His head was pounding and it felt like every muscle in his body was aching. The death scythe moaned as he opened his eyes slowly, feeling the distinct presence of another individual in the bed he was laying in. Bleary eyes opened and focused first on the nightstand, then on a bottle of water and two pills that were labeled, "For the pain." Memories of the previous night flooded back and Spirit pushed himself into a sitting position, his head reeling as he did so. He popped the pills in his mouth before taking a swig of water, and then looked over at his bed partner.

"I'd forgotten just how badly Stein's Soul Menace hurts." Spirit thought wearily.

Franken Stein lay on his right side, facing away from Spirit, on a small section of the bed, his shoulder moving up and down in a gentle motion. Spirit glanced around the small room, realizing that it was a motel room of some sort. The two men were sharing a single bed, a full sized one at most. Stein was as far from Spirit as he could be which still left just a small gap between them.

Spirit started to reach out and wake the other man, and then hesitated. He knew his own limits with pain medicine, and he had no idea how long Stein had walked before getting them to wherever here was. Spirit gingerly lowered himself back into the bed, careful not to disturb or wake Stein. It wouldn't be the first time that he had had to sleep with the meister on a mission- they had done it plenty when they were first partnered. A single bed was cheaper than two.

Sometime during the night Spirit had rolled onto his right side as well. The two men were now sharing the same half of the bed, Spirit's arm draped carelessly over Stein's side. Stein woke first and froze; the unfamiliar weight on his side was definitely not Marie's. It took only a split second for the wavelength that was behind him to be identified as Spirit's and Stein relaxed.

Spirit murmured something into Stein's back and the scientist felt the other man scootch closer, the death scythe's arm tightening around his waist and pulling Stein back against his chest. Stein felt himself tense again as Spirit's hand began to drift. With a swift motion Stein slipped from the bed and Spirit toppled forward and into the space that Stein had just been occupying. The death scythe then slid off the bed and landed in a heap at Stein's feet. Stein just smirked down at him before offering his hand. Spirit glared at it as if might be a snake, ready to bite him if he took ahold of it. Stein just shrugged, and walked off to the bathroom.

Spirit heard the water running in the shower a moment later and cursed mentally. "Damnit, Stein. You could have at least let me take a leak before you decided to get in the shower." And he desperately needed to take a leak, the tenting in his pants making him wonder just what the hell he had been dreaming of before he had been awoken.

Stein stood underneath the scalding hot spray, stifling a yawn, his cigarette smoking gently between his teeth as he kept it out of the spray. A glance at the clock on the bedside when he had left Spirit had affirmed that he hadn't gotten enough sleep after walking as far as he had, with Spirit on his back to boot. Shaking his head Stein dumped some of the cheap motel shampoo into his hand and massaged it through his hair.

He froze when he heard the bathroom door open. "Senpai?"

"I'm not looking. You could have let me take a leak before you got in the shower. It feels like days since-" Spirit gave a loud sigh at that point, "I have."

"Perhaps if you didn't consume so much alcohol you wouldn't have to go so urgently in the mornings." Stein said, returning to his shower as he heard the water turn on in the sink.

"I haven't had a drink in a while, Shinigami-sama's orders." Spirit said smugly, intentionally drying his hands on the towel that Stein had laid out to dry himself off with.

"Miracles will never cease." Spirit's chuckle ended prematurely as Stein stepped out of the shower, taking the towel from Spirit's limp hands. "Thanks, Senpai." Stein then padded out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, but not before giving Spirit a lopsided smirk.

A trembling hand ran through Spirit's hair. "What the fuck?" He turned the water all the way to cold before stepping into the shower, realizing once he pulled the curtain back that he could still smell the smoke from Stein's cigarette. The same cigarette that was still lit, sitting on the soap holder, a washrag folded to protect it from the water.

"Oh, what the hell," Spirit said and shrugged, grabbing the cigarette and taking a deep drag, desperate to calm nerves that he hadn't even realized were on edge. Spirit lowered his head, letting the freezing cold water run over his neck and down his chest, a stream of smoke escaping his lips as he contemplated the problem he was now facing.

The tenting his pants had hidden hadn't gone away, and seeing Stein step out of the shower had only made it worse. Spirit shook his head again. "What the hell, Spirit?" He asked himself, shivering beneath the spray.

Stein was dressed when Spirit came out of the shower, still shivering from how cold the water had been. Stein raised an eyebrow at the shivering weapon. "I'm fairly certain there was hot water when I got out, Senpai."

"I felt like a cold shower." Spirit just shrugged, buttoning up his shirt.

Stein didn't say anything, just tossed something at the death scythe. Spirit caught it and looked at it; inside the case that Stein had tossed him were various toiletries. "I figured you would want to shave. And let's face it; deodorant is a must for both of us." Spirit just nodded, taking the bag and heading back into the bathroom. He found the toothpaste and brushed his teeth before shaving.

Stein leaned against the doorframe as Spirit did. "I think I know where she was taken, Senpai."

Spirit spat out the toothpaste and looked through the door at the meister. "Then why are we waiting around?"

"Because I was observing you to make sure there were no lingering aftereffects from the Soul Menace I had to use to knock you out, Senpai. Going into a potential for battle with a weapon that was in a weakened state wasn't something that I was looking forward to. It could cost us all our lives." Stein said simply, lighting a new cigarette before he took a deep drag of it.

He then pushed himself away from the wall, exhaling smoke. "Let's go." Spirit just stared at him. "We'll grab food on the way, Senpai. We need to hurry. It's been 10 days since Marie disappeared."

Ten days.

The words sent shivers down both men's spines. The note had said she had one week. Both men left the motel room, Stein leading with Spirit following along behind.

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed chapter 2, I know that I enjoyed writing it.

I don't own Soul Eater.