It was late. Marie looked over at Stein as the doorbell rang, and he nodded and stood to answer it. Pulling the door open, he was face with the tear-streaked face of Azusa.
"Yumi? What are you doing here?" Stein asked. Marie's head bobbed up and she stood, walking to the door.
"Yumi, what happened?" Marie asked, and Stein stepped back.
"… We had a fight." Azusa murmured. Marie's uncovered eye widened – by all accounts, Spirit and Azusa were getting along really well. It had been a few weeks since Azusa told Marie that she told Spirit she loved him, and now this?
"Yumi… was it bad?" Marie asked. Azusa whimpered and nodded, and Marie wrapped her arms around the raven-haired woman as she desperately tried not to cry.
The fight was bad – the mere fact that she had been crying should have made that obvious. It escalated and escalated until Spirit walked out.
"You know I didn't mean it like that." Azusa said.
"Then what did you mean it like, Yumi? Huh?" Spirit asked.
Something absent-minded had slipped out of Azusa's mouth – something roundabout relating to Spirit's past infidelities, and it had caught Spirit out. He was shaken by it and he said things, which made Azusa reply in turn. And now, it was a full-blown fight.
"You know how hard I try to stay faithful to you." Spirit stated. Azusa furrowed her eyebrows, anger bubbling in her throat.
"Oh, it's really that difficult? I'm sorry I'm such a ball-and-chain, then!" she cried.
"Well, fuck, you pick me up on everything else, Yumi. Everything's so nitpicky with you!" he exclaimed.
"It isn't nitpicky, it's life, Spirit. It's monogamy! Is it really that hard for you to grasp?!" Azusa called, and Spirit threw his hands up in the air.
"Yes, yes it is, because I'm so mind-numbingly fucking stupid that I don't understand. Please, explain it to me, oh wise one." he spat, and Azusa growled.
"That's not what I meant, Spirit!" she cried.
"Well, maybe you should try saying what you mean." he snapped.
"Go on. You keep telling me what I should and shouldn't do." Azusa retorted, and Spirit shook his head.
"You know what? Nobody thought we were going to work. We were too different." Spirit looked directly at Azusa, and she stopped.
"Maybe they were fucking right." he stormed out of the apartment, and Azusa's eyes widened. She felt herself start to tremble and tears fell from her eyes.
"Marie, I can't… what if he doesn't come back?" Azusa was in hysterics now, and Marie and Stein were as shocked as one another. She was clinging onto Marie, and she looked frantically at Stein. He stood beside Azusa and placed his hand on her back.
"Come on. Come inside." he said, and she tilted her head up and glanced at Stein.
"I've probably lost all reputation I ever had, right? Turning up on your doorstep, crying?" she asked.
"You say that like I have anyone to tell." Stein remarked, and Azusa sighed, making her way into the laboratory, Stein shutting the door behind them.
"I don't even know why I'm crying." Azusa admitted, and Marie sighed.
"When you fight with someone you love, you cry." Marie said, and she tried to soothe the younger weapon. Azusa sat beside Marie and across from Stein, and she took off her glasses to rub at her eyes.
"It doesn't sound like Spirit loves me anymore, anyway." she mumbled, and Marie sighed.
"Of course he does. It was just a fight." Marie said, and Azusa shook her head.
"I said some horrible things, Marie." she whimpered, Marie gently rubbed circles into Azusa's back.
"It'll be okay." Marie said, and Azusa glanced downwards.
"What if it isn't?" Azusa asked. Marie sighed and glanced at Azusa before Stein spoke up.
"Spirit's an idiot." he remarked, and Azusa glanced up.
"But, give him time, and he realises he's an idiot. To be fair, he usually spends that time drinking, but…" Stein trailed off, and Azusa sighed.
"I feel awful." she said, and Stein stood up.
"What are you doing?" Marie asked. Stein sighed and shook his head.
"If anyone ever asks about this, you deny it. I'm going to look for Spirit for you." he said.
"Stein, you don't have to do that." Azusa said. Stein nodded.
"I know." he said, and he went to walk for the door.
"Thank you." Azusa said. Stein turned around.
"Don't thank me, I haven't found him yet." he replied. Azusa crossed her arms.
"Take the thank you." she demanded, and Stein smirked.
"Taken." he replied, and he left the laboratory and the women in it. Marie sighed and gently pulled Azusa to lean on her. She wrapped her arm around her shoulders and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
"It's going to be okay." Marie said, and Azusa nodded against her.
"I hope so." she mumbled.
Stein didn't like Chupa Cabra's – the music was loud, it was garish and most of the people in there didn't have two brain cells to rub together - but it was his best bet as to where Spirit was.
And, sure enough, hunched over at the bar was a redheaded man nursing a drink, one that Stein immediately recognised as his former weapon.
"What are you doing?" Stein asked. Spirit tilted his head to look at Stein, his eyes red and his expression forlorn.
"I've fucked everything up, Stein. Because I'm an idiot." Spirit said, and Stein took the seat beside him.
"Tell me something I don't know." Stein remarked, and Spirit sighed.
"I'm pretty sure I made Yumi cry." he muttered.
"Once again, I know. She's up at the lab." Stein told the redhead. Spirit gave a heaving sigh and shook his head.
"It's like… the better something is, the better I am at turning it to shit." Spirit sighed, and Stein crossed his arms.
"What were you even fighting about?" Stein asked. Spirit shrugged and stared into his drink.
"I don't… I don't even know. I snapped at her." Spirit shook his head before looking up at Stein.
"I've never felt this bad after fighting with someone. Ever. Not even Kami." Spirit swallowed hard, and Stein sighed.
"Have you considered it's because Yumi's the only one who doesn't put up with your crap?" Stein asked. Spirit tilted his head to the side.
"Kami didn't." he said.
"Kami did, for thirteen years, Spirit." Stein reminded the redhead, and Spirit sighed and shook his head.
"Stein, fix it." he said.
"Are you three years old? I can't fix your problem for you." Stein replied. Spirit sighed and stared at his drink.
"Maybe I'm just not s'posed to have people around me." he sighed, and Stein cocked an eyebrow.
"Really? You've got a daughter, you've got a partner who never shows emotion in hysterics because she's afraid you aren't coming back, and you're got an ex-meister that's stupid enough to come look for you at nearly midnight and you don't have anyone around you? Pull it together." Stein stated. Spirit raised an eyebrow in turn.
"She doesn't think I'm coming back?" Spirit asked.
"She's never been in a proper relationship before, Spirit. How can she know differently?" Stein asked.
"What are you, a psychiatrist? When did you get so human?" Spirit asked.
"When I saw Yumi Azusa at my door crying. Do you not remember grade school? She was six and terrifying. That terrifying six year old was at my door bawling." Stein stated. Spirit swallowed hard.
"Fuck." he slammed his fist down on the bar and went to stand up, but he staggered.
"Imma go get her." he said. Stein stood up and grabbed Spirit's arm.
"You are going to go back to your apartment and you are going to sober up. Tomorrow, you can come up to the lab and talk to her." Stein told Spirit. He sighed.
"Which way's my apartment?" he asked. Stein sighed.
"The shit I do for you. Come on." Stein pulled the redhead by the arm out of Chupa Cabra's, and he hiccupped.
"Okay, we can go in a second," he said, staggering out through the door, "but first I gotta throw up."
Stein recoiled as Spirit nearly collapsed, retching, into a set of bushes by the club. He screwed up his face and crossed his arms.
"Delightful." he mused.
Marie watched as Azusa slept in the spare room in the laboratory, her eyes still red from the crying. She heard the door open and looked over to Stein as he walked over to her.
"Is she alright?" he asked. Marie shook her head.
"She's so scared he's not coming back." she replied.
"Well, I found him, and he is," Stein told Marie, "but he's drunk. He'll come tomorrow." Marie sighed and the two walked into the room, and Marie hung back as Stein knelt down beside the bed.
"Yumi." he shook the Deathscythe's shoulder and her eyes opened slowly.
"Stein?" she asked.
"The good news is, I found Spirit." he said. Azusa sat up and that.
"What? Where is he? Oh, Death, he's not coming back, is he?" she asked, frantically and Stein shook his head.
"No, he isn't coming back tonight. I sent him back to his apartment, because – bad news - I found him drunk. He's going to come up here tomorrow." Stein said. Azusa exhaled and nodded.
"O-Okay." she nodded.
"So, you stay here tonight." he said. and Azusa nodded. Before Stein could stand up, however, Azusa threw her arms around him, much to the shock of the meister and Marie, and if she was being honest, Azusa herself.
"Thank you." she murmured, and Stein pat Azusa on the back gently.
"It's fine. I'm by far the most experienced Spirit retriever of the three of us, anyway." Stein remarked, and Azusa nodded.
"Was he okay?" she asked, and Stein sighed.
"Worried about you, but he was okay." Stein said. Azusa nodded and Stein stood up.
"We'll see you in the morning, sweetheart." Marie said, and Azusa smiled and nodded.
"Thanks, you two." Azusa said, and they both nodded before exiting the room. Marie looked up at Stein and put his hands on her hips.
"She hugged you." Marie said. Stein gave a small nod and Marie sighed.
"You are such a softie." she remarked. Stein frowned.
"Oh, so I help your friend and I get called soft, if I didn't help her I would have gotten yelled at. Great." Stein remarked. Marie sighed and wrapped her arms around Stein's waist.
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. I meant it in a thank you, I love you, I should repay you kind of way." she smirked.
"Oh, really, do you?" he asked.
"I'm still awake, guys." Azusa called. Marie sighed and rapidly went a red colour, hiding her face against Stein's chest. He laughed and pressed his hand to the back of her head.
"Come on, let's go." he told her.