Author Note - This is my first published fanfiction! Thank you for taking the time to read it. GreedLingFan is my OT3 :3

Two Roads

In the dead of the night, Lan Fan awoke blearily from a fitful sleep. The automail attachment surgery had gone well, but the intense pain had to be numbed by strong medication. A dull ache pulsed through her shoulder.

The drugs weakened her usually sharp senses to a point where it took a few long seconds to recognise the familiar shape perched on the end of the bed.
"Young Master!" She cried as she bolted upright, voice hoarse.

"Hello there." The deep, masculine voice that replied was not his. The devilish smirk stretched across his face was not Ling's. Apprehension flashed clear across Lan Fan's unmasked features. The stranger's grin grew and he let out a quiet chuckle.

"I'm sorry, were you expecting someone else?" His eyes met hers. She looked away.

"What are you? Where is the Young Master? " She knew the answers, Alphonse had already explained what had happened. She just needed to hear him say them.

"The name's Greed, and the kid," He patted his chest almost proudly "Is right here." Lan Fan felt a flicker of hope pass through her. He was definitely still alive.

She scowled, still refusing to look at the imposter. "What do you want?" He broke out into a fit of laughter that sent shivers down her spine.

"What don't I want? I'm Greed!" He stood up and threw his arms out, grasping at the air. "I want everything! Money, power, women, sex, status, fame, all of the finer things in life." He spoke the words as if they were lines from a play, rehearsed time and time again. He let his arms drop to his sides and sat down closer to her. Too close. Lan Fan shrank back against the wall.

"I meant, why are you here?"She repeated.

For just a brief moment, the arrogant grin fell and a look of confusion marred his confident expression. Then, just as quickly as it vanished, the too-toothy smile was back again. "I like to make sure my possessions are in working order."

She turned and glared up into his crimson eyes. "I do not belong to you." She spat.

"You're his property, so now you're mine too."

Lan Fan's flesh hand balled into a fist. "You are not my master."

Greed just smiled. He took her automail hand into his. "I could be," He murmured. He ran his fingers up her automail arm. She couldn't feel it, she just watched, unable to move the limb. "You gave up your arm for him." Warm flesh traced cold steel. "But what does he give you? What do you gain?"

"When he becomes emperor, he will bring glory and honour to our clan."

He scoffed. "I asked you what you gain. What does he sacrifice for you?" She was silent. He laughed. "I'll take that as nothing, then."

"I serve Young Master because I am a Royal Guard of the Yao clan. It is an honour. I expect nothing in return." She shifted back to try and remove his hand from her arm. He moved with her.

"It'd be nice though, hmm? A bit of recognition, a reward." The hand worked its way up to the tender flesh of her shoulder.

"It is not necessary."

He slid even closer, hip brushing against hers, and his other arm reached up to touch her cheek. Lan Fan struggled to bite down an involuntary blush. "I said nothing about necessity. You're human, you have to want something."

"Nothing that you could give." She twisted, attempting to remove herself from his grasp. Greed just lowered his hands to her hips and pulled her against him. She felt laughter rumble through his chest.

"Now, I don't know about that," He said, amusement clear in his voice. "I have a lot to offer."

Lan Fan pushed him away with all the strength she could muster in her single, tired arm. His grip remained firm. "Give Young Master his body back."

Greed sighed. "Hmph, you've got me there. No can do about that," He rubbed the spot where she hit him and smirked. "You're strong, even now. Ling doesn't appreciate that as much as he should."

"Strength is expected of me. I would be unfit to serve otherwise." She stated plainly.

Greed rolled his eyes. "It's all duty and purpose with you, huh. Just loosen up, will you?" He ran a hand up her side. "Relaxing won't kill you." Lan Fan flinched at the contact and tried to back away, but his grip was strong and her lethargic muscles refused to move. She bowed her head and looked away.
A dark grin stretched across his features and he ran his lips over the soft skin of her throat. She closed her eyes. His low chuckle reverberated against her flesh. "I know what you want."

"No you do not." She replied, her voice quiet now. Laughter again.

"I'm Greed. I wrote the damned book on wanting. Don't tell me I don't know this stuff." His hands roamed across her back. "You want him, don't you? Ling, your master." His lips worked their way up to her ear. "But you can't have him, he's a king and you're just a pawn. And yet here he is."

Lan Fan slowly opened her eyes. "You are not him, Homunculus." She pried his hands away and turned her back on him. Greed shook his head and raked a hand through his hair.
"I will never understand you humans. You've got everything you want right in front of you but you won't take it." He leant over her, kissed her cheek, then stood up and brushed the creases out of his coat. She didn't watch as he walked away. "I'll be back. See you later, Lan Fan."
The door clicked shut, and he was gone.