EDIT: Just fixed a small spelling/grammar mistake.

A/N: Heh, really enjoyed the reactions I've received so far for the last drabble; Sloth/Greed? LOL! Who knows; I have seriously been thinking about going down that path eventually, and that idea was in mind when I wrote the last drabble, but...I'm pretty certain they're going to hate each other's guts, and doubtful that'll ever change; I plan for their drabble series to be...twisted. (It sure was fun to write those 2 first time around, of course... And I may write a Lust/Greed eventually, but I imagine it wouldn't be for a long time.) Anyway, on to this one, kind of an opposite turn from the last; I'd say this drabble's direction diverts in an altered post-ep.34 era.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist; if I did, the main idea of the drabble below would be canon.

Drabble 9: It Begins

"He's so cute."

"Thank you so much Winry," Ed began with sarcasm to mask his annoyance, "for voicing how you felt, when we already knew that with the way you've been oggling Greed!"

"I was talking about how cute he is when he's sleeping!... And I haven't been oggling him!"

"What do you call your eyes following his every move and that constant dribble of saliva?" The young Rockbell shifted through her jacket, and the Elric prepared himself for the wrench, but then Al, as tradition demanded, stepped in with the age-old, "Knock it off you two," altered by the addition of "You'll wake him up."

"No need to worry about Greed," said Martel, her muffled voice disturbing Ed further; he'd rather the woman would get the hell out of Al, but... (Flashback: "DAMN IT! IT'S TOO FREAKIN' CRAMPED IN THIS CART!"--Edward Elric, in his age-old mad and short routine; "What were you expecting, you are trying to fit 7 people in a relatively small cart."--Izumi Curtis, in her age-old practical sensei routine; "Dibs on first class!"--Martel, cheerfully leaping into Alphonse Elric, who just as cheerfully let her in; "There ya go, problem solved; a little more space for us."--Greed, being just as calm as he had before, when he suggested an alliance against the other Homunculi between himself and his own with Ed and his own, which said Ed had found himself agreeing to, after being struck by Al's puppy dog eyes; "..."--gagging Edward Elric)

"Yeah, that guy can sleep through an explosion," added the dog chimera, whose name still escaped Edward.

"That's not an exaggeration," the largest chimera--with another name which escaped Edward--replied in a blank monotone. "He did sleep through an explosion back at the Devil's Nest; believe it or not, Kimbley had once caused an accidental fire." The huge hulking figure of a man glared at Al, or more precisely, his passenger. "Martel should know; she was the main cause of the accident..." A weak chuckle from the snake chimera that actually soothed Ed a little.

"I swear, the way Greed looked then, I thought he was going to try grounding us like little kids..." A rustle in the hay stacks, a sleepy mumble later, and the elder Elric found himself in the unacceptable position of being hugged by Greed. Amazingly, the boy was so freaked out over this new development, his throat froze, silent. All he did was stare at Alphonse with wide golden eyes that rivaled his own brother's puppy dog eyes; should he ever learn to use them properly, the world would be doomed.

Ignorant of this hidden doom within Ed, Al was still trapped in stupefied shock, and Winry was just beside herself with unbridled jealousy; Martel, and the two other chimeras with the impossible-to-remember names were busy with stifling their laughter. And the Homunculus continued to unconsciously and sleepily snuggle the boy, his arms gripping him tighter; this increase in pressure actually galvanizing Edward to begin wildly struggling and cursing--falling back on a normal standard in other words. Greed's possessive embrace just tightened, and by that point the elder Elric could feel the fuzziness of the Homunculus jacket, and he thought how nice and comfy it felt, then promptly swore to beat himself up later over that moment of temporary insanity.

"Uh...Martel?" Alphonse's hesitant voice reached the snake chimera amid all the boisterous laughter. (By then, the chimeras just gave up and started giggling like mad.)

"It's the way he sleeps," wheezed out the woman as she began wiping away her funny bone-induced tears. "Being greedy and all, he always has to be holding something when he's sleeping, even if it's just a nap. Although, Greed's usually snuggling a pillow or some random girl."

"..."

"But it's normally just a pillow," Martel put that truth in quickly, easily detecting Al's unease.

"Fine. Just. Get. Him. Offa. Me." Inwardly, Ed patted himself on the back for a new record on gritting words out of his teeth.

"Uh...we can't," the dog chimera replied lamely--Dorchette! That was his name! The elder Elric would've laughed triumphantly if his struggling hadn't earned an unconscious tightening against his throat.

"Greed doesn't let go of what he thinks is his, even in sleep--"

"Brother! Just slip out of your jacket--here, let me help you." And with that, the armored boy quickly took hold of Ed's legs, and yanked him from the red coat, which Greed clutched tighter to his chest as he flopped fully onto the hay, slipping from the wagon's boarded walls. Finally free, Edward directed a most venomous glare at the Homunculus. Well, it would've been a most venomous glare, had the boy not caught sight of Greed's innocently content smile against the crimson jacket. Then he just sighed, both wondering how long until Ishbal, and amazed at how similar the Homunculus was to Al when he had slept before...

A/N: Totally AU, and what I wished would've generally happened on the show; Greed and all of his chimera crew should've allied themselves with Ed and his crew against the other Homunculi, whom they all seemed to dislike, or often find themselves fighting against. So much cool plot and character development could've resulted from that prolonged existence and alliance... Anyway, from now on, I think I'll have this drabble referenced for a bunch of other drabbles I have in mind, in which their continuities welcome a living Greed getting along with the main FMA cast; I promise to say so in author's notes if that happens.

P.S. So happy to get a favorable review from the one who inspired my story here, Shiruba Neko; thank you so much! (And am still eagerly waiting for an update on your Scar drabble series...)