FicWad

Haal was a town nestled in salt-mining mountains, but it rested on a broad, flat expanse of meadow. Its children did not grow up to be salt miners- they grew up tall and strong, climbing the mountains like the goats they led up the slopes, lean and willowy like weeds.

Roy could just see Maes as a teenager, clambering around the mountains with a string of livestock in tow- he told him that, and Maes laughed.

"I was more of the indoor guy," he said. "Maybe not one of those pasty indoor library freaks like you, but still..."

"Hey/," Roy said. He half-swatted at Maes' arm, but his heart wasn't in it. The day was too warm, and the two of them were too comfortable slumped against the base of their tree. Maes' arm was connected to Maes' hand, and Maes' hand was ghosting up and down /Roy's arm, and that made Roy just not want to do anything at all.

"So, glad you agreed to get dragged here?" Maes asked.

"I got /dragged nowhere/, thanks," said Roy.

"Oh, I forgot," said Maes. "You came here of your own free will, no, you wanted to come soo bad... that's why I had to forge your signature on your three-day pass and lock your roommate in a janitor's closet so he couldn't stop me... yeah, that's it."

"You did /what/?" said Roy. "Breda's not going to like me when we get back."

"Oh, he didn't like you anyway," said Maes. "Besides, I was nice with the rope."

"I'll bet," Roy said sarcastically. He shrugged out of Maes' arms and flopped belly-down on the grass. "It's too sunny here. I'm screaming in pain every night from the sunburns."

"And here I thought it was me."

Roy grinned to himself, but kept his face buried in his arms. "And it's boring. Nothing ever happens here, and the guy who brings the mail is slow. I have no idea what's going on in Central, half the time."

"That's a good thing," said Maes. "If you're this high-strung when you're a private, I don't even want to think about you as an officer."

"Is that why you dragged me out here, then?" asked Roy.

Maes grinned. "Isn't it a lot better out here?" he returned. "It's like the gravity here slows everyone down, so why do you want to run back to that neurotic life?"

"Guess I'm just that kind of guy," said Roy. He sighed. "And I was just free of your babbling, a few minutes ago."

Maes crawled up to him and threw himself down on Roy's back, earning a squawk of surprise. "I can arrange that again, if you'd like." To prove his point, he rolled himself around until he completely covered Roy, one body atop of another. He nibbled on Roy's right earlobe.

And then Roy really couldn't help but give in to the ennui of the warming day, so instead of protesting, he grunted and stretched as best as he could, with seventy-three kilograms on top of him.

"Perfect," Maes muttered. He attacked the soft skin of Roy's neck enthusiastically, teeth just a little too sharp to be comfortable. Roy laughed at the painful, tickling bites running down his collarbone. He tried to roll Maes off him, but the bigger man only braced himself and continued, licking across Roy's chest mercilessly, breath ghosting behind the wet trails of saliva.

Roy brought his hands behind him, pushing away. "St-stop," he breathed, gasping. "I- can't- can't even laugh- stop!"

Maes groaned, but he lifted his hands up and rolled away. "So much for a romantic moment," he complained.

"It's too hot to neck with you," Roy said annoyedly. "We could be in a nice office with air-conditioning right now, but no, we had to go on vacation."

"Stop complaining," Maes said. "Did you want to come with me or not?"

Roy was silent.

"Well?"

"Nn." Roy groaned and stretched on the grass, yawning widely. He arched his back, stretching, and rolled around to lie on his side, facing Maes. "Of course I did," he said finally.

Maes silently looked at him. He grinned suddenly. "You're such a bad liar," he managed.

"Hey!" said Roy. "I could be telling the truth, you know."

"You could," allowed Maes. "But you're not."

"Oh?" asked Roy. He reached out to Maes, but the other man sat up. "Maes, come on. I'm too tired for this...."

"I thought you were bored," Maes said. "Well, this is a little more exciting than "necking" with me, isn't it? You're always up for a good argument at the office, so if I dragged you out here so unfeelingly, I should try to be obliging."

Roy stared. "That's not what I meant."

"'Course it was," Maes said simply. "I know you."

"Not that well!" Roy snapped. "There's a lot you don't know about me and apparently, you're too thick to tell when I'm being serious and when I'm playing around-"

He didn't notice that he had brought his hand up, reflexively, fingers moving together and pinched and ready to snap, until Maes closed one hand over his. "Hey, hey," Maes said. "Careful, there."

Roy stared at their clasped hands for a long minute, his outstretched arm shaking as it bore up the weight of both their arms. Finally, it collapsed down onto the grass. Roy grimaced, but still he stared.

"I'm going to end up killing someone this way, aren't I?" he asked, slowly. "I mean... not just in some exercise that's ordered and laid out by Gran... I'm just going to not realize it someday and snap my fingers and then I'll kill someone and I won't even realize it."

"Roy..."

"I could have killed you!" Roy yelled. "You're my friend and I almost killed you!"

Maes didn't move as he watched Roy haul himself up and stalk away, his shoulders tensed as he began to hurry, then run... away, somewhere, anywhere. Maes didn't move for minutes as he looked at the empty place where Roy had been. It was a small town, and he hadn't shown Roy around... so there was only so far the man could go.

After a while, he sat up and looked around. Then he slowly walked back to the boarding house where the two of them had been staying.

The door to their rooms was locked- Maes grinned a little as he pulled a curved knife from his belt and jimmied with the handle, and the lock easily sprang open. Then he put on a serious face and entered, looking for Roy.

He didn't have to go far. There was an audible sniffling sound coming from the back room, and a sudden flash of movement by the bedroom door. Maes leapt forward and jammed his shoulder by the doorframe, gritting his teeth as the door slammed into his shoulder.

"Easy," he gasped. "If you break my shoulder, I really won't be going anywhere."

Slowly, the pressure eased up. Maes massaged his arm and pushed open the door. Roy had retreated to the bed and had one arm over his eyes, almost casually. It didn't fool Maes at all.

"Come on," he said, climbing on to the bed. He pushed at Roy's arm. "Come on."

Roy reluctantly pulled his arm away. He drew his hand across red-rimmed eyes, and glared at Maes as if he dared him to comment. Instead, Maes lay down next to Roy, curving their bodies together silently. He threw his arms across Roy's unresisting frame, and waited.

"What a bastard I am," Roy said finally.

"No," Maes whispered. "Never, Roy, never..."

"Yes, I am," Roy answered, more firmly. "You brought me out to have some fun, and I even tried to have fun, really, but all I can think about is what I'd be doing if we were back at base, all the work I'm missing and what opportunity I could be missing while we're out here... Maes, does the military really so consume me?"

Maes could find no answer, or none that he had the heart to give. "No, Roy, of course not," he said.

"This is peacetime!" cried Roy.

"There's never a peacetime when you're in the army," Maes told him. "You're the greatest soldier of all... you know it. Whenever we grow up you'll be glad you're the way you are."

Roy snorted. "We are grownups, Maes."

"I thought grown up soldiers didn't cry," said Maes.

"I wasn't crying!" Roy snapped.

Maes raised his eyebrows. "Anyway."

"Yeah?"

"I'll stop bugging you about having fun, too," said Maes. "I think that maybe getting you to do some things that would be fun for you would be better." He felt Roy smile into his chest.

They stayed like that for such a long, quiet time that Maes knew that Roy had finally fallen asleep after his rage. He listened to his friend's even breathing, as orderly and quiet as Maes' snoring was loud, and pressed himself closer to Roy, pillowing his cheek against his hair. "I knew you were lying to me," he whispered.

He started in surprise when Roy lifted his eyes open and replied, "Me too."