One Abnormal Girl

Waiting.
by arcanewinter. PG13 459 Hughes*Roy. Fullmetal Alchemist. No spoilers.
They both know what he has to say.

These characters do not belong to me.  I do not profit from this.  You, and not I, are responsible for your offense if you choose to read what follows.

Maes twists the taps and watches the soapy water as it drains, letting his wet hands drip onto the tiles. The restroom has no mirrors, few places do, but he still doesn’t need to turn to feel Roy’s eyes on him. He’s finished, leaning against the wall next to the door, waiting. They should return to their dates. Isn’t it only women who accompany each other to the toilet?

But that’s not what he’s waiting for. Maes looks up at him, turning, shaking his hands free of the cold water.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. Roy already knows the thing Maes will have to say eventually. Roy looks ready to say it himself, it’s Over, we knew it wouldn’t last, I understand, she’s waiting for you, we should go.

And Maes won’t hurt for long. There’s a woman at their table whose warmth will be the same warmth, and she’ll be there for him without any of their limitations. Maes can replace him, he can replace those parts of him that are kept so necessarily silent.

But the girl sitting beside his fiancee, he knows she is just a girl, a reason to come here, an excuse.

His hands dry in the stale air. Roy’s eyes drop to the tiles before he looks up again, sterner, colder. Another wasted opportunity. Another night of lies so much more pleasant than the truth. Roy rolls himself off the wall and reaches for the door.

“Wait,” he prays, and he reaches out, his hands catching Roy’s shirt. Just one more minute, another minute and he can say it. It’s on the tip of his tongue, on the verge of his breath, I’m sorry, you knew this was coming, it’s in his heartbeat, it’s in the roots of his hair, we have to stop this, it’s right there in the pit of his stomach as his body holds Roy’s to the wall.

There’s no lock on the door, but Maes flattens his palm to it and tenses, clinging to Roy for the leverage to keep it shut. He can feel the intake of air just before he opens Roy’s mouth with his own, and the words on his tongue are forgotten as though they’d ever been formed. The silence holds only their breaths, but just barely.

Laughter outside. Roy starts; Maes steps away, blotting his mouth with his sleeve, now gripping the handle in preemption.

No one enters, but the motion is already begun. He glances to his–his what?–and drags open the door.

“I already know,” Roy offers tersely, pausing just a beat as he passes.

No, you don’t. Maes watches him as long as he needs to, then lets the door swing shut behind him as he follows.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 8:07 am and is filed under fanfiction, writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.