A/N: I want nothing more than to take a nap right not, but my mom says it's too late. Maybe I'll take one anyways.

On a happier note, our Christmas tree is now in the house. I'M SO EXCITED! But, oh my god, Christmas is ONE WEEK from today. Like, OH MY GOD!

Disclaimer: I own no one except Tanya, Tea, and this mysterious boss of Tanya's.

A/N: haha ^that's my authors note from when I started the chapter BEFORE Christmas. I considered taking it down and changing it, but I thought it was funny. Anyways, I was really excited because I got to decorate the tree. It was fun. I also got a 3DS with Ocorana of time. Woohoo! I was excited. Well, enjoy the UBER LATE CHRISTMAS-Y CHAPTER! Maybe you should bug your family/roommates/friends by playing Christmas music while reading this LOL

Chapter Six:

Previously:

"How much did you hear?" He shrugged, and I knew he heard everything. Not sure what to say, I just said, "Sorry," and I pushed past him.

I pushed past Ed and made my way down the hallway. I wasn't sure where I was going, but anywhere but here sounded good to me. I wandered about the hotel until I found a back exit. I looked around, and there were no guards in site. I made my way from the hotel to the city.

Lights were hung up, and it took me a minute to realize it was Christmas Eve.

I've been so preoccupied with the case, I forgot what day it was, I thought to myself.

I found an empty bench and sat down. Tomorrow would be Christmas, and this would be the first year I'd have a chance to celebrate with my brother, and I barely had any money to buy him a present.

I sighed.

"Hey." I looked up to see Ed standing in front of me.

"Hey."

He sat down next to me. He seemed nervous, and I didn't blame him.

"About what I said to Winry," I started. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean to her, an-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted. "I, uh, well, it sounded like…" he said more, but I couldn't really hear him.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing."

We sat in silence.

"I really appreciate what you did for Al, and what you're doing now. I might not have liked Mustang much when he was my boss, but he is a good guy."

"Sometimes I'm not so sure about that," I said, looking down. "I came here because he's my brother, and it's the right thing to do, and for the most part he seems like the brother I used to have; the brother I should have. But I can't help but remember that he did leave me after mom and dad died; he left me all alone. I feel a little conflicted." I paused. "This will be our first Christmas together in years, Ed. I don't even have a present for him. But, hell, what's it matter? He probably forgot, and who can blame him? I don't have time to worry about Christmas with this case."

"Yes you do," Ed said.

I looked up at him questioningly.

"You need to take a break from this case, before it drives you insane." He stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him. "Come on, let's enjoy Christmas Eve together.

Speechless, I let him drag me through the city. When I finally relaxed and looked around, I was awestruck at how beautiful it was.

"You know, I never really celebrated Christmas," I said to Ed. At this point, I was walking next to him, but his hand still held mine, and mine held his.

"Me neither," he said. "I was always too busy looking for- I mean, finding a way to help Al."

Ignoring his stumble in speech, I asked, "Helping Al? Helping him with what?"

"I… well, we, that is. We, uh, we tried human transmutation."

I stopped dead in my tracks, eyes wide. "But… but that's illegal…"

"Yeah, I know, and I knew then, too, but after our mom died, I didn't know what else to do. I lost an arm and a leg, Al lost his whole body. I did the only thing I could think of: I sealed his soul onto a suit of armor."

"Ed, I… I don't know what to say," I started. "I'm sorry…"

"There's really nothing to say," he said. "It was our, well, my mistake. I talked Al into it. But we fixed it. That's what matters."

I stayed silent.

"Come on," Ed finally said. "I want to show you something."

I followed him until we reached the edge of Central.

"How far are we going?" I asked.

"Not too much farther," he said.

We walked through a small forest outside of Central, and came to a meadow on the other side of it. The view was absolutely gorgeous, and I was awestruck. The meadow had a river flowing through it that turned into a waterfall as it flowed off of the cliff at the edge of the meadow, and as we approached the cliff, I saw a lake far bellow us at the base of the cliff.

"The view is amazing…" I said, staring down.

"Al and I would come here all the time when the stress of our job became too much," Ed said, standing next to me.

"Ed, I need to ask you something," I said, not taking my gaze from the lake below. "You and Winry… what is she to you?" I waited for his answer, but he stayed silent. I looked up and saw him staring at the lake below, too, deep in though. Finally, I spoke again, "Sorry, that was too personal. Never mind, forget I asked."

"No, sorry, I was just thinking," Ed said. "Winry… she's a really good friend. Like a sister to me. She's always been there for me, even when I was being really stupid. She'd get mad at me all the time for breaking her automail, but I knew it was because she cared. I know she wants more, but I just don't think I can give it to her."

"Because of me?" I asked without thinking.

"Actually, no, not because of you," Ed said. "Like I said, she's like a sister to me."

I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I just looked back at the lake.

"That doesn't mean I don't care about you, Tea," he said. I looked up and met his eyes. "I do care, and I really appreciate everything you've done for Al."

"It's no problem, really," I said. "We both have good reasons to take down Tanya, and this new mysterious figure."

"I'll help you as much as I can," Ed said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you," I said, and I turned and wrapped my arms around him in a hug.

A/N: Okay, so, yeah, totally, like, three months late or whatever, but, here you go! The Christmas-ey chapter I promised! It's more Christmas eve, but, still, hope you enjoyed! At any rate, I had a snow day today! Woohoo!