Ed sipped from his ninth cup of luke-warm cider. Earlier it was boiling hot but as the day crept on and the sky grew dark and people begane leaving the reasturant to be at home with loved ones it dulled down. Alphonse and Edward sat at the same table they had been occupyingmost of the day.

"This is good." Ed said despite the coldness of it.

"It looks good." Alphonse answered not looking at his brother.

Virgin snow caked the sidewalks outside and it was still falling. Not one person had walked pass all night.

"Want anything else?" The pretty waitress asked. This was her third week working in this restaurant and even though she had a PHD in physics she would be here for a while working the job a monkey could do to pay her rent. It was because these two boys that she was still there so late.

"Another cider." Ed scratched the back of his neck.

"Anything for your big friend?" She asked checking out Alphonse. He had been sitting there all night watching Ed drink but not having anything himself.

"No I'm fine. Thank you anyway." Al said before Ed could answer. "It looks cold." He said once the waitress walked off.

"Yeah it is cold. Probably the coldest we'll get all year." Edward answered. He coughed unnecessarily and finished his glass in one gulp.

Alphonse thought aloud "Seems like everyone's gone home. No one is on the streets."

"Oh yeah. You wouldn't expect someone to be out on a night like this. Too cold. Besides, it's a holiday."

"Yeah."

The waitress set down another hot cider in front of Edward

"I kind of like this song." Ed said referring to the light Christmas song playing from behind the counter.

"Yeah it's nice. Didn't that singer die last year?"

"She did. Cancer or something. Too many damn cigarettes." Ed shrugged it off burning his tongue on his drink. Alphonse sat silently listening to the woman sing about family and being good. That singer had in fact died of lung cancer only after getting into trouble with the law several times. Many of her fans claim that it wasn't cigarettes that killed her but police officers, and her sickness was a cover up.

"We should have gone. Gotten on the train." Al said finally.

"This is really hot." Ed spoke as if he didn't hear Al.

"Brother I said we should have went back. They were probably expecting us."

"No they weren't. You think Granny just sits around waiting for us? She has other stuff to do." Ed said sharply.

"It would have been nice to see her. And Winry."

"We couldn't go back."

"Why not!" Al frightened the waitress with his harsh tone making her drop a glass.

"We just couldn't okay? If we go this year, I know we'll want to go next year and the year after that."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

Ed sat back in his chair and stared out the wide window. There were a single set of footprints in the snow. This time of year always made him think of Trisha. It wasn't the cold pale snow or the dreary grey sky but the memories that made him hurt. They used to go out in the snow as a family and make snowmen and angels. Slowly those days faded and his mother had to stay in the house while sick. Sicker and sicker she grew and there was no father those years to take care of mom.

"Well?" Al demanded an answer.

Edward took a swig of cider and slammed his cup down. "Look Al I don't want to talk about it anymore. Okay? Just shut the hell up."

The waitress was no longer wiping tables or cleaning cups but watching the brothers. Ed finished his cider and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Ed mustered up the gull to ask.

"It's not me there's something wrong with. I'm fine." Al answered resettling himself in his seat.