By: Minuiko
Thanks for reviewing! Honestly, I wasn't going to delete it, I just said I wanted to "delete and reedit it" or something to that effect… but I think I can (probably) work with the OOCness… although I generally hate OOC. I hate OCs too, and I REALLY hate Mary Sues . Original characters with original stories are fine (obviously) but making OCs perfect… ugh.
&
Chapter 2&
You never really know a person unless you step in his shoes. That was something his brother had taught him, something he tried to follow. Alphonse Elric tried to think of what the guard, standing stiff and motionless in front of his jail cell, was thinking. He couldn't. There was nothing for him to work with. The man was… empty.
It was dark in the cell, dark and lonesome, but Alphonse didn't especially mind, because he had hope, one that he held on to with his whole existence. His brother would come and get him. His brother would never abandon him. His brother cared about him. Ed was all that mattered.
Well, perhaps not all. It was really cold in the cell, too, and he didn't have enough clothing to keep him warm. And the guard was still standing there doing nothing, stiff as a fencepost and twice as lacking in personality. Ah… I shouldn't be mean. He's human, after all; he has to have some personality.
That having been thought, Alphonse resorted to crouching in partial fetal position and rubbing his hands across his arms in an attempt to stave off the cold. It would have to make do, and in the lonely darkness, Al was left thinking, I hope brother comes soon…
&
Envy woke up to water splashing on his face. The day before had seemed almost like a dream, though he wasn't sure if it was entirely a good one. A golden-haired boy named Ed had bought him… they'd made a deal… and right now, there was some girl's rack shoved in front of his face. He looked up, bleary-eyed, at a grinning, blonde-haired-blue-eyed girl. Her outfit should've had Envy's brain screaming "whore" but it didn't. There was nothing covering her top except for a strip of black cloth wound tightly around her chest, and though her pants were decent enough, most people would tend to look at her top. Maybe it was her cheerful, innocent face that compensated for the lack of upper clothing. Envy shrugged. It wasn't as if she had that bad of a fashion sense. It was just… surprising and not very pleasant to wake up to, as unpleasant as the water she'd splashed on him.
"Oi, you planning to sleep all day? I mean, you woke up even later than Ed did! And he sleeps an awful lot…" the girl trailed off.
Envy sat up, confused. The girl wasn't spitting on him in contempt or calling him slave or whore or anything. What was up with these people? "Where's Ed?"
The girl blinked. "Why do you want Ed? You should get breakfast first. And wash yourself. The bathroom's over there."
That's right… where was he? His logic concluded that he was in a hotel room… that's right. They'd (Ed and him) went to the town to rent a hotel room (it was Envy's first time so Ed did the talking), and then Envy remembered falling asleep as Ed talked (he took forever, it wasn't Envy's fault!) and here he was. Hm… did he carry me? Why didn't he just jerk me up by my chains and tell me to wake up and walk like masters are supposed to? …oh, right, he "doesn't believe in slavery"… what the hell was I thinking, just trusting him off the bat, yesterday?
Envy liked Ed's eyes. He really liked his eyes. They were full of spirit and determination, something that was too lacking in the world. They were probably why he'd trusted Ed in the first place. But first things first. Just who the hell was…
"Who are you?"
"I've been hanging around those two way too much…" the girl muttered before sticking a hand out and saying cheerfully, "Winry Rockbell, an old friend of Ed's, nice to meet you. Sorry about not introducing myself before."
"…Envy. It's okay, most people don't even glance at me."
Unless it's at night and one of my "work days"… he thought grimly, but the girl didn't need to know that. Winry blinked. "Why not? I think you're pretty cute. Not exactly a womanly sort of cute, but you are cute, and I just…"
Ah. That was it. She didn't know that he was a slave. Pretty considerate of Ed not to tell her. Wonder how long that's going to last? He's gonna have to tell her sooner or later…
"Knock off the new guy, would ya? And just what do you mean by 'cute'? I don't think any man would take that as a compliment."
"Oh, there you are, Ed! I was wondering—"
Winry had just looked at his strangely limp right arm in shock and then turned a scary shade of some unidentifiable color. Envy thought he might've been hallucinating, but he swore that he'd seen steam coming from her head as she narrowed her eyes at Ed. "Ed… you didn't… let me see your arm…"
Ed had started sweating, something Envy found both fascinating and amusing. "W-Winry, I… you see, I was… I mean, I tried to take Envy's chains off when it got caught in—"
"Stop lying, Ed, now tell me how you really got it broken. You've been doing something dangerous again, haven't you?"
"Envy's chains?" Envy thought. That traitor, I thought that he— wait, his arm? Winry had taken Ed's coat off and was examining Ed's arm… his metal arm. It was almost completely torn off, and didn't seem to be functioning. Huh. I never noticed… I wonder how he lost his real arm…?
Ed grinned at Envy, telling him to get breakfast and to stop staring, it was nothing special. Envy blinked. "Ah? From where?"
Ed sighed. "Never mind, let's all get something together after Winry fixes my arm…"
"Ed, you already ate. And I bet you're gonna put it all on my tab! Freeloader."
"Cut me some slack, would you? Besides, Envy's new to this and I'm kinda hungry, too, so…"
"But you just ate!"
"Not a lot!"
Envy rubbed his ears, turning his attention away from their bickering and taking the time to wash his face in the bathroom. He wondered again why Ed had bought him in the first place. He was still rather confused yesterday and so had accepted Ed's little "because you looked sad" statement without any doubt, but now that he thought about it, that couldn't have been it. There were plenty of dejected, broken-spirited slaves around, so there was no reason for him to be an exception.
It was hard for Envy to look beyond what a person was saying to why the person was saying it, but when he thought hard enough, the answer usually came to him. Ed seemed used to making up lies on the spot, but also not very good saying it. He seemed like someone who would do good deeds in public view, someone who would jump the gun, who would assume things and say what he thought… but he was a bad liar, and Envy didn't know why he even believed Ed in the first place.
Now, back to the problem of why Ed bought him… he must've been of some use. Ed probably wouldn't have bought him otherwise. So it all comes down to the moral issue again. He's just like all my other masters… I wouldn't be surprised if he sold me when my usefulness comes to an end…I'm an idiot…
A suppressed scream tore his thoughts away from that. Ed was gasping slightly, before grinning and explaining, "I hate it when the nerves connect…"
"Envy, you done?"
"Yes… Master Elric."
Ed stared at him. "This again? I told you already—"
"Fine, Ed."
Ed's mouth clamped shut and he averted his eyes from Envy's form. Envy growled to himself. What the hell was he doing, letting his emotions show in such an obvious manner? Ed was obviously slightly bothered, but shook his head and smiled. "Anyways, let's get food."
&
How do slaves live? Don't they have any rights? … never mind… they're slaves after all. But… Ed couldn't keep his eyes off Envy, off his too thin albeit rather lean and muscular form, off the brackish long hair, off the revealing clothes. Envy had been genuinely confused when he told him to sit down at the table of the restaurant, with the rest of them. The rest of them being just Winry and him. Alphonse should have been there, too… as well as the rest of the gang, but they were back at Headquarters. The Colonel gave him leave to search for his brother... and gave his mother a place to stay after their house burned down. He supposed he should've been thankful to him, but the sarcastic remarks that stupid Roy would make to him made him want to claw the Colonel's eyes out. Damn Mustang...
Winry would try to get Envy to eat more of this, more of that, commenting on how thin he was and how he needed more nutrition, while Ed could see he was contemptuous of her mothering and wanted to be left alone. Ed was also bothered by how Envy had suddenly fallen silent and had reverted back to the "Master Elric." What did he do wrong?
"Oi, Envy, what's bothering you?"
Envy's violet eyes snapped to him. "Nothing."
That basically told me that he's pissed at me… or is this how he usually is? He was nicer yesterday… Envy put his fork down and eyed Ed. "Why did you really buy me?"
"I said that—"
"Stop lying. Beat me if you want, Master Elric, but tell me the truth."
"…I really don't like slavery. I have no intention to beat you, unless it's as a minor quarrel, and even then, as an equal."
Envy looked annoyed. "That's not what I asked. If you're worried that I'm going to back down when you tell me the truth, well, I did say that I'd help you with what you wanted, and even if I didn't, you have the right as my master to force me to do it. I wanted to know what you wanted me for. Ed."
"Stop reverting to Master Elric every now and then, it's annoying! I don't own slaves, it's just… you attracted my attention, okay? We needed someone of a low status to sneak into the palace, and look at you, you're perfect for it… it's obvious that you hate the king, you're lithe and strong, however thin, and you could get the palace guards' keys and free Alphonse!"
"So you intend to sell me to the king to be part of his harem? Why don't you just say it?" Envy's voice was cold, lacking all the emotion they'd carried the day before. Ed paused, and thought about how Envy was feeling. He then tried to answer with as much tact as he could. Unfortunately, he didn't have very much. Al was better at this sort of thing. "Yes. And you'd run away with Al afterwards—"
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me first thing? Then I'd know you were using me instead of having false hope that someone in the world actually thought of me as a person—"
"I do think of you as a person, it's just—"
"You bought me because I was useful, damn it! No matter what you say to change it, it all comes down to this: I. Am. A. Fucking. Slave. And. You. Are. My. Fucking. Master. You may claim not to like slavery, but just try to tell me you don't think of me as a slave."
Ed tried to think of some comeback, but his mind was blank. Envy's eyes betrayed the fact that he was disappointed in Ed. He continued, almost tauntingly, "I thought so… let me tell you this, Ed."
His amethyst eyes narrowed as he hissed, "Slaves aren't people."
Envy then jerked himself out of the chair, muttering, "Excuse me."
Ed stared at his empty seat. Winry's face was downcast. Damn it, that bastard… I need to talk sense into him. As he was about to get up after Envy, Winry jerked on his sleeve and told him quietly, "Let him be, he needs some time alone…"
&
.:Owari:.
&
A/N: Um… rather shorter than the last one… and I finished Hagaren (did it in three days xDD), and yeah, saw how they really where, so I wanted them to hate each other a bit more… they're still a bit out of character, but I'm working on it. Ed and Envy shouldn't get along so well, should they? I really hate quick-action-and-fluff in early chapters too, so naturally, I don't really like stories without some kind of conflict… I did this on a kind of whim though.
To Blue Fox: I knew I'd convert you! Ed and Envy rock, don't they? So does yaoi. And so does that MV I sent you… Pride is hot ;D.
I'm not sure how I did on their internal conflicts… Review, okay?