Emperor Ling Yao.

It was a grand title – the very title that Ling had coveted for the past few years of his life. Now that he had finally achieved what he'd so actively sought, he knew that he should be satisfied. At his tender age, he'd succeeded in becoming Xing's ruler (or rather, he'd been confirmed as the next emperor, but that was just a technicality in terms of status and power in Xing) and fulfilled his duty to the Yao Clan, which just so happened to overlap with his personal ambitions.

"Ling Yao… I always knew you were going to be someone great one day."

The first few days had been full of merrymaking, congratulations, sucking up, as well as some last-ditch assassination attempts that were simply pitiablecompared to what Ling and Lan Fan had met at Amestris… or at least, compared to the Homunculi. Ling tried to stop himself from making any connections. It just reminded him of the emptiness of being alone in his body – as if that hadn't been the case for the 15 years before he'd ever stepped foot in the western country.

"Ling Yao. Will you solemnly promise and swear to...?"

After that was over, Ling was brought to the palace. He was introduced to the cornucopia of ceremonial duties, customs and traditions and all the fanfare that came with naming the emperor's heir. Yet, even as he stood in front of his people decked out in his official garments, his mind drifted from what he knew he should be thinking about: how he would best serve his people once he ascended the throne, how he would make good on his promise to protect the clans and preferably, have them make peace… but Ling's eyes just couldn't help but search for the faces that he knew would not – could not- appear.

Fu. An image of him standing next to Lan Fan would form and Ling would invariably have to look away and swallow.

Greed. Not that Ling knew what the homunculus would look like in a body of his own, and it was unlikely a red spirit could just float around anywhere, but…

Ling had achieved his ambition, yes, but was the cost truly worth it? (Hadn't he said he was ready to accept the cost that came with this goal? Had he been lying to himself then? Now?)

"Young master, I will take my leave now." Lan Fan's voice interrupted his reverie from just beside him.

Ling blinked. He stood in front of the door to his large living quarters. Lan Fan had insisted on accompanying him after their meal (and almost everywhere else), and Ling was only too willing to comply. She was the only one Ling could really trust, and the only one who understood. It was mutual. Perhaps because of those shared feelings, one thing had led to another and they had found themselves together in bed on a few occasions. Yet, theirs was a kind of relationship neither had wanted to… tarnish with all of the drama that came with his position-to-be and its requirements with intercourse and breeding heirs. There were barriers, and even then, he still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he looked at her automail arm. Perhaps if he'd made a few different choices, no one would have had…

"All right," Ling smiled, as if he hadn't just been entertaining a series of pensive thoughts.

Lan Fan turned to leave, although she looked as if she was hesitating. That was unlike her. Ling tilted his head curiously. As expected, Lan Fan's determination eventually overcame her indecision and she stalked back toward him.

"Don't harp on the past." She stated simply. They both knew that her advice was not meant only for him.

"Past? Why would I, when I have the life of an Emperor before me?" Ling merely smiled again as Lan Fan let out an exasperated sigh, followed by a wry smile herself as she walked back down the hallway.

They both knew.

Ling pushed open the door to his room. He would have thought that being back in Xing where his adventures in Amestris seemed a lifetime away would have helped ease the ache. Instead, he just remembered the way Fu had trained him in his childhood; remembered everything that he'd once told Greed about in his homeland. (He had been most interested in the harem Ling would technically have as emperor, much to his horror then. Although that was nothing compared to his horror at Greed's fantasies of having Ling. And how he'd accurately pointed out Ling's own interest in the homunculus.)

Right now, however, Ling would give quite a bit to hear any of his snarky, suggestive comments again. They'd had a pact for Greed to see for himself. Instead, Greed had all but decided to become some sacrificial hero. Ling couldn't decide if that made the homunculus selfish or selfless in death. Damn him. He slammed the door shut. It had been a particularly trying day. Upon interacting more with the representatives of each clan, Ling realised how much of an idealist he'd been in thinking the clans would simply agree to put all their differences aside. No wonder the previous Emperors had all left things in the status quo. Ling sighed, throwing himself into his bed. The wonderful 小笼包he had eaten for dinner was probably the only thing that had gone right today – he thought in a sudden bout of petulance.

"For a would-be Emperor, you look really down."

Great, and now, Ling was officially insane. He was so far gone that he was hallucinating Greed's voice just because he thought about him. What would the actual homunculus say to that?

"It's pathetic, but understandable since you probably just miss me too much."

Again? Ling blinked, pushing himself into a sitting position. That had sounded awfully like him. Except, it wasn't. His mind was playing tricks on him, but some part of him swore…

A series of low –familiar – chuckles came from the other side of the room. Ling stiffened. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the trusty sword he'd placed next to his bed.

"Aw, no need to get so violent with me, kid." The voice – Greed's voice – rang out again. Ling leapt up from his bed and got into fighting stance. It couldn't be Greed, but it was definitely, a real, living person. Another assassination attempt? Ling could sense it from the flow of the Dragon's Pulse. The energy seemed extremely familiar but…

Ling caught the movement of a figure out of the corner of his eyes. With a quick manoeuvre and twist of his wrist, he had the tip of his blade pointing at the throat of – of –

"Greed?"

Ling stared. It was inconceivable. He had to be dreaming. There was no way that he was here. In a body that was identical to his. That was just odd. No - it was impossible. Ling had seen his spirit disintegrate before his very eyes. Hell, everyone fighting "Father" had. But there was only one person he knew that could carbonise any part of his body the way the man standing in front of him just had done so to his throat.

"The one and only," Greed smirked, getting up from the chair he had been lounging on with a dramatic bow. "You can put down that blade now, y'know?"

Ling ignored him even as his eyes searched and evaluated every detail of the person standing in front of him. It could be a trick. Even if his voice, his attitude, his eyes… everything seemed the same as it had been when Greed had been in his body. But it didn't make sense and why would Greed be an almost identical replica of Ling? With the exception of the Ouroboros – wait –

"Where's the tattoo?" Ling narrowed his (uncharacteristically wide) eyes, even as his traitorous heart began to soar. If the sight before him was real, that meant that Greed was alive. He couldn't let himself believe it until he could confirm it. How had he even come back? It was just-

"Ever the suspicious one, aren't you?" Greed shrugged casually. "I don't have it anymore thanks to the bastard, Truth."

"…How?" Ling swallowed, not quite processing everything. He needed to get a medical examination. It had to be a delusion. "Tell me something only you know."

Greed sighed for a moment, reaching his hand up to the back of his neck – just like how he used to when he was uncertain. Then, all traces of that were gone as he shot Ling a devilish smirk that had him on edge. "We agreed that when we finally found a way to separate our bodies, I would fuck you against the nearest surface, so hard that –"

"O-okay that's enough!" Ling all but shouted, dropping his blade onto the carpet with a thud. He was filled with a cocktail of emotions – of relief, joy, confusion and irritation…

He marched forward to the wall Greed was leaning against and prodded his shoulder gingerly. All right, he was definitely real. Returning Greed's questioning gaze with a relieved but mischievous smile, Ling smashed their lips together. The force sent a current running through his body, making him feel more alive than he had been for a long time. To his mild annoyance – and pride – Greed seemed to like it too. He responded eagerly, pushing his tongue insistently against Ling's lips and forcing them open. He tasted like a combination of alcohol and chocolate. Ling let his instinct take over as he retaliated with a sharp bite on Greed's tongue and raked his fingers through Greed's hair, causing the other to moan into his mouth. He felt an arm wrap around his back – and move considerably lower – and whatever anger that had been passively simmering in him for the past months slowly dissipated… No.

Ling pulled away sharply, ignoring Greed's protest. The next moment, he punched Greed in the jaw. Hard.

"Shit! What the hell was that for?" Greed scowled as he rubbed his hand against the rapidly swelling area. Ling looked at the forming bruise with some macabre satisfaction. Evidently, he'd managed to catch Greed before he blocked the blow with his ultimate shield. Not that it was much use, considering it would heal almost instantaneously. Ling waited for the crackle of red energy that came with the homunculus' regenerative ability... that never came.

"You have a bruise." Ling blinked.

"Shall I award you a prize for that power of observation?" Greed rolled his eyes in a strangely juvenile manner.

Ling ignored the jab. "No, but… shouldn't it have healed over by now?"

"Kid, aren't you supposed to be fast with this kind of thing? I told you, I'm no longer a homunculus – or well, I don't have those regeneration powers anymore." Greed waved his left hand about as if to highlight the missing Ouroboros tattoo.

Had he? Ling tilted his head to the side, trying to absorb all of this new information. He tried to keep his mind on the matter at hand, and not note with satisfaction the swelling of Greed's lips thanks to Ling's treatment. "You traded your philosopher's stone?"

"Effectively." Greed shrugged. "But at any rate that's all done and over and I'm here." His tone strongly suggested that they should go back to what they had been doing.

Something about Greed's nonchalance irked Ling to no end, although he strongly agreed with his implied suggestion. Had Greed always known this would happen? Or had he really made that sacrifice all those months ago without any knowledge? And now that Ling registered it, indeed, it had been months. A tiny, childish part of him raged at the length of time that had passed.

"Well even so, you can't just get away with it – with this." Ling did not elaborate immediately. Instead, he gave in to his growing need and forced Greed back against the wall, holding his wrists firmly against the concrete. "You can't just show up here – how did you find me anyway – after so many months- after lying to me and – expect me to – think it's all fine and dandy!" Ling punctuated each phrase with a rough kiss, leaving a trail of marks down Greed's neck.

"I was saving your ass." Greed, discontent with his passive role, pulled his arms free with a twist even while tilting his neck away from Ling to allow him easier access. His fingers set to work with the buttons on Ling's shirt, before seemingly getting impatient. He tugged down the sides of the button down until it ripped open and the buttons popped out.

Ling paused to direct a sideway glare at Greed, who gave one of his trademark grins. "You-ah!" Ling couldn't help but moan as Greed leant forward and gave him a sharp nip on his rapidly hardening nipple. He reflexively yanked Greed down with his legs in a pseudo-martial arts move, causing the both of them to fall back onto the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"Flexible, aren't you?" Greed smirked at Ling, unfazed. He was pinned beneath Greed, but had one leg over his thigh and the other wrapped around one of his arms.

"I've had practice." Ling winked, wondering where his sudden mood came from. Hysteria? Relief? As Greed licked a particularly sensitive point on his neck, he suddenly found that he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was here; he was in front of Ling; he was making out with Ling. Ling leant up to capture Greed's lips again, trapping Greed's lower lip between both of his own. He nibbled on it lightly in an almost sweet, out-of-the-mood manner - except, they both knew he was just teasing. Greed let out an impatient sound as he drew Ling's tongue into his mouth with his own and bit it.

After that, it returned to the same fast, furious pace it had been.

Greed pulled Ling's hair free and tangled a hand in it while his other edged down toward Ling's growing erection. Smirking against Ling's mouth, he palmed Ling's member through the thin layer of cotton, causing him to gasp. Yet, never one to give in, Ling recovered quickly and continued to remove Greed's top in a more dignified manner than the latter had. Damn buttons - not that he didn't see his point. He gave the shirt a vicious pull when he finally undid the last and flung it some distance away for good measure. As payback, Ling then pulled Greed down roughly onto him with his legs and rolled his hips into the others, causing both of them to groan at the friction.

"It seems I have someone to thank." Greed panted heavily as they broke away. "Lan Fan? Ed?"

"What if I told you, you were correct on both tries-" Ling laughed wickedly, albeit in an out of breath manner, "But that wasn't all?"

Greed let out a low whistle, before narrowing his wine-coloured eyes. "I'd do this." Without so much of a warning, Greed lifted Ling in his arms and stood up, ignoring his protests. He unceremoniously threw Ling onto the bed and clambered on top of him, straddling his hips. Ling drew in a sharp breath as Greed threw him a smug look. Well, this wasn't fair.

Ling threw an arm around Greed's neck and used his other to push off the headboard, successfully turning them both onto their sides, facing each other. "Martial arts." Ling said cockily as Greed shot him a questioning look. Then, he leant in to whisper in Greed's ear. "You know, we never agreed that you'd be the one fucking me, a future emperor, into anything."

Greed's breath hitched for a moment and Ling swore the homunculus' voice went even lower as he practically growled.

Ling couldn't wait much longer, and judging by that bulge, it was clear that Greed was very excited as well. Without exchanging another word, the pair cooperated in removing the rest of their clothing as fast as possible, with the obvious same end-goal in mind. With their combined effort, their pants, boxers and any other article of clothing they had on were strewn haphazardly around the bed in no time.

That being done, it became an all out war for dominance. Each male attacked the other ruthlessly with sucking and stroking and biting and squeezing and Ling felt as if all his senses were being overwhelmed. The heat – friction – Greed grinding their hips together – so much friction - Ling ducked his head inward, showering Greed's chest with a barrage of bites and kisses that were definitely going to leave marks – more friction-

"That's enough playing." Greed murmured against his ear.

"W-what?" Ling barely managed before all of a sudden, he found himself flipped on his back, looking up at Greed. The dark look on his face made Ling gulp. He wasn't sure what expression he showed then, but it seemed to have done something to Greed for the homunculus suddenly pounced onto Ling, pressing their lips together – except this time, it wasn't so much of a fight as complete domination. Greed ravaged the inside of Ling's mouth, licking his teeth and - Ling could hardly breathe. Greed's hands grabbed onto Ling's erection, stroking it roughly before he squeezed. Ling failed to stifle his moan and bucked his hips into his companion.

Greed laughed. "Still think you can top me?"

"Turns," Ling breathed out, still dazed, with some irritation at his traitorous physical reactions. "We take turns." Even if he had lost this battle (not that this was really a loss)- he could still have his revenge. But for now, he would just enjoy it. Enjoy him.

"Sure." Greed smirked in agreement between heavy breaths. "Now, suck." He flexed his fingers.

"What?" Ling's lust-addled mind did not make a connection immediately.

"God, kid, stop drawing this out any longer. You don't want me to go in dry, do you?" Greed literally shoved his fingers into Ling's mouth after that, and Ling was only too happy to assist in this aspect. He was so hard that it hurt. He wanted Greed inside him now.

Greed seemed to have the same thought in mind, as he quickly redrew his hand and pushed a finger into Ling's entrance roughly, causing Ling to gasp at the pain and pleasure and heat. "You're really tight." Ling vaguely heard. Greed added another digit and scissored his fingers a few times. Ling squirmed a little at the strange feeling, trying to get accustomed to it even as Greed added a third finger. Ling shifted to try to get him to hit that spot in spite of himself. He could feel the heat pooling in his stomach and-

"Impatient?" Greed grinned infuriatingly as he added a fourth finger.

"Coming from you?" Ling gasped out. Nevertheless, he gave up refuting the other's point since it was the truth. "Just hurry up."

Yet, his statement merely served the opposite as Greed hesitated slightly. Ling felt like dying of frustration, or punching the other's face again. "What?"

"Do you have oil?" Greed asked in an almost uncertain manner unbefitting of him. Ling ignored the fact that it was endearing – which was all too easy, actually.

"Now, you ask?" Ling almost wanted to laugh. Greed wanted this to be as painless for Ling as possible, didn't he? It would have comforted him, if it weren't for the fact that by this point, Ling's body was desperately screaming for Greed to enter him. "No. Just get on with it. Or, if you don't have the guts, get your fingers out of my ass and turn around."

Greed shot Ling a dark look before getting back into action. He spit into his palm and rubbed them together and slicked the whole of his length with it. This, combined with the natural lubricant of pre-cum dripping from his tip, would have to do.

Ling smirked slightly at his success. He wondered how he had managed such a coherent sentence – and then, his mind drifted to the fact that Greed was exactly the same size as Ling, which just felt odd. Yet, after a white-hot second where Greed pushed into Ling with a feral growl, Ling forsook all rational thought. He arched upward as he moaned wantonly, trying to get more comfortable as Greed eased his way in. Ling winced. It was pain, yes, but more than that, it was just… wonderful.

"You okay?" Greed asked, voice husky from raw lust and passion. One of his hands stroked Ling's chest while the other was used to sweep Ling's hair from his forehead.

Ling nodded, clutching onto Greed as his breathing become more erratic. "M-move."

Greed complied readily, sliding out and back in mercilessly. He set up a rhythm in his thrusts, at the same time giving Ling a rough kiss that the latter responded to eagerly. They panted haphazardly, lost in the throes of passion. Ling gasped as Greed's hand reached to stroke, and then pump his neglected shaft.

"Greed." Ling panted. He was nearing his release but he didn't want this moment to end. Not yet.

"Yes, emperor?" Greed grunted out, giving a devious smirk as he pulled out almost completely before slamming in with much more force than the past few times combined, sending himself far deeper into Ling.

Hell.

Ling cried out as his vision turned white and pure ecstasy coursed through his nerves. The triple assault was far more than enough to make Ling come, hard and fast against Greed's hand and their chests. Ling arched upward as he did, wrapping his arms around Greed and biting on the sensitive spot behind his ear. Greed gave a guttural groan as he gave one final thrust, releasing a gush of hot liquid into Ling as he came barely after. Both of them drew in sharp breaths as they rode out the waves of pleasure together.

Completely spent, Greed pulled out reluctantly and withdrew his hand from Ling's cock before turning to the side and collapsing beside Ling. Ling smiled up sleepily at his lover as he murmured, "That was good."

"Of course." Greed gave a short, triumphant, tired laugh.

Ling shook his head at Greed's lack of humility, nuzzling himself into the other's chest. Greed stiffened momentarily, though he relaxed after a moment and wrapped a hand around Ling's waist.

High in the afterglow and in the comfort of Greed's warmth, Ling could hardly be bothered about cleaning any of the mess they'd made up. He didn't care about the possibility of someone walking in on them, what with the smell of sex hanging obviously in the air, the clothes and his weapon lying on the floor, or even the comprising position they were currently in.

Come tomorrow morning, Ling may regret his decision. But, he wouldn't care, as long as…

"You better not leave this time," Ling yawned, looking up at Greed with his normally squinted gaze. If this turned out to be a dream, or if he disappeared by the time Ling woke up tomorrow, Ling wasn't sure what he would do.

"Course not, kid." Greed replied with an expression of serenity rarely found on the homunculus' face.

Ling smiled. Indeed, he wouldn't care as long as Greed was here, lying next to him, alive and more than okay.

A/N: Because I angsted at the ending of FMAB... This is my first-ever smut, so I hope it isn't too bad. Thanks for reading and I hope you like this. Please review! :)