Disclaimer: World & characters are the property of Arakawa Hiromu and Square/Enix. However, the fic itself belongs to me (OKami). I have to stress that – sadly - I'm not making any money from this.

Rating: PG maybe; but only because there's a gay guy in it

Pairing: Greed x Alphonse (sort of…)

Warnings: none. For once.

Beta-reader: Mufurc

Note: This story is dedicated to Mufurc, celebrating her newest perversion for which I am to be hold responsible in the first place. Go me. Don't worry Mufy, if you're in it, it doesn't hurt anymore.

Note2: The world is AU, because Greed is alive and well (and how well! XD). Dolchet is alive as well because I happen to like him. It also takes place after the currently predicable end of the series – Al got his body back and became a state alchemist, yadda, yadda. Ah, you'll see.

Equivalent trade

Part 1

Caramel eyes scanned the closed and sealed door, the broken glass, the thick layer of dust. Damn, the source of the information was a reliable one so why did the clue prove to be false??

The Devil's Nest must have been closed for years, which was not even that surprising. Alphonse remembered the events well; he'd been part of them. It was a rather bloody affair.

The blond youth turned and began to walk off. He has to find another thread leading to his target.

"Hay, Mista'!"

Al tilted his head to the side to face an old beggar grinning at him.

"Yes?"

"Lookin' fer the Devil's Nest, ey? I can tell ya where it is…"

Al nodded. Equivalent trade. He took a banknote from his pocket and put it into the beggar's hat.

"I'm listening."

"Go to Rush Street, it's inna city centa'. Thirteenth numba, big flashy place, can't miss it."

Alphonse bowed.

"Thank you."

The blonde youth stopped in front of the large, three-story building and whistled in astonishment. The beggar was right. The Devil's Nest just moved to Rush Street, the city's broadest, richest avenue. It was amazing to see, how much the place developed in two years; the backward, dusty little town turned to a beautiful, rich and busy city. Thanks to crime mainly but heck. It was at least easier to find the criminals because they all gathered here.

Al carefully pulled his coat a little closer around himself to cover the silver chain hanging on his right. He remembered well, how people hated State Alchemists back then. The situation had changed a little since those days but the old grudges still held their ground.

He tilted his head up and went straight in.

The new Devil's Nest proved to be a casino with a huge bar in the far end of the room. Elegantly-dressed men and women played, talked, laughed and drank by every table. The air was filled with the scent of money; jewels glittered, gold shone and quiet jazz music played.

A beautiful woman dressed in an embarrassingly short red velvet dress approached the young alchemist.

"Welcome to the Devil's Nest, sir!" She smiled. "May I help you?"

"Thank you very much," Al nodded his head with a polite smile." "But I'm just looking for somebody. I'm not very familiar with the games, so I think I'll just have a drink."

"I see. Well, if you're interested in something, just look for me and I'll be happy to help you. My name is Tina."

"I most certainly will."

"Have a nice day."

Al took a deep breath when the woman left, then headed to the bar. As soon as he settled down, the barkeeper turned to him.

"What should it be?"

The blond boy blinked. If he wanted to be taken seriously, he had to drink alcohol but Al has never had any in his life…

"Something… light, please. What could you offer?"

The man smiled a little then took a bottle filled with some deep reddish-pink liquid. The fixed the drink for the boy and gave him the glass with a nod.

"Passionate seduction. Iced strawberry vodka with lemon juice. Enjoy."

Al smiled uncertainly but took the glass and sipped the drink cautiously. Well, it tasted nice.

"Thank you, this is delicious," he nodded to the man. "You see…" He took another sip. "I'm looking for a guy called Ken Evans. I have some business with him."

"What kind of?" The barkeeper leaned closer.

"I heard that he might be able to get me… something," Alphonse said quietly. "They told me that he often shows up around here. Do you know how could I find him?"

"Hmm, he could be here somewhere…" The barkeeper rubbed his chin. "This place is huge but if you have a minute, I can ask the girls here if they had seen him."

"I won't be ungrateful." Al reached inside his coat and passed a few larger banknotes to the man behind the counter.

"I'll be right back."

A few minutes passed but the barkeeper still hadn't returned. Al sipped his drink with growing nervousness. He could easily die here if they find out that he's the dog of the military; swords and guns are much quicker than alchemy.

When a hand grabbed his shoulder, he almost jumped. He felt somebody to lean to his ears and he heard a low whisper.

"What business could a State Alchemist have with a smuggler?"

Al swallowed. He had to gain some time.

"What if I need something only he could get me?"

There was a pause then the hand released him. Al turned immediately and he gasped. In front of him, there stood a man with broad shoulders and light-colored hair, dressed in gold-embroidered, rich brown and sapphire blue clothes. A sword hung on his side. And the boy knew him.

"It is nice to meet you, Alphonse Elric." The man smiled. "You may look different but your scent and voice are the same.

"Dolchet…"

"Come with me now," the swordsman waved. "I'll take you to my boss. You should talk to him if you want information on Ken Evans."

Al followed the chimera.

"Um, Dolchet… Why did you say that my scent was the same?"

"I was crossed with a dog so I have a very keen sense of smell. And even when you were a suit of armor… beneath the smell of metal, something softer lingered. Something, that is much stronger around you now."

Al smiled to himself a little.

Dolchet knocked on the door and it opened up revealing a small-framed young woman with a blonde pony-tail. She wore tight-fitting black trousers and a black tank-top.

"Who's that?" She asked, looking at Al suspiciously. "Y'know that the boss doesn't like it when…

"Don't you recognize him, Martel?" Dolchet snickered. "You were very… close to each other once."

"Huh??"

"He's Alphonse Elric."

"Good day, Miss Martel!" Al waved, smiling.

The blonde woman's eyes grew wide, then, without a warning, she threw her arms around Al's neck.

"Hey, kiddo, you tuned to be a fine guy!" She laughed.

"Thank you, Miss Martel. It is nice to see you again."

"Come in! What brought you here?"

"I, err, well, I'm looking for somebody…"

"Ken Evans," Dolchet added.

"Ken Evans. Why is a State Alchemist looking for a guy like Evans?"

Al tilted his head up, and when he noticed the man who spoke, his jaw dropped. The tall, dark figure stepped out of the shadows and grinned at the blond boy.

"Hi, kid."

"G… G… Greed?!"

"The one and only." The homunculus spread his arms.

"B… But I thought you were… "

"Dead? Heh. You know, kid, I don't die that easily."

"But my brother defeated you…"

"What a shame." Greed covered his eyes with a theatrical gesture. Then, he grinned again, showing off at least sixty-four pointed teeth.

"Hey, if you wanna hear the story, just drop down. Let's chat. How's your bro doing?"

"Fine, thank you," Al said automatically as he settled down on a couch. "He's on an assignment now."

"I'm glad he hadn't come." The tall man slicked his hair back. "He'd try to kill me. Again."

"Why, Greed?" Alphonse looked into the violet eyes sternly. "Why did you make him think that he killed you? You just wanted to get away from the other homunculi chasing you, right?"

"Partly." Greed held up his hand. "But I wanted to make him able to kill. He needed the experience for to be able to finish off those bastards."

"He felt awful about it!"

"But he killed them, right? He was able to do what was necessary to reach his goal. Or am I wrong?"

Al didn't say anything. Greed leaned forward and snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face.

"Hey, cheer up, will ya? Everything is fine, isn't it? Tell me, why are you chasing Evans?"

"Oh, yes! Err, I'm sure you know that he was smuggling rare and illegal alchemical components. In fact I guess he was one of your men."

"True." Greed nodded with an amused smile.

"Okay. But did you know that he killed two soldiers and a young State Alchemist?"

The homunculus blinked.

"I knew about the soldiers and I have to tell you, I wasn't exactly pleased by the news. But a State Alchemist… I didn't think he would go that far."

"Do you know anything concerning his whereabouts?"

"Maybe. He has a hideout in Khedra, a small town east from this city. But he's rumored to have some connections in Lione too."

"That's good!" Al jumped up and bowed. "I'll go now if you don't mind… wait a minute." He narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his waist. "Why did you just tell me all of this? Were you lying? Or did you just betray one of your men?"

Greed folded his arms and glanced up sideways to the blond boy.

"I told the truth and I have my reasons. I'm greedy; I do whatever brings me more profit."

"I see." Al nodded slowly. "And aren't you afraid that I'll use the information against you? You told me that Evans is your man. That could get you into jail."

The homunculus grinned again.

"Believe me, I'm smart enough to know what to say. You can't get me behind bars. Who would deliver those rare and almost illegal alchemical components to the military then?"

The caramel eyes widened.

"Don't tell me you are…"

"Yes I am. Hey, what do you think, how was I able to build up this little haunt of sin? The whole city is in my pocket since my money helped to develop it into this flashy place."

"You're truly amazing," Al admitted in defeat.

"It is a pleasure to hear." Greed stood up and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If you need anything, feel free to come around, kid."

"It is a dangerous game you're playing," Al told him quietly. "I'm the dog of the military, don't forget that."

"Don't worry." Greed gave the thumbs up. "Well then… I'm looking forward to see you again."

"You most certainly will," the young alchemist smiled. He bowed to Martel and Dolchet and left.

Greed stood there for a while staring at the door.

"Dolchet."

"Yes, boss?"

"Go tell the guys to stop the pursuit after Evans. That idiot isn't worth the risk of any of us getting caught and sentenced because of murder. We'll leave it to the kid to handle him."

Dolchet left immediately. Martel looked up at her boss.

"Greed… You want him, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" The tall man glanced back over his shoulder. "I must be getting old."

"Cut the crap, I've been working with you since three years; I had the chance to get to know you a little. I can recognize that gleam in your eyes when you desire something. That's why you gave him the information about Evans although you wanted to kill that bastard with your own hands. After all, he ran away with your money."

"You're a smart girl, aren't you?" Greed dropped down next to the blonde woman and ruffled her hair with a smile. "Yes, I want that kid. He's… kind of special. But you see, there is that thing called equivalent trade. In order to get something, you must sacrifice something. I sacrificed the pleasure of strangling Evans in order to get Al's trust."

Martel smiled back.

"You greedy thing."

"I take this as a compliment." The homunculus stood up. "Let's go. We still have some business to do before bedtime."

The end

Note3: I drank some strawberry vodka when I was about 18 although the amount wasn't worth mentioning. But it tasted nice. And Al couldn't finish it anyway.

Note4: I think I'll make a whole series out of this. By the end, Mufurc will be pleased to see Al and Greed in bed.

2004-VI-20 22:18