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He has fled once again, He chose to wander alone again, He glanced sideways at the small group that had been his company until now, Edward Elric and those two Chimeras with a bit of luck their paths would cross again, he would never say it but he enjoyed the short cozy time, for now with his mind set on going for the Fuhrer's head, however his plans for tonight did not turn out to be as expected.
They were following him or rather Someone in particular
He moved stealthily between the trees, the lightness of those movements could have made him think of squirrels or nocturnal birds but it was a person who was following him and he had an idea of who it could be.
—Hey Precious, if you're going to follow me, why don't you come down from there? — only silence as a response —okay, you're absolutely right to be reluctant with me, after all I'm the villain who has taken control of your dear Prince's body hah— Greed turned towards the tree with his arms crossed, he could feel the young woman's eyes fixed on him, through that mask that hid her most tender features.
—Go on...— Greed clicked his tongue and decided to ignore her, he had more important matters to attend to than the girl—As you wish — he turned around and behind him he heard how she descended from the tree.
—Someone has to take care of the Master's body, don't try anything so walk — His voice was firm and neither seemed particularly interested in an unnecessary discussion, Greed began to walk followed by Lan Fan looking at her from the corner of his eye every now and then, unlike him, she was human and the path to the military base was not around the corner, she would end up getting tired and would stop following him he thought to himself he would take advantage of his tiredness to sneak away.
For his part, Lan Fan looked at Greed's back,
It was uncomfortable to say the least everything about him was identical to Ling but no, his personality and expressions could never confuse him, but he would still do his duty as he always has.
He has to be emperor no matter what the cost but Greed's presence did not stop being disturbing for her it is as if she were now following a different person, the homunculus interrupted his thoughts.
—You know if you talked a little more...this trip could be less long, don't you think?—
Maybe tense would be the right word
First of all, greed. He wouldn't shut up, there was something in that tone accompanied by that Salamera smile that transmitted distrust, a homunculus...an artificial man.
—I have nothing to tell you — Lan Fan looked away without stopping his monotonous walk, but that vague answer seemed to excite the homunculus, contrary to what he expected or wanted.
—Is that so? I, on the other hand, wanted to ask you a couple of questions, would you mind answering? — greed stopped and turned his head towards her.
—It depends. What kind of questions? — Lan Fan also stopped and took a few steps back, he ran a hand through his hair.
—Are you always like this? So insipid and disciplined? — Lan Fan looked at him angrily and an expression of annoyance appeared on the homunculus' face.
—I'm fulfilling my duty and for that I need discipline and to assume my duty with responsibility! —
In response, Lan Fan received a deep sigh from the Homunculus.
—Listen... It would be too much to ask that you stop thinking of me as Your dearest Master. Here it's just you and me. I'm Greed the Greedy who is in front of you, so leave your role as a Bodyguard to me. You don't need to protect me. — Anxious to wait for an answer, Greed wanted to approach her but in a quick movement he placed a kunai on her neck.
—Okay... Greed, now step aside — she put away her kunai and walked on her own, she heard the homunculus follow her and walk beside her.
—That's better! — Greed answered smiling widely — Very well and now that we have understood each other, why don't we get to know each other better? —
She was about to abruptly tell him no, but there was something about Greed's charisma that was contagious, learning one or two things from him wouldn't hurt she glanced at the tattoo on her hand.
—That tattoo... What does it mean? — she asked timidly, she didn't know many things about her current environment and it wasn't the first time she saw that tattoo.
—Um? This one? Oh, it's called Ouroboros. It represents death, but also life, end and beginning. Infinity and constant change. The rest of the Homunculi and I possess it. —
She raised her hand to her chest, remembering when she saw it in Fuhrer King Bradley and Gluttony, remembering that day and the fear that invaded her.
—Hey... Now that I think about it I don't know your name— Greed arched an eyebrow waiting for her answer
—L-Lan Fan—
—Nice to meet you—
There was an awkward silence that seemed eternal, unlike the other Homunculi Greed was not Hostile, she knew how to work on par with humans and being completely alone with him she constantly tried to start a conversation with her, if it was all an act it should have ended a long time ago, Greed didn't displease her but she didn't quite keep her guard up.
—I noticed that you have an Automail. Do you have a lot with it? —She looked curiously at her arm that creaked with the sound of her movement, unconsciously she brought a hand to where her arm that was once made of flesh and blood used to be.
—I guess that's a no— Greed faltered for the first time with her words
—I-I... I want... I want someone to listen, to listen to me!!— Lan Fan abruptly raised her voice, surprising Greed, the homunculus didn't say anything and let her continue. She seemed like a girl who kept everything to herself and from her expression it seemed like she never managed to vent, at least not as she would have wanted, although Greed wasn't the most suitable person to vent to.
Lan Fan leaned her body against a leafy tree until
She rested her legs on the lower part of the trunk, The homunculus dragged her feet to the trunk in front of her, split in half, putting both hands on her face with resignation, Greed only wanted to slip away, she didn't want to have to deal with feelings... so complicated, he didn't feel them, however here he was.
—I have never spoken of this with anyone... Never— Greed's gaze was fixed on her, a morbidness was beginning to wear off on the greedy homunculus, as if he were about to seize something, in this case the girl's trust even if it was momentarily.
Lan fan began to speak with a slow and low voice for Greed's liking, she told her how she had to be trained since she was a child, how she ended up accepting to always be part of the servitude, that surrender and submission made Greed look at her with disgust when she heard how she told him about the comfort she felt in belonging to such an unambitious status, however, for Greed she had something that stood out before his eyes. That loyalty to her convictions along with all that determination attracted Greed to her.
—That... that homunculus King Bradley chased after me and my master, even though I was scared like a little girl, I couldn't let fear paralyze me even if I died... he had to survive no matter what, I had become a hindrance during the fight, to make up for it I used my severed arm as a distraction... — her brow furrowed, closing her eyes tightly as tears fell one after another, trying hard to dry them quickly but not stopping her crying.
Greed remembered when she took control of Ling's body, she heard the frenzy of despair in the prince's voice, she could feel Ling softening within her consciousness.
The homunculus looked away, for the first time he was not able to look her in the eyes, he did not know what he should or should not do in such situations, but there was something he did know now was not a good time to leave.
Lan Fan quickly regained his composure and looked at the homunculus, he looked uncomfortable and seemed to be thinking carefully about his words, Lan Fan sketched a small smile at him.
"Thank you," his voice was soft and calm, which left the homunculus even more confused, blinking repeatedly feeling stupid.
—Why are you thanking me? — the homunculus answered and Lan fan laughed lightly
—For listening to me— he said drying his last tears
"Was it that simple to reach the humans?" Greed thought to himself, the homunculus had his own conclusions regarding Lan fan's story
But it didn't seem like a waste of time to stay here, Lan fan was surprised that he was silent now and this time it was she who wanted to break the awkward silence.
—What about you? — Lan Fan asked, crossing his legs.
—Huh? What do you mean, darling? — a mischievous smile returned to Greed's lips.
—Could you tell me about yourself? — a slight blush appeared on lan fan cheeks. Greed didn't find it difficult to talk about himself, however, remembering his life in Dublin made him smile bitterly.
—Oh, does that mean you're starting to like me? —
Greed didn't miss the opportunity to embarrass her
—I'm just asking out of courtesy...and because I'd really like to know what kind of life a Homunculus leads—an excuse and a truth in Lan Fan's words
—Let's see, I have what we could call 6 brothers and a father, I think the right word would be my creator...Now that I think about it, I was never really part of them, I betrayed father and ran away, I tried to live my way and that's how it was for almost a century— Lan Fan's eyes opened at the same time when she heard a century
—H-How old are you supposed to be?!— his voice rose at her question
—Almost two hundred, I'm the third of us, oh but don't think I was an old man before I took this body, no, in fact I was even more attractive— He smiled mischievously and Lan Fan slid her eyes upwards
—And what did you do once you ran away?—
—I felt free for the first time, I managed to satisfy my desires, at least most of them. I met a couple of Chimera, humans that had been experimented on, they would have died if they continued there, so I freed them and they became my men—
Lan fan noticed the small pause that the Homunculus made in calling them his men.
—What were their names? —
—Dolcetto, Roa, Bido and Martel, those were their names— he looked at her with greed, she kept her head down, but on her lips there was a different smile than the one she usually keeps, there was no malice or trace of perversion, it was the most... human smile she had seen in him.
"Were" the weight of the emphasis on that word repeated itself over and over again in Lan fan's mind. If his comrades were still alive, he surely wouldn't be alone right now, greed reminded him of Bido more than he would like to admit.
Uneasiness invaded him as he remembered the recent events that led to the recovery of his memories.
—Well, enough about me! I'll go stretch my legs— Greed stretched his arms and turned around, but Lan Fan stopped him.
— I'll go with you— Greed sighed at the girl's insistence on not separating from him, frustration took over the homunculus, he usually likes to be in the company of someone else, but now was not exactly the time, with each second his mood worsened.
Lan fan was an affable company and understood that silence was what he needed, with only the sound of his steps on the grass his mind made him relive his shame once again, holding the lifeless corpse of Bido in his arms I felt disgusted with myself, having fallen so low he always refused to accept and embrace the happiness of those days taking refuge in his nature as a Homunculus, he was not able to do anything for his friends neither before nor now, although he would avenge them by finishing off Bradley he would not be able to properly process those feelings because he was not a human, but that did not mean he did not feel, remembering the faces of his friends whom he could call them that way a lump in his throat formed What did he want to do? What should he do? Beating Wrath to death would not calm this down and blaming himself would only make him feel more miserable he was a hypocrite.
He hadn't noticed that Lan Fan had stopped. She looked at the starry sky with complete serenity. He approached her and imitated her gesture, looking at the starry sky, unlike Lan Fan's face. Greed didn't express the tranquility of his companion, only a rigid face.
—Greed... C-Can I hug you? —The homunculus' eyes showed surprise and confusion. Hugging him...his arms didn't move from his sides. He had the impulse. When someone got close enough to him, he betrayed him.
—I...I can't! —He closed his eyes and walked away from Lan Fan, leaning with a somber expression on his face, his forearm on his forehead, desperately wanting to take control of the situation and what he felt.
Lan Fan approached him without hesitation, even though the Homunculus' gaze was one of absolute despair and that getting close to him could end badly for her.
Greed felt Ian Fan take his arms and wrap them around her, doing the same with her thin arms, caressing his back, squeezing hard to prevent him from leaving. Although he was aware that Greed could push her away if he wanted to, he hugged her back, imitating the fan's gesture and closing his eyes, letting himself be carried away by that hug.
"I was never taught how to deal with such complicated feelings."