Chapter Nine: Restoration
Yes! I know last chapter was pathetic...lucky for you guys, I've worked much harder on this one, despite the TWENTY-TWO projects I have to do for school. I'm not lying. Twenty-two. Count them. Hate them. Plus the two end-of-course tests I have to study for...
Disclaimer: I still don't own FMA...I own several hopes and dreams, which are stored in a pillow shaped like Al's head. I bring them out when things get tough, or when monkeys attack. Those damned monkeys...
This chapter be whare the funneh returns. Or at least I think so. Arrrr.
Dawn's light trickled in through the open window, glancing across Envy's face. Through his eyelids, closed from sleep, he could see the dark red heralding daybreak. With a fluttering motion, his eyes opened, blinking blearily around the oak-stained room.
His violet irises fell upon the small figure of Edward on the floor below him, slumped against the bed and snoring gently. A familiar, yet not often felt, wave of gratitude swept through Envy; Edward had stayed by his side after all. Grateful but wary, he stood, careful not to stretch his recovering muscles too much. With a quick glance downward, he saw that Edward and Alphonse had wrapped his wounds with white gauze. Yet, he was still covered in dried blood and grime, and the quilt on which he had been sleeping stuck to him. Peeling the fabric from his skin and stepping tenderly over Edward, he made his way to the door.
He had been planning on leaving the inn; he even made it as far as the end of the hallway before suddenly throwing himself in the nearest room and leaning against the rough door after he had closed it. He just couldn't leave...curiosity overwhelmed him. Why had Ed saved him? Such a thing was simply unheard of...pondering this, Envy looked up, noticing tiled walls and floors, along with porcelein fixtures and a shower, curtained with cheap blue plastic decorated with ducks.
'Bathroom,' Envy thought lamely, 'definitely a bathroom.' He was, admittedly, filthy...so as long as he was there...
He turned on the shower and stepped out of his boxers--Ed's boxers, he noted with wry amusement--then stepped through the curtains into the warm deluge.
For several minutes he just stood there, his mind thankfully blank. He didn't want to think about anything that had happened. One thought and the whole experience would come rushing back to him, he was sure of it.
"Envy!" a voice yelled out suddenly. The doppelganger pulled back the shower curtains slightly and peered into the room, blinking at the small alchemist standing in front of the shut door.
"What if it had been someone else in here?" Envy asked dryly, eyebrows raised. The grime that had matted his hair flowed in a muddy stream down his face.
"No one else would have had those," he gestured pointedly to the boxers laying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"You never know...someone might have raided your underwear drawer." he responded in an uncharacteristic monotone. Edward blushed quite against his will, trying to ignore that statement.
"You should have taken off those dressings before you got in the shower."
"Dressings? Salad dressings?" Envy asked blankly, "What the hell, did you two sprinkle me with Balsamic Vinaigrette?"
"How is it," Ed fumed, "that you know what Balsamic Vinaigrette is, but you don't know what those bandages wrapped around your body are called?"
"Well, I know now," the Sin responded matter-of-factly, "If you'll kindly let me bathe..."
"You have to take off those dressings first!"
"Relax, the water's probably washed all of it off already," he said in a bored tone.
"It's not that kind of dressing!" Edward roared as he lunged toward Envy.
Alphonse hummed slightly as he strode down the hall, carrying a tray of food to his brother and Envy. He was pleased with Envy's progress; the Sin seemed to heal much more quickly than they had originally planned on.
'Maybe after this, Edward and Envy will be nicer to each--' his thoughts were interrupted by two painfully familiar voices coming from the nearest room. He paused in front of the doorway to the bathroom, listening to the yells accompanied by a snapping sound and a crash.
"Take them off, Envy!"
"No! What are you--you can't do that! I'm naked!"
"I don't care! C'mon, lemme--"
"Get off me!"
"Shut up and stay still!"
"Ow! Dammit, O'Chibi, that hurts!"
"It'll be easier on you if you don't move! Just--aargh! You BIT me!"
"That's what you get for touching me like that!"
"You're like a freakin vampire! Quit that, I'm almost finished!"
"Ow ow ow ow! Stop! I'm still tender, you bastard!"
The tray fell from Alphonse's hands with a clatter and he stared in horror at the wooden door. He turned the doorknob slowly, peeking inside with mounting apprehension.
"There, doesn't that feel good, Envy?" Edward asked, patting Envy on the shoulder, the discarded gauze dressings coiled like dirty snakeskins on the tiled floor. He and the Sin were both drenched, the shower still running. Envy sat, disgruntled, on the shower floor, the torn plastic curtains wrapped like a skirt around his waist. He peered disdainfully up at Edward through strands of obsedian hair, then looked over at Alphonse.
"What're you lookin at?" he growled. Edward turned on the spot and looked at his brother, surprised, then grinned.
"Hey, Al! Look who's finally taking a shower," he yelled over the noise of the running water and gestured toward Envy. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of gesturing with his real hand. "Aaagh! Envy!" he cried out as the doppelganger's teeth clamped down painfully on two of his fingers, "let go!"
The Sin obliged in a sulky manner, looking scrutinizingly through the water droplets at the Elric brothers.
"You two gonna let me shower in peace now? Or do you get your kicks by watching naked Homunculi clean themselves?"
"Kicks?" Alphonse repeated inquisitively. Edward simply shook his head and pushed his younger sibling out the door.
"Let's leave him alone, Al," he looked over his shoulder and added to Envy in a slightly gentler tone, "I'll be outside the doorway if you need anything."
The door shut, leaving Envy staring, stupefied, through the water. He stood slowly, nursing his wounds and clutching the wall for support. The shower curtain fell away from his bony hips, crumpling around his feet. The water was spraying in all directions, but he didn't care. It wasn't his mess to clean up, after all.
All he thought about was the fact that Ed was actually helping him...him. His enemy...the person who planned to seduce him, and later on, kill him. It was a shock, though at the same time mollifying, enormously pleasing. But why was Ed acting this way? Was it because he was used to playing the hero, or had Envy's earlier advances paid off in some way? Whatever it was, Envy couldn't find anything to complain about.
His reverie was interrupted by a sharp pain in his stomach and his hands clamped instinctively over his abdomen. He felt the wound with a frown. It should have been completely healed...the other wounds had healed quickly, after all. Why had his powers of rejuvenation suddenly ceased? And what was this sensation of emptiness he felt, both mentally and physically? It was confusing and unsettling, but he chose to try and ignore it for the most part. Leaning back, he let the water wash over him.
"What are we going to do?" Alphonse asked quietly outside the doorway, looking down at his brother. Edward was sitting on the floor in the hallway, his back to the wall and his arms wound about his knees.
"Take care of him...he seems pretty spry for someone in his condition, but he's still hurt, and basically helpless," he answered, sighing, "besides, there's a possibility that Greed might come after him. We can't let Envy go through that again."
Alphonse smiled mentally. He could hardly believe these words were issuing out of the mouth of a person who, a few days ago, had been ready to kill Envy. Still, it was an improvement; Alphonse may not have been too fond of Envy, but it was no use waging war on someone who seemed to be acting perfectly decent.
"So what are we going to do about the chimeras?" he asked thoughtfully.
"Dammit," Edward growled, "I had forgotten all about those mutants...if Mustang would just get off his lazy ass--"
He was interrupted as the bathroom door opened and, from a billowing mist of heady steam, Envy stepped into the hallway. Edward stared at the Sin, mouth agape.
He looked bizarre, as always, yet quite alluring with only a terrycloth towel wrapped around his thin waist. His pale skin shone with water, especially, Edward couldn't help but notice, on his muscular chest. Envy's slim arms were crossed over the damage on his stomach as if it were an embarrassment, and for once his hair seemed almost tame; it was full, and had momentarily lost its spinous quality. The water had dampened the long tresses to the point where they looked like the darkest ebony and he had removed his headband, which added to the effect...without it, he came across with much more elegance.
Envy looked down toward Edward, eyelashes flecked with silver droplets of water, and his soft lips parted...
"You really did stay," he breathed, but it wasn't offhanded or sarcastic...it had a sense of gratitude to it...his voice sounded much different that way.
"Y-yeah," Edward stammered in response, his widened amber irisis still locked upon Envy. The Sin's dark eyes gazed at him for a moment before he spoke again.
"Clothes."
"Cl--...w-wha...?" the golden-haired alchemist sputtered, his trance broken.
"Clothes. I need clothes."
"Can't you just make some appear...?"
"Nii-san, he's still hurting," Alphonse said, putting a hand to his brother's shoulder before a slightly disgruntled Envy, "don't make him materialize clothes for himself..."
"Oh...oh! Right...come on," he stood and walked back toward their room, feeling very stupid and suddenly very aware of the soft sounds of Envy's feet padding along behind him, "We'll need to redress those wounds, too," he added after opening the door and beginning to search through his briefcase. Ed thought he heard Envy mutter something about salad, but he disregarded it.
He removed from the briefcase another pair of his own boxers and pants, along with one of his black tank tops. Envy looked down upon them with apparent disdain.
"Those'll be too small for me," he said dryly. Edward's eyes narrowed.
"Are you calling me a midget?" he growled in a suspicious tone.
"Maybe," Envy sighed, looking away wearily. Edward's expression softened upon seeing the exhaustion etched on Envy's face...was he still hurt so badly that less than thirty minutes of activity wore him out?
He put down his clothes...Envy wasn't much taller than he, but he realized the clothing might not be suitable for Envy's condition. Snatching an extra blanket from the closet in the corner, he transmuted it into a type of soft gown, handing it to Envy.
"This should be comfortable for you...I don't think you'll have any objections to wearing a dress anyway, considering you usually walk around in a miniskirt."
He had been expecting some form of obstinate resistance from the Homunculus, but Envy simply took the gown and slipped it on, then removed the towel. The alchemized gown's hem reached Envy's knees, and Edward, though he always knew Envy wasn't exactly a giant, finally appreciated how slight the Sin actually was.
He placed a hand on Envy's thin arm and guided him toward the bed, which had since been removed of dirt and blood. He lay Envy down gently and the Sin's head had no more hit the pillow than he had either fallen asleep or slipped into unconsciousness. Edward didn't know which, he couldn't tell...all he could do was watch over Envy and try, despite what the consequences might be, to rekindle his spirit.
Edward and Alphonse spent the days afterward caring for Envy. The Sin was a stubborn charge, but the brothers had expected this; they agreed to continue taking care of him until he either got better or reverted to his usual evil self. He was slowly recovering, but remained uncharacterstically silent and obliging. They couldn't tell if it was because he still felt bad or because, perhaps, he was grateful toward them.
They were running out of funds, seeing as they hadn't planned on staying long originally. Edward had telephoned Mustang and asked him to wire some money over, which proved a horrible mistake as all the Colonel had done was rant about how Ed should have solved the chimera mystery by now. Edward had conveiently failed to mention thtat he and Al were busy watching over and injured Homunculus, so he took Mustang's yells for a good ten minutes before his ear began to hurt and he hung up.
"Mustang'll be sending someone to spy on us soon, I bet," Edward growled one day,
if the innkeeper doesn't throw us out first."
"Weare running out of money," Alphonse sighed, his helmet rattling shallowly.
Envy, who had been laying on the bed staring at the ceiling, spoke for the first time in hours.
"I know where they're coming from," he said softly, not averting his gaze.
"You do?" Alphonse asked, a note of excitement in his voice. "Please tell us, Envy! That way we can stop them!"
"And finally get out this God-forsaken place," Edward added with a nod.
"First," Envy said, sitting up in a slow motion, "you two need to clarify something for me. There are no red stones in me anymore, are there?"
"No," Edward answered almost immediately, deciding that it was better to tell the truth than lie. Envy wasn't an idiot; a little juvenile, maybe, but he knew the Sin was extremely cunning and much smarter than he appeared, "there aren't."
The Homunculus gazed off for a while, then stood.
"For years a secret laboratory has been hidden near the cliffs surrounding this town...but the factory was raided and the chimeras have been escaping ever since."
"Why didn't you tell us that before!" Edward cried indignantly, also standing. Envy allowed himself a smirk.
"Well, you never asked, did you?"
"Who would ask that! 'Excuse me, Envy, but is there a secret lab hidden in the cliffs that the chimeras are crawling out of?' "
"Good, O'Chibi," Envy lowered his chin, looking at Ed with raised eyebrows, impressed, "if only you had asked that question from the get-go, hmm?"
"You...you...agh!" he tossed his hands into the air, "Fine. You stay here, Al and I will go check it out..."
"No," Envy stepped in front of him as they made their way to the door, "I'm going to. You haven't let me see the light of day for..." he paused, seemingly unable to find the right word, "well, days."
Edward rolled his eyes, but didn't argue. It was true that Envy hadn't been up and about as much as he should have...but he had been worried...
It was odd, the amount of emotion he was suddenly feeling for Envy...he felt weird, caring for someone who was much stronger than he, but it seemed necessary...and now that he had spent time with an Envy who wasn't viciously beating him into a pulp, Edward realized that Envy was actually...well, fun to be around. The Sin's sarcastic, dark sense of humour matched Ed's own perfectly.
Sometimes he had even watched Envy sleep at night, and a strange, unknown shiver would run through his body...
"Well?" Envy's voice suddenly snapped him back to reality, where he nodded dumbly.
"Yeah...sure...you can come..." he nodded, and Envy grinned, showing his white teeth. Edward felt his heart skip a beat and his hand trembled as he pushed open the door. "Come on..." he breathed quietly, watching as Alphonse walked out, watching even closer as Envy left...the swish of his long, long hair, the way Envy's transmuted gown creased around his waist with every graceful step he took...the strong shoulders and the luscious curve of his back as he--
'What are you doing!' his mind screamed as his body trotted excitedly after Envy. 'At least shut the door!'
Trying to ignore Envy's beauty and focus more on the rational, shrieking voice inside his head, his body reluctantly turned away from the Sin to shut the door.
There we go! I gave you a longer-than-normal chapter to make up for the last one. And you can expect more soon...or should I say...Ed-spect! ...sorry. I'll stop.
I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out...I'll be gone next weekend, though, family time dont'cha know.
Incidentally, there's a huge spider that lives on my porch...I think it's been catching the neighborhood kids and feasting on their blood. Not that I have any objections...the neighborhood kids are annoying.
