"Winter Slumber"
I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. Arakawa-san does.
Chapter 8: A Visit from Wrath
A few days passed, and Marta still didn't go back to the empty room. She just didn't want to; she suddenly became horribly aware of how cold and lonely it was in there. But Greed didn't care that she was there, and neither did any of the residents. Hey, to them, "Marta in Greed's bed extra sleeping bag no cold floor."
Besides, she found it nice to wake up in his arms; it made her feel protected. So one morning, she decided to ask Greed a question.
"Why do you let me stay here?" she asked, turning to face him, becoming horribly aware of just how close she was to his face.
"…because you want to…" he slurred, lazily opening one eye as he said it. "I wouldn't force you to stay if you didn't want to…." He kissed her on the cheek, then closed his eye again.
"Ya know, you should probably be getting up now anyway."
"Yeah, I should."
"…you're just going to lie there, aren't you?"
"Yup." She felt a smile tugging at her lips. He really was stubborn, wasn't he? But that's what makes him Greed; he wouldn't be him if he wasn't like this.
"Hey, what're you so happy about?"
"Oh, nothing…"
Eventually, they did have to get up, but Greed held it out to the last possible moment. While she was getting dressed, she decided that she would go out today; she needed some fresh air. She had to wait for Greed to leave first, though; he'd probably want to come with her, and she wanted to be alone.
So about five minutes after he left, she grabbed her jacket and headed out, but first stopping to leave a note in case he came back before she did.
After wandering the city streets aimlessly for a bit, she went to the park and bought an ice cream. When she went to sit down on a bench, she heard a strange, sniffling noise. Turning around, she spotted a little, black-haired boy crying his eyes out under a tree. She strode over to him, and crouched down so that she was at his level.
"Hey kid, what's wrong? Where's your family?"
"Family….?"
"You know- your mom and dad, brothers and sisters!"
"I don't have any…" he sobbed out. "Mommy doesn't love me anymore… No one wants me… No one needs me…" He cried even harder.
"That can't be true! What's your name?"
"Wrath…"
"Well then, Wrath, I'm Marta, and I'll be your big sister!" she said, holding out her hand.
"R-really?"
"Of course! Here, I'll help you find your mom, okay?"
"Okay!" he said happily, taking her hand. They walked back to the place where Marta bought her ice cream cone.
"What flavor do you want?"
"I'm not hungry!"
…grooowl…
"That's not what your stomach says," she stated, smiling as he blushed.
"Well, I don't know what you're talking about, okay?" he said embarrassedly.
"You've never had ice cream?"
"No…"
"Then we'll have to get one of each flavor and see which one you like best!"
"But what if I don't like them?"
"Then I'll eat them."
Wrath still seemed unsure as she ordered the ice cream. She didn't let it bother her, though, and took her wallet out of her jacket pocket. She was only ordering two more flavors: strawberry and chocolate; she had already gotten herself a vanilla.
"Crap, I don't have enough…." she muttered.
"Nee-chan, what's wrong?" questioned a worried Wrath.
"Nothing's wrong, Wrath; we just won't be able to get both flavors is all."
"Yes you will- I'll pay for them."
She stood there, getting angrier and angrier by the second. How dare he follow her! Didn't she say on the note that she did not want to be bothered unless it was an emergency?
"Um… Miss…? The ice cream…?"
"Oh- right! Sorry, got distracted-"
"I'll pay for it," said Greed again, pulling the correct amount of money out of his pocket.
"Nee-chan," hissed Wrath, pulling at her sleeve. "Who is this?"
"That's Greed," said Marta, glaring angrily at said person's back. "He can be a real jerk sometimes, but he's nicer than he looks." Wrath still glared at him openly, even as he walked back to them with the ice cream. Marta gave Wrath the spoon she had taken from the stand, and he tasted each flavor (but not before Greed did, as he also had a spoon).
Wrath decided that he would have strawberry, and Greed would take the chocolate. Marta was perfectly fine with her vanilla, but apparently they weren't satisfied with theirs. As soon as they were finished eating, they each took a spoonful of Marta's cone.
"I was still eating that, you know…" she said irritatedly.
"So?" - Wrath
"So stop stealing it- Hey!"
If Greed gets a second helping, then I want one, too!"
"Well, that's too bad, kid, 'cause I'm gonna eat all of it."
"Not if I eat it first!"
drip, drip, slurp, drip- SPLAT. There goes the ice cream.
Marta was still pissed, even an hour later on their way back to the Devil's Nest. But that didn't stop her from being nice to Wrath, because at that moment, she was giving him a piggy-back ride. The poor kid was passing out, so she had offered relief, despite Greed's jealous glares.
"He's not staying," he seethed, directing his furious gaze to Wrath.
"He has to, Greed- at least until we find his mother."
"What's this 'we' crap? I'm not helping him!"
"Well, I am, so deal with it!" she hissed, letting out an irritated sigh. She sped up, trying to get away from the insanely jealous Greed.
An awkward silence followed, occasionally interrupted by the sounds of life in the city and the sound of Wrath breathing. Finally, they reached the alley leading the Devil's Nest.
"S-sorry…"
"What was that?"
"Sorry! I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to snap at you."
"…"
"Look, just because I'm going to take care of Wrath doesn't mean I don't love you anymore…"
It was then that Marta realized what she just said.
"Did you even love me in the first place?" Greed asked the blushing Marta teasingly.
"Shut up. I just got caught up in the moment."
"Oh, really?" he said, laughing. They continued down the alley to the entrance. Marta carefully walked down the stairs, Greed waiting impatiently at the bottom (she's still carrying Wrath). She gently set Wrath down on the couch, and sat down next to him. He didn't stay upright for long, however, and fell over, his head bumping Marta's shoulder. She sighed, and coaxed him into a more comfortable position, it being him lying down with his head on her lap.
Lucky bastard… Greed thought jealously. Dear God, I think I'm gonna turn into Envy…
"What're you staring at, Greed?"
'…You'd make a good mother," he said off-handedly.
"W-what? Where did that come from?" she spluttered, trying to stay reasonably quiet.
"Seriously, Marta. You would. I mean, lookit the kid! He's already glued to you! And the note, too; you--!"
"That's right! The note!" she interrupted. "Why did you come find me? I specifically said not to bother me unless it was an emergency!"
"But it is an emergency."
"What is it, then?"
"I forgot to give you somethin.'"
"And that would be…?"
"This," he said, walking over to her from the other couch. He deftly placed a kiss just to the left of her lips. "It was meant to be a 'Good Morning' kiss, buuut…. yeah. Sorry it was a little late. Speaking of which, I've got to leave now; there's someplace I have to be at. See ya!"
Wrath woke up about half an hour later, much to Marta's displeasure; she had fallen asleep as well and had a nice dream, but then forgot what it was about (don'tcha hate it when that happens?). She only remembered two things: a strange, dragon-like blur, and the word 'Mama.'
What the hell does a dragon have to do with the word 'Mama'! Maybe I've absorbed some of Kimbley's insanity or something….
"Nee-chan, I'm bored. What do you do for fun around here?"
"Well… you can read or write, or draw…"
"With what?" he said skeptically. Marta looked down at him and pinched his Nose. "Oww…!"
"That was awfully rude of you. Maybe I should've just left you at the park, hmm? Now get up, we hafta get something"
"I can't breathe…!"
"You'll live."
About half an hour later, they set off again, but not before Marta took some money from her secret stash.
"Does Greed know about it?" asked Wrath.
"It wouldn't be a secret if he knew about it, now would it? Besides, Greed would probably take it if he knew."
"Nee-chan, why do you put up with him? Why don't you leave?"
…
Well, that was unexpected.
"Well… I've got no where else to go, and it would hurt both of us if I left."
"Why? OW!" He rubbed the newly formed bruise on the back of his head.
"You're really nosey, Wrath."
About half an hour later, they made it to the local bookstore. And after looking through the many titles, Wrath found one he liked; it was called "The Children of Green Knowe." Which is a good book, by the way; I've read it at least twice. What? I'm getting off track? Oh, sorry. So anywhoo, after dragging him away from the bookstore with both his selection and a sketchpad (also for him), they headed back to the Devil's Nest.
They were greeted by a slightly deranged Kimbley upon arrival by way of "Tease-Marta-Until-Wrath-Kicked-His-Shins." That was rather smart of you, wasn't it Kimbley? Oh, yes, let's tease the snake chimaera and have her psychotic "little brother" attack in defense of her! That's just so much fun! In fact, let's all taunt her until Wrath leaves us a bloody, massacred, corpsey heap at the back of the alley!
And by some chance the author doesn't go insane by the end of this chapter, we'll watch DISNEY MOVIES with LUST and SLOTH! YES! Oh, but wait…
…I've already lost my sanity…
…
…Sorry, Kimbley. No "Lady and the Tramp" for you.
So anywhoo, ignoring the temporary loss of sanity…
The book kept Wrath entertained for a while, which gave Marta time to construct a makeshift bed in the empty room. She stole one of the couch's pillows, and set up that and her fluffy blanket from Christmas at the side of the room, about a foot from the wall. But eventually, he grew bored of reading and picked up the sketchpad.
"Marta-nee-chan, what should I write?" he asked.
"Whatever you want; it's your notebook."
"I need some ideas, though," he said, tapping the pencil thoughtfully. It was then that he was abruptly poked in the back of the neck, causing him to recoil and make a strange noise.
"My God, you're needy…" said Marta playfully, pulling back her hand. "Why don't you make it a journal or something? And in the first entry, you can talk about yourself, your family and friends, maybe a dream you'd like to accomplish?"
"Okay!" She looked over to him; he was already scribbling something into the notebook.
"Speaking of which… where's your mom? There's no way she'd let you out all by yourself."
"I r-ran away. Envy-nii-san said Mommy doesn't love me anymore…"
"What? That can't be true. All mothers love their children, no matter what they do."
"R-really?"
"Yes, Wrath. They do. Can you tell me your mom's name, or where she works? It'll be a lot easier to get you back to your house that way."
"Master calls her 'Sloth.' She works at a place called Central or something…" She looked at him inquisitively.
"Master…?"
"Yeah. Master found me and gave me a home, but… she's kind of a bitch…" he said rather bluntly.
"Ah, well. You can't really do anything about that, now can you? That's just life," she said, smiling cheerfully. Her smile grew wider when he yawned, making him look absolutely adorable. "Getting tired there, kid?"
"Noooo…" he protested, yawning mid-sentence.
"Hahaha… right, Wrath. Let's get you something to eat before you fall asleep."
After Wrath had eaten, he was sent to bed, and Marta started helping everyone get the bar ready as it was almost opening time. The night wore on steadily, being fairly uneventful (except for when the drunks that began hitting on her nearly got a vicious beating you-know-who).
Eventually, all the remaining drunkards were thrown out of the bar, and its residents prepared themselves for the remaining night's slumber. Marta went to bed after she made sure everyone else was alright. She closed the door to the bedroom as silently as she could, and slipped under the covers. The minute she had laid down, however, Greed rather forcefully pulled her to himself, whispering "What took you so long?"
"Get over it, Greed; I'm trying to sleep, here…"
A few hours passed, and everyone was sleeping peacefully. Well, at least until Wrath woke up. He crept to the bedroom noiselessly, opening the door and cringing at the small squeak the hinges released.
"Nee-chan?" he queried the darkness. "Nee-chan, I had a bad dream… can I stay with you?" Marta broke herself from Greed's vice-like arms, sitting up and then beckoning Wrath to come over. He flitted across the room to her.
"You don't want to stay in there anymore?" He shook his head vigorously. She sighed, lifting up the covers. "Fine… get over here quick before he wakes up." His eyes lit up with relief and he darted under the sheets. She lay back down softly, creating as little disturbance as possible. But she was again stolen by Avarice, who was still asleep somehow. Gekido stole her as well, creeping up to her silently and snuggling her arm. Aww, cute.
'Ello, 'ello! 'Tis me, Kibou! M'kay, some notes about this chapter:
-Nee-chan means 'big sister' nii-san means 'big brother'
-Gekido means 'Wrath'
-I was listening to a Beatles CD while writing this and the album was called "Rubber Soul." I just realized the irony of that. (Think Marta.)
-Have you ever noticed that when you watched Disney movies when you were little, you didn't really listen, and then when you watch them again when you're older, you notice all these blatantly suggestive hints? In fact, I watched "Lady and the Tramp" with my little sister recently and was all like "Oh my God. The Tramp is Roy Mustang." And "OH MY GOD, HE DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!" Hmm… Lady can be Riza, because royai is teh shit.
-Hey, I've got nearly 2000 hits for this story! That's frickin' awesome! Thank you all sooooo much! I lurve you all!
