FMA_Fic_Contest- Prompt 55, Suspicious: "Three's a Crowd" (Maes Hughes, Gracia Hughes, Roy Mustang)
Title: Three's a Crowd
Author: Seaweed_FMA
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG for mentions of war.
Characters/Pairing: Maes Hughes, Gracia Hughes, Roy Mustang.
Summary: It's hard to ignore the obvious. It is hard to postpone the inevitable.
Warnings: Slight Ishbal spoilers.
It had started innocently. When Maes wrote her from the front, he'd talk about his friend and how they were attempting to keep each other sane in that desert hell. He explained to her that that they'd become friends after they shared a dorm room at the military academy, and it hadn't taken long before the pair became inseparable.
When they came back from Ishbal, they were both changed men. She could see they were haunted. They were gaunt and their eyes were sunken in, but the wide, tired smile that Maes gave her when he stepped off the train, and the long kiss that left them both gasping for breath made her forget her suspicions.
For a while.
Maes never talked about what they'd done in Ishbal. When she tried to get him to talk about it, he quickly changed the subject, or just said nothing. The only thing that he did tell her was that the war had affected Roy more than him.
That was when she became concerned.
She couldn't blame him for wanting to comfort Roy. She saw the nightmares her boyfriend had- the nights when he would wake up in a cold sweat, panting desperately for breath and holding the sheets in a death grip in his sweaty palms. It must have been even worse for Roy.
But when he started to spend more nights with Roy than with her, jealousy rose from the pit of her stomach. She knew it wasn't fair of her to feel that way, that they'd been through so much more than she could even imagine, but still it stayed there, festering and rotting inside of her.
The next time Maes came over, she had to know.
“Maes, I know Roy's a good friend, but you're spending a lot of time at his apartment.”
“He needs his friend to be there. He wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. I hide his guns and knives. I'm scared when I'm away that he'll be dead when I get back.”
“I understand.” She rose from the table and bowed. “I don't want you to be away from him for too long.”
“Gracia!” He reached up and grabbed her arm as she turned away.
She wheeled back around, her eyes moistening. “What, Maes? You've made it clear where you prefer to be.”
“He's my best friend, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So much for a romantic evening.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Inside was a ring with a glimmering diamond.
“Gracia, will you marry me? Through all of my nightmares, you've stayed with me. If I lost you... I... I would sooner die.”
“Maes.. I..”
“Please, just say yes.”
“Yes, of course.”
He put the ring on her hand and kissed her. They could both only hope that things were going to be better from now on.
Author: Seaweed_FMA
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Word Count: 500
Rating: PG for mentions of war.
Characters/Pairing: Maes Hughes, Gracia Hughes, Roy Mustang.
Summary: It's hard to ignore the obvious. It is hard to postpone the inevitable.
Warnings: Slight Ishbal spoilers.
It had started innocently. When Maes wrote her from the front, he'd talk about his friend and how they were attempting to keep each other sane in that desert hell. He explained to her that that they'd become friends after they shared a dorm room at the military academy, and it hadn't taken long before the pair became inseparable.
When they came back from Ishbal, they were both changed men. She could see they were haunted. They were gaunt and their eyes were sunken in, but the wide, tired smile that Maes gave her when he stepped off the train, and the long kiss that left them both gasping for breath made her forget her suspicions.
For a while.
Maes never talked about what they'd done in Ishbal. When she tried to get him to talk about it, he quickly changed the subject, or just said nothing. The only thing that he did tell her was that the war had affected Roy more than him.
That was when she became concerned.
She couldn't blame him for wanting to comfort Roy. She saw the nightmares her boyfriend had- the nights when he would wake up in a cold sweat, panting desperately for breath and holding the sheets in a death grip in his sweaty palms. It must have been even worse for Roy.
But when he started to spend more nights with Roy than with her, jealousy rose from the pit of her stomach. She knew it wasn't fair of her to feel that way, that they'd been through so much more than she could even imagine, but still it stayed there, festering and rotting inside of her.
The next time Maes came over, she had to know.
“Maes, I know Roy's a good friend, but you're spending a lot of time at his apartment.”
“He needs his friend to be there. He wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. I hide his guns and knives. I'm scared when I'm away that he'll be dead when I get back.”
“I understand.” She rose from the table and bowed. “I don't want you to be away from him for too long.”
“Gracia!” He reached up and grabbed her arm as she turned away.
She wheeled back around, her eyes moistening. “What, Maes? You've made it clear where you prefer to be.”
“He's my best friend, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So much for a romantic evening.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Inside was a ring with a glimmering diamond.
“Gracia, will you marry me? Through all of my nightmares, you've stayed with me. If I lost you... I... I would sooner die.”
“Maes.. I..”
“Please, just say yes.”
“Yes, of course.”
He put the ring on her hand and kissed her. They could both only hope that things were going to be better from now on.