Note: These guys ain't mine, but I love them like they are. Enjoy the chapter!

Forgiveness? Forgiveness?

Envy let out a leering snort, somewhat let down.

Forgiveness.

That was a pitiful answer; and what a ludicrous concept. Forgiveness: the act of forgetting; forgetting the transgressions of others. Excusing the fool others make of you. Letting them walk all over you. To hell with that. Envy took a breath, appraising Fullmetal haughtily. If something as unsavory as forgiveness was his enemy, a homunculi's natural opposite, he was unthreatened; he was better than that, more powerful than that.

Envy's nose wrinkled, staring at Edward with lidded eyes. "If forgiveness is your ally, Pipsqueak, then you're a fool." A glance of a frown shimmered across the boy's face. "It is nothing more than weakness."

Envy hadn't finished his sentence before Edward was shaking his head.

"I know you might see it that way, but let me explain –"

"No need; 'forgive and forget,' right, shrimp? I've heard humans say it before, and it astounds me how clueless they are. Why would I forget a slander against me? Why would I let worthless scum condescend to me? No way in hell would a worm get away with questioning my place – I've got more pride than that."

Fullmetal nearly spoke over him – Envy's eyes narrowed – with a forceful interjection. "Let me explain, Envy."

On instinct, a swell of anger ballooned in Envy's chest; presumptuous, arrogant brat, talking to him that way. Ideally, he'd rip the tongue out of Fullmetal's mouth for such mockery; but Envy was fully aware of the contradiction he'd let himself become. This worm was as condescending as any worm could be, yet he allowed it. And in spite of every instinct to avoid it, Envy let their banter continue, witty and sarcastic and thoughtful and casual. So much so that he was actually listening to the brat.

Ignoring the raging dichotomy clawing within him, Envy angrily waved a hand at Fullmetal, a wordless 'keep going.'

Fullmetal didn't waste a moment.

"Wrath is powerful, no doubt about it – anger can even be lethal. Hell, like I said, I'd have killed that bastard Tucker, but Alphonse snapped sense into me before I did." Envy stared into Fullmetal's face as he spoke; the boy was very tense, serious in every aspect of the word. "Forgiveness has a power all of its own. It almost diffuses someone's fury – it's gentle, it's wholehearted, but – well, dammit, it's not just forgiveness, it's …" The Alchemist paused, brows pulling together. "There's more to it than forgiving someone. It's – "

"Idiocy?"

"Patience!" Edward didn't seem to hear him; the golden eyes flashed bright. "It's patience! Forgiveness and patience – they go hand in hand here."

Envy had to work to hold back an exasperated sigh, his hand planting against his headband. His patience was gone. From what he could tell, Fullmetal was starting in – yet again – on some shallow, knee-jerk monologue about the greatness of humanity – their oh-so-admirable resilience, how better they were than everyone else because they forgave others and could overcome their sins. Envy wasn't having any of it.

By being so roundabout, Envy was beginning to figure that the Alchemist had teased him with something that he couldn't deliver. Jealous of something he already has, huh? He'd be damned if he admitted that he wanted to forgive punitive little worms, because he didn't. Did he want to give them the time of day, either? Be patient with the filth around him? No! All of the Alchemist's reasoning was evaporating quickly to dust; he wasn't going to let himself be toyed with. Eyeing the shrimp with narrowed eyes, Envy felt a boil of resentment heat his stone – a hint of betrayal touched him, too, and he exhaled heavily, trying to push it away with the breath.

"Envy,"

A warning tone.

Just by saying his name, Fullmetal made it clear that he'd picked up on Envy's thoughts. Envy cursed under his breath. He had, apparently, lost any ability to practice some sort of curtain to mask his self-dialogue. Scowling, he made eye contact. The boy's eyebrows were high in an expectant sort of look.

"Don't get lost in this – I'm just explaining Wrath. There's a bigger picture here –"

Lightly groaning, Envy's head dropped from his hand, lolling towards the ground. "Then get to it, Pipsqueak." He looked up. "I don't want to hear about the hard-on you've got for humanity's goodness. I think you've wasted enough time."

Edward blinked into an expression of bewilderment and annoyance; Envy didn't feel as much satisfaction as he thought he would. "Well, it's necessary. I wouldn't be telling you for no reason."

"Could've fooled me."

"You know, you're the one who keeps distracting me."

"Says the smartest Alchemist alive."

"… God. We'll be stuck here all day, if you keep this up."

"Good - we'll have won, by then."

Fullmetal froze.

And Envy tensed; he didn't realize the weight of those words until he'd thrown them out.

There was a still moment between them. They just stared.

Until the Alchemist's eyes gave him away.

It was close to instinct, how drawn Envy was to those eyes and to the sudden tumult swirling in them. Among the smoldering gold, he saw fear, determination, denial - it was a delicious combination of emotion. It was the look of defeat.

Envy found himself curiously, miraculously, alarmingly conflicted.

He stared into that rampage, taking in that expression of Father's – and his siblings' – foreboding success. He felt, and tried to savor the small spikes of vindictive pride. That vulnerable, primal fear was the symbol of their plans; what they'd worked for in the hundreds of years of their many plays, their countless schemes. Envy supposed it should delight him beyond anything else to see that pain.

But delighted, he was not.

That fear – that enticing, exciting, exhilarating fear – what was he expected to, and was trying to enjoy; it was the very expression he'd longed to see since he met the brat. But as Envy stared, taking in every detail of the shrimp's horror, he realized that Fullmetal's fear was the very thing that quelled his mirth.

Envy watched those emotions pull at Fullmetal's face – jaw slack, eyes widening, brow furrowed – and felt –

There's no way.

Regret?

Envy's own expression grew shocked. Regret? Each anguished line of the brat's tortured, fearful face was pulling Envy's stomach into an aching nausea. Wha – dammit. Dammit! For each moment he stared at Fullmetal, his stomach's ache grew sharper. He ripped his gaze from that anguish, supremely disconcerted and very dissatisfied. Why was he unraveling? Why did he suddenly feel bad? Was it for what he'd said? What a load of shit! He could have said a lot worse, and not had a second thought!

Was it the boy's reaction to him?

He froze.

No, it couldn't be.

He didn't give a rat's ass about Fullmetal's precious feelings.

At most, he only cared to see the pain on his face.

But that pain wasn't doing him much good now.

A string of curses trailed across Envy's tongue. Petulant, Envy threw a defiant glance at the boy; his chest sunk with a sudden blow of guilt.

Guilt?!

Back and shoulders curved forward, Fullmetal's eyes had festered a clouded dread, staring at the stone below him with an empty gaze. Goddammit, this was worse than the Pipsqueak's sadness! Bewildered and irritated, Envy halfheartedly tried produce a placating word – hell, even an insult, just something to bring the shrimp to his senses – but could think of nothing. Surely, what he'd said couldn't have had that much of an effect? It's not like the bean was kneeling at the feet of his Father.

Yet.

Envy was frowning, miffed by his sudden self-doubt. The rampage of emotions that he'd only had a moment to enjoy was no longer a pastime show – he'd joined the performance.

Viciously, Envy ground his teeth. It wasn't his job to coddle the filth that deserves more pain than he could give. Shaking his head, shaking himself to sense, Envy pushed himself up. He curled up from his relaxed lay and into a cross-legged sit, hands on knees with his elbows spread wide. He now sat tall, fully facing the shrimp.

Edward stood.

The sudden motion was startling, but Envy composed quickly and he tried to make eye contact; the Alchemist's head hung low, his bangs a curtain across his face.

After a moment, he was able to muster a strong-enough voice, and Envy spoke.

"I see. So you're off to save the day, then, Pips – ?"

He should have seen it coming.

With a violent lunge, Edward hurled himself towards Envy, his metal arm leading the way. Envy had no time to react, and the boy's forearm pinned him to the wall, throat first. The cracks of his spine beneath that metal snapped around the cavern. Envy was flailing, enraged by the sudden offensive. He hadn't done anything to warrant this! With a choked, hardly audible snarl, Envy's eyes – furiously narrowed to slits – met Fullmetal's.

Oho, he'd struck a nerve.

The boy's eyes were alight with a fire that could have challenged the flame freak's. The passion that stoked those golden orbs was all but dripping, and Envy could practically taste the valor that was radiating off him.

They shared an unbroken stare. Fullmetal's breath was heated, and touched Envy's face with each exhale. Though he was shaken, Envy kept his face nonchalant - this wasn't anything new in their shared time together in this damned little room. As the moments passed, he eventually raised an eyebrow at the boy, glancing down at the arm which felt decapitating. A silent ask.

Immediately, Fullmetal loosened his pin just slightly enough to allow bright, energized sparks to begin cracking around them. Almost atmospherically, the red illuminated Fullmetal's face, and the golden stare was tainted with a flickering, menacing stain of red.

Though the metal cinch had loosened, that tight, intense face came closer to Envy's; warm breath pushed more forcefully against him. Vaguely, unthinkingly, Envy recognized it was sweet.

"All right, Envy," Fullmetal's tone sent a different electric shock through him – it was stimulating, how rugged and obscenely wicked that voice was. A shudder played with Envy's healing spine. "You're right, I'll give you that. We can't stay here all day, because I sure as hell won't let your Father do whatever it is he's planning to." The brat's arm was pushing back against Envy's throat with his furious words; Envy's hands automatically grasped both sides of the forearm in defense. "But I am not leaving you until I've said my piece."

Scowling with effort, Envy exhaled a violent puff and pushed, managing to lift Fullmetal's arm from his throat; the boy's eyes widened slightly, before collapsing into a determined snarl. Fullmetal wrapped both his hands around Envy's wrists and yanked him forward – damn, the brat was fast – onto the floor. In an instant, and yet again, the boy was straddling him, though Envy was now on his stomach; with unforgiving strength, the boy's knees cinched around Envy's waist, and his hands were pinned to his back, folded and held in place by Fullmetal. Envy's cheek lay flat against the stone, and he was livid. He hadn't even fought back! The brat was going to pay –

"Listen up, Envy," Fullmetal's hot breath and ferocious voice whipped by his ear, "Because you're about to get your lesson."

"Think you could spare me the honor of getting the fuck off of me, you piece of shit?" Though strained by Fullmetal's weight atop him, Envy's voice was biting. Fullmetal gave a huff of a laugh.

"No, I think this is perfect. Now you're taking me seriously."

The Philosopher's Stone was wild with brutish rage, and Envy was struggling hard, streams of curses flying around the cavern. Fullmetal simply held him down, silent amidst Envy's roars.

Dammit, he felt so helpless.

Fullmetal didn't let him go on for long. He spoke loudly, drowning out the echoes of Envy's sporadic shouts, "Wrath. How do you overcome your anger, Envy? You forgive what has hurt you, you forgive what made you angry! You're patient and forgiving of others and their weaknesses -!" The boy paused, readjusting his grip after a particularly hard struggle of Envy's, "I had to forgive myself, after I was a shit of a brother and a failure as a son! It's the only way I could learn from it and grow!"

"Damn you!" Envy snarled, pulling at his arms to get them from Fullmetal's grip.

Fullmetal leaned lower, his volume towering and overpowering Envy's, "And Greed! I wanted my Mother back, knowing the risks! Look at all I took! My brother's life, my own childhood," the boy growled that word into Envy's ear; Envy turned to spit at the brat. "I've atoned for that sin since the moment I made it. How? I've given all of myself – my skills, my knowledge, all I live for – to help others! My time in the military has been nothing –" Fullmetal shoved Envy's hands hard into his back, "but service to my country. It taught me how to think about others, how to help them!

"And it kept me off my ass, kept me from getting stale and bitter like you." Envy roared, twisting an arm to elbow the Alchemist in his side, but the boy caught on too soon and dodged. Fullmetal began yelling right into Envy's ear, all but snarling. "I became more diligent! Persistent! I learned to moderate my resources and time – hell, it's the one thing the military's best at: I controlled what I wanted! Far from what Sloth and Gluttony might do!" Envy couldn't eschew the words that were shouted at him, but they didn't stop him from fighting with all he had; he continued to snarl with effort, straining against the stone hands that held him.

"And that son of a bitch Pride – what arrogance could I possibly have after breaking the rules of truth itself? Tell me that, Envy –" One hand came to his face, wrapping around his jaw and holding his head still enough to glance at Fullmetal, the boy's gaze just beside his. The fire in those golden eyes met his, and a malicious leer ripped through Envy's throat. Fullmetal spoke just as angrily, "How could I be proud, after creating a monster? Stealing my brother's life to do it? After submitting myself to become a dog of the military? Since that moment, my life has been nothing but humbling!"

Their struggles and heated breaths did not mask the break in Fullmetal's growl; Envy heard the honesty, cracking the anger that Fullmetal spoke with. The break was just enough to have Envy consider backing off on his struggle –

"All in all, I was arrogant enough to lust –" Fullmetal's voice dropped to a hoarse rumble beside his ear, "for the impossible."

One step too many. He took one step too many. That small taunt was a gamble.

And Edward knew he'd lost.

Beneath him, Envy's body froze; all of the sin's struggling halted in a single moment. It was eerie, and Edward tried to hide the tumble of nerves filling his insides. Holding his body and grip strong, he glanced at the sin's peculiar expression beneath his hand: almost sorrowful; bright, staring eyes flashed beneath twitching brows, his mouth a tight, firm line.

Edward could look for only a second.

It was simultaneous: a feral, beast-like roar shook Edward to his bones, and the Homunculus ripped a wrist from Edward's one-handed hold. "Shit – !" was all Edward could spit out before Envy's suddenly free arm threw a solid elbow into his gut. Edward released Envy's face, grasping at his stomach with a gasp of air. As he doubled over, the sin threw his head back and caught Edward's forehead; the crack pushed Edward off of Envy. Edward rolled over, eyes squinted from the hit to his head, watching with a wave of dread as the Homunculus pulled himself to his feet. As he'd suspected, Envy's strength was returning – the sin had the power to nail him with a solid hit to his gut, and had returned easily to his feet. Envy's back was to him for a moment, but the Homunculus slowly began to turn. Tight muscles rippled in the little light they had; those clawed fingers flexed; then the sin's head whipped around. Over the bare, rounded shoulder, those violent eyes locked on Edward.

For the first time they'd been caved in, Edward truly feared the sin before him. Envy's chest was heaving, each breath tugging hoarse rumbles from his throat, as he hunched precariously over. The violet eyes were less human than he'd ever seen them, wide and staring; the stance, too, was animalistic.

With a sharp swell of realization, Edward knew he was staring at a predator; his predator.

Somehow, he'd been stupid enough to poke it with a stick.

Rough, growling breath tugged at Envy's expression – his nose was curled into a beast's snarl, teeth bared.

Envy turned completely, then took a careful step towards Edward.

That single step set a fight-or-flight firework off in Edward's mind: stop him! Run! Fight him, kill him! Get out! But it took little effort to find that he couldn't really move – the shock of Envy's sudden dominance had him suddenly, and dangerously submissive. Damn it, all he'd wanted to do was nail the point into Envy's head – he'd just wanted the sin to listen! But he had to take advantage of the one thing Envy made clear he couldn't touch! And now, he was here – couldn't think, couldn't move. He couldn't even gather the mind to transmute his arm into his typical blade, so Edward did the first thing that came to his scrambling mind:

He lifted his metal hand, a plea to the Homunculus. "En – Envy, wait –" his other hand kept balance as Edward began to shimmy away from the sin. "Look – I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have –"

The apology was deafened; Edward hadn't noticed the whip of a foot until it slapped his cheek, seared its imprint into Edward's mind, and he flew backwards. He met the crook between the wall and floor, but he hardly noticed: all his words were kicked from his mouth and out of his mind; he couldn't think, for all he knew was the pain in his face and a thud against his head.

Edward tried to do something – anything – but found, yet again, he couldn't move. Everything seemed momentarily quiet, and Edward's eyes fluttered.

He caught one more fading glance of an animal, feral and poised, before he saw black.

A/N: Ed dun' messed up.

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Thanks for reading, you perfectly boiled egg.