Author's Note: Thanks for all of the feedback, I really appreciate it. So for all of you reviewers here is some LingFan fluff! Kind of!
Chapter Six: Spelling Songs are the Best
Port Town was one of the countries Lanfan actually liked. It wasn't overrun with turmoil or ridden with scandalous affairs and lies and secrets like Central. Because it was a transit town, many different cultural demographics lived in Port Town, setting up shops to intrigue and suck the dollars out of gullible tourists. And, oddly enough, everyone got along. In Lanfan's life, differences clashing only brought hurt and misunderstanding. The Amestrians and the Ishlabans, for example. But here, everything was just, peaceful.
It was only natural that Lanfan's and Ling's arrival utterly screwed that.
"Get on the ground!" A woman shouted, pulling out twin rifles. A black bandana was tied around the lower half of her face, but the undoing of her coat revealed that it was laced with weapons, ranging from blades to smoke bombs to guns. Her auburn hair flew free, her green eyes feral. The entire train station erupted in screams. The resident Xingese immigrants pulled out kunai, but were so out of practice they couldn't get a hit, and were too protective of their children and spouses to get any closer.
Ling grinned at Lanfan. "Let me handle this. I demand you stay here." Unsheathing his cutlass, he sprinted to the scene, swiftly dodging the bullet shots that burrowed their way into the stone walls. Children started to cry, and their mothers shot fierce looks to the bandit, suggesting that if any of them knew martial arts, she would be dead in seconds.
"Stupid boy!" She spat, firing off the last of the magazines from both of her guns. Before she could pull out a weapon, Ling had apprehended her, cutlass pressed to her throat. He wasn't very much in the mood for fighting, abandoning his usually extremely melodramatic combat style.
The crowd burst into cheers. Mothers cried with joy and embraced their children silently. A young woman approached Ling, the look of pure and unbridled admiration clear on her face. She looked Xingese, perhaps an immigrant.
"That was amazing," she whispered in broken Xingese. She laughed uncomfortably, switching back to Amestrian. "I'm sorry. I was born and raised here, so I only fluently understand Xingese."
Ling grinned charmingly at the girl, and Lanfan's hand clenched and unclenched the kunai she was holding. The girl was obviously attractive. Her eastern features were complimented by bright blue Amestrian eyes. And sure, she had seen Ling flirt with tons of the servant girls before, but that was when she was wearing her mask, and she could flush infuriatingly all she'd like.
She headed to the courtyard leading into the station, climbing up the tree with ease. She had always climbed trees when she was young. It made it less difficult for her to find the incredibly sneaky prince.
After chatting a bit with the girl, who he had found out to be a worker in the teashop named Jiao, Ling had gone looking for Lanfan, who, on seeing her, felt a bit troubled. Lanfan only hid in a tree when she felt distant, cold. And Ling had thought they had been getting along so well.
Lanfan leapt from the tree silently. Her face was blank, mimicking the mask she once wore over it. "Young Master?"
Ling crossed his arms, pouting the way he did to get his mother to extend his bedtime when he was younger. "Is something wrong?"
Lanfan was impassive. "I don't sense any trouble, Young Master."
Ling started to grow concerned. "Is there something wrong with you, I meant."
As the concern in Ling grew, so did the annoyance in Lanfan. "As I have said before, I am fine."
Ling stopped her in her tracks. "Please smile, then."
Lanfan paused. The corners of her mouth twitched ever-so slightly, as if her face couldn't remember how to do such a mundane act of expressing happiness. "That is not part of a guard's duty, Young Master." She internally nodded, pleased with herself. What was she thinking all those days anyway? Indulging in such frivolities. With Grandfather Fu around she would've certainly earned her a slap, or at worst, additions to the already large red scars on her back and torso. Guard clans were not, as to say, soft on punishment.
"Your duty is to make sure that I am content and safe. Now, are you going to lighten up or am I going to have to resort to more… drastic measures?"
His charge faltered. Usually the prince wasn't this blunt, even when he was teasing. "Like what, Young Master?"
Ling pondered for a moment. "Hm…. I could 'accidently' fall off a cliff and tell them you pushed me…."
Lanfan choked a bit on her own saliva. "Excuse me!?" She sputtered.
Ling just kept prattling off. "Maybe I could poison myself and put your fingerprints on the bottle. I could also tell Ed you called him so short that people at a salad bar mistake him for the shrimp…."
Back in Central, Ed dropped the stack of books he'd been skimming through in the State Library. "Another disturbance in the universe! People are getting pretty unoriginal with these short jokes…."
Ling continued on. "Or… I could kiss you."
Lanfan, who had just regained her composure, choked yet again. "Like I said before, excuse me!?"
He shrugged. "I've been known to be quite to lady charmer. I could spare one kiss for my favorite female guard." He had doubts about this. Lanfan was a very devout believer in Xingese standards, and although the rumors of the Prince Yao having scandalous relations with a guard may be delicious gossip for the old women who play mahjong in the courtyard, but Lanfan would receive more than a whipping if news like that got out.
Lanfan rolled her eyes. He had to be joking. "Let me think about it. No thanks." Slinging her knapsack on, she looked to her employer questioningly. "Where shall we go next, Young Master?"
"Hm…. How about a tree?" Ling swooped up to Lanfan, brushing his lips against her cheek. "Because you and me are K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He said, collapsing in laughter.
Ed, having finally collected up all of his books, dropped them again, turning to Alphonse, shocked. "I've sensed something, different. A good disturbance! I was right!" Not choosing to explain his cryptic message to Al, Ed started doing a victory lap around the library.
In Port Town, Lanfan recoiled from Ling, her face stony. "Please stop fooling around, Young Master. There are people around."
Ling looked crestfallen. Usually he had girls in giggling fits by now. "Lanfan?"
Lanfan pulled the scarf around her neck up, covering her face. "May we just go now, Young Master?"
Ling moped along the cobblestone streets of Port Town, his guard in tow.
And discreetly, Lanfan touched the place where Ling had kissed her, berating herself for enjoying such a thing.
Author's Note: LOL, okay, not all that fluffy. But Ed was pretty awesome in this one. I have a darker-and-edgier chapter ready to upload, once I get enough feedback to feel bad that I'm not uploading. Thanks for reading!
Poll: I was just wondering, what theme do you like best? Please answer by reviewing. The choices are: "Jealous Ling", "Jealous Lanfan", "Mutual Fluff", "LingFan Angst", or "Other". If "Other", please specify. Oh, and Royai and EdWin count as "Other", not "Mutual Fluff".