Howdy! Alright, another chapter ( insert ooo's and aaaa's here). Just a little warning though: towards the end, it gets really fluffy. I mean, so very fluffy, you might suffocate from it all, so watch out. Sorry this is a little lengthy though! Well, I'm off to do some Spanish homework. ¡Esperanza que usted goza! (Hope you enjoy!)
A quick disclaimer thing: the lyrics to the song used are not mine.
The merry Christmas spirit in the North Pole had disappeared after the dreadful turn of events the night before, leaving a thick, angry tension on the air. The reluctance of not wanting to come for work was evident in the Santa Crew's behavior, looming over like some dark, ominous cloud. The dead holiday joy seemed to have an impact on the customers, scaring away the little children while parents gave disapproving frowns at the lack of good service.
Winry did not show up for work the next day, a mystery to no one except for Al, who was left in the dark about everything. The other three, Ed, Roy and Riza, were avoiding each other skillfully, which only made the tangles of tension tighten on the small thread that was barely keeping them from screaming at each other. It was a complicated web of who was mad at whom, so to cut to the chase, poor Al was caught in the middle of it all.
With no means of communication since the Silent Treatment was in effect, the mad trio had him deliver any message one might have for the other. Al had no say in the whatsoever, but didn't have much of a choice.
"Roy wants to know if he can take a break," he reported to Riza. She sighed, stealing a glance at the slouching Santa posed lazily on his chair.
"Tell him I said no."
Al nodded and took off, heading towards the receiver of the news, but was intercepted by his brother.
"Where's Winry?" Ed asked, quickly adding, "Not that I care or anything. It's just I haven't seen her all day, and well, I was… wondering."
"How should I know?" Al shrugged. "I don't even know what's going on with you guys."
"I thought I already told you?"
"Nope." Al shook his head. He had asked the night before, but that question got thrown out of the window along with Ed's ranting and morbid attitude.
"It's all Mustang's fault," Ed replied, saying the name with disgust. "He and Riza told me to spy on Winry while she went out to the movies with Tringham-"
"And you got caught?" Al finished, seeing it as the only reasonable answer. Ed nodded. "Well, this is dumb. It's ruining with the Secret Mission!"
Ed blinked. "What Secret Mission?" He eyed his brother suspiciously.
"Hm? I didn't say that," the younger Elric abruptly replied, covering up his little blurt. "I just said- said… Secret Santa! Yes, yes! There we go!" he forced a chuckle as his sibling looked at him strangely.
"What Secret- Oh!" Ed gasped in realization. Dammit all, I completely forgot about that!
"How's it going? I mean, did you find a gift for your Secret Santa?"
"Well, no. Not really," Ed rubbed the back of his head, eyes set on his jingling elf shoes. "I don't really know what to get Wi- I mean, the person, especially since we had a sort of… argument."
"Did you try apologizing?" Al asked, although he knew what the answer would be.
"No…"
Al shook his head. "Why not? Come on, Ed. Just say sorry, and everything will be fine again."
"But what if she- I mean, the person doesn't forgive me? What if the person stays mad at me? What if-?" Feeling as though he had said too much, Ed waved the matter aside and quickly changed the flow of the conversation to a less revealing subject. "Look, tell Roy I said he needs to get off his lazy ass and get back to work."
"Brother! That's not very-!"
"Don't care," came the reply. Al sighed, mocking a salute before trudging off.
"Al!"
The reindeer dressed employee rolled his eyes at the call. It was the 115th time- he had actually kept a tally- in the past two days where he was summoned to run an errand or message just because Roy, Ed and Riza were still fuming over the movie disaster. Winry had not turned up for work again, and the tension was so tight in the atmosphere, it was getting hard to breathe.
"Yes?" Al muttered through his teeth. It had only been forty-eight hours, and the delivery boy routine was getting old. He had come to a sudden awareness that he was being used.
Ed warily strolled over. He had never seen his brother so irritated before, instinct telling him it'd be a better idea to turn and slowly walk away than to feel the wrath of Al's aggravated mood.
"Yes?" The word was repeated in a tone that was rarely used by Al; serious and bone-chillingly freaky.
"Oh, could you tell Mustang that-?"
"Al!" another voice stopped the conversation. Roy approached them, obviously avoiding the fact that Ed was right there as he brushed aside the golden glare daggered at him.
"What?"
Roy felt himself step back. "Um, I need you to tell Riza something."
"Ok. Fine. What. Do. You. Want. Me. To. Tell. Her?"
"That I said I'm-"
"Alphonse!" Riza joined the party. A brief awkward silence passed over; here they were, Ed, Roy, Riza, standing in the same proximity. The air was electric- if one wrong word were to be said, one wrong move to be made, then they'd all burn.
"Yeah?" Al was like a bomb, ready to detonate once the right button was pressed.
"I need you to get some film," Riza cautiously responded. "I'd get it myself, but there's a stack of pictures that I need to develop."
Ed cleared his throat, grabbing his sibling by the arm as he brought him to his side. "Uh, Al. I think I asked you first."
Frowning, Roy took Al and scoffed. "Well, I'm the boss Al. I believe you should send my message."
In a blink of an eye, the youngest employee was standing next to Riza. "But Al, there's that saying, ladies first. You know that, right?"
"But you're my brother," Ed grabbed his family member.
"And I'm the one who sees if you get a paycheck," Roy yanked Al next to him.
"Al, I really need some film to do my job," Riza tried to persuade, but the I'm-taking-Al feud had only just begun.
"Come on Al, you're related to me."
"Al, you're my only trustworthy employee."
"Alphonse, be a sweet boy and get me some film?"
"Al!"
"Al!"
"Al!"
"Alphon-!"
"SHUT UP!"
The talking had ceased, all shocked from the sudden outburst coming from the boy whose top had just blown off. Al had snapped. He couldn't take it anymore. "What's wrong with all you people? You're acting like a bunch of idiots! It's the holidays, for crying out loud! And damn it, this isn't how we should be acting towards each other!"
Seeing he was right, the trio hung their heads as though they were being scolded by an angry parent.
"You guys are letting some stupid thing ruin this, and I'm sick of it! Why can't you just say sorry? You guys yell and argue, complain and whine all day, but you can't even say one simple word to each other! You're all… IMPOSSIBLE!"
As though a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest, Al let out a deep breath; however, he was not done yet. Taking it down a notch, he continued, "Come on guys. There are only 6 more days till Christmas. I think the best gift this year would just be seeing all of you talking again, but to actually make that happen, try apologizing first." He looked pleadingly from Roy, to Ed then to Riza. They all glanced at one another, unsure as to who should go first or where to begin.
"Ok, look… I'm sorry," Roy boldly said. "I don't know what I was thinking with the whole plan. I apologize for my actions, but you know what? I do deserve the idiot award."
He felt a hand entwine with his and he looked over at Riza, who was gazing at him with a smile. "Well, you're my idiot you big goof," she teased. "And I'm sorry Ed, for not stopping Roy. And Roy, I'm sorry for not putting an end to your little escapade."
Everyone glanced at Ed, waiting for an apology to be given but he blinked. "What do I have to say sorry for?"
"For going with the plan," Roy replied like it was the most apparent thing in the world.
"It was your idea," Ed shot back.
Al sighed. "Brother!"
"Ok, ok fine! I'm sorry," Ed hastily said, the words slurring out of his mouth. "There, happy?" The others rolled their eyes, but laughed, tension gone, contentment filling one another. However, they knew there was one person left to make the North Pole crew complete.
"You guys," Al suddenly said. "You know, there's someone else who deserves an apology too."
Setting her wrench down aside, Winry wiped her brow as she gazed at her newly made creation that she had been slaving over for days, something which she called automail. It was brilliant; a prosthetic limb, only much more high-tech and durable. She could've won some sort of award for it, but even if she did, she knew it wouldn't make her happy.
She groaned and slumped in her chair. Two days had gone by, two days since she talked, or rather, yelled at Roy, Ed and Riza. Mixed emotions played at her strings, making a melody of confusion, anger, hurt. She didn't know if she should be livid, well, she knew she should be, but that fury brought regret. Did I overreact a bit? She wondered. No, I didn't she shook her head. Well, how else was I supposed to react?
The questions were giving her a headache, and Winry closed her eyes, thinking of how long it would be until she'd actually go back to work and face reality.
There was a tap on the door. "Winry?" It was Pinako.
"Yeah?"
"You've got visitors?"
"Who?"
"Uh, Nelly and Paninya." Confused as to why Nelly and Paninya, two friends of hers, would want to come so late at night, Winry wandered into the living room.
But Paninya and Nelly were not the ones she saw. Instead, standing by the door were Riza, Roy… and no Ed. Why am I not surprised? the bitter thought surged through her mind as she looked at the two fiercely. "What do you-?"
"We come with a peace offering," they said, Riza thrusting a plate full of something towards her. A sweet scent of freshly baked morsels filled the air. Damn them, Winry thought. I love chocolate chip cookies.
"And we came to apologize," Roy announced.
"I'm sorry Winry," Riza said. "We did something stupid."
"I'm sorry as well," Mustang added. "A thousand apologies a thousand times over."
"Please forgive us!" they bowed, awaiting the final decision from Winry, who smiled at her friends' gesture, but disappointment from a missing face troubled her from grinning fully. When she did not respond, they bombarded her with more apologies.
"We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're sorry! We're-!"
"Ok, ok!" Winry exclaimed. "I forgive you!"
Riza and Roy beamed. "Do you really?"
Winry nodded. "If you hand over those cookies, you've got yourselves a deal."
11:11 and quiet had settled itself in the night fog of Resembool, twinkling houses lay dormant with its occupants drifted away into slumber; even the snow looked like it had nestled away into sleep, covering the ground as it crunched noiselessly under Edward's feet.
One would wonder what he would be doing out so late with a stereo in hand, a Christmas Cd tucked away in the other, a rope of lights and extension cords snaking behind, but he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Why didn't you come with us to apologize to Winry?" Roy demanded over the phone. "We were expecting you to show up!"
"I know, but I can't do it," Ed mumbled, seeing Al on the other side of the room with the receiver in his ear, listening to the conversation.
"Just say sorry!" Riza's voice faintly echoed in the background.
"Yes, there are more than 101 ways to apologize," Roy said wisely.
"Be creative and pick one!" Al chimed.
"Surprise her!" Riza proclaimed.
"But what if she-?"
"No buts!" three voices chorused back like a choral group. "Do it!" They chanted. "Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!"
"Shut the hell up!" Ed yelled as he threw the handset back on the phone. He retreated upstairs, Al repeating 'Do it!' like some tribal ritual.
Ed stopped at the front gate of his destination and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said, preparing for what needed to be done.
While all the world slept, a case of insomnia decided to plague Winry Rockbell, casting her into a night with a weary mind. Questions kept swimming in an endless oblivion. Where was Ed? Why hadn't he apologized like the rest? Should I be mad? Should I hate him? Does he hate me? Where, why, what, how? But suddenly-
Fwump! Pause. Fwump! Pause. Fwump!
Winry sat up in bed, hearing the noises coming from the glass door that led to her balcony. Packs of ice collided with the clear frame. Letting her curiosity lead her, she walked out and into the frigid air and looked down.
And then-
Music was blasted as a song began to play. She knew it immediately, an old favorite of hers, especially during Christmas time, and the person singing it was no other than Ed himself.
"I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true...
All I want for Christmas
Is you"
Dogs began to bark, lamps on houses switched on, even a car alarm down the street had been triggered but even so, Ed sang his heart out, and Winry couldn't help but smile.
"I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas day
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you"
She watched him, dancing in the snow; voice off-key in some parts but nice to listen to nonetheless. He looked like an idiot, a fool almost, but he didn't seem to mind. She abandoned all thoughts about being mad at him, for it was the last thing to cross her mind.
"All the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the sound of children's
Laughter fills the air
And everyone is singing
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need"
He bent down in the snow, and she looked on curiously. He was fumbling with something, with what she couldn't tell.
"Won't you please bring my baby home
Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for
I just want to see baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh I just want her for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true"
Ed did a one man can-can, holding an object in his hands as he belted out notes like he had done it all the time. The song was just about over and with a bellowing hoarse, he sang,
"Baby, all I want for Christmas is you!" he pointed a finger directly at her, and pushed a button on the remote he was holding. Magically, the words "I'm Sorry" glittered in the snow with red and green Christmas lights, twinkling vibrantly in the white sea below. Winry let out a small gasp, the stability in her legs turning into jelly.
"All I want for Christmas is you!" Spinning much too fast for friction to follow, Ed slipped on the ice and came crashing down, grace absent from his side. With an 'oof!' followed by a long list of curse words, he face planted in the snow.
"Damn, that was smooth," he muttered, recomposing himself after his debut fall.
"You…"
Ed looked up and saw Winry standing in her pajamas with a jacket placed on hastily around her shoulders. The expression on her face was undecipherable, and he couldn't tell whether she was angry… surprised…
"Me…" he said as their eyes became locked in a spell neither could break out of. The frigid breeze brought a comfortable silence, a moment for them to think of what to make out of their current situation.
"You know," Winry finally said, holding out a hand, "you should have tried out for the winter musical- you could've gotten the lead role."
Ed took her hand, seeing how perfectly it fit into his. "But I thought you said I couldn't act."
"But you can sing," she smiled softly. "You should be a choir boy or sing Christmas carols on front porches. People will love you for it." Ed laughed, and as though it were something contagious, it didn't take long for Winry to catch on. Moments passed before they were cured of their giggle fits, traces of a smile played across their lips.
"Ed?" Winry said, hands hidden behind her back.
"Yeah?" She didn't respond, instead, leaped into his arms, feeling the action would express more than words alone. Ed held her, swinging her around from being caught off-guard.
"Uh, W-Winry?" he stammered.
Realizing what she had done, Winry pried herself off, stepping back as she laughed awkwardly. "Sorry," she blurted out. "I didn't mean to-"
"No Winry," said Ed, looking her in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I really am, from the spying incident to almost ruining our friendship. Will you… you know, forgive me?"
"Of course I will," she didn't even give it a second thought for it wasn't necessary to. Relief came like a blessing and Ed couldn't help but smile. Even his smile was contagious and Winry grinned with him, beaming in the face of the moonlight.
"You know," Winry said, "what sounds really good right now?"
Ed knew that look on her face, thoughts readable by her expression. "Hot chocolate?"
"Uh-huh, hot chocolate swimming in marshmallows," she turned to him with that same smile. "Don't you think so?"
"Absolutely," Ed replied, and found his hand in hers once more as she led him inside.
Aw, now wasn't that just spiffy? Holy shimoly, this chapter was long- took me almost two hours to type, but it was worth every second. Oh, I have a question: when's Winry's birthday? I've been wondering that for a while now actually. And who's older, Winry or Ed? I've heard that Win was older, but is that true?
Review replies! Hoo-ha!
2supersmart: I thought the bathroom part was a little silly, it was just some really random idea that came to my head, but I'm glad you liked it! I'm even gladder- I don't think that's a real word… meh, oh well- that you're enjoying the story! Thanks for the fantabulous- I don't think that's a real word either- review! Hope you keep reading!
silent:tears:fall: Silly Ed, thinking Winry and Russell were on a date. But that's ok, I'm pretty sure he made up for that! Glad you liked the cameos- there'll be more soon! Aw, thanks for the b-day wish! A gazillion more thank you's for the review!
MoonStarDutchess: Yay! You like the story! I'm glad! –jig jig, dance dance- Thanks for the review, and please keep reading!
no1 important: Lmao! Haha, glad you liked the bathroom humor. I really don't know where that came from, but I guess it worked out alright. And oh sweet Jesus, please keep reading! XD Thanks a bunch for the review!
MastahChibeh: -shakes head sadly- yeah, Edo dear is an idiot; when will he learn? Aw, happy happy to hear you'll love this fic! Many many thank yous many many times over!
winryrockbell2: All your reviews made me smile- they made my day! It's so awesome to hear that you're enjoying this story! Sorry if this update wasn't exactly as quick as a bunny. I'm trying my best to finish this, especially around December-ish. Anyways, thank you thank you! for the awesomely awesome reviews!
f-zelda: Delighted to know you think this is good! –smile- Thanks a bunch cherry punch for the review! Please stay tuned for the next update!
WildfireDreams: Last chapter just wasn't Ed's time to shine was it? But he redeemed himself in this chap, hopefully! Thanks for the lovely review!
unexpection: Lol, yup! I got that part from the coke commercial! Just imagining that happening between Roy and Riza made me laugh. Envy is awesome! Envy equals evil awesomeness, you know? Aw! Thanks for the birthday wish, and thank you thank you for the review!
NekoRaven: Lol, I pictured Gluttony working at a snack bar- almost fell off my chair laughing. Glad you liked the chapter, and I hope you liked this one as well! A million upon millions of thank you's for the review!
edward's-love: Tee hee, I'm pretty sure Ed redeemed himself for messing everything up. Thanks for the lovely review, and I hope you keep reading!
EdWaRd E WoRsHiPpEr: lmao! I dub thee with the Idiot Award! Lol, thanks a bunch for the awesomely awesome review! Please keep reading!
Oh, before I go, I have a challenge for y'all. Try saying 'unique New York' 10 times really fast WITHOUT messing up. Have fun!
And one more thing, I found a site with a summary of the whole Hagaren movie. Apparently, the person got to see it- lucky!- and wrote about it, so unless you seriously can't wait until it comes out on DVD or something, here's the url, otherwise enter at your own risk:
www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/fadingtonothing/index2(dot)html
Honestly, I thought the ending did NOT sound too pleasing –is disappointed and trying her best not to start ranting- but that's just my opinion.
Stay tuned for the next chapter! –goes off singing 'All I want for Christmas is You'-