A/N: Of course my 108th fic on the Pit had to be a Fullmetal Alchemist fic! I might have another Scar-narrated oneshot or three to follow these up with, but I make no promises that they'll tie together into a grander narrative or anything. Currently, this one's the odd one out, but who knows? Yes, it's still mangaverse, though this piece is set preseries. Yes, it's also got SexyHoBro - er, Scarbro/Lust, 'cause every fandom needs at least one crack ship that's sort of canon. Not mine, not even the cactus juice. (It's the quenchiest! And now Avatar: the Last Airbender fans know where I got the name for Major Miles's elder daughter.) 'Cause surely I wouldn't tease my readers by never giving away a character's name, now, would I?

As to Mrs. Miles identity, tehPandaPatrol... She's mentioned, as are the daughters, but never by name in the manga. There's an epileptic tree on TV Tropes that actually makes a case for Olivia being the mother in secret, (it's here: http:/tvtropes. org pmwiki/pmwiki. php/WMG/FullmetalAlchemist - about two thirds of the way down,) which I think would make for an interesting fic, (hint hint nudge nudge sic plotbunny wink wink) but my own personal fanon relies on the fact that none of the men bring up the fact that the local doctor is female even when they cry about Winry leaving them with no girls around but the Cliff of Briggs. Ah, did I say one crack ship that's sort of canon-friendly? I meant more like at least three. Let's face it: Olivia's as big a memetic pimp as Roy Mustang, but she's not the easiest to write believable, in-character, mentally- and emotionally-satisfying fluffy romance for. *Hides from wrath of the She-Bear Ice Queen*

Alchemy was Brother's first love, as in timing as well as importance, but it was not, strictly speaking, his only love.

She introduced herself simply as Solaris. She'd come with the caravans, delivering the latest book to Brother, personally. "This yours?" She practically purred his name, melting him in ways the burning sun outside couldn't.

He'd been speechless with awe, and I don't think it was caused entirely by the rarity of the ancient tome on the Sage of the East she carried in black-gloved hands. Brother was always more than a little blind about such things, but even he had noticed the curves of her smooth skin, paler than the parchment in her hands, and once he had wordlessly taken the book, she pushed back her hood to reveal inky black hair flowing like a rainy-season cascade down her back. Her eyes, at least, were not quite so astoundingly foreign: their smoldering violet looked almost normal red at the right angle, though I couldn't say that their effect on us was completely normal.

I was young, but if she made an impression on Brother, I was equally mesmerized. I'm not devoid of feelings, even as I am.

I'd been able to defeat Brother in sparring matches, friendly and otherwise, since we were quite young, but this was one fight I didn't think I'd ever win. She'd spared me a quick glance as Brother attempted to introduce me, but those heavy-lidded violet eyes returned almost immediately to my brother. "I'd heard that there was a promising young alchemist out here in the east, but I'd never thought that you'd be like this."

I raised an eyebrow, circling to my sibling's side. "Like what?" I tried not to sound as jealous as I secretly was. I told myself that I questioned her merely out of brotherly concern - Brother was older, but surely he needed more care than I did; it was only fair to return the protection he'd always shown me - but I cannot lie to God and I've all but given up on lying to myself. My blood rushed at the silky sound of her voice, and if I could not give myself reason to dislike her, I would content myself with a response from those full red lips.

All she offered was a enigmatic smile. "What interests you so in the Sage of the East?"

With the conversation turned firmly back to a subject Brother felt comfortable handling, he fumbled for his voice. "It's - ah - I'd like to - The Xingese have a legend concerning the Sage of the West. I - I'm trying to compare the two, see if they might even be the same man." He clutched the book to his chest as if he expected Mother to swoop in at any moment and scold him for paying more attention to it than to his prayers. It wouldn't be the first time, but I'd promised Brother that I'd try to pray enough for my heretic older sibling, too, and Mother seemed to have grudgingly accepted her elder son's strange ways as long as at least one of us followed his duties to our people and our God. (And it was him, in the end; it was always, always him…)

I certainly was praying the day we met Solaris, though I am ashamed to say why, now.

"But you have so much potential." She sounded disappointed in Brother's choice of studies, and if our mother's concerns did not shame him, this woman might move him in other ways. "Why waste time with silly theories when you might yet be counted among the best of all of Amestris in practical alchemy?" That fallen angel's voice was the sort that could make almost any man want to do something much more physical than poring over old alchemy textbooks.

Brother's grip went slack as she leaned forward, giving him a better view of just what lay beneath that sun-cloak. He barely avoided dropping his newest acquirement. "Without studying our past and our world, we can hardly make much of a difference for our future." My brother had passed the age when a young man's voice squeaked and jumped like a surprised dune rat in a windstorm, but his sage words were somewhat diminished by a sudden return to boyish grating falsetto that even made me wince.

"You've learned a lot from studying these Sages, then?" she asked, circling around us to glance over the other titles on Brother's bookshelf. His eyes never left her, though he put an elbow out and shook his head when I stepped forward to examine her casual perusal of my brother's home and workspace (the two were synonymous, honestly,) a little more closely.

"Mostly about gold," he replied with a quick, nervous laugh. "That's one part of the legend that never changes: the Sage had golden hair and golden eyes, so apparently he wasn't Ishvalan."

"Maybe not." Her laughter made my head muzzy and my heart buzz like the cactus juice Brother had insisted we try when we'd gotten lost outside the city. "But you… you know where he came from, don't you?"

"It's just a theory." Brother modestly readjusted his glasses. "I've been looking elsewhere in the desert." He'd been making longer and longer trips, searching for the ruins of Xerxes. I went with him, when I could, though I still didn't understand his purpose in seeking out a dead civilization that God had erased from the face of the earth. "Still, if your interests lie in practical alchemy, I don't mean to bore you with research. Please, once more, be welcome, and tell me, if you will, what led a woman such as yourself to become interested in alchemy."

"It's rather a family concern." She sat on the one clutter-free space of Brother's desk as if she belonged there, placing her cheek on the palm of her hand, her elbow resting against primly-crossed long legs. "Father takes a special interest in powerful young alchemists, and I rather find myself doing the same." If I hadn't been so ensnared myself, I would have found Brother's reaction laughable.

"I'd be more than willing to share any new techniques I come across," he promised her gallantly. "While I cannot say that I've entirely approved of what has befallen Ishval under Amestrian rule so far, I'm sure God has a hand in tying true believers like my brother here to His wider world beyond." Brother placed the alchemy text atop a pile of others that he had been rereading, clapping my shoulder as if to reassure me that he meant no true disrespect with his irreverence. Still, I positioned myself firmly between them, shooting my brother a withering glare. I can only be thankful that my brother's most destructive discovery was still several years away. "Like any other science, alchemy is a mystery God left for us to unravel, and as such, it belongs to His entire world."

She smiled. No teeth, just the upturn of her lips, but there was something hypnotizing and predatory about her eyes that sent a shiver down my spine, and she wasn't even looking at me. "I look forward to hearing about your discoveries."