Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Bloodlines

When I woke up, I was lying down on a couch in Keith's apartment. The room had been sealed off again, and Adrian was pacing the room in front of me. "Why did you give that to her, if you knew about the risks? Don't you even care about her life! You might be willing to throw your own away for this cause, but don't expect others to do the same." Adrian was yelling, sounding far more angry than I had ever heard him. Yes, I knew that he would make light-hearted complaints about others, but it was never on this scale.

"I didn't expect this to happen! I've only seen it take this much of a toll on someone twice now. They must think we're onto something big if it did that, though…" Keith murmured, running a hand through his hair. Clearly, his focus was on his research, not what I had just gone through.

"I don't care if you think you've discovered the fountain of youth, you're playing with other people's lives now! Sydney didn't volunteer for this, she didn't want to inherit your family's struggle. If she wanted to help, she would have said so. You might think she's useless, but there are people out there who care for her, who would do anything to keep her safe!" Adrian yelled, making my breath catch in my throat. The way he spoke, even I could tell why he was so enraged. He was worried about me….far more worried than a friend would be.

I knew a bit about the Alchemists, so there was no doubt in my mind that there had not been a romantic relationship between the two of us before I lost my memory. Still, that did not mean that the feelings hadn't been there. The way Adrian had stuck around and been so patient with me as I dealt with my problems, that should have been my first clue. Still, I hadn't been paying attention and I had missed it before. He made me laugh and did his best to keep me smiling, never pushing me for answers about what had happened and always there with a joke or quick retort to move away from darker subjects. He had kept my secrets hidden, and he was probably the person I trusted above anyone else I had met since losing my memories.

Still, I didn't know if I could return his feelings. As amazing as Adrian was, I definitely was not in any state to enter a relationship. My hands toyed with my cross nervously, unsure of what to do with this information now that I had it. "You…that's disgusting! Sydney might have lost her memories, but she's still an Alchemist, a human. That taboo is still in place, even among your people. I'm sure that's a line that even you wouldn't cross." Keith stated, picking up on the hint himself.

"I know how she would feel about this if she could remember anything. I'm not going to push for anything, I'm only here to be her friend. Hell, I don't think I can even bring myself to tell her about it, I'm just doing my best to ignore it for now." Adrian stated, his voice pitched a bit lower. "Still, it doesn't change the fact that I'll fight for her. If you do anything that puts her in danger like this again, without her permission, I'll make sure you pay for it." he added, his voice tinged with anger still.

I decided that I didn't like it when Adrian was angry, even if it was on my behalf. He wasn't meant to be in a dark mood, not when he was always so bright and care-free around others. I continued watching them, wondering just how long it would take for them to realize I was awake. "Fine. I'll explain it before giving the stone to her again. Ed still feels sorry for what happened, he says he's ready to explain his story to her." Keith stated, giving me something to look forward to.

"So, are you really going to keep your feelings for her a secret?" Keith asked after a few moments, searching for a subject.

I could feel a small amount of heat in my cheeks as they started to talk about this again. Perhaps I should say something, but part of me wanted to listen to Adrian's explanation. "I don't know. To be honest, I don't even know how I'd explain it to her, considering—wait, why am I even talking to you about this? You hate my kind, and you were a goddam bastard to her before." Adrian stated, glaring at Keith once more as he realized he was relaxing a bit too much.

Keith sighed, shaking his head at Adrian. "Yeah, I was. Part of the act I had to put on. If I showed too much kindness to vampires…well, you don't want to know what the Alchemists do to members that grow too close to the darkness." he said, a bit of a distant tone in his voice. He must have experienced this himself, and after a few moments of thought, I realized that I was the reason he went through it. That underground bunker was where he had been kept, and I had been brought in to discuss why he was there, I was almost certain of it.

"What about the rest? That doesn't explain your attitude towards Sage, not in the slightest." Adrian stated. Keith seemed to hang his head, making me wonder just what his reasoning had been.

"Part of it was to get her out of this place. She is far too inquisitive, and good at what she does. I knew she would blow that tattoo operation out of the water if she came here, but I needed the money to continue my research. It isn't easy to find books on an art no one even believes is real anymore." Keith began, looking rather upset with himself. "I never expected her to take it as far as she did though. To even get inside of that room, she would have had to tear down the wall. Her curiosity really got the best of her this time, I think." Keith stated, his gaze turning back towards me for a moment.

I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep still. I needed to hear this, to learn anything I could about my life before what happened. Even if I discovered I was never recovering my memories again, I would never let go of my interest in who I used to be. That was already deeply ingrained within me, even after just a week of having amnesia.

"What could have possibly gotten her that interested in a hidden room?" Adrian asked, my body stilling as I felt something run through my hair. Adrian's voice had been louder as well, closer to me. He must be near the couch too, making me focus on keeping up my pretend sleep. Part of me knew that I should tell him to stop, but I didn't want him to. It felt nice, when his hand brushed against my cheek as he pushed stray strands of hair away from my face. My skin tingled where he had touched me, and I wanted him to stay next to me.

I felt the shift in weight on the couch, along with the sensation of someone gently lifting my head. I did my best to stay limp, allowing Adrian to rest my head on his lap as he sat next to me. "Are you sure—never mind, it isn't my business. Anyway, my treatment of Sydney had more to it than just my issues with being caught. Actually, in a way, it reminds me to what you're going through now. It all started years ago, when I met her sister, Carly." Keith stated, giving me more insight to my family. Was I closer to this sister than I was to my father? I hoped so, because I didn't think I could tolerate more family members like him.

"No lectures on my actions, Darnell, not when you understand me as well as you claim to." Adrian replied, apparently not forgetting how Keith had begun his statement. I was rather comfortable anyway, with no issues of having Adrian share the couch with me. It made sense, considering there was only one other chair in the room. He had to sit somewhere, so I couldn't have the entire couch to myself. It made perfect sense, even if Keith did not understand that.

"I told you, my real last name is Elric, not Darnell." Keith corrected, sounding exasperated with Adrian. Still, it did not stop him from moving back to his explanation. "When I met Carly, I was incredibly young and stupid. I had only just begun to learn alchemy from my father, and I was disappointed in myself for so long. After all, I grew up hearing stories of the child prodigy, Edward Elric, who was the youngest person in all of history to become a state alchemist." he began, sounding a bit jealous of Edward as he spoke.

"I was so determined to prove that I could succeed in some way, that I could just have something to call my own. If Edward could become so amazing at a young age, why couldn't I?" he said a bit wistfully, regret tinging his voice. "Carly was what I set my eyes on then. She was beautiful, headstrong, and intelligent. I knew that I wanted her to be mine from the moment I met her, but she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me." Keith explained, sounding a bit hurt.

"If I had met her at any other time in my life, I swear this wouldn't have happened. I was young, shallow, and vain, and that ultimately led to the biggest mistake of my life. I decided that I didn't care what she wanted, that I would just use force to achieve my goals." he stated, deep self-hatred in his words.

Even if he didn't directly say what had happened, I already knew where this was going. I could feel horror within me, realizing that this man had raped my sister just because he wanted to prove to himself that he could succeed at something. "Damn you, Keith, you are a sick, conniving, devious little—" Adrian began, cutting himself off abruptly. "You should have lost both your eyes." he added after a few moments.

I was surprised when Keith chuckled in response to Adrian's comment. "She said the same thing, you know. Carly told Sydney what happened, that's why we always had so much hatred between us. In a way, it is a relief to know that its gone. I feel like I might be able to finally make it up to her, somehow, if I help her like this." Keith explained, making me wonder just how badly he wanted to make things right. Carly would be highly unlikely to forgive him, but for me, I saw a possibility of redemption. Everyone made mistakes, and he did deserve at least a chance to show he had changed.

"How is that anything like what I'm going through? Do you honestly think that's what I want for Sydney?" Adrian demanded, sounding angry that Keith had even suggested such a thing. To be honest, I would have been offended as well, but I wondered exactly what Keith meant.

"I told myself I wasn't going to tell Carly about my feelings, not until I knew she would return them for me. I told myself that on a daily basis, leading up until I finally lost my patience and could no longer wait for her. My advice to you would be to not bottle up your feelings for so long. You'll regret staying silent and losing your chance, but you will also regret it if you find yourself unable to wait long enough for the time to be right." Keith stated, making me wonder just what Carly had told him back then. Maybe if he had been given a chance….no, thinking like that never got anyone anywhere. The past could be reflected on to make better decisions in the future, but it could not be changed.

Still, it gave me another perspective for my own feelings. Maybe I should give Adrian a chance, even if I couldn't quite be the same person he once knew. He seemed to accept that I was different, and he still was trying to respect my decisions. "Yeah, like that will work. You said it yourself, Sydney is an Alchemist. They probably already started getting their ideas into her head again on that trip of hers. The longer she stays with them, the quicker I'll lose any chance of being with her, until one day, she finally remembers who she is and she decides to run away altogether." Adrian stated bitterly, sounding so confident in that fact.

"Compared to the others, she's lenient on vampires. Trust me, she's probably the only Alchemist out there willing to bust a dhampir out of prison on a hunch." Keith commented.

Adrian didn't seem to agree, snorting at his comment. "That was hardly the case. From what I understand, she made a deal with the devil and that was her side of the bargain." he commented.

"What kind of deal?" Keith asked, sounding interested.

"Ever heard of Abe Mazur? I mean, more about him than what you learned when you met him a few months back." Adrian asked. Keith probably shook his head in response, since Adrian just kept talking. "Well, he's a big shot moroi, kind of like a mob boss and Rose's father. I have no clue what he did for Sage, but it was enough to push her to free Rose from prison."

"There you go, then. She was going to vampires for help, another un-Alchemist-like behavior. One way or another, you're gonna have to face the facts, Adrian. Sydney's beliefs have always been her own, regardless of what the Alchemists tell her." Keith argued, as Adrian began stroking my hair again.

"I'd still feel like I was taking advantage of her situation, if I did tell her how I felt. I don't want to win her over, only to lose her later on for something as stupid as that." Adrian stated, making me know for sure that there was no way I could find someone else who would care for me this much. As careless as Adrian could be, he knew how to make me smile and he trusted me without reservation. No one understood me as well as he did, and I wasn't going to let my situation become an excuse for staying away.

I opened my eyes, staring up at Adrian's face. His green eyes were staring at me, looking confused and lost at first before he stilled, his entire body freezing in place as he noticed I was awake. "Adrian, I don't think you have anything to worry about." I commented, smiling at him softly as I turned my head and pressed it against his stomach. He stayed frozen in place for a few moments, before resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank god you're okay. You gave me a heart attack, Sage." he commented, not giving any indication of having heard me.

"I'll be back in a moment…" Keith said, walking off out of the room. At least he heard what I said and realized that this should be between myself and Adrian.

"Sorry about that. I knew it was happening from the start, but I honestly didn't expect it to take that much away at the end." I told Adrian, sitting up carefully. I still stayed close to his side, not wanting to move too far away quite yet. Adrian didn't miss this, his eyes staying locked on mine with a fire deep within them.

"Sage…I don't know what you heard…" he began, but I cut him off, pressing my lips against his cheek gently. It was enough of a shock for him to stop talking, his gaze still trapped on my eyes when I pulled back.

"Probably more than I should have heard. Sorry, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt you, not when Keith started talking about my sister anyway." I explained, and this time Adrian leaned back, looking a bit floored by this.

"Wait…you were listening in…for that long? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Adrian demanded. "I get wanting to know about your past, Sage, I really do, but I…" he began, probably planning on going back into his argument for staying quiet about his feelings.

I smiled at him, shaking my head. "I really didn't know how to join in. Honestly, I woke up when you were yelling at him about putting my life in danger. It didn't take me too long to figure it out, Adrian." I told him, leaning against his chest contentedly. I felt him wrap his arm around my waist, hesitantly at first, before he rested his chin on my head.

"You're lucky I'm in love with you, Sage, or else you'd be in for a real punishment." he stated, but I could tell his joking mood was back. If anything, he sounded happy, relieved over my reaction to his words. After all, he had been expecting me to push him away because of my job. Maybe I would have if I had my memories, but for now, I was happy with what little I could have with him.

"Are you guys done yet?" Keith called out, while Adrian began to sigh, looking irritated over being pulled back into reality so soon.

"Come on out, Keith." I told him, watching Adrian pout, not looking pleased with my decision.

He leaned down towards me, his lips resting near my ear. "Now's our chance, Sage. Escape plan twenty-two, we run off to Florida and become florists." he whispered, making me laugh. The very idea of escaping for no reason entertained me, and I had a strange feeling that this was not going to be our first escape plan.

"More like escape plan fifty-three, go to Las Vegas and open a pawn shop. You have no idea what I can do with a rock now." I told him, already imagining how to transmute one that would make it look like gold. He smirked at me as Keith came out, glad that I was playing along so easily.

"Sydney, I'm sorry I didn't explain sooner. That stone—" he began, but I shook my head. I had heard the name of it and I felt what it was doing to me, he was not entirely at fault for what happened.

"Edward told me it's name and I was aware that it was draining away my energy. I believe he said it was a vampiric philosopher's stone? That in and of itself was enough to warn me that it was dangerous, and made me realize that it slowly drained away my energy." I told him, watching as Keith nodded.

Adrian seemed to be sitting a bit straighter now, looking serious as Keith spoke. "Well, the decision is yours then. Ed wants to talk to you again, but I wanted to make sure you understood that it was risky before giving you the stone again." he explained.

I nodded, holding my hand out for the stone. It didn't matter if there were risks, I wanted to know the truth. Keith nodded, placing it in my grip as Adrian tightened his grip on my waist. I felt the energy drain begin when I touched the gold-streaked red stone, along with the presence of Ed, Al, and Winry once more. Sydney, we're sorry about what happened. We never meant for anyone to get hurt, we can't control ourselves in this state. Al began, making me nod.

Ed says he is going to tell you everything, so you have to brace yourself. This will take some time, and you will probably have to sleep for a week after he's done. Winry explained, sounding a bit concerned.

"It's fine, I need to know the truth about this. I need to know what price I have to pay to get my memories back." I argued.

Very well then, I suppose I shall start by explaining what things were like back then. We've been trapped as a rock for generations, if you can believe that, so it's going to be a bit hard to imagine what it was like. Ed stated, sounding like he was expecting me to be an idiot about history. I already understood how long ago alchemists were rumored to be around, experimenting with turning lead into gold. Assuming that real alchemists existed at that time, it meant that there would be little in terms of technology.

Ed began explaining his story anyway, not bothering to illuminate any of these facts. It all started when we were just kids. Our father left us when we were young, and not long after, our mother passed away. This was what drove us to commit the great taboo, what drove us to perform human transmutation. I surrendered my leg, while Al lost his entire body. In order to save what little family I had left, I gave up my arm to bind Al's soul to a suit of armor. That was our beginning…though it was far from our first adventure, and we are still a long ways away from the end.

And we have the start of Sydrian now! I am terrible at writing romance, but I still love them as a couple, so I'm trying anyway. Feedback and suggestions for improvement would be appreciated!