the two of them back when they were children on the other. She held the necklace out to him.

"Put it on me?"

She lifted her hair out of the way as he slide the chain around her neck and fastened the clasp. His fingers lingered at the back of her neck, tracing the lines at the top of her tattoo. Riza turned her head, intending to thank him for the gift, only to have her lips caught by his as he leaned closer to say something. They part quickly, and Riza turned around to kiss him properly.

Technically, it was not their first kiss or even their second. It was something that they had been dancing around since her sixteenth birthday. She smiled and pulled away.

"Merry Christmas, Roy."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Merry Christmas, darling."