A/N: Just a quick warning for referenced implied dub-con in this chapter, and also for excessive sappiness.
He was so beautiful when he was sleeping.
Envy would never admit it while he was awake (and would only admit it to themselves when he slept). Kimblee would surely mock them for saying something like that.
Flattery will get you nowhere, Envy. Really, what do you take me for?
They had the key to his apartment, and they had gone in. Just to take a look, nothing more. After all, it had been their suggestion to use Kimblee for this job, and, if something was to happen to him, they would have Father to answer to.
It was all a part of Envy's job- to make sure that everything was in working order.
From where they stood, at the foot of Kimblee's bed, Envy glanced around the apartment, taking in the details far more fondly than they were usually inclined to. The sparse furniture was immaculately arranged, even after only a day or so of Kimblee staying here, and Envy smiled, knowing how fond Kimblee was of arranging things just so. Everything perfectly lined up, as colour-coordinated as possible.
They slowly, carefully, sat down on the edge of the bed, taking the greatest care to keep the springs in the mattress from creaking. He'd most definitely be upset to see them there if he woke up.
Envy noticed, with some discomfort, that Kimblee's shoulders were narrower than they remembered, lacking in the muscle that they had during Ishval. The thought occurred to them, for the first time, that perhaps he wasn't as strong as they had thought. But still, defeating Scar would be nothing to him, as would be capturing Dr. Marcoh.
Envy was a good judge of that sort of thing.
Kimblee's chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm, one that Envy found easy to watch, and to listen to. But there was an odd hitch here and there in the pattern, so that every time Envy got comfortable, a not-quite-a-cough would startle them out of their reverie.
Envy wished that they could have avoided imprisoning him. Wrath, with his knowledge of the human world, insisted that they couldn't just let him get off scot-free after killing five officers. There would be a disturbance, and it was easier this way. And Kimblee hadn't been… angry, Envy supposed. It's not as if he had enjoyed being in prison, but he had been content to wait. Just another testament to his loyalty and consistency.
They would have liked to keep him around, though. He would have been… useful. Dependable. Would always do his job, no matter how unpleasant. Always good for a conversation, for a debate, for...
Envy slowly lay down, facing the wall, pulling their knees to their chest. They could feel heat emanating from the body beside them- nearly imperceptible, but it was there. They weren't used to that feeling, and they weren't sure if they disliked it or not. They used to do this sort of thing with their siblings, sometimes, when they were younger, and maybe more carefree… but then Greed ran away, and Lust got tired of Envy's "immaturity," and Envy realized that she was right, that it was better to keep your distance from other people, and learn to rely only on yourself…
And then they'd done it as a part of their job (they had replaced many husbands and wives over the years, after all), and they hated that- having some filthy human touch you, act like you were their possession, and they couldn't do anything but go along with it, all for the sake of learning something to bring back to Father.
But it was sort of nice to stay like this, with Kimblee's even breaths warming the back of their neck, consistent, even, always there. He wasn't touching Envy in the slightest; they were in complete control, unlike those other times.
They'd stay here, on the very edge, just for a little while… Kimblee would never know, and, even if he did, what could he do?
Never if he was awake. No, no, no… and hardly even when he was asleep. They were this close to getting up and leaving- their job was done; he was fine, and perfectly ready to go out and fight and do his job… but they couldn't leave just yet, so abruptly and suddenly… they'd just rest here, just for a little while.
"I… I guess I missed you… a little more than I thought I would… Crimson Lotus…"
...how long had they been asleep?
They couldn't see the clock- it could have been hours, or mere minutes, but regardless, they had edged too close to the center of the bed for their liking, almost touching... But they couldn't just jump up, run away, escape… what if he woke up? What if he was already awake?
Envy rolled over, as slowly and quietly as they could, looking at their alchemist. His eyes were still closed- thank goodness for that- long black lashes against pale, pale skin, and that constant in and out breathing continued on as it had before.
Beauty, consistency, moral code. All foolish, fragile human traits, things that Envy had no need of, because they were things that humans possessed. But all of those traits managed to manifest themselves in Kimblee in the best (worst?) possible ways, so much that Envy actually had missed them…
He was a rarity, this man, and the only one, ever, in almost two hundred years, that Envy would ever consider...
Now or never. They'd never get the nerve again.
Envy kissed him (please don't wake up, please please please) very softly (and they barely knew how to do that; in all their years of disguises they'd never wanted to kiss somebody before; they hated that kind of human expression), so that he would not wake up.
And they'd never do it again, because they could only do this sort of thing while he was asleep- never when he was awake.
Envy drew back, slowly, face burning, breathing shakily, waiting to see if Kimblee would react. They thought that they saw Kimblee smile… but that, surely, was just their imagination.
But, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he did notice. He'd never tell anybody, and they'd go back to their lovely awkward relationship as if nothing had ever happened.
The beauty of consistency.
Of Kimblee.
A/N: So, how do you like this garbage that also happens to be my magnum opus? (Seriously, I've been working for so long on this one, and I've only just broken through!) It's the first one that is super shippy, I think, although I've of course been trying to portray the ship all along. I'm still not entirely happy... Envy's far too sappy here. But I wanted them to have to confront some inner barriers that they've built up over the years (and, in some ways, this was kind of therapeutic to write, as I have my own intimacy repulsion to deal with that I wind up impressing onto Kimblee and Envy...)
Thank you so much for reading; I just can't believe how many people have read this. A special thanks to Androsama for reviewing nearly every chapter; I always get a smile on my face to see your comments!
Thanks so much, once again!