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Lan Fan does not like to leave home.
She's known this since her childhood; she never liked sleepovers or overnight trips. She prefers the routine and consistent- waking up in the morning, taking five steps to the bathroom to brush her teeth and sleeping in the same bed she's always slept in. When her family traveled, and five steps became ten, she found herself feeling anxious and irritated by her inability to stumble her way across the hall to grab her toothbrush from the left side of the counter and scrub her face with the cloth draped over the edge of the sink's basin.
As she grew up, her aversion to leaving Xing became even more prominent. There were more obstacles to keep her from going anywhere- her training, her heavy weapons, and, of course, the young lord. When she traveled to Amestris for the first time with Fu and Ling, she could hardly sleep; she was constantly scanning her unfamiliar surroundings, getting up periodically to check the well-disguised nooks and perfectly person-sized cabinets of every hotel room while her companions slept.
Her resistance faded gradually- she had no choice but to allow it, since Ling, as Emperor, is fond of traveling alongside his sister on her trips out West. It's for this particular reason that she stands in front of a door she knows well, right on the outskirts of Central City. The rest of her party- her lord, Princess Chang, the Elric brothers, Winry Rockbell, General Mustang, and Colonel Hawkeye- are at the General's apartment near Central Headquarters; Lan Fan would be with them, but Ling practically ordered her to go visit Dr. Knox to show her gratitude for his help(nearly seven years ago, Lan Fan notes resentfully).
She's not one to disobey an order from her lord, however. She knocks on the door, which is covered in a thinning coat of paint that leaves little green flecks on her knuckles as she pulls away.
She is met with silence. She's about to turn and leave when she hears heavy sock feet thudding into the entryway.
The door swings open to reveal the cranky old doctor, looking down at her with his customary frown- if his face lightens at the sight of her, Lan Fan doesn't notice.
"Hello, Doctor," she says.
He grunts. "You."
Knox walks away and Lan Fan takes it as an invitation to follow him. She slides her shoes off and closes the door behind her, her steps light in contrast to the doctor's.
"I'm just making coffee. I'm guessing you want some?" he calls from the kitchen.
"Yes." Then, after a moment, she adds, "Thanks."
He mutters something under his breath- most likely something about demanding kids and stuck-up armless brats, if Lan Fan knows him- and pulls down a second teacup from the cabinet. Lan Fan sits primly on the couch and waits in silence. The kettle whistles briefly; she hears the stove shut off, and the sounds of pouring water follow.
She observes the condition of Knox's old house- it's much cleaner than it once was, and photos of his family sparsely adorn the bland living room, colorful against the brownish-grey walls. She can't help the small smile that blossoms on her face at the sight- the doctor is blunt and grates her nerves, but even with all her preoccupations when she stayed here she could tell how much he missed them.
She is big enough to admit she's glad he reunited with them.
She quickly bites back her grin as the doctor enters the room, handing her a heavy ceramic mug with a green handle, filled to the brim with black coffee. She takes a sip as Knox sits on the other end of the sofa. "So, you're coming to visit," he says apprehensively. "Don't tell me you need emergency medical attention again."
"I don't."
"Good. I wouldn't let you and your crazy little friend take up my guest rooms again if you paid me a million bucks."
Lan Fan snorts into her coffee. "So you've said."
"It's funny, is it?"
"A little." She doesn't elaborate and Knox doesn't ask for further explanation. He just scoffs and looks away from her. "You've cleaned up the place."
"Guess so," he says. "'Little armored boy scolded me about it. I got sick of being berated by a kid like that."
"I guess he can be a little judgmental," she says, thinking back on Al's visits to Xing. She's grown quite fond of him- she can, at the very least, say that he is a much calmer presence than his brother. "He's a good guy, though. He's grown up a lot."
Knox waves his hand dismissively. "All of you have. It's ridiculous. He and Princess Chang dropped by a couple days ago and I almost didn't recognize 'em. 'Course, the damn cat's still the same size." He turns an evaluating eye on Lan Fan. "You're a little taller, too. You did get your automail resized when you grew, didn't you?"
"Always with the automail," she sighs. "You know I'm an adult, doctor, I can handle my own arm."
"Youre evading the question," he says, and it's so close to Ling's sing-song tone that she almost laughs.
She rolls her eyes discreetly instead. "I got it resized a few years ago. Ed's girlfriend has been helping me with repairs."
"She's that automail girl, right?" Lan Fan nods. "You're lucky to have her. You're such a menace it wouldn't surprise me if every engineer from Xing to Drachma turned you away."
"I'm not a menace," she grumbles.
"You've broken your automail three times, if my sources are correct, defending that Emperor of yours from assassins."
She almost asks how he knew, but decides not to question it. With her base knowledge of the things Knox has seen and the types of people he's met, she doesn't want to find out who his news sources are. "I was doing my job."
"Hm." Knox looks at her like he knows something she doesn't, and she does not like it.
"What?"
"I didn't say anything."
"You made a face."
"You're imagining things."
Lan Fan glares at him. To his credit, he does not break under her stare. "If you want to say something, just say it."
"Not with that attitude," he deadpans. "I'll keep it to myself."
"You're so-"
Lan Fan doesn't finish the sentence. They drink from their cups in unison, identical looks of vexation on their faces.
They sit in silence for a long while. She examines her coffee, and feels that the doctor's qi is more peaceful than she's ever felt it before. She feels his energy wavering in the air, filling the space around her with the pleasant and protective- though slightly irritated- energy she only ever felt with Fu.
"I'm glad you're alright, Lan Fan," he says brusquely after a moment, reaching over to tap her shoulder. The gesture falls somewhere between a punch and a pat; it's the touch of an absent parent, doing his best to connect with her. Lan Fan knows it well and still doesn't know what to make of it, even after all those years with Fu.
She offers him the tiniest of smiles in return. "I'll try and write more often."
He wrinkles his nose and shrugs his shoulders. "Eh. I won't answer." Just like that, the moment disappears, but the space between them feels warmer than it did before.
"I'll visit when I'm in Central, then," she says. "Ling drags me down here pretty frequently."
"I guess I can't stop you." She doesn't miss the soft look that crosses his wizened face. "Just don't bring your royal freak with you."
"He's the leader of a country, doctor. You have to stop bullying him so incessantly."
"I can't help it. Kid's weird."
It's not worth arguing over. Knox plays dirty in debates, and she knows he'll probably pull the 'I-did-emergency-surgery-on-you-when-you-were-half-dead' card; she is crushingly aware that there's no coming back from that one. "He's weird in a good way," she says, because she can't just not defend him.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Lan Fan scowls, her loyalty defeating her resolute determination not to engage Knox. "He runs Xing better than-"
"I know he runs Xing well. Doesn't change the fact that he's a weird little guy."
She sits back with a huff and downs the rest of her coffee in one go. Knox looks rather pleased with himself.
"How's your shoulder?" he asks when it becomes clear that Lan Fan is too stubborn to resume the conversation. "It's all still connected?"
"Yes," she says, an air of indigence sitting heavy around her- both from what he said before, and because he won't leave her damn arm alone. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"You just wouldn't want it breaking off in the line of duty."
"No, I wouldn't."
"No." Knox scratches the back of his neck.
"I should be getting back, then," says Lan Fan after a momentary silence, remembering who she's left alone at the hotel- with Edward Elric, no less, who is undoubtedly enabling his insanity at this very moment.
"Right," says the doctor, standing with a grunt and a decisive smack to his thighs. "Can't be away too long."
Knox walks her to the door, watching her quietly as she slips back into her shoes. With a hand on the doorknob, she turns back to him and opens her mouth to speak; then, closes it, and promptly opens it again. For a moment, no words come out. Then she says, "We're staying at the Foundation Hotel, right by Central Headquarters."
The doctor raises his eyebrows, confusion written on his face. "...Nice place."
Frustrated by her inability to express what she wants to, Lan Fan tries again. "If you want to come see us, the young lord and I, it's- you're welcome any time."
He smiles his close-lipped smile and blinks hard, turning his head back toward the rest of the house. "Thanks, kid."
She catches the hint of a tear in the corner of his eye, reflecting the silver lenses of his glasses. She doesn't acknowledge it, just nods, turning the knob and inviting sunlight into the dim entryway.
As she walks down the steps, taking notice of the rose bush beside his front door(which was not there seven years ago), Knox stops her, voice slightly hoarse. "You're a good kid, Lan Fan."
Lan Fan squares her shoulders, promises herself she will not cry, and turns back to him.
She extends a hand and the doctor shakes it.
"Take care of yourself," he says, "because I'm not letting you in here if you need help."
They both know that's a lie, but she indulges him regardless. "I'll be more careful."