"What's going on Lust? Why are we hiding in the bushes?"
"Shush Gluttony! Be quiet or they'll hear us…"
"But Lust…I'm confused…and hungry…"
"Hush Gluttony, you can eat later. Now we must be stealthy…don't let them hear us! I want to see this for myself…Pride simply must be lying."
Lust quietly pushed forward through the forest underbrush towards a small clearing. Gluttony followed behind her; trying his best to mimic her silence. He felt like a bull in a china shop as he tried to move past bushes and tree limbs without hitting them. His tubby body was not the most ideal for this kind of stealth mission. All he wanted was to find something to eat…but Lust had dragged him along on this odd little side job. He still wasn't completely sure what was going on…but he'd gladly follow Lust anywhere.
Lust swore under her breath as she tried to tromp through the foliage. She would have to remember that if she ever needed to do something like this again…that she would have to lose the heels. But it was all worth it to see what was going on with Envy. Pride had casually told her something about him meeting up with a human in the very patch of woods she was now searching. Envy, willingly taking time to visit with a human? It was preposterous! Absurd! Of all the homunculi; Lust was sure that Envy despised humans the most. Sure they all hated them…but none of the others, herself included, often went out to specifically hunt down random humans for the fun of it. Envy was the only one who seemed to take a pleasure in that. Envy was admittedly the most depraved of their little 'family'…so the prospect of him secretly spending time with a human was incredibly far-fetched.
"Pride must have been joking around…he probably did this just to make me wander through this forest like an idiot. I'll hear all about it when I return home." Lust said aloud.
"What did Pride tell you?" Gluttony asked curiously. "What's going on? You won't tell me Lust!"
Lust sighed and stopped walking for a moment. When Gluttony started whining and asking questions, she found it best to just answer them once and for all.
"We're looking for Envy…Pride made some remark about him hiding out here every once in a while with a human. If it's true, which it probably isn't, I want to see it for myself." She replied; placing a hand on her hip.
Gluttony cocked his head at her. "A human? Can I eat her?" he asked; sounding all too innocent considering what he had just said.
Lust smiled at him and shrugged. "Maybe…we'll see Gluttony."
The two kept their pace until they reached the clearing. It was surrounded by trees and full of shadows…if Pride had really seen what he claimed to; then this must be the place. No wonder he had been able to spy on them.
Lust held her hand out in front of Gluttony to stop him from going any further.
"Wait Gluttony…stay back." She said in a hushed tone. Gluttony obliged and squinted into the clearing along with his bodacious companion.
Lust scanned the area and suppressed a gasp of disbelief. Sure enough she saw Envy sitting there with a human girl sitting to his right. The girl was pointing up at something with a smile on her face. Envy's gaze followed her outstretched finger as she said something that Lust couldn't quite make out.
So it was true! But how? Why?
Lust stared in disbelief at the scene before her…trying to figure out what to make of it. Envy seemed to have a light smile as he listened to what the girl was telling him. She could sense a certain aura of…happiness in the air. Happiness? Really? What was wrong with Envy! This wasn't making any sense…the two homunculi had had many a conversation about humans. Envy had never once said something good about the inferior race in one of them…even when Lust had admitted that she could be quite interested in their habits of connections to each other. If any of them were to accept a human…she would have thought it to be herself or Greed…but surely not Envy.
"I can't believe it!" she whispered. "Does he have any idea what he's doing?"
Gluttony looked at the girl the way a wild animal might regard its prey. "Oh Lust, she looks tasty! Can I eat her? Please? Can I?"
Lust rested her hand on his bald head. "No Gluttony…not right now. I'm trying to figure this out." She said.
She could faintly hear the sound of a feminine laugh carried through the air. The girl threw back her head of silky looking black hair and beamed at Envy. He said something to her and she shook her head; resting a hand on his shoulder.
Lust half expected her brother to tear her arm off at the contact…but he merely chuckled and said something to her in reply. He seemed so…different. What had come over him?
Lust was taken aback as he placed his hand over the girl's. Suddenly; it all made sense…and yet confused her further at the same time. She was the living incarnation of lust…she knew exactly what was going on here. The two of them were in love! It was so obvious to her now…but it still didn't completely add up. Could their kind even fall in love? She had always thought that it was impossible…but Greed had always said that nothing was impossible. Perhaps there was some truth to that statement after all.
Lust groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well Gluttony…this is certainly unexpected." She said.
"Hm? Lust?"
She groaned again and folded her arms over her chest. "I can see what's happening." She started.
"What?" gluttony asked.
"And they don't have a clue!" she continued.
"Who?" he asked again.
"They'll fall in love, and here's the bottom line…our trio's down to two." Lust said with a heavy sigh.
"Oh…" Gluttony looked down at the ground with a sad expression. They three of them had always had such fun together terrorizing humans…
"The sweet caress of twilight. There's magic everywhere. And with all this romantic atmosphere…disaster's in the air." Lust said as she continued to peer at the two in the clearing. Love was the sin of sins…what would become of Envy if this carried on? Nothing good most likely…
Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings. The world for once, in perfect harmony, with all its living things.
"So you see; that one is Libra, and that one is Virgo…and that huge snake like one is Hydra." Adelaide said as she pointed out the designated constellations.
Envy followed her finger closely with his violet eyes. "Wow…I've seen the same stars in the same sky so many times…and I never knew that they had names." He said; immediately feeling stupid for not knowing such a thing; and even more so for sounding interested by such trivial bits of information. He could guarantee that if anyone else had told him such a thing…he would have scoffed at them and torn them apart. What did he care for the stars? Nothing; he had no reason to care for them. He only cared about them in this moment, because Adelaide was there.
"Well, now you know!" she said with a smile. Adelaide found herself enjoying her time spent with this strange young man who called himself 'Envy'. One day while she was sitting in the same spot by herself, he had come up to her out of nowhere. She was a bit startled at first; but then they got to talking a bit. He was a little scary and rough around the edges…but she knew that he wasn't all bad. She had a knack for seeing people for the good that they held deep down within themselves.
Envy felt himself smile slightly as he continued to gaze at the sky. He had absolutely no idea what had come over him that first time he decided to talk to Adelaide. He had been following her for some time (in disguise of course) before that incident. He had seen her hanging around the fullmetal pipsqueak; and spied on her a bit to make sure she didn't know as much about the homunculi as he did. It had been a safety precaution at first…but soon he sensed it turning into something else…something he didn't know.
As he watched her; he felt different. He felt full and high and bright…and he felt wanting. He had seen so many human couples before; had seen them hold hands and hug and kiss. He always thought it stupid of course; who would need connections to another? It was yet another tacky human flaw that made him sick. But something about the way he felt about Adelaide seemed reminiscent of what those humans had looked like they were feeling.
Why was he feeling it? He, a homunculus! Stooping so low as to feel affinity towards a human! It was despicable! Disgusting! Wrong! And yet…if felt good. The feeling of pleasure he got from seeing Adelaide far out did the pleasure he got from slaughtering others of her kind. He loved to see the looks of misery and agony on their pathetic faces…but he just couldn't imagine doing anything that might hurt her.
He had denied his new found feelings for a while until he could not take it anymore. He had found her in a cleared spot in a forest that was near to her town.
What followed could only be explained as euphoria. He hadn't known what she would do at his sight…but she had merely been curious at first; and then kind and inviting. He wasn't used to such treatment…
After that they had met many more times in the same spot. Envy had no idea why he continued to come back…but he did. He had amazingly been able to keep it a secret from his siblings and Father…but he didn't know how long that would last.
He had also managed to keep his true identity from her. Sure he said his name was Envy…but he had never told her that he was an artificial human. He didn't know how. Often he would brag of such a thing because of his superiority…but he just couldn't around Adelaide. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he was afraid that the truth would scare her away.
"So many things to tell her…" He thought a bit nervously. "But how to make her see? The truth about myself, impossible! She'd turn away from me…" He turned to look at her.
She was perfect…well, as perfect as a human could get. Her dark hair tumbled down her narrow shoulders like a waterfall and she had bright blue eyes that easily put the sky to shame. But anything between them was impossible…they were from two completely different worlds.
Adelaide took a quick glance over at Envy. His odd, dark green hair swayed slightly in the light breeze. He seemed to be having some sort of internal conflict; his brow furrowing as he looked down at the grassy ground beneath them. He looked like he wanted to tell her something…but she wasn't sure what.
"He's holding back…" she thought suspiciously. "He's hiding…but what, I can't decide. Why won't he be the true man I know he is? The one I see inside?"
"What's wrong Envy? You seem kind of stressed out." Adelaide said; concern fringing her words. She didn't know him all that well considering they had only been meeting up once or twice for the past few weeks…but she still considered him a friend. She didn't like to see her friends feeling any emotion aside from happiness. And if she could help him; she would.
He flinched a bit at her words and quickly corrected himself. He gulped as a sweat began to bead his brow beneath his headband.
"Should I just tell her?" He thought. If she rejected him…he wasn't sure what he'd do. His temper was not the easiest to control; he didn't want to hurt her.
"Well I…" he racked his brain for the right words to say. He wasn't used to things like this…the only thoughts that ever came to mind when dealing with humans was violence and insults.
"Yes…?" Adelaide urged him on. "Come on Envy…just tell me what's wrong. It's better than bottling it up."
Envy let out a loud, raspy sigh and turned to look at her. He figured he might as well just suck it up and tell her.
"It's just that…well Adelaide; I haven't exactly been truthful with you…" he said. She regarded him curiously and silently urged him to go on.
"I…I'm not…ahhhh why is this so hard?" he pounded his fist into the dirt in frustration. "I'm not human! Okay?"
Adelaide raised a brow. Not human? What was that supposed to mean?
"You're…not?" She said. "Then what are you…some sort of alien or something?"
Envy scoffed. "As if. I'm a homunculus."
"A…homunculus? What's that?"
"A homunculus is an artificial human made from alchemy. There are more like me too…with abilities beyond what any of you humans could comprehend." He caught himself getting a little cocky at the end…he couldn't help it.
Adelaide's blue eyes widened; but she stayed silent. She looked at Envy warily for a moment before turning her gaze back to the sky.
"Why isn't she saying anything?" Envy thought in nervous anticipation. "Come on…say something!"
"Are you scared?" he said; breaking the silence like glass.
Adelaide held her tongue a moment more before turning to him and looking him straight in the eye.
"Scared? Hardly…I'm just thinking. It's not every day I get the chance to meet a…what did you say again? Homunculus?" She smiled at him.
Envy looked at her in shock. She wasn't scared of him? How could she be acting so nonchalant about this?
"You're not scared? Not even a little?" he said.
"Nope."
"Really? Not at all?"
"Well geez…do you want me to be?"
"Well no…I don't think so."
Adelaide laughed and shook her head. "You don't think so? That's reassuring… I guess I'm not scarred 'cause…well, I don't even really know what homunculus means. I don't know much about alchemy so what you told me really doesn't register much. Besides; if you were going to do something that would scare me…I would assume you would have already done it by now."
Envy thought for a moment; she had a point. "It's just…humans are usually frightened by me. It is usually my own fault but…well I'm not used to this. I'm not used to having humans accept me like this…it's strange."
"Well I'm not like most humans." Adelaide said with a grin.
Envy chuckled. "You are a strange one…what other human could make me feel this way?" Immediately after the words left his mouth he regretted them. Had he seriously just said that out loud? What was he thinking?
Adelaide looked at him oddly. "Make you feel…like what?"
Envy felt a blush rise to his cheeks; something that happened close to never.
"Dammit! What do I say now?" he thought frantically. As much as he had begun to like the feelings he had for Adelaide…he didn't want to admit them! That was a whole 'nother story!
"Well…I, I don't know! Geez, do you have to ask so many questions?" he said turning away.
Adelaide smirked knowingly and reached out a hand. She placed it lightly on his back between where his shoulder blades met. "I'm a very inquisitive person…sorry. But…I think I get what you mean. There's no need to be so bashful. You sound pretty proud to be a homunculus. So if they are so great; one shouldn't be so fearful of the concept of love."
Envy's head shot up at the mention of the word. Such a stupid, sappy, useless word.
He turned to face Adelaide.
"I'm not afraid of it! I'm not afraid of anything you puny humans can throw at me!" he said indignantly.
Adelaide held up her hands in defense. "Hey now, I'm just saying! No need to get angry!" She moved a little closer to him; leaning up against his side.
She felt him trembling slightly against her. She wasn't sure if it was in anger or nerves…but she would take a chance either way.
Suddenly in his confession…Adelaide had realized that, in fact, she had feelings for him too. It didn't matter to her that he was a homunculus (whatever that meant). She would give him a chance anyway.
She could sense that since he wasn't human…he had never experienced anything like love before. Being a hopeless romantic; she decided to take it upon herself to be the one to show him.
"What are you doing?" he asked harshly.
Adelaide shrugged. "What do you think Envy?"
He gulped and took a deep breath. What was this? What was-.
Suddenly Adelaide leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. They were cold and chapped against her own; and she could tell that this was the first lip lock he had ever been a part of. Oh well. There was a first time for everything.
She pulled away and smiled at him. He looked like he would explode from confusion. She suppressed a giggle and asked, "Well Envy? How was that?"
Envy was silent. He had mixed feelings about the whole situation… How did he feel about it? In the back of his mind he had always been jealous of humans and the bonds they shared. He had always wanted to try it out himself…but deemed it impossible. So he had replaced the longing with resentment and blood lust. But now…
Before he could dwell on it too long he let out a sigh and shook his head. "Aw screw it…" he mumbled and crashed his lips into Adelaide's.
She nearly fell back in surprise. She hadn't expected him to do that…
Truthfully Envy hadn't really expected himself to do it either. But he decided that he liked what he had felt…and he wanted more.
Can you feel the love tonight? You needn't look too far. Stealing through, the night's uncertainty. Love is where they are.
Lust gasped quietly. "No way!" she said breathlessly. The two of them had just KISSED? TWICE? Half of her wanted to laugh; and the other wanted to slap some sense into her sibling.
She watched, flabbergasted, as the two pulled away and came back together in a hug. Envy looked like he was saying something heartfelt to the girl; but Lust wasn't sure what. When had Envy ever said something nice? It was just too hard to imagine.
She tore her eyes away from the sight of the two unlikely lovers and face-palmed. "Well Gluttony…if they fall in love tonight…which appears to already have happened, it can be assumed. His blood-filled days with us are history…"
"In short our pal is doomed…" the two said in unison.
As they left their hiding spot; all Gluttony could think of was how disappointed he was at not being able to eat the girl. A small tear ran down his pudgy cheek.
Lust; however, couldn't get her mind off how soft her deranged brother had become. Should she be uncharacteristically happy for him? Or threaten him with blackmail? She shook her head of wavy black hair and kept her eyes on the path before her. Whatever happened…it was Envy's choice. She didn't want to get mixed up in whatever he had gotten himself into. She would merely wait around to see how things played out. Hopefully he wouldn't start to show care to all humans now…that would be no fun at all.
As long as he still had some time to hang out with his two favorite siblings, and he retained most of his signature psychosis…Lust decided that she was okay with it. Besides…it was not easy to try and tell Envy what to do. He would do whatever he pleased if he felt strongly enough about it; and apparently, he felt that strongly about love.