Disclaimer: Kai and Vivian both belong to me. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, I simply added my own plot.

Chapter 19: The Twists and Blessings of Fate

"What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be locked up!"

Pride smirked, and Lust seemingly appeared out of nowhere, confusing the distracted Envy that spun around in a near panic.

"Envy, that wasn't very nice" she cooed sadly placing a hand dramatically over her heart. "It wasn't very pleasant in that cell, and it hurts to knowthat you betrayed us."

Iron grips encircled his wrists, pulling his slender frame against a much broader one. A growl burst out of his throat before he could stop it, instinct making his neck twist viciously to snap at Greed's hand. Greed laughed; a cruel, mocking sound that betrayed how little he feltthreatened.

Envy's attention turned back to Pride as he spoke. "You remember what we do to people who betray us, right?" He stayed silent, but he remembered all too well learning the 'golden rule' of the Seven Sins.

/Flashback/

Envy bit the inside of his lip as Pride continued to draw the Ouroboros mark on his thigh. He tasted blood, from the cut he was giving himself, but could do nothing about it. The new mark hurt badly, but he wouldn't tell these people that.

"There's one last rule, Envy" Sloth told him from her place near Pride. "Don't everbetray us. Do so," A knife slashed through the air, giving Envy a small slice on his shoulder, the blade quivering dangerously close to the vital vein on his neck. "And you will die…"

/End Flashback/

Feigning calm, Envy scoffed and tried to twist out of Greed's grasp. "I don't know how you escaped, but there's no way in hell I'm dying. In fact, I'd love nothing more than to kill you all."

"Really now? You, all by yourself, think you can take out every singleone of us?" Pride's smirk was growing, his one eye practically glowing with something the Sin couldn't identify. "We've also gotten some hired help, more than one hundred strong young men. Can you take them out too?"

Growling again, he ignored Pride's jabs and kept writhing, wanting to break free. He kicked at Greed's leg, aiming for the hole he had received when Envy stabbed him, but missed, and earned a well-aimed kick in return. The leader's next words stopped him cold, his heart thudding painfully in his chest.

"We're going to break him, and you're going to help us with it."

"And why the hell do you think I'll do anything you say?" Envy snapped, knowing exactly who Pride meant by 'him'. "You hold no power over me."

It seemed Pride's smirk was mirrored on many faces that night. "Because if you don't, we'll kill the pharaoh right then and there, and you can have the front row seat" Greed's answer hissed in his ear. "You don't think we spent all that time away doing nothing, do you? We are older than you, and know many ways to kill slowly, to make the victim beg for death, ready to give anything for mercy. Are you willing to subject your precious Pharaoh to that?"

They had hit his weakness, and they knew it. Defeated, Envy slumped in the elder Sin's grip, his head hanging slightly. "Alright. What do you want me to do?"

XXXXX

Footsteps clicked quietly through the hall, and Roy glanced up from his paperwork as Ed entered the office, although confusion washed through him as the blonde's full glare was trained on him. Ed stopped before the desk, arms folded across his chest.

"Why did you send Havoc and Fury to the hideout?"

Roy blinked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Stifling a yawn, he answered, "When was that?"

The blonde's left eye twitched slightly. "The day after we went and caught the Seven Sins, with Envy's help? You sent the two over in the morning, to search the place."

Roy's eyes flickered with recognition. "Ah, right. I remember now…What was the question again?"

Ed's hands slammed on the desk, startling the dark haired general. "Why did you send them? What was the point if Envy had already proved he was trustworthy?"

Roy leaned back in his chair, gently picking up the coffee mug on the desk and swirling the murky contents. "You might be able to trust people quickly, to give them a second chance, but others don't have that way of thinking. Just because you trust him, doesn't mean that others do right away. I was worried."

"About what?" the blonde had stood upright again, listening intently.

"About you." The general closed his eyes, tipping his head back against the support of the seat. "I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hurt you. Besides," he shifted, placing the coffee mug back on the desk, then folded his arms across his waist. He yawned. "I figured it to be a responsibility of mine, to," he yawned again. "Check him out…"

He trailed off, and Ed realized the older man had somehow fallen asleep, his breathing even. He had noticed the bags under Roy's eyes, and wondered why he wasn't getting enough sleep.

Shaking his head of those thoughts, the blonde pulled at the soft blanket that lay over the edge of the couch, bringing it over and folding it to cover the hard wood that lay beneath the general's head.

"Don't worry so much. I'm sure you have enough on your plate already" Ed whispered gently. "Besides, I can take care of myself. Thank you for worrying though." He stood and moved quietly across the room, giving one last "Sleep well" over his shoulder.

As the door snapped shut, one dark obsidian orb cracked open. Roy yawned once more, glad the confrontation was over. Glancing wearily at the half-completed paperwork, he figured he had done enough to earn himself a cat nap, and closed his eyes again.

XXXXX

Closing the door to the office, Ed turned around as the soft sound of clicking met his ears. "Good morning, Riza."

Riza, blonde hair pulled back into its usual sensible clip, carried a folder with a fair size stack of papers. Her dog, Black Hayate, padded next to her, easily keeping up with her strides. She smiled at him. "Good morning, Edward."

She peeked into the office, rolling her eyes at Roy snoozing. "Sleeping again. You'd think he was an old man, taking naps all the time." She passed the blonde the file. "That's everything important that happened yesterday, along with the paperwork you didn't do."

Ed blanched, flipping it open and glancing at the top sheet. "Why has he been so tired lately?"

Riza sighed, closing the door once more. "That's my fault. I've been waking him up early every morning with my morning sickness. That, and he's probably stressing out too much about the baby."

Ed nodded, taking a moment to process it. "Wait, what?!"

Riza only laughed at his reaction.

"Hold on! When did that happen?"

Riza smirked, a grin that was better suited and more seen on a certain dark-haired general. "Well, when a man and woman love each other very much-"

The blonde's face quickly went through several shades of bright red, settling on a deep maroon. "Not that!" He shook his head, as if clearing it of thought. "That's good to hear though. Congratulations!"

She smiled again. "Thank y-" She was cut off again as she went pale, quickly running to the nearest thing she could find –a plant- and promptly began throwing up. With little in her stomach, she soon began simply heaving, which subsided to pants.

Ed hurried to her side, rubbing her back soothingly while Black Hayate whined sympathetically at their feet. A bell echoed through the halls, signaling to the nobles that a meal was ready.

When at last Riza's shaking began to stop, she sat back and sighed. "Thank you" she murmured, accepting the napkin he transmuted from the leaves of the plant.

"No problem," he replied, still slightly worried for her. "Do you want to go down to lunch, or should I walk you to your rooms?"

The woman's face went white again at the mention of food, and shook her head slowly, so as not to get dizzy.

"You need to eat at least something." Roy came over and produced a handkerchief, silently helping her clean up. "You need to keep up your health."

Ed looked from the doorway to the couple, trying to figure out exactly when Roy had woken up.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Riza asked.

Roy shook his head, smiling. "I wasn't asleep, I was just resting my eyes." He sulked. "And I'm not old."

"Come on," he pulled her gently to her feet, steadying her. "Lunch now."

They began to walk away, Black Hayate trotting at their heels. Over her shoulder Riza called, "I want to see that paperwork done by the end of the week!"

Ed laughed, then returned to his rooms, not hungry after the huge breakfast at Envy's. Once the door shut he sighed, glaring at the folder that looked like it had gotten bigger. He sighed and sat down at the vacant desk, quickly reading the sheets and signing those that needed his mark.

Slowly, like an infectious disease, a smile spread over his lips, and he found he was unable to stop it from growing. The ride home of almost constant laughter had left his ribs aching, but he didn't mind. He hadn't laughed so much in a long time.

XXXXX

Envy was distracted, that much was obvious.

More than once he had almost mixed the wrong drink, and nearly dropped several sweat slicked glasses he had no trouble picking up before. Vivian thought it had only been a one day thing, but when it continued for the rest of the week, she suggested that he take some time off.

"Don't you need me here?" he protested.

The bartender shook her head. "Kai's working tonight, so I'll just ask him to help out for a couple of days." She smiled softly, as if she knew something he didn't. "Go see him. It'll do you some good, I think."

Envy opened his mouth to reply, but Vivian had already turned back to the kitchen, humming softly to herself. Smiling, the Sin hung up his apron and left, letting the peeking woman think as if he was ecstatic to be let go for a while. However, as soon as he was out of sight, his grin dropped, smashing onto the ground in a million tiny pieces, unable to be fixed.

Paying absentmindedly for some fruit that would serve as lunch, he walked in a near straight path through the city, heading in one direction. As soon as he reached the palace walls, he scrambled up the sides of a nearby hut, perching lightly on the roof.

Avoiding boards that looked unstable, Envy made his way to the other side, so he was as close to the palace as he could be without leaving the town, settling cross-legged on the edge.

He scoured the area around him one last time, then turned to his "lunch". It was kind of fruit he had never seen before, red and yellow in color and oval-like in shape. The vender had warned him cautiously not to eat the skin, so he pulled out a small knife and began peeling back the outside layers. Much to his surprise, the fruit was a bright yellow on the inside, the sticky juice running over his fingers.

It didn't smell bad, so he figured it was safe to eat. Besides being incredibly sweet, he found that it was very ripe, and was cautious not to let the liquid stain anything. Concentrating on slicing it into edible pieces, all thoughts and stress fled to the back of his mind, hands working methodically.

XXXXX

In the library, Ed found it a little easier to focus on his book than in his room. The library had lots of comfortable furniture suitable for curling up in. Luckily he finished all the paperwork for the week, and no new reports were due until next week, so he had some time to laze about.

The windows were open, sunlight pouring in and the curtains shifting on the slight wind. On sudden impulse, he looked out, golden eyes sweeping the courtyards and the edge of the city. Orbs roaming longer than he had planned, he spotted a prominent object of his thoughts hunched over on a nearby rooftop.

His heart began to hammer, blood pulsating loudly in his ears.

Checking to make sure no one was watching, he crept to the balcony, being sure to pull on his bright red coat, eyes locked on the Sin the entire time.

XXXXX

Envy looked up, swallowing the rest of the fruit in one last mouthful. He knew he was being watched, and glanced around. His gaze flew over the palace, and amethyst eyes immediately spotted the pharaoh's body, covered in red cloth.

Though he was too far away to make out facial features, Ed could still see when Envy seemed to stretch, one arm lifting in the air and moved from side to side. With a jolt he realized the Sin was waving at him, showing that he knew he was there. The blonde waved back, uncaring and doubtful that anyone saw him.

Envy smiled and jumped off the roof, licking the remnants of the fruit juice from his fingers. As soon as the grin had appeared, it disappeared as the Sin remembered the little 'job' he was supposed to do. There was just one problem.

How was he supposed to do it?

XXXXX

"Roy, I'm going out for a while, okay?"

Trying to seem unhurried, Ed checked one last time to make sure he had everything, his wallet tucked away in his jacket pocket. He had only stayed at the palace for dinner, not wanting to look desperate to see the Sin again.

Roy smirked. "Are you coming home tonight?"

The blonde mirrored his grin. "Maybe, maybe not. Don't wait up, just in case."

In a flash, the general was all serious again. "Be careful, okay?"

"Yeah. See you later."

As he stepped outside, Ed squinted in the setting sun. It was the perfect height to get in one's eyes, but it was brilliant nonetheless. The sun was no more than a half circle on the horizon, bleeding the sky vibrant oranges and reds, before fading into the dark blue-turned-black of night. It lit his path to the bar, then covered his footsteps in shadows.

XXXXX

Envy had returned to the bar, a small secret smile playing on his lips. That act alone was enough for Vivian to let him return, thinking him happy. He managed to keep up the façade for the rest of the day, concentrating so that he didn't make any mistakes. He also managed to keep his thoughts far away from his 'job'.

Until he spotted a golden-haired head entering quietly, making his way to an empty table.

Feeling his heart begin to throb with anxiety, the Sin lifted a glass of white wine to his lips, then made his way over.

"Can I help you?"

Envy hated that line, but it was the only way he could think to present a working image, despite the smirking blonde. "I'll just have water, please."

"Sure."

The Sin was given a few more minutes to steel himself as he mixed the drink, and time enough for one last large swallow of alcohol.

As he set the drink down carefully, Envy leaned over, closer to the blonde. "Will you wait until my shift is over? I want to show you something."

Ed nodded, and was content to sit and nurse his drink until Vivian shooed even the saddest drunk from the bar. Then he stood and once again helped clean up, stacking chairs on tables.

As he reached for another chair, someone also placed a hand on it.

"Hey, Viv! Did you hire him too?"

The blonde quickly retracted his hand, stepping back. "Sorry. I was just helping."

The man grinned. An azure bandana was tied in a knot around his head, accentuating the rest of his attire. Short black hair shadowed glinting silver-blue eyes in shaggy bangs, just barely hiding the silver shine of a hoop pierced through the tip of his ear. He wore a long sleeved white shirt, covered with a fancy dark blue vest, but made it casual by leaving it un-tucked over black slacks. "I was kidding. Feel free to do the work. So long as I get paid, I'm fine."

Vivian swatted his arm. "This is Kai. He usually works when Envy doesn't."

"Which doesn't happen too often. The guy practically lives here!" Kai threw a mock glare over his shoulder, laughing.

Envy laughed as well, hefting his violin case and heading over to them. "Don't worry, you'll have plenty of work to do. I'm taking Vivian's suggestion and taking some time off."

"You are?" Even Vivian was shocked.

He smiled at her. "Yeah. About a week or so. Okay with you?"

Kai nodded, although he didn't look too excited. As he entertained Ed with meaningless talk, the bartender stepped aside with the Sin for a moment.

"You will come back, won't you?" She murmured, her eyes worried.

Envy smiled again. "Of course. I'm not about to let my only source of income slip away!" He let his eyes glance over to the blonde. "I have been working a lot lately, so I think it'd be nice to take a vacation. Perhaps I'll go south or something, visit relatives."

Vivian smiled back. "That sounds nice. Have a good time, okay?"

"Sure."

After saying their goodbyes, the two left, Envy taking the lead. The moon was slowly climbing across the sky as Vivian locked the place up for the night. Kai whistled.

"So that was the pharaoh?"

"Yup."

"Nice guy."

"Yup."

"But could they be any more obvious?!"

The bartender laughed. "How did you know?"

Kai shrugged. "Once you get used to observing people, you pick up on things really fast."

Vivian could only howl with laughter as he began dissecting his workmate's actions.

XXXXX

Envy was walking a little ahead, body stiff and tense as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. Finally Ed couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, Envy, are you okay?"

Envy stopped, nodding, his body loosening only slightly. They were at the edge of the city, but for a while now, he hadn't quite met the blonde's eyes. Suddenly, the Sin turned and hugged him.

Stiffening, Ed's face broke into a fierce heat, the blush deepening as their bodies were pressed close together. All color drained however, when he felt the cold bitterness of a knife being pressed against his back.

He swallowed, trying to dislodge the painful lump that had formed there. "Envy? What's going on?"

The Sin pulled him tighter, although the knife followed just as close. "I'm sorry," he whispered, almost inaudibly. "I'm so sorry."

The blonde started struggling, the stench of chemicals starting to permeate the air around him. His vision began to waver, although arms caught him as he fell, foul laughter rippling through his hazy hearing. The last thing he saw was Greed, approaching Envy to thump him on the back, like he was congratulating the other.

Finally! This was another one that was hard to crank out. Now all that's left is to send it to the editors. Don't expect Kai to show up much, not as much as Vivian anyway…I just needed someone to work when Envy doesn't.

I might scan in my little sketch of Kai…and post it on my Deviantart account…But it's not good at all; I just needed a little picture of him for myself. If someone really wants to see it, well, I suppose I could. As of right now though, it'll just stay with the rest of my hand-written work.

blueeyedchibi: That was a terrible, terrible cliffhanger, wasn't it? I don't get to read the next chapter until you guys review, so hop to it!

Panic's note ---

OMG! I have to know what happens next! What about you? REVIEW and the next chapter will come quickly!