Chapter 2: Tremble

A/N: This Story rated M for violence, torture, sexual situations and themes, experimentation, abusive content, and other nasty things.

Marie walked past the wall mirror again, a fretful look on her face. She wore a simple black dress with thin straps that flowed to the floor with two even slits running up the sides. A small black purse rested on her shoulder. Her wavy blonde hair had been pulled back with a small silver pin. Her eye patch covered her bad eye. She looked beautiful, or at least she thought so. She had no idea what Stein would think.

Speaking of Stein, just where was he?

She stood in the lobby of the restaurant, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her pointed heels making no noise as she did so. Looking at her reflection with a worried eye. He was running awfully late, wasn't he?

Maybe she was being stood up.

It wouldn't have been the first time. It had happened to her before, with just about every other boyfriend that she had had at one time back home. It had broken her heart each time. She just couldn't find a boyfriend willing to be her husband, could she? It was hopeless after all.

But she didn't want to think that Stein would be one of those people that would stand her up. After all, he had seemed so persistent of her before. Something seemed different about this man. He seemed like he was missing something. Like he needed something. Needed her. Possibly more than she needed him.

She needed him?

"Um, excuse me? Miss?" A kindly voice called from behind her, "Are you ready to be seated?"

"Oh!" Marie spun on her sharp heels to face the young waiter. He couldn't have been more than nineteen years old. His close cropped sandy hair, sharp green eyes, and perfect tan were all too youthful, "Not yet. Just a few more moments. I'm sure he's nearly here."

"Ma'am, you've been waiting for half an hour. Are you sure he is coming?" The young man asked, not trying to sound mean at all.

She sighed and nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."

"If you don't mind my asking," The young man smiled, "Who is it your seeing?"

"My Boyfr-" No I can't call him that, I barely know him, she thought, "My Friend."

"Ex-Boyfriend?" He asked with a casual smile.

"No," She smiled, "I just met him yesterday. He asked me out on a date."

"Oh," His smile turned into a smirk, "And who is this Mr. Mysterious?"

"His name is Franken Stein."

The boy's perfect tan suddenly went pale, "Oh, Him?"

"Are you all right?" Marie asked, setting a hand on his arm, "You're so pale."

"Miss, if there's one thing you should know about the doctor, it's-"

The door to the lobby swung open with a wind that came with the rain. Stein stepped through the door, looking sharp. He wore a white shirt with even stitches down the front. A pair of slick black pants, and a nice black and grey stitched jacket. His silky silver hair combed and clean.

"Marie!" He said with a smile as he crossed the room over to the Blonde's side, "I'm so sorry that I ran so late. Wow, you look beautiful," He greeted her with a brush of his lips over her ear as he whispered the compliment to her.

"Thanks," she smiled, that blush she had been experiencing the past few days now darkened her face. The doctor wrapped one arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling her into his grasp. He met the eyes of the young boy, seeing the fear burn through his green eyes like acid.

"Who is this your talking to?" Stein asked, a playful smile lighting his face.

"Oh," she gave him a smile in return, "He's our waiter." She turned back to the young man, "Now what were you about to say?"

Stein deadlocked eyes with the young man, making a fierce signal within his eyes. It stated for him to back off. The young man shook his head and picked up two menus, "I-It's nothing important. This way to your table."

…...

Maka walked silently through the dark laboratory, feeling the freezing tile on the soles of her bare feet. Her cheek still felt sore from the doctor's slap she had received only yesterday. It had left an ugly purple bruise, putting yet another mark upon her sickly colored skin. Her dull green eyes, which had lost their sparkle long ago, remained focused on the freezing floor. She felt a presence behind her, summoned by a rush of cool air. She froze in her place, fear constricting her body. She spun in a fast motion before falling into the arms of the presence before her.

She broke into a series of sobs as she clung to the thin figure. Kid wrapped his arms around Maka as her body clutched his and lost the ability to support her own weight. Kid leaned against the wall as he held onto her. He kissed the top of her head as her body continued to rack with sobs, "Maka…" He sighed, keeping her close to him. She eventually ceased her tears, but kept her fingers clung tightly to his dirty white clothes.

"I…" She look a few steps back and sat down in the middle of the floor. Her dirty brown hair hung in front of her eyes as she lay on the floor with her legs on either side of her. She felt a new set of tears stream down her thin face, "I'm sorry, Kid."

"Maka," Kid said before kneeling down beside her and setting her hand on her shoulder, "Something else is bothering you other than Soul, isn't it?"

She sat a trembling hand atop his, "Can y-you keep a secret?"

The young reaper nodded, his midnight hair falling into his faded gold eyes. He knew that the person Maka was closest to next to Soul was him. If she couldn't trust him anymore, and Soul left, he knew that she would lose her mind.

"Last night," Maka turned and met faded golden eyes, "Dr. Stein-" She couldn't finish. More tears rolled down her cheeks before she felt Kid's arms surround her once again. She continued until her ability to produce tears was non-existent. Kid made small rocking motions in an effort to calm her down. Kind words slipped from his pale mouth as he cradled her shaking body close. She clung to Kid before letting more words escape her, "It was all I could do for Soul's sake!" She cried out, before loosening her grip on Kid.

"Maka," Kid held her out so he could see her, "Show me."

She felt her bloodshot eyes widen before she looked into the pair of all to familiar faded golden orbs before nodding her head once. Her frail fingers went to the buttons of her dress and undid the top three. A large circle was carved into her skin with a zigzag running through it, located just below her right collar bone. It looked as if it had been etched in with a blade, most likely a scalpel. The skin surrounding it was red and bruised. Maka shivered as Kid's cool fingertips brushed over her newly scarred skin, "What did he take from you?"

Her breath was shaky, "Just some samples," she sighed as if it were and everyday thing. The sad part was that it was an everyday thing. Kid hated this just as much as the rest of them. Stein was only a madman who did nothing but take, and take, and take from them. Kid leaned down and brushed his freezing lips over the zigzag type design. Maka let out a whimper as the reaper kissed her injured skin. She pressed his head closer and lay back on the icy floor, weaving her shaking fingers into his midnight hair.

Kid released a cool breath along her dirty skin. He placed another delicate kiss on it before pulling away and meeting her eyes, "Maka," His voice was nothing but a low whisper, "What does this marking mean?"

She looked up at the boy, eyes looking almost dead, "I don't know. I've never seen it before. And Dr. Stein didn't say anything about it." She felt his dark hair with three white stripes curve so delicately to her hands as she responded to him. He kept his eyes sharply focused on the mark that was now carved into her chest. The two of them sat up fully and released each other from their loose embraces. Maka slowly pushed the three buttons through their separate holes. She leaned against the grey stitched wall, her dirty hair falling into her eyes. She released a sigh before letting her gaze shift up to the ceiling, "I wonder what Dr. Stein has been thinking about today. He's seemed a bit…different since he came home yesterday."

"I heard him on the phone last night."

Kid and Maka froze before turning and looking to the left, to where the voice had come from. In the same instant, a figure stepped into more visible light. Her long black hair stuck close to her back. Her dark blue eyes filled with scars, even if she had only been here three years. Her dirty white gown fit loosely on her once well-curved body.

"Tsubaki," Kid and Maka in unison as the ghostly eighteen year old came closer.

"I didn't even know that the doctor had a phone," Kid said, setting his chin atop his palm, "Let alone a person to talk to on it."

"And notice how he left today in nice clothes," Maka pulled her knees up to her chest, "I doubt he's going to the store dressed like that."

"Who knows," Kid sighed, "Maybe he's got a date."

"It was a woman on the phone," Tsubaki slid onto the floor beside the two of them, so they were sitting in a triangle, "But I doubt the doctor's got a girlfriend. I mean, I'm sure that even with all that charm, he couldn't get a girl to go for him. Not unless she was that desperate."

Maka folded her hands together, "I pray for the woman desperate enough to fall for him." They sat in silence for a few moments more. Silence was not uncommon in the laboratory. In fact, it was more common for the place to be silent than filled with noise.

Maka shivered before standing and crossing the hall, "I'm going to go check on Soul."

Kid and Tsubaki watched her go and silence. They heard a creaky door swing open and then shut again, spilling blinding light into the hallway for only seconds. Kid looked at Tsubaki closely before speaking, "Tsubaki? Is something the matter?"

A hardness lined in depression shrouded her dark eyes, "That's the same way that he got me," a glint of tears pooled at the corner of her eyes, "He lured me in with his charm. He got me working for him. He lead me on just enough until I found out what he really was. Then I couldn't get out. I fell for him, and before I knew it, he was hacking me open with a scalpel. I'm so stupid!"

"Tsubaki," Kid sat a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder, "We've all been through hell, and are still going through it. We may be scarred, but we'll survive."

"I won't let him," she growled, clenching her hand together in a fist. Kid looked at her, wondering what she meant, until she continued, "I won't let him do what he did to me to any other woman ever again."

…...

"So," Stein sat his half-empty glass of wine down on the table, "What is the story with that eye of yours?" Marie's good eye widened and she ran her fingers over her eye patch, grazing the bottom of the circular, zigzag design. "Forgive me if my question seems too personal. I'm only curious after all."

"Oh no," Marie sat her nearly full glass down, "the question isn't too personal, it just caught me off guard. You see," her fingers went back to the patch, "Everyone that I've ever know before I lived here knew about my eye, so it just seems a bit strange to hear it for the first time." She gave the doctor her signature smile before continuing, "My father had always been a little off. My mother said it was because he was in a car accident in high school and suffered brain damage. She said that he wasn't the same after that. Due to the brain damage, he suffered from mild schizophrenia. After a while, when I was about twelve, he lost it and stabbed my eye with a pair of scissors," She opened her honey-gold eye, as if reflecting on the incident, "He was put in an institution after that. The entire town heard about it. I think he's dead now, but I'm not sure," a small shudder shook through her body, "I still have nightmares about it sometimes. Every now and then, I can still feel his eyes watching me," She looked up and realized that Stein's face had gotten hard and serious, "But that's over and done with, so we don't need to talk about the depressing things in my pa-"

Her voice cut off as Stein took her slender hand in his and pressed her palm to his cheek, "I'm so sorry, Marie," he sighed, letting his cool breath skate across her palm. Marie felt her cheeks become very hot as Stein's cool fingertips glided along her lower arm. He placed a delicate kiss in the center of her palm before once again resting it on her cheek, "I'm sorry for what he did to you," He leaned across the table, so their faces were only inches apart, darkening the blush on her face, "But I won't ever let anyone else hurt you again."

"Stein," She said, avoiding looking into his eyes to keep from being swept up inside their depth, "We only met yesterday. We barely know each other."

Stein sat back in his chair, releasing Marie's palm onto the table, "And what a shame that is," he sighed, eyelids drooping. A small, but sly smile made it's way onto his face, insanity edging in his eyes, "I would like to get to know you more, Marie."

A breath rushed into Marie's lungs. The blush on her face became the color of rose petals as a shiver racked through her body. She felt a drop of sweat trickling down her neck. There was just something about Stein that made her feel on edge. Like there was a slight hint of danger in the air around them when he looked at her like that. And she was drawn to it.

Stein picked up his cloth napkin and wiped his mouth before folding it and setting it down on the table, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Marie smiled and sat her napkin on the table as well, "I think that I would love it if you walked me back to my hotel." Stein smiled and stood before crossing behind Marie and pulling her chair out so she could stand. They only stopped to pay the check in the lobby before Stein held open the door and the two of them walked out, only to be met fine white flakes of snow falling from the clouded sky above, "Oh!" Marie smiled an looked up into the sky, "It's snowing." She reached a tentative hand out into the air and allowed a few flakes to land in her palm. She shivered and drew her hand back in, a giggle dancing off her lips.

Stein smiled and pulled his black and grey stitched coat off before wrapping it around Marie's shoulders, "You act like you haven't ever seen snow before," Stein said, pulling her closer to him so she would be warm.

"Because I haven't," She laughed and let Stein's arm wrap around her shoulders, "It never snowed where I grew up. This is the first time I've ever seen it in person."

Stein smiled, "Hey, Marie," she looked over at him, smiling widely, "Open your mouth and taste the snow."

She giggled, "Why?"

"Just try it," he insisted, tilting his head back and opening his mouth. Marie shortly did the same thing and laughed. Stein pulled his head back up, "Well?"

"It's cold," Marie laughed as she pulled her head back forward, "and sweet."

"See?" He said as they move down the street, "I see children do that when it snows all the time."

"I like the snow," Marie continued to smile as they turned and went up a set of stairs that led to her room, "It's so…pure and clean."

"Just like you," Stein sighed under his breath as they approached her room.

"What?" Marie asked as she withdrew her keycard from her purse and slid open the door, "Would you like to come in? I can make us some tea."

"No thank you, dear," he said with a smile, "I should probably get back home, it's getting a tad on the late side," He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, "I'll see you later, Marie."

I may not ever get a chance like this again, Marie thought, "Stein!" She called out from her doorway. A sadistic smile played momentarily onto the doctor's face before her wiped it away and turned to face her and was quickly met in her embrace. She felt a thin blush flick onto her face, "I…I had a really nice time tonight, Stein. I…I think that we should really do this again some time." She said in a half-shaking voice, due to her anxiety.

Stein smiled and gently hugged her back, "I'm glad you had a fun, Marie."

She pulled out and smiled at him, "It sure is getting late, huh?"

"Yes, it is," he said, smile turning down, "so I think I should go."

He turned to leave once again, but Marie grabbed his sleeve, "Or you could stay here," She was blushing really hard now, her voice began to get smaller, "With me."

"Well," Stein smiled and allowed her to pull him into the hotel room, "I suppose I could stay."

A/N: I am finally DONE with this chapter! I apologize for the wait being so long, But like I said before, this style of writing is very different from what I usually do and it takes a bit longer to finish. So I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I hope you continue to read.

Love,

Tsukiko-Chama