Archive of Our Own

6 months. That was how long it had been since the night Ling and Greed had talked about marriage. 6 wholes months of work, of preparing for the event. It turned out that Xing did have a law against homosexual marriage after all, especially for the emperor.

It was the emperor's job to run the country and produce offspring to run the place after their passing. Being gay and marrying another member of the same sex would ensure there was no heir to the throne, basically leaving Xing with no direction or rule.

It had been hell for Ling to absolve that law. But eventually he found more people like him and Greed who wanted the chance to get married to the man or woman that they loved, people who brought their cases up and fought with all they had. Shortly after that, the rule against gay marriage was thrown out, and many rejoiced.

That all took 2 months to accomplish. They next 4 months were spent planning between him, Greed and Lan Fan. Deciding when would be the best time to bring the emperor's marriage up, when it would be appropriate to out himself to his country. Lan Fan pushed for a full year, she insisted the longer they waited, the better it would seem to their people.

Greed on the other hand, said the exact opposite. He said that it should be done as soon as possible. That way it would really cement the idea that Ling was on the people's side, that he was for it all, that it was okay to be gay and want to marry the one you love no matter what they have between their legs. Although, Lan Fan and Ling were convinced that it was just because he was impatient and wanted to marry Ling already, but they did give him kudos for coming up with a viable reason to use for a cover.

“Why are you being so pushy about this all of a sudden Greed? You said before that you were okay with it taking a while. I told you it may take a few months and you said that you just wanted us to start thinking about it.” Exclaimed the teen, as he slammed a hand down on the table they were all seated around.

In response, the taller male quickly rose from his chair and slammed both hands on the dark, polished wood. “That was then, this is now! Incase you haven't noticed Ling, it's already been more than a few months. Half a year has gone by, and you're not getting any younger!”

Ling wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, the homunculous shouting that made it seem like an insult, so without even thinking, he responded in kind.

“Yeah, well it's not like you're getting any older. So I think you can wait a bit longer and stop being so selfish Greed.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the sin’s face took on a stricken look. And with nary a glance at the man, the emperor continued.

“I mean, it's not my fault you don't age. So stop trying to push me to hurry up, when you could just wait for me to be ready and feel comfortable.”

Finally, he cast a quick sweeping gaze over his partner, only to find his face devoid of any emotion. It looked completely blank, carefully masked emotions hiding behind an uncaring facade. Immediately, he regretted his words. He had been feeling defensive, like he had been pushed into a corner, so he pushed back.

“Greed-”

“It's not like I asked for this you know? It's not my fault either that I don't age!”

Now Ling was the one who felt like he had been struck. It was like a punch to the gut. It hurt, but more than anything, it knocked the wind out of him. He didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't find his voice, at least, not until Greed spoke again.

“I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later, not sure when, but... I'll see you later.” Murmured the sin, strangely calm as he walked towards the door.

Finally, the adolescent found the courage to speak again.

“G-Greed, wait!”

The man didn't answer, just kept walking until he was completely out of sight. Ling sighed in guilt. He wasn't sure where to go from there. He felt awful for what just happened, like it was all his fault. Greed had seemed so anxious and excited, like he really couldn't wait. He was certain that the sin had his reasons, but Ling was worried about more than whether or not they would have the perfect wedding, he was worried about how the population of Xing would take it.

He sensed a comforting presence behind him, before he felt the comforting weight and calming coolness of the automatic hand on his shoulder. He had almost forgotten that she was there, since she had been so quiet and he had been so caught up in his...disagreement, with Greed.

She didn't say anything, just stood there with her hand on his shoulder, silent comfort. That was what she was best at, he was lucky to have a friend like her.

“Thanks Lan Fan. But, I think I'm going to go check on the kids now. Do you think you can go on ahead to talk with the elders without me?”

“Of course my lord.”

The woman bowed deeply, then seemingly disappeared. Once again, the teenager sighed and took off down the hall to check on his children. Peeking his head into the room on the right, he saw his young son was still asleep, and seeing as it was still only 7:30 in the morning, he decided to let him remain asleep.

He backed out of the room and silently shut the door. Now time to check on his daughter. He cracked open the wooden door and peeked inside to see what his daughter laying in bed, with her back to the door. Assuming she was asleep too, which was weird because she usually got up around this time, he began to close the door, but stopped when she spoke.

“You're an idiot, you know that?”

“W-what?”

She clicked her tongue and sat up, turning to face him with a glare.

“I said you're an idiot.”

The teen blinked a couple times in an attempt to clear away some of the confusion, then made his way fully into the room and shut the door behind him. When Lan Fan took them shopping, she really did do an amazing job. And once the two got comfortable, they chose to have seperate rooms. Both were fully furnished and customized to the child's interests.

He paced over and sat down backwards on her desk chair.

“Would you like to explain to me why I am an idiot?”

She huffed irritably and crossed her arms. Honestly, this girl had been spending way too much time around Greed, but that was to be expected, he was her favorite parent. And Ling didn't mind one bit. It's foolish to say you don't have a favorite. And their daughter was bold enough to say it when Lan Fan asked her why she spent so much time around the punk of a man.

“I heard you and papa fighting. You're being ridiculous. Papa loves you, the only reason he wants to marry you so quickly is because he loves you so much. He wants to show the world you're his and that he is yours. And, while I'm not entirely sure what papa is, I know he's not a normal human. He heals instantly and I heard him say once that he was over 200 years old when you two were talking. But you are human. That means you have a limited amount of time here, and he doesn't want to waste any of it waiting for others approval.”

Ling was shocked that she seemed to know so much. Greed was right, she did have spunk. No wonder those two got along so well. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked her in the eye. She was so serious, she must really be upset that they fought.

She can't be more upset than me or Greed though. After all, we were the ones who fought, not her. But I do feel bad that she heard all that.

“Honestly, you should just go for it. The entire country loves you, they're not going to think badly of you just because you love papa instead of some woman. And even if they do change their opinion of you, what does it matter? You are still the emperor, you still love and care about all your people and are trying your best to make this place as perfect as it can be. I don't know what else you could possibly be waiting for, but when papa gets back, I really think you two should sit down and fix this. You two clearly love each other, and as long as you have that, nothing can go wrong. So just do it. Tell papa that you guys can have your wedding next month or something. Just don't let something this stupid break you up.”

“Oh, honey, no. I mean, you are right. I know he just wants to get married because he loves me. He is a greedy man, he wants to be married to me, so he is going to do what he has to do to make that happen. And I understand that and respect it. But there is absolutely no way that we will break up over this. I'm sorry you had to hear our, uh, dispute. And I'm even sorrier that you thought we would break up just because of this. Don't worry, I promise, as soon as your father gets home, I will get to the bottom of his reasons and fix this.”

The girl was silent for a moment, still glaring at the male she called her father. A second later, she huffed once more, shook her head and looked away with a softer glare aimed at the floor.

“Sorrier isn't a word dad. It's even more sorry.”

“Hahaha, you're right sweetie. As always. You're such a smart girl. I'm so proud of you!”

“Ugh, stop, I get it, you love us. We love you too you sap. But don't you think it's time you got to work before aunt Lan Fan comes and drags you away?”

The emperor laughed and stood. She was right. He just expected to check in on his children quickly and then head off to take care of his daily responsibilities. He certainly hadn't expected to get couples counseling from his now 8 year old daughter. She was so mature for her age.

I guess living on the street will do that to a person. He thought.

Smiling down at the young female, he gave her a quick squeeze and ruffled her hair, before waving at her and taking off. He just had to focus on getting his work done for now. He couldn't do anything until his lover got back anyway. And with the state Greed was in when he left, he probably wouldn't be home for at least 5 hours.

Once he gets home, I will fix this. Shàngmi is right. My fears are ridiculous. We love each other and that's what matters most. It will all work out somehow. As long as Greed still wants to marry a fool like me anyway.

He shook his head quickly to rid his mind of those thoughts. 5 hours at most, and then this will all be water under the bridge.

Or at least, that was what he thought.

That thought managed to calm him down enough to work, but he began to worry again, when the clock struck 6pm and his beloved boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. Was it possible that he wasn't going to come back?

“Lan Fan.”

“Yes my lord?”

He swallowed harshly and turned to fix her with a desperate and sad look. Immediately, the ninja woman got what was wrong. That homunculous had been gone for way too long. The fight was not that bad, he should not need that long to calm down and recover.

“Please.” He said.

And she nodded.

“Yes my lord. I will be back with that damned homunculous in tow soon. Please head to your room and rest. I will return shortly, and then you can fix things with that fool.”

The teen smiled and thanked her, before heading down to his bedroom. Once he arrived, he changed into his nightwear and laid down, hoping Lan Fan and Greed would return soon.

-----------------------------------------------’

It took her nearly 20 minutes to find him, but find him she did. He was sitting on top of tombstone, fiddling with something between his fingers. When he heard her approach, he quickly pocketed what he had been playing with and turned to give her a tired look.

“What do you want Lan Fan?”

“It's not about what I want, it's about what the young lord wants. You. You have been gone for far too long and he is worried about you.”

The man laughed, a small, dry, humorless laugh. And briefly, the woman wondered if he finally lost his mind. He shook his head and bit out a “Sure he is.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stepped up and clamped her metal hand down on his shoulder, glaring at the sin.

“He is. You should have been back hours ago. What are you even doing out here in a cemetery?”

“Mourning my loss.”

The bodyguard tilted her head, contemplating what exactly he could mean. Ling had warned her to not mention dogs, snakes, cows or lizards around Greed. So perhaps he was visiting his dead pets? But they died back in Amestris. This is a cemetery in Xing.

Perhaps he just made some graves for them here so that he could leave some kind of proof that they existed, and so he could have a place to visit for them.

“Do you mean the loss of your pets?”

“Pets? Lady I've never had any pets.”

Her lips pinched together in a tight line. If Ling didn't mean pets, what could he possibly have meant?

“The young lord said that there were a few animals that I should never mention around you. If they were not your pets, then I do not know what they could have possibly been.”

“Huh?”

The man tilted his head, casting a befuddled look the woman in black’s way. Suddenly, a spark of understanding flashed across his features. He quickly looked away, a sad smile spread across his lips.

“That damn emotional pissant. It's fine. You can talk about whatever animals you want, they were more human than animal anyway. They were chimeras, my henchmen, my...friends.”

He paused for a moment, trying to collect himself, he recovered quickly and stood up, shaking off her hand.

“But they aren't the reason I'm out here, not really anyway. I don't have anyone to talk to about all this. At least Ling has you, although I doubt you know much about romance. So you probably can't give him much advice.”

“What do you mean homunculous? Explain.”

The sin sighed and shook his head, he gave her a flat look and began to tell her about his dead friends. He told her that they were always there for him, no matter what situation they were in, how he could rely on them for anything.

“I came out here to clear my head, I only ended up making myself more confused and stressed out though. I kept thinking about how I wish that I had them here, they would know what I should do. But they're dead. So I'm on my own here. And that just pissed me off even more because I just know I'm going to fuck something else up and piss the kid off at me even more. He probably doesn't want to marry me at all now. So now I'm just mourning the loss of me and Ling's relationship.”

“Honestly, you are supposed to be the less emotional one. I thought you were rational at least, but you are just as melodramatic as the young lord.”

“What? Hey I'm not in the mood to have a verbal fight, I don't fight women you know.”

The ninja woman shook her head and motioned for him to follow her back to the palace. The man appeared hesitant, but placed his hands on his hips and followed after her anyway.

“The young lord loves you Greed, he is just scared, and so are you apparently. But he had already gotten over it. All he wants to do now is talk this all out with you. He understands you have your reasons for why you want to marry so soon, but he can't understand what those reasons are unless you tell him.”

They continued their walk silently until they reached the front doors of the palace, where Greed quickly caught her wrist and spun her around to face him.

“You're sure he's not still mad? That I don't need to give him a little more time alone to cool off?”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him in response, quickly quipping that she thought he had only left to give himself some time to cool off, not Ling. Greed flinched and instantly retracted his hands from her person as if he had been burned.

“Okay, well, that's true I guess. But I also wanted to give the kid his space, since he was so upset with how much I was pushing the marriage. But you are definitely right, I just need to tell him why I have been so insistent with the whole thing. He's a good guy, he'll understand. Thanks, for uh, talking with me Lan Fan. I needed that.”

Now the woman sighed and relaxed. She had never intended to become friendly in any way with this man. She more or less just tolerated him. But she could see that things couldn't continue this way. She would have to play the devils advocate for both of them if she wanted her lord to be happy.

“Listen homunculous, instead of running off with your tail between your legs next time you two have a disagreement, how about you come talk to me? It's clear that you need someone to be your sounding board, and you don't really have anyone else. So, for the young lord’s benefit, and I suppose yours as well, I am here for you if you need someone to talk to.”

The sin blinked owlishly, completely baffled by the woman's offer. She normally just acted civil with him, or angry. But underneath all that bravado she put up, he thought he caught a hint of actual concern for him. Smirking, he answered the ninja.

“Yeah, sure doll. It's a deal.”

“Wonderful.” She replied, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

The homunculous took a deep breath, nodded at the young lady before him, and pushed open the doors, fully intent on finding his lover and setting things straight.

“He should be in your and his room, resting. But this is worth waking him up for, that is, if he even managed to fall asleep. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he was in there pacing instead of sleeping, waiting for you to come home.”

He winced, nodded once more, thanked the woman, and took off running.

What was usually a long walk through all the winding corridors of the palace to reach their bedroom, turned into a short run through the hallways. He didn't want to waste anymore time on this, he was greedy after all, he wanted all the time he could get with Ling.

As soon as he reached their door, he froze. He heard sniffling coming from behind the door, as if someone were trying to stifle their sobbing, and at that moment, his courage and determination left him.

Ling didn't tend to cry unless it was something big, he could only recall one time prior to this that he had seen the kid she'd tears.

Unsure of whether or not he should go get Lan Fan, or try to comfort the emperor himself, he stood there, with his hand on the doorknob, listening.

“Greed? Greed is that you?! Of course it's you, what am I saying, you're the only homunculous still alive, and I would know your aura anywhere. Why are you just standing out there? Please. Come in.”

Of course. His dragonpulse was both a blessing and a curse sometimes. The man sighed, shifted his weight back and forth on his feet and tried to swallow down his nerves. Once he felt calm enough, he opened the door.

Upon entering the room, he was immediately wrapped up in a pair of shaking arms. He instinctively wrapped one around Ling’s back as well and looked down at the shorter male in shock and concern.

The boy had his face buried in Greed’s midsection, dampening the sin’s shirt with his tears. Said sin quickly reached up and ran his free hand through the teenager's ebony locks, trying his best to calm the kid down.

“Where were you Greed? I was scared you were never going to come back.”

The statement was punctuated by the boy’s hands fisting tightly in his shirt, and a tremor running through his body.

“I'm sorry kid, I was trying to give you time to cool off, and I was also trying to sort myself out. I needed some space to clear my head, and I kind of lost track of time. I'm so sorry for scaring you like that pissant. I will never leave you, you know that.”

He pulled the boy as tightly against himself as he could, murmuring soft apologies over and over again, until finally the teen had stopped crying and shaking. As soon as he calmed down, they pulled back enough to look at each other.

Seeing his tear stained face, Greed felt his heart clench. He really did feel bad about leaving in such a huff. But Ling upset him and he didn't want to stay and possibly fight more. It was easier just to walk away and cool down a bit.

The sin released a long, drawn out, sigh, before speaking again.

“Listen, Ling, we can talk in the morning, but for now you should really rest. You have to get up early tomorrow and handle a lot of diplomatic duties.”

He was leveled with a flat look and crossed arms.

“No chance in hell. We are talking now Greed. I probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, I'd be too stressed about all of this. Besides, I get up early to handle diplomatic affairs everyday, this is no different than any other day. I say I've got at least an hour before I need to be asleep. So let's get this over with. What was all this about? I am pretty sure I have an idea about it, but I want to hear it from you.”

With gritted teeth, the taller man took a deep breath and blew out another sigh.

“I just… I want everyone to know you're mine. And I want to spend as much time with you as I can without having to worry about who sees us and knows what's going on between us. I don't age, but you do. I won't let you die. Ever. I don't care what it takes. Even if I have to level this entire country! I'll get you a stone. Or, as I said before, we could just go back to sharing a body. Don't care which, just so long as you stay with me. Once that happens, I won't worry as much, but for now, while you are still easily killable and susceptible to aging and everything, I'm a bit on edge. But I still shouldn’t have left you freaking out like I did.Sorry kid.”

Just as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in remorse, he heard a light laugh pierce the silence of the room. Looking up he saw Ling smiling and laughing brightly. There were tears in the corners of his closed eyes, but Greed wasn't sure if they were from sadness or from laughing.

“Uh, kid?”

Soon the laughter died down and then quit all together. As soon as it did, the emperor shook his head and slowly wrapped his arms around the man once more.

“I'm sorry Greed. I wasn't laughing at you. I promise. It's just that I knew that was the reason is all.”

“Huh?”

“You and Lan Fan had a little chat right? Well, I kind of had a little talk of my own with our lovely little girl. She really takes after you by the way, and she doesn't pull any punches either. Just says what she's thinking. Honestly, if I didn't love you both already, I'd say you are a bad influence on her. But back to my point, she gave me some really good advice, and, if you're okay with it, I'd like to have our wedding in a month.”

A pair of lilac purple eyes widened as the owner of those eyes reached out and gently pushed the other away. Greed stumbled back until he was seated on the bed with his head in his hands.

“Next month? We have one month to plan our wedding? But I thought you needed more time? Don't rush into this just for me Ling. I do want you to be happy and comfortable too. You are my most treasured possession kid. I don't wanna break ya.”

Ling laughed again and walked over to the other side of the bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed under his head.

“Relax, I've thought this through. You are right. We shouldn't let anything stand in our way, not laws, not people, not even ourselves. If I wasn't emperor I would elope with you, and yes, I know I said I wouldn't do that, but that's because I'm the emperor that I won't, not because I don't want to be married to you as soon as possible. And we have been planning parts of our wedding already for the past 6 months. We just need to set it all up. Obviously the venue is the palace, so we just need to invite everyone and have the servants take care of all the food and prep work. We just need to tell them what we want and when we want to do this. And you won't break me Greed, I love you and I'm not willing to risk losing you over something as silly as this.”

Greed sighed and laid back himself. Rolling onto his side to look at Ling, he propped his head up with one hand.

“You could never lose me over something like this, but okay, when do you want to do this? Do you have a date in mind?”

A yawn erupted from the youth's mouth, before he turned onto his side as well, mimicking Greed’s posture.

“No clue. I was just gonna send word to everyone in Amestris and ask when was best for them, unless you had a date you wanted it to be on that is.”

“Honey, as long as I get to marry you soon, I don't care if it's the 12th or the 25th.”

Both men laughed as they pulled each other into their arms and relaxed. Everything was silent for a minute as they enjoyed one another's warmth. Briefly Greed thought Ling had fallen asleep, but he was proved wrong when the boy laced their fingers together, causing the sin to chuckle.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

Pulling away to reach into his pocket, Greed brought out a small wrapped box and tossed it to his boyfriend.

“Go ahead, open it pissant.” He said with a smirk.

Ling gave the man a quizzical look, but obeyed. Tearing the paper off slowly, until he was left with just a small black box.

“Greed? This can't be… Is this?”

“Just open it already kid.”

Lifting the lid, Ling was met with a ring. Not just any ring. A wedding ring. Greed was proposing. Not just suggesting it and saying they should do it. He was going the traditional route and actually proposing. And with a beautiful purple gem too.

“It's a lilac diamond. Nothing but the best for you kid. I mean, you are the emperor of this entire country. You have to have the most expensive stuff right?”

Ling was awestruck. He didn't know what to say. The first thing he noticed was the similarity between the stone and his lover's shining orbs.

“It's the same color as your eyes…”

The man laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yeah, it's kinda to help show you're mine. Lilac isn't a very common eye color, so if anyone saw us together, even if we weren't acting like a couple, they could probably put 2 and 2 together.”

Ling chuckled. That sounded like Greed alright. Honestly, Ling always thought Greed was the type to just write his name all over his significant other. So to do something as subtle and tame as buy him a ring that had a diamond with his eye color on it, well, that was actually pretty reasonable. Wait. Buy a ring… How did Greed do that? He better not have stolen it.

"Greed. When did you buy this? And how? Where did you get the money??"

The man shrugged as if it weren't important. But when he got a slight glare from his younger lover he knew that he couldn't get off by just saying ‘Don't worry about it.’ or something of the like.

"I picked up some extra shifts at the bar down the street."

"The bar? I didn't know you even had a job! When did you get a job? You're always with me, so when do you have time to go to work?"

"While you sleep. I work night shifts, after I get you to sleep, I go in. Homunculi don't exactly need sleep, so it's easy. And I got the gig a couple months ago, so that I could pay for the ring. I’ve had it for a couple months now, but since you have been putting off our wedding, I have just kept working. Tomorrow night I will finally have enough cash to get it engraved. I'm thinking ‘Property of Greed’ what do you think?”

Ling's first reaction was to smirk back at the sin. That was also a typical Greed move. Heh, that's more like the Greed I know. I knew he would want to put his name on me somewhere. Well, at least he didn't tattoo it on me or something. And I guess it's kind of romantic that he is so possessive of me. But he really shouldn't be wasting his hard earned money on me.

“Yeah, sure Greed, I'm yours, I know, everyone knows, you are not exactly subtle about that fact. But why haven't you been saving your money for yourself? You don't have a lot of stuff to yourself, and it's your money. I thought you always wanted to own everything? Money and all. I thought that was part of your greediness.”

The sin shrugged his shoulders with a large shark toothed grin on his face.

“Well you know me. I like to take good care of my possessions, and right now you are my only possession. So if I have to spend the money on making sure you are all good then it's like an investment. Making sure you're really mine and that I don't lose ya. You know how it is. Once I'm sure you are all taken care of, then I'll worry about future possessions.”

“Okay, I suppose that makes sense, but you already got the ring, and it looks really expensive as it is, do you really need to get it engraved?”

The avaricious man’s face became serious for a moment, as his eyes roamed Ling up and down, almost as if he were trying to determine something. Then, all of a sudden, the dopey smile and carefree attitude was back.

“Of course I need to get it engraved, what kind of question is that kid? I already told you, you are the emperor, you need to have the most expensive stuff to show off your power, status and wealth. What kind of shitty husband would I be, if I let you walk around wearing some cheap jewelry? Plus, I need everyone to know, without a shadow of a doubt, who owns you. Think of it like a collar for a dog, you gotta have the name tag too, just a collar is worthless, if they got lost then nobody would know who to return them to.”

Ling almost glared at the taller man. It's not that what he was saying didn't make any sense, it did, but Ling was no helpless puppy. He wasn't going to get lost, everyone knew who he was, and he never left the palace without Greed or a concealed weapon. What, was he going to find a way to put a leash on him next? He understood that this was all part of the sin’s built in personality. He couldn't change that, it was just who he was.

“As long as you are sure, but I still feel bad that you are spending your hard earned money on me.”

“Don't feel bad pissant. It's all part of my avarice. I can't let you have half baked shit. It's gotta be the best of the best for you, or else I just won't be satisfied.”

The emperor laughed. He wasn't sure why. But it just made him all giggly.

“Are you sure that's your avarice talking and not your heart?”

"Eh. Same thing. The heart wants what the heart wants, and my avarice wants what my avarice wants. And right now, both want you and I to be married."

The teen snorted and rolled onto his back.He held the ring box firmly in one hand and raised his other arm to lay over his eyes as he smiled.

“Why does this always happen? You always get so mushy when we're in bed. And then we always make some kind of breakthrough in our relationship.”

"A lot of turning points in relationships happen in a bed. That is where most children are conceived after all." Began the homunculous in a teasing voice. "And to answer why I get all soft in bed, it’s because I get to have you in my arms. And you are like the sweetest, most brain numbingly addictive thing in the world." He punctuated his statement by leaning over and kissing the boy’s cheek, which drew another snort from him and caused Greed to laugh.

“What's this?” Drawled the greedy male in a faux surprise voice. “Am I in bed with a pig? Would sure explain the appetite.”

The royalty indignantly huffed and then placed the ring box on the nightstand by the bed before playfully shoving his lover.

“I am not a pig. And I will have you know, even if I were a pig, I would be adorable and you know it.”

“Little Lingy the little piggy.” He Teased as he began tickling the boy’s unguarded sides. The teenager snorted some more and weakly waved at the offending limbs, trying to brush them away from his exposed flesh.

“Noooooo~, Greeeeeed. Stooooooppp.”

“Oink oink oink, that's all I hear. I guess that means you want me to tickle ya more, huh piggy?”

What followed, if one asked Ling, was a series of very deep, adult and masculine laughs from being tickled all over, versus what Greed heard, which was a lot of light, bubbly and high pitched screams and adorable giggling.

After around 10 more minutes of leaving feathery touches that made the emperor giggle like a child, the sin relented, letting the oxygen deprived youth get some much needed air.

“You know, *huff huff* you can be such *huff* a jerk. But I love you so much.” Said the teen, which was followed up with by a long yawn that left tears in his eyes.

“Love ya too brat. Now go to sleep. You're clearly exhausted. And I need to get you to sleep before I can go to work.”

The lad yawned once more and nodded before snuggling into the other male’s chest, a contented smile finding its way onto his face.

“Do you really have to go in tonight? We both had such a big day, are you sure you can't stay?”

The purple eyed man chuckled and shook his head, running a hand through the boy’s hair to try to soothe him into slumber.

“No can do kid. I gotta work if I wanna get that ring engraved. And I am getting it engraved, no matter what you say.”

The teen gave a pout but relented, huffing out a “Fine.” and nuzzling his face further into the man's pectoral.

“G’night Greed.”

“Night pissant.”

Within minutes, the emperor was asleep. Snoring lightly and clutching the shirt below him. The hand in his hair retreating to gently untangle the boy’s fingers from his clothing. Once done, he kissed the lad’s cheek and shifted him onto the pillows, covering him with a blanket and leaving for his job.

He passed Lan Fan on the way out of the palace and gave her a silent nod, signaling that everything was okay now between them. She nodded back.

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Knowing that everything was smoothed over with Ling put a little pep in his step as he entered the bar and half heartedly waved at the older man behind the counter.

A large smile formed on his face from pure excitement as he recalled the promise that they would finally decide everything and have their wedding. But for now, he just had to put that out of his mind and focus on his job.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The next morning when Ling woke up, he immediately wanted to settle things with Greed. So before he reported for his daily duties, he sat Greed down at the breakfast table and planned everything. While Lan Fan took care of the children, making sure they were fed and dressed before they went off to see their private tutors, seeing as they weren't receiving any kind of education before Ling found them and the teen wasn't about to let that slide.

It took them nearly an hour of writing letters and picking minor preferences like flowers and other things that Greed didn't give a damn about. But they finally had a list of what was needed for the wedding and a plan for how everything should be set up. All that was left was to send word to their friends back in Amestris and see when they were all free to make a trip over to Xing for their wedding.

Lan Fan had a team assembled to travel to Amestris and deliver the letters almost as soon as the two men finished talking. But, much to her chagrin, she was asked to go with them. She initially fought tooth and nail with her words to stay by Ling’s side. Saying things like, “It is my job to protect you, and I can't do that if I'm not here!” or “I hardly see why I'm needing to for this trip my lord. My men are trained well and can make this trip just fine on their own, I should be here to watch over you!”

Ling seemed to have an answer to everything she had to say however. Replying with things such as, “I'll be fine. Greed is here and he's not going to let anything happen to me.” and “Because we need someone reliable that we know we can trust, and it needs to be someone familiar that Ed and the others would recognize.”

Of course, she ended up relenting in the end, as she could not refuse a request made by her lord, and she knew he was right. She knew where to find everyone and they knew who she was, so it would be easier to deliver the letters. Before she left, she made Greed swear not to leave Ling’s side for any reason and promised Ling that she would be back as soon as physically possible, then she took her team and left for Amestris.

Thanks to the train that Ling and Roy agreed to build, her trip took much less time than it would have if she had to ride horseback through the the dessert. Which was good for all involved parties. She returned carrying many letters from all of the people who she delivered letters to.

All saying that they were free whenever and would come whenever he said to show up, except for Mustang who said he would need at least 2 weeks notice so he could request time off. The letters also included phone numbers that they could reach them at to finalize the date, so that Lan Fan would not have to make another trip.

So they all decided that they would be married in 2 and a half weeks. That way their guest had notice and they had time to plan, but it was also as soon as possible. And so, 2 and a half weeks later, the time had come.

They stood on top of the steps of the palace, Ling at the forefront, ready to address his people, and Greed back with Lan Fan and their kids. They were surrounded by flowers, lanterns, and music, there was a huge table filled with food and there was a priest standing at the ready off to the side.

"Ahem, People of Xing, as your emperor it is my duty to introduce you to the man, yes man, that I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with. But as your friend, it is my great pleasure to share this day with you all."

The young lord motioned for Greed to step forward, to join him by his side, so he did. Slowly sauntering up to his side, he reached out and laced his fingers with Ling's, surveying the crowd quickly. Of course, everybody in Xing was there, the gaggle of humans below them was almost intimidating from sheer size alone.

“This is the most important person in my life. The man I want to spend eternity with. The one I would give up anything for, even my life. He is my other half in every sense of the phrase. And as such, I would like to give him this ring to officiate it.”

“Huh? Ring?”

“Yes, ring Greed, I can't be the only one wearing one you know.” He whispered back, as he turned around and grabbed something small from the waiting hands of his son. He then turned back to his husband to be and produced a small, golden ring, with an amber gemstone in the middle.

Greed barely registered as Ling spoke some more words of his love for him, he was eyeing the ring, he could see there was a small engraving on the inside of it, but he couldn't make out what it said. Only coming out of his trance when the emperor slid the ring onto his finger.

In a daze, he rolled it back and forth on his finger in wonder, gazing at it in shock as he had not anticipated Ling giving him such a nice ring in return. He had expected a silver band and that was it. But apparently, when Ling said they were equals despite his status of emperor, and that they should be treated the same, he meant it.

“Ahem, sir, would you like to say something to our Lord, and perhaps, would you be so kind as to return his gesture.” Spoke the old priest that was marrying them off.

“O-Oh, right. Uh, one sec.”

He began fumbling around with his irritating attire, that consisted of multiple black and gold robes,(as he refused to wear a more traditional color like red or blue) a headpiece and a matching coat. He quickly began patting himself down to try and find where he had put the small black box, only to realize, in horror, that he didn't have it.

“Psst. Papa. Here.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the box sitting in his daughters outstretched hands, waiting for him to take it. Oh. That's right. We wanted them to have a part in this too, so I gave her the ring to hold onto.

“Thanks kid.”

With the ring in hand, he showed it off to the priest with a smirk and then slid the symbol of the love between him and Ling onto the chuckling teenager's finger.

“You're the best thing to ever happen to me Ling. I'm crazy about ya kid, and I'm here for you no matter what. So if it's eternity you want, then I want that too and more. Let's both be Greedy bastard together, let our avarice run wild together, and spend our lives and more together.”

The sin smirked at the emperor who had tears in his eyes and was smiling at him like he had said the sweetest thing known to man. Not even a second later, the boy had thrown himself into his arms, causing the priest to sigh in irritation as this was not proper procedure.

He faintly heard a chorus of “Aww’s” from the audience below, but he was too busy trying to keep his cool to care about that. Ling was going on about how much he loved him again, all the while nuzzling his smiling face into the chest of his homunculous.

“Kid, knock it off! You're disrupting the ceremony.” He whisper yelled, as he gently pried at the lad’s arms around his torso.

Finally, the boy relented, apologizing to the priest as he wiped his eyes and backed away from the blushing sin. Straightening his own headpiece and smoothing out his red, gold and blue gowns. There was a pattern of a phoenix and a dragon covering the entirety of the article of clothing, something about symbolizing luck and happiness he said.

“Right. Now then. If you two would please perform your bows.”

“Uh, ya mean vows old man?”

“Greed! No, we talked about this, remember? Heaven and Earth, ancestors, parents and spouse.”

“Oh. Right...My bad.”

The two bowed a total of four times, Greed still wasn't sure why, he didn't like bowing to anyone, he saw it as a submissive act, like they were better than him. But Ling insisted it had to be done. And he was already pretty lax on the whole culture thing with their wedding since they both came from differing lands with differing beliefs and traditions. But the last person he wanted to bow to was his old man. Or Ling’s for that matter.

“Excellent. Now, let us all pray that these two find happiness and good fortune in their commitment to each other. Please bless this union and protect it forever more.”

As soon as the man finished his words, Ling and Greed rose up and we're quickly ushered into the palace while the guests outside were given a feast. Greed still didn't understand this whole arrangement. He didn't even get to kiss his husband and show off that he belonged to him. Ling said that they had to leave after paying their respects to all their ancestors, the heavens and some deities. So he let himself be shoved out of the public eye.

“Thank you Greed. I'm sorry we couldn't have a wedding more to your liking. I know this all must have been confusing to you, but at least we were allowed to exchange rinse instead of cups.”

“Cups? Ah, nah, it's fine kid. I'm cool.” He replied as he removed his ring. The mention of it had reminded him that he still didn't know what the ring said.

Upon closer examination, he felt incredibly touched. The engraving was simple, but it spoke volumes of all they had been through and meant to each other. It said To my other half, eternal protector & lover.

The sin smirked and slipped the ring back on, stalking forward toward a confused Ling, stopping just inches from his face, hands firmly planted on his hips as he leaned forward until they were face to face.

“Very nice kid, but mine is better, check it.”

The boy scoffed but removed the ring anyway as he was told.

“Yes, yes, I know. Property of Greed, right? Sorry but I think my message was much better. It had a lot more-...feeling behind it…”

The youth felt like he had been sucker punched. The ring did indeed say Property of Greed on it, but that was on the outside. On the inside the engraving was much more heartfelt. It said To the Host of My Heart & Soul.

“Greed…”

The homunculous laughed and widened his toothy grin.

“Well? How's that? Still think yours is better pissant?”

Ling had thought he was being clever with his engraving, it was a normal phrase shared between married couples, but it had so much more weight to it with them. But this. This had even more weight than that. Referring back to when they shared his body, it was as literal, as it was a metaphorical symbol of their love. And Ling adored it.

“Greed...Thank you. I love it. I love it so much!”

“W-Woah. Hey, kid, calm down there. Do you really want to cry twice on your wedding day?”

Ling raised an arm to shield his eyes as he began to weep profusely, Greed raised his hands in a placating manner, unsure of what to do about his husband bawling as he was.

“Our day. It is OUR wedding day Greed. And these are happy tears, so it's okay. Besides, you know I'm an emotional guy.”

The purple eyed man released a sigh of relief, wrapping his arms around the younger male and pulling him into his chest.

“Yeah, I do pissant. And I adore you for it. But seriously, it's just a simple engraving, enough with the waterworks already. Okay?”

When he received a nod and saw the boy hastily wiping away his tears, he pulled back and pushed the corners of Ling's mouth up into a smile and gave him a small grin in return.

“Now then, when do we get to go back out there and mingle? I doubt you invited all your friends here just to make them watch all that mushy stuff and eat. Besides, they probably want to congratulate you or something.”

“We've been over this, they are our friends. And they want to congratulate us. Not just me. They care about both of us and I know you care about them too. Otherwise you wouldn't have been trying so hard to convince the injured to stay behind and not fight your father. You act all tough but really you are just a big softie~♡.” Teased the teen as he threw his arms around the older man’s neck, plastering himself to his back.

“H-Hey! I am not! That was just because injured soldiers are useless and just get in the way! Not because I cared about them! They were all complete strangers! Why should I have given a damn about them? I didn't. Still don't. So what I'd my old man ripped them apart. Not my problem.”

Ling chuckled at the light dusting of pink coating the man's cheeks, but decided to let it slide. Instead he kissed his cheek and moved to grab his hand.

“What about me? If we had separate bodies back then, would you have let me come? Or would you have tried to make me stay?”

The older male looked taken aback for a moment. Unsure if Ling was searching for a specific answer, or if he was just genuinely curious as to what he would have done in the hypothetical situation.

“Well, I don't know honestly. You are strong enough to hold your own, and fast enough to get out of there if something went haywire. I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, and Lan Fan would have died for you if necessary. But, even back then, you meant a whole hell of a lot to me kid. Of course I would have done everything in my power to keep you safe, and would have stayed by your side the whole time, we were and are still partners after all. But if you were injured, I probably wouldn't have let you go.”

Luckily, Ling seemed satisfied with that answer. Giving a simple nod as he smiled at the Avaricious man.

“Good. Because you meant quite a lot to me too Greed.”

“Ha, yeah, I know. You cried like a baby when I got ripped away from you. Like a toddler without their security blanket.”

“Yes, I did. And I don't regret it. But I hope you know that I wouldn't have let you go alone, even if I was injured. I would have fought tooth and nail to stay by your side, and if I could, I would have thrown myself in front of you when I saw your father charging at you like that.”

The sin blushed and tightened his hold on the boy's hand, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Yeah, well, I appreciate the sentiment and all, but I’m glad we shared a body then so you couldn't do that. I would have hated myself if you got hurt like that trying to protect me. Besides, I didn't need your protection. If I'd known he was coming at me like that, I could have just hardened my ultimate shield and been fine.”

“That's true, but as your lover, I can't help but want to protect you. Just like you want to protect me. You are mind after all. And I am yours.”

“Heh, there you go again. Claiming me as your possession. You are supposed to be my possession pissant, not the other way around.”

The two smirked at each other, before bursting into a fit of laughter. Both of them were greedy bastards, claiming ownership over one another and the knew that. Ling could have said how being married means they split everything 50/50.

That one's assists become both of theirs after they become joined. But he didn't. He had a feeling Greed knew that already and that he was just keeping up appearances, even though it was currently just the two of them.

After the giggles died down from Ling, he wiped his eyes once again to clear the tears from his laughing fit and gave his husband a smile.

“Let's go see our friends now. It should have been long enough that the priest won't pop a blood vessel at seeing us out there. And besides, we never got to introduce Ed and the others to our lovely little angels. I'm sure the kids would like to meet him and the others, and Lan Fan could probably use a break from watching them by herself.”

“Ha! Yeah, sure. The runt will fit right in with them. After all, he's practically still a child himself.”

“Hey, he's gotten taller. I doubt anyone will mistake him for a child because of his height anymore.”

“I meant the way he acts.”

“Oh. Yes. That they may still do.”

The two walked in silence for a while, happy to just hold one another's hand, until Ling recalled a question he had been meaning to ask his lover for weeks.

“By the way Greed, I've been meaning to ask, you said you worked at a bar, but how? What was your job? I doubt you were a bartender.”

“Nah, didn't touch the alcohol. I was the entertainment.”

Suddenly, a dark look covered the emperor's face as he stopped walking immediately, yanking Greed back by his hand when he continued walking.

“In what regard?”

“I sang for the people in the bar. There is a little platform that is slightly raised that I stood on and sung from. Why do you look so pissed off?”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Ling shook his head.

“Nothing. Nevermind. I was worried you meant something else. That's cool, I didn't know you could sing. You've never sung for me before. Should I be jealous?”

It took him a moment, but finally a look of understanding dawned on his partner and he knew that Greed had figured out what he was thinking. He especially knew it, once a huge smirk spread over his face.

“No no no, let's back it up here a bit. Ling, were you thinking that I was putting on a different kind of show for those drunks?”

The emperor pouted, blush coating his entire face as he looked away.

“No, certainly not Greed. I know you are nothing if not loyal and you have never lied to me before about things like this, I trust you. And I know you have more self respect than that. I just...couldn't help but worry alright?”

“It's okay pissant. I understand. It's actually pretty cute that you got so upset about just the thought of it. But I promise that I have never and will never put on a show like that for anyone.”

“Good. Thank you Greed.”

The two resumed their walk, only to be stopped once again, but this time it was by Greed removing his hand from his husband's and kissing his cheek.

“Well, except for you that is. And maybe I'll even serenade you while I'm doing it.”

With that, the homunculous took off. Leaving a flustered and irate emperor behind.

“Greed! You incorrigible bastard. You can't say things like that! Get back here you idiot!”

And that, was how two cocky and avaricious idiots were happily married.

THE END