Alphonse POV
It all began when a knock came pounding at the door. At the time I was at Granny's place. It must of been near midnight. Who could be here at this hour? Getting up from my desk while placing down my pen, I put on slippers before heading downstairs, motioning to Granny who'd peeked out that I'd handle it. She needs the sleep, and I'm used to being up late with all these new publishings coming out of central recently.
As I opened the door, what I saw stunned me. It was Envy, blood dried along his lips and jaw. Plenty of it in fact, going down his neck with a noticeable tear in his shirt, hiding some sort of half torn bandaging beneath it. I panicked, clapping my hands together in defense, before he grabbed my shirt, screaming in sheer panic himself, "HELP ME!"
Needless to say I was a bit conflicted. This was the guy who ruined Mrs. Hughes' life, tried to kill Brother and me on countless occasions, but at the same time he was hurt. Whatever had happened wasn't healing, which was bizarre on it's own, and for him to come to us of all people?
I quickly hurried him inside, locking the door behind me as i got him a blanket, wrapping it over him quietly as he sat down, shaking like a kicked puppy. What the fuck happened to him? I sat down across from him, lighting a lantern to keep us visible in the dark hour as I rubbed my eye. "What... Why are you here?" Trying to speak quietly despite the mixture of anger, and confusion in my voice.
He looked me in the eyes, tear stained cheeks only growing wetter as he slowly holds up his hand. In it, I see blood. At least, that's what i thought at first, before I notice the coloring, and the viscosity. Philospher's stone, but why..?
It hit me like a brick. That was his stone, or... whatever was left of it. He confirmed this by shakily muttering between choked sobs, "This... was mine..." as his hand slowly drops, the fluid state stone flopping across the wooden flooring before seemingly dissolving in the air, too little left to retain without his clutched hand it seemed.
How... how could Envy be sitting here..? He was a homunculus, an artificial person? Without his stone, wouldn't he just die? That's how we thought he died, when he ripped his own stone out in the tunnels. So how..?
I shook my head. Right now, the how's didn't matter. We could piece that together later. I motion for him to stay put, as I rush upstairs, knocking on granny's doorframe before giving her a brief summary. As she fixes her glasses, she seems as stunned as I am. "Well... So long as he ain't up to any funny business, let's make sure the little bugger is alright. I'll run him a bath, u get him something to eat in a hurry. Poor thing's probably starving from how your describing," She responded, her tone stern, yet motherly despite the hoarseness that was coming more frequently with her growing age.
I nod, before heading back downstairs, quickly putting stuff together to make some quick soup. I glance at him from time to time, as he simply sits there staring at his hand while clutching the blanket tightly. He must be in shock. I can't blame him. Despite everything he's put us through, I'm not sure I'd wish this kind of fear in his eyes. Maybe Mustang, or Brother would, but they have their own demons with him.
I walk over quietly, placing the bowl down before dotting it with ice cubes to help chill it quickly to an edible temperature. Warm, but not burning, as i stir them in. "I hope you like Chicken noodle, it's all we have on short notice," I say as nicely as I can manage to him. He gives a single, quiet nod, slowly taking sips and bites of the meal as i sit across from him, nursing a quickly made cup of black coffee. It's bitter, but that'll help me stay awake.
"So... Granny's getting a bath ready for u, and you can use some of my clothes once your done. We'll need to fix up what u've got," I say giving as kind a smile as I can muster. He looks at my funny for a some reason when I mention my clothes, but it doesn't seem important enough to say further. Weird.
Once he finishes up, I lead him upstairs to the bathroom, before closing the door to give him some peace before heading downstairs. Granny's already lit her pipe, taking slow hits as she tries to think. Even at this age she can't quite put it down, but it helps with the muscles pains so I've never given her hassle about it, nor did Winry.
"Any guesses on how your old pal suddenly lost his stones?" Her tone trying to add a small bit of humor to the situation, as I smile a bit at that.
"No, but I'm sure we can figure it out," i answer, taking another sip of my tea to keep the tiredness away. The adrenaline rush is wearing off, and I need to keep awake long enough to make sure he gets some sleep before I do. It's too late to ask too many questions, and Granny's posture seems to show she feels the same.
"Go check on him. I don't need Ed hearing about me walking in on a fella, and giving him more ammo," She smiles sarcastically at the last bit, as she taps out her pipe of some of the ash.
I chuckle softly, getting up as I dust off the rest of my coffee. "Yeah, yeah. Brother would find a way alright," as I head back upstairs, grabbing a fresh towel to make sure he has one. I knock softly at the door, but no sound comes out. Not even sobs, or breathing. A frown slowly grows across my lips, as I begin to open the door. "Envy? You ok in here?" I say a little panicked, afraid to find him passed out under the water.
The moment the door opens fully, a bar of soap cracks me in the face, a bit getting in my eyes as I stumble back a bit, a high pitch squeal ringing out from the tub. I clutch my eyes, using the towel to try and wipe it away. "Hey hey! No need to be squeamish! I'm a guy too remember?!" I half shout out, eyes watering a bit in pain.
"THE FUCK YOU JUST CALL ME METAL BOY?!" I hear him shout, the sound of his body getting up from the water. As my vision clears a bit more, i see the bandages over on the floor near his clothes. An awful lot of them in fact, way more than you'd need for a wound. Wait..
Slowly, I look up to see Envy clutching a towel to his chest, using the bottom end to cover his crotch. My eyes slowly widen, as i notice the minor curve along his chest, the flared hips, and the way he's holding the towel.
He glares almost lethally at me. "I'M A GIRL YOU ASSHOLE!" He shouts, his stare like knives that I swear could kill if it were possible. I take it all in for a few moments, as i feel my face slowly grow red. I notice a warmth slowly trickle down my upper lip from my nose, before the ceiling starts to come into view. A moment later, everything went black.