Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Fullmetal Alchemist nor do I claim to.

Chapter 2

Edward awoke at some God awful early hour of the morning, only to find himself alone in what he assumed must have been Envy's secret hide-out. What else could it be? It was too trashy to be anything else. He grunted as he slid both legs over the side of the couch and was able to sit upright for the first time in hours.

"Ughhh..." He groaned, holding his head. He had a pounding headache, and his body hurt all over. His chest felt tight and swollen, and he remembered the ribs. He remembered Envy having every opportunity to kill him, but did not. He also remembered the homunculus had put his shoulder back in place when it was dislocated.

Well, Envy was the one who dislocated it in the first place, but Edward couldn't figure out why Envy hadn't just killed him on the spot. Hell, he had even tried to help him get better afterward. This shit was all too much for Edward to take in at once, so he decided since he had the chance he would make a break for it before the deranged homunculus changed his mind.

He eventually managed to hoist himself off the couch and shuffle over to the door. He looked behind himself briefly, letting out a long sigh through his nostrils. Pretty shabby place, even for a homunculus, Edward thought to himself before taking his exit and starting the journey to find his way back to Central to report back on his strange findings.

Sitting alone in the dark, damp chambers of Dante's lair, Envy paced and fretted over himself. He was a coward, a fucking coward. He couldn't bear to face the blonde shorty after what had happened, so he took off before the other woke up.

Damnit all to hell!

Envy growled and punched the floor, causing it to buckle and break beneath his fist. Red sparks flew about his knuckles still stuck in the broken slabs. Envy heard a noise behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder warily as he slowly stood up.

"My, my, Envy. What's got you so riled up this time, hmm?" Dante's smooth but oh-so-sarcastic voice sounded, echoing through the room softly.

"Nothing. Just puny fucking humans pissing me off as usual." Envy stated in his usual evading manner, flicking his long mane back over his shoulder in a flippant way. There is no way in hell that he could tell her about this. Mommy-dearest would just love to pick him apart after that, wouldn't she?

"I see." Dante looked dubiously at Envy, narrowing her eyes. She knew him long and well enough to know when he was lying. He really was terrible at it, for being the master of deception. She was no peasant, though. Not much got past her. "What has become of the Fullmetal Alchemist? Have you finished him off like you always wanted to? I did give you permission, after all." She questioned, knowing it was a hot button for him. One might think she enjoyed emotionally tormenting her former son.

Envy growled low, a rumble resounding in his chest. "Soon enough. I'm waiting for the right time." His voice sped up a little, trying to come up with excuses as to just why the hell he didn't kill Edward when he had the chance. "These things don't just happen overnight. I want to savor his pain and relish in his death throes!" Envy continued to prattle on about things he was no longer sure of. He did his best acting job, even flashing his widest smirk for effect.

Dante simply hummed, seeming rather nonplussed. "If you say so, Envy. I hope you're not getting soft on me in your old age." She turned to leave, rounding the corner and walking casually down the dark hallway, her shoes clicking in rhythmic patterns.

Envy just glared after her. Perceptive fucking bitch. He couldn't let her find out that he was having second thoughts about permanently removing the Fullmetal Pipsqueak from the equation. She would likely just finish the job herself if she knew it might hurt Envy in any way, the sadistic whore. He had realized if Edward was gone, what would Envy be? He couldn't go back in time. He could never get the life back that was stolen from him. Envy decided that if he were to kill the alchemist, he would piss away his chance to get a glimpse of what he missed out on. He wanted to be a part of Edward's life, rather than end it. He was determined to make that happen, and he'd be damned if he was going to let Dante fuck it all up for him - again. He decided he would rather die than let that happen. He wouldn't let her win, not this time.

Edward finally made it to Central Command and prepared himself to report to Colonel Mustang. He was about to barge into his office and had his hand raised, ready to pound on the door when he paused. He wondered if he should tell anyone at all about what happened with Envy. It might make Edward look incompetent in the end.

He was probably just fucking with him after all.

He ultimately decided against it, and simply ended up telling a cockamamie story about getting beat up in a fight with Envy and being this close to beating him when the cowardly homunculus ran off. Yeah, that sounded good.

Of course, hiding his injury from the ever-perceptive Colonel wasn't easy. The bastard kept giving him that knowing look. It was obvious he knew something was going on with Edward, but he didn't say a word about it. That was worrying in of itself, but Edward didn't have time for that right now.

Dusting his hands metaphorically clean of the situation, Edward started to leave. He still hurt, God did he hurt. He probably should have seen a doctor, but who has time for that anyway?

He limped back to his study and closed the door behind him, sighing in relief to finally be someplace familiar, and safe.

"Brother!" The metallic voice resonated from the suit of armor that had been sitting at the foot of the bed. "Where were you? Why didn't you come back last night? I was so worried!" Alphonse fussed over Edward as the short blonde began dressing down into something more comfortable than his flamel robe and leather pants.

"Aww, Al, I'm fine. I just got a little beat up is all." Edward brushed it off like it was no big deal, a little fake grin on his face that soon faltered. He can't lie to his little brother too. He was going to tell Alphonse the truth, at least. "I ran into Envy last night." His voice went down several notes, almost a whisper.

"Oh? Did you find out any information about the philosopher's stone that could be useful?" Alphonse's curiosity bled from his tinny voice as his armor creaked with his slight movements as he talked.

"No... not really." Edward sighed, finally getting changed into a simple wife-beater and some shorts and climbing on the bed to talk with Alphonse. "You see, we fought. Hard. I thought I was a goner... he actually had me pinned, Al. Pinned to the wall ready to slice my throat." Edward began to tell the story bluntly, but not without dramatic flare.

Alphonse's armor shook, and though his metal expression remained the same as always, one could almost see the fear in his glowing alchemically powered eyes. "I knew I should have gone with you!" Alphonse's guilty conscience showed. "How did you get out of there?" He asked genuinely.

"That's the strange part. Envy let me go. Then he actually... helped me. Sort of. I guess I passed out and he took me to some weird shack in the woods and put me up on his stinky little couch and tried to tend my wounds, even though he's the one who inflicted them. He did a shitty job at it, but the point is he did all that, and I can't figure out why."

Alphonse stilled, a small gasp coming from his armor. "I can't believe it."

"There is no logical explanation for the way he's acting, and it's driving me crazy. The only thing I can think of is he is trying to mess with my head or something, but even that doesn't make sense! You can't tell anyone about this, you hear? I need to find out more about the situation first." Edward instructed, but with a gentle tone that he only used for his brother.

"Yes. I understand. So what are you going to do about it now?"

"I'm going to find Envy, and confront him again."

Envy had just about had his fill of Dante's prissy ass prancing around her castle for the day, and decided to go for a walk. He disguised himself as some random man, actually rather plain in appearance with brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing memorable at all about him. When not in his preferred form, he actually preferred to blend in as much as possible.

He spotted the last person he expected to see out here: Edward Elric. He looked pretty worse for wear, and it was obvious he had done some handiwork on himself and bandaged up his middle. Nothing kept him down for long, it seemed.

Envy froze in place, watching Edward weave through the crowd. Their eyes connected and locked for a moment, making Envy panic. Did he recognize him in this disguise? But how? Relief flooded the homunculus as Edward broke the eye contact and continued walking along. He ended up stopping and sitting on a bench, folding his arms over his chest.

"I know you're here, Envy. I can feel you watching me. Just tell me what it is you have to say to me." Edward said calmly, almost to himself. No one took notice of the blonde seemingly talking to himself, but Envy could hear him clearly. Acute homunculus hearing and all, you know.

Envy got flustered, and pressed his back to the wall. What did he do now? He couldn't exactly just pop into ultra-cute-mode in this public place for all of Central to see!

Edward put his feet up and began whistling, signalling his boredom. That arrogant little twit. That set Envy off, and he came marching over to Edward, still in his plain-joe ensemble, and gave the Pipsqueak his best Envy-glare with his fists balled at his sides.

"You are one arrogant son of a bitch for calling me out in public, aren't you?" Envy bit out quietly through his teeth.

"Ahhh, so you finally decided to show your face again. Though it is different this time, some how." He was being smart. Envy didn't like it. "How kind of you after you leave me in your shitty little dungeon out in the middle of nowhere." Edward told him with a casual tone. He knew Envy could do nothing to him since there were people everywhere here.

"Ungrateful little shit. I should have just killed you when I had the chance." Envy grumbled, looking away.

"That's why I'm here, Envy. I need to know the truth. No games, no lies. Tell me why you didn't kill me back there." Edward demanded coldly, staring Envy straight in the eyes.

Envy's eyes flickered, turning purple and feline for a split second as his emotions raced through him.

"Well?" Edward's face showed that he was losing patience for Envy's games.

Envy looked around himself briefly. "Not here." He said, indicating to Edward to follow him.

"What the hell makes you think I'm going to follow you anywhere?" Edward gave him a skeptical raised brow.

"Do you want to fucking know or not? God you're dense." Envy muttered under his breath, gaining a long sigh from Edward.

"Fine. I suppose if you were going to kill me, you would have done it last time. Here goes nothing." Edward stood, albeit with some effort, and followed Envy's disguised form around a corner into a darkened alleyway. Oh yeah, this isn't suspicious at all. Not one bit. Edward's internal thoughts reflected on his face. "So where the hell are you taking me now?"

Envy shoved Edward into the wall, a little gentler this time. He was trying to be mindful of the wounds, for whatever damned reason.

"Hey-! What gives?" Edward squawked, before being cut off by Envy's lips on his own. The homunculus had switched back into his preferred form just before and now his brackish hair was concealing their faces as their lips locked together.

Edward flailed, pawing at Envy and managing to shove him away. "THE FUCK?" He demanded, his face flushed with color and his eyes wild with utter confusion.

"Well you wouldn't shut the hell up." Envy spat, glaring at the flustered alchemist. How else was he supposed to say what he wanted to say?

"There's better ways around that!" Edward ranted, growing very red in the face. "You do realize what you just did, right?"

"Well sure. I kissed you. I see humans doing it all the time. It's supposed to be affectionate, no?" Envy put his slender hand to his hip, cocking it slightly as he gained a rather confused look. It was feigned, sure, but damn it all if it wasn't convincing.

"But-! What.. I don't-" Edward stuttered at a loss for words. He was sure the homunculus had a hole in his bag of marbles, but now he was convinced every last one had fallen out. Edward wasn't quite sure how to deal with this new turn of events.

Being quite amused at being in control of the situation once more, Envy smirked impossibly wide at the stuttering blonde.

"What are you playing at, Envy? Now I really know you are trying to fuck with me!" Edward spat, finally regaining his composure. Well, that one stung. But he couldn't really blame Edward for reacting that way, now could he? Envy never had good intentions before... before this. Before he realized the things he had.

Envy narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You know nothing, Pipsqueak."

"I know that you are fucking crazy!" Edward began shouting. Envy recoiled slightly, actually feeling a little hurt at being rejected. This was a new feeling, and he didn't like it one bit. Why did he have to be so hurtful?

"Tell me why! Why are you doing this to me?" His eyes were burning. They looked exactly the same as they had the previous night when Envy was getting ready to kill him. He had the look of determination that Envy just hated. But now he felt something different - something stronger than hate. He found himself staring into Edward's eyes, almost getting lost in the deep pools of molten gold. He saw something in there that he longed to have for himself. If he couldn't have it, he would just have to settle for second best.

He wanted Edward for himself.

"Because I want you." Envy stated bluntly after several moments, finally admitting it out loud not only to Edward but to himself.

Edward stopped instantly, staring in disbelief at the sin. Did he hear that right?

"You can't have me. I am no one's property, homunculus." He growled.

There's that fire again. Envy had it all wrong before. He thought he wanted to break the alchemist completely into a million tiny pieces until there were no more, but that wasn't the case at all. It was all becoming clear now. Envy couldn't get enough, now that he knew of this new kind of drug called Edward Elric. The beast that couldn't be tamed. Oh how he hated and loved it all at once... it was a marvelous feeling.

"You misunderstand, Chibi-Shrimp." Envy started coming up with new nick names, much to Edward's dismay. He merely earned a hard glare from the short alchemist, evidently waiting for Envy to continue. "I don't want you as property. I want you. As in, I get to be with you every day. See what you see, do what you do. That is what I want."

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Edward was skeptical. Why would Envy want such a thing? He thought homunculus hated humans, and now this? How could he explain this one to the Colonel? The last thing he wanted to do was to baby-sit some psychotic palm tree homunculus.

"Nope. If you don't agree, I will just have to kill you after all because then I have no use for you." Envy hummed happily. He was quite pleased with his plan, and he knew Edward would have no choice but to go along with it if he wanted to live. He was sure Edward couldn't see through his bluff, because he truly had no intentions on killing him either way anymore.

Edward's face dropped. He couldn't believe this was really happening. Why would Envy make these demands of him? What was in it for him? How long would this go on for? "Okay. On one condition. You can't hurt Al or anyone else I care about, got it?" Edward frowned.

"Oh, that tin-can brother of yours? No problem. I'm not in it to hurt you, Fullmetal Shorty. I just want to be with you." Envy confirmed.

He clearly didn't understand what that meant, or how to deal with human emotions, Edward decided. Envy was seriously fucked up in the head if he thought this was going to work for any length of time. You can't just demand things of people involving emotions and expect threats and violence to get your way!

Edward gave Envy a sad look. Through the sarcasm, through the sadistic tendencies, he could see Envy for who he truly was. He almost felt sorry for him.

"Okay. I'll do it. Just stay out of my way." Edward said quietly, shoving past the sin. Envy bounced on his heels, clearly happy with the outcome.

Dante had been watching the entire scene between Edward and Envy through her scrying orb. She was so furious she nearly crushed it in her palm. Envy's obsession with Edward Elric was getting out of hand, and she needed to put an end to it.

This was the one thing she thought Envy was too stupid to ever figure out. She figured he hated everyone too much to ever give them the time of day beyond taking the little time it took to end their pathetic lives.

This is why she tried so hard to convince her homunculi that they were not capable of experiencing human emotions. If they thought that, how could they even think about trying to love someone? Lust had almost found out the secret once before, until she killed that loser boyfriend of hers when she couldn't handle her own emotions. She was this close to love, and she chose to end it herself. That was the one secret Dante had kept safe from the homunculus and everyone else. It was so simple that it was almost funny. The one way for a homunculus to regain their humanity is to fall in love. The alchemist didn't seem very receptive, but she knew first hand how persuasive Envy could be. She had to stop this nonsense before it was too late.

She turned heel and walked away haughtily, the vision of Envy happily following Edward around in a fake guise still playing through the orb.