route_1065 | Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

_{[The number of activities Wrath could safely be allowed to engage in down in that basement were honestly limited. No sin worth their salt could handle a sharp or complex object without being able to come up with a number of creative ways to use it to kill somebody, and when you're small enough to essentially fit through anything big enough to fit your head, anything that could possibly aid in creating holes in the drywall was not remotely an option.]

[So like most mornings, 10:45 AM finds Wrath lying on his back with one leg sticking into the air, balancing one of the coloring books Al had brought for him on his foot.]

[It's probably one of the most mind-numbingly boring things he can occupy himself with, but it's something.]

[And he already ate most of the crayons, so...]}

[After breakfast and showering and dressing for the day, Lust surveys the gamboling mess of Pokemon in the living room and contemplates. She still has Rise's Eeveelutions, and all but two are full of energy. Guttle's exhausted already, and not many of her team play the way the Eevees like to. Except her own Eevee, who's tiny little legs are already tuckered out.]

Alright you lot, come on. I know someone who's not about to run out of energy.

[She herds the writhing mass of color and fur and ears toward the basement, and the all burst through as soon as the door's opened. Sylveon (a pair), Vaporeon, Flareon, Leafeon, Umbreon (three of them!)...]

[The basement is suddenly full of bounding evolved Eevees, eager to play.]

I brought some friends down to visit you, Wrath, I hope you're in the mood to play. They certainly are.

_{[Usually when people come downstairs, it's with a peace offering of food or some kind of toy. Not a WATERFALL OF BRIGHTLY-COLORED ANIMALS cascading down the stairs.]

[Startled, Wrath sits up abruptly, the coloring book hitting the floor and skidding-- but he barely has time to react before the veritable rainbow of foxcats surround him. He splutters and leans away from the various cold noses investigating his hair and ears.]}

Wh-- ah! I do-- fffffhh!

_{[Remembering himself, he shunts his mouth into a customary scowl and glare in Lust's direction, voice a growl.]}

I don't play with traitor Pokemo--

_{[But one of the Umbreons is ALREADY climbing into his lap and starting to AGGRESSIVELY LICK HIS CHIN, and you know what, Wrath does not exactly have the self-control to maintain any sort of stone-cold exterior. His frown wobbles and his growl goes up an octave and cracks. And then the Flareon and BOTH of the Sylveons try to squeeze onto his lap as well, paws and cold little noses EVERYWHERE, and it's over.]

[He goes down under the onslaught, growl evaporating in the place of helpless laughter.]}

They aren't mine. A friend is having a bit of a rough time and I'm taking care of them for her. They're missing their young trainer, so I thought they'd appreciate visiting with you.

[She sits at the bottom of the steps to watch the colorful mass of fur descend upon Wrath.]

And you play with Guttle every chance you get.

_{[Now he's just on his back, feebly trying to push them away, but there's too many and ALL OF THEM WANT TO LICK HIS FACE AT ONCE.]

[Flailing a hand feebly at Lust, he splutters out between giggles.]}

H-help!

T-they're trying to eat me!

Very slowly!

[Well. Maybe this was a better idea than she'd thought.]

[Lust's lips twitch in a little smile, and she stands from the bottom step as she watches Wrath flailing under all that fur and color. She swoops in and scoops up the closest Eeveelution, sitting down on the basement floor with the excited Pokemon squirming happily in her arms.]

That's because you eat so many sweets, you taste like one. They want to lick all the sugar off you.

[It's only a moment before the Leafeon squirms right out of Lust's arms to return to aggressively licking Wrath's face.]

_{[Once one of his attackers is removed, he manages to struggle upright, fending the rest off long enough to harriedly scrub at his face with both arms before they have a chance to descend on him again.]

[It's in the middle of this process that he suddenly notices Lust has moved from the stairs to be next to him. It's probably a GOOD thing that the Leafeon promptly collides with his chin again, because he doesn't wind up having time to be startled.]}

I-I do not! I h-haven't had a pudding cup in-- in-- splfffh!

_{[Wrapping his arms tightly around the squirming creatures in his lap, he cranes his head back as far as he can to put it out of reach of curious tongues.]}

--at LEAST five days!

And-- and the sweet dirt rectangle that Envy gave me was very small!

_{[Yes, he has been introduced to chocolate, and the conclusion he arrived at was that it was some kind of very sweet dirt.]}

Small brownies have lots of sugar.

[Of course now that Lust is also on the basement floor, she's a prime target for Eeveelution affection. Not all of them remain focused on Wrath.]

But it sounds like you need a proper serving of chocolate....

[The Pokemon are upon her. She lets out a small shriek as a cold wet nose is pressed right into her own nostril, and she flails backward with a laugh. Right onto another one, that has slunk around behind her. She feels paws on her shoulders and her vision is filled with a blur of dark color...]

They've got me!

_{[In all fairness, Envy had been faithfully bringing Wrath chocolate every time he came down. The green-haired genius had finally realized that positive conditioning and food rewards could do WONDERS when it came to stopping the hellchild in their basement from charging the door every time it opened.]

[But Wrath, like any child, thought that NO amount of sweets could ever be too much.]

[Still, before he can protest, the Eevees have turned on Lust and Wrath sits up straight, eyes wide.]

[What-- what was that noise?]

[He has never heard Lust laugh before, or at least never in a way that wasn't a dark, wry chuckle.]

[Not here, and certainly not back in Amestris.]

[He GAPES for a moment-- and then, for reasons even HE isn't entirely sure of, finds himself climbing to his feet.]}

H... hang on, I'll--

_{[He grabs the Vaporeon around the middle and tries to hoist it off of his... very confusing ex-teammate-turned-traitor.]}

[Lust scoots back, reaching for the Leafeon behind her that nimbly avoids her grasp. It's like some very disorganized game of tag where everyone was it. Even her own little Eevee has joined in, hopping into her lap to squeak playfully at her rainbow hued older cousins.]

Quick, behind you! [It's said with a wide smile, as Wrath is snuck up on from behind.] It occurs to me that we're vastly outnumbered!

[She's never been more thankful she offered to look after Rise's Pokemon until the girl could find a permanent living situation. Not only is this helping forge some sort of connection with Wrath, but he actually seems happy. There's something satisfying and warming, to see him playing happily like a normal child.]

_{[This Vaporeon isn't quite as long and sinuous as his own, but it's still a sleek mess of smooth fur and dainty paws overflowing out of his arms as he stumbles backwards-- only to let out a small squeal as two of the Umbreons nip and tug at his shirt hem, tails wagging furiously.]}

Oh no!

_{[Despite Lust's dramatic warning, he promptly goes down once more. But this time, there's more to the resulting laughter than just the inevitable response to ticklish spots being nosed and stepped on by a bunch of wiggly animals. No matter how hard the rest of the house had tried to make the basement a safe and comforting place for him to be, opportunities to actually play had been few and far between.]

[And Lust was honestly the last person he'd ever have expected such an opportunity to come from.]

[But well, here they are.]}

I-I'm-- I'm not gonna make it!

T-there's too many!

Don't give up! I'm coming!

[After wriggling out of a a small pile of Pokemon. Did one of them just try and grab her skirt with their teeth? She glances back at a sheepish looking Umbreon and then she's pushing herself to her knees, then her feet, making quite the dramatic show of fending off the 'attacking' Eeveelutions.]

[She doesn't stop to try and examine her own feelings, despite a rush of them. This is unexpected. She's confessed a surprising fondness for Wrath before, but her own internal reactions have never been quite like this. Something about him calls to some part of her she's never been aware of before. It's that small part that's informing all of her actions now.]

We have one advantage! Height!

[If she had been acting on anything beyond some instinct she wasn't aware she had, she never would have done it. But she's thinking with that small, long forgotten part of her that is responding directly to Wrath. So she leans down and reaches into the squirming mass of Eevee's to scoop him up and perch him on her shoulders. The Eevee's mill around her feet, standing up at her and stretching up toward Wrath without missing a beat...]

_{[He can't help but let out a slight squawk of alarm when she scoops him off the ground, and for a moment he just grapples for purchase on her shoulders, hands digging into her hair not to pull, just to balance.]

[She isn't the ONLY one surprised by this-- he's more that surprised, he's utterly baffled.]

[But... on his end, it brings back a rush of those few memories he'd accumulated back home that actually qualified as happy. Sloth... Sloth had done this for him, sometimes. Not often; she spent so much time doing important work for Pride, but sometimes.]

[And deeper still, there's memories from that little house he'd been brought to after the island.]

[He doesn't bother lingering on those. He never does. They hurt too much.]}

Q... quick!

Clear a space with your claws!

Force them back!

_{[Because THAT'S one thing he can always remember cooperating with Lust on-- fighting. No matter how aloofly she'd always treated him when they weren't on a mission, the Homunculi were always good team players on the battlefield.]

[He knows she doesn't have her claws anymore, AND that the wiggly bundles of colorful fur jumping at them are NOT opponents that remotely required being sliced to ribbons.]

[But they're all only playing.]}

[Her 'claws' are now just neatly manicured purple painted fingernails, so Lust improvises. Thankfully her year in the circus allows her to carry Wrath more or less comfortably on her shoulders, and he seems to have anchored himself relatively well with her hair.]

[The detached part of her can't quite believe this is real. She's always assumed she'd be one of those people who has no idea what to do with children. Wrath always irritated her, back in Amestris. Here and now it's something entirely different.]

[She tugs off her gauzy fashion scarf and waves it over the Eevees, making it flutter and dance. She holds Wrath's ankle with her other hand, to keep him stable. There are still nearly a dozen evolved Eevees darting and prancing around her feet.]

[But they're leaping and prancing after the fluttering scarf now.]

I think we've got the upper hand at last!

_{[It's a surreal experience for them both.]

[If he chose to, he knows he could summon up the vivid memories in a heartbeat. The sharp burst of pain between his eyes, followed by nothingness. And the brittle snap of her finger from the slightest pressure. The anguished scream.]

[THAT is the last thing he remembers from home.]

[And it's been what's run through his head every time he and Lust have come face to face, whether in person or on a tiny PokeGear screen.]

[Yet here they are-- he's on her shoulders with his hands in her hair and she's got HERS around his ankle-- something he'd only ever have imagined would involve him YANKING and her possibly getting ready to hurl him into the wall. But instead they're playing. And laughing.]

[Laughing!]

[Of all the crazy things...]}

They're distracted!

Quick, the finishing blow!!

[Lust isn't sure she manages a finishing blow, but before long, the Eeveelutions are sprawled on the floor or playing halfheartedly with one another.]

[And they aren't the only ones getting tired. Lust crosses her ankles and sinks gracefully into a crosslegged position on the floor, allowing Wrath to simply slip off her shoulders. She's breathing heavier than she was, and her hair's falling in her face.]

[But she's succeeded and thensome. The Eevees are satisfied and played-out. Wrath has had fun. Bringing them together had been the right instinct. So far, more often than not, her instincts regarding Wrath are right. She never would have guessed.]

Victory belongs to us! Now I think we deserve a treat.

_{[He slides off once she hits the ground and rolls a couple feet, flopping down alongside the Eevees with the same air of winding-down exhilaration. A few stray puffs of winded laughter are still in his throat, and he lets them tumble out while he catches his breath, most of his hair in his face.]

[Sitting up, he shoves about half of it to the side and tilts his head at Lust quizzically.]

[The possibility that this is still some kind of huge, elaborate scheme to make him let his guard down is still bouncing around in his head a little bit, but after this, it's lost a great deal of momentum. Even Wrath can't delude himself-- if she'd wanted him dead, she'd had plenty of opportunities to pursue that goal. Realistically, any one of his captors could easily have marched down the stairs, cornered him, and wrung his scrawny little neck until all the life in him was gone. Determination, speed, and a tiny set of fangs were all he had now, and none of those could do any good in captivity.]

[So...]

[The only conclusion he could reach was that for some reason, she genuinely wanted to be down here. Playfighting with him against a bunch of Eevees.]}

I like treats.

Why are we doing this?

It's never been like this.

I like treats, too.

[Lust sits there on the basement floor, her legs crossed under her and her hands in her lap.]

I know.

[It wasn't even two years ago that they'd been sworn enemies. But it had been different, back home. They'd all been different. How to explain all the complexities to a child? She sighs.]

Back home, I wasn't a very good person. I believed horrible things about myself, and it made me sad and cruel. I tried to find pleasure in the things I'd been told I should, but there wasn't any. I didn't think I could be good. I didn't think there was any humanity in me. But I've learned the truth since then. I'm not a monster and I never was, and I can be as good a person as I want.

Now I find pleasure in the things I like. Really and honestly like. Now I don't feel sad all the time anymore. And I treated you very poorly, back home, when I gave any thought to you at all. I don't want to treat you poorly here, I want you to have the things you deserve. A home, a childhood, a proper life.

[She's speaking openly to him. He's not so very young that he can't understand. And he isn't a normal child. He's one of them. Which makes him, by some sort of default, family. She tells herself that's all it is, this strange sort of tugging at her soft emotional parts he's begun eliciting. He's just so small and frightened and confused. She hates to see him like that. It's an uncomfortable new sort of instinct she's never encountered before.]

And children like to play. Someone should play with you.

_{[It's not all that dissimilar from the things she'd told him before, the explanations she'd given him for her disloyalty.]

[But after romping about on her shoulders with a bunch of Pokemon, it's almost as though he's hearing it with new ears-- even if he's still squinting, his brow deeply furrowed.]

[For a time, he seems to be deeply contemplating her words (and he is!), until finally saying, slowly--]}

... So... you don't want me to break all my bones.

_{[YES, HE STILL REMEMBERS THAT CONVERSATION.]}

Oh Wrath, no.

[Lust shakes her head and sighs heavily again. It's taken her a good deal of trial and error to come to this point, where she can consider his feelings and place them as a priority.]

I was angry when I said that. When I'm upset, I say things I don't mean. I don't want you to break any of your bones. I'd be very upset if that happened.

I'd like us to be friends, Wrath.

_{[She's reassured him more than once that she would indeed care if he broke all his bones, but this is the first time he's actually believed it.]

[Still, for a second he tilts his head again, making DIRECT, PROLONGED EYE-CONTACT for the very first time during this conversation. For someone who spends a lot of time putting foreign objects in his nose and chasing invisible things across the floor, Wrath has a way of really staring straight into your soul.]}

... Okay.

But, friends means no stabbing each other.

Not even if one of us is being really mean.

Okay?

_{[IT'S SURPRISINGLY MATTER-OF-FACT, COMING FROM HIM, BUT. It's also the closest he's come to acknowledging that he was being 'really mean' right before the skull-skewering incident. Baby steps.]}

It's a promise.

[Lust meets his eerie, unblinking stare without looking away. His eyes are piercing, but she sees nothing threatening in them. Only serious contemplation. And she deserves that contemplation, from him. She's done wrong by him in the past. But they've made such progress, in his time here.]

[She holds out her hand, palm up, to seal the promise.]

On my heart. And soul.

_{[No threats here! He is just... trying to put all the puzzle pieces in his head together. There's a lot of them.]

[He blinks down at Lust's hand for a moment, frowning thoughtfully.]

[On her soul, huh? So she had one now? Or was that another thing that they were trying to claim that Master had been lying about?]

[After a few lingering seconds, he decides on a suitable answer and looks back up at her.]}

Well. I don't have a soul.

But I do have an organ in my chest for pumping blood. It works pretty well.

Will promising work if it's only on that?

You have a soul. I don't think a whole and complete one, but part of one at least.

[She didn't think anything could live without one. Even them. She knows they aren't an entire person, even if they're very close, but they have souls.]

That's your heart. I have one, too.

[She puts her hand on her chest, over where here heart beats. She can feel it.]

If we didn't have any soul at all, we wouldn't have beating hearts.

_{[OK... THAT SOUNDS FAKE... BUT OK.]

[Wrath still looks skeptical, and doesn't bother hiding it... but the fact that he's not literally opening his mouth to verbally argue back is some serious progress.]}

Okay.

Then I swear on my blood-pumping chest organ. ... Or heart. No stabbing.

I might still bite, though. Sometimes I can't help it.

But Ralph says I'm doing better about that.

Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

September 21st -- for Lust

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this is so goddamn cute it should be illegal

SERIOUSLY

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