The sound of raised voices permeated the interior of the house. Looking at the source, Hohenheim and Envy found Winry and Edward on the floor of the foyer.
Edward was lying on his back with his hands around Winry's wrists. The young woman was situated on top of Edward with her hands tugging at his shirt. Alphonse stood nearby -- trying to get Edward to comply with Winry's demand.
"Come on, Edward! Take off your shirt!"
"No!"
"Take it off!"
"No! Aargh! Get off of me!"
Unbeknownst to the trio, the front door had clicked open to reveal Hohenheim and Envy. By the time they realized there were other people in the room, it was too late for the three of them to compose themselves. Winry and Edward pause mid-sentence; and mid-action as well. Likewise, Alphonse stood frozen in uncertainty. An awkward silence follows as Edward, Winry, and Alphonse stare at Hohenheim and Envy.
At last, a voice penetrates through the stiffness in the air.
"Father, I think Edward is right. This house is too small. I should move out right away."
"I agree with you, Son. As a matter of fact, I should move out as well." Hohenheim looks at his youngest offspring. "Alphonse, why don't you come with us? Let Edward and Winry get started on their own family."
A pair of faces turn scarlet.
"Aargh!"
Edward and Winry untangle themselves and jump to their feet.
"Wait! It's not what you're thinking!" Edward shouts -- waving his hands back and forth in a frantic gesture as incoherent words tumble out of his mouth. "Winry and I -- she just wanted to take off my shirt! I mean -- I spilled something on my shirt, and she just wanted to undress me! No! I mean -- " His eyes squint shut as he flaps his arms wildly like a bird. "Aargh! No one is leaving this house!"
The young alchemist was huffing and puffing after the last sentence.
Alphonse's face beams. "That's great!" He turns to Envy. "Did you hear that, Big Brother William? Big Brother Edward says you can stay!"
"Huh?" Winry is unsure of what Alphonse meant, but the young woman has a feeling the awkward situation she was just involved in is having a positive influence on another matter.
Edward's jaw drops. "Now wait a minute! I didn't mean -- "
"Were you planning on going somewhere, William?" Winry interjects.
The youngest Elric intervenes. "Well, Big Brother Edward said there wasn't any room in our house for Big Brother William, and wanted to know when he would be leaving. But since Ed just said that 'no one is leaving this house'..."
"No room, huh? Well, that can be easily arranged." The automail mechanic's smiling face is a match for Alphonse's.
"How so?"
"William can stay with me and Grandmother. We have plenty of room in our house."
"Ahhh!" Edward falls face-flat onto the floor. "Not you too, Winry." He looks up with a sunken expression at his friend.
The blonde places both hands on her hips. Her face is stern. "Edward Elric, your older brother just recovered from some pretty serious injuries. If you make him leave and something terrible happens to him, how will your conscious let you sleep at night?"
Edward opens his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it. His face twitches uncomfortably as he swears to himself. He gets up from the ground -- straightening out his clothes in the process.
"Fine, fine. You all do whatever you want." With a slight frown on his face, Edward gives everyone a brief wave with the back of his hand before disappearing up the stairs.
Alphonse calls after the sulking teen. "I'll let you know when dinner's ready."
"And change out of that wet shirt!" Winry added.
The sound of a door banging shut could be heard from downstairs.
A moment of silence hangs in the air.
"Don't worry. He'll be alright," Alphonse says to Envy. "By the way, what's that?" He indicated at the flat, square-shaped box that his sibling had been holding onto this whole time.
The Homunculus looks at the object in his hands. "A blueberry pie."
Hohenheim turns to his younger son.
"William and I made a trip into town this afternoon. We figured we'd bring back dessert while we were out," Hohenheim explains. He then turns to the young Rockbell girl. "Winry, would you and your grandmother like to come over for dinner?"
"Thank you, Mr. Elric. I'll go and let my grandmother know." Winry excused herself and left.
Only Hohenehim, Alphonse, and Envy remained in the foyer.
"Alphonse, can you bring the pie into the kitchen? I'd like to speak with William upstairs."
"Sure." Alphonse complies, taking the box from his sibling and retreating into the kitchen.
Illustration by: "RobbinRob"
With each step that he took, Envy became increasingly worried that his father would make him face Edward. He was certain that the latter didn't want to see him right now -- or at all for that matter.
Much to his relief, they walked past Edward's bedroom door and into his own room -- which formerly belonged to his father.
Hohenheim sets down the shopping bag that he had been carrying and pulls out a hardcover book from inside.
"Look what I got you, William." Hohenheim hands the book to his son.
Envy holds the object in both hands. He looks at the cover. There is no title. Turning to a random page, he finds no text written inside.
The dark-haired boy blinks. "A book with empty pages?" he says in disbelief to his father.
Hohenheim gives a light chuckle.
"It's a journal for you to write things in. I know there are times when you find it difficult to say out loud what you're feeling, so I thought this might help. You can write down anything that comes to mind, so you don't have to keep your thoughts bottled up inside."
Envy returns his gaze to the journal and gives a brief smile. "Thank you, Father. But since you're giving me this journal, and encouraging me to use it, this means you know that I'll be keeping a written record of my thoughts. Should I be concerned about you wanting to peek into this?" He looks questioningly at his parent.
An awkward expression appears on the man's face.
"W-W-What? Me? Looking at my son's journal? I wouldn't do that." Hohenheim breaks into a nervous fit of laughter, causing Envy to internally cringe in fear for his own privacy.
The man's expression suddenly changes. "Ah! One more thing." He bends down and pulls out something else from the shopping bag. "I know how much you liked the coat I used to wear, so I went and got one for you. Come over here and I'll help you try it on."
The dark-haired boy watches his father walk over to the tall mirror that was stationed on the floor. He sets the book down on the desk and walks over as well.
In front of the looking glass, Hohenheim helps Envy into the coat -- adjusting it over his black, turtleneck sweater and pulling back the latter's mane of dark green hair. He also buttons the coat up for him. "Ah...it's a perfect fit!" the father eagerly says as he claps his hands onto his son's shoulders.
A pair of semi-melancholy eyes gaze back at their owner. They travel from his own visage to his father's beaming reflection, and Envy takes note of the stark contrast in appearance between him and his parent.
"Father?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think...I look better like this? Or better as..." The Homunculus looks away from his own reflection. He couldn't bring himself to finish the question.
The smile on Hohenheim's face relaxes. Reaching over to the top of the dresser, he takes a comb and begins running it through his son's hair.
"Back then, you had wanted to change your hair color, and I told you 'no'. But I knew that you did it anyway, when you were going into town by yourself. It looks like you've grown up to be quite the rebellious young man." Hohenheim gives a light chuckle that was tinged with a hint of sadness.
Envy wasn't sure if he was supposed to laugh or cry at that statement.
Hohenheim stops combing Envy's hair and secures an elastic band around it -- tying the latter's hair into a loose ponytail below the nape of his neck.
"But no matter how you choose to look; what you decide to do -- or have already done -- you will always be my son."
The boy gazes into the mirror once more. As the underlying meaning behind his father's words sink in, Envy dips his head in front of the looking glass -- lost in a vast expanse of emotions. Within a heartbeat he spins around, burying his face into his father's chest, his arms latching around the man's upper body.
Father and son stand motionless; locked in an embrace; shedding tears for one another; lost to their own moment in time.
***
"Dinner's ready!"
From the foot of the stairway, Alphonse's voice traveled loud and clear to the upper floor.
A door was opened, and Edward emerged from behind it. As he walked down the hallway, a clicking sound made the blond-haired boy pause in his steps. He turned around -- and came face-to-face with a reflection of himself.
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