Number of words: 12,222
Published date: August 19, 2012
Began chapter: April 23, 2012
Finished chapter: July 26, 2012
Chapter 4: The First Day
The next morning was a glorious one, though it came all too quickly for the mansion's inhabitants.
Birds started their singing just as dawn's light began to tinge the sky, slowly overpowering the stars so that one by one they faded away. The moon, full now that the lunar eclipse was over, brushed the tops of the trees in the west as it sank. Sunrise came slowly and majestically, the summer sun inching over the horizon without a single cloud to mar its proud ascent. The morning dew glittered like fallen stars, the surrounding forest's shadows stretched and moved with the sun's rising, and the garden flowers began to stir, unfurling their petals in eager anticipation of basking in the heat of summer's day.
As sappy as it was, the morning perfectly suited Greed's mood.
He knew that he hadn't gotten enough sleep, but his bedroom window was facing the east and once the sunlight woke him up, he hadn't felt like going back to sleep. So he had gotten up, wandered around the mansion for a bit, and then settled on the balcony above the front doors.
Greed couldn't remember if he had favoured heights so much in his past life or if Ling's habit had rubbed off on him, but either way, he loved the view.
The mansion was surrounded by forest and at ground level it would be nearly impossible to see anything of the area because of the dense trees, but from the balcony, Greed could see quite a long distance. The land appeared to roll down to the east and rise in the west and the estate sat somewhere on the side of the… Is this a mountain, or a hill? Greed wasn't sure what the difference was and decided that it was somewhere in between.
Squinting against the sun, he could just spy a large blue lake with a little island in the middle, and not too far away from the lake, he could see the edges of a substantial town. The forest thinned beyond the town and changed to rolling fields. Something moving away from the town caught his eyes and after a minute of staring, he made out the telltale smoke and winding snake-like form of a train heading for its next destination.
Greed knew he should stick around for at least a few days, but he wanted to be on that train now!
How long would it take him to get to Xing, even taking the train? How would he cross the desert? Bah, the details didn't matter; he'd figure it out later! What mattered was seeing Ling again.
Had Ling done it? Had the Philosopher's Stone worked? Had he become emperor? He was still a kid, but then, his partner had been a strong and determined kid. Greed had left him knowing that he could succeed. If six years had gone by, there was no doubt in his mind that Ling was now the ruler of a country, and as much as "ruler of the world" had a nicer ring to it, it still wasn't too shabby.
Ling had been so determined to keep clinging to him even as Daddy ripped at his Stone, trying to tear him from Ling's body. Of course he had lied to make Ling let go! The damn fool would have been sucked up too if he'd continued to stubbornly hold on. He would have become just one more soul in Daddy's Stone! Even after his disrespectful attitude, the Homunculus couldn't deny that Ling had been a good partner. No, more than that: He had been a good friend. As much as Greed didn't like sappy sentimentalism – it detracted from his cool image – it had been pretty touching to see the tears in Ling's eyes as Greed died.
The other Homunculi wouldn't understand. They didn't have friends. They claimed not to need them or want them. Greed knew that even more painful than dying was the pain of watching your friends die. He didn't remember much of his 'first' life, but he remembered that much. His friends had all been killed and even with his Ultimate Shield and healing, he hadn't been able to save them. Hell, he hadn't even been able to save himself! He was glad that he had been able to help Edward defeat his father, but it pained him that he'd had to die to do it. Not because he didn't want to die (though that was quite true too!), but because of the pain it caused Ling and Ed to lose their friend and not be able to do anything to save him.
Did Ling even know that Greed was alive? Had the Elrics been able to tell him? It ticked him off to think that Ling had in all likelihood gotten over his death. If six years had gone by, he'd probably forgotten about Greed by now. Damn punk! He'd better not have forgotten me! Maybe he'll be in for a surprise when I show up. Hahaha, I hope he doesn't know that I'm back! His face'd be priceless!
His train of thought was interrupted when he heard movement behind him. Turning from where he had been leaning on the balcony rails, he found Pride opening the door, rubbing his eyes and blinking at the bright light.
"Good morning, Greed," he said while covering a yawn.
As much as Ed had acted as if Pride was no longer a threat, Greed had a hard time swallowing it. It was hard to forget the feel of Pride's shadows twisting around his body and snapping at his neck and arms. He looked small and innocent, but Greed didn't let that fool him; Pride had looked small and innocent back then, too, smiling childishly as he tried to kill them. Appearance meant nothing.
He hoped Ed knew what he was talking about, but it couldn't hurt to be cautious. He watched Pride approach with a tense wariness.
Pride could tell right away that Greed was distrustful of him. His face fell instantly into a hurt expression.
"You don't need to be worried. I'm not going to attack you or anything."
"You can say that, but words are cheap, Pride," Greed replied sarcastically, leaning his back against the railing and crossing his arms over his chest.
He was surprised by the flash of irritation that crossed Pride's face, quickly replaced by a look of… meekness? Acceptance? It didn't suit him at all.
The little boy hesitated for a moment and then joined Greed at the railing, though leaving a respectful distance between them.
"Big Brother and Teacher will tell you as well," he said. "I can't attack you. I'm not Pride anymore. I don't have any of my powers. I am exactly what I look like: a human child."
"Yeah? And how did that happen?" Greed asked, watching him and freely studying the same changes in his appearance that Envy had noticed the previous night.
"Edward did it," he replied. "Right after you and the others headed to the surface after Father. I thought that I could use Edward's body as a new container, but he reversed my attack and reduced me to this powerless state."
He admitted it so freely and without embarrassment that Greed was surprised. Pride was not one to admit defeat, but he spoke without anger or bitterness. It most definitely was not in character.
"I know we didn't exactly see eye to eye in the past-"
Greed snorted at the obvious truth in that statement.
"-but now I know that you were right."
"Oh?"
Pride nodded solemnly.
"Big Brother said I was just mindlessly following Father's orders. You were the only one of us who made his own choices. We just wanted Father's goal to succeed. You went after the things that you wanted."
Pride's eyes looked out at the surrounding countryside without actually seeing it. His voice and expression were pensive.
"I've been living like this with Mother for six years now, and I'm beginning to understand why you never disparaged humans. Even after Mother found out what I was, she didn't abandon me. Humans are a lot stronger than we gave them credit for.
"Edward chose not to kill me, so I've kind of been given a second chance at life. I'm trying to embrace humanity, so I thought everyone else might be able to, too, but… after your reactions last night…"
"All right! Don't get upset again! Seeing you cry is just plain weird!" Greed pleaded, waving his hands placatingly. "I believe you! You're definitely different!"
Pride blinked fiercely a few times, scowling at himself rather than at Greed. He wasn't normally so prone to crying, but the days had been rather emotional.
"I don't want you to hate me just because I've forced you to become human. I just couldn't bear living all alone, even with Mother and Big Brother and Teacher," he explained weakly.
Greed sighed.
"Look, kid, I don't hate you. Whatever your reasons were, I've got a second chance at life. I can't hate you for that. And as for being human… Well, it'll take some getting used to, sure, but I'll adapt. We all will."
Pride looked up hopefully.
"Even the others?"
Greed scratched his chin thoughtfully before shrugging.
"Dunno. Sloth and Gluttony probably won't care, but Envy did seem pretty pissed…"
Oops, he realized at seeing Pride's crestfallen expression. This is hard! I'm not used to dealing with kids!
"I'm sure he'll get over it eventually!" he hastened to reassure the boy. "And look: even if no one else appreciates this, I do, okay?"
Pride's face lit right up. The sudden changes were disconcerting for Greed, for the Pride he knew had been self-controlled and rather cold.
"Really? You really mean that?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, I do. I can't wait to see Ling again. How long do I got to stick around before-"
"Thanks, Greed!" Pride gave a happy squeal and darted forward, hugging his brother's legs since that was as high as he could reach. Then he let go, spun around, and ran to the door. "I bet Teacher is up by now, so we'd better get started on breakfast!" He vanished inside. It was over before Greed could even decide how to react. He stared after his eldest brother in shock before the word 'breakfast' sank in and his stomach rumbled hungrily. He followed after Pride wearing a slightly bemused expression.
The most intimidating and powerful Homunculus had just hugged him.
Maybe he should stick around, just to see in what other ways Pride had changed!
'Teacher' was indeed up and about when Greed entered the kitchen, already pulling bowls out of a cupboard as he discussed with Pride what they should make for breakfast. Actually, it was more accurate to say that he was merely listening, for Pride was babbling away without giving Alphonse much chance to get a word in edgewise.
"…but I don't think we have enough eggs to make omelettes for everyone. Oh! We have the ingredients for pancakes. That'd be good! And we have some fruit that we could put on top of them! And what about whipped cream? I don't think we have any… but we can make some from the milk, so that'd be…"
"Good morning," Alphonse greeted as Greed stepped into the room. "Did you sleep well?"
"Huh? Yeah, just fine," Greed replied absently, still keeping his eyes on Pride as he crossed to the table in the alcove and sat down.
"…about syrup? We can make that with sugar and water. Let's see, what's in sugar again? Um… Hydrogen, calcium, and… oxygen, so I'll need a triple-binary array with…"
"Is he normally this chatty?" Greed asked.
Alphonse chuckled as he set a dish of sugar on the kitchen table, adding to a quickly growing pile of ingredients.
"No, not all the time. He's just excited to see everyone again. It's been more than a year since we realized it was possible to bring you all back. It's a long time for a child to wait."
Greed snorted at that comment.
"Maybe if he were the age he looks like! He's, what, probably a couple hundred years old by now. A year's not that big of a deal."
"I suppose that's true…"
"Hey! I can hear you two! Don't talk about me as if I'm not here!"
"Sorry, Selim," Alphonse said. "Is there anything you want me to do, or can you handle it all by yourself?"
Selim had the good grace to look embarrassed when he realized that he had completely taken charge of making breakfast, but he still waved aside Al's offer to help.
"I've got it. I kind of want to make everyone's first breakfast myself, if that's okay."
Alphonse nodded agreeably and joined Greed at the other table, watching as Selim measured flour into a bowl while sipping absently at a cup of coffee.
After a few minutes of industrious silence, Greed leaned back impatiently on the bench, his stomach rumbling hungrily. This was boring. He let his gaze wander around the kitchen with disinterest. A few pots and pans hung from a rack on the wall over one of the counters. The alcove table bore a small vase of bright yellow flowers. A red brick chimney connected to an old-fashioned wood stove. The tables were painted a light blue, the cupboards were brown, and the walls were a pale creamy colour. A back door led outside and, glancing out the alcove windows, Greed supposed it led to a garden, judging by the white fence just visible from the corner of his view. An entryway on the other side of the room opened onto a large dining room, which was good because Greed doubted all of them would fit in the kitchen at once. With all of the things piled on the table and Selim darting busily around the room, it was already beginning to feel a little crowded even with just the three of them.
One thing did catch Greed's eyes, though. The refrigerator was boring old white, but its front was covered in colourful papers. He could barely tell what the drawings were supposed to be. They looked like a child's random scribblings. Pride wasn't honestly going to claim that he'd done those, was he?
Shifting his attention from the room to the young man sitting across from him, Greed tried to study Alphonse without being too blatant about it. Like Envy, he hadn't doubted even for a second that Alphonse was who he said he was, but since Greed had only known him as a soul-possessed suit of armour, it felt weird to see him now with an actual body.
It was comforting to see that the boys had succeeded in getting their bodies back. Sure, defeating Father and saving Amestris had trumped in priority, but they had still managed to reach their own goal as well. Maybe it was a little silly, but Greed found it nice just to see Al drinking his coffee. Even something that ordinary had been impossible for him before. And as much as he personally felt that not needing to eat or sleep or breathe or grow old was a far better arrangement, Al had wanted his body back and far be it for Greed to stand in the way of someone pursuing what they wanted. So long as they didn't interfere with his own desires, of course!
"I have Brother to thank for this," Alphonse said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"You were wondering how I got my body back, right?"
Greed gave a small chuckle. And here I was trying to be discreet about it! Sharp kid, that's for sure.
"Be lying if I said I wasn't curious."
Alphonse smiled lightly at the flippant tone and moved his empty cup to the side, folding his hands on the table in the manner of someone settling down to tell a story. His face bore a somewhat solemn look and, judging by the expression, Greed might have thought that they'd had to do something drastic if he weren't certain that the Elric brothers wouldn't have done something "wrong" just to get their bodies back.
"Brother told me that the fight didn't last long after your sacrifice. I wasn't there, so I didn't see, but with the help of your carbonizing ability, Ed was able to land a blow that freed the remaining Xerxian souls." Al spoke softly; not as if Pride didn't know the story, but as if he didn't want Pride to hear and be reminded of the past. "Without his Philosopher's Stone, your father was pulled from this world. We can't know for sure, but Ed says it looked like the hands of Truth were what grabbed him.
"To bring me back from the Portal of Truth, Brother gave up his own Portal. He can't use alchemy anymore. It was… an Equivalent Exchange."
Hard blow. No wonder Al looked so serious about it. Losing the ability to perform alchemy was probably like… Hmm, it was probably like losing his own Ultimate Shield, Greed thought wryly. That makes Fullmetal just an ordinary human. Too bad; he'd been a good fighter with his alchemy. Not that he couldn't be a good fighter without it – just look at Ling! – but it was still quite the loss. Al probably blamed himself for his brother's sacrifice, but with six years, hopefully he'd had enough time to get over the guilt.
"…That sucks," he said after an awkward pause.
Really, what else could he say on the matter?
The kitchen lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, it didn't last very long.
Pride was leaning over the other table. Greed couldn't see what he was doing since his back was in the way. It looked like he was nearly ready to start making whatever it was they were having for breakfast; the dry ingredients had been measured into a few bowls, and the milk, oil, and eggs were sitting to the side, ready to be added. Greed's stomach rumbled again and he wondered irritably what the little brat was wasting his time on.
After a few moments, his curiosity was answered. Pride straightened from his work and came over to their table with a sheet of paper in his hands.
"Teacher, this is the proper formula, right?"
He laid the paper on the table for Alphonse to look at, and Greed was surprised to see a transmutation circle.
"I wasn't sure if I should incorporate the symbol for actual calcination or if just the heptagram and synthesis combination would be sufficient…"
Uh… Wha-…? Was that even English?
"No, that's right if it's just for the batter. You'd have to modify for calcination if you planned on cooking them with alchemy too, but food cooked that way never tastes as good."
"Okay."
"And you could have substituted for the equilateral cross here," Alphonse tapped a finger on the paper in demonstration, "since the ingredients don't need to be broken down into their separate elements first."
…Umm… Say what?
"Mmm, yeah. That makes sense."
The exchange went completely over Greed's head. Pride skipped back to the table, placed the sheet down on its surface, rearranged the ingredients so that they were on top of the transmutation circle, and placed his hands on its edge. In the next moment, the circle lit up with a crackling blue light and the bowls of ingredients quickly emptied while the empty bowl in the middle filled.
Then, as if the transmutation were no big deal, Pride picked up the bowl of pancake batter and moved to the stove, pulling out a small stool from under the table to stand on since he was too short to work at the stove without it.
Alphonse took one look at Greed's face and began to laugh, and Pride looked puzzled when he turned to catch a glimpse of them over his shoulder.
"What's the matter, Greed?"
"You're using alchemy!"
"So?" Pride cocked his head to the side as if confused by the statement. "Do you think it's weird that I'm using alchemy for this? They do say that alchemy was born in the kitchen…"
"That's not the point! Since when have you been able to use alchemy? I didn't know we could even do that!"
Now Pride was definitely confused. "Why wouldn't we be able to use alchemy?"
"Because, uh…." Greed was left floundering for a reason. He'd never given it any thought, honestly. He'd just assumed that they couldn't use the technique since none of them had. "Damned if I know," he admitted lamely.
"We have souls too, even if they're not identical to humans'. That's really all you need to do it," Pride said. "Big Brother and Teacher have been teaching me for, um…"
"About three years now," Alphonse supplied.
"Has it really been that long already?" Pride exclaimed. "It doesn't feel like it's been that long at all." He returned his attention to the stove, pouring batter into an awkwardly heavy cast-iron frying pan as he spoke. "I'm their first apprentice! Big Brother and Teacher are working on a completely new form of alchemy. It combines Amestrian alchemy, Xingese alkahestry, and the alchemy used in Creta too. Mostly they just use the same alchemy as here, but they do some really weird things with three-dimensional transmutation arrays! And then there's the whole-"
"I really don't care, kid," Greed interrupted. "But since you've mentioned Xing, tell me about Ling. How is he? Surely he's emperor by now, right?"
Pride sniffed haughtily at being so rudely cut off and turned back to the stove, his back making it quite clear that Alphonse would have to handle answering the question.
"Yes, Ling is emperor now. He returned to Xing with the Philosopher's Stone just in time to appease the previous emperor before he passed away. He's been working hard on uniting all of the clans and to build relations with the neighbouring countries."
"Then, I can head out right away-"
Alphonse shook his head. "I'm sorry, Greed, but it's not that simple. I know you want to see him, but you can't just take off. You need to stay here for at least a few months. Until we can be sure the transmutation was successful. If you went to Xing now and something happened, there'd be no way for us – or Ling – to help you."
Greed scowled and rubbed his chin pensively.
"A few months, huh? I guess that's not so bad-"
"We also have to consider how to get you into Xing. There's a new railway across the desert that connects Amestris and Xing, but the military has recently become more concerned about security on the trains. Crossing the desert really discouraged people from illegally entering or leaving the country, and with the train now making it so easy to travel between the two, there's been a lot more cross-border crime. Smuggling, kidnapping, criminals fleeing their own country's police, gangs… We can't get you a passport because we can't let the government or military know that you're alive. And it's too risky to take the train for the same reason."
"So then we'll just have to cross the desert on foot, right? What's the big deal?"
"Again, it's not as easy as you think. The best way is to find a smuggler to use as a guide, but with the military crackdown at the borders, it's become harder to get out of the country without someone knowing. And there are fewer smugglers using the desert route because transporting merchandise is a lot easier by train. More risk that you'll be caught, but less risk to your life making the trek across. And although we could try to cross on our own, it's really dangerous to make the crossing if you're not familiar with it. Miss an oasis or eat the wrong type of cactus and you won't be leaving the desert alive."
Greed leaned back on the bench and crossed his arms, frowning at the pessimistic news, but Alphonse wasn't finished.
"And because it's Xing, we'll also need to be worried about your aura."
"My… aura?" Greed repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Alphonse nodded. "Alkahestry is harder to learn than alchemy, but a lot of people in Xing can detect the chi of living beings even without being alkahestrists."
"I don't know what you're- Oh, wait. Are you talking about how Ling and the others were able to detect our presence even in the dark?"
"That's right," Alphonse said. "The Xingese teach that all living things have a life force, or 'chi'. And by training the senses, one can learn to sense that chi in others. What Ling and the others sensed was the Philosopher's Stone. To them, it felt like a large number of lives all concentrated into one body. The Stone's presence was like a beacon to them that easily identified a Homunculus even from far away."
Alphonse paused then and stared at Greed for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"The feeling from you now is much more subtle, so maybe it won't be a problem. But there is something… different… in you when compared to other humans. It'll probably be the same with the others as well. I'm sure it has to do with your soul not being in your body-"
Greed blinked in surprise and couldn't help himself from interrupting.
"Wait. So you can sense this "chi" thing too now? And what do you mean my soul's not in my body? How the hell's that possible?"
Al opened his mouth to reply, but Pride beat him to it, piping up in a somewhat indignant tone, as if offended on his mentor's behalf and determined to defend his reputation as an alchemy expert.
"Of course Teacher can sense chi now! He's the first Amestrian to ever learn alkahestry! He's spent three years in Xing learning from the best alkahestrists."
"Uh, Selim…"
"And as for the soul business," Pride continued, wagging his finger at Greed as if their roles were reversed and Greed was the child, "you'll just have to wait until the others can hear too. Otherwise we'll just be repeating ourselves."
"The pancakes…"
"Huh? Oh no!"
Pride wheeled back to the stove, fumbled and dropped the spatula, and then fell off the stool as he reached down to pick the utensil up from the floor. His tumble was accompanied by the crash of several bowls from off the counter (which he'd grabbed at in an attempt to catch his balance), his yelp of surprise, and the two males hurrying up to help him. The kitchen quickly filled with noise and burnt pancake smoke.
Her room, Lust discovered, was apparently closest to the kitchen. Although she hadn't exactly been sleeping, the yelling and clattering of dishes that drifted down the hallway and through the walls and door to where she lay on the bed made it impossible for her to hope or pretend that she might fall back asleep.
She wasn't sure how long she'd been lying there, staring at the ceiling. It might have been minutes or hours. All she knew was that she had fallen asleep too tired to even think properly about what the Elric brothers had told her, and now her mind was trying to make up for it by churning wildly, repeating the implications in a random and compulsive manner.
Father is gone. Dead. We failed. The plan failed. Everything we worked for is gone.
It felt surreal, like a bad dream. She had never dreamed before, but if it weren't for that fact, she might have convinced herself that it all really had been a dream, and that she had simply found an empty (and very nice) room to sleep in because it was too late to return home to the underground hideout. Maybe she had been flirting with some poor drunk man who had offered her his bed for the night. Then the only question would be, had he insisted on being in that bed at the same time? And had she humoured him, or killed him for being too pushy when she wasn't in the mood?
But Homunculi didn't dream. Her memories were real. She had most definitely died at Mustang's hands, and she was most definitely alive now. Which meant that everything that had happened last night was true as well, including the Elrics' story.
She frowned at the ceiling, trying to arrange her thoughts into some semblance of order. She was the second eldest, the big sister of the family. She had to maintain her composure, to think about this rationally and take care of her younger brothers. Gluttony and Sloth couldn't think for themselves, and Envy didn't have a shred of common sense. It was up to her to be smart about this.
Father is gone. No matter how painful that was to think about, it could not be changed. No sense in dwelling on it, at least not now.
The plan failed, but we're all alive. Everything we worked for is gone, but we are not.
That point shouldn't have mattered as much as it did. It seemed incredibly sentimental to suggest that, as long as her family was still alive, all was not lost, but she couldn't dismiss the feeling. They were all a part of Father. The plan might have been thwarted, but as long as even one of them lived, they weren't defeated.
The Elrics did not explain why they helped to bring us back, but Pride said that he missed us.
This point made Lust pause. What did it mean that Pride had missed them? Out of all of them, he had been the Homunculus least interested in spending time with his 'family'. Even Sloth apparently became lonely, for Lust remembered a few instances where he had stopped digging, not out of boredom, tiredness, or laziness, but because he had wanted company. Or at least that was what Pride reported later after checking up on the huge man with his shadows, and in the nearly two hundred years of his digging, roughly once every decade Sloth would mention one of his siblings' names to Pride, which they interpreted as a request for a visit. To keep him digging, it was a small request to grant.
But Pride… He had never, in Lust's memory, shown any signs of wanting company. He had held himself aloof from the others, giving commands as if he was the one in charge, using his shadows at times only to show off, exaggerating his superiority, and all the while carefully guarding his identity by remaining uninvolved in the actual execution of the plan.
He's never really been alone, though, Lust realized suddenly. Not the way Sloth was. And even though he held himself apart, he never really isolated himself from the rest of us. He pretended to ignore us, but what if that was just his arrogance?
Was it possible that Pride had been faking indifference to his siblings' company? Lust didn't know of any reason why that couldn't be true. And with all of them dead, he'd been forced to experience loneliness for the first time.
But if that's the case, she pondered thoughtfully, why his lack of arrogance now? Shouldn't he be too proud to admit that he missed us, whether it's true or not? Something has happened; something has changed him, but what…?
It was impossible for her to know. Six years was a very short period of time, but anything could have happened to him. For all she knew, being reduced to his true form at Edward's hand and having his Philosopher's Stone nearly destroyed could easily have done something to his personality.
In any event, there was no use in speculating on it now. All Lust could be sure of was that Pride was different. The totality of that difference had yet to be seen. And though she didn't like being uncertain of anything, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Whatever changed him also caused him to bring us back.
And how were they able to do that? she wondered. How were they able to bring us back in the first place? If it wasn't human transmutation, then what was it? And more importantly, why are the Elrics involved too? Did Pride trick them somehow into doing this? Or has he made some kind of deal with them? Do they plan on using us? What will we owe them in return for our lives?
It wasn't the kind of thing she expected from the Elric brothers. They had both been young idealists. Edward had magnanimously spared Number 48, refusing to kill the pair of murderers because he considered them to still be human. Which was a ridiculous sentiment if she had ever heard one. Alphonse had been willing to die protecting Mustang's subordinate, when it would have made much more sense to leave the pathetic woman behind. And though they had been modest in the telling, their firm beliefs had come through in the story they'd recounted to her. They hadn't abandoned their ideals. She couldn't imagine what the Elrics wanted with the Homunculi if not to manipulate them for their own purposes, but Lust would be quite shocked if that turned out to be the case.
She sighed in frustration. Her thoughts were getting her nowhere. She still only had questions and no answers. She was wasting her time. She didn't trust the Elrics yet, and she would keep her reservations about Pride too, but they had promised to explain everything in the morning.
Another loud clang came from the kitchen and, for a moment, she heard raised voices.
Yes, there certainly was no reason to remain in bed with the racket drifting down the hallway.
Lust sat up on the bed, interlacing her fingers and raising her arms over her head in a luxurious stretch as she surveyed the room.
The canopy bed was large and plush, with a dark-red feather-filled duvet and two plump pillows set at the head of the bed. A handsome mahogany desk sat in one corner of the room, with a matching bookcase beside it. A full-length mirror sat in the other corner. The walls were a light blue, accented with trims of gold. The carpet had an old pattern that hadn't been popular in Central for several decades: stylized roses and thorns on a black background. A blue vase of roses sat on the nearby nightstand. There was a comfortable chair beside a tall floor lamp and the wall-length window had a small balcony.
It was all very sensual. Lust was struck by the attention that had been given to preparing the room. Pride must have done this, but how had he known that roses were her favourite? She had never mentioned it. She was especially surprised by the carpet. When she had first seen one with that pattern in a shop window, she had secretly fancied that the artist had been inspired by her, childish as that fancy was. The thorns, long and sharp, resembled her Ultimate Spear, and she liked the idea of being compared to those flowers: beautiful, but dangerous to touch.
All in all, the room was perfect.
Her reflection in the mirror was less so.
She had been too tired to bother taking off her dress, only managing to kick off her shoes before falling asleep. She regretted it now. The material had rumpled and, coupled with her hair (which was a lot harder to manage than she let on), she looked thoroughly dishevelled.
Unacceptable, she thought irritably, standing up and looking about for some way to remedy her less-than-perfect image.
And by some miracle, Pride had thought of that. A brush and comb sat on the desk, so prominently placed that it was as if they were calling her name. As she began the lengthy process of smoothing out her long black waves, she noticed a small door that she had somehow missed in her first look around the room. A closet. And when she opened it, Lust found hanging inside, in no particular order, at least a dozen outfits.
Lust allowed herself a brief smile of pleasure as she fingered through the clothing. Most were in extremely good taste. Pulling out a purple dress similar to the one she had worn on one of her dates with Jean, she was even more pleased to see that it was in the right size. It was incredibly hard to find things that fit her, considering her height and… *ahem* uncommon measurements.
After the stress of the previous night, it was relaxing to lose herself in the simple luxury of sorting through the clothing, trying different dresses on and admiring herself in the mirror.
Lust had never considered herself vain. Or at least not any more than some of her siblings. Greed had spent just as much time as she did preening in the mirror, bragging about his "sexy good looks", fixing his hair so that it stood up on his head and checking that his teeth, sharp as they were, didn't have food stuck in them. Envy didn't spend a lot of time preening – he could fix any blemishes with his shape-shifting, after all – but he was incredibly sensitive about his appearance, which translated in Lust's mind as vanity, plain and simple. Of course, he was sensitive about lots of other things too, but the one insult he couldn't tolerate was being called ugly.
Probably because, unlike everyone else, he had personally designed his own appearance, making the insult as much about his artistic creativity as it was about his actual face.
She didn't think of herself as vain, but that didn't mean she didn't pay attention to her appearance. Beauty was important, in more than one way. Lust hadn't just wanted to look her best because it made her job easier, though that certainly helped. It was so much easier to manipulate men when they were so taken with her appearance that they could only stammer and agree with whatever would please her. Whether she needed information and worked to tease it out of a man, or whether she needed to persuade someone like that fool priest in Liore to aim for power that would eventually result in bloodshed, beauty didn't act only as a distraction. Beauty meant power. Beauty meant confidence. She was attractive and she carried herself with confident self-assurance. Her bearing, when plumbing for secrets, encouraged the poor dupe to trust her. When planting the suggestion that the man should reach for power, her sultry voice and smoky looks said she was confident in his ability to succeed… and that she would be waiting for him once he did.
But one couldn't wield that power if they weren't confident in their attractiveness. A person who acted attractive and yet was not only looked like a fool. And once someone saw you as looking foolish, it was impossible to shake that image.
So Lust was careful to always look her best. She had her pride, after all.
Doing up the buttons of a fairly plain blouse, Lust paused. Something about the person staring back at her in the mirror seemed… different. And it wasn't just that the blouse was much more modest than the low cut she was used to.
It was only after several minutes that she spotted the difference: Her Ouroboros tattoo was missing.
Yet another sign that we're not the same, she thought sadly, lightly rubbing the spot on her chest where her tattoo had been. The skin was smooth; there wasn't any hint that the tattoo had ever been there.
She tried to continue trying on the rest of the clothing, but now that she was aware of the tattoo's absence, it was hard to concentrate on anything else, and the distraction only served to spoil her mood. As irrational as it was, without the red symbol stamped boldly on her skin, her bosom felt far more exposed. And most of the clothes were more modest than she would have liked, completely covering her chest.
She felt conflicted: By covering her chest, it would seem as if she was ashamed of the missing mark, but if she wore something more revealing, the absence would be prominently displayed.
It was an annoying dilemma, but she eventually settled on the purple dress, which was fairly similar to her ordinary dress. Then, she slipped her high heels on, opened the bedroom door, and followed the sound of voices and the lingering scent of burnt food down the hallway.
When Lust entered the kitchen, she was both surprised and unimpressed at what she found.
Pride was standing on a stool at the stove, arguing shrilly with the dark-haired man who had claimed to be Greed from the night before. He spoke the same way Greed did, with that rough drawl that he thought was sexy (but which she mostly thought of as posturing), and his voice was similar to what she remembered, but it was hard to believe that he had been given a new body. Especially one so different in shape and size. Greed had been a good bit taller than her, but this new version was probably the same height. If not shorter. He looked like a teenager!
From the way the two were bickering over each other, Lust couldn't tell what the argument was about, though it looked like Greed was trying to take over for Pride at the stove. The phrases "I want my food to be cooked, not scorched!" and "I want to do it myself!" were all she could pick out before they saw her. Pride instantly forgot all about the argument, grinning and jumping off the stool, leaving Greed the apparent winner. With a shrug, he took over tending the food while turning to watch them over his shoulder at the same time.
"Good morning, Lust! Did you sleep well?"
Could he really be Pride? He looked younger and he had that dot on his forehead, but he still looked and sounded like the same person. He had spent a few years faking his identity in the Bradley household, so she knew he could act. And yet, his cheerful voice and smile seemed so genuine…
"Well enough," she replied, humouring his smile with a small one of her own. If he's merely faking the child act, then I should play along. And if he really is a child, it would be best to treat him as such. "What's going on here?"
"We're making breakfast!"
"I can see that," she replied dryly with a glance around the room. Dishes were piled up on the table and Alphonse was clearing a space so that he would have room to work. He spared a second to send an apologetic smile her way.
"I'm sorry if we woke you," he said.
Lust shrugged lightly and slipped gracefully around Pride to take a seat at the alcove table.
"I was already awake," she admitted after a moment.
Alphonse nodded politely and returned his attention to his work, beginning to cut strawberries up into a bowl. Pride plopped himself down across from her on the bench, kicking his feet like a child and beaming happily up at her. Lust was used to getting attention, but Pride's happy stare was unnerving and she wished he would stop looking at her like that.
"What did you think of your room? And the clothes? Are they okay? That dress looks nice on you. I hope you like pancakes."
She blinked in surprise at the rapid words, and as she hesitated over which answer to give first, Lust felt a sudden foreboding. Oh God. I hope he hasn't turned into some hyperactive little brat…
"The room is lovely. Were you the one who chose everything?"
"Oh no!" Pride laughed at the suggestion. "Like I'd know anything about girly stuff like that! Mother picked most of it."
"'Mother'?" What on earth is he talking about?
"Uh-huh," Pride nodded cheerfully, oblivious to Lust's confusion. "She said that, since you're a girl, if I wanted you to be comfortable, I had to make sure you had some pretty things around."
"He's talking about Ms. Bradley," Alphonse said by way of explanation. "Selim, you have to remember that they don't know everything yet."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
"We didn't get to that part of the story last night, but basically, after the Promised Day, Ms. Bradley took Selim as her son to raise again."
"Wait," Lust said, holding up her hand. "Just to be clear, you're talking about Fuhrer Bradley's wife?"
"Of course! Who else would I call 'Mother'?"
"She was only your fake step-mother for a few years," Lust commented dismissively. She hadn't meant it to be mean, but Pride stiffened across from her, looking so offended and indignant that she sighed and quickly moved to smooth his feelings. "Ms. Bradley must be a wise woman. The things she picked are in very good taste."
Pride nodded and smiled, and just like that, it was forgiven and forgotten.
"Where is the Madam Fuhrer, then?" Lust asked, realizing that they had yet to meet the woman who obviously was also involved in this… situation.
"She's not here," Pride said. He had turned his head to glance over at Greed, who was still minding the stove, only to suddenly jump up and shout, "Don't eat them, Greed!"
Greed struggled to hold Pride at bay as the little boy crowded him, reaching on tiptoe for the half-eaten pancake in his left hand while he still held the spatula in his right. His words came out somewhat garbled by the food in his mouth.
"Mmff, knock id off, kid. I'm hungry now. Lemme alone."
"You have to wait for everyone else!"
"What th'hell for? I'm not gonna' eat it all!"
"To make sure everyone gets their share! Don't be greedy!"
"EXCUSE me?! And how do you expect me to-"
Alphonse sighed and turned to Lust, continuing the thread of their earlier topic.
"We sent Ms. Bradley away a few days ago, just to be on the safe side. If the transmutation went wrong, we didn't want her to be anywhere nearby. And…" He hesitated. "Well, we thought it would be better to give you some time to settle in first, without extra strangers around."
That made sense. Lust turned her head to gaze indifferently out the kitchen window as Greed and Pride continued to squabble. Was Greed so eager to bicker because Pride had attacked him before as an enemy, or was he just not used to dealing with children?
There was a planter outside on the windowsill filled with little white flowers. Judging by what she'd seen so far, Ms. Bradley must be a gardener, for it was unlikely that the Elric boys or Pride bothered tending so many plants. The forest surrounding the mansion looked thick. Where had Alphonse said they were…? She couldn't remember, but it was clearly not Central. There were no city noises of cars, people, machines, or noisy pets; just some birds singing. Were they out in the middle of nowhere? Lust wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Despite how long she'd lived, she had spent very little of it staying in rural areas. Farmland and forest was simply what went by the train window while she waited for her next destination; peaceful and pretty, but nothing more.
Greed grouchily sank down into Pride's spot, distracting Lust from her thoughts. He must have given up on arguing because Pride was back at the stove, perched on his stool and face intent with concentration, though there was also the small smile of satisfaction at having won the fight. Just as good that Greed hadn't held out against him; even though she was the second eldest and Pride respected her intelligence, she'd never once been able to directly change his mind. He was simply too arrogant to admit being wrong.
With him sitting right across from her, Lust was able to finally take a good, long look at Greed's new body. Maybe he was in the body of a teenager, but he wasn't ugly. Far from it. Given a few more years, who knew? He might actually flesh out into a respectable man. He was wearing a black shirt with a raised collar, a little line of white trim on the top, and black pants, which made it hard for her to judge the body underneath, but if she had to guess, Lust expected that he was lean muscle under the clothing. Black hair in a loose ponytail, with bangs sweeping to the left across his forehead. The same dark purple-red eyes that she and Envy bore. And his features, now that she looked more closely, seemed slightly Xingese. Edward had mentioned that the true owner of the body – some prince, apparently – was from Xing.
His manner of holding himself, however, was completely the same. It had been a hundred years since Greed had ran away, but they had also lived together for a hundred years before his defection, and insignificant memories floated up from his body language. The way his elbows rested on the back of the bench. The posture with which he sat, a bit of a slouch to suggest nonchalance and bad boy-ness, while his chest remained out and open, lending an air of confidence and self-possession. His legs were spread wide under the table, saying that he wasn't afraid of anything and didn't mind being checked out. His lips, as he saw Lust studying him, turned up into his cocky, easy-going grin, made less familiar by the change to his teeth, and his eyes quite boldly swept over her, appraising her just as she was appraising him.
In fact, his perusal was a little too bold. He was eyeing her as if he'd never seen her before. Maybe she was boasting, but even after a hundred years, Lust did not believe anyone – especially Greed, with his womanizing tendencies – could forget her.
"You know," he said with a slightly teasing edge, "no one told me I had such a fiiine sister."
"You don't remember me?"
"'Fraid not. The old man erased most of my memories. You look sorta' kinda' familiar, but that's about it."
Lust frowned at the disrespectful reference to their father but decided to let it slide. Greed had always been as casual with Father as he could get away with.
How should she treat him? She knew him, but from his end, she was a stranger. Then again, he was treating her pretty familiarly nonetheless, letting his easy smile work its charm as it always did. She wasn't really surprised: Greed had a knack for charming people, attracting and welcoming everyone to him as potential possessions.
She leaned back casually on the bench, sending her own smoky smile his way before retorting:
"It's a shame that I can't say the same for you. I found your old body far more attractive."
Greed stared for a moment and then threw back his head and roared with laughter.
"Touché," he responded when his mirth subsided, wiping tears from his eyes. "I don't remember what I looked like before, so I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted!"
"Insulted, obviously."
Greed smirked at her, eager to win this round. "Yeah, but how do I know you had good taste in men? Maybe you liked ugly guys."
Lust paused for a moment, conceding that he'd made a good move. She could defend her tastes by describing his old body – that he'd been tall and broad-shouldered, with a sharp nose and strong chin, muscular chest and arms, and that he'd worn tight leather pants that didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination – but then she'd be falling into the trap of admitting that he'd been good-looking, and she really didn't feel like stroking his ego at the moment.
So she returned his smirk and retorted, "Don't let it go to your head. Neither of you are good enough for me. Things can be ranked even when they're both in the negative."
He merely chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, accepting that she'd beaten him this time, then glanced hungrily back at Pride and the stove. His face lit up when he saw that Alphonse was pulling plates down from the cupboard and moving things to the dining room, and that there was a respectable pile of pancakes on the plate at Pride's side.
"Almost time to eat?"
"Almost," Alphonse replied. "We just need to set up and get the others. Greed, why don't you go see if you can wake Sloth up? And Lust, if you wouldn't mind getting Gluttony and Envy…?"
Greed, bearing Ling's body's appetite, didn't need any urging if it meant he'd be able to eat soon, though he was not looking forward to the unenviable task of trying to get Sloth up, and Lust was bored enough that she didn't mind doing as he asked. Both Homunculi rose from the table and left the kitchen on their respective missions.
Lust came to Envy's room first. She hesitated at the door for a moment, remembering the naked hatred and desperate fear in his voice as he'd yelled at the Fullmetal boy. Envy had built his entire identity on being superior to humans because he was a Homunculus, whereas Lust had believed herself superior for reasons beyond just that fact. And compared to all of the others, he had been the least human, his powers forming an integral part of his identity in a way that wasn't true for the other Homunculi. Was he even capable of approaching this situation rationally?
Lust had dealt with Envy's tantrums before, though, and she was fairly skilled at reading his moods. They had been together long enough for him to reign in his more unstable side in order to listen to her.
She gave a few gentle raps on the door with the back of her knuckles, called his name, and eased the door open enough to stick her head in.
She wouldn't have been surprised to see everything in the room destroyed or to see the window open and him long gone, but neither of those things was true. Envy was lying on the bed with his back to the door, slightly curled into a ball, and the room's furnishings were all in one piece.
"…Envy? Are you awake?" she called again.
He didn't move.
He was too still, she noted.
When a person slept, their breathing became different, usually slow and relaxed. Envy had always been a light sleeper, but she should at least have been able to see his sides rising and falling with his breath. Instead, his breathing was so shallow that his sides were barely moving.
He was awake and trying to fake being asleep.
She shook her head at the childishness of the act, but obviously he didn't feel like dealing with anyone just yet.
"…I guess you're still asleep. Breakfast will be ready soon if you're hungry."
No movement.
She pretended that her next words were meant for herself, though she most definitely was saying them for his benefit.
"The Elrics said they would explain everything in the morning, and it is possible that Pride has tricked them somehow, so we can't jump to conclusions yet. We will figure this out."
Was that a twitch in his shoulders?
She waited one more moment, but he stubbornly continued his sham. With an inward sigh, she gently closed the door and headed down the hallway for Gluttony's room, deciding to let Envy come out on his own rather than force him.
Lust expected Gluttony to be far easier to rouse, for although he was a fairly heavy sleeper, surely the words "Breakfast is ready" would be all it took to get him up.
With this expectation, Lust gave the same rap on the door as she had done with Envy before opening it and stepping inside, far less concerned with disturbing her pudgy brother's privacy. Gluttony wouldn't have understood the idea that his dear Lust could invade his privacy, and indeed probably would have been upset if Lust had hesitated to enter.
Gluttony was lying on his back, quite obviously asleep, a light snore accompanying his large stomach as he breathed in and out peacefully. Whoever had arranged the room – probably Pride – had kept things simple to suit Gluttony's nature. The bed, larger than her own for obvious reasons, was draped with a colourful quilt, but the rest of the furnishings were quite plain. A dresser, a bed stand and lamp, a shelf, and a chair were all that graced the room. Even those few things were likely excessive for the Homunculus whose needs included food and a guiding hand and little else.
"Gluttony," Lust called as she moved to the bed and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't react, and she shook him a bit while letting the word 'breakfast' drop. True to form, he stirred at that, stretching, yawning sleepily, and bringing a hand up to rub his eyes as he looked at her blearily.
"Come on," she said simply, already turning back to the door, expecting that he would follow as he always did.
Instead, Gluttony latched onto her arm.
"Lust!"
To her great irritation, Lust found her waist promptly engulfed by Gluttony's thick arms, pulling her back to the side of the bed. She pried at his grip helplessly, having had enough of being hugged the previous night.
"Gluttony! Enough of this! Let go of… me…"
Her voice trailed off at the anguished look on her younger brother's face. Gluttony's beady eyes were not the best at expressing emotions, but she had never seen him look so upset before. Obediently, he released his hold on her waist as she'd ordered even while quite clearly not wanting to, and her mind played back to the story the Elrics had told.
Gluttony was neither smart nor skilled. Without a guiding hand from his older and more intelligent siblings, he'd probably have gotten lost and wandered aimlessly, eating whatever came across his path and, if he was lucky, avoiding being killed too often. Pride was far too arrogant to waste his time babysitting the infantile Homunculus, barely acknowledging that they were of the same blood. Greed ditched the responsibility at every opportunity, not minding Gluttony but finding that his presence cramped the Sin's style, especially when flirting with the ladies. Sloth had stayed in the tunnels and imagining Sloth and Gluttony together, Lust wasn't sure which one of them would get into more trouble out among the general populace. Envy didn't mind watching Gluttony; since he had been the youngest among them (not counting Sloth, who wasn't around and didn't react to teasing anyway), he appreciated having someone younger to pick on and bully, but his responsibilities often kept him busy and unable to take on that particular burden.
So taking care of Gluttony had fallen primarily on Lust's shoulders. In the beginning, she hadn't liked or disliked the task, simply accepting it as a responsibility from Father the same as her other jobs. Admittedly, she had treated Gluttony something like a dog, using praise and food as reward and denying him food as punishment until he was well trained enough that she could give him commands (albeit simple ones) and be fairly confident that he would carry them out: "Wait here until I return for you. Follow that man's scent and eat him when no one is around to see. I'm going to be a bit longer here, so return to Central on your own. No, you can't eat that."
But as the years had gone by, Lust found that taking care of Gluttony became less a responsibility and more a normal thing for her to do. Sometimes she needed a break from him, but she generally liked having him around and her treatment of him became less aloof and more fond, especially when they weren't working on the crests of blood, which naturally took up more of her attention.
Gluttony, for his part, had always worshipped her. From her hand came food and the permission to eat. From her too came attention, whether in the form of words or in the form of being used as a giant footstool, both of which provided a welcome distraction from his all-consuming hunger. Her words were most often about humans and how pitiful they were, but her reasoning usually went over his head and he just pretended to understand and agree. Unlike all of the other Homunculi, Lust never lost her patience with him, never spoke harshly to him, and never belittled him or demeaned him.
And she had been killed.
Her irritation with him melted away as she considered it from his point of view. Not only had his only true partner and friend been lost, but the odds were very low that the other Homunculi had bothered trying to comfort him. Pride and Wrath may have felt some regret, but it was more likely that they had viewed her death with the cold practicality of how it would affect their plans. Greed had already been returned to Father's soul, so he couldn't feel bad about it. Envy would have been angry, but with Mustang being a potential sacrifice, revenge would have been wasteful, and the kindness and comfort Gluttony needed most at that moment were things Envy didn't possess to offer even if he wanted to. And Lust doubted that anyone had even bothered to tell Sloth.
Finding herself suddenly much more sympathetic, she sat down beside Gluttony on the edge of the bed while he sat up, resting her hand on top of his bald head and listening patiently as he spoke in his short, simple sentences.
"I missed you, Lust. You died. Mustang killed you, but Envy said I couldn't eat him. You were gone…"
"I know," she murmured. "I'm sorry I left you, but it's all right now. I'm right here."
"You won't die again, right?"
"Of course not."
Gluttony stayed still for another moment, apparently digesting the promise, before giving one of his large and happy grins, accepting what she said without a second thought. His world was simple and innocent, and her words were the only truth that mattered. He had Lust back, so the time without her was no longer important or worth remembering.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Uh-huh."
She stood up and headed for the door. "Then let's go get some breakfast, shall we?"
Gluttony eagerly got to his feet and followed her out of the room.
When they got to the kitchen, they found that Greed had miraculously managed to get Sloth up and out of bed without much hassle. Greed was sitting at the dining room table, already into his second pancake, and the hulking Sloth was just entering the room, allowing himself to be led by Pride to a seat (though his slow pace clearly showed his apathy for the whole affair). Gluttony earnestly followed Greed's example, but Lust took a moment to look around before taking her own seat beside him.
The dining room, mimicking much of the rest of the mansion, was grand and impressive. The ceiling was high, the wall was lined with tall arched windows with fanned grilling, and a chandelier hung at the centre of the table, which could easily accommodate them all. The table itself was a long rectangle of dark red wood with rounded ends and the chairs were fairly formal, with high backs and curved legs.
Lust definitely appreciated the luxury, but it was not at all what she was used to. None of the Homunculi had lived in such extravagance – not even Greed, whose desires likely included such riches but who hadn't had the opportunity to accrue them. Father hadn't given any notice to the temporary comforts that humans spent so much time being concerned over. Their hideout underneath Central had been stark and utilitarian. Ascetic, even. Living under Father and Pride's condescension for such indulgences, Lust had curbed her own instincts for sensual material possessions.
Despite her appreciation, though, she couldn't help but find it a shame in a way. Gluttony and Sloth wouldn't notice; Pride, as a child or Homunculus, would consider it frivolous; and Envy would notice but be completely indifferent. She and Greed were the only ones who would actually enjoy the rich grandeur.
And why this extravagance in the first place? she wondered. It doesn't suit the Elrics at all-
"Lust, was Envy awake?" Pride asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No," she lied. "I'm sure he'll join us shortly, though. When he's ready."
Pride nodded, understanding what she meant. They had all dealt with Envy's emotional outbursts before, and it was always better to give him time to gather up his dignity.
She turned to Alphonse. "Where's the Fullmetal boy?"
"Brother? He's still sleeping." Alphonse looked out the window, somewhat exasperated by the way the sun was already reaching its zenith. "He's always been a late sleeper, but I'm kind of surprised he's still in bed…"
"Who's still in bed?" Edward asked from the doorway, yawning loudly and scratching his head, not at all improving how dishevelled his hair was.
"Big Brother! Good morning!" Pride chirped. Greed spared a moment to raise his hand in greeting, and Al merely gestured to Ed's intended seat, where a cup of coffee waited.
"Ugh," he replied elegantly, taking his seat and a great gulpful of liquid.
"Geez," Greed chuckled across from him. "What are you, an old man now?"
"Aw, shut up. We put a lot of work into this and, believe it or not, six years makes a big difference.
"So…" he continued, looking around at the Homunculi. "Looks like we didn't lose anyone through the night… Wait a minute; where's Envy?"
"Right here, Pipsqueak," sneered a voice from the doorway.
Despite the levity to be taking a jab at Ed's height, Envy looked worse than Ed did. Without the shape-shifting that normally kept his appearance relatively tidy, his long hair fell even more wildly around his head and face. His eyes had the puffy and dark look of someone who hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, and the expression he bore as he swept a narrowed glare over the room was sullen and sour. His body language more than spoke for his mood; he walked to the table with a mix of saunter and wariness, hands on hips and head held high but eyes darting and face tight. He sat down at the end of the table, rudely throwing his feet up and giving dirty looks to the world in general.
Alphonse looked uncomfortable and Pride squirmed in his chair, a pall of anxiety falling over his face. Lust didn't know what he was so worried about until she remembered his words from the previous night:
It's my fault that you're here. It's my fault that you're human.
He was afraid, then. Afraid that Envy – no, that all of them – would blame him, would hate him, for their current situation.
As well he should be worried, then.
Edward, on the other hand, was unfazed by Envy's foul humour, merely nodding down the table at him and taking another sip of coffee.
If anything, Envy's face grew more irritated at the fact that his 'pipsqueak' jibe hadn't produced any reaction, but, after frowning for a few moments, he pulled his feet back down off the table and reached for a plate.
For a few minutes, everyone ate in silence. The scene was actually quite domestic. Any ignorant bystander would have thought they were just a regular family.
Of course, Gluttony and Sloth had no idea what the utensils were for, none of the Homunculi thought to pass things back and forth, Envy was dressed in an outfit that no sane human would wear, Pride had that dot on his forehead, and Lust, Greed, and Envy had those inhuman red-purple eyes, so they weren't exactly regular per se.
With that thought, Lust glanced down the table at Sloth. She figured that, out of all of them, he would actually stand out the most, considering his huge size and covered right eye. However, that turned out not to be the case.
She felt somewhat annoyed with herself that she hadn't noticed the differences the night before. His body was practically identical, but scaled down to a more realistic size. He was still taller than a normal person, but rather than have her head barely make it past his waist, it looked like she would now come up to his chest. The red node that had traveled from his right eye to down along his arm was gone, leaving both eyes dull but unobstructed. A surreptitious glance at Gluttony confirmed that the red nodes on his arms were gone. And when Envy leaned across the table, she saw that his back was bare as well.
Sloth was now on par with the Strong Arm Alchemist: exceptional compared to regular people, but unmistakably human nonetheless.
Greed was the first to finish eating, which came as no surprise, since he'd been the first to sit down.
"You know," he said, "this is a pretty nice place you've got here." He gestured at the table and chandelier. "What'd you do to get it? I didn't think you two'd get into the drug trafficking biz'."
"What?!" Ed choked on his coffee.
Alphonse laughed. "It's not like that. Ed and I are only visitors, really. It's just Ms. Bradley and Selim that live here, and technically the house belongs to the military."
"If that's the case, then how long do we have to put up with the two of you?" Envy asked from the end of the table. "The Fullmetal Pipsqueak gets on my nerves, you know." He smiled sweetly at Ed, waiting for his reaction.
Ed feigned an offended look, but otherwise didn't move.
"Don't waste your breath, Envy. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm no longer a half-pint bean sprout midget. In fact, I'd say I'm taller than you now." A look of horror crossed Envy's face. Ed looked smug. "And I can't accept the title of Fullmetal since I'm no longer a State Alchemist."
"Big Brother and Teacher have to stick around," Pride piped up. "We gotta' make sure nothing went wrong."
Lust's eyes fell to Edward's right arm at the mention of Fullmetal, the codename testament to his automail arm and leg, but it was Greed who commented first.
"Your arm…"
Edward looked down, then lifted the arm up for everyone to see. He wasn't wearing his customary white gloves, which he had used to hide the automail when out in public.
Instead of cold metal, his hand was flesh and blood.
And Lust noticed something else as well.
"Surely you won't be "sticking around" for too long," she commented.
The Elrics looked confused by the statement. She nodded her head pointedly at Ed's other hand and after a moment, Ed blushed and held up his left arm as well.
There, on his fourth finger, was a wedding band.
The little Fullmetal boy was married.
The other Homunculi didn't really care, but Greed was delighted. He reached across the table to give Ed a congratulatory smack on the shoulder and chuckled on about the "nice girl who wanted it all". Obviously he'd met the young woman.
"You're right," Ed said, addressing Lust's comment. "We shouldn't need to stay for too long, and Winry's already been remarkably patient with me as it is. I'd like to bring Ms. Bradley back in the next few days and return to Resembool by next week."
"Great," Envy muttered under his breath, though loud enough for everyone to hear. "Another human to put up with."
Ed's eyes hardened.
"Selim's mother is the only reason why you're here right now," he said harshly. "If she hadn't given her consent, we wouldn't have performed the transmutation and you wouldn't be getting this second chance. So when she gets here, you'll treat her with respect."
"Oh yeah? Make me," Envy challenged, but it was Pride who responded. His voice, changing from the childish pitch he'd thus far maintained, took on the colder, arrogant tone that they were far more used to.
"You will show Mother respect," he said. His tone brooked no argument, and Envy wisely backed down from his eldest brother, though he clearly wasn't happy about it.
Pride continued on in a more moderate voice.
"Mother took me in again even though she knew I wasn't human. She has done nothing but wish for my happiness. And one of the things I wanted was to see you all again.
"Maybe it was wrong of me. Maybe I'm just being selfish, wanting my family back. I know we weren't all that close, and to live as humans is asking for a lot, but please… Just hear me out. What's happened since the Promised Day. How we were able to bring you all back…
"I'll explain everything."
Author's Notes:
Selim and alchemy: In the 2003 anime, the Homunculi specifically cannot use alchemy because they do not have souls, but in the manga and Brotherhood, there are numerous references to the Homunculi having souls – if not their own souls, then the pieces of Father's soul that they were given containing their respective sins. Others may disagree with me, but I believe that the Homunculi didn't learn alchemy because they either didn't have the intellect for it (Gluttony and Sloth), didn't have the discipline and/or interest (Envy, Greed, and Wrath), or didn't see the need because Father was already a master at it (Lust and Pride). Actually, I believe that Pride does use alchemy when forcing Mustang to commit human transmutation. Remember that the gold-toothed doctor performs some kind of transmutation that sacrifices some of the Fuhrer candidates to seize the sacrifices and send them directly to Father. I think Pride performs a similar transmutation and pays a toll by sacrificing most of his Stone's souls, while Mustang pays the toll because he was caught up in the transmutation. Truth does not care whether Mustang intended to perform the taboo or was simply an innocent caught in the transmutation.
"Was that even English?": It was pointed out to me that we don't know what the language of Amestris is called in the FMA-verse and that it might be better to call it Amestrian. However, I'm going to call it English because, even in the Japanese version of the anime, any writing (whether on books or maps or signs) is portrayed in English script.
