FMA Unfaithful Sins

Ch1: Suspicions

Spoilers: To anyone who hasn't dug deep in the dirt for character info, I'm sorry for any revelations I may include. I'll do my best to beat around the bush on who's actually who, and won't mention names, but you can draw your conclusions from the descriptions. I honestly don't even know if what my Resource has told is true, but it sounds legit, so just prepare for the worst.

Disclaimer: Don't own FMA, don't own the Seven Sins, terminology, or whatever other crap there is to NOT claim as my own.

And to pose the question, what did Envy mean when he said that they were "born" & not "created?"

But I do own my characters; Ingrid Harm, Gretchen Harm, Troy Harm, Nan, Roselyn (pronounced Ros-lyn), Malachy, Unfaithfuls, and Grief, and anyone else that doesn't sound like they belong regularly in the FMA series. I'm also adding in another town that doesn't exist for background purposes –Viminal, named after one of the Seven Hills of Rome seven low hills on the east bank of the Tiber, on and about which Rome was originally built.

Summary: How wanting too much can cost more than just a life.

Characters/ pairings: Gretchen Harm/Troy Harm/ Nan, Pride/Unfaithful, Havoc/Ingrid, Greed/Grief, and I'm out for now –just supplying out some future framework.

A future apology if I don't get to any direct FMA plots/characters within the first chapters, kay? And also for taking my sweet-assed-time to get to the main points.

Chapter 1

Suspicions

This is a few years before FMA takes place, in Viminal.

"Troy, honey?" A slender feminine figure stood respectfully in the doorway, one arm hanging casually while they other was crooked and held on at the elbow. A young man in his late twenties took a reluctant last look at his opened book, and turned his attention to her, a wistful smile breaking his usual scowled frown. It had seemed like years since had had last lain his eyes on his wife when in reality it had only been a handful of hours.

"Yes dear, what is it?" He said in an almost inaudibly pained whisper, taking off his glasses to clean them and wipe his weary eyes. It looked like he had been crying again, almost certainly thinking of Roselyn and all.

A year or so ago, Gretchen had finally become pregnant after many miscarriages, but the life of their newborn daughter was cut short by her sudden death. She was brought into the world tiny, underweight and helpless, but none the less brought unyielded joy to both parents, and none more joy was brought than to her father, Troy. No one in Viminal could ever recall seeing a man so charmed by his little girl.

Ever.

After her life had been stolen away to the other world, Troy and Gretchen were heartbroken and the foundation of their marriage began to crack. The void that sweet Roselyn had left was too great to be filled by any means, and soon Gretchen and Troy grew distant and cold toward one another, despite how they tried to hide the truth from the rest of the community.

It had also been around this time that Troy had taken a much deeper interest in his alchemy, and busied himself with books in place of his life as a watchmaker and craftsman. He had been experimenting with alchemy before to help generate elaborate devices and trinkets, becoming better with each creation. Gretchen began to spend her time under the "apprenticeship" of a local doctor Malachy, brushing up her botanical knowledge in hopes of finding out herbal remedies for her infertility and problems during pregnancies.

With a sleepy swagger, he pushed himself out of his wooden chair and crossed the room to his wife, slipping an arm around her waist and kissing her forehead. A light sigh and smile escaped her lips, and with a bashful blush she let her eyes meet with his. There is still that sorrow in his light blue eyes, a longing sadness that poisoned his once joyous soul and gnawed away at his every thought. But it would soon change, or so she hoped.

"Troy…I'm pregnant" she stammered.

"……………"

There was a brief flash of what looked to be anger, but it melted into what now looked like disappointment. A frown returned and he glanced back at his books, as if all of his studying had been in vain. A nervous hand met the back of his head as he distanced himself from Gretchen with a half step, inhaling as if wanted to say something in response to the good news, but the words never formulated. Instead he looked at her with dead eyes, as if something had just been ripped from his hands and thrown so hard that it had shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Aren't you, aren't you going to say anything dear? Is something wrong?" she pleaded, a hand brought to her mouth in hurt. She hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

It was another long moment before anything happened.

"Troy?"

"Uh, no Gretchen, it's nothing. I'm happy. I really am happy. It was just a bit sudden, that's all." He forced a convincing smile, "I love you darling." he murmured into her ear, again pulling her into his arms and burying his face into her hair. He missed her smell, her softness, the presence of her at his side. He didn't want to lose her to…no, no more of those thoughts. Not now at least. This could be his one moment of solitude with her.

"I've really missed you sweetheart." he said softly, reaching for her waist and unfastening the last button to her light yellow blouse. Her fingers wrapped around each strap of his suspenders and trickled down to the ends, tugging suggestively in the direction towards their bed, an inviting smile welcoming him in.

"I know Troy, I've missed you too."

---

"Are you going to tell her?" cooed the soft worried voice of a woman.

"How can I, Nan? Do you really expect me to tell her something like that?"

"Look at you Troy; you're a wreck. You've been worrying yourself sick over this, and frankly, I'm concerned. I'm genuinely concerned about your health." The woman called Nan, let out a short heaved sigh before she continued.

"It can't be good for you to pour over those books day and night. And do this. We need to end it here."

"What?" he looked up, dazed by her suddenness.

"You see, it would be suspicious if…"

"What are you trying to say Nan?"

"That, I…"

-Some months later-

Troy Harm stormed into the kitchen, grabbing Gretchen by the wrist and whirling her around so fast she nearly tripped over her own feat and fell.

"You've been screwing Malachy!" he screamed in a jealous rage.

"Wha…?"

"You've been screwing Malachy!" his voice shook with the most confidence that she hadn't heard at all. Even before they were engaged, he was always shy and reserved. She had never seen him so enraged before, especially over such a false accusation.

"What the hell's wrong with you Troy!"

"You cheating trothless whore!" he snapped, purely outraged at his wife.

"How can you say that! I love you Troy! You know I would never think of doing anything hurtful to you."

"Well apparently you and I both thought wrong, because I know what you've been doing behind my back. And DON'T even THINK of trying to tell me different."

"Who said this? What's gotten into you?"

"Explain to me, how suddenly after spending all of this time over at his house that you're suddenly with child and without problems?"

His voice broke into a sob of pain, tears beginning to trail down his pale cheeks, "What about little Roselyn? How could you forget so easily about her? Her little smiling face of innocence, the joy of her every breath. Faithless wench, how could you so readily go to another man's bed? The nerve you have, deceiving me to believe that that child which you carry is mine. You are lost to shame and dead to honor."

"Troy, let me explain-" she began, trying not to let the fear show in her voice.

"Explain what? How you've gotten away with this whole affair for so long? I thought something like this was so beneath you, but here it is, before my very own eyes."

Gretchen's eyes grew wide as she saw the crumpled piece of paper clenched in his one fist.

"N, no, it's nothing like that. It's not what you think." she stuttered, backing into the counter.

"What is it then?" he muttered in a threatening tone, holding out the note still held tightly in his hand.

"…Malachy, he…he started coming onto me. Always wrote me little humorous poems, offered me help when I was studying, bought me the supplies I needed to experiment with. That's all, and nothing more." she took a deep breath to steady her nerves and hold back the hate that broiled deep inside her gut.

"That, right there, is my letter to him, because he asked me, how, if he couldn't have me, could woo a young woman. That right there, is…instructions if you will. Yes, instructions,"

Now her voice was firm with self assurance. "…instructions, not some willed out fantasy for a friend, or a mistress."

Troy's face blanched almost pure white, as if he had seen a ghost from a haunting memory lost to his subconscious. He knew well what Gretchen was talking about.

"Don't think that I don't know what you were doing behind my back Troy."

Draw dropped in disbelief, he was speechless to her acclaim.

"I would've been fine with your affair, even if you hadn't informed me about it. But you said nothing about her having your kid! A son no less, a son…"

All the fury in her voice had collapsed into a sob, one that caused her chest and stomach to wrench in horrid pain as she put a hand to her forehead to push back the damp strands of dark hair.

"Is, is that it? I've lost my appeal to you? That I'm not good, or worthy enough to keep you faithfully by me? To have your loyalty? Your love? Which is it Troy? Which is it?"

Troy stumbled back until his hand rested on a chair which he pulled up and sat upon, sinking deep into the seat. He buried his face in his hands, fingers entwining in his sandy colored hair. An odd moment of silence elapsed.

"I couldn't take it, after Roselyn died. I couldn't bear the thought, having another child. I couldn't replace Roselyn, and I wouldn't let that happened between us. I know, it was selfish of me, for wanting that. That's why I didn't go to you often, cause once I thought that I could let it go, I saw you, and all that pain came back. Nan was there for me, and then I couldn't let go of her either. She broke it off after she told me she was expecting with my kid. I'm sorry Gretchen."

When he looked up, the tears were flooding his dull eyes. The same tears that had fallen when Roselyn was born, and when she had died. They were the ultimate form of sincerity.

Gretchen, wiped her own tears away and approached Troy, kneeing before him and lifting his head with both hands.

"We'll make this work, somehow, we will…"

That concludes my first chapter. Sorry if it seemed uneventful, but I think it beats tons of flashbacks that would totally confuse my audience. Next chapter should introduce 2 and a half homunculus, one straight from the creation table.

If you have any questions, comments, or trash talk (please justify if so), feel free to e-mail me off premises and I'll try to get back ASAP.

Does anyone have any pointers for what its like to create a homunculus? They claim they were "given birth to," so what's up?