Marie huddled underneath the stitched up blanket that Stein had loaned her until she could get her things shipped from Oceania and sneezed for what seemed like the millionth time. The death scythe rubbed her irritated nose with her finger, fighting the urge to sneeze for the millionth and one time. She poked her head out from under the blanket when she heard the quiet chuckle come from near her bed.
A bloodshot eye met green ones. "Go away, Franken. I'm sick."
He smirked down at her. "I am aware of that, Marie. You've done nothing but sneeze and sound miserable for the last two days. You do remember that I'm a doctor, don't you?"
The woman pulled the blanket back over her head; Spirit's warning about not taking anything that Stein gave her suddenly blasting in the back of her mind again. Stein's chuckle caused her to peek out from under the blanket, just her eye and eye patch showing.
"It's not fun-*achoo!*-ny…" The doctor's reaction showed that he thought differently. "Besides, if you don't go away *achoo!* you're going to get sick too!"
"I'm intelligent enough to take medicine when I become ill, not lounge about in bed waiting on whatever it is to run its course as if it were the 16th century, Marie." Stein chided gently.
Marie froze as his hand reached out and slipped underneath the blanket, his cool wrist pressing against her forehead briefly as he nodded. "You have a fever. I know you haven't been eating, and I assume you're not remaining properly hydrated either as I've only been aware of you leaving your room twice in the last two days."
Marie was stubbornly silent and Stein just smirked down at her. "You have two options here, Marie. The first is that you take some medicine to get better. The second is that you refuse, and I will hook up an IV and feeding tube. I, of course, prefer that you choose the second option as it will give me the opportunity to perform some experiments that I've been saving. It's your choice though."
Marie pulled the blanket up over her head, her voice coming a second later, slightly muffled. "You're not sticking any needles in me!"
"A feeding tube doesn't require a needle, and I feel certain I can find a way to do the IV without using one."
Another sneeze answered him.
"I'll be back in a few minutes with the feeding tube and IV." The floorboards creaked slightly as he began to leave and Marie pushed the blanket away from her face before calling out quietly, admitting defeat.
"I'll take some medicine."
Stein stopped halfway to the door and stepped back to the side of the bed, producing a bottle of pills from one pocket of his lab coat, a bottle of water from the other. Marie sat up in the bed, shivering as she left the confines of her stitched cocoon. She took the two pills he offered her and then took a drink of the water, dropping the pills into her open mouth before swallowing with a grimace.
Stein chuckled. "I know you don't want to work, Marie, but you can wait until you're retired to lounge around in bed all day. Those should work relatively fast, you should be back up and on your feet by tomorrow."
Marie felt the blush spread across her face and down to her chest as she slipped back down into her cocoon. It turned bright red as she felt Stein's hand gently push the blanket against her before leaving.
True to his word, Marie felt 100% better the next morning. She heard a very familiar sound as she walked past the lab though.
Looking in she saw the scientist sitting with his head on his arms at his computer desk. He looked up at her and she couldn't help but laugh when she saw the box of tissues beside him and his bright red nose.
A/N: Just something cute I came up with before work :)
I don't own Soul Eater.