Title: Dare Me Once

Author: S J Smith-Evil_Little_Dog

Rating: Teen

Disclaimer: Don't I wish I owned something of this.

Summary: Roy wished he'd never taken that dare.

"How are we going to get out of this one?" Maes asked, wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his wrist.

"You lie," Roy said. "Or I'll lie." He raised up a little bit to glance over the concrete barricade. So far, they were safe. No one was shouting; no one was following them. Maybe they'd gotten away with it? No, it couldn't be that easy.

"Think anyone will believe us?" Maes didn't risk a look. Instead, he cleaned his fogging glasses.

"Hell, no," Roy said. Why had he let Jamison goad him into this, anyway? Stealing the female cadets' panties seemed like a fun idea at the time, but now, he wasn't sure how he and Maes could get away with it. "We need something foolproof."

Maes put his glasses back on, staring flatly at Roy. "We're the idiots; we've already proven it's not foolproof."

Roy snorted and risked another look. "Maybe I could transmute the underwear to something."

"Something like what?" Maes turned, resting his shoulder against the barricade.

"Like," Roy sifted through the panties. "A flag?"

"A flag."

"When you say it like that, it sounds stupid!"

Sighing, Maes thumped his head against the concrete. "It is stupid. We're stupid. Not only that, we don't have any way to get out of this free and clear."

"I already said, one of us lies, the other has his back," Roy said patiently, mentally drawing a transmutation circle to turn panties into a flag. Once he thought he had it, he traced the circle in the dirt. Dumping the panties next to the circle, he thought about it, and added a few more lines.

"Roy?"

"Shut up, Hughes."

"Roy."

The firm note in his friend's voice got his attention this time, and Roy looked up, and up, and into Sergeant Candice Harlan's narrowed eyes. "Eep."

"What are you doing, Private Mustang?" she roared.

It really wouldn't be a lie if he said, 'peeing his pants'. And Roy'd bet Maes would back him up on it, too. Really.

~ end ~