Author's note: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters. This is set after the manga and is slightly AU.
How Gently Falls the Snow
Ling shook his head as he made his was down a busy street in East City. There were days when he didn't think he'd ever get used to Amestris. Of course, given that he was currently Xing's ambassador to Amestris, there were some things here he was going to have to get used to. Still, snow was something he found fascinating and unusual. The white flakes were currently large and fate, and they melted almost as soon as they hit something.
He wrinkled his nose as one of the snowflakes landed on his cheek. As pretty as the snow was, it was also cold and wet. Give him sand any day. Beside him, Ranfan let out a sigh. Ling knew that was her version of saying she had told him to wear a scarf. Ranfan was still with him even if she was no longer technically his bodyguard. No, Ran was his wife now. Nearly all of the friends he had made in Amestris had practically beaten him over the head with the fact that she loved him and they were fairly certain that he felt something for her, and he had better do something about it. Ling figured it was frustration caused by the Hawkeye/Mustang situation that needed an outlet. And it wasn't like his own line of thought was too far from what they had suggested.
It had been Ran who had been hard to convince. In some ways she was more tradition bound that he was. But Ling hadn't been about to give up. Perhaps it had been his exposure to Greed or maybe it was just how he was, but he hadn't wanted to share Ranfan with anyone else. As his bodyguard, she could have always been assigned to another member of his family. Though in the end, it hadn't taken too much persuasion. It was something had both wanted after all. Ran had just felt it was a little more out of reach than she did.
Without really thinking about it, Ling reached out and clasped her human hand in his own. Her hand was slightly cold, despite the gloves she was wearing, but he didn't mind. Now back to the task at hand: finding an appropriate gift to congratulate Edward and Winry on their first child with.