He refused to eat at first, but after several pleas from his father,
the dark-haired boy finally gave in and accepted the soup that was
spoon-fed to him. Envy didn't even realize how hungry he felt until the
warm liquid and vegetables settled into his stomach. Human food wasn't a
necessity for a Homunculus, but for some reason, he found the soup to
be hearty.
Soon, the bowl turned empty.
"Are you still hungry?"
Envy gave a small nod in response.
"How about a Shepherd's pie? You've always loved that."
The boy blinked, surprised that his father would still remember this detail about his past life.
"Don't
go away now. I'll be right back." With those words, Hohenheim stood up
from the edge of the sofa and carried the empty tray away.
Envy
overheard his father and youngest brother crossing paths in the
hallway. They exchanged a few words. Edward's name came up, and it
piqued Envy's curiosity.
The voices died down, making
Envy assume that the speakers had parted ways. He pulled aside the
blanket and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa. As he stood up, a
wave of dizziness suddenly overcame him, forcing Envy to rapidly sink
back down onto the couch. He squinted his eyes shut and remained
motionless. Several seconds later, the dizziness subsided and he
attempted to get up again -- slowly this time.
***
He
managed to make his way to the second floor by holding onto the
banister for support. As Envy crossed the hallway, voices were heard
coming from one of the rooms. He recognized those voices as belonging to
Alphonse and to Edward's girlfriend, Winry. Envy came to a stop and
peeked in through the crack in the door.
Alphonse had
just informed Winry the good news about Envy waking up. There was
mention of Hohenheim feeling less burdened now that Envy's condition had
taken a turn for the better. Then they came to the topic of Edward, who
was still asleep in his bed.
Just then, Alphonse caught sight of someone at the door.
Envy
panicked. He turned to run away, but his legs gave out from underneath
him after less than half a dozen steps. Down he fell, until the front of
his body made impact with the wooden floorboards.
The door was pulled open.
"Are you alright?!"
The
dark, blond-haired boy ran and helped his older brother into a sitting
position, leaning him against the wall. He noticed the latter's heavy
intake of breaths.
"I'll go get Dad!"
As
Alphonse started to rise, he felt a firm hand grip him by the wrist. He
looked back at Envy. The latter closed his eyes and shook his head at
him. Realizing that he did not want to alarm their father, Alphonse
complied with Envy's request.
The two of them sat there in the hall. From the doorway, Winry looked on.
Envy's breathing gradually became less strained.
"Are you feeling better now?"
No response.
"Did you come to see Big Brother Edward?"
Envy stole a brief glance at Alphonse before averting his eyes. That was all it took to confirm the latter's suspicion.
"Come
on. I'll take you in to see him." Al draped the latter's arm across his
shoulders and hoisted him up from the floor. After helping Envy retain
balance on his feet, the two of them made their way towards Edward's
room.
Winry held the door open for them. As they
walked across the room, Envy's attention became fixated on the
slumbering figure on the mattress. Alphonse assisted Envy into the
bedside chair that had previously been occupied by his friend.
"He
was running a fever shortly after we came back from the other side of
the Gate, but he's stable now. He's just been exhausted and sleeping a
lot," Alphonse explained.
Envy stayed quiet. His eyes
did not stray from Edward. He watched as the latter's chest rose and
fell with each breath that was taken. The dark-haired, young man
cautiously raised a hand to touch Edward's forehead -- brushing aside
the golden bangs as he did so. His palm came to rest on top of Ed's
forehead -- feeling the warmth from the latter's skin.
A relieved smile crossed Envy's face. Edward Elric -- his little brother -- was alive.
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