The black haired boy with the warm black eyes shrugged his shoulders as his considerably taller friend came over. He couldn't remember a time when he and the other had not been best friends, and he knew that they would stay best friends forever.
He stood a head shorter than the other, and he was dressed in a blue tee style shirt and loose black pants, his mother had cropped his hair to his shoulders, and it was chilly out, so she had given him a blue hand-knitted pullover and warm, white and fleecy gloves for him to wear. The other was bolder in the colours that he had chosen to wear that day, a pink pullover, once again hand knitted by the boy's mother, with the picture of a rabbit on the front. Most normal people wouldn't have been caught dead in it.
But then, 7 year old Maes Hughes wasn't 'most normal people.'
The young boy, Roy, the first one, smiled in exasperation as once again his friend came bounding forwards, holding something in his arms, something warm and fuzzy, something which squeaked.
"Look Roy! Isn't Mr. Fluffles so cuuute?" Mister Fluffles, Roy noted for a minute was yes, indeed the best name for a shorthair, female rabbit. But then, Roy had always loved irony. His smile twitched slightly.
"Hi Maes..." He sighed, as a white rabbit face with pink eyes and a cold nose was shoved under his.
"See? See? Doesn't she have the most gorgeous pink eyes? And she's so soft and fluffy and gorgeous! Pet her!" Roy rolled his eyes upon seeing Maes' face it was squished up into a look of absolute glee and love, his glasses catching the rays from the weak sun, so Roy could only barely see the love struck look in his eyes. "Oh, Momma says I can take pictures of her later! Won't that be so great! Pictures of Mr. Fluffles!" Roy would not have believed it, if he hadn't of heard it for himself, but Maes had most definitely cooed.
"Maes?" He said, in his typical, seven year old glory, "Shut up."
A year later Roy watched as tears streamed down the lanky 8 year olds face as he stood by a freshly dug grave.
Roy sighed, placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Maes."
Maes sighed, placing a cross that Roy had made during his alchemy lessons down in the earth. It was pretty, albeit a little wonky, and simple, made of metal with the words "Mister Fluffles" Stamped on it in block letters. Roy sighed, he'd had to get his teacher to do that part, he wasn't skilled enough yet.
"I hate Foxes." Maes replied, tears streaming down his face. Roy felt his eyes prickle as well.
Roy smiled as he looked over the stack of books in his college dorm.
Hughes was at the door, smiling, with a beautiful girl wrapped around his right arm. "Roy, Meet Gracia, my little bunny rabbit."
His smile changed to one of nostalgia, as memories of a certain white rabbit came back. He only hoped that Gracia would be able to stand up to the foxes.
.
In memory of Maes Hughes, because leopards don't change their spots and rabbits are stronger then they look.