Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and it's characters. K?

It didn't matter to them how one really looked like...

Pairing: GreedXAl

Rating: PG-13

Notes: This is a parallel manga-verse. Random light-fluff I guess.

The Night of Truths

The armor sat quietly in one of the tavern's room's... Waiting for the owner of the room to finish taking care of his job at the bar downstairs and rest for the 'night'- or was it 'day'?

'Why do they have to work in the night and sleep in the mornings?' Alphonse wonderingly thought. He can never understand adults' want to stay up all night...

The creaking of the opening door pulled Al out of his thought's, then the owner of the room enters, the Homunculus Greed... the one who kidnapped him and successfully separated him and his brother for a year by running away from Dublith's Devil's Nest with his whole chimera team after Izumi has found their hideout.

A year... and Al was thankful that his brother was still doing OK, he knows because of the newspapers that Dorchet, the dog-chimera, reads to him every now and then. Edward Elric, as the Fullmetal Alchemist, his brother still does his Military work, but he hasn't given up looking for Al on his free time-

- IF he'll find Al that is... Greed never let the Armor out of his room even at night.

Now, that said armor was just the Homunculus' room decoration- more like a trophy of some sort.

"How long are you planning to keep me...?" Alphonse's voice broke the room's silence, and now the man stared at him surprised.

Greed padded towards the armor and lowers his sunglasses to have a good look at the soft glow on the helmet's eyes. He shrugs, "Have you finished your silence strike? You haven't been talking for 5 months!" he playfully pats the helmet. The armored alchemist has been doing nothing but read the books that Roah, the ox-chimera, brings him.

"Then, have you made up your mind if you still want to go back to your brother?" Greed inquires.

Alphonse lowers his head. "As you've said... once the human body has been taken away, there's no way to return it unless you make a new one. Plus, attaching the soul to the body only has 1 percent chance of being successful," the homunculus reminded, "You know this better than me, young alchemist. Your brother will just get depressed if he hears about your findings..."

"... ... ..."

"Besides, staying with me isn't that bad," Greed kneels down in front of the armor, "I can use some company like you..." he mused as he leans his body closer to Alphonse's chestplate.

He only moved away laughing, when he heard the boy gave out a startled gasp. "Hah ha! I'll probably live as long as you. So sticking with me is your best choice," he sit's down on his bed still facing Alphonse, "... and like my chimera's. You can't live normally in the real world. This is more likely your home now."

The alchemist shook his head, "You really don't want me to go, do you?" all the reason's the Homunculus mentioned were siding for Al to stay in the Devil's Nest, he noticed, and Greed had to laugh at that, "Was it too obvious?" he crosses his arms over his chest.

"My men personally kidnapped you, so that only means you're one of my precious belongings!"

Alphonse has heard that line from Greed a lot of times eversince he stayed with them. He just make it sound like he treat's each and everyone of his chimera's as 'objects', but in reality, it's his way of expressing 'I care about you,' or 'I'm worried!' and all other mushy lines. He made a chuckling sound and thought that Greed's too manly to say such sweet words.

The Ultimate Shield raises a brow, "Did I just said something funny?"

A gauntlet was waving off the topic, "It's nothing... I think I might take your offer, if you answer my question..." Greed confidently grins, "Shoot."

"Why ask me to stay?"

"Hmm..." Greed scratches the back of his head, "Martel and the others... won't be hanging around with me for long..." he looks away as he continued, "... since you're here, but we can't get any Immortality info out of you, maybe I can use you for something else- and that is someone who'll stay longer than human's or chimera's."

Alphonse never thought that this man was afraid to be alone. The distant look in his crimson eyes says so that he didn't want any of his chimera's to leave him... he's had enough of living alone.

He says so that he's 'Greed' and he'll live his life the way he wants it... but why has he been staying with the chimera's and then happily keeping a tavern as a hideout? Doesn't he get bored of it? It seems-

"Greed-san..."

Greed frowns and cursed as soon as he realized what he just blurted out, "Ah sh- I rarely show my soft side to anyone- you're lucky, kiddo," then he heard the armor happily chuckling again.

"So you don't mind a weird old armor on your side...?" Alphonse politely asks, and the man shook his head, "I don't care how you look like. I've seen worse deformed chimera's. You're a kind kid, you can talk and fight. That's enough for me."

If only Al could smile, he's probably doing so right now. This man didn't care about his appearance.

Greed lies down the bed, but his eyes were still on the armor, "How about you?"

"Hm?"

"Is it alright for you to be staying with a bad influence like me? How I look and all?" he asks with a sharp toothy grin as if expecting an interesting answer from the other occupant of the room.

Alphonse tilts his head, his expression was questioning, "I think you look fine, you're kind in your own little way. What's wrong with that...?" he thought he got a very wrong answer for the man started to laugh.

"Then you don't mind seeing my real form?" he expectingly question's, and the boy shook his head, not knowing what the homunculus is talking about. He roused himself off the bed, he sighs then stood up in front of Alphonse, "Not a lot of people like me because of this..."

The helmet's eyelights widens as soon as he see's the transformation of the homunculus' body onto it's real form- Greed's Shield form. It was the first time for Alphonse to see it.

Crimson eyes studied the armor's expression and found it intriguing since the boy didn't freak out or move away. He even thinks that the alchemist was in awe...

"Not scared?" he turns his back on Al so he could see the other side's of the shielded body.

Alphonse shook his head, "I think it's kinda cool," there was a hint of gladness in his voice, and that told Greed that the boy wasn't lying. He just couldn't understand alchemist's taste in everything...

After a few seconds, Greed recalls his shield and brought back his normal human form, "At least I know I'm not the only 'weird looking' and 'hard one' around," Alphonse mused and Greed smiles at the boy's joke.

"If you're willing to stay, I want to make a deal with you..."

Alphonse stared wonderingly at Greed as he rests down on his bed, "A deal?" the boy asks.

A hand moved to pick up a newspaper on the floor, and Greed waves it, "... I'll be asking Dorchet not to bring you any more newspapers. I want you to forget hearing about your brother since you're mine now. You got that?"

The helmet hesitates, but he slowly nods his head. Agreeing to what the Homunculus wants...

'If I'll be pretending that Niisan's gone then...'

It will be better if his brother can just pretend that his younger brother's dead also... Alphonse didn't want his brother to go looking for nothing and waste his life... But maybe... along his own way, he was still hoping that Greed might help him find a way to have a happy reunion with his brother.

"From now on, I'm expecting you to cooperate..." the man's voice was demanding, "What can I get in return?" Alphonse interrupted, his voice hopeful.

The homunculus raises a brow, "That's not part of the deal..." but then he shrugs, grinning, "Work under me, and I might give away some helpful homunculus secret's so you can return to a dying body," he didn't sound happy as he said that though.

Alphonse tilt's his head, confused of what the man had just said, "But... my research-"

"- There's no such thing as impossible-" Greed reminded the boy his favorite saying.

"- And I thought you want this immortal armor to stay with you forever or something?" he reason's out, but Greed turns away from him then waved a hand.

"You'll never know... You might change yor mind. I know you're still attached to your brother now, but maybe- after a few years- you'll forget him and also your plans on getting your body back. By then I know you'll be really mine..." his voice fades and then there was silence around the room.

"Greed-san...?"

"Good Morning, Al, it's already way past my bedtime. You should rest too, cause when the tavern open's, you'll be our new bartender," Greed said in a hurry to end their conversation so he can sleep.

'B- bartending...?'

"Ah... Y-yes..." Alphonse stuttered.

"G'nigh- I mean- 'morning, Greed-san... ... ..."

Wakas

"There's no such thing as Impossible..."

I seriously need to know what's Greed's favorite saying is in japanese so I'll know how to translate it properly! I need to know the whole word- kanji's and all- can anyone help me? (The whole japanese term would be okay, I'm quite confident I'll be able to translate it on my own words)

Uhh... Yes, bartending! Alphonse would be perfect for the job even if he looks like that. It might attract more customer's or not- and maybe someone from the military might hear about a bartending armor...? Who knows?

011806

Thanks for reading!

Salamat!

Pictomancer Murasaki