The morning sky was gorgeous as the morning sun shine flashed through the white stitched curtains that hung in front of the single window in Stein's bedroom, on that glorious Wednesday in mid-May. It was 2010, over a year since the major battle in Death City and things were just beginning to seem normal.
The bright sun blasted its rays on Stein's body that lay in a red fabricated bed with white sheet and red and black pillows. His alarm clock rang at six fifteen. He looked around the room, and then hit the alarm clock button to stop the noise. He stretched then let out a yawn, moving his left arm to cover his eyes. "Damn," Stein said "That sun is too damn bright." He got up out of bed. He stood shirtless; a row of stitches across the chest left their mark behind on his pale skin. The sunlight made his eyes appear lighter; as if a form of yellowish-green had struck them. His pajama pants consisted of a dark and light grey horizontal pattern that went well with his silver-gray hair.
He picked his glasses up that were sitting next to a lap that was from the white end table he had on the left side of his bed. He placed his glasses on his face, pushing them back every time they fell with his index finger. "Ah, yet another day in Death City." He cleared his throat. Stein opened the door from his bedroom;walked down the hallway and to the right to the kitchen. He searched the bottom cabinets for his grey-silver kettle Marie had brought when she had first come to live with him, hard to believe it's been almost two years since then. He opened the top, ran the kitchen water till it was steaming hot, and then placed the water inside. From there he turned the stove on and placed the kettle on the front left. He walked directly back down the hall into his bathroom.
He twisted the knob of the white door leading into said room. His bathroom was that of a Dark grey color with stitching across the walls. His rectangular mirror hung over his wide bathroom sink. He closed the door behind him-took his glasses off and placed them on the side of the sink next to him and Marie's toothbrushes and paste that sat in a small glass cup. He opened a small closet that was behind the bathroom door; he grabbed a white towel from the third shelve then hung it on the back of the door where Marie had installed silver hooks for towels, jackets and clean clothes. Stein removed his grey pajama bottoms then threw then in the medium sized hamper that sat in the closet underneath the layer of four shelves. He started the water in his shower that was inside a white porcelain bath tub with a row of stitches for design. The hotness of the water began to fog the bathroom mirror a bit before Stein took a step in.
"God that's hot" He stated as the water hit his body. He rinsed his hair in the shower, as he did so; he began to think a loud "It's funny how your past has a thing with catching up with you." He chuckled a bit, then continued on "What, listen to me. I'm beginning to sound like Lord Death." He went back to washing himself. "But…" He stopped again, this time with a slight smile "I can't help but think about what my future's going to be like." In the background he heard the sound of another alarm clock.
"Good, she's finally up"
He closed his eyes and began to think about his future with Marie. "It's kind of disturbing that I could have a future with Marie."
Stein wasn't actually sure how he felt about Marie, He knew cared about her, He also knew that he was Marie's first love, he knew that she never stopped caring about him since they first broke up, and now with them living in the same house, he could feel Marie's Soul Wavelength get a little flustered whenever something happened between them that would bring them closer in relationship and sometimes whenever they were just spending time together, like eating dinner or watching television. Stein was positive that Marie loved him, he just wasn't sure about his own feelings, but knew he didn't want to hurt her.
Outside the Bathroom:
"That must have been the worst one of them all" She held the side of her head with her left hand as she took in a deep breath. "I don't know how many more of these dreams I can take." She sighed but she knew she had to get over it fast so she could get ready for the day.
The day she first moved in she was sleeping on Stein's couch. As a bit of a surprise, Stein had cleaned up one of the spare bedrooms he had filled with files of the dissections he had done previous to her moving in. He had furnished the room with a new bed spread that of grey blankets and white sheets with small pink throws to make the room look like a women lived there. He had cleaned up an old bureau that he had gotten from Spirit, repainted the pink (which must had original been Maka's when she was a younger) bureau white that would match the light grey stitched walls and the white stitched curtains. Marie opened up the closet door Stein had installed for her. She pulled open the white side door to her closet. She pushed past her formal dresses as she looked for something to wear, "a regular day outfit should do," she thought to herself. She reached inside her closet and grabbed her long black and yellow dress, made together with different fabrics. She laid her clothes down on her bed as she went searching through her drawers looking for a set of matching underwear shortly after she had gone to the side of her bureau to her black and yellow makeup bag. She opened the bag so she could do her makeup. After makeup, she carefully grabbed her hairbrush to begin brushing. She then tied her eye patch over her eye, and then walked over to her bed, peeled off the thin spaghetti straps of her pink lace night gown. She removed each strap, now standing in the nude. She began to clothe herself for the day ahead.
She had walked out of her bedroom door, down the hall and into the kitchen where the silver-grey kettle had been left on the stove, making a high whistling noise. "Damn it, Stein. You do this every morning." Marie sighed with frustration. She turned the stove off then moved the kettle to another burner in the back. She checked the time on the stove "Six forty-five" She moved away from the white stove and then opened the white fridge. She grabbed the shiny silver handle, and then pulled it open. While inside, she grabbed several eggs from the carton on the second shelve. She carefully placed them on the counter while she went through the bottom cabinets looking for a pan. Way in the back she had found the pan she bought Stein when she first moved in, he didn't really have much stuff before Marie had moved in, frankly Stein didn't do much before Marie moved in; nothing besides dissections and scaring Death Weapon Mister Academy Students. She grasped the pan by its black handle, holding it also from its red bottom. She placed the pan on the left burner of the stove; opposite of the one Stein had left the kettle on.
She sprayed the pan with spray on oil to grease it up a bit; turned it to low then cracked the eggs into the pan. She stepped outside of the kitchen, through the front door way to grab Stein's morning paper. A gust of wind blew "Wow, its cold." Marie shivered. She bent down to pick up the morning paper, and then walked back inside to sit it on the table. The eggs she left in the pan began to sizzle a bit; she grabbed the black spatula out of the draw next to the sink as she started to move the eggs around so they wouldn't turn. She then opened the small bread box Stein had tucked in the corner. She pulled out two pieces of whole grain bread then inserted them into the new toaster Marie had purchased about a week ago. She removed one of the six sets of plates she brought with her from her moving, placed them on the table and began to fill them with breakfast. Before the toast popped up she went down the hall to the bathroom, as she knew Stein was in there.
"Stein!" Marie had to shout over the running water. "Breakfast is ready!"
In the bathroom, Stein had turned the water off. "What was that, Marie?" he questioned. "Breakfast is ready Stein. Hurry up." She called back as she walked away from the outside of the bathroom door. Stein shook his body off in the tub before stepping out to grab a towel. Once a bit air dried he grabbed removed the towel from the door grasping it in one hand, he ran it through his grey-silver shaggy hair, Removing the towel from his head to his waist, Stein walked outside of the bathroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen where he took a sit down at the small white round table big enough for four people. He grabbed the morning paper that Marie left on the table. Marie then placed napkins down on the table along with two cups of tea. After serving Stein she then took her own seat. The room filled with silence.
"Well, Good Morning to you too, Stein." Marie said slightly annoyed as she sipped her tea.
"Good Morning, Marie" Stein said blowing her off.
"Well, alright then." She took another sip then got up. "Oh, and you're welcome for breakfast. I didn't have to cook you know." She started to cock up her regular morning attitude; she narrowed her eyes as she crossed her arms against the table.
"What, Marie? Sorry, I've got stuff on my mind." He folded the paper and took a sip of his tea as while. "Why are you not eating?" Stein questioned her.
"I don't need to eat Stein, I'm fine. You're the one who needs to eat." Marie said.
"Marie, sit down. You need to eat something." Stein stated again.
"No, I really don't I'm fine." The kitchen grew quiet again. Stein watched Marie as she sat looking down at the table.
"What's wrong with you?" He questioned her once more.
"What? Nothing, I'm fine." Marie shook her head looking in his direction.
"No, you're not, Marie. You can stop lying to yourself at any time, but you and I both know I can read your Soul like an open book. Its hesitant, nervous, confused, a bit out of breath. Now tell me, what's wrong?" Stein looked at Marie over the lenses of his glasses; she looked down refusing eye contact.
Stein finished his plate and tea then placed it in the sink. He walked behind Marie, as if he was about to exit the kitchen. Marie sighed slightly with relief, thinking he was gone and she could try to regain poseur though she should have thought better. She knew Stein was always persistent and wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, behind her Stein had turned back around placing his hands on her shoulders making her jump. Marie's heart started pounding fast; she could feel it in her throat. Her face became hotter than fire as she turned a bright pink. "Marie, your Soul Wave Length is all over the place, it feels like you took ten sugar pills."
He removed his hands from her shoulders as he pretended to walk away once more, cranking his screw forward. Marie let out another sigh thinking he was gone once more. "I need to learn to control my Soul Wave Length, this is becoming too much to handle." Then out of nowhere, Stein popped in front of Marie's face, lifting her head with his finger as he squatted down to be on her level. Marie tried to keep her face lowered as she let out a small screech, but Stein forced her head up looking into her Caramel eyes. "Tell me Marie, what's wrong?" Stein wouldn't let it go. "Stein, can you just leave it alone? Please? I just don't want to talk about it." Marie's pink face became flustered as her body began to shake uncontrollably. Stein cranked his screw again trying to understand what was happening with Marie, to his surprise he couldn't figure it out. She was good at showing her emotions but never hiding them, it would only be a matter of time before she cracks. He stood up from his squatting position. "Fine" Stein mumbled to himself. "I don't understand you women, always trying to hide what your feeling instead of just saying what it is you want" He cracked the screw more, he knew he would never hear the click it would make in his head once he finally understood or got the answer to whatever he was thinking about, guess it would be one of those things that would take more time than normal. He walked back down the hall to his bedroom so he could get dressed, once more Marie tried to keep herself busy to keep her mind off things that was the dream. She finished her tea, trying to calm herself down then walked over to the sink and began to wash the dishes as her body still shook.
Inside Stein's Bedroom:
He went through his closet looking for something to wear. He decided on just a normal outfit. He took out a pair of grey pants, a stitched together dark and light grey long sleeve shirt that traveled up the neck, his grey shoes and his stitched together lab coat. He walked out of his room and back into the kitchen. "Are you ready Marie? We'll be late if we don't leave soon." Stein walked behind Marie but keeping his distance as he didn't want her getting angry considering the last few minutes. She sniffled a bit. "Yeah, let's go." She turned the kitchen faucet off, keeping her head down avoiding eye contact with Stein yet again. She avoided him, walking behind him to push in the two chairs from the table. She sped walked down the hall, into her room to grab her bag so they could leave. She then walked into Stein's room to retrieve his bag as she knew he had forgotten it again. She came back to the kitchen where Stein had begun to smoke a cigarette. "Here…" Marie said handing his bag to Stein. Let's go." Marie jumped a head start on Stein as she pre-locked the door. The two started walking down the street, they traveled in silence, and smoke filling their air path as Stein blew it out from his mouth.
"Hey, Stein!" Spirit called from behind them, Stein who was almost finished with his cigarette turned around. He sighed "Good morning, Spirit." The three walked as only two talked, Marie staying silent. "Spirit?" Stein said throwing his cigarette on the ground. "Why do you smell like booze?" Stein questioned resting his hands on the back of his head. "Well you know, long night." Spirit tried to give limited details about what he had did last night. "Quick question, what day is it?" Spirit said timidly. "It's Wednesday Spirit, it's Wednesday" Stein answered a bit annoyed. "Oh, yeah. Thank God, I need the weekend to spend with my little Maka; she doesn't like to spend time with her Papa. I miss my little girl!" Spirit cried. Stein watched as Spirit cried in the background. "You might want to rephrase that Death Scythe" Stein spoke "It's Wednesday, not Friday and you know Maka won't spend time with you. Has it ever crossed your mind that she's sick of you? And not only that—"
"You're going to cry about your daughter missing you but spend all your time at a club? Great, father." Marie mumbled, finishing Stein's sentence. "What was that?" Spirit questioned. "Good Morin-" Stein cut Spirit off "Leave her alone, she's having a rough morning"
"Oh Stein, you were never good with the ladies." Spirit laughed. "Oh, and that's why your wife left you isn't it?" Stein commented. "She didn't leave me…We both wanted the divorce." Spirit said protectively. "Whatever you say but we all know you secretly cry about it at night" Stein smiled to himself as Spirit gave him a spark look. Spirit cut between Stein and Marie, wrapping his arm on the back on Marie's neck, gently laying his hand on her shoulder. "So, what's the matter Marie, talk to me. What did Stein do?" Spirit interacted.
"Nothing, I'm fine." Marie replied. "Spirit just leave her alone, she's not in the mood for a half-drunk moron" Stein commented. "I'm not drunk" Spirit hollered. "Yes, you are now get your alcoholic hands off me!" Marie yelled hitting Spirit's arm. She turned around heading back for the house; she picked up her speed leaving Stein and Spirit behind. "Marie!" Spirit called after her, but she ignored him and kept walking. "Just get to work Spirit. If we're not there just tell Lord Death we forgot something, understand?"
"Yeah, I understand." Spirit kept walking to the academy with his hands in his pockets while Stein turned around to head after Marie. "Damn it," Stein thought to himself "What's gotten into you?" He hurried after Marie. After a few minutes he was able to catch up with her, she was half way back before Stein was able to get to her. "Marie!" He called after her, but she ignored his call. "Marie stop ignoring me and talk to me, you're being ridiculous!" He chased after her, grabbing her arm to stop her from getting any farther away from him. He pulled her forward, forcing her to make eye contact with him.
"What Stein," She yelled. "What do you want? Can't you just leave me alone!?"
"You need to talk to me Marie; your Soul Wave Length is out of control. You know how dangerous this can get!" Stein yelled back at her. He knew that sometimes being louder than her and more abrupt can get to her reduce the high intensity her Wave Length was at. Marie's caramel eyes widened at she made eye contact with Stein's green eyes through his round spectacles, her body began to shake once more, starting in the arm Stein was holding on to until it traveled to her head, causing a lump in her throat and a pain in her temples as she tried to build a wall to stop the tears from running loose. Stein could see the pain in her eyes, she shaking body caused him to move in closer, looking deeper into her eyes, which were growing even lighter at this point, Stein took a step back, handling emotions was not his ordeal but he knew it had to be done. "Tell me Marie, what's the matter, you can trust me." Stein let out a slight smile, another thing he wasn't too keen on doing but did from time to time. Marie's watery eyes grew larger, the pain in her temples became sharper as the barrier she tried to put up behind her eyes had begun cracking-cracking-cracking until it began towering down and tears started to flood her eyes. She pressed her face against Stein's upper chest to wear the end of his shoulder met his right breast. This movement surprised Stein, but in a way, he enjoyed her being this way. Not crying or upset, just her being this close to him. This pleasurable feeling had him thinking, why was he enjoying this? Why did he feel as though that in this moment, the world had stopped and only he and she were against time? He didn't get it. Slowly, Stein placed his arms around Marie who had now buried her face into his shirt. "Oh, Stein," Marie cried out. "I can't do this anymore; they're getting worse and worse!"
"Do what Marie, tell me. What's getting worse?" Stein lifted Marie's head off him, forcing her to make eye contact with him.
Tears rolled off Marie's soft cheeks and onto Stein's lap coat as they fell one by one. "The nightmares, the loss of sleep, the screaming, I want them to go away!" Stein pulled her closer into a hug. "It's okay Marie, just relax. Take a deep breath; it's going to be alright."
Marie took a deep breath like Stein had said, she still held on to him. "Talk to me, what were they about? It's alright you can tell me." Stein smiled. Marie took another deep breath "It's nearly the same thing every single night and it's terrifying."
"What happens?"
"Every dream is nearly the same Stein. It's you getting hurt. We're in the middle of the final battle with Medusa but the outcome is so much different. You're hit, and there's blood everywhere and you keep repeating "it's over". I'm covered in blood, your blood and before I know it, you're dead. I go home, climb to the roof then jump Stein, you died and I jumped. I don't want to lose you, not like that, I'm afraid to sleep, and I don't want to see us die anymore. I don't want it Stein. I can't!" Marie started crying harder than before into Stein's chest. Stein made a face other than his plain usual face, he was actually a bit surprised, what could be triggering these 11 months later? It doesn't make sense. Marie pulled herself closer to him as she didn't want to let him go. "Marie, it's okay. I'm here aren't I? We're both still alive, we're both fine. Its fine, we're fine. Nobody's hurt." Marie released some of her grip. "I'm still afraid, how do I know the dreams will stop?" Marie questioned sniffling a bit. "We need to figure out the root to this problem. Let's go home. I'll call Lord Death when we get there.
"Okay." Marie surprised hug Stein again but this time, giving him a kiss on the cheek. This put a shocked yet happy look on Stein's face. Marie walked happily next to Stein the way home, her hands folded in front till they got to the front door.