this one just kinda popped into existence. silly plot!bunnies... lyrics this time from "Broken", by Seether, feat. Amy Lee. -fireun
"I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain"
It was funny. Hilarious really. Maes Hughes, sitting on a car looking for a soldier in the returning units as intently as if he were some young woman determined to see her love returned safely.
Maes perched irreverently on the edge of the military vehicle, legs swinging as he scanned the crowd of exhausted soldiers, hoping to catch a glimpse of familiar features. Ah, there, a particularly sardonic facial expression, a (slightly road-dusty) head of short black hair, military uniform obsessively neat…
"Yo! Mustang!" Maes called, out, waving as he propelled himself from his roost. The man in question cast a swift, almost embarrassed glance in his direction, and then swung away, trying almost desperately, to be looking anywhere else. At all. His attention settled on a particularly plain portion of road, obviously oblivious to the fact there was nothing there to actually look at.
"Hey, kid, what's wrong?" Maes narrowed his eyes as he approached, taking in the sheer amount of dust clinging to Roy, as well as the other men, alchemists and soldiers alike, who were hauling themselves out of various vehicles. Careful not to intrude to closely into his friend's personal space, he paused, frowning at the dark shadows under Roy's eyes, the hollow look to his face. "Rough time?"
Roy finally shifted his eyes, allowing them to meet the older man's for a second before giving a curt nod. "Yeah."
"It will get easier." Maes murmured, attempting to soothe his obviously exhausted and stressed friend.
"I hope not." Roy hissed, shuddering.
Maes closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his wits and his patience. It was funny really, how much this kid meant to him. Damn did he hate seeing him come home a wreck like this. Every time. "Request some leave time, Roy. They can't really say no, seeing as you leap at every mission that wanders this way."
"No. I just need a little rest…I will be fine."
"A little rest, a little booze, and a good talk. It will fix all that ails you." Confident now that Roy was settled enough to accept contact, Maes threw and arm over his shoulders. "Lucky for you I am prepared for your return, oh soldier mine."
"Shut up." Roy growled, leaning into his friend, the relief in the gesture taking the sting out of the comment.
"The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain"
Roy sank back into the chair with a sigh, reveling in the familiar tang of cologne and alcohol that had been absorbed into the worn leather throughout the past few years. It was Maes' one great indulgence, this cushioned monstrosity that reigned supreme from the corner of the man's apartment. It was also Roy's favorite place to sit and unwind after missions.
Maes settled onto the small couch with a sigh, propping his feet, boots and all, onto the scratched and worn coffee table with a bachelor's innocent relish. "So. wanna talk about it?"
"Not really." Roy muttered, reaching for his mug. Coffee and alcohol. Maes was brilliant.
"We never talk anymore."
Roy looked up, startled. Maes had sounded so…forlorn, and the words were more suited to an estranged lover than a friend just back from the front lines. The gleam in the man's pale eyes belied the sorrow on his face. "Ass." He growled.
"Oh, admit it, you missed me." Maes grinned, dodging the pillow thrown his way. "Didn't you?"
Roy glared a moment longer, determined his ire should be acknowledged, but as Maes held his toothy grin, Roy harrumphed and settled back into his chair, intent of sipping his whiskey and coffee in silence.
He should know by now that silence was something rarely achieved in the presence of one Maes Hughes.
"You never answered my question." Maes pointed out.
"What?"
"Did you miss me?"
Roy tried to ignore the fact Maes was batting his eyes as shamelessly as a whore, tried to take the man seriously.
Then again, he had had enough of being serious in the past few weeks. "Immeasurably." Roy replied, glare relaxing into a crooked smile. "Stop that, man. You look ridiculous."
Then Roy blinked for a moment, stunned, before braking into laughter that was only slightly hysterical. There was just something sublimely funny about one grown man sticking his tongue out at another. Something so absurd he couldn't help but laugh.
And as always, Maes had known that laugh was just what he needed.