Chapter twenty-seven: The morning after

*Kindness's POV*

When I came into the sickroom the next morning, I was greeted with an odd sight: Mrs. Elric was peacefully sleeping, but that wasn't the oddity here. Beside her sat a certain androgynous, black-haired Sin, also sleeping deeply.

The scene was so utterly surreal that I had to stifle my laughter.

It was cute, so I decided not to disturb them and silently left the room. Just as I wanted to close the door, Edward came around the corner.

"How is Winry?", he asked, quietly, because I hate it, when people are loud aroud my patients.

I grinned and motioned for him to peek through the door.

Edward's eyes couldn't grow any larger, when he saw the figure that was slouched next to his wife. He too struggled to keep in his laughter and quickly looked elsewhere, before he woke them up.

"What are you grinning at?" Selim – no, Pride, the shadows were out – came down the stairs, still in his pyjamas, because it was still pretty early. I pointed at the door to the sickroom and Pride peeked in curiously. Upon seeing the scene there, he smirked and went back upstairs, only to return with a camera in his right hand.

"Are they still asleep?", he asked and Edward nodded.

The oldest Sin smirked devilishly. "Perfect." The childlike homunculus snuck in and a quiet click was heard. Then the boy snuck back outside, holding a photograph in his left hand.

It showed his younger brother/sister sleeping at Winry's bedside.

Pride chuckled evilly: "Best blackmail material of all times!"

"You're not really going to blackmail him with that photo, are you?", I asked worriedly.

"Oh, I won't tell anyone. I can't humiliate my fellow homunculi now, can I? Besides..."

His wicked grin softened into something that I had ever seen on him before, except when he was around Mrs. Bradley; a fond smile.

"...I've known Envy ever since he was born, but I've never seen him look so peaceful."

Pride tucked the photo away in his pyjama pocket and went back upstairs. "Now I'll take a nice hot bath. It's still early, so I'll have some time before my siblings make a needless ruckus up there. I'll greet mother and Wrath later at the breakfast table."

*Edward's POV*

Kindness grinned after her younger sibling, then she turned to me. "Your wife should be fine for now, so I'll be in the kitchen preparing breakfast for you all."

I nodded and turned back to the sickroom. I opened the door a little bit more and quietly stepped in. Silently, I stopped in front of the bed, looking at the odd scenery before I.

Pride was right. Envy, that psychotic homicidal homunculus, looked strangely peaceful in his sleep, like an innocent child. And he was sleeping next to Winry of all the people.

This sight was so absurd, so utterly surreal, but at the same time it was unspeakably beautiful. I fixed Winry's cover as silently as possible, then allowed myself to tuck a stray strand of black hair out of Envy's face, before leaving the room.

*Envy's POV*

As soon as I heard the door close, I opened my eyes, blinked and sat up.

Did someone just stroke my hair...?

Judging by the sound of the steps that had just left, it must have been Edward. He probably had come to check on his wife and seen me sleep here. I blushed: someone has seen me like that! Ahhh, my reputation was ruined! That ex-pipsqueak better not tell anyone! Wait...he had stroked my hair! Oh god...

In which Pride is a paparazzo, Ed cares a little too much and Envy is a tsundere.