I wrote this a while ago, but didn't post it... for... some reason. Yeah.

This is set sometime after Al became the Philosopher's Stone

I own nothing.

Envy hadn't been expecting them to kill Sloth, but he knew his orders and knew them well. I don't care what you do, she had said, I don't care how you do it. But bring me the philosopher's stone.

And so he had brought it... and the stone's older brother, too. And he hadn't meant to, hadn't meant to but he couldn't stay away. He wanted to see him.

My half-brother.

He hadn't meant to tell him that. But he had. And now he was stuck here guarding the stupid brat, who was missing his arm and hadn't spoken a word since Envy had accidentally let it slip just who he once was. Apparently he hadn't even responded to Dante's gloating.

Stupid brat.

"You could've told us." Edward said, and his voice was small. "You could've said..."

Don't talk to me, thought Envy. He glared hatefully at the blonde boy curled in the corner of the dingy room. "Shut up."

Edward ignored him. "You remember, then? Who you were?" he gave a tiny, sad laugh. "I suppose I always knew, really..."

"Knew what?" Envy snarled.

Edward continued as if he hadn't heard. "I think that was the final punishment for what we did," he mused. "That really, in some small way, we succeeded. Deep down, she really was our mother... and we killed her."

"You're wrong. She wasn't your mother. She only thought she was. It was all in her fucking mind."

"Then everything you've told me... is that all in your mind?"

Yes, said some part of him. No, said another. He had no answer, so instead he just snarled again; "Shut up!"

"I thought so. You're still him, deep down, aren't you?" said Edward. "Still his son. Our half-brother."

"SHUT UP!" Envy roared, but Edward seemed unaffected. Stupid bastard! Envy raged in his mind. What's wrong with you? Why, why can't you just act like your fucking self instead of asking all these fucking questions?

Edward ignored him. "What was your name?" he asked, softly, and Envy lost it. He whirled around, clawed at Edward's shirt, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up, face to face, all teeth and hatred.

"SHUT UP!" he demanded.

Edward closed his eyes. "You could've told us."

Furious, he threw Edward back to the floor and whirled around to face the wall again, steaming.

"I wonder what you were like?" Edward asked.

Envy growled.

"Maybe we could've been a family," Edward murmured.

"Shut up! I'm not your fucking half-brother!"

Edward said nothing for a long time after that- but in it's own way, that was worse than the chatter had been, because now there was nothing to distract him from the thoughts that swirled in his mind. The silence went on, and on, until finally-

"I'm sorry, Envy."

"For what?" the sin asked angrily, turning around again- only to be confronted by Edward standing on mismatched legs and holding aloft in his one and only hand a tiny glass vial, full of ash.

How-?

For all that Edward was weak and slow from lack of food and sleep, for all that Edward was human and fallible and missing a limb, for all that he was stronger, faster, he couldn't stop Edward from pushing the glass vial into his hands, and he knew he knew he knew what was in that stupid little bottle and it wasn't supposed to be this way, bastard, bastard, bastard!

"I found it when I was taken to Dante's room." said Edward simply, with unreadable eyes, as he took the automail arm Envy had taken from him out of the homunculus's unresisting grasp and pushed it back into place. "She didn't keep a very close eye on me. I'm sorry."

Little bastard, little bastard, how could he, how could he?

"You could've told us." Edward said as he brought his hands together. "You could've said..."

And then-

End.