Okay, this is an arc-ender, so you know the protocol: brief break (which may or may not actually be noticeable) and then I come back with a new arc name and huuuge plot turning points!
Completely related, does anybody reading this make AMVS? Because One Day More from Les Miserables would make a FANTASTIC FMA:B AMV about the Promised Day (and the day before). I would tentatively place Hohenheim: Valjean, Ed and Winry for Marius and Cosette, Roy for Enjolras, Envy and Kimblee for the Thenardiers (they just have that jackal-like quality), Pride/Wrath/Father for Javert, and Eponine would be…I don't know. Mei and Ran Fan would both kind of work (for Al and Ling/Greed respectively), but Riza would also be an interesting choice. Seriously though, even if you don't make AMVs, listen to One Day More and think about FMA.
Dammit, now I want to do an FMA AU Les Miz style…it works really, really well! Look Down for the Ishbal War…I Dreamed A Dream for Trisha…On My Own for Winry every time Ed and Al run off…
YukinoKara: You bet the voices are annoying. Wrath's psychotic in the series and I wanted him to be like that here too (although he's ending up more like canon!Envy…hm. Interesting.) And I figured it was a good place for Ross, although I wish I could do more with her. People forget about Wrath! (Which, as you may notice, is not-so-hilariously lampshaded both in this chap and the last one.) Kole…ah, Kole. I could go into a whole dissertation of Kole. But that can wait. I've got a whole wealth of oneshots/short fics I want to do on characters in this verse that I don't have the chance to expand on. And Mei is the innocent one, she's so darling ^^ Thank you! He's difficult to write, but it's ultimately fulfilling – and I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing and betaing 3
Part 3: Genkaku: Illusion
Chapter 21
Unravelling
Ed was never one for typical good mornings, and the morning of the Angevin brothers' third day at the Yao house was no different. He stood in front of Julia for a moment, a tired smile on his face, before falling against the locker, to the ground and letting his head slump on the goth-girl's shoulder.
"Tired, Elric?" asked Julia in a dry voice, flipping the page of her book with a lace-gloved hand.
"No. I'm fucking tired," he mumbled, words half-lost in her shoulder. "Bastard finally left."
Julia blinked, and then snapped the book shut in one hand, finally turning to look incredulously at him. "You drove off your own dad?"
"No, I kicked him out. Difference."
"You can't – I mean – how do you even –"
Ed sniggered. "Okay, it wasn't exactly like that. But point is he's gone again – still leaving us money, although I really need to find another job. I've been looking but I can't find anything."
"So do you want us to stay at Ling's place a bit longer?"
He flopped his hand in the air. "Naw, come back. Place is too quiet without you."
Julia gave him a good-natured swat. "Oh please, honey. You've got enough energy to keep New York runnin' for a year. Although," she amended, "not right now."
Ed didn't reply, starting to snore. She rolled her eyes, and then caught sight of Ling – grinning like a madman. "Oh quit that," she hissed. "You look like the Joker."
"Why so serious?" he replied, before making an obscene gesture that turned poor Julia a rather virulent shade of red.
"Bastard." However, her insult was blocked out by the sound of the bell ringing. Ed jerked awake, and then got to his feet, muttering something about 'stupid Mustang'.
Ling helped Julia to her feet, leaning in close to her ear. "So how about a kiss?" She pushed him away with a chuckle, picking up her backpack and following Ed to class.
He laughed slightly, watching her go before turning around – and nearly dropping his bag. "Oh. Hi, Russell."
Russell narrowed his eyes, cold and suspicious. "Julia? Is there nobody you haven't screwed around with, Ling?"
"Russell, it's not like that –"
He lifted his lip in a snarl. "Then explain it to me."
Ling sighed, rubbing his temples, and then grasped Russell's shoulders – noticing how the younger boy was pressing into his grip instead of flinching away. He remembered what Ed had told him, and couldn't help smiling slightly. "Hey. Relax, first of all, okay?"
Russell took a deep breath, although his body language was still hostile. "Okay."
"You're sending me kind of mixed messages."
"Mixed messages! You're one to talk -!"
"Relaxed, remember?" Ling pressed down on Russell's shoulders.
"Right. Okay. Okay." He seemed almost on the verge of tears.
"So we're going to go to the park during our spare and we're going to talk this through. And you're not going to run off and I'm not going to be a skeeze and you're not going to yell at me and I'm not going to yell at you. Can you do that?"
Russell glanced away. "I…I guess I can."
Ling grinned. "Awesome." He brushed his hand lightly over Russell's cheek, then remembering himself, tore himself away. "But first we need to sit through Chemistry."
Russell caught the sleeve of his jacket. "Actually," he said quietly, face red, "maybe we can miss Chemistry."
All in all, it was a normal day at Central high-school. Students were bickering, flirting, bantering and fighting just like any other day.
"Julia Vasquez, please report to the office immediately. Julia Vasquez, the office."
All eyes in the classroom turned to her, expressions running the gamut from confused to questioning to gently amused…to worried.
"You heard that," said Professor Mustang, gesturing with the metre stick to the door. "Go ahead."
She did so, trailing her hand discreetly against Ed's for comfort. Calm down. It's probably nothing.
It could be anything.
It could be anything.
"Are you sure about this, Hawkeye?" whispered Havoc, shifting nervously in the office chair. He was far too tall for it, although the smaller Riza fit nicely.
"No. But it's the best lead we've got."
"She could just look a lot like him."
"She could. But pair that with what Hughes said – the younger girl, the arrival date…It's worth a shot."
Havoc shrugged, and then ran his fingers through his unruly hair. "I suppose. I'm just nervous – oh, here she is."
The door creaked open and Julia Vasquez stood in the doorway, fists clenched by her side and purple eyes fixed on Riza.
Riza stared back.
The video hadn't quite done Julia's strangeness justice. She couldn't put her finger on it – was it that she didn't seem quite put together right, like five mannequins cut apart and glued together? Was it the scared and haunted look that seemed to have appeared the moment the girl had laid eyes on her?
Or was it the nagging sense of familiarity that she knew, knew had to have some base in reality?
"Julia?"
The girl nodded.
"Sit down, please."
She did so, and Riza kicked Havoc discreetly so he would stop watching her hips. I must be wrong. No self-respecting male actually walks like that.
"You…you wanted to see me?"
South-western accent, paired with a hint of Spanish. Odd choice…if it's fake.
Havoc glanced down at the piece of paper in front of him. "Julia, my name is Jean Havoc, and this is Riza Rockbell. We're part of the Ottawa Police Department and we'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Am I in trouble?"
Riza snuck a glance at Havoc, who seemed taken aback by how forthright the girl was. All reports – and from what I remember – indicate that Envy is shy, quiet, unlikely to rebel. Hence why his disappearance was such a shock.
"So Julia, you just moved to Canada, right?"
"Mhm."
"Tell me about your family."
Julia nodded, and then tapped her chin. "It's just me, my dad and my cousin. My dad's still in Arizona tryin' to sell our house, but me and Sharon came up here."
"Where are you staying while your father is still in the States?"
"Oh, we're staying with a family friend." Her voice was light, but Riza noticed how her hands, folded in her lap, suddenly gripped into white-knuckled fists.
"I see."
"Why are you asking me all this?" Julia's voice was…scared, nervous…but not surprised. She already knows the answer.
Havoc kept his voice controlled and casual. "A kid and his brother went missing a while ago – Envy and Wrath Angevin."
Riza kept a close watch on Julia's eyes. Everybody responded to their own name – it was an innate instinct, and even though she could see in every falsely-languid movement that Julia had herself on a very, very tight leash…this would be telling.
The Arizona girl blinked. Her pupils dilated for less than a millisecond, before she closed them and shrugged. "Musta been before I got here. I've heard his name thrown about."
"Oh? What have you heard?"
"Just that he was a weird kid, really quiet."
Havoc gave Riza a sidelong glance. Julia's gaze flickered between the two of them.
"What? What did I say?" Her voice rose in pitch, and then cracked horribly on the last word, sending it plummeting back down to a tenor. She covered her mouth, eyes wide. After a moment, she chuckled awkwardly.
"Would you like a drink of water?" asked Riza, seizing the moment. There was only one way to truly be sure, without ruining the girl's life by accusing her of something she hadn't done – of being somebody she wasn't.
Julia nodded, face turning red – embarrassment? Heat? Fear? It could have been many things.
Although, she mused, as she poured cold water into a paper cone, if she is Envy…I've never seen someone pass so well.
Oh god. His voice had cracked – cracked. What's the matter with you, Envy Angevin? he berated himself mentally. Your perfect disguise, then you get a little flustered and BOOM!
Calm down. Calm down.
Think about…Ling.
No. That's a fucking terrible idea.
Think about Ed.
His face grew hot, and he quickly slurped down the water, trying to hide his unexplainable flush.
The two police officers watched him like hawks, and he shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. Their eyes made him itch.
"So, Julia," said Havoc conversationally, picking up the threads of the question-and-answer session – oh fuck, he might as well call it what it was, an interrogation – seamlessly. "Did nobody mention to you that Envy and Wrath Angevin were, in fact, the sons of two very famous, very influential people?"
Envy gulped. "What? Really? You ain't kiddin'."
"I'm afraid not."
Riza was still silent, observing Envy coolly with her cognac-hued eyes. They'd never been just brown, no – the same way Winry's eyes weren't just blue, and Martel's eyes weren't just green. Bloody hell. He was fucked.
She spoke, voice quiet and almost threatening. "Julia, if there's anything you'd like to tell us, now is the time."
They know.
He sucked up the last few drops of water, noticing with the strange, detached interest he attached to anything to do with his disguise that there was a smear from his lipstick. How do women manage to not leave marks everywhere?
"Afraid I can't think of anything." He let his shoulders rise and fall. "Hope ya find 'em, though. Hate to think of someone out there snatching kids."
Havoc nodded, although his mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Alright. Thanks for your help." He and Riza got to their feet, pushing back their chairs.
Envy slowly exhaled, trying to keep it unnoticeable. I was expecting that to be a lot worse.
As Havoc picked up the beige file in front of him, it slipped open, papers fanning out across the table.
Envy at the gala.
Wrath's school photo.
Lust, right before she'd been diagnosed.
Sloth's portrait.
And right in front of Julia Vasquez, staring up at her with malice that only she could sense, only she could feel, was Greed, frozen in a black-and-white copy of his driver's license photograph.
Envy's chest suddenly felt very tight. He wanted this disguise off, he wanted it off, now, and he could feel Greed's hot, whiskey breath on his ear, and he could hear his growls, and he could feel every bruise burning hot and cold –
"Are you alright?"
Riza was kneeling in front of him now, and she looked honestly worried. Envy nodded, trying to pull his eyes away from the photograph.
He hadn't seen Greed – or even seen a picture of him – since the night he'd left home. Since his own brother had tried to rape him. (The words were impossible to run away from, even though he'd tried to run away from all of it.)
Then the picture was gone, tucked back into the file and under Havoc's arm.
"If you have any questions…this is the number you can reach us at." A card was slid onto the table, and it was all Envy could do to nod and try not to shake.
Goddamn panic attacks. They know something's up.
"I'll take this for you." The paper cone was lifted from his trembling and limp fingers, and he murmured something that might have sounded like a 'thank you'.
"Are you sure you're alright?" It was Havoc this time, and Envy forced a charming smile onto his face. Havoc was a handsome man, and his face didn't hold the memories that Riza Rockbell's did.
"I'm fine, it's just a headache. They come on very quickly."
"Oh, I see. Hate those." Havoc patted his shoulder, and they left.
Then it hit him what had just happened.
"WAIT!" he yelled, bolting out of the chair and into the hall. "Give that – no, wait, don't –" But the two police officers were already gone…with them the paper cone, smeared with lipstick…and DNA.
"Fuck," he whispered, leaning against the wall of the corridor and ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the office staff. "Fuck, it's over. It's fucking over."
"Detention, Elric," came the familiar voice through his thoughts. "And honestly, I'm getting rather bored of your antics."
"What? Again?" Ed glared at Mustang. "What'd I do this time?"
"Nothing. Which is precisely the problem." Mustang walked over and tapped the metre stick on Ed's desk. "I've asked you the same question about five times and all fives times you've completely ignored me."
"Oh. Sorry." He was too tired for this shit. And honestly, even a lunch date with Roy couldn't stop him from worrying about Envy.
"And…there's the bell. I want pages 365-370 reviewed for tomorrow, and remember, the test is on Monday…"
Envy wasn't back yet.
Fuck.
He would have felt a lot better if Ling and Russell had had the decency to show up today of all days. Idiots.
"Ed." He almost missed the whispered voice, but he just caught it, and swivelled around. Envy was standing there, suddenly tiny in the crowded hall despite being a good inch taller than Ed.
"What's the matter? Who was it?"
"Police." Envy's eyes were darting about. "They know, Ed, they know."
"Shit. Okay. First things first, you're a mess." Ed took Envy's hands in his own, feeling how brittle and thin they were. They were trembling like poplar leaves in a thunderstorm, and he brought them up to his face, pressing them against his cheeks. "Take a deep breath."
"O…okay."
"You're going to be fine. We're going to make sure this works out okay. Come on. We'll go to class and you can concentrate on something else."
Envy nodded, still shaking. There was a flush on his pale cheeks now, and he smiled crookedly. "Your face is warm. It's nice."
It quickly became even warmer as Ed hurriedly pulled away. "I, er, sorry, dunno why I did that. Anyway! We're gonna be late, come on!"
"Oy Mustang!" Ed strode into the classroom – only to see Roy on the phone with an uncharacteristically furrowed brow. He waved a hand at Ed, a clear indicator to be quiet.
"Yeah. Yeah, of course…I'll take a look. One moment." He covered the receiver and looked up. "After school, Elric."
"But –"
"After. School."
Ed bit his lip, turning around and barrelling out of the door. Stupid pansy bastard can't put a bloody phone-call on hold for his goddamn boyfriend. Probably some big-boobed bimbo girlfriend of his he's chatting away with. Fuck him. Well, I guess that'll be happening after school. He perked up at the idea of getting the teacher to bend over for him instead of the other way around, and then chuckled embarrassedly at the thought.
"ED! Ed Ed Ed CHIBI-CHAN! Hana no kokoro mai!"
Ed sighed. "Hello, Ling." He tried to follow Ling's face, but it was too hard with him jumping up and down and all over the place.
With a roll of his eyes and a grin, Russell planted his hands on Ling's shoulders and forced him back down to earth.
"Guess what, Edo?"
"What?"
"Russell and I aren't gonna fight anymore!"
Ed raised an eyebrow. "And…why's that?"
The corners of Ling's mouth nearly hit the ceiling. "Because we're gonna be fuckin' all the time instead!"
Russell swatted him, cheeks bright. "Ahem. What he means, of course, is that we've settled our differences and, uh…" He bit his lip in a shy smile. "We're dating. I think."
"Course we are, Russ-chan!" The Japanese boy grabbed Russell's hand, entwining their fingers together, and Ed thought the Brit might explode.
"That's great, really, guys. I'm gonna be super happy for you in a moment, okay?" He pushed past them, scanning the hall for Envy's distinctive green hair – but it was conspicuously missing.
"Where's Envy?"
Ling shrugged. "I dunno, he took off a few minutes agooooo SHIT."
Russell went very pale. Then he went very red. Then he went very purple.
"Envy?" he managed to hiss from between clenched teeth. "As in, missing for a month Envy?"
"Uhh, just a slip of the tongue…" Ed tried to backtrack, but Russell was having none of it. He pulled his hand fiercely out of Ling's grasp.
"Are you telling me that Julia is Envy? Because if you are, then I am going to be very. Very. Very. Annoyed."
Ed gulped, rubbing the back of his head. He'd slipped. A month of practicing, of keeping a leash on his tongue, and today of all days, when it meant the most, he'd slipped.
Russell turned to Ling. "Tell me that I didn't hear you call Julia Envy. Tell me, Ling."
"I…I wish I could, babe. If it makes you feel better, I wasn't supposed to know." Ling pressed his fingers together, suddenly solemn. It wasn't a look he wore often.
Just like that, the happiness was gone, and Russell's eyes were back to being icy shards of blue. "And nobody thought I might like to know?"
"We just –"
He'd forgotten just how good Russell's left hook was.
"I appreciate you meeting with us at such short notice, Mrs. Angevin."
Dante sniffed, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "Don't expect it as a habit. Have you found my son?"
"No, but we've definitely got a new lead."
"Tell me."
Hughes shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea just yet – it's a very delicate situation."
Her purple eyes flashed. "You will tell me where my son is, now!"
"Sons, Mrs. Angevin," corrected Hughes quietly, pushing his glasses further onto his face. "Both of them."
"Yes…of course." She folded her hands carefully in her lap, unruffled. "What do you require?"
Hughes took a deep breath, and tried to signal to Havoc to stop fiddling. They were both nervous at being so bold. "We think we know why Envy and Wrath ran away."
"Ran away? Don't be ridiculous. They would have returned by now. They have no idea how to live in the real world." The strand of hair had fallen out from behind her ear again, and she reached up to return it to its position.
Hughes shook his head. "As we told you before, ma'am, Envy took at least one of his notebooks with him – and there's been no ransom note, or anything to indicate a kidnap. And we've just been given reason to believe that..." He cleared his throat.
"What is it?" commanded Dante, furrowing her brow.
"Envy and Wrath didn't just run away. They ran away together…and from something. Something in this house."
The change wrought by his words was nothing short of astounding. With a spark of dark lightning, Dante drew herself up to her full seated height, red silk dress falling into straight lines around her as her face set into angry lines.
"You dare suggest -!"
Hughes was having none of it. He sat up just as straight as she did, but remained relaxed, steady blue gaze piercing through the glass of his lenses and into her eyes.
"Yes, I dare, Dante Angevin. Those boys are scared of something. Somebody is giving them a reason to fear returning. I don't know if that person is you, your husband, your son or one of your daughters." Hughes's hands moved slightly, a change in posture unremarkable to most and terribly important to those who had the knowledge to understand; from clasped and balanced between his knees, to one on each knee. It was the posture of a man prepared to rise; prepared to strike. "But believe me, I intend to find out."
"Leave. Now." Her voice was clipped and cold, but also…afraid?
Hughes didn't stop. "What happened when your daughter got sick, Dante?"
"Lust's indiscretions are hardly my fault, and to throw that in my face –"
"I don't intend to. My heart goes out to her. But that's not what I'm asking." His hands tightened on his knees. "What I'm asking is what happened. I've gone over everything. Before she got sick, no one cared about the other Angevins. She was the star. Now the children are all over the tabloids – despite the fact that Greed is a mess, and the younger three are nothing spectacular. What are you doing to your children?"
Havoc watched the exchange, mouth hanging slightly open. He'd known his boss was a genius, but this…
"You haven't starred in a blockbuster for over seven years. Your husband is an extreme conservative in a country renowned for being liberal. What are you willing to do to keep your limelight?"
"I've asked you already," said Dante in a low, forbidding voice, "to leave. Now I'm telling you. Leave my house, at once."
Hughes got to his feet, almost too fast. "I will find your sons, Dante Angevin…but not for you."
The chilling glare that the matriarch gave them would haunt Havoc's nightmares for a long time…and he would have lots of them once the day was done.
There was a figure leaning by the car when they exited the house, and Havoc shaded his eyes against the sunlight. "Oy, get away from there!"
Greed closed his cellphone and rubbed his face, wiping away what looked suspiciously like tears. Probably got dumped, thought Havoc rather uncharitably – he'd been on the receiving end of that a couple too many times to take some overgrown teen's lovelorn heart seriously anymore.
"Yeah, sorry," murmured the twenty-year-old, slipping his phone into his pocket and stepping away from the car. Havoc slid into the driver's seat, and Hughes was about to follow him, when Greed laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait!"
Hughes turned. "Yes?"
But he'd reconsidered, pulling back his hand and lowering his head. "N-never mind. Just…" He looked up, eyes red and watery. "When you find En and Wrath…tell 'em I love 'em, kay?"
Hughes smiled. "You'll be able to tell them that yourself."
"Maybe. But…Little monster and wildling. That's what I called them. I still call them," he corrected, sticking his hands into his pockets. For someone so tall and imposing, he was remarkably vulnerable right now. "I've got names for everybody…Sloth's princess, and Lust's…" He chuckled sadly. "Lust's Xena."
"We'll tell them. Don't worry." Hughes gave Greed a little salute. "Take care of yourself." Greed's words were more than a little foreboding – he didn't want Envy and Wrath coming home to a suicide.
With that, Hughes slid into the car and closed the door. With a sputter, the engine came to life, and as the police car drove away, Greed began to cry again.
He was no stranger to regret.
But god, he hated it.
"Julia," said Kimblee with a hint of mockery. "Lovely to see you again."
Envy didn't waste any words – instead, he grabbed Kimbley's white (always white!) collar and pulled him around the corner. Not even checking that they were alone, he smothered the senior with a kiss.
A moment later, Kimbley pulled away, one eyebrow raised. "I thought you were playing hard-to-get."
"My name's not Julia." The words tumbled out suddenly, without any real thought. "And you know me. You know exactly who I am and you've known me for a long time."
Kimbley's grin vanished. "What?"
"My name's not Julia." His cheeks began to grow warm as the hard part came. "It's Envy."
"What? Oh come on. Somebody put you up to this. Envy's been missing for months." Kimbley leant down for another kiss.
Envy stepped away. He let the voice drop. "My freshman year, your sophomore year – Grade 9 for me, grade 10 for you. You were in the library. I was reading a book you wanted. You hit on me because you thought I was a girl. I corrected you. I embarrassed you. You started picking on me soon after." He grinned twistedly. "Nice to know I'm still convincing. And that you can fall for the same thing twice."
The look on Kimbley's face couldn't be accurately described in words, although Envy knew he'd be replicating it (or trying to) in his journal with lines later. "What – you – you – you fucking son of a bitch faggot!"
Envy was gone before Kimbley could take the first swing, dashing down the corridor and laughing like a madman. He was a madman.
It would all be over soon.
So there was no point. No point.
He should get his fun in now. Because – because –
The police were going to send him back to that house. And after the freedom, the happiness, the joy, he wouldn't. He'd rather die before he spent another night under the same roof as Greed.
So he would.
No pills this time. He'd just run until he ran out of road to run on. Straight off the edge of a cliff. Or maybe off a bridge. Or maybe into a bonfire, or into a knife.
"Get BACK here!"
Oh, the disadvantages of long hair…he somehow had time to think before he was flung into the locker by his hair. Kimbley stood over him, a handful of green strands clenched in his fist – and then he was being pulled up by his shirt.
He laughed weakly. "Back to this as always, Zolf, babe?"
"You think it's funny?" he spat, eyes burning with a strange kind of hatred. "Embarrassing me – using me – like that?"
"Lemme see…yup!" Envy couldn't help it. Julia was a foxtail, burrowed too deep to really remove on demand anymore. "I think it's fair payment for beating the shit outta me every day for looking like a girl."
"Then you should have stopped being a spoiled little shit and fought back!" Kimbley slammed him against the metal again, making his teeth rattle in his skull. "Not set your little trap like a fucking snake!"
With a sickening crunch of realization, Envy realized that he'd been wrong. Not 'oopsy-daisy' wrong, but horribly, misguidedly wrong.
"I'm sorry –" he began to say, but a knee to the crotch shut him up quickly, making him squeeze his eyes shut as his vision went white for a moment.
"I'll make you sorry, you messed-up little fairy -!"
Okay, I fucked up. Doesn't make Kimbley any less of a psycho, thought Envy drily, working through the pain. Sometimes he wished he really was a girl. They seemed to have it nice and easy.
"Zolf Jeremiah Kimbley! Step away from that girl right this minute!"
Oh thank the bloody heavens. Finally a teacher steps in…that's…who is that? Can't concentrate. Mustang. Of course.
His vision cleared – as Kimbley stepped aside. Oh. That's why. So I'm not blind. That's good.
However, his view was still blurry. He could see Ed, and Mustang, and someone who he guessed must be Ling.
"No excuses this time, Kimbley. To the principal's office, now!"
"He tricked me! He fucking tricked me –"
"NOW."
Ed knelt in front of him. "E – Julia, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…can I lie down for a class? Or two?" He chuckled. "Or fifty? Man, I forgot how much this sucked."
Ed laid a hand carefully on his head, and Envy let a sound almost like a purr. Oh god, did I really just do that?...Eh, who the hell cares.
"Elric, come with me. We'll get her to the nurses' office."
"What about me –"
"Go to class, Yao. She'll be fine."
With a sigh, Ling left, and Envy let Ed lift him carefully, mind still reeling.
I let him think I was a girl. I let him think I was Julia and I was interested in him. He's a straight man and I tricked him. He shouldn't have beaten me for it…but I still tricked him.
Roy Mustang examined the unconscious form of the Hispanic girl carefully, eyes never lingering too long on any one part. "Edward," he said carefully, "Zolf said that he tricked him. He."
"It's…nothing. I don't really know. Julia doesn't like to talk about it."
Roy raised an eyebrow, dark eyes disbelieving. "Edward. Tell me who Julia is."
He took a deep breath. "I think you can figure that out."
Roy exhaled, eyes growing even darker than usual. "Envy. I should have known."
Envy woke up about two hours later, head much clearer. "Whew. That feels much better. Ed?" He looked around, and then at the clock on the wall. "Oh." It was two minutes to the bell.
"Eh, I'll get going, then. Beat Ed home for a change." It would be their last evening together. Maybe they could do something special.
He got to his feet, wavering slightly and steadying himself with one hand on the bed. "There we go."
He made it out of the school just as the bell rang.
"Yes!" He pumped the air. "Beat the crowd."
"Okay, bastard, I'm here." Ed strolled into the room, trying to stay pissed off. But Mustang had been so good about Envy…there had to be a catch. But he was just so glad that he'd understood…
Elysia never skipped school.
Ever.
Or, at least, according to her old man, she didn't. Which is why when Hughes saw his darling daughter out on the street fifteen minutes before the bell was due to ring, he demanded that Havoc pull over for a moment.
"Elysia Hughes!"
He was satisfied to see her flinch in embarrassment.
"Hi, Dad."
The last person Envy wanted to see was Elysia Hughes, so his first impulse when he saw her up the sidewalk was to cross the street.
However, something held his attention – a blinking red light where it shouldn't be.
"Ed," said Mustang slowly, "we need to talk."
"Elysiaaaa," said Hughes in the perfect whiny-Dad voice, "don't you have…SCHOOL?" He upped the volume on the last one.
"Uh, uh, uh…" She settled for shrugging and grinning sheepishly. "I won't do it again?"
It was under the carriage of the car, steady and bright.
Envy frowned. It was a police car, and he didn't know what they were normally like, but he knew enough about cars from Greed to know that there wasn't supposed to be a light there. Let alone a blinking one.
"Talk? Talk about what?" Ed sat down across from Mustang, the tension that had been building all day reaching fever pitch.
"You better not, young lady."
Elysia sighed. "I won't, Dad." She wasn't about to explain that she'd been nervous – about another girl.
He leant out of the window, and lowered his glasses. "Are you suuuure?"
A horrible feeling swept over him, and Envy began to run – towards Elysia and the police car. He could see the man leaning out of the window now.
Maes Hughes.
Her father.
"This…" Mustang swallowed. "This has gone too far."
"What has?"
"The police. Envy. Everything." Mustang unclasped his hands. "Us."
"GET DOWN! ELYSIA, GET DOWN!"
Elysia and Maes turned towards the voice, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh god, it's that Julia girl again –"
"Us?" Ed gripped the side of the chair, knuckles going white.
"Yes. You know this is illegal. This could send me to jail, or at least ruin my career forever."
Envy was nearly sobbing. The light was blinking faster.
"GET DOWN! FOR FUCK'S SAKE, ELLIE, GET DOWN! GET AWAY FROM THE CAR!"
Havoc heard the screaming. He got partially out of the car to see what was going on.
"Boss, what's that?"
"So you're breaking up with me."
Envy reached them and grabbed Elysia's arm.
"Get off of me, you weirdo –"
"Yes."
The police car – and Elysia's world – burst into flames.
But she didn't see it. What she saw was a warm body above her, and a face she hadn't seen up close before.
"Envy?"