Chapter Fifteen: Violent Tempest

His coordination was off, Envy noted. It would take a bit of getting used to his new energy source. After Winry had left him to rest, he decided to ignore her advice and crept out of the room slowly. Even the simple action of walking threw him off balance a bit, and he gripped the side of the wall in frustration to keep himself from falling over. When he got into the hallway, he noticed a light was on in a room at the end of the hall, but he turned away from it and started to make a slow progression down the stairs.

He wanted to retrain his body, and get it used to the stone. Since he didn't necessarily need the same amount of sleep a human did, he decided the middle of the night would be the perfect time to do it. At this time, there would be no one around to witness his fumbling movements and embarrassing failures as he tried to get his coordination up to par again.

Unfortunately, as he entered the living room he noticed there was one flaw in his plan: Alphonse Elric.

The empty armor was sitting on the floor next to the couch Edward was currently passed out on. He noticed Envy right away, but Envy pretended to not see him. He walked right past him and to the front door quietly. He only lost his balance once when he tripped over his own foot, but he managed to grab the doorknob in time to catch his fall.

He heard Alphonse giggle behind him and he shot a cold look his way and noticed with a start that the suit of armor was standing right next to him now. Envy almost cursed out loud. Since when did he move so fast? Hell, he didn't even hear him approach! Envy considered he might have lost a little more than his coordination when he transferred stones. This made him frown deeply.

"Where are you going?" Alphonse whispered, careful not to wake Edward. He place a bucket-sized hand on the door above where Envy had hold of the handle in a gesture to stop him from leaving.

"None of your business…Get out of my way," Envy hissed just as quietly. Unfortunately for him, the whisper was too quiet to get his anger across and Alphonse didn't budge.

"I'm glad to see you're up, but you're not in any condition to –,"

Envy let out a low growl and sighed, "I'm just going to jump around like an idiot on the front lawn for a bit."

"Jump around?" Alphonse repeated, uncertainly, "I don't think that's a good idea, Envy."

Envy gritted his teeth and shoved his hand aside. The last thing he wanted to do right now was explain anything to the air head – no pun intended. He opened the door and stepped out into the chilly night. He heard Alphonse follow him out and shut the door quietly, and Envy resisted the temptation to beat him.

He stepped onto the dew-laden grass and sniffed at the night air optimistically. If all went well he could calibrate his senses and hand-eye coordination by dawn. It felt a little weird. He'd never had to do this on his own before. He remembered doing it once before, when he was first born. Lust had helped him.

Envy frowned and started to do a few stretches to warm up. His movements felt awkward. He tried to clear his head and focus on what he could pick up with his senses. The moisture in the air layered his skin with a cool dampness. The wind smelt like wet soil and fresh pine. The river roared at the foot of the hill beneath the house and the loud, clanking footsteps came up behind him. Envy sighed as Alphonse stopped and stared at him with his phantom eyes.

"Dad said you knew Pride would take your philosopher stone and to kill you," he said, gently, "Is it true you planned to face him?"

"Survival of the smartest," Envy replied. He held a hand out in front of him, curled his fingers into a fist slowly, brought it back and punched at the air with all his strength. He lost his balance and stumbled sideways.

"So, you have to get used to the new stone, right?" Alphonse said, watching inquisitively, "Kind of like when Ed gets an automail replacement, he always has to get a feel for it first. Do you want to spar a bit?"

Envy blinked at the odd offer and turned to look into the empty eyes of Alphonse's helmet. He was surprised Alphonse was willing to help him, and at the same time he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. A sparing match would speed up his calibrating process and with more efficiency than if he worked alone. He narrowed his eyes, suspiciously, and asked, "You're going to help me?"

"Of course, I am," Alphonse said as if Envy's reply had been the stupidest thing he'd ever heard in his life, "You gave us those philosopher stones, and we didn't really help you beat Pride – besides, Ed doesn't agree with me, but I think you've changed for the better."

Envy stared at Alphonse. Normally, he wouldn't have been inclined to even consider anything he said, but the tin-can had a point. They hadn't helped him beat Pride, and that had been a part of their deal. Technically, he and Ed were still in debt to him. It made him feel a little better about his situation. He considered Alphonse's offer again, "I'll probably kill you if we spar together – I'm a lot stronger than I look."

Alphonse chuckled a bit, and Envy found it strange that he didn't get angry over this. "Don't underestimate me, Envy. I'm sure I can keep up with you."

Envy smirked and raised his fists. Before he could even ready himself for a strike he was punched square in the face. He stumbled backwards, clutching his nose and swearing at Alphonse, "What the fuck!? A little warning would have been nice!?"

"That was for Maes Hughes," Alphonse said simply, but his tone wasn't angry. He was actually quite calm, and Envy wiped the blood from his face wondering why the hell he was being so nice about it.

"Just a punch, huh? Wouldn't you rather torture me or something?" Envy spat blood from his mouth. He couldn't seem to stop his nose from bleeding.

"Revenge only leads to more revenge," Alphonse said smartly. Envy continued to nurse his broken nose until his slow-working stone started to heal it.

"So, you just decided you wanted to punch me?" he snapped.

Alphonse nodded, "Well, it felt wrong not to do anything. And I'm not about to forgive you so easily for what you've done. Even if you were ordered to commit those murders, you have your own conscious to live by."

Envy jumped up and kicked at Alphonse and his helmet flew off and hit the side of the house loudly. "Hey!" the headless armor screeched, "What was that for!?"

"I don't need a fucking lecture," Envy snarled, "I've heard enough about it already from Winry – So, shut up and just fight me!"

Alphonse put his helmet back on, muttering, "Alright, alright…"

Envy lunged but Alphonse sidestepped and elbowed him hard in the ribs. Envy gasped and stalled a bit to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. He spun around and lifted his leg to round kick Alphonse in the side, but lost balance and fell back into the dirt with a heavy thud.

Alphonse stopped to look down at them with a bit of amusement in his phantom eyes. Envy muttered a few curses before getting back up.

"You're really clumsy with that new stone, aren't you?" Alphonse said. His question was purely out of intrigue but Envy shot him a cold look. "Don't take that the wrong way," Alphonse quickly added.

"It's a weaker stone than the one Father gave me, but without it I can't survive," Envy excused, brushing the dirt off his arms and legs. He realized his movements were getting easier, and he grinned as he realized the calibration process may not take as long as he thought.

"So, you weren't created the same way as when Ling was turned into Greed, were you?" Alphonse asked, curiously.

Envy decided to test his agility and bolted in a rough circle around Alphonse, who tried to keep an eye open for a potential attack, but then Envy simple came to an immediate stop. He held his arms out for balance in case his body decided to fall over again. He smirked proudly when this didn't happen and replied, "Nope, the difference between Greed and I is the same as Wrath and my other siblings. Wrath and Greed are human-based, which means they have a body that is purely human and still contains the human's soul within. The only disadvantage to that is they age just like any human and will eventually die."

"So, in comparison, you are immortal to them?" Alphonse said, taking a quick jab at Envy, who happily bounced away from the attack.

He came back with a kick and got the side of Alphonse's chest plate, but lamely tripped over a small pot hole in the ground and stumbled away. He regained himself to find that Alphonse was giggling at him again. Once more, Envy was surprised to find he wasn't angry over this. Instead, he felt as if he could laugh with Alphonse! He blinked, unsure of his own feelings, and said, "When Father created Lust and I he gave us apart of his soul. Sort of like how Fullmetal transfixed your soul to the armor. Our bodies are identical to humans concerning the elemental components, but our cells lack the ability to divide and reproduce. Without the help of the stone, we wouldn't heal at all."

"I see," Alphonse muttered thoughtfully as he blocked Envy's next attack and attempted to throw him to the ground. Unfortunately, Envy was much too heavy for him and all he ended up doing was pulling his arm without any effect. Envy smirked and kicked his head off again. He watched in amusement as headless Alphonse ran after it as it started to roll down the hill. He grabbed it in time and securely positioned it atop his shoulders once more. "So, does this mean you're going to help us stop Father?"

That question again. Envy frowned. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm your friend now."

"I didn't," Alphonse said. Envy expected his voice to become guarded, but it was still calm and carefree. "It's just that, Ed and I have started working alongside a few people we originally thought were our enemies. If we are all striving for the same goal, then there's really not much that sets us apart except for the past. But if we can turn away from the past, we can forgive and forget, set aside our differences to achieve what we set out to do, then I think we can work together without conflict."

"I thought you said you haven't forgiven me?" Envy asked, confused.

"I haven't, but unlike my brother I find it hard to keep a grudge. If we're working towards the same goal, then it benefits both of us to work together whether we're enemies or not," Alphonse said.

They stood a far distance away from each other, staring. It was hard to read exactly what was going on behind those phantom eyes, but Envy had know the younger Elric long enough to know he didn't have the mind to be double-crossing.

After a moment, Envy said, "…I don't understand how you can do that."

This seemed to catch Alphonse by surprise, "I suppose it's not in your nature to forgive, but you must have had a plan when you risked your life to switch the stones?"

A bitter smile traced itself along Envy's face as he said, "Actually, I didn't think it would work."

"What?" Alphonse gasped, "So…you just planned to die?"

"Do I look like a suicidal idiot to you?" Envy snapped, "Dying was not apart of the plan, but there was a good chance the secondary stone wouldn't take and I knew that."

"Is that why you gave us those other two philosopher stones?" Alphonse asked, as Envy braced himself, urging Alphonse to take another strike at him, but the armor simply stood rooted to the spot. "You wanted us to use the stones to help you if that happened?"

Envy dropped his fists as a blank expression came over his face. "If I died I wouldn't care what you used the stones for," he deadpanned.

Alphonse laughed a bit, "I guess that's true."

He kicked at Envy, but the homunculus jumped back. "Hey, you're getting better!"

Envy glanced towards the ever-lightening horizon. He supposed he would meet his short-term goal after all. He already felt lighter and his body was getting easier to control. However, he still felt odd, like there was something he was forgetting and couldn't remember what it was. He didn't like this new feeling. He felt unsure of himself. As he and Alphonse continued their sparing session he noticed some things had most definitely changed. The way he reacted to Alphonse's taunting and teasing had changed the most. He was no longer easily angered, and, even though it was unnatural for him, he found himself wanting to laugh at himself a few times when he stumbled stupidly. It was very unlike him, and what shocked him more was that he didn't seem to mind it.

He felt in perfect balance. His different emotions were finally in queue with one another. On the other hand, as he learnt while figuring how to beat Alphonse in the match, his strategic, logical mind was still able to have a good amount of influence despite the changes in his emotional self.

As the spar progress he managed to avoid less and less injury. His movements became faster and more graceful, just as they had been before. In the end, he hooked his leg under Alphonse's metal calf and tripped him. Envy grinned widely, as he grabbed his head by its horsetail threads and dangled it above his body mockingly. "I guess this means I win," he sneered.

The sun had just peeked over the horizon in the East and Envy dropped Alphonse's head onto his metal stomach and went inside the house. Edward was still passed out and drooling on the couch. Envy had half a mind to dip his hand in lukewarm water, but decided it would be too much effort to find a bucket small enough in the house, so he abandoned the idea.

Instead, Envy took a seat at the kitchen table and awkwardly gazed around at the room. He felt odd sitting there while his former enemies slept peacefully around him. If he had been still working for Father he may have taken advantage of their moment of weakness, but even thinking about doing such a thing didn't hold the same amusement for him as it would have normally.

Envy frowned deeply to himself. He'd changed, and he didn't necessarily like it. Though he had to admit the lack of envy within him allowed him to rest. As he sat there staring out the window that overlooked the front yard, he watched Alphonse outside clean off the dirt on his armor.

He felt relaxed about everything. His mind was at peace with the quiet surrounding him. He was proud of his newly calibrated body. He felt strong, though maybe not as physically as before, but strong in will. He felt content – something he'd never felt before while he was under the influence of envy.

He put his hands palms-up on the table top and studied them lazily. These new feelings, he knew, would give him a whole new outlook on things. In one way, it terrified him. Would he suddenly become the fool he had always mocked the humans for being? His way of doing things before had allowed him survive in a world where strength and wits had always been his advantage. And now…

Granted, he was still stronger than a human, and he knew he was still able to think rationally. What bothered him was the sudden presence of emotion within him.

Something brushed lightly against his leg and gave him a start, but as he looked down he realized it was a black and white dog. He was being stared at through big eyes.

"Get out of here," Envy spat, but the dog only raised its ears curiously. "I said, get!"

The dog didn't move, and Envy heard Edward turn a bit on the couch. He glanced over and saw that he had rolled over on his other side and had promptly stopped drooling.

A weight was on his leg now. Envy looked down at the dog, which had rested its head on his thigh, looking up at him with begging eyes. Envy frowned and reluctantly brushed a hand through its soft fur. "Stupid mutt," he mumbled down at it.

The front door opened and Alphonse appeared looking a little battered. He saw Envy sitting at the table and said, though a little awkwardly, "Uh…would you like some coffee?"

Deciding that he wanted to continue his peace and quiet, Envy brushed the dog and hair off him, stood up and went upstairs without so much as a word to Alphonse. He didn't want the tin can thinking they were suddenly friends, now that he wasn't on a killing spree.

The upstairs landing was bright with morning sunshine. The door to the room he had stayed in was the only one open out of the four. He went to the one at the end of the hall. Artificial light was still glowing through from under the door, and Envy suspected Winry had stayed up all night working. Cautiously, he opened it a bit and peeked in to see her sitting at a workbench, hunch over something. A large lamp doused the surface of the desk in yellow light even though sun had started coming in through the open window at the other side of the room.

Envy decided to have a bit of fun and test out his guile. He snuck through the doorway and crept towards Winry. A large grin started to spread over his face as he drew nearer to her unsuspecting form.

He was a foot away and about to pounce when a piece of scrap paper was suddenly shoved in his face. On it was written a long serial code. He looked up at Winry, who hadn't even bothered to turn around as she said, "You're obviously bored so make yourself useful. I need this tool. The numbers on the side of it and it should be downstairs in granny's workroom."

Envy frowned. Well, that had been an epic fail for guile.

He snatched the note from her hand in frustration and stormed out of the room. When he got downstairs, Edward was awake and the first thing he did when he saw Envy was jump up into defensive stance. Alphonse ran towards him, saying, "No, brother, it's okay. He's not going to hurt us."

"You certainly heal fast," Edward said, though Envy sensed he wasn't happy about this at all. He threw him a dark smirk and brushed past him to get to the garage door. His hand was on the handle when he sensed Edward right behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see the runt had followed him in. He felt a pang of annoyance rise up in him.

"What do you want, runt?" he asked as his eyes scanned the many benches and tools. Inwardly, he sighed. Would he have to look through all of these?

"I want you to stay away from Winry."

Envy let his gaze rest on the tiny alchemist as he felt anger rise up inside him. The old familiar glint was back in his eyes. Edward let the door shut behind him, closing him in with Envy and shutting Alphonse out. "When Al and I set out to begin our journey to get our bodies back we knew there would be dangers. I promised myself that I would keep those closest to me out of harms way. I know you've given up on Father and the other homunculi, but I don't trust you like she does."

Envy suddenly smirked and said, "I guess you can't stand it that she likes me and not you, huh?"

Edward's eyes widened, "That's not it at all!"

"Yeah, right," Envy scoffed. He picked up a tool with the first digits of the serial code that matched the number he had on the note, but it didn't match completely so he threw it back down and continued searching the bench. "I gave you those philosopher stones to get your bodies back, so now your journey should be over, right? You get your body and I get –,"

"And what about Father?" Edward snapped, "You're just going to forget about what Father's planning with Central, and let it happen because you're not involved anymore? I don't believe that!"

"I'm not going to rush in there like a fool, dumbass," Envy scowled, "I'm weaker than I was and even if I had my full power, I wouldn't be able to stop Father and the others. Look what happened last night! As far as Father and the homunculi go, if they think I'm dead then I'm safe."

"You're a coward," Edward said, coolly, "and I know you're going to cause trouble here eventually and I don't want Winry mixed up in it. She's been through enough already."

"I know this isn't my argument, but I agree with Envy."

Both Envy and Edward blanched and looked over at the corner of the room where a small cot had been set up amongst all the workbenches and tools. Hohenhiem sat listening to them with a look of indifference on his face.

This seemed to set Edward off and he snapped, "This isn't any of your business! So, stay out of it."

"…Hohenhiem?" Envy muttered uncertainly. Last time he remembered seeing him was at the edge of the forest. Obviously there had been a few events last night that had taken place while he was passed out.

"If the homunculi think Envy is dead, then they will no longer hunt him," Hohenhiem explained, "So, if you two agree to work together to stop Father –," Envy and Edward glared at each other as he spoke, "- then you'll have the advantage."

"Work together with him…? No way," Edward growled, stubbornly.

"What's wrong, Fullmetal runt?" Envy grinned, mockingly, "Afraid I'll steal your girlfriend?"

The sin laughed loudly, and Edward fumed. Hohenhiem sighed, "As for Winry, I think you should let her decide for herself."

"She doesn't know about half the danger waiting in Central!" Edward protested.

"That's not what I mean, Ed," Hohenhiem corrected, "I was talking about who she wants to be with."

"If you really want my help then I'll need to be stronger," Envy said, carefully, knowing full well what he was about to say would push a few buttons.

Unfortunately for him, Hohenhiem was on the same page as Envy and he immediately said, "You're plenty strong enough, Envy – you don't need to absorb anymore souls than what you already have."

Edward's eyes widened, "You almost had me agree to that…" He turned to Hohenhiem, "You want to ask him for help? He's just going to turn around and kill us when our backs are turned!"

"Why would I do that?" Envy said, offended. "That wouldn't benefit me at all."

His gaze fell on a sharp-edged tool on one of the workbenches he stood next to. The serial number matched and he picked it up, triumphantly. Edward immediately jumped back into a defensive stance and Hohenhiem took a step forward. For a moment, Envy wondered what the hell had gotten them so worked up and then his eyes landed on the sharp-edge of the tool he was holding. Oh…

He snickered, "You sure are jumpy. Now, imagine if I did kill you and your brother," he played with the thought in his mind as he turned the tool around in his hand, admiring the glint of steel. Edward's eyes darkened and Hohenhiem's glasses reflected the glint of the tool in the lenses. Envy continued, "I would probably have kept those stones for myself, absorbed them to become stronger than I am. Then, I would kill Winry, because she knows too much about me to let her live…"

He looked up and glanced between Edward and Hohenhiem with a wicked grin on his face. He knew he was putting on a good show from the looks he was receiving from both of them, but just the thought of actually murdering all of them didn't seem to please him as much as it might have before. In fact, even the mention of killing Winry seemed to upset him a bit. He sighed and let his escapade falter, saying, lamely, "Well, that just wouldn't work…What the hell would I do then? I can't run back to Father and with all of you dead I would have no one around to entertain me. I just love how you react when I call you shrimp-sized!"

Edward gritted his teeth, but held back from hitting the homunculus, who was still holding a rather deadly-looking tool.

Just then the garage door opened and Winry stormed in look a tad displeased. She spotted Envy holding the tool she had originally sent him to get and stomped over to him, almost running Edward over in the process.

"It takes you an hour to grab a tool from downstairs!?" she snatched it out of his hand, spun on her heel and stormed out of the room again. Envy distinctly heard her say something about him being 'useless' before she slammed the door.

An awkward silence fell on the three of them. Edward grinned, "Well, you two seem to be on good terms."

Envy frowned and dropped the hand that had had the tool wrenched from it and said, "I guess she's not a morning person…"

Hohenhiem scratched the back of his head thoughtfully, and said, "Well, the pieces are on the board."

He stood from the cot and walked over to the door, and added, "I'll also be helping you, Edward, whether you like it or not."

That left Edward and Envy. Edward was the first to speak, though reluctantly, "I suppose this will work both ways…If you're helping our side, things will change. I know you know the Colonel, but he's never met you. He knows what's going on more than any of us right now. I'll introdu –,"

"I'm not going near that Flame Bastard! He'll kill me!" Envy snapped, "He'll know I killed his war buddy and then poof – you'll have skewered Envy! Fuck no!"

"Well, maybe you deserve it," Edward said coldly.

Envy's eyes darkened, "That's awfully dark coming from someone too light-hearted to even use a philosopher stone."

"Maes Hughes was a friend and a good man. I don't care if you were told to do it, he didn't deserve what he got," Edward said sternly. Blue met violet, both cold and unyielding.

Then, Envy simply shrugged, breaking the glare. He made to leave the room and as he passed Edward heard him mutter coldly under his breath, "…stupid human."

Envy felt a tug on his arm and realized Edward had stopped him. He scowled, "What now!?"

"We may be mere humans but humans have a strength unmeasured and unmatched by any, be it a natural disaster…or a homunculus," Edward stared into Envy's eyes with such fire that Envy was momentarily speechless. "If you betray us in any way…if you hurt Winry or anyone else close to me…"

Envy sighed. He'd heard enough threats to last him an eternity. He brushed off Edward's hand and before he knew what he was doing, he had placed a hand on the runt's shoulder and said, "I can't promise that I won't betray you, runt. And I also can't promise that Winry will never get hurt."

Edward opened his mouth to go on the offensive, but Envy cut him off, saying, "But I can give you my word on one thing: though she may get hurt, it will never by my doing."

He turned to leave again and Edward finally spoke up, "We're going to Central, and you'll meet Mustang whether you like it or not."

"And?" Envy scowled.

Edward sighed and reluctantly added, "And I won't tell him about Hughes."

"There's a good runt," Envy grinned, exiting just before Edward could explode at him.

The measurements were perfect, to one-one hundredth of a millimeter. The rotators and springs were well oiled, flexible and smooth. Winry worked tirelessly on a new light-weight design for Lan Fan. This was something she could do without complication, something she had worked for all her life. There was a certain amount of art in what she did and how the tiniest parts fitted together to create one fine-tuned machine.

She held up a sharp-tipped tool in one, steady hand as she adjusted the pressure dial in the wrist. Just seven and a half pounds per square inch…

The door creaked a bit and her concentration fluttered out the open window. Her hand shook slightly and sent the dial spinning too far. She sat up in her chair and closed her eyes in frustration as the unseen presence behind her slowly approached.

"You couldn't have chosen a worse time to show up," she grumbled irritably. She dropped the tool on the desk and leaned back in the chair. Stray strands of hair were getting in her face and she frowned at the ones hanging directly in her line of vision.

Her chair was suddenly grabbed from the back and spun around until she came face to face with Envy, who smirked in delight at his new-found strength. He looked like a kid who'd just been given a new toy to play with and the novelty hadn't worn off yet.

"Are you done yet?" he asked impatiently.

Her anger boiled up again and she snapped, "Not if you keep interrupting me. It takes a lot of concentration to build a light-weight model from scratch! Now I have to adjust the pressure gauge again and re-align all the calibration disks –,"

"About that," Envy announced, leaning forward so that his hands were planted on either side of her legs and his face hovered inches from hers, "I fought with Empty Al this morning and got my balance back."

"You fought with Al!?" Winry gasped. Envy could see she had jumped to the conclusion that he had beaten the shit out of the poor tin can. He snickered, "We were sparing."

"Oh…" Winry mumbled as he cleared that up.

"And talking about pressure…" Envy smirked mischievously. He was feeling a tad daring today after what had happened last night. He leaned in closer to her and dipped his face slightly, letting his lips grace the tender skin of her neck. Immediately, as if a shock had passed between them, he felt her go rigid. Her breath hitched as she froze, uncertain of what to do or how to react.

"Did you know…" Envy continued, pleased with the amount of response he could get from that simple touch, "that it takes only one pound of pressure per square inch to break skin?"

He was suddenly pushed back a bit and he snickered again at her expected reaction. She was, of course, not at all pleased or impressed by this fact. "Is that supposed to be your sick idea of a pick up line, Envy?"

Envy grinned widely, eyes flashed with excitement. "Did it work?" he hissed, and, if possible, his face lit up even more, "Ooh, you're really a masochist at heart, right? That's perfect! Why don't we have a little fun…?"

Winry watched as his eyes traveled down her body for the second time that day. She shivered and, despite the odd conversation, managed to laugh at him. He was truly something else…

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't like to get hurt," she stated, but the light didn't fade from his eyes and she found herself wondering what his true intentions could be.

"I knew that," he said, quickly.

Annoyed that he always managed to get under her skin, she decided to turn the table. "So, you're a sadist, Envy? That's sick."

Envy simply shrugged, "I am who I am."

Winry pushed down the emotions that threatened to rise up at the look in his eyes. It was an odd feeling she felt. Envy had a way of making her feel terrified and safe at the same time.

"So…" she began, "You wouldn't ever hurt me for your pleasure, would you?"

"Only if you wanted me too," that flash was back in his eyes again. Was it bloodlust or something else? Winry couldn't decide. Envy had too many rough edges to smooth out, but she was determined. She wanted to know him, know what was going on behind his dark violet eyes that intrigued her so much.

She put a gentle hand against his face to feel how warm his skin was and was surprised to find that it was hot to the touch. She had expected it to be cold. He was not human. It didn't even occur to her that he could still look human and feel human.

She noticed his eyes had darkened, misted over in a thoughtful haze. Again Winry found herself wondering what was going on behind those amethyst eyes to make him freeze up like he did. But then, he blinked, seemed to have decided on something and moved in on her.

He quickly closed the gap between them. Winry didn't have a chance to catch her breath before his lips were upon hers. It took her a the first couple of seconds to decide whether she was ready to accept him or not. The last time they had kissed deeply like this had been some weeks ago when they had no common ground. Things were different now. Envy had changed… Winry had changed.

Before Winry had a chance to take control of the situation, Envy had already deepened the kiss. The back of her head touched the back of the chair. His two hands were still firmly rooted on the seat on either side of her hips. One of her hands was now tangled in his hair just above his headband while the other rested uselessly in her lap.

He pulled away, broke the kiss, but didn't completely remove himself from her personal space. His face hovered close to hers with his eyes still closed. Winry watched him, uncertain of what he was about to do. He was fascinating to her. Every move he made was just as unusual and unexpected as the next. She felt her heart swell with happiness at the expression of complete peace on his face. It was a look she had never seen him wear before and it lightened her soul.

Influenced by this feeling, she pulled him closer and closed the gap between them once more. This time, she felt in more control than the last. He was receptive but submissive, a trait Winry hadn't thought he was capable of. She raised the hand that wasn't currently tangled in his hair and felt the firm contours of his shoulder and chest. She relished the feeling of taut muscles under smooth skin, and caught a corner of his mouth that had turned up in a grin beneath her lips.

He pulled away without warning to stare at her with misted eyes. Winry felt momentarily concerned, "What's wrong?"

His breathing was heavy as he said, "I never realized how difficult lust could be to control…"

A few subconscious warning bells went off in the back of Winry's mind before she realized Envy had lifted her off of the chair and dropped her nonchalantly on the bed across the room. He climbed and rested above her, leaning in to touch his lips to her neck. She immediately panicked like she'd done before and shoved at his shoulders again. She was not ready for this! She didn't care if she had to beat him, he would have to wait until she decided she was ready, if and when that would be…

He pulled back with a growl of frustration. A dark flash momentarily disturbed the mist in his eyes as he responded to her rejection. "No, Envy…please…" she mumbled, blushing.

She was thankful to find he at least managed to stop his seduction for the time. She shivered beneath him. He was giving her a look of pure want. The violet had turned a deeper hue of purple, almost black with lust. Winry could almost see the dispute behind his eyes. He was fighting for control over himself. Once the fiery emotion had been doused to resemble a dying flame, did he finally blink and fell back to step away from her, breaking all contact completely.

Winry didn't know how to take to this sudden cold shoulder, but before she could analysis it any further, Envy's face broke the indifference and a wide grin spread over it. He snickered, "Well, that was interesting…human emotions are more powerful than I originally thought. I like that one…"

Winry sighed at the familiarity in his voice and in his eyes. "That would be lust," she replied, shyly.

"Yeah," Envy dropped down on the desk chair across the room and rested his head in his palm, "I feel a bit sympathetic towards Lust now…"

Before Winry could ask, Envy burst out laughing, "Old hag! She probably deserved it anyways!"

Winry slipped off the bed and went back across the room to where the prototype was lying on the desktop. She still had a few more things to get done and she wouldn't be able to concentrate if Envy hung around her. Envy seemed to sense her growing irritation, because he immediately said, "Fullmetal pipsqueak has decided that he wants me to go back to Central with him to meet the Flaming Asshole tomorrow."

Winry blinked and spun around, "You're going to Central? But, I said I wanted to be there when you –,"

"When you're finished your little job, you can meet me there," Envy said, and then added with slight concern, "If I'm not burnt to a crisp, that is."

Another red flag shot up in her mind and she jumped forward, "Envy, you can't meet Colonel Mustang! He's the one in charge of finding out who murdered Hughes. If he even suspects you had anything to do with it –,"

"Calm down, turbo," Envy smirked and put one hand on his hip. He felt incredibly confident at the moment. "I doubt his stupid enough to cut down a potential ally. He needs me if he wants to go after the other homunculi. A hotheaded idiot like him even knows when an opportunity like this comes up, you snatch it."

Winry stepped forward, though cautiously, and draped her arms over his shoulders. She was testing her boundaries now. She didn't want to send him over the edge like last time, but she still found that she yearned to be close to him. She found it amusing how, when she was younger, she pledged to never date a guy shorter that her, and here she was. Now that she was standing face to face with him, she noticed he wasn't that much taller than Edward and only barely met her height at an even break. She supposed with Envy it really didn't matter though. He could make himself taller or shorter at will, which made her wonder why he had settled for this form and not some hunk from a fireman calendar centerfold.

It made her smile and she received a befuddled look in return.

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

"You…are incredibly handsome."

His face broke into a wide grin as he stare at her through violet orbs. Winry blushed and realized she had been a bit forward with that statement, but apart of her didn't care. She had been thinking it all along after all.

Envy leaned in so that his face was inches from hers and wrapped his arms around her waist. She winced a bit at the tightness he was holding in and wondered if he knew his strength at all. "Well…" he hissed in her ear. Shivers ran down her spine as his hot breath caressed the skin there.

The door flew open suddenly and Edward appeared. His face paled at the sight of them woven together and Winry saw the look that passed through Envy's eyes. Any gentleness that had been there before had been sourly replaced with fury. Violet flashed with malice as his snarled, "Don't you know how to knock?"

The shock had left Edward's face and now he looked plain angry. "I figured you'd gone up to see Winry. I told you –,"

Winry felt Envy's grip on her tighten painfully now. Her annoyance at Edward was forgotten momentarily as she gasped, "Envy, not so tight."

"We made a deal," Envy hissed at Edward, oblivious to Winry's low gasps, "Get out!"

"Envy…" Winry breathed, she dug her nails painfully into his shoulder to get his attention. As soon as he realized what he was doing, his eyes went wide and he immediately released her.

Edward watched Winry step back, and he looked up at Envy with absolute disgust. "You were hurting her!?"

Winry jumped between them, "Ed, stop. I'm fine!"

Edward rounded on Winry, "Winry, don't stand for that! If he was hurting you say so!"

"Edward, he was not hurting me!" she snapped.

Envy stood, unable to comprehend the feeling that was starting to rise up in him. He looked between Edward and Winry, watching passively as they argued back and forth about him. He stood, as if he were separate from the fight, looking in through a window from the outside in.

"…I'm sorry."

He hadn't realized he had said it until Edward and Winry turned their gazes upon him. It felt odd those particular words to roll off his tongue so easily like they had. Edward looked absolutely perplexed and Winry gave him a sympathetic smile. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she said gently.

She turned to Edward, whose anger was still not dosed, and said, "Edo –,"

"Do what you want, Winry," Edward suddenly said, icily. Envy and Winry watched him turn on his heel and leave the room without another word.

After a moment, Winry turned back to Envy, and wrapped her arms around herself defensively. A shadow settled behind her eyes as she stared unseeingly ahead of herself, not really looking at him and not really looking away from him either. Envy felt remorseless as he snorted, "You're feeling bad about that?"

There was a hint of annoyance in his voice. Winry briefly glanced at him and looked away. She passed him to get to the workbench and seated herself in front of the prototype again. Without looking at him, she said, tonelessly, "You should go. I have lots of work to get done."

Envy felt the old sensation of pure, untamed fury rise up in him as he bared his teeth at her and snarled, "You're actually going to soak about that!?"

Winry finally turned in her chair and snapped, rather loudly, "Envy, leave me alone! I need some space and I need to get this arm done!"

Envy made an angry little 'tsk' and hissed, "Fine."

He left the room and as he made his way through the hallway, he fumed, "Stupid humans and their stupid emotions…can't believe I got caught up in this shit…"

When he descended the stairs and found Edward talking to Alphonse and Pinako, his fury only escaladed. It felt good. He felt a bit like his usual self and before he knew it he was on a rampage heading straight at Fullmetal.

From the corners of his eyes he saw Lan Fan and Hohenhiem jump up with terrified expressions, but he ignored them. In his mind everything was a blur and as he came at Edward. Alphonse tried to get in his way and he pushed him aside. Pinako was the only smart one and took a few steps away from them, the pipe hanging limp in her hand.

When Envy finally got to Edward, he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and lifted him high into the air. Fear briefly passed through Edward's eyes before it was replaced with a determination to free himself. Somebody was shouting at him to stop, but Envy was too wrapped up in his anger to care. All he wanted to do was tear the squirming alchemist into hundreds of little bits.

He noticed Edward clap his hands together. Envy wouldn't let him use his alchemy. He threw him sideways with as much force as he could muster. There were a few screams of horror as Edward smashed through the front door and landed in the dirt outside the house. Teeth bared, Envy went after him.

Just as he exited the house through the broken door he saw Edward lift himself shakily onto his feet. Envy growled angrily, "So, you want to pick a fight with me, huh!? Let me show you what happens when people pick a fight with me!"

A flash of blue produced Edward's signature automail blade just before Envy lunged at him again. Blade or not, Edward wasn't half as strong or as fast as Envy, and before he knew it, Envy had managed to dodge all his attempts and get a fist in on his stomach. Edward gasped and barely stopped himself from barreling over in intense pain.

"We have to stop them!" Alphonse pleaded at Hohenhiem as they all watched Envy leer down on Edward like he was going to tear every bone from his body. "Envy's out of control! He's going to kill him!"

Lan Fan suddenly produced three throwing knives, but Hohenhiem stopped her. "Wait!" he said, "Not yet!"

"Are you crazy!?" Alphonse gasped. Pinako studied Hohenhiem's eyes, carefully, "You're really going to let them continue this nonsense?" she asked.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear," Hohenhiem said, darkly, "but I think they just need to get it out of their systems. I'll intervene if it gets out of hand."

Envy cried out in pain as Edward managed to dig his blade deeply into his thigh. The homunculus responded by grabbing him by his automail arm and slamming him into the ground a few feet away. Red sparks shot up, mending his flesh as he went after him again.

Alphonse turned back to Hohenhiem in horror, "And this isn't out of hand!?"

"Just trust me," Hohenhiem said simply.

Edward stood up and just managed to catch his breath before Envy came flying at him again. He jabbed with his blade and missed, and in a hopeful attempt to damage Envy more, took a swing with his real fist. He managed to sock Envy right in the left eye. The homunculus stumbled back, one hand over his eye, and snarled, "Fucking brat! I'm going to kill you for that!"

"Consider that payback for hurting Winry!" Edward slapped his hands together and made the ground spike up at Envy, but the lean homunculus jumped into the air and landed right behind Edward. Edward gasped in shock and jumped away, but Envy send a round-kick at him, caught him in mid-air and sent him flying. Edward landed in the soil again and his whole body shook violently as he struggled to stand up.

He was too slow, a fist hit the back of his head and he face-planted into the lawn. For a moment, he saw stars, but fought to retain consciousness. He rolled onto his back and a split second later Envy jumped right on top of him, embedding his knee into his gut. Edward felt all the air leave his lungs and lied there staring up at Envy, trying desperately to make his arms move, but the shock of having the wind blown out of him kept him immobilized.

A malicious flash went through Envy's dark violet eyes as he turned his arm into a blade and posed it over his shoulder, ready to strike. A sadistic grin spread across his face as he said, "I've wanted to do this for the longest time…"

Edward's eyes widened as he fought to get his arms moving again, but to no avail. Before he knew it, Envy bared his teeth, malice glinted in his eyes.

The blade came down with a deafening thud.

Someone screamed.

Leonahari: Mwahaha....