"Brother..."
A pair of light black eyes slowly open.
"Brother?"
Envy's vision comes into focus to rest on the person whose voice he had heard.
"Alphonse?"
Relief washes over the young boy. "Yes. It's me, Brother."
Envy blinked and regarded the blond for a moment. "What happened to your hair? Didn't it used to be longer?"
"Huh?" Alphonse was caught by surprise at Envy's questions. Ever since he and Edward were split up by the Gate, Alphonse had worn his brother's signature red coat and grown out his hair in memory of Edward; but shortly after they had returned to Resembool, Alphonse had his hair cut to the usual short-style that he favored. To have Envy ask this question of him now...
"I had my hair cut when we came home so people wouldn't confuse me with Edward. I would have looked just like Ed's twin if I had kept it long."
"Mmm...I see..."
"Brother, are you feeling okay?"
Envy stared at the ceiling. His mind was fuzzy, and his arms and legs were heavy. Overall, he felt lethargic.
"I think so. What happened? How did I end up here?" He and Alphonse were currently in the former's bedroom. The older sibling was lying in bed with a blanket pulled up to his neck.
"You passed out earlier. Dad carried you back home," Alphonse explained. He assisted his brother into a sitting position -- propping his pillow against the headboard in the process -- upon seeing the former's attempt to rise from his bed.
Envy pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to remember what had transpired. When his hand was lowered he asked, "Where's Edward?"
"He ran off earlier and hasn't come back yet. If you want to see him I can go find him for you."
As Alphonse starts to rise from his chair by Envy's bedside, he feels cold fingers grasp him by the wrist.
"No. He has a lot on his mind already. Don't bother him with this."
A slight frown creases the blond's eyebrows. "Brother..."
Alphonse returns to his seat a moment later and Envy releases his hold on him. The younger Elric tucks his brother's hand underneath the blanket, then pulls the fabric up to rest on his shoulders.
Envy leans his head back against the pillow and closes his eyes. From an arm's length away, Alphonse silently watches over his sibling.
***
Not long after, the nearly closed bedroom door swings open. Alphonse turns around. Likewise, a pair of sleepy eyes open and turn to gaze up at Hohenheim. The elderly alchemist walks in with a glass of red liquid in one hand. Seeing that his eldest son was awake, the tension on his face eases.
Alphonse allows his father to occupy the bedside chair.
"Here. Drink this." Hohenheim places the drinking glass in Envy's hand and helps the latter take a few sips from it.
"How are you feeling, William?" Hohenheim asks after placing the glass down on the nightstand. He reaches out to put a hand on his son's forehead.
A faint smile was seen on Envy's lips. "Better now."
Hohenheim saw the weary look on his child's face and suggested the latter to get some more rest. Envy didn't protest as his father assisted him in laying down on the mattress -- repositioning the pillow and tucking the covers around his pale, thin figure. His father and youngest brother stayed with him until he drifted off to sleep.
***
Alphonse, respecting the wish of his older sibling, did not inform his second brother about the former's condition. After he and their father had left Envy's room, Hohenheim had done his best in assuring Alphonse that his brother was just tired and needed to rest; but deep down, Alphonse could not help but feel that his dad was keeping something from him -- especially after watching the man retreat behind the basement door.
***
Edward had not seen Envy since his return -- not that the blond felt like crossing paths with him anyway. He assumed the Homunculus was keeping to himself upstairs and had not bothered to inquire about him. However, as the hour for dinner drew near, Edward became curious. His curiosity eventually turned into annoyance when Alphonse told him that their brother was excused from joining everyone in the dining room this evening.
The long-haired blond marched up the second floor and went straight to Envy's door. Finding it partially opened, he grabbed the knob and gave the door a push so that he could walk in -- but did not let the door slam against the wall. He was ready to give a shout when the sight before his eyes made him change his mind.
Blankets, one after another, were spread out and piled up on the bed. Lying underneath the small mound of blankets -- with his eyes closed and his face turned towards the door -- was Envy, who had the fabrics pulled up so that they obscured the lower half of his face. The latter did not stir as Edward made his way across the room.
Situated on top of the nightstand was a small towel, a thermos, a mug filled with hot tea that had a cover over it to prevent the rapid cooling of the beverage, and an empty glass that -- upon closer inspection -- contained trace amounts of red-colored droplets that clung to the sides.
Edward's gaze shifted from the contents on the nightstand to the person on the bed -- reaching down to pull away the covers that were obscuring the Homunculus' face so the dark-haired boy wouldn't suffocate. As he did so he felt a light breath of exhaled air on the back of his hand. The shifting of the blankets caused a strand of black-green hair to fall forward onto Envy's cheek.
"...all his wounds still haven't completely healed yet. Dad's not certain...he wouldn't say when Big Brother William will recover."
Those words replayed in Edward's mind as the boy absentmindedly tucked the loose stand of hair behind his sibling's ear -- all the while staring intently at his slumbering figure.
***
After inquiring about the cause of his condition, Edward took it upon himself to watch over Envy -- who had not woken up for dinner -- as their father kept busy in the basement and Alphonse did the evening chores.
***
The blond slept intermittently during the night -- his sleep having been interrupted by occasional mumblings from the Homunculus. He surmised the latter was having nightmares -- watching as Envy's brows tightened as he spoke incoherently in his sleep. Edward's own name came up a couple of times; mixed in with moments when Envy rambled on in a language (or possibly more than one) that was foreign to Edward.
At one point, the Homunculus winced -- seemingly from pain. Edward instinctively placed his hand in a protective manner on top of Envy's forehead, watching and waiting until the latter's expression gradually relaxed and the last of his incoherent speech faded away.
Illustration by: "RobbinRob"
It was still dark when Envy finally awoke. At first he thought his eyes were deceiving him. Either that or he was still dreaming. He didn't move, nor did he make any sound. The Homunculus laid there as quietly as he could as to not disturb the one person he never imagined would want to be in such close proximity to him -- Edward.
The blond was fast asleep while seated in a chair -- his upper body leaning against the bed. One arm was on top of the mattress while his head was resting sideways on his arm. Fingers brushed up against the side of Envy's forehead -- where Edward had previously laid his hand.
The Homunculus reached out to Edward -- a sudden desire to ruffle his blond hair.
"Don't touch me!" Edward swats away the pale-colored hand.
Fingers pause in midair -- halfway towards the blond. A crestfallen look becomes visible on the dark-haired boy's face as he retracts his hand.
Envy continued to gaze at his brother's sleeping form a moment longer before averting his eyes to the ceiling -- where they remained absentmindedly fixated for a long time.
***
When the first ray of light peeked from the horizon, a determined look appeared in the older Elric's purplish-black eyes. It was as though he had come to a decision about something.
***
The automail mechanic stretched out her arms and yawned. She had fallen asleep at her workbench during the overnight hours -- reflecting on the automail limbs that were no longer needed by a certain someone.
"At least there's one other person who can use these...but I haven't seen him since Grandmother and I first fitted him with automail. I hope he's okay," she had thought to herself.
A soft nudge on her arm made the girl look down.
"Good morning, Den," said Winry as she scratched her beloved pet behind the ear. "Do you want to go for a walk?"
Her question was answered with an eager bark.
***
The front door of the Elric residence was closed without a sound so that its occupants could remain undisturbed in their sleep. Envy had changed into his preferred Homunculus attire, and now sported a brown traveling cloak with a hood to go along with his outfit. As the distance between him and his house increased, the boy was momentarily surprised when he and Winry caught sight of each other -- their paths having crossed.
"Oh. Good morning, William. You're up early as well."
From beside the automail mechanic, a low growl emitted from Den. Within a heartbeat, she began barking at Envy.
"Hey. Calm down, girl. It's okay." Winry crouched down to meet her dog at eye level -- rubbing the fur on the top of her head. "It's alright. This is William. He's Ed and Al's older brother."
Envy stared at Den -- knowing why the animal was behaving aggressively towards him. As Winry tried to placate her pet, Envy walked in a wide arch around the two of them -- while keeping his eyes on the dog.
By the time Winry looked up, she saw that Envy had gone past her some distance away -- the hood of his traveling cloak pulled up to his head. A semi-melancholy look overcame the girl.
***
Amber-colored eyes opened up to a semi-dark room -- coming to rest on the now empty bed.
Edward straightened his posture in surprise. As he did so, a blanket slipped from the back of his shoulders and fell onto the floor. He picked up the large piece of soft cloth with one hand and placed it in his lap. The blond's gaze returned to the bed.
In place of the covers had been pulled aside, there was a scribbled sheet of paper lying on top of the mattress. The boy took the note and brought it closer to his line of vision. The window curtains had not been pulled back; but Edward was able to make out the writing in the dimly lit room.
There is something I need to do.
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