Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, if I did there would be yaoi. Lots and lots of yaoi.
Title: An Attempt
Author: Spider Wench
Rating: T, may be subject to change.
Pairing: SpiritxStein
Fandom: Soul Eater
Chapter One: A Request
The heat of the breezeless summer night was oppressive. A man with shoulder length red hair sipped from a glass of wine the color of the moon's drool. A bottle next to him read the words "Savia Viva" and the neon price sticker announced that it had cost him nine dollars.
The man sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, muttering the name "Maka" as he did so. The ceiling fan droned in lazy circles that escaped out the open window. The man was nearly finished with the bottle, slightly tipsy and on the verge of sleep. It had been a long day; the kind that made a person think, I'm thirty, what am I doing with my life. A day involving his ex wife calling to lecture him about not paying enough attention to their daughter and a scuffle in the school cafeteria that had turned into an all out food fight that had fallen upon him to control. And it was so hot.
A harsh knock at the door dislodged the man from his stupor.
Swearing about the indecency of the hour and tripping over both his own feet and an errant bag, the man stumbled to the door and yanked it open, preparing to give who ever had disturbed him an earful of his frustration.
"Why hello Spirit, fancy seeing you here," came the smooth, deep voice on the other side of the threshold. Spirit blinked a few times at his late night visitor as if unsure if he were real.
"It's one in the bloody morning stein, what the fuck do you want,"
"Well that was rather rude, how about a 'it's a pleasure to see you doctor stein, what can I help you with?'" Stein, a man with silver hair, oddly stitched clothes and limbs and a screw sticking through his head chided.
"It's a pleasure to see you Doctor Stein, what can I help you with?" spirit mocked.
"Why it's lovely to see you too Spirit, I was just dropping by to pay you visit," Stein smiled in what was obviously meant to be a kind, supportive way, but ended up being more than a bit creepy.
"Thanks" Spirit muttered, embarrassed by both his snapping and steins strangely compassionate act.
"I brought you cookies," said Stein hold up a box printed with a would be Italian name that emitted a decadent scent.
"Thank you," said Spirit warily. Years of experience had taught him to be careful about what he took from Stein, especially if it was intended to be ingested. But the look on the man's stitched face as he held the box, like a child searching for their parent's approval, made Spirit cave.
"Come in" he sighed, stepping away from the door and letting Stein into the moon lit apartment.
"Thank you," Stein said with a polite demi bow following spirit into the living room beyond.
Spirit fumbled with the wall searching for a light switch; and upon finding throwing the room into stinging orange relief.
Stein stood awkwardly in the cross filled living space, holding his cookies in front of his chest like an offering to placate an angry god.
"It's a bit late, you know," said the host, motioning for his guest to sit down.
"I know," said Stein, who remained standing.
" I had to collect the forty eight hour results on my soul pickling project,"
Spirit's face twisted in disgust, but he hid it before Stein had chance to register it.
"That sounds, um interesting?" Spirit ventured.
"Oh, yes, the wavelengths change to match the solution that they're in, but they retain the basic appearance. I'm hoping to use it in evil soul reedu…" with visible effort, Stein stopped his tirade on the benefits of soul pickling.
"But that's not why I'm here,"
Spirit was somewhat taken aback. Both by the fact that Stein had bothered to stop ranting and by idea that his twisted experiment could have been his reason for appearing.
"You seemed to be having a bad day, so I decided to drop by to cheer you up," he smiled again and Spirit felt his skin crawl as well as surprising fluttering sensation around his naval. Late night visits, although disturbing, were not surprising from a man like Stein, but the concept that they could be anything less than out right malevolent was blatantly shocking.
"Thanks that was very... considerate of you," Spirit chose his words carefully, determined not to offend.
"I'm glad to help," said Stein, visibly relived, and it struck spirit that it was quite possible that the delay had been more nerves than a desire to collect data.
"Would you like anything? Coffee, tea- booze?" Spirit inquired
"Coffee please," Stein finally moved to lean against the couch, the box of cookies held loosely by their red and white strings.
Spirit edged away into his tiny, yet serviceable kitchen and grabbed mugs and a pack labeled Nescafe. When he returned coffee in hand, Stein didn't seem to have moved, except to light a cigarette.
Spirit handed a star patterned mug to Stein and sat on the end of the couch opposite of that against which stein was leaning.
They remained like that, observing their mugs, but not drinking, each very much aware of the others presence and waiting, praying for the other to speak first.
"Your wife called," Stein stated
"I know,"
"She was angry about Maka,"
"I know,"
"She was probably was just angry at you,"
"I know,"
"I'm sorry,"
"I'm sorry too, I guess it just didn't work out," Spirit gave a suffering sort of sigh.
"You cheated on her with her friends. You never really wanted to make it work out," Stein accused shrewdly, his utter lack of social skills shining through.
"I did want to make it work!" Spirit's voice rose as he responded, the dropped again as he continued,
"For Maka's sake, anyway,"
"You cheated on me," Stein deadpanned.
"I was drunk,"
"You were drunk when you got Kami pregnant, but you weren't drunk the other times," Stein replied, sounding far less bitter than most would, yet still undeniably sour.
"So why are you here?" Spirit asked, bordering between shame and indignation.
"Because it's been fourteen years and I'm as over it as I'm getting. We spent a while apart and a realized that you're a lying, cheating sack of shit, but you're my lying cheating sack of shit."
"Well that's reassuring," Spirit looked out the window at the drooling moon.
"So why wait 'till now to tell me this?"
"Because now is the most suitable moment. You're miserable and lonely and likely to give me a chance,"
"Always so blunt," Spirit muttered, with a hint of a smirk.
"I missed you." Stein asserted with finality.
Spirit's eyes found a worn spot in the dark wood floor and responded.
"I know,"
"I want to fall in love with you." Spirit raised a brow.
"You do?"
"Yes." Stein seemed unsure but determined, a student relaying the answer to a particularly nasty equation.
"Tell me, honestly, have you ever loved any one?"
Stein answered almost immediately.
"No, but I want to try,"
Spirit chuckled, it had always struck him that Stein was incredibly naïve, for a sadist.
"Why not?"
Stein swiftly stood, dropping the cookies on the couch and walked over to Spirit, depositing his coffee on the lamp table as he went. Then he was leaning over Spirit kissing him as he hadn't been kissed in years, it was brutal, dangerous and exciting.
"Stop." Stein blinked, as though unsure.
"But, I thought you liked it?"
"I," Spirit paused; really it was like talking to a child at times.
"I did like it, but you… you said that you wanted to fall in love with me. That doesn't just happen. If we're going to do this, let's do this right, not fall into bed the way we did when we were kids,"
"Okay," Stein concurred.
"You should go home, Franken," Spirit said kindly. "I'll see you tomorrow at Shibusen,"
"Goodbye," and with that stein was gone
Spirit rolled his eyes to the ceiling; at least it would be interesting.
A/N: I just recently go into soul eater, and I was horrified by the utter lack of yaoi. I decided to take it upon my self to remedy that abysmal fact ,yself, by writing this fic. I do hope that you've enjoyed it so please review, it'l help the second chapter (which I have yet to write) come into existence faster (you could be an influence! And I always relpy to all of my reviews and faves!). thank you for reading.
-spider