By: Minuiko
Sorry for the long-time-no-update. School is starting in a little more than a week, so… well, I think I'll be able to get out the next two or three chapters out before it starts. I'll just have to write like crazy. xD I didn't write for a while because I was trying to write something for the BBI contest (see my new one-shot story Boku wa Koko ni Iru : I am Here)… and it took a long time, and in the end, I was too late to submit it anyways... so that was a waste of time…
Thanks for reviewing! xD;; There's probably not going to be any lemon in this chapter, and maybe not in the next. But really, around ninety percent of you wanted lemon! A few were undecided, and only two or three people didn't want lemon… You perverts. XDD
Apparently, ffdotnet now forbids writers to answer reviews. That is… really… stupid. But there're really too many reviews for me to answer now anyways, and so… I guess I'll conform to the rule. Just know that I still love every single one of you. xDD
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Chapter 7&
I am greedy. That was why he'd called himself Greed. And he wanted everything. Everything. Money, possessions, power, land, women, even men occasionally. Especially breathtaking men like Envy. Greed smiled tauntingly as he took in Envy's creamy skin, his virtual waterfall of abundant dark hair, his flat, toned stomach— he had a very good shape. Not good as in he was built like a heavyweight body builder, and certainly not good enough to be an assassin, who would be in peak physical shape, but he had a very appealing shape; slender, with smooth, taut skin that fit well with his small muscles. He would've made a beautiful woman.
He also liked the slight apprehensive look on Envy's pale face. That's good. Envy was afraid. Greed didn't like indifferent whores.
Lust glazed over Greed's eyes for a moment. Envy made the perfect picture of subtle seduction, something like a jungle cat, a smooth, sleek, dark creature, in revealingly tight clothes that perfectly defined his well-formed body. The picture was made perfect by the chains bound tightly around his thin wrists and neck. Proving that he was the superior, and Envy nothing more than an object for his entertainment. Inferior.
Of course, pure carnal desire and a need to satisfy his increasingly large ego was only a part his plan. A plan that he'd only confided in one woman— truth be told, she was the one who'd suggested it, but Greed wasn't going to admit that. She'd introduced herself as Lyra; she was beautiful, perhaps the type he liked in bed, but too cunning for him to keep a light rein on, unlike his other whores. She wouldn't even count as a whore, as he'd never tried to use her once he'd discovered her intelligence. Emotion was never good to have in someone you talked strategies with. She was more like a personal advisor that he'd kept in the palace. And she'd told him about Envy earlier. About exactly why he was important in the plan. About his relation to her, though he didn't know that she knew. Greed's grin widened. The family resemblance was strikingly obvious.
"Envy… welcome."
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Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc noticed a letter addressed to the Colonel in the mountain of letters and notes in the post office. Roy had been pissed off the whole afternoon. Maybe this would lighten his mood. Havoc's face paled. As long as this wasn't an invitation for a date from his current girlfriend… she'd been ignoring him recently.
He walked to Roy's office, handing him the letter. "Here. It's none of my business, but warn me if my girlfriend threatens to break up with me for you, okay? Enough girls have dumped me."
Don't know why they prefer you…he thought sarcastically. Roy had opened the letter and Havoc thought he saw his face relax a little. He let out an unconscious sigh; that wasn't a new-girlfriend face. "It's from Fullmetal, isn't it, boss?"
"Mm." Roy was bad at hiding his concern for the boy, and he tended to stress about him more than was necessary for a Colonel and someone under him. Havoc grinned. He rather thought that Roy was adopting Ed as a younger brother. He was protective of him like Ed was of Alphonse. Meanwhile, in his chair, Roy was unconsciously reading the short, hastily scribbled note out loud.
"Bought a slave to help me with my mission. Don't you dare laugh, it was necessary. We should be back in about two weeks if this goes well. Can't say much more. Not much to see. There're soldiers all over the place, if that helps. The slave market's thriving, too."
Roy brought his hand over his head as he continued to peer at the note, before letting out a short laugh as he reached the end. "As if, Fullmetal."
Havoc peered curiously at the last line. Roy had already read most of the note out loud; it wouldn't hurt to look at the remaining bit of it.
"P.S.: I won't die before you, colonel shit."
"Well," Havoc verified, grinning, "you are older, sir. Like, twice his age."
"We're only thirteen years apart, Lieutenant. That's less than twice," Roy snapped.
He then took his hand from his head and grinned, slightly cynically, and murmured, "Well, at least he reported in."
Havoc asked permission to leave. He'd promise his girlfriend that he'd meet her at the Central library to go to the movies (he'd received no answer, but he'd assumed that she would be there). Besides, Roy needed some alone time. The boss was definitely beginning to think of Edward as a younger brother. Waiting without being able to do anything for someone you cared about was stressing. Havoc looked back at Roy as he was at the door. "Boss. He can take care of himself."
"Yes. I know that."
Havoc stared at the Colonel for another moment, then left him in the room alone.
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"So tell me," Greed sneered as he thrust Envy onto the only bed in the royal chambers, one hand wound tightly around his slim neck and holding him in position as he whispered, snake-like, into his ear. "What exactly is Alphonse Elric to you?"
Envy struggled to breathe. Of all the people who'd used him, none of them had been this forceful. Any normal person would have completely panicked, but he was almost used to this. He wanted to laugh. 'Almost' didn't mean shit. He still felt scared, still felt helpless. God. You'd think that over a decade of doing this would make me completely impervious to this kind of treatment. Finally, he snapped— rasped, rather, "None of your business."
Greed tightened his grip. "I'll make it my business."
Envy gasped, shut his eyes, and tried to pry his hand loose. It didn't help. Greed had a grip like iron. "Now, look'ere, Envy…" Greed drawled, loosening his grip just a little but still making it tight enough for Envy to feel that same panic, that same helplessness. "Look at my face. You know I always get what I want, don't you? And that doesn't just go for your body. I want domination. Complete domination of everything. Because. You can never have enough, can you…?"
He got into a more sexually intimate position— sitting on top of him— and growled into his ear, "You're not worth shit. You don't mean anything to anyone. You're just a fucking sex toy that can't even make up his own decisions. A worthless piece of scum."
"Shut… up…" He didn't care if this would get him in deeper shit that he already was in, no one talked to him like that! "Shut up, you son-of-a-bitch!"
"Now we're getting feisty, are we…" Greed murmured, flashing a wide, sadistic grin as he tightened his grip on Envy's neck yet again. This time he used his other hand to restrain Envy's thin wrists. "You know why you're lower than shit?"
Envy glared at him, breathing hard, not answering. Greed's grin went wider. "Because… you do what everyone tells you to do, you whore."
Envy wanted to slap him, to hurt him, to do something. Claw his eyes out, maybe. But Greed had evidently predicted his reaction, and his restraining hand effectively stopped him from attacking. "Now, Envy… you really don't want to be doing that… you could hurt yourself…"
Suppressed rage bubbled on the surface, but then Envy remembered the mission. Ed… damn it… we made a deal… this shit this fucker is spouting doesn't mean anything… I have a job to do…
Before he could stop it, Greed's voice echoed in his ear. "You do what everyone tells you to do, you whore."
That was because Edward was different! He was… he was… Envy growled at himself in frustration. Ed was using him just like everyone else. It would be easy to manipulate Envy into thinking that Ed actually cared about him, and Envy knew it. Maybe, though… maybe…
He couldn't dwell on maybes. His life was on the line. He would have to play this through. Once he was free, he didn't have to see Ed again, didn't have to wonder if Ed really meant anything he said, wonder if he really was that wonderful, spirited boy that was impressed on him when they'd first met or if it was all just an act, all just a lie to use him. But that wasn't important now. Now he had to face down Greed. And be convincing about it. Struggle a little more.
He hissed, "Fuck you."
"Ahh, yes… you get to do that, too. But only on my command." Greed grinned again. "Now that we are properly acquainted, let's get back to my initial question. What is Alphonse Elric to you?"
Envy gritted his teeth. I have to play this through.
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He had a bad feeling about this.
It was late. Sometime around where Envy should've been arriving with Alphonse. But they weren't there. Maybe he worried too much, but still. Still, it was natural. Alphonse was his brother, and Envy was… well, Envy was his responsibility. Yeah, but he's one that you're worried about even more than your own brother… what kind of person are you anyway, Edward Elric? Of course… it would make more sense if you were attracted to him, but then again, you claim not to be, don't you?
Ed grimaced. He hated voices in his head that tried to argue against his initial thoughts. They taunted him, made his head hurt. He also hated the fact that they were almost always right. "Damn it, I don't like Envy!"
"And I should probably apologize to Winry too…" he mused. His face quickly blanched. "Only if she apologizes first."
Back to the problem at hand. "Where the hell are they?"
"Looking for this?"
Ed's eyes widened as he pivoted swiftly, almost colliding with the person behind him. He jumped back. "Who the hell…"
The man wore a thick, furred black jacket and leather pants. He was grinning, but it wasn't a friendly gesture. "I'm Greed. I'm sure you've heard of me. Though, your plan was very poorly thought out, Edward. I must say, I expected more from the great Hohenheim's son."
"What're you…"
He was holding Envy. Dragging was a more appropriate term, because he was tied on a rope and lying near Greed's feet. He was bruised up, shivering, looking in almost every way defiled; his breathing was shallow and erratic. Edward tried not to cringe, but did so all the same. "Clever, to use my own greed against me, but I have friends in low places and they've informed me of your plan ahead of time…"
Greed was mocking him, and he knew it, but Ed didn't have the resources now to make a fuss about pride. "What do you want?"
Greed turned. "Lyra."
The fashionable woman who was judging the slaves came out from the other side of Ed. Alphonse was behind her. "Al! Al, what are you—"
Ed realized that Al was in chains, too. "Nii-san!" his brother called, in shaking voice. "Nii-san, they—"
"Be quiet," the woman cut in smoothly. "Or do you want to die?"
"What do you —"
"I said, be quiet!" She smacked Alphonse across the face, leaving a stinging red mark. Ed was furious. Nobody talked to Al like that, let alone hit him. "You don't have the fucking right to touch my little brother, you—"
"Now, Edward, let's not resort to name-calling," drawled Greed. "Do you want to know the terms of this agreement or not?"
Envy let out a low-pitched moan, clawing at his stomach area, coughing up blood, and Edward realized from his dilating pupils that Envy was doing so while he was unconscious. It wasn't a pleasant sight; in fact, it crept the hell out of him. This was Envy? Greed grinned again, explaining casually, "Feverdream. You know what that is? It's a powerful poison that stimulates part of the brain, causing lifelike hallucinations and powerful memory relapses. Envy here has seen worse than you can imagine, Eddy-boy, and you know what? The worse the memories, the quicker the victim dies. I'd say that Envy has around twenty minutes, maybe thirty, left. Now, the terms of our deal."
What could Envy be seeing right now? Ed didn't want to know. Judging from the expression on his face, it was like a virtual hell. He continued to make noises, but Edward didn't have time for that right now. "What?"
Greed wagged a finger at Ed. "Choose. Between your brother, or this antidote. You have thirty seconds to decide, Edward."
He held up a small glass phial full of a deep violet liquid. Ed grimaced. That shouldn't have been a hard choice. Under normal circumstances, he would choose Alphonse, hands down. And why not? Alphonse was everything to him. But he couldn't just let someone die when he could prevent it…
Envy did this for me. It would be my fault for letting him die if I do. But Alphonse… Alphonse was the objective of this mission. Wouldn't it be better to succeed and give a tribute to Envy later?
He could feel all eyes on him, and regretted ever letting Alphonse see him struggling to decide in what should have had an obvious decision. As he opened his mouth, however, Alphonse smiled and told him softly, "Choose the antidote, Nii-san, I don't want anyone to die because of me…"
His eyes widened. "Al, what are you—"
"Time's up," Greed said.
"The antidote, I want the antidote!" Edward finally screamed, face downcast, eyes closed. What was he, stupid? The antidote could've been a fake for all he knew, but he still chose it anyways. Stupid, stupid Alphonse. He was always so considerate for others. Ed never could deny Alphonse. He was frustrated with himself, with his choice, but it was too late now. He could feel Greed watching him with approval, as though he'd predicted his choice. "Catch, Eddy-boy!"
"Don't call me that!" Ed growled as he caught the glass. Greed laughed, before whispering as a taunting farewell, "He was a good fuck," and leaving Edward with Envy as he walked back to the castle with Lyra and Alphonse. His brother didn't even look back, and that was enough to make Ed call out his name in a panicked voice. "Alphonse… Alphonse!"
It was too late. Al couldn't hear him now. Even if it wasn't intentional, Ed had made his decision. And now, he had to follow it through. He would see to Envy. They would have to find another way in.
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.:Tsuzuku:.
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A/N: Please tell me what was wrong with this chapter because I feel extremely not satisfied with this chapter. I feel like I could have made it a lot better, but I'm not really in the mood right now to do so, so could you leave some critique? Not enough to hurt my feelings (xD) but enough to give me a kick-in-the-ass so I can reedit it and make it better. Thanks.
Review!