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

Chapter 14

Edward dabbed ointment on the various wounds covering Envy's battered body. Most of the minor cuts and scrapes were nearly healed now, and the bruising was mostly gone, but the more serious ones were still tender and just now scabbing. Edward felt a strong pang of guilt over all the lacerations he'd caused with his automail when he was beating on Envy in that alleyway. Envy had just went crazy, and he didn't know what else to do.

He wracked his brain, trying to figure out what could have caused everything to happen the way it is. It all happened so fast. Edward shook his head a little as he recalled when Noah kissed him like that. Envy must have been watching, of course he'd follow Edward. He should have known not telling Envy what he was up to would be a bad idea.

That's when he flipped, was right after that kiss. It must have triggered something in him to revert back to his previous self. It was scary how much his face changed, how much he looked like the psychotic, uncontrollable homunculus he used to be. He shivered a little at the thought. Was that something that happened to Envy often, or was it only because of his jealousy over Edward? He thought about going to ask Lust about that later.

Edward sometimes regretted losing his alchemy in situations like that. He could have stopped Envy without hurting him. But then why didn't Alphonse just use alchemy? Why did he have to shoot him? It was unnecessarily brutal, in Edward's opinion. Envy could have died if Edward hadn't been physically strong enough to hoist the bleeding former-sin into his arms and carry him back to his apartment.

"So that's what the tin-can really looks like." The corner of Envy's mouth quirked up in a small smirk as he eyed Alphonse from across the room, jarring Edward from his intense thought process as he tended Envy's wounds.

Between the amount he'd been sleeping and the pain he'd been in over the last couple of days, Envy had barely noticed Alphonse was even here. He had to admit the younger brother wasn't too bad looking in his real skin, if perhaps a little plain.

Alphonse caught ear of Envy's remark. "So that's what you really look like without all the fake hair and makeup." He retorted snidely. He wasn't in the mood for Envy's snark. Alphonse had found something out, something that disturbed him to the core.

Edward sighed. He remembered a time when Alphonse was more mature than him, but he felt at the moment like they had swapped places.

"Whoa, he grew an attitude. Nice comeback there. Maybe his balls finally dropped after he lost the armor. A lot's changed since I've been away I see." Envy winced as Edward treated one of the more painful gashes on his side. "I liked you a lot better as a metal hunk of junk."

"Envy." Edward warned. He ran an anxious hand through his loose hair which was straying dangerously into his face. He didn't want this to get out of hand. He was already on edge over this whole thing without these two starting a fight.

Envy snorted, but said no more. Looking at the tin-can, though, he had a strange feeling as though he'd forgotten something very important. Why couldn't he remember how he got hurt? And what's more, his favorite shorty and his brother seemed like they were on the verge of being at each others throat at any moment. They had barely spoken from what Envy could tell. That just wasn't normal for them.

"What's with you two?" Envy complained. It was way less fun to pick on them if they were actually angry at each other.

Alphonse pursed his lips together. Edward shook his head almost imperceptibly, a silent signal to Alphonse to not say anything. He wanted to avoid letting Envy know what really happened. He'd rather just put it all behind them.

"Nothing, Envy. Just drop it." Edward finished tending to Envy and packed up his first aid kit, stowing it dutifully under the coffee table.

Envy made an incoherent grunt of sorts, and folded his arms. He didn't like being left in the dark about things, least of all things that involved his shorty.

"I've been off work for almost a week. I really need to get back to it." Edward said before Envy could argue any further, and began putting on his tie. He ran a brush hastily through his hair before re-tying it into a tight tail right behind his head.

Envy's eyes gained a sad, glassy quality as he watched Edward prepare himself to leave. He was leaving, already? Envy still felt like shit. He still needed to be taken care of!

Edward seemed to notice the sad, puppy-dog look he was being given, but did his best to ignore it. "I'll be back in a few hours, Envy. I won't be gone long. I just have to take care of some things I left hanging at work when you came back." His eyes were warm as he spoke of Envy's return, causing an audible sigh from Alphonse.

Envy pouted, and gained a rather sulky look. "You mean to tell me you're going to leave me with him?" He pointed accusingly in Alphonse's direction.

"I'm not going to baby sit him, if that's what you think Ed." Alphonse piped up, clearly put-out by the assumption.

Edward waved his hands frantically. "I didn't say any of that!"

Alphonse folded his arms and Envy simply looked irritated now.

Edward rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache building up. "Al, do you have a place to stay while you're in Central?"

"Not yet. I've been in Xing a while, and let go of my residence here. I'll be renting another place soon though, so I can go back and forth easily." Alphonse explained.

Well, that was all Edward needed to hear. "Then you can stay here with us." He forced a small smile. He wasn't about to turn his little brother out on the streets.

Alphonse looked unsure. He didn't exactly want to room with his brother and his... whatever Envy was to him, but he didn't have much of a choice now.

"Just remember, this is Envy's home now, so please be nice to him." Edward said in the nicest way he could muster.

Alphonse just nodded, trying to hide the disdain he felt on the inside. He felt bad for shooting Envy, sure, but that didn't mean he had to like him now.

"I'd like you both to still be in one piece when I come back." Edward said as he made his way to the front door, his hand over his head waving in the casual way he always did as he departed.

I wonder if he knows how much he looks like Dad when he does that. Alphonse pondered silently as he watched Edward leave.

"I guess it's just you and me now, tin-can." Envy said caustically from his position on the couch. If anything, he was even less tolerant now that Edward was out of ear-shot.

If he had known Alphonse was the one to put him in this broken situation in the first place, he might've been a bit more cautious with his words.

"Stop calling me that." Alphonse nearly growled, his irritated voice not really matching his face.

"Do I really bother you that much, hm?" Envy was pushing his luck, he knew he was, but he couldn't help himself. Now that the tin-can had his body back, he acted like a completely different person from before. Or maybe it was just when he was around Envy.

Alphonse just looked away. He refused to answer. He knew much more about Envy than anyone likely realized, and he wasn't about to get into that conversation here. Especially not without Ed present.

It was some very, very long and silent several hours before Edward finally returned.

He came in through the door and immediately pulled off his tie, hanging it up in it's usual spot. He only wore the damned thing at work, and only because he had to. He really hated desk jobs.

"Alright, I feel a lot better now. I caught up on a bunch of things, but I still need to go back tomorrow." He sighed as he entered the room with Envy and Alphonse on opposite sides, evidently avoiding each other entirely. They wouldn't even look at each other.

"Has it been like this the entire time I've been gone?" Edward looked a bit like that headache might be trying to come back.

Envy simply shrugged in his uncaring way, looking rather like he didn't give a shit and was happy just to lie there and continue to be broken and doted on by his Edward.

Edward's eyes slid over to Alphonse who hadn't responded yet. Well, wasn't this just some happy shit right here to come home to.

"So, Edward," Alphonse began, trying to change the subject to break the tension that was suffocating the room. "I came here for a reason."

Edward gave Alphonse a slightly puzzled look. Oh well, may as well just roll with it. "I was wondering what brought you into town. Weren't you supposed to be in Xing full-time now?"

"Yeah, but things were a little more complicated than we anticipated."

"We?" Edward asked, perplexed for a moment until he remembered Alphonse had a girlfriend over there in Xing.

Alphonse glanced over warily at Envy before he continued. "So, you remember Mei Chang, right?"

Edward blinked. "Of course I do. You guys have been together a little while now, huh?"

"Yeah." A blush crept on to Alphonse's normally pale face. "We're actually... getting married."

Edward's eyes widened. Married? That was the last thing he expected. He thought Al was a little young to be getting married already, but he decided to keep his opinions to himself for once. "Oh... congratulations." He said instead, and smiled, though an unpleasant thought came into the back of his mind. Even if he wanted to, Envy and he would never be able to do that.

"Thanks." Alphonse returned the smile. This was the most normal conversation they'd had since he had been there. The tension even began to die down a little, and Alphonse did his best to ignore the former-homunculus that was picking at his nails in an obnoxiously loud way.

"You came all the way to Central just to tell me that?" Edward chuckled.

"Sort of. I actually wanted to invite you. I didn't feel as though that was something I could do over the phone. I wanted to see you in person to tell you." Alphonse explained.

"I see." Edward's smile got smaller, but was still in place on his features. So, that's why Alphonse was in town.

Envy listened to the entire conversation with mild interest from the couch. A wedding, huh? Whoop-de-fucking-doo. Like he cared if the tin-can was getting married. He wasn't hearing an invite for himself, anyway, not that he would even want to go.

"So, will you be able to make it? It's being held in Xing in the spring next year, and after that, I'll be moving there permanently. Since we're getting married, I'll become a citizen. But until then, I'll have to just go back and forth." Alphonse smiled, happiness radiating from him. He seemed to be purposely ignoring Envy, which didn't escape Edward's attention.

Edward paused, thinking about it. Sure, he thought he would be able to make it. But he had one condition.

"Can I bring a date?" Edward asked, plopping himself on the couch next to Envy, interrupting the other's fingernail picking and draping his arm over Envy's shoulder. Envy looked smugly up at Alphonse as if to say 'I win'.

Alphonse's face fell. He should have known Edward would go there. He wasn't thrilled with Envy even being with his brother again, let alone him being allowed to come to the most important event in his life and more than likely create a scene and ruin it. He would simply have to put his foot down for this one.

Edward seemed to read the look on Al's face. "We have to hide ourselves here, Al. It's not easy. I know homosexuality is more widely accepted in Xing, so why not?" He grinned. Finally, maybe he'd be able to actually show off his love for Envy in public.

Alphonse frowned. Homosexuality? If only that's all it really was. It was time to finally tell Edward what he knew. "Yeah, but what about incest? I'm pretty sure that's not accepted anywhere."

Edward's face paled. What did he just say? Alphonse knows?

As if to read Edward's mind, Alphonse continued. "I know about Envy, Brother. Or should I say William. I called Dad after I saw how Envy looked now, and he told me everything."

Edward could feel Envy's entire body tense beside him. William?

"That BASTARD! How dare he even talk about me, after what he did!" He growled, flailing his legs. "Fuck! I'm going to fuck him up if I ever see his ugly fucking mug again, I swear to fuck!" He ranted and swore, nearly tearing his stitches in the process.

Alphonse's eyes were cold as he watched Envy.

Edward exploded, even forgetting to stop Envy from hurting himself. "You went to him for advice? Have you forgotten how he fucking abandoned us after he abandoned Envy, and not to mention never told us about Envy in the first place?" He snapped nearly rising up from his seat on the couch in his anger.

"He's still our father, Ed." Alphonse's voice was calm, collected, maybe even bordering on chastising. "Why do you still call him Envy when that's not even his name?"

Envy shook with anger, and he was about to retort when Edward spoke up first.

"It is his name. He will always be Envy to me." Edward's face was hard and determined. Envy hadn't told him his real name before for a reason. Obviously it really hurt him to even have it brought up now, if the anger radiating from the former-sin beside him was any indication.

Envy looked at Edward. His face was steeled and his eyes were burning with ferocity. He couldn't believe Edward was actually standing up for him, to Alphonse nonetheless. He bit his lip, feeling his chest tightening anxiously.

"You do realize Hohenheim is the one who turned Envy into a homunculus, right Al?" Edward asked, his flaring temper evidence in his tone of voice.

"I do. Like I said, he told me everything." Alphonse folded his arms over his chest indignantly.

"And you're still on his side?"

"What you're doing is wrong, Edward. I'm sorry but I can't accept it. It's sick, and unhealthy. The way you just forgave him so easily like that after he broke your heart, and then to find out he's really our half-brother and yet you still love him? He's only going to hurt you again, don't you see?" The volume in Alphonse's voice was raising slightly towards the end. He must be really upset over this.

Edward grit his teeth. Yeah, he'd had some issue with it when he first found out, who wouldn't? But their love was real, there was no denying that. He just couldn't turn his back on Envy like that. It's not his fault that his hair is blonde and his eyes are gold. It's not his fault Hohenheim is a worthless fucking bastard who abandons his children.

"Yes, I still love him. I won't stop loving him, I don't care what you say Al. I'm glad you're getting married, I'm real fucking happy for you, but if you can't accept Envy and I being together then you'll have to count me out of that one." Edward spat, letting his anger get the better of him, unable to mask his words which came out in an unhindered torrent.

Alphonse looked hurt. He hadn't expected Edward to choose Envy over him. Was he bitter over losing his alchemy? Had it really come to this, where all they did was fight when they were together? No. It hadn't been like that before, not until Envy came back.

Envy. It's all his fault. Everything would have been fine if he had just stayed gone. He wished now that he hadn't helped heal Envy. It might have been better for everyone if he had just died there in the alley. He hated thinking that way about anyone, but it was the truth. Edward was just too blind by his 'love' to see it.

"You're making a mistake, Brother." Alphonse warned.

"If so, then it's my mistake to make." Edward put a protective arm around Envy's waist, making Alphonse wince.

"If you're so fucking disgusted by me, why don't you just fuck off, little holier-than-thou-tin-can?" Envy retorted to Alphonse's poorly masked disapproval.

For once, Edward didn't scold Envy for snapping at his brother. Right now, he almost wished Alphonse would just leave. He always thought he would be more understanding than this. He really had changed in the last year, since he got his body back. Edward felt like he didn't even know who his brother was anymore.

Alphonse stood, silent for a moment. "Okay, Ed. If that's what you really want, I'll go. I have some money, I can find another place to stay." His voice was suddenly sad. "I hope you have a happy life." He turned to go, slowly though. He gave Edward time to change his mind. One step, two steps, three.

He'd made it to the door, and still silence from behind him. Sighing, he opened the door to leave, casting one last glance at the two on the couch. Edward had his automail arm wrapped around Envy's waist with his other flesh hand resting in the former-homunculus' lap. Their fingers were entwined together and they were both watching Alphonse leave. He could see the pain in Edward's eyes, well hidden. It's sad how easily manipulated he was by Envy.

Goodbye for now, Ed. I hope you don't regret this.