Hello y'all!

This OS is lighter than the previous two, focusing on two people I have never written about before that but I really like them. Their dynamic is close to Royai but without the hard past and with a different kind of forbidden love.

The theme here was "Tentacules" = "tentacles". Since Ling loves to eat, lets cook!

Rating: K +

Characters: Ling Yao, Lanfan

Relationship: Lingfan

Genres: Fluff, cooking together

Enjoy!

Night snack

"My lord? What are you doing?"

It was three in the morning and silence had settled on Xing imperial palace hours ago. Lanfan had left Ling in his room before heading to hers, next to his, as her role of head of Xing crowned prince personal guard allowed her to have. She trusted the palace guards to take care of his safety, since she'd overwatched herself the recruitment of the ten men and women who were now under her command. Since Ling and Lanfan were back from Amestris with the philosopher's stone, the dying Emperor had designated Clan Yao's young prince as his successor, since he'd brought him something close to eternal life. Of course Ling had decided not to tell how and what for it had been created.

Leaning against the kitchen's door frame, Lanfan glanced, confused, at Ling. He'd taken pots, pans, and plates out and was rummaging the cabinets, looking for ingredients.

"I thought you'd had enough of dinner!" The girl exclaimed, recalling the ten duck wings, the dozen fried or steamed dumplings, the four bowls of rice and the most astronomical quantity of grilled or boiled vegetables he'd swallowed a few hours earlier.

"This time it's different!" The young prince replied with a disarming smile. "I wanted to cook by myself."

Lanfan released her hold on the door she'd closed behind her, protecting them both from outsiders.

"Are you sure you can succeed? Why are you doing it in the middle of the night? You could have asked a cook to do it," she said as she approached a table cluttered with bowls and tools. She began to tidy the mess when Ling answered.

"It wouldn't have been the same. I want to know I can do something by myself, even if it's not necessary to lead this country."

Lanfan froze, holding a green earthenware plate in one hand and a pot filled with chopsticks made of lacquered wood in the other. Ling seldom used this serious tone in his life. She'd heard him when he was fighting King Bradley, the previous leader of Amestris – at the thought of him her left arm itched despite its absence. But this time there was something more. A strange softness in his voice, a desire she didn't know yet. She breathed out as she placed the plate on a pile. Then, she turned to him, a smile on her lips. When he wanted something he would do everything to get it. He was like that since she knew him, and it hadn't changed after Greed spent some time sharing his body.

"What do you intend to prepare?"

Ling's face lit and he happily showed her a paper covered with writing. "Tentacles!"

Lanfan took the paper and discovered a squid recipe, a specialty from the Meng clan that was settled on the southern part of the coast of Xing. It wasn't a difficult recipe, but the young bodyguard didn't know if there were squids in the palace stocks. Squids had to be shipped in the best conditions, and even by train between the capitol and the sea, most of the sea harvest for the imperial family was eaten in one day.

"I'll try to find squids," she simply said. "Don't move," she added deadpanned, hiding the joy she felt as she saw him so happy.

Fortunately – or not, depending on the situation – there were still a few squids in the cool room. They had arrived the morning before and hadn't been cooked yet. Lanfan placed them in a basket, hoping the cooks didn't want to use them for a recipe.

When she returned to the kitchen with her three cephalopods, Ling's happy grin made her smile. She felt like she expressed her feelings more these days, but she knew she had to keep them hidden when she wasn't alone with the prince. They weren't destined for each other, and the concubine's system was an important part of how the empire worked. How could such a big and diverse country hold together?

Lanfan helped Ling to cook, cutting the vegetables as he prepared and cooked the squids. The sauce was quickly made, and the young prince arranged carefully the ingredients in two bowls, finishing with tentacles bent to form hearts.

Lanfan's heartbeat quickened in her chest. She was aware of her duty for her prince and her county and knew her feelings couldn't be put before her job. But Ling made it hard for her. Especially when he looked at her with this light in his black eyes, a thin smile on his lips, and chopsticks on his offered palm for her to take them.

They ate silently, glancing at each other, enjoying a meal that didn't quite taste like those made by the imperial cooks, but it was unique. Because they'd cooked it alone, with the other and for the other. Lanfan enjoyed that peaceful moment, hoping Ling would sleep enough to work on his duty as prince the next morning. She would work to keep him alive for a long time. She had chosen to devote her life to his.

And if they could eat more squid in the middle of the night, she wouldn't be unhappy, even if many events opposed them.