A/N: I've moved and I don't have spell checker, so gomen for any mistakes or errors. Envy's thoughts cease here, because I want to write in my preffered style again. Also, an appology to all the Winry-lovers out there. I made her seem a little more ditzy than she really is.
Disclaimer: Don't own Ed, or Al, or Envy, or Gluttony, or Winry, or Roy, or Hawkeye, or anyone else from FMA, or FMA itself. They all belong to Arakawa-sensei.
---
Ed breathed a sigh of releif when the green-haired, amethyst-eyed homunculi released his ankle, finished re-dressing his wound. Envy chuckled as he sat back on his haunches and surveyed the pale teen as he sat with his eyes closed, reclining against the metal bed frame, his breaths coming shallow and erratic.
"Edward, when was the last time you ate? I mean, before I fed you." Envy pulled the boy back up onto the bed properly and sat, stradling his hips. It had nearly been two days since he'd brought the alchemist to the two-floored appartment complex, and he had refused to eat the first day. He had ended up literally shoving the food down his throat.
A golden eye cracked it's lid to look at Envy defiantly. "None of you're fucking business. Get off." Edward pushed at the Sin, turning his face from him. Envy chuckled softly and leaned forwards, unheeding of the weak attempt to dislodge him, pressing his lips to the scarred skin on Edwards exposed neck. The blond groaned and squirmed underneath Envy.
Envy bit down on Edwards neck before sitting back up and crossing his arms moodily. "Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll find out some other way."
Edwards eyes shot open instantly at the other's words, alarmed when Envy crawled off of him. Envy stormed from the room, slamming the door with enough force to rattle the barred window inside, and locked the blond in. The Sin stomped down two flights of stairs, seething. As he went, he changed his appearence to match that of the Elric brat's and left the appartment block in a rage. He didn't even know why he was so angry - he just was.
After a good five minutes of an furious, brisk walk, the man wearing Edward's face slowed down. He glanced into the windows of the shops around him, scowling as the crowd around him thickened. It wasn't long before the Sin found himself being pushed every-which-way in the sea of never-ending humans.
Suddenly, something caught Envy's arm and yanked him into an alleyway. Instantly, he was in a defencive stance and ready to fight, but was taken aback when he realized it was only Edward's blond automail mechanic.
"Edward! What a surprise!" She chirupped, dragging the homunculi down the alley, "I heard that you went missing, what gives? Why're you here in the shopping district?"
Envy smiled sweetly at the girl, trying to wrench his arm away from her discretely, ignoring her chatter on. However, Envy's attention was rudely jerked back to her.
"-Mustang put in an application, but the state didn't even bother organizing a search!"
Envy halted in his tracks, cocking his head to the side as an idea occured to him. "So, they noticed, huh?"
"Of course they did!" Winry stopped as well, looking over her shoulder, bewildered. Envy gave her a broad smile and extricated his arm from her iron grip. He grasped both of her shoulders and pinned her up against the wall, feeling a sick pleasure from her confused and fearful look.
"I think you should come with me, Winry, dear."
---
The homunculus dropped the blond's guise as he guided the apprehensive young woman up the steps to the appartment. She jerked away from the green-haired man that stood in his place, backing into the door.
"Wh-what is this!? Where's Edward?"
Envy cackled and, snatching her arm, opened the door to shove her into the building. She stumbled and fell, scraping the heels of her hands on the cracked floorboards. Winry scrambled away from the Sin desperately. Envy laughed and picked the girl up easily, slinging her over his shoulders like a sack of potaotoes and carrying her kicking and screaming up the two flights of stairs to Edwards room.
The homunculi hardly paused as he unlocked the door and deposited Winry at the foot of the alchemists bed. Edward jolted into a sitting position with a shriek of pain as Winry landed on his foot.
"E-Ed ...?"
Edward clutched at his leg, griting his teeth and fighting back tears as the girl shifted on top of him. "G-get off .."
"Wha-"
"Get off me!" Envy closed and locked the door, leaning against the wood as he watched the blond boy push his friend off the bed angrily. Winry looked up at Edward tearfully as the boy ripped the tattered blanket off himself, revealing a leg swathed in bandages - It was bandaged most heavily at his ankle, where Envy had torn his Achilles tendon two days earlier.
Winry gasped and scooted closer as Edward clutched at his leg tenderly, turning his face away from the girl to hide his heated cheeks. Envy watched with intrepid curiousity as they exchanged a whispered conversation, sparing a few discrete glances in his direction.
"Why'd you bring her here?" The boy glared at the green-haired homunculus venomously, turning his body so his bandaged leg hung off the bed beside Winry.
"So she could fix your leg, pet." Envy bit the inside of his cheek to stop from bursting into hysterical laughter from the utterly confounded look the boy had given him. Winry looked between them, confused as well.
"You're sick, Envy. Why'd you really bring her here?"
The homunculi sighed and shrugged again, sauntering over to Winry. He placed an icy hand on her shoulder and she jerked away, frightened. Edward grabbed Envy's wrist and tried to wrench it away.
Envy snarled angrily and reversed the hold. He yanked Edward off the bed and, with one fluid motion, pinned the alchemist's wrist to his back. Edward gave a sharp yelp of pain as his leg was jarred but made no other noise as the homunculi roughly restrained him.
"Trust me a little, shrimp." The Sin grinned sadistically, releasing Edward's arm, placing his foot between the boys shoulder blades, and turning to the girl again. She glared at him silently, venomously.
"If I take you to where I have his leg, you could fix it, right? And re-attach it?" Envy cocked his head to the side, eliciting a simple curiosity from the girl as he held Edward down.
"Well ... If I had my tools, maybe. It depends on the extent of the damage though ..."
"Winry? Y-you're not actually going to listen to this psycopath, are you?"
Envy scowled down at the alchemist under his foot and stomped once. He was rewarded with a breathy gasp as the air was pushed out of the boy's lungs, winding him. "Don't go calling me names again, pet. You know what'll happen if you don't listen."
Envy turned back to the frightened girl, offering his hand to her. She looked between the Sin and her friend before swallowing audibly and taking Envy's hand.
The homunculus grinned at her and led her back to the door, leaving Edward on the floor as he was, despite his feeble protests. He led the girl down the hall and into a dark room. When he flicked on the dingy yellow bulb, Winry gasped.
Inside the room was, as promised, Edwards destroyed automail leg, as well as assorted peices of machinery strewn haphazardly throughout the space. The room must have been a delux suite, but there was hardly even walking room, it was so stuffed full of odds and ends. Envy watched the girl as she scampered here and there, examining everything with an eccentric eye.
"You like?" Her stupor was broken by his voice. She turned back to him, worrying her bottom lip furiously. She nodded. "Then this room is yours."
"It's .. mine?" She repeated slowly. "But why?"
"Of course its yours." Envy shrugged nonchalently, picking up Edwards shattered leg and sitting himself down on a broken truck engine. "As for why ... You can't exactly leave now."
A fleeting look of panic crossed Winry's face. "W-why not?"
Envy's chesire grin returned and Winry took a step backwards. "Because I can't have you running your mouth to the military." Envy held up his hand to silence the girl as she opened her mouth to argue. "I just can't take the chance."
After a moments hesitation, the girl nodded again and strode towards Envy. She stopped a few feet away and held out her han. Envy tossed the broken automail to her.
She took a few moments to examine the twisted wreckage before speaking without looking at the Sin. "I ... I can repair the inside, but I'll need to replace a lot of it ... And .. I'm going to need my tools."
Envy nodded, examining his nails. After a few moments of awkward silence, the homunculus stood. "Come on, we'll go get the stuff you need then." He beckoned to her, and she followed.
Leading the way back to Edwards room, Envy looked bored. He pushed open the door and was only mildly surprised to see that the blond boy had managed to drag himself back into bed, where he lay on his side, facing the barred window. He smiled once more and sauntered over to the bed, plopping down on the edge.
It gave him a small, strange, joy to see Edward so broken. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and he shrugged it off. "So, Edo-kun. Have you given any thought into my earlier question?"
Ed glared at the window and didn't answer. Envy's smile widened as he crawled over the boy and layed in front of him, keeping one arm around the boy's waist so he couldn't roll away.
"If you don't answer I'll have to hurt your little friend." The boy's golden eyes widened and Envy felt him tremble slightly as he groaned and burried his face in the crook of his elbow. Envy heard a stiffled noise come from the door, where Winry still stood.
"Which question ..?" Came the muffled reply from the alchemist.
The homuculus shrugged and sat up, earning a frightened jerk from the boy. "The one I asked before I found your girlfriend for you."
Another groan from the boy. "A .. A few days? I don't remember ... What does it matter anyways ..?"
Envy patted Edwards head and hopped off the bed. "Good boy. Me and chicky here are going to get some stuff. We'll be back later."
Edward sat up and glared at the Sin angrily, but he held his tongue. As Envy passed Winry, Edward shot her a pleading look.
---
Envy was getting impatient. It had taken a good portion of the remaining daylight hours to find the required parts to repair the automail, and it had taken almost just as long for him to fetch the girls' tools.
"Stubborn little bitch ..." He muttered under his breath, remembering how they'd argued as he watched Edward sleep.
/"I can't work with anything else. I'm sorry." She'd said.
"Why not?" Envy retorted with a scowl.
"Because I've gotten used to how mine work. It won't take long. I can just pop int--"
"Absolutely not!" Envy's fist slammed into the brick wall beside the girls' head and she shied away.
"Then I can't fix his automail!" She screamed at him heatedly, tears of frustration building behind her lashes.
"You will get it done, or I'll just have to get rid of you."
Winry's frame trembled slightly and she turned her face from Envy. After a moment of silence, she finally replied with, "Go ahead, then. Kill me."
Envy glared at her to hide his astonishment. He hesitated slightly before raising his fist and changing it into a blade, holding it up in the shrinking twilight for her to see.
"Hold still then." He swung the makeshift blade at her throat deftly.
She flinched and fell backwards into the wall with a small, stifled scream, tensed in anticipation of the blow. When none came, she opened her eyes with an almost audible snap.
Envy gave her a sardonic smile and chuckled under his breath. "Don't say things you aren't ready to accept, little girl." Straightening up, the green-haired Sin turned back to entrance of the alley. He motioned for her to stand. "Well, come on then. Lets go get your tools."/
Edward shifted once more, the rusty bed springs producing an eerie groaning noise as the weight shifted from one side to the other. Magenta eyes that seemed to glow under the faint moonlight surveyed the blond boy's broken and battered body. It had required a few more injuries during his short stay in the dusty apartment room, and his skin had taken on a sallow palour. He was manourished.
Envy intended to fix that.
If their human sacrifice (A.K.A. Envy's pet) was to be ready for the monumental task set by Father, the emerald-haired man had to nurse his little pet back to health. And that would mean problems.
With Edward back in fighting condition, it would mean that the prospect of escape would entice him much more easily, as it would be a much more managable goal. It would mean Envy would have to go to some lengths to ensure his pet would stay his pet.
If he didn't break him first.
A pale digit traced the embroidered design along the length of a dark metal collar. His finger traced along one edge of the engraved dragon, winding it's way along the collar in magnificent whorls and loops, coming to an end where it began; An Ouroboros. The mark of a Sin.
Envy smiled, remembering his first lesson in alchemy. Father had taught it to him especially; when he had been Father's favorite.