I do not own FMAB.

Just You and Me

Chapter Five: BE As It May

I liked to think that I lived a fairly modest life.

My family, from what I remembered of better and worse times, was never really poor or rich, just well off. We could make our payments without a struggle and afford a few luxuries—mainly in sweets—but we never were in any danger.

Even with my time with the Devil's Nest, it was never a problem of money, considering Greed's luxurious tastes, and more often then not I was subject to being spoiled with the constant man hanging over my shoulder, or the rough dotting subtly done over me by everyone else. But things were never crazy, just enough to be a little nice and then some. Hell, even with Roy, I got to eat out from time to time—we couldn't bring ourselves to cook—and was treated well.

But this was beyond anything I'd ever seen.

I couldn't withhold the twitch of my eye as I gaped, frozen and pale in place.

Long, draping curtains and sheets filled the room, shimmering silk and golden hues and tones, ranging from a deep, satin red, to gentle whites and paler tones. The room was larger than any I'd ever stayed in before, a large, plush bed pushed toward the center of the wall, and long, arching windows giving way to a glass door leading out to a balcony.

Pots of flowers lined corners and areas, finely decorated with orchids and lilies as they brought color into areas and allowed a sweet, downy aroma to fill the room. A cool breeze seemed to waft through with the bright sunlight streaming through the draperies and causing a gleam to come off from the polished furniture around me, glimmering as if to mock me.

"We hope the room is to your liking," the servant beside me dipped her head and I blinked, looking to her in disbelief as she smiled. "My lord feared that it would not be to your preferences, and has other rooms readily available should that be the case."

"It's not that, it's just..." I trailed off, feeling my bag strap slip off my shoulder as I blinked, trying to comprehend the sight before me. "Isn't this...too much?"

"Oh." The servant frowned, tilting her head. "This room is much more modest in comparison to the emperor's quarters, why, he had been originally set on having you move to the empress' quarters, but my lord figured you would want something smaller."

This isn't small. I blinked, once more in disbelief. This is anything but small.

"If you wish, I shall move your things immediately—"

"No!" The servant looked up in surprise and I quickly shook my head, offering a shaky grin. "Sorry, I, uh, this is great—amazing. It's beautiful. I love it. Thank you."

Brown eyes blinked at me once before she smiled brilliantly, clearly pleased as she stooped into a deep bow, and before I could point out that she really didn't have to do that to someone like, well, me, she was up and making her way toward the door.

"If you require anything, do not hesitate to call upon anyone. We are all here to help." She bowed once more for good measure and I opened my mouth as she swept on. "Our lord has made it quite clear that your preferences and comfort are of the highest importance!"

"...what?" I managed weakly, and the servant beamed.

"You are a treasured guess of our emperor, yes?"

"Well, I guess, but—"

"Then it is our duty to see to your care." The servant smiled warmly and I paused, unable to find the right words to tell her that no, I really wasn't worth all this care and luxury, but she looked so damn happy just to be able to help that I found myself remaining silent. "My lady, feel free to call upon us whenever you wish, we will always be near should you require anything."

"Alright," I glanced away, rubbing the back of my head as she continued to smile. I let out a sigh and turned, figuring she knew there was something else on my mind. "Do you know where I could find L—Emperor...Yao?"

"Our lord should be in a meeting right now with the eastern heads of the clans," the servant explained calmly, and I looked up in surprise at the very statement, trying to wrap my head around the image of Ling, in all his gaudy emperor clothes, sitting at the head of the table delivering an organized meeting involving politics.

We're talking about the guy who tackles and lunges at people because he wants too.

"But he will be free soon." The servant smiled. "Shall I send for you once he is finished?"

For some strange reason, the answer 'yes' died on my lips and I was left there, standing for a moment with my mouth agape as I struggled to figure out why I couldn't just answer yes when I suddenly found myself glancing down to the floor. "No, it's fine. I'll catch him when he's a little less busy next time—thank you."

"Of course." The servant offered one final smile and stepped out the door, finally leaving me and the larger-than-a-house-room behind.

Wanted me in the empress quarters... I idly found myself slumping, sitting down on the silken white sheets of the bed as I gazed at the floor, mind racing and gears trying to shift into place as I took this all in.

Why the hell is this place so god damn nice? I ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head in disbelief. On second thought, how did I even let him convince me to stay here—I should have stayed at the hotel!

True enough, the sudden pressure of the walls around me was threatening to push in, and despite my urges to push back and remain unaffected, I couldn't simply be surrounded by such wonderful things and be expected to simply smile and think, wow, this is amazing—and it was, believe me, this room was gorgeous—but I couldn't just take things from Ling like that. There had to have been more rooms that were needed for guests, friends, family...

But after the recent events and attacks, Ling had suggested—demanded—that I remain at the palace for both safety and convenience. And while at first I had once more opened my mouth to argue, the sneaky man had somehow managed to weasel in the fact that if I stayed, the palace guards could offer intense searches to locate the woman I was searching for.

Damn Ling and his stubbornness.

I clenched the silky sheets around me, trying to take in the sheer luxury of it all. I gazed down at my scuffed up boots, feeling the urge to strip them off as I gingerly ran my hands over the sheets, a thoughtful look on my face.

When I stopped to finally think about it, the fact became clear that this life—these things, were all a daily part of Ling's life. Sure while in Amestris he had lived day to day, but it was beyond clear that back in Xing, Ling had never had to worry about starving, about taxes and rent—this was his nature—what he was used too. Becoming emperor had only been so much more of an upgrade to his already well-off lifestyle. If anything, all he ever had to worry about was when the next attack would come, not the next meal.

And when the thought crossed my mind, I could only sit, frozen in place both by my thoughts and by the fact that I had no idea how to get around.

Ling was used to this while I was so painfully out of place, awkward and not exactly educated in the matters of dealing with not only politics, but dignified monarchies.

And for some reason, the idea of Ling being so far away was kind of...

Lonely?

Shrugging off the lingering thoughts I stood suddenly, reaching across the table desk off to the side and pulling my leather sack towards me as I shuffled through the contents. Figuring that I wasn't going to be leaving this room any time soon, I promptly dumped all my contents out onto the bed.

I reached for my extra gun and tucked it securely between the mattresses of the bed, slipping a few bullets in alongside the gun. I shuffled through the other knick knacks and things I'd collected over my travels, gathering up the papers and maps I had, red markings and scribbles over locations and places as I organized them over the bed.

I absently grasped a picture of Amelia and me and slipped it under the pillow, twisting the leather bracelets around my wrists out of habit as I shuffled through the papers and set to work, organizing what I already had and what I already knew, trying to close down the areas and pinpoint where I should start searching here in Xing.

"Gh—Alice?" I paused, glancing toward the door at the sudden knock. "Can I come in?"

Alphonse? I blinked. "It's open!"

The large, polished wooden door swung inwards and Alphonse stepped in, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he offered a small smile. "Hey! I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you—how do you like the country so far?"

"It's great." I grinned. "Except for the politics."

"Ling doesn't mean any harm," Alphonse laughed nervously, walking across the room toward me, and I had to smile at how natural he seemed to look now in his body—his real body, without the clank of armor. "You know how he is—it's either his way or..."

"His way." I sighed, idly shoving aside a pillow and patting a space on the bed beside me. Alphonse smiled, taking a seat beside me as he surveyed my work curiously and I turned, pushing aside a few papers and bringing forth a map. "It's not that I didn't want to see him all this time, it's just that—"

"You chickened out."

"Well, a little of that, and the fact that—"

"You don't know how you feel about him yet."

"Okay, maybe that too, but the main reason is—'

"You got lost."

"I was busy." I finished finally, giving Alphonse a flat look as he smiled well naturedly, golden locks shining and cheeks unabashed as I snorted and rolled my eyes. "I was actually doing some work you know, I traveled with Ed for awhile before my leads took me elsewhere."

"But he writes." Al pointed out, and I scowled, idly pushing a few more papers away.

"I wrote too, you know."

"But not to the person that wanted to here from you the most." Al pointed out, ever so charmingly despite the brutality of the truth. I frowned, looking away with a slight pout as he smiled. "And that's the big problem."

"Since when'd you become my mom?" I muttered, shaking my head I sighed, rolling my shoulders. "No, calling you my mom would be one hell of an insult."

"You don't hate her, do you?" Alphonse inquired curiously and I paused, gazing down at all the maps and papers below me.

Most were written notes I'd taken while talking to people, lead after lead given to me from one person to another, whether a sighting here, an old receipt here, I tried to follow whatever trail my mother had traveled the day she decided to leave Chestern and her family behind. Roy had gotten me started off the best he could with old letters and from what Amelia had told him over the years, and from then on, I'd been making my way across the country, trying to find any sign of the woman who gave birth to me.

If I'm going through all this trouble just to find her... I picked at the edge of a fraying map, a thoughtful expression on my face. I must not hate her...right?

"I don't think so." I said finally, crossing my arms over my chest and frowning as my brows furrowed. "I don't love her though—I know that for sure. But I just want... I think what I want the most from her is closure. I don't care about who she is now or what she wants to do, or anything after, I just want to see her once and talk to her."

"Reasonable enough." Al sighed, leaning back on his hands as he looked up at the intricately patterned ceilings thoughtfully. "I'm glad you don't hate her though—no matter what, she's still your mom—"

"She wasn't my mom." I corrected, meeting his soft eyes as Al paused and I shook my head. "Amelia was my mom—she," I gestured to the photo of the grinning, green-eyed woman and blinked once, "was just the person who gave birth to me."

A somewhat unhappy look came over Alphonse's features, something in him clearly disagreeing with my logic, but the understanding of my situation won over and he said nothing. Because in a sense, what could he say? She'd left, clean and simple. Even if she did have a good reason for leaving, Amelia had been the one to raise me, not her.

"But this is all pretty impressive," Al quickly steered the topic into warmer waters and I followed his gaze, somewhat glad he didn't press any further. The funny difference between Ed and Al, I supposed, was that while Ed went at it straight on, Alphonse could somehow make you spill everything simply by how easy it was to be around him. "It looks like you've been all over the world!"

"Nearly," I grinned, spreading out the wrinkled map and tapping the red center, different trails all leading up to Xing. "I've been chasing whatever leftovers I could find until I had no choice but to head here where she should be, but even then, I might be too late and have to move on to the next country."

"What on earth could she have been doing to take her all over?" Alphonse looked thoughtful, a curious expression on his features. "This doesn't look like someone sightseeing."

"She was hitting up ruins, mainly." I explained, tapping formerly marked locations. "Studying the archeology there most likely, but even I'm not sure what the hell could've been going on through her mind. From what I learned from Roy she was something like a treasure hunter or archeologist."

"I'm sure if you asked Ling, he would send out scouts for where you need to go," Alphonse offered, and I paused at that, frowning slightly. "Like that you could cover more ground and—"

"How..." I broke off, unsure of how to continue my own questioned for a moment as I found my ears growing hot and I glanced away. "How was he? I mean, you've been in Xing with him all this time and..."

Alphonse blinked, a surprised look on his face and I coughed, glancing away and rubbing the back of my head. "Never mind—"

"He was tempted to send scouts out to look for you." Alphonse started, and I paused, staring at the maps and sheets in front of me. "You never wrote back, and I knew you didn't want me to tell him about where you were, but..."

"I only regret not coming to the coronation." I admitted, something that had been weighing down on my chest the moment I saw Ling walk down that hall, dressed in those robes with his hair pulled back in a way so unfamiliar to how I'd seen him for so long. "I kind of wanted to see that."

"He wanted you there too." Alphonse murmured quietly, and I bit my bottom lip, eyes lowering. "But Alice—"

"Ghosty's fine." I smiled at that, looking up with soft eyes. "It can be a private kind of thing, you know? A nickname."

"Ghosty." Alphonse smiled, but his eyes were curious as he gazed at me. "If you feel so bad about it, why didn't you just talk to him sooner? I know that Ling tends to come on strong sometimes, but he would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable—"

"I needed space." I sat back, bringing my knees up to my chin as I gazed thoughtfully at the maps before me, remembering when I'd done the same thing nearly a year ago and wondered if I should come, just to see his moment, that moment when he would rise to the throne he'd worked so hard for. "After everything that happened..." I felt my fingers curl over the leather bracelets. "I didn't think I could handle seeing him so soon."

But that's not all you were afraid of seeing, was it?

Alphonse offered me a gentle pat on the back, and I grinned, nearly laughing despite myself as I shook my head. "It's my fault this time though. I'm just being a scaredy cat but what can I do, you know? Even I don't have the kind of strength I should have had to face him directly." My eyes softened. I still don't.

"Well, I may have not spent as much time as you did before we met up." Alphonse began suddenly, and I glanced upwards, curious as the blonde shrugged. "But he does look a lot happier now than he was before."

"That's just because he's suddenly got it into his head that our lives are going to end up like some fairy tale."

"Well, I guess we can let him dream a little more, right?"

The two of us broke into laughter at that, a grin pulling at my lips as I felt my shoulders begin to relax and Alphonse smiled, his face so warm and open that I suddenly found myself missing those days where we were traveling around, trying to find someway to find our bodies and waste away those sleepless nights.

"I'll make it up to him somehow." I sighed, lips turning upwards as I shuffled the papers together and smoothed out the map before me. "I'm sure there's at least something I can do to make up for my absence." A sudden realization hit me and I glanced upwards, blinking with wide eyes. "Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"That's right." Alphonse blinked, recognition flickering through his eyes as he frowned, his once gentle features becoming slightly somber. "It's about the attack yesterday."

"It wasn't that bad." I grinned, tapping the side of my hip where my gun was tucked away. "I could take on a few Xingese assassins—"

"They're bound to happen every now and then." Al shook his head, looking at me carefully as I frowned. "When I arrived in Xing, the same thing happened, and even daily servants have their lives in danger, but I just wanted to give you a heads up—being here with Ling and May, we're both in the safest and most dangerous place we could possibly be here in Xing."

"Would they really target someone like us though?" I frowned at the thought, feeling my stomach twist uncertainly at the idea of Ling's life being in danger, and I faintly wondered if Lan Fan had to deal with something like this all the time. "Foreign dictators maybe, but we're just—"

"Even if not many people know of our presence, if they think we're close enough to the emperor, they wouldn't hesitate." Al frowned. "I've been trying to be careful to make sure that May doesn't get into any trouble."

"...May, huh?" Al blinked, looking up in surprise as I grinned, narrowing my eyes almost slyly. "That's awful kind of you, Al."

"O-Oh, well, I'm just trying to be nice since she's been helping me so much and—"

"I blame Xingese black magic." I declared finally, standing up and raising my arms over my shoulders as I let out a pleased sigh. "Got to be some kind of bewitching curse to get us to come so far from home and stay here."

"In a world of alchemy and science, I'm not sure—"

"After what we've seen," I snorted, flashing Al a smirk. "Don't tell me that black magic might not be real."

"...true enough."

"Besides!" I narrowed my eyes at nothing in particular, setting my hands on my hips as I puffed my chest out proudly. "I'm sure I could take on a few assassins. With all their little darts and arrows, I'd like to see them go head on with a forty caliber—"

"Yes, yes," Al smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he laughed. "But it wouldn't hurt to be careful now, would it?"

No, it wouldn't. I gazed thoughtfully out the window, the once brightly lit sun slowly beginning to set and casting a warm, orange glow throughout the entire room. And if it makes anything easier for Ling, gladly.

Alphonse let out a gentle chuckle, eyes trailing downwards until he paused. I followed his gaze and blinked once before smiling, twisting the leather bracelets around my wrist. "Are those..."

"Always was such a weird guy." I held my hand up to the dimming light, smiling almost fondly as a dull ache in my heart began to pound. "I bet he thought they made him look cooler."

"He always was hunting down some interesting things." Alphonse laughed almost nervously. "I remember when he had me kidnapped so he could discover the secrets of immortality in my suit."

"Funny." I blinked, feeling my face go flat at the sudden memory. "He kidnapped me too."

"Ah." Alphonse smiled, exasperated. "What did he want from you?"

"Thought I was interesting. Picked me up after I got stabbed."

"I see."

The ever changing mood took on a more lighter, nostalgic tone as Alphonse mentioned how amazed he'd been that there was a homunculus that wasn't under Father's orders, and how scared he'd been when Wrath had arrived and...

That's right. Alphonse suddenly cut himself off, a look of horror dawning over his features as he glanced to me quickly. My face remained blank, small smile still on my lips despite the sharp knife that had begun to twist, forcing itself to be remembered by the sheer memory of what had happened that day.

The day they'd all died.

And I wasn't there.

"Ghosty, I—"

"Not your fault." I shot Alphonse a hard glare, threateningly waving around a large book I'd picked off the bookshelf—damn Ling, he even remembered I liked to read—and narrowed my eyes. "Don't you dare apologize."

Alphonse's mouth slid shut and he set his hands in his laps like a scolded child. I idly gripped the spine, feeling my fingers dig into the soft leather as I gazed down at the floor, wondering why, why had they deserved such a fate that day.

And I wondered what would have happened had I still been with them...

"You know..." I glanced over to Alphonse where he suddenly looked thoughtful, clearly eager to head away from all these terrible memories and regrets and march forward into something better. "If there's something you want to do to make it up to Ling, it may be small, but it's a start..."

"What is it?" I blinked, suddenly wary as Alphonse's grin widened. "It doesn't involve anything weird does it?"

"Nothing like that at all."

"My lord," Ling paused, sliding his hands together beneath his sleeves as he turned a small smile toward the servant before him as she bowed her head. "May I have a word with you?"

"Of course." He nodded toward where several men were still lingering, generals from several clans he had been making negotiations with regarding the crown, and they nodded in return, leaving with a sweep of smoke and robes as they disappeared. Ling waited until they were out of sight before turning his attention back to the slightly blushing servant. "What is it?"

"Y-Your guest, ah, Lady Alice," Ling instantly perked up, half of him fearing the worst and wondering if she'd decided to suddenly leave and go off on her own—he wouldn't put it past her really. "She's requested that if you are free this evening, if you would have dinner with her."

...

...

...

"My lord?" Ling said nothing, a blank expression on his face as he simply stood there, mulling over the words that had just been fed to him as the servant blinked nervously. "I recalled that you have a meeting with the Han clan soon, so I assumed that you would like for me to tell her you are busy, seeing that the daughter who is to be offered as one of your concubines seeks your presence—"

"Have my entire afternoon cleared." Ling ordered, causing the servant to jerk upwards in surprise at the curtness of his tone. "I will meet with Lady Han tomorrow, if she'd like. Have the cooks prepare something large—no, fairly portioned, but the finest dishes, sweets on a separate platter and bring them to her room."

"U-Um, yes, my lord." The servant blinked, idly tugging at her apron as Ling whirled around, an air of triumph and obvious content radiating off of him in powerful waves. "Is that all?"

"And see to it that there will be no disturbances." Ling added quickly, his lips beginning to pull upwards from ear to ear as he resisted the urge to sprint down the halls and make his way to a certain ginger haired woman's room. "I wish for tonight to be a peaceful one."

"Yes, my lord." The servant bowed and Ling nodded, turning away and making his way down the hall.

Ghosty requested? Ling felt his lips tug upwards as he grinned, making his way down the seemingly never ending halls as he drew nearer to where she would be. She wanted this—is this some sort of a sign? A signal to proceed forward?

Whatever the real intentions, Ling suddenly found that he didn't care. Despite the worries and lingering troubles that were to be address, and the fact pressing fact that no matter how long he would wait, he couldn't wait and push off his growing duties forever, and that itself was including the growing problem of his single status as emperor. Seeing that with the title, certain expectations were to be held, no matter how invested he was to one woman alone, and not the idea of having so many to wait on him.

But the very idea that maybe, perhaps, there was still a chance, no matter how slow or long it took...

He was happy.

And he'd grasp whatever rope she'd give him and pull it hard with all his might.

HOORAY FOR UPDATES. :D

Not as much wonderful Ling-Ghosty fluff this chapter, but all in good time, I promise. :) I wanted to just set up the chapters a little bit before I start bringing this story up to the plot I have in mind, and I just wanted to give Ghosty a little time to settle in some before things started to happen and set the stage for some of the emotional baggage she'll have to carry and get over as the plot progresses, and Ling's growing duties and conflicts between his wants and his countries needs.

And shit's going to happen later on, believe me. ;)

BUT EITHER WAY, I HOPE YOU GUYS ALL ENJOYED THE CHAPTER. And despite how long it may take for updates (I intend to try and make it monthly, if not every few weeks instead of my long ass pauses); I would never give up this story. I have the entire thing mapped out, but not written yet, so I know where I want it to go and how it will end, so there's no way I'd ever abandon it.

Especially when all of you are so loyal and wonderful. :)

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING!

Marshmellow-

-OUT!