Ficlet Two: Beyond Compare
Sunday was a day to doze around, but not to be wasted in bed. Sure rest was meant for the last day of the week, but in some ways it was just too hard to be sequestered inside when the world still moved about them outside. And outside was where Maes Hughes had stumbled, quite literally, into his friend Roy Mustang.
Roy had been sitting with his back against a willow tree, the branches low enough to slightly obscure his view of the lake that sat in front of him. But the branches though long and wiry were a sight to see in the mid-day sun. It was a little known site in Central City, and Roy was glad that he had come upon it one day after going off on his own to explore. With his long legs stretched out in front of him, he was relaxing for what seemed the first time in weeks. But his peace was disturbed as Maes somehow tripped over his, Roy's, feet.
Landing on his back side, Maes grumbled in pain as he glared over at the pair of feet that had caused him to fall to the ground. Green eyes followed the black shoe clad feet up to a pair of matching black slacks covering crossed legs. And up over a familiar torso, chest covered by a thin white tee shirt, and finally resting upon a set of bemused coal colored eyes.
"Nice way to bring me back to reality Maes," Roy said a slight undertone of amusement lingering in his voice, "nearly breaking your neck by tripping over me. If you wanted my attention, all you had to do was say hello." The corners of his lips turned upward in a slight smile as he watched his friend turn his body towards him, so they were facing each other. "And now, you're blocking my view of the lake more than the tree itself was..." Roy rolled his eyes in mock frustration and chuckled lowly to himself.
After turning he inspected the camera he was holding in his right hand, to make sure his precious baby was not broken, not even in the slightest. Finding that it was unharmed a gradual smile took over his whole face, "You know Roy, if I broke anything, it would have been my tailbone. Imagine that, not being able to sit for days, weeks even..." Maes always tried to find the humor in every situation, even ones involving physical pain. "Though, you know what that's like..."
Roy's mouth opened a few times, flabbergasted at what Maes had just suggested. Though it could have been taken more than one way, he obviously meant it the way Roy had heard it. He just made an odd noise in the back of his throat and tried to look around Maes back at the calming water.
"Well if you're going to make such a ridiculous face I might as well capture it on film," Maes said laughing without care. Bringing the viewfinder up to his glasses he peered through it at Roy's scowling face, the sunlight filtering through the tree branches made a pattern against his cheeks and chest. The image was more striking, he thought, when he saw it through another 'eye'. It was enough to render him speechless before taking the picture quickly, not wanting the moment to escape him. Finally lowering the camera to his lap, he just sat there quietly observing his friend like he never had before.
And of course, this did not escape Roy's ever thinking mind as Maes rarely stopped talking about one thing or another. Taking his eyes off of the lake behind Maes, he looked directly into the startling green eyes that seemed glued to his face. It alarmed him slightly, wondering what could be wrong, or what possibly the other man was thinking, "Why, exactly, are you staring at me?" For a moment, he had to bring his hand up to his brow to shield his eyes from the sun, and to also see the soft expression on Maes' face. "Oh," the 'word' seemed to find its way out of Maes' mouth quite on its own, "I don't know really... It just seems necessary to want to revel in such beauty."
And with those words, Roy did not really feel like tossing Maes' camera into the lake. Sunday's were for relaxing anyhow, he didn't want to exert much energy; at least until nightfall.