DISCLAIMER: All recognizable material belongs to the great cow Arakawa.

Pairing: Ling Yao and Lan Fan, One-sided Greed and Ling Yao

Prompt: Envy

Rated: K+ (for mild language)

Greed was a man of simplicity when it came down to it. All he wanted was everything; he didn't care how he got it or whose toes he had to step on to get it. He was a one-man wolf pack, alone and on a mission to get his hands on anything he could.

Well, not completely alone.

"You're awfully quiet in there," Greed directed his thoughts towards the young prince who usually beat against the side of his head. "Not that I care," he added offhandedly.

Ling's emotions equated to that of an eyeroll. He didn't respond, merely returning from the brief distraction back to his musings.

The homunculus felt something like a frown tug at the corner of his lips. Suddenly curious, he probed the kid's mind, wondering what could possibly be more important to him right now than giving him an earful of Ling's Wisdom.

He found… a girl?

Of course. The kid was a hot-blooded teenager; what else would be on his mind? She was fairly attractive, he'd give him that. But still, he had to wonder why she was worth such a large amount of the kid's affection. If he really was a prince, surely he had many women - better-looking ones, for sure - lined up around the block for him.

He aimed his musings at the kid, hoping to get a rise out him. When Ling didn't so much as pretend to notice, Greed started to feel a little pissed off.

What was it about this girl that commanded so much of his attention? And what was this emotion Greed felt rising in him because of that? He didn't understand it because he hadn't really experienced it before.

Envy.

Ironic, really. He hated his sibling named after the emotion. Of course, he didn't really get along with any of them, but he and Envy had always clashed. He suppossed their personalities just didn't mix well.

In a way, though, he realized it made some sort of sense. Ling had strong feelings for the girl, that much was obvious. And he was Greed; as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted the kid's attention focused on him.

Greed shook his head and tried not to wonder what that might mean.