"Where is Wrath?!" Envy yelled into the void that was the basement of Central. "He's supposed to be here for today's meeting! And Pride, where the hell is that brat?!"
"I don't know," Lust muttered, glancing at her gloves. Sometimes she worried that if she got them off somehow, she would discover she didn't actually have fingernails. "He has actual work to do, Envy."
"Well, Pride has no excuse."
"He plays a human, which is a whole other task. I bet you couldn't play human for an hour, Envy."
"I don't want to- so don't try to bribe me into it."
"All right, all right…" Lust sighed and quit trying to get Envy to do what she wanted just for kicks. "Any idea where they might be?"
"I don't know, bu-"
"LUST!" Gluttony's voice yelled, his voice echoing in the underground hideout. "LUST!" He tumbled down the countless stairs, because walking was not something Gluttony enjoyed, and came to a rolling halt in front of Lust. "Read! Read!"
She sighed again and took the wrinkled newspaper out of Gluttony's huge hand. Then, after catching sight of the headline, fainted.
It wasn't possible! Wrath had resigned from his job and now he and Pride were living the beach bum life?!
Without her?!
"What do you think, Pride?" Bradley asked as he and his son sat alone on the beach, staring up at the stars together that night after dinner. "Do you like it here?"
"Yes, I suppose I do…" he replied, letting his shadows play with the sand around him. "It's quiet and I have nothing to do."
"Does that bother you?"
"No. Now, I don't have to worry about the others or what Father wants from me."
"Makes sense," Bradley enjoyed it here for those reasons as well.
"But tell me," Pride turned to his younger sibling. "Do you truly enjoy being my 'father'? Or is it merely a fun past-time for you?"
"If what you are asking is, 'do I care for you like a father should' then, yes." Bradley was not ashamed to say it. "I love you, my son. Don't forget I was human once. Even though I may have never experienced love when I was young, I know what it feels like now, thanks to Mrs. Bradley and you. I love you both and I hope, somehow, you feel the same way."
"I suppose it possible that I do," Pride admitted after a long silence. "My assignment could have been worse. Imagine if Lust or Greed was my guardian. Disaster."
"Agreed."
"So, I appreciate what do you," Pride told Bradley. "And I may have to admit that I like having you as my father."
"Well, thank you. Now, do you want to count the stars again, or go back to the house for a late-night snack?"
"It's whatever you want. I am done making decisions. I am on an eternal vacation."
"That's the spirit!"
A/N: Aw, I really liked the scene with Bradley and Selim.