Your author has been lacking in free time, so this is later then she had expected. Love and apologies, Readers. On a positive note, this is a little longer than most of the other chapters… Except the first one, I believe. Oh and since Roy has been neglected, I gave him some time in this chapter.
~I represent a line~
"So where do we start looking for the stone, Brother?" Al inquired innocently.
Edward paled. "Uh..."
"You have no idea, do you?" Al questioned.
"None at all." Ed casually stated.
Al sighed. When does brother ever plan things out? he asked himself.
~I represent a line~
Dante slammed her book closed and walked into the kitchen of her temporary home. Her sons' bickering had interrupted her reading. "You two better not have broken anything." She sternly said as she spotted Envy trying to yank Greed's hair out.
"He started it!" the boys yelled in unison.
"Envy has a cruuuush~!" Greed continued to taunt.
"No! No! I do not!" Envy retorted. "Goddamnit, Greed would you shaddup!"
Greed pulled the younger's cheeks while Envy had a firm grip on his hair.
"Silence you mindless brats! I have no idea why I keep you two around. You're both useless and cause nothing but trouble for me!" she snapped.
The boys froze. They knew when their mother got angry she was pretty scary. Envy let go of Greed's hair and when Greed let his face go, he walked out of the kitchen. Greed followed Envy but not before shooting a glare in Dante's direction.
~I represent a line~
Al dragged his older brother to the library. If they wanted to find this red stone, they would have to research it. "Where should we start, brother?" Al questioned.
Ed scratched the back of his head. "Maybe we should research stones or magic... Maybe magical stones?"
Al resisted the urge to face-palm. "Let's start with magic and alchemy, Brother."
~I represent a line~
"She hates us, doesn't she?" Envy asked Greed.
"Unfortunately..." Greed mumbled. He was past denying it.
Envy frowned. He remembered when Greed and he had been little and he would ask Greed if their mother hated them, he'd deny it and make up reasons why she didn't. Why would someone who hated kids even have kids? he wondered. Are we just for appearances?
The boys made their way back to Envy's room. "Wanna go see if we can find your little crush- I mean savior, Envy?" Greed teased.
Envy punched Greed in the arm and nodded. "He most likely lives near the beach." Envy stated. "To be that good a swimmer, you basically have to live in the water." he added, feeling smart and not realizing the irony of his words.
"Okay." Greed replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "But, seriously, En... You should change. You're still in your clothes from yesterday..."
Envy gasped and blushed. He ran into his room and decided to take a quick shower.
When Greed heard the shower turn on, he knew Envy was going to be a while. Even if Envy took a ten minute shower, he always spent a good thirty minutes on his hair. "His name should be Vanity..." Greed stated to no one.
~I represent a line~
"Al! I think I found something!" Ed practically shouted.
"Brother!" Al whisper-yelled, "We're in a library! Be quiet!"
Ed just grinned and shoved the book in his younger brother's face.
"Brother, I can't read the book when it's this close to my face!" Al said as he pushed the book to a readable distance. "The Philosopher's Stone...?" he cocked his head to the side and continued reading.
"Mhm~. This is the stone we have to find~!" Ed practically sang. He was so excited.
The brothers spent the next two hours reading about the Philosopher's Stone. Ed and Al tried thinking of places where the old sea-alchemist could've hidden the stone.
"She'd probably hide it somewhere close enough to the surface." Al remarked. "This way, if she needed it again, she could get it without being a mermaid.
Ed patted Al on the head. "You're so smart, little brother!" he commented cheerfully.
~I represent a line~
When Envy had finished showering and doing his hair, he got dressed and skipped to the den. Greed, who had previously been flipping through some magazines, looked up to see Envy with a big grin plastered on his face. "You ready to go?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.
"Yup." Envy replied.
Greed got up from where he was seated and slung an arm around Envy's shoulders. Envy chuckled nervously as his older brother lead him out the door.
Greed and Envy walked along the beach for a while, hoping to see the blonde who rescued Envy outside near the shore. They made sure to check the area where Greed had found Envy earlier that day.
The more they walked, the more disappointed Envy became. He wanted to see his blonde savior.
Greed couldn't help but notice Envy's demeanor. He definitely had a crush on the boy who had saved him, even if he kept denying it. Envy rarely had crushes, and when he did, they weren't nearly as intense as his current one. Greed felt that Envy was going through, dare he say, "puppy love."
As the sun set beyond the horizon, Greed suggested they go home and wake up early tomorrow to look again. Envy reluctantly agreed and the two head back towards their temporary home.
~I represent a line~
When Al noticed how late it had become, he panicked. "Brother! Father doesn't know we left! You're going to get I trouble if we don't get home now!" he shouted while practically hyperventilating.
Ed tried to calm his younger brother down. "Nothing new there, Al." he reassured. "I'll be fine."
The two brothers began swimming back towards the palace.
~I represent a line~
Roy had discovered Edward an Alphonse missing a little over an hour ago and was worried sick. He had swum to Ed's room to apologize for hitting him.
When he entered Ed's room and saw it empty, he nearly had a heart-attack. He went looking for Al only to realize that both boys were gone. Roy decided it'd be best if he didn't tell the king. He really didn't want to get Edward in more trouble. If Al isn't here, he's definitely with Ed! Roy reasoned.
Roy spun around upon hearing Edward's door opening. He sighed in relief when he saw it was Alphonse and Edward who entered. "I was so worried about the two of you! I've been waiting for you for two hours!" Roy scolded.
Al gasped and Ed's emotions couldn't be told by his expression. "Does he know we left?" Ed asked lowly. Al held his breath.
"No. I didn't want to risk getting you in trouble. You've been through enough today." Roy replied swimming closer to Edward. He put his hand on the young prince's face where he had previously hit him. "I'm sorry... A-about earlier. I shouldn't have hit you. It wasn't my place. I'm sorry, Edward."
Ed looked into Roy's eyes and let a small smile show on his lips. "No... You were right. I'm irresponsible. But believe me... I didn't mean to worry anyone." Edward replied.
Alphonse blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Roy and Edward were actually acting civil towards each other.
Roy said goodnight to Edward and Alphonse and swam back to his guest room. He was happy to see that Ed was maturing.