(A/N: For those of you who see Envy as male, don't panic. And for those of you who see Envy as female...well, enjoy while you can. What I mean to say is, although I let go of the 'it' pronoun a bit in this chapter, I still intend to keep Envy balanced in terms of gender. It will just be balanced between male and female rather than in an absence of both.)

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"So…do we…?" Envy glanced in the direction of Kimblee's bedroom.

He regarded the homunculus with slightly raised eyebrows. "Do you want to?"

"I don't know."

"Then no. That's something you ought to be sure of."

"So...what do we do now?"

"We could go out."

"Out where?"

"You know…'out'. Like a date?"

"What would we do?"

"Uh, well traditionally some form of food or beverage is involved, maybe entertainment, like a film or a show…" It was bizarre having to describe it, and his explanation sounded odd even to his own ears. "You've spent time posing as a human," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Don't you know what people do when they're sizing up potential mates?"

"I've imitated certain humans, meaning I act out roles already set. I've never been in a position to choose."

"You are now. What do you want?"

"I want…" Had Envy ever been asked such a thing? "I want to not let go of you." The words came out in a rush, and Envy couldn't meet his eyes. "But that's more of a bedroom thing, as I understand it."

Kimblee had a moment's regret of his gentlemanly decorum, for Envy would be so very easy to take advantage of. A cruel, cold-blooded monster, yes, and also clearly confused and insecure. He was beginning to see that once one moved past the initial risk of death and disembowelment, there was a vulnerability about Envy made all the more conspicuous for its contradiction. With anyone else, he would have used that exposed weakness to his advantage, but Envy was like no one else. Most people were simply weak, good for nothing but to exploit, whereas Envy was a pillar of pure strength...except when it came to him. That fragility in the face of such power evoked in him emotions he thought had died long ago.

"You could sleep with me, and just sleep." He suggested. "If to willingly touch another creature is strange to you, then the logical thing is to let you get used to it."

"You'd do that?"

"You'll find that I sleep on a regular basis. Sleeping next to you isn't exactly a sacrifice."

"Some men would disagree."

"I'm insane, remember? It's only natural they would. Although I'm not accustomed to turning in at…" he glanced at the clock, "seven fifteen on a Friday night. Lets go somewhere for dinner – call it a date or not, whatever you're comfortable with – and then you can come home with me and stay."

Envy was as a talented actor whose role has come suddenly to life. It had done such human-like things before as accompany people to restaurants, yet never as itself. The slight technicality made a dramatic difference. Envy was ill at ease with what should have been a simple thing, having lost the customary script and forced to improvise.

"…I don't have money with me." How strange, to need it.

"I was assuming I'd pay."

"Do you know a place?" How strange, to be eating.

"I've lived in Central for years, I know plenty. Let's go somewhere nice, seeing as neither of us do this sort of thing very often." He kissed Envy once more before gently pulling away and turning towards his bedroom. "I'll change into something more fitting. I assume you're, um…equipped to do the same?"

He had seen Envy's clothes change with its form, and inferred that it had no need to actually shed its garments in favor of ones more appropriate. If only he had a similar ability.

"Yes, my clothes change with me." Envy affirmed. "Things could get complicated otherwise, especially when I assume my true form."

"True." Kimblee said, leaving the door open a crack to allow conversation. "That first night, I never thought to question why you were still clothed after your body changed so drastically."

His words were muffled towards the end, as though spoken through a layer of fabric. Envy could picture him taking his shirt off, and then couldn't stop picturing it.

"Maybe you were distracted by the big ugly monster." Envy said with a grimace.

"I was distracted by what I saw which defied reality as I knew it – what some might call a miracle."

"How you flatter me."

"It's simply the truth." The sound of the closet door opening, fabric moving against fabric. "So are your clothes a part of you?" It was the sort of thing he figured he ought to know, as he would presumably be undressing Envy eventually.

"No, although they are connected, through the red parts on my back and forehead. Father made them from a similar substance as he made me, but with a small fraction of the power and no mind or awareness of its own."

"So…as if you could make clothes from the skin of a cow and somehow keep the skin alive, and control how it grew?"

"Pretty much, although that's a weird way of putting it."

"It's a weird thing to think of, at least to me. The idea of making clothes charged with alchemical powers is…sort of brilliant actually. Probably not worth the price of equal exchange in the case of non-shapeshifters, though."

"I'm not sure it would work for a human in any case." Envy smirked slightly. "You becoming the Fashion Designer Alchemist now?"

"If my work with your people doesn't pan out, it could be something to fall back on."

Although meant in jest, his taste and interest attire was in fact unusual, more commonly associated with the fairer sex. For him, dressing nicely was a privilege rather than an obligation or a chore, growing up in poverty and squalor as he had. He was fond of the tidy precision of his military uniform, and yet, given the choice, his preference was for something more luxuriant.

Envy was more utilitarian when it came to appearance. It opted to be female in this case, the potential for public displays of affection being just slightly more appealing than daunting, and humans were so remarkably particular about that sort of thing between two men. Envy was keenly aware of the unusual anatomy, but reassured herself in the knowledge that she wouldn't be required to do anything with it. Not tonight, not yet.

The shape of her garments became attire acceptable for a lady, similar in shape and style to something Lust might wear. Envy considered giving herself a bosom similar to Lust's, but decided against it. The rest of Envy's body was still very thin and athletic; muscles less pronounced yet still very distinct. It was the body one would expect of a gymnast or ballet dancer. Huge tits seemed unnatural. They also tended to be uncomfortable.

The bedroom door opened, and Envy promptly regretted her minimal endowment. Deep down, Envy never felt very attractive regardless of form, certainly never as appealing as he now looked to her. White was a good color on him. Big boobs might have made the disparity seem less pronounced...

At least she could see nothing in his eyes to suggest he was disappointed. It was gratifying and terrifying, the way his eyes ran up her body as his hands might have wished to, his regard silently betraying something entirely not gentlemanly. Envy had worn appearances which had garnered that reaction from men before, but there had never been anything of Envy's usual form in them. It had never been personal.

"You look lovely." The words themselves were almost an afterthought, sincere yet paling in comparison to the sudden intensity with which he looked at her.

"So do you. I mean, the uh, the male equivalent of that."

He smiled, at much at Envy's obvious unease than the complement.

"Thank you."

He leaned down and kissed her again, and then she regretted her body for a whole different reason because oh…

So this is what attraction is.

Envy was not quite a stranger to physical desire, but had never felt it so swiftly and strongly towards anyone. She felt light headed and giddy at his touch, with a tingling tension in her stomach and…lower…

If Envy had not had so many horrible experiences with sex, she might have jumped him then and there in the living room. As it was, however, nothing could be that simple. Quick on the heels of desire came anxiety, and shame at her body's reaction. Envy didn't show it though, either the desire or the ensuing aversion. Envy was good at not showing things.

They broke apart, and he held out his hand.

"Shall we?"

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(A/N: I'm not planning on making Envy's negative experiences a HUGE plot point, or at least not as big a one as they might be. This isn't the story about recovering from sexual abuse, but I didn't feel that I could be true to my vision of Envy's life, and the life of a homunculus in general, otherwise. They are essentially slaves. The series kind of glossed over that. Father would allegedly reward them for their service, but what happened with Greed shows that they never had a choice. And there was a moment with Pride - before Kimblee pwned him - that suggested Father sees them as mere tools for his purpose. This is not my way of redeeming Envy exactly, just a window into one of the ways it became so twisted. I think it had little chance of being any other way. Does that make its guilt less? Eh, who knows? But like I said, this is not the point to the story, merely a subtext, a way in which these monsters might become sympathetic. In any case, thanks for reading!)