Prompt: LingFan on a date, college AU.
A/N: I had a little difficulty with this one, because I had no idea what to have them say to each other. Part of the appeal of Ling/Lan Fan is how well they know each other, so it was strange writing them getting to know one another.
Not beta-ed, due to short length.
They met in the Martial Arts club.
Well, to be accurate, Lan Fan met his little sister first.
Mei Chang was a freshmen, and she entered the club with the slew of new students that came every fall. Most of them wouldn't return for a second meeting, but Mei stood out from the start. Not only did she come in literally dragging her brother with her, but she was already extremely proficient in fighting and took down one of the older club members in a matter of seconds.
Her grandfather, the club's instructor, had actually been impressed, which was really saying something. So, he gestured for Lan Fan to pair up with her instead.
Mei was indeed quite a challenge, and in the end they fought to a draw, and the whole club watched them with interest. None more so than Mei's older brother, whom she came to know as Ling Yao. Judging by the way Mei had dragged him to the meeting, and his apparent laziness, she didn't think he'd be back again, but he was.
Turned out that he was a good fighter as well, and it only took a few victories (with Ling standing over them, grinning) for him to come up in a match against Lan Fan.
She won, but he was hardly bothered, grinning all the while. And while she had him pinned to the ground, he leaned his head up a little and asked, his breath tickling her neck: "Want to go on a date?"
She blushed tomato-red and stood up quickly. She didn't answer him until the session was over. Lan Fan walked up to him, opened her mouth and then closed it, and then simply nodded.
Lan Fan didn't have a lot of dating experience, so she wasn't sure what to expect, but Mei arriving two hours early to help her get ready definitely wasn't one of them. Between her gushing about how cute the two of them would be and helping her with her make-up, Lan Fan felt more than a little intimidated, but excited all the same.
When Ling showed up at her door, he wasn't surprised to find Mei there, and greeted them both with a smile, ruffling Mei's hair and offering his hand to Lan Fan. After a moment's hesitation, she took it, and she saw his grin go up a notch.
The ended up double-dating with Mei and her boyfriend, a sweet and handsome boy named Alphonse who had a striking combination of golden hair and eyes. The date itself was simple: dinner and a movie.
Lan Fan considered herself to be fairly independent, but when seeing the way Ling could eat there was no way she was going to offer to pay for his food as well as her own. Ling solved the problem by paying for all four of them, waving a hand like it was nothing.
It was a nice night, so they decided to go on a walk after dinner as well. The conversation was a little stilted, but only because Alphonse and Mei were too busy making eyes at each other to pay attention to anyone else.
This left Ling and Lan Fan practically alone, Lan Fan struggling to think of something to say.
"Sooooooooooo," Ling said, his hands now in his pockets. "How long have you been doing the martial arts thing?"
"My whole life." He seemed a little surprised, and she added: "Fu is my grandfather."
"Really? Huh."
She nodded. "…and yourself?"
"Same as you. My family's pretty into the idea of self-defense."
"I was surprised," Lan Fan admitted. "I didn't expect to see you after the first meeting."
He laughed. "I hadn't planned on it, actually." He turned his head and looked her in the eye. "Certain things changed my mind."
She blushed again, and a minute passed by in total silence. His hands came out of his pockets and she took a deep breath, grabbing is right in her left.
His fingers curled around hers, and she smiled.
