Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.

Chapter 8

It occurred to Beth the next morning that she only had two options: go out and try to find to him, or wait around her apartment until he returned, whenever that might be.

The only clue she had as to his whereabouts was that he stayed at, or at least owned, a place called "The Devil's Nest". It might mean a trip to the bad side of town, but Beth wasn't too worried about that. But she suddenly thought that she had no idea who Greed truly was. For the sorcerer to have chosen him must mean he was special in some way. It could be the Homunculus thing, but what if it was something more? What if she had stumbled upon something bigger than she knew? There was even the possibility that it might be better to lose the bet she had made with the sorcerer….

No. Not that. Never that. She had to try to remember that nothing was worth that happening. She would take her chances with Greed. And who knows? Maybe she really could get him to stay faithful for the year. What was that expression she had heard Greed himself use a few times? "Anything is possible."

In the end she just decided to stay home and wait for him. The only thing worse than going out and not finding him, and letting him wander around Dublith without her supervision, was if he came home and she wasn't here. It was a long shot, but there was always the possibility that he might show up and decide that her absence meant that she didn't want to have anything more to do with him. Of course, not that that had ever stopped him before, but still. These things seem to happen when you don't want them to.

So she waited.

And nearly jumped out of her skin when he practically kicked the front door in a few days later.

"Oh, god. It's you." She said, standing up off the couch.

"Oh, god. It's me." He said, smiling and spreading his arms out, almost like he expected her to jump into them.

Maybe it was that gesture, or perhaps it was her stress and nerves, but she suddenly couldn't help shouting at him, "Where have you been?! It's been two whole days!"

He frowned and furrowed his brow in confusion, which made him look funny since his arms were still out. "Huh?"

"You-", Beth stopped herself. What was she thinking? She suddenly realized how needy and paranoid she had just sounded. Acting like he was her husband coming in late from work and playing the part herself of the naggy wife was probably not the way to keep him coming back. "Never mind. I was just wondering where you went. I…missed you." Her last words sounded wrong, even to her. She nearly rolled her eyes when she said them, but she supposed that they were the kind of words you were supposed to say to a man when you were a woman who was pretending to like him. If he thought they sounded strange coming from her, he didn't give any indication.

"Wow, Pigeon. What a compliment. I was half hoping you were going to yell at me for kicking the door in. Ah well." His voice was lower now as he made his way over to her and pulled her into his arms.

He ran a finger down her cheek. "You know, I've been thinking about the other day."

"Oh, uh, yeah?"

"Yeah, heh heh. It was nice, kid. I especially enjoyed when you-" He went on to describe some of the details of their last encounter for quite a while, and in vivid detail, until her whole face was red and she was half wishing she was dead.

"Mmhmm." She said when he had finished and was watching her face, waiting for a reply.

"Well how 'bout it, doll?" He said leaning his face close to hers until his mouth was on her ear and she could feel his warm breath.

"How about what?"

"We pick up where we left? Right now?"

"I uh...yes. Alright."

She could feel him smile against her skin and then suddenly she was in his arms and he was making their way to her bedroom.

…

Later that night she watched him while he slept. What was wrong with her? There was so much she had planned on doing when he finally came back…questions she wanted to ask to get a better idea of who he was now that she knew she would be stuck with him for at least a year. Where exactly was the Devil's Nest? Who was he really? Could he give her more details about the whole homunculus thing?

So much for that. Beth couldn't help it though…when he was around her she got distracted and found it hard to keep her head clear. He had a very commanding presence that made it hard for her to stick to her own agenda. She could wake him up now, but when she looked at his face she knew she wouldn't. In the morning. She would ask him the next morning.

….

And of course this morning she woke up alone. He had left before her, and not even bothered to say goodbye. Beth tried not to take that as a sign. It was nothing, probably just nothing.

Her walk to work was brisk and hazy; she hardly remembered the trip at all when she arrived at the dance studio. When she danced she tried hard not to look like she was thinking about something else, since the twins were already suspicious about her attentions being focused on things besides her dancing, and it must have worked because no one came up to her and said anything about her acting distracted or far away although the entire time she was wondering what to do about this Greed situation.

It all boiled down to one question: Could a man stay faithful for that long? Based on most of the men Beth had known personally, she doubted it. From out of the blue Beth suddenly remembered that little boy she had been such good friends with when she was an orphan girl in Drachma, Dimitri. He had been sweet…but by now he wouldn't be the sweet-faced boy she had known, he would be a man like any other. So no. If male fidelity was possible, she had never witnessed it first hand.

Beth thought about all this while she took her dancing shoes off in the changing room. She had thought she was the last dancer left at the studio, but a few minutes passed and she was surprised when another dancer named Vicki came in. Beth didn't know many of the other dancers; she knew her male partner fairly well but the rest of them were mostly a mystery. The majority of them had lived very different lives from her own. It wasn't uncommon in Amestris for many of the wealthier families to enroll their children, specifically their daughters, in dancing from a young age. As poor as Beth was, she had been lucky by getting to train under the twin's and their mother. Not lucky, she reminded herself, you paid a high price for that privilege.

But even though she didn't know Vicki very well, she had a kinder face than most of the other dancers. And once when Beth had lost the ribbon she usually tied her hair up with when she danced, Vicki had lent her one of hers. So that was something.

"Hey, Vicki, can I ask you a question?"

Vicki didn't seem surprised that Beth was talking to her for maybe the second time ever. In fact, she didn't even look up from the shoes she was tying.

"I've seen a guy waiting outside for you sometimes. Is he your brother or something?"

"Oh that's Rick. He's my boyfriend actually."

"Oh, your boyfriend? Wow, that's great Vicki. How long have you too been together?" Beth had actually seen them kissing outside a few times, so she had known that whoever the guy was was Vicki's boyfriend, but she found this to be a better transition to get the information she was after.

"We've been together two years next month."

"Wow. Congratulations. So how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Keep him by your side?"

Now Vicki stopped what she was doing. "Excuse me?"

"I just mean, how do you keep him faithful?"

"What do you mean how do I keep him faithful? I don't do anything." She was blushing now and her head was turned away. Beth could tell that she was making her uncomfortable but she couldn't stop; she had to know.

"Listen Vicki, you see… I uh, started seeing this guy. You can't tell Errol or Adeline about it. It's none of their business. Besides, it won't interfere with my dancing like they seem to think it will. But the thing is I'm…uh…in love with him. Madly in love. Really. And obviously, I worry about him leaving me. So I need to hear any secrets or advice you could give me to keep him from leaving."

"I'm happy for you Beth! Really I am. I've always thought you seemed sort of sad and lonely compared to all of the other people here…But I can't help you. I don't have any secrets."

"Please, Vicki. I really need your help."

"Beth, there's no secret. There's no advice. He loves me and I love him back. That's all."

Beth had had enough of this. "Fine, don't help me."

"Wait, Beth-"

"No just stop. I came to you asking for help and you refuse to give it. You're the only person who can help me and you're too selfish to help me. And as for the other option, if you actually believe that he stays faithful because he loves you, or that he will stay faithful to you forever, is just pathetic. One day he'll just leave without a warning or anything and you'll be an old woman wondering where your life went and why it's ending alone."

There was a long pause.

It was quiet as Beth thought about the best way to apologize. She knew she had crossed some kind of line, but she froze when she saw tears on Vicki's cheeks.

"Oh, Vicki. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…"

Vicki whispered something under her breath. She said it so quietly, it took Beth a moment to realize what it was that she had said.

"Bitch."

…

It was dark when Beth made her way back home. Today had not been a good day. All the way home she had seen Vicki's crying face in her head. She felt so sick she wanted to throw up. And then, on the way home, she had stopped at the store and bought some handcuffs.

Beth decided the time for playing around was over. She bought the most expensive pair that the store had. The guy at the shop told her that the strongest man in Amestris couldn't break his way out of these. They weren't as heavy as she would have thought, but for some reason they felt like a crushing weight in her bag as she walked back to the apartment. But she knew she had no choice. The only way to be sure that Greed stayed faithful was to make sure he couldn't leave. She would handcuff him to the headboard above the couch, and that would be that. He would be O.K. She would bring him food, books, and alcohol. Lots of alcohol. And it was just for one year.

But Beth was still afraid. She had never seen him angry before, not seriously. He always seemed to have this "devil may care" attitude like nothing bothered him, but it was hard to imagine that her keeping him prisoner in her house wouldn't make him angry. Oh well.

When she opened the door to her apartment, he was standing in the kitchen cooking something in a pot.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Making tea."

"Tea? You're making tea?"

He grinned at her. "Surprised?"

She set her purse on the table and folded her arms. "Well, yes actually. It's not something I would typically picture you doing."

"Well, wait and see. This tea isn't what you think."

That gave her pause for a moment before she fully realized what he was saying.

"You're putting something in it!"

"Hahaha! You're slow today Pigeon. And yes, I think you could stand to loosen up a little."

She started to roll her eyes but stopped when he started to make his way over to her purse.

"What are you doing?" She said, grabbing her bag and clutching it to her chest. The handcuffs were still in there.

"I'm getting the 'stuff'. What do you think?"

"Wait, why would they be in my purse?" She asked, looking down at in confusion.

"I forgot I had some in my pocket when I came over here a few weeks ago, so I put them in your purse. The last thing I need is for someone from the military to stop me for something so petty."

"So you've been letting me walk around with drugs in my purse for the last few weeks?"

"Oh relax, it's just opium."

"I can't believe you!"

He sighed. "Sweetheart, you don't have to worry. One look at you and no official would have it in him to lock you up. Your face is too sweet."

"Screw you."

"Please. But first…" He reached for her purse and she tried to yank it away.

It was no use.

There was a quick struggle and then the contents fell out and scattered onto the floor.

The handcuffs front and center.

He stared down at them quizzically for a long time before he bent down and picked them up, an unusual and somewhat quirky smile on his face.

"Well well."

She covered half her face with her hand, terrified of what he was about to say.

"You always surprise me, Pigeon." His voice wasn't angry like she had expected it to be, but somehow strangely husky and low. "If this is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask."

She was confused at how calmly he was taking this. "Well I thought…" She started to say, but then it finally dawned on her what he meant, and her eyes grew wide with terror. "Oh, no. No! That's not what I meant at all… I just…" She started stuttering around and she knew it just made it seem more like that's what she had been thinking.

He waited for her to go on, still smiling and holding the handcuffs out expectantly.

"I wanted," She started to say, but then suddenly an idea came to her. "I mean, they're not for me. They're for you."

Even though she was nervous that her plan was being put into action sooner than she had expected, she couldn't help but be amused as his eyes actually got wide. The shock was only on his face for a minute before it was replaced with pure delight and lust.

….

An hour later they were sitting together on the couch.

"Wow." He said once again that night, his hands still handcuffed over his head. "That was…well…" He laughed and leaned over to kiss her on the head.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Beth said, not meeting his eyes.

"I didn't even know you had it in you, kid." He turned to face her, his face still sweaty, and a lazy smile on his face. "Your turn now."

"Um, no. Not yet." She hoped that he would fall asleep first, and that way when he woke up and discovered that he was stuck here, he would still be groggy from sleep.

"No?" He laughed, still thinking she was joking, "I'll be the judge of that, kid."

Then she watched with wide eyes as he tugged on the link and broke the handcuffs that were supposed to be indestructible as easily as if they had been made of glass.

For a minute she was speechless, and as he leaned down to take her in his arms and kiss her, the metal still around his now free hands, she realized that he was even stronger then she had thought.

He's good. She thought. I'm going to need a new plan of attack.