"Umm... Ed?"

Edward glanced up from his work. Envy stood in the doorway to his room, looking uncomfortable. "Oh, hey, Envy," he said with a smile. "What's up?"

Envy tugged on a stand of its hair nervously. "I... I came to... to apologize."

"Envy, I've already forgiven you," Edward replied with a patient smile.

Envy looked at its feet, fists clenched tightly at its sides. "I've done so many horrible things..."

"And you're working at making up for that, aren't you?" Edward replied, looking out the window.

"Y-yes, but..." Envy looked at Edward, biting its lip. "You've really forgiven me?"

Edward sighed and stood, walking over to look at the collage of photos he had tacked to the wall. "I have, but I'm not sure if... some people ever will."

Envy nodded, as it this was the reply it was expecting. "Well... I... I have something else I wanted to say." Envy took a deep breath, then let it out in a huff. Its face flushed a light shade of pink. "You were... the first one to show me there was another way. You were so willing to look past... everything I was on the surface. You showed me compassion when no one else would." Envy blushed deeper. "I mean... I thought it was just that. Me being grateful that you helped me, supported me... but then I realized... it was more than that."

Edward turned and looked at Envy in shock.

Envy spoke quicker, stumbling over its words. "I... I can make it work!" It shape-shifted, and became drop-dead gorgeous. "I can be whatever you want me to be!" It switched again, into a pretty young woman. "I can be whoever you want me to be!" Envy morphed one last time, into Winry. "I can even be that Rockbell girl!" Envy beamed at Edward, arms out. "Well?"

Edward looked at Envy with an upset expression. "Envy..."

Envy felt its heart shatter. "N-no, you're right..." It transformed back into its preferred form and hugged its elbows. "I-it was stupid of me to think... a hero like you... could ever have feelings for a monster like me." Envy turned and ran from the room, trying hard to hold back tears.

"Envy, wait!" Edward cried, but Envy had already disappeared.

Envy sat underneath a tree, having run a long distance from the Elric estate. It wiped its tears off its cheeks, and scolded itself for being so weak. "If Father saw you now... He'd be disgusted... Allowing yourself to feel for that Fullmetal brat! For letting that stupid pipsqueak tear you apart!" Envy punched the trunk of the tree, causing the wood to splinter.

"Hey," an unwelcome voice said from the behind Envy.

Envy didn't look. "Why are you here? I don't want any more of your pity. Get out of here."

Edward was quiet for a moment, then sat on the other side of the tree, leaning against its rough bark. "No. That's not why I'm here."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," Envy shot back, digging its fingers into the ground.

Edward paused again. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Envy said quietly.

They sat this way in silence for what felt like hours. A caterpillar crawled laboriously up the trunk of the tree, inching impossibly slow toward the leaves it fed on. Envy reached out to squash the insect, but Edward reached out and grabbed the small creature gently. He stood and put it on one of the once-faraway leaves.

Envy felt a pang run through the pieces of its heart. That was the kindness it had fallen for... Envy quickly looked away again as Edward turned to sit again.

After another achingly long silence, Envy finally caved. "All right, Fullmetal. Why are you here?" it spat, putting as much venom into its words as it could muster.

"To tell you something important," Edward replied, standing. Envy glared at him as he walked around the trunk to stand in front of the homunculus. "You didn't let me finish earlier. I was going to say... If you really want to be loved, you can't be someone you're not. You can't make yourself into someone else just to try and make someone love you."

Envy's eyes filled with tears again, and it looked down. "I know... it was idiotic... to try and... I'm sorry..."

"Why make yourself be someone else..." Edward held out his hand. Envy ignored his gesture. Instead of putting his hand down, Edward grabbed Envy's arm and pulled the homunculus up. Envy was about to protest, but all of its breath escaped all at once as Edward pulled it close. Edward looked deep into Envy's eyes, and Envy felt as if he was looking into its soul. "...when you're already loved the way you are?" Edward pulled Envy in closer, and their lips met.

Envy felt the world around it dissolve. It was surrounded by that kindness and forgiveness that had caused it to fall in love in the first place. This feeling filled the empty place in Envy's soul that it had never realized it lacked, and in one shining moment, its heart once again became whole. Envy kissed back with all of its newly healed heart, and hoped Edward could feel the same thing it could... the feeling of finally becoming whole, after having been broken for so long.