Roy Mustang’s apartment was a mess. Maes Hughes stepped over discarded clothing, books and various other things as he made his way through the living room.

“Roy? Hey! Roy? Your door was unlocked so I just let myself in…”

Damn it, Roy needed a maid. How could he live in a place like this? Just because he was a bachelor didn’t mean he had to live like one.

“Are you home?”

“Just a minute!” Roy didn’t sound too happy. Hughes shoved aside a stack of papers and sat on the couch, a small box in his lap. He was nervous as all hell if he was perfectly honest with himself. He didn’t know if this was a good idea or if he should even be here or if Roy would be angry with him. But he’d made the decision and he was going to stick with it.

Roy came out of his bedroom, disheveled and disagreeable. Hughes frowned, watching his friend. Roy’s shirt was halfway buttoned and wrinkled and his hair was mussed, as though he’d been sleeping. But considering it was five o’clock in the afternoon, that seemed unlikely.

“What?” He was also snappy. Hughes licked his lips nervously and tried out a sheepish smile.

“Just thought I’d come by,” he said, all the words he’d planned to say leaving his mind.

“Don’t you have a date?” The snarl in Roy’s voice was unsettling.

“Uh, well…” Hughes tried again, calling up the small speech he’d practiced in front of the mirror. But it didn’t come. “No, actually.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“Yeah, I know. See, thing is…”

“You always have a date on Valentine’s Day.”

“And you never do,” Hughes pointed out. And he knew why, and he’d always known why, and Roy knew that he knew and it always caused a few days of awkwardness. But this year it was going to be different. If Roy would let him get a word in edgewise.

“I’m aware. I don’t need your pity, Maes.”

“Knock it off, Roy, I’m not here with pity.” Hughes stood up. “This whole self loathing thing is getting old.”

“If you have something you need, just tell me. I’m not fit for company right now.”

Hughes looked around discreetly to see if there were any bottles lying around. Maybe Roy had been drinking. But he hadn’t been, and his mood was nothing more than his usual Valentine’s Day sulk.

“Get yourself cleaned up, would you?” Hughes asked, holding the small box behind his back now.

“Why?”

“Because we’re going out.” The words were coming back, slowly. Hughes grabbed them and clung to them, afraid they’d slip away once more. He wasn’t used to this. He didn’t know what to do or how to proceed, but he was going to do his best. And if an hour in front of the mirror practicing didn’t help him, nothing could.

“I don’t want to go out, Maes. Go find some pretty woman to entertain you, she’ll be better company than me.” Under the words was something else, and Hughes read it clearly. Go find some pretty woman. That’s what you want.

“Yeah, well, I want your company tonight.”

“No, you don’t.” Roy sighed. “Maes, just go and enjoy yourself. Find a date and have a pleasant night. I’ll be fine.”

“See, that’s kind of why I’m here.” Hughes grinned but it was shaky, nervous. The grin of a twelve year old boy approaching his first crush, the grin of a shy child as he struggles to express himself. “I… damnit, I had a whole speech planned, too. Okay, look. I want us to go out. Tonight. On a date.”

There was silence. It stretched out between them like a sheet of glass, fragile and solid and transparent. Hughes held his breath, waiting for Roy to say something. But Roy just stood, staring at him, his expression blank. And then it tightened, anger flashing across his features that surprised Hughes.

“I don’t want your damned pity!” Roy yelled, his eyes narrowing.

“I already told you!” Hughes threw up a hand. “I’m not here for that! Look, how many years have we been dancing around this thing? Since we were kids, Roy. Since we were damn kids. It’s always been there. I’m not stupid and I’m not blind and neither are you. And I started thinking… well, it’s something. And it’s not just you, it’s something between us. Both of us, so it’s me too. And maybe it could be something great, if we let it. Maybe you could be the best thing that ever happened to me. How would I know? I can’t tell the future. But I know I care about you, and I know you’re something special and I know you love me. So I thought, why not try? If there’s something there, why ignore it? Why let something that could be the best thing ever slip away from us? So how about it. Come out with me tonight?”

“Maes…” Roy sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Just a date, Roy. Just to see what happens. To see if this can come to anything. I mean, at least we’ll know.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Roy said, slowly. “Maes, you like women.”

“Yeah, well, I like you too.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Roy sighed again. “I’m not a woman.”

“Gee, really?” Hughes rolled his eyes. The box had been dropped onto the couch during their conversation and Hughes shrugged. “If you’re worried about that, don’t be. What’s the big deal?”

“You really have to ask?” Roy raised his eyebrows.

“All I’m saying is if you think that’s gonna be the deal breaker, you aren’t thinking too clearly.”

“I just don’t think you’ve thought this through, Maes.”

“Okay, fine.” Hughes held up his hands in defeat. “We’ll settle this once and for all. Come’ere.”

“What?”

“Just come here. I’m not gonna stand around wasting time. Everywhere’s gonna be packed by the time I talk you into this, so let’s just settle it. Stop whining and get over here.”

Roy hesitated as though he was going to say something but he shook his head and crossed the distance between them, coming to stand before Hughes with an expression that was a mix of resignation and expectation.

Hughes nodded to himself and put his hands on Roy’s shoulders, suddenly not so sure about how to do this. Roy was looking up at him, and Hughes just watched him for a moment. He’d never noticed how dark Roy’s eyes were, or how high his cheekbones were. Roy was, Hughes admitted, a handsome man.

He could do this. How different could it be, really? Closing his eyes, Hughes tilted his hand and brushed his lips against Roy’s.

Roy had soft lips. Soft and thin, and Hughes considered them at length as he kissed them. Roy had kissable lips. Smooth lips, clean lips, lips that didn’t taste like cherries or strawberries and weren’t slick with cosmetics. And above all, Hughes decided, Roy had nice lips.

After a few moments Roy began to kiss him back, his hands resting on Hughes’ hips while his mouth moved in slow-motion. It wasn’t a particularly romantic kiss or a particularly coordinated kiss - Hughes was tall, Roy wasn’t, Hughes’ glasses kept getting in the way, neither man was too sure where to put his hands - but it was a <I>nice</I> kiss.

Hughes pulled Roy into an embrace, well aware that it wasn’t Roy’s lips that were a potential problem. It was the rest of him. Hughes tried very hard not to concentrate too much on this kiss - which was difficult, as Roy’s tongue was now doing rather interesting things - and concentrate on the lean, hard body that was now pressing up against him.

No, Roy wasn’t a woman. There were a handful of obvious arguments for that and one very prominent one that was now pressing into Hughes’ hip. Well, that was different. He could feel Roy tensing, trying to strain away, but Hughes held him firmly. If they were going to settle this, they were going to settle this. It wasn’t bad. Different, a little awkward, but not bad. It would probably have been different if it were anyone other than Roy, but it was Roy, and it was alright. Something that would take a little getting used to, but Hughes felt he was up to the challenge.

“Satisfied?” Hughes asked, pulling his lips away from Roy’s. Roy was still against him, warm and disheveled and very pointedly male.

“Point proven, I suppose. I’m going to regret this,” was Roy’s response, as he rested his head against Hughes’ shoulder. Roy felt good, in his arms. All of him, if Hughes was honest. Still strange, but definitely good.

“Stop being so damned bleak. Now go and clean up so I can take you out to dinner. Oh, and here. Happy Valentine‘s Day.” Hughes pulled away and grabbed the box, tossing it to Roy. It was wrapped in red paper with a white ribbon, and Roy stared at it a moment before opening it.

“Cufflinks?” Roy asked, raising his eyebrows and pulling out one of the gold and blue cufflinks from the box. “You got me cufflinks for Valentine‘s Day?”

“Of course I did.” Hughes grinned widely and adjusted his glasses, still flushed from kissing. “You are a guy.”