Marie was cooking some lunch for her and Stein when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her stomach and a chin settle on her shoulder. She laughed, swatting at it with a spoon and quickly found herself spun around and a kiss planted on the offended shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he said lightly, though his face showed that he was indeed not sorry at all. Marie placed a kiss on his nose and he reached behind her to flip the stove off. "Mind coming with me for a little bit? I have…" his voice dropped an octave or so as he whispered conspiratorially, "… an experiment I want to try."
Marie laughed and let him lead her up the stairs and into her bedroom.
Marie sung under her breath as she pulled her and Stein's dinner out of the oven, sitting the small pot roast on the cutting board to rest while she started some dishes. Up to her elbows in water, humming her favorite song and scrubbing she didn't hear the quiet footsteps cross across the floor, and was completely unaware of her meister's presence until she felt his arm slip around her back, pulling her side against his.
"You know, I had a dishwasher installed so you didn't have to hand wash everything, Marie." He said quietly, looking down at the soapy water.
"You installed a dishwasher so that you could put your scalpels in it because the water gets hotter than even you can wash in!" Marie teased back; poking his chest with the sudsy spoon she had just finished washing.
He smirked. "That may have been part of it."
She squirmed out of his grasp and walked over to the dishwasher. "Which reminds me, Franken," she flicked open the dishwasher door and motioned him to come over, "what is that?"
Stein looked into the dishwasher and chuckled. "I'm sorry, Marie. I knew I had misplaced it, but I couldn't remember where I had left it." He withdrew the skeletal hand from the dishwasher just as the spoon she had poked him with crashed into the back of his head.
"I don't want to find another body part ever in the dishwasher!" Marie said, smacking the spoon against her hand while Stein smirked. "I can't imagine that many women have to have that conversation with their," Stein caught the slight hesitation, "roommates." Slightly flustered the woman turned back to the soapy water, resuming doing the dishes.
"I believe we're past the 'roommates' stage and to what Spirit would dub as 'friends-with-benefits', Marie." Stein said, smirking down at the woman.
"I don't want to have to break my spoon by hitting your hard head, Franken!" Marie menaced him with the spoon and he chuckled as he left the kitchen, Marie's face bright red.
It only took another five minutes for Marie to finish the dishes and she cut the roast, pulling the other items out of their various holding areas (namely, the microwave) and carting them into the dining area.
"Franken, dinner!" She called out cheerfully, arranging the serving bowls on the table and making sure there was a spoon in each. Looking down she was pleased with the result, even if it was just roast, potatoes, corn, peas and a small cheesecake for desert.
Stein still hadn't shown up when she finished setting up the table so she left the dining area and walked into his research lab. She called out his name hesitantly, stepping into the dark lab and running her hand along the wall to find the light switch. A giggle warned her of his nearness an instant before she felt his hand close around her wrist and she was pulled into the dark lab, his arms sliding around her. His left arm was pinning her arms to her sides while the right was covering her mouth.
The grip wasn't tight, but it wasn't loose enough that she could pull out of it easily either. "Franken?"
He giggled again, pulling her back against his chest. "I have a surprise for you, Marie." He took a few steps backwards, dragging the death scythe with him.
Marie panicked, struggling against him. He clucked his tongue at her and a second later she was over his shoulder and he was striding deeper into the dark lab. "Franken, put me down!" She shrieked in his ear and he watched amusedly as her arm glowed a golden color and he felt the calming effect of her wavelength rush through her and batter against his soul.
"Marie, you know an anti-madness wavelength only works on madness," he said gently, sitting her down on the operating table he could barely see. With a smirk he flipped the light on and watched the look on her face go from one of fury and indignation to one of pure shock.
He was kneeling in front of her, a small black box in his hands. The box was open, and sitting nestled in the black velvet was a white gold diamond engagement ring. Tears formed in Marie's eye as he slipped it out of the box and slid it onto her finger.
"Marie, will you be more than my 'friend-with-benefits'?"
She slipped off the operating table and into his arms, burying her head against his neck as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.
"I'll take that as a yes." Stein said smugly.
"Of course it's a yes, you idiot!" Marie said through her tears, pressing her lips against Stein's.
A sudden knock echoed through the lab, rising in intensity and frequency quickly. "Stein!" Someone shouted through the door. "It's Spirit, he's hurt bad, he's dying!" Stein glanced at Marie before grabbing his portable med kit and running towards the door.
A/N: Thanks for the base of this plot goes to TheAUWalker. Expect it to grow a bit more. Thanks for reading, I don't own Soul Eater.
