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No, he's already lost Fu today, he's not going to lose Greed as well.
Ling screamed Lan Fan's name and held his hand out. The girl, of course, understood the gesture, and passed him the philosopher's stone.
The prince ran towards the homunculus' fading form. He wasn't sure if this would work, or what the consequences might be, the only thing he knew for certain is that the other half of his soul was slowly dying before his very eyes, and he would give anything to stop it.
"CATCH!" Ling yelled as he threw the stone at Greed.
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Greed was satisfied, the feeling of emptiness inside him completely vanished. He had friends, he had Ling, what else could he possibly want? Even the whole universe couldn't compete with the love of his comrades.
But then, what does he do now? They were standing by the circle of people cheering the pipsqueak on as he beat "father", and Greed felt fulfilled, at that moment he didn't want anything, he didn't need anything.
Where did his avarice go, and what is Greed without his avarice? Who is he if not the one who wants everything; money, power, and women?
The homunculus was scared of the answer to those questions, he was scared that he didn't want any of those things anymore, and he was terrified because he didn't feel wrong about it.
Not craving more was not a bad feeling, in fact, being satisfied felt ... right.
Greed felt whole for the first time in his existence, and it scared him. Up to this point he was defined by the gaping empty feeling in his chest, and now that it's gone is he even himself anymore?
He didn't get to ponder these questions anymore, as "father" suddenly had his hand in Ling's body, pulling the homunculus out and absorbing him back into himself, while the prince tried his best to stop him.
The sin knew it was a losing battle, either he bites the dust, or the both of them do, and he hated people hurting his posessions, so he had gone with the first option.
He took a second to hate himself for lying to to the prince, but he knew it was for the best. Lan Fan had a philosopher's stone, plus Greed made sure to leave part of his too, so the future emperor really had nothing to worry about.
The battle was over, they won, and he was dying. He hoped Ling will forgive him for not ruling Xing alongside him.
"CATCH!" the homunculus barely registered the command before a philosopher's stone landed right in his mouth, he swallowed it as a reflex.
He suddenly felt his body regenerating, his original body. He vaguely realized he would live to see another day, he was not headed for the sky anymore, neither metaphorically nor physically. The sin registered he was falling just in time to activate his shield before he hit the ground.
"GREED!" He heard Ling yell his name as the prince collapsed by his side, inspecting him for signals of life.
"Hey." His voice sounded foreign to his own ears, raspy and tired, but he spoke, he was alive.
"Hey." Ling echoed his words, and helped him up into a sitting position in the prince's lap. "It's okay, you're okay, I've got you."
He was talking more to himself than anyone, and pulled the homunculus into a tight hug.
Greed waited for him to let go and slap him in the face for lying, to yell at him to not ever do that again, but he didn't. The prince just continued to hold him tight, and the sin suddenly felt wetness on his shoulder, as Ling shook softly.
The homunculus tightened his hold on the human, one hand running circles on his back, the other in his hair, softly massaging his scalp. He didn't know what to say as the other's fingers dug into his back; he felt them trembling through his shirt.
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Ling was relieved, and tired, so incredibly tired, as he held onto Greed like his life depended on it. He half expected to have been shoved away by now. Instead he was comforted, held and cuddled for the first time in a while. Heirs to the throne were not often coddled, even at a young age.
He was not crying anymore, although his breaths were still shaky, and he was still trembling a little. Exhaustion washed over him, and he'd almost fallen asleep when Greed spoke.
"I'm sorry."
It was a simple sentence, but the prince knew there was more to it, it was not just an apology, but also a promise that what happened today will never happen again, and he believed him, because Greed never lies, unless Ling's life depends on it apparently.
"Apology accepted." He whispered, not trusting his voice yet.
He felt the homunculus smile, as he pressed his face against the prince's neck, and tightened his hold on his back, the fingers massaging his head stopped, and traveled lower to play with his ponytail, which had gone loose by now.
Ling hummed happily, and felt the sin shudder at the sound.
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Greed's existential crisis had been solved the second the prince made that happy little sound, because although the emptiness in him did not return, he now wanted something again, or more specifically, someone.
As much as he didn't want to, he let go of the human after a solid five minutes of cuddling, because Al was back in his body, more than likely expecting a hug, and Lan Fan was staring at them like she's seen a ghost.
Greed smiled at Ling's reluctance to let him pull away and help him up, it felt nice to know he wanted to hold him for longer as well.
As soon as the prince was up on his feet he clung to the homunculus, who now had to support most of his bodyweight, since the human was far too tired to even stand on his own, which is how he ended up being carried to Al's side bridal style.
Greed was sure that Lan Fan's eyes would have fallen out of their sockets by now, if such a thing were possible.
The younger Elric brother was at first confused as to how the prince and Greed got separated, but still opened his arms, clearly expecting a hug from both of them. He did get a hug, and Ed gave him a short explanation about what happened while he was away.
When everything was said and done they decided to stay the night (and the rest of the day) at a nearby inn, since no one was in the mood to start the agonizingly long and tiresome journey back home.
Ling spoke to the woman at the counter, who looked rather taken aback by their little ragtag crew of five. Well, whatever, she has seen worse things today.
Greed zoned out, just listening to the prince talk, but he pulled himself together in time to lean a bit forward so the human in his arms was close enough to the counter to pick up three room keys, and toss one to Lan Fan, and another to Heinkel and Darius. They bid goodnight, and retired to their respective rooms for the day.
Ling and Greed decided to take a bath (luckily Ling gathered enough energy to bathe alone), and then just cuddled on one of the two beds in the room.
It was a single bed, so there wasn't much room, but then again it's not like either of them craved personal space to begin with. The prince was lying on top of the homunculus, one hand stroking up and down his side, the other in his hair, while the sin played with the human's ponytail again, running threw and curling it around his fingers.
"Are we taking the chimeras?" Ling's voice resonated through Greed's chest, where his head lied.
"Hm?"
"To Xing, are we taking them?"
"Of course we are, they're working for me aren't they?" the homunculus answered smugly.
Of course they are coming with them, they have nowhere else to go anyway, and Greed takes good care of his employees.
"They could have the yellow quarters in the palace, they're the prettiest besides the emperor's wing, which, of course, is reserved for us." the human smiled into the sin's chest "You're gonna love it there, it's like the rooms were built for you, with copius amounts of gold, and elaborate frescos."
"Mmm, I can't wait." And he truly couldn't, spending his days ruling a country with Ling will be a dream come true.
They fell asleep not long after, despite it being barely past midday, and didn't wake until morning.
By the time they pulled themselves together the chimeras and Lan Fan were waiting for them at the reception downstairs. Together they headed for Central HQ, and then the hospital to say goodbye to everyone before they set off.
They met up with Riza while leaving the hospital.
"Where are you two going?" she asked, looking quizzically at the chimeras.
"I think we're headed for Xing." answered Heinkel.
"You think?" she looked even more confused now.
"Well yea, Greed and Ling can't exactly be emperor without going to Xing." Darius seemed confused at Hawkeye's confusion.
"Damn right! We're gonna go claim that throne for ourselves, and then give the yellow quarters to these two." the homunculus exclaimed proudly, pointing at the chimeras.
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" the lieutenant spoke as if she was addressing five year-olds "There's only one emperor, and two of you."
All five of them looked puzzled, non of them realized, that that could pose a problem before. Now that Greed thought about it, it was quite a big oversight on their part.
On the other hand he was sure it will be sorted out in no time, first they will make Ling emperor, then he can change the law to include the sin as emperor as well, right?
Seemed like the two of them were on the same page, as the prince confidently stated:
"I'll handle it." and squeezed the homunculus' hand, that he's been holding all day.
The chimeras and Lan Fan nodded in unison, if Ling wanted something he made it happen. Greed smiled proudly at his companion, he was almost as avaricious as the sin himself.
"I'll go tell May her tribe will be under our protection once we get the throne, you wait for me here alright?" the prince looked at the group.
"Okay, I'll stay with them, make sure no one wanders off." the homunculus assured the human who was now running the other way.
"Great catch." Riza commented, staring in the general direction of where the prince ran off to.
"Yea, well, I do have good taste." he only picked the best possessions.
The sniper snickered at Greed's comment, then bid them farewell, and left, most likely to gather more books for Mustang.
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That night they set up camp in the desert. A bordering town offered to house them for a day, but they all collectively agreed that they'd spent more than enough time in Amestris, and would rather sleep outside.
They were sitting around the fire after dinner when Heinkel spoke up.
"What will our role be? In Xing. What will we do?" after a pause he added "You don't need bodyguards, and what soldiers live in the second nicest quarters of the palace?"
"Whatever you want." Greed smiled at the chimeras. "We'll be emperor, you will have nothing to worry about."
"We were thinking of persuing entertainment." Darius seemed
self-conscious to mention it, as if it was something to be ashamed of.
"You have our full support." the chimeras looked relieved at Ling's words.
The mood was light around the campfire, everyone was joking, telling stories, and sharing future plans, even if only to forget the recent events.
"... and after we settled into the palace we could travel around the country, I'm sure May will be more than happy to hold down the fort for us while we're away." the prince suggested.
"We could run a traveling circus in the summer."
"Great idea Heinkel, we'd go to all your performances." Ling was quite enthusiastic about that.
"I always wanted to try my hand at rope dancing." Lan Fan added thoughtfully "I'm sure it would be good training as well."
"Yup!" the future emperor was really invested in the traveling circus idea, Greed found it amusing.
The human was sitting in the homunculus' lap, drumming his fingers on the sin's thigh, who had his arms around him, and his head rested on the prince's shoulder.
They've been like this since getting separated, it's like they've grown so accustomed to being in each other's head that they can't stand to be further apart than absolutely necessary.
They also tell each other how they're feeling, and what they're thinking occasionally.
There are times when one of them would just whisper "I'm sad.", or "happy.", with no further context or explanation, because while they were in one body they could sort of catch a glimpse of the other's emotions or thoughts, so they're used to knowing each other's mental state and general mood.
Greed likes this, it feels like they get to be separate people without putting distance between the two of them.
They're still a package deal, except the homunculus likes to think of them as more of a buy one get one free package instead of the two in one package they previously were.
Ling's quiet murmur of "tired" is what tears him from his train of thought.
"Alright everyone, good work today! We've come a long way. Rest up, because we're setting off early tomorrow!" With that he picked up the prince and carried him to their sleeping bag.
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The days spent in the desert were all the same, walking, and then sleeping, and then walking again. Food and water were scarce, but they made do.
Except Ling, who was always 'starving', but then again, the homunculus doubted that even the xingese palace chefs will be able to cook enough food for him to not go hungry.
Once the prince tried to eat an uncooked lizard he just killed. Thankfully Greed stopped him just in time, because not even Gluttony would've been stupid enough to do that.
Once they were in Xing they performed the good old 'Ling fainted from hunger on the street please feed him' trick, except they would have actually recognized Ling, so Greed had to substitute, thankfully he'd seen it done several times, so he was a master of the craft.
Feeding on the scraps people gave them, and hiding in the shadows, they slowly moved forward, and within a month and a half they reached the imperial palace.
With plenty of coup d'état experience (and a homunculus) under their belt, taking the throne was child's play.
However, making Ling emperor was only half the plan complete, now Greed had to become emperor too.
The laws securing the homunculus' position of power, surprisingly, were generally well received.
They made the two emperor situation similar to the two consuls in ancient Rome. On paper the two of them were supposed to supervise one another, make sure non of the two gain too much power, they could veto each other's actions, etcetera.
The people of Xing were more than happy about such changes.
Of course, in reality Ling and Greed will always be on the same page, thinking and acting as one, but the xingese had nothing to worry about regardless, since both of them had their best interest in mind. They would protect their nation at all costs.
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It was two weeks after Ling's coronation, and one day after Greed's when the maids stopped coming to their room to try and help the emperor get dressed in complicated ceremonial garments, only to be shunned away by an annoyed homunculus who was "already handling it thank you very much".
The various marriage proposals from different clans stopped flooding in as well, and letters arriving to the palace no longer specified which emperor they were addressed to.
The waiters stopped separating their meals, instead opting to bring them one double serving, because they were going to eat off of each other's plates anyways.
Even Lan Fan ended her search for a craftsman to make another throne, once she'd seen how perfectly content they are sitting in one another's lap for as long as necessary.
Both Ling and Greed appreciated these changes, but didn't have time to really think about what they mean. They were busy stabilizing the country.
The two made May the imperial alchehestrist, giving her clan protection and a high standing. They also declared that if they were away or if anything were to happen to them, she shall take over the throne.
Many were concerned that such a declaration would resort in countless assassination attempts from the Chang clan, but Greed and Ling weren't worried, they trusted her, and soon she earned the hearts of the people as well.
It was a couple days later when they received their first call from Amestris. Ed and Al were home with Winry, and the younger brother excitedly explained the taste of the mechanic's apple pie in great detail.
After that the calls just kept flooding in, Ling and Greed talked with the Elrics every day, and Darius and Heinkel got almost daily updates from Jerso and Zampano as well.
It took a few weeks for everything to settle down, and for the group to get used to their new routine.
Once they did, the five of them actually had some free time, and they usually spent it hanging out in one of the imperial gardens.
It was during one of those free afternoons that they could reflect on the changes since they came to the palace.
"So you two finally got the staff off your backs huh." Darius commented looking at Greed, who was sitting in the other emperor's lap.
"Yeah, they were hella annoying," the homunculus complained "they kept bothering us, asking if Ling needed help dressing, with his hair, or carrying things, when he's got me RIGHT HERE, I can handle it just fine."
The human snickered slightly at Greed's annoyance, and tightened his arms around his waist.
The chimeras and Lan Fan rolled their eyes.
"You're not being very discreet you know." the girl commented. "I'm sure half the country thinks you're married already."
That sentence made the homunculus feel weird somehow, he felt the human hold him even tighter, indicating that he was also uncomfortable.
"Well, we aren't, also, I think we're gonna retire for the day, I'm done sharing Ling with the lot of you. Good night." he waved, and dragged the emperor to their quarters.
He liked being alone with Ling, having him all to himself, he was his favorite possession after all.
They settled down on their bed, Ling was meditating, Greed laying next to him, staring at the other with his hands tucked under his head.
Dieing rays of sunshine filtering through the curtains painted the room a tired yellow, the human looked so regal in the afternoon light, even with his more casual apparel.
"I'm happy." Greed commented mindlessly, drowning out the chirping of the birds outside, if only for a short moment.
Ling looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with the homunculus.
"I'm happy too" ... "This.." he gestured around them "makes me happy."
He moved from his sitting position, laying on the bed too, pulling a blanket on the two of them, and snuggling to Greed's side.
"You make me happy." the emperor murmured into the homunculus' shoulder.
The latter hummed and shifted closer to Ling as well. He couldn't stop thinking about what Lan Fan said earlier, she commented on their relationship so casually, as if she expects them to actually get married sometime soon.
Which is obviously ridiculous, although they ARE the most important people in each other's lives, and they'd both be more than willing to die for one another, and being in different rooms for more than thirty minutes is torture for both of them... but it's just not like that.
Yeah, they're just very close, sure he loves Ling more than anything but ... oh, oh he loves him, well... Greed decided that's future Greed's problem, and went to sleep.
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Ling had no idea what was going on, did he do something wrong? Did he say something he shouldn't have?
Greed has grown distant, not to the extent that anyone else would notice, but it was still alarming.
At first, when the homunculus stopped initiating physical contact, and voicing his feelings Ling just assumed he's had a bad day, but it has been three days now and if anything, things had gotten worse.
The sin barely talked to him, only replying to things he'd said, he was actively avoiding touching him, Ling would walk next to him in the halls, and he'd rather brush up against the wall than him, and he hadn't called him any stupid nicknames in a while either.
The human was especially worried when, after a meeting, instead of having their usual 'tea date' as the staff calls it, he announced that he's tired, and will go take a nap.
Ling was a firm believer of talking about feelings, so he followed the other emperor to their quarters, and locked themselves in their bedroom. Greed shot him a questioning look, to which he replied.
"And now, we talk."
"Huh?"
"You've been avoiding me, and I want to know why." the human took a shaky breath "Look, whatever I did or said, I didn't mean to hurt you, just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it... please."
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Well, the homunculus wasn't expecting this. He wasn't avoiding Ling on purpose, it was just harder to be so close to him since the meaning of their interactions changed for the sin.
Previously casual touches felt different, and were never enough. Greed wanted more.
It's so like him, longing for something unobtainable.
He wanted to lie so bad, to say nothing was wrong, or that he was just tired, or any other excuse he could think of, but Ling deserves the truth, and Greed never lies, unless the human's life is at stake.
"You did nothing wrong." he wanted to make that very clear. "I just may... like you a little too much."
Ling pulled a hand down his face.
"You are an idiot," he said "avoiding me because you 'like me too much'" he drew quotation marks in the air "is very stupid."
"You don't get it." the homunculus huffed. "What we have right now is nice, but ... I want more, and can't have it, and it's painful, and-" suddenly there was a hand covering his mouth.
"Have you ever thought to just ask?"
"Hmm?" the sin tried to voice his confusion.
"You decided that you can't have more, because I don't want more, but not once have you thought to just ask me? ... You really are a moron."
Ling was fondly smiling at him, and it took everything in Greed not to sink through the floor in embarrassment.
"So, speak up, what do you want?" the hand was removed from his mouth.
"I ... don't know"
He really did not know, he'd never felt this way before, he was a HOMUNCULUS for fuck's sake. He was not made for love. (If Lust were here she would surely laugh at him)
"Alright then, what about a kiss, may I kiss you?"
Greed's brain stopped working right then and there. Of course, he wanted to kiss Ling, he wanted to kiss him so bad.
"Please." he answered.
The human tried to stifle a laugh (emphasis on tried), then leaned in.
Their lips met and it was better than anything Greed could've imagined. They fit together perfectly, like they were always meant to be doing this.
He let his hands wonder, one found it's way into the emperor's hair, messing up his ponytail, and earning him a happy moan, the other ended up on the small of his back, keeping him close.
Ling settled on locking his arms around the sin's neck, holding onto him like a lifeline.
Greed was getting the hang of this kissing thing very quickly, he licked the human's lips, asking for, and quickly gaining entry into his mouth.
They were both out of breath by the time they pulled away, but before the homunculus could miss the contact Ling moved on to pepper soft open-mouthed kisses on his neck.
The sin was sure this was heaven, because not even Ishval, or Truth, or however you wanna call it, could ever offer him anything better than this.
The human looked up at him smiling, and adorably disheveled.
"Okay?" he asked.
"More than okay." Greed answered, and dove in for another kiss.
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The next day they got a lengthy lecture from Lan Fan about how "you don't show up to an important meeting covered in hickeys", while Heinkel and Darius laughed in the background.