"I had a great time tonight, Stein."
She smiles at me. I smile back, because that's what you're supposed to do in situations like this. Besides, Marie would question it if I didn't.
"So did I." I smirk a bit. "Will I be seeing you tomorrow?"
She blushes, flustered. "A-ah, sure! I have a few errands to run, but I'll visit after."
"I'm looking forward to it." I smile again, because I'm supposed to.
Marie blushes harder, only noticeable in the dim streetlights by the contrast it makes against her bright blonde hair. Her eyes flit back and forth, and I see the question lingering behind it. The question she's too shy to ask.
I take a step towards her, place a hand on the curve of her hip, draw her body closer until it's pressed flush against mine. Gently, I cup her cheek and gaze into her caramel eyes, see the shock staring back at me.
Closing my eyes, I lean in, softly press my lips to hers. She doesn't respond at first, still shocked, but after a moment her lips begin to move against mine. I feel her arms slide around my neck, and she angles her head so she's pressed more comfortably against me.
Slowly, as not to shock her any further, I part my lips and swipe my tongue against her bottom lip, then her top one. Hesitantly, her lips part slightly, but I coax them open with more gentle prods and swipes.
Her tongue moves slowly against mine, uncertain. I entertain her for a few moments longer then pull away, a lazy smile on my face. A genuine one, because who doesn't enjoy kissing? I lean in again, pressing one last chaste kiss to her lips, and walk away, leaving her blushing furiously, standing on her doorstep.
I jam my hands into the pockets of my lab coat as I walk away from Marie's house. The date went well, it was fun enough. Simple enough. A movie followed by dinner. Marie was entertaining enough, pretty enough, sweet enough.
Then why couldn't I get Medusa out of my head? When Marie accidentally spilled her coffee on her shirt at dinner, for a split second, I saw Medusa cleaning herself up and giggling. Even though I knew she wouldn't be caught dead doing such a thing.
I sigh and turn the screw in my head, trying to make sense of my thoughts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Marie… except that I end up doing things that she expects me to do. With Medusa, I did what I wanted to do. But the days of Medusa and I are in the past, buried and hopefully staying that way. I sigh again, turning my screw, walking home, thoughts racing.
I set my sixth glass of scotch down on the table with a bang. I thought a few drinks would help me sleep better, would get her off of my mind, but I was wrong. Very wrong.
The night of the ball at the DWMA replays over and over in my mind, the incessant ballroom music running an endless loop in my head. Medusa and I have had many...encounters besides then, but by far it was my favorite. Surrounded by all the students, we couldn't make things too obvious...the tension was so heavy, so thick...
I pick up the glass and throw it across the room, knocking over the phone and shattering the beaker. But...the phone...
I crawl over to the mess on the floor, cradle the phone in my lap. I pick up the receiver, listen, wait with baited breath as I dial her number.
I bark out a laugh as her voicemail starts up. "It's just like you, Medusa to not pick up. To ignore me. That was always your favourite part of our little game, wasn't it? Seeing how far you could push me until I gave in to you.
"But you see, it went both ways too. You may have always thought you were in control, but I had you wrapped around my little finger. Don't forget the days where you were the one practically begging me to fuck you…
"Fuck, I don't know why I called...maybe some hidden part of me...misses you?" I laugh, loud and hysterical. "That'll be the day. I called hoping we'd be able to reenact one of our...previous escapades." A flash of gold colors my vision, and I frown. "I shouldn't be doing this, I'm supposed to have moved on by now… I'm trying to move on. I just. Can't. Shake your hold on me. Get out of my head Medusa…" I sound pathetic, tortured, and I hate myself for it.
I end the call, missing the receiver a few times before finally hanging up properly. Groaning, twisting violently at my screw, I stumble towards my room, leaving the living room in as big of a mess as my mind.
I trail behind Marie in the supermarket, lazily pushing the cart behind her as she tosses things in and babbles on about Maka and the rest of her little friends. My eyes follow the sway of her hips, focusing more on the way the fabric shifts against her body than what she's saying.
"That should be the last of it!" She tosses a box of tea into the cart and turns to face me, grinning widely. I straighten up and smile, lazily, because sometimes Marie's happiness is just infectious.
"Are you going to the register now?" She nods and I return the gesture, step closer to her and press a quick kiss to her soft lips, leaving her the slightest bit dazed. "Check these out, I'll join you in a few. I want to look for something quickly."
She nods and pushes the cart away from me and I let out the sigh I've been holding in for a while. Twisting at my screw, I grimace as the throbbing in my head becomes more and more insistent. Why I decided to accompany her on her errands, hungover nonetheless, I'll never know.
I wander the aisles aimlessly, wanting a few moments to myself before returning to Marie, when a painfully familiar voice stops me in my tracks.
"Why, Stein, is that you? Well of course it is, nobody else would wear that ridiculous lab coat to the supermarket."
I turn and face a smirking Medusa, red shopping basket hanging from her elbow and resting lightly on the sharp curve of her hip. I force myself to smile, to hide the dread rising within me that she probably already knows is there.
"I never would have thought we would meet up again in a place like this!" The tone of her words implies that she would have expected to see me again somewhere dimly lit, and less populated, like one of our labs.
"Medusa! Long time no see. How are you?" I can already feel the tension building between us, a barely palpable current running beneath my skin.
"I've been doing well but, my, my Stein, I wish I could say the same about you! That was a rather… interesting voicemail you left me last night. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were drunk!"
I narrow my eyes at her, and her smirk grows wider. "Last night was a bit...rough. It didn't end as I had planned. But enough about me, how have things been treating you?"
She begins to speak, and I focus more on the way her lips move than the actual words coming out of them. Her lips caress each word, rounding and forming each one carefully before they slide off her tongue and into the open air. I let my mind wander into more familiar territory, of days when her lips would caress my own, and other more intimate parts of myself...
"...and it's been forever since I saw little Crona and are you even listening to me anymore, Stein?" I drag my gaze away from her lips to meet her eyes, swallow heavily.
"Sorry, what were you saying? I must have spaced out, like I said, last night was kind of rough." I scratch the back of my head, smile apologetically. That's what you're supposed to do when you want to get out of a situation . "I really should be going, it was nice seeing you again."
I turn, walk towards the register, towards Marie and hear her voice call out behind me, in that all too familiar, sickeningly sweet tone.
"Oh, the pleasure was all mine, Stein!"