From my online friend KP: LingFan, couch cuddling.

Not beta-ed, due to short length.

In the end, Edward let them stay.

He'd screeched about it, loud enough to wake all the occupants of the hotel, but once Alphonse pointed out that they had no money (not in this country, at least) and no place to stay, Edward relented, grumbling the whole time.

"Fine!" He scowled, stalking off to his room. "But you're sleeping on the couch!"

Despite his status and the inherent indignity of the Young Lord sleeping on the couch, Lan Fan didn't complain. A couch was a step up from a rooftop, after all.

The Elrics' friend, Winry, kindly offered Lan Fan to share her room, but Lan Fan shook her head. "I need to guard the Young Lord."

It is not long before the others fall asleep, and Lan Fan takes her place outside the window, balancing on its frame.

As always, Ling calls out to her: "Good night, Lan Fan."

She takes a deep breath, and smiles just a little. "…sleep well, Young Lord."

For a while, it is somewhat quiet. She can feel Ling sleeping, his chi soft and calm and alive, just as Edward and Winry's are. As always, it is startling to realize that she cannot sense Alphonse's presence, and she feels a wave of sympathy and revulsion. He does not feel like a living person. Though she would not say so, she is glad that her prince was dissuaded from choosing a similar life.

Lan Fan closes her eyes for a moment, and concentrates on the writhing mass beneath the earth. She has grown more-or-less used to the feeling, but when she focuses like this it feels like there are snakes twisting under her feet. A shiver works it way up her neck, and she pulls herself back a little, exhaling through her nose.

From in the room, there is a thump, and Ling gives a startled cry.

Lan Fan is in the room and at his side in the next instant, Kunai drawn. "Young Lord!"

Ling is sprawled on the floor, his face in the carpet. "Umpf." He sat up, grinning tiredly. "Fell off the couch. Sorry to worry you, Lan Fan." He climbed up on the couch, rolling on his side.

"Young Lord," Lan Fan cautioned with just a hint of exasperation. "Be more careful."

He waved a hand, yawning. "Will do!"

She turned to return to her spot on the window, and his hand shot out, grabbing her sleeve. She froze, her back still to him, heat flushing her face.

"Lan Fan." Ling's voice is thick with tiredness.

She looked back at him, tugging up the collar of her shirt to hide her face. "…Young Lord?"

He smiles, eyes half-closed, and gives a slight tug.

Lan Fan stumbles forward a little, landing on the couch with her knees. "Young Lord!" She feels her face flush even more. "This- this is not-"

"What?" his grin turns cat-like. "I'm cold." He leans forward, and presses the side of his face into her stomach. "And you're warm."

Her mouth opens, but no words come out.

"And you're tired," He goes on, his voice more soft.

Being tired was just a part of her life. She had to guard her prince, after all.

For a moment they are both still, and then Ling speaks again.

"Do you remember when we used to sleep together when we were kids?"

Lan Fan nodded mutely. Before she'd been assigned as his bodyguard full-time, when she was around five years old, Ling was always insisting that she sleep in bed with him. They'd stay up late telling stories, Ling always declaring what he'd do once he became Emperor. Her grandfather had scolded her for it, of course, but for quite a while they still slept huddled close together.

She felt Ling take a short breath, like he was about to say something else, when the bedroom door opened, and Alphonse stepped out, stopping in his tracks at the sight before him.

"Oh! Um! I'm sorry! I'll go back-" He started to turn around, but Lan Fan was already gone, out the window and on top of the frame again, her face blazing red.

She heard Alphonse clank back into the bedroom with another whispered "sorry", but it was a long time before she heard Ling move to roll over and sleep.