"Ow…" Envy groaned.
"It's not like we've got any better options," Ed huffed.
"Yeah, I know, I'm just tired as hell," Envy muttered.
"True," Winry sighed from the corner, "It's a shame you can't keep anything down. You must be starving."
"No shit," Envy grumbled.
"But look on the bright side!" Al smiled reassuringly, "All of the green coloration is gone. I think the swelling's even gone down a bit!"
"I think so too," Ed commented.
"Yeah, I get it," Envy mumbled.
"Then why so down, huh?" Winry asked, crossing her arms.
"Because I hate being stuck on this damned couch. I don't suppose any of you bothered to remember that I've been in the exact same place for the past three days?" Envy spat.
Ed, Al, and Winry all shared a look. If the truth be told, none of them had really thought about that. Ed glanced back over at Envy. He internally kicked himself for pitying someone who obviously didn't want it, but he couldn't shake the feeling of restlessness he would feel if put in Envy's position.
"Do you… want to sit on the porch or something?" Ed suggested. Even at the idea, Envy's eyes lit up in a way the Ed found strangely endearing. He nodded enthusiastically.
"You'd think I just gave you a 'get out of jail free' card," Ed muttered, standing up.
"I think you kind of hit the nail on the head," Envy smirked, allowing Ed to take him into his arms. Ed lifted him off the couch and made his way towards the door. Winry opened it, and Den eagerly darted outside.
"Hey -" Envy started.
"He's fine," Winry shrugged, "The worst that could happen is he lies down on your feet."
Envy chuckled. Ed moved through the door and closed it behind him with his foot. He eased Envy down onto the stairs so that his good shoulder was leaning up against the railing that surrounded the porch. Envy closed his eyes contentedly as the gentle breeze caressed his face. Ed sat down next to him and stared out over the grassy hills.
"It's pretty here," Envy commented.
"Huh?" Ed turned to him, surprised.
"It's pretty here," Envy repeated, "I like how green and peaceful it is."
Ed stared at him a moment, before turning his gaze back to calm landscape.
"There's no one fighting," Envy murmured after a moment.
"Yeah," Ed agreed, "It feels like nothing could go wrong."
"This place seems… almost untouchable," Envy sighed.
"It wasn't, though," Ed muttered, "I had a lot of bad things happen to me here. It was almost destroyed."
Envy hung his head.
"I don't think I ever considered that places like this would have to be destroyed in order to achieve our goals," Envy admitted slowly.
"You know," Ed murmured, "I don't blame the homunculi for what happened. It was all that bearded bastard pulling the strings."
"Did…" Envy stopped. He knew it had hurt him, but it would probably hurt Ed more if he talked about it.
"Did what?" Ed turned to him.
"Nothing," Envy whispered. Ed smiled weakly and placed a hand on Envy's knee. Envy turned to face him.
"What's done is done," Ed told him, "And there's nothing we can do about it at this point. If something's bothering you, I'm not going to be mad if you talk about it."
Envy stared intently at his feet and murmured, "Did you… did you cry?"
Ed stared at him.
"Did you cry… when I killed Hughes?" he whispered. Ed gazed at him for a moment and then looked away.
"No," he said, "No, I didn't cry. Winry cried, but I didn't. I was about to, though."
Envy looked up at him.
"I was pretty upset, but Gracia wouldn't let me cry. She said that if I didn't move forward and make something of myself, then his death would have been in vain. So I didn't give up. I kept moving forward, I turned into someone that I know Hughes would've been proud to call his friend."
Envy stared at him. Ed turned to meet his gaze and smiled warmly.
"You should move forward too."
Envy smiled down at his feet.
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Ed turned to him.
"I'm sorry," Envy sighed, and leaned his head back against the railing, "I just needed to tell you that. I've been a complete asshole ever since you first met me. Clean slate or not, I'm sorry."
Ed smiled warmly and laughed.
"You know, I think that's the second time I've ever heard you apologize for something," Ed chuckled.
"What was the first time?" Envy asked, a grin forming on his face as well.
"You gave away too much of your secret plans to me and Ling, and your father told you to shut up, if I remember correctly," Ed smiled.
Envy chuckled at the memory, "Hope I helped you out."
"Definitely," Ed said, giving him a mocking look. They both laughed.
"Hey, Envy?" Ed smiled, getting his laughter under control.
"Yeah?" Envy asked, turning to him.
"I forgive you."
Envy stared into Ed's eyes, reading just how genuine he was being. For some reason, it made his heart warmer.
Scratch, scratch…
"Hey, what -" Envy's question was answered when a rat scurried out from under the stairs.
Den barked loudly at the rodent, and began to chase it across the yard.
"Den, no!" Ed jumped to his feet, and ran after the dog. Envy sighed and let his head fall back against the railing.
"The world just loves ruining happy moments, doesn't it?" he asked of no one in particular.
"What the hell?" he heard Ed yell as the rat began clawing up his jacket. Envy watched the whole ordeal with mild interest. Ed managed to knock the rat away and it scurried off. Den growled after it but gave up pursuit.
"Did you see that?" Ed asked, walking back up the stairs.
"No, somehow I seem to have missed it," Envy rolled his eyes.
"It jumped on me!" Ed said, gesturing wildly.
"I noticed," Envy eyed him.
"That thing was huge!" Ed cried, trying to get Envy to be as worked up about it as he was. Envy chuckled at what Ed's last statement could've meant out of context.
"Hey, what - oh, gross!" Ed burst.
"You said it,' Envy chuckled.
"Yeah, but I didn't mean it like that!" he said desperately.
"Sure you didn't," Envy laughed.
"I didn't!" Ed protested.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" Winry asked, walking outside, Aunt Pinako by her side.
"Ed got molested by a rat," Envy laughed.
"Pervert!" Ed shrieked.
Winry fell to her knees as her frame was shaken by uncontrollable laughter.
"Come on!" Ed pleaded with them, "It just attacked me! Not to mention, Granny, you had a rat under your house!"
"As long as it's under it and not in it, I don't really care," she shrugged. Ed groaned in exasperation.
"Fine, if nobody cares," Ed huffed and stormed back into the house.
"Um… Ed?" Winry called after him.
"I know, I know," he said, walking back out, lifting Envy up, and carrying him back inside.
"Brother…?"
Winry continued to laugh at the confused look on Al's face.
"What just happened?" he asked, to anyone who would answer.
"Ed got violated," Winry snorted.
"What did you do?" Al asked, turning to Envy.
"Hey, it wasn't me!" Envy burst, waving his left hand defensively. Now it was Ed's turn to laugh.
"At least I'm not the only one who thinks you're a pervert," he smirked. Envy groaned and buried his face in the couch.
"Aw, he's blushing," Winry taunted.
"Am not!" Envy turned to growl at her, revealing just how untrue his statement was.
"He really was," Al snickered in his brother's ear.
"Hm," Pinako pondered, "It had never really occurred to me that you swung that way, but looking at you, it makes so much sense it's almost painful."
Everyone was silent for a moment, until three occupants of the room burst into hysterical laughter, and the other simply stared at her in horror.
"What the hell gave you that idea?" Envy burst.
"Is it really that necessary for me to state the obvious?" Pinako asked stoically. Envy buried his head again. At this point, the incident with the rat all but lost on them. As of that moment, it seemed as if the only thing that mattered was the moment they were in. And, for the time being, the moment was a happy one.
Author's Note: Hello to all of you who have been reading this. I would like to thank you for all of the messages I'm receiving about this story, but I've noticed that no one has actually found it in their time to review. Now, I'm going to get down on my knees and beg you to pretty pretty please review because I love reviews so very much. Thank yous! Sorry, for all of you grammar Nazis out there, I'm just being incorrect for fun. I'm sorry for any typos that you may have caught, I'm not that good at looking out for those things. Goodbye, my lovely readers!