Chapter 11: Fire
A sliver of the pale moon shone in the cloudless night, barely giving any light to the two figures that rode on the dry hard sand of the desert. They rode side by side, unspeaking to each other as their horses pounded the ground.
A building came into view on the horizon, and one of the figures slowed to a stop. The other followed suit, glancing at the other with golden-amber eyes as his partner slid down from the saddle. The green-haired Sin motioned to the blonde to follow, and like an obedient puppy, the blond man did as he was told.
The two walked a little bit away from the horses, towards the faint building in the distance.
"That's it right?" Edward broke the silence, peering at the small space with barely contained anger.
"Yeah."
"Why'd we stop anyway?" the pharaoh continued to look at the structure, as if hoping some sign of his brother would appear. He didn't get an answer to his question.
"Sorry about this." Envy whispered, his eyes downcast.
Golden eyes widened and the small body whipped around, almost fearful. "What are you sorry for? What'd you do?"
"It's what I'm about to do. I hope you'll forgive me." Envy raised his head, amethyst eyes shining in the pale light of the sliver in the sky. "But I swear to you, I won't let you come to any harm, or your brother."
The golden-haired boy opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, Envy slammed his fist into Ed's stomach. Not hard enough to damage him, just enough to knock him out. A choked noise came out of Ed's throat.
Edward felt himself falling, eyes slipping closed into a dark void. Before he fell completely unconscious, he felt arms encircle his body, keeping him from falling to the sand. They supported him on a lap, and pulled him into a gentle hug, resting his limp body against a strong, lithe one.
"I promise…" were the last words he heard.
XXXXXX
When Ed came to, he immediately noticed the pressure on his wrists. A wooden board with holes cut out encircled his wrists, a tough looking lock hanging on the side. Slightly panicked, he realized he couldn't clap his hands. He couldn't do alchemy!
There were quiet murmurs from the other side of the room, drawing Ed's attention. He peered in the dim lighting, finally making out seven forms. Four were clumped around a table, playing cards, one of them easily perceived as Envy. The rest lounged on the furniture scattered around, couches, armchairs and small side tables filled the space of the room. The only light came from lots of candles, and he realized it was dark outside of the shuttered window.
Envy raised a glass to his lips, scanning his cards and the table as he took a mouthful of the liquid. He smirked, setting the glass down and playing his move.
"Dammit!" A man with black glasses and spiked hair cursed colorfully, angered that he had lost. The other two players sighed in a resign, a woman with long black hair and a man with an eye patch over his left eye.
Envy scooped the pile of coins they had gambled into a small pouch, then leaned back against the couch with his drink again, long legs tucked under him. He answered the man's glare with one of his own. "I don't cheat, Greed. It's my nature to be lucky." He said cockily.
"Yeah right." Came the icy reply. "I know you cheat."
Envy drained the rest of his alcoholic drink. "Believe what you want. I'm done anyway." With that, he stood and began walking towards a small bar, empty glass in hand. He opened a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of wine with a small sigh. The ice cubes clinked softly as he poured some into his cup, violet eyes closing as he drank the foul liquid, consuming the second glass quickly before setting it down on the counter.
Edward tried thinking of a way to get Envy's attention without attracting the others, but the green-haired thief glanced at him anyway. A smirk formed its way on his lips, but it was more of a smirk that a cat would wear when he corners a mouse than one of comfort.
"Hey guys." He called to the others. "Pipsqueak here is awake."
Ed's eyes narrowed angrily. "Pipsqueak?" He glared at the thief. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE'D GET CRUSHED BY AN ANT?!"
"My, my. Seems he's got a lot of energy in him." The woman that had been playing cards with Envy cooed over to him. She wore a long black dress that accented her developed body and black gloves. She had long wavy black hair that fell to her waist.
She walked over to him, heels clicking on the floor. "You can call me Lust." She purred seductively. Using a crooked forefinger, she turned his face from right to left, humming appreciatively. Disgusted, Ed turned his head away and pushed her arm aside with his bound hands.
Snarling, he addressed Envy. "Where's my brother?!"
Envy glanced lazily over his shoulder at the man with the eye patch, arms folded across his chest. When he got a nod, he unfolded his arms and stalked across the room, entering a door. When he returned, he carried the just waking form of Alphonse, and Edward's sharp eyes didn't miss how Envy tried to be as gentle as he could in his steps, even if the others didn't notice.
When Alphonse was fully woken, he glanced about himself, confused. Pale green eyes landed on his brother, and he began squirming to get to his kin. Avoiding the flailing limbs, Envy gently deposited his cargo next to Ed.
"Nii-san! I was so worried! I woke up in a strange place and then I couldn't find you and…" Al went on babbling, his arms wrapped tight around his brother and nuzzling him softly.
"Al," Ed whispered softly. "Hush for a moment, ok?"
The younger barely nodded, and was quiet.
"Well?" Ed snapped. "What do you want? I'm here now, so just tell me already!"
The man with the eye patch seemed slightly put off by his outburst, but merely glanced at a clock handing on the wall. It was custom made, and it seemed to picture all of the people in the thief group, with eye patch man in the middle. He seemed to be the leader. (A/N: Remember that Ed has no idea who these people are, except for Lust and Envy of course.)
"Envy," he addressed the green-haired thief, who had been standing close to the two brothers. "We have to leave soon. Keep them with you. We'll get what we want tomorrow night."
Envy sighed. "Fine. Besides," he added with a sneer. "It was so much fun torturing the pharaoh." He spat the title, as if it tasted horrible.
As the eye patch man turned back to the table with the others, Envy whacked Alphonse on the back of his neck, causing him to go limp. Gently, he hoisted the younger onto one shoulder, his free hand grabbing the edge of the wooden shackles on Ed's wrists, livid at the way his brother was treated.
They traveled down several hallways until Envy stopped at one. It was no different from the other doors, but Envy seemed to have memorized which one to go into. The hand that had held onto Ed's wrists easily left and pulled out a key from his headband, causing Ed to stare in wonder. 'Did he have that the whole time?!' he thought.
"Edo." The hushed whisper came from inside the dark room, snapping Ed from his thoughts. He followed inside, not even flinching as the door closed behind him, Envy locking it with the same key.
Before he could confront the thief for his behavior, he was promptly glomped by his brother, sinking to the floor with the extra weight. "A-Al?!" he asked surprised. He thought his brother had been knocked out. "You ok?"
Green-grey eyes looked at him happily. "Yup! Envy said to be still, and so I did. He has nice eyes, Nii-san. He won't hurt us."
Ed visibly relaxed, closing his eyes and resting his head on Al's shoulder. "Yeah. I know."
Taking advantage of their distraction, Envy swiped the nearly closed handcuffs off Ed's wrists, tossing them to an empty corner. He had left them that way on purpose, just in case things didn't go as planned.
His pale violet eyes swept over the guest bedroom, really his second bedroom since he had the only key. He smirked when he found the cupboards contained glasses and alcohol.
"Oi! You two want some?" he asked, motioning to the wine. When he got two 'no's he shrugged, pouring himself his third glass of the night.
"Hey, Al, right? You can shower if you like. It's through that door there." He nodded towards said door.
Alphonse glanced at his brother, silently asking if it was alright to leave them alone. Ed nodded, and Al left.
As soon as Al had disappeared into the bathroom, Ed's smile dropped. His eyes became a glare, and his hands clenched into fists.
"What the hell are you planning?!" He spat towards Envy.
Envy's face turned surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about betraying us!" Ed's voice had faded down to a threatening hiss, not wanting to alert the other thieves.
"Huh?! I thought we were betraying my so-called comrades."
"Then what was that all about?! 'I had fun torturing the pharaoh.' All of that!" His right fist slammed into the wall behind Envy, where the Sin's head had been only mere seconds before. "Tell me something then. Was that entire plan just to get me to come here to negotiate? Was it all a lie?" His voice and eyes depicted hurt, and anger, a fierce white hot fury that seemed as if it would explode.
He continued to talk, and Envy's eyes narrowed. Without even thinking, he dropped the glass he was holding, grabbed the back of the blonde's head and pressed their lips together, effectively shutting him up. When he released the other, who was panting with a faint blush staining his cheeks, Envy's eyes were still flashing slightly.
"Don't talk as if you know everything. Don't judge me based on words. Words are empty, and mean almost nothing. I have no intentions of betraying you, as I said. And can you honestly tell me that you or your brother has been hurt at all? I'm keeping my promise." With that, he stepped away from the wall, striding towards the window sill. He picked up a flashlight from the desk, and clicked it on twice out into the darkness.
His task done, Envy took to silently pacing the room, straining to hear the first sounds of the attack. Ed, still barely blushing, sat on the floor, leaning against the wall next to the door, occasionally touching his lips when he thought Envy wasn't looking.
Al returned to them, and although he could tell that the silence was tense, he did nothing about it. He gently asked his brother what was going to happen, and monotonously, Ed explained. As soon as he was done explaining, Envy froze. His stiff body told both brothers to be silent, and all three listened.
Suddenly, a smirk grew on Envy's face. "It's time." Was all he said, before silently running out the door. With an apprehensive look at Al, Ed followed, with the younger trailing dutifully behind him.
XXXXX
Envy pressed close to the wall, still hidden from his comrades. As far as he knew, they had no idea there would be an attack. He had sensed the soldiers coming closer, and waited patiently with a knife drawn, held at the ready. He could only pray that no one else sensed them.
His head turned as Ed and Al stood beside him, their footsteps silent as they approached. Al held a piece of white chalk in his hand, and Ed had taken off his gloves, revealing his mismatched hands.
BANG!
Envy's neck cracked as he turned around quickly, watching as the other Sins backed away slightly while soldiers poured in through the busted door, Riza, Roy and the brothers' teacher one of the first ones in. There were flashes of alchemical light in Envy's peripheral vision as Ed transmuted his right auto-mailed arm into a blade.
"Alright." Roy's voice sounded clearly throughout the room, addressing the thieves who stood on the other side of the room. "All of you have been charged with thievery, murder, and kidnapping. Come quietly with us, and no one will be hurt. Ed, Al?"
"Right here, Roy." Ed called, stepping out from behind the wall. "Everything's okay over here."
Roy nodded once, his eyes never leaving those of the targets, watching as they half shuffled behind one of them, a man with an eye patch in his left eye. Riza growled slightly beside him, her long gun pulled from her back and aimed towards them. "Don't move." She barked. "Put your hands in the air where I can see them. Spread out. I want to see all of you."
The Sins did as they were told, moving carefully apart. "You are to move slowly over here one by one. Resistance will not be tolerated." Roy spoke again.
The man with the eye-patch chuckled. "Not likely." He smirked, lowering his hands, as did the others.
A warning shot was fired off by Riza, whizzing past their heads. She had missed on purpose. "I won't miss again."
The man smirked again. "You won't have a chance to shoot ever again. Goodbye."
Roy's eyes widened as the man pressed a button hidden behind him, and just barely managed to pull Riza backwards as the ground in front of her exploded. Smoke and debris filled the air, making it hard to see and breathe. Screams were heard as something attacked the men hidden by the smoke, and the stench of blood burned everyone's nostrils.
Finally the smoke cleared somewhat, but the only thing Roy could see was dead bodies and two figures rolling around on the floor, trying to wrestle each other down.
"Hurry up!" The green-haired thief's voice came from the two figures, and Roy could just barely see who was who before another explosion happened nearby. "The others are escaping through a hole under the floor! Ed knows where it is!" That was all he could hear as more explosions went off, completely cutting off his view.
The ceiling above rumbled.
"Everyone outside now! This building is going to collapse." Riza's commanding voice sounded, and everyone turned to file out the exit. Just as the last soldiers scrambled out, it happened.
The ceiling buckled.
And Edward and Alphonse were still inside.
Whew! I think this is the longest chapter yet! I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but hey, it was either this or you wait for another week or so. I realize this might be sort of confusing as I tend to change views quite a lot. I hope you guys can understand it…
Anyway, I'm not sure if I did ok on my 'First Kiss' scene…I was kinda nervous, but this was how it played out in my head, and I just kind of wrote it down. Please forgive me if it sucks…I tried.
Oh yeah! I don't know if I told you, but for those of you who are looking for more RizaxRoy fluffiness, I wrote a one-shot a while back. Not sure if you guys know about it. Probably not. Anyway, if you want to read it, go ahead.
-----Editors note!
YES, FINALLY, A KISS! The long awaited kiss, and hopefully there'll be more in the near future! We can only dream! I hope all you awesome readers out there enjoyed this chapter, and since it's Valentines Day where I am, ROSES FOT ALL! Want chocolates or another kissing scene? THEN REVIEW! REVIEW ALL MY PRETTIES! Update soon, or all you fans will be coming after you with pitchforks and daisy! Peace Far!
Uh…Ok? Just don't kill me!
Ha! I have leverage! If you kill me, you won't get any updates OR more kissing scenes! Give me a review and maybe I'll update!