KEYnote: This fic is mostly derived from Brotherhood/Manga canon, however, I am taking the Temple soldier start of the war rather than Envy killing a child to start of the Ishvalan War.
P.s. The greedy bastard gave himself his own chapter.
Chapter 15 - Avarice
Ordinarily, Ed might have been a bit put out when his monthly shopping trip with his dad was altered.
A few times Elicia had cried herself into joining them, and while Ed loved his little sisters, the monthly grocery day had been a tradition Ed and Maes had started before Maes was officially engaged to Gracia.
But considering Roy Mustang had been Maes's friend before that and the part Mustang had played in Ed's own future, it seemed only right that he was here with them.
"He was gone by the time I got to the room," Dad said with an innocent smile that was his version of a shit-eating grin.
"That's because you're a horror," Mustang said straight-faced as they walked through the Eastern market. Being stationed so long in the East, Mustang had requested, which, seeing as Ed was from the East himself, he had zero qualms about this change in routine.
He had gone to rather absurd lengths to ensure he never gave Maes any clues about his origins. Ed wasn't entirely sure that hadn't been necessary, his dad could be too smart for his own good sometimes.
They had decided to walk there and get a cab back once they had the groceries.
Maes faked insult, "I'll have you know, the officers have been a lot more receptive to my stories of late."
Mustang snorted, "Yeah, because everyone wants dirt on the Fullmetal Alchemist."
Ed grinned, "I'm sure they've been delighted to learn how long I can outrun two little girls on the jungle gym."
"They've been riveted," Maes affirmed.
There was a pause before all three of them laughed.
Even though the same tactics worked on Mustang, he was more than happy it appeared to laugh at others' expense.
It never worked on Ed, not when Maes had been dating Gracia, when all Ed had wanted was for his romantic step-father to be happy, not when Gracia was pregnant, and not when Elicia was born when Ed had been nearly as bad as Maes.
Elicia and Nina were after all Ed's second chance at being deserving of the title 'Older Brother.'
Ed's cheer fell when he caught a shadow on one of the roofs.
Envy was a bloody shapeshifter, one would think he would make a better spy. Martel was much better at shadowing people.
They made it two more blocks and Ed was only half listening to Mustang and Dad's conversation. The black shadow was too large to be Envy, but whoever it was moved with inhuman grace and speed.
Ed tensed when that shadow stepped out of an alley.
He let out a breath when he saw that it was Greed, but tensed like a pulled bow when he saw Greed's expression.
Greed had never been truly mad at Ed before and despite his smile, his purple cat slighted eyes burned Ed where he stood.
Maes and Mustang had come to an abrupt stop at Ed's reaction, the latter reaching into his civilian clothes for either his watch or a glove, most likely the latter.
"Hey Ed," Greed greeted pleasantly.
Maes was looking between the two of them like he was doing complex mathematics.
Ed grimaced, not particularly liking the conclusions he might be able to draw. Theoretically, his dad already knew he ran around with a crowd of less-than-reputable characters in less than safe parts of the city.
The chances that even Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes could have deduced that Ed had befriended a group of ex-special force soldiers from the Ishvalan War convicted on false charges of treason and illegally made into chimaeras by the State were slim to none.
Chances were a lot higher that he would be able to see that Greed wasn't human.
"Hi Greed," Ed returned. Then, figuring it was too late to avoid this train wreck, he gave introductions. "This is my dad, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, and my commanding officer, Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Dad, Mustang, this is my friend, Greed."
Greed held his hand out to Maes, "A pleasure to finally meet you, Lieutenant Colonel. Your son speaks extremely well of you."
Maes didn't hesitate to shake his hand in turn, but there was a sharpness to his gaze even as he said amicably, "Always good to meet one of Edward's friends."
Ed winced, he never introduced his dad to his friends.
Greed's smile to Mustang was more of a bearing of teeth, "And the Flame."
Mustang shook his hand but Greed didn't immediately let go.
Mustang's expression was tight, "Aren't you a bit old to be befriending teenagers?"
"Said the brothel boy," Greed nearly purred, squeezing Mustang's hand tighter. "But you did rather well for yourself, didn't you, Roy-Boy?"
Mustang's expression was one of abstract shock.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Greed?" Ed snapped, losing his temper. The last thing he needed was someone he named as a friend to threaten his CO.
Greed ignored him and released Mustang's hand abruptly, causing the older alchemist to stagger back a step. Greed smirked, his cat eyes widening as if spotting prey, "I don't think you're in any position to be questioning who Edward befriends when you've terrified all of his siblings."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ed growled, stepping in front of Mustang.
"My daughters are not afraid of Roy," Maes said casually, crossing his arms so his right hand was closer to his concealed gun.
"I wasn't talking about the humans," Greed said, stepping closer to Ed.
Ed glared up at the taller man, careful to show no fear or preparation for violence. With Mustang here, they were literally playing with fire, and though he couldn't really imagine Greed hurting his dad, the homunculus was literally named after his lack of impulse control.
"I'll repeat, what the fuck are you talking about?" Ed asked.
"Envy."
Ed frowned up at him, "What about them?"
"They're your sibling, they all are, whether you or them like it or not."
Ed shook his head, "Are you trying to tell me we're related?"
Greed took another step forward, "No, not us, or Wrath, for that matter. Wrath nor I were made from Hohenheim's blood."
Confusion swept through Ed, "What does Hohenheim have to do with this?"
"Everything," Greed snarled, his smile falling away. "You and him, you can't just interfere and wash your hands of us."
Ed took a breath, he knew Hohenheim had been involved in human transmutation, and he knew Greed was the literal product of human transmutation.
The problem was, Greed didn't care about that shit, and he had warned Edward away from it.
So why were they having this conversation in public where anyone could overhear them. In front of his dad and the Flame Alchemist?
Ed reached out with his flesh hand and laid it on Greed's chest, asking in a quieter voice, "What is wrong, Greed?"
Greed's expression of anger folded away to something uncertain and more vulnerable than Ed had ever seen him.
He was hurting, but why?
"Are you certain he's just your friend, Ed?" Maes asked.
Ed scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sur—"
Greed's expression closed down and raw rage morphed his face so his skin flashed black as he grabbed Ed by the collar, fisting the cloth.
As fast as the homunculus was, Maes had the barrel of his gun pressed to Greed's temple, and Ed didn't need to look to know that Mustang had at least one of his gloves on.
Greed didn't flinch.
Ed glared up at Greed, "If you rebound even a single bullet, I swear—"
"You'll what?" Greed asked, tightening his grip, bringing Ed to stand on his toes. "Rip out my heart? You've already done that, Edward."
Ed gaped at him; he was serious, wasn't he? He had always known Greed liked him, maybe lusted after him even. But possession wasn't love.
It wasn't enough to prompt such an illogical reaction out of this creature with possible dire consequences.
"I will drop you," Maes warned, shoving the metal against the side of the homunculus's head.
Greed and Ed ignored him.
"I'm sixteen," Ed said, barely believing they were having this discussion.
"So what?" Greed challenged.
"You're two hundred years old, you fucktard!"
Maes jerked, and probably came closer to accidentally pulling the trigger than he had ever had in his life.
"So what?" Greed repeated.
"So what?" Ed asked. "So what? You're immortal, Greed."
It was a good thing they were on a deserted street, or at least deserted for the moment.
"So because I'm not human like your Xingese boy, I'm not good enough for you?"
"This is about Ling?" Ed asked, letting his tone convey how stupid he thought Greed's behaviour was.
"You were mine first," the homunculus said petulantly.
"You don't get dibs, you moron."
"What makes him better than me?"
"Are we honestly having this conversation?"
"I want to know," Greed snarled.
"You are a fucking idiot," Ed told him, pulling away. "We are not having this conversation here."
Greed's claws flashed and Maes pulled the trigger.
"Dad!" Ed cried, his heart nearly stopping as he waited for Maes cry of pain.
But Greed took the bullets, his head sparking red as he regrew the sides of his head. He took a firmer grip of Ed's collar and darted into the alley and then to the roof.
Ed was so relieved no one had gotten hurt that he didn't fight when Greed changed his grip to carry him against his chest.
oOo
Maes spun watching as Edward was whisked away into the shadows.
He had enough time to glance at the bullets that had only put a momentary dent in the creature's head.
"What the fuck, Maes!?" Roy exclaimed as he stepped back to scan the rooftops.
Maes had no response.
He would have put good money on the stones and chimaeras being the weirdest things the world had to offer.
But leave it to Ed to befriend a bloody homunculus.
Roy grabbed his arm, shaking him, "Let's go."
"Where?" Maes asked.
"Devil's Nest. It's not far."
Maes was jerked out of his shock, "You know him?"
"I've encountered him a few times when I was growing up, I don't know that I would have recognised him, he usually wears sunglasses, but he called me the brothel boy. He is friends with Aunt Chris. She used to say that his bar was the most respectable hub of crime in the city."
"What does that mean?" Maes asked as he holstered his useless weapon while Roy flagged down a cab.
"It means he's the only pimp, alcoholic, and drug addict who has never harmed a woman or allowed any of his mercenaries to take a job against an innocent."
Maes slid into the seat after Roy, slamming the door behind, "Why does that sound exactly the type of trouble my son would attract?"
"Because your son is a menace," Roy answered after commanding the cabbie to step on it.
Maes took off his glasses to rub at his eyes, "I'm going to go grey before my forties."
Roy patted his back.
oOo
Ed smacked Greed's hands away as soon as he was set on his feet in Greed's apartment, "Why did you bring me here? They will find you!"
"Envy already knows where we are. We're leaving Central, I want you to come with me."
"Greed," Ed sighed, his heart cracking at the obvious pain his friend was in.
He was so set on not being human, that when he admitted to his true emotions, Greed didn't know how to handle it. He was an all-or-nothing sort of person.
"I want you," Greed said.
"I'm not something to be owned."
"I need you."
"You really don't."
"I love you."
Ed blinked, at a loss for words.
Greed capitalised on his confusion, closing the space between them, and grabbing his braid, the homunculus leaned down to steal a kiss.
It wasn't an innocent first kiss, it was near violent and heady.
Ed shoved him away, "Knock it off. I was eleven when we met, you pervert."
"What does it matter when we met? You're no more a child now than you were then."
Ed flushed, "I don't see you like that."
"But you could," Greed intoned, lunging for him.
Ed docked away from him, "Knock it off."
Greed caught his arm again, bringing them close once more, and teenage hormones being what they were, Ed couldn't say he was completely unaffected by Greed's physic. Especially not with their bodies flush against each other.
Although, Ed didn't particularly love being made to feel so much smaller and weaker. That bothered him more than the whole not being human thing.
And yet, despite everything, he trusted Greed, and it hurt to know he was hurting.
"Tell me to stop, and I will," Greed whispered against Ed's lips before claiming another kiss.
Ed let him, and even kissed him back, but when they pulled apart, he said, "Please stop."
Greed let go and stepped away.
oOo
Despite it being far too early in the day for a bar to be open, the front door was unlocked, not that Maes would have had any qualms about kicking down a few doors.
"Martel?" Roy asked.
"Mustang," the woman greeted. She sitting on a warn sofa, booted feet on a coffee table with a pop soda in hand. She cocked her head to the side, "Bars closed, permanently. But Lil'Hughes is upstairs."
Maes didn't know who this woman was, however, Roy was staring at her as if he had seen a ghost.
Martel met Maes's gaze, "He'd never hurt him. None of us ever has or ever will."
Maes shook his head, bypassing her to head to the back stairway.
"Don't shoot," she called to him. "Bullets ricochet off the boss."
Ed's threat to Greed made sense then.
Maes made it to the third floor and large room in time to see the homunculus pulling back from what appeared to be a reciprocated kiss.
"Please stop," Ed said, gently but sincerely.
Greed let go of Ed's golden braid as he stepped back, "Age doesn't matter."
"I disagree."
"One day, I will watch you die of old age, will it matter then?"
"A," Ed said. "The chances of me dying of old age are minuscule."
Maes winced, he hated how flippant Ed was with his own life. Selflessness was admirable, but there were limits; limits which Ed pushed.
"B," Ed continued. "Why would you want someone who you're going to outlive?"
"Because I'm going to outlive everyone, Edward, aside from a very small pool of people, most of whom I can't stand. You are a part of that circle. Age shouldn't matter to you."
"How do you figure that?"
"Your birth father is four hundred years old. I told you, Xerxian, you're a survivor."
Maes's mind went blank for a moment as he tried to process that.
Van Hohenheim was four hundred years old.
Him and his golden haired, golden eyed, golden skinned boys were Xerxain.
It should have been absurd.
But then again, homunculi were supposed to be impossible.
"I'm nothing like that bastard. Why did you say Envy was my sibling?"
"Because the first homunculus was made from Van Hohenheim's blood, and therefore, any homunculus made from the blood of the first is born of the same blood as your father. So, you're siblings, or cousins, if that makes you feel better."
"You realise that makes us siblings, right?" Ed asked.
"I was made from Father's soul, not his blood. He used some other human's body for the genetic template."
"The symbol on your hand," Maes said, making his presence known.
Both boys (two hundred year old non-human or no) jumped, spinning on him. Maes had his gun out but didn't point it.
Greed held up his hand, "The mark of the homunculus."
"It's the inverse of the brand on Edward's hand and arm."
Greed startled, "Brand? What brand?"
The concern in his voice made Maes feel comfortable enough to holster his weapons. Whatever Greed's intent, he wouldn't hurt Edward.
Ed sighed, slipping off his left glove, and shrugging out of his layers.
If he was Xerxeians, it would explain why he was cold all of the time.
Ed offered his bared left arm to Greed who took it gently.
Turning the arm, Greed's purple eyes widened.
"Greed?" Ed asked after an extended pause.
But Greed suddenly let go as if Edward had burned him.
"What?" Ed asked.
"Did Truth give that to you?"
"You know Truth?"
"I remember them," Greed said, expression unreadable. "If Hohenheim is the Dwarf in the Flask's father then Truth is his mother. Father longs to become Truth, feels abandoned by it, not understanding that you can't live in both realities."
"When you say you were born of his soul…" Maes asked, though this was above his pay grade.
"I mean he tore his soul apart and shoved it in an empty body. My own soul grew from that union."
"That makes sense," Ed said. "Truth said making a homunculus was the same as making cells joining to make a baby. Just severely Ill advised."
"Why ill-advised?" Maes asked.
"Because to create life with alchemy, from raw material, is to skip millions upon millions of years of evolution. The equivalence for that knowledge is steep."
"Seems easier to just have a child," Maes said.
"It is but it really isn't," Ed said. "I mean think of all the billions that have lived and died, how many failed unions had to happen and lives that had to be lived and survived long enough to reproduce. I mean the sheer—"
Ed saw both Maes and Greed's exasperated yet found expressions. They weren't really following and if they were neither of them understood the significance well enough to be awed by it.
Ed cleared his mark, "What is this mark?"
"Something I hope neither of our fathers know, or at least know how to use because it would make them both cruel without measure
"What do you mean?" Ed asked.
"Neither of these symbols," Greed gestured between the brand and the tattoo. "—are complete arrays. But this symbol is one of artificial life."
"And mine?" Ed asked.
"Birth," Greed answered.
"To make you human?" Ed asked. "Truly human?"
Greed tilted his head to the side, "If I were human would you want me then?"
"Greed."
"Answer the fucking question, Edward?"
"You'd still be two hundred years old."
"But you would be less opposed."
"If you were mortal than I would be, theoretically I would be more comfortable because there are no guarantees in life. I wouldn't necessarily outlive you. But it doesn't matter because I'm dating someone else."
"Yes, someone who could die tomorrow."
"Greed," Ed warned.
He sighed, "Yes, that mark is, if my theory is correct, the key to making an artificial human into a real human. But I wouldn't let you experiment on me if you don't know the rest of the array. It also would be human transmutation and therefore I wouldn't know the cost."
Ed looked down at his hand, then back up at Greed, "Where are you going?"
"Dublith."
Ed's gaze widened, "Really? I was planning on going down there in a few months."
Greed blinked, "Really? Why?"
"My teacher lives there."
Greed's gaze narrowed, "Your teacher?"
Ed smirked, "My alchemy teacher. I'd probably steer clear of her if I were you. She's no ordinary housewife."
"Right…" Greed said. "What did Truth say about the brand?"
"He said my reluctance to ask him for anything was a novelty to be rewarded and he hoped I enjoyed his gift."
Greed's eyes narrowed. "Nothing is free and knowledge versus the use of knowledge are different. It could be a trap to bring you back to him."
"Truth never gave me the impression he liked it when people did human transmutation."
"It wouldn't surprise me to learn that you were an exception to that," Greed said. "Be careful."
Martel and Roy joined them then.
"Time to go, Boss," Martel said.
"Right," Greed said. "See you around then, Edward."
Ed hesitated only for a moment before stepping forward and embracing him, "Stay safe. Keep the others safe."
Greed was stiff for a moment before folding around him, "I will."
Once they pulled apart, Martel was there, moving faster and with more grace than seemed strictly human. "Make the military cry, Little Alchemist."
Ed hugged her but muttered, "I'm not little."
She laughed, kissing the crown of his head almost motherly.
When they left, Roy joined Maes in glaring down at Edward.
Ed smiled sheepishly up at Maes, "In my defence, I made friends that would literally kill for me."
"Martel isn't human," Roy stated.
Maes startled, "She's a homunculus too?"
"No, she's a chimaera, human and snake," Ed said.
Maes stared, "A successful chimaera."
"Tucker was shit at what he did. But the military has been scrambling to replace Marcoh."
Maes was disgusted, "Marcoh was doing human transmutation?"
"Martel was convicted for treason," Roy said.
Maes's eyes widened.
"She was following orders. She and her team were Black Ops, they were the ones to attack the main Temple in Ishval which is what started the war."
Maes stared, "No, it was an Amestrian who killed a civilian…"
"I mean, Amestrians killed a lot of Ishvalan civilians, but the thing that had them taking up arms in mass was the sacking of their Temple which was an attack not just on them but their entire way of life."
"Bradley ordered this?" Roy demanded.
"Yes, and then he prosecuted Martel and her team. Anyone who spoke out was executed on the spot. Given how they were literally special forces, a number of them proved strong enough to survive Marcoh's experiments. Most of them died, but I don't think Bradley cares overly much about them now. If they make too much noise they could be killed for either escaping prison or being inhuman."
Roy rubbed his temples, "I hate him."
Ed patted his shoulder, "It's okay, Colonel Bastard, one day you'll be the one everyone loathes."
Roy sighed.
"When did you meet Greed and Martel?" Maes asked.
"Once I started walking round the city by myself."
Maes could only shake his head. He and Roy had been trying to uncover the corruption for years and Ed stumbled upon it within months over moving to central.
At least, given the consternation on Roy's face, Maes wouldn't be alone in going grey early.
oOo
Wrath stared at Envy.
"What?" they demanded.
"You let him go?"
"You told me to simply watch them."
"Then where did they go?"
"I don't know. You also told me to watch the Fullmetal Pipsqueak and Greed, as amazing as I am, I can't be in two places at once."
"Then go," Wrath said. "Don't leave Fullmetal's side. I don't care if you have to transform into an alley rat to keep him in your sightlines."
"Fine," Envy said, spinning to turn away, transforming into a uniform at the door.
Lust and Gluttony stared at Wrath, waiting in the silence that followed the slamming of the door.
"Gluttony, Lust, I think our Envy has strayed from the path."
Lust snorted, "They will come back. They always do."
"Fullmetal knows too much. I want him in a cell beside Marcoh's."
Lust smiled, "As you wish, Fuhrer."
Wrath held his temper in check, only just barely. He knew he was the youngest.
He knew the others didn't consider him fully one of theirs. He was like Greed in that sense, not blood of their blood, just one of Father's pets.
Greed was seen differently because he acted independently.
Little did they know, that Wrath was equally independent.
He was seen as Father's most loyal son, his most competent extension.
But in truth, Wrath was setting Father up for failure. Why kill the nation when he could enslave it?
oOo
AN: Additional chapter for a shit week, all comments on the chapter and story are most welcome :D
