The fire crackled and sparked, causing the shadows gathered in the small clearing to flicker and jump in explosive gestures.
Lan Fan was sat on a large body of wood that she had dragged closer to the fire with her arms folded, trying to ignore the way the flames flickered and reflected in her automail arm.
She had been sat in the same position for the past few hours, waiting for the sound of approaching footsteps.
She sighed softly, looking into the heart of the fire with a disappointed and bored look in her eyes.
Lan Fan stood herself up slowly, her body stiff form being huddled for so long. Her arms came up to stretch as she yawned deeply.
A strong arm suddenly looped itself around her neck, making her gasp involuntarily. Automatically she shifted her stance slightly wider, bringing her right arm forward so she could slash back with the vicious blade installed into her automail.
Another arm wound around her stomach, pulling her backwards suddenly to strike the unmistakable shape of a male torso. The arm also had wrapped around her automail, limiting her swing and rendering the elbow spike useless.
Instead, her leg snaked backwards around her attacker's leg, before she pushed herself backwards into his body.
Feeling resistance, she grit her teeth, pushing herself backwards harder before she was raised up so that her feet could no longer touch the floor. This made the arm around her neck tighten to a degree where it was beginning to hurt.
Suddenly, the arms were gone, instead Lan Fan found herself wrapped in the laughter of her attacker. Her left hand went to rub her throat while the other behind her back to the concealed blade. She spun, arm raised and fingers loose on the hilt, before the clenched her fist to stop herself throwing. "Young Master! You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!" She glared at him angrily, shouting as she replaced the blade.
"Oh relax Lan Fan... I was just having a bit of fun." Ling spoke defensively, a look of hurt crossing his face.
The girl sighed, looking to the boy with a helpless frown. Her eyes were drawn to the darker clothes, then to the red tattoo that had formed on the back of his hand. It seemed Greed had imposed himself greatly.
"Why are you sat out here?" Ling asked, tilting his head as if curious.
"Looking for you." She said plainly, moving closer to the fire to escape the chill of the night.
"By sitting around a fire for a few hours?" He said perplexed.
She turned to look at him confused. "How do you know I've been sat here for that long?"
Shuffling his feet, Ling grinned boyishly before walking closer to the fire himself.
"I've been sat in that tree for a while." He said, pointing to the direction of the great oak behind them.
Lan Fan glared at him but said nothing, instead turning to face the fire as she rubbed the joint of automail and her own flesh. That was one of the regrets of having a metal arm; her joint seemed to not like the cold.
Ling saw the movement, interpreting it easily and then moving behind the girl, wrapped his arms around her again but this time gently. Lan Fan blinked owlishly, feeling his jaw rest on the top of her head as he breathed out deeply.
"What are you doing?" She asked, sounding totally confused by his actions.
"Keeping you warm." He said with an unseen smirk.
She wriggled in his arms, grabbing them gently to pull them away, only to feel an unexpected hardness of his arms.
With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lan Fan looked to his hands to see them now a dull grey; the form of the Ultimate Shield.
"Greed." She breathed the name, her hands now just resting on his and not longer trying to pull them away.
"Hey beautiful." The voice was different, more masculine than before, a lot deeper.
"Don't call me that." She hissed, eyes narrowing in anger.
A deep rumbling echoed from the man's chest as he chuckled at her, leaning his head from the top of her head to the side.
"Or what?" His voice was a seductive purr.
She glared ahead at the crackling flames, before then allowing her arms to fall to her sides with a sigh. 'He's still the Young Master... he won't let this monster in his skin hurt me' she thought, praying that it was true.
Another deep chuckle rumbled from Greed, making Lan Fan narrow her eyes slightly, before he sat down onto the floor idly and pulled an unresisting Lan Fan to sit in his lap.
His arms moved to loosely grip around her waist yet they kept her body pulled to his.
"C'mon toots, loosen up." He muttered, looking down to her with a soft grin.
"Stop it." She hissed, looking to the fire to avoid him. A frown moved over the young features, before Greed moved his hand to grip the girl's lower jaw to pull her head to face him.
"Stop what?" He smirked wider, his grip loosening just slightly to not be painful but to not allow her to move.
"Stop doing what you're doing." She muttered, looking to the now purple eyes.
"But it's still his body toots..." Greed's voice took on a sinister tone, his head moving to her side where his lips idly brushed the skin of her neck.
A soft shiver ran down the girl's spine, but she did not move or push him away from her.
Greed smirked again, hand sliding up her waist idly as he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. Her eyes were closed, mouth set in a hard line which made him frown, exhaling deeply against her neck in a sigh.
"What's up toots?" He asked lightly, his breath tickling just gently against her as his lips continued to trace a faint pattern.
"You know exactly what's 'up'. Stop this..." She muttered, her eyes opening to look to him sadly, although a faint emotion flashed over her eyes before she looked away suddenly.
Lips tracing up the side of her jaw, Greed's smile widened even more as he leant against her lower jaw bone, lips pressed firmly as he looked to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Just pretend I'm Ling toots." He muttered, the moving lips feeling strange over her bone.
"Why are you doing this?" She spoke softly, looking down to him without moving her head away.
"Because I'm Greed. I want everything." His lips moved up as he spoke, before they found hers.
"That includes you."