Summary: Why did Lust always yell at him when he did something wrong? He didn't like getting yelled at...
Setting: Manga/Brotherhood; takes place before the cannon story.
Warnings: Might be seen as slightly OOC.
The forest was really big, and every area looked the same, making it easy to get lost. Not to mention all the trees that made it hard for one to find their way out. It was no wonder Lust had told him not to wander off while they were there. But after catching a really interesting scent coming from within the maze of trees, Gluttony couldn't help but disobey her and quietly sneak away to find out what the source of the scent was.
His nose eventually led him to a big, brown animal eating grass. What were those things called again...? Deer? Either way, it looked like it would make a good meal for him. Grinning, he clutched his belly as it growled in anticipation and he approached the animal.
But when he got close to it, it stared at him a moment before turning and running deeper into the forest.
Gluttony stood there, surprised by what just happened. Why was it running away? Food wasn't supposed to do that; the only thing it was supposed to do was be eaten and go in his belly. Mentally shaking away his surprise, Gluttony chased after the animal. And, with his sharp sense of smell, he easily found it again.
Now it was in a clearing, calmly drinking water from a stream, blissfully unaware of its fate of being lunch for the hungry Homunculus.
This time Gluttony approached the animal more carefully so it wouldn't try to flee again. Quietly, he slowly walked up to it from behind so it wouldn't see him, and when he got close, he moved in quickly and pounced on it. By the time the deer realized what was happening, the Homunculus was already sinking his teeth into its flesh.
Crying out in pain, it struggled to get away from him, but as he continued to eat it soon grew very still and quiet. It was dead, but as far as Gluttony was concerned that was fine because it was easier to eat things when they didn't move around. Humans were bad about moving around when they were being eaten, too, but they tasted so good it was worth putting up with.
As he continued with his meal, Gluttony suddenly became aware of the sound of dried leaves and twigs being stepped on. As the noise got louder, it became clear that someone, or something, was headed straight for him. Although some of the deer carcass still remained to be eaten, the Homunculus looked up eagerly to see what kind of food he would get to consume next.
But it wasn't food; it was Lust who stepped out into the clearing. It hadn't taken her long to find him, had it? She looked worried for some reason, but as soon as she saw him she relaxed.
"Gluttony," she panted, sounding like she had just been running. "Thank goodness... I thought I would...never find you..."
She stepped forward wearily and fell to her knees in front of the deer carcass before sighing in relief. Oblivious to how tired she seemed, Gluttony gave her a bright smile.
"Look, Lust," he said cheerfully, "I found food all by myself!"
Lust didn't smile back, or even look remotely pleased at his accomplishment. Instead she narrowed her eyes and started scolding him.
"Just what did you think you were doing worrying me like that? Do you know how easy it is to get lost in a place like this?! What did I tell you about wandering off?"
Gluttony whimpered and stared at the ground. Why she yelling at him all of a sudden? He didn't like when people yelled at him. "You said not to..."
"And yet you did it anyway! What in the world were you thinking?!"
"I was hungry, and I smelled food..."
"You idiot," Lust muttered while folding her arms across her chest in an annoyed manner. "Is finding food all you ever think about?"
"Sorry..." Gluttony nervously chewed on his finger. "Please don't be mad, Lust."
"What? You thought I was..." Her expression softened and she reached out to gently pat him on the head. "You dummy, I'm not scolding you because I'm mad."
"You're...not?" He was very confused now. The way she had been glaring at him and yelling seemed to say otherwise. But he was glad that she was speaking in a softer, quieter tone now.
"Well... I might be a little mad. But mostly I was just scared."
"Lust...scared?"
"Yes, You had me worried when I realized you weren't behind me anymore." She crawled past the half-eaten deer and hugged the younger Homunculus tightly before laughing dryly. "I know I'm being ridiculous for being so scared, but it's my job to look after you. I don't want to get in trouble for losing you. But more importantly than that...I really do care about you. I would hate for you to get hurt or something when I'm not around."
"...Lust?"
"What is it?" she asked while ending the hug and moving to rest on her knees again. "And what's with that uneasy look on your face? Is something bothering you?"
"Um...are you...done yelling now?" Lust seemed to be in a calm mood now, but she had also seemed calm right before she got angry with him. Gluttony wanted to be sure she wasn't still upset, but he also wanted to be careful about setting her off again.
"I guess so." She tilted her head curiously. "Why do you ask?"
He was quiet for a little while, unsure if he should really say what was on his mind. Lust eventually prompted for him to go on, so he said, "I don't like it."
"What are you talking about...?"
Gluttony had been feeling this way for almost half a year, ever since Father had started letting him help his siblings with their missions. He never told anyone how he felt, thinking it would be best to keep quiet, which his siblings seemed to prefer he do anyway. But now here was Lust, wanting to know what was wrong, and seemingly willing to listen to him. So he looked his sister in the eye and, before he could change his mind, let everything he had been keeping inside of himself fall out into the open.
"I don't like when you yell at me! Everyone yells me when I do something wrong, but no one tells me what I did wrong, they only yell at me because I was bad. I want to do something right, Lust, I really do! But no one will tell me how. I just get yelled more when I ask."
"Gluttony..."
"And it's worse when the person yelling at me is mad," he continued, trembling slightly. "I don't like when I get yelled at by someone who's mad. It's scary, Lust. It's really scary. But you always yell at me when you're mad. Sometimes I don't even know why you're mad; you never tell me what I did wrong. And... I'm just tired of always getting yelled at! I don't like it, Lust, I don't like it..."
There, he had finally said it. His confession gave him a deep sense of relief, and it felt so good get all of that off his chest. Even if ranting like that changed nothing, he felt a lot better now that those feelings weren't just quietly building up inside of him. But how would Lust react to what he had just said? She was being very quiet, more quiet than he could ever remember her being. And the look on her face offered no clues as to what she was thinking. As far as he could tell, she didn't know how to react. But finally she spoke.
"Gluttony, I...I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt that way."
Then Lust hugged him again, this time in a more gentle, comforting way. Gluttony wrapped his big arms around her slender frame and hugged her back, hoping he didn't hurt her by squeezing too tightly. But if he was accidentally hurting her, she didn't complain.
"Shh, there, there," she murmured softly while rubbing his back. "It's okay, just calm down. ...please don't cry."
Was he crying? He hadn't even noticed. Confessing his dislike of being yelled at must have made him more emotional than he had realized.
Lust continued to comfort him for what seemed like a long time until he was able to stop crying. With a tired sigh, he rested his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted, as well as completely at peace for the first time in a while.
"My goodness, you can certainly say a lot when you put your mind to it," she chuckled before growing serious. "Gluttony, how long have you felt this way?"
"A while," he muttered with a shrug.
"How come you never said anything before?"
"I tried," he said, whimpering at the memory. "But Envy got mad and told me to be quiet."
"Why didn't you come to me?"
"I didn't want to make you mad, too..."
Lust sighed sadly and hugged him a little tighter. "I wish I knew about this sooner. Alright, I'll tell you what; I'll try not to yell at you anymore, but in return I want you to stop being afraid of coming to me when something's bothering you, deal?"
He nodded. "Deal."
"Good." She released him from her comforting embrace, but he wasn't ready to let go of her just yet. "Come on, now. Finish eating your food, then we can try to find a way out of here."
Food? Oh yeah, he had forgotten about the deer. He was reluctant to, but he let go of her to finish his meal, because it was what she wanted him to do. Lust stood up and walked a little ways away to give him space, then she turned around and spoke with a smile.
"And Gluttony." Although his stomach was growling hungrily, he paused before he had even started eating and looked up at her. "No more wandering off by yourself, okay?"
Gluttony smiled innocently. "Okay, I won't."
"Promise?"
"I promise, Lust."