Sorry People, it took me awhile to update this story, but I've been working on the chapters for Greed, & Starrk, so...It's taking a little longer than I assumed...Well, we all know what 'assuming' means...*Smacks forehead* Well, I'll keep at it! Until then, this should suffice as well as the others I will be putting out right after this one! Enjoy!


Disclaimer: Sadly, I will never own Full Metal alchemist or the Brotherhood, but I can always buy the DVD's...Oh, I have them all LOL well, besides the new OVA I found on Youtube of Roy when he first started out in the Military & Izumi Curtis when she was up in Briggs mountains...Yeah, I found it. Seriously! For some that don't know about it yet, go check it out! Awesome stuff! Awesome stuff! But what do you expect from the greatest creator of all time, besides a few others we know & love!

Oh, also I don't own Paramore & their lyrics to Decode, which by the way I recommend for a really good song to listen to! All depending on your preferrence of music!


Chapter 5: The Green-filled Wasteland

How can I decide what's right?

When you're clouding up my mind

Can't when your losing fight

All the time

Never gonna own what's mine

When you're always taking sides

You won't take away my pride

No time this time,

Not this time

How'd we get here?

well I use to know you so well

How'd we get here?

Well I think I know


Her eyes were already starting to burn with the tears of rage hiding behind those brightened eyes. Her mind, body & soul felt as if it was in a typhoon of nothing but angry flames & all the while, all Lilia could only think about how hard Kimblee had been trying to get her to come back to Central.

Well, this would surely be the answer he awaited for once she got her hands on him.

For two days now, he had attempted so hard to ruin her here at Briggs, of course once he hears the news, he would soon realize it wasn't so hard to pull at her strings as he, oh so love to do.

Finally, when she made her way to the cells she learned that Kimblee had actually gone to the engineering room for the Full Metal Alchemist to get his touch up, giving Lily even more of a reason to find him faster, & she did, when she came to the hall where the room lied dormant she saw none other than him leaning against another wall with two large soldiers that seemed unfamiliar to her, but at the moment she wasn't paying attention to them, right now her target was only set on Kimblee.

She could feel the whined up in her fist, & her teeth starting grit against each other the closer she got to him. She had to admit, she had never felt him light such an enormous fuse within, never in all the time she's known him.

Truly it was the first, & the last

"Well, well, I was wondering when you were-," His greeting was cut short when her bundled fist made contact with his jaw, sending him flying into the wall he was once leaning against.

"Mr. Kimblee!" One of the Central soldiers were about to step in, but Kimblee just raised his hand signaling them to stay out of it.

"You're a real bastard you know that? Telling Miles about us in Ishval, are you completely out of your fucking mind!" Her voice was on the verge of breaking from being so angry, she nearly wanted to slit his throat, "And by the way, how dare you talk about me like that to my boyfriend! It's degrading is what it is & it was none of his business what happened in the past! I thought you knew better than that, Zolf!"

From the gloss over her eyes, Kimblee could only chuckle as he saw the familiar gaze he knew so well when she got angry at times like this.

"Nice to see you too. Apparently, everyone's been liking me recently. I'm getting a lot of attention, you know."

"Are you even listening to me, Zolf J. Kimblee! You told Miles about you & me did in the war! Do you know what this could do to me? My relationship! Reputation! I could loose my goddamn job? They'll surely find out eventually now, & kick me out of the only home I have! Or worse kill me! Everything I've worked so hard for will be destroyed, all because of your big good for nothing fucking mouth!"

She was nearly screaming at him, trying to get him to understand how she felt with out having to tear his spine from his back.

All the while, the Crimson remained calm as usual telling his subordinates to go check in on Full Metal for the mean time, since everyone could nearly hear Lilia's booming voice throughout the entire hall way, "Do you think you can just waltz in here, & get me to join you by ruining me here? I've said it once before, & I'll say it again, I've changed!"

Kimblee just removed the blood from his lips with a wipe of his fingers, gazing at the color that laid in his hands before licking it off with ease.

"So you keep reminding me." He retorted plainly.

"You obviously aren't getting what I said to you when you first arrived here at the Fort, & I'll say it one more time to remind you since you're starting to loose your touch."

The last comment left Kimblee glaring venomously, which was usually rare.

"Zolf, you don't own me & last time I checked, you were the reason why I left Central, or isn't that what everyone else is saying? I don't even know anymore! Why can't you just get out of my life & stay out! For good? If you can't help me, then you should fuck-off, right!" Kimblee's eyes softened from the glare to the girl's hurt filled face.

At this point, Lily wasn't even sure what she was feeling anymore. She was mad at him alright, but at the same time…Something got in the way of her wanting to tear him limb from limb.

With the defeat of exhaustion kicking in suddenly, Lilia just shook her head softly, laughing so tiredly that it almost seemed as if she was giving up, "We were young back then…I was young…Remember? And you…You apparently had another agenda to attend to…How…How could you just leave me behind like that? Didn't I tell you? I got so much worse after you left…?"

No, I guess she didn't…

"That roach was clicking even louder against my skull! Laughing at me…Knowing you had left…It was taking over me…" She tapped softly at the side of her skull, feeling her tears fill the corner of her eyes, still trying hard to hide them, but Kimblee knew when she was close to her breaking point, & noticed those overly glossed eyes getting to their peak as they flooded with the salted water.

"Briggs helped me, after you left."

"How did Briggs help you?" He asked with a quizzical tone, tilting his head to the side with such an intense gaze.

"Tell me, how could running away, hiding up in the snowy mountains & blending into the background help you? You basically are hiding from not just those around you, but from yourself. If you ask me, it's anything but mature. It's childish. If you had changed & mature like you claim so proudly, then you would've stayed & dealt with situations in Central, instead of letting it get to you so you have to hide who you truly are from the world."

Kimblee's eyes began to give off an odd stare even Lily didn't seem to recognize as he walked closer towards her, getting Lily to take a step back a little when he got too close to her face, she could feel his breath splashing over her when he a chuckle softly.

"No one here, not even Miles would take you for who you really are, Fancy-Face…That's why you hide here trying not to cause too much of a disturbance. If anything, you've learned to control yourself better by shadowing yourself, but in anyway case, they still wouldn't take you for who Lillian Nelliel Smith really is, I mean look at them. They're already planning on using you to get to me…Miles doesn't even trust you with me…Not for a second, even before you came to the hospital to interrogate me for the first time, he already had his suspicions, & you knew that, that's why you didn't tell him everything...If you really loved him…If you really cared about him, you wouldn't hide anything from him."

"No, you're wrong."

"Am I?" He asked innocently tilting his head to her while he stared her down.

"Did you tell him what nearly happened on the roof?"

"Fuck you."

"I rest my case. And by the way, I'm not sorry for telling him about us. Because he

already knew it, Lillian. He sees that there's still something there. Remember, it's hard for you to hide those little emotions that stir within that body somewhere."

He almost sounded like he was attempting to taunt her, making Lilia throw her fist at him again, trying to hit him harder than the last time, but this time, Kimblee was able to block it with ease, turning himself around to swiftly grab both of Lily's wrists & restrain her against the wall. A loud gasp left her when he did this, getting her to stare into Kimblee's sapphire eyes that seemed to magnetize her to him.

"Get off!" She growled attempted to thrash a little, but it only got the Crimson to slam her against the wall again to get her full attention.

"Why do you insist on fighting against me? Mm? What is it besides the fact that I was locked away for 7 years, that's got you this upset?"

She tried to look away, but Kimblee only took a hand that held onto her wrist & moved it to her chin forcing her to look at him now, "Tell me Lillian!"

She couldn't take it any more, she was tired of hiding her emotions, & tired of pushing everything away. Lilia's eyes searched within Kimblee's to try to find the answers, like she had before, a long time ago & with a burst of truth rising to the surface…

"It's you! Alright? It's always been you! Why'd you have to come back?"

The tears that held back couldn't with stand hiding any longer, they fell down her cheek & jaw line until they landed on the white tiled floors beneath the two, "I'm so conflicted…"

She was giving in so quickly, spiraling downward as she let it all out finally, "I'm being torn apart by two people I care about…Central & here…You & Miles…I thought I knew myself, & knew what I wanted finally…But…I don't think I ever made a decision in the first place."

She sniffled back a sob, not seeing the expression on Kimblee's face as he held his place with the girl against the wall, his hand that was once placed under her jaw line slowly moved away, "You were torn? By Me?"

Her eyes tightened close letting some more tears fall from her eyes, her one hand that was free from Kimblee, once laid lifeless on the wall, falling to her side as her head sunk down to hide her sobbing face.

She couldn't let the man she secretly loved still, see her like this; she let her hair fall in her face with a strand at a time until her tears were completely covered from him only to open her eyes at his slightly opened hand that once held her chin, but now it slowly lowered, parting from her face. She thought about grabbing his hand, holding it in hers once again to say all things she wanted to say to him, all the things, mean & nice. Good & bad, but how could she after almost hurting Miles once.

No, maybe even twice, who knew how many times she had hurt him without realizing it.

Sadly, she couldn't help but hesitantly take that hand, swirling her hand slowly up to his sleeves collar until her fingers touched his only to have their fingers tips & palms touching one another. Kimblee's eyes fluttered to his opened hand against her open one as well, studying it before looking at Lilia again to see her raise her gaze to his.

The smile on her face was soft, the tears she once had finally dried instantly & stopped all together.

"Zolf…You bring out the animal in me…And you can see the real me from behind the mask I wear…I can be myself around you…I don't have to hide a damn thing from you. That's what you really want to hear isn't it?" His eyes cocked back.

"It's true though. You do, huh? I never thought about it until now because all I knew was that I was mad at you for leaving me behind…You would've thrown away your life for work, then to at least die next to me as partners. We promised each other, 'we'd go together, we'd die together, & we'd stay together'. Remember?"

The soft change in his expression gave her the answer, "Good…I'm glad you do…But then if you obviously remember, why? Why did you do it? You can't do this to me, Zolf…You can't just appear after 7 years, not expect me not to be angry &…I didn't even know that they would've released you. I thought the military was going to use you for whatever their sick minds have up their sleeves, knowing that you had the stone inside you. Tell me something, if they hadn't of released you, would you have stayed & rot in that cell? Or when they did release you, & you hadn't have come up North, would you have still come this way to look for me?" She gasped back hard gripping onto both of his hands for dear life, avoiding eye contact with him once again.

She was hurting more than ever. Everything she had been keeping in for 7 years came out on the table finally. "You broke your promise…And you broke my heart…" She finally released the last to words so calmly & soft it nearly gave Kimblee a tug at his heart…He felt odd by it.

"So, please…I'm begging you Kimblee, to save the last of the sanity I have left…Don't come looking for me anymore…"

She put his hands down to his side, releasing him all together moving him back so she could scoot herself away from him, "Just stay away from me…"

With that, Lily walked away from the man that stood still in his position, stunned by her harsh words. Kimblee couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He couldn't believe her in the slightest, even if she told him she hated him.

The look in her eyes were not the ones of hate, but of something maybe he really have should've done. But what bothered him more was that he didn't get out sooner.

Why did he just sit there in that cell & not go get her before she left Central? Or give her a last good bye…

In a way he thought maybe it was because he already knew that they would eventually meet again.

He was an alchemist after all…

The one question soon remained on his mind after minutes of pondering in place, should he stay away all together after the job was done, or would the his reasons for him not to leave her alone going to get in the way?

"Hmm…" He knew one place he could go to get the answers he'd been searching for. Her room... He knew Lilia would usually keep momentums just as much as he kept those two philosopher stones safely secured in his stomach; so to him it only seemed logical to search the one place she kept all her valuables.

It wasn't that he wanted to snoop around or anything, no, he actually wanted to see for himself to see if she had changed like she insisted to him.

In all truthfulness though, Kimblee already knew it was a lie, since Lily was such a horrible liar...

He smirked the whole way towards her domain, only to freeze when he looked up from his hat & hid behind a corner to conceal himself from Lilia who was just exiting her room with a bundled up suitcase in her hand. She even had herself bundled up like she was going outside, making Kimblee wonder.

She's leaving?

He pondered on following her at first, seeing where'd she head off to, but considering it was late at night, Kimblee had finished talking to the full metal alchemist, & decided altogether to catch up with her later. If anything, he need to investigate the one thing that had been bugging him, why he had decided to go into her room in the first place.

Coincidently, there was no rush for Kimblee, he merely just strolled across the hall & entered her room without anyone seeing him, & locked the door securely behind him.

His eyes scanned around the room, his nose filled with her scent that seeped through the walls of the room she stayed in for so long, but the one thing that seemed to make him feel at ease was the cleaned & organized room before him.

"Heh, feels like home." He joked to himself suddenly getting the idea that some things just never changed with her.

He slowly moved his feet to the dresser, planting his fingers down on the wood making them walking themselves along the edge as he planted his eyes among the four framed pictures in front of him.

Three of them showed Lilia & Miles at one of the local bars, another with them on the job, & another in the same room that Kimblee stood in. He hesitated to pick up the one with her & Miles in the room kissing under the white sheets that they embraced in.

Kissing…

Kimblee could only close his eyes putting the picture in her top drawer, only to have something else catch his eye when he buried the picture under her extra clothes she decided to leave behind, "Hmm?"

He noticed one of the four pictures was turned downwards on the dresser, as if it hid itself from the world, leaving Kimblee curious to what it was. He picked it up, closing the drawer below him as he took the picture in both hands & parted his lips, & widened his eyes to the sight of the picture.

It was a picture of Lily & him.

He definitely remembered this picture sitting on their dresser back in Central, in the house they once grew up in together, but here it was with her this whole time. He scanned over the picture of few times, looking at a young reflection of himself looking up into the sky to avoid the camera, almost annoyed that she was taking the picture in the first place, but like always she was smiling & grinning as she held him from around his shoulders, nuzzling her cheek against his.

He had to admit it was so long ago, but he remembered this one being the first picture he ever really took with her…

The sound of her voice whining & begging for him to at least be in the picture still rang in his ear as he chuckled softly at her pouting expression. But the memories went even deeper than that…And they made the connection stronger…So deep he began to wonder if this was the reason his heart tugged at him until he felt as if he would fall apart at the seams. He wasn't the calm collected man he made himself out to be.

Not when he thought about the past…

Their past…


~Before the Academy~

He was on his way home with a bag of groceries for himself. He usually never wanted to come out unless he really wanted to, or, in this case, if he really needed to, & hoped that the day would end soon so he could get some much needed sleep.

He wanted nothing more than to research up on his wonderful alchemy.

He didn't need friends like other kids, the thought of explosions always kept his time occupied, on account of he finally knew how to use it properly, thanks to the few experiments he had, just lying around.

Kimblee smirked of last weeks events, remembering how his father began his usual routine, drinking every morning & every night before going to bed. He hated his father, he was a good for nothing, never did a day of work in his life, & his mother…She was an idiot for supporting someone as worthless as he was.

And…He was nothing more than a perfect start to Kimblee's favorite pass time.

But today, there was something else in store for the young boy, that he himself didn't expect to happen.

This day, the day he decided he had to get his grocery's, his life took a major change when heard a small girl crying from behind a brown tattered fence.

She was sitting up on her porch with her legs to her chest & her head in between her legs. The girl was no than a year younger than Kimblee himself, but noticed something from his hawk eye vision; the bruises & welts on her legs & arms & when she raised her head to wipe the tears away from her dark green eyes, the bruises appeared on the left side of her cheek as well.

It made him cringe with anger to see those one her for some reason. Maybe from the fact that the thought of a grown man beating up on a helpless little girl made the latest grub in his stomach turn with disgust.

But, at the same time, he wondered if this was his chance…For a new target…Another fun test subject?

Yes… He grinned at the idea & put down his groceries near the fence to make sure they were safely out of the way before he came around & approached the girl that was a little startled when she noticed him coming towards her.

He knelt down before her, making the dark haired girl tense up & lean away slightly, when suddenly he pulled out a small light blue cloth from his pocket, licking the dry fabric so he could wipe some of dirt & stained tears from her face.

The girl gasped, scared & trembling as she made an attempt to back away more, but Zolf just put a hand on hers that gripped to one of her knees. She gasped again this time a little louder.

"Calm down…I'm not going to hurt you." His voice spoke out breaking a little as he slowly attempted to reach for her cheek that had a tiny cut split through her soft skin.

This time the girl didn't move, some what still frightened by him because they both knew already the consequence if they were found together.

"So, do you have a name?" He asked plainly.

That's all he needed to ask to have her look up at him, those big green eyes glimmering in the bright sun light that beamed down upon the two, "Lilia..."

Her sweet little voice sniffled as she rubbed her face a little, but the tears only kept streaming down her face looking up at the mysterious boy who only smiled…

Or was it a smirk…? She couldn't tell.

"Zolf…Zolf Kimblee…And don't you worry...We'll take care of him…"

He assisted in the struggling girl's aid to stand up, only to have her stare at him curiously to what he just said.

What did he mean?

Before she could ask though, the little girl Lilia shook startled at the sound of a familiar, slurred voice, "HEY!"

The both of them parted away from each other as a man stumbled out from the house, cursing at the boy to get away from his daughter as he pulled Lilia unusually rough by the arm, causing her to yelp out in pain from the current wounds already present.

He began to beat her in front of the boy, only hearing the little grunts leaving the girl as she held in her tears & cries, only every once in a great strike she'd let out a rasp whimper. For Kimblee, he had only started to study Alchemy, getting as good as being able to handle it, in his age, he was actually pretty good for just using it once, but twice?

He wanted to let all hell break loose this time…

But…

He wondered, would he do it to save another?

He wondered… Should he? Would he?

He was beginning to snap hearing & seeing the girl's silent cries, no body wanting to help her as the crazed man kicked her towards the porches stairs, making the girl finally cry out in pain when one of her ribs bruised, "Ahhh!"

"I'm going to teach you to talk to boys! You little slut! I thought I taught you better! After all I've done for you!"

It was obvious the man was out of his mind.

It left Kimblee with no choice, but to bring this man down.

The man was already turned to him, saving Kimblee to get his attention, "And you…Who the hell are you? I've never seen you before! You better get out of here ya little punk before I gut you for talking to my daughter!"

Her father began to pull out his belt from his waist, getting the leather ready for Zolf who began to raise his tattooed hands to one another, the man getting even closer as he raised his hand to bring the belt down on Kimblee…

That's when it happened, Lily's father lifted his hand up bringing the belt down on the boy's head, but everything froze in time the minute Zolf's hand cease the belt within his palm & let the pieces explode around him, causing her dad to fall forward into the boy, falling on top of him.

Quickly the boy & father looked up at one another only leaving a fear between them both, Zolf, scared of the fact that he was about to get killed by someone & Lilia's father for the alchemy the boy performed.

It was then, Zolf had no choice when he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Lilia's father was reaching for the metal part of the belt buckle to stab the poor boy with.

"No! Don't!" Lily screamed.

But it was too late, between a man & a boy, only one was going to survive this out come…

A loud boom, a red fire dancing within the dark cloud of smoke that spread through out the air…

That, was the first time, Lilia ever experienced a human barbeque; her own father was turned into a charcoal corpse in front of her. She wasn't sure what to do, the boy stood up before her, a small scratch from the belt buckle that her father left behind but something else was left from the experience of his second subject to his alchemy…The second kill to his lust for explosions & the smell of war.

…A hungry grin.

"That felt nice…I didn't…I didn't think the sound of hell breaking loose on earth could sound…So, refreshing…So beautiful…"

Just then, he realized he was speaking out loud, turning to the girl who only stared at him in awe, & in fright at the same time. The expression on her face was unreadable, as if she didn't know what to make of it.

"You okay?" He asked walking over to her kneeling down in front of the girl who seemed to have trouble swallowing the saliva behind her lips…Small tears were beginning to stream from her eyes again, but instead of them being tears of sorrow…She cried tears of joy, crying & laughing all at once.

"Oh god…Oh god…It's over…It's finally over! Ha, ha, ha! The bastards dead… That bastards finally dead!" She gasped trying to catch her laughter in a spare of the moment to look up at the boy with her tear filled face, "And it's all thanks to you…Zolf…Kimblee…You saved me…."

She stood up on her dirt stained knees, her petite little body still shaking from all the new rushes she was sensing & feeling. She had never felt anything like this…A sense of freedom…

Before she knew it, she wrapped her arms around him, making the boy tense up from the bruises & such on his body still, "Ow! Hey, damn it that hurts! I'm still wounded you know! Uh-," He suddenly looked down to see the girl's closed eyes as she continued to cry herself on his shirt, staining the fabric with the little tears that fell from her chin.

"Thank you…" She whispered to him softly, suddenly realizing that she was beginning to sob uncontrollably in his arms.

How was a young boy suppose to react? He was just told 'thank you' for killing this girl's father! The daughter was thanking Kimblee for turning her father into a human experiment basically, but none the less he was a bad man, so was he doing the right thing?

The question began to fade as he noticed the girl, Lilia wouldn't let go of him, she cling to his buttoned up shirt for dear life…Letting all the tears of pain stain the boy's Victorian designed fabric.

In hesitation, he seemed to be placing his hand on Lily's head feeling her body shake, his other hand placed itself on her shoulder to comfort her some, as much as he knew how, just letting her cry in his arms until she finally calmed down enough to where she ended laying her head on his lap & he leaned against a large pine tree in the front yard, both of them looking at the singed distorted body that laid before them, taking it in like an artistic painting that was drawn by some unworldly hands.

"So, alchemy, huh? I've heard people talk about it, & I've seen it performed once by a passing State Alchemist, but never in my years, did I think there were so many types that could create such beauty like this…That can create such a calming environment…" Her voice soothed the boys mind only agreeing with Lilia as he suddenly ran his fingers through her hair to keep her as calm as she was.

"Would you like to learn it?" He asked shifting his once darkened blue eyes now lightened ones to the girl, a smirk seem to spread across his face suddenly sliding a finger under the girl's chin to lift her curious, innocent filled gaze up at him, making his smirk widened, "I can teach you…"

She didn't seem like she wanted to refuse, instead she only looked into his eyes for a good minute making Zolf nearly blush a little as he felt a new sensation tug at his stomach like butterflies filling the emptiness he use to feel all the time.

In defeat, the girl looked away with a soft giggle in her throat before looking back up at him with a more confident look, "Okay…I'll do it…"

"Mm-Hmm, Good…" He lightly tapped a finger on her nose, getting her to giggle louder this time before he finally helped the girl up from his legs & in returned the girl helped him up from the ground so they could be on their way, "Now then, I'm hungry…And I have grocery's to get home. So…You coming or what?"

And that day, the new & improved Zolf J. Kimblee & Lilia N. Smith were, indeed, together born…Living their lives out the best they knew how, learning about their alchemy…And each other…


"Tch…"

Kimblee put the photo down with that same sensation in his stomach filling up to the brim if it had one, causing him to continue through the pictures, everyone of them on the floor spread out in front of him. He was so blinded by the love for his work, just like Lilia he was torn apart by two great loves. But then again, he only had one great love that could send him over the edge of pleasures unfelt by explosions…

If anything, he felt them through her.

They both had that connection, through blood, sex, sweat, & rapid urges, they both wished to experience in every form imaginable.

So, why was he sitting here jacket thrown to the floor, looking at old memories?

He laid back on her bed he was already sitting on by this time, & sighed looking up at the ceiling, sensing a lump from underneath his back as if something were there, of course there was something underneath him.

It was Lilia's state alchemist pocket watch.

So, she's planning on not making a decision after all…That's too bad…I was getting use to the idea of having her around again…

That's when it hit him; well it's probably hit him a few times, he just didn't want to notice it, but it was all clear to him as day.

That's what he wanted the whole time.

He wanted her back.

And even if she didn't want to say it to him, he knew she wanted him back too.

All this time, they both wanted the same thing. Dreaming the same dream, from close by & from a far. It was then he decided he was going to take her back…

No matter the cost…

Whether for his mind going, or for his own selfish reasons, he needed her.

She was a part of him now…

"Yes it's true Fancy-Face…I don't own you…But…That doesn't mean I can't still want you…"

He arose from the bed, looking down at the floor to pick out the one picture he wanted to take as a souvenir. He danced his fingers through the little pile, finally getting that one that stood out between the 10's to 100's of photos she kept with her throughout the years of growing up.

Kimblee brought that one image to his sights, smirking a little in amusement at the photo before putting it in his jacket that he pulled off from the bed & placed it over himself to prepare for a trip down town. Hoping he'd be able to find Lilia before she attempted to depart, or whatever the unexpected threw his way.

He started with a car, asking one of the Briggs soldiers for his keys, since Lily still had his from earlier.

No one refused, but only looked at him pondering on 'why he would need a car'.

Like he'd tell them.

He took the keys & started one of the cars from outside, getting the engine to warm up a little before taking off down the road, memorizing how he got up there in the first place.

Now, where would you go? I guess I should start at the train station, right? It's the only way out of the North & with the suitcase packed...It would have been asinine not to notice where she was heading. His suspicions would be correct when he could see her sitting down on the benches from the station's parking lot, only sighing as he finally parked the car & exited it to walk up on the platform.

He approached her slowly, seeing her hair still covering her face as she held something in her hand…It was hard for him to see from where he was, but as soon as she lifted her head, it turned out to be a bottle of whiskey in her hand, & she was gulping it down like it was water, which was surprising to Kimblee considering the last time he saw Lilia drunk was when she was a light weight.

A very big light weight, "Do you think that's such a good idea right now? Especially, in the emotional state you're in?"

Lilia's cheeks were already pink when she looked up at him surprised to see him at first, but only glared at him as she hovered over the bottle she hid between her legs.

"Fuck you…Go away…I don't want to talk any more…I'm leaving…And that's that." Her voice sounded tired & from the look of the bottle she hadn't even touched it yet, much less get pass the top the blackened label.

"Is that so? You're just going to leave it at that? What about Miles?"

"Fuck him…And fuck Briggs…" She muttered miserably, getting an emotionless stare from Kimblee, "You don't mean that…"

"I know, but…What can I do…I shouldn't have been with him in the first place…You were right…Zolf, you were right about everything. Me, coming here to Briggs, was a stupid idea."

Kimblee turned his full attention from the tracks to her…

"I was with him because I felt guilty about killing his country men…And the sad thing is, I may feel sympathy for that man, but for what I did…I'm not sorry, & I can't be sorry now. I did what I did, because it felt good…Everything about our job & our lives felt like a dream…" Her eyes looked up at the moon seeping through the mid night sky.

It was hiding behind a patch of clouds while the light snow barely began to fall from the distance solar system above them.

To top it off, the air surrounding them had such an eerie sense to it, it left , "I guess, I felt like I could maybe be a normal for once & forgive myself for what I did, even though I didn't need to, I only wanted to because I was constantly seeing the eyes of the people I killed 7 to 8 years ago…Heh, after you, I guess I noticed how different I was from everyone else. I mean, I knew I was always different, but I couldn't fit in, all the stories I heard from different soldiers at Briggs… They had families, girlfriends, they seem to have, what people consider a normal out look on life. But not me…And not you…"

Kimblee's heart gave an uneven beat within his ribcage, but he kept the same expression on his face when she looked up at him, searching for something in those icy, majestic blue eyes. His iris's matched the scenery so perfectly, all it made Lily do was shiver, & quake with an odd sensation rising in her stomach.

"I was just like you. I don't get why I can't stop thinking about you, no matter how much I stay mad at you for leaving me. And I think I might've just screwed myself by telling you that, but at this point, I don't care anymore…I just want to lay all my cards on the table. I don't expect you to act any different about what I just said, but I just wanted to let you know that. God, I've held it in for so long that I now realize I didn't need to hide anything in the first place. I should've just stayed being myself…I should've just went with my gut & raised hell on earth for the rest of the world to see what happens when you take what's mine…"

She took another swig handing him the bottle without looking at him, sending silence between them as he looked at it with a shrug, before taking a gulp or two & handing it back to her, suddenly brushing fingers against hers, which caused them both to stop for a second, before pulling away all together.

"You know I usually don't drink while on the job." Kimblee stated staring over at the spaced out companion, & smirking to see that she had calm down a lot more from when he first arrived.

Her eyes slowly scanned around the station at some of the people that were departing late at night like she was purposively intending.

"Then why did you?" She finally asked after a moment of gazing over at him while she took another big swig, getting ever closer to the sticker label.

"Because, I was thinking…We've been on this job for how many days now…I know I'm beat…And I'm on the verge of wrapping up things with Scar…I wouldn't mind getting a drink, if you got any local bars that is…And…"

He trailed off looking down at the bottle in her hands before swiping from her in an instant, grabbing her full attention with irritation, "Hey!"

"This? We can get better booze than this…This is just bad for you…Come on." He insisted trying to ease her into staying, but she only took the bottle back with a sway of her finger.

"Ah ah, no sir, Mister, I'm mad at you, remember? I'm not just going to walk off with you after I just bought my ticket. Besides…I just realized something…Why are you here? You really just came all the way out here to see if I was at the train station?" His eyes rolled up to the lights posted all around the station, giving a curious gaze as if hiding a secret like a little kid, "Mm…Actually I saw you leaving your room with the suitcase. I caught you just in time…"

"Uh-huh, but it took you 40 minutes after the fact that I left to get down here when it only takes 20 to 30 to get down here. So, What kept ya? More business with Briggs?" She asked more sarcastic getting a slight rise in Kimblee's blue eyes, "Well, I'll tell you…Only if you let me buy you a drink…A different one. A better one."

He only got a giggle out of Lily when he began to poke her sides playfully again like before, from time to time he'd even wriggle the tip of his fingers over her neck making her giggle even more, "No, stop it! I'm still mad at you!"

"Yeah…?" He replied as if waiting for a reason to still not have a drink, but in this case, Lilia took it as a one in a life time opportunity to see Zolf let loose for once.

His job always came first, & that was fine for Lily, but to hear that he wanted to finish his job tomorrow, was like an answered prayer from God.

"You're serious? About the drink? What about Full Metal Alchemist? Does anyone know you're down here?"

"Nope, & they don't need to know. It's none of their business."

He was looking at the tracks again when he replied, but suddenly an urge from him wanted to look at her, wanting to see the expression on her face when he said that. And there it was, the one thing he wanted to see, & that was her smile. It was a sad smile, but a smile none the less that he got.

Suddenly, another urge seem to take him over. His eyes shifted down from hers only to follow down her body until he noticed her hand, the only one that laid on the bench while the other handled the bottle, but it wasn't the occupied one that got him like said before, no, it was the empty one, the one he couldn't help but remember he held all the time back when they were kids.

It had gotten bigger over the years, from a small fragile one, to strong petite hands that could release madness with just a single clap, just like him…That's what he loved about her most, that she was just like him, yeah sure, she was an unstable woman, but he never thought of her 'unstable' as people would tell him from time to time.

To him, Lilia Smith was the one in a million catches that could ever be his double, & the only person he would ever want to be by his side, no matter how emotional of a woman she was, the fact that she could with stand his madness, his methods, & his lust for his job, told him right there, that it would be difficult to find a woman like that in his life time, or ever again for that matter.

Considering, how much time they spent creating what Kimblee would call, 'an unusual bond', maybe that's why he couldn't help, but be near her like this.

Before long, Kimblee began to daze off at the girl's hand a little longer, hesitating to grip it in his, Why-,…Why am I… like this?

His cheeks began to flush a bit, almost unnoticeable to Lily's point of view.

He was feeling odd, for the first time he felt uneasy about grabbing her hand, but with a slight struggle he eventually gripped it firmly with a tender caress of his thumb, getting Lilia to gasp as she very weakly tried to pull it away a little, but Kimblee already had a tight grip on her, getting her to stay put, "It's okay…"

The words cooed through her ears like a humming whisper gently caressing her ear drums, which in returned caused her body to vibrate with the sound of his voice. It shivered down her spine in a way only he knew how.

"So, how about that drink…My treat?" He almost sounded like he was pleading as he looked at her.

At first, she was going to refuse again, wanting to just leave as fast as she could out of Briggs, but, the sudden weird expression on Kimblee's face & the gaze in his dazzling blue eyes seemed to call to her. She almost felt like his eyes were hypnotizing her.

"I-…Oh…This better not be one of your tricks, damn it!" She exclaimed growling as she pulled her hand away, getting up from her seat to look down at the Alchemist who seemed surprised at her sudden outburst.

"I know a bar a couple blocks from here. If you want, I can show you where it is, but this is the last time, Zolf J. Kimblee! I don't want to see you after this!"

He only laughed, settling his hands in his pockets as he walked behind the half stomping away woman, "Fine by me…"


Next - Chapter 6: Caving In

He didn't know how to say it...

But this would be his one & only chance to do so...

Here in the dark, he could tell her anything...


*Cracks knuckles, back, & joints* Well, I'm stiff, & my back hurts I'm off to the chiropractor! AWAY!*Limps away*