Title: Dragon and Pearl

Author: S J Smith

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Just playing in Arakawa's sandbox.

Summary: Ran Fan felt that same flash of jealousy.


When they had been in Amestris, Ran Fan had paid little attention to the girl; only a quick spurt of white hot jealousy that her master had flirted, had proposed, to the mechanic. And then wondered the mechanic refused.

Perhaps it had been her style of dress. A snug black top bound her breasts, with her stomach and arms completely bare, her hips emphasized by the sleeves tied around them. A tiny skirt, barely hiding her underclothes, leaving her legs visible. Her throat and collarbone exposed – surely that was why her master had been smitten – the girl was nothing but an exotic buffet. Fortunately, the girl took her master's proposal as a joke, turning the conversation to something else, her hilarity at the idea of her master being a prince even more disconcerting than the girl's reaction to his proposal.

That had been some time ago, Ran Fan reminded herself, trying not to stare at the sight of the poised blond woman accompanying the alchemist – the one-time Fullmetal Alchemist – into the emperor's court. Dressed in a visitor's robe of emerald, her hands concealed in the draping sleeves, her moon pale hair combed up and secured with beaded sticks, she caught the eye, even the eye trained to search for threats against the life of the emperor. Ran Fan felt her mouth grow dry and her skin heat up and never felt so thankful that her features were hidden behind a mask.

This was what the coltish girl who'd wandered with a pair of alchemists had become – her chin held high, her expression openly curious, her eyes warm as they flitted, uncharacteristically for a woman of the court, over the sights. Ran Fan felt a jolt when those eyes landed on her. It almost seemed as if she'd taken a blow to the gut, the way her lungs seized, leaving her breathless.

In front of her, the emperor rose, his arms opening in welcome. Ran Fan took the necessary steps to follow him from his throne, though she felt as if she was in a dream. The alchemist showed his teeth in a grin reminiscent of a dragon's, and from the casual way he slipped his arm around the blond woman's waist, Ran Fan knew he'd claimed her as his pearl.

And Ran Fan wondered at the white hot flame that seared through her body.