Al was beginning to think he'd made a bad decision as he knocked for a second time, scuffing his slippered feet on the hardwood floor as he waited. Just as he was about to leave, though, the door of the guest room swung open and he was greeted by a drowsy Mei. She was wearing one of Winry's old nightgowns and her dark hair was tied back into a simple plait.

He blushed, trying not to stare at her smooth, pale legs while carefully balancing the stack of books and papers in his arms at the same time. "Uh. Sorry to bother you, Mei. I got up a few hours ago to study more on this alkahestry theory and I-I was just wondering if you know more information about it… and… and… I'll just come back later, instead. Sorry."

Mei's sleepy eyes went wide, and she waved her hands, "Oh! No, no, it's all right, Alphonse. It's that book you were talking about last night, right? Come in!"

Xiao Mei had been dozing, but the little panda woke up and quickly skittered off downstairs in search of food when Mei opened the door.

Al followed Mei into the room, kicking off his slippers as he entered and setting the books down while she rummaged through her notes - written in both finely-printed Amestrian and Xingese - which were piled on top of the bureau.

"I should be the one apologizing," Mei laughed as she joined Al, sitting next to him on the bed, "I've been so caught up with helping Winry prepare for the wedding that I haven't really had time to talk with you much about anything. I didn't realize being a bridesmaid would require so much work! Speaking of which, I think she wanted my help with some shopping this morning."

"Oh, Winry thought you should sleep in and decided to go into town with Granny, instead. I think they dragged Ed off with them, too." Al explained with a small frown, "I'm really happy for them, but I'll be kind of glad when it's finally over and all of the chaos has died down."

"I know what you mean." Mei agreed, "It has kind of been nice visiting Amestris again, though." She looped her arm through his and lightly pecked his cheek.

"So… What did you want to know about this theory?" She asked.

He went on to explain, but he found himself becoming a bit distracted by the way the soft morning light filtered in through the curtains, playing across the round lines of her face, and the way she watched him, peering through her eyelashes… He cleared his throat and tried to start up again from the paragraph he'd been reading aloud - after realizing he'd paused and had been gazing at her.

However, Mei took the book from him, closing it and setting it aside, and drew him down by his shirt collar for a kiss.

After a moment, they parted and he buried his face in her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "I know it's only been a busy week or so, but I've kind of missed spending time with you, Mei."

She smiled, eyes slightly moist, and hugged him back tightly, whispering, "I've missed you, too."

Their lips met again, and again, until they breathlessly broke apart, Al now flat on his back against the pillows.

Mei pushed him down again as he made a somewhat half-hearted attempt to rise, straddling his lap, her legs on either side of his hips.

"M-Mei!" He gulped as she giggled, leaning forward to kiss his nose. "Mei, I don't think this is…"

"Don't worry so much, Al. Besides, there's no one else here, right now." She murmured into his ear, breath warm against his cheek.

It was about this time that he lost any reservations he'd had and showered her neck and exposed shoulder with kisses where her nightgown had slipped down.

Mei ran her fingers through his close-cropped hair and he hummed his approval against her collarbone, and she giggled again at the tickling sensation.

Al brought a hand up to gently caress the side of her face, the other resting upon her waist, and sealed his mouth upon hers, their tongues roaming.

Thin fingers unbuttoned his shirt, swept over his bare chest. She grinned against his lips, "You know, all of that sparring is paying off." She panted, trying to catch her breath as she drew tiny, imaginary circles across his pectorals.

As Al ran a hand up her thigh, he murmured, "I could say the same about you." He caught her lips in another deep kiss.

She took him off guard, slightly, by scooting forward and settling herself more firmly atop him and he found himself flushing, hoping she wouldn't notice his arousal.

Tilting her head, Mei took his wrist and brought his hand up to her breast. Al hesitated, heart pounding, but relented as he felt the softness of her body stiffening beneath the thin fabric.

"Are y-you sure…" He stammered, looking up into her dark brown eyes. They'd only really ever gone this far once before. Mei shivered lightly at his touch, breathing hard. "Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, a mischievous dimple playing at the corner of her mouth.

Good grief, he loved her.

She kissed him and he returned it with renewed fervor, cupping her breasts and trying to piece his dizzy thoughts together as she softly whimpered and nuzzled into his neck. Those hands of hers straying closer to the zipper of his trousers.

He was so caught up in the moment that he barely noticed the half-open door swinging wide. It was the loud voice that caught his attention.

"Your stupid panda was chewing on my socks again, Mei!" Ed was shouting. His words cut off slightly at the end, though, and the room was filled with an awkward silence.

Mei sat up with a gasp, drawing the sheets close around them.

It took Al a moment to find something intelligible to say - he and Mei were, after all, lying closely intertwined and half naked on her bed. He finally settled for: "Oh. Hi, Brother. I didn't know you were here."

His older brother, standing frozen in the doorway, blinked after a moment, eyes still wide and expressionless from the initial shock. Without a word, he simply turned and made his way back out the door and down the hallway.

"Well…" Al sighed, "There goes my chance of being best man."

This was sort of inspired by a recent discussion I had with some friends about Al and Mei. I'm sorry if they seem a little out of character. ^^; Haha, generally, I like to think of them as being far more romantic and cheesy than this, but they're just sort of fooling around, here.

I apologize for any mistakes, as well. I was rather tired when I wrote this.