((Disclaimer: I do not own 'Fullmetal Alchemist' or 'Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood'. 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and 'Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood' rightfully belong to 'Hiromu' Hiromi Arakawa.))
(Author's notes: I've decided to have a go at writing an AU for Lan Fan and Ling. I'm not sure how it's going to turn out, but I hope it'll wind up being an okay-ish story. Thank you for your support.)

Lan Fan glanced to her left momentarily, dark eyes affixed on a conversing couple. They chatted happily, quietly in a polite matter. The man elderly man - of a thick moustache and beard - muttered something with his deep hoarse voice and the woman – of a full and well fed figure - laughed in reply. Lan Fan quickly grew bored of looking at them after a few moments (unceremoniously labelling them as 'unsuspicious') and turned her attention to a wailing child to her right, being fussed over by his parents.

The restaurant was busy that night. It was a little friendly outlet that lay gingerly upon the lip of Central Amestrian night life. It was a cosy little place, one full of atmosphere and the endless babble of people of all different ages and size. It was somewhat comforting, yet somewhat uneasy at the same time. The place was decorated with candles on wooden table, dressed with red linen cloths, painted ebony walls printed with white swirls and dotted patterns and furnished with thick charcoal carpeting.

Lan Fan glanced back at her hands, folded neatly upon her table – to which lay in the very centre of the outlet – and thought about her mission. As the tale goes, Lan Fan had been selected personally by the higher Xingese councillors to leave her home country of Xing, for an estimated two months or so, to travel around lively central Amestris in order to receive as much information as possible on a well-known terrorist group that went by the name of 'The Homunculi'. Although they were a group that had only been recently formed, they had been grabbing the attention of national headlines and media groups with their latest stunts and daring acts of crime.

Lan Fan sighed a ghostly sigh of frustration as a toddler behind her started coo and gurgle. She bit on the inside of her cheek to keep her patience, but her brow formed a deep furrow nevertheless. She focused on the plate of garlic bread before her, to which lay upon a clean white plate, and briefly considered eating the foreign looking food. But naturally, she decided against it, on her honour. She would not be distracted by such things. No, she would not betray her quick wittedness for a few slices of bread.

In order to distract herself, and her grumbling stomach, she lifted her head upon her hands. Her face was hidden by ceramic mask and her hood as she glanced around a second time to make for certain that there was no suspicious persons observing her, or anyone else for that matter. From a quick glance she could see some young people laughing loudly together in sync as they snacked heartily upon ice cream desserts and other sugary confections. Looking a little ways to their right she caught sight of a middle age man of black hair and dark eyes chatting happily with a ginger haired woman. And finally, just as she was about to glance back to the left, she locked eyes with a pair if pearl black orbs.

Across the room from her - to the right - sat a young man around her age. He was of a tall figure and broad shoulders. She took note of his hair, the longest hair she had ever seen on a man, tied up neatly with a white ribbon at the nape of his neck. He blinked a couple of times, lips dropping open a little as he squinted. Lan Fan glanced away, to avoid looking too suspicious. She would keep an eye on him.

XXX

After waiting for him to move for over forty-five minutes, the noise and din of the diner finally got to Lan Fan's head. She stood up quickly and pushed her chair in a little roughly. However, no one seemed to notice her quick and fluent movements as they continued to converse happily. She reached inside of her thick cloak and pulled out a sum of Amestrian money to cover the cost of the bread. She placed it down on the table quietly and turned on her heel, heading for the Restaurant double doors. She bowed her head as she sensed his Qi behind her. He was following her. She bit her tongue. That made her job easy.

XXX

She stalked down the cold, night time streets of Central Amestris with sleek and disciplined form. The sound of crickets could be heard as she twisted and turned her course, choosing specific corners and round abouts to her advantage that she had taken note of earlier, whilst conducting a mental map of the place upon her arrival. After about ten minutes of walking, she found herself on a no-through road, ready to turn out into the deserted Central Park to confront him. The crickets screeched louder as she stepped past a collection of bushes, exposed and bare to the night. She picked up her pace, reaching into cloak to grasp at her weapons – a twin set of kunai. Just as she was about to turn the corner, a prickling sensation tore through her body. She froze, eyes narrowing, breathe halting.

His Qi had disappeared.

She felt sharp twin objects pressing upon her pale skin. A large hand placed on her cheek, angling her neck in an effort to expose it. The wail of insects ceased, a smouldering silence engulfing the dead of night.

(I'm not sure if that was good or not. I'm sorry. It probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but chapter two may have an explanation – if I make a chapter two even? However as always, thank you for your support. Please drop a review if you enjoyed the story, have constructive criticism or a suggestion. Thank you very much.)