Hey, my lovely readers! ^_^ I've been having a bit of trouble handling my work and all in the past few weeks, but in the end, I love to write this story because so many people like it and I'm really happy to be able to write every day. Thanks for reading, and now I present you chapter 33!
-Chapter Thirty-Three-(Christmas Day/ Later that morning)
"Ahhhhh~!" Envy yawned, stretching his arms and opening his mouth wide. "I feel super refreshed." He rubbed his slightly teary eyes, looking around at the room he was in. He spotted Edward's still-unopened presents that were haphazardly dropped onto the floor, making him remember where he was and what he was doing in the dead of night about 8 hours ago. The black-haired boy grinned mischievously.
"Oh, I remember now..." he chuckled, turning his head to the other side of the mattress. "Hey, Ed, wake up. You have t-" But, unexpectedly, his little blonde boy was missing. Envy lifted up the covers, and searched around the room once more for the Elric. "Ed?" He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, retrieving a black t-shirt and putting it on. Suddenly, his ears and nose tuned into the sound and smell of cooking food that emanated from the downstairs kitchen, cueing an internal fantasy that his amazing blonde angel was making him breakfast. Out of his eagerness, Envy dashed out of his (Ed's) room, jumped down the stairs, and erupted into the kitchen with a very enthusiastic, "Merry Christmas, my lovely Edward!"
"Oh, good morning, Envy," came a very male and very not-Ed-like voice from the stove. "Erm, Edward isn't here at the moment. He headed out a while ago with Alphonse to meet up with their teacher from a few years back." Hohenheim awkwardly glanced from Envy to the pan he was holding over the flame. "They'll probably be back in a couple of hours. I, erm... I made some breakfast, if you would like some."
Of course, the black-haired boy was so utterly mortified by his slip-up that he hadn't heard much of anything that the blonde man had just said other than "Edward isn't here" and "breakfast." He stumbled over to the kitchen table and shakily sat down in a chair. Oh, right, his dad lives here... Envy thought.
"Uh... yeah, that's fine," Envy said awkwardly, uncomfortable with being with Hohenheim without Ed in the room; a feeling almost identical to that of a heterosexual boy and his relationship with his girlfriend's father. It was just strange. Hohenheim nodded, silently getting out another plate and placing it on the counter to be filled with foodstuffs.
"Merry Christmas, by the way," the man said, smiling a bit.
"Merry Christmas indeed..." Envy mumbled, hoping he could avoid more awkward silences or even more awkward conversations.
"How did you sleep?" Hohenheim asked, trying to make a bit of conversation. I slept in the same bed as your son after passionately making out with him while completely shirtless and admiring how gorgeous he looked in a lolita dress, so I'd say pretty damn well, said Envy's inner dialogue.
"Alright, pretty good," the black-haired boy said shortly.
"That's good, then," the blonde man responded. "I don't have work today, so I'll be able to come for dinner at Pinako's tonight." Lovely, hopefully I won't end up screwing up magnificently and then have you rip me and Ed apart forever, Envy's thoughts continued in paranoia.
"I guess that's nice, to be with your family," Envy said politely, as Hohenheim placed a dish of eggs, toast and jam, and sweet-smelling bacon in front of him. "Thanks for the food."
"You're very welcome," the man responded, sitting down across from Envy with his own plate of food. "Speaking of family..." Oh, god, no, Envy thought, sweat beading up on his skin. "What does your father do for a living?"
"A... living?" The black-haired boy repeated blankly, his mind searching for an answer. "Uh... come to think of it, I'm not even sure what he does." He admitted, crossing his ankles nervously. "I guess he does, uh... all sorts of things from time to time." Including verbally abusing his children... the boy continued inwardly.
"Ah, alright," Hohenheim said. "And what about your mother?" A stroke of grief stabbed Envy's heart like a butcher knife, opening ancient wounds and pouring salt and vinegar into them.
"Uh..." he muttered, trying his very best to not shed any tears. "My mother... isn't around anymore." Perceiving the truth from the start, Ed's father nodded sadly.
"I'm sorry," he said, silencing himself as he took a forkful of eggs.
"It's..." Envy began, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "It's alright."
The two ate in complete silence from then on, the only noises present being the sound of a fork and knife clinking against the plate. When he was finished, Envy took his breakfast ware and placed them carefully in the sink, slowly going back upstairs without a word. But, before he could make it all the way up, Hohenheim's voice called after him.
"You know, if you would like to go and meet Edward, I could give you the directions," the blonde man called a bit awkwardly. "It's not all that far from here; you could also call Ed if you need any more help." The black-haired boy's head jerked back into the kitchen, looking incredulously at his boyfriend's father.
"Seriously?" He asked, his imaginary tail wagging like crazy.
"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier," Hohenheim apologized, motioning for the boy to be on his way. "I'll write you the directions now. You can go get dressed in outerwear and head out once you have them." Envy nodded, happily skipping back up the stairs into his little blonde boy's room.
"Yay, yay, yay, yay~!" He squealed happily, jumping out of his pajamas and slipping into a warm black sweater and green cargo pants. As he reached for his cape and beret, the black-haired boy considered calling Edward to let him know he was going to go see him at his teacher's house. Envy took out his phone, pressed the first number he had on speed-dial, and held the receiver to his ear.
[Calling: O'CHIBI-SAN]
The dial tone rang for a few times, until a familiar voice answered on the other end.
"Hello?" Ed asked, a hint of laughter present in the background.
"Hey, Ed!" Envy said excitedly. "Your dad's giving me directions to your old teacher's place or whatever. I thought I might come over and hug you to death for leaving this morning without telling me."
"You're kidding me," Edward sighed, disappointment creeping into his voice. "Alright, then, uh... I'll see you soon." The apathetic tone he heard from the blonde took Envy aback. Does he not want to see me? He thought worriedly.
"Ed... is it okay? Do you mind if I come?" The black-haired boy asked softly, realizing how he was being a bit rude by just inviting himself to wherever his boyfriend was.
"No, no, no, it's fine..." Ed mumbled. "Just, uh... be prepared for anything, alright?"
"Prepared for... huh?" Envy inquired, wearing a puzzled look that Edward couldn't see.
"Just... I'll see you soon. And leave the gifts at home, okay? I can open them with you tonight," the blonde boy said sweetly. He paused, as if he were looking around for eavesdroppers at his teacher's house. "I love you," Ed whispered, sending renewed waves of joy into Envy's soul.
"I love you too!" The taller boy responded happily, gripping the phone as if to hug the blonde. "See you soon!"
"Bye," was the last thing Envy heard before Edward hung up. Ed loves me~! Envy thought warmly, closing his phone and skipping with his coat right back out the bedroom door.
A few minutes later, Envy graciously took the written directions from Hohenheim and headed on his way to meet Ed. Strangely, the foreboding comment Edward left him to "be prepared for anything" had no effect on him, nor did the thought that he didn't even know Edward's teacher and was being quite intrusive by bringing himself over. Ah, well, the black-haired boy thought, feeling free and easygoing as a bird. I'm Ed's boyfriend. No one'll care.
Meanwhile, Edward Elric had just gotten off the phone and was making his way back to the breakfast table where his old teacher, her husband, and Alphonse were laughing hysterically at a memory they were sharing. He realized that it was quite rude to just let his boyfriend come over to his teacher's house without asking his teacher first, but Envy was like family, so it was cool, right? Please let it be right... Edward prayed.
"What're you all laughing about?" Ed asked smartly, grinning at the three at the table.
"Just a little something your brother told us about you, shrimp," the woman named Izumi Curtis teased, grinning back in her faint, subtle way.
"I am NOT a SHRIMP!" Edward shouted, grouchily sitting down next to Ms. Curtis' beefy husband, Sig Curtis. "For the love of god, why the hell does eveyone keep CALLING me that?"
"Because you are a shrimp," Izumi smirked. "To think that I've known you since you were an even bigger shrimp... or maybe I mean smaller?" She chuckled, and Sig ruffled the older blonde's hair like an uncle.
"Hmph," Ed grunted. "What did Al tell you, getting back on topic?" Alphonse turned a bit red, awkwardly looking away from his older brother. "What? What happened?"
"Sorry, brother..." Al mumbled meekly, looking guilty. "I kinda told Mr. and Ms. Curtis about, um... about Envy." The older blonde's face suddenly turned seven shades of crimson, causing him to clench his hands and anxiously rub the sweat off of them.
"You what?" Edward breathed, his golden eyes filling with worry. But then, his dearest teacher placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Look, Ed, we're not going to admonish you over such a thing; that would be an incredibly judgmental and stupid thing to do. Shouldn't you know by now that I was never one to abandon people, no matter how ridiculously idiotic they may act?" Edward smiled, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "However..." Izumi continued darkly, pointing a stern finger at Ed's nose. "If that boy causes you any harm, in any way whatsoever, he will not get away with it. Do you understand me? Do you understand, Edward?" A cold shiver ran down the blonde's spine, reflexively making him nod.
"Y-Yes, ma'am," he stuttered, still intimidated by the dread-locked woman, no matter how many years that had passed since she was his teacher. As quickly as her face turned dark, Izumi's expression returned to a warm one.
"Alright, then," the black-haired woman said. "So, when am I going to meet him?"
"Oh!" Ed exclaimed, the lightbulb popping up over his head. "I, uh, almost forgot. He's actually on his way now... because... um..." The older blonde's voice shrank away as he saw Izumi frown at his remembrance, frightening him into silence. "Um... Ms. Curtis?" The woman stood up from her chair, pressing two of her fingers to her temple in frustration.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect this..." she muttered irately. "Sig, my lovely husband, would you please get another bowl ready for the shrimp's boyfriend?" Izumi requested sweetly, hugging the muscular man.
"Of course, sweetheart," he responded, standing up from his chair as well and kissing the woman on the cheek.
"Um... Ms. Curtis? I'm sor-"
"Don't apologize, Ed; you know my attitude towards excessively polite behavior," Ms. Curtis stated. "I'll be glad to meet him, as long as he isn't some sort of snobbish prick from that private school you and your brother go to." Edward chuckled at the obvious irony in her statement.
"I wouldn't worry about that."
Then, as if on cue, there was a the doorbell rang to signal Envy's presence.
"Be nice, be nice, be nice, Envy," the black-haired boy muttered to himself, unknowing of how wrong he was being when instructing himself to do so. "Don't be an asshole, don't be an asshole, don't be as asshole..." Suddenly, the front door opened and Envy was greeted by a massive black-haired man.
"Uh... hi," Envy mumbled, intimidated by Sig Curtis' figure. "I'm here for Ed. My name's-"
"Envy, right?" Sig grunted, not moving from the doorframe.
"Yes, that's me," the black-aired boy confirmed. He started to sweat in his warm clothes as he felt izumi's husband's eyes bore holes into him, as if the man were judging his character simply by looking at him.
"Alright, come in, then," the muscular man said, gesturing Envy inside. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas!" Envy answered, nervously heading into the house. Once in, Sig closed the door and firmly shook the boy's hand.
"I'm Sig Curtis, Izumi's wife," he greeted, grinning at Envy. "But I'm guessing that Edward didn't tell you who she was, did he?"
"Uh, not really," Envy admitted, slowly warming up better to the man. "Hohenheim told me he was visiting an old teacher of h-"
"WHO THE HELL CALLED ME OLD?" Came a booming female voice from a nearby room, scaring the black-haired boy half to death. Izumi suddenly stomped out into the front hall, a dark frown spread across her face, and Ed and Al following close behind. "Oh. Is this him, Ed?" She asked the older blonde, gesturing towards the taller boy. Edward smiled and nodded, reluctantly going over to his boyfriend and warmly hugging him.
"I'm glad you came," he whispered, blushing a bit.
"So, you're my student's boyfriend, huh," Izumi interrupted, walking over to the spiky-haired boy as well and stared at him critically.
"Uh, yes ma'am," Envy confirmed, feeling the impulse that almost everyone who met Ms. Curtis to call her a respectful name. She continued to stare, looking him up and down in the same way Sig did when he first arrived at the door.
"... I guess you'll do," she joked, grinning mischievously and shaking Envy's hand. The black-haired boy looked down at Ed with a confused look in his eyes; a look that said, "What do I say?"
"Act like you would to a normal person," Edward mouthed back reassuringly. And so, the newcomer went full-out and revealed the personality he hid from Hohenheim.
"I'll do? I'd say I'm more than just adequate, ma'am," Envy remarked proudly, wrapping an arm around his little blonde boy. "We've been happily together for about 3 months now~!" Izumi frowned, but it was a warm one; one of those frowns that looked like smiles when you looked at the person's eyes.
"Is that so?" She said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier, you little shrimp?" The dread-locked woman teased, bending down for emphasis that she was taller than Edward.
"FOR THE LAST TIME!" Ed shouted angrily. "I'M NOT A LITTLE, PUNY, ELFISH MIDGET!" Then suddenly, the blonde punched at Izumi, as she dodged backwards with perfect agility.
"Brother, you idiot!" Alphonse shouted at his older brother, as Izumi shot an uppercut to the braided blonde's jaw; Edward dodged by a hair, and countered with a flying roundhouse, which his teacher then blocked with a powerful front kick.
"... what the hell is going on?" Envy asked blankly, turning to Sig. "I thought she was his old chemistry teacher or something like that." Sig chuckled.
"Oh, no, boy, she was much more than that," he said. "She was his sparring teacher, his history teacher, and his life-lesson teacher. Alphonse's, too. And on top of all that, she cared for those two boys like they were her own kids after their mother died and their father disappeared." Breaking his violet eyes away from his boyfriend's sparring session, Envy looked at Sig in utter shock.
"What?" He almost gasped. "Their father... what did you say?"
"Their mother died, and their father apparently took it hard. Disappeared for almost 5 months, even when Ed and Al were only 7 and 6," the muscular man said sadly. "They didn't want to bother the Rockbells because they recently dealt with the lost of Winry's parents, so... well, they ended up here." Envy's heart swelled up with tears, surging with sadness at the information he just heard.
"I guess everyone has their own sad story, huh?" Was all he could say.
"Everyone gets their fair share sometime," Sig said. "And others get a lot more than they deserve."
"AARGH!" Came a frustrated yell from Ed's throat, as he flew backwards and Alphonse dangerously caught him. "Dammit, I forgot to block," he grumbled.
"I'm glad to see you haven't slacked off in your practice, Ed," Izumi remarked, catching her breath.
"But it looks like you could use a bit of practice," Edward provoked, standing up and shaking out his arms. Ms. Curtis smirked, not taking the bait.
"How about you, Al? Wanna go for a few minutes?" She said, grinning deceivingly as she cracked her knuckles.
"N-No, not right now!" Alphonse stuttered, stepping backwards and holding up his arms in the "not me!" position. "It's Christmas, anyways, should we really be fighting?" However, the black-haired woman didn't listen and instantly turned to face Envy.
"Well? How about you, have you ever sparred before?" She asked, a competitive look on her face that both terrified and amused Envy.
"I have not," he said, shifting into a "battle-ready" stance. "But I could try!"
"No-no-no-no-no-no!" Edward exclaimed, pushing Envy backwards and looking straight into his eyes. "P-Please don't, Envy. I... I don't want you to." Despite his calm demeanor, the black-haired boy's heart was absolutely melting. "Please?" Envy smiled, and gently hugged his absolutely adorable little blonde boy.
"How can I refuse you?" He said sweetly into Ed's ear, not caring much if others saw. "I love you."
"I love you, too," the blonde said back, blushing but certainly having one of the best Christmases of his lifetime.
About a half-hour later, the two brothers and Envy decided they would depart from the Curtis' house and head back home to Hohenheim, where they would dawdle around until it was time for them to depart again for Winry's house. It all seemed a bit tiring for Envy, but as long as he had Ed by his side, what did he care?
"Bye, Merry Christmas!" Edward and Alphonse cheered, waving goodbye to their past mentor and friend; Envy gave a happy wave as well.
"It was great to meet you, Izumi!" He shouted to Ed's surprise: the two had gotten pretty close within only an hour.
"Don't you be strangers, alright?" Izumi shouted back, smiling her signature small yet kind smile. The three boys walked away, giving her the opportunity to talk to her husband for a moment. "That Envy boy seems pretty good for Ed, I'd say." Sig chuckled.
"Well, if he's going to marry a boy, I'd say he's found a good one," the muscular man remarked.
"Hey, now, don't go off marrying other people's kids, alright?" Izumi kidded, hugging the taller man lovingly.
"Like you haven't been rooting for Alphonse and Winry to get together." To this, the black-haired woman laughed loudly.
"Let's go back inside. I'm getting cold."