Dreams are made from White Strings [Kimblee x Reader]

1.: The State Alchemist

On your path home, close to your house, you encountered a State Alchemist.

He was not like the other ones you had seen before, mostly because they had always been conscious and not covered in blood, in contrary to this one. Despite the overwhelming amount of red liquid, you could still make out the blue of his uniform, and thus classify him as being in the military.

In your village, State Alchemists - the military in general - were held in high regards, because they protected your country and maintained law and order. So you didn't hesitate to run over and check if he was even still alive.

He was, but just barely. To you, this was a sign that you were about to be tested.

Mere minutes later, the man was already in your house and you were frantically trying to stop the bleeding from his wounds. It was selfish, perhaps, to try and save him yourself, because the amount of medical knowledge you possessed was only in its early stage. Your master would undoubtedly have done a better job than you, but moving the injured man any more would surely result in his death. And again, you thought it was a challenge, to find out if you were even fit to be a doctor.

Your little sister, Isa, was awoken by the noise you made and drowsily toddled from the bedroom.

"What's going on?", she asked with a yawn.

"It's just a patient. Go to sleep again", you hushed her. "After all, you need all the energy you can have."

Then you couldn't focus on her anymore, as the task of saving the State Alchemist demanded your full attention.

•

A few days later, he finally regained consciousness. You had gotten used to the sight of him lying on the spare bed unmoving. In fact, you had caught yourself observing him far too often, and without any medical motives, because you actually found him to be quite attractive. His long black hair and trained body elicited a tingling in your stomach, and whenever you had checked up on his wounds, certain body parts had the blood rushing to your face. The intimacy you shared was only increased by the way you had to transfer the pre-chewed food into his mouth.

He wasn't able to speak yet, but at least you had the opportunity to admire his blue eyes.

•

Isa became friends with him soon - at least from her point of view. But you were sure that he was enjoying her performances as well, they being the only thing that could distract him from the pain he must be feeling. Even if tea parties were probably not his favorite past time, Isa's clumsiness and adorableness at least entertained him a bit, whenever you were at your master's.

In the evenings you always checked up on him and talked to him. Even if he couldn't answer, it was possible to interact a little bit through eye movement and grunts.

That was how you found out that he was in fact a State Alchemist, and that he had been fatally wounded in the battle that had taken place near your village. You still couldn't wait, however, to finally find out his name, and hear his voice for the first time.

•

"Solf J. Kimblee." The Crimson Lotus Alchemist.

He sounded quite different from what you had expected, but you liked his voice nevertheless.

"I'm (y/n)", you introduced yourself, even though he surely knew already from spending all this time in your house.

He got to know you quite a bit during the talks you had every evening, a lot more than you learned about him. You told him about your dead parents, about your sister's illness, and about your wish to become a doctor to save her. He barely opened up to you, the only things you knew were his name, his affiliation and that he had been fighting. Still your talks were interesting, Kimblee was a smart and well-read man, who knew a lot more about the world than you did. He even had suggestions on how to cure your sister.

It happened one evening, after Isa had had a seizure. The hospitals in Central City would surely be able to help her, he said.

"It's impossible", you retorted. Fists clenched, you held back your tears. "We don't have money. What I make is what we need to survive. That's why our only option is help us ourselves."

"You are the only people you can fully trust anyway", he agreed after thinking for a bit. "If you give it your everything, maybe one day, you will be able to save her."

He was on your side, you thought. He was really one of those who fought for the people of Amestris.

That you were way too naive didn't occur to you, this was something you would learn in the future, long after the day that you came home to an empty bed, Kimblee and all his belongings gone without a trace. But you would learn, thankfully, before you would meet him again.