Title: Fire and Flame
Author : Seaweed Otter

Recipient's name : zaphkiel_noise
Rating: PG-13 for a little language and light loving.
Pairing: Mustang x Hughes
Disclaimer: None
Warnings: Slightly AU, as there is no Gracia in the picture.

By the time Maes woke up, he could already smell breakfast being cooked downstairs. He could tell from the odor that was wafting up the stairs that it was the famous Mustang omelet, full of almost everything that an omelet could contain and still be considered edible.

He finished his morning routine quickly and sped down the stairs, not even bothering to dress himself in more than the loose gray t-shirt and boxer shorts that he was already wearing. He took the stairs two at a time, which wasn't terribly hard with his long, limber legs propelling him forward- the thought of Mustang and his omelets first in his mind.

"Roy!" he yelled as he rounded the corner, a big grin on his face. He wasted no time in running over and planting a long kiss on his lover's cheek, then went over to the cupboard and started to set two places.

"Hey, Roy. You know what day it is?" He asked, cheerfully.

"Sunday. Finally a day I can stay home and relax, except that I have to listen to your goofy ass chatter."

Maes tried to sulk and look pouty, but it really didn't work one bit on Roy. He flashed Maes a serious look, and the pout faded, immediately followed by another smile. Roy wasn't sure, but he thought that maybe it was even bigger than the one before, if that was even possible.

"C'mon. I know you remember." Maes continued to probe at his quickly annoying lover.

Roy sighed and flipped one of the omelets over. "Yes, I know. It is our anniversary. I don't know why you think I had forgotten. You have been laying hints all over the place for over a week now. It doesn't take someone from Investigations to figure it out." He looked over his shoulder, proudly smirking at Maes for his little crack at his job choice.

"Yeah, but this 'Investigations guy' just helped your sorry ass department with that serial murder case! You better kiss all of our asses!"

"Oh, I don't kiss ass. I kick it."

"That isn't what you said last night when we were in bed together."

Roy's face turned beet red. "You leave my bedroom escapades out of it." He waved an egg-ridden spatula at Maes. "Besides, wasn't it you that was calling out my name, yelling for more?"

It was Maes' turn to blush. "Oh, I see. Turn the tables on the starving, helpless man!"

"Starving, you may be. But helpless? No way. I don't fall in love with weak, spineless, helpless people."

"Yeah, you need someone who is as stubborn as you, so they can put up with your personality!"

"Hey!" Roy pouted a little.

Maes just laughed and banged his fork on the table. "I see I still need to domesticate you, though. If you keep paying attention to me and not to your food then neither of us will have breakfast!"

Roy harrumphed and turned around to finish the two omelets.

A few minutes later, he carried them over to the waiting plates, and Maes started to devour the eggs like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Geez, slow down, Maes. You'll give Fullmetal a run for his money, the way you scarf that down!" He stopped long enough to stick his tongue out at Roy, then went back to chowing down on his breakfast, occasionally stopping to wash it down with a little bit of juice.


After they were done with breakfast, Maes cleaned the dished (their setup, one baked and the other washed), while Roy excused himself for a few moments. He was back in the room by the time Maes was done. He didn't bother to dry off his hands. He just walked over to Roy and put a dollop of suds on his nose, and wrapped his arms around his torso- the wetness sticking Roy's tank top to his body.

"Maes!" Roy pushed him away and shook the suds off his shirt, then off his nose. He straightened himself out and tried to look as dignified as he could with a wet shirt and dribble of water hanging right off the end of his nose. He shook his head one more time to release the last bit of moisture and looked at the still chuckling man in front of him.

"Dammit, Maes. The one time I want to be serious." Maes put out his lower lip and tried to look pathetic, but Roy only shook his head and pointed to the chair. "Sit, please." The taller man complied and sat at the table, where he has been just a few minutes before.

"Maes, you know as much as I do that I hate the way we have to hide ourselves from everyone else, except for a few people that we trust in the office. I know how much you like to tell people everything and show photos and all, and you can't do that for us. I don't think you will ever know how grateful I am that you have stuck by me, even though I can be an asshole-"

"A /iPOMPOUS/i asshole..." Maes corrected.

Roy rolled his eyes again. "Okay, a pompous asshole. You still love me and put up
with me, when even my co-workers are glad they only have to see me during the work week."

"Maybe it is because we don't work in the same department. If I had to work with you, in your office, and then come home to you, maybe I would have gone insane by now!" Maes' grin covered his entire face.

"Maes!"

"Sorry."

"Anyways, I just wanted to show you how much it means... how much you mean to me. I am not a real romantic kinda guy, and I can't say that I always know what people want, but I got you a little something, so you can be reminded of my feelings for you.

He blushed and smiled up at Roy. "You didn't have to do that, Roy." Roy smiled. The look on Maes' face said otherwise. The alchemist knew that he was a sucker for gifts. Roy had used that to his advantage in the past when they had had some rather nasty fights.

Well, that, and the sex never hurt either.

"What is it?" Maes had all the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. Roy handed him the small box that he had been hiding behind his back since he came back downstairs. Maes eagerly ripped into the gray wrapping and opened the lid that was hinged at the top.

His eyes lit up when he opened it. Inside was a sterling silver lighter with a picture of a flame, and superimposed over it, etched into the silver and dyed the same shade of red, was the alchemy circle that Roy had embroidered on the back of his glove.

"You know that I really don't like that smoking habit of yours, but if you are gonna kill your lungs, at least you can think of me when you do it." Roy smiled.

"Thanks, Roy. I love it." He got up and kissed Roy fully on the lips, pressing in so hard he almost put Roy off balance, forcing him to take a step backwards. He looked rather guilty when he broke the kiss finally. "I.. was going to get you something later today."

Roy put his hand on Maes' shoulder and smiled softly. "Honestly, you don't have to. I really don't care too much about gifts. Maes knew that was true, but he already had a good mind about what he wanted to get.

"I promise you, I will make it up to you later."

Roy could only smile. "I am sure you will." he purred.

"Happy anniversary, Roy."

"Happy anniversary, Maes."