She couldn't stop herself from hesitating, her hand on the door into the Lab. She knew he was wrapped up in an experiment; that she would be lucky if he emerged long enough to eat when she cooked. She almost turned and walked away, ready to meet the guy that had given her his number with a smile when he had overheard her complaining of being alone tonight, but she shook her head and her hand tightened on her purse handle. With a painted on smile she opened the door and stepped into the darkness.
She reached across her body, turning on the light with a sigh. She could hear, echoing through long hallways, the telltale sound of his fingers flying across a keyboard. The smell of smoke was thick in the air, meaning that he was working from one of the closer research rooms, and Marie wrinkled her nose against the acrid scent. She moved across the room and stopped for a moment, looking down the hall towards where he was, before shaking her head again and moving upstairs to her room.
She flung her purse onto the bed, watching as the top flap opened and its contents spilled across her bedspread. A tube of lipstick balanced precariously close to the edge of the bed, and as she stood there, silent, a bottle of nail polish bumped into it, knocking it off the bed and onto the floor. She stood there, debating on picking it up now or later, and finally kicked her boots off and knelt beside the bed to retrieve the item.
She padded barefoot to the kitchen afterward, putting on some water to boil. She rummaged around in the fridge until she found some hamburger and started browning it. In short time she had her sauce ready, the water at a full boil and the noodles in. She smiled, the smell of garlic and onion finally overpowering the smell of cigarette smoke.
The longer she cooked, the more of her bad mood evaporated. At the end she had almost forgotten about what day it was, and was content to put together a salad to go with the spaghetti. She didn't bother with a bowl for Stein- a slight pause confirmed to her that he was still typing up a storm and that she probably wouldn't even see him. She placed a small bowl onto a plate and got some salad before getting spaghetti, pausing briefly when she thought of how good a few slices of a crusty garlic bread would be.
"Ah, well, there's always next time," she said to herself quietly.
"Next time for what?" Marie nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned and found Stein standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his glasses off and his free hand pinching the bridge of his nose as he didn't quite succeed at suppressing a yawn.
"Garlic bread," she squeaked out, all but thrusting the plate she had into his hands.
"Ah." He balanced the plate in one hand and slipped his glasses back on, looking over her shoulder. "I can prepare my own though, you should eat what you made for yourself."
She stood, shocked, as he handed her back her plate and moved past her to pull out a bowl for himself and spooned spaghetti into it. He brushed past her afterward without another word, and she could follow his trail down the hall and back to his computer by the tapping of his shoes.
She sat in front of the TV, the remains of her dinner sitting beside her and an open, half gone, bottle of wine and an empty wine glass sitting on the table in front of her. She only saw bits and pieces of the movie on the screen, barely managing to keep her eyes open. She yawned widely, pulling her knees up and onto the couch carefully to avoid her plate, and her head slowly descending until she was in a partially sitting, partially laying position. An arm under her cheek relieved the crick in her neck and she yawned again, trying to focus on the movie.
The man on the screen was handing his "best gal" a bouquet of red roses. Marie smiled slightly, though she sniffled, as the girl accepted them and with a flourish stood on tiptoes to kiss the man. She yawned again, her eyes screwed shut, and opened them a long moment later when the TV shut off. She just yawned and let her eyes slide shut again. When she opened them the second time it was to the feeling of a gentle swaying and a view of the ceiling.
She fought the urge to tense up, the alcohol running through her system immediately putting two and two together and misconstruing the situation.
"I doubt that you'd be standing straight at this point, Marie. We have class to teach in the morning; if I had realized you were drinking so heavily I would have stopped you an hour ago," Stein said as he paused outside her door, adjusting her smoothly and opening it before she could think to grab the knob on her own.
"Not going," she said as he sat her down on the edge of the bed and she collapsed backwards. "I'm sick."
"You'll have a hangover, not an illness." A swift motion flipped the death scythe's feet onto the bed, spinning her into a more or less normal sleeping position.
"You caused it, so you can teach alone," she said slowly. The horror of what she had just said rushed over her a second later and her face paled as silence stretched through the small room. She rolled onto her side, the world spinning as she did so, just so she didn't have to see him towering over her- and so he wouldn't see the sudden tears that fell down her face.
Her shoulders shook harder when she heard the door to her room shut with a bang.
"Um, Professor, where's Ms. Marie?"
"I believe she is asleep. Now class, today we'll be dissecting a-"
"Asleep? Is she sick at home?"
Stein's eyes roamed across the class, and they all shrank away from his gaze. "She's not ill. Now then, on to the dissection." No one else interrupted him, though more than one student glanced at the door on multiple times, watching and hoping for Marie to appear.
"And what are you going to do if you find out he really did do something to her, Maka?" Soul asked as they crept outside of the Lab. "Besides, it isn't like he can't tell we're here, so what's the point of sneaking?"
"What do you mean?" Maka snapped, creeping over to one of the lower windows and peering into the darkness.
"What do you mean, what do I mean? Aren't you the one that's been going on about how advanced his Soul Perception is? I mean, we can't really hide from that, can we?"
"Oh no..."
"Don't tell me you forgot!" The look on Maka's face said it all and Soul dragged his hand across his face.
Just as Maka's face contorted in rage for Soul making fun of her, they heard a muffled voice. They both crept to the window, carefully peering in. Stein and Marie stood in the main living area that Marie had appropriated, and Marie had her arms crossed with her back to Stein. They strained to hear what was being said.
"-wanted, yes? How- didn't- me." Stein's voice was low, and picking out what he was saying was difficult. He kept a distance from the obviously upset death scythe- a good move, as Marie turned and swung at him suddenly.
"I shouldn't have to!" she shouted as she stepped forward, punching again. Both teens ducked before they could see the smile on Stein's face as he dodged the blow.
Inside the room, Marie swung again- and this time Stein caught her fist. The sheer force of the blow pushed him backwards and he brought his other hand up just in time to catch her offhand swing. Both strained against the other until Marie pulled back from him. He released her hands and they fell limply to her sides, the death scythe staring at the ground.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was small and Stein didn't respond, his eyes cut to the side as he glanced towards the window. "I really am, it wasn't your fault."
"It's fine- just don't get so worked up next time. We have visitors, as well."
Marie's head snapped up, following Stein's gaze to the window. A moment later her arm transformed into a hammer as one of the two teens outside fidgeted, causing a small noise. She went to move past him and he held his arm out.
"It's just Maka and Soul. Presumably they were coming to check on you because you missed class today." A blush spread across Marie's face. A flash of light heralded the return of her arm to normal as she moved to the window.
She opened it and leaned out, giving both teens a smile. "I'm so glad you wanted to come and check on me, but you're welcome to come inside."
"Um, no, we're just glad that you're ok!" Maka said in a rush, dragging Soul away by his arm. Marie just laughed.
"Now, Marie. I have something to show you."
Marie turned and followed Stein, slightly confused. He led her to the research lab that he had been working in the past few days, and despite the lingering smell of smoke, she could smell something else. It had a light, sweet scent that she couldn't quite place, almost fresh but also warm. A small glass bottle sat on the desk beside his computer and he moved to it.
"Spirit told me that I was obligated to provide you with a Valentine's Day present. I decided that in order to avoid the rush of people I would make it myself; it took me a few tries to create the correct scent. It was actually a fairly enjoyable experiment."
Marie just stared, putting the pieces together. The box that he hadn't let her open, the heavy scent of cigarette smoke, worst than it usually was. The lack of his lab coat when he was working.
"I... I..." she started, but couldn't finish.
A smirk pulled the stitches on Stein's face as she took the small bottle from him, tears pricking in her eyes. His body rocked a moment later as she hugged him.
"I suppose this means you forgive me for being late."
Her laughter resonated against his chest.
A/N: I don't own Soul Eater. Happy Valentine's (Singles Awareness) Day from Lia :)