A/N: Super-teensy-short little chapter for a friend who wanted some Stein/Marie cuteness. This is as cute as I could force Stein into being. Which isn't very.
Can't say how much I appreciate every one of my readers and reviewers!
I put responses to individual reviews and PMs at the bottom of the page to save space and the possible annoyance of folks who don't want to read that kind of stuff :)
Marie Takes A Break
"You're exhausting yourself." Stein said sternly. Marie gave him a wan smile and lay down on their ridiculous pink sofa. If anyone ever doubted the mad scientist's love for his partner, all they needed was one look at that frivolous, girly couch in the middle of his otherwise masculine living room and the question never came up again. Marie, Stein mused, came with all sorts of odd accompaniments, like tea cups, and decorative cushions, and moods. He had to give informed decisions on whether her handbags matched her dresses, remind her that she looked young when she thought she looked old, and admit to himself that she did, indeed, usually know best. Right now, though, he was pretty sure he knew best.
"I have to help if I can." Marie folded her hands over her baby bump and looked up at him fondly, "Those poor kids."
"Hmph. They did it to themselves, you know." Stein grumped, sitting down on the other end of the sofa and putting her feet in his lap.
"Stop trying to be such a hardass, Franken. You're just as worried as I am."
"Of course I am. I just don't like seeing you do this to yourself." Stein pulled off her shoes and tossed them away. Marie gave a little sigh of pleasure as he began to rub her toes. He'd learned that foot massages made pregnant women happy. He'd also learned that talking about dissecting toes or experimenting on babies made pregnant women extremely violent. As a result, he tried very hard to stick to topics that wouldn't get him kicked in the face.
"If it will help, I don't care. What worries me is that Kid doesn't seem to be getting any better. I took Kim to see him this afternoon, but even her witch's healing power didn't make a dent. There's something going on besides the madness. It touched something off. He keeps raving about hating Maka, but that doesn't seem like the real problem."
"Especially considering that the real problem a week ago was keeping him from practically screwing her against that bank of lockers outside the German classroom."
"What were they doing there? Neither of them takes German!"
"That's not exactly the point, Marie."
"Never mind. Maka thinks she could help him and it's killing her that we can't let her. Her little heart is just about broken. And somewhere under all that anger, I think Kid's is, too."
Responses to recent (and adored) reviewers:
Shadow Wolf Dreamer: I'm glad I'm able to get those feels across! It's hard to know where good, honest emotion crosses the line into Way Too Emo, but I'm trying to keep it realistic.
Glownight: Happy belated birthday! I hope it was awesome, and thanks for letting me be a teeny bit of your happiness :)
s2Coracions2: Oh, Kid definitely needs some "love" and I think he'll be getting it one way or another, because I just love Kid/Maka smut way too much. Please continue to be as pervy as you want - I like it ;)
Slenderkatt: Yeah, Maka's just a little mushpot right now. It makes me nauseous.
Wordfiend: You are devious, demented and possibly dangerous. I like that in a person!