1914

He slipped in through the open window. He knew undoubtedly that it would be open—it always was. He had asked her to keep it open for him, although it was more like a command. Still, it was easier to keep an eye on her if he was inside. Perhaps she believed that they had some sort of those companionships humans always yearned for. Did she think that they had even developed a…friendship? Whatever, he didn't care. As long as she didn't bother him about it and it made it easier for him to watch her carefully, then it was fine with him. He really hoped that she wouldn't ask him to do any of those things that humans did with their friends though, ugh. Like staying at her house all night or helping her. That was a real laugh. Him, helping her? He was basically grooming her like a farmer plumping a pig for slaughter, and she didn't even know it. It made him chuckle at the thought. These humans. They were so stupid.

She had definitely not heard him come in, as she was still waiting under her covers. A small light from beneath the sheets told him that she was reading. That was another strange habit of hers. Why would humans waste precious beauty sleep to do something so mundane as reading? What was so interesting about a bunch of words and letters splayed across the page like a pool of blood flooding a room? He could never figure it out. Perhaps he never would.

He grinned, realizing that her guard was down and she was vulnerable. He could have a little fun.

Quickly and quietly, he slipped under the sheets at the foot of her bed and crawled in. His prey still hadn't noticed him, completely absorbed with the words on the page. He crawled until he was right next to her, and then quickly, he came into the range of her flashlight.

"Boo."

Oh, it was so fun to watch her! She jumped almost three inches, her face the epitome of fright! He couldn't help but laugh, it was just too comical.

"Shhh, Envy! Don't scare me like that!" She scolded. "I could have screamed, and then Jacob would have heard it and come from downstairs!"

He grinned. "He wouldn't have. I would have covered your mouth before you could even make a sound."

She sighed. He smirked and then looked at the cover of the book she was currently so entranced with. Romeo and Juliet, huh? What was that about?

"What are you looking at?"

He glanced up at her, his green hair brushing the top of the white sheets. "Nothing. What's this book even about, anyway?"

She looked at him before turning her head back to the pages. She smiled, and he felt a strange thud in his chest. A strange thing happened to him whenever she smiled...he felt warm all of the sudden. Must have been some alchemy thing. "It's called Romeo and Juliet. It's about two lovers whose families are torn apart by a feud, and so they can't be together. And yet, under the protection of the moon, they still find a way to get married and consummate their love."

Envy wrinkled his nose up. "Sounds like a typical human love story."

Rachel smiled again. "It almost is, except better. I love it to death, but I was never fond of the ending."

"How does it end?"

Rachel sighed. "Juliet is waiting for her love, but her family wants her to marry someone else, so to get out of it she drinks a potion that makes it look like she's dead. A messenger was supposed to tell Romeo that she really isn't, but he never reached him, so when he finds her he thinks she's dead too, and he commits suicide. Then Juliet wakes up, and she sees Romeo dead, and so she decides to kill herself too."

"Now that sounds like a good story."

"But it doesn't have a happy ending. I like stories better when they have happy endings."

Envy rolled his eyes, propping up his head with his arm. "You humans are so niave. Happy endings don't exist. They never have and they never will. To think anything else is just to kid yourself."

"That can't be true…"

"It is, Rachel. No matter what, remember this: happy endings are impossible. That's a fact."
1920

It had been four years since Promised Day. Rachel was now twenty, and had been working in the Military Academy to join the military. They had rented a small apartment, with the help of Rachel's cousin Jacob. The rest of the living homunculi had gone on to live their own lives. Despite the growing tensions with Drachma, if Envy had been walking along the streets by himself, he would have said that everything in Amestris looked fine. He was with a girl, a human girl yes, but a pretty one and one who wasn't as boring as the others. Everything was going fine with her too.

That is, until Rachel had graduated out of the Academy and into the position of a Private Alchemist, just as the tensions with Drachma turned into riots. It was then that Envy began to notice small changes in the human girl with whom he now lived with.

Before graduating, Rachel had come home from the Academy, telling Envy about what they were studying and complaining a bit about the students in her class who didn't do any work. She even laughed as she told him some of the funny moments that happened when a few students got a bit bored with just doing work. Envy would sometimes listen, occasionally smirking or making comments, but mostly he would watch her tell the stories, amused with how she talked and laughed. He watched her tell her stories with delight and vent with frustration, and almost the whole time the one subconscious thought going through his mind was that she was not as bad as some of the other humans he had talked to. In fact, if he was in a decidedly un-Envy like mood, he would almost admit to her that he thought of her as attractive.

Usually after that, she would stop talking and would go over to her dresser to change out of her uniform. She would then either make dinner in their very small corner of a kitchen or would go to grab her bag and coat, leading Envy out to dinner. Throughout dinner she was quieter, but she would still talk with that special vivaciousness that was particular to Rachel alone. Envy would not chatter nearly as much as her, but he would still talk to her, sometimes to agree with her or answer a question. After dinner they would go to the sofa or the bed, and Envy would listen to the radio while Rachel would snuggle against him and read a book. There were even a few special times that he would turn off the radio, and turn to look at her as she continued being absorbed in whatever science or literature she was reading. He would quietly put his left arm around her, while the other one would lay on top of her body, allowing him to rub her stomach with his hand. At night, she changed into pajamas and snuggled under the covers with him, putting her glasses on the nightstand before wrapping her small arms around him, pecking his lips and going to sleep. He had to admit, although never out loud, that he liked to hold her at night, drifting off to sleep with the feeling of the top of her head snuggled just under his chin.

But after she graduated, her superior officer immediately gave her, along with one other alchemist and several others from her command office, the job of quieting the rioting Drachmans. Every day she would be sent out to..."silence" groups of Drachmans in Amestris, the ones roaming the streets and shouting and firing weapons. It was a disturbing and dangerous job for any normal rookie, but Envy told himself that Rachel would be able to handle it.

However, as time passed he began to notice disturbing changes in Rachel's behavior. She never talked about her day anymore. In fact, when she came home, she was often very tired, and silent. They never went out to a restaurant; she always said that she was just too tired. All through dinner, instead of chattering away and laughing, she was completely quiet, not saying a word. And she never ate as much as she used to; Envy noticed that she always left food. After dinner, she would go directly to bed, turning with her back to Envy. She wouldn't wrap her arms around him, and she wouldn't snuggle close to him at all. It was so different from what she used to be.

Envy told himself not to think about it. After all, the girl couldn't be expected to be super happy all the time; she had lost her parents as a young child. Still, Envy couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with his little alchemist-in-training. He couldn't figure out what though. Oh well, who was he to obsess about it. Sometimes things went a little badly, that's all. He was as foolish as humans were if he thought everything had a happy ending.

Then, one day, it all changed. Rachel came home and took off her jacket. Envy never bothered to help her anymore, as she would always shrug him off and mumble "I'm fine." Taking off her jacket when she came home was not an unusual practice in their apartment, but Envy, who was sitting on the small sofa trying to decipher one of Rachel's alchemy books, noticed something as she removed an article of her clothing: a small bruise, just on her neck.

Envy stared. Rachel always came home with a bit of blood on her clothing, and a few bruises, but this one was...odd. It was a certain type of bruise. Not the kind that one obtains from being hit with rocks from a falling building or from fighting civilians, but from passion.

As Rachel took off her boots, Envy kept staring. He tried to remember if he had been in any way intimate with Rachel recently. No, as far as he could remember, Rachel had been cold and distant, and recently wouldn't even have let him put an arm around her, saying immediately, "I don't feel like it, En."

Slowly, Envy began feeling the sin for which he was named boil deep in his stomach; he shoved it down. He was always quick to jump on things. Maybe Rachel had been hit with a particularly fast and small pebble, or a fighting Drachman had bitten her in an attempt to fight back.

Envy forgot all about it, and the bruise healed. However, several nights later, Envy got a phone call from Rachel.

"Hello?"

"Hi Envy."

"Rach? What's up? Did something happen?"

"Oh, nothing much En...I just came back from a mission, and Mustang wants me to stay late to work on some paperwork for him. You know how he is."

Envy felt the corners of his mouth turn up. She was almost making a joke. It was a bit like the old Rachel. "Heh. Yeah, I know. So you're going to be coming back late?"

"Er, yeah."

"Okay, that's fine. You sure you won't get hungry though?"

"It's okay, I'll eat when I get home."

"You sure? I could go to the old Xingese man's place and get something to bring over to you-"

"N-NO!"

Envy started a bit. Now that was odd.

Rachel began talking again, in a much calmer voice. "I-I mean...thanks but no thanks. The General just put a new rule out that we're not allowed to eat in the office. T-that's all."

"Um, okay. I'll have stuff waiting for you when you get home then."

"Thanks, En. Look, I have to go. I'll see you later, 'Kay?"

"Mkay."

"...er. Sure. Alright, bye."

The line went dead. Envy put the handle of the phone back in the crib, still slightly surprised. She had seemed so indignant to not have him bring over anything. Something was going on...

Envy sighed and shook his head. He really was Envy the Jealous if he was going crazy over this. She was really stressed out, that's all. You couldn't blame her. Her job was very hard.

Still, Envy ate dinner that night and went to bed with the feeling of uneasiness lingering in his gut.

The next few months passed without incident. The winter months came upon Central City, and soon the ground was covered in a blanket of pure white snow. Holiday cheer was already infecting several of the cities residents, and bright strings of lights hung over the doorways of shops, illuminating the growing number of people who came in and out. However, all was not so cheery with Envy. The "late nights" of Rachel became more and more frequent. Every time, Envy would always hang up feeling strangely uneasy. No matter how much he told himself that Rachel wouldn't ever do anything that bad, that she wasn't that type of person, the knot in his stomach grew and grew. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He had to find out if Rachel was really cheating.

One morning, as Rachel was just ready to rush out the door, Envy grabbed her arm. She turned to him, shocked.

"E-en?..." She squeaked. "What is I-it?"

He was silent for a moment, staring at her. Her short hair was in a tight bun, a few stray pieces of hair sticking out from the top. The winter season had kissed her face with a soft redness, flushing her cheeks and paling her lips. Her blue eyes looked up at him, so full of life and confusion, before looking down again, as he caught a glimpse of shame.

He reaches behind her head and pulled her hair out from the bun, causing her to let out a small squeak. Her brown locks, free from the prisons of her hair tie, fell around her shoulders. He put the hair tie in his pocket and smiled at her, reaching his hand up. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and she looked up at him again, her eyes in disbelief.

"I always thought you looked a lot better with your hair down." He said. She blinked, and he chuckled a bit, trying not to show the sadness within him.

"You remember. Like in the old days?"

Her eyes widened. He knew she knew what he was talking about. The days of Father, the days of when she first cut her hair...the days when she was just a young girl, a potential Lust. The days when, although just a very short time ago in his very long life, he also felt as if he was much younger than now.

She stared at him. She looked down again, and he was a bit surprised to see tears fall from her once-lively blue eyes.

"Y-yeah...t-those were very different days, weren't they-" her voice cracked and she accidentally let out a small sob. He started and took her into his arms, stroking her hair as she buried her face within his chest.

"Hey, hey! Easy! What's got you so worked up all of the sudden?"

He felt her crying into the skimpy top of his uniform, even going as far as to silently scream. He pulled her out in front of him, looking at her. She wiped the snot and tears from her face, hiccuping her words out.

"I-it's just that...I-I always wish for the old d-d-days...w-when I didn't have this horrid job, and this horrid l-li-" her voice cracked again and she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down, her efforts fruitless. She sobbed again. "I-I just wish that it was possible to have a happy ending…j-just once…"

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, and looked at her in the eyes. She glanced up at him through her glasses and bit her lip.

"Hey, listen. It sounds like you're really stressed, and I don't want that. Why don't you take this evening and tomorrow off? I'm sure Mustang won't mind...after all, it is Christmas."

She stared at him, wide-eyed. He hesitated, a little nervous for her answer. "And I would also like to spend some time with you...I haven't been seeing you a lot lately."

She fidgeted, sniffling and wiping her nose. Finally, she nodded. He smiled at her and let go of her arms.

"Great. I'll see you tonight then."

She nodded and turned to go out. Just before she did though, he decided to call out one last thing.

"What's his name?"

She stopped. He could see her shaking a little. She didn't turn around, choosing instead to hang her head.

"Daniel."

He nodded, feeling the ever-familiar anger and jealousy build in his gut at the name. He shoved it down.

"Tonight, Rachel, can you do me a favor and not think about Daniel? At least for tonight. Even if it's just for tonight." After a moment of silence, he added, "Please?"

Slowly, she nodded.

"Have a good day at work."

She didn't answer, disappearing out the door.

He smoothed down his clothes. He had decided to shift out of his normal attire in favor for an outfit that blended in better. As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he forced himself to be calm. He didn't know why he felt like puking. He was Envy the Jealous, who had watched people being gutted alive without even flinching. Why was he shaking like this?

Suddenly, he heard the door open. He turned to the front of the apartment to see Rachel. She took off her jacket, shaking off the snow. Her uniform was stained with dark substances.

She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Change of style?"

He grins. "Sort of." Goddammit, why the hell was he so jittery? It must have been some human he ate a while ago. Yeah.

She smiled a little and moved past him, unbuttoning her uniform. He waited for her until she was changed before taking her arm and leading her out the door.

As they were walking, he took the chance to look at her again. She was glancing around the street, a bit chilly in her small black dress. He put his arm around her, and surprisingly, she laid her head on his shoulder.

Was the old Rachel ready to come back again?

"Ah, that dinner was so nice!" Rachel sighed, closing the door the door of their apartment behind her.

Envy grinned. "I'll say. You looked like you were having a great time." It was true. Rachel had been laughing and smiling the whole time. It was very reminiscent of how things used to be.

Rachel beamed back at him. "I was. I had the time of my life."

Envy chuckled. Then he remembered the last part of the night that he had planned for them. He gulped, his smile wavering. This could turn out very well...or very badly.

"I have another surprise for you," he said, taking Rachel by the arm.

Rachel looked at him. "Another? My my, aren't we just full of surprises this Christmas."

He nodded, trying to laugh. "Close your eyes. I'll lead you."

She nodded and closed her eyes, a warm smile on her face. She squeezed Envy's arm, indicating that she was ready.

He took a deep breath and led her into their small bedroom. He positioned her so that she was standing with her back directly facing the bed. "Alright, sit."

She did so. He gulped and reached into his pocket. "Alright, open your eyes."

She did. A gasp fled from her lips.

Before her, Envy was kneeling. He held a small box in his hand, a velvet, rounded, opened cube draped in navy blue. And inside that small box, was a ring made of braided silver and gold strands, with three small amethysts in the middle.

"Rachel, I...I've been with you for a while. You've made me so happy, in ways I could have never envisioned. I've been meaning to do this for a really long time, and I know this is out of character for me...and...damn, I'm starting to babble like an idiot..."

Rachel didn't say a word, staring the whole time Envy was talking, with her hands covering her mouth. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes...

"I...I don't d-deserve you..." Her voice was shaky and weak as she said these words. Envy stopped and looked at her.

"What do you mean, Rach?"

She looked at him before turning away, squeezing her eyes shut. "I c-cheated on you...and yet...y-you...you propose to me..."

"You make it sound as though you don't want to."

She flinched. "No, no! That's not what I meant, but I…I-I…I can't…"

There was a pause. Suddenly, Rachel felt a warm hand envelope her own. She turned and was shocked to see that Envy was actually staring up at her with pure, unbridled warmth. The expression was one more often seen on the face of any other human, but Rachel had never seen it on the façade of the usually stoic homunculus.

He spoke, his voice clear and steady. As he talked, Rachel felt her heart beat faster, and her eyes simply got wider. "Rachel, you have and you continue to make me very happy. I just…every time I spend time with you, I have the time of my life. It sounds almost disgustingly corny and human, but…you… you are the one person I would love to spend the rest of my life with…"

She stared at him; her eyes were wide and her upper lip trembling. Envy sighed and a rubbed her hand.

"I…I know that you…did…a thing with this Daniel guy…and I can't deny that I hate that. I always will. But…" He looked up into her eyes, a spark of determination infused with his sharp, purple gaze. Rachel started and almost moved back a little, his stare was so strong. "Rachel, the past is the past. I know that you never meant to hurt me, and whatever pain made you to do what you did, I hope that I can help you with it…and…god, I want to tell you so many things, but I…I should just say it…" he took a deep breath and held out the ring.

"Rachel, I love you. Will you marry me?"

A small silence followed, with Rachel just staring at him. He began to feel another emotion that was unusual to him: nervousness. What if she said no? What if she had gone with that guy because she was sick of Envy? What if…

Suddenly, she opened her mouth. From her lips came a stutter and an intake of breath, before she whispered out the sweetest word Envy had ever heard in his very long life.

"Yes. Oh god, yes."

Apparently happy endings are possible after all.

A/N: OMIGOD this took forever…yeah. Anyway, sorry if the ending is a bit OOC, but I just had to do it. There were several parts where I could have made the whole thing rated M, but I decided not to. Go me!

So! Leave a review, a comment, favorite, follow, whatever floats your boat if you liked this as much as I liked writing it. Good luck and thanks for reading!