victory_road | Sept Catch-All for Sharkhouse [Closed]

Alphonse and Heather had arrived home a few hours earlier (she'd won the race), and the whole house had descended upon their offerings like the hungry pack of wolves they were. For a while all that anyone was occupying themselves with was burgers, fries, and whatever drinks came to hand.

He doesn't drink too often outside of certain game nights, but Al can't deny that those ciders he and Lust had discovered on one shopping trip are freaking delicious.

But once food had been consumed Al knew he...has some amount of a responsibility to see through to the end. It leaves a sour feeling, and he still isn't completely happy about the whole thing, but...if he'd owed Heather an apology, then he owes one to Envy too.

(Blech.)

It takes a while before Al finds where Envy's taken himself off to, and he knocks on the door frame twice to catch his attention before shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away in as little of a sulk as he can manage to keep it.

By now, even Envy has calmed down somewhat from the pure outrage of earlier. Partially because it's been a whole afternoon since the Incident, and partially because there were burgers. Still, he's never been one to just calmly let things simmer away.

Envy stews when he's pissed off. Especially when it comes to his half-brother.

He sure wasn't expecting a visit from said half-brother, though. He'd known that Heather went to talk to him earlier, and that was how the burgers had come to be in the house, but he still doesn't know how that conversation went other than "probably they made up because they brought back food together and nobody looked pissed". Which brings up a whole lot of sulky curiosity on Envy's part, but there hasn't been a chance to ask Heather how it went yet. He was expecting the knock on his door to be her, and once he's opened it and found Al not-looking back at him instead of his girlfriend, his face goes from curious to full on frown REAL fast.

"What? Here to yell at me about being a mustache twirling cradle robber some more?"

Edited 2016-10-06 00:16 (UTC)

That tone really doesn't help Al's mood at all, and his gaze swings up to meet Envy's a full-blown glare. Of all the--he's trying to do something nice here!

"No, I'm here to apologize for that, you asshole!"

Envy's eyebrows go up in surprise, if only because the idea of being apologized to at all is something he hadn't expected, but then they narrow again in annoyance.

"Oh yeah? Well then don't call me an asshole while you're doing it."

He sniffs, then gives Al a look that's almost suspicious and still a little surprised, "You actually came to apologize?"

"You're the one that acted like one first."

...this time.

Al hunches his shoulders and scowls off to the side again, sulking and uncomfortable, but noticeably contrite.

"...yeah. I was...a jerk to both of you, and you didn't deserve that."

"I'll say."

Although that's something Envy mutters under his breath rather than in a loud, snide tone like he would have if Al hadn't been...admitting to being a jerk? Actually saying he was sorry for something? It's such a strange thing that he still almost doesn't quite believe it, and only the way Al looks contrite, a way that he doubts the boy would be able to fake, keeps him from dismissing it outright.

"Did Heather tell you to do this?"

It's an awkwardly gruff question. He doesn't really know what to do if he's not being angry, but he's been caught off guard.

"No."

He blurts it too fast for it to be a lie, and the vague tone of personal insult that comes with it is further proof. He's still obstinately refusing to look at Envy, but his heel grinds against the floor with nervous energy.

"But I said sorry to her, so it's only fair I give you the same respect."

Envy's eyebrows creep just a little farther up his face.

He's really not sure what to do about this. Apologizing isn't really something they do. Usually there's just whining and sulking and refusing to budge on whatever it was they'd done, at least to each other. The urge to say something intensely sarcastic like "I'll say" or "that's new" is nigh-overwhelming, but...hm.

He crosses his arms.

"Well...I'm listening, then."

--what, he has to say more, now?!

Al grumbles and shifts awkwardly, glaring a hole in the floor in an attempt to not make this any more inflammatory.

"I was...I over-reacted, okay? I know what you used to be like, and I know sometimes shit can...happen. Whether we want it to or not. And I didn't know about Heather's...everything."

Al lets out a gusty breath of a sigh, dragging his hand through his hair.

"I thought she was...you know, a more normal person? That maybe didn't know what she was walking into. I didn't want her to get hurt on accident if you freaked out over something."

He sure does.

And does he ever, more than Envy was expecting him too even after the prodding. He lets out a quiet snort at the eloquent description of Heather's Everything, mainly because...well, yeah, that's just about the easiest way of describing it all. There's so much there and for every new layer uncovered there seem to be twenty more hidden underneath it.

But, like she'd told Al earlier, that's why she and Envy work so well. Because she's far from normal and so is he.

They have that in common.

The rest, though? Makes his fingers tighten their grip on his crossed arms, and grit his teeth. But this time, it's less out of anger and instead almost a wince. He knows what he used to be like, and Al isn't the only one who worries about what he still might be. What he might do, even if he doesn't want to. So when he speaks again, even though his tone comes out defensive just on reflex, it's...sort of a reassurance, too.

"I've freaked out around her before and never tried to hurt her then. And even the day I forgot everything I didn't manage it."

As much as the memory-less him had sure had a lot of murderous thoughts about his then-captor, he'd been entirely too ineffectual as a human to do a damn thing.

"She can deal with me if something happened."

"Yeah, well, you didn't get a whole lot of chance to do anything back then."

Al sounds just as defensive as Envy, but the tense line of his shoulders relaxes somewhat. He looks up at Envy, frowning, then sighs and leans against the doorframe.

"But...I trust her. And...I'll trust you. Alright?"

And between the two of them, that's saying a lot.

That's more of a surprise than anything that's come out of Alphonse's mouth so far, and considering he just said he was going to give Envy a legitimate apology, that's saying something. Envy's back straightens, and for a moment he's actually, for once, lost for words.

But only for a moment. It is Envy, after all.

"I--alright."

He snorts, because he has to recover from that somehow, and snide humor is always a good recovery tactic. But at the same time...he doesn't go nearly as sarcastic as he could have, or would normally. This all feels bizarre and jarring, but it's happening.

"Just this once, I think you're not wrong to."

It's...weird. This whole thing is weird, and it makes Al feel relieved and guilty and frustrated all at once. He glances up at Envy, and somehow manages to pull a smirk onto his face.

"I better not be, or else there's at least three people in this house that'll turn you into paste over it."

Good lord, this month has been an enlightening one regarding Al's housemates.

A short bark of a laugh actually escapes him before he can stop it.

"Oh, believe me, that's not something you need to tell me. I've known them a long time, remember?"

It's still not nearly as easygoing a reassurance as it was when he'd said as much to Henry. No matter how weird and unusual this whole interaction is, it's not going to get that weird.

Although, he's had just about as much of this bizarre scene as he can deal with for now. This day's gone all over the place already.

"That all?"

Apology has been given, received, and that's an out for both of them to flee.

And that's an out Al is all too eager to take. He nods and pushes off from the doorframe, already turning to leave.

"Yeah, that's it. And try not to bang around the kitchen too much at butts in the morning."

He'd like to at least TRY to get some sleep tonight.

Edited 2016-11-04 07:24 (UTC)

"Yeah, whatever, no promises there."

He'll have a pots and pans CONCERT in the kitchen if he feels like it! ...okay not really, but only because he's a lot more worried about Lust getting annoyed with him than he is Al.

With Al leaving though, he's entirely happy to withdraw right back into his room and shut the door. WEIRD CONVERSATION, OFFICIALLY ESCAPED FROM. A weird conversation that's probably going to give him some things to think about in the middle of the night, whether he wants to or not.

Sept Catch-All for Sharkhouse [Closed]

Night, 9/18

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