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

Warning: Some spoilers if you haven't finished Brotherhood. Yeah, I'm being a turd and sort of melding the two together here. Sorry not sorry. It's my story I can do what I want! Hah! Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Lust perched upon a branch of a tree, overlooking the beautiful glade Envy had found and subsequently led the Fullmetal Alchemist to. She was managing to look rather graceful given that she was wearing high heels and a dress.

She watched him struggle to shift, and fail. She watched the tears brim in his eyes as he realized he had changed forever. It was heartbreaking to witness.

Wanting nothing more than to get Envy alone to talk with him, she refrained from interfering. She would just have to catch him alone, somehow.

Lust wasn't known to be a voyeur, but she nonetheless witnessed the entire happenings between her brother and the eldest Elric with an emotionless expression. She was surprised, yes, but not so shockingly so. She had expected as much of Envy, given everything he was going through. He was always obsessive about the Elric brothers, especially Edward. It was no surprised it would turn into a romantic relationship, especially if her suspicions were indeed correct that Envy was slowly turning back into a human. His emotions must certainly be going haywire at this point.

Before she finally departed, something odd caught her eye. A lock of long ebony hair remained on the ground where Envy had sat by the large rock placed by the water. It looked like Envy's. Well, that was strange. Why would Envy be losing hair?

The unlikely couple arrived back later that evening to a very worried Alphonse.

"Envy! You're back! Edward! Where have you guys been? I was getting ready to head out and start looking for you two!" Alphonse huffed, throwing his big metal arms in the air causing his armor to clink together in an audible show of his upset.

Envy shrugged, blinking at the big, angry tin-can. He wasn't really scary, for all the show he was putting on. Envy really didn't think that boy had a mean bone in his... well, nevermind.

"I'm sorry Al, I finally found Envy and we just lost track of time." Edward looked very, very guilty. Envy was sure he was remembering their little sexcapades. Smiling inwardly, Envy let Edward defend himself like the good little boy he was—or pretended to be at least.

"Well, at least let me know where you are next time! For all I knew, you could have got yourself hurt or worse!" Alphonse was getting squeaky at this point, and Edward sighed.

"It won't happen again, okay?" Edward smiled his smile that could make anyone's heart melt, and Alphonse seemed to finally concede.

"Envy, you really shouldn't go running off like that. You had Brother very worried." Alphonse turned his lecturing on Envy, much to the former-homunculus' dismay. It was just then that Alphonse noticed the change in Envy's eyes. In fact, his entire face looked a little different than before. Or maybe it was just his imagination?

"Yes, Mother." He replied with sarcasm.

Alphonse rolled his glowing red eyes into the recesses of his metal helmet in exasperation. This just wasn't his day.

Edward put his hand over Envy's mouth to shush him, only to be rewarded with a painful bite.

"OW! Damn you!" He howled, and Envy giggled.

"Don't put it there if you don't want to get bit." He hummed. Well, someone was obviously feeling spunkier now.

"Okay you two." Alphonse interrupted. "As long as I know you are safe, I won't bother you. I need to go to the supermarket anyway. We're completely out of food!" He exclaimed, seeming quite alarmed over it considering he himself did not eat.

"Don't worry, we will go to the store first thing in the morning. Right Envy?" Edward looked over at the smug-looking sin, just in time to see his smirk vanish.

"What is this 'we' shit? You got a fucking mouse in your pocket or something?" Envy grumbled. He really didn't feel like being around a bunch of people right now. Or any time for that matter. He'd felt sort of... off since earlier.

"Okay..." Edward looked a little disappointed. "Then I will just go. Al, you wanna come with?" Edward smiled at his brother, and Alphonse seemed to perk up at being included.

"Oh yes! And maybe we can stop by that used book store on the way back, too." He started listing other things he'd been wanting to do with Edward. Well, Envy had sort of been monopolizing his time as of late.

Envy rolled his eyes, and went to sit on a comfortable looking armchair and merely waved his hand dismissively at the brothers.

"Whatever, as long as I can get some quiet time." He yawned a little, relaxing back into the cushion and closing his tired eyes for some much needed rest.

Envy ended up falling asleep on the armchair long before anyone else, and dreamed of all kinds of strange things. It was a restless sleep to be sure, and it didn't leave him feeling very rested. This whole 'getting tired' thing sure was for the birds.

He awoke to a still-dark room. Edward and Alphonse had obviously retired a long time ago, as the quarters around him were quiet and vacant. Envy felt feverish, and his body was sweaty. He definitely felt ill. Was he just hungry again? No, just the thought of food made his stomach churn disgustingly.

Curling up into a ball, he let out a groan of exasperation. Why couldn't he just feel good already? He never got sick as a homunculus, but he felt shitty all the time now.

He wrapped his arms around his head, tugging in frustration at his hair.

"Just stop already. Stupid fucking body." He complained out loud. Much to his horror, when he looked at his hands, he had clumps of hair in between his fingers.

His eyes widened in shock as he realized there was hair covering the spot he had just been resting his head on. Feeling the strands between his forefinger and thumb, he sat in a state of utter disbelief for a brief moment. He had just pulled his hair out. But how? That shit was supposed to be permanently attached!

Panic began to seize his chest as he tugged at his hair again. Still, more came off.

"FUCK!" He shouted as his hair fell all around him in piles. It was all coming out! He was going fucking bald! How could this happen?

He hastily gathered up all the fallen hair in his arms and found a trash bin to stuff it in. He sat, leaning against the bin and ran his hands over his...partially smooth head. There were still some segments of hair remaining, ugh. How revolting he was. He buried his face in his arms and sobbed quietly.

"Envy? Are you all right?" Edward shuffled out from his bedroom, rubbing his eyes as he squinted in the darkness trying to see.

Envy squeaked, huddling even further into the corner. Stupid, stupid. He probably woke him up with his yelling. There's no way he could let anyone see him like this, least of all the Shorty! He was utterly humiliated.

"Envy?"

"No! Go away..."

"What's the matter?" Edward stumbled in the darkness as his eyes adjusted. He could just make out Envy's prone form huddled on the ground.

Envy hid his head as best he could. "Go back to bed, Pipsqueak."

There he goes again, pushing Edward away. He wouldn't stand for it this time, though. Edward got closer to Envy and knelt beside him. They'd shared something special, and he wasn't about to just forget about it.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you. Please just... stop shutting me out." Edward tried to soothe him, rubbing his back. Envy shied away from his touch, flinching and beginning to shake.

"I'm hideous." Envy choked out.

Edward's hand made it up to Envy's head, expecting to feel the familiar soft hair, but instead finding nothing but more skin. He gasped, realizing what Envy was so upset about.

"What happened?" Edward asked, and Envy shook his naked head.

"I don't fucking know. It just started coming out... in my hands." Envy shivered harder. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

Edward frowned, worry and anxiety plainly written all over his face even in the dark. What was really happening to Envy? He was a constant emotional wreck, but who could blame him with all the weird things that have been happening to him.

"Let me turn on the light so I can see." Edward began, but Envy gripped his arms tightly, preventing him from standing. He may not be a homunculus anymore, but he still had surprising strength.

"NO!" He pleaded. The last thing he wanted was for Edward to see his ugly bald head.

"Okay, okay." Edward put his hands up in an 'I surrender' fashion.

Envy had no where to run to this time. He couldn't just leave and go crawling back to Dante. He would have to figure this one out on his own.

Then he had a sudden realization. If he really was turning back into a human, then it would make sense that everything about him that he fabricated on his own as a homunculus would vanish.

That explained a lot, if that were the case. His clothing, his hair. Oh God, his eyes. Even his face was of his own making. There's no way.

He stared at Edward unblinkingly in the darkness as the blonde sat there helplessly, unsure of what to do to help Envy.

There was no help for Envy if Edward were to find out the truth now. That his real name was William Hohenheim and when he was still human he had matching golden hair and eyes. He really didn't look all the much different from Edward, though he could never be as handsome. He fabricated his own young, cute, androgynous visage because he hated himself.

Envy cringed inwardly as he pictured Edward's face when he saw what Envy really looked like. What he would do if he knew they were actually half brothers. He imagined what he'd say, his mind played terrible images to him of Edward scowling and spitting on the floor at Envy's feet.

You look just like him.

You're ugly.

You tricked me!

No, there's no way Edward could find out now. Envy wouldn't allow it. He would rather die than suffer rejection.

It took the entirety of Envy's strength to make himself lean forward and give Edward one last kiss, because he knew he wouldn't taste those lips again. But it was okay. It was for the best. It would save them both a lot of pain. That's what Envy told himself.

"I love you, Edward Elric."

Those were the last words Edward heard from Envy before he disappeared.

One year later...

Edward sat by the window in a little coffee shop he went to often. He liked to sit here and think, and sometimes read as he drank his black coffee. He still hated milk, but sugar was all right, he supposed.

It was quiet here, and no one bothered him. He'd quit caring about everything after Envy left, and buried his head in his work. He'd even went back to check Envy's hide-out again, thinking maybe he would find him there again. This time he wasn't so lucky, and there was no trace of him anywhere. He focused entirely on getting Al's body back when he realized Envy was really gone, and he finally succeeded. Edward didn't manage to get his own limbs back, but that didn't bother him much. He'd gotten used to his automail over the years. But Alphonse was a whole person again, and that's what really mattered.

What was the whole secret then, you ask? Well, it ended where it began: at human transmutation. Except this time, Edward transmuted himself. He had to sacrifice something in order to get something in return. The thing he gave up was his alchemy. It was his last transmutation. He traded his alchemy for Alphonse's body. Edward considered it more than a fair trade, though some thought he was insane for giving up the thing he was best at.

But, anyone who knows Edward knows that he would have done anything to return his brother's body to him.

He was given a special honorable discharge from the military, and put into a different division where he could do work other than alchemy. It wasn't terribly fulfilling, but it was something. He didn't really need to work anymore anyway, his account from when he was a State Alchemist was quite padded. But he couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Ever since then, things had really calmed down. Alphonse actually found a girl, so he hadn't been spending as much time with Edward as they did before. The last he'd heard was that he was thinking about moving to Xing in the East. That was alright, though. Ed didn't mind. He just liked seeing Alphonse happy again, to see his real face smiling with joy.

Everything turned out all right. All except one thing. Edward couldn't forget about Envy, no matter how hard he tried. It was such a brief thing that happened between them, sure. But it changed him in ways he couldn't explain. He thought about him all the time, wondered where he was and if he was okay.

Was he even still alive?

Why had he left so suddenly? And the way he did it. Saying 'I love you' right before you vanish forever? That only made things harder.

Lust had finally did it. She broke free of Dante after Envy found her, realizing her fears were irrational and the old woman was truly wasting away. She wasn't as strong as she used to be, and there wasn't a thing she could do to stop Lust from leaving. So, she did and she never looked back.

Since then, she'd been learning everything she could from her former homunculus sibling about what it means to be human. Though he was 100% human now, he still went by Envy and hadn't lost even a bit of his lovely personality.

"I can't do it Lust. I can't keep living like this... like a disgusting human worm with no purpose." Envy bitterly complained as he ate what seemed like his one-thousandth meal since he first became human. It really was tiresome.

"Just eat it and quit whining. Lord knows I wish I could." She narrowed her eyes warningly at him. He'd changed so much since he came to stay with her. His hair grew back in with the deepest shade of gold. He kept it long, but it was only about down to his chin now. He wore it down, and parted in the middle, however he made Lust brush and maintain it. He wasn't all about the monotonous human grooming bullshit. She could barely get him to even brush his teeth.

His face had changed too. It was less feminine, and more angular now. He had a man's face, and he was actually quite handsome. His eyes changed too, they were gold as well, but they still had flecks of purple remaining. It reminded her that he used to be like her, and gave her hope that she herself could also change. He looked nothing like the Envy she had known as a homunculus, but Lust didn't mind. She was glad to have her brother and friend back.

Envy finished his food and groaned, holding his stomach. "I think I ate too much. Damnit."

"You're hopeless." Lust sighed.

"I know." He agreed.

Life wasn't so bad, but it wasn't great either. He'd regretted the night he left Edward without an explanation, but what else was he to do? He couldn't exactly go waltzing back into his life with this new look expecting to be forgiven.

Except he thought about doing exactly that, every second of every day.

"More coffee, hun?"

The waitress startled Edward out of his day dream. He looked up at her. She was pretty. Brown hair and brown eyes. Her name was Noah, he thought anyway. She smiled at him genuinely, and he forced a smile back.

"No, thank you." He politely declined, returning his gaze to the window. He kept expecting to see a flash of ebony hair, a wisp of black clothing that barely concealed, but he never saw a thing that caught his eye. Even if Envy turned up still bald, he'd be okay with that too.

Sighing in resignation, Edward left money on the table and stood to take his leave. He dressed differently now too. He no longer wore the gaudy leather pants or flashy alchemist's flamel robe. He wore simple, unassuming clothing now and wore his hair in a tail instead of a braid. There was no need to stand out in a crowd if he wasn't a hot-shot alchemist anymore.

Some thought he looked a lot like his father now that he was older, but he'd never admit to such a thing. He still didn't want anything to do with that bastard.

As he left, the waitress watched him go. She'd waited on him for months, day after day, but he never paid the slightest bit of attention to her. He was polite and tipped well, sure, but he never saw her.

Maybe he already had someone? But he always looked so sad. She wondered who was it who made him feel so terribly. If he would ever notice her, she was sure she could make him happy. She'd heard the stories of how he was a famous State Alchemist, but now he was a simple worker because of an accident which caused him to lose his alchemic abilities. He intrigued her so, and she decided she wouldn't give up so easily. She would keep serving him coffee and doing her best to brighten his morning every day until he noticed her.

She smiled to herself as she went to help other customers, looking forward to the next morning when she would see the elusive Edward Elric once again.