A.N: Thank you very much for the reviews (I'm still in shock that so many people like it~). Anyway, here is chapter three, where we find out why Ed hates his home. Not yay.

On a completely unrelated sidenote, I'm going to see Alice in Wonderland today. That is yay x3.


(Envy's POV)

Thoughts of Edward clouded my brain on the way home. How shocked he had seemed when I'd spoken to him, how soft his hand was, how easily he blushed. I was glad that he wasn't one of those people who had to fill every single silence with senseless babble; both of us seemed content with our quiet lunch together. Maybe he wouldn't mind me joining him again, I liked his company. Those golden eyes that watched me with open curiosity, but he was respectful enough not to pry, I liked those too. I was glad that I'd started this school on a Friday, having to deal with the teachers there for a full week was going to suck. Aside from the first one, they all had some comment on my appearance, one going so far as to threaten me with a detention if I repeated the offense. I had a feeling I'd be in detention a lot, then. No way were they going to be able to stuff me into those uniforms like the rest. It felt constricting enough to me.

The rain outside had slowed, coming down almost straight as the wind died, scenery flying by on the other side of the window. The bus turned a corner and stopped, door swinging open. I stood, walking out into the rain and down the driveway to my humble home. If a two-floor, right-on-the-water home could be called humble. And by on the water, I meant there was a balcony on the second floor, which came out over the pond, stilts plunging into the water to hold it up. I went up the steps, dropping my binder and slipping out of my shoes once inside. The sounds of rain were muted in here, the house seeming to be empty, unnaturally still. It felt… like home. Silence was heavy in the hallway, muffling the sound of my footsteps. Then I heard it. A crash, a scream, gunfire, two voices yelling. I took off running, turning around a corner to the source of the sound and sighed in relief.

It was a video game, played on the television in my living room. I saw the back of two heads, hair close-cropped on one and the same wild mess I had on the other, both black. I walked in, jumping over the back of the couch to sit between them and throwing my arms over their shoulders, interrupting their game and earning curses thrown in my direction.

"Come on, Envy! I almost had him!" the one with long hair crowed.

"As if! I was about to kick your ass and you know it, Wrath!" the other retorted, trying to get around me to tackle Wrath.

"No way, Greed! I had you cornered!"

They began talking so fast that I had trouble catching their words, but what I did hear consisted of death threats and mutilation in the cruelest form. I sighed, doing my best to keep them apart. My brothers were such a handful sometimes. I was the middle child of our family, the eldest being Greed and the youngest being Wrath. Why did our mom name us that? Why did our dad allow it? I could only imagine that it was because our grandmother had the cajones to name our mom Lust. We had an aunt Pride and she had a daughter named Sloth. And, even though he didn't really have the name, my mom's side of the family fondly (or not-so-fondly) called our dad Gluttony. I saw him now, asleep on the recliner, round belly rising and falling with his even breathing. His bickering sons did nothing to rouse him, just a small twitch in his sleep acknowledged that he wasn't dead and we had only managed to slightly disturb him.

"Guys… Guys! Chill, it's just a video game," I insisted, managing to pin down Wrath with my legs and Greed with my arms. They struggled but only glared at each other now, both utterly competitive and always butting heads. After a moment they turned away from each other abruptly, each pouting at the fact that there hadn't been a winner. Greed paused the game, looking at me with a sly smile that was never a good thing. He was in college, still living at home, and I'd been around him enough to know that him smiling was never a good thing. Instantly, I released him, sitting up straight and scooting to Wrath some.

"Soo~" he dragged the word out and my stomach plummeted to my knees. "How was your first day at your new school, little brother of mine?"

"I'm not the little one, Wrath is," this earned a small protest from the longhaired boy besides me.

"Wrath is my little bother, not brother. And don't avoid the question."

"It was alright, I guess," I replied, shrugging.

"Meet anyone neat?"

"I met a lot of people. None of them really neat."

"Any cute boys?"

"Greed!" I squeaked, blushing dark red. Besides me, I heard Wrath chuckle and mutter something about his fruity older brother.

"Well? Spill it, Envy. Dad can't hear anything, he's out like a light."

"No! And quit asking that!"

I got off the couch, running up the stairs and into my room. Ugh, sometimes I hated Greed. Sometimes he seemed perfectly fine with having one of his younger brothers be gay, other times he just saw it as an opportunity to pick on me. I sat on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest, heart pounding in my chest. My eyes were opened wide, shadows slipping over the light that streamed in through the window, moving close enough to touch and then vanishing, tormenting me. I whimpered, closing my eyes and ducking my head down, returning to the five-year-old logic of 'if I can't see them, they can't see me'. I heard my door open and close and flinched, digging my nails into my forearms. I felt a warm hand on between my shoulder blades, then someone sitting besides me.

"Did you forget your medicine this morning?" It was Greed, his voice low and unaccusing.

"No, I've been taking it. But half my normal dose. That shit doesn't work, Greed. It just makes it worse. So much worse," I whispered, leaning into him.

"Do you see them now?"

I nodded, feeling myself shake as I did so. Greed was the only one I confided with when it came to my… problem. Wrath was too young to understand and mom would just send me to the hospital again, and I couldn't stand that. It was too bright. Greed helped me. Sure, sometimes he was a jackass, but other times… other times he was the best brother ever.

"Well, keep your eyes closed. And Envy… tell me about him. And don't deny it, I know you too well."

I took a deep breath to steady myself, then, so quiet I could barely hear myself say it…

"His name is Edward Elric."


(Edward's POV)

The clink swish sound of silverware and dishes being washed was the only sound I heard outside my bedroom Saturday night, my ear pressed to the door. It seemed safe enough to go out for now and I slipped out my room silently, desparate to stayed unnoticed. I'd managed to stay clear of my dad for Friday, keeping myself shut up in my room and only going out to eat dinner quickly, avoiding any and all topics involving school. I hadn't really thought about Envy that much, just the occaisional odd and unwelcome flash of memory when I'd first seen him in the shadow of the church. My stomach clenched whenever the image of those unearthly eyes were brought to my attention once more by simply seeing something purple. But that was yesterday. It was Saturday evening now, and I had to brave the risks of venturing outside my room because I had to pee. I froze in the hallway, suddenly hearing the refridgerator door open and the sound of a can being open. Holding back a million and one curses that were waiting to be fired out I sprinted headlong the rest of the way, panting and leaning against the door once I'd made it.

Dad had gotten into drinking ever since mom died, not every single day getting hammered, no. He still had work, had a job to support us. But every Saturday, he cracked open several beers and got just wasted enough to have the mental clarity to find out just how to make my life a living hell. Resisting was useless, I could lock the door to my room and hide under my bed, and he would take a battering ram to my door and burn my bed. So let me say this perfectly clear, I hate the weekends.

I left the bathroom just in time to hear the second pop of a can opening and my dad sigh before taking his drink. I began to creep back to my room, barely daring to breathe, but then I heard it. Never before have I wanted to be able to melt through walls as much as I did at that one moment.

"Hey Ed! C'mere!" My dad's words were already slurring slightly, he never was much of a heavyweight when it came to drinking. In a few more I could correctly assume that he'd be passed out on the couch.

Reluctantly, I turned away from the direction of my room, my safe haven and made my way back to the living room, where my father sat with a goofy smile on his face, a can of beer in one had and several others on the table in front of him. Three were already empty. Crap, he'd had more than I thought. Regret pooled in my stomach but I stayed standing, keeping my expression blank, even though my mind was screaming to run. In my fight-or-flight instinct, flight was dominant and I wanted to obey it so bad right now. But instead, I stood my ground, knowing running would only make it worse.

"Yeah, dad?" I forced a smile; feeling like my face would crack.

"How was school, kiddo? You never told me," his expression darkened somewhat and I barely checked my reaction to flinch. He was a moody drunk, I had to watch my words or else things could get bad fast.

"It was alright, dad. I met the new student."

"Oh? What's he like?"

"I don't know. He's in my government class and my lunch, that's about it."

"What's his name?"

"Envy Jones."

There was a pause as his eyes narrowed and his smile became a frown. He watched me carefully, surveying my reaction to saying the name. I kept my smile in place, willing myself not to blush for once in my life. I must have succeeded because he settled again, grin returning.

"That's a weird name. Well, he's new. Invite him over, I'd like to meet him and I bet he could use a friend."

I blinked, not able to hold back my surprise. He must have been drunk, never in a million years would I have expected those words to come from his mouth. He wanted to meet someone, wanted me to be friends with another guy? I swallowed before speaking, choosing my words carefully.

"Well if you really think so, I could ask him. I don't really think we have that much in common…"

"Nonsense! You don't really hang out with anyone anymore. What happened to Roy? I liked that boy."

Shit. The curse came to my mind before I could stop it, warning bells ringing loud and clear in my head. This was a trap; there was no way in hell I'd be able to get out of this situation without something bad happening. He'd planned this; I knew it had to be true. My heart fluttered like a hummingbird who drank six shots of espresso and I worked to find a response that would make this all go away, but apparently he wasn't waiting for me to speak.

"Oh right, I remember what happened," his grin grew savage, eyes narrowed viciously, "Roy found out you're a freak of nature. That you're an oddity and unwelcome in this world. And when he brought the truth to light, you fought him. And now you're at a holy school to try and fix your problem. But then again, nothing about you can be fixed, can it? After all…"

He was up faster than I thought he could have been, grabbing me by the front of my shirt and hurling me out into the hallway. I hit the ground hard and slid until I slammed into a wall, biting my lip to keep myself from crying out in pain. It had all been a trick, luring me into a false sense of security. Making me think that dad actually wanted me to lead a normal life, with friends who didn't turn against me. He leaned in close, pulling my head back by the hair so that I was forced to look at him. He scoffed, shoving me up to my feet and sending me down the hall. I took off running, as he laughed and called out after me, voice cold and harsh and broken.

"After all it was your fault mom died!"

I gasped, scrambling into my room and slamming the door shut, sliding down against it, hands clutching at my heart. This was worse than usual. He never had said that before, never even hit me before. But this time he freaking threw me out into the hallway.

"Oh, but do invite Envy over! I do want to meet him!"

And he laughed and laughed as I willed myself not to cry, no matter how much I wanted to.


I kind of hate myself for writing this chapter, but I needed to give you a glimpse into their lives at home. Yeah, poor Ed. I almost cried T-T.