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Father Christmas
21
Invitation to Serve
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Ed looked up from his book when there was a knock on the door. He looked at Al who was now looking at him. When Al shrugged, Ed stood and opened the door. His ears were instantly assaulted by Maes Hughes singing one of the songs Al had taught at the Christmas party. He opened his mouth to tell him to shut up, when one of the other soldiers who lived on this floor shouted some profanities down the hall.
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Hughes asked.
"Yeah," Ed said. "It really was."
At the same time, Al said, "No, it was great."
Hughes grinned, then said jovially, "Well, aren't you going to let me in?"
"Why?" Ed asked, eyeing him up and down. Hughes was still in the red and white outfit he wore for the kids, and he had a bag slung over one shoulder.
"Because I'm Santa!" Hughes replied, then grinned widely. "AND," he added, reaching into his pocket. "I have some cute pictures of Elysia sitting on my lap while dressed like an elf!" The pictures were instantly shoved in Ed's face.
"Very cute," Ed said. It was true, it was very cute, but Ed could only handle so many pictures. Stepping aside, Ed let Hughes in, then shut the door. "So what do you want?"
"Brother!" Al said, still sitting where he'd been before Hughes had knocked on the door. "Don't be so rude."
"No, no, it's fine," Hughes said. "I'm here because I wanted to ask the two of you a favor."
"Uh no," Ed said.
"Brother..." Al said in a low tone. "What did you need?" he added to Hughes.
"You still have your elf outfit?" Hughes asked Ed.
Ed scowled. "No, I burned it," he lied.
"It's under the bed," Al said, sounding amused.
"Okay," Ed said, shooting a glare at his brother. "But I plan on burning it."
"I'd like to ask you to wear it one more time," Hughes said.
"Hell n—" Ed began, but Hughes cut him off by lifting his hand.
"Just hear me out," Hughes said.
At first, Ed was skeptical. He couldn't think of any good reason to subject himself to that kind of humiliation again, but as he listened, Ed changed his mind. This was definitely a reasonable request...
"That's... actually a pretty good idea you have there," Ed said when Hughes was done.
Hughes grinned. "It's actually Colonel Mustang's idea."
"Never mind," Ed grunted. "It's a lousy idea..."
With a laugh, Maes opened his black bag. "I'll be sure to let him know you approve." And then, he looked at Al. "We can't just have one elf. I'd like you to be an elf too."
"ME?!" Al exclaimed in surprise. "I'm too big to be an elf."
"Don't be silly," Maes said. Technically, Al was right. It would look much better to have short elves. But this wasn't about being technical or looking good. This was about giving Al the chance to be involved in the same way that he would if his soul wasn't trapped in that armor.
With a flourish, Maes pulled a large elf outfit from the bag and tossed it onto Al's lap, then dug a hat out and tossed that over to Al as well. For a moment, Al simply stared down at the outfit. When he looked up, Maes could feel the boy's happiness radiating from him.
"I'M GOING TO BE AN ELF!" Al suddenly shouted. He stood and began pulling on the outfit. "This is soooo great! I really wanted to be an elf!"
Maes looked down at Ed who was now smiling softly at his brother. "So?" Maes asked.
Ed looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll do it." Ed glanced at his brother who was now pulling on the top part of the outfit, then back at Maes. "Thanks," he said, and Maes didn't have to ask what for.
"Not at all. I think this will be a great opportunity for all of us," Hughes said with a smile.
"Yeah, I think so," Ed said, sounding genuinely pleased. Maes nodded. This was the first time Maes had seen Ed accept an idea that had to do with Christmas so easily since this whole thing had started.
"I'M AN ELF!" Al said, raising his hands in the air in excitement.
Maes laughed and held up his hands again. "One more thing," he said, chuckling. When the two boys looked at him, he said, "Gracia and I would like to invite you to stay at our house over Christmas."
He watched as the smile slowly faded from Ed's face, and there was silence in the room as the two boys just stared at him, then the looked at each other.
"Is that a problem?" Maes asked, not exactly expecting this kind of response.
They looked back at him and Ed shook his head. "No... it's not that... it's just..." He swallowed and cleared his throat. "We... we'd really like to come to your house... but we don't want to be a burden. We don't want to intrude..."
"Don't be ridiculous," Maes said with a smile. "We wouldn't have offered if we didn't mean it."
"Really?" Al asked eagerly.
"Really," Maes confirmed.
The two boys looked at each other again and then Ed's lips curved up slightly into a small smile and he gave a little nod.
At that, Al turned to Maes and said, "Thank you so much!"
"Bring your stuff with you tomorrow night and we'll go directly to my house after we're finished. Then you can spend all day on the twenty-fourth at our house and that night, and then all day on the twenty-fifth if you'd like."
"Alright!" Al exclaimed. "This is the best week ever! First I get to be an elf, then we get to go to the Hughes house for Christmas!"
Maes looked at Ed and said in a quieter tone, "You sure?"
Ed nodded instantly. He didn't speak right away, but his eyes shone slightly and he swallowed once before looking away. "Yeah, I guess I can put up with you for that long..." His voice sounded tight, and Maes could only smile. He was glad he'd made the offer. Ed might not say it outright, but this obviously meant something to him.
"Good!" Maes said, not wanting to embarrass Ed by dwelling on his emotions. "Because I have lots more pictures to show you! It might even take all night to get through them all."