Chapter Text
It’s quiet.
Eerily quiet. He couldn’t hear anything, and he wasn’t sure if his ears were the problem, or if the place he was in was really that silent. Briefly, he thought about Edward and the white void he had talked about, and he wondered if homunculi went into the Portal when they died. But that didn’t last long because—
Wait.
He heard an inhale and a long, heavy exhale. It sounded weary. It sounded like the owner had gone for so long without speaking that they just needed to make a noise of some kind. It sounded close, maybe somewhere on his right, and with it came a foggy realization.
I’m not dead.
Slowly, cautiously, he opened his eyes, finding a ceiling above and a distinct note of blue in his peripherals. He inhaled, testing out his lungs and not feeling his fatal wound, and then he tried to get himself into a more coherent state.
Is that…? He turned his head to the right, and he saw what was undeniably Mustang, their eyes locking. He squinted, and he quickly realized he didn’t like being in such a vulnerable position around the colonel, so he braced his arms against the mattress and pushed himself up.
“You’re awake.”
Envy didn’t acknowledge the observation, choosing a sharp question instead. “What did you do?”
“Tch.” Mustang folded his arms over his chest, and he wasn’t reclining in the bedside chair. He was tense. “I’ve been asking myself that for the past six hours.” He leveled a not-quite-cold stare at the homunculus. “I used one of Howard’s Stones to revive you.”
It took a second to realize Howard must have been Jacket, but it didn’t really matter in the big scheme of things. “You revived me.” He said it with a distinct note of disbelief, though he didn’t know what part of him would still be struggling to process the very obvious truth in the statement.
“Yes.” Mustang glared, a calculating look in his dark eyes. “I don’t know how many souls were in it, meaning I don’t know how powerful you are right now. But I think it goes without saying that if you so much as blink wrong, I will incinerate you.”
Envy snorted out a laugh, breaking eye contact even though every instinct he had told him to keep his attention on the threat. “Yeah. I think I know that by now.” He looked down at himself, lifting his hands from the sheets and flexing his fingers. “So, we don’t know how many souls…” He pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “Well, I can’t feel the Stone.”
Mustang seemed to grow even more on edge, and he slowly rose from the chair. “That’s interesting.” Dropping his arms from his chest, he started to rub the fingertips of his ignition glove together.
Envy stared down at his hands for a moment more, and then he dropped them into his lap. He swallowed, wondering what in the world was wrong with him, and then he looked at Mustang.
“Did she make it?”
Squinting slightly, Mustang regarded the sin with caution. “Her body is still fighting the Stone, but we let the process run its course, so she doesn’t have the disadvantage Luther did. It looks like her case will be more like Raiden’s.”
Envy gave a faint nod. “Good.” He continued to stare into Mustang’s eyes for a moment, and then he heaved a sigh. Throwing the blanket off, he swung his legs over the left side of the bed and slowly got to his feet.
“Envy.”
He ignored the warning and walked over to the window, peering through the glass and seeing what he assumed was the surroundings of a hospital. They were fairly high up, and there were people mulling around on the streets. It appeared to be midday, and he briefly wondered why these people weren’t at their jobs.
“Envy.”
Taking a breath, Envy called upon his powers, red light sparking and flashing around his feet as he slowly shifted into his usual outfit—the one he hadn’t been in since Mustang captured him. He kept staring out the window, watching the signs of life, watching the things he used to consider so pointless and sentimental and foolish.
I have my power again. He looked down at his hands for a second time, imaging turning them into weapons. He imagined calling on his massive, beast-like self. I could try and fight him. But it probably wouldn’t work, and even if it did…
“It’s okay to be jealous of humans, and it’s okay to pursue what they have.”
“En—”
“Where is she?” Envy turned away from the window and found Mustang still standing on the other side of the bed. “I want to see her.”
Mustang shook his head slightly, scrutinizing Envy from his head to his toes and back up again. “What is this?”
Scoffing, he gestured to the space between them. “You’re really telling me you brought me back without knowing I wasn’t going to be a threat?” He rolled his eyes, trying to be dismissive of the truth he still couldn’t swallow. “I told you, Mustang. You poisoned me. I’m defective. Tainted.”
“So, you aren’t going to murder everything in sight?” Mustang asked, his tone making it clear that he didn’t quite buy it. “You’re just going to check on your sister like a good big brother and not spend your time looking for blood?”
“I don’t have a choice!” Envy spread his arms wide, welcoming an argument. “I know I can’t beat you, and with everything you—you worms have done to me, I know there’s no going back.”
Mustang arched a brow. “So, you do still want blood.”
“I’ll always want blood, Mustang.” Envy dropped his arms, a defeated sigh passing his lips. “But I want other things, too.”
“Like what?”
Envy glared for a moment, and then he looked away. He clenched his fists at his sides, wishing Mustang would just let him see his sister and be done with it.
“Like what, Envy?”
“My siblings.” Envy wet his lips, careful with his words, and he met Mustang’s gaze again. “Some kind of purpose.” He snorted. “I spent my endless decades of living with orders to follow, and I’ve found I don’t function well without them.” Then, as begrudgingly as a person can admit something, he continued. “Being on a team again.”
Mustang’s eyes widened slightly. “You see yourself as a part of the team?” It was impossible to tell whether Mustang was angry about that or not.
“Yeah, well, whose fault is that?” Envy folded his arms over his chest, glaring, his volume getting louder. “You kept dragging me along on your missions, using me as a resource, letting me help—what did you think would happen, Mustang?”
Surprisingly, Mustang didn’t fire back. He just stood there, watching Envy closely, calculating something Envy was not privy to. They stared at each other, and Envy could feel his temper thudding on the inside of his chest.
“You—”
“What about your revenge?” Mustang crossed his arms, disbelief still etched onto his features. “You beat Howards head in with a gun, which I assume was a little more than self-defense. What about the other scientists involved? Something tells me you’re not going to be satisfied with jail time.”
Snorting, Envy leaned back against the window. “It’s not exactly up to me. Of course I would like to tear their spines out of their mouths, but you’re not going to let me do that. Hanging is going to have to be enough for me.”
Mustang said nothing, watching him carefully, and then he slowly lowered his arms. “I’ll take you to her.” He turned toward the door, beckoning Envy with his fingers. “She’s this way.”
Glaring, Envy crossed the room and followed Mustang out into the hall, making note of Breda hovering just outside the door. He made brief eye contact and nodded faintly, but then his attention was back on Mustang, who had given the homunculus his back.
But does that mean he trusts me somewhat? Or does that mean he just knows he could destroy me if I tried anything?
“You should know there was another homunculus at the warehouse,” Mustang started, cutting off Envy’s thoughts. “Based on our conversations with him, we’ve determined he’s the oldest of the homunculi that have been created by Howard. His name is Jurian, and he’s with your sister now. Thankfully, he’s been able to tell me what Howard can’t. You know, with him being dead and all.”
Envy frowned slightly, and while he didn’t care much about Jacket being dead, he remembered the worm telling him they didn’t have any homunculi. It makes sense that he wouldn’t have trusted me with information like that. I came out of nowhere and made a claim he couldn’t verify.
Mustang once again interrupted Envy’s thoughts, this time by coming to a stop by an attentive Hawkeye and opening a door. He walked inside and made a sweeping gesture with his arm, letting Envy pass him and approach the only bed in the room.
“Oh!” Jurian—or at least, Envy assumed the dark-haired young man with his new sister was Jurian—got to his feet and approached. “You must be Envy.”
Envy gave him a long, careful look, and then he offered a faint nod. “Yeah.” He held his hand out for a shake. “I’m your big brother.”
Jurian stared at the hand, confusion in his violet eyes.
“You grab it and shake it.” Not that Envy blamed him for not knowing what to do. He probably never left Jacket’s designated laboratories. “It’s just something you do when greeting people.”
Grabbing on, Jurian let Envy lead the shaking part, and then he smiled. “Thanks.” He startled slightly, as if just remembering something, and he turned toward the bed. “This is Dahlia. Or at least, that’s the name she gave me. I don’t know if that’s the name of one of her souls, or if it’s something she came up with on her own. She isn’t very coherent right now.”
Envy nodded, moving toward the shivering, moaning form on the bed. “Dahlia, huh?” He reached out and almost brushed her sweaty hair away from her face, but he stopped short, realizing it wouldn’t do anything but cause more pain. “Do you know how many souls were in the Philosopher’s Stone used to make her?”
Jurian pursed his lips, reaching up to cup his chin. “I don’t know exactly, but I would say Master used at least thirty people to create his most recent Stone.”
“Don’t call him that,” Envy snapped, giving his brother a sharp look. “You’re the only master you have. Nobody else.”
Blinking, Jurian offered a nod, a surprised and somewhat nervous expression on his face. “Yes. Of course.”
Mustang spoke up then, his arms folded over his chest as he surveyed the three homunculi in the room. “Is it safe to say most of his Stones contained the same number of people?”
Jurian shook his head. “It’s hard to tell with Mas—um, the scientist. He would make Stones with just a handful of lives for creating the actual bodies of us homunculi. But then he would use more lives to make the Stones he was actually fusing us to.”
“Hmm.” Nodding, Mustang kept the expression on his face unreadable. “Fullmetal and Alphonse told me their father communicated with the souls in his Stone. It’s possible that if you give it enough effort, you all would be able to find out how many souls you have inside of you.”
Envy considered the idea for a moment. “I… could try, I guess.” He suspected, based on the fact that his Stone was once again hidden and he could shapeshift, that he had been given a substantial number of lives. But he couldn’t be sure, and while it wasn’t in his nature to see the souls inside of him as people, he was willing to make some changes to accomplish his goal.
Just another way they’ve corrupted me.
“I take it you want to stay with Dahlia until she’s recovered.” Mustang started toward the door, dropping his arms. “Hawkeye will remain outside, so I wouldn’t recommend causing any problems.” He stopped with his hand on the door. “Envy.”
Envy looked at him and saw he was still facing the exit. “Yeah?”
“Once Jurian and Dahlia are settled in their hotel room, we’re going to have a team meeting. I expect you to be present.”
Is that his way of acknowledging that I said I felt like a part of the team? Envy squinted, his gut telling him to be cautious when it came to Mustang, and what eventually came out was a noncommittal, “Sure.”
“Good.” With that, Mustang left and shut the door behind him.
“Is he…?” Jurian put his hands together and pressed his fingertips to his mouth. “Is he safe? Or is he waiting for us to drop our guard?”
“He’s safe.” Envy paused then, cocking his head to the side. “Well, he’s safe if you’re not a heartless monster who destroys everything it can.” He righted his head. “But to you two, he’s safe. I don’t know what their plans are for you yet, but he’ll make sure you’re taken care of.” He approached the hospital bed, leaning forward slightly and scanning the body.
Dahlia was pale, her light blonde bangs matted to her sweaty forehead. Her chest rose and fell jerkily, her lungs struggling to take in oxygen. Her eyes were screwed shut, and Envy wondered if they were as golden as her hair.
“How long has she been like this?” Envy straightened up, watching as her arm haphazardly swung upward, trying to shield her eyes.
Jurian walked back over to his chair at the bedside, slowly sitting down and propping his elbows on his thighs. “It’s been about six hours.”
Oh. Mustang did say something about six hours. He frowned. I was unconscious for a long time. Especially considering he had been given a Stone. Shouldn’t he have woken up immediately? Unless… my body has been pretty human lately… maybe it was doing its own kind of fighting, trying to absorb the Stone properly. Pushing the thought aside, Envy kept his gaze on his sister. “Have you found anywhere that doesn’t hurt her?”
Jurian nodded. “Right here.” He put his hand on her left foot, rubbing small circles on the top that caused her to moan.
“Was that a good moan or a bad moan?” Envy asked, quirking a brow.
“G-good.” Her lips stuttered, eyes still hidden by her arm.
“Well, then. Keep it up, Jurian.” Envy glanced around the room and spied a chair by the window. Figuring he might as well make himself comfortable, he walked over and grabbed it, dragging it back to his side of the bed. “We’ve still got quite a few hours ahead of us.”
Jurian nodded but said nothing, and Envy didn’t prompt him. They lapsed into an easy silence, the minutes ticking by in a stillness that was broken up only by the suffering on the bed.
What are they going to do with me now that we caught Jacket? Though, he supposed, they hadn’t been trying to get rid of him when the investigation started. So, what? I just go back to that room in Mustang’s house? Or maybe they’ll send me to prison? Envy had no idea, but he got a feeling he was going to find out very, very soon.
I don’t even know how to do this. Envy bit his lip as he started up the hill, eyes wandering over the many headstones. I wonder how many of these soldiers died as a result of my actions. He couldn’t say he felt necessarily guilty, but he definitely had a new perspective on it. He had more of an understanding of the weight of the things he had done. But that still doesn’t tell me what to do.
He looked ahead of him, watching Mustang’s back as the colonel led him through the cemetery. He thought back to the previous day at the hospital, and he still had no idea what he thought of the man’s motives. Did Mustang have faith in himself and his ability to take Envy out? Or had Mustang developed a small amount of trust in the homunculus? Or maybe that trust was in Envy’s weakness? But Envy wasn’t really weak anymore. He could shapeshift again, and he had found a scalpel in the hospital and determined he could heal from minor injuries. So, if there was trust, then it almost had to be in Envy himself, didn’t it?
“Here.”
Envy swallowed, still having no idea what he was supposed to do, and he looked at the headstone of Maes Hughes. He walked up to it and stopped, silently hoping Mustang would give him some pointers or explain what he wanted to see happen. Of course, Mustang did not do that, so Envy cleared his throat.
“Um… I…” Could he really say he was sorry? Could he make himself feel remorse over any of the things in his checkered past? “I…” If he lied, would Mustang be able to tell? Hawkeye said Envy showed everything on his face, so what would Mustang see?
Mustang didn’t offer any answers.
Sighing, Envy lowered himself to the grass and sat cross-legged, putting his hands on his knees. “When I killed you, I said, ‘You humans don’t make any sense to me. You throw away your lives for nothing.’” He took a breath, squaring his shoulders. “I think I understand now. It’s not for nothing; it’s for something very, very important.” He wet his lips. “You were defending something that night, and I shouldn’t have fought to destroy it. I am…” His throat went dry, and suddenly the words that had been falling from his lips so smoothly ground to a halt. “I am…”
Could he say it? He didn’t know what guilt was supposed to feel like, and that meant he didn’t know if he felt guilty. It was more of a logic thing. He had obtained an understanding that what he did was wrong, and the resulting conclusion was that he should feel guilty. But was that the same as actually feeling it? Was it genuine? Was it real?
“I am…” He took a breath, and suddenly, he was thrown back into the moments when Mustang had helped him. He remembered the mercy, and he remembered the comfort, and he remembered the protection. Even if he couldn’t make himself regret killing Hughes for the actual act of killing, he could regret what he had done to Mustang. So, if that was the case, then…
“I am sorry.”
Silence.
Envy didn’t dare look away from the polished rock, eyes staring at the words inscribed without reading them. His grip on his knees tightened a bit, and he clenched his jaw. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, not feeling his Stone like he had for months, and he reminded himself that he had a fighting chance if Mustang wasn’t satisfied.
“We’re going to the East.”
Frowning, Envy figured he had permission to take his attention off Hughes, and he looked up at Mustang with a tilt of the head. “Uh…”
“It’s been part of my plan for a while now, and when Dr. Marcoh healed my eyes, he made a personal request that ran along the same lines.” Mustang put his hands on his hips, staring Envy down with a determined look on his face. “We’re going to return the Ishvalans’ holy land to them, and we’re going to begin making up for the destruction we caused. I thought it was particularly fitting that you would be required to help.”
Envy glared, but he didn’t make an outburst based on his gut reaction. “I…” He squinted, trying to figure out what he wanted to question first. “What happened to your eyes?”
“I was blinded when Wrath and Pride forced me though the Gate of Truth.” Mustang didn’t seem even remotely perturbed. “Dr. Marcoh used a Philosopher’s Stone to restore my sight, but he did it with the stipulation that I would restore Ishval.”
Envy blinked slowly. “Um…” He gave Mustang an uncertain, kind of wary look. “I kind of figure I don’t have a say in the matter.”
Chuckling, Mustang shifted his arms to a folded position over his chest. “No, you don’t.” He jerked his head in a nod toward the grave. “But you need to decide if you want your memorial here in Central, or if you want it in the East.”
Envy stared, surprised, even though he knew the only reason he was paying his respects was to obtain said memorial. He had honestly expected Mustang to find some reason to be dissatisfied with Envy’s performance so he didn’t have to go through on his promise to help the homunculus find closure. No, actually, it should have gone further than that. Mustang should have gotten the apology he was looking for and then killed Envy. But he had just revived him, and he couldn’t have done that just to hear some words at a graveside.
“You have a little time. There’s still some paperwork from the Howard case that needs to be wrapped up, and I am being asked to brief a team on the necessary actions to take if a situation like this arises again.” Mustang tapped his finger against his bicep. “But that should only take a week or so. We’ll be moving on immediately after.”
Scoffing, Envy got his feet under him and stood up, dusting himself off. “I keep forgetting I have a significant amount of lives now. I hope you realize how unwise it is to keep me alive.”
Mustang snorted. “Oh, you think you could overpower me just because you have a few more lives?” He rolled his eyes, thoroughly unconvinced.
“So, what, you trust me?” Envy spread his arms. “Are you stupid or something?”
“It’s not you I trust.” Mustang arched a brow. “It’s like you said. We corrupted you. I trust your corruption, and I trust your weakness.”
Growling, Envy clenched his fists. “You—”
“It’s keeping you alive. Are you really going to stand there and tell me you would prefer to be dead?” Mustang chuckled. “You’re Envy. Not Pride.” He reached out and flicked the homunculus on the forehead.
Envy grit his teeth and glared at Mustang, struggling to think of something to say in response, but his anger didn’t last long. He could still feel the residual contact of Mustang flicking him, and it brought a new train of thought to mind.
That’s… the kind of thing… friends would do… right?
Envy stared at Mustang for a long moment, trying to think over their time together, trying to recall all the gory details and what they meant. He remembered all the threats, but he remembered the bits of kindness—Mustang’s so-called mercy and empathy. It was what had corrupted him, and he knew he should have hated it for that, but he didn’t.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Envy waved it off and then put the hand on his hip. “I’ll tag along. I promise not to start another war.”
Mustang smirked. “If you did, it definitely wouldn’t end well for you.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Do you want to come see your siblings off? They’re down at the train station with the Elric brothers.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Envy wet his lips. “They’re going to Resembool.” He jerked his head in the direction of the car where Hawkeye was waiting. “Let’s go.”
Mustang started walking back through the markers. “The rest of the team is already there. We’ll have to hurry if we want to arrive before the train leaves.”
“Mmhmm.”
Envy walked just behind the colonel, violet eyes traveling over the endless rows of death. He started to slip down into his thoughts, his old self rearing its ugly head and reminding him of exactly what his siblings—his original siblings—would think of him if they could see him now. If they knew he was so domesticated, knew he wasn’t out for blood, knew he had apologized, knew he intended to help humanity… well, they would destroy him. And there was a large part of him that said they would be right to do so.
But I can’t deny my own experiences. Before this, I never faced mercy. Not for me, not for humans, not for anyone or anything. But now I have. I can’t just pretend it never happened. He couldn’t continue living in ignorance, or he would be as bad as the humans he so loved to demean. It doesn’t matter what they would think. They’re not here. They have no say over what I do or how I do it.
But, as tempting as it was, he couldn’t lie to himself, either. Maybe they couldn’t tell him what to do, but he was still getting orders from someone. Only… he got the feeling this new someone actually cared whether he lived or died. He got the feeling they were interested in more than just the end result. He could still feel Father’s hand digging into him, sucking the life out of him, and this new someone wouldn’t do that.
Mustang… He was a man dedicated to those under him. He was the kind of man who thought about the consequences of his actions and what it would do to others. Ishval had scarred him, but in the end, it only made him stronger. He was protective. He was earnest. He was everything Father was not.
And Envy liked it.
He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to, and he wasn’t sure if it was something worth ridiculing, but he liked it. He had been corrupted, but he wasn’t entirely sure the thing he was turning into was something he didn’t want.
“Envy.”
Blinking, Envy realized they had arrived at the train station while he was lost in thought, and he quickly let himself out of the back. “Yeah?”
“Keep your positive outlook. You’re going to need it a lot in the coming days.” Mustang smirked and slammed the passenger side door, turning toward the train station. “If you can’t get your head around being one of us, this mission is going to be very difficult for you.”
“Tch.” Envy shut the door and walked away from the car, joining Mustang and a silent Hawkeye on their trek into the station. “I’ll never be one of you.” His lips pulled up into a faint smirk. “But I’m realizing there are worse things.”
Mustang chuckled, slipping his hand into his pocket. “Yes, there certainly are.”
They walked into the building, and Envy started looking around for any sign of his siblings. It took a few moments, but he soon spotted Raiden’s flaming red hair, and he pointed out the group to Mustang.
“Brother!” Raiden threw his hands up and darted across the platform, throwing his arms around Envy’s neck. “You came!”
Envy grunted from the impact, and then he put a hand on Raiden’s head. “Yeah, yeah. I’m here.” He worked his hands between them and did his best to break the hug without breaking Raiden’s oh-so-childlike heart. “Come on. Let’s get you on your train.”
Raiden nodded and turned, sprinting back to the group gathered by one of the cars. Envy rolled his eyes and followed along, Mustang on his left, until they were all standing together by the train.
“Envy.” Jurian smiled, holding out a hand for his brother to shake. “I thought I wasn’t going to have a chance to say goodbye.”
Envy grasped the hand in his own. “Of course I came.” He let go and looked at Dahlia, the one he had interacted with the least. “You’re going along with them to Resembool, right?”
Dahlia nodded, pale fingers tangling through her stands of long, blonde hair. “I think I’d like to learn more about automail. Edward said that his friend, Winry, might be able to teach me some things.”
Pressing his lips into a thin line, Envy nodded his head, trying to swallow the fact that he was turning over his siblings to someone else. “Sounds like you’ll be busy.” He looked between the three creations, contemplating them for several seconds, and then he looked at Edward. “Hey!”
Edward jerked slightly, a suspicious look going into his eyes. “What?”
“You’re their big brother now.” Envy put his hands on his hips, leaving no room for argument on his face. “I, of course, will always be their oldest and most important brother. But you’re their brother, too, and I expect you to take care of them.”
Raiden looked at Edward with wide, blue eyes. “You’re our big brother now?”
“Hey, wait! I never agreed to this!” Edward held out his hands, no doubt trying to stop any attack hugs Raiden might want to give. “You’re not my siblings! You should be talking to Envy!”
“But I can’t go with them.” Envy arched a brow, giving the teen a look like he had missed the punchline of a joke. “You are the one who’s going to be with them, watching them, training them, and so on. It’s your responsibility.”
Alphonse pressed his lips together and gave his brother an almost apologetic look. “They do need someone to look out for them, Brother.”
Edward held his hands up, sputtering nondescriptly for several seconds before letting out a massive groan. “Fine!” He threw his arms out. “Fine, I’m your brother now. Don’t make me regret that.”
“Yay!” Raiden jumped on Edward, winding his arms around Edward’s shoulders.
Envy smirked to himself, and then he put his attention on Jurian and Dahlia. “Stay out of trouble. And keep him—” he pointed to Raiden, “—out of trouble, too. It’ll get back to me, one way or another, and I won’t be happy if I hear things aren’t going well.”
Jurian smiled, and while Dahlia seemed to have a more nervous disposition, her lips did turn upward slightly.
“That goes for both of us.” Mustang folded his arms, giving the homunculi a level stare. “I expect you to use your many lives to better the world around you. I don’t want to catch wind of any misbehavior, or I will come to deal with you. Personally.”
They all nodded, silent, and before anyone could think to say anything else, the train whistle blew. Immediately, the Elric brothers and the homunculi jumped into action, grabbing what few bags they had and quickly boarding the train.
“Be safe!” Hawkeye called, waving at the group as they started to crowd around the windows. “Take care of each other!”
Everyone started waving and calling out their final farewells, leaving Envy to stand there and watch, an odd stirring in his gut. He could easily identify part of the feeling as possessiveness—he was actually letting homunculi go to live with humans—but the other part was foreign to him. It just felt sort of empty.
“Bye bye, Brother!” Raiden shouted, half hanging out the window.
Envy stared for a moment, and then he felt a small smile pull on the corner of his mouth. He lifted his hand and waved it a few times, and he felt something when Raiden let out a loud laugh.
They’re still corrupting you.
But he kind of… didn’t care. He just stood there, watching them leave, trying to identify what was happening inside of him. He was confused by it, but it didn’t disgust him the way it should have. He wasn’t completely against it, and he knew that wasn’t right, but again, he didn’t really care.
“You’re going to miss them, aren’t you?”
Envy watched the train continue down the tracks, a low growl rising in his throat. “Shut up, matchstick.”
Mustang uttered a similar sound in reply. “What did you just call me, you gender-confused palm tree?”
“I told you to can it, Glitter Gloves!” he snapped, finally looking away from the train.
“Watch your mouth, Bikini Boy!” was Mustang’s equally fed-up response.
“Skirt-chasing candle head!”
“Cross-dressing lizard!”
“World leader wannabe!”
Envy jerked when he felt a sharp pain in his head, but it took a second to realize that Mustang had rapped his knuckles on the homunculus’ skull. They made eye contact, Envy rubbing idly at the top of his head, and after a few seconds of staring, they both nodded.
“You understand—”
“Yeah. I was just in a mood.” Envy dropped his hand and turned back to look at the train. “But if you want me to stick around, you’re going to have to get used to at least a little insolence. It’s kind of my thing.”
Mustang chuckled. “I think I can live with that. Just don’t let the higher-ups find out about it. They might not trust me to keep an eye on you.”
Envy smirked. “You got it, sir.”
And so they watched together until the train was gone, and then they started making their way back to their vehicles. Just based on what he had been told, Envy assumed they were headed back to work for the day. Briefly, he thought about packing for their trip to the East, and he wondered if he would ever be allowed to have more than just a few outfits to his name. But then again, with his powers replenished, did he really need belongings?
It took a moment, but he determined that he did. Or at least, he wanted them.
He wanted belongings, and he got the idea that if he stuck with Mustang, he would have them. It might be a little rough, but if there was anything humanity had taught him, it was that things worth having required effort. He supposed it was the law of Equivalent Exchange. But it didn’t really matter. Whatever it was, he had finally obtained it, and he wasn’t going to let go of it for anything.
For the first time in his very lengthy lifespan, he was content.
And it was all thanks to Colonel Roy Mustang.