To that absolutely wonderful guest, this is for you! A short Marie x Death (Marie's. Abit harder to write than I thought she was) and next up is more Asura x Mifune! Thank you so much for your review, it gave me more motivation to continue with these!

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She was never going to find a decent man to settle down with. She would never have the family she dreamed of so often. Her temper and her abilities always ended up making any eligible suitors turn tail and run away. It didn't help that her current meister was borderline insane, or that she turned into a weapon meant to crush and destroy.

She supposed all those men were right to flee; she was hard to get along with, even she'd admit that. The only man who seemed to enjoy her company was Stein, but he'd made it clear that he wasn't interested in a relationship that didn't include his scalpel (a very scary picture there). There was also Lord Death, but he was always so chipper and happy, she couldn't imagine the goofy god disliking anyone without good reason.

"Eh, Marie?"

Said goofy god was attempting to draw the weapon's attention back to the meeting at hand. She flushed and straightened up, noting the way Death's voice seemed to drop into a more serious tone as he asked her if she was alright, but dismissed it when he turned back to the topic of the meeting with his usual silly voice.

Marie leaned back in her chair, letting out a slow exhale. The god must think she was a complete airhead, considering how many times she had let her mind wander during important meetings. Death Scythe certainly looked down at her, if the looks he shot her were anything to go by. He always looked so disappointed. Or perhaps...maybe those looks were because Stein was her meister, and not his. It would explain how the redhead always seemed tongue tied around the mad doctor, and how Stein himself seemed flustered in his presence.

Realizing everyone else was about to leave, she eagerly grabbed her purse, happy to leave the Death Room behind.

"Marie, could you stay behind? I'd like a word with you in private." The other Death Weapons looked surprised, and suspicious, all except Justin, who only beamed at the god and winked - winked - at Marie. Did the young guillotine know something she didn't? Oh god, was she going to be fired, or reassigned to some far off country?!

"Marie, please don't give me that look." Oh. He sounded so tired when he didn't use his childish voice. "Are you alright? You seemed...distracted during the meeting. Did something happen?"

"Oh! No, nothing's wrong!" She shook her head, though she couldn't help but feel like a burden; Lord Death already had so much to worry about, he didn't need to worry about her well being as well. "I'm honestly fine, please don't worry."

He continued to stare down at her, obviously not believing her. Marie's smile faltered once, twice, three times before finally wilting and she hung her head, knowing she'd have to tell him the completely pathetic reason for her distraction and for her sorrow.

"I'm unwanted. No one ever wants to have a real relationship with me, and I'll never get the wedding I want."

"...weddings are just fancy ceremonies that, really, don't mean a whole lot. You are definitely not unwanted either - you're one of my best death weapons, and I am very happy that you didn't give up on getting to where you are now. So cheer up, ok? Try to be a bit positive!"

Marie stared in slack jawed amazement at the god, feeling an odd fluttering where her heart was. She realized how shallow she had sounded, and flushed red with embarrassment.

"No, no, what I meant was well...I want a family, I want the thing that goes with the marriage, with the wedding or without it. I want someone to love and care about me. I'm getting older and older, with nothing like that insight and I...have you ever loved someone so much, that you'd do anything for them?" She didn't see his hesitant nod, her eye fixed on the ground.

"That's what I want. I want that kind of love."

Hands - normal sized ones, and cold to touch - gripped her shoulders, and she looked up to find the actual face of Lord Death looking down at her.

"That's a rare kind. I'm not sure it's around anymore, but I wish you luck in finding it." He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his reddish golden eyes, and she finally understood just why Justin had given her that wink. Lord Death was, in all meanings of the term, alone. In his life, his work, even though he had a son, he was alone. He didn't have anyone he could turn to.

He let go of her before she could say anything, could reach out towards him. He flipped the hood of his cloak back up, and she saw those sad, sad eyes disappear underneath a familiar white mask. Could a god really love a mortal? Could this god love her?

Well...she'd just have to find that out, wouldn't she?

"Lord Death, forgive me if I offend you, but...would you like to go get a coffee with me? You seem like you need a break. The world won't fall apart in the twenty minutes you're clocked out, we humans are a bit better than that!"

When he agreed, she couldn't help but grin; she couldn't wait to tell Stein that she had had a kind-of date with Death himself.