Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

[garbagechild]

Who: Alphonse Elric, Envy, Greed, and Wrath.
Where: An ill-fated bakery. All around Goldenrod. The freakin' basement.
When: August 11th onwards! This is a catch-all.
Summary: The world has been pretty good to the various monsters and serial killers hailing from Amestris, but one particular villainous wild child has yet to be rehabilitated.
Rating: PG-13 for talk of abuse, manipulation, brainwashing, all that good stuff.
Log:

Continued from here.

Comments

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath furrows his brows deeply. He was on board until that last bit.]

[And honestly... it's less because he doesn't want to come back (although he really DOESN'T) and more because... Envy's ASKING?]

[Envy NEVER asks for anything. He just demands it.]</sub>

... Why do you want me here?

Really?

If... if you're willing to let me GO, why would you want me back?

I'm really confused.

[exeggutorhead]

Because we want to keep helping you.

That's why we brought you here, because we wanted to help you. And if you'll let us...then there's no reason to lock you up, right?

[He's trying to explain this in a way that might make more sense to Wrath.]

And we...[He struggles for a second, gesturing. But he promised he'd tell the truth. And this is an important thing for Wrath to know, something Envy's been avoiding saying even though he knows exactly how important a thing it can be to just hear.] We do want you back. All of us do.

None of us want to be your enemy, Wrath. We want you around.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath listens, a sort of forlorn lostness in his face. Not in the sense that he doesn't understand what Envy's saying-- it's somehow deeper than that.]

[Here in this dimly-lit little basement (because eventually he'd started being able to lower the lights at night when he slept instead of just keeping them blazing all night long), sitting and looking up at the oldest of his siblings-in-sin, Wrath looks more like he did the FIRST time he and Envy met than anything else.]

[When he finally does speak, his voice is small and broken.]</sub>

... And you... you wouldn't change your minds again?

_{[No one has wanted him forever. And the first lesson he ever learned was that rejection hurts.]}

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy feels something in his chest wrench, painfully.]

[He swallows hard, and shakes his head. It's a moment before he can find words, and even when he does, they're simple ones.]

No. No, we won't change our minds.

[...]

I won't change my mind.

[He puts on a small grin, genuine even though it wavers slightly, and gestures at his legs.]

And these aren't falling off, are they?

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath looks down to Envy's legs, squinting.]}

... Well...

The rotting would probably start with the fingers and toes, not the legs.

But... those aren't rotting either.

So...

_{[He looks back up, not daring to LOOK hopeful but starting to feel the tiniest flutterings of it in his chest.]}

[exeggutorhead]

Right, no rotting here either.

[He holds up his fingers, splayed out for Wrath to scrutinize closer if he'd like. They look just fine.]

So I'm telling the truth.

We won't leave you alone, not on purpose. Not ever again. Okay?

[garbagechild]

<sub>[WELL, THE COMPLETELY MADE-UP THING THAT WRATH SAID WOULD HAPPEN ISN'T HAPPENING, SOOOOO... ENVY MUST BE TELLING THE TRUTH.]

[For probably the first time, Wrath actually finds himself accepting that.]</sub>

... 'k.

[exeggutorhead]

[Slowly, the motion a mix of carefulness and hesitance, Envy reaches out one hand to lightly muss Wrath's hair. It seems like the right thing to do.]

Okay.

I can go wake everyone up to talk about letting you out. And you'll come back if we do, right?

[garbagechild]

<sub>[There are tears welling up in Wrath's eyes and he's not even entirely sure why. He's not sad, exactly-- and he has no idea that crying from happiness or relief is even a THING.]

[But he reaches up to wipe at his eyes, and manages a very thin, wobbly laugh when Envy ruffles his disastrous mop of hair.]</sub>

Y-yeah.