This one goes out to innocentcinnamonbun :3 Merry Christmas!
"Hey . . ."
"Mmph."
"Breakfast . . ."
"Five more minutes . . ."
Stein yanked back the covers, prompting a whine as Marie covered her head with the pillow.
"You're the devil," she muttered, her voice muffled.
"Just how late did you stay up last night?" Stein said, trying to peel away the pillow with no success.
"Shut up . . . I had to do something . . ."
Stein yanked away the pillow with no warning. Marie squinted at him.
"I made eggs on toast."
"It can wait . . ."
Her stomach grumbled.
"Or maybe not." She sat up slowly and got out with helping hands; her belly was round as ever in her sixth month.
"Junior's hungry, huh?" Stein said, kneeling to rest his ear on her stomach.
"Seems so," she murmured. "I think eggs on toast is just what we both need."
"Don't forget, we're going to Young Death's place this afternoon," Stein said, leading her to the kitchen. "Christmas celebration, you know. Obligatory socializing . . ." he sighed.
"Speaking of Christmas," Marie said. Stein turned back to see her standing in the doorway.
"Get over here," she said. Stein grudgingly came back.
"Food's gonna get cold, you know," he muttered. "Not that it'll spoil . . ."
"Look up," Marie said, smiling.
Stein looked up. "The . . . ceiling? The doorframe?"
"No, stupid," she said. "The mistletoe!"
He scratched his head. "Mistletoe . . . ?"
Marie looked up and promptly shrieked. "It's gone?!"
"Was it that plant thing?" Stein said. "I threw that out."
"What—why would you—?!"
"Thought maybe one of the kids snuck in here and put it there for a prank," Stein said, adjusting his coat. "Found them all over the house, in all the doorways . . ."
He glanced back down at Marie and noticed she was suddenly fuming.
"What?"
"That was me, you dolt!" she yelled, smacking him upside the head. "Don't you know anything?! When two people meet under the mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss!"
Stein rubbed his head. "They are?"
"Geez," Marie muttered, turning away, her eyes wet. "You ruined it . . . I stayed up late putting all those up, too . . ."
Stein gently turned her head back around to face him and kissed her.
"We don't need a plant to kiss," he pointed out, pulling away.
"But it's tradition," she muttered, pouting.
Stein held up a finger, knelt, and peeled off one of his socks. He held it over their heads.
"We can pretend this is mistletoe," he suggested.
"That's so gross!"
He kissed her.
"What do you know," he said. "It works."
He promptly dropped the sock when Marie suddenly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him full on the lips.
"I guess you're right," she mumbled, pulling away with a little grin. "Let's have that breakfast now."
The party at Gallows Mansion was in full swing. Liz and Patty helped Death look away from the spots on the floor, saying they'd help clean up later, while everyone chatted away and ate and made merry.
"What are you wearing?" Maka demanded, staring at Spirit.
Spirit grinned. Around his head was some kind of headband, where a slightly crooked stick with a string tied to the end was stuck. The end of the string was tied to a small bunch of green leaves with white berries, dangling the sprig over his head.
"Portable mistletoe!" he declared. "This way, any lovely lady who approaches me must give me a kiss! Tradition says so!"
He looked at her. "Of course, Papa wouldn't mind a kiss from his daughter, either!"
Maka was already leaving to go dance with Soul. Spirit hung his head.
"Hey."
Spirit looked up hopefully, only to see Stein in front of him, Marie standing not far behind.
"Oh, hey," he said gloomily. "Did you see that? My own daughter . . . rejecting me yet again . . ."
He noticed Stein was looking at something else and followed his eyes up. The mistletoe caught his eyes and he froze.
"Oh my, Senpai," Stein said in a monotone. "You shouldn't have."
"GET AWAY!"