Thiiiis got long.

There is EdWin in this, so sorry to anybody who doesn't like them :P Also, there's like…no actual EdxEnvy in this at all. I just wanted to do something kinda scary.

I am super updater today. I don't know why.

9. Tension

It was midday over the Rizenbul market, the high sun scorching the milling crowds below with the ferocity of Mustang's flames. Merchants hawked their goods, craftsmen and tinkers bantered and bartered their wares, and children in loose and baggy summer clothes ran in circles around the legs of the sweaty, sunburnt shoppers.

Among the children was a redheaded, freckled boy, hardly more than six or seven. He was slightly chubby, and would have been handsome in a young, undeveloped way if he'd had a kinder expression on his face.

He didn't like it here. It was noisy, and smelly, and hot – but the shorty was here, and he didn't plan to let his revenge slip away because of a little discomfort.

But holy shit, it was hot.

Suddenly, through the milling crowds, there was a glint of gold. The chubby boy froze, struggling with his urge to grin and the fight-or-flight response that ignited inside him.

He was here.

Edward was taller than the last time he'd seen him – hell, he might be taller than his true form now – which, Envy reflected, was not a comforting thought. He had a glow about him as well, an air of happiness and peace that he'd never been able to reach while a dog of the military –

And Envy suppressed a snort of derision when the cause of the blond's happiness came into view, holding his hand. Winry Rockbell-Elric was heavily pregnant, her free hand resting on her swollen stomach.

Figures, figures. Fullmetal the Family Man. Bloody glee rose in Envy's chest, anticipation making his heartbeat quicken a little. Maybe I can kill her and her brat while he watches, then kill him. How's that for revenge?

The alchemist and his wife were getting closer, and a few of the kids rushed up to them. "Missus Elric, Missus Elric, when's the baby coming?"

Winry laughed, a tinkling, bubbly sound that made Envy cringe, then guided the tiny hands to her belly. "Pretty soon, I think. Can you feel him kicking?"

The children concentrated, squinting hard as if their stares would induce a reaction, and then yelped almost as one entity. "I felt it! I felt it!" squealed one little girl.

Envy was so busy watching the scenario that he forgot that he was one of the children. However, he began to sense a prickling feeling, realizing that he was being watched.

He looked up – and made eye contact with Edward, gold eyes focused intently on him. There was a wariness about his face now, a slight suspicion but not enough to be overt.

The boy wasn't quite right – his eyes too old for his face, the curve of his mouth a little too angular.

Edward watched him, a chill running slowly up his spine. He knew every child in Rizenbul. It was a small town – a miniscule town.

So why didn't he know this one? Was he new in town – no, nobody had moved here. Was he an orphan, an underaged railway tramp? A visitor from another town?

That must be it. Yet, that didn't feel right either. What out-of-town visitor would let their young boy run wild like this – even a boy with this self-assured sense about him?

The child turned his head, wriggling with the sensation of being watched, and met Ed's eyes with a look of defiance that sent a chord of irrational fear through his bones.

There was something about the alchemist's sharp gaze that was making him more uncomfortable than he should be.

Envy wasn't used to being afraid.

But that golden stare – it got underneath his skin. He couldn't help but feel like it could see through his layers of disguises, past the chubby ginger to the moon-skinned androgyne, to the slavering green monster, to the small, helpless worm at his core.

The tattoo on his thigh burned against his sweat-slicked skin, and Envy couldn't help but believe that it was glowing, broadcasting its existence and its position and his nature to his enemy.

His enemy.

He thought as loudly as he could. If Edward could hear him, he wasn't going to hear his snivelling and pointless paranoia.

I am going to hunt you down, and I am going to kill your wife in front of you. And I am going to kill you, Edward Elric. Mark. My. Words.

Edward had never felt such killing intent from a young child before. It unnerved him. Completely and utterly unnerved him.

He must be wrong. He must be reading it from someone else.

But who, when he was locked into the gaze of the green-eyed monster –

-child.

He'd called a child, an innocent boy, a monster.

Yet it felt so absurdly correct that Edward had to wonder if his own sanity was slipping.

I will make your death utterly and completely painful.

It was impossible, the thought that was niggling away at him.

I'll watch and I'll laugh as the fire in your eyes finally dies.

He couldn't quite shape it, couldn't quite name it.

Edward Elric, I will twist you and maim you until you beg for mercy.

But it was there, the unbelievable suspicion, the unfair accusation.

And I'm not going to give it to you.

"Honey, we'd better get going. I'm starting to flag."

The string snapped abruptly, and colour and focus rushed back into Ed's vision. "Huh? What?"

Winry laughed. "Zoning out there? Come on, let's go."

There had been something important. Something important had been just about to occur to him… "That boy…" he began.

"Which one, Ed?"

He turned to point him out, but the redheaded terror was gone.