Beauty and the Beast: Edvy 100 Themes

by rokosourobouros

Enemies, nothing more, nothing less, but neither Ed nor Envy are known for being particularly honest with themselves. Sometimes about Ed, sometimes about Envy, sometimes about both of them, sometimes about them kissing. 100 Themes of Edvy, because we didn't have any yet. Now complete.

38. Hands

I know, everybody and their dog does a fic about 'hands'.

One thing about anime is it's hard to capture the little details of a person. If somebody has freckles, they have freckles EVERYWHERE – and we don't see people's scars unless they're relevant. That always makes me sad.

Finally – SAP WARNIIING.

38. Hands

Ed has always been fascinated by hands, ever since he can remember. Losing one of his own has only increased his interest, given it a tinge of jealousy he won't admit to anyone.

Mom's hands, of course, are the first he can remember – gentle but with a hardness to them from the lye soap she used to wash. The only thing he never liked about her hands was the chewed, nervous nails and the simple silver ring that she was always touching, always caressing.

Winry's hands are different. Even though her hands have to cause him pain, they're also the ones that mend him when he's broken. She has tiny scars criss-crossing her fingers, reminders of when she wasn't so good at making automail, and the same chewed and torn nails as his mother – something that never fails to make him feel guilty.

Al's hands, whether flesh or steel, are always ones of restraint. Al's hands are sometimes all that stop Ed from becoming a killer. Sometimes he'll trace the padded gauntlets and remind himself – there, that was the scar from trying to climb the fence, and there's where the stray cat bit him…

Roy Mustang's hands have the same olive tint as the rest of his skin, but interrupted with almost-indistinguishable dark red patches – remnants, explains the Colonel, of his first forays into fire alchemy. They have a remarkable strength to them, too, something Ed notices whenever Mustang grasps his shoulder or shakes his hand.

But some hands have no scars at all.

Envy's hands are unbelievably cold, just like his heart. They've shed more blood than Ed can wrap his head around, and fought more battles. They're white as snow and lilies, and no matter how his eyes search them on every encounter with the homunculus, Ed can't find a single blemish, a single freckle.

Envy's hands are perfect.

Out of all the hands he's seen, somehow Envy's are the ones that Ed wants to hold.