Never Break Down and Cry: Fullmetal Alchemist: 56 - Harsh Revelation
b>Title: Never Break Down and Cry
Author/Artist: melodyic_rhyme
Rating: G
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing/s:LingFan
Theme: 056 - Harsh Revelation
Genre/s: angst
Warnings: spoilers from volume 11 onwards
Words: 930
Summary: He had seen a lot of people cry, except her.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Hagaren is owned completely and totally by Hiromu Arakawa. I own nothing, an no copyright infringement is intended
Notes: much longer version of my entry at fma_fic_contest for prompt 83: Tear. Title comes from Rick Astley's Cry for Help
Lan Fan was a highly accomplished young woman of fifteen years. She had mastered the Xingese martial arts, although that was necessary; she had to save Ling more times then either of them could count. She learned how to deal with his childish antics, being firm and giving him a glare when necessary.
Ling, of course, had been with her for all of this and more; He trained alongside her in martial arts, personally tended to her wounds when she was injured, and by extension, he learned to ignore her protests when it was in her best interest. She taught him to be just a little bit more mature, and he held her hair back as she vomited when she had killed an assassin for the first time.
Somewhere between the saving and crossing of the great desert, Ling started to notice some things. He greatly enjoyed Lan Fan's company, and it seemed She enjoyed His, although she constantly reminded his how wrong it was.
"I am to be emperor, am I not?" He would say, "I can decide what is wrong and right."
Until that day however, it was in no way that simple. They certainly had a great deal of sneaking around and close calls. Also a bit of paranoia. Fu never said anything, but he was so attentive Ling was convinced he knew but would not say so. He was not quite as open with this fear as Lan Fan, but it did cross his mind.
The universe itself seemed determined to push them closer, or at the very least make him realize what She meant to him. The desert, of course, had made them closer; in such a barren and dead land anything living was a comfort, but the moment he understood came when they were in the center of Amestris.
Looking back, he still could not fully comprehend the scene. It happened much too swiftly. They had not even noticed Bradley as he watched. It was not until he spoke that his presence was known.
"That must be how you identified Envy." he said as he drew his sword. "It is a troublesome ability. I must eliminate it!"
He did not have the same aura of the other homunculus, as if hundreds of people were in one body, but something was wrong. He turned to her. "Lan Fan," he had never felt so compelled to give an order, though it was less an order and more a plea; a plea to forget his safety and think of hers "run!"
He had not been fast enough. Bradley had already swung his sword. She had already screamed. She was already falling.
He could not move. In shock, he watched as her body hit a rooftop, her asked and kunai knife tossed away beside her; he watched as she just lay there, as she did not immediately jump up to sharply tell Ling himself to run, to launch a counter-attack on her assailant. She did nothing.
"Can I eat her?"
"Be quick about it."
So he had to do something.
It had never crossed his mind that he would be coming to her rescue; that he would be the heroic prince from all the stories. He certainly did not feel like one. He felt more like a helpless child. He barely managed to ward Bradley off long enough to get a good running start ahead of him, but he knew there was not much else he could do unless he found a way for them to escape.
He walked right into Bradley's plan, trapping him where there were no people, no witnesses, but he could not stop running. There had to be a way to get out of that situation, and stopping, giving up, was not that way.
For a truly terrifying moment, it seemed that Lan Fan believed that it was. He was thankful when it turned out she did not, but the terror was still deeply rooted in his chest when he realized that she had just cut off her own arm. His hands were shaking as he tied her jacket to the gapping wound; a weal solution, but it was all he had. "Do not ever say things like that again!" he pleaded.
"I am sorry, Young Master." She said meekly.
It was another new sight for him: Lan Fan covered in blood, her own blood, and so helpless looking.
Yet, Ling had never seen Her cry. The entire time they had know each other not a single tear left her eyes. Not when her father died, not when she was hurt, not even when she lost an entire limb. Sometimes he thought that perhaps she did cry, just not in front of him, like it was a weakness to cry in his presence, instead of stubbornness. He wondered if her pride was also a part of it.
He wished that She would cry; that she would give him some indication that she was hurting. He wanted to help her.
In one of the smallest fractions of time, his entire perception changed.
"Go help the old man!" Greed barked at Lan Fan as she held on to his arm, keeping them from falling into the moat below.
"It's . . . too late." She said. Then something fell from her eye, landing on his cheek. In wide eyed shock he realized.
It was a tear.
He realized it hurt to see her cry. He blamed himself. His decision six months ago had caused that tear.
In that instant Ling understood why Lan Fan never cried.
Author/Artist: melodyic_rhyme
Rating: G
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing/s:LingFan
Theme: 056 - Harsh Revelation
Genre/s: angst
Warnings: spoilers from volume 11 onwards
Words: 930
Summary: He had seen a lot of people cry, except her.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Hagaren is owned completely and totally by Hiromu Arakawa. I own nothing, an no copyright infringement is intended
Notes: much longer version of my entry at fma_fic_contest for prompt 83: Tear. Title comes from Rick Astley's Cry for Help
Lan Fan was a highly accomplished young woman of fifteen years. She had mastered the Xingese martial arts, although that was necessary; she had to save Ling more times then either of them could count. She learned how to deal with his childish antics, being firm and giving him a glare when necessary.
Ling, of course, had been with her for all of this and more; He trained alongside her in martial arts, personally tended to her wounds when she was injured, and by extension, he learned to ignore her protests when it was in her best interest. She taught him to be just a little bit more mature, and he held her hair back as she vomited when she had killed an assassin for the first time.
Somewhere between the saving and crossing of the great desert, Ling started to notice some things. He greatly enjoyed Lan Fan's company, and it seemed She enjoyed His, although she constantly reminded his how wrong it was.
"I am to be emperor, am I not?" He would say, "I can decide what is wrong and right."
Until that day however, it was in no way that simple. They certainly had a great deal of sneaking around and close calls. Also a bit of paranoia. Fu never said anything, but he was so attentive Ling was convinced he knew but would not say so. He was not quite as open with this fear as Lan Fan, but it did cross his mind.
The universe itself seemed determined to push them closer, or at the very least make him realize what She meant to him. The desert, of course, had made them closer; in such a barren and dead land anything living was a comfort, but the moment he understood came when they were in the center of Amestris.
Looking back, he still could not fully comprehend the scene. It happened much too swiftly. They had not even noticed Bradley as he watched. It was not until he spoke that his presence was known.
"That must be how you identified Envy." he said as he drew his sword. "It is a troublesome ability. I must eliminate it!"
He did not have the same aura of the other homunculus, as if hundreds of people were in one body, but something was wrong. He turned to her. "Lan Fan," he had never felt so compelled to give an order, though it was less an order and more a plea; a plea to forget his safety and think of hers "run!"
He had not been fast enough. Bradley had already swung his sword. She had already screamed. She was already falling.
He could not move. In shock, he watched as her body hit a rooftop, her asked and kunai knife tossed away beside her; he watched as she just lay there, as she did not immediately jump up to sharply tell Ling himself to run, to launch a counter-attack on her assailant. She did nothing.
"Can I eat her?"
"Be quick about it."
So he had to do something.
It had never crossed his mind that he would be coming to her rescue; that he would be the heroic prince from all the stories. He certainly did not feel like one. He felt more like a helpless child. He barely managed to ward Bradley off long enough to get a good running start ahead of him, but he knew there was not much else he could do unless he found a way for them to escape.
He walked right into Bradley's plan, trapping him where there were no people, no witnesses, but he could not stop running. There had to be a way to get out of that situation, and stopping, giving up, was not that way.
For a truly terrifying moment, it seemed that Lan Fan believed that it was. He was thankful when it turned out she did not, but the terror was still deeply rooted in his chest when he realized that she had just cut off her own arm. His hands were shaking as he tied her jacket to the gapping wound; a weal solution, but it was all he had. "Do not ever say things like that again!" he pleaded.
"I am sorry, Young Master." She said meekly.
It was another new sight for him: Lan Fan covered in blood, her own blood, and so helpless looking.
Yet, Ling had never seen Her cry. The entire time they had know each other not a single tear left her eyes. Not when her father died, not when she was hurt, not even when she lost an entire limb. Sometimes he thought that perhaps she did cry, just not in front of him, like it was a weakness to cry in his presence, instead of stubbornness. He wondered if her pride was also a part of it.
He wished that She would cry; that she would give him some indication that she was hurting. He wanted to help her.
In one of the smallest fractions of time, his entire perception changed.
"Go help the old man!" Greed barked at Lan Fan as she held on to his arm, keeping them from falling into the moat below.
"It's . . . too late." She said. Then something fell from her eye, landing on his cheek. In wide eyed shock he realized.
It was a tear.
He realized it hurt to see her cry. He blamed himself. His decision six months ago had caused that tear.
In that instant Ling understood why Lan Fan never cried.