This is my first story, and I am happy with the way it turned out. I actually wrote this almost a year ago, but I decided to go over it again and post it here. I hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters; all are property of Hiromu Arakawa.

Cooking

Supper in the Devil's Nest usually went two ways: a mad scramble to get what they wanted of the leftovers in the fridge, or a debate over which place they should order takeaway from, which sometimes escalated into a fight. It was rare that anyone actually cooked, and when that did happen, it was usually not fit for human—or Homunculus or Chimera—consumption. One of the more memorable meals had come from Martel, who was notorious for being horrible at cooking. She had tried to make soup of some kind, but it ended up tasting like extremely salty carrot water with raw garlic. Dolcetto had actually gotten sick off the smell, and Greed had flatly refused to eat it. That's why it was very weird when it was discovered that someone in their gang could actually use the kitchen properly.

Martel had woken around three in the morning, an hour after the bar closed, with a craving for a snack of some kind. She tried to ignore it, but she had never been good at ignoring her stomach. She slid out of bed and quietly made her way down the hall towards the large living room/kitchen area of the basement. She paused at the end of the hallway when she heard someone shuffling around in the kitchen. She reached for her knife and edged forwards, unsure of what she was about to see. She only prayed it was not Greed 'entertaining' a recent conquest.

It was not Greed who Martel saw when she peered around the corner, but Bido. The little man was standing on a stepstool, reaching to the back of the counter for a mixing spoon, which he placed into a nearby bowl. Martel almost dropped her knife in shock when she realized that Bido, pickpocket extraordinaire and Greed's best spy, was cooking. Upon closer inspection, Martel saw that her Nest mate was making pancakes of all things.

Apparently Bido had already mixed a few ingredients into the bowl beforehand, because he grabbed the spoon and began to mix, all while using his tail to nudge another bowl closer to him. Once everything was mixed, Bido poured a little of the batter into the pan he had placed on the stove, and picked up a spatula so he could flip the cake once it was ready.

Martel was fascinated; she never once thought that the little guy could cook! Bido never offered to make anything, and he did not seem like the type who would cook something as sweet as pancakes. Bido liked sweets, sure, but he had never gone out of his way to make them or buy them.

With practiced, stealthy movements, Martel moved to the side so she could watch the process. It was then she saw that these pancakes were not plain, but filled with blueberries. They looked delicious.

Bido flipped the first pancake and smiled, pleased with his work. He looked like he was enjoying himself.

Martel watched for a few more minutes, and in that time, three pancakes had been made. By then, Martel's stomach was growling so loudly that she could hardly stand it. She stepped out from her hiding place and crossed her arms before she cleared her throat.

Bido jumped and turned around quickly, as if he was afraid of being found out. When he saw who had discovered him, he let out a sigh and relaxed almost immediately. "Oh, Martel, you scared me," he said.

"I didn't know you could cook," said Martel. She had an amused look on her face, and she walked forward to get a better look at the pancakes. "Those look good."

Bido rubbed the back of his head nervously and then turned back to the stove to flip another pancake. "Uh, thank you," he said. "I-I haven't made them for a while but I hope they're alright."

"Can I try one?" Martel asked.

At first, Bido seemed hesitant, but then he pushed a plate over to Martel and then handed her a fork. "Yeah, tell me how they are."

Martel sat down and cut a piece with the fork. As soon as she put the cake into her mouth, she gave Bido a thumbs-up. "These taste pretty good. Where did you learn to cook?"

Bido rubbed his head again and shrugged one shoulder. "I sometimes hang out by the bakery on fifth, and, well…I wanted to know how to make these since I hadn't had them in years."

Martel finished off her pancake just as Bido sat down with his share. The two of them sat there for a while, just enjoying the silence before Martel spoke up again.

"Do any of the others know about this?" Martel asked.

Bido shook his head. "No, they, uh…I'm afraid they'll ask me to make them all the time."

Martel could see the logic there; the others would never give Bido any peace if they knew that he could cook. Still, it seemed odd that Bido would keep something like this quiet, especially from Greed. As she watched Bido finish his meal, Martel patted his shoulder.

"I won't tell anyone, ok?"

Bido's look of gratitude made a smile tug at Martel's lips, and she gently slugged the shorter Chimera in the shoulder as a sign of affection.

"Thanks, Martel," said Bido. "I'll um, I'll make these for you again soon, ok?"

Martel grinned and waved as she headed back into the hallway and to her room. She may have promised to keep Bido's cooking under wraps, but that did not mean she would help clean up. Now that her food craving was sated, Martel fell asleep easily, and she fell asleep with a satisfied smile on her face.

No one in the Devil's Nest could claim to be a master chef—or even a half decent one—but it was nice to know that at least one of them could cook something, even something as simple as blueberry pancakes.