Part One of my Childhood in Xing series! Not sure how long it is going to do but hopefully it'll have at least five parts reading up to their departure to Amestris. However, they will not linear so all the drabbles won't be in order.

"Fight me."

Lan Fan raised an eyebrow, an amused smile stretched across her lips. She let her foot lift up slightly, kicking up a bit of dust from the training ground, watching as Ling stood with his arms crossed in the center.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You're not ready yet," she said and he scoffed in disdain.

"I have a teacher you know! I train on my own!" She hadn't known but only because he was never forthcoming about what he did during the day. It was something she thought about constantly: why didn't he just come and train in the dojo like everyone else? Instead he sulked around after-hours when her grandfather closed up for the night, practicing on a dummy until he met Lan Fan. She'd corrected his stance in passing, taking him for one of her grandfather's students, until he managed to rope her into sneaking out every night to teach him whatever she had learned that day. She'd been opposed to the idea at first – breaking in and using equipment without supervision sounded wrong despite there not actually being any rules about it. However, she was quickly won over by Ling's easy smile and the way he absorbed every lesson despite the fact she was a girl.

"Come on, how do I know if I'm getting better if you don't fight me," he coaxed, walking towards her. "I promise not to hurt you too bad." Oh, he knew how to ruffle the young girl's feathers.

"That teacher obviously isn't very good," she said, lifting her chin. "You were tripping over yourself before you met me."

"That's because you're a great teacher," he grinned and she bristled, feeling a flush creep down her neck.

"Fine," she said, dropping her foot to the ground and walked towards him. He didn't bother with a reply and immediately aimed a kick for her head, anticipating the way she crouched down to dodge the attack. However, he did not except her palm to slam against his shin, throwing him down against the dust.

"Damn," he growled, pushing himself up from the ground to narrowly escaping her punch. The longer the fight went on, the more they realized they weren't taking it seriously. She nimbly lifted herself up to the edge of the ring, laughing down at him.

"Cheating."

"I don't need to cheat to win," she huffed, dropping down. Seeing his opportunity as she landed on her toes, he swept his leg under her and watched as she gasped, tumbling to the ground. He launched himself at her before she could get up, pinning her arms to the floor.

"I win," he said smugly, pressing his fingers against her wrists.

"I wasn't fighting seriously."

"Come on I beat you fair and square; I've been practicing for ages," he protested, lying down next to her.

"It's been two weeks," she corrected, dusting off her pants. "And I won't be here all of next week."

"What, why?"

"Grandfather has been invited to the main house; they're picking out a guard for the young lord," she said, fidgeting. Ling raised his eyebrows but avoided her gaze, making a hum of acknowledgement.

"I doubt he needs it."

"Well I imagine royalty like him isn't very good at hand-to-hand combat. Better safe than sorry," she said idly, stretching her arms into the air. "I want to join his guard." Ling turned to her in surprise.

"Really?" She nodded fiercely, looking up at the stars.

"It seems silly, wanting to protect someone I've never meet," she said quietly, closing her eyes. "But I want to protect something important." Ling stared at her, eyes wide, before letting out a loud cough.

"I-I have to go." Lan Fan turned to him, eyes narrowed.

"That's suspicious; usually I'm the one who has to force you to leave."
"No it's just, mom is sick of me being so tired in the mornings and I'm afraid she'll start to suspect something." She would be lying if she said her grandfather also hadn't started noticing how exhausted she was all the time; trudging into her room for an afternoon nap once she was done with training instead of doing her studies.

"Alright, I'll see you next week."

"Good night," he said, standing up and dusting off his trousers. He walked to the entrance of the dojo before digging his heels into the wood, closing his eyes.

"Hey, can I…?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll be friends no matter what, right?" Lan Fan lifted herself up and turned, staring at his moonlit back. He refused to turn in her direction, fists clenched to his sides.

"What's wrong?"

"Just answer the question!"

"It's just a strange question! Why wouldn't I be?" He turned around and smiled warily, letting his fingers unravel against his sides.

"See you soon, Lan Fan."

"I—" Ling ran off before she could say anything else and Lan Fan let herself sink into the sand, feeling it spread across her bare feet. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Strange boy."