DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I only own my own OCs and this particular fic.

Six

Alphonse led her through the darkness, off the property and onto the road. The moon was a thin crescent and didn't offer much light, but Delilah was always able to make out the glint of his armor body as he walked beside her. His red eyes shone through the shadows.

"I don't think I've been to the cemetery at night before," he admitted.

"Are you afraid of ghosts?" she asked. "They have not been proven to exist, you know."

Alphonse laughed a little. "I don't know. If I can exist like this, I wouldn't be surprised if ghosts existed, too."

"Perhaps we just cannot see them."
Alphonse shrugged, his joints creaking. "Do you believe in them?"

Delilah considered the question. "I would if I saw one. But they are also just interesting to think of or tell stories about."

There was a moment of silence. "Does that mean you don't believe in gods, since you can't see them?"

"Not any that interfere in human life," Delilah replied. "But I do think there is some sort of afterlife, or maybe reincarnation."

Alphonse nodded. "As alchemists, Brother and I don't believe in God…. But I like to think that Mom's in a good place."

With that said, the boy stopped at a break in the rock wall. Without the clanking sound that accompanied his movement, the silence of the night nearly felt oppressive.

"You can find her in the dark?" Delilah asked.

"Yup." Alphonse led her through the maze of tombstones, confidently taking the shortest route possible to where his mother lay beneath the earth's surface. When he stopped beside a certain headstone, Delilah knelt to the ground in the dry grass and peered at the engraved lettering:

Trisha Elric

1878—1904

"Hi, Mom," Alphonse greeted. "This is Delilah Heywood. She's helping us research the Philosopher's Stone."

Delilah smiled softly at the stone and dipped her head in greeting. "Hello, Mrs. Elric. Alphonse has told me a little about you. From what I heard, you were a nice woman and a wonderful mother."

"She was the best," Al put in. "She would tuck me in every night and sing lullabies for me and Brother, even though sometimes he said he was too old for them."

Delilah continued to look at the letters on the stone. "Were they nice?"

"They were beautiful."

Even she, whom had the worst of social skills, could hear the conviction in Alphonse's voice. He was being completely sincere and his tone rang with nostalgia. The memories of his mother were obviously precious to him.

But that was all Trisha was anymore: someone who existed only in memory. She was a smiling face in the mind's eye, not a physical one.

Still, Delilah felt jealous of Alphonse's memories. But she chose not to dwell on the feeling.

Alphonse began to tell the headstone about his and Edward's adventures. He recounted their time in Liore, their fight against kidnappers on a train, and their stop in Youswell. Delilah was sure that if Alphonse had a throat, it would have been sore with all of his talking.

After what was probably at least the better part of an hour, Alphonse stopped speaking. His armor body began to rattle slightly, and he made small rasping sounds. As he couldn't breathe, this was more human habit than anything, but all the same, he was still trying to cry. And like all times before, he was failing.

Delilah remained still and silent until he calmed.

"…I'm sorry," he said finally. "We should get going. It's late." He reached out a hand to her, and she accepted the assistance and allowed him to help her up. Once she was up, Al let go of her hand and led the way out of the cemetery.

When the two were on the road, Alphonse stopped and turned to her. "You must be tired. Shall we head back?"

"I do not mind what we do. But if I go to sleep, I doubt I would be able to get up in time to catch the train, and Edward would not like that. If you wish to go somewhere else, I will go with you."

Alphonse turned to look up the road. "…Let's go back to the house."

Delilah nodded and walked beside him back down toward the Rockbell residence. "…I heard you talking about your house. If you want, you can go see it," she assured him. "I do not mind."

Alphonse glanced at her. "No, but thanks. I don't need to see it." He paused. "…So, how do you like it here?" he asked, changing the subject rather awkwardly, not that Delilah noticed his tone of voice.

Her expression softened slightly, but she still stared at the road as she walked. "I am not used to this sort of…family environment. I suppose the doctor has served as a father figure for me, but we were always busy with patients. So it is very…different here."

"But it's nice, isn't it?" Alphonse prodded when she paused. "To have so many people around, laughing and helping each other."

"It is," she agreed after a moment. "Though it is a bit…different, like I said. Hard to get used to. To be honest, I…" She trailed off.

Al noticed her hesitation. "You can tell me, if you want. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

Delilah simply walked for a moment, weighing her options before she shook her head. "…Thank you. But not now."

"All right. That's fine."

"But…I have told you a bit already, have I not?"

Alphonse didn't reply, an action which was an answer in itself. He had been too busy worrying about Marcoh's research to seriously think about what she had told them when they had first met her—that she had been mentally disabled, and that she had been abandoned up until the time Marcoh had healed her with his Stone. He could somewhat relate to the neglect, as he hadn't seen his father for years, but he had the "comfort," per se, to know what had happened to his mother. However, he had no idea how it felt to have any sort of illness or debility, other than the limitations of his own body, which didn't quite count as a "sickness"; but all the same, he did know how it felt to be viewed differently.

They didn't speak until they got back to the house. Alphonse told her that he was going to check up on Edward and hurried off (while trying to be as quiet as possible).

Delilah wandered into the kitchen to check the clock on the wall. She was surprised to see that it was nearly two in the morning. Sunrise would probably come around four or five, and the train was supposed to leave at 5:15, so Delilah saw no point in sleeping.

Her attention was drawn to the small table and corkboard beneath the clock, both of which were covered with pictures. Though she had noticed them before, she hadn't taken the time to really inspect them. Several depicted Pinako and Winry together with Den, while a few were of a much younger Pinako (who had been taller back in the day). There was a couple whom she supposed were Winry's late parents—Delilah had, somewhat impolitely, asked where they were, only for Pinako to explain that they had been killed in the Ishvalan War while they had been serving as surgeons. Many of the other pictures were of the young Elric brothers and Trisha.

One snapshot in particular caught Delilah's interest, and she peered at what appeared to be a family portrait of the Elrics. Trisha was smiling sweetly and holding an infant Alphonse—it was hard to imagine him ever being that tiny—while a broad-shouldered man held a grinning Edward. The man's face was blocked by the edge of another picture, however. Delilah was about to move the picture to get a good look at the man when Alphonse returned.

"Are you going to sleep?" he asked. "We have a couple of hours."

Delilah straightened up and shook her head. "We will be on the train all day and night. I will sleep then. I have gone without sleep for longer; I will be fine." She paused in thought. "Perhaps I should go make sure I have everything packed." With that, she ducked past Alphonse into the hallway and headed up the stairs, leaving the armor-boy alone in the kitchen.

()()()()()

Roughly two and a half hours later, the sky was beginning to brighten towards dawn. Delilah, all packed and changed into her white dress and straw hat, stood outside holding her briefcase, watching as Edward trudged sleepily but determinedly down the front steps. He placed his suitcase on the ground and retrieved his gloves from his pocket before sliding them onto his hands. As he did this, the Major and Pinako came out of the house, followed by Den, who bounded over to Alphonse. Immediately, Delilah abandoned her briefcase and joined Al in petting the dog.

"Thanks for everything, Granny!" Ed grinned at the old woman.

"No problem."

Alphonse straightened up. "Where's Winry?"

"She did so many all-nighters that she's still asleep," Pinako explained. "Should I wake her up?"

"Don't bother," Ed scoffed. "If you woke her up she'd just go on and on about automail maintenance."

"I read about the maintenance," Delilah piped up, turning her head around from where she was still petting Den. "I think I might be able to check it for you. Most of it is oiling the joints—oh, and I could check Alphonse's joints as well."

Edward grumbled. "Great. Another automail junkie."

"Brother! Be nice."

Ed shrugged. "Whatever. We gotta go, Granny. …Hey, Del, stop petting Den, we have to go."

"Oh." She gave the dog a quick hug and then grabbed her bag and hurried over to the boys and the Major. "…'Del'?"

Ed frowned. "What, never had a nickname before?"

Delilah shook her head.

Before Edward could answer, Pinako called out, "Don't be strangers, you hear? Come back sometime when you feel like some good home cooking."

"Okay, we'll be back," Alphonse replied cheerily.

Edward huffed and began walking down the road, as if he couldn't wait to leave. "Like we'd come all the way to the boondocks just for a meal." At the Major's chuckle, he whipped around to face the man. "What's so funny?"

"I just think it's a wonderful thing to have a family and place to come home to."

"Hmph. We just drift from place to place like a couple of tumbleweeds."

"Hey, Ed! Al!"

The voice attracted the boys' attention, as well as Delilah's, to the second-floor porch, where Winry was sleepily leaning on the railing. "See you later," the blonde said, waving a hand.

Ed grunted and scratched his head before turning around and waving a hand in farewell. "Later!" He walked off, Al and the Major following closely. Delilah wasn't expecting the sudden departure, so she had to hurry to catch up.

()()()()()

The next afternoon, they had finally arrived in Central. Delilah was grateful that she wouldn't have to sit on the stiff train seats anymore. She was also excited—she had never been to a city before.

Ed grabbed his suitcase and hurried off the train, the Major following close behind. Delilah moved a bit slower, and Alphonse was nice enough to make sure that she didn't get left behind by herself.

"Hurry up, Al!" Ed called, waiting impatiently for his brother to get off the train.

"You don't have to be in such a rush, Brother," Al scolded as he followed Delilah off the train. "It's not like the library's going to run away."

"Just hurry up! We're finally in Central!" Ed stretched, looking excited to finally be off the train.

Delilah stopped short and looked around at the train station. It was huge—she had never been at a station platform that actually had a roof. A large clock was mounted on one wall, proclaiming that it was three o'clock; the train had arrived right on schedule.

Al prodded her shoulder. "Come on, Delilah." He pointed to where Ed and the Major stood; they had suddenly been accompanied by two uniformed officers, one man with dirty blonde hair and one woman with black hair and a mole under her left eye. As Delilah and Al headed over, both officers saluted to the Major and Ed, and the woman spoke.

"Major Armstrong. We've come here to escort you."

"Thank you, Second Lieutenant Ross," the Major said. "And you as well, Sergeant Brosh."

The male officer—Sergeant Brosh—noticed Alphonse. "And this must be the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

The female officer turned to Alphonse as well. "Maria Ross, sir. It's an honor to meet you."

"And I'm Denny Brosh. I can see where you got your nickname! Very dignified."

"Er, I'm Alphonse. The State Alchemist is my brother, Edward," the armor-boy corrected, pointing over to Ed, who was fuming.

"You mean that little guy over there?" Brosh asked.

"Oh," Delilah breathed. "Edward does not like that."

Before she was even finished speaking, Ed had to be restrained by the Major while the young officers awkwardly apologized.

Once Edward had calmed, the Major let him go. "Well," he said, "I had best head over to Central Command to file my report."

Edward looked all too happy to see him leave. "So this is goodbye? Thanks for your help! Drop me a postcard sometime. Bye-bye!"

The Major suddenly tackled him in a fierce hug. "I WILL MISS YOU AS WELL, MY LAD! Ahh, the good times we shared on the road! Until we meet again!" He let go of Edward (who seemed to not have any breath left after having it squeezed out of him), and spoke to his officers. "Well then, I'll leave him with you."

"What, more bodyguards?" Edward moaned, regaining his senses.

"But of course!" said the Major, finally taking his leave in a hurry.

"According to the reports from Eastern Headquarters, the assassin 'Scar' is still at large," Brosh explained as he led the way outside to a private military car. "Until the situation is resolved, we have been instructed to be your guards."

"We may not be as dependable as the Major, but we are confident in our ability to guard you, so please feel at ease," Ross added.

"Excuse me, but who is 'Scar'?" Delilah asked.

Brosh jumped a foot in the air and spun around to face her. "Who are you?"

Ed and Al both slumped in exasperation. "Guess I can't blame you for not noticing her during all that," Ed muttered.

"Delilah Heywood," the girl introduced herself, bowing slightly, taking care not to let her hat fall off her head.

"She's helping us in our research for a while," Alphonse explained at the officers' questioning looks.

"Pleasure to meet you," Ross said warmly, extending her hand toward Delilah. A bit late, the girl shook it. After the pleasantries were over, Ross grew serious. "Scar, as he is called, has been killing State Alchemists left and right for reasons we believe to be connected to the Ishvalan War, as he appears to be a surviving Ishvalan. He has an X-shaped scar on his forehead. From what I've heard, Scar has already had a run-in with you boys, right?"

Delilah's eyes widened, and for once they also became less cloudy and more focused as she turned to the brothers. "Was that why you two were hurt?"

Ed shrugged with a look of exasperation while Al nodded awkwardly. "It's not like we were killed or anything," Ed pointed out, "so there's no need to worry."

Delilah frowned but didn't object. Behind her, Brosh and Ross exchanged confused looks, but they didn't say anything, either.

After giving instructions to the driver, Brosh opened the door of the private car, and they all piled in. With Al's bulk, it was a tight squeeze, and Delilah ended up between Ross and the door to the car. She knew it had to be better than being stuck between the door and a suit of armor or an automail arm or leg, though, so she didn't complain. Her mind was too busy with thoughts of this "Scar," anyways.

"I guess we're stuck with you," Ed muttered mutinously.

"Don't you mean, 'thank you for your help,' Brother?" Alphonse asked.

"The way you say that…are you the younger brother?" Brosh asked.

"Yup."

"But…why do you wear armor?"

There was a moment of silence as Ed and Al exchanged a look (even Delilah could feel the tense air). As one, the brothers, sweating nervously, turned to the officers. "It's a hobby."

Ross and Brosh turned to each other and hid their mouths behind their hands, although it was no use, as their whispers were loud.

"A hobby? Second Lieutenant, what sort of 'hobby' are they talking about?"

"How should I know? Who are these kids?"

"HEY, THERE IT IS! I SEE IT!" Edward declared, pointing out the window. Delilah followed his finger to see that they were approaching a large building, the front of which was decorated with thick columns.

Sufficiently distracted, Ross took note of the structure. "Ah, yes. That's the National Central Library. It houses more books than any other library in the nation."

At this, Delilah fantasied about spending the rest of her life in the library. Her heart soared.

"They say it would take more than a hundred lifetimes to read the entire collection of books," Brosh added.

You can always try, Delilah thought.

The car stopped, and since Delilah was the only one who could really move due to her size (well, Ed could move too, but he didn't want to admit it), she exited the car first. The officers followed next, and then came Al and Ed.

"The first branch, where you all are headed, is just to the west of here," Ross explained, leading them in that direction. "Research data, historical records, and lists of names were stored there…however…"

Ed and Al stopped dead, and Delilah was so preoccupied with looking at the large library that she walked straight into Al's body, causing his body to resound. Luckily, no one noticed the noise but Alphonse himself, but he was too distracted by the sight in front of him to check on the girl.

Delilah rubbed her head and fixed her hat, coming around beside Al, only to see a terrible, terrible sight: the burnt remains of the first branch of the National Central Library.

"Just yesterday," Ross continued, "the entire collection was incinerated. We haven't completed out investigations, but it appears to have been arson."

a/n: AlxDel fluff. Hehehhee. Oh, but angsty fluff. Really angsty. And I nearly cried because Al can't cry. It's so depressing. He really is my favorite character and when he cries I want to cry. *sobs in the corner*

Um, can't really have a long author note tonight, it's like 1:20am and if Mom gets up and sees me on the computer I'm afraid she'll take it away from me ;A; Maybe I'm being paranoid. Idk.

Anyway, yep, Al and Del have a nice long chat, they get to Central, Del discovers Scar's existence, the first branch was burnt, yada yada. Haha, Ross and Brosh are some of my favorite minor characters. They're quite hilarious but dependable.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews and follows! Don't forget to drop a review on your way out, please! It doesn't have to be long :3