Author's Note: I want to apologize for the super long absence! I've been so busy with school and what not, and to be honest I kinda fell out of the rhythm of writing this story. I want to thank everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed the story, your support means a lot! Really and truly, it was the last couple of reviews I got, from thegirlwhocriedink, Eos Raidkin and TheGreatDebator that got me back on track with this story. I'm sorry if the chapter is short but I'm still getting back into it! You all will have to stay on me so I don't not update this story for a long time again!

Also, I apologize for posting this chapter yesterday and then almost immediately taking it down. Someone pointed out that there was html in the body and that it was unreadable, so thank you for pointing that out! It was really strange, too, because I don't think that's ever happened to me before and I didn't do anything differently posting. Oh well. Stupid computer.

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

Nine

Beth realized now that she would need to rethink how she went about things.

Yesterday had been very close. When she saw him break those handcuffs, she realized, what if she had not played along yesterday? What if he had known she was going to try and keep him a prisoner before he showed her how easily he could escape? Would he have hurt her?

Everything could have been over right then and there. Would he have realized there was something wrong with her and left and never returned? Not to mention things would have been a little awkward...

She knew, too, that she needed to stop holding on so tightly. The more she tried to hold him back the more he would try to leave. She had to try to remind herself that she had avoided him for a long time before she finally let him in. And it had been that, the playing hard to get, that he had found so irresistible. Continuing to play it off this way was her best bet.

It was just so difficult to do when her every instinct was telling her to lock him in a basement somewhere where she could keep an eye on him.

She was thinking about this in bed after he had already left this morning. Lying awake, staring at the light coming in through the window, she decided that she would be late for practice today. Instead she would walk around the city and think about this.

…

The sun was shining; it was nice out. She walked and the city streets twisted and turned until they took her down one of the meaner streets of the city. She avoided these streets as a rule; but when she did chance by them she sure as hell kept her head down. Maybe it was just that she was agitated, maybe it was that she was asking for trouble or maybe it was just Greed's influence on her, but for once she started walking slowly. Instead of looking at the road she started staring back at some of the rougher looking characters that she crossed.

She was looking for a street sign, suddenly thinking she was lost, when she saw an interesting sign in one of the buildings.

"The Devil's Nest."

She was still wearing the coat she had had on the night she met Greed; she just had the one. Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out the card that he had given her that night. "The Devil's Nest." The same words as the sign.

She almost turned and went back to dance practice, but instead she hesitated. Why not? She asked herself. She was all in now, after all.

She took the steps down into the building, but the door was locked. She knocked twice and a deep voice answered.

"Who is it?"

"Umm…My name is Beth."

The door opened and a tall, older man looked down at her. He looked her up and down, and then stepped aside and let her in. "Follow me."

The place was dark and quiet, but there were low noises she could hear. People's voices mostly. It wasn't very homey, and it seemed more like a place to hide than to live. Beth guessed that was probably the idea.

The tall man's voice pulled her out of her observations. "Name's Roa. You must be new. I haven't seen you around before."

"…umm…yeah. I suppose I am new."

He went on in that gruff voice of his. "It's strange. Mr. Greed really hasn't been spending that much time with the usual women who follow him. In fact, I think a lot of them have given up coming here." He looked over and saw the expression of horror on her face, but misunderstood it. "Hey, look, I'm just telling this so you don't wait here too long if he doesn't show. He's been out a lot, usually working or spending his nights elsewhere." A thought clearly crossed his face, and his expression changed. "Say, that wouldn't happen to be your place he's been staying at night, would it?" She didn't say anything, but she was sure the blush spreading across her cheeks was pretty damning evidence.

He led her into a room that was at least more furnished than the others. There was a sofa and a bar in the back. "You can make yourself a drink if you like."

"Thanks." She mumbled as his footsteps echoed away down the hall. She was the only one in the room, and after an hour or so she did make a drink. He had some pretty strong liquor and she was a little dizzy when she had had a few sips. She had almost had enough whiskey to work up the confidence to go somewhere else and ask some questions about what this place was and what else Greed did as a homunculus, when she heard snatches of voices out in the hall.

"…girl…waiting for you…" That was Roa's voice.

"Oh, yeah?" She could hear the smile in the question. She gulped. That was Greed's voice.

He came into the room, and the first thing she noticed was the two people behind him. One was a woman, curiously enough, but she could tell at once that there was nothing romantic going on between her and Greed. The man on his other side was short, and he had, of all things, a tail. Well, she had seen it all now, hadn't she?

After that, she had the surprise and satisfaction of seeing Greed look well and truly shocked for the first time. He quickly composed himself though, and grinned widely.

"Beth?"

She gave a shy little wave.

He flopped down on the couch beside her. His followers started arranging themselves around the room talking amongst themselves, both the humans and the ones that were clearly non-human. Greed put an arm around her shoulders. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"I was just passing through. I remembered you mentioning the place; I thought I would stop and say hello."

His eyes were shining. "You just couldn't bear to be away from me any longer huh?"

"No-" She started to protest, but he called out some other names. "Dolcetto! Martel! Bido! Come and meet my girl, here." She waved and shook hands with some of the "chimeras", as Greed referred to them, that were eyeing her rather curiously. The girl, Martel, reached out an arm that was contorted to over three feet long.

"Call for some musicians. And more alcohol! This is a party. It's not everyday my little ballerina stops by to say hi."

Musicians did come. Scary looking people who looked like they were strung out on drugs, but who nonetheless played pretty well. Other people came in, bringing alcohol and other things. Strange, odd looking characters. Beth looked at them and looked back to Greed's chimeras and thought what a motley looking crew they all were.

There was laughter beside her. "What?"

"Nothing. What do you think about all of this?"

Beth pressed a cold beer to her lips. Greed had convinced her to have another drink and toasted her, his bottle clinking against her own. "I was thinking how different it was from any of the galas or balls that I've danced at."

"Yeah, I bet! A lot different from your usual hoity toity stuff, huh? These people, they're real. And they're all mine. They're loyal and they do what I say. They aren't the most well bred bunch, I'll give you that, but they follow me. It's better to be in charge of people like them than to serve the greatest master in Amestris."

His voice had taken on a strange tone at the end. She wasn't really sure what to make of it. It was strange…there was anger, but mixed with something that seemed like regret. And something else, too. But she doubted even he knew what that was. She decided to take a shot and ask him.

"You like all these people, don't you? They're your…friends." She struggled to find the right words.

He turned to her abruptly. "Pfft. What? They're my possessions. My things. They do what I say and what I want. I don't have friends, and I don't want friends either. "

"But why not? You're always saying how much you want money and sex and power and this and that. Why shouldn't friendship be another thing that you want? Or love?" This last part she said quietly.

He said nothing for a minute. Beth brushed some hair behind her ear and looked up at him.

He was looking at her like she was crazy. But also like he was amused.

He shook his head. "You've got some wild ideas, pigeon."

She rolled her eyes. She could feel her face turning red, but he took her chin and turned her head back up to his.

He winked. "But that's what I like about you."

He kissed her then, long and slow, but also hard and angry, like he did everything. Beth hoped none of the others were watching.

Eventually he led her back to the room where he apparently slept. It was dark, and there were things scattered everywhere. He was a collector, which shouldn't have surprised her. His name was Greed, after all. But she didn't get to look around as much as she would have liked to. He was pretty focused at that point on other things.

…

Afterwards, she lay awake as she heard him sleeping softly next to her. She kept on thinking about his voice, how it had sounded when he had talked about Dolcetto, Martel and the others. He could say whatever he wanted about them being servants or possessions or whatever. She knew what she had heard. There had almost been real affection in his voice. Beth held on to that. It gave her hope. Hope for her, at least. If he really was capable of friendship and affection, then it was perfectly possible that he might feel the same for her. And that…that might very well keep him faithful in itself. But thinking this way wasn't healthy, she knew. Because then she started thinking about love and if that were possible. And she had to stop then. Because she wouldn't let herself think that way. Greed love her? It was ridiculous. It might solve a lot of her problems…a man in love was more likely to stay loyal, right? But she just didn't have that kind of luck.

But lying next to him that night, his bare arm lying across her stomach and his head buried in her neck, she felt something that she didn't want to admit to even herself. Something that felt almost like tenderness.

This was not good at all.