Yes, yes, another story. Forgive me. I couldn't resist. This one's a Christmas one anyway. Heh, it was originally going to be a oneshot, but it didn't seem to want to stay that way, so oh well, heh, we'll see how long it gets. Sorry that the first chapter's so short. I'll try to get the next one up by tomorrow if I'm lucky. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA. I'm out of creative disclaimers. Feel free to suggest some.

"Al!" Ed called frantically, waving his hands right in front of said brother's face, "Al? Stop ignoring me and say something." He paused for emphasis, and then stamped his foot as he said, "Answer me, darn it!" Still no response. It was as though Al hadn't heard a word he'd said. Ed sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration as he watched Al turn his attention towards Winry.

That was it! Surely Winry wouldn't be playing the same stupid game that Al was. He proudly strode over to the part of the room where she sat. He put a wild look on his face, and then made a big show of jumping in front of her while shouting, "Winreeeee…" That should have elicited a chuckle or at least a what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you face, but instead he was met with nothing. No response at all. Ed kicked at the floor in frustration. "Come on guys, this isn't funny."

Ed finally looked up into the faces of the two individuals who were doing such a good job of ignoring him right now. It seemed as if ever since he had gotten sick that they had stopped caring and paying attention to him. He could understand if his being ill had bothered them, but he wasn't sick anymore. Why couldn't they get over that? He placed a hand on the back of the chair that Winry was sitting in and bent over so that his face was right in front of hers. "Win-" he started to say, but stopped when he caught a good look of her face. That face wasn't one of mischievousness, or even one of boredom. It was one of sadness. A tear rolled down her cheek and landed on her arm. "Winry…what's the matter?"

Ed moved to wipe the tear away when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to find Al lighting the Christmas candles on the mantle. Ed rolled his eyes. It wasn't Christmas yet, so the only reason Al would be lighting them now would be to make a wish of some sort. For some reason, Al seemed to think that wishing on Christmas candles was just as effective as wishing on birthday candles. "Al," Ed said with a chuckle in his voice, "It's not gonna work. Just leave them for Christmas Day."

Al paid no heed, and continued to light the candles until all of them were burning. Al then placed himself in front of the mantle and closed his eyes. Ed shook his head and began to walk over to where Al was. Seriously, his brother needed to grow up.

When he neared Al, Ed was surprised to find the same look of sadness spread across his face too. What was wrong with these two, and why wouldn't they tell him? Ed paused where he was and just stared, trying to figure out what was going on. None of this made much sense. Suddenly, Ed heard Al's voice ring through his head, "I wish that Brother would come back for Christmas." Al then opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and blew out all the candles in one shot.

Ed smirked at the sight. "Al," he said, "What was that for? I'm right here!" Ed once again waved his hand in front of Al's face, which still went unnoticed, much to Ed's dismay. He growled. "Al, what are you trying to do, get rid of me? You know that saying the wish aloud will make it not come true!" Still no response from Al, so he turned his attention to Winry.

"What did you wish for?" said she. Ed perked up an eyebrow. Wasn't it obvious?

Al shook his head. "If I tell you, it won't come true."

Ed threw back his head and almost laughed, though it came out more as a scowl. "Oh please, Al, you blurted it out for the whole world to hear." Yet no response. Ed was really starting to worry. Something was seriously wrong. He thought back to when Al was wishing on the candles, how calm and quiet he had looked. Al hadn't moved a muscle while he was formulating his wish. But wait, if he hadn't moved a muscle, that would include his lips too, right? No, that wasn't possible. Al HAD to have spoken aloud. Either that, or Ed was going crazy.

He ran up to Al and tried to grab his shoulder; he had to get to the bottom of this. However, when he grabbed Al's shoulder, Ed's eyes opened wide as he saw his hand passed right through Al. Suddenly, everything clicked. Al and Winry weren't trying to ignore him, and he hadn't recovered from his sickness. He had died.

Hope that you liked that, in spite of the shortness. Leave me some feedback, and I'll try to update soon, okay? See you then!