A/N: Done for the Halloween exchange at fmagiftexchange.
Riza looked up to see Gracia walking down the hallway, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. "I was told that you were at liberty this afternoon," she said, smiling.
Riza glanced at the closed door next to her. "I'm supposed to be waiting here," she said. Roy was in meetings well above her clearance level, and she'd been left outside.
"Nonsense," Gracia said, firmly. "I'm to tell you that Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes has despatched a corporal to wait here in case Colonel Mustang requires coffee. Which leaves you entirely free to go to lunch with me."
Riza smiled. "I suppose it does," she said, standing. Sure enough, there was a kid in blue shoulder tabs coming down the hallway. Riza nodded to him. "I hope you can recommend someplace. I'm not in Central often enough to know any of the good places."
"Oh," Gracia said, her eyes twinkling. "I'm sure I'll be able to think of something."
Riza waited until they were clear of HQ to start laughing. "Your husband is a busybody," she said.
Gracia grinned. "Why would you say that?" she asked. "The two of us were having dinner night and talking about how unfair it was that you and Roy were going to be in Central, but there wasn't going to be any time for the four of us to be together. And darling Maes, who is so very thoughtful, pointed out that while he and Roy might be occupied, you and I are not."
Riza paused, looked around the street and then pulled Gracia into an alley. "No sightlines here," she whispered, and then kissed Gracia furtively. Gracia kissed back, warm and welcoming.
"Come along," Gracia said, offering a hand as she pulled away. "I wasn't joking about lunch; you do need to eat."
They fetched up at a cafe not that far from HQ. Riza was the only patron in uniform. "Not popular with the military crowd?" she asked.
Gracia smiled coyly. "I think of everything," she said.
It wasn't dangerous for them to be seen together, exactly, but it did feel more comfortable not to have anyone from HQ watching. Riza smiled. "Really?" she asked, dryly. "Everything? What am I going to have for lunch, then?"
Gracia cocked her head and looked at Riza appraisingly. "Grilled chicken salad," she said finally. "Potato soup- and a slice of pumpernickel bread. I'll be having the pasta with cream sauce, of course. I'll steal bites of your bread, and then insist that we split the creme brulee for dessert."
Riza flicked her menu open and glanced at it. Gracia had a point. "You're very good," she said.
"I'm very observant," Gracia said.
Riza loved seeing her this way. When they were with others, Gracia was the model of the good army wife. To casual observation, she seemed unassuming and sweet. And that was true- Gracia was sweet. But she was also daring and funny and smart. Sometimes it made Riza sad that no one else saw Gracia the way she did. Other times, she felt immense sympathy for her. They were all wearing masks of some kind, after all. "You are," Riza said, softly.
The waiter came, and Riza put in their lunch orders. Riza ate her salad, and Gracia, as promised, stole bits of her bread when she wasn't looking. Riza stole bites of Gracia's pasta in retaliation. They ended up both stifling laughter as they silently fought over a forkful of gemelli.
The waiter interrupted them. He cleared his throat as Gracia abandoned the fork and Riza tried to prevent the pasta from flying into her face. Fortunately, she had good reflexes. "Can I get you any dessert?" he offered, ignoring their antics.
"We have to try the creme brulee!" Gracia said, cheerily. "I insist. Besides, the calories don't count if we're sharing."
Riza stifled the urge to laugh at Gracia's pitch-perfect impression of a fashionable Central house-frau. "Well," she said blandly. "If you insist, I suppose we'll have to try it."
The creme brulee was good. Riza knew it would be. Gracia was the only one of the four of them who had any feeling for food at all. She and Roy and Maes all had soldiers' attitudes to it: whatever wasn't poisoned or rotten was good enough. Gracia was the one who thought about things like taste.
They fought over the bill, sparring good-naturedly. Riza won, but she had the impression that Gracia had planned it that way all along.
As they walked out onto the street, Gracia curled her arm around Riza's waist. Her hair smelled sweet and warm. "What do you have planned next?" Riza asked. "We have a little time before I have to be back. Not enough time to go back to your place, though," she said, regretfully. They had so little time together- never, ever enough.
"I'm going to take you to a show," Gracia said. "I'll buy you popcorn, and you can hold my hand when I get scared."
They found the bloodiest monster movie they could. Gracia held her hand through the newsreel and the awful pictures of Ishval and the reconstruction in the East. It was a relief when that dose of reality gave way to the chocolate-syrup blood and the fantasy monster threatening frightened villagers. Gracia shivered obligingly when the heroine screamed and ran, the piano music thundering in the theater. Riza put her arms around her, holding her close and stroking her hair.
"It's time to get you back to HQ," Gracia said when they finally emerged, blinking, into the light.
"You should try to find a reason to visit East," Riza said. "It's been... too long. Roy misses you both."
Gracia smiled. "I love you," she said, because saying that sort of thing came easier to her than it did to Riza. "And Roy. And Maes loves both of you too." She dropped her voice. "And don't worry. We'll find an opportunity to show you how much we love you soon enough."
Riza held her hand as they walked down the street.