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

Chapter 13

It must have been at least 10 AM before Edward finally awoke fully enough to actually roll off the couch and maybe even get something accomplished.

"Morning, sunshine." He said, looking down at the still-snoozing form of Envy. He was all curled up with his head tucked in his arms. He looked completely adorable, in Edward's opinion. Especially since his lower half was still bare.

"Noo... I'm allergic to sunlight." Envy groaned and scrunched up tighter to block out all the light from his tired eyes.

"I thought you were a homunculus, not a vampire." Edward joked, but Envy didn't really think that was funny.

He looked up at Edward with sleep-hazed eyes and gave him a meaningful glare. "I'm neither, now." He grumped.

Edward frowned. Envy could be so moody sometimes. Guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

He decided he would make breakfast to try and get his lover in better spirits.

After Edward disappeared into the kitchen, Envy allowed himself to doze off again. Soon though, wonderful smells began wafting from the other room and Envy's belly wouldn't let him rest any longer.

He got up, forgetting he was still skort-less and wandered into the kitchen.

Edward was busy frying something delicious over the stove, when he sensed a presence behind him.

Looking back over his shoulder, he blushed when he saw Envy standing there half naked.

"Fooood." Envy moaned like a zombie, coming closer to the stove and peering around Edward's arm to check out what he was making.

"Yes, I'm making food." Edward smiled as he served up bacon and eggs with fried potatoes and cheese on a plate and handed it to Envy.

The former-sin's eyes lit up as he took the plate and hurried to the table to chow down.

Edward wasn't really hungry, so he just got a cup of coffee for himself and watched Envy eat.

As he watched the blonde tear into the plate of food like he'd been starved, Edward decided today he would finally man up and confront Noah. It wasn't going to be easy, though his night with Envy definitely helped him get into the right frame of mind to do it and be confident about it as well.

But first, he had to come up with some kind of believable excuse. He wasn't ready to just straight up tell her that his homunculus (you know, fake human?) boyfriend who disappeared a year ago suddenly came back into his life as not only a real life human male but also practically his twin.

It was almost too much for even him to comprehend, let alone poor Noah.

Edward must have looked like he was lost in thought because Envy began waving his hand in front of his face, effectively snapping him out of his thought process.

"Hey! Pay attention to mee!" Envy whined as he finished off the last piece of bacon on his plate and threw his fork down with a clang.

Edward smiled at him. He actually missed Envy being needy with him like that.

"I am. And I will. But I think there's something I need to do today." He was vague, knowing Envy would want to come along to 'supervise' if he revealed what he was really going to do. "I have to go back in to work tomorrow, so I won't really have time then."

Work? Envy completely forgot Edward had a job. What was he supposed to do here all alone all day long while Edward slaved at work? He began to have a small panic attack.

Edward noticed Envy's discomfort, and he reached over the table to cover Envy's hand with his palm in a reassuring gesture.

"Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Wait for me, okay? We'll go do what ever you want afterwards." He smiled encouragingly, but Envy still looked sad. He didn't like this. Edward was being cryptic and that made him nervous, but he simply nodded reluctantly.

"See you later, baby." Edward blushed a little when he called Envy that, and gave him a peck on the lips for good measure.

Envy perked up at the nickname, then immediately after gained a dejected look as Edward left with a casual wave of his hand over his head.

Well, time to follow him again.

Envy gathered up his skort and pulled it on, preparing to go out in public for the first time in his new outfit.

He debated on the wig, remembering last night when Edward made it seem like he didn't need Envy to wear it. But it made Envy feel better about himself, so he went ahead and put it on as well.

Giving himself a once-over in the mirror, he was more or less satisfied with his look. He took a deep breath before leaving the apartment to track down his favorite little blonde Pipsqueak and make sure he wasn't getting himself into trouble.

Edward made his way toward the coffee shop, knowing Noah was working today. She would have been getting pretty close to getting off work, so he thought maybe this would be a good time to talk to her.

He tentatively pushed the door open and came inside. Noah noticed him immediately and came running over.

"Edward! I've missed you. You haven't been here for days! It's a little late for coffee, but I can make you a cup if you want." She beamed at him, and he smiled and gave a small awkward laugh, scratching the back of his neck. He always did that when he was nervous.

"Uh, thanks but not today, Noah. There's actually something I'd like to talk to you about."

Her face dropped, and she looked like she already knew what he was going to say. She had dreaded this, ever since the end of their date when instead of kissing her, he simply patted her head like she was a child.

"Edward. Can we not do this in here?" She glanced around at the other customers in the shop. She didn't want to be embarrassed in front of everyone.

Edward looked guilty. This was becoming more of a chore than he anticipated. "Sure."

Envy walked outside into the sunshine and shielded his eyes from the brightness. The sun felt good on his exposed skin, and he almost felt like his old self if only for a moment as he stood with the breeze gently tousling his hair, even if it was fake.

He traced Edward's steps and ended up back at that damn coffee shop. Fuck, he should have known! He went to see that bitch without telling him. If he had told Envy he was going to go tell her about their relationship, that would have been one thing, but being all cryptic and shit and then leaving to go have some kind of secret meeting with her? That was bullshit.

He was about to go barging in there when the two of them came outside together. Envy was having a bad case of dejavu here, and he paused. Curiosity got the better of him, so he hung back and watched as they went around to the side of the building where the employees took their smoke breaks.

A low growl emitted from deep in his throat as they began talking, just out of earshot. He really missed his extraordinary hearing as a homunculus right about now.

"Look, Noah. I gotta be honest. You're a nice girl, and I really like you a lot." Edward started, but he trailed off for a minute when he saw the look on her face slowly degenerate into pure sadness.

"I don't really want to hear it, Edward." Noah said, staring him right in the eyes.

That surprised him. He hadn't expected that kind of response from her, and he just stared at her with a dumbfounded look as she continued.

"You never really gave me a chance." She said, her voice lowering and straining to keep her trembling lip under control.

Edward felt terrible. He really hadn't, either, but what could he do when Envy just showed up out of nowhere and—

His racing thoughts were cut off by a pair of plump lips planted on his in a desperate kiss. His eyes widened and he jerked away as quickly as his brain comprehended what she was doing. He was aghast at what just happened.

"Now you can tell me you still don't want me!" Noah nearly shouted.

Edward didn't know what to say, but as chance would have it, he didn't have time to respond. All he saw was a flash of dark hair and clothing that barely concealed as Envy forcefully tackled Noah in front of him.

"YOU BITCH!" Envy screamed as he knocked Noah to the ground and pinned her there by her shoulders.

She shrieked and struggled but there was no way she could overpower Envy even in his human form. His muscles rippled and twitched as he forced her hard against the hard pavement.

"Envy! Fuck, get off her!" Edward cried, and grabbed Envy's muscular arm. He was being completely ignored though as Envy's crazed eyes were fixated on Noah's terrified face.

"I should have fucking killed you when I got the chance, you pathetic sniveling little worm!" He spat droplets of saliva on her face as he bellowed angrily.

Tears leaked out of the corners of Noah's eyes, running downwards towards her ears as she laid helpless under the weight of an angry Envy. The look in his eyes was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She thought for sure she was going to die right here in this alley next to the place she worked.

Edward's fists were connecting with Envy's arm and sides as he tried to snap him out of his berserk. Bruises were forming on Envy's skin in the places he hit, and his automail fist was cutting into his flesh with every blow. He felt helpless. He no longer had alchemy so there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop Envy. Edward began to sob as he watched Envy have a break down in front of him.

"You think just because you're pretty and thin that you can take him away from me? HUH? Well I've got news for you Princess, NO ONE will ever fucking take him from me. He's mine! Mine! MINE MINE MINE!" He screamed, chanting the word over and over when suddenly a shot rang through the air, and Envy fell over on his side clutching his bleeding side.

Edward collapsed to his knees as he watched the scene before him play out in slow motion. Noah was still huddled on the ground, too scared to move and Envy was laying still and bleeding out before his eyes. The pool of blood expanded towards him and seeped into the knees of his pants.

Slowly turning around, he saw the person who shot Envy. Edward's eyes grew wide with horror as he saw Alphonse standing there with a determined look on his young face, still aiming the barrel of the gun right at Envy.

"It's alright now, Brother. I got him."

Edward hoped the generous check he gave Noah was enough to keep her quiet about the whole thing. She was pretty shook up, but not seriously hurt. He promised to never come to her coffee shop ever again.

He had no idea Alphonse was even in town. He thought he'd moved to Xing permanently already, having not heard hide nor hair from him in months until now. Edward hadn't really given Alphonse a chance to explain before he rushed Envy back to his house after dealing with Noah. The hospital wasn't really an option when Envy didn't have any means of identifying himself. To the country of Amestris, he would be considered an illegal alien and would simply be carted off to jail before he was treated.

Edward sat with his head in his hands, elbows rested on his knees as he stared at Envy laying on his couch with temporary bandages over his wound. The bullet was still inside, and he was bleeding profusely.

"Brother... I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry." Alphonse said, standing by himself in the corner of the room. He felt so guilty he couldn't stop talking. "I just saw him on top of that girl, screaming, and you were crying as you tried to stop him. I know you don't have your alchemy anymore, because of me, so I did the only thing I could."

Edward didn't even turn to look at Alphonse. For the first time in his life, he was having trouble even looking at his face.

"I panicked, okay? I just saw Envy and I remembered how he left you. How he broke your heart. I thought he had come back to try and hurt you again!" Alphonse's voice got watery and he nearly began to cry.

"Just fix him, Al." Edward said coldly, and Alphonse nodded apprehensively.

It took several treatments of Alphonse's newly learned Alkahestry to extract the bullet. They discovered it hit an artery which explained why Envy was bleeding so much. It took many more treatments to mend that before they were able to finally sew the wound closed. Then there were the cuts and bruises that Edward himself had caused. Those were still healing on their own.

Alphonse and Edward didn't speak much during those first few critical days of Envy's recovery. Edward didn't even end up going back to work, he stayed with Envy 24/7 after the incident as Envy slowly regained strength.

Edward held Envy's hand protectively as he watched over his battered and bruised form. "Do you remember what happened, Envy?" Edward asked gently once Envy had regained consciousness, holding a cool cloth to his warm forehead.

Envy scrunched his eyes and nose. He tried, hard. But he didn't remember anything but a blind, white rage. He knew he had gotten angry over something, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what. All he knew was his stomach hurt like hell and his back was so stiff but he could barely move to even get up by himself. How did he get so fucked up like this?

"It's all right. You don't have to rush. Just get better, okay?" Edward's lips curved up in a shaky smile. Envy nodded hesitantly before allowing his eyes to flutter closed as he drifted off to sleep again.

Edward thought he had lost Envy when he saw him lying still on the ground in a pool of his own blood. It terrified him to his very core.

He cleaned and dried Envy's clothes, but the wig was beyond repair. He had to throw it out it was so matted and caked with blood. He brought him meals and spoon fed him patiently. He even cleaned him with a damp sponge every day, and helped carry him to the toilet when he had to go.

Alphonse had been surprised to learn that Envy had been wearing a wig during the attack. His real hair color was blonde? Envy honestly looked completely different now that he was looking at him, though he hadn't noticed at first glance.

He was honestly amazed at Edward's dedication. How could he still be so doting even after Envy abandoned him without an explanation the year before? Alphonse remembered it perfectly well, like it had just happened yesterday. Perhaps he remembered it even better than even Edward.

He remembered finding Edward shaking and crying on the floor in a mess of blonde hair and tears the night Envy left. He remembered how Edward cursed him and forced himself to hate Envy just to get through the first few months, until the grief took over and he was left as a shell of his former self as he buried his head in his research. Alphonse watched Edward wait and pine over Envy who never returned, and it made him angrier and angrier until Alphonse himself hated the very thought of Envy ever showing his face again.

And yet here he was, put up in Edward's living room and being waited on hand and foot. As much as he wanted Edward to be happy, he didn't think it was very smart of him to go back to Envy, regardless of how much he'd changed physically. Alphonse always had a feeling he'd end up breaking his brother's heart, and if he did it once, he'd do it again.

"Shouldn't he have healed on his own by now?" Alphonse asked in an unsure tone, causing Edward to glare at him.

"He's human now, Al. He can't heal like that anymore. Don't you see? He's changed. He came back to me and he still loves me, and I love him."

Alphonse gave him a look of pity, and it pissed Edward off even more.

"Damnit, Al! I'm not playing around here, I'm serious!"

"He broke your heart, Brother. I watched you suffer at his hands, and I don't want to see it happen again." Not to mention the fact Envy looked exactly like them. Was that just a coincidence, or was Edward hiding something else from him?

"Mind your own business." Edward snapped, causing Alphonse to back off. Ever since he had shot Envy, Edward was having trouble looking at his brother the same way. He was somehow no longer his sweet, innocent baby brother but had changed into something else entirely since he'd been gone. He didn't even hesitate to shoot Envy, the man he loved. How could Alphonse have become so heartless?

Edward was sure Envy wouldn't leave him again. When he did before, he had his reasons. He was scared, and thought Edward wouldn't accept the changes that happened to him. He understood that now, and had forgiven Envy for it completely. All that mattered to him was that he was here with him now, and he wasn't about to go and lose him again.

He would do anything to protect Envy, even if it meant protecting him from his own brother.