Fic - The Light of the Solstice
Title --The Light of the Solstice
Author-- cornerofmadness
Disclaimer -- Arakawa owns all.
Rating -- PG
Characters/Pairing -- Ed/Winry, Roy/Riza, Al/Mei
Word Count -- 3,543
Warning --None
Summary --Roy and Ed end up in a competition to see who can out decorate the other.
Author’s Note -- Written for the Days of Yore challenge at celebrate_fma for the prompt of RoyX Ed ‘lights’ (though as you can see, I took that as a friendship rather than a pairing). It is set a few years after the end of the manga.
XXX
“Our first Solstice in Central,” Winry gazed out the frost-kissed windows of the small cottage she and Ed were renting in the capitol city. She had volunteered to head up a committee designed to set up a program to train Ishvalan automailers, and already the debates on whether the school should be in Rush Valley with all its war-soaked past or in new Ishval itself were giving her headaches. At least the city looked pretty. Grumman had electric candle-ring decorations fixed to all the light poles. She wondered though if that had been his idea or his granddaughter’s. Alphonse had let her in on the secret of Riza’s past inadvertently. She wasn’t even sure he and Ed were supposed to know themselves.
Winry peered more intently out the window at the neighboring cottage. Al, freshly back from Xing, was renting it. He’d come to Central to confer with General Mustang about the various new things he had learned about Xingese alchemy, whatever it was called. Winry couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember a lot of things these days. She rubbed the developing bump in her belly. A lot of the mothers she knew said being pregnant made you forgetful. Winry believed them. At least the morning sickness had tapered off, though secretly she liked how Ed had catered to her when she’d been ill.
“Anything interesting out there? You’re staring really hard.”
Winry jumped at the sound of Ed’s voice. “No, just thinking about the solstice. It’s going to be different here than it was in Rush Valley, more like it was back in Resembool. I think I’ll like that better. It never seemed like winter in Rush Valley, mostly just always brown.”
“It’ll be nice.” Ed wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently. “Al's here, at least until spring. Elicia already has all sort of plans for us, some of which Gracia might even know about.”
Winry chuckled. “I know. And Riza has invited us to at least one Solstice party. I know one will be at the Pearl and Feather.” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s a pub, right?”
Ed let her go so he could park himself on the window seat and look at her. “It’s Mustang’s.”
Winry blinked. “The General owns a bar?”
He shook his head, his ponytail lashing back and forth. “I guess she goes by the name Madam Christmas but....” Ed paused, studying her. “You can keep a secret, I know. Her real name is Chris Mustang, General Jackass’s aunt. The pub is in part an intelligence gathering network. I always thought he was a total dick, flirting with girls everywhere he want but they’re all part of his aunt’s spy agency more or less. I half wonder if Hughes had been trained by her too, and that’s how he knew Roy but I’ve never asked. He doesn’t like talking about Hughes much.”
“Imagine losing your best friend.” Winry cuddled up next to him on the seat. “I guess Mr. Hughes was sort of father figure for you. You know what loss is like.”
He made a noise deep in his throat. “Anyhow, Roy says he’s decorating the pub for his aunt. I said he wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Have you ever seen his place? He’s a mess of books and empty bottles.”
Winry held her tongue. Ed wasn’t much better though he didn’t drink much.
“And then he said he could out decorate me,” Ed continued without waiting for her input.
Winry felt a headache blooming behind his eyes. “Tell me this didn’t turn into a competition.”
Ed patted her hand. “You don’t have to anything. This is between me and the shit.”
Winry contemplated visiting Paninya for the Solstice, after all. She should invite Riza to go with her. She might not live with Roy but Winry knew they were involved. Riza might be long suffering but she was also armed. Winry didn’t want to end up rooting for a shooting.
XXX
“Please tell me what you need with twenty pounds of pine boughs?” Riza tapped her pen against her clipboard as she eyed the man she loved, though on days like this she wondered why.
“For Christmas’s place. My sisters said they were too swamped to decorate the pub, and then Shortmetal said I didn’t know the first thing about celebrating the Solstice.” Roy spread his hands over his office desk to say there was no way that challenge could go unmet, mostly because at heart he and Edward were still twelve.
Riza tucked the pen behind her ear. That was at least more sensible than she expected the answer to be, like the time he ended up with an entire cart of flowers trying to get a single nugget of information. “Am I helping in this endeavor?”
“Only if you want to. I can tap the ladies if I need help.” Roy smiled at her, that smile that made her heart dance and got him his way almost every time. “I would love your input of course.”
Riza hummed for a moment, then said, “How out of hand is this going to get?”
Roy rocked back in his office chair, nearly knocking over an unsigned pile of ignored paperwork. “Well, Alphonse is here to rein Edward in, and he’ll probably want to spend at least a little bit of time with his pregnant wife.”
“On the other hand you just ordered twenty pounds of pine,” Riza countered.
“Don’t even ask about how many candles, and ooo, mirror reflectors.” Roy’s eyes gleamed. “Where would I find that?”
“Put Fuery on that one, please, sir.” Riza sighed. “Your sisters aren’t the only ones swamped.”
“But if you help, you can help me come up with some novel fun ways to use the silver tinsel.” Roy smirked.
“Behave yourself in the office, sir.” Riza glared, then went around his desk and whispered in his ear. “Later.”
“I’ll count on your creativity in this, Hawkeye.”
“As always, sir.” Riza headed for the door. “And do try to keep this under some control, please.”
“I make no promises.”
No, he never did, not when he knew he couldn’t keep them. Riza braced herself for the nonsense to come.
XXX
“Ed, this has to stop.” Winry wagged her head, watching her husband arrange candles in the window. Al sat on the couch, either supervising or observing in horror. Winry wasn’t sure which.
“And give in to him? Hardly.” Ed snorted.
“You are trying to light more candles and fires for the solstice than a man who is literally named Flame,” Winry pointed out, and Ed just flapped a hand at her. Winry rolled her eyes.
Al slid an arm around her shoulders. “Give up, Winry. You know how he gets. Don’t worry I’ll help you with the baby once he manages to kill himself. “
“Thanks, Al.” Winry leaned against him as Ed started muttering curses under his breath.
“You’ll need help because that baby will be a hellion if he’s anything like you two.”
Al gasped as Winry elbowed him hard.
She tapped his chin. “You were sweet right up to that point, and then you became a true Elric.”
“You proved my point.” Al rubbed his chest. “And broke my ribs.”
Winry arched her eyebrows, and Al threw his hands up.
“Do what I’m planning to do, just stand back and let Ed go. Either he’ll lose interest, or he and Roy will explode in a conflagration that will make the news.” Al shrugged. “It’s best just to keep out of the way of the blast.”
“I can hear you, you know.” Ed glared over his shoulder at them as he tried to loop tinsel over a nail.
“Edward, what about the party?” Winry asked.
He turned to face her, his features pinched, puzzled. “Party?”
“Yes, party. You’ve spent days decorating the house but you haven’t mentioned who you’re inviting to our party, or when it was or what you think I’ll be cooking for it.” Winry crossed her hands over her chest, and then frowned. Were her breasts getting bigger already? She wasn’t ready for that.
“I didn’t plan on a party.”
“Then how will Roy know you’ve beaten him?” Al asked, and Ed’s shoulders slumped. “I think it’s only fair that the guests choose who’s better.”
“Which means we also have to go to the party at the pub,” Winry reminded him. “We’ve been invited.”
“I wasn’t going,” Ed protested.
“Oh, yes you are.” Winry tried to quell him with a look but she had married the wrong Elric for that. Ed was just as stubborn and hot-tempered as she was. Oh, maybe Al had had a point earlier. “I want a nice night out because pretty soon, we won’t be able to do that.” She patted her belly. “Gracia and Riza said the party will be pretty amazing. Apparently Madam Christmas is known for it. So we’re going, and we should at the very least invite Gracia and Elicia to our party, Riza too, and obviously you have to invite Roy. He’s the other half of this insane contest.”
Ed sighed. “You have a point. Fine.”
“And you’re going to help with the cooking.”
“You might want to draft me, Winry. I think when Ed lost the ability to do alchemy, his ability to follow a recipe went with it.” Al smirked, and Ed shot him an obscene gesture.
Winry snorted. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Good. Now, Al, get over here and help me with this tower of candles.”
“There’s something that can’t possibly go wrong,” Winry said, and left them to it.
Xxx
Winry huddled in her wool pea coat outside the Pearl and Feather. Roy met them at the door, effectively barring it. She knew this nonsense had to be part of this idiotic challenge. While the frigid wind nipped at her, Winry daydreamed about having a sane, normal husband.
“Before I let you three in, we have to agree that Ed can’t change his decorations between now and your Solstice party tomorrow.” Roy crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sounds only fair,” Al replied.
“Do I have your word?”
“Yeah.” Ed extended a hand.
Roy shook it and stepped aside so they could get in. He took Winry’s coat once they were inside but she was barely able to shrug out of it. Her entire attention was captured by the beauty of the bar. Tinsel festooned every window and the exposed beams overhead. Pine boughs swallowed the bar. Candles - providing the only light except for the roaring fire in the large stone fireplace - had been centered on every table, in wall niches and all along the bar. Behind them brilliant cosmetic mirrors - many encrusted with rhinestones - reflecting the flickering light.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“Wow, this is pretty amazing. I never even thought of doing that with pines.” Al gestured to the various displays of pine and holly, their berries bright against the deep green.
“You didn’t do this all alone!” Ed huffed.
“And did Winry and Al help you?” Roy arched an eyebrow.
“Not much.”
“My sisters supplied the mirrors, and helped put a few things here and there but this design is all me.” He tapped his chest.
“It really was, Edward.” Riza swept up in a pretty dress that looked a little too flimsy for the weather outside but Winry realized that went for almost every woman in the place. Her own dress, while pretty, was more conservative but then again, she was pregnant.
“You, I’ll believe, Hawkeye.”
Roy went over the top looking hurt, then offered Winry his arm. “I save you a table near the fire. If it’s too warm for you, Winry, I can find you another. What would you like? We have tons of appetizers. How about a mug of hot chocolate?”
“I wouldn’t say no to any of that,” Winry replied as Roy pulled out the chair for her.
“I’ll send it all your way. The rest of the Elrics are on their own. Al, I want you to meet my sister, Lucy. You’ll enjoy talking to her.”
Al’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure Mei would like that.”
“I said talk, Al, not get naked.” Roy smirked, patting Al on the back. “Always knew you’d be the naughtier Elric.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment,” Al replied.
“Yes.” Roy sauntered off.
Riza pointed at the chair next to Winry. “Mind if I join you three?”
“Of course.” Winry patted the seat.
“Tired of him already?” Ed asked.
Riza wagged a finger at him. “His aunt will have him running all night and, honestly these sorts of over the top parties aren’t really my favorite thing to do.”
“Mine either,” Ed grumble. “But I had to see what he did here. Damn, it’s really really nice. How did he manage it?”
“Edward, Roy lost his parents even younger than you and Alphonse. He was raised by his aunts and her girls. I’m not sure he even had male friends until the Academy. He knows all about decorating and getting women in and out of fancy dresses.”
“I bet,” Ed snorted, and Riza blushed slightly.
“I see a band setting up in the corner. I’ll dance a dance or two with you, Riza, if you want,” Al said.
“Already making moves I see,” Roy said, sauntering back up with Wirny’s hot chocolate and a plate of appetizers.
“With you around, I have to be quick,” Al volleyed back.
“Do not engage him, Al.” Ed rubbed his forehead. “I’m getting a beer. Want one?”
“Yes, please,” Al replied, and Ed headed for the bar.
“Mmmm, this is delicious. What is it?” Winry said chewing on a cracker covered in a hot, rich meaty paste of some sort, having already tuned out the background noise of Ed and Roy bickering. At this point, it could practically be a lullaby for her.
“Crab bites. The crab is packed in ice and put on a fast train to Central. It’s in a little tart with some of that gooey cheese. It’s one of my aunt’s specialties.” Roy glanced back at the bar where his aunt held court. “She doesn’t cook often but what she does make is usually pretty damn tasty. I don’t know if you like ginger and onions but I made that appetizer there, the one in the folded dough. It’s Xingese.”
“I should have guessed you cooked,” Winry said reaching for the treat. “It seems a natural fit for alchemists from what Ed and Al have said.”
“They say it started in the kitchen,” Al said, taking one of the ginger appetizers.
“I don’t know if that’s true but it is where my father started Roy,” Riza offered, taking a crab bite.
“That’s because your father wasn’t a good cook, and he thought you were too young to be in the kitchen alone.” Roy patted her shoulder. “I’ll bring you a cocktail.”
“Surprise me.” Riza held up a finger. “Within reason.”
“I’m sure you’ll like it.” He hurried off just as Ed managed to get back with two beers.
Winry fell into an easy conversation with Riza. They had little in common on the surface of it but at this point in her life, she was over the resentment she had felt as a girl over Hawkeye having a hand in taking the brothers away from her. Winry knew now that it was for the best. She wouldn’t be here, carrying a life inside her, if Ed and Al had traveled any other path. They all most likely would have died in the Promised Day.
As they had gotten to know each other over the years, she realized that Riza knew what it was to live with the capriciousness and obsessions found in alchemists. The older woman had been very helpful with little tricks to wrangle Edward, who - in spite of vehement protests - was so much like Roy in so many ways.
Al did dance with Riza a couple of times before finally going off to talk to sister Lucy. Winry didn’t see him again until it was time to go home. She and Ed danced every slow dance. What could be more magical than being wrapped in his arms, head on his shoulder and hearing the subtle sounds of the automail she made for him hiding among the musical notes? Even ever-prickly Ed admitted he was glad they came. Chris or Roy had gone the extra step and even had a storyteller stashed in one of the smaller rooms telling some of the oldest solstice fairytales. He had a velvety deep voice that Winry could have listened to all night. She wondered if she could get Fuery to record him. There’d be a market for it. Roy had even sat back down with them for a while, making the flames in the fireplace dance and put on a puppet theater of sorts, making them look like a Xingese dragon.
At the end of the night, she didn’t have to go out in the cold. Roy arranged for rooms in his aunt’s hotel on the private floor, which set her mind at ease because she had some ideas of what went on in the more commercial ones. Ed and Roy had been in agreement about one thing. It was too cold out for a pregnant woman to be wandering around too late. Winry didn’t think she needed them to be so overprotective but on the other hand it was nice to not to have to go out in the wind. She was content to curl up with Ed in the soft bed and heavy blankets.
XXX
Riza watched Ed escort Roy in and saw the joy in Roy’s eyes as he took in all of the decorations Ed had installed around the cottage. She, Gracia and Winry had already come to a conclusion about how to handle the silly contest, and had just been waiting for Roy to arrive.
Elicia swooped down on him, hugging Roy hard. “Uncle Roy!”
Roy ruffled her hair. “Hi, sweetie. Having fun tonight?”
“Uh-huh, we’re playing cards. Ed is teaching me to cheat!” she proclaimed loudly
Ed colored. “It doesn’t work if you tell people, Elicia.”
“What he doesn’t show you, I will.” Roy patted her back.
“Roy! Honestly you two are awful.” Gracia laughed. “Come join us. Edward and Alphonse made a ton of food for everyone.”
“Except for the winter squash soup. That’s Winry’s, and it’s delicious.” Ed smiled at his wife. “But Al and I figured Winry could use a break.”
“It was appreciated. Go help yourself, Roy. It’s very informal tonight,” Winry said.
“Yeah I couldn’t compete with your aunt’s party,” Ed grumbled.
“Honestly, I think I like this better.” Roy walked into the kitchen.
Riza saw the shock on Ed’s face as he stared after Roy in the small but homey kitchen.
“Really?”
“For one, I know everyone here, and they matter to me,” Roy called back.
“You’re not going to get all soppy and sentimental, are you? I’ll toss you back out in the cold.” Ed chuckled.
Roy reappeared with soup, carrying it to the table covered with cards and candles. “I like the touch of you putting sheets of mica and faceted glass in front of the candles to amplify the light. You did yourself proud decorating the place, Edward.” He sat and sampled the soup. “Delicious.”
“Yeah thanks, but which of us did better?”
“Winry, Gracia and I have been discussing that, and we agree that you and Roy did equally well. We think it’s a tie,” Riza said.
“I’ll go along with that. It gets my vote,” Al said hurriedly.
Roy nodded having another spoonful of soup. “Sounds fair. Edward?”
Ed wrinkled his nose then shrugged. “Yeah, I agree but I’ll add neither of us would have done as well if we hadn’t been pushing each other.”
Roy snorted, nearly choking on his soup. “That is true.”
“Even if you make each other and us crazy.” Winry gave them the hairy eye.
“And enough said about this, I think. So what game were you teaching Elicia to cheat at?” Roy smirked at Edward.
Riza shook her head and excused herself. She fetched Roy a plate of food and another honey cake for herself. It was the longest night, and she knew once Elicia had gone to sleep and Roy and Ed could really start sniping at each other, she might need the sugar to fortify herself.
She paused, looking out the kitchen window at the lights glowing in a pattern on the snowy yard between Ed and Winry’s cottage and Alphonse’s. The brothers had put candles in white bags and the glow was beautiful. She was fairly sure it bore a resemblance to an alchemy array, and she wondered if they had done it unconsciously.
Going back into the dining room, she slid the food in front of Roy then sat next to him in front of a hand of cards waiting for her. Under the table, Roy took her hand. He was right; the people who were family were all in this room. It was the perfect way to spend the longest night.
Author-- cornerofmadness
Disclaimer -- Arakawa owns all.
Rating -- PG
Characters/Pairing -- Ed/Winry, Roy/Riza, Al/Mei
Word Count -- 3,543
Warning --None
Summary --Roy and Ed end up in a competition to see who can out decorate the other.
Author’s Note -- Written for the Days of Yore challenge at celebrate_fma for the prompt of RoyX Ed ‘lights’ (though as you can see, I took that as a friendship rather than a pairing). It is set a few years after the end of the manga.
XXX
“Our first Solstice in Central,” Winry gazed out the frost-kissed windows of the small cottage she and Ed were renting in the capitol city. She had volunteered to head up a committee designed to set up a program to train Ishvalan automailers, and already the debates on whether the school should be in Rush Valley with all its war-soaked past or in new Ishval itself were giving her headaches. At least the city looked pretty. Grumman had electric candle-ring decorations fixed to all the light poles. She wondered though if that had been his idea or his granddaughter’s. Alphonse had let her in on the secret of Riza’s past inadvertently. She wasn’t even sure he and Ed were supposed to know themselves.
Winry peered more intently out the window at the neighboring cottage. Al, freshly back from Xing, was renting it. He’d come to Central to confer with General Mustang about the various new things he had learned about Xingese alchemy, whatever it was called. Winry couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember a lot of things these days. She rubbed the developing bump in her belly. A lot of the mothers she knew said being pregnant made you forgetful. Winry believed them. At least the morning sickness had tapered off, though secretly she liked how Ed had catered to her when she’d been ill.
“Anything interesting out there? You’re staring really hard.”
Winry jumped at the sound of Ed’s voice. “No, just thinking about the solstice. It’s going to be different here than it was in Rush Valley, more like it was back in Resembool. I think I’ll like that better. It never seemed like winter in Rush Valley, mostly just always brown.”
“It’ll be nice.” Ed wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently. “Al's here, at least until spring. Elicia already has all sort of plans for us, some of which Gracia might even know about.”
Winry chuckled. “I know. And Riza has invited us to at least one Solstice party. I know one will be at the Pearl and Feather.” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s a pub, right?”
Ed let her go so he could park himself on the window seat and look at her. “It’s Mustang’s.”
Winry blinked. “The General owns a bar?”
He shook his head, his ponytail lashing back and forth. “I guess she goes by the name Madam Christmas but....” Ed paused, studying her. “You can keep a secret, I know. Her real name is Chris Mustang, General Jackass’s aunt. The pub is in part an intelligence gathering network. I always thought he was a total dick, flirting with girls everywhere he want but they’re all part of his aunt’s spy agency more or less. I half wonder if Hughes had been trained by her too, and that’s how he knew Roy but I’ve never asked. He doesn’t like talking about Hughes much.”
“Imagine losing your best friend.” Winry cuddled up next to him on the seat. “I guess Mr. Hughes was sort of father figure for you. You know what loss is like.”
He made a noise deep in his throat. “Anyhow, Roy says he’s decorating the pub for his aunt. I said he wouldn’t know the first thing about it. Have you ever seen his place? He’s a mess of books and empty bottles.”
Winry held her tongue. Ed wasn’t much better though he didn’t drink much.
“And then he said he could out decorate me,” Ed continued without waiting for her input.
Winry felt a headache blooming behind his eyes. “Tell me this didn’t turn into a competition.”
Ed patted her hand. “You don’t have to anything. This is between me and the shit.”
Winry contemplated visiting Paninya for the Solstice, after all. She should invite Riza to go with her. She might not live with Roy but Winry knew they were involved. Riza might be long suffering but she was also armed. Winry didn’t want to end up rooting for a shooting.
XXX
“Please tell me what you need with twenty pounds of pine boughs?” Riza tapped her pen against her clipboard as she eyed the man she loved, though on days like this she wondered why.
“For Christmas’s place. My sisters said they were too swamped to decorate the pub, and then Shortmetal said I didn’t know the first thing about celebrating the Solstice.” Roy spread his hands over his office desk to say there was no way that challenge could go unmet, mostly because at heart he and Edward were still twelve.
Riza tucked the pen behind her ear. That was at least more sensible than she expected the answer to be, like the time he ended up with an entire cart of flowers trying to get a single nugget of information. “Am I helping in this endeavor?”
“Only if you want to. I can tap the ladies if I need help.” Roy smiled at her, that smile that made her heart dance and got him his way almost every time. “I would love your input of course.”
Riza hummed for a moment, then said, “How out of hand is this going to get?”
Roy rocked back in his office chair, nearly knocking over an unsigned pile of ignored paperwork. “Well, Alphonse is here to rein Edward in, and he’ll probably want to spend at least a little bit of time with his pregnant wife.”
“On the other hand you just ordered twenty pounds of pine,” Riza countered.
“Don’t even ask about how many candles, and ooo, mirror reflectors.” Roy’s eyes gleamed. “Where would I find that?”
“Put Fuery on that one, please, sir.” Riza sighed. “Your sisters aren’t the only ones swamped.”
“But if you help, you can help me come up with some novel fun ways to use the silver tinsel.” Roy smirked.
“Behave yourself in the office, sir.” Riza glared, then went around his desk and whispered in his ear. “Later.”
“I’ll count on your creativity in this, Hawkeye.”
“As always, sir.” Riza headed for the door. “And do try to keep this under some control, please.”
“I make no promises.”
No, he never did, not when he knew he couldn’t keep them. Riza braced herself for the nonsense to come.
XXX
“Ed, this has to stop.” Winry wagged her head, watching her husband arrange candles in the window. Al sat on the couch, either supervising or observing in horror. Winry wasn’t sure which.
“And give in to him? Hardly.” Ed snorted.
“You are trying to light more candles and fires for the solstice than a man who is literally named Flame,” Winry pointed out, and Ed just flapped a hand at her. Winry rolled her eyes.
Al slid an arm around her shoulders. “Give up, Winry. You know how he gets. Don’t worry I’ll help you with the baby once he manages to kill himself. “
“Thanks, Al.” Winry leaned against him as Ed started muttering curses under his breath.
“You’ll need help because that baby will be a hellion if he’s anything like you two.”
Al gasped as Winry elbowed him hard.
She tapped his chin. “You were sweet right up to that point, and then you became a true Elric.”
“You proved my point.” Al rubbed his chest. “And broke my ribs.”
Winry arched her eyebrows, and Al threw his hands up.
“Do what I’m planning to do, just stand back and let Ed go. Either he’ll lose interest, or he and Roy will explode in a conflagration that will make the news.” Al shrugged. “It’s best just to keep out of the way of the blast.”
“I can hear you, you know.” Ed glared over his shoulder at them as he tried to loop tinsel over a nail.
“Edward, what about the party?” Winry asked.
He turned to face her, his features pinched, puzzled. “Party?”
“Yes, party. You’ve spent days decorating the house but you haven’t mentioned who you’re inviting to our party, or when it was or what you think I’ll be cooking for it.” Winry crossed her hands over her chest, and then frowned. Were her breasts getting bigger already? She wasn’t ready for that.
“I didn’t plan on a party.”
“Then how will Roy know you’ve beaten him?” Al asked, and Ed’s shoulders slumped. “I think it’s only fair that the guests choose who’s better.”
“Which means we also have to go to the party at the pub,” Winry reminded him. “We’ve been invited.”
“I wasn’t going,” Ed protested.
“Oh, yes you are.” Winry tried to quell him with a look but she had married the wrong Elric for that. Ed was just as stubborn and hot-tempered as she was. Oh, maybe Al had had a point earlier. “I want a nice night out because pretty soon, we won’t be able to do that.” She patted her belly. “Gracia and Riza said the party will be pretty amazing. Apparently Madam Christmas is known for it. So we’re going, and we should at the very least invite Gracia and Elicia to our party, Riza too, and obviously you have to invite Roy. He’s the other half of this insane contest.”
Ed sighed. “You have a point. Fine.”
“And you’re going to help with the cooking.”
“You might want to draft me, Winry. I think when Ed lost the ability to do alchemy, his ability to follow a recipe went with it.” Al smirked, and Ed shot him an obscene gesture.
Winry snorted. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Good. Now, Al, get over here and help me with this tower of candles.”
“There’s something that can’t possibly go wrong,” Winry said, and left them to it.
Xxx
Winry huddled in her wool pea coat outside the Pearl and Feather. Roy met them at the door, effectively barring it. She knew this nonsense had to be part of this idiotic challenge. While the frigid wind nipped at her, Winry daydreamed about having a sane, normal husband.
“Before I let you three in, we have to agree that Ed can’t change his decorations between now and your Solstice party tomorrow.” Roy crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sounds only fair,” Al replied.
“Do I have your word?”
“Yeah.” Ed extended a hand.
Roy shook it and stepped aside so they could get in. He took Winry’s coat once they were inside but she was barely able to shrug out of it. Her entire attention was captured by the beauty of the bar. Tinsel festooned every window and the exposed beams overhead. Pine boughs swallowed the bar. Candles - providing the only light except for the roaring fire in the large stone fireplace - had been centered on every table, in wall niches and all along the bar. Behind them brilliant cosmetic mirrors - many encrusted with rhinestones - reflecting the flickering light.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
“Wow, this is pretty amazing. I never even thought of doing that with pines.” Al gestured to the various displays of pine and holly, their berries bright against the deep green.
“You didn’t do this all alone!” Ed huffed.
“And did Winry and Al help you?” Roy arched an eyebrow.
“Not much.”
“My sisters supplied the mirrors, and helped put a few things here and there but this design is all me.” He tapped his chest.
“It really was, Edward.” Riza swept up in a pretty dress that looked a little too flimsy for the weather outside but Winry realized that went for almost every woman in the place. Her own dress, while pretty, was more conservative but then again, she was pregnant.
“You, I’ll believe, Hawkeye.”
Roy went over the top looking hurt, then offered Winry his arm. “I save you a table near the fire. If it’s too warm for you, Winry, I can find you another. What would you like? We have tons of appetizers. How about a mug of hot chocolate?”
“I wouldn’t say no to any of that,” Winry replied as Roy pulled out the chair for her.
“I’ll send it all your way. The rest of the Elrics are on their own. Al, I want you to meet my sister, Lucy. You’ll enjoy talking to her.”
Al’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure Mei would like that.”
“I said talk, Al, not get naked.” Roy smirked, patting Al on the back. “Always knew you’d be the naughtier Elric.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment,” Al replied.
“Yes.” Roy sauntered off.
Riza pointed at the chair next to Winry. “Mind if I join you three?”
“Of course.” Winry patted the seat.
“Tired of him already?” Ed asked.
Riza wagged a finger at him. “His aunt will have him running all night and, honestly these sorts of over the top parties aren’t really my favorite thing to do.”
“Mine either,” Ed grumble. “But I had to see what he did here. Damn, it’s really really nice. How did he manage it?”
“Edward, Roy lost his parents even younger than you and Alphonse. He was raised by his aunts and her girls. I’m not sure he even had male friends until the Academy. He knows all about decorating and getting women in and out of fancy dresses.”
“I bet,” Ed snorted, and Riza blushed slightly.
“I see a band setting up in the corner. I’ll dance a dance or two with you, Riza, if you want,” Al said.
“Already making moves I see,” Roy said, sauntering back up with Wirny’s hot chocolate and a plate of appetizers.
“With you around, I have to be quick,” Al volleyed back.
“Do not engage him, Al.” Ed rubbed his forehead. “I’m getting a beer. Want one?”
“Yes, please,” Al replied, and Ed headed for the bar.
“Mmmm, this is delicious. What is it?” Winry said chewing on a cracker covered in a hot, rich meaty paste of some sort, having already tuned out the background noise of Ed and Roy bickering. At this point, it could practically be a lullaby for her.
“Crab bites. The crab is packed in ice and put on a fast train to Central. It’s in a little tart with some of that gooey cheese. It’s one of my aunt’s specialties.” Roy glanced back at the bar where his aunt held court. “She doesn’t cook often but what she does make is usually pretty damn tasty. I don’t know if you like ginger and onions but I made that appetizer there, the one in the folded dough. It’s Xingese.”
“I should have guessed you cooked,” Winry said reaching for the treat. “It seems a natural fit for alchemists from what Ed and Al have said.”
“They say it started in the kitchen,” Al said, taking one of the ginger appetizers.
“I don’t know if that’s true but it is where my father started Roy,” Riza offered, taking a crab bite.
“That’s because your father wasn’t a good cook, and he thought you were too young to be in the kitchen alone.” Roy patted her shoulder. “I’ll bring you a cocktail.”
“Surprise me.” Riza held up a finger. “Within reason.”
“I’m sure you’ll like it.” He hurried off just as Ed managed to get back with two beers.
Winry fell into an easy conversation with Riza. They had little in common on the surface of it but at this point in her life, she was over the resentment she had felt as a girl over Hawkeye having a hand in taking the brothers away from her. Winry knew now that it was for the best. She wouldn’t be here, carrying a life inside her, if Ed and Al had traveled any other path. They all most likely would have died in the Promised Day.
As they had gotten to know each other over the years, she realized that Riza knew what it was to live with the capriciousness and obsessions found in alchemists. The older woman had been very helpful with little tricks to wrangle Edward, who - in spite of vehement protests - was so much like Roy in so many ways.
Al did dance with Riza a couple of times before finally going off to talk to sister Lucy. Winry didn’t see him again until it was time to go home. She and Ed danced every slow dance. What could be more magical than being wrapped in his arms, head on his shoulder and hearing the subtle sounds of the automail she made for him hiding among the musical notes? Even ever-prickly Ed admitted he was glad they came. Chris or Roy had gone the extra step and even had a storyteller stashed in one of the smaller rooms telling some of the oldest solstice fairytales. He had a velvety deep voice that Winry could have listened to all night. She wondered if she could get Fuery to record him. There’d be a market for it. Roy had even sat back down with them for a while, making the flames in the fireplace dance and put on a puppet theater of sorts, making them look like a Xingese dragon.
At the end of the night, she didn’t have to go out in the cold. Roy arranged for rooms in his aunt’s hotel on the private floor, which set her mind at ease because she had some ideas of what went on in the more commercial ones. Ed and Roy had been in agreement about one thing. It was too cold out for a pregnant woman to be wandering around too late. Winry didn’t think she needed them to be so overprotective but on the other hand it was nice to not to have to go out in the wind. She was content to curl up with Ed in the soft bed and heavy blankets.
XXX
Riza watched Ed escort Roy in and saw the joy in Roy’s eyes as he took in all of the decorations Ed had installed around the cottage. She, Gracia and Winry had already come to a conclusion about how to handle the silly contest, and had just been waiting for Roy to arrive.
Elicia swooped down on him, hugging Roy hard. “Uncle Roy!”
Roy ruffled her hair. “Hi, sweetie. Having fun tonight?”
“Uh-huh, we’re playing cards. Ed is teaching me to cheat!” she proclaimed loudly
Ed colored. “It doesn’t work if you tell people, Elicia.”
“What he doesn’t show you, I will.” Roy patted her back.
“Roy! Honestly you two are awful.” Gracia laughed. “Come join us. Edward and Alphonse made a ton of food for everyone.”
“Except for the winter squash soup. That’s Winry’s, and it’s delicious.” Ed smiled at his wife. “But Al and I figured Winry could use a break.”
“It was appreciated. Go help yourself, Roy. It’s very informal tonight,” Winry said.
“Yeah I couldn’t compete with your aunt’s party,” Ed grumbled.
“Honestly, I think I like this better.” Roy walked into the kitchen.
Riza saw the shock on Ed’s face as he stared after Roy in the small but homey kitchen.
“Really?”
“For one, I know everyone here, and they matter to me,” Roy called back.
“You’re not going to get all soppy and sentimental, are you? I’ll toss you back out in the cold.” Ed chuckled.
Roy reappeared with soup, carrying it to the table covered with cards and candles. “I like the touch of you putting sheets of mica and faceted glass in front of the candles to amplify the light. You did yourself proud decorating the place, Edward.” He sat and sampled the soup. “Delicious.”
“Yeah thanks, but which of us did better?”
“Winry, Gracia and I have been discussing that, and we agree that you and Roy did equally well. We think it’s a tie,” Riza said.
“I’ll go along with that. It gets my vote,” Al said hurriedly.
Roy nodded having another spoonful of soup. “Sounds fair. Edward?”
Ed wrinkled his nose then shrugged. “Yeah, I agree but I’ll add neither of us would have done as well if we hadn’t been pushing each other.”
Roy snorted, nearly choking on his soup. “That is true.”
“Even if you make each other and us crazy.” Winry gave them the hairy eye.
“And enough said about this, I think. So what game were you teaching Elicia to cheat at?” Roy smirked at Edward.
Riza shook her head and excused herself. She fetched Roy a plate of food and another honey cake for herself. It was the longest night, and she knew once Elicia had gone to sleep and Roy and Ed could really start sniping at each other, she might need the sugar to fortify herself.
She paused, looking out the kitchen window at the lights glowing in a pattern on the snowy yard between Ed and Winry’s cottage and Alphonse’s. The brothers had put candles in white bags and the glow was beautiful. She was fairly sure it bore a resemblance to an alchemy array, and she wondered if they had done it unconsciously.
Going back into the dining room, she slid the food in front of Roy then sat next to him in front of a hand of cards waiting for her. Under the table, Roy took her hand. He was right; the people who were family were all in this room. It was the perfect way to spend the longest night.