Melting Chocolate

A Valentine's Day Tale by AMI MEITSU

A/N: This is a Valentine's tale that takes place in February of 2203, Setsuna is nearing one and Invidia and Arty and still dating.

Though the snow on the ground glittered white, the surroundings of the city shone with red as Invidia and Nova walked out of a small boutique on February afternoon.

"You know, while I like red, this is really obnoxious," Invidia said as they headed up the street. "What's all this for anyway?"

"You don't know?" Nova asked as she stopped and turned towards her.

Invidia shook her head.

"Oh, Invidia…" Nova sighed. "It's all for Valentine's day."

"Valentine's day?"

Nova nodded. "Valentine's day is considered a day of love, and here in Japan, women show their love by giving their partner chocolates. But, they can also give chocolate to close friends and coworkers as an obligation gift."

"Why?"

"We do it to show them love or gratefulness for friendship. Marketers often use it as a way to take money, but it's still fun."

"Does that mean I need to give Arty chocolate?"

"Only if you want to."

"Well, I do like to cook," Invidia pondered.

"Don't worry about it for now, we have a week until Valentine's Day. Let's just worry about getting out of the cold for now."

Invidia nodded and shivered inside her coat. Soon, both women arrived at a small café, where they had agreed to meet Derek and Arty for lunch.

"This feels weird…" Invidia muttered.

"What feels weird?" Nova asked.

"Being here with you and Derek and Arty…we don't normally go out like this."

"It's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it being awkward," Nova said as they headed to where the men sat with Setsuna, who sat in a high chair at the end of the table.

"Mama!" She said.

"Hi Setsuna, were you good for the doctor?"

Derek nodded. "It went fine until she got her shots."

"Shots bad!" Setsuna said with a frown.

"Aw, Baby doesn't like shots?" Invidia teased.

"And neither does the Princess," Arty teased her.

Invidia blushed slightly. "I don't trust people with needles, alright?" She muttered as she slid in next to him.

Everyone laughed and Nova took her place next to Derek and picked up a menu.

Invidia ignored it and asked Arty, "what's good here? You should know since this was your idea."

"The steak is normally pretty good."

"I don't eat restaurant steak, you know that."

"In that case, they have a pretty decent Caesar salad plate."

"Really, let me see," Invidia said, picking up the menu for the first time.

"What does she eat?" Arty asked of Setsuna.

"Everything," Derek said. "Everything but squash."

Nova rolled her eyes. "She already ate, so we don't have to worry about her."

"Invidia!" Was Setsuna's response.

"What?" Invidia looked up.

"Invidia blue," Setsuna said, pointing to her dark, black and blue gown.

"Nova, is that kid a genius or something?" Arty asked.

"No, but we have been working on colors at home, and she just learned blue yesterday. I think she just wants to act smart."

"She doesn't have to "act smart" she is smart," Derek said.

"Smart!" Setsuna repeated.

Everyone except Invidia laughed just as a waiter came up and took their drink order.

"Anyway," Invidia said after the waiter left. "What did you do with your half-day?" She asked Arty, who had taken a half-day with Derek so that they could go out to lunch, though, Derek's main purpose had been to take Setsuna to the doctor.

"Did some extra report work, logged cadets' flight time, stuff like that," Arty replied.

"Is that all you do? Man, you're boring…" Invidia sighed.

"Oh really, what do you do every day Miss. "I don't need a job because I have Daddy's money?""

"Shop, clean, read, and sometimes I just go for a walk. And there is nothing wrong with living off the money I have! Besides, no one would hire me anyway, everyone on this planet hates me."

"That's not true," Nova said. "We like you."

"And I love you," Arty said.

"I know," Invidia sighed and placed her hand over Arty's.

"Speaking of which, what are you getting me for Valentine's day?" He teased.

"What?" Invidia looked at him.

"You know about Valentine's Day, right?" Arty asked.

"I do, but I wasn't planning on anything…not yet anyway, it's only the seventh and…"

"It's fine, take your time Princess."

Invidia smiled and the rest of their 'date' continued in a calm, fun manner, and, afterwards Arty took Invidia home, since she had ridden into the city with Nova earlier.

"When are you getting your car back?" He asked.

"I picked it up this morning. And, the mechanic made it clear that he hated me and said I have to bring it in every few months, not just once a year. I hate annual service."

"It's not so bad, you get used to it," Arty said with a shrug as he pulled up to Invidia's apartment building.

"See you tomorrow?" Invidia asked as she undid her seatbelt.

Arty answered her question by grabbing her arm and pulling her in for a quick kiss. "Tomorrow." He promised.

Invidia gave a small nod and stepped out of the car. She then headed up to her apartment, took off her shoes and sat on one of her two couches. 'Valentine's Day, huh?' She thought. 'I have to find something to do with Arty, we've been together for nearly a year and I can't believe I never thought of such a thing…am I just a ditz or something?' She thought for a while before she leaned back and fell asleep.

Invidia awoke a few hours later feeling something on her cheek.

"Invidia? Come one Princess, wake up!" A voice said.

"Arty?" Invidia asked as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up.

"Thank god, you're alright."

"Arty? What are you talking about?"

"I got worried when you didn't answer your phone for three hours and thought you might have been in trouble. Then, I show up here and find you playing dead."

"I am not playing dead, I just feel asleep. How'd you get in anyway?"

Arty took out his keys and showed her the shining, silver one hanging off of it. "You gave me a key, remember?"

"Oh, right," Invidia said with a slight blush, embarrassed that she couldn't remember something so simple. "Anyway, what did you want?"

"Well, I wanted you to come over for dinner, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen now."

"Why not?"

"Well, for one, it's already five, and you're hardly ready for a nice dinner," He teased, ruffling her already messy hair.

"Stop it! You're ruining my hair!" Invidia snapped as she smoothed it out. "And, I have plenty of time. You go home and prepare something, then come back and pick me up at seven thirty."

"Um…alright, I guess we have a date then."

Invidia smiled at him and they shared a hug and a brief kiss before he left. She then sighed, stood up and stretched while she thought, 'I can't believe he was so worried about me…but it's kind of nice to have someone who cares about me that much…' She thought, thinking back to her Father, the only other person in the world who cared for her as much as Arty did, and sighed. 'Oh, Father…I miss you, why couldn't you have been exonerated too?' She sighed again and headed into her bedroom and then to the master bathroom and ran herself a bath.

'I guess it's nice that Arty cares enough to come over and check on me…Knowing that someone is looking after me helps sometimes…Now, about Valentine's Day…I guess I could make him some kind of chocolate. I do like to be in the kitchen and he loves my homemade goods…'She thought as she watched the water run and added some mint chocolate chip-scented bubble soap. She swirled the water around with her hand, and when the bath was ready, she quickly stripped and got in.

"I wonder…" She said to no one. "What kind of chocolate should I make?" She spent the rest of her forty-five minute bath pondering before she got out, put on a long, strapless black dress and matching sandals and waited for Arty to arrive.

He arrived promptly at seven thirty and drove her over to his place, where, she stepped into candlelight.

"Arty…it's beautiful…" She said.

"I try, and you look beautiful," Arty said as he took off her coat.

"Thank you," Invidia blushed as he took her hand and led her to an elegantly set dining table that held a salad, bread and Arty's homemade lasagna, which was one of Invidia's favorite meals.

"I didn't have time to put something really fancy together, but…"

"It's fine, I love your lasagna," Invidia reassured as she sat down and watched as Arty filled her wine glass. Then, they clinked glasses and settled down to eat. The meal went by fairly quickly, and, afterwards, Invidia helped with some cleaning before picking up her coat again.

"Princess, where are you going?" Arty asked.

"Home," Invidia replied.

"Not before desert."

"Desert?"

Arty nodded and pulled a small, heart-shaped, red velvet cake from the fridge. "I picked this up at the bakery down the street for us. But if you don't want it, then…"

"No, I want it," Invidia said as she came back into the kitchen.

"Then why don't we cut it together?"

"Alright," Invidia nodded and placed her hand over Arty's on the knife.

He nodded to her and together, they cut one large piece to share. Arty then carried the plate and two forks into the living room and settled on the couch. Invidia followed and they spent some time talking, laughing, and eating cake before Arty set an empty plate down and pulled Invidia towards him for a light kiss.

"I love you," He whispered as he pulled her into his lap and hugged her.

"I love you too," Invidia replied as she cuddled up to him and settled into his warmth. "Arty," She said after a while.

"Hm?" Arty said.

"What time is it?"

Arty looked ahead at his wall clock and said, "Ten, why?"

"Ten O'clock!? Arty! I have to get home!"

"Why don't you stay here for the night? It's late, and I really don't want to drive in this fog," Arty said as he looked out the window.

"No. I have nothing to wear and…"

"Actually you do," Arty said. "After the last time you had to stay over, I went out and bought some things for you, stay," He ordered as he got up and headed into the bedroom. He came back with a short-sleeved, long, sky-blue nightgown and handed it to her. "I also have one extra casual outfit, and a few toiletries on hand."

"Oh, well…thank you."

"You can take a shower and I'll set you a place to sleep, unless you want to sleep in my room."

Invidia shook her head. "The couch is just fine thank you, and I took a bath before I came over, so I don't need a shower right away."

"Alright then, go get changed. And, I know you're going to hate me for this, but there is underwear mixed in with your casual clothes."

Invidia blushed. "But…H…How do you know my size…?"

"I did a little snooping the last time I came over and you left your laundry out."

Invidia stared at him, and then slapped him across the face. "That's for pawing through my laundry!"

"I deserved that," Arty said as he rubbed his cheek.

"Yes, you did," Invidia replied, then, she turned and headed into his room to change. When she came back out, she found him setting her a bed on the couch.

"I hope blue is…what happened to your hair?"

"This?" Invidia said as she pointed to her now pin-less hair. "I don't wear the pin when I sleep, remember?"

"Oh, right…Anyway, I hope this is okay. I even got the fluffy pillows."

Invidia smiled, set a neatly-folded pile of clothes on the back of the couch and then sat on it and felt the covers. "It'll do," She said.

"Good, now get up," Arty ordered.

Invidia stood up and watched as he pulled the blankets back.

"You can lay back down," He said.

Invidia looked at him and then got up on the couch, laid down and allowed him to cover her with the blankets. Then, Arty lightly fluffed the pillows and asked, "Comfortable?"

Invidia nodded and Arty kissed her head.

"Good night, Princess." He said.

"Good night, Arty," She replied as she snuggled into the blankets and quickly fell into a sound sleep.

Arty watched until she fell asleep before heading to bed himself, and then getting up a five AM for work. He sleepily stumbled into the living room and turned on the light, surprised when he saw a wave of black on the couch, until he remembered that he had made Invidia stay the night.

'She's so cute when she's asleep…' He thought as he went over and moved some hair out of her eyes. He smiled and lightly kissed her forehead. "Princess?" He whispered. "It's time to get up now," He said as he stroked her cheek.

Invidia whimpered and pulled the blanket over her head. "No!" She whined.

"I'm sorry Princess, but if you want to go home, you have to get up."

"What time is it?"

"Five."

"Too early!" Invidia whined.

"Do you want to be stuck here all day?" Arty asked.

"No," Invidia admitted as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You know, you're really cute in the morning," He teased as he ruffled her hair.

"Stop that!" Invidia whined. "I'm going to take my shower," She muttered as she stood up, headed into his room to get her clothes, and then into the bathroom for her morning shower.

'Man, she's cranky in the morning…' He thought as he set a kettle for her tea.

"Arty!" Invidia snapped twenty minutes later as she stepped in the kitchen.

"Yes?" Arty asked as he prepared breakfast.

"Where's your blow dryer? My hair is soaking wet!"

"I don't have one."

"What!?"

"I don't need it, so I don't have it. I just let me hair air dry."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do!" Invidia snapped, then, she turned and headed back into the bathroom to brush her hair, which was a difficult task, considering it was wet. She re-entered the kitchen muttering to herself and picked up the teacup Arty had set out for her.

"Oh, stop grumbling, I made you breakfast," Arty said as he set two plates of pancakes, eggs, hash browns and sausage on the table.

Invidia sat and stuck her tongue out at the sausages. "Yuck…" She said, then she placed them on Arty's plate and said, "you eat."

"You can't be serious."

"I hate sausage, you know that. Do you have any fruit?"

"There's bananas in that bowl," He said, pointing to a bowl on the counter.

Invidia immediately got up, got a banana, knife, and cutting board and began to slice it into pieces.

"May I ask why you're doing that?" Arty asked.

"Eating whole bananas is awkward," Invidia replied as she put the slices into a bowl and re-joined him.

Arty just shrugged and continued eating. Afterwards, he cleaned up and took Invidia home before heading to work.

Invidia sighed once she stepped into the apartment and looked down at her outfit for the hundredth time that morning, glad that Arty had taken her tastes into account and had chosen something nice. It was an ensemble that consisted of a medium-length black skirt and an elbow-length purple shirt, which she paired up with her sandals from the night before. Then she thought, 'I'm tired…and I have to start thinking about this Valentine's thing…Nova's home today, maybe I could call her…' She thought before she headed into her bedroom, changed into another set of pajamas and laid down for a nap. She woke up again at ten o'clock, put her clothes back on and made up her mind to call Nova.

"Hello?" Nova said when she answered.

"Nova? It's me, I was wondering if you'd help me with this whole chocolate thing."

"When?"

"Today if you can, I had planned to go out and buy some ingredients and have you show me some of your tricks."

"I'll be glad to help you, just come over when you're ready."

"Really? Thank you! I'll see you soon, bye," Invidia said, then, she hung up, pulled on her boots and coat, grabbed her purse and headed out. Her endeavors took her to a small, sweet shop downtown, where she picked up white, dark and milk chocolate and even some vanilla that was colored with red, food dye. Then, after some browsing around, she picked up some heart molds, square molds with hearts in the middle, and even some flowers. She smiled at her selection, paid and then headed to Nova's and let herself in with a key that Nova had given her. Upon entering she exchanged her boots for a pair of black, house slippers and looked around the living room.

"Invidia! Hi," Nova said as she sat in the living room playing with Setsuna, who looked at Invidia and smiled. She quickly crawled over, patted Invidia foot and said, "Slipper."

Invidia looked at her with a raised eyebrow and turned to Nova.

"That's her favorite word today," Nova explained. "Right, honey?"

"Slipper!" Setsuna repeated, pointing to her own foot.

Invidia rolled her eyes and said, "can we get started? I have some ingredients to practice with, but most of it is for Valentine's day."

"Alright," Nova said as she picked Setsuna up and then set her in a playpen in the dining room.

Invidia followed her into the kitchen and set her bag of molds and chocolate on the counter.

"Let's see what you've got to work with…" Nova said as she looked over some items. "The molds are cute, and you've got some quality chocolate, but you have nothing to decorate it with."

"What?" Invidia said.

"Valentine's chocolates are usually put into specially decorated boxes."

"Oh, well…I didn't think about that…"

"It's alright, you have some time. Now, what kind of date are you planning?"

"I was thinking about taking him to his favorite, fancy restaurant."

"I've got a better idea, why don't you make him something? It'll be more special that way, and you get to show off your cooking skills."

"Well, he does like my cooking…"

Nova smiled.

"Wait, what are you doing for Valentine's day?"

"During the day I'll be throwing Setsuna a birthday party and the evening is a secret."

"Setsuna's birthday?"

Nova nodded. "She's turning one and we're having a little get-together with our friends, would you like to come?"

"Sure," Invidia shrugged.

"Invidia party?" Setsuna asked.

"Yes, I'm coming to your party," Invidia replied.

"Mama!" Setsuna replied.

"Yes, Setsuna?" Nova said.

"Hungry!"

"Alright, hold on," Nova said, then, she got out a small box of animal crackers and handed them to her. "Would you like some juice?" She asked.

"Yes."

Nova smiled and filled a bottle with organic, apple juice before she returned to help Invidia.

"Alright, first you need to put this on," Nova said as she handed her a blue apron.

"That has a ducky on it…" Invidia pointed out.

"So? Do you want to get your cute outfit messed up?"

"No," Invidia grumbled as she put it on and watched Nova tie on a pink one.

"To start with, place some of your practice chocolate in this pot," Nova ordered as she set a metal pot on the counter.

Invidia filled the pot with a few pieces of milk chocolate and watched as Nova showed her how to set the stove to the correct temperature andthen demonstrated how to properly stir it so it wouldn't burn. "You have to keep stirring to evenly distribute the heat, and watch that it doesn't burn."

Invidia nodded and took the spoon from Nova.

"Great, now…"

"What's going on here?" A voice said from behind.

"Derek?" Nova said as she turned towards him.

"Hi," Derek replied.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping with some repairs on the Argo?"

"I decided to come home for lunch, but, I see you've skipped to desert."

"She's helping me with my Valentine's chocolate," Invidia explained.

"Chocolate?" Derek asked as he headed over to her. "For who?"

"Arty."

"Oh…Don't waste your time with him."

"Why not?" Invidia snapped.

"Arty receives a ton of chocolate on Valentine's day and never eats any of it, he usually donates it to the children's academy or gives it away to friends."

"What?" Invidia sighed.

"Derek don't say that! It's not a waste of time," Nova reassured as she set a hand on Invidia's shoulder. "Arty never eats it, because he doesn't love those girls and finds it no use to eat chocolate from those he doesn't love. And he does eat Valentine's chocolate."

"From who?" Derek asked.

"Nina," Nova said, referencing Arty's mother.

"Who's Nina?" Invidia asked.

"His mother. And, he eats it because he really loves her, so, if he eats yours it's love."

Invidia smiled and shut off the stove. "Then I guess I better keep practicing," She said, then she turned to fill the molds.

"And, if I remember correctly, I know a certain someone who's the same way about chocolate," Nova said to Derek.

"Look, I don't ask for all that chocolate," Derek replied.

"I know, but some of it is pretty good."

"What?" Invidia said.

"Derek gets lots of chocolate on Valentine's day, but he never eats any of it either. He only eats my chocolate," Nova explained.

"And she eats the rest," Derek said.

"I do not! We usually give most of it away."

Invidia laughed and continued to fill molds, just as she did a week later during the midafternoon on Valentine's day.

'These should be ready by the time I get home, and then, I'll put the box together, head over and give him the invitation and come back to start on dinner.' She thought just as a knock came at the door. She answered and found Shamura standing before her.

"Happy Valentine's Day," She said as she handed Invidia a small, blue-wrapped box.

"What's this?" Invidia asked.

"Chocolate dummy," Shamura teased as she tapped Invidia on the head.

"Oh, thank you. Would you like to come in? I'm still working on my chocolate but…"

"It's fine, I need to kill some time before the party anyway."

"Party?" Invidia asked as Shamura shrugged off her coat, revealing a light-pink sweater, white, medium-length denim skirt and boots.

"I got invited to Setsuna's party, too remember? Nova said it was the least she could do after all the babysitting I've done for her."

"Oh, right," Invidia said as she headed into the kitchen with Shamura following.

"Looks good," She commented. "Who's the lucky man?" She teased.

"You know very well that it's Arty," Invidia said.

"I know," Shamura said.

"I'm almost done, and as soon as I am, I'll put something else on and head out with you."

"Alright, do you mind if I watch TV, then?"

Invidia shook her head and Shamura headed into the living room. Invidia smiled at her as she finished off the last batch of chocolate and placed the molds in the fridge to harden, then, she cleaned up her mess, changed and approached Shamura.

"I'm ready," She said.

"Don't you ever wear pants?" Shamura asked, looking at Invidia's off-the-shoulder red dress. It stopped just above her knees and was paired with her black, winter boots.

"Only if they're pajama pants," Invidia replied as she grabbed her coat.

Shamura just shrugged as she put on her own coat and waited while Invidia got her present and purse.

"I'll take my own car since I have to go to Arty's later," Invidia said as they walked out of the lobby.

"Alright then, see you there," Shamura said as she headed up the street and around the corner to where her car was parked.

Invidia watched for a moment before she stepped into her own car and headed to Nova and Derek's, arriving just before Shamura did to a house full of familiar faces.

"Invidia," Nova said as she came over with Setsuna, who wore a little tiara and a red dress with a velvet top and a sparkling skirt.

"Invidia!" Setsuna repeated.

Nova smiled and continued saying, "The presents can go on the coffee table and there's food in the kitchen, and watch out for the two younger kids."

"Kids? I thought…" Invidia stopped just as one of Nova's young cousins came up to her.

"Auntie Nova! Josh pulled my bow," She whined as she help up a lavender ribbon.

"Aw, maybe if you ask nicely, Invidia here will fix it for you."

"Why me?" Invidia hissed.

"I'm busy with Setsuna and you were nearby."

"Please Miss?" The girl asked.

"Fine," Invidia huffed. "Come with me," She said as she took the girl by the hand and led her to the couch. "What's your name, anyway?" She asked as she sat and stood the girl in front of her.

"I'm Elena," The girl said.

"Uh, huh," Invidia said as she quickly tied the bow in her hair. "There, now go play and don't bother me."

"Thank you!" Elena said before running off.

"Thanks for that," Nova said as she came over. "The only relatives here are my parents and my cousin Darryl and his family. They were in town, and his wife, Tamara was in training to be a nurse when Setsuna was born and helped a lot."

"That's nice," Invidia said as she got up and headed into the kitchen. 'I want to eat, but I don't know if I want to touch things that others have touched…' She over looked the table, and shook her head before snooping through the pantry.

"You know, there's plenty of food on the table." Derek said as he came in.

"I don't know who's been touching it," Invidia said. "Which is exactly why I don't go to buffets."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Just eat, it won't kill you."

"You don't know that."

"Fine, but if you take something from the cabinet you have to pay for it."

Invidia sighed and headed back to the table, where, she gave in an picked up a few crackers, then she turned to Derek and said. "Can I at least have some peanut butter for these?"

Derek nodded and got out the peanut butter for her.

Invidia smiled and spread a bit on the crackers before she left the kitchen to mingle with the crowd. She spent some time working the room before Nova announced that it was time for the cake and she and Derek cleared the kitchen table. Then, she set Setsuna in her high chair and placed it at the head of the table, and headed into the kitchen, coming back with a beautiful, homemade, heart-shaped, chocolate cake with white and pink frosting and a pink, '1' candle in the middle of it. She set it on the table and everyone sang happy birthday to Setsuna, who tried to sing a long, but gave up and stared at the cake until they were done.

"Alright, sweetie, blow out the candle," Natsumi, Nova's mother prompted.

"Come on Setsuna, Mama and Nana worked really hard on this for you," Nova said.

"Don't call me that, it makes me feel old," Natsumi teased.

Nova smiled and simulated blowing out the candle.

Setsuna looked at her, repeated the motion, and successfully blew out the candle.

Everyone clapped and Nova cut the cake, giving Setsuna the first piece.

Setsuna looked at it and threw her fork to the ground and put her hands in it and tried to eat it that way. Nova sighed. "Oh, Setsuna, what am I going to with you?" She said while her father lurked about with a camcorder.

Setsuna looked up and threw some of her cake at Nova's father, Eric, and smiled.

Nova tried to be serious but gave up and laughed with Setsuna while Eric left to wash the cake off of his face.

"Well, this was fun, but I have to go," Invidia said as she approached Nova.

"Why?"

"I'm going to see Arty, thanks for the food."

"Don't you want to see Setsuna open her presents?"

"Not really, I know what I bought so it's not a big deal, see you later."

"Alright, bye," Nova waved her off and then began to clean up Setsuna.

Invidia took one last glance at them before she headed to Arty's place. And, lucky for her, he was home early that day.

"Hi Princess," He greeted and then kissed her. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Same to you," She said as she entered the apartment and stepped into the kitchen. She took one glance at the counter and felt her heart drop. On top of the counter was a mountain of multi-colored boxes, flowers, and even stuffed animals.

"What's this?" She asked, staring at an open, half-eaten, box of chocolate on the counter.

"Just the yearly haul," Arty replied. "Here, try one of these," He said as he picked one out of the open box. "My mother brought them by this morning and they're amazing."

Invidia took the chocolate he offered, secretly relieved that he was eating his mother's, rather than some stranger's, gift. She popped it in her mouth and smiled. "It's wonderful. The perfect mix of milk and dark chocolate."

"I'll tell her that you enjoyed it. By the way, she keeps waiting for me to bring you over."

"I can come next month. I'd like to wait until it's warm though."

"Alright then. What are you here for anyway?"

"I came by to bring you this," Invidia handed him an envelope.

"What is this?" He asked.

"Read it and find out," Invidia told him.

Arty did so and pulled out an invitation. "You are cordially invited to attend a Valentine's dinner at the home of Invidia Sabera-Monica Savela, at six thirty on February fourteenth, twenty-two-oh-two." He read out loud. "I didn't know you had a middle name." He said.

Invidia rolled her eyes. "Just say you accept."

"I don't know, I have several date offers that I'd hate to pass up," He teased.

"Arty," Invidia said, irritated with his teasing.

"You know I'm kidding. I'd love to come Princess."

"Good, and don't be late," She said.

"I won't. Now, about your name, why is it so long?"

Invidia sighed. "My father wanted my middle name to be after my mother, Sabera, but Mama wanted it to be Monica and when they couldn't choose they settled and I became Invidia Sabera-Monica and I like it."

"I do too, it's unique, like you."

Invidia blushed slightly.

"Your blushing is cute," Arty teased as he pulled her by the wrist and kissed her. "See you tonight?"

Invidia nodded and then turned and left. She returned home and immediately got started on dinner, which was a roast chicken dish that she knew Arty loved, especially when she was cooking it. She paired it with a salad, some seasoned broccoli and his favorite kind of rice. When it was nearly done, she quickly changed into a spaghetti-strap, dark, wine-red dress, black sandals, and a heart-shaped locket that had once belonged to her mother. Then, she took out her chocolate and quickly put it into a box and wrapped it with shining, red paper and a golden ribbon. She smiled at her work and placed it in the fridge, then, she got started on setting the table, and, before she knew it, the food was done.

'He's going to love this, I know it,' She thought as she portioned out the plates, set them on the table and then lit the candles just as a knock came at the door.

"Hope I'm not too late," Arty, who stood in black dress pants, a white, dress shirt and a red tie, said.

"No, you're right on time, come in," Invidia led him in, and towards the dining area.

"Princess…wow…just…wow…did you do all this, for me?"

Invidia nodded. "Just for you," She said, then, she kissed him on the cheek and they sat.

"Invidia this is amazing," Arty said as he sampled a bit of everything.

"Thank you," Invidia said.

They spent the rest of the meal talking, laughing and just enjoying each other's company. Then, Arty helped her clean up until she told him to sit on the couch.

"I…uh…I made something for you," She said as she entered the living room with her box of chocolate behind her back.

"Yes, you made dinner," Arty teased.

"No…I…I just…here," She said as she held out the box.

Arty smiled, and gently took it from her. "The wrapping is beautiful," He said, then he gently removed the ribbon and opened it while Invidia settled on the couch next to him. He then lifted the lid, smiled and picked up one of the chocolate hearts and took a bite.

Invidia's eyes widened and her heart jumped as Nova's words ran through her head.

'If he eats yours, it's love…' Nova's voice said in her mind.

"Princess, this is wonderful! Thank you!" He said. Then, he set the box down, wrapped his arm around her, and gave her the deepest kiss she had ever received from him, making her feel as if she wanted to melt.

"I…I love you," She said.

"I love you too," Arty replied, thinking, 'I usually don't eat this, but for Invidia I'd do nearly anything…she's the only woman I have ever loved this much, other than Mom of course, but that's a different kind of love…'

'He loves me, he really loves me!' Invidia thought, then, they looked into each others' eyes and kissed again. And, for that one moment, everything was perfect…just perfect…