Martel woke up. She was groggy, and rolled over, reaching for Riza, and grasping nothing but air. The smell of brewing coffee wasn't in the air yet, and the bed next to her was cold, so she didn't understand where her lover could have gone. Standing up, and finding Riza's terrycloth robe, she checked the time. Eleven o'clock. If she remembered correctly, it was a Saturday, so Riza wouldn't have to go into work.
She meandered into the kitchen, scratching the back of her neck. She spied a note on the table, held down by a cup of coffee. It seemed that Riza must have gotten up early, brewed her coffee, and by now the smell had left the apartment. Martel's tongue flickered over her lips. No, she couldn't smell any remnants of the coffee in the air anymore. It must have been hours since it was brewed.
She picked up the cold much and poured the black coffee into a saucepan, turning on the stove to warm it up, ignoring the note for now. It was chilly in the apartment, and she was still waking up. Hopefully soon enough the apartment would be warmer, and she could think properly.
After standing by the range for some time, her body slowly warming, she made her way back to the table to read the note Riza had left for her. It was short and to the point.
i Didn't want to wake you up. You looked so beautiful sleeping. Went grocery shopping. When milkman comes, pay him with money in the nightstand. I'll bring a special treat for you when I get back. /i
She was glad Riza had finally gone grocery shopping and ordered some milk. She poured the now- warm coffee into the mug and added the last of the whipped cream into the cup. They needed food in the house. Normally, Riza had gotten away with just having coffee and milk in the house, and perhaps a few things for breakfast. She could eat at the office - there was a cafeteria - and she could grab something on the way home. But now that Martel was staying at the house, and couldn't really leave, for fear of being caught by the military, Riza had to make sure the icebox was stocked.
Peeking into the box before she put the whipped cream back, Martel sighed. All the fresh food that was left was some shriveled lettuce and a fillet of fish that looked like it should have been eaten long ago. Wrinkling her nose, she shut the door to the icebox and stirred the whipped cream into the coffee, feeling lonely.
When Riza was at work, it was the hardest time for Martel. Riza's library was small, and her books were mainly on topics boring to Martel--the history of guns, biographies of people she didn't know--all non-fiction. Martel thought about the girl of her youth that couldn't keep her nose out of a romance novel, and smiled to herself.
Where were those novels now? She could use one; she could use something to do during the day. For a while, she had taken to cooking, preparing dinner for Riza before she got home. But, stuck in the apartment with only Black Hayate as company, she often idled, not sure what to do with herself.
She was woken up by a sharp knock on the door, not quite sure when she had fallen asleep. Yawning, and meandering over to the door, at first she thought it was Riza, her arms laden with groceries. But as she opened the door, she saw a man, carrying a case of three bottles of milk. "Riza Hawkeye?" he asked.
Close enough, Martel decided, and gave him the money she had found in the nightstand. "Thank you, ma'am," he said, and departed as quickly as he came.
The small interaction seemed odd to Martel. She really had only managed to spend large amounts of time with a couple of people before Greed had disappeared into i her /i house. Alphonse Elric and Riza Hawkeye. Both of them had been kind to her, treating her, eventually in Riza's case, just like any other person. The fact that she had just gotten the delivery of milk from the milkman, a trivial experience to most people, was an accepting interaction, proof that perhaps once the hunt for her kind mellowed down she could live freely among humans. At least oblivious ones.
To live freely with Riza.
She smiled, and made her way back to the sofa, thinking of a more idyllic world.
When Riza got home, Martel was still asleep on the couch. Black Hayate curled up in her lap. Riza tossed the two of the sacks she had brought in onto the kitchen table, and then went back to the living area, making a beeline for her lover. She wasn't sure whether to tell Martel off for letting the dog on the sofa, or to curl up with her. She looked so calm and peaceful when she was sleeping: nothing like the dynamic woman she was when warm and awake.
As she watched, Martel stirred, yawning slightly and nudging Black Hayate off her lap. The dog yelped slightly and scampered over to Riza, sitting down and looking at her pleadingly.
Martel stood up, rubbing the back of her head, a goofy smile on her face. "You're home," she laughed. "And you brought real food..."
"And the treat I promised," Riza said with a smile of her own.
"What kind of treat?" Martel asked, suspicious, going to the kitchen to put the groceries away.
"Your favorite kind of treat," Riza said with a wink. "Or at least it was."
"They still make that?" Martel asked, her eyes wide.
Riza rolled her eyes. "You ought to be amazed how hard it is to find these days. It's nearly three o'clock and I've been shopping since seven o'clock in the morning."
Martel quickly put the perishables in the icebox and found what she was looking for. She pulled the paper wrapped object out of the bag, slightly breathless. "I haven't had proper chocolate in years," she mumbled, ripping off the paper hastily.
"I got two of them," Riza said with a soft smile, letting her hair down and taking her jacket off. She filled Black Hayate's bowl with dog food before turning to look at Martel. "One for now, and one for later. I know how much you loved the dark chocolate bars with pralines." She almost did a double take, looking at Martel again, whose face was messy with chocolate, the bar completely gone.
"You must have wanted chocolate more than I thought!" Riza laughed. "I hope you don't gain any weight!" The last words were facetious. Even getting proper food and pastries from Riza, rather than having to scavenge her meals together, the chimera hadn't even put on a single pound.
Martel couldn't help but laugh as well, sauntering over to Riza. "I'm a mess," she said softly, holding up a chocolate covered finger to Riza's lips.
Riza looked carefully at the chimera. "You must have really wanted that chocolate," she murmured, her tongue flickering to taste the chocolate offered, sucking on Martel's fingertip teasingly, wrapping an arm around her. A second finger, covered with even more melted chocolate, made its way into Riza's mouth, and she massaged it with her tongue, suckling on it to the knuckle.
Martel seemed weak at the knees and whispered simply in Riza's ear, "Did you know that some cultures consider chocolate an aphrodisiac?"
Riza pulled back a bit, licking the chocolate from the corner of the chimera's mouth, mumbling an assent, the sugary pralines, chocolate, and inherent taste of Martel more of an aphrodisiac than anything else could be. Riza pushed Martel up against the back of the couch, forcing her into a sitting position, and crawling into her lap, kissing her properly now, passionate and needy, the arm around her waist grasping at her, trying to pull her even closer as she pushed her against the couch.
Martel gasped and pushed Riza away a bit. "Need to put the rest of the groceries away," she gasped.
"Later," Riza said, nipping at the chimera's lower lip. "It's been a while since we've had time for just each other."
"If we put the rest of the groceries away," Martel reasoned, "we can find the other bar of chocolate. If there is anything I would like..." She paused, giving Riza a sultry look. "I would like to you feed it to me sensually, straddling me naked in bed."
Riza was shocked. Her childhood sweetheart hadn't managed to be so candid since they had met again, but somehow, she enjoyed the idea. Crawling out of the woman's lap, she smiled. "I'll play your game then," she mumbled. "Put the groceries away, strip, go to the bedroom, and eat it properly."
"Exactly," Martel purred, cracking her back, bending in a way that no person should be able to.
Putting the groceries away was mundane, but both of them knew it had to be done before some of the food went bad and insects found the rest. In the very bottom of the last back, Riza found the second bar of chocolate and held it aloft.
"Go to the bedroom," she said, winking at Martel. "And I expect you to be naked when I get there."
A/N Mmm, sorry, I have to cut it off here for FFN. There's more, though. I can upload the entirety of next chapter, though. If you really want to know the rest of this, eh, contact me, and I'll see about getting it to you.