I really can't do dailies anymore, I had work last night and just collapsed. I'll probably do about three-four a week, which is still pretty dang good.

Fairyboydammit: Thank you :) I don't often write Envy as the complete monster type, but it's fun to do every now and again. And I did toy with the idea of having 'Secrets' lead into something happier but it seemed too cliche to me. Envy finding out Ed's secret and using it against him is just so...well, Envy. As for Pride!Ed, that's good to hear - I don't have much in the way of actual solid ideas, but I do want it to go somewhere other than just 'oh he has no memory'. And I definitely don't want to disappoint you.

Shade40: :D I think I'm going to take those three oneshots and rewrite them a bit to post them as a story. You're right about the EdxEnvy - I had a bunch of subtext I just didn't have room for that will probably make it into the story, but it really turned out more RoyEd. I'll probably post it under RoyEd when I do post it. And thanks for reminding me of that - I thought he had to be killed, but I couldn't remember and I couldn't figure out how to blend that in.

xxakikoakanexx: Yay! Thank you :) I really liked the idea for this one but I AGONIZED over how to write it.

Chapter 47: :D :D :D Reread value is awesome 3 I get carried away with description sometimes but luckily that's a story where I'm allowed to. (I think. I hope. Maybe.)

Pen-Name-Kitsune-Chan: Woo! Yay! I hate mopey Ed so I'm super happy I managed to get his personality right ^^ I'm like 'okay he'll be depressed...but what does Ed do when he gets depressed...he breaks things...' I still think it's missing something but when I rewrite the series as a short story hopefully I'll have room for what I couldn't get in there (and to fix the canon mistakes like Shade40 mentioned.)

Thank you all for reviewing ^.6 (monocle face!) You're all epic and I love you. 3

Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for 'Want', a giftfic for xxakikoakanexx for being the fiftieth reviewer. It's not quite done, but I'll be done within the next few days and it's based on the song by the same name by Disturbed.

68. Listening

He was a homunculus, and he was human.

Black and white.

You couldn't get any simpler than that.

"Stupid pipsqueak. Always thinking about your brother first."

He was a homunculus, and he was a human.

Envy didn't hesitate to remind him of that constantly. The gap was staggering. They were meant to be enemies. They were practically designed to be enemies.

Even the physical similarities - homunculi were built just like superhumans - those couldn't fool him.

"It's hopeless. There's no way out. Why the hell don't you give up already?"

He wasn't human, therefore he was the enemy.

He wasn't human.

He was inhuman.

(Then what about Den, Alexander, Black Hayate? Were they enemies?)

"Hurry the hell up! You goddamn humans are so slow about everything."

Humans bled -

(Al didn't bleed.)

Humans cried -

(but he could count the number of times he'd seen his comrades cry on one hand)

Humans died.

(except Hohenheim...)

The more Ed listened to Envy, the more he could feel his stark definitions begin to blur.

And, listening to Envy spit out indignant attempts at riling them up even in his tiny shape, the truth finally stared him in the face.

"You're envious of humans."

All it took was listening.