FMA: Squabble
Prompt 122 at fma_fic_contest was "sibling rivalry". I won third place! bay115 made the great banner. :)
Title: Squabble
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 1,314.
Rating: PG-13 (general creepiness)
Summary: Wrath has a proposal for his siblings.
Warnings: SPOILERS through to chapter 70 of the manga/Brotherhood episode 37.
Author's Notes: I use 'he' throughout to refer to Envy for simplicity's sake, but I don't believe 'he' has any real recognizable gender. There's probably a better way to signify this.
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all associated characters, settings, etc., belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san. The only profit I make from this work of fiction is my own satisfaction and, possibly, the enjoyment of others.
Wrath had called the meeting today. Wrath, the youngest of all of them - and the most stuck-up besides Pride - had dared to call them all down to Father’s chamber, saying he had ‘an important question’. And Father hadn’t called him down for his presumption - no, worse! - he had enforced Wrath’s request that they all come.
Envy, still annoyed at the recent end of the Ishvalan massacre, sneered as he looked around. Well, at least he could take comfort that not everything had gone Wrath’s way. Sloth never made it to family meetings anymore - still working on Father’s circle, as he had been for years. Pride might or might not have been present; Envy was inclined to believe that the room’s shadows were not all natural. And the absence of Greed was obvious, but as usual no one dared comment on it. If Father knew where he was, he hadn’t shared it with his children, and Envy had no idea where their rogue brother could’ve disappeared to. For all Envy cared, Greed might as well have fallen into a hole and stayed there.
Wrath stood like a statue, as if he were not the reason they had all gathered in the first place. His visible eye was closed. He might’ve been asleep, but Envy was not stupid enough to think so. Most likely he was watching them all with his Ultimate Eye.
Beside him, Lust examined her nails, looking bored. Gluttony was devouring something oozing and disgusting on her other side, making horrible noises while he was at it. “Could you keep it down, Gluttony?” Envy snarled, after several more minutes passed and none of them made a move to get on with this waste of time. “Geez.”
Gluttony paused, lower lip trembling as he stared up at Lust. She sighed, flicking an impatient look at Envy, and said soothingly, “You can eat however you want to, Gluttony.” He mumbled something that could have been “Yay!” as he returned to his meal.
Envy seethed. Now Lust was against him, too? He opened his mouth to snap something appropriately scathing.
“Enough,” Father said shortly from his chair. Envy closed his mouth, rolling his shoulders irritably. “Now. Wrath. Why have you called us here?”
Envy was hard-pressed to keep silent then. Even Father didn’t know what Wrath wanted, and he still let Wrath dictate their actions like they were some of his soldiers? He, Envy, had never been allowed so much control.
“Would you relax?” Lust murmured as Wrath strode forward, clasping his hands behind his back, for all the world like he was addressing his stupid human underlings. “You won’t win any points from Father by acting like a spoiled child.”
“Thank you, Father,” Wrath said then, inclining his head to where Father still sat, expressionless. “I have a question for everyone here that may prove to be an opportunity for us, if you think so.” Envy rolled his eyes at the blatant sycophancy. “My wife has spoken of having children for several years, and now the Ishvalan War is over, she thinks it would be an excellent time for us to have a family.” The last words were said wryly as he surveyed them all. “Obviously, though, we have been unable to have children-”
“No, really?” Envy interrupted, unable to hold it in. Lust smirked, glancing back down at her nails. There was a quiet susurration from the shadows - so Pride was there.
Wrath nodded slightly. “Yes,” he went on, “so my wife has had the idea that we might adopt a child. I thought it might be useful if the child was one of my… relatives.” He let them mull that over for a moment.
“Would it be worth our while, Wrath?” Father said, face still impassive - what Envy could see of it, anyway. “You are already present there.”
“I believe it would, Father. For much of the time, I am engrossed in the petty dealings of the human government and military. There would be a benefit to having another pair of eyes - or more - there.”
A shadow, all toothy grins and mocking eyes, peeled up from the ground near Wrath’s feet. Envy was mildly disappointed when Wrath didn’t so much as twitch. “You mean me, I take it?” came Pride’s hissing voice.
“I do. It would make your task of watching over the senior staff and keeping them in line that much easier were you to have a legitimate-”
“I don’t believe this!” Envy burst out. Lust hissed a warning at him, but he ignored her. “If you need someone to infiltrate and keep up a disguise among the humans, why not me?!”
Wrath turned to him. “Pride already has the form of a human child,” he said evenly. Envy never understood how he could keep his temper so in check. “It would be wasteful to-”
“Wasteful? It’s wasteful not to allow me to do what I do - what I can do better than all of you! Give me one good reason why Pride should go and not me!”
“Because Pride can keep calm in stressful situations,” Father broke in coolly. “I believe you’ve aptly demonstrated your unsuitability for this job today, Envy.”
Envy gaped, hands curling into completely impotent fists. Pride’s rustling laughter sounded again from the shadows curled around the room, and Envy growled. “Shut up,” Lust whispered. He glared at her, but let her pull him back.
“What would you need to effect this adoption, Wrath?” Father went on, ignoring Envy as if the homunculus had never spoken.
“Legal forms, Father - birth certificates, approvals of the adoption, proof that he is a relative of the Bradleys, that sort of thing.”
“I can provide those,” Lust spoke up, her fingers still tight on Envy’s wrist. “I know someone who would gladly draw up those forms for me, if I asked nicely.” A pointed grin played on her lips; Envy snatched his arm away, disgusted.
“Good.” Father paused for a moment, thoughtful. “The Promised Day is not far off.” Everyone present froze, even Pride’s shadows. That was the first time Father had mentioned the proximity of the Promised Day since the creation of Wrath decades earlier. “I trust that you will all be ready when that time comes. Pride, Wrath, you will stay so that we may discuss these things. I will speak with Lust tomorrow about what we have decided.”
“You’re an idiot,” Lust said after they had left the lair. Envy glowered at her. “You are.” She shrugged her coat back on as they entered the elevator that would return them to Central Command. Sparks shot up and down Envy’s arms as he fought not to transform and crush her. She threw them a casual glance. “Oh, please do attack me. Like Father needs another excuse to melt you down.”
Envy smothered the temptation. “Father wouldn’t do that.”
“He might if you keep annoying him.” She reached forward and pressed a few buttons, patting Gluttony’s head absently. “If you keep reminding him that you’re an impatient, jealous infant, he definitely will.”
“Lust,” he said warningly.
“I’m only trying to help you work on your anger management,” she replied, unworried. “Leave the temper tantrums to Wrath.” The doors opened and she stepped out, adjusting the collar of her coat. Gluttony ambled after her. “I’m serious, Envy. If the Promised Day really is that soon, Father will want the most useful pawns he can, and that includes us. If you still want to be here then, try being more helpful, not less.”
“Whatever,” Envy muttered, and the doors closed on her smirk. He scowled, even though she couldn’t see it, and changed smoothly into one of the myriad soldiers he’d seen around the command center. “It should still be me and not Pride,” he said rebelliously as the doors opened again, and plunged into the mass of uniformed figures.
END
Title: Squabble
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist (manga/Brotherhood)
Word Count: 1,314.
Rating: PG-13 (general creepiness)
Summary: Wrath has a proposal for his siblings.
Warnings: SPOILERS through to chapter 70 of the manga/Brotherhood episode 37.
Author's Notes: I use 'he' throughout to refer to Envy for simplicity's sake, but I don't believe 'he' has any real recognizable gender. There's probably a better way to signify this.
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist and all associated characters, settings, etc., belong to Hiromu Arakawa-san. The only profit I make from this work of fiction is my own satisfaction and, possibly, the enjoyment of others.
Wrath had called the meeting today. Wrath, the youngest of all of them - and the most stuck-up besides Pride - had dared to call them all down to Father’s chamber, saying he had ‘an important question’. And Father hadn’t called him down for his presumption - no, worse! - he had enforced Wrath’s request that they all come.
Envy, still annoyed at the recent end of the Ishvalan massacre, sneered as he looked around. Well, at least he could take comfort that not everything had gone Wrath’s way. Sloth never made it to family meetings anymore - still working on Father’s circle, as he had been for years. Pride might or might not have been present; Envy was inclined to believe that the room’s shadows were not all natural. And the absence of Greed was obvious, but as usual no one dared comment on it. If Father knew where he was, he hadn’t shared it with his children, and Envy had no idea where their rogue brother could’ve disappeared to. For all Envy cared, Greed might as well have fallen into a hole and stayed there.
Wrath stood like a statue, as if he were not the reason they had all gathered in the first place. His visible eye was closed. He might’ve been asleep, but Envy was not stupid enough to think so. Most likely he was watching them all with his Ultimate Eye.
Beside him, Lust examined her nails, looking bored. Gluttony was devouring something oozing and disgusting on her other side, making horrible noises while he was at it. “Could you keep it down, Gluttony?” Envy snarled, after several more minutes passed and none of them made a move to get on with this waste of time. “Geez.”
Gluttony paused, lower lip trembling as he stared up at Lust. She sighed, flicking an impatient look at Envy, and said soothingly, “You can eat however you want to, Gluttony.” He mumbled something that could have been “Yay!” as he returned to his meal.
Envy seethed. Now Lust was against him, too? He opened his mouth to snap something appropriately scathing.
“Enough,” Father said shortly from his chair. Envy closed his mouth, rolling his shoulders irritably. “Now. Wrath. Why have you called us here?”
Envy was hard-pressed to keep silent then. Even Father didn’t know what Wrath wanted, and he still let Wrath dictate their actions like they were some of his soldiers? He, Envy, had never been allowed so much control.
“Would you relax?” Lust murmured as Wrath strode forward, clasping his hands behind his back, for all the world like he was addressing his stupid human underlings. “You won’t win any points from Father by acting like a spoiled child.”
“Thank you, Father,” Wrath said then, inclining his head to where Father still sat, expressionless. “I have a question for everyone here that may prove to be an opportunity for us, if you think so.” Envy rolled his eyes at the blatant sycophancy. “My wife has spoken of having children for several years, and now the Ishvalan War is over, she thinks it would be an excellent time for us to have a family.” The last words were said wryly as he surveyed them all. “Obviously, though, we have been unable to have children-”
“No, really?” Envy interrupted, unable to hold it in. Lust smirked, glancing back down at her nails. There was a quiet susurration from the shadows - so Pride was there.
Wrath nodded slightly. “Yes,” he went on, “so my wife has had the idea that we might adopt a child. I thought it might be useful if the child was one of my… relatives.” He let them mull that over for a moment.
“Would it be worth our while, Wrath?” Father said, face still impassive - what Envy could see of it, anyway. “You are already present there.”
“I believe it would, Father. For much of the time, I am engrossed in the petty dealings of the human government and military. There would be a benefit to having another pair of eyes - or more - there.”
A shadow, all toothy grins and mocking eyes, peeled up from the ground near Wrath’s feet. Envy was mildly disappointed when Wrath didn’t so much as twitch. “You mean me, I take it?” came Pride’s hissing voice.
“I do. It would make your task of watching over the senior staff and keeping them in line that much easier were you to have a legitimate-”
“I don’t believe this!” Envy burst out. Lust hissed a warning at him, but he ignored her. “If you need someone to infiltrate and keep up a disguise among the humans, why not me?!”
Wrath turned to him. “Pride already has the form of a human child,” he said evenly. Envy never understood how he could keep his temper so in check. “It would be wasteful to-”
“Wasteful? It’s wasteful not to allow me to do what I do - what I can do better than all of you! Give me one good reason why Pride should go and not me!”
“Because Pride can keep calm in stressful situations,” Father broke in coolly. “I believe you’ve aptly demonstrated your unsuitability for this job today, Envy.”
Envy gaped, hands curling into completely impotent fists. Pride’s rustling laughter sounded again from the shadows curled around the room, and Envy growled. “Shut up,” Lust whispered. He glared at her, but let her pull him back.
“What would you need to effect this adoption, Wrath?” Father went on, ignoring Envy as if the homunculus had never spoken.
“Legal forms, Father - birth certificates, approvals of the adoption, proof that he is a relative of the Bradleys, that sort of thing.”
“I can provide those,” Lust spoke up, her fingers still tight on Envy’s wrist. “I know someone who would gladly draw up those forms for me, if I asked nicely.” A pointed grin played on her lips; Envy snatched his arm away, disgusted.
“Good.” Father paused for a moment, thoughtful. “The Promised Day is not far off.” Everyone present froze, even Pride’s shadows. That was the first time Father had mentioned the proximity of the Promised Day since the creation of Wrath decades earlier. “I trust that you will all be ready when that time comes. Pride, Wrath, you will stay so that we may discuss these things. I will speak with Lust tomorrow about what we have decided.”
“You’re an idiot,” Lust said after they had left the lair. Envy glowered at her. “You are.” She shrugged her coat back on as they entered the elevator that would return them to Central Command. Sparks shot up and down Envy’s arms as he fought not to transform and crush her. She threw them a casual glance. “Oh, please do attack me. Like Father needs another excuse to melt you down.”
Envy smothered the temptation. “Father wouldn’t do that.”
“He might if you keep annoying him.” She reached forward and pressed a few buttons, patting Gluttony’s head absently. “If you keep reminding him that you’re an impatient, jealous infant, he definitely will.”
“Lust,” he said warningly.
“I’m only trying to help you work on your anger management,” she replied, unworried. “Leave the temper tantrums to Wrath.” The doors opened and she stepped out, adjusting the collar of her coat. Gluttony ambled after her. “I’m serious, Envy. If the Promised Day really is that soon, Father will want the most useful pawns he can, and that includes us. If you still want to be here then, try being more helpful, not less.”
“Whatever,” Envy muttered, and the doors closed on her smirk. He scowled, even though she couldn’t see it, and changed smoothly into one of the myriad soldiers he’d seen around the command center. “It should still be me and not Pride,” he said rebelliously as the doors opened again, and plunged into the mass of uniformed figures.
END