Sweets
FMA
Envy killing 1st Pride
There is such a thing as too much sugar and light, and when that happens the
best thing to do is to toss the bit and burn the evidence. Nothing hurts like
constantly second-guessing yourself. Slightly sick, slightly funny, lots of
half-eaten candies. Pre-anime by about 150 years, with different Pride and
Lust, same Envy, Greed, and Gluttony.
580 words
Written for andarton.
Envy disliked sweets, which was why he unwrapped the bubblegum slowly, as if expecting the piece to jump up and spit on him. Half-eaten sweets and wrappers lay all around him.
He was humming the Wedding March in his throat, sometimes switching to opera pieces when he got bored. Behind him, the metal wall vibrated with the dull roar of the ship's engines, while beside him the ship's Brobdingnagian boiler kept the air hot inside damp chill of the boiler room and kept the ship moving.
The room was empty except for Envy chewing uncertainly, frowning charmingly, two dead sailors shoved in the closet, and the thing inside the boiler that was no longer screaming in rage but continued to kick and slam itself against the sides.
Envy blew a bubble. It was lopsided, small, and popped too quickly. He spat out the gum.
A death wail rose and echoed inside the…copper? Iron? Iron was stronger but copper didn't rust. Envy frowned thoughtfully. Then he selected a lemon drop.
Damn strong metal boiler anyway. Very thick walls. Able to withstand high punishing degrees of heat. And Pride hadn't been all that strong, physically.
Envy wondered how Pride had managed to keep her throat and lung wet and supple enough to scream. A little overdramatic in his book; Pride always was overdramatic.
Rapid thumps against the boiler's side meant the little tart was trying the good old last-minute escape a little too late.
Envy spat out the lemon drop and scraped his tongue with his teeth. He really hated candy. Gross stuff.
Silence, save for the engine humming and boiler pinging as it let off heat.
Envy tried a butterscotch and spat it out instantly, gagging.
He might get away with it. Their Maker had assigned them very different locations to manage, and Pride had never been the most reliable of Sins, had a bad habit of going off on her own, investigating more than she was assigned, doing extra credit, as if they were getting marks.
Little bitch.
Envy cleaned off his fingers fastidiously, before trying another piece of gum.
Pride was worse than Greed (and that was saying something), and if their Creator wasn't going to do anything about it, then he would. It was for the benefit of all, in the end. They didn't need someone who couldn't play for the team, there was too much to lose just for one little girl's ego. She was weak, old and obsolete; Greed at least was new and still useful. It was for the good of them all. They'd thank him for it later, Envy was sure, if he ever got around to telling them. They'd thank him. They'd be glad.
Besides, Pride had been damn hard to kill, and accomplishing that had to count for something. And she'd been throwing that Look at Envy a bit too much; that Crueler than Thou, Darker than You, Better than You Look and not even bothering to hide it or lie about it. There was really no helping some people, and Pride had been beyond help since she'd been named and looked at him like that.
This time, the bubblegum bubble turned out nearly right.
For a second, Envy was almost happy. Almost; so close and thick he could almost taste it in his heart (or whatever served as his heart now). Then he thought Greed might've found a more interesting, painful way for Pride to die, that Envy could've thought up something more original if he hadn't been in such a damn hurry, and the bubble popped.
A couple hours later, the ship sank.