After the dinner (prepared for the trio by the bemused by always accommodating kitchen staff) Ed stood up from the table, admitting that this adventure had been fun and all, but he had to get back home to Winry. Alphonse had telephoned him as soon as he got back to Xing but Ed had waited for Ling and Lan Fan to return before agreeing to meet his younger brother and May Chang back in Resembool, their ultimate destination.

Ed turned to Ling. "Even though you had me trekking through the forests of Xing, I did enjoy our little challenge."

Ling grinned and stood. He walked from the head of the table to shake Ed's hand. "You did pose a good competition, I'll give you that. And who knows, there might be another challenge in the future."

Ed nodded. "You'll have to defend your honour as an emperor again, I'm afraid."

Lan Fan rolled her eyes. Seeing her, the two boys broke out into a loud laugh,

"But that won't be for quite some time, right?" Ed teased.

Ling's face turned serious. "Not for a long, long time," he agreed.

With another smile and a nod to Lan Fan, Ed headed out of the dining hall. Ling sat down at the head of the table again. Lan Fan glanced to his empty plate.

"Are you done my lord?" she asked.

Ling nodded. He stood and then unexpectedly offered her his hand. "I have something I want to show you."

Curious, Lan Fan accepted his hand as he led her out of the dining hall. Ling took her through a maze of the palace's hallways and up several flights of stairs. In her mental map of the palace, Lan Fan realized that they were way above the library where she and the young lord had been studying before meeting up with Edward Elric and wondered if he was taking her up to the roof again. But then Ling pulled up short at a window in the wall of the palace. There was no glass or shutters around the opening and so Lan Fan leaned out over the sill, looking down and around into a courtyard. Below them was a garden with small shoots of leaves sprouting. From across the courtyard she could see the window to her own room, in the servant's wing of the palace. She looked at Ling, confused.

He seemed a little nervous and kept looking down, fiddling with the hilt of the sword tucked into the bandages around his waist.

"Remember when Ed handed me that envelope from the forest of Xing?"

Lan Fan nodded. She was about to ask him what had been in it when she realized that he would probably tell her in a second or two.

"Seeds."

"Seeds?" Lan Fan repeated, not sure that she had heard correctly.

Ling nodded. He stepped over to her by the window and leaned in closely. Their shoulders touched as they overlooked the neat garden which Lan Fan remembered as being in a bad state of neglect for some time now. The area was completely transformed. The small buds of flowers which sprouted impossibly fast (probably thanks to a little alkahestry) reflected the pale light of the moon and dotted the ground.

"Seeds of the moondew flower. It's a herbal plant native to the wilds of Xing. I sent Edward to get me some seeds so that I could plant something for you to enjoy, as a way of thanking you for being by my side all this time."

Lan Fan looked up at his, speechless. Ling looked at her and their eyes met. As she leaned towards him, Ling blinked and she saw in his eyes a flicker of Greed.

"No not again," she groaned, leaning away from Ling.

"Hi girly. We meet again." Greed was in control now.

Lan Fan blushed, sure that his consciousness had been just below Ling's the whole time. He probably heard everything they had said and was now about to make a mockery of it.

"Such a thoughtful prince," Greed said, looking sidelong to Lan Fan.

Lan Fan stepped back, playing with the knives concealed in her black sleeves. The homunculus had her on alert, but she was determined not to let him ruin her moment with the Prince.

"Greed, you've been a part of this journey from the start. Now it's time to let go. Give the prince his body back. You're not welcome here."

Lan Fan glared at him, putting as much force into her eyes as she could. This was frustrating beyond belief. She thought that what she had said to him on the train maybe got through to him because he did end up relinquishing control over to Ling for some time while they ate dinner with Ed. But now she saw that this was all just a game to the Homunculus and he wouldn't ever be truly gone from their lives.

Greed looked over the garden and sighed. "Well it was nice of the kid to go to all this trouble. I let him do all the watering and planting obviously, I wasn't about to get dirt underneath my claws." Greed looked sidelong to Lan Fan but there wasn't any of his usual cockiness to his expression. In an undertone, he asked, "do you really care about him that much?"

Lan Fan turned her back to him. She wasn't going to entertain this homunculus any longer, especially after what had happened in Amestris, just outside central command. The hairs on her arm stood up as she recalled the incident.

Greed sighed. "I can see it in your eyes there's no point in denying it." He muttered something unintelligible under his breath and then fell silent.

Lan Fan remained silent. She felt a strong force of chi behind her and then was turned around roughly, gathered into his arms.

"Greed, stop." Lan Fan sighed, disgusted. She tried to wriggle out of his arms, but they tightened around her. She wasn't in the mood to kiss Greed again. Her cheeks flamed at the memory.

"Nope. The homunculus is gone for now. This time it's one hundred percent me," Ling's usual voice was back and his eyes were no longer red, though they did seem alight with something.

"Did you like the flowers?"

"Very much," Lan Fan whispered.

Ling pulled Lan Fan back to him and his guard relaxed, her heart pounding. The young lord had never been so forward with her but she knew that this was her Ling. Finally.

Ling brought his lips down onto hers and Lan Fan's eyes closed, but only for a moment. Then her eyes opened again and she reached to play with the hem of Ling's shirt. She pulled it up and with Ling's help, over his head. The shirt landed on the floor, revealing Ling's toned chest and bandaged arms. She watched his reaction as Ling paused, seeming to take it all in. Lan Fan's hands explored the planes of his chest as their kissing resumed, Lan Fan smiling against his lips.

When everything was said and done the pair had still accomplished their goal. Ling had gotten what he wanted, the garden twinkled beneath them, and Lan Fan was discovering that she could be greedy too.