Wordless Exchange: Eta #01 - Lilac
(Spoilers for volume 11)
Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist is owned by the wonderful Arakawa-sensei.
Something was up; she could sense it in her very core. A feeling not unlike she got when she encountered the homunculi, their multiple souls, but there was a slightly different taste to it. Her automail felt heavy on her left shoulder – even though it had been six months, she had still not gotten used to the fact that her left arm was made of metal.
A battle – she was sure of it, from the heavy blanket of tension and forboding in the air to the slight rumbling of the ground, the the amount of soul energy she could sense. It was close; not just the battle, but the end, of this war that she now knew had be raging for the last 1500 years.
"Go," her grandfather said when he noticed the look in her eyes. "Ling may need your help"
With these words, Ran Fan collected her knives and mask. She hesitated as she looked at the mask - should she wear it? Would Ling remember her face more or the mask that she had always worn? Wordlessly she tied the mask to her belt; she would put it on later.
As she left, her grandfather gave her a single flower, which Ran Fan recognised as a Lilac – the same flower her mother had held as she had lain dying, and the same flower that Ling's mother loved so much. He didn't need to speak – she knew that he wanted her to give it to Ling.
In the midst of that battle, Ran Fan almost despaired of ever finding Ling; between the swords, the alchemists and the bullets, she had enough of a job staying alive, let alone searching for the one she wanted to help.
It was only at the end she spied him; sword poised above a young boy, a flood of xingese escaping from his mouth. She was certain that there was a number of fairly explicit curses among what he said, and was grateful that no one could understand the language.
The exchange of the lilac was again, wordless, as many of their conversations had been. "I'm glad you're okay," were the words that eventually came tumbling out her mouth.
As they walked away from the battlefield, Ling gently entwined his fingers with Ran Fan. The lilac sat in his pocket – dedication to the woman who had saved him.
A/N: I quite like this one. There's no mention of LinGreed... Which I suppose should be there. Those of you who have read chapter 70 should know who the "young boy" is.
As to a bit of background: I decided to do Ling x Ran Fan mainly because there simply isn't enough stuff with them out there (I know they're manga only characters, but still) . I chose List Eta/battle because I liked the themes, the overlying theme (battle) is easy to slot in, and for the life of me I can't imagine 30 instances between Ling and Ran Fan that involve a kiss. I hope you enjoy these 30 kisses alternate themes.