Greed marched through the hallways of Ling's palace, his long black jacket trailing behind him. The homunculus was breathing heavily, his expression serious. Candles flickered in their sconces as he walked past them, their shadows to sending up a ruckus along the stone walls of the basement catacomb.
He had retreated to this place because there was nowhere else he could go. The world outside, upstairs, was a world not open to him. It was a place for people, not monsters. It was stupid of him to think that he could belong here, that he could belong anywhere. Greed stopped walking and slouched against the wall. Water trickled through cracks in the masonry into an echo that only his sensitive ears could hear. Did this mean that he would always be relegated to the dark?
Not bothering to activate his Ultimate Shield, Greed punched his fist into the stone wall, cracking it. He felt the bones of his knuckles break but held off on his instinct to produce the red sparks which would heal his body, making his hand whole again. He felt the sharp pain and closed his eyes, breathing through it. When he had meditated through the worst of the pain, he allowed his hand to regenerate.
He slid down with his back against the wall and leaned his head against the unyielding stone. The low vaulted ceiling faded into blackness where the light from the torches couldn't reach into all the corners. He closed his eyes and cursed to himself.
This was not what he wanted. This was never what he wanted. He was Greed, the Avaricious. He should be allowed to take anything and everything, without having to answer to anyone! If he got all that his heart desired, then maybe, just maybe, he could be happy.
As of right now, the only thing he owned was his body, and even that was a facsimile, courtesy of some shady alkahestry in a back alley market of Xing. He remembered Lan Fan suggesting to him and the prince—when Ling was in charge of his body, but Greed was still present—that they try to separate their two consciousnesses. Essentially, this would give Ling his body back. Ling agreed, and it seemed like something Lan Fan wanted. So Greed gave his consent and the ritual was performed. By the end of it, Ling had his body back but Greed's features still resembled Ling's, save for his flaming eyes. It was a decision he was starting to regret, only a few days after it happened.
Lan Fan. Thinking about her now brought the ghost of a smile to his lips along with a pang to his chest. He closed his eyes and his memory transported him back a few days before recalling the night they had spent together, not even twenty-four ago:
He had been waiting outside her room for the better part of the evening.
Ling had left on a political trip with one of the other clans to a village in the mountains that was experiencing trouble with an over-flooded dam. Since there was no threat of danger for the young lord, Lan Fan had remained at the imperial palace, training with her master in martial arts.
Greed had watched her practice. She was like a cat, the way she moved, dipped, and dodged. She lunged, hacked, and swung with precision and a deadly efficiently. It almost seemed like she could show her instructor a thing or two. Greed was in awe of her. He remembered telling Ling that it was some girl he had. And it was true.
It didn't take long for Lan Fan to notice him in the shadow of the awning of the weapons building. She flipped over to him and had a knife at his throat within moments. She panted, her stance aggressive. The blade was within an inch of the skin of his throat. He just looked at her and their eyes met.
Lan Fan smiled shyly. "I have to train now. If you want to talk, we can meet later, okay?"
Greed nodded and stepped back. Lan Fan returned to sparring with her instructor and Greed walked away from the sounds of blades clashing. He thought about asking to fight against her but then remembered how he used to be reluctant about fighting women. Well, Lan Fan was different. She was strong, fiercely loyal, and that made her beautiful.
Not having anything better to do, he waited outside her room. When Lan Fan finally turned down the hallway, he stood. She was looking slightly dishevelled, tired and sweaty, but there was a smile on her face. He knew that must mean she had a good practice. Even so he had asked her.
"How did it go?"
Her half-smile told him all he needed to know. She was proud of herself, that was obvious. But she wasn't the type to boast about it. She unlocked her door and hesitated. Then she turned to him.
"Want to come in?"
Greed smiled. He followed her into her room and shut the door behind him. Lan Fan laid her weapons—throwing knives, a couple of swords, and a pair of nunchucks onto the top of the chest by the foot of her bed. She turned away from him and shrugged out of her black sweater. She was wearing a plain black t-shirt underneath. She kicked off her shoes and socks, pushing those aside as well. Then she sat on the bed, facing Greed.
Greed sat down at the chair of her desk, facing her. The pair was silent for a few moments. Then Lan Fan spoke up.
"I never really got the chance to talk to you on your own before. This is kind of...different." Lan Fan looked down at her feet, leaning forward on her arms. She looked back at Greed. "Don't you think?"
Greed tried to play it cool but realized that it was impossible to remain aloof around her. He lost all his ability to appear laid back. There was something about Lan Fan that made his feel this way. It was disarming.
"I'm glad not to be sharing a body with that idiot prince any more, to be honest," Greed said. But there was nervousness to his tone, he heard it and he knew that Lan Fan wasn't fooled.
"I was worried that you might hate me afterwards," Lan Fan said quietly.
Greed looked at her with surprise.
"I mean, you were your own person before being absorbed into Ling's body. And now that you have your own body... and it looks just like his..." her voice trailed off.
The room was quiet. Then, he heard a few shaky sniffles. It seemed like he had brought tears to Lan Fan's eyes. No. That couldn't be.
Before thinking about it, Greed stood up abruptly and walked to Lan Fan. He sat beside her on the bed. Lan Fan turned to him.
"It's just that you've been through so much. Since you were separated, Ling had been telling me a lot about you. About Bido and the others. I realize how tragic that must be. How sad you must feel. And now, you still look so much like him..."
He didn't need her to be dredging up all these memories. What he wanted to do was forget. He also didn't want to see her sad. He reached for her hand, hesitantly. She accepted it.
"Although I do feel like I owe you something. You were with Ling while I was out of commission, during my automail surgery." Lan Fan looked down at her metal arm and flexed. "I had to leave the person I was supposed to protect and even though it wasn't ideal, I'm glad that he had someone there with him."
Greed looked at her, her innocent eyes and the light sheen to her skin. He thought of all the times he had seen her strength in action. He wanted to show her that he felt a connection with her—both of them were strong and willing to stop at nothing to accomplish their goals.
Right now, he wanted her. A small part of him realized that the old Greed would have just jumped her bones by now. He would have just used his charms, anything, just to get into her pants. But things were different now. Greed wouldn't betray Ling like that. He knew that Lan Fan wouldn't either. But he still leaned forward and reached for her all the same.
Lan Fan's lips against his were soft. He felt the light pressure, the surprise in her slightly open mouth. Then she pressed her lips together, his bottom lip in between hers, and kissed him back. He opened his mouth and she opened hers. Their tongues entwined, first hesitantly, and then intensely, searching and reaching and probing. Lan Fan stiffened and Greed reached for her. She pulled away for an instant before relaxing and leaning closer to him. He closed his eyes as her arms also wrapped around his shoulders.
Their kisses communicated in a language of apology and acceptance. Lan Fan's exhales told him that she was grateful that he had been with Ling while she was gone, and her soft groans told Greed that even though he had the same body of the prince, there was something about him that she was attracted to. His hands exploring her body told her that he was capable of being gentle, even if this was exactly what he wanted.
The pair started to get more physical with one another. Greed pulled Lan Fan from his side into his lap. She turned to face him as he trailed kisses along her jaw, her neck, her collarbones. Lan Fan sighed, running her hands up and down his muscled back, warming his skin through his shirt. He brought his mouth to meet hers but then tasted her reluctance. He stopped.
"What?" he asked, his forehead against hers. They were both breathing heavily at this point. Greed took this option to shrug out of his jacket. He leaned back onto the bed, resting his head on the pillows. From this reclined position, he reached for Lan Fan's hand. She clutched his hand in response, but looked away.
Greed stayed where he was. He didn't want to push her. They were treading dangerously now, so maybe it was for the best if he left. They had said what needed to be said, establishing that there was something between them. Wasn't that enough? Must he always want more?
Lan Fan sniffled again. She looked at Greed, her face flushed. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled sadly.
"I just don't know anymore."
Greed let go of her hands and sat up a little. He spread out his arms to shrug, telling her that he didn't know where this was going either. After a moment, Lan Fan crawled towards him. Greed leaned back down into the pillows, waiting to see what she would do.
She surprised both of them by taking off her shirt and crawling towards him. She straddled him on the bed, leaning over to kiss him again. Greed closed his eyes as their lips met. He felt Lan Fan toying with his shirt, unbuttoning it to expose his toned flesh. He felt the cool air of the room make his fine body hair stand up, and her feathery touch giving him goosebumps. He reached up and massaged her bare back, his eyes still closed. He loved feeling the weight of her body on top of him, her skin on his skin. He loved gently raking her back and hearing her gasp.
A moment later, he felt Lan Fan pulling him up. His eyes snapped open and he knew that there must be a hunger in his eyes, he saw it reflected in Lan Fan's eyes. He sat up on the bed and Lan Fan moved to the sign. Greed reached for her and pulled her down to the bed. Now reversed, Lan Fan had her back pressed to the bed with Greed on top of her.
He reached for her hands and laced his fingers through hers. Gently he tugged them up to the sides of her head and pinned her there. He used his feet to keep her legs from squirming too much. Lan Fan laughed softly, bringing her mouth up to his.
The kiss deepened. Greed's body pressed Lan Fan into the soft folds of her bed and his tongue scraped her teeth. She arched up her hips and Greed's grasp on her tightened. He moaned into her mouth.
Greed broke the kiss a few moments later. He nuzzled his head into her neck and nipped at her clavicle.
"Mmmm" Lan Fan mumbled.
"We should stop," he whispered into her skin.
Lan Fan stiffened. She opened her eyes. Greed propped himself up on his elbows. She looked at him, and there was guilt in her eyes.
"Yes," she looked away.
Greed reluctantly rolled off of her. He lay next to her on the bed, amid the tousled sheets and scattered pillows. They looked up at the ceiling of her room, still holding hands.
"Thank you," Lan Fan said again. She looked over at Greed with her cheeks still flushed. Greed knew that she was referring to everything—stopping them when he did, for being with Ling while she was recovering, for agreeing to let Ling have his body back.
"I thought I wanted sex, money, power, glory, and all of that stuff. But it turns out that the friends I've made on this crazy quest called life are worth more than the end goal I sought to achieve."
"I'm glad." Lan Fan said.
"Thanks for letting me stay in Xing for as long as you did." Greed sat up in bed, pulling his hand away from Lan Fan's. He went to put on his shirt.
Lan Fan sat up. She placed the flat palm of her hand on his chest, stopping him.
"You can stay for longer, if you want."
Greed stooped and picked up his black jacket. He flipped it so that it was no longer inside-out and handed it to Lan Fan. She put it on over her bra and lied back down. Greed shrugged out of his half-put on shirt and let it drop to the floor. He slid into the bed and lied down, facing Lan Fan. He tugged the collar of his jacket so it covered more of her and then pulled her to him.
Kissing the top of her forehead, he whispered "sleep in my arms tonight."
Lan Fan closed her eyes, relaxed, and didn't stir until dawn. Greed also closed his eyes, falling asleep to the noise of her inhales and her exhales, the stories of a guard fiercely loyal to her emperor. He saw now that her choice was made: she was in love with Ling.
Back in the subterranean hallway, Greed saw that Lan Fan was right. He wasn't a monster. He didn't deserve the title of Homunculus. But he wasn't human either—his body would always bear the mark of having belonged to another. And even after what had happened between them, it was time for this avaricious creature to move on.
He wasn't worried about Lan Fan, though. She and the emperor were going to be together for a long time, that much he was sure. And Ling Yao would do his clan proud. It was just one of those stories that Greed was no longer a part of.
He was going to leave Xing forever.