Pairing: Academy!HyuRoi

Rating: PG-13ish xD BL, Shonen-Ai, whatever you wanna call it.

Disclaimers: Written back in February. I was EXTREMELY tired when I wrote the ending, so it might be a biiit weird xD; Plus, FMA doesn't belong to me. Sadly.

"Hey! Wait a second- this is definitely further than the map told us to go. You got us lost!"

"Did not! I'm taking a shortcut."

"That's what you said about twenty minutes ago! Let me see the stupid compass!"

"Nope! It's more fun this way."

The two boys pressed through the brush and stray tree limbs, white uniform shirts occasionally reflecting the sunlight filtering through the canopy of trees above. Roy Mustang, the smaller of the two, was definitely not happy with the arrangements of being stuck with his best friend in the woods. Maes had woke him up early by shoving a stolen map in his face and sneaking him out of camp and into the middle of nowhere. No food. No shelter. No plan at all.

"Just let me look at the map!" Roy pined, jogging to keep up with Maes. "You were never good at map reading and I doubt you're any better now!"

Maes just laughed in reply, ducking under a tree limb and folding the map back up again. "We're fine. I'm sure of it." The older boy winked back at him and tucked the paper into his shirt pocket, continuing to hike along as if there wasn't even the slightest chance they'd get in trouble for this.
Grumbling, Roy kept following Maes into the forest. His skin was sticky with sweat and his empty stomach protested for food- it wasn't a very pleasant "adventure" as Maes said it would be. In the movies the heroes stayed in five-star hotels and drank expensive wine, yet he was stuck here with the suckiest guide ever who wouldn't even let him know where they were going.

When Roy finally looked back up from staring at the undergrowth he realized Maes was farther ahead than he was before. "I found it!" Maes called, grinning visibly, even from such a distance away. Before Roy could even say anything the other boy had darted out of sight, and all that could be heard was the sound of his laughter echoing amongst mossy boulders and trees.

Roy had to shield his eyes from the sun's glare as soon as he passed out of the cover of the trees. Grass was growing in weak, brown little tufts in the dry rocky soil and gave Roy the impression that this was probably the most god-forsaken place on this side of the desert.

If he hadn't have seen the white of Maes's shirt, Roy would have completely missed the small old mansion that jutted out of the forestry. Parts of the roof were caving in and the front porch was rotting away along with the cracked paint job. "Isn't it cool?" Maes laughed, tapping the bottom of the front door with the toe of his boot. "Some kid told me it was out here. I've been dying to see it all weekend!"

All Roy could do was sigh, shaking his head. Only Maes would want to investigate an old secluded mansion in the middle of the woods.
"You brought me all the way out here, making me miss breakfast AND lunch just to look at a freaking fairytale cottage?" Roy crossed his arms, brows furrowing as he walked towards the porch. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Hughes." He experimentally put his foot on the protesting first step, not surprised when the wood let out a sharp squeak. "Lovely."

Maes just laughed. "Come on. It was at least a little fun, right?"

Roy just replied with a long, criticizing glare that clearly stated he wasn't amused in the slightest.

They had decided to hang out in the clearing for the rest of the afternoon, as there was no point to sneak away from camp and have a boring time just to get in trouble for it.

The boys amused themselves by turning over rocks to prod at bugs and worms (at one point Roy found one in his hair, which he strongly suspected was Maes's fault though he acted innocent) and exploring the wide rooms of the old home. At one point Maes stepped right through the rotting floor, so the spooked teens ran back outside and to safety of the solid ground.

Maes looked up at the sky with a concerned gaze, nudging Roy and pointing at the clouds. "Storm. Looks like a bad one, too." The sky had turned a hazy light orange in warning to the oncoming storm and the forest fell eerily silent. Roy frowned, looking back at the mansion with a reluctant glare. "That thing is going to fall over on us," He grumped, crossing his arms.

By time the storm had hit Maes had managed to convince Roy to sit at the kitchen table with a few dim candles so they could somewhat see in the darkness. The wind howled and the occasional drip of water would fall on the table from the lack of one of the upstairs windows. Maes had sat close to Roy, muscles tensed from obvious fear of the storm outside. Roy took Maes for one of the people who weren't scared of much, so it sort of amused him to see his best friend in such a way.

"When do you think it's going to be over?" Roy looked out the window, shivering as he was reminded once again that the house might collapse at any moment. Maes looked like he was about to answer, but frowned as if he thought about something, shrugging and looking away.

The silence remained, which was driving Roy nearly insane. Minutes ticked by like hours, and it was currently impossible to even determine what time it was. He scraped at the flaking table varnish, bored expression on his face. Someone had to start a conversation or he might go insane.
"Hey, Hughes. Who do you like?" Roy looked over at his best friend with a curious gaze. The question seemed to catch him off guard, and though it might have been the lighting, he was fairly sure Maes' face had just turned a bright shade of red.

He shrugged and avoided Roy's gaze, picking at his fingernails with a sudden interest. "Does it really matter?" Maes asked, glancing over. "I like who I like. You wouldn't even be able to guess who, so don't try to play the while guessing game with me."

That just sparked Roy's curiosity all the more, and he grinned madly. "Oooh. Seems like Hyushie's got himself quite the crush. What's she like?"
Maes's face turned a darker shade of red, fumbling with a button on his shirt. "W-well, they go to the academy-"
"Ooh. Sexy- a tough woman."

"-and they're studying alchemy…"

"Smart too? Damn. I need to meet her."

Maes looked uncomfortable for a second, muttering something under his breath that caused him to look away. Grinning broadly, Roy leaned forward over the table. "What'dya say?" He asked in a sing-song voice.

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on. I know you said something."

"No."

"Come oooon…tell me."

"Why should I?"

"Because I said so."

"That's not a very good reason."

"It is for me. Now come on."

"No!"

"Just tell me her first na-"

"I never said it was a girl!" Maes blurted out, burying his face into his hands. "Just mind your own business, okay?!" Roy's eyes nearly popped outof his head, mouth agape. Maes Hughes, his best friend, liked another boy. Of all people he suspected, Maes definitely wasn't one of them.
Roy sat there, mouth opened wide. "You're gay?" He breathed, staring at Maes. "But you had a girlfriend just last month!" Maes shook his head, dropping his hands down from his face to nearly glare at Roy. "Because I want to keep my options open!" He snapped. "I don't even know if he likes me or not! Especially since he whines and yells at me most of the time, anyways!"

Roy froze, swearing his heart had just skipped a beat. "Oh my god." He breathed, feeling extremely lightheaded. It made it extremely hard to think with his increasing heartbeat and the lump that was forming in his throat. As much as he hated to admit it, he was sure that was the same feeling girls got if they had just been asked out. "You like me?" Roy's face was the one turning red now. He could feel his skin and ears burning hot.

The older boy nodded, avoiding Roy's gaze the best he could. "For a while…" Maes murmured. "You're everything I like in a girl…but it's not quite the same. You've always been here for me, so I want to be there for you. I've tried the best I could, but I don't want to just be friends..." He dropped off there, face downcast. "I was hoping today would be a good chance, but I can see you're not like me. Thanks for being nice about i-"
Before he could think about it, Roy grabbed Maes by the collar and pulled him into a rough and sloppy kiss. "T-that's not the way you impress me, moron." He glared, face flushed, still holding onto the front of his shirt. "I thought you knew me well enough to know that you need to cut out the crap and get straight to the point." He pulled Maes closer, barely a breath's width apart from each other. "At which point 'shut up and kiss me' would have been nice. "

Maes stared at Roy for a moment before beginning to laugh. "Well, what was I supposed to do? Be renowned as the class fag if you didn't want me too?" He smirked, staring at Roy almost challengingly. "Come on, then. Shut up and kiss me."