Honesty: Fullmetal Alchemist: 64 - Jumbled truths.
Title: Honesty
Author: melodyic_rhyme
Rating: PG
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing/s: LingFan
Theme: 64. Jumble Truths
Genre/s: fluff
Warnings: mild innuendo, set post-series
Words: 833
Summary: Mei is meddling again
Disclaimer/Claimer: Hagaren is the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No copyright infringement is intended and I'll put it back when I'm done.
Note: Set on the same 'verse as Broken Romance. Written for Fma_fic_Contest Prompt 86: "That's so crazy it might just work."
Mei Chang was certainly not the perfect picture of a Xingese lady. She was not quiet and prim, she had a slight tendency to talk back, and reflection before action was a foreign concept to her. She was very loyal, but more to her clan above all else. The other princesses had their faults; Mei Chang more than once found a group of them whispering gossip in the imperial gardens. These same ladies were quick to take shots at the same ones they had whispered with, which Mei thought silly. It seemed that her inclination to act neither calmly nor respectfully was a recessive trait; only noticeable in a few.
It seemed her brother Ling was one of those few. More than occasionally the girls whispers were of his infamy.
"Prince Ling of the Yao clan offended Prince Zhiang Min of the Hua clan today."
"I heard it almost escalated into a fight until that guard of his got involved."
"Does that boy honestly think that he'll become emperor that way?"
Mei had never actually talked to him. He was a Prince that actually had a shot at the throne, while she was of the lowest clan, struggling to hang on to the scraps of power she held. It was a rather large gap in positions, and it was not crossed easily. Only after first crossing the desert, almost engaging in combat with Lan Fan, and the Promised Day did they actually begin to speak to each other. She and Lan Fan both silently agreed to not tell him of their almost-battle.
Far from the whispers and hushed conversation of his sisters, Ling was very open and kind. He saw no reason for ill feelings, although Mei had plenty against him. His kindness might have at least partially been because a group of three did not leave much room for quiet defamation. However, Ling certainly was not without a different sort of secret. Mei was not incredibly privileged, but she did manage to obtain scrolls and books for reading; most of them the romantic sort. The books were fiction, of course, incredibly exaggerated and overblown to make for greater entertainment. Yet bits of them held true. The longing glances, the blushing faces, the two parties going out of their ways to even brush hands for an instant, and how it was incredibly obvious to everyone except those two.
Frustatingly, either from honest obliviousness or painful awareness of the boundaries of their society, Ling and Lan Fan perfectly fit the trope and chose not to act on the obvious hints of romance, which Mei felt were more 'obvious statements' instead.
"You are a very dishonest man, Ling Yao." She accused him when they were alone.
"I don't know what you speak of. Honest is an important virtue for a king. He must keep the trust of his people." he answered.
"Yes, yes, because he is nothing without them and all that." she went on, rolling her eyes. "But how can you say that when you are not even entirely honest with your most loyal subject!"
"LanFan?" he answered quizzically. "I tell her everything."
Mei sighed. "Well, perhaps that is almost true-"
"It is entirely true!" He interjected.
"Whatever! You're both purposely avoiding one single word." She snapped.
"And what word would that be?" He asked playfully "Although she does have a stubborn habit of not referring to me by name."
Mei sat silent. She stared intently at him. She pointed at her heart. "Starts with an L."
Ling's playful smile fell to a solemn expression. "Ah, well. I suppose we do tend to avoid discussing that."
Mei could not help but feel a bit pleased at his yielding. After all, he admitted that something was there, but he chose not to share it. She was finally felt as if she were getting somewhere. She smirked "That certainly does not keep you from making it."
Ling's face was positively crimson. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"I am not a child, Ling Yao" she teased. "I know what happens when you two sneak of and come back with such foolish grins and tousled hair."
"Even so, it's not exactly easy. A prince and a guard is not an everyday occurrence."
"It's not entirely unheard of either. I'm sure you learned of the emperor who adored a servant girl so much he promoted her to empress?"
"Well-"
"Besides, a prince talking about uniting all of Xing is not very common either, and yet you have entirely welcomed the idea!"
"True, but-"
"Honestly, as long as you are completely flipping everything else upside down, what is one more matter?"
Ling was silent. He crossed his arms, deep in thought. His brow furrowed and his eyes flickered as the gears in his head whirled.
Just as Mei was becoming impatient he spoke "I hope you have some sort of plan to help me, because," he gave a mischievous smirk "that's so crazy it just might work."
Author: melodyic_rhyme
Rating: PG
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing/s: LingFan
Theme: 64. Jumble Truths
Genre/s: fluff
Warnings: mild innuendo, set post-series
Words: 833
Summary: Mei is meddling again
Disclaimer/Claimer: Hagaren is the property of Hiromu Arakawa. No copyright infringement is intended and I'll put it back when I'm done.
Note: Set on the same 'verse as Broken Romance. Written for Fma_fic_Contest Prompt 86: "That's so crazy it might just work."
Mei Chang was certainly not the perfect picture of a Xingese lady. She was not quiet and prim, she had a slight tendency to talk back, and reflection before action was a foreign concept to her. She was very loyal, but more to her clan above all else. The other princesses had their faults; Mei Chang more than once found a group of them whispering gossip in the imperial gardens. These same ladies were quick to take shots at the same ones they had whispered with, which Mei thought silly. It seemed that her inclination to act neither calmly nor respectfully was a recessive trait; only noticeable in a few.
It seemed her brother Ling was one of those few. More than occasionally the girls whispers were of his infamy.
"Prince Ling of the Yao clan offended Prince Zhiang Min of the Hua clan today."
"I heard it almost escalated into a fight until that guard of his got involved."
"Does that boy honestly think that he'll become emperor that way?"
Mei had never actually talked to him. He was a Prince that actually had a shot at the throne, while she was of the lowest clan, struggling to hang on to the scraps of power she held. It was a rather large gap in positions, and it was not crossed easily. Only after first crossing the desert, almost engaging in combat with Lan Fan, and the Promised Day did they actually begin to speak to each other. She and Lan Fan both silently agreed to not tell him of their almost-battle.
Far from the whispers and hushed conversation of his sisters, Ling was very open and kind. He saw no reason for ill feelings, although Mei had plenty against him. His kindness might have at least partially been because a group of three did not leave much room for quiet defamation. However, Ling certainly was not without a different sort of secret. Mei was not incredibly privileged, but she did manage to obtain scrolls and books for reading; most of them the romantic sort. The books were fiction, of course, incredibly exaggerated and overblown to make for greater entertainment. Yet bits of them held true. The longing glances, the blushing faces, the two parties going out of their ways to even brush hands for an instant, and how it was incredibly obvious to everyone except those two.
Frustatingly, either from honest obliviousness or painful awareness of the boundaries of their society, Ling and Lan Fan perfectly fit the trope and chose not to act on the obvious hints of romance, which Mei felt were more 'obvious statements' instead.
"You are a very dishonest man, Ling Yao." She accused him when they were alone.
"I don't know what you speak of. Honest is an important virtue for a king. He must keep the trust of his people." he answered.
"Yes, yes, because he is nothing without them and all that." she went on, rolling her eyes. "But how can you say that when you are not even entirely honest with your most loyal subject!"
"LanFan?" he answered quizzically. "I tell her everything."
Mei sighed. "Well, perhaps that is almost true-"
"It is entirely true!" He interjected.
"Whatever! You're both purposely avoiding one single word." She snapped.
"And what word would that be?" He asked playfully "Although she does have a stubborn habit of not referring to me by name."
Mei sat silent. She stared intently at him. She pointed at her heart. "Starts with an L."
Ling's playful smile fell to a solemn expression. "Ah, well. I suppose we do tend to avoid discussing that."
Mei could not help but feel a bit pleased at his yielding. After all, he admitted that something was there, but he chose not to share it. She was finally felt as if she were getting somewhere. She smirked "That certainly does not keep you from making it."
Ling's face was positively crimson. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"
"I am not a child, Ling Yao" she teased. "I know what happens when you two sneak of and come back with such foolish grins and tousled hair."
"Even so, it's not exactly easy. A prince and a guard is not an everyday occurrence."
"It's not entirely unheard of either. I'm sure you learned of the emperor who adored a servant girl so much he promoted her to empress?"
"Well-"
"Besides, a prince talking about uniting all of Xing is not very common either, and yet you have entirely welcomed the idea!"
"True, but-"
"Honestly, as long as you are completely flipping everything else upside down, what is one more matter?"
Ling was silent. He crossed his arms, deep in thought. His brow furrowed and his eyes flickered as the gears in his head whirled.
Just as Mei was becoming impatient he spoke "I hope you have some sort of plan to help me, because," he gave a mischievous smirk "that's so crazy it just might work."