He checked everywhere in that building, but he couldn't find the small Death Scythe anywhere. Not... Not until he heard a giggle, one so quiet he nearly missed it.
Stein spun around to find the very woman he was looking for coming out from behind the bedroom door, the only place he forgot to check. Her hair was a mess, something he never saw from her- mornings excluded. Marie slowly made her way to him, her steps unbalanced and liquidy.
"Hi, Franken!" she giggled, placing a hand on her hip.
"Marie..." he whimpered, feeling an ache in his chest. There were several things in the world that he wanted. He wanted to hold onto his sanity but also to dissect, to live a long life filled with discovery and experiments. The thing he wanted most, however, the thing he didn't even know as a solid fact he wanted, was suddenly apparent to him. But it was also gone.
Marie was gone... Lost. Her body there while her mind was far away. It killed him.
There were many things Professor Franken Stein could do with that brilliant mind of his- when it wan't lost- but he couldn't do the one thing that actually seemed to matter. He promised Marie he'd make things alright... He promised himself. But now, he looked into her eyes and saw nothing but insanity.
"Marie, I'm so sorry, I-" he began, barely able to keep the guilt from his voice.
He was cut off when she grabbed him by his lab coat and pulled him down to her, smashing her lips against his. With his first thought to push her off, her grabbed her waist and tried to do so, but she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him with an iron grip. There was no way she was letting go, and he knew it.
Just... Kiss her for now. Till I can find a way to... To...
With his mind beginning to slow, Stein sighed lightly and kissed her back, closing his eyes. It wasn't that it was sweet. It wasn't that it was gentle. She was forceful and rough, still holding him by his neck. He had to admit that he did love it. He loved how demanding she was, how she made it so obvious she wanted him, but... He couldn't do that then. He needed to find a way to save her!
His mind picked up again at the rememberance of pulling her out of insanity, but once again, it was slowed. But this time, he could taste something, something other than her. It was sweet and warm like honey, only not with the same flavor... It was more milky, more sugary. He really couldn't even come up with a word suitable for it. All Stein knew was it was growing, getting stronger, and the stronger it got, the more gentle her kiss became.
What is this...? What's happening?
It was so, so sweet... And it turned black. His eyes snapped open.
The once sweet sensation he was getting suddenly turned bitter and attacked his taste buds, almost making him choke. He could feel it as it made it's way to the back of his mouth, and he had to refrain from coughing. Stein wanted to pull away from her, to get the horrible smoke-like substance out of his mouth.
At that moment, he couldn't help but feel the irony of it. Since when does a smoker want to get the flavor of smoke out of his mouth so badly when he hasn't even considered quitting cigarettes?
He tried pushing her off without hurting her, but that wasn't enough. If he wanted to get her off, the only way he could was if he hurt her severely, something that he couldn't bring himself to do. It was his fault she was like this. How could he hurt her even more? All he could do was rest his hands on her waist...
Marie moaned into his mouth, her tongue wrestling his down as she tugged at his silver hair with one hand while her other slowly made its way down to his bicep. He took that to his advantage, quickly gripping her waist and pulling his head up. His breathing came heavy for air while he spoke.
"Marie, I need you to listen t-"
She cut him off again in the same way, with her intrusive kiss. He managed to pull away again, only to quickly say, "Please, listen to me!"
Another kiss. Another brief moment he was free.
"Listen! It's Franken!"
"I know who you are," she seethed as she quickly punched him in his side with great strength. Stein gasped, not expecting such a powerful blow to his ribs.
"M- Marie...! If you know-"
Wow, she really did love cutting him off, didn't she? Marie pushed him down onto his bed, quickly straddling him and holding his wrists down with strength he didn't even know she had.
"I know you, Stein," she giggled with a wide, sinister grin. "I know what I want to do with you!"
He stared up at her with wide eyes. Since when did she call him that? He knew he could push her off with some effort, but somehow... He knew he had to hear her out. Huh. Pretty crazy considering that, thinking about listening to someone who was insane. But in situations like this... What else can you do?
"Alright...!" he said, not even bothering to try to break free of her grip as she leaned down and pulled his turtleneck collar down with her teeth. What if... She licked his neck, making his heart beat even faster than it already was, but he forced himself to pay attention to his mind. Scouring for a decision as to what to do, he couldn't help but think...
Maybe? Is it even possible? He sighed lightly, quickly making his decision. I haven't come up with a way to defeat insanity, but this is worth a shot.
"Marie." He called her name, his voice soft yet firm.
"Yes, love?" she asked, lightly biting his neck.
"I want you to lis-" She bit down much harder, almost drawing blood, making him yell out in pain and arch his back with clenched fists. "Fuck, Marie! Just listen!"
She let go of his neck and picked her head up to look him in the eye. "The only thing I want to listen to is you groaning, Stein," she giggled, kissing his jaw.
"Alright! But I want you to do something for me," he breathed out. God, that woman had a strong bite...
"You wanna make a deal?" she smiled, tilting her head. "Alright!"
He swallowed before speaking, "I'll let you do whatever you want to me, but only if you promise to slow down."
"Hrrmmm..." she sat up and tapped her chin with her index finger. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because, it'll be better. I know it."
He really didn't know it. This was just the only thing he could think of... The only thing he could imagine that might save her.
Marie tilted her head drastically, making some of her hair spill over her face. "No... I don't wanna do that! I'd much rather go my way." She let go of one of his wrists, giving him a sinister smile while giggling, "Don't move!" She then grabbed his shirt and yanked on it with all of her strength, tearing the fabic. Stein grunted, feeling the material quickly rub against his skin. It burned.
"Marie..." he said, keeping his wrist where it was. She was too alert at this point, and moving would only get him into another position that would be hard to get out of. He needed to take it slow.
She ignored him and kissed him harshly, the smoke-like flavor invading his mouth once again. Stein forced himself to kiss her back, he forced himself to show her affection. He hated it so much, the sensation in his mouth, but he knew this could be the only way to save her.
But if that wasn't bad enough, he felt something in the back of his head snap.
No...
Madness.
Not now... Oh, God, please! Not now! He silently begged, trying to fight off the beast that was prowling through his mind. He could feel it dragging through his thoughts, slowing them, making them blurry. He couldn't think straight... He couldn't... Remember?
What... What's going on... It all hit him like a ton of bricks when her lips collided with his and he instinctively gave back to the sloppy kiss, tasting that horrible flavor again. He didn't know if it was the taste or simply her kissing him so viciously. Either way, he remembered what he was trying to do, which bought him a little time and some mental strength.
Stein slammed his insanity down with the raw need to save Marie. It was astonishing to him, yes, but he couldn't think about it at the moment.
He kissed back with just as much intensity, distracting her so he could grab her with the hand she didn't have pinned. He wrapped his arm around her torso and pulled her to the side, only to roll on top of her and grab her wrist- the one she wasn't using to hold his- and hold it down. She pulled away from the kiss and smiled widely at him, her words quick.
"Oh, so you do want to, huh? That's good!" she giggled.
"Marie..." his voice was soft and low as he stared her in the eye, trying to find her. The real her. All he found, however, was nothing of what he was searching for.
She tried to lean up and kiss him again, but he lifted his head, stopping her. She then pushed her hips up and ground them on his, earning a small groan from him that made her giggle.
"C'mooooonnnn," her voice was high-pitched, "you know you wanna."
"Marie, I told you to go slow, but you wouldn't. If you won't, then I will." With that, he quickly let go of her wrist and grabbed her other one to pull it off. He then wrapped his long fingers around both of her wrists and pinned her down again.
"Hehe! Wow you're fast!" Marie laughed. "I wish you would use that speed another way."
It hurt to hear her say that. This was no where near the Marie he knew... She would never force him down like that. She would never suggest something so perverted... But this wasn't her, and he knew it. He wasn't going to stop trying for her until he found her, until he brought her back, no matter what he had to do.
"You're going to wait,"
"But I don't wanna wa-" she struggled against his grasp, but he was too strong for her.
"Shh," he cut her off, suddenly lowering his face to hers, "let me take control. I know you like that."
Marie giggled and nodded, "Okie dokie!"
I hope she kicks my ass after this...
Stein slowly kissed her, trying to be gentle. It really was hard to do when her first response to his kiss was to be just as demanding as she was before, but he didn't allow her to take so much from the kiss. He pulled away and kissed her jaw, whispering, "If you want anything from me, you're going to have to let me take the lead."
"Awwwww alright," she mumbled, tilting her head slightly.
He kissed her again in the same way, but he had to pull back again when she tried to deepen the kiss. "Marie..."
"Stein," she giggled, obviously finding it amusing.
"If you do that again, you're not getting anything. Got it?"
"Got it," she huffed.
He lightly kissed her jaw a few times, starting from near her ear down to her chin before he came up to her lips, lightly brushing his against hers. She tried picking her head up to kiss him, but he squeezed her wrists tightly, reminding her not to do anything. Surprisingly, she obeyed and lowered her head. Stein waited a brief moment before he continued, to which he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her sweetly.
She kissed him back, but she wasn't forceful. She didn't demand anything... She only moved her lips.
Stein slowly loosened his grip on her wrists and deepened the kiss, parting his lips a little, to which she responded similarly. He could faintly taste the horrid taste in her mouth, barely refraining from shuddering. He forced himself to go on, opening his mouth a little more so his tongue could lightly lick her lips. She opened her mouth in response, and their tongues met.
He allowed her to gain a small amount of leverage in the kiss, but only by little. There was no way he was going to let her take control. Stein loosened his grip on her wrists more, his right hand completely letting go of it and lightly dragging up her arm to her shoulder, which he grasped.
Marie exhaled through her nose, her breath hot on his upper lip. His hand moved up to her neck, which he gently caressed... And... The taste of her kiss... It weakened.
He poured more affection into the kiss in every way he knew how, from smoothing the skin on her neck over with his thumb to pushing his lips against hers just a bit more. It didn't take an idiot to realize that the sweeter and more affectionate the kiss became, the lighter the taste was, and Stein was by no means an idiot.
The scientist really had no idea what he was even doing, or how he did it for that matter. The only thing he did know was that he needed more emotion... His first attempt at it was searching through his mind for the emotion that everyone thought he was incapable of having- believing it himself before Marie taught him otherwise- but he couldn't seem to find it. All he found was rationality, and the dormant insanity that he had stunned just moments before.
Maybe... It's not in my mind... He tried to feel. He tried to feel from within, from his heart, from his soul... Proving to be successful. Stein found what he was looking for.
Love.
Love for the woman he was trying to save, for the woman who taught him so much.
He poured it out to her, slowly but surely, pushing all of the emotion he could into the kiss. He felt his chest ache, he could almost taste the raw pain in his throat. He hated that she loved him, that she stuck around him to gain insanity. But he loved it at the same time! He loved the fact that she cared so much about him! He loved that she tried so hard to help him! He loved her! Now, all he wanted to do was show her that love.
Stein whimpered from the potent emotion, deepening the kiss...
The blackness of her taste was much weaker, nearly gone. He didn't even realize when it receded, but he was grateful it did. Now, she just tasted like a normal human being, but the aftertaste of the God-awful substance lingered. He ignored it, continuing to kiss her.
Stein gently caressed down her neck to her collarbone, and he swore, someway, somehow, her taste changed again, but it was for the better.
It was warmer... Much sweeter... Like vanilla. It was getting stronger, overpowering the aftertaste of the blackness. With every moment that passed by, he could taste it more and more, and eventually, he could feel love radiating from her body. He couldn't sense madness... He could sense... Her soul.
He didn't stop there. He kept kissing her, even though his lungs ached for air. It was painful, yes, but the sweet taste of her was enough to compensate for it. But that wasn't all...
Stein could feel the madness in her receding, he could feel her coming back to him and that was, hands down, the best thing he'd ever experienced. He really didn't know how much longer he kissed her... He just kept it up till he felt light-headed, to which he figured passing out would be a bad idea.
He finally pulled away, breathing heavily yet evenly, her sweet taste in his mouth. Marie's eye slowly opened and she looked up at him, clearness that wasn't there before was apparent in the amber.
"Franken..." she mumbled, her voice how it should be- strained with emotion.
"Please tell me that's you," he whispered while her eyes watered, so grateful to be called by his first name.
"I... I don't know," her voice broke and tears leaked out of her eyes. "Wha- what happened? All I remember is sitting in the hallway, and... And..."
"Shhh... It's alright," he assured, letting go of her wrist and getting off of her so he could sit by her side. "Come here."
He helped her sit up and she climbed onto his lap, hugging him tightly as more tears fell from her eyes. "I don't understand, Franken... What happened?"
"You were lost in madness... But I managed to pull you out."
She buried her face in his chest, just realizing his shirt was torn. She ignored it, not wanting to know what happened to it just yet. All she could manage to say was, "Thank you," before more tears rolled down her cheeks.
Stein held her close to his chest and caressed her hair, trying to comfort her. "You're alright, Marie. You're alright now."
He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her head, listening to her sobs. He wanted to take the fear she felt, to make her smile...
His eyes snapped open when he sensed another soul in the room. He picked his head up, only to see Spirit standing in the door frame.
The two made eye contact, but no words were spoken. The weapon knew by the way she was crying in his arms something was in fact wrong with her, but he didn't dare speak out. Stein shook his head ever-so-slightly when he gestured to her, as if he was asking if he needed any help.
Spirit nodded then turned and walked away from the room, going into the living room. Damn, Stein... You were right.
The scientist kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer- if that was even possible. All he wanted was to show her that it was alright, that he would protect her...
And he did.
Although she kept sobbing, she couldn't help but feel a little light shine down on her when she felt his arms tighten around her.
"I love you, Marie," he whispered.
She tilted her head up to look at him, her eye and nose red from crying, but she had a smile. Miniscule, nonetheless, but a sweet, innocent smile... One that he had never been happier to see. "I love you too."
Alright, guys... The end is near! This is one of the last chapters, sooooo yeah :3 Leave a review, your thoughts, questions, rants, etc. Thanks for reading!