...I posted this tonight mostly because of wellduh, Dustwind and Kajeth's reviews. Thanks guys! You rule! Sorry about the slight lag between updates though. I've been trying to upload all of my currently written drabbles before writing more.

Dustwind: -chokes- JeanEnvy! LOL! Heh, I read a really strange RoyEnvy once... XD As for why Havoc has such bad luck with ladies...maybe it's just a self-confidence thing? Because Mustang is constantly stealing his dates, it becomes almost habit to be dumped? It's gotta be psychological, because havoc is too cute and too awesome for it to be anything else, lol. I suppose being an incurrable chain-smoker might be the one other reason, lol... I have no idea what Lust was thinking. I mean, Solaris? It's not like she has an exactly sunny personality or anything XD Thanks for all the reviews! This isn't really about Mei and Ed...but it's got Mei and Al!

Kajeth: Lol, I know Solaris is her alias, I'm just not sure why she chose it or if that's how you really spell it, eh heh...I wonder what would've happened if she had just gone and said "hey, I'm Lust, will you go out with me?" XD

wellduh...: Really horrible, but so great? That was my reaction when writing it! XD I was just sitting there thinking "Oh God, am I seriously even considering writing this?" but then it just got me hooked! I'm going through HavocLust withdrawl now, LOL! Your review made me go "squee!": P

Equivalent Trade

Hmm...let's see, manga spoilers, obscure mentions of how I decided the series turned out (for this one drabble, at any rate, lol) and...that's about it.

Because I bought chopsticks with pandas on them a while ago and now they're haunting me, forcing me to write about Xiao-Mei!

...I'd probably be writing about anyways, though ; D

It had been three weeks since his body had been restored. Or possibly four. It was hard to remember exactly now, his recollection of the time inside the armor fading with the resurgence of feeling.

He still caught himself drifting off occasionally, stopping to savor the feeling of the sun on his face, the taste of food he no longer had to pretend to eat, the feel of a pet snuggled up against him…

He winced slightly as the small, black and white dog-ish thing dug its claws into his side. He'd 'adopted' the creature before he was restored to his body and no one had ever reclaimed it. It had been easier to look after the animal when he had been a hollow suit of armor, true enough, but he would have died to be able to feel this warmth again. Even if it meant he would have to suffer through the scratches and scrapes, he would keep the feral, adorable little creature and look after it.

After all, he knew what it was like to feel completely and utterly abandoned, adrift in a current of nothingness that he could never escape…

Al shook his head and suppressed the urge to call his brother. He didn't think Ed would be at all happy about getting a telephone call at this hour of the morning, but knew for a fact that the elder Elric would be over in a flash if he thought something was wrong.

And that would ruin all of the progress Al had made in forcing Ed back into the outside world. His brother had been with him in this house for the pretty much the entire past three (or four…?) weeks. He had finally convinced Ed that he should go on this mission for Mustang – who was a Fuhrer now, but no surprises there – if only to reacquaint his brother with the fact that there was still real life to go back to at the end of all this. And he couldn't ruin that by giving in now.

Finally deciding that he wasn't going to get any more sleep, Al dragged himself out of bed and began to get ready for the day. His pet blinked groggily and merely rolled over, taking over the warm blankets he had just vacated.

He should really name the cute little guy soon. But he had no idea what it was and it seemed inappropriate to name it without any of idea of its origin or…

Suddenly, a grin graced Al's face and he shot a side-glance at the animal drooling all over his pillow.

Well…if he wanted to name it…and if he needed to know what it was before he chose a name…

Then a trip to the library was in order.

He was sure they'd have books on species of animals and the like.

And if a trip to the library was in order…

His adopted pet growled angrily as he picked it up and carried it outside, away from the warmth of the pillow and into the cold of the pre-dawn air.

Al realised he probably should've considered how cold it was at this time of year before coming out, without even a pair of mittens. If he caught a cold, his brother would…

"Xiao-Mei?"

Turning at the surprised and inquisitive voice, Al's eyes locked with those of a girl, slightly younger than him, who was standing nearby, staring transfixed at him and his charge. She looked foreign, possibly Xingan, and when she spoke, her voice was accented but unfaltering.

"Wha…oh, does he belong to you?" Al felt a slight sinking feeling in his stomach. So much for going to name his companion then…

"Yes, have been taking care of him all this time?"

"Ah, yeah –"

She reached out to take Xiao-Mei from Al and he relinquished his hold. "Thank you so much!"

"It was really no prob-"

"Nonsense," she beamed at him, positively radiating happiness. "I must repay you somehow. I am Mei Chan."

"I'm Alphonse but really, that's not necessary –"

"Hmm, I could give you a reward but…" she smiled sheepishly. "I, ah, don't have any money really. Umm…"

"Actually," Al cut in, mind forming an idea, "I was wondering what kind of animal he was and –"

"Xiao-Mei? Why, he's a panda! There are lots of them in Xing, haven't you ever seen any here? Maybe not, pandas were dying off where I come from, until we started protecting them and…"

Al smiled as Mei continued prattling on about pandas and Xing. He decided she was quite cute when she rambled and her face lit up with delight. He continued to walk aimlessly around town with Mei and her panda, sometimes pointing out landmarks and buildings, other times listening to stories about her homeland.

When they finally arrived back at the house Al shared with his brother, they parted with a small peck on the cheek and a great amount of blushing.

He could've sworn Xiao-Mei was smirking at him through it all.

As the Xingan girl walked away, he decided that, while he may have lost a pet, he had definitely gained a friend. Hopefully more.

Well, that was Equivalent Trade for you.

--Owari--

--Fin--