A/N: A (late) birthday-fic for my friend - and fellow Edvy lover - Makayla -glomp- Once again, I'm sorry for the late posting DX.

Hope you enjoy it :D

Chocolate Frosting

Birthday

The word made the homunculus frown. Of the many years he has been around - alive much longer than one should be -- he had went through countless days of his birth. However, after the amount grew well into the two-hundreds, Envy had simply brushed his age aside -- forgetting the exact number of years he had been around, but guessed it was over four centuries.

Though, as long as he lived, he had never knew why humans were so happy when it came to the day they were born. There was nothing happy about it; it only meant that they were getting older -- weaker, too. Yet, that didn't stop them from singing the same song every year, with the same amount of smiles and cheers as the last.

As far as Envy knew, lives began and ended the same way: you come into the world, wet, shivering at the coldness, confused from all the noise and the sudden brightness, and scared. Scared because there were all these new faces and noises, you would start screaming. Screaming for a reason your small, underdeveloped brain could not yet understand.

Your tiny arms would reach out, too, for something your blinded eyes couldn't see -- and your sensitive ears heard so loudly that they felt like they were bleeding.

Then, when your time has come, you end the same way -- if you live to the fullest, that is. You're wet, -- somewhere on your body. With an old age like that, things such as your bladder stop working -- and the world seems to have suddenly got colder. You also become confused, for by then you are half-blind, half-deaf, fully lost either, or both. The grip of Death hovers over your old, wrinkly body, but it doesn't dare touch you. It is there to make you scared, to let you know that you only have so long to live.

Then you leave the world.

The Sin slowly opened his eyes with a quiet sigh, and he held out the money to pay for what he was buying.

The woman behind the stand stared at him in slight fright. By now, Envy was used to the look, since he often received it when ever he went out into the bustling streets. With his strange emerald hair, and alien-like violet eyes, humans had reasons to suspect that he was there for no good. Though, as the woman saw those same eyes narrow, she took the coins.

He stood there a moment longer, watching as the slightly-plump middle-aged woman hurried off to help another customer. The slight weight of the bag he now held reminded him that he needed to hurry back before the other did, and turned on the heels of his shoes in the direction of the small apartment above the flower store.

Swiftly, he avoided the humans pushing and shoving easily. Envy didn't enjoy going to the market. It was always busy, loud, and people liked to stare. And he had to wear clothes!

Supposedly, his old attire wasn't 'normal' for this time period -- this world. Instead, he now had to wear pants, and vests, and annoying button up shirts that he could never seem to button on his own; all that his lover no longer fit. The Sin also had to wear shoes, and if that was not embarrassing enough, he learned that -- going many years without have to wear any -- he had forgotten how to tie them.

He wouldn't mind being in clothes if he was in another form, not the adorable one he made for himself. Since he had lost the power to do so, he was forced to stay in it, and adapt to wearing fabrics that covered his slim, androgynous body.

However, that didn't stop him from wearing it underneath his outside wear.

"Good morning, William! I see that you went shopping; did you get everything you needed?"

Envy turned his head to his left to see Gracia, -- this world's Gracia -- almost forgetting that that was the name he now went by. His name wasn't acceptable either, just like his favored attire. Yes, his lover made him change that, too, as much as he didn't want to. 'I guess it's better than Evan, Ely, or anything else he came up with.'

At first, they argued back and forth over what his new name should be. Some of them were for fun, to poke fun of the gender-confused palm-tree -- such as Enderia, or Emilia. After going through the entire day without much progress, the Sin had settled on using his real name -- his human name. The name he had when he was alive.

William.

"Yeah," he replied, putting on a fake smile as the woman emerged from her flower shop. He let her take the bag from him, and followed her inside as she led him into her apartment. "Everything you put on the list is in there..." he trailed off, watching as she took the ingredients out one by one. Flour, eggs, sugar -- everything was there, and he had counted twice before leaving the market. "...I don't need your help..."

The kind-hearted woman raised an eyebrow as she placed a mixing bowel on the counter. "And I suppose you know how to make it yourself? Edward was just telling me the other day how you managed to burn water the other day."

Envy could feel his cheeks warm, and he avoided her gaze as she giggled. "Idiot. Water doesn't burn; it evaporates! It was the pan that burned, and it wasn't my fault, any way! That fool got me..." His blush deepened as he remembered what happened that day. It was a distraction of kisses and moans, but after that, he was no longer allowed in the kitchen when his lover wasn't around.

"Alright," she gave a light shrug, and put down the bag of flour she had just opened. "If it makes you happy, I will only help when you ask for it." The motherly woman proceeded to take off her apron, and gently handed it over to the sin, who in tern grabbed it from her. With that done, she walked over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. She watched with a small smile as Envy tried to tie the apron before getting up and helping him.

He fidgeted under her touch, from both not wanting her help, -- did she not hear that the first time? -- to the fact that her action was too mother-like for his tastes. He wasn't a child; he could -- wanted -- to do things on his own.

She tugged lightly on the ears of the thick string, making sure it was tight, yet not too tight so that the young man couldn't get it off. With the same, warm smile on her lips, she gave him a light shove, pushing him in the direction of the ingredients. "You should hurry; you do want to be finished before he comes home, right?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and nodded. He wanted to get done with the task at hand as fast as possible. There was only one problem with that, though : he didn't know how to start. He had never made something on his own before; Edward was the one to do it, simply because he didn't allow the Sin to be near a stove. However, the Elric wasn't the best at cooking.

Fidgeting once again, pale -- feminine and soft, yet long and strong -- fingers lightly fiddled with the edges of the apron. He stood there, feeling stupid. Did she not see that he needed guidance? Every few seconds, violet eyes glanced behind him, trying to meet with the soft green ones of Gracia; he was trying to get her to help without having to ask for it. "Uh..."

She looked up from the book she was reading and gave the sin a confused look -- yet her eyes showed that she knew, and she couldn't help but give a small smile. "Yes?"

"I..." Envy turned his gaze to the ground, avoiding her. "...What do I..." He felt silly. Silly and stupid. An idiot; with the apron -- something that women were supposed to wear, because they were the chefs. They were supposed to be the ones that cooked and cleaned. -- tied around his small waist, and not knowing what to do next, he could feel his pride getting more damaged as the seconds passed on.

"It's not that hard, William, to ask for help instead of standing there and waiting," she said as she walked over to the counter. Picking up a wooden mixing spoon, she held it out for the Sin to take. "Well? Do you want me to do all the work?" she asked when he didn't take it from her.

Growling lightly, he stalked over and took the spoon from her hand.

"First you add the flower, eggs, and milk--"

"No, not milk," he quickly cut her off, getting a cup and filling it with water from the sink. "Edward doesn't like milk; Chibi-san can taste it in whatever he eats." Envy added everything as she said, and the water last. He knew the last thing the temperamental teen wanted was milk in his birthday surprise, but the thought of his reaction made a small smile appear on the Sin's lips.

Gracia had widened her eyes in surprised, -- and curiosity that the young man knew so much about her upstairs neighbor. -- but that faded as she smiled warmly. Knowing what to put and what not to put into the batter showed that Envy was determined to complete this task perfectly; made sure that every small flaw -- such as no milk, or any stray egg shells -- was fixed before he moved onto the next step.

She knew how much the Sin loved Edward; how much loved this strange, foreign, wild-haired young man. At first, she was startled to find out about their relationship, -- after stumbling on them tongue wrestling outside by the trash (1). -- but soon accepted it. The only worry she had was that 'William' would be too rough on the small man, or just get up and leave him.

Even now, as she watched him lick his fingers -- making a sour face before adding more sugar -- it was clear to tell how much Envy adored his lover. Her soft-green eyes glanced over at the clock, and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, I think it's time to put it in..." she trailed off, catching sight of the young man.

"What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her as she shook with laughter she tried to suppress. What the Sin didn't know, was that though his wild, emerald hair was sticky with the tan batter from his wild and hurried stirring; flour was also smeared on his face here and there, giving his already moonlight-pale skin an even ghostlier look to it.

"Nothing, nothing," she giggled, taking a wet napkin and gently rubbing his face, clearing it of whatever he had on there. Envy twitched under the touch of the wet rag, but figured that she wouldn't stop if he told her to. "You just got some flour here and there. Let's put this in a baking pan, and hurry it into the oven. Then we will move onto the frosting."

--

Envy made sure the woman wasn't looking as he raised his finger to his lips. He loved chocolate, and so did his Chibi. However, just before his slender fingers reached his lips, he was whacked on the head with a clean spoon.

"Stop trying to eat the frosting; we have to make sure there's enough for the cake," Gracia scolded him, and folded her arms over her chest. She then pulled out a drawer and took out a butter-knife. "Here, use this."

The pouting Sin did as he was told and put the knife into the hand-made frosting. It had been so long since he had ever made -- or even tasted -- a warm, homemade cake, and he was practically drooling as he smoothed the dark coating.

There was always differences between the cakes made at home, and ones you can buy at the market. For one thing, they were always fresher; home-made ones always had that extra flavor, the sweet punch that everyone craved for. "Because it's made with love. If the person who made it cares deeply for the person they want to give it to, that person will be able to taste it." he remembered Sloth explain to Wrath years ago, back home.

The thought made Envy frown. He did put his heart into making this cake, but because he didn't really had one -- his kind all had stones for hearts, not that it changed their emotions or anything. Worried, he lifted his gaze from the finished cake, to the woman washing her hands at the sink. "Oi...Hum-..Gracia?"

"Yes, William?" She asked, shutting the water off and wiping her hands clean on her long skirt.

"Do...Do you think Ed would like this?" Envy -- one who was notorious for having such a big, loud mouth -- found himself whispering those words, as if he wanted to believe them, but couldn't find the will to.

It was the motherly woman's turn to frown, her light brown hair bouncing slightly as she turned to him. "Of course he would, why wouldn't he? You made it, even if I did help you here and there. He will absolutely adore it." As if her words weren't enough, she gave the strange looking young man a smile. "Trust me."

He studied her for a long time; how soft her eyes seemed to be, how she always smiled warmly. He was silently remembering the other Gracia -- back in Amestris. The Sin clearly remembered killing her husband, using her form to make him hesitate, giving Envy just the amount of time he needed to shoot him. It was the perfect murder, but one he wished he didn't have to do. Not that he cared for killing the family man Edward had seen as a second father, but because he didn't enjoy fighting to begin it.

However, now as he thought back to it, he regretted it dearly. He never knew that Gracia, but now that he knew this one, -- and met other people on this world that were so like the ones back home -- and now that she helped him bake a cake, he felt guilty. The thought of the woman crying -- mourning over the death of her lover that he killed -- made his eyes darken in sorrow. Envy found himself apologizing for a reason neither of the two knew.

"Sorry? For what?" she asked, her smile wavering with her confusion. "There's nothing to be sorry about, dear. You never did anything wrong, nor do I think you ever could."

Envy felt the corner of his lips tug for a smile, but nothing came. "Yeah..." Violet eyes wondered over to the clock that hang on the wall. It was getting close to eight, and Ed would be home any minute. "I have to go back upstairs; get everything set for when Chibi-san comes home..." Carefully, he lifted the plate up that the cake laid on, and began his journey to the second floor, where Edward's apartment was.

However, as he went to push open the door, he paused, mouth ajar as if he was hesitating to say something. "...Thanks, Gracia..," he finally muttered, turning to look back at the woman. "For...helping me get everything together...And stuff."

She giggled quietly and smiled at her neighbor. "It was nothing, really, William. I'll be glad to help you, anytime; just ask." Gracia suddenly let out a gasp and rushed out of the room. Frowning, the sin waited. She came back a few seconds later, a small, yellow rose in hand. "I know this may be a bit girly for him, but could you give this to Edward for me? Its yellow color often reminds me of him."

Envy smiled softly at the rose, and carefully held it in his free hand. "Yeah..I will."

--

For once, Edward was grateful that he hadn't told anyone about his birthday on this side of the world -- other than his father, but the man had been there when it happened, or he sure hoped so. He was so well liked at the Rocket Corp., that he knew he would have gotten tons of gifts -- too many to carry by himself -- from co-workers, or even his friends at the bar down the street.

As he neared the steps to his apartment, he finally realized how quiet it was. A quick glance at his watch told him that it was only half past eight -- far too early for Envy to be asleep. He found his pace quickening as he noticed there was no light coming from the top of the stairs, either, and the worst case scenario ran through his mind.

What if someone -- scientists, most-likely -- found out about the Sin and wanted to keep him to do all sorts of experiments? The thought almost made him drop his house key. Quickly, he put it in the hole and shoved open the door. "Envy?" He asked, but his only answer was darkness. There didn't seem to be a single candle lit. Frowning, he hurried down the hallway, looking in each room as he passed. "Envy?!"

He noticed a flickering light coming from the kitchen, and he slowly walked to it, calling the Sin's name once again. He finally reached the open doorway, and looked around inside.

The room was empty, as much as he could see; in the middle, on the kitchen table, was a cake -- chocolate, he noticed. Edward felt his eyebrow twitch, and he walked over to it. After counting, he realized there were -- much to his displeasure-- nineteen candles. 'Nineteen, exactly...They were recently lit, too..' he thought, golden eyes glancing to either side of him.

Someone knew today was his birthday, and went through the trouble of baking a cake for him. He knew it couldn't possibly be Envy; he was positive the Sin didn't know how to cook, and that -- if he did -- he wouldn't waste time on such a "pointless holiday called a birthday", as the Sin often put it.

Golden eyes spotted the rose, and his eyebrows rose in curiosity. His mind automatically shot to Gracia; the woman who was kind enough -- just like Hughes' wife back home -- to lend him an apartment above her own. Edward reached out to grab it with his prosthetic arm, but as he did so, a pair of gloved hands covered his sight. He let out a gasp of surprise, but sighed upon realization as he felt butterfly kisses on his neck.

"Envy..," he breathed, already knowing who it was. "Did...Did you do all this?" the young man asked, trying to turn away from his captor's nibbling.

"Mmhm.." the Sin hummed into his neck before pulling away. Pale arms wrapped around Edward's waist, and Envy rested his head on his back. "Yeah...Well...Not all by myself...Gracia helped..a little..." He then let go and scooted around his lover to the cake, where he proceeded to pick up a knife and cut a small piece of the two layered cake. "The flower's from her."

Edward let out a small chuckle, finding it amazing -- yet amazing -- how his Sin went for help -- from a human, none-the-less -- for something as small as a birthday. He watched quietly as Envy carefully cut the cake into a perfect slice, and smiled slyly when he turned around; golden eyes filled with mischief as he eyed the piece.

"What?" Envy asked, frowning. Why was Edward looking at him like that? "What's wrong? It's edibl-"

The wild-haired teen was cut of by Edward's lips crashing on his own. Hastily, the Sin tried to place the plate on the table behind them, but missed as the human pushed the homunculus back against the counter, deepening the kiss. Both the slice of cake and the plate it was on fell off the table, landing on the floor and the glass shattered. However, that didn't stop the lovers from continuing what Edward started.

After a few minutes, Edward pulled away from the lack of oxygen. Face flushed, he watched Envy pout at the mess on the floor, admiring how the Sin could go so long lacking oxygen without his face getting red.

"Aw," Envy murmured, and let out a sigh. "What a waste.."

Smiling once more, Edward reached around him and cut a small piece. As if he was starving -- which it often seemed like he was; Ed had a quick and messy way of eating -- he took a chunk out of it, getting a little frosting on his nose in the process. "Mmhm...You're right, it is edible."

Violet eyes narrowed, and Envy put his hands on his hips. "...You were doubting my ability to cook?" he asked, but his anger was sort-lived. He caught sight of the frosting that managed to escape Edward's mouth and let out a giggle. "Seems like you missed your mouth," he teased, and the Ed furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Suddenly, Envy stood on his tippy toes -- only slightly, because he hated to admit that his 'Chibi' was growing -- and licked off the chocolate from the ex-alchemist's face. Ed blushed in embarrassment as he pulled away. "Mmhm..You're right, it is tasty...At least, it taste better on you."

From the candle's light, Edward noticed Envy's eyes brighten -- almost glowing -- as he looked up at him in pure joy, and found himself smiling as the Sin pulled him into another embrace.

"Happy birthday, Edward."

"Thank you, Envy...You doing this for me -- the candles, cake, and effort to even remember -- has made this the best birthday ever," Edward whispered back, resting his chin on the top of Envy's head. His smile disappeared as the Sin pulled away.

"Hmm...A cake, some candles, and me remembering something as important as the day my love -- my everything, now -- makes this the best birthday ever, you say?" The shorter man asked, and Ed watched as a sly smirk made it's way onto the Sin's lips. "I'd like to see if you change that after we...play a little."

All Edward was able to do was raise an eyebrow as Envy dragged him off into their bedroom. Indeed, this was the best birthday the young man ever had. At least, until next year.

Fin

(1) The reason why Envy is no longer allowed to help Edward take the trash out. XD