Chapter Text
Greed whistled as they were welcomed into Ling’s living quarters.
“I should’ve shared your body longer.” Greed half joked. This place was fancy as hell. ‘It’s a palace, of course it is.’ Greed thought to himself.
“This? This is just my quarters, I try to keep it more understated.” Ling half joked.
“Aw, princey’s down to earth.” Greed teased.
“I mean he has eaten a shoe before.” Ed joined in on the teasing.
“So did you!” Ling fired back. “It was the same shoe!”
“Yeah, but I didn’t grow up in a palace.” Ed defended himself. “I grew up in a tiny mountain town.”
“Risembool?” Greed asked the alchemist.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” Ed asked with a head tilt, looking back at the homunculi.
“You seem like you’d be from Risembool.” Greed joked with a smirk.
“What does that mean?!” Ed snapped, which got a laugh out of Ling.
“Nothing nothing.” Greed joked with a sharp toothed grin.
“Yeah yeah, asshole.” Ed grumbled. They got to some big doors at the end of the hallway.
“And this, is my room.” Ling said, opening the doors. They opened up to a big room, tall fancy ceilings, colourful elegant curtains and furniture, large paintings, it was the picture of elegant royalty. Except for the signs that Ling lived there. Unmade bed, a recognizable yellow jacket thrown over the back of a chair, a few paintings of Amestris that didn’t quite match the others. A painting set up in the corner, a work in progress painting on the easel, bottles of paint still out. Greed faintly remembered Ling admitted to learning painting as a kid, when Greed had asked him why he was paying so much attention to how the firelight was hitting Ed’s face one night. Yeah, that was definitely why, definitely no other reason.
“Make yourselves comfortable, I’m going to change out of these robes.” Ling welcomed them, ducking into a side room. Ed looked around, taking it all in. Greed plopped himself down on one of the smaller couches with a few too many pillows.
“Peace offering?” Lan Fan said, suddenly showing up next to Ed, making him jump.
“Huh?” He asked, looking at her confused.
“You mentioned a peace offering.” Lan Fan explained.
“Oh! Oh yeah, right here.” Ed pulled a letter out of his pocket, handing it to Lan Fan who hesitantly took it from him, looking more excited when she saw the handwriting on it.
“Winry?” Lan Fan asked, looking back up at Ed.
“Yeah, she wanted to come with us, but she has a big order she’s working on.” Ed explained. “So, she asked me to give that to you.” Lan Fan let out a satisfied hum.
“Acceptable.” She said, looking down at the letter again, walking off probably to go hide just out of sight again and read the letter. Ed looked back up at the wall he was looking at.
“Is this painting of where I think it is?” Ed called out. Ling poked his head out of the room he ducked into.
“Oh! Yeah, I did my best from what I remembered. I couldn’t get that view out of my head.” Ling explained.
“There’s a couple buildings off, but I can tell what town- wait you painted it?” Ed asked, turning to look at him, fully processing what Ling had said.
“Yeah! Didn’t I mention I painted as a kid?” Ling asked, fully walking out of the room this time, with only pants on, because of course he was. To be fair Greed couldn’t give him that hard of a time, he walked around almost shirtless most of the time. At least Greed didn’t look like he was shirtless, thank you ultimate shield.
“No! Not that I remember.” Ed responded, thinking back.
“You mentioned it to me.” Greed pointed out.
“That might be what I’m thinking of.” Ling responded, walking over to where Ed was looking up at the paintings. Greed noticed Ling’s hand hover by Ed’s waist for a second, just to be tucked into one of the pockets of Ling’s pants instead. He internally groaned, Greed hoped that they would’ve gotten less awkward around each other after a few years, but apparently it only got worse.
“And that one?” Ed asked, pointing to one of the bigger paintings that was above Ling’s bed.
“My um, my mother painted that one.” Ling explained, voice a little softer.
“Oh.” Parents weren’t exactly a topic Ed and Ling talked about much. The two of them stood in silence for a bit, just looking at the painting. Meanwhile, Lan Fan made Greed jump, appearing next to him.
“Do you read?” She asked quietly.
“What?” Greed asked, trying to match her volume. He usually wouldn’t worry about it, but come on, it’s Lan Fan. He isn’t on her bad side as badly as Ed is, and Greed preferred to keep it that way.
“Do you read Amestrian?” She repeated herself.
“Yeah, I read Amestrian. It’d be pretty weird if I lived as long as I have and couldn’t read it.” He joked before realizing that Lan Fan was talking to him of all people. “Why? What’s up?” Lan Fan held out the letter.
“Winry’s letter, I’m still learning, I don’t know some of the words.” Lan Fan explained. She pointed to one of the words on the letter. “What does that one mean?” Greed looked closer at the letter.
“That word’s automail, like your arm.” Greed answered.
“Why is she asking about my arm?” Lan Fan commented. Greed couldn’t quite tell if she was actually asking him, or just being rhetorical, but he answered anyways.
“It looks like,” Greed read more of the letter, “she’s saying she’ll come visit if you don’t have a good mechanic here.”
“Oh, that’s nice of her.” Lan Fan commented.
“Lan Fan, she’s offering to visit you. That’s big.” Greed tried to point out.
“It’s just for my automail.” Lan Fan tried to argue.
“Isn’t automail like her love language, you’ve seen how she harasses Ed about his like a worried older sister.” Greed added. Lan Fan made another happy sounding hum.
“Maybe that is bigger.” Lan Fan commented with a small nod.
“Hey, Greed.” Ed called out, Greed looked over at where him and Ling were standing. By the time Greed had looked back to where Lan Fan was standing, she had disappeared again. Greed just shook his head and put his hands in his pockets, getting up to walk over to the other two.
“What’s up?” Greed asked when he got to them.
“You recognize this?” Ed asked, pointing at a painting that was sitting on the ground, leaning up on the wall. Greed stopped in his tracks.
“Hey Ling- what’s that based on?” Greed asked, not looking away from the painting.
“I’m not really sure? Just a place I saw in my dreams.” Ling looked up and saw the look on Greed’s face. “Wait, are you ok?”
“Hm? Um yeah- yeah I’m fine.” Greed responded, still not looking away. It was a painting of the Devil’s Nest. It was- almost dream like, some things were a little off, the sign didn’t have any writing on it. But Greed could recognize that beautiful bar anywhere.
“Greed, you’re crying.” Ling gently pointed out. Ed looked over at Greed, who just reached up and wiped his eyes and- yep, he was crying.
“Fucking- I’m fine.” Greed tried to insist more, wiping his eyes. “It’s fine. That was forever ago anyways.”
“Wait, you do know this place?!” Ling said, surprised. “Don’t tell me this is another shared memory thing.” Ed just nodded.
“That looks a lot like the Devil’s Nest.” Ed explained. Ling’s eyes went wide. The kid had heard about the Nest so many times, gotten flashes of memories from Greed when they shared a body. But the Nest was already- gone- by the time Ling got to their part of Amestris.
“That’s the Devil’s Nest?! No wonder I get dreams about it.” Ling exclaimed. Greed finally looked up at Ling.
“Dreams? Like plural?” Greed asked.
“Yeah, it isn’t every night, but it’s enough that it stuck in my head.” Ling looked over at the painting. “I had to get it out somehow.”
“Those were probably my fault.” Greed half joked, trying to sound cheerier than he was feeling. Fuck, he missed that place. He tried to not think about it, but he missed it. That place was his first home. His only home actually. Yeah, he had a place he lived before the Nest, but he didn’t choose to live there. And it wasn’t exactly a warm and comforting place to live. The Nest on the other hand? No one could be there for long without a smile. It was almost always busy in there, people milling around, chimera coming in and out. People laughing, joking, having fun. It only got higher energy at night, especially the nights people performed.
“-reed? Greed?” Greed got snapped out of his reminiscing by Ed calling his name.
“Huh? Yeah, what’s up?” Greed said, the world around him coming back into focus.
“You with us? Your head was somewhere else.” Ed explained.
“Oh yeah, I was spacing out.” Greed commented before deciding to change the subject. “Hey pipsqueak, didn’t you have something to give Ling?”
“You’re still stuck in the past, Greed. I’m taller now, remember?” Ed said with a forced smile through gritted teeth.
“You’re still short, pipsqueak.” Greed emphasized the nickname, leaning over to almost meet Ed’s eyes.
“Oh! Yes, my box!” Ling remembered.
“Oh yeah.” Ed commented, tearing his eyes from glaring at Greed and walking over to where he put down his jacket, the box still wrapped up in it. He unwrapped the box from the jacket, and handed it to Ling. The prince excitedly rushed over to his bed, opening up one of the drawers in his bedside table, and pulling out a key on a necklace.
“You kept the key but not the box?” Ed commented.
“I didn’t want to make it tempting to open it.” Ling explained.
“If it was me with the box, I would have just picked the lock.” Greed commented.
“And that is why I didn’t leave it with you.” Ling joked, looking back at Greed before turning back to the box, opening it. Excited at first, but pausing after. “Um Ed? Are you sure no one opened it?”
“Yeah, it was kept in the most secure spot I know. No one touched it.” Ed tried to reassure him. “Why?” He added, concerned.
“Something’s missing.” Ling explained.
“What?! What’s missing?” Ed asked.
“A philosopher’s stone.” Ling responded, turning around holding a small empty glass bottle.
Greed eloquently put into words what everyone was thinking. “Well shit.”