Author's Note: This fic takes place right after the ending of the manga/second anime. Since I haven't finished reading the manga/watching the second anime, some facts are bound to be inaccurate and off-canon. I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor the fan-game Bluebird's Illusion, from which the concept of Pride!Ed was taken. Also, the Wrath in this fic was taken from the first anime, not the manga/second anime. On a side note, this isn't my best work ever, but I'm having tons of fun with it and I hope to continue to the very end!

Warnings: Yaoi of the EnvyxEd kind. Rating to be safe.

The Ouroboros Sign

A Fullmetal Alchemist fan-fiction by Raven

Chapter 1 – On the run

When Envy came to, he was lying face-first on something hard and cold. His entire body hurt, each of his artificially created cells screaming in unbearable agony. His chest felt as if it had been pierced by a million thick needles, and his left thigh ached sharply. Distant voices reached him, screaming voices, desperate-sounding and hysterical, but his brain kept switching off and on and he couldn't quite recognize the sounds; the only thought that remained, the only question keeping him awake was why the hell was he awake anyway? He was supposed to be dead. Killed himself. Saved his own Homunculus equivalent of a soul from the pain by finishing himself off. So why could he still feel? Why was he alive?

So many things he wanted to ask. He raised his head weakly, feeling ashamed at the effort it took to carry out such a simple, mechanical task as looking around. With his blurry vision, he could make out a dim lit chamber and black figures shifting before him in a strange, incomprehensible dance. Was it the Gate? He tried to call out to the shadows, but the only thing he managed to emit was a weak whimper.

The screams kept coming, clearer now. Envy blinked, his eyesight clearing a little as well.

"Father, please, stop this!"

"We won't go through this again, old man! Fuck you!"

"Greed, please, watch your mouth…"

"No, Lust, let him talk. I really want to hear this… Oh, look, your little brother seems to be awake."

"…Envy?"

"Envy! ENVY!"

Envy flinched in recognition to his name being called out. He blinked again, frowning, and everything suddenly became clear. They were in Father's lair; he was lying on the stone floor, a few meters away from Father's throne, where the blond man sat watching them impassively, his chin resting on one hand with a bored air. Lust was kneeling in front of him, a hand on her chest and tears – tears? – trickling down her beautiful face. Gluttony stood behind her, protectively, hands on her shoulders, while beside them, the ever-calm Sloth held back a rampaging Greed, who squirmed and screamed, half for the bigger Homunculus to let him go, and half for Father to 'go fuck himself and then die'. Behind Sloth, clinging to his black clothes, was a small child with long, messy black hair, whom Envy had never seen before, but instantly recognized as another Homunculus.

As though his fellow Homunculi had transmitted him the thought via some bizarre intra-species connection, Envy automatically knew what was happening, and in his indignation he tried to get up and failed miserably, collapsing back to the floor with a yelp at the pain that shot through his chest. A small scream was heard – Lust, obviously – and heavy footsteps ran towards him. There was a commotion, and then another pair of feet was running towards him too, much faster, and a well-known voice was calling:

"Envy! Are you okay?"

Chubby fingers ran through Envy's long greenish-black hair in a sort of comforting way, and Envy looked up to find Gluttony standing over him, caressing his hair clumsily. Greed tripped over his own feet and fell to his knees beside Envy's head, looking down at him with horrified disbelief.

"He's alive" the taller, short-haired Homunculus whispered, grazing Envy's cheek with his fingers before turning to Father again, rage tightening his usually cheerfully mischievous features. "Damn you, you bastard! How can you do this to him after what he's been through?"

"Because of his failure and his weakness, he was destroyed. Now I shall give him a chance to redeem himself" the most powerful Homunculus explained calmly. "He shall be the one to bring Edward Elric to me."

"NO!"

Everything happened so fast, that Envy felt nauseous, and he had to look away as Lust's back hit the ground, hard. She had launched herself at Father, crimson claws glistening in the pale lights of the chamber, and Father had thrown her back forcefully with an alchemic blast.

"LUST!" Gluttony's scream was akin to the cry of a wounded animal, and when Envy dared to look up again, the chubby Homunculus was gathering the body of his fallen partner in his arms, weeping softly. Lust was, at least, unconscious. Envy tried hard not to think anything else of it, because something in him, something he couldn't quite place, didn't want her to die. Something in him wanted them all to be able to leave that place, where he felt so insecure and vulnerable.

Something in him made him scream out when he saw the small Homunculus he couldn't recognize crawling up to Father, pleading:

"Please, Mr. Father, we don't want to fight…"

Father raised a hand, and Envy screamed again, his scream mixing with Greed's as he called out to the child:

"WRATH!"

"DON'T…!"

But before anyone could move, Sloth, being by some miraculous contradiction the fastest out of all the Homunculi, snatched the kid into his arms and held him protectively against his chest, glaring daggers at Father, who simply lowered his hand and resumed his bored observation. Wrath, the little child who looked nothing like the Wrath Envy had known, clung to Sloth in fear of something he hadn't experienced, but that Envy's and Greed's screams had warned him about.

"We're leaving" Greed said, eyes narrowing behind his small glasses, as he stood up and held out a hand to Envy. The long-haired Homunculus took it, feeling a strange electricity coming from the touch, some kind of energy being transmitted into him and giving him the strength to get up and stand wobblingly beside his 'brother'; yes, that sounded about right. Brother. His hand didn't release Greed's as he nodded his agreement. Father stared at them as if they were incredibly uninteresting insects.

"And where, pray tell, do you plan to go?" the man asked, and it almost sounded curious and not contemptuous. Prides hurt, both Greed and Envy clenched their fists, their entwined hands tightening around each other's. Envy would've committed suicide again before admitting it, but the grip of his brother's hand gave him reassurance, and he had the feeling Greed felt the same.

"Anywhere!" Greed replied then, and Envy smirked evilly.

"Anywhere is better than here. We could go to the Fullmetal Shorty, even. He'd be a better master than you any day of the week!"

Envy didn't know why he thought of Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, at that moment. He just did and that was enough for him to blurt out the offending comment without thinking. Father's fists clenched in anger, but when he made to stand up, Gluttony got up as well, the unconscious Lust lying on the ground before him.

"You won't hurt Envy and Greed!" he roared, and Envy felt a wave of gratitude towards the fat gluttonous Homunculus. He guessed that was what it felt like to be protected. He guessed that was what real fathers did, as opposed to putting their sons through pain and desperation. They protected. They helped. They only wanted what was best for their children.

Father wasn't like that at all.

And that angered him.

"We're Homunculi!" Greed laughed then, as if he had just realized it. Over Sloth's huge shoulder, Wrath looked at him curiously and muttered a confused "What's an Homunculi?", but Envy quickly picked up what Greed was trying to say, and chuckled softly.

"Yeah, that's right. We can do anything and go anywhere. And nobody can stop us!"

Lust groaned and sat up suddenly, and Sloth quickly swept her up with his free arm. In case he had to flee, he would carry the most vulnerable of them; Lust and Wrath. Envy read his intention before the huge Homunculi needed to voice it, and he glanced at Greed, who nodded very lightly. Gluttony tensed; if they had to run away, he could easily open holes in the walls through which they could escape. But it would have to be fast. Sloth silently made Wrath crawl onto his shoulders, so he had a free hand to drag Gluttony along with. All this was decided in a second, as if all the Homunculi were only one brain, and Envy once again felt that strange but warming sensation that they had all changed, they were standing up for each other and working together like they should've always done.

"You can try whatever your little minds are planning" Father said then, sounding authoritative, not quite daring them to try, but clearly not discouraging them. "You can even leave if you want. I will just create more of you, stronger, more powerful Homunculi. You are nothing but tools I can create and destroy and replace as I please."

"We're not your pawns!" Greed yelled, but Envy wasn't paying attention anymore. His eyes were boring holes into the back of Gluttony's bald head, praying that he would just swallow part of the wall so they could run away. The tension in the air was thick, and he was about to lose his temper.

"You can try to escape" Father said. "I have no use for disloyal dogs."

And suddenly the tension was released. Envy felt his fellow Homunculi's relief as strong as his own. So Father would let them go? Just like that?

No. He became tense again, and beside him, Greed growled. Father wouldn't. There had to be a punch line, a 'but', a condition of sorts. A threat.

"However…"

There it came. Father rose from his seat, and Sloth stepped back, Lust clinging to his chest while Wrath hugged his neck with both legs, tightly enough to choke a human. Gluttony moved closer to the wall.

"Dogs that bite the hand of their owners have to be put to sleep."

Red lightning cracked around the Homunculi, and Envy looked around, startled. Only then did he realize they were standing in the middle of a huge transmutation circle carved into the floor. Father had considered the chance that they might rebel, and he was about to destroy them. The circle on the ground started to glow, and Envy yelped.

"Gluttony! Now!"

A roar was heard, and suddenly Sloth was running, fast, grabbing Gluttony on the way and dragging him out through the hole that had just been opened into the wall. The whole structure started cracking, and Envy tried to run too, but for some reason, he found himself stuck to the ground. His body was starting to burn again, and he could feel a rhythmic pulsing inside him; almost like heartbeat, but not quite. It was the Philosopher's Stone. Father was decomposing his body to get the Stone back.

Well, at least Sloth and the others got away. I just hope Greed manages to escape as well.

What was with those thoughts?

"ENVY!"

And suddenly, he was pushed out of the circle and thrown to the ground, hard. Everything around him was shaking. His head hit the wall and stars danced in front of his eyes, but before he could recover, he was grabbed by the arm and pulled across the hole in the wall and into the smelly sewers. He tripped and fell into the muddy green water, and that woke him up from his trance. He grabbed the hand Greed offered him and got up, following the taller Homunculus as they ran blindly across the maze that were the sewers below Central. Strange grumbling noises came from different sections of the infrastructure as they hurried along the shady tunnels. The stone nestled securely inside his chest still pulsated, softly, like the quickened heartbeat of a scared child.

"Can you feel it?" Greed whispered suddenly, stopping, and Envy turned to look at him, unnerved. They had to keep moving forward! What if there was something chasing after them, something probably – most likely – deadly?

"No" he replied sharply, narrowing his eyes. "Let's go, c'mon."

"Wait" Greed frowned, "wait, I'm locating her…"

"Who?" Envy heard another growl behind them, and he lost the little patience he had. His hand reached for Greed's. "Greed, please! Let's go!"

Greed shook his head, and started running again, pulling Envy along with him. The younger-looking Homunculus followed, nervously glancing over his shoulder as he heard a roar and heavy footsteps behind them.

"Don't be scared" Greed reassured him with a smile, and Envy didn't feel it was necessary to reply that he wasn't scared. As they rounded yet another corner, an especially dark one, Greed ran head-first into Sloth's huge back, and he fell back on his butt at Envy's feet. The nervous long-haired Homunculus couldn't help but laugh at this. Sloth turned slowly, and Lust chuckled as she walked around the huge Homunculus to help Greed up.

"You silly boy" she shook her head and dusted off Greed's shoulder gently, fixing his vest after that. "And you, Envy, you look terrible. Did you fall into the water?"

"Yeah" Envy growled, looking away somewhat embarrassedly. He could've told her he had been shocked because his life source had almost been taken from his chest, but he didn't feel like making the strangely maternal Lust worry anymore than she, evidently, already was. "Yucky. Anyway, we can't stay here, guys" he looked at Lust in the eyes, and the pretty black-haired pale woman nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know. We've been looking for the exit, but we haven't found it."

"Let's make one, then."

"And then what, Envy?"

Both Homunculi stared at each other intensely, a silent dialogue going on between them. Envy knew she was right; they had nowhere to go after that. The military hated them, obviously; he didn't know how long it had been since the last of them had fallen, but it couldn't have been too long, could it? And there were probably chimaeras roaming around the sewers, and there was the threat of more Homunculi coming after them still hanging over their heads. And there was the offspring of Hoenheim, who probably wanted them gone again… There his thoughts went, back to Edward Elric again. Probably because the blond Alchemist was the last thing he had seen before dying? Probably because of what had been said between them before he made that final decision? Probably because of that feeling he had that the Fullmetal Alchemist had truly understood?

"Then… I don't know, Lust. But let's just get outta here. The wetness is ruining my hair."

"Chimera" said Gluttony suddenly, and everyone turned to look at what the chubby Homunculus was pointing at. In the darkness of the tunnel, a few meters away from them, a pair of red eyes glowed evilly.

Wrath tugged gently on Envy's hand.

"Big brother" the little boy whispered, and Envy snapped out of his horror to look down at the other Homunculus. He did look like a younger brother to himself… Damn. More thoughts about Fullmetal.

"Yeah?" he asked, taking a step back as a growl came from the shadows. Wrath looked around, confused, before turning his violet eyes back to his 'elder brother'.

"What's a chimera?"

The beast roared and lunged forward, leonine head thrashing around wildly while a reptile-like body crawled towards them, tail wagging madly. Wrath screamed as he tripped and fell backwards into the nasty-smelling water.

"That answer your fucking question?" Envy yelled at him for no particular reason – or maybe it was because his chilling scream had startled him in turn, even more than the beast that was now advancing on them. The Homunculi retreated, Gluttony shielding Wrath, who was too scared to move from his spot in the muddy water, with his big round body.

"You won't hurt Wrath!" he cried out, as if the chimera could understand. The half-lion, half-crocodile roared, opening its mouth to show sable-shaped deadly-sharp fangs.

"Gluttony!" Lust called, and Envy looked around, droplets of green water flying around as his hair moved with him.

"Gluttony, make a hole in the wall! Lust, Greed, distract the thing! Sloth, get ready to run at my signal!"

Nobody questioned Envy's commanding tone save for Wrath, who glared at his 'older brother' and squeaked:

"And what about me, nii-chan?"

Envy's right eye twitched at the nickname, but he let it pass in favor of carrying out the plan he had just improvised. He wasn't even sure if he could do what he was thinking of doing, but hell it was worth a try because that chimera was huge, and their regeneration processes were still lazy from their rebirth.

"Wrath… You go and hide in the hole."

"What?" the boy raged, but Envy's plot was in action. The beast swung its big golden head around, alternatively trying to take a bite – a rather large bite, larger than Sloth even – out of Lust or Greed, who were punching and clawing at its green, short reptilian legs and its white, soft-looking belly.

"C'mon, you big asshole, come for me!" Greed ran around the beast and tugged at its tail with surprising strength. The hybrid roared, ignoring Lust's crimson claws digging into its neck to try and reach the annoying short-haired, sunglasses-wearing Homunculus, whom in turn wriggled his fingers, smirking. "Wanna' piece of this, baby?"

When the beast turned around – with some difficulty, considering its size and that of the tunnel they were in – Envy took his chance and gracefully jumped onto the chimera's back, running up the length of its twisting body while effectively and swiftly dodging the dangerous swipes from its tail. Lust stared in fear, claws ready to aid the other two, but Gluttony grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the hole before she could even react.

"G-Gluttony! Let me go!"

"Shh, Lust, don't make noise!"

"Will nii-chan and Greed be okay?"

"I think they will" Gluttony nodded, putting a chubby finger to his lips, thoughtfully. "They look stronger than they did before, right, Lust?"

Lust, who had finally resigned herself to her passive role in the fight, stuck a stray lock of black hair behind her ear and 'hm'ed in agreement. Something about all of them had changed, and she could clearly see what it was: now they worked as a team. They cared about each other, like some sort of family. And there was more to it; she knew there was a reason why Envy and Greed had become stronger, why Wrath was a little child now, and why there was no Pride amongst them. They were missing a Sin and that was meaningful. Very much so.

I guess we're not very proud now that we're hiding in the sewers and fighting a fucking cat lizard.

"Watch out!"

Greed jumped back just in time to avoid the swipe of sharp claws that didn't quite belong to the tiny-looking legs of a crocodile, and Envy clung to the chimera's golden mane with one hand, throwing his other arm back as a white light engulfed it. A second later, a big black snake was coming out of his shoulder. It hissed and twisted around, and Envy held on to the beast tight. Just as it was about to lunge at Greed again, Envy leaned forward with a vicious cackle, and the snake drove its fangs into the chimera's neck, right where the fur morphed into dark green scales.

The beast half-roared and half-cried out in excruciating pain, its tail whipping around desperately, trying to knock Envy off and missing miserably. The snake bit harder, more venom being transferred into the chimera's body as thick black blood poured out in some kind of gruesome parody of an equivalent exchange. Give me your blood and I'll give you my venom to refill your veins.

"Sloth!" Envy screamed then, pulling his arm away and morphing it back to a normal, human-looking limb. "Grab its attention, make it run!"

Sloth, who was slumped back against a wall, slacking off as usual, let out an annoyed groan, but got up nonetheless, using his huge hands to splash muddy water at the monster's back. Envy squeaked at his fellow Homunculus' method.

"Careful, you idiot! If any of that gets on me, I swear—AH!"

The beast squirmed, turning around suddenly, and Envy lost his balance and fell off its back. However, before he hit the ground – or worse, the horribly putrid water – Greed caught him in his arms with ease. Together, they watched as the beast ran off, chasing after Sloth – it couldn't know it hadn't been the big, fast Homunculus who had bitten into his neck, but Envy. Greed put his brother down carefully, making a small disgusted sound as some of the slime dripping from the smaller Homunculus' hair stuck to his vest.

"You should think about morphing into something bald if you're not gonna take care of that hair."

"Just… Shut up" Envy groaned. "Well, that should do it. Just hope Sloth realizes he has to come back once the chimera is dead."

"Hum… How exactly is it gonna die?"

Envy gave his brother a bored look over his shoulder, hands on his slim, feminine hips.

"Are you seriously asking me that? I poisoned it. And it's running around, so the venom with work faster. It'll fall within minutes. Really, Greed, I gave you too much credit…"

"Just because you beat around the bush too much…"

"What, you thought we could punch the thing to death?"

"C'mon, Envy. A snake? Couldn't you be anymore clichéd?"

"Now what is that supposed to mean?"

"Envy!Greed!" Wrath crawled out of the hole then, running up to them with a huge childish grin on his face. "That was so cool! I saw it all! How'd you do that, nii-chan?"

"Like I'd tell you" Envy growled, crossing his arms defensively and looking away, trying to hide the fact that he rather liked the feeling of being looked up to. "And don't call me that. I'm Envy."

"…Envy-chan?"

"Ugh, no! Just… Stick with the other one!"

Sloth came back minutes later, scratching its head and yawning loudly.

"How tiresome" he complained, cracking his back lazily. "So… We gonna spent the night here? I could use some rest…"

"I'm not gonna stay in this smelly sewer any longer" Lust interjected, and with a sad glance at his beautiful long hair, Envy nodded his approval. Gluttony nodded too, and then fidgeted guiltily when Sloth and Greed glared at him.

"Gluttony, you're a traitor."

"You siding with the girls now?"

"HEY!"

"Truth hurts, Envy, get over it."

"Greed, leave your brother alone."

"Yes, mom."

"Aww" Wrath whimpered then, tugging on Lust's hand to grab her attention. "I wanted to stay here. I wanted to see another chimera."

Seconds later, by common agreement – save for Wrath, who looked as though he were a child who had just been told Santa Claus wasn't real – they were looking for a quick exit from the sewers.

The air outside was cold, and even Envy shivered a bit as Sloth helped him up. The street was dim lit and deserted, thick fog floating around them, blurring the lines of the tall buildings surrounding them. Wrath clutched Lust's dress, whimpering in fear at the dark shadows dancing on the walls, and the female Homunculus patted his head, although her eyes were wary as well. That was, until Gluttony put a chubby but strong arm around her waist, and Envy could've sworn she blushed and gave the fat Homunculus a thankful look. Greed crossed his arms, looking around with narrowed eyes.

"Where to, Env'?"

"Am I supposed to know?" Envy spat back, his mood as dark and stormy as the sky above. Even though they were immortal beings resistant to cold and pain, it didn't mean they couldn't feel anything, and right then Envy was cold. He hugged himself, cursing his wet hair that was brushing his bare back and making him shiver. "I… I seriously don't know."

"We can't stay here" Lust sighed. "This is Central we're talking about. The military HQs are here, it's too dangerous."

"I know…" Envy looked down. "I just… Don't know."

Envy seemed to be troubled, and Sloth patted his back gently, while Greed tried his best to smile at his brother.

"Aw, don't worry, snakey, we'll sort it out eventually! For now, let's just hide somewhere before sun rises, mh?" and just as he said this, somewhere a bell tolled, signaling it was two in the morning. Envy let out a small sigh and started walking, hands on his hips.

"Well, whatever. Let's move it. This place smells worse than the sewers."

Nobody questioned Envy as they followed him in what seemed an aimless roam around the streets of Central. The young-looking Homunculus was as lost as the rest of them were, but he was the only one who had dared take the lead, and since the Homunculi had never been leaderless before, they followed with silent relief. The misbalance between them, the increase in Envy's powers, was more evident than ever. They sure had changed a lot since their last death.

Heavy rain had started falling, a thick curtain of water all around them, when the headlights of a vehicle suddenly fell on them. A military vehicle, Envy's instinct told him even before the black car became visible. He took a step back, cursing under his breath.

"Fuck dammit."

"What do we do?" Greed muttered as they retreated more into the shadows, and Envy frowned, looking around with narrowed purple eyes.

"Let's split up. Hide in the alleyways or something. Go!"

The car screeched to a stop, and two young officers got out, shielding their faces from the rain with their arms. One was a man of around twenty; the other was a tough-looking woman. They looked around a few times, squinting their eyes to try and see beyond the circle of light the car's headlights provided.

"There's nothing here" the woman grumbled, and the man scratched his cheek in confusion.

"But… I could've sworn… I saw…"

"Let's go, we're wasting our time" the woman cut him off, clicking her tongue. "We're gonna be late for our night shift, and you know how Fürher Mustang gets sometimes…"

Envy ran. He ran back the way he had come, as fast as he could, morphing his body every time he turned around a corner to make himself more difficult to follow. He could feel the pulse of the other Homunculi's Philosopher stones in his head, like trackers on a mental map. Lust and Gluttony were together – no surprise, they're always together, maybe more together than any of us think. Greed had taken Wrath – let's see how you like playing babysitter now, greedy asshole. And Sloth was sitting in a well-hidden interior alleyway – slacking off and doing nothing, how strange of him. Envy didn't think he was being followed, and he didn't know whether the Military had been alerted about their apparition, but one could never be too sure. And he still remembered Roy Mustang.

The rain was still falling hard when Envy finally stopped, leaning against the brick wall of a small, nice two-story house as he caught his breath – he wasn't really tired, but the rush of adrenaline had the same effect. He was morphed into a teenage girl with shoulder-long, wavy black hair, milky skin and green eyes, wearing a plain, short black dress. His hair was dripping wet and he was shivering with cold.

"Dammit" he muttered, hugging himself as he glanced around, "why do I always have to take the shape of underdressed human females?"

He glanced at the window on the wall beside him with envious longing. He was jealous of whomever lived in that house. By then they were probably nestled comfortably in their beds, with covers and fluffy pillows, sleeping deep and peacefully. Homunculi didn't need sleep, but Envy would've appreciated the warmth and the security of a home, even if he didn't want to admit it. He knew that, at some point in time, he had felt Father's lair was like a home to him. But that was over, he had left for good along with the other Homunculi, and there was no turning back. He could've said yes, though, he could've obeyed Father, killed his fellow Homunculi and brought the Fullmetal idiot back to his creator… But what for? What was in it for him? What good would it do him to bring the only person that had ever sympathized with him to their fatal destiny as Philosopher's stone material?

I'd still have a home.

So what? Now I'm free.

Footsteps suddenly echoed across the empty street. A small figure was walking down the sidewalk, humming softly in a voice that rang bells in Envy's brain. The Homunculus gasped and started freaking out, until he remembered he was an innocent – yet rather large-breasted – young girl now, and he had nothing to worry about. He coughed softly, trying to appear casual and pass unnoticed at the same time, and the figure stopped for a few seconds before hurrying up to him, walking into the light from a lone streetlight. Envy looked up, and his purple-turned-green eyes widened.

Blue military uniform, fitting the rather short, but muscular body perfectly.

Golden hair, tied back in a tidy braid, a fringe falling over a young-looking face.

Golden eyes, deep, swirling with emotions, lit up by a kindness that few people possessed.

Envy couldn't look away.

It was Edward Elric.

"Excuse me, miss" the blonde said, approaching Envy, who felt insulted for a second – before he remembered, once again, that he was a girl for the time being. He tried to smile innocently.

"Hello, sir" he said, in a falsely sweet, feminine voice. Edward smiled too, a little sheepishly, as he approached her.

"What are you doing out here in the rain?" he said, with a little unease. Envy didn't know what it was until he noticed Edward's eyes didn't stay glued to his – they kept switching to a little below his face. A lot below his face. The little pervert was checking him out! Well, he knew he was attractive in this form – hell, he was always attractive – but still! He cleared his throat, and Edward looked up again, blushing a delicious red color. Envy smirked inwardly, while outside, he put on a depressed façade – though a part of him, the part that was still anxiously tracking the signals in his mind, making sure they were still five, wasn't sure it was a façade anymore.

"I had nowhere to go…" he whispered in his girly voice, sounding more sincere than he would've wanted. He had no need to lie, but damn he wished it had been a lie, what was leaving his mouth at that moment. Edward seemed to hesitate a bit, golden eyes shifting around wildly, before coming back to Envy's.

"You're… On your own?" Edward's tone was distrustful, but Envy could see his gaze softening. Such a kind heart… He nodded, looking down and hugging himself, trying to suppress the thought that maybe he wasn't acting – of course he was acting! Envy never showed weakness in front of the enemy!

Edward blinked, any trace of suspicion leaving his face, and he offered Envy a hand, smiling a little shyly.

"Hum… You can come in… I mean, if you want to."

Envy nodded, gripping the warm, gloved hand that was being offered to him. However, as Edward pulled him towards the house – the same house whose wall Envy had been resting against – a thought occurred to the Homunculus that made him smirk. Nothing wrong with a little mischief, right? And besides…

Besides, if there was someone he felt he could tell about their predicament, it was the Fullmetal Alchemist.

As Edward took out his key and unlocked the door, Envy walked up behind him and pressed his body up against his back, grinning when the boy tensed, shoulders shivering, and the key fell to the wet floor with a soft clink.

"Thank you" Envy purred in Edward's ear, his voice shifting to its normal pitch as he added, evilly: "O'chibi-san."