You may have noticed the image cover :D I totes don't own it, it's a screenshot from Brotherhood in Lab 5 when Ed and Envy are being all like GRAW NO SEXUAL TENSION HERE

Set pre-Brotherhood.

4. What Do You Want?

"What do you want?"

Envy stopped, looking discreetly around. There was nobody else in the empty train yard, unless there was somebody else lurking in the shadows.

Somebody other than him, that is.

The blond alchemist stood in the middle of the light, head slightly bowed and hands in the pocket of his coat. The armour-freak was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual.

"What do you want?" Edward said again, voice strained.

There was no doubt about it. The blond was talking to him.

Envy considered moving from his hiding spot between the carriages, but decided against it. Maybe the kid's having a psychotic episode…? I mean, he's a fourteen-year-old soldier.

"I know you're there. You've been following me since the main road. I don't know who you are, but please leave me alone."

Okay, now his curiosity was piqued. Envy moved slightly to get a better view of the young boy, and against his better judgment, spoke his mind. "You're out past your bedtime."

Ed laughed bitterly, raising his head to look at the sky. "I suppose I am, at that. What time is it, midnight?"

"Something like that. You should go home."

The alchemist's blond bangs fell backwards, revealing an ashen, tear-stained cheek. "Can't. I burned it down." He rubbed at his eyes with his over-long sleeve. "Stupid…"

Envy kept himself carefully hidden. "Why'd you burn it down?"

"Oh, lots of reasons. To hide my mistakes, and so I wouldn't…wouldn't have anywhere to go back to."

Envy snorted. "Well, that's stupid."

"I didn't ask you! Now, just…go away and leave me alone!"

"It's a public place, kid, you can't –"

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ed's face was bright with anger, still staring straight ahead with a strange blank look.

Something was wrong with Edward Elric.

"Okay, okay, I'm going." Envy stood as still as he could, holding his breath and balancing his feet carefully on the link between the stopped train-cars.

One thing he had to appreciate was the teenager's resolve. He heard only a few sniffs as Ed climbed down onto the tracks and curled into a ball across them.

The fuck is he doing?

Envy leant slightly over, frowning as he tried to make sense of the alchemist's actions. The sounds of light breathing drifted up towards him, and he sat down, cocking his head in confusion.

"You're a strange one, chibi. Sleeping on the tracks can't be good for your spine, and you really don't want to damage that if you want to get any taller." Envy chortled to himself, but kept his voice low. "Besides, the train's coming in the morning, and it might hit you. And you're just a silly old human, that would kill you – FUCK!" The last word was roared at three times the volume of everything else as Envy leapt down onto the tracks next to the resting blond.

Ed's gold eyes snapped open, staring up at him. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Up," commanded Envy. When Ed showed no sign of following orders, Envy leant down and grabbed his hood, yanking him to his feet.

Ed pushed him away, but the homunculus didn't relinquish his grip, marching the teenager to the side of the tracks and ignoring the sputtered curses and names flung at him. He slammed the boy against the concrete with slightly more force than necessary.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Fullmetal?"

"It's none of your f-fucking business!"

Envy rolled his eyes. He'd forgotten what brats teenagers could be. "First off." He stuck up a white finger and jabbed it into Ed's chest. "If you want to kill yourself, there are far easier ways than getting cut into pieces by a train. Second." He lifted a second finger and jabbed him again. "It's my job to make sure you stay in one piece. As far as who I am, then, let's just say I'm your motherfucking guardian angel."

"Don't talk shit about my mum," said Ed weakly.

"I'll talk shit about whoever I want. Now go home."

"No."

Envy raised an eyebrow. "No? Did the words 'guardian angel' not mean a thing to you?"

"I'm tired."

"Then sleep! In a bed, not on a rail!"

Ed shook his head. "I'm tired of everything. I don't want to wake up."

Envy groaned. I did not sign up to be some kid's psychologist. Oh well, I'll do this the easy way. "I told you," he growled, "go to sleep." With that, he slammed his fist into the side of the fourteen-year-old's head, and Edward went out like a light, slumping forward and falling into Envy's chest.

"Ugh. If there's one thing I hate more than kids, it's sleeping kids." Leaning down, Envy hefted the unconscious boy over his shoulder. He'd hit him hard enough that Ed probably wouldn't remember a thing in the morning – which was for the better anyway.

He had the sense of mind to take a different form before climbing the ledges of the barracks, rapping on the window that he knew belonged to the Elric brothers. A moment later, he was faced with two glowing white eyes.

"What do you want?" came the echoing voice, sending an involuntary shiver up Envy's spine. He pointed to his burden, and with a gasp, Al opened the window.

"Brother!" He took Edward from him, handling him like a china doll in his empty, gauntleted hands. "He just went out for a walk –"

Envy was gone before Al could say anything more.