A/N: Hello everyone! This is my second fic about FMA. :) My first fic was about RoyAi, then now it's Ling Fan :) Although, I actually want to keep this fic short but cool. If there would be mistakes about some characters' info, I do apologize in advance. (or maybe I changed them intentionally.) I might also add my own original characters (because I have the huge tendency to do so hahaha)
Credits and copyrights go to the real and rightful owner of FMA.
Lan Fan's POV
Master groaned and slumped his back lazily on his throne. "Ahhh, being the emperor is a lot of work." He leaned his cheek on his palm. "It's always lonely here and you always get thrown a lot of decision-making jobs and some emperor stuff."
"But master, it was your choice, wasn't it? For the sake of our clan, you fought for immortality back in Amestris to gain the throne." I sighed as I stared at him.
"You're right." He chuckled and sat up straight. "Even though it was already 2 years ago, it seemed like it was just yesterday." He smiled to himself.
"Amestris gave us a lot of things to remember." I agreed. There was a knock on the door. It was then opened by a guard and he revealed Alphonse and May.
"Lan Fan!" Al beamed as soon as he saw me and went straight for me.
"Your highness!" May directed to Master.
I smiled at Al. "Welcome. What brings you here?"
Al chuckled softly. "Well, May and I were having a break from studying alkahestry and we just thought of visiting the palace while we're at it."
"Just the perfect time, you two." Master sighed happily and smiled at us. "I was just feeling lonely here."
"The emperor feels lonely?" May raised an eyebrow innocently.
"Hey I have feelings too." Master furrowed his eyebrows and pouted his lips.
Al turned to Master fully and smirked. "Just get married, Ling. You'll feel better." May nodded her head vigorously, agreeing with Al. That line struck me hard on the chest. Married? I can't imagine master getting married.. May it be right now or next year, I don't think I'll be able to accept it. No... He'll refuse marriage, right?
"That's a great idea!" cheered Master loudly, his voice echoed the whole wide room. What? I lowered my head and directed my attention to the floor. "Although, I don't need a wife to get an heir. I'm immortal, remember?" He leaned his cheek on his palm and slumped back on his throne.
"Who said you're getting an heir, Ling?" Al said irritatingly playful. "I only said you should get married. Look for a wife, so you won't feel lonely." My chest was starting to hurt. I kept quiet as I listened unwillingly. "Lan Fan, it's a great idea, right? Ling should just get married so he won't bug a lot of people and whatever. You may even have a break every other time." He smiled at me.
I tried to hide my pained face and let out an innocent smile right back at Al. "Yep, it's truly great." I said softly. No, it's not.
Master suddenly stared at me blankly. I turned my eyes away so I could avoid him reading my expression. "See? Even Lan Fan agrees." May grinned. "Al-sama, we still have time to spare, right? Let's set him up with a nice girl." She clasped her hands together in excitement. Okay, I'm starting to break down, but I forced myself to stay calm. Why does it hurt? Why am I sensitive towards this topic? Yes, I like Master but... Do I like him this much up to the point of not wanting him to get married to another girl? Why... Why do I want him for myself? I don't have any romantic relationships with him but still.. Why does it hurt?
"What is your type, Ling?" Al raised his eyebrows curiously. I know my traits won't even match his type, that's why I don't want to hear it.
Master scratched his cheek and was deep in thought. "Maybe.. Someone loyal, funny and beautiful." TCH. I only got the loyal part. "I'm not really sure." He frowned.
"Let's just set him up." Al sighed. I bit my lip and tried to think of different things. A part of me just wants to cry, but I still tried to stay strong. I had to slap myself in the face thinking of how wrong this really looks. I have feelings for Master, and I'm just a subordinate/guard. No matter where you look at it, it's impossible... and wrong. That's where it hurts the most. The wrong and impossible part. Knowing that I have to sacrifice my feelings for the sake of Master keeping his social status.. It hurts but at least it's right. I should know my place, right?
Tomorrow came. It was definitely an unexpected outcome. The event that May and Al set up for Master was held in the huge entertainment hall in the palace. Unexpectedly, they both gathered quite a number of girls in just a short time. I stood beside Master who was sitting patiently, scanning the whole room attentively.
"Look, look, the one beside the emperor.." I heard a group of girls whispering. "Her left arm's made of metal..."
"How creepy.." Added a girl within the group. My eyebrow twitched at that.
"She's not that pretty, if I do say so for myself." Added another. "I can't believe someone like her can still be accepted by his highness." I furrowed my eyebrows at them. They were all obviously gossiping and looking at me like I'm some kind of an outcast. Just because they're all candidates for Master's wife. Ugh. I glared at them stronger.
"But, she's actually beautiful in a certain angle." A girl with an elegant fan muttered to them. The other girls all shot an evil eye at her. "But, what if the emperor would pick her instead of one of us?" She suddenly sounded worried.
A skinny girl snorted irritatingly. "Tch. Her? Are you kidding me, Chun Lee? Emperors have a very low possibility of marrying their own guards. I mean, the social status is extremely distant." She crossed her arms and flipped her hair.
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I was slightly trembling from anger. After a while, I felt a warm hand wrap around my right and smoothed it open. I blinked twice and looked down to my right. Master was still staring around the room quietly, not looking at me. He leaned his cheek on his right fist.
"Lan Fan, don't let it bother you.." He said calmly, stroking my hand with his thumb, still not looking at me. "They don't know their own ugly kind." That instantly calmed me down. Yes, one word from him and everything becomes okay. Although I still couldn't understand why he suddenly held my hand.
I glanced at the group of girls again and saw their jaws completely dropped as they stared at our hands together. I smirked at them and shot them a take-that-you-low-class-girls look.
"Ling! Let's start now!" Al came running to us happily with May. Master squeezed my hand and let it go carefully. A part of me wanted to reach out and take his hand once more. The other part of me wished for Master to take my hand again. I clenched my fists again and hid them behind my back to refrain from doing it.
"Hello, your highness." A lady sat in front of Master and bowed her head. The lady was wearing a very elegant golden gown complete with glitters and knots that matched the dress. Her hair was completely fixed up while her face was so obvious that she placed a little too much make up. Master just smiled at her then looked at us. May and Al were standing on either of my side, watching him from afar.
Master waved his hand slightly and sighed. It was the signal that he says 'no'. "Ah, the 36th rejection of the day." Al sighed tiredly and crossed his arms.
"Wait, wait, another one is coming!" May whispered to us. The girl was actually pretty beautiful and perfect. She had no overly designed gowns that stood out, she had no make-up, her hair was just down and combed well. I got scared. She might be the one that Master would pick. Deep inside, I prayed to every saint I know that he would still reject her.
Master raised his eyebrows and sat upright as soon as the girl sat in front of him. I don't like this. I saw her bow her head and shook hands with him. They suddenly started to have a nice long chat. Master would often smile and chuckle along with the girl like some weird couple in a public area. I slitted my eyes at the girl and watched her every move. It was then that the girl reached out to Master and fixed his hair, completely not caring about his social status. But to our surprise, he didn't flinch at all. My chest suddenly hurt.
"Oh, what's this? It's been 30 minutes already and he still hasn't looked in this direction." Al said. My chest hurt even more. I couldn't hold back the jealousy in my heart. I pouted my lips to myself and stared at them even more.
Master smiled back at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. I wrinkled my eyebrows and bit my lip. I could feel the burning sensation on my eyes as tears started to form. Master... Look this way, please.. Tell us you're not interested... Tell us this is a joke... Look this way.. Look at me.. Hold my hand again... I clenched my fists and wrapped them around myself. Finally, Master glanced this way and looked at me in the eyes. My eyes grew but he then turned his head away to look at the girl again. He took both of the girl's hands in his and said some things I couldn't hear from where I was standing.
That did it. I said to myself. That hurt a lot. My tears completely fell down my cheeks as I stared at the both of them. My heart felt like it dropped a thousand miles underground. I bit my lip harder as tears streamed down even more.
"Lan Fan?" Al worried and lifted a hand to place it on my shoulder. "Lan Fan, are you sick? You're burning." He felt for my neck. I lifted a hand to cover my eyes and ran away from the entertainment hall with a very pained face. "Lan Fan? Lan Fan, wait!" I ran faster, not wanting anyone to see this face. I secluded myself in my room and hid under the sheets. I turned my back to the door and clutched my pillow hard. I let out my hurtful sobs along with my feelings. I felt so horrible. The gossiping girls were right. Master doesn't like me, right? We can never be together, and I know it. That's why it hurts. He probably likes the girl he's talking to right now.
I lifted a hand to wipe away my tears. Al's right, I probably have fever. I felt my body burning and tired. I buried the pillow on my face and continued to sob for the next few minutes. "Master, notice me.."
There was a knock on my door. I was still sobbing, and completely ignored the knock. "Lan Fan?" It was Master. He knocked again. "Lan Fan, are you there?" He sounded worried.
"Go away!" I shouted. It's the first time I shouted at him this way. The tears continued to stream down my cheeks. I buried my face on the pillow once more.
I heard my door creak open. "Lan Fan.." he said softly, closing the door behind him and walking towards me. "I heard you were sick." I felt him sit on the bed beside me and reached for my neck. I tried to swat his hand away with my right hand but he simply caught it and trapped it in his. "Lan Fan, you're acting weird.. What's wrong?" I kept my back turned to him.
"Nothing." I replied monotonously. I tried to pull my hand away from him but he tightened his hold and refused to let go.
"Look, I won't let your hand go unless you tell me what's wrong." He said simply. He lifted his other hand to stroke my hair. "Come on, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" He murmured.
I sniffed. "Because I want something I'm impossible to get."
He stroked my hand with his thumb like before, making little circles. "What is it that you want?" I put down the pillow from my face.
"A miracle." I replied. "What happened to finding a wife?"
"I walked away." He replied quickly.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"
He continued to stroke my hair. "I saw you crying so I came here to comfort you."
"Go back, Master." I said halfheartedly.
"Do you want me to go back?" He asked, testing me. That question silenced me for a while. "Anyone of the weren't good at all. In fact, I'm not even interested from the start."
"Why were you excited back then? Also, the last girl.." My chest became painful once again. ".. You look like you were having fun."
"I just wanted to see your reaction." He replied. "The last girl.. I knew her way way before. She just visited me here, that's all. In the end, she somehow confessed to me." He chuckled nervously. "But I rejected her, though."
"Why? And what do you mean?"
"I just wanted to know whether you're fine with it or not.. You know, me looking for a wife and all." He breathed. "And I don't have feelings for her, Lan Fan."
"What do I have to do with your first statement?"
"I'm just curious."
"Curious? Of what?"
"Curious whether you'll get jealous or not?" He said it in an unsure manner.
I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over my shoulder to meet his eyes. "Jealous?" Yes, I was. Stop playing dumb, Lan Fan.
He smiled at me. I slowly sat up, not letting go of his hand. "You were jealous, weren't you?" He asked softly. He used his free hand to caress my cheek, wiping away the tears.
I stared at him blankly. I hesitated and sighed. "Yeah, I was." He sighed and smiled bigger. He circled me in his arms and buried his face on my shoulder.
"It may seem imprudent but I was glad that you were." He muttered. "I was waiting for it. I thought it wouldn't happen."
I tugged on his coat. "You.. want me to be jealous?"
"I just wanted to be sure."
"Sure of what?"
"Your feelings. I'm aware, Lan Fan." He said. My heart beat faster than ever. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I know it's impossible."
"Impossible because our relationship is Master and personal guard?" He asked. "There's no such rule. And there's no such thing as impossible."
"It's still impossible! The social status, the gossips, the whole Xing country, the rumors, everything! And first of all, it's truly impossible because you don't even feel the same way-" I got cut off when his lips made contact with mine, silencing me. He placed both his hands on my cheeks and deepened the kiss. It caught me speechless... Literally. My eyes fluttered close and obediently returned his kisses. He slightly pulled back and kissed my lips one- two more times. "Do you still really think that me feeling the same way as you do is impossible?" He muttered on my lips.
"N-no.." My heart was pumping hard on my chest.
"Good." He grinned at me. "Look, Lan Fan, I really like- love you a lot."
"Are you joking?"
"Do I look like I'm in the mood for jokes?" He sighed. "I really really love you a lot." He inched closer to kiss me again. He made me lie back down on bed and he did the same afterwards. He circled his arms around me as I buried my face on his chest, tugging the front of his shirt.
"Me too, Master.." I whispered. "I love you." It was the very first time I said that line to a guy. I wasn't confident with it but I know my feelings were true.
He kissed my forehead and stroked my hair. "I think your fever got higher." He chuckled softly. "I'll stay here with you until you get healed up." He paused. "Also, don't cry anymore, okay?" He kissed my lips again. "I love you." He doesn't get tired of this, does he?
"Yes, I promise. I love you too."
Alphonse Elric's POV
"May, I think it was pointless to set this whole thing up." I said as we both pulled away from the door from peeking at the newly born couple.
She smiled at me. "You're right. We gathered a lot of girls all over Xing to find the emperor a girl he likes, but we never realized that the answer was just right beside us."
I ruffled her hair. "But it's worth it. Without this event, they wouldn't have been able to tell each other their own feelings."
"Let's go, Al-sama. Everything has been taken cared of." She chuckled softly. "They already have their happy ending." She said dreamily.
"What are you saying?" I chuckled with her. "It's not a happy ending, because it's still the beginning."
A/N: yay! Please let me know your insights on this first chapter! :) It's not much but I hope it made you curious and interested enough to wait for the next chapter :) Thank you for reading!