Originally posted on aff 2008-09-01

"Shit, how close was that?"

"Close enough." Greed lifted his head just slightly, looking into the mirror he held up over the lip of the trench. "I'd say about one thousand feet."

Marta grinned. "Pay up, Dorochet."

The small man grumbled and reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a folded, crumpled, stained bill and shoved it into the woman's hand. She flicked the bill open, smoothed it, and put it in her own pocket. Another bomb whistled down and exploded, a dirt rain coming down on the heads of the soldiers in the trench. Marta shifted just a bit to look at her commanding officer, studying the man's face as he watched the mirror.

"Jakob." Marta whispered. "Jakob. Greed."

The man looked at her, frowning. "I thought I told you not to call me that."

"Who can hear me? Besides, you weren't responding to that body's name, anyway."

Greed heaved a sigh. "I keep forgetting."

"So I guess we just have to remind you," Dorochet whispered softly, giving his leader a little grin. Greed shook his head.

"All right, enough screwing around. Get those grenades over here." Greed shifted to cover his head as another rain of dirt came down, ignoring the screams of dying men around him and the sounds of bullets striking whatever was in the way. Dorochet kept his head down as he went to retrieve the asked for box, dragging the crate back over to his commanding officer and his comrade. He crouched again and took hold of Greed's rifle and watched the black-haired man lift up a single grenade.

It was strange, watching this man he'd enlisted with, knowing that somewhere on that body was a scar from a killing wound. He'd been there when Jakob Alighieri had died. He'd been there when Greed had taken the body for his own. He'd been scared shitless for days before Marta had explained to him what had happened. Greed had just given him a look that said he could've asked the man to his face instead of skulking about with his tail between his legs.

"Okay," Greed said with a grin, "how far do you think this will go?"

"Three hundred feet," Marta said.

"Two hundred." Dorochet countered.

Greed just grinned and pulled the pin. He popped up out of the trench and chucked the grenade before he dropped, covering his head as dirt rained down around him, kicked up by bullets. Marta took hold of the mirror and eased it up, watching the image reflected in the glass as the grenade burrowed in the dirt, exploding without preamble and tossing two soldiers high into the air.

"How far?" Greed yelled, grabbing up another grenade.

Marta laughed. "Four hundred! Four hundred fucking feet!"

"Want another one?"

"Throw it!"

Greed cackled as he pulled the pin on the grenade in his hand, popping up to chuck the egg-shaped object as far as he could. Dorochet popped up a second after, rifle exploding with a burst of sound and fire, the bullet way off target, but it made the sniper think twice and duck down without taking the shot. Greed and Dorochet slumped against the wall of the trench and let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Nice shot, Doro." Marta said, though she was quite pale.

"Thanks." The Frenchman relaxed his hold on the rifle and closed his eyes. "Considering you haven't tested that yet, I thought we shouldn't take the chance."

"What would I do without you guys?" Greed asked as he picked up another grenade.

"Probably get your ass killed dead."

"That's typically what happens when you get killed."

Marta was proud of herself in the fact she didn't reach out and just smack Greed upside the head. Whatever she was about to say next was drowned out by machine gun fire and explosions, and the three soldiers hunkered down to avoid becoming a statistic. It went on for another hour, all the noise, before it began to taper off into silence.

"Is it over?" Dorochet whispered, clutching to his rifle.

Marta eased the mirror up over the edge of the trench. "I don't see anyone."

"Just because you don't see anyone doesn't mean they're not there." Greed said. He moved then, keeping low, easing himself over to a dead body. He pulled the dead soldier closer to him and hefted the corpse up, making sure the head and shoulders were above the lip of the trench. He held it there until his arms protested the weight, and finally dropped the corpse when there were no sounds of retaliation. Then he stood up, peering over the lip at the enemy's side of the battlefield and frowned.

"Greed?" Marta questioned as she and Dorochet approached their commanding officer, looking over the edge at the other side as well, hearing movement behind and beside them from their surviving comrades, everyone questioning just what the hell was going on.

"Where is Lieutenant Colonel Jakob Alighieri?"

Greed managed to somehow brush off his uniform before he turned to face the questioner, frowning at the sight of the clean uniform, the mud-free boots, and the unwounded eyes of the face moving closer to him. As much as he'd love to reach out and punch the man in his nose, Greed held himself back and simply saluted.

"General Hoffman," Greed said when the man stopped before him. "How can I be of service to you?"

The German officer gave Greed a cursory glance, lip curling in disgust at the sight of the dirty, wrinkled uniform. Greed bit his tongue and for the sake of his two subordinates kept his mouth shut.

"The enemy has retreated for now. Your unit is to be redeployed around Munich. You're to leave immediately."

"Sir." Greed turned to the men and few women gathered around him and fought down the sigh. "You heard him! Get packing!"

It was a mad scramble for a few hours, but soon the trenches were empty of everything except the bodies. Greed just watched the General turn up his nose at the sight of Greed's unit and frowned. It was good to be a higher rank, wasn't it? Got to look down your nose at the grunts, watch them die for you. All well and good until the bullets started finding their way to your uniform.

"Lieutenant, we're ready." Marta said after giving Greed a salute.

"All right. Let's get going." Greed turned back to the General and gave him a parting salute. He waited until the man's back was turned before he flipped the man the finger. Marta held back a snicker and gave her commanding officer a little push.

"Come on," Marta said. "Dorochet's got the engine idling."

Greed shook his head and moved after the Roma woman, climbing into the cab of the truck so thoughtfully provided to them, yelling at the rest of the convoy to get headed out. He sat against the door, staring at the countryside as the truck rumbled along. Dark eyes watched the trees go by, frowning as he watched a shadow dart from tree to tree, following the trucks at a distance.

"Marta, we're in the back of the line, aren't we?" Greed asked, voice coloured with nonchalance.

The Roma woman frowned. "Yeah, why?"

"I gotta take a piss."

"For fuck's sake, Greed," Marta groaned, but she looked at Dorochet and nodded, and the Frenchman slowed the truck to a halt, allowing the Lieutenant to get out of the cab and disappear into the woods.

"Shouldn't we go with him?" Dorochet asked Marta in a whisper.

"As much as I'd like to see how hung that man is, I don't really wanna watch him do his business."

Dorochet blanched and looked out his side of the cab, leaning against the wheel. Marta sat back and sighed. All they could do was wait for the man to get back from whatever he was doing.

Greed moved through the trees, carefully stepping to avoid breaking twigs beneath his boots. He saw the shadow move out of the corner of his eye and froze. He couldn't help the grin then, splitting across his face in savage cruelty.

"Hello, Envy,"

The shadow launched itself at him and Greed whirled around at the last second to grab a hold of the smaller man even as the momentum of Envy's attack forced him to fall backwards. He managed, somehow, not to grab at Envy's wrists, allowing those slim hands to wrap around his throat.

"You look good blonde."

Envy's lips curled into a snarl. "Fuck you, Greed. Where the hell have you been?"

"Up until two hours ago I was in a trench lobbing grenades at unsuspecting soldiers and giving all the cash I had on me to my second in command."

Envy's lips twitched slightly. Greed couldn't help but grin. "Go ahead, laugh."

The smaller creature shook his head and sat back on Greed's hips, frowning at the younger man. "You're frustrating."

"I know." He pushed himself up, elbows locking to keep his weight supported as Envy shifted closer to his waist, right over something that certainly wanted attention. "You still love me though."

"Sometimes I wonder why."

"Because you're insane. Now, if you don't mind, let's move this party to Munich, huh?"

Envy grumbled. "If we must."

He slid off Greed's hips, stood up, and watched the taller body rise. He stretched and put an arm around Envy's shoulders. Knowing better than to shrug it off, Envy just followed the younger man's lead. He grumbled the entire time, but when he saw the truck, he brightened when he saw the waiting truck.

"We're not walking," Envy almost asked in hope.

"Like hell we are," Greed bit out. "Get in the truck and behave yourself."

"And if I don't?"

"Then when we get to Munich I'll punish you."

Envy gave Greed a smile that was full of poison and opened the door to the truck's cab, only to get a pistol in his face. Greed simply reached over his head and wrapped his hand around the pistol's barrel.

"Marta. Let him in."

"But Jakob–"

"Marta, show a superior officer respect, huh?"

Envy watched as the woman's face suddenly grew evil. He silently applauded the soldier, frowning when he finally realized what exactly bothered him so much about the situation. The two people beside him and Greed were the same two people Greed had cavorted around with during his playtime in Amestris. Two people who had died. Like Greed. The cab was silent as they drove, the four squeezed tight together in the cabin. The engine purred as the blonde driving pressed on the accelerator, moving the vehicle forward so they could catch up to the rest of the convoy. Hours whittled by, and still no one spoke, until the trucks finally pulled up to an outpost outside of a city. Greed hopped out first and started to shout orders, directing other soldiers to set up tents and get the wounded into the city to see the doctor. A sight they were, torn and bloody soldiers just fighting to stay alive at this point. Envy kept close to Greed, watching the man move among his men. It was a sight to behold, really.

Finally, Envy found himself alone with the younger man and folded his arms over his chest. "You've certainly settled into the role."

"I guess so. Being in the army pretty much allowed me to go anywhere I wanted."

"I would've thought you'd have gone to ground." Envy said with a grin. "Maybe started up a prostitution ring or three."

"You'd think that, but I made you a promise, didn't I?"

Envy's lips curled into a frown. "You're a fucker, you know that?"

"I'm told that a lot." Greed looked toward Envy, sizing him up. "Besides, those little strumpets couldn't compare to you at all."

"I don't know if I should be pleased or disgusted."

"Why don't you just forget about that for now and get over here."

Envy remained rooted to his place as he watched Greed, frowning. Greed gave a deep sigh and moved over to Envy, grabbing hold of the smaller form as tight as he dared because he knew that even though he was taller and broader Envy certainly could still kick his ass. Still, he risked life and limb when he bent his head and crushed his mouth against the elder creature's. He deepened the kiss, forcing Envy closer to his body. The blonde man fought the embrace, tried so hard to get out of it, but Greed refused to let go even when he pulled back to breathe. Greed dragged him into a vacant tent.

"I ought to kill you." Envy groaned as Greed shoved him into a chair and knelt between his legs.

"If you killed me, then who'd fuck you?" Greed asked, hands working to divest Envy of his clothes. The articles were tossed over into the corner of the tent, leaving Envy absolutely naked before the younger man's eyes. Greed set his hands on Envy's thighs and spread those lithe legs, purring at the sight of him.

"Quit it!" Envy hissed as Greed gave his cock a teasing lick.

"Quit what? This?" Greed grinned a toothy smile as he gave the smaller man's organ another lick. Envy simply squirmed. Of course, this was exactly what Greed was aiming for, making sure the smaller would squirm and writhe and that the longer attention was denied him the more amicable he would be. Of course, it had a tendency to backfire, and Envy soon tired of being teased. Not that he didn't appreciate it, though. Still, what Envy wanted Envy got and the blonde surged up out of the chair to grab a hold of the soldier, yanking at the uniform to get the man just as bare. Then Greed was shoved into the chair and Envy wasted no time in binding the man's hands behind the back of the chair. Grinning like the cat who ate the fat canary, Envy settled on Greed's hips, smiling.

"I'm going to give you a chance to apologize." Envy whispered, kissing the stronger man's neck and shoulders.

"Apologize for what?"

"For being the bastard that you are." Envy grumbled, hissing when Greed's teeth found his shoulder, biting down hard enough to break skin. The dark-haired man lapped at the blood that welled up and gently kissed the pale skin, smearing red everywhere.

"Sorry," Greed finally said. "I think you're going to have to punish me."

Envy's eyes closed halfway as his grin few sharper. "Punish you, huh? I can do that."

Muscles twitched as Envy rose up in Greed's lap, hands wrapping around the dark-haired man's need, purring as he felt the flesh heat and harden in his grip. He watched Greed's eyes, watching them darken with the tendrils of arousal, and Envy couldn't help but smile. Then he shifted once again, turning on that strong lap, and used his hands to feel for the right position. Envy bit his lip to keep from screaming as flesh parted for Greed's cock, his body taking in the hard shaft up to the hilt. Greed just purred.

"That's it, Envy. That's it."

"Shut the fuck up," Envy snarled, lifting his hips just a bit to begin the rhythm. Greed just threw his head back and laughed, watching the smaller body ride him. He strained against the belt wrapped around his wrists, but it was half-hearted at best, just watching Envy's back as that smaller body took him inside time and time again, growing tighter and tighter with each passing moment. The pair exchanged no more words as they moved, simply feeling one another until Envy was sure he was bleeding from places that shouldn't be bleeding and Greed was hot and hard and ready to find release. So Envy obliged, increasing the rhythm until his own body felt like it was on fire, until he was sure that everything inside him was torn in one way or another, and Envy screwed his eyes shut, fighting not to let out the scream that bubbled up from his stomach.

Then Greed shifted. Just once. But it was enough and Envy choked on that scream, his body clamping down tight around his lover, muscles pulsing around the hardness within his body, his own passion making a mess over his abdomen and Greed's knees. He felt hot liquid that stung fill his insides and shivered as Greed relaxed beneath him.

"Never," Envy whispered, "ever, do something as idiotic as this ever again."

Greed laughed. "With you constantly kicking my ass, I don't think I'll have to."