The last one was kind of shitty, but I hope this one makes up for it :D

23. Whisper

"A visitor for you, homunculus."

Envy didn't bother to look up. It would be the same person as always, the thrice-damned alchemist who'd put him in here in the first place. He jangled his manacles despondently, waiting for him to arrive and start his spiel.

Here came the mismatched footsteps – one slightly louder than the other, something Envy had figured out in the fifty or so times Edward had been down to see him since his capture. Once a day, like clockwork.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, dependable," he muttered. "He must really want something from me."

Finally, as the shadow fell across him, he looked up with a wry smile. "I don't suppose you're here to set me loose," he said conversationally.

Edward reached up to clutch the bars, looking down at him. "You know what my deal is, Envy. If you work with us, you can get out of here."

He snorted. "Why would I do that?"

"Why? Why would you want to murder thousands of innocent people? There's no way around it – we're the good guys."

"Oh, that's rich." Envy cocked his head and grinned, baring each and every one of his teeth. It would have been more impressive in another form, but the son of a bitch had figured out how to block his powers with these goddamn handcuffs. They were made of something too strong for him to break as well – and that was no mean feat. "People. How many times in your life have you stepped on an anthill, Fullmetal?"

The blond didn't answer, but his surprised expression was answer enough.

"When you demolish an anthill, you're murdering hundreds, thousands of ants. What we're doing is no different." His eyes glittered violet in the darkness of the cell. "Killing ants to make way for a different kind of life."

Edward fell to his knees, and suddenly they were on the same level, a disconcerting feeling for the homunculus who'd gotten very used to having to look up. "How different are we, really?"

"Worlds apart, alchemist."

"Are you sure? Look, I –" Without warning, Ed reached through the bars of the cell and grabbed Envy's hand, placing it palm-out against his own. "Look."

Envy, ready to attack despite knowing he could not, was suddenly taken aback, gaze centered on the hands that should not – could not – be meeting. Ed's fingers were slightly wider and shorter than his, warmer, redder and darker. His palm had a slightly different shape to it. But it was still the same.

Ed shifted his hand slightly, clasping Envy's cold one tightly. "What you are doesn't have to dictate who you are. You do have a choice. Work with us, Envy, please, and you can get a second chance."

"What if I don't deserve one, hm, alchemist? Considered that yet?"

"Everyone does."

Envy began to close his fingers around Ed's hand, and then ripped it away. "Give up on me, Fullmetal," he whispered, trying to ignore the note of pleading he heard in his own voice. "Stop trying to make me into something good."

Ed glared at him, eyes full of fire. "Never," he whispered back.

He left a few minutes later when it was clear that Envy was done talking, but not before loudly letting Envy (and the guards) know that he'd be back tomorrow.

Envy sighed. The alchemist was getting to be tiring – although the hands thing was new. His hand was still warm, and he held it close to his chest, working through the new sensation as he did everything else.

An ant crawled across the cell floor, and Envy raised his foot to crush it – then, changed his mind.

Edward's whispered word wove through his mind like a net, louder than any scream.