The Seed of the Fire- Chapter 9: "Parting Ways" (Mustang x Hughes)
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Title: Parting Ways (The Seed of the Fire- Chapter 9)
Author: SeaweedOtter
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: AU, Set before the anime started, while Maes and Roy were roommates at
the military academy.
Summary: Parting is such sweet sorrow, or is it?
Read all of the chapters so far HERE!
Maes blinked, rubbing his eyes. Had it all been a dream? Was he still at the academy, waiting for his time off to meet Roy? He shot straight up in bed. As soon as he tried to move his legs, he felt the ache of the already sore muscles in his posterior and smiled. It hadn't been a dream, and even the fact that he knew that he was going to have to explain the wierd walk he was going to have to adopt because of this didn't dampen his spirits. He looked around and spotted Roy engrossed in the book that he himself had been reading earlier. Maes gently cleared his throat and Roy looked up from the book. His face lightened and he threw the book down and rushed over to the bed and gave Maes a long, languishing kiss.
"Oh, you are awake. You were so cute. I couldn't help but let you sleep. I hope you don't mind."
Maes smiled at the book, splayed at a wierd angle on the floor. "If you break that book I will have to break you. It is borrowed." He smiled, no real malice in his voice.
"Oh, sorry. He gave Maes one more kiss and picked the book up and put it gingerly back on the table. "I think it is alright." He smiled and walked back to the bed, sitting down. Maes noticed that he had his dress blues back on.
"Why are you dressed? Is it that late?" Maes nervously looked at the clock. it was almost 1400 hours. He sighed. "Oh God, Roy. Please don't make me go back. We still have a few hours."
"We need to back before 1700 hours, so we won't be late, but I was thinking that we could have lunch before we... parted ways." Roy looked about as miserable as Maes did talking about it.
"That would be nice." Maes got up and went to the bathroom, taking care of the normal needs. When he came out, Roy already had his dress blues layed out. He sighed, taking his pants in his hand and rubbing a finger along the coarse wool material. Roy sighed, knowing exactly how he felt.
"I know. I don't want to d this either. You think I want to leave you, Maes? You think I want to go back to that hellhole, with no sleep, undecipherable food, and worst of all, the man I love a world away? I dont, but I also know that we don't have a choice, so let's make the best of the time that we have and at least have a miserable lunch together."
Maes nodded and started to get dressed as quick as he could. A few minutes later, they checked out at the motel office, leaving a decent tip and thanking them for keeping quiet about a couple of young and inebriated soldiers. It was a stroke of luck that there was a restaurant just across the street. They walked over and got a table, and a pretty young waitress with a name tag that read "Betty" came to take their order.
"Hey soliders. May I help you?" Maes kept quiet, but it looked very much like she was paying more attention to Roy, and he seemed to like it. He winked at her and flashed one of his trademark smiles. "Yeah, a couple of waters for us, and a ham sandwich for me."
"Um, yeah, that is fine for me as well." Maes said, absentmindedly. Betty smiled, took their menus and walked away.
"Look, Maes. I know it is tough, but we will get through it. It is just a couple more months, then we should get another bit of away time..." Roy said, oblivious to what was bothering Maes.
"Yeah, sure." Maes lazily chipped away at a dent in the wooden table.
"Please tell me what you are thinking about, Maes." he leaned in and said in a lower tone so only they could hear "You know I will miss you too, but we don't have a choice."
Maes shook his head and pointed to the woman coming back. "Her." It was all he could
say before they had to seperate again, and Betty came back with their waters.
"Thanks, doll!" Roy said in a loud, friendly voice. He winked, and the waitress smiled when she set down the drinks.
"Sandwiches should be up soon." she said with an embarassed smile, her cheeks flushed deep red, and she was off again.
Roy looked back at Maes and smiled. "Aw, come on. That is harmless. Besides, you know where my heart lies." Roy smiled, leaning back slightly, putting his hands behind his head.
"Do I?"
Roy leaned forward again. Letting one hand fall down under the table, he rubbed the inside of Maes' thigh. Maes jumped, almost falling back in his chair. He shot Roy a look that was a combination of suprise, annoyance, and confusion. Roy sighed and put both his hands back on the table, falling into silence. It was an awkward silence they sat in untill Betty came back and put their sandwiches down. Roy managed to flash a tiny smile of thanks to her, but she seemed smart enough to know not to stay too long, and she quickly left.
They ate their sandwiches in silence. Soon, their plates were empty, although the emptiness between them seemed endless. Roy looked at Maes, sadness in his tired black eyes. He fought back the lump in his throat that made it hard for him to breathe. Maes didn't even look at him. His eyes were downcast, his fingers digging a deeper hole in the chipped wood.
Betty came back, and Roy paid the bill and left a decent tip for both of them, then he stood up. "Come on, Maes. Let's go see if we can catch a couple of taxis." Maes hesitated a moment, then pushed back from the table and followed a few steps behind. They walked back across the street to the motel and Roy used thier phone to call a cab company for a couple of cars.
A few minutes later, they were sitting on the curb outside of the motel lobby, waiting for the cabs to arrive, thier knapsacks on the pavement beside them. Roy held his head in his hands, his eyes tracing the lines of pitch that had been left by the paving process. He looked over to Maes, who was busy staring at the patterns of clouds in the bright blue sky.
"Maes, please. Tell me what is wrong. I don't want us to part like this." For a moment, it didn't even look like he had heard. "Maes, please talk to me. Please." Roy's voice broke just a little, and Maes finally turned his head, his eyes a bloodshot red. "Betty. You don't think I saw you two, making eyes at each other? Tell me, was she someone you knew, or were you just being nice to her like all the other girls you have wooed?"
Roy was taken aback by the venom in his lover's voice. He hadn't even realized what he was doing. He had thought he was just being nice to her, but it was obvious that both Betty and Maes had taken it a different way. "Maes, I didn't know her, I was being pleasant to our waitress, that is all. I thought you were just playing around earlier at the cafe. I didn't really think that you were that angry. But you were serious. You really are jealous at how I was talking to her?" He wasn't sure if he should be happy or scared that his lover had taken that rather innocuous conversation so seriously.
"What the hell do you think, Roy?" Maes spat, then went back to looking at the clouds.
"But what I said was true. You know where my heart is. Honestly, Maes. You know if I had known that it upset you, I wouldn't have done that. I really thought I was just being nice. I will be more careful from now on, I promise." He leaned over and gave Maes' hand a gentle squeeze. He was glad when Maes didn't automatically pull away, but he made no other move other than to continue to watch the clouds.
It wasn't much later before two cabs pulled up and the cabbies got out and started to load their bags into the respective cars. Maes got up from the hard ground first, his eyes still red. "Goodbye, Roy. Good luck with your training." He turned away and got into the cab and slammed the door shut, and it sped away a few moments later.
"You ready, bud?" the other cabbie asked after the other car had left. He looked rather confused at what had transpired, but he knew better in his profession than to ask too many questions.
"Yeah, thanks." Roy got up, dusted himself off, and got into the cab.
"Goodbye, Maes." he silently whispered as the door closed.
Title: Parting Ways (The Seed of the Fire- Chapter 9)
Author: SeaweedOtter
Pairing: Roy Mustang x Maes Hughes
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: AU, Set before the anime started, while Maes and Roy were roommates at
the military academy.
Summary: Parting is such sweet sorrow, or is it?
Read all of the chapters so far HERE!
Maes blinked, rubbing his eyes. Had it all been a dream? Was he still at the academy, waiting for his time off to meet Roy? He shot straight up in bed. As soon as he tried to move his legs, he felt the ache of the already sore muscles in his posterior and smiled. It hadn't been a dream, and even the fact that he knew that he was going to have to explain the wierd walk he was going to have to adopt because of this didn't dampen his spirits. He looked around and spotted Roy engrossed in the book that he himself had been reading earlier. Maes gently cleared his throat and Roy looked up from the book. His face lightened and he threw the book down and rushed over to the bed and gave Maes a long, languishing kiss.
"Oh, you are awake. You were so cute. I couldn't help but let you sleep. I hope you don't mind."
Maes smiled at the book, splayed at a wierd angle on the floor. "If you break that book I will have to break you. It is borrowed." He smiled, no real malice in his voice.
"Oh, sorry. He gave Maes one more kiss and picked the book up and put it gingerly back on the table. "I think it is alright." He smiled and walked back to the bed, sitting down. Maes noticed that he had his dress blues back on.
"Why are you dressed? Is it that late?" Maes nervously looked at the clock. it was almost 1400 hours. He sighed. "Oh God, Roy. Please don't make me go back. We still have a few hours."
"We need to back before 1700 hours, so we won't be late, but I was thinking that we could have lunch before we... parted ways." Roy looked about as miserable as Maes did talking about it.
"That would be nice." Maes got up and went to the bathroom, taking care of the normal needs. When he came out, Roy already had his dress blues layed out. He sighed, taking his pants in his hand and rubbing a finger along the coarse wool material. Roy sighed, knowing exactly how he felt.
"I know. I don't want to d this either. You think I want to leave you, Maes? You think I want to go back to that hellhole, with no sleep, undecipherable food, and worst of all, the man I love a world away? I dont, but I also know that we don't have a choice, so let's make the best of the time that we have and at least have a miserable lunch together."
Maes nodded and started to get dressed as quick as he could. A few minutes later, they checked out at the motel office, leaving a decent tip and thanking them for keeping quiet about a couple of young and inebriated soldiers. It was a stroke of luck that there was a restaurant just across the street. They walked over and got a table, and a pretty young waitress with a name tag that read "Betty" came to take their order.
"Hey soliders. May I help you?" Maes kept quiet, but it looked very much like she was paying more attention to Roy, and he seemed to like it. He winked at her and flashed one of his trademark smiles. "Yeah, a couple of waters for us, and a ham sandwich for me."
"Um, yeah, that is fine for me as well." Maes said, absentmindedly. Betty smiled, took their menus and walked away.
"Look, Maes. I know it is tough, but we will get through it. It is just a couple more months, then we should get another bit of away time..." Roy said, oblivious to what was bothering Maes.
"Yeah, sure." Maes lazily chipped away at a dent in the wooden table.
"Please tell me what you are thinking about, Maes." he leaned in and said in a lower tone so only they could hear "You know I will miss you too, but we don't have a choice."
Maes shook his head and pointed to the woman coming back. "Her." It was all he could
say before they had to seperate again, and Betty came back with their waters.
"Thanks, doll!" Roy said in a loud, friendly voice. He winked, and the waitress smiled when she set down the drinks.
"Sandwiches should be up soon." she said with an embarassed smile, her cheeks flushed deep red, and she was off again.
Roy looked back at Maes and smiled. "Aw, come on. That is harmless. Besides, you know where my heart lies." Roy smiled, leaning back slightly, putting his hands behind his head.
"Do I?"
Roy leaned forward again. Letting one hand fall down under the table, he rubbed the inside of Maes' thigh. Maes jumped, almost falling back in his chair. He shot Roy a look that was a combination of suprise, annoyance, and confusion. Roy sighed and put both his hands back on the table, falling into silence. It was an awkward silence they sat in untill Betty came back and put their sandwiches down. Roy managed to flash a tiny smile of thanks to her, but she seemed smart enough to know not to stay too long, and she quickly left.
They ate their sandwiches in silence. Soon, their plates were empty, although the emptiness between them seemed endless. Roy looked at Maes, sadness in his tired black eyes. He fought back the lump in his throat that made it hard for him to breathe. Maes didn't even look at him. His eyes were downcast, his fingers digging a deeper hole in the chipped wood.
Betty came back, and Roy paid the bill and left a decent tip for both of them, then he stood up. "Come on, Maes. Let's go see if we can catch a couple of taxis." Maes hesitated a moment, then pushed back from the table and followed a few steps behind. They walked back across the street to the motel and Roy used thier phone to call a cab company for a couple of cars.
A few minutes later, they were sitting on the curb outside of the motel lobby, waiting for the cabs to arrive, thier knapsacks on the pavement beside them. Roy held his head in his hands, his eyes tracing the lines of pitch that had been left by the paving process. He looked over to Maes, who was busy staring at the patterns of clouds in the bright blue sky.
"Maes, please. Tell me what is wrong. I don't want us to part like this." For a moment, it didn't even look like he had heard. "Maes, please talk to me. Please." Roy's voice broke just a little, and Maes finally turned his head, his eyes a bloodshot red. "Betty. You don't think I saw you two, making eyes at each other? Tell me, was she someone you knew, or were you just being nice to her like all the other girls you have wooed?"
Roy was taken aback by the venom in his lover's voice. He hadn't even realized what he was doing. He had thought he was just being nice to her, but it was obvious that both Betty and Maes had taken it a different way. "Maes, I didn't know her, I was being pleasant to our waitress, that is all. I thought you were just playing around earlier at the cafe. I didn't really think that you were that angry. But you were serious. You really are jealous at how I was talking to her?" He wasn't sure if he should be happy or scared that his lover had taken that rather innocuous conversation so seriously.
"What the hell do you think, Roy?" Maes spat, then went back to looking at the clouds.
"But what I said was true. You know where my heart is. Honestly, Maes. You know if I had known that it upset you, I wouldn't have done that. I really thought I was just being nice. I will be more careful from now on, I promise." He leaned over and gave Maes' hand a gentle squeeze. He was glad when Maes didn't automatically pull away, but he made no other move other than to continue to watch the clouds.
It wasn't much later before two cabs pulled up and the cabbies got out and started to load their bags into the respective cars. Maes got up from the hard ground first, his eyes still red. "Goodbye, Roy. Good luck with your training." He turned away and got into the cab and slammed the door shut, and it sped away a few moments later.
"You ready, bud?" the other cabbie asked after the other car had left. He looked rather confused at what had transpired, but he knew better in his profession than to ask too many questions.
"Yeah, thanks." Roy got up, dusted himself off, and got into the cab.
"Goodbye, Maes." he silently whispered as the door closed.