Title: The Forbidden Fruit
Author: Seaweed
Series: Either
Word count: 500
Rating: G
Characters: Roy and Maes, academy boys!
Summary: The forbidden fruit always tasted the sweetest.
The smell wafted into the air, a lazy haze of steam rising off the freshly baked pie on the windowsill of the commandant's house on the the edge of the military academy.
Lights Out would be soon, and the sun had just fallen past the edge of the horizon, cloaking the perpetrators in shadow. They snuck around the large, open yard, finding the best angle of attack.
“You sure this is a good idea, Hughes?”
“You heard what Wilson said. When he snatched old lady Browning's pie, it was so good that he ate the entire thing in less than five minutes.”
“If we get caught, we could get expelled.”
“But we aren't gonna get caught, Roy-Boy!” The young alchemist bristled as the bespectacled man put on the goofy grin that Roy knew meant that the argument was lost. Maes had picked up the nickname from his foster mother. Madame Christmas had called him Roy-Boy since he first came to live with her, and now his roommate took up the torch. Maes knew that it annoyed him to no end, which is why he did it as often as he could.
Maes started ahead, and Roy had no choice but to follow. They put their military training to use, belly-sliding along the grass until they were directly under the windowsill. Since Maes was taller, he reached his hand around the sill, keeping his body hidden underneath. He groped blindly until he felt the edge of the pie tin.
Ever so slowly, he pulled the still warm tin towards the edge of the sill. Silent, agonizing seconds went by, and finally they saw the edge of the silver tin hanging over the edge.
Just a little more, and it would be in his hands....
A sudden loud, angry barking made Maes drop it as it came over the edge. Thankfully his well honed reflexes allowed it to fall straight down into his waiting hands. In the couple of seconds that took, Roy had already been startled, turned, and started to run way.
“Hey!” Maes loudly called after his roommate. A heartbeat later he was off across the lawn. He wanted to be mad at Roy for running away first, but right now, he wanted to avoid getting mauled... or worse- expelled.
Neither of them slowed down until they got to their dorm room, locking the door behind them. They couldn't talk for a few minutes while they caught their breaths and let their racing hearts calm.
“Maes, you're gonna be the death of me.”
For a moment, Maes was quiet. He rifled around in his travel pack until he found what he was looking for, then he handed a fork to his roommate. “You do that, and I'll have the pie to myself!”
A hearty laugh was shared between them, and they dug into a pie that they would later both admit was the best they had ever tasted.
Forbidden fruit always tasted sweetest.