Who Could Love a Monster

Chapter 6

{New Feelings}

Chapter 6:

Envy's POV-

After that, she'd bring me new things almost every day. It ranged from books to new foods, to interesting little gadgets. Anything that would keep me entertained. I was glad she was bringing these things, as the night's when she was gone would be excruciatingly boring. The night guard never even so much as said a hello to me, always standing completely still with a look of stoic resignation.

It'd been at least a week since I'd gotten more.. Comfortable around her. I felt almost happy, someone I could talk to about real things. At first, I talked to her like I would have lust, she was the only other homunculi I actually slightly enjoyed talking to after all. Although after a few days I tried to relax more, let her see more of a side I wasn't used to showing. We'd talk about deeper things, emotional things. And I'd gotten the sense that she knew I was comfortable around her. Oddly enough, this feeling of vulnerability wasn't painful. It felt.. Nice. I felt myself wanting to trust her.
Although I couldn't let myself be completely at ease, any vulnerability could easily be exploited. She could just be an extremely good and devoted actor or something.. At least, that's what I told myself to keep from completely opening up.
But, after a while I started to notice her changing her behavior. It was the small things, like blushing when I laughed, or eyes widening ever so slightly when I got close. And the way she looked at me when she gave me a proper bed was like she was envisioning me in it herself. It freaked me out a little bit, but I actually felt.. Warm inside.
It was painfully clear what she was feeling, but I didn't want to believe it. Why in the world would she feel that way towards me after all? Maybe it was because she was stuck with me all the time. I was the only person she'd interacted with for long periods of time in a while. [Yes, that must be the reason..] I explained to myself, deciding to run some "tests" if you will.
"Hey (Y/n)." I spoke, as she stood outside my cage. "Hm?" she hummed, as I got right up next to her, well as close as I could considering that I was in a cell. Her arms were down by her side, relaxed. I took the opportunity and slowly reached my hands to the bars, letting the one closest to her get a little bit to close. But she didn't seem to notice. "What'cha got for me today?" I asked, deciding to up the ante on my test. Trying not to be too obvious, I gently nudged myself closer to her, getting to the point where our shoulders were nearly touching. She was smaller than me by a sizable amount, so me slouching against the bars had us at around the same height. She'd seemed to notice at this point, but didn't make any indication that she was bothered by it. "O-oh um! I found this book for you in the library!" she reached into her bag and pulled out an old musty looking book. She pushed it through the bars, slightly turning to face me as she did. "It's called Romeo and Juliet." she said, her hand wavering as she handed it to me. I put my hand on the cover, making sure to brush my hand against hers as I took it from her. To my delight, she blushed and looked away, instantly confirming my suspicions. "I-it's a tragedy, I think you'll like it.." she said, as I dusted off the cover. Of course I'd read it before, I'd read most of the things she'd brought me. I was fascinated by how she seemed to know my taste in books quiet well. She even knew that I loved informational books, which I thought was quite surprising. I stared down at the cover, the golden flowers on a red backdrop looked almost beautiful. God this story was pathetic, I loved reading it. It brought me joy to see the painful deaths of the main characters, and how idiotic they were. "I thought you'd like it, the girl and boy in the story are both morons." she laughed, and I stared at her, she knew me to well. "I do love seeing stupid humans suffer." I spoke, chuckling after. As I did, her facial expression shifted a little, she almost looked nervous. She did this every time I laughed, it amused me.
Was she really falling for me? I've showed her the worst parts of myself, told her my greatest sins, and yet every time I mentioned how horrible I was, she simply shook her head and repeated her mantra. "You're not horrible. You're just a person." she'd say. She was so.. Different. I was sure that she was the only one on this planet who didn't think I was a freak, a monster. Then again, she hadn't seen my true forms. Maybe if she did, she wouldn't be so eager to accept me.
The thought made me frown, and to my annoyance, shed noticed. "You don't like it?" she asked, expression feigned worry. I shook my head, "The book's fine. I'm just.. Missing my powers I guess." I shrugged, and she sighed. "I bet.. You could literally shape shift! That's amazing, I'd miss it too." she responded, and I scoffed. "Not only that, I had such enormous strength! The power of a beast inside this body! Wherever I stepped, I would leave deep imprints! I was incredible!" I boasted, but my manic smile soon faded. "But now I have nothing.. All that power... Gone, used up." I pouted, looking down at my half healed scars and cuts. My bruised skin was a harsh reminder that I would never be as great as I once was. "...You have me." her voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to meet her eyes with mine. She confused me. Sometimes, like now, she seemed so timid. But other times she was fierce and brave. It occurred to me that I'd seen her shy behavior only around me. Whenever she spoke to others, she was either being kind or firm. But never shy like this..
Suddenly, the realization of what she said hit me, and my eyes widened slightly. [You have me?] I repeated her words in my head, just now realizing that our eyes were still locked. I quickly looked away, head turning and eyes shifting to down the hallway some. "Tch, moron. As if having you could amount to the power I had." I grumbled out, teeth gritting and holding back a blush as I realized that I just admitted to 'having her', whatever the hell that meant. She said nothing, but I knew she noticed as well. She didn't mind my insults, and I was glad, it was basically my social default and I wasn't keen on changing that. To a point, I think she even liked them. [Damn masochistic..] I said to myself, hating how her little comment made my mind spiral. Why did she have such power over me? Why did the thought of her, seeing me for what I truly was, make my heart ache?
[These useless human emotions are so confusing...] I thought to myself, my eyes still locked on a random brick in the wall nowhere close to (Y/n).
Just then, I felt a pressure on my arm, and I whipped around, eyes widening to see (Y/n)'s arm gently pressed against mine. Without thinking, I yanked myself away from the bars, backing up a little and almost stumbling. "Ngyah!" was unfortunately the sound I made as I backpedaled from her, staring wide eyed at her. She seemed to notice my odd reaction -I mean how could she not?! I was so over the top, damnit!- and stared at me in shock. It took her a second to register what happened, but as soon as she did, her face went pale. "Ah, I'm sorry! I-i don't know why I-um I'm sorry!" she quickly stuttered out, her voice breaking a little from the shock she was so clearly feeling. I frowned, crossing my arms, and almost wishing I didn't react so badly. [Why does she care so much.. Stupid human.] I thought to myself, and mumbled a quick, "It's fine."
If I was being honest, I didn't mind her touch completely, I just got caught off guard. I wasn't very used to any interaction like that, it would take time to get used to for sure. "It's not fine.." he words made me blink, "Huh?" I spoke, wondering if she would insult me for being so weird. "I know you don't like contact, but I did that anyway.. I just thought maybe.. I dunno- never mind!" she quickly shook her head and looked away. Her words surprised me, and it took a second for me to process what she'd said. "N-no, I'm just not.. Use to it..." I managed to stumble out, as we still refused to look at each other. "I mean, I usually don't like it... But uh- y-you're okay I guess." I stuttered, making my face flush a deep shade of maroon. I wasn't sure why I felt like this.. All tingly in my stomach. It was so weird. Her eyes widened at the notion that I was potentially okay with contact, and a huge smile spread across her face. She gently pushed her hand through the bars, clenching her hand into a fist except for her pinky. I stared down at it in confusion, what the fuck did she want me to do? "Baby steps then." she said cheerily, and I glanced up, laughing when I saw the childish grin on her face. "Haha! Idiot." I said, feeling my own grin spread across my face as I reached down and linked her pinky with mine.