FMA: The Real World (Part Four)

[Zolf J Kimblee]

"Of course you wouldn't think that," she answered, "and that's what makes you so likeable."

She liked the sort of awkward way he had of expressing himself, answering questions and then following up with a sort of clumsy way of expanding on what he meant. He seemed like someone was accustomed to being misunderstood. And he was... not quite handsome, but charming in his own gangly way. And his face was unusual. She suspected he was older than he looked.

"How old are you Barry?" she asked, "If you don't mind my asking."

She felt rather awkward herself, she noticed. In a long family tradition of arranged marriages, she'd stubbornly refused any hand offered, arguing vehemently with her father, who, being so soft toward her, had always caved in. By the time she turned 19, he gave up any hope of giving her hand to any man as their wife. "I give up Sarai," he'd said, "You are far too stubborn to make a suitable wife anyhow. I supposed you'll just be an old maid."

Something about Barry made her feel shy and demure. Aware of her own feminine nature. He made her feel aware of a need to be modest and ladylike. She glanced at him quietly and then turned away to conceal the small smile on her lips.

[amouri]

((D: gawd dang the cursed question. I've been trying to figure that out for months XD WILD GUESS TIEM!))

Barry glanced at her in happy surprise.
Likeable? Now thats something new.
He had never really been given such a compliment.
His butchering years had been easy to get through of course, the occasional thankyou and a cheerful remark on the quality of the meat, but never a comment directed to him in person.
Likeable huh... He felt slightly confused about the fact that she knew what he'd become back then, a murderer, a brute killer. And he had enjoyed it. It was a nice feeling to have control, to not give a damn about what others thought. To throw logic and human sense out of the window act so daringly. To not have to be polite. But still she said he was 'likeable'.
Fancy that.

He made a pained grimace at her next question.
"Age. Ah...Well..." He paused, feeling undescribably foolish that he was mentally counting the years in his head.
This is ridiculous... Moving from home, marriage, execution, lab five, this world...
He quickly summed up the years, slightly shocked as he realized he had nearly forgotten his own age in those two years he had been armour.
And he hadn't even remembered his own birthday in this place, not like anyone would care.
"Thirty...One I think." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Give or take a few years."
He paused, realizing how silly it sounded.
"You've gotta forgive me, time seems to fly. I haven't thought of my own age for quite some time. Kinda...ridiculous, I know." He swallowed nervously, averting his glance to the ground.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

"Did you suffer memory loss when they transferred you to the suit of armor?" That might explain it. At any rate, she highly doubted he'd happened to have a birth certificate when he was thrown headlong into this world.

She laughed lightly, "I was right. You are older than you look. I would have guessed you to be no older than me."

She saw a crowd of people standing on a corner, some were sitting on a shaded bench. "Is this the bus stop?"

[amouri]

Barry hesitated.
"Yes....thats could be it. An excellent theory actually."
That would explain it...Damn, why'd that armour have to have affected him like that? Even now, when that was left behind, it still kept its traces painfully visible. For him at least.

"Well-Yes, but I might-I could be-Younger...I'm...not sure." He grimaced again.
Damn.

He glanced at what she was looking at.
"Yups, that'll be it." He took a quick glance at his watch, and sighed.
"Still a few minutes to go. At least we haven't missed it then."

[Zolf J Kimblee]

In spite of the loose shirt Barry had loaned her, three seedy looking hoodlums were leering at her. She shifted her feet uneasily, hoping they wouldn't be on the same bus they were taking.

She noticed that they were all wearing extremely baggy jeans. Their boxers were showing in plain daylight! How disgraceful! And they were wearing gaudy and outrageously huge gold chains around their necks. Even a few yards away, she could plainly read the word 'Thug' on one. Another one of them sported a chunky silver chain that said 'Gangstalicious'. She grimaced and averted her gaze.

One of them approached the two of them, obviously looking for trouble. "Wha-the-fuck's your major malfunction bitch? Think yo shit smell to good for me and my homeys?" The other two men snickered.

"Just leave us alone!" she spat at him. She felt vulnerable and looped her arm around Barry's, grasping his upper arm for reassurance.

[Yeah, so much for my ghetto talk skills xD]

[amouri]

(XD at least you try.)

Barry noticed her unease, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he also saw the three men.
Even though he had lived in this peculiar world for three years, the various styles and habits of the people who lived here still hadn't begun to make any sense to him.

He glared angrily at the approaching man, and was not particularly surprised at the amount of shit spewed out of his mouth a few seconds after.
He didn't say anything however, just kept staring at the guy.
He wasn't the one to start a fight without knowing his chances.
He was however distracted by Sarai clinging to his arm, and sent her a quick glance.

He saw her irritation, and didn't blame her.
He didn't make an attempt to square his shoulders, didn't give any sign that might hint he was becoming aggressive.
He merely pulled her protectively closer, and kept on walking, steering around the flashy gorillas whilst fixing them with a steely glare of warning.

He led her a few meters away from them, still keeping an eye on them.
"Don't freak out, they're just random idiots. They won't hurt you unless you really give them a reason to. Remember I might've mentioned how the public security is tighter in this world? They could risk a lot if they tried anything. You just have to ignore them." He muttered quietly.

[aspiredeathe]

Jean stumbled in the house, his arms heavy with grocery bags, while Denny followed close behind, in the same situation.
They walked into the kitchen, dropping the bags onto the table, giving greetings to those that sat there before heading back out for the last set.
"Well, alright, but if someone throws the TV out the window again.." Denny trailed off, giving Jean a moment to ponder.
"Yeah, I suppose it'll just be a matter of convincing the others in chipping in for a bigger screen."
With a grin the cab driver slapped his friend's shoulder "I knew you'd see it my way." To which Jean just grinned, with a shake of the head.

They made quick work of unpacking the bags, finishing by each grabbing a beer from the fridge and, for the oddest reason, went and sat beside Kimblee.
Possibly they just felt like being entertained.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

Sarai

True to his word, the vermin let them be. She supposed it was the presence of other people at the bus stop. All the same, she liked that Barry was protective. He didn't try to weasel his way out of the situation, he'd done the intelligent thing to thwart a confrontation at it's roots. That's how a mature man should behave, in her opinion.

The three thugs just stood away from them, snickering and whispering. "That nigga be too scrawny an ugly for a fine ho like that." one of them, likely the alpha male, said just within Barry's earshot.

She wanted to snap back at them, but she wasn't going to stir up trouble, which is obviously what they were looking for. Finally, a bus pulled up and she climbed on with great relief. They took seats near the front and the trio of troublemakers sat in the back. As the bus pulled out, she noticed with some surprise, the she was holding Barry's hand. She glanced away bashfully, but didn't let go.

Kimblee

He mumbled in his drunken slumber, and dropped the beer he'd been holding. The sound of the glass bottle hitting the ground startled him awake with a jerk, and his chaise lounge tipped over. He landed on his side with a thud, arms and legs splayed out, and a dazed look on his face.

"Huh..wha?" he blinked and looked around. Roze had left, apparently, and Denny Bloch and Havoc were looking at him with amusement. He righted the chaise lounge and laid back on it.

"Grab a beer, guys." he offered. He noticed the charcoal had turned to ash in his sleep. And there was no more in the bag. Oh well...fuck it. They could eat it raw for all he cared. Or it could rot for that matter. Never mind that they were one of the more expensive cuts of beef and he'd spent a small fortune on them. For all the enthusiasm everyone showed at his offer off food and booze, they could eat cold shit and die.

[silverviper2134]

"On second thought" Arden said, turning to Dahlia. "A real bunny's too much trouble. I'll just get Niki a stuffed rabbit, and I won't tear it's head off". She smiled slightly, in a somewhat sinister way. This girl truly was the devil, or at least the anti-christ.

[aspiredeathe]

Denny's face broke into a grin at Kimblee's performance, while Jean actually attempted to keep his grin under a bit of control.
"We're fine for now." The Lieutenant held up his beer, eyes wandering to the BBQ "Kind of a sad party ain't it?"

Denny cast a glance around, nodding in agreement before he got an idea.
Placing his bottle on the ground, he got up and headed back into the kitchen, rummaging around a cupboard.
They'd been smart enough to purchase a couple of bags of charcoal, what with it being the right type of weather for barbecues.
Dragging a bag out into the back, Jean rummaged in his pocket, fishing out his lighter, handing it to his friend after he'd refilled the burnt out ash.
"You know, it's good that no one else is here? More for us and all." Said Denny as he got the fire starting again, blowing on it lightly to get it roaring.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

He sat up and reached for a beer in the cooler and then thought better of it. His head was swimming quite a bit already, nap or not. "Sad party?" he asked with a note of sarcasm, "You forget who all lives in this house!

He stood up and grimaced a bit as his stomach revolted against the sudden movement. He removed six good-sized steaks from the outdoor fridge and laid them on a plate. He sprinkled Chicago style steak rub on them and then wrapped some ears of corn in tin foil. He took a seat and waited for the charcoal to die down a bit.

[amouri]

Barry kept gazing down the road, apparently waiting for the bus, but he was still intently listening whether the trio were going to try and harass them further or whatever they were aiming to do.
A small grin tugged at his lips as they merely hissed their insults.
He had taken shit like that before, he didn't give a damn what they might suspect or know of him.
He did know however that it had startled Sarai quite a bit when they had targeted her, but he was just relieved that it hadn't ended in a fight.

He smiled as the bus puffed to a stop with a heavy groan, and he got on, followed by Sarai.
He watched the three trouble-makers sidle to the back, and sighed with relief.
He glanced down slowly as he noticed her hand slipping into his, but she seemed to absentminded to have noticed it yet.
He grinned quietly, and gazed out of the window as the bus jerked into motion again.

[velinda]

*Roze*

Roze had left Kimblee only to check up on barry, who had taken to talking to another female. Sighing and shaking her head, she heated up the can of beer herself, and walked up to grab her alchemical kit. She walked back down to where Kimblee was to find that somebody else (two people- both from the military)- had joined Kimblee. "Sorry Kimblee... I had to get this..." she held up the steaming can of generic beer and her alchemic kit. Not the alchemy that they were used to, mind, but the alchemy that they preformed here in the real world. She sat next to Kimblee on the grass, and whispered into his ear, "They said you were a bad guy... but I don't believe it. You don't act as nasty as they say you are..." With that, she pulled away and busied herself on her alchemic set, having a slight blush on her cheeks. She didn't pay much attention to the fire or to the others at this point- they didn't matter to her right now.

She poured the steaming alchohol into the basin of her mortar, and placed a few herb leaves into, and proceeded to crush it together. Soon, the leaves would be turning into a white powder, and the alchohol would be gone. She took a pinch, and put it into one of the beers from the cooler next to Kimblee, and offered it to him. "Here.. this might help you..." If Kimblee drank it, he would notice that his queasy stomach would be quelled, and he would feel quite alert. "So... how do you feel...?" she asked him.

*Hikari*

Hikari decided to go back outside, since the feeling inside was getting quite... uncomfortable. She entered the back yard to notice that there was a fire going, and several people outside around it- one female, and several males. Once again, she didn't really decide to intervene, but she slid down the wall of the house and sat there, watching them. She was still contemplating how she got here at all, as the talk with the female didn't reveal too much, besides the fact that only some people here would know how she got here... and that she couldn't go back... She curled her legs up and placed her head on her knees, and hugged her legs. She didn't care how that looked to the others- she figured she must look pretty vulnerable- but she wasn't feeling the greatest, either...

[Zolf J Kimblee]

He almost fell out of his chair sideways when Roze whispered to him. Is she flirting with me? He was almost too stunned to speak, and merely took the beer, which he chugged while gazing at her curiously.

He immdiately felt the effects and leaned over to see her kit, "What'cha got goin there, sugar?" he asked, tipping her a wink. "Whatever it is, I'm feelin' one hundred percent better. Thanks, darlin'

Sure he'd done his fair share of being 'bad' back in Amestris, but stripped of those powers, he was mostly just a nuisance at this point. Drunk, sometimes loud, obnoxious and crude.

Sarai

She pointed excitedly at a tall, old building a few blocks away. It sure looked like a religious building. "Is that it, Barry?"

[velinda]

Roze smiled at him. "Well, the people here call it alchemy, so I had decided to try and see what it was about- hence why I was gone so long... but it turns out to be somethign different alltogether. Not that bad, though, is it?" Truth be told, she wasn't really flirting- just speaking her mind. Why did she whisper then? Well, she didn't want the others to hear. She saw a small girl laying against the wall out of the corner of her eyes, but she didn't really pay attention at this point. "That's actually something really quite simple... In the terms of difficulty, and how hard it can get..."

[Zolf J Kimblee]

"Well to be honest, I think it tastes like warm piss but it got the job done. Thanks!" He'd think of something nice to do for her. And what did nice girls like? Hmmm... flowers... chocolates... tellin' 'em they look nice? Yeah, yeah... most ladies like that stuff, but how to pull it off without looking like a complete oaf, that was his problem.

He stood up and stretched. A nasty tasting hangover remedy that worked.. all he needed was a quick dip in the pool to wake him totally. He dived in and swam to the other end, surfacing to catch his breath. He climbed out and his attention was drawn to Dante's flowers. Roses? Nah... too cliche. Oh wait! What have we here? Tulips are pretty. He found a pretty yellow one with deep orange inside at the base. He picked one and returned to his chair. "Here ya go pretty lady." he said, handing it to her with a smile. He just hoped she wouldn't be embarrassed to take it in front of all these other folks that didn't think much of him. Maybe he should have given her a flower later. Oh well, it's done now...

[velinda]

Roze watched Kimblee go off and take a dip in the pool. She knew that the remedy wouldn't work too well to wake somebody up- after all, it was just a hangover cure. "Well... it uses warm alchohol in the creation of the powder. I can't help that... not without destroying the integrity of it, that is." She blushed slightly when the man offered her a flower from a garden. She saw him pause only slightly at the Roses, and if he had picked one of those... she would have sighed deeply. However, the tulip was quite pretty, and she took it from him. "Arigato..." she said quietly, holding the flower close to her chest.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

[Bahh!! Dammit Zolf. ALWAYS give Roses. You can never go wrong with roses! *baps him on the head*]

"Well.. I thought of picking a rose, but after all... well.. you're obviously the prettiest Roze in the garden..." he trails off, feeling a bit embarrassed. He decides to quickly change the subject, "Say, now that you're back, would you like some steak? Nice spencer cuts, corn on the cobb, potato salad.. all that good stuff."

He stands and gets up to pull another steak out of the outdoor fridge which he seasons and adds to the plate. He carries it over to the BBQ and uses the hanging tongs to lay them all out on the grill. He closes the grill lid and returns to his chaise lounge. He opens a corona, puts a lime wedge on it and hands it to her. "So, tell... where'd you learn about alchemy here? Looks more like apothocary to me."

[velinda]

Roze blushed when he said that she was the prettiest Rose in the garden. She quietly said, "You're so cliche..." but it wasn't in an angry tone. It was as if she had enjoyed the remark... which she did. When he asked if she would like a steak, she nodded. "Closest to Kabobs, so I guess so..." She took the beverage. "Well... it pretty much is, but not quite.... I guess it's the easiest way to explain it." Roze shrugged. She watched the fire, not knowing what to say next...

[Zolf J Kimblee]

He could tell she was teasing, but all the same.. "Ouch!" he said, coving his heart with his hands, feigning hurt. He opened one eye and cast her a devilish grin.

"You know... you actually had to learn basic chemistry on the other side of the gate before you could advance to the big stuff. Glad I know that shit now." he said, "I need what I've learned in my line of work. I'm a demolitions foreman."

"How long have you been on this side anyways? Got all your legal papers sorted out and stuff?" he went on. "This world demands way too much paper proving who you are. Gets kind of old dipping and dodging the establishment when you don't exist on paper."