All I Want for Christmas Chapter 2: Blue Christmas, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

I didn't want this chapter to be as long as it is, but it's turned out like this so I just hope you readers don't mind. It's a smudge longer than the previous chapter (which I wasn't hoping for) even with cutting out some things. Ah well. C'est la vie.

The song for this chapter is a sadder Christmas song, and although the overall mood of the chapter isn't that depressing, it's based on Roy's take on the holidays.

Title: All I Want for Christmas
Rating: Overall, PG.
Genre: Yaoi, Christmas, Romance, Drama.
Pairing: Roy Mustang and Edward Elric.
Warnings: Yaoi / shonen-ai… Yup, totally a worksafe and light-hearted story.
Summary: There was only one thing Ed truly wanted for Christmas this year.

Chapter Summary: "But it's Christmas. You mean to tell me that decorating is all that'll make you happy?"

The Colonel sighed, poking idly at the ramen with his chopsticks. "The holidays are supposed to be a happy time of the year that you spend with friends and family. But… I tend to always find myself alone on Christmas."

Happy reading and please R&R!

Chapter Two, Blue Christmas.

Decorations of red
On a green Christmas tree
Won't mean a thing if
You're not here with me.
- Blue Christmas

Roy groaned when the alarm clock on his nightstand started its loud morning ritual. It was exactly 7 o'clock when it first went off, but by the time Roy had finally managed to pull himself out of bed it was 7:30.

Used to having very little time in the mornings to get ready, the Colonel headed straight for his closest as soon as his feet found the floor. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes as he poked through his closet, fishing out the military uniform from its usual place of hanging neatly to the left a little. Stripping his pajamas off, Roy started to get dressed for the day.

It only took him three minutes to be out the bedroom door, down the hall and in the kitchen. When he opened the fridge door, Roy was quick to snatch up the milk carton and even quicker to close it again and find a loaf of bread in the breadbox. So used to this daily routine, Roy didn't even think about it when he dropped a slice into the toaster and filled a glass of milk for himself.

"Oh!" The Colonel exclaimed suddenly as he drank the milk, "That reminds me! Edward stayed in the spare room last night!"

The toast popped out of the toaster on the counter and Roy stuck his butter knife into it, slapping it down on a paper towel and getting to work on spreading peanut butter all over it.

"I should tell him I'm leaving soon, but…" He pondered out loud as he went about getting his makeshift breakfast ready. "He's pretty sick. I guess I'll just leave him here for now." Roy decided, taking a large bite out of the slice of toast.

To be honest, Roy didn't know why he was letting The Fullmetal Alchemist stay alone in his house for a full day. He thought that maybe it was because he couldn't stand seeing his subordinates ill, which was true for the most part, but Ed sure wouldn't be complaining. Sighing in defeat, the man grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and scribbled down something. The sound of a honking car outside reached his ears just as he finished the apparent note, and he stood up on reflex. Roy looked around before sticking the note under a magnet on the fridge (and as an afterthought, moving it down a little further) before turning and jogging to the front door. Flinging his coat over his shoulder, Roy dashed out of the house and into the waiting car.

Havoc put the car in gear and began their ten minute drive to work. He chuckled. "Hawkeye isn't too happy with you, I doubt she'll be too pleased with you today either."

Roy snorted and smirked at the other man. "You're the one driving, you're going to be late too."

Havoc stopped chuckling and remained silent the rest of the way.

When the two of them walked in the office that morning, the very first thing to greet them was Hawkeye, who was standing with crossed arms and a tapping foot. She gave Roy an exaggerated smile and Havoc silently slipped away when her attention wasn't on him. "Good morning, Colonel. I see that YOU ARE LATE FOR WORK AGAIN."

"Ah, well, there's a perfectly good reason for that!" Roy offered hurriedly before she could get another word in.

"The storm last night, correct?" Hawkeye demanded before Roy had finished his last word, knowing full well of what excuses her boss came up with.

"Well, in a way -"

"Colonel, the whole office knows you're a heavy sleeper. You could have easily slept through the racket." Hawkeye declared firmly. The others stifled their chuckles as they recalled the incident last week when their Colonel had fallen asleep on the job and there just happened to be permanent markers on his desk and they just happened to be particularly bored that morning…

"It's a long story – but I'll make it short!" He added hastily when he received a venomous glare. "Well you see, Fullmetal was caught out in the storm last night for a while, and when he showed up at my doorstep he looked horrible. So of course I let him in, gave him something for his cold and allowed him to stay in the spare room for the night. He's ill and really shouldn't be working for a while…"

The glare and frown was suddenly wiped off Hawkeye's face. "Edward-kun?"

Riza Hawkeye was a well-informed woman that no little thing ever seemed to escape. Even if no one else knew or noticed, she was most likely to know. Ed's infatuation with the Colonel was one of those things. Hawkeye knew for sure that Ed wasn't straight but she only suspected that Roy was the one he wanted. She had no real proof of this, but Hawkeye's hunches were usually correct.

"Yes, I was surprised too." The Colonel replied, rubbing his temple.

"Where is he now?"

"At my house. He was sleeping and since he was so ill, I decided to let him stay where he was." He answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Hawkeye was silent for a while, as if pondering over what Roy had told her. The Colonel stood waiting for her response, and when it came, it wasn't what he had expected.

"Well, I suppose I can let you off this once. But only because the holidays are coming up and I'm in a good mood." She told him, making it clear by her look that this was a one-time thing.

She would find out the truth. Sooner or later.

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"Mrmhh…" Ed mumbled wordless groans as he finally stirred from sleep. His golden eyes were still closed and he was curled into a ball with his head stuffed in between three pillows. Though he was still only half awake, Ed could hear gentle singing. The singing was melodic and muffled through walls, a collection of young voices singing together in harmony.

"…its lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…"

Ed smiled at the Christmas tune that the carolers outside were singing, eyes still closed as he began to quietly hum along.

They sang a few more songs, which pleased the sleepy Ed, but when their voices finally died away, he frowned. Opening his eyes, the young man slowly propped himself up in bed with his arms, shifting until he was sitting up comfortably. Ed had a silly grin on his face as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm in the Colonel's house. I'm in Roy Mustang's house." The thought made him giddy.

Suddenly awake and alert, the young man threw the blankets back and placed his feet on the floor. Ed hesitated for a second before standing when he remembered how weak he had been last night, but sighed in relief when he stood with only a bit of an ache in his legs. There was even a bounce in his step as he crossed the room and opened the door, poking his head out.

"G'morning, Colonel!" He called, not knowing where the other man was. Getting no answer, Ed frowned in disappointment. Leaving the room, he began a search for his object of affection, but huffed angrily when he entered the kitchen, finding Roy nowhere.

"Wouldn't you know, just when we were alone…" Ed trailed off, his happy mood suddenly seeming to falter.

It was true that Ed loved Roy but… even though he was happy he had an opportunity to tell Roy how he felt now, Ed realized he didn't know how to actually say it. He had trouble telling his own brother about it for god's sakes, how was he supposed to tell the actual person he longed to be with about such feelings? How was he supposed to tell Roy Mustang that he, headstrong Edward Elric, was in love with him? He didn't even know if Mustang liked men and with all the womanizing he did, Ed's chances suddenly seemed to drop.

"No! I can't think like that." He announced to himself. "I gotta tell him, like Al said. When he comes home, I'll confront him and tell him I love him. I'll… oh Christ. I can't do this." Ed groaned, leaning against the kitchen table. Luckily, the rumbling of his stomach kept him from thinking too hard on the matter.

"I'll think of that later, then." Ed exclaimed louder than needed, glad to have a distraction. Spotting the fridge, he went over to it without a second thought about eating the Colonel's food. The first thing he saw, however, was a note written to him on the fridge door.

Good morning, Fullmetal.
Since I have work and you're ill, I've allowed you to stay here while I'm gone today. Help yourself to something to eat, just don't break anything, because you'll be fixing it if you do. I'd prefer if you left my study alone, I have a lot of paperwork in there, all very neatly organized. You'll be fixing THAT too if you mess it up. I'll be home at roughly 18:00.

Roy.

Ed snorted and glanced around the room in search of a clock. Noting that the time was currently 2:40, he sighed and threw the fridge door open.

When Ed was done eating whatever non-healthy food he could find, he put the dishes in the sink and wandered into the living room. Since the window in this room was larger than the rest and the curtains were drawn, when Ed pulled back the curtains light spilled into the room, eliminating all darkness. The reflection of the snow covering the ground made things even bright, but Ed's eyes soon became adjusted to it.

It was snowing ever-so-lightly and he saw the neighbourhood children running about with red cheeks and snowballs in their hands, laughing as they ran. One of the boys hit one of the girls with one, making her cry. The boys snickered but soon got hit by a dozen snowballs from the now angry girls, thus making all children to dash off in different directions.

He didn't know how long he just stood in the window, coughing occasionally, watching the children play in the snow. It was oddly comforting. Even as the children were ushered inside by their parents, Ed stayed watching the snow fall gently to the ground, eyes glittering in the sunlight.

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Roy entered his house just when he said he would; six o'clock sharp. He held a few bags and boxes from various stores in his arms, everything he bought seeming to be Christmas related. He entered his living room and set the things down, only to see a sleeping Ed on his sofa.

The younger man had an open book covering most of his face and his automail arm dangled off the side of the sofa. Roy chuckled.

"Ed," Roy leaned over the back of the couch to look down at his sleeping face. "Wake up. You've been sleeping all day."

"Not all day." He heard Ed mumble from underneath the book covering his face. He slowly forced his eyes half open to see Roy's smirking face. Ed groaned and rolled onto his side.

"I'll be making supper. Try to stay awake, it's not healthy to oversleep."

"Mhmm…" Ed grinned at the thought of food. He pulled himself up into a sitting position on the couch and placed the book on the table. Then he snuggled up against the couch while he waited for Roy to announce supper, humming carols softly to himself. The lovely smells wafting from the kitchen were hard to resist and he found himself getting up off the couch, heading over to the kitchen and taking a seat at the table.

"The smells are nice." Ed answered before Roy could ask.

As Roy went about his cooking, Ed couldn't take his eyes off of him. He'd try looking away so not to let his eyes wander across Roy's body again, but it seemed he was enchanted by Roy. The only times he had managed to look away was when the older man could see Ed, and even then those golden eyes of his would travel right back to where they had been before. The silence between them was soon broken when Ed coughed a few times.

"Sounds like you're still sick." Roy acknowledged as he placed a bowl of ramen in front of Ed.

"Mmhm I guess." The younger man replied, more interested in the food than whatever Roy had to say. Roy sighed as he watched Ed shovel the noodles into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in days. Getting his own bowl, Roy sat down across from Ed.

They were awkwardly quiet as they ate, barely making eye contact. It was making Edward edgy, and before long he couldn't stand it anymore.

"So uh, what were those boxes you brought home anyways?" He questioned out of curiosity. Oh, smooth, Ed. Real smooth. 'So, what did you bring home?' What a stupid question, it's none of my business. Christ, I don't even live here and I'm acting like his wife or something -

"Christmas decorations." Roy answered with a smile.

Ed blinked. "Decorations?"

"Yes. I always decorate my house for Christmas. Usually the whole house, bathroom and everything."

"The WHOLE house?" Ed asked in disbelief. Sure, the Colonel's house wasn't really huge or anything, but the whole house?

"Yeah, the whole house. I suppose it's just something to keep me happy and busy during the holidays." Roy's smile faded a little.

"But it's Christmas. You mean to tell me that decorating is all that'll make you happy?"

Ed's eyes dropped to the now empty bowl before him. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to upset you-"

"No, that's alright. A lot of people get depressed around Christmas time anyways."

"Hey, Colonel?" Ed asked, perking up. "Why don't I... well, help you decorate this year?" Ed knew this offer was strange coming from him, and he could tell by the look on Roy's face that he knew that too, but hell if he cared. Roy seemed just so sad. He couldn't bare it.

Roy stared at him for a long while as the offer settled into his mind. But after seeing no sarcasm in Ed's expression, a slow smile couldn't help but cross his lips.

"Yes, that'd be nice." He finally answered, standing up. He took his and Ed's empty bowls and placed them in the sink, making his way out of the kitchen to his living room.

Ed noticed that Roy was still smiling as he went, making Ed's heart skip a beat at knowing it was him that had made Roy so happy. With a smile on his face now as well, Edward followed after Roy.

"Help me put the garland up around the fireplace." For once, it was more of a suggestion than an order. But even as a suggestion, Ed was more than happy to help him.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours. Roy went about most of the house that evening with Ed trailing obediently behind him. Roy was too happy with his decorating and having someone here with him for once that he didn't notice the strangeness of Edward helping him on free will. But neither noticed nor cared about the strangeness of it all, happy just to be within one another's presence. The two of them were talking and laughing like friends instead of officer and subordinate, bantering instead of arguing. Ed had been gathering up the courage to tell Roy how he felt during the whole time they spent together, but every time he would try, Roy would find a new topic. But now, as golden eyes watched the man adjusting the glass snowman sitting on the mantle, he decided to try one last time.

Taking a deep breath, Ed started. "Roy, I..."

Roy glanced back at the Fullmetal Alchemist when he heard his name. "Yes?"

"Well, I uh… I…" He stumbled over his words and cursed himself mentally for not being able to speak. "I-I'm glad you let me help you decorate, it was… fun." Though those words were true, they weren't the ones he wanted to say.

Roy placed his hands on Ed's shoulders and offered Ed a warm smile. "Thank you for helping. It's much more enjoyable to share the holiday spirit with a friend than on your own."

Ed stared up into Roy's cheerful eyes, the urge to just lean up and kiss him right there almost unbearable. But before he could make a move, Roy's hands lifted from his shoulders, breaking the spell that had enchanted Ed.

"Now, I'm going to take a quick shower and go to bed for the night, it's been a tiring day." Roy laughed and walked past Ed to leave the living room. "You're probably not too tired because you slept most of the day. Feel free to read through some of the books in the spare room if you'd like. Good night, Ed."

"Night." The blonde's eyes followed the man as he left and Ed loosely wrapped his arms around his mid-torso. For a while the alchemist just stood there, collecting and organizing his thoughts. Getting used to the house, Ed subconsciously wandered back to the spare room.

"Did I really make you that happy?" Ed whispered, crawling under the blankets. "Yeah, friends make each other happy. Friends…" The word haunted him. He was so close to Roy, yet he was still just, out of reach. "I have to tell you how I really feel…" He trailed off.

"Eventually." He finished sleepily, a hint of sadness in his quiet voice. "Eventually."