damned_institute | M1-M10 Hall, Outside M5, Nightshift 22

She responded to the brigadier general's wink with a smile of self-awareness. He was right, of course. But she'd never spoken with either of them outside of a military setting . . . or not for many years, at least, and without all the formality, she really had very little relationship to either of them. To let go of the ceremony meant she'd be alone, at least until she forged some new friendships, and as that might not be easy for her, she preferred not to go that route.

She took the chair from the other desk and set it at a reasonable closeness before sitting and listening. The entry room? She wasn't certain where that was, but if accurately named, it must be . . . well, one door away from the outside, and she assumed that was the door he meant if it required a key. But why did he have it? Could it really be that easy?

Her questions, however, would only waste time, and if the colonel's claim about last night were any indication, time was not in their favor. She merely sat forward, listening intently to them both.

"Elena mentioned the entry room," Hughes said, nodding. "She came by to return my knife, we chatted a little bit and she and Alfons got a few pointers on knife throwing. Alfons needs some practice, but I'm confident he can handle himself. Elena's a natural."

He leaned forward, thoughtful. So it was true, Roy really had made it to the entry room and had the key for it. That was more than Hughes could have hoped for, really.

"So we heading there tomorrow night? It'd be damn good to have an idea of the surrounding area. If we're going to orchestrate an escape, we need somewhere to escape to." It wasn't like they'd all just leave and pop back to their own worlds.

Right?

"I'm staying here tonight - Ed's supposed to come by so I can have a talk with him. I'm pretty sure he's not gonna show, but I figure I may as well give him the benefit of the doubt. And, well, we can't get much done tonight anyway - may as well rest up."

Which was a very polite way of saying that there was no way in hell he was letting Roy out to gallivant around in his condition.

It was good to hear that Alfons had at least learned something as far as combat. Roy doubted he was going to be able to do much good when he'd barely had any training, but it was still better than nothing. "If he keeps at it, he might get decent at it." Nowhere near Hughes' level, of course, but Roy hadn't seen anyone who could throw as well as his friend.

"Tomorrow night?" Roy wasn't able to hold his tongue. Where had Hughes gotten that idea? There was still a lot of time left this night, wasn't there? He wasn't about to waste it in some room...

Even though he could tell that Hughes was insinuating that he stay put, he would have none of that. "You can stay here and wait for Fullmetal, but I think there is still a lot we can get done. Or I can, anyway." Hawkeye would go with him, wouldn't she? Even if Hughes was going to insist on staying, that wouldn't stop him from seeing just what was behind that door.

Riza frowned sharply. She too was eager to know what lay beyond the door, though she'd been captive for the least amount of time by far, but if the brigadier general did stay for Ed, she would be the colonel's only escort. And in his condition, he'd need someone at his side who could protect him.

She was sorry to admit to herself that it couldn't be her. Not here, not without the weapons she'd been most trained in. She could probably defend herself enough to keep herself alive, but she couldn't cover them both, not if the institution housed the atrocities she'd been hearing about.

"Sir, at the very least you should rest here a while before going out again." The brigadier general was right, but the most she could hope for was a compromise. She'd go with him, of course, if he insisted on trying the key again immediately, but she knew it wasn't wise.

"Roy, the door and the key aren't going anywhere." There was a sharp note in Hughes's voice. Because he wasn't going to just let this go. Roy and his constant need to be doing something, no matter how dangerous it was, no matter the risk. It was getting to be a pain.

"You know... we agree that people need to rest, breaks are needed, that if we burn ourselves out we'll do more harm in the long run then good... and then you act like none of that applies to you. What happens when you make it out of the male wing and you get jumped by something big and nasty? And you're exhausted and Hawkeye doesn't have a gun? What the hell's the point of having that key and knowing where it goes if you're dead or crippled?" Hughes threw up an arm, clearly frustrated. And he was frustrated, with a vast many things, but again it was Roy who would suffer the brunt of them. Because Roy was there and Hughes knew, somewhere behind his conscious thoughts, that he and Roy would always be alright.

"And besides that... I was under the impression we were going to stay in tonight. But you know what, Roy? Do whatever the hell you want, you hardly listen to my advice anymore anyway."

Even Hawkeye was agreeing? She usually didn't question him - actually, that wasn't true. Roy had told her in the past that if she truly didn't approve of a decision he made, that she should protest. It didn't mean he would listen to her, but sometimes it was good to hear it.

But when Hughes opened his mouth, the alchemist could immediately tell that he was about to get more or less scolded. He knew that tone. He glanced over at his friend somewhat reluctantly, but listened to the rant all the same. Yes, there was logic to it, and yes, he had considered these things before, but...

It was that last part that actually got to him. He took it like a slap to the face as he recalled their anonymous conversation on the bulletin board earlier in the day. He had sort of hinted that they could stay in for once, but he'd gotten so carried away once night had actually come...

Roy sighed and lowered his head, his bangs falling forward to cover his face. He pulled his hand up to brush the strands back and let out an even heavier sigh.

"All right," he gave in. "We'll stay here."

Riza kept her eyes on the floor as the brigadier general spoke. It wasn't the sort of exchange she should have been privy to, and so she pretended as though she weren't. She was relieved, however, when the colonel conceded. Again, the brigadier general was right. The door and the key weren't going anywhere; the real risk was in heading out too soon. Caution was the priority.

Something the brigadier general had said wasn't sitting well with her, though. He had been under the impression that he and the colonel were staying in, and without following it with what they were staying in to do, it gave the impression of exclusivity at the very least.

It made sense. She didn't know how long the brigadier general had been here, but she was certain that whatever time they had spent together in this place couldn't possibly make up for the sort of void the brigadier general had left in the colonel. Certainly it helped, but it would never be enough.

Whatever the case, it didn't sound as though they'd be planning, plotting, or covering ground tonight. And though she had questions, they weren't particularly relevant. She would not be of use here.

She stood up and saluted, despite what the brigadier general had said about military formality. After all, she'd only been away from that life for a few days.

"Permission to be excused, Colonel, sir."

"Uh... look, I'm sorry I snapped." Hughes apologized immediately, shaking his head. "Just been another long day. And... well... you know how it is, and how I worry...." He just trailed off, not about to bring up anything else in front of Riza. He hated to exclude her, or make her feel as though there were things going on that she couldn't know about, but he didn't have any other choice.

He felt even worse when Riza stood to excuse herself, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to invite her to stay. No matter what, he and Roy would at the very least be talking about things that she probably didn't want to overhear.

"We'll catch up in the morning?" he asked, giving her a lopsided grin.

If Roy had been in a better mood, he might have smiled at the apology. That was just like Hughes, to get carried away and raise his voice, only to feel bad the minute the words were out of his mouth. He knew that his friend only got upset because he didn't like the thought of Roy being in an unnecessary amount of danger. He really did worry too much.

He shook his head at Hughes, as if it to tell him it was no big deal. For once, it seemed like he'd stopped their frazzled nerves from dragging them into a pointless fight.

Though it seemed they had managed to scare Hawkeye away, nonetheless. He could understand how awkward it was to be present when two close friends were fighting, and Hughes had mentioned their intention to stay in - that was almost like a direct exclusion.

He did feel bad, but it would only make matters worse if he tried to force her to stay. "Granted," he replied. "Be careful." He knew she would, but it didn't hurt to say it, anyway.

Maybe eventually, he would tell her the truth. She was the one person he might be able to trust with it.

She nodded to the brigadier general as she dropped her salute, answering "Of course, sir," to him, and "I will, sir," to the colonel. She considered losing a little of the formality and wishing them a pleasant or productive evening, but in the end she just wasn't certain how to phrase it, and it was safest to say nothing more of it.

Before heading to the door, however, she mentioned her new room number. F5. It probably wouldn't be of use tonight, but she figured they should know it for future reference.

Making certain she had with her what she came with (the radio and flashlight), she replaced the chair in one quiet movement, then headed out, making sure the door closed almost silently behind her. She wanted to avoid alerting whoever, or whatever, was in the hallway before she was ready.

Hughes was quick to write down Riza's room number, for whenever it may be needed. It was good to keep track of those things.

And she would be alright. Hughes knew she would be, and he'd do his best not to worry too much over her.

"I really am sorry I snapped liked that," he said, once Riza had left. He stood at his desk for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, still calming down his frayed nerves. "I just do worry a lot about you. And I know you know how to take care of yourself." He moved and sat on the bed, next to his friend. "But I also know you're a lot like me - you're a damn stubborn bastard sometimes. And I know I'm willing to push myself further than I should unless someone knocks some sense into me." He offered a weak grin to Roy.

"But if we're going to be making a bid to get outside, we want to be well rested. We don't know what's gonna be out there. We want to be fresh, rested, and well armed. I'm missing a knife, you've already used alchemy, Hawkeye doesn't have anything but her flashlight..." He shook his head. "And while I do want to keep you here for my own nefarious purposes, I do think it'd be a better idea to head for the entry way and outside after we've had time to rest up and plan."

That was teasing, accompanied by a slightly warmer smile.

Roy normally would have jotted the room number down as well, but Hughes had it under control and he had managed to find himself laying on the bed as opposed to sitting. He'd been resisting that before, but now that it had been established that he wasn't going anywhere, what was the point? Besides, as uncomfortable as the beds tended to be, it felt like it was made of feathers at the moment.

Glancing over when Hughes sat next to him, he nodded. "I know. You really are a hypocrite, though. Telling me not to push myself when you did just that and got yourself killed, if I remember correctly." It may have been a low blow to bring that up, but he was talking about it in a light tone, which meant he didn't want Hughes to take it seriously.

"I got it," he grumbled when Hughes continued to make his point. He had already given in, so did his friend really have to keep pushing it? Really, rest didn't sound so bad now that it was an option. He wouldn't have minded falling asleep right then and there, but he got the feeling that Hughes might throw something at him if he closed his eyes.

"Plan. Right," he said skeptically, giving Hughes a small smile in return. "I doubt that's your top priority at the moment." He turned his gaze to the ceiling and exhaled. He really was exhausted, though.

"I never said I wasn't a hypocrite," Hughes said, chuckling. "I just said I know I'm damn stubborn unless someone knocks some sense into me. And then... well, I got smart and just didn't give anyone a chance to." He winked, taking the light jab for what it was. And besides, he could joke about it now. And it was better to joke about it.

"Oh, I didn't say we were going to plan tonight." Maes grinned, looking down at Roy. Who was laying on his bed. And they were alone. It was really too great of a temptation. Besides, he'd made his intentions clear. He wasn't about to waste an opportunity.

Shifting on the bed, Hughes leaned over, one hand on either side of Roy so he was half stretched out over the other man. He was still grinning as he shifted further, to straddle Roy's legs with his own - on his hands and knees over his friend.

"If you'll remember, we had other plans for tonight? Or are you gonna blow me off again?" Maes chuckled, wanting to be certain Roy knew he was just teasing.

"Maybe I should learn from your example," Roy said, giving into the tiredness and allowing one eye to close. If he wasn't careful, the other would follow, but it wasn't his fault they were just refusing to stay open at the moment. Maybe he had been pushing himself too hard. He just hadn't ever taken a moment of rest, so he hadn't been able to realize it.

Before he could even respond to that insinuation, Hughes had moved so that he was on top of him, staring down, and suddenly Roy felt much more awake. Hughes being in close proximity to him did have that effect.

Other plans, right. It had been vague, but they both knew what it meant. There was really no reason why they shouldn't, except for the fact that Fullmetal might be showing up, but Hughes had said that he doubted that would happen.

Still, he felt like it was his duty to give Hughes a hard time, and so he gushed out, quite dramatically, "But I'm so tired!" He pulled his hand up, placing the back of it to his forehead as he sighed.

"Lemme guess, you've got a headache, too?" Hughes shook his head and wrapped his fingers around Roy's wrist, pulling the hand away from his face. "It just so happens I know a tried and true home remedy that takes care of tiredness and headaches." He grinned, voice lowered an octave as he looked down at Roy beneath him. He kept his fingers around Roy's wrist, pinning him beneath him.

"And you'll sleep like the dead afterwards," he went on, leaning down so his forehead was against Roy's. It was still so strange and new, to be like this with his best friend. To be so intimate, to want to be so intimate. To look at Roy and to want the sort of things he'd never wanted with another man before.

But he did want Roy like that. Even now, he couldn't hold himself back from finally, finally giving in to temptation. He titled his head, pressing his lips against Roy's in a firm and hungry kiss.

The alteration in Hughes' voice was indication enough that the man was tired of waiting. And really, why shouldn't they? Roy had always wanted this, and yet for some reason he'd been looking for all sorts of way to avoid it. It was true that usually, there were other things they should have been focusing on, but for once, maybe he could just allow this to happen.

Not that he had much of a chance of putting up a fight, anyway. He was already tired, so that gave Hughes an immediate advantage, not to mention the other man was on top of him, and it wouldn't be very easy to simply push him away.

Though he got the feeling if he really protested, Hughes would back off, there was no reason to protest. In fact, there was more reason to comply. The situation wasn't nearly as strange for him as it had to be for Hughes, either. He'd been thinking up such scenarios for years now.

The only difference was that this time it was real. So when Hughes kissed him, he finally let both eyes close and returned the kiss with fervor, wasting no time in adding tongue to deepen it.

Hughes hadn't entertained the notion that Roy would protest once they got to this stage. He didn't think the idea would even go through he other man's mind, and so he was oblivious to what was going through the other man's mind. All he knew was that Roy was kissing him back, just as wanting and just as hard.

He was more than eager to deepen the kiss, his own tongue meeting Roy's as he flexed his fingers, reaching to twine them with Roy's against the pillow. His other hand came up to cup the side of Roy's, stroking against the other man's skin and through his hair.

This was almost like the first time, the same strange sensations of sharp angles where he was used to softness, of hard muscle where he was used to smooth curves. But they were Roy's angles and muscle, and it was Roy's lips against his, and somehow that made it all the better. It wasn't just sex, it wasn't just the physical. It went deeper than that, and Hughes made a small noise against Roy's lips and gripped his hand tightly. As though trying to communicate everything he was thinking in those simple touches.

For Roy, the hardness of Hughes' body pressing against him was not strange. He had experienced it both ways - the softness of the female figure and the rigidity of the male one - and had long ago decided on which he preferred.

It didn't mean he disliked women, not by any means, and he had never stopped being flirtatious and charming toward them. Partly for the ego boost and partly because he hadn't needed anyone back in Amestris questioning his sexuality.

Here it was easier to keep it secret. Even if it did get out to a few others, it certainly wouldn't be as much of an issue. So Roy was able to truly enjoy this, not having worry lingering in the back of his mind the entire time.

Hughes' communication came through, and he could tell just how much this meant to the other man. It was as he had always expected; with someone like Hughes, it couldn't only be about the sex. There had to be so much more to it than that, and Roy was hardly complaining. If there had been no feeling in this, there was a good chance he wouldn't have wanted it at all.

His hands moved up to touch at Hughes' back, grabbing onto the cloth of his shirt as if he needed something to hold onto.

It was strange, really. Hughes thought that he would have felt some sense of guilt. Not rational guilt - he didn't feel this was anything he should be guilty of - but that irrational guilt that cropped up no matter what. But it wasn't there.

This was right. There was no other way Hughes could see it. Here, with Roy, this was right. And he wanted this, he wanted this badly.

"Take it off," Hughes urged, his lips pulling back from Roy's for just a moment, when the other man's hand grabbed onto his shirt. His voice was deep and rough with want and need. He took the moment to pull off his glasses, setting them aside. Already he was flushed, his eyes bright with desire.

"Let's do this right, huh?" he teased slightly, running a hand through his hair.

It would have been just as easy for Roy to decide it wasn't his place to be doing this, that he was betraying his friend somehow by allowing it to happen, but Hughes was obviously okay with it...

And frankly, at this point, he was tired of second-guessing himself.

Any shred of doubt was chased away when he opened his eyes at the order, only to see how the need practically radiated off of his...

His friend. He'd kept fighting for another word now that their relationship had shifted slightly, but he decided it wasn't necessary. They were still friends, and they always would be.

"Yeah," he nodded, slightly more serious about the situation. His hands moved to Hughes' front and then down, taking the bottom of his shirt by the hem and starting to yank it up over his head.

Hughes stretched, lifting his arms so Roy could easily remove the shirt. Hughes leaned back, kneeling to straddle the other man's hips. He just stayed there for a moment, his shirt dropped to the floor, and looked at Roy.

It wasn't like the other man hadn't seen him shirtless before, but it was different now. They were in bed, not as friends or drinking buddies, but as lovers. And these things didn't need to be rushed. Hell, he didn't want to rush. He wanted to explore Roy's body with his hands, to know it as intimately as he knew his own, as he knew Gracia's. He wanted to savor this.

It was well worth savoring.

"That's better," Hughes said, lips twisted into a crooked smile. He reached out and hooked a finger in the collar of Roy's shirt, and licked his lips. "Now how about you?"

It was time to get to that exploring.

It was different. And really, even though they had gotten this intimate once before, Roy had been under the influence of too much strong liquor. He couldn't even remember if they'd actually removed their shirts that time.

This time, though, he could actually appreciate it. He wasn't shy about letting his eyes scan Hughes' chest, no longer hidden by that ridiculous smiley face. Even though they were in the same shower room together, he had spent the last few times avoiding his friends.

Because...

At Hughes' suggestion that he remove his own shirt, Roy suddenly seemed uncomfortable when he had been at ease before. Hughes knew all about how he had changed, thanks to Greed's outburst the other day, but it was still a touchy subject for the alchemist.

Or was he more homunculus than alchemist now?

Either way, he didn't listen to that suggestion, and seemed almost ashamed of his cowardice.

"Making me do all the work myself?" Hughes just grinned, but his words were soft. He could take a guess as to why Roy was hesitant to remove clothes, but it really wasn't an issue for Maes. He reached down, sliding his hands under Roy's shirt to move across his stomach, running his palms along the alchemist's skin.

"Probably better. This way, I can take my time with it," he said, bending down to capture Roy's lips in a quick but searing kiss. His hands urged up the hem of Roy's shirt, slowly, as Hughes sought more and more of the other man's bare skin. He'd touched Roy before, but not like this. Not with such intent.

Maes was breathing strongly now, his stomach fluttering with anticipation as his fingers slowly explored Roy's stomach and chest, firm and insistent and not wanting to miss any bit of flesh. His own body was reacting, warming, and his own need was making itself very insistently known.

"But you are gonna have to sit up a little," he reminded, breathing against Roy's cheek as he finally actually took the hem of the shirt in his hands.

"It's not that," Roy responded quietly. Leave it to Hughes to take his anxiety and make it something insignificant. Not that doing so was a bad thing. Roy knew that he tended to let his worrying get the best of him, when it really wasn't that big of a deal.

He would have continued to explain himself, but Hughes seemed to be taking matters into his own hands. He wasn't exactly removing his clothing, per se, but he was exposing his marked skin nonetheless. His mismatched eyes looked down, watching as Hughes' hands traveled over his torso. His friends' skin tone contrasted with his own - and it was possible he'd become somewhat paler as one of the alterations.

That may have been a trick of the light, however.

It was easy to see that Hughes was ready for this. No matter how apprehensive his friend might be, his body was responding, which spoke volumes. This didn't bother him. Not the fact that they were both men, not even that Roy wasn't human anymore.

So why couldn't he feel the same way? There was no denying that it felt good, but he wasn't as into it as he should have been.

Roy sighed, sitting up as he was told, but grabbing for one of Hughes' wrists as he forced eye contact. "You're sure you know what you're doing?" he asked, even though he was fairly certain of the answer.

He paused, glanced away. "You know what I am now?"

Hughes met Roy's eyes without blinking, his free hand resting on his friend's stomach. Roy was going to push it. He glanced down, eyes traveling over the bare skin of the slimmer man's torso, making out the markings that hadn't been there a couple of weeks ago. He let his free hand move, to run upwards along one, slowly. He didn't flinch away from the different colored skin, from the lines that he knew belonged on a homunculus. Because it was Roy, and Roy was many things, but he wasn't a homunculus. He just had... a couple of homunculus-esque features, that was all.

"Roy," Maes finally said, leaning to press his forehead against his friends. "I know exactly what you are. You're my best friend, you're my partner, you're the guy that I'm in love with. You really think something like this bothers me? It's still you, Roy. A funny colored eye and a couple of tattoos aren't gonna change that." He reached up to run his fingers through Roy's hair, his smile soft. He hadn't realized this was going to be quite a stumbling block.

"I love you and I want you." He sighed. "So... it's up to you, Roy. I know what I want, and I know what you are. But as much as I want you.... If you aren't ready, just say the word."

And he prayed to any god that was listening that Roy didn't take him up on that option.

M1-M10 Hall, Outside M5, Nightshift 22

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