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mytheoristavenue · 8 months

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SE Dr. Franken Stein x Teacher!Reader - Good Medicine

Summary: While Stein looks over your lesson plans for the neck week, you let it slip that you've been ill.

Warnings: slight angst, fluff, mentions of madness/illness/ symptoms of serious illness, fem!reader, mentions of addiction/substance abuse, platonic!nygus x stein, platonic!nygus x reader, not proofread

You sighed before gathering another deep breath as you made your way through the halls of the academy shortly after the final bell. The school was mostly desolate, save for the staff and the few remaining students who had to stay late for whatever reason. You waved to a few of them on your way, hands trembling nervously as you clutched the file in your hands.

Finally, you stopped at his door, the entrance to the EAT classroom. Hesiently, you knocked, before quickly stepping backward to put distance between yourself and him when he opened the door. Just as predicted, you could hear shuffling within the room, an aggravated groan, and desk chair wheels rolling. Then the door unlocked and cracked open, revealing a terrifyingly tall figure, shrouded in darkness, glass lenses gleaming and obscuring his eyes. "Miss (Y/N), can I help you?"

You swallowed hard, stepping forward and nodding. "I-I was wondering if you could look over my lesson plans for this next week? I've not been well and Lord Death asked me to have someone-"

"Have you tried asking Sid?" he interrupted in a monotone.

You blushed, feeling embarrassed and silly for thinking he'd be willing to help you. "W-Well, Sid's gone for the day, he left early today. Besides-"

"I see," the man acknowledged, bringing up a hand to straighten his glasses. "Spirit then?" he suggested, cocking a brow. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help a lady in need."

You began to feel defeated, you were a people pleaser at heart and hated bothering people. "Um," you said, shrinking under his gaze. "He's in an important meeting with Lord Death this evening." Stein's posture seemed to shift as he slowly began to realize he couldn't pawn you off on someone else. "Also, Lord Death asked that I go to you specifically..."

He seemed to mull the idea over for a moment before answering. "Is that so?" You nodded timidly. "So Lord Death instructed you to come to me for help and you directly disobeyed him by looking into every other option beforehand?"

Your eyes blew wide and you struggled to form a response. "N-No! Of course not, I just didn't want to bother you! I know how busy you-"

"Relax," he finally said, chuckling and opening the door further. As he did so, the glare on his frames dissipated to reveal kind and playful eyes. "I'm just playing with you. I'd love to help, for a price, that is."

"W-What is it?" you asked, nerves shot to hell.

"Can you go get me some coffee from the teacher's lounge, please?" Your shoulders fell in defeat as you nodded, beginning to walk away. "Oh," he called before you could get out of earshot. "Bring the syrup bottle, I like mine sweet."

-----

Brows furrowed in annoyance, you rounded the corner into the lounge and set the file down on the counter. You hated dealing with Stein, all he did was play mind games and make your life difficult- not to mention how scary he was. Sighing, you got a tray down from the top shelf, and then a pair of mugs, figuring you might as well get yourself some while you're here. Carefully, you poured muddy water into both cups, dressing yours the way you liked. Absent-mindedly, you began to fiz Stein's mug the same way, pouring simple syrup into it. It wasn't until you began stirring caramel cream into it that you realized. "Shit!" you hissed, realizing your mistake. Quickly, you took out another mug from the cupboard, and grabbed the carafe, only to find it nearly empty. Now you had no choice but to bring him an incorrect cup of coffee and pray to Death he still helps you.

You gripped the handles of the tray nervously, seeking some kind of support from them. Blonde coffee swished in each cup, and the syrup bottle treated to tip, but you eventually made it back all in one piece. "I'm back," you called into the dark room from the ajar door. "Can I come in?"

"The door's open, isn't it?" Stein's monotone voice replied from deep within. Stepping in, you found him at his desk, a single tabletop lamp illuminating his workspace. He seemed deep in thought as his red pen scrawled hastily across pages, shuffled one after another. In response you let yourself in, slowly inching toward him, before eventually deeming yourself close enough and standing at his side awkwardly. "Are gonna set that down or just stand there?" he asked, not bothering to even give you a side glance.

"Sorry," you muttered, shuffling in place. "I just wasn't sure where you'd like it." He pointed to a spot on his desk, equally cluttered but mostly flat with his pen. You obeyed and set the tray down, before taking his cup and setting it in front of him, as well as the syrup bottle. You tensed a bit when you noticed the sticky bottom of the bottle had adhered to what seemed to be a page of homework. He never seemed to notice, though. "Um, before you drink that," you interrupted, just as he lifted the cup to his lips. "I...zoned out a bit and started pouring the syrup in, so it may not be exactly how you prefer it."

Stein sighed, rolling his eyes. "Leave it to you to make pouring a cup of coffee harder than it should be." At that, he took a sip, pausing for a moment afterward. "Is there caramel in his?" he asked sternly, finally looking up at you.

You shook in your spot. "Y-Yes? I'm sorry-"

"It's really good." he smiled, taking another sip. "I guess I'll have to have you make all my coffee from now on." Your muscles fell lax with relief and you stepped closer. "Now then, pull up a chair, and let's have a look." You did as he instructed, dragging a nearby stool to his desk. You felt like you were a student again, having to stay behind with the teacher to review why you hadn't passed a test.

Once in a good position, you handed over the file which you'd carried under your arm. Stein took it and slayed it out on the desk as you looked over his shoulder. "What's the subject?"

"Soul bonds and forces that affect them." you responded astutely. Now he understood why he was the one Lord Death had you ask.

"I taught this last year to a pair of my students," he recalled. "Though, the results weren't very pretty. What's your goal in teaching this?" he wondered.

"To educate my kids on how to nourish their connection and help them understand the consequences of not doing so." you replied, gaining some sort of confidence in showing him that you knew what you were talking about.

"And what are those consequences?" he asked, lazily flipping through the loose pages inside the file.

"Potentially irreparable damage to the partners' bond, bodily injury, mental strain, inability to fulfill their duties, and in extreme cases where students cannot be reassigned to new partners, expulsion."

"And how can a bond be nourished or restored?"

"Trusting in one another, appreciating your partner internally and externally, and understanding of how a healthy dynamic should look between partners." You answered as he followed along with your written word. It was as if you'd memorized the words on the page.

"Well," he concluded. "You seem very knowledgeable on the topic, your notes look great," he paused to pack the papers back into the file and handed it back to you. "As long as you tell what you just told me to your students, I have no doubt they'll be well informed."

Finally, you beamed at his analysis, happy to have his approval. Pressing the file to your chest, you went to stand, only to have him point his palm to you- a signal to stop. "Just a moment," he said, taking out a legal pad and his red pen. "Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to talk to you about something if you've got time."

You froze, a tad stunned as you fully sat back down. "Sure, I'm not in any rush," you accepted, tilting your head curiously. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Wrong isn't the right word for it," he reassured. "More like odd." Stein quickly jotted down the date, time, and your name before continuing. "You said you hadn't been well, and that Lord Death had noticed and sent you to me to double check your lesson plans. Let's talk about that."

You couldn't help but notice how his voice had changed. It wasn't quite as monotone now, and paired with his kind and genuine smile, you couldn't keep the butterflies out of your chest. He was being so gentle all of a sudden and you didn't understand what changed. "Which part?" you asked.

"Tell me about how you've been feeling, (Y/N)." he instructed. "With everything that's taken place, I don't blame you for not feeling like yourself."

You instantly knew what he was referring to. The Kishin Awakening. The battle with Medusa and Crona beneath the school. The ruined celebration of the academy. It was all fresh and heavy on your mind still. "I suppose..." you began vaguely. "Everything that's happened has stressed me out a bit."

"What happened wasn't your fault, you do know that, don't you?" he soothed, adjusting the frames on his nose. "Nothing you could have done would have changed the outcome of that fight."

"I know that," you admitted, twiddling your thumbs. "I guess I just wish there was something more I could have done. I mean, our kids were down there risking their lives- getting hurt, getting traumatized, and where was I? Stuck up here with everyone else, helpless."

Stein offered a gentle smile. "You're too hard on yourself." he laughed, removing his glasses and wiping the lenses on the tail of his coat. You were able to catch a glimpse of his eyes, swampy and genuine. They put you at ease. "Besides, you helped keep everyone calm, that's not nothing."

"Maybe you're right..." you relented, pinching the bridge of your nose and shaking your head. "I've just been having these terrible nightmares where things end differently."

"Nightmares?" He perked up, suddenly vastly more interested in what you had to say than before. "Tell me about that."

His change in attention span didn't go above your head, but you chose to ignore it for now. "I'll have dreams that the students you had with you die or become gravely injured, or that those witches managed to get into the school and hurt the people I was with."

"And have you experienced any other odd symptoms? Headaches, hallucinations, insomnia?" he asked, quickly scrawling your answers on the note pad.

"All of those, yeah," you confirmed, nodding and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "And nosebleeds."

Suddenly, Stein froze entirely. "Have these gotten worse since the Kishin awoke?" you hummed in response, giving even more basis to his hunch. "And have you had these in the past?"

"Well, I've had chronic migraines since I was a kid," you replied, unsure where he was going with this.

"Have you ever been medicated for it?" he asked, eyeing you as if waiting for you to confirm his suspicions.

"Many times," you answered, and he seemed to relax at this. "Nothing ever helped, though. Except for some herbal tea Medusa prescribed me a while back."

Stein tensed again, jotting down the new information before continuing. "And the symptoms subsided during that treatment?" You nodded and he pressed on. "And how much would you say they've worsened since you stopped taking the herbals?" You remained silent, guilt creeping up your back as you lowered your head. "(Y/N)?" Stein leaned in, concerned about your sudden shift in willingness to talk. He repeated the question, hoping you just hadn't heard, but your continued stillness told him everything he needed to know. "You're still taking them?!"

The sudden raising of his voice startled you, as well as the slamming of his fists on the desk. "Are you stupid? Don't you realize she's been poisoning you?"

"I'm sorry! It's the only thing that helps!" you cried abruptly. "I stopped for a few days but it just got so bad I couldn't resist! Now I have to take them even more often to get them to work!"

Stein composed himself, taking in and releasing a deep breath before reaching out and grabbing you by the shoulders. "That's enough, (Y/N), you need to listen to me," he began, pausing to make sure you were. "You have to stop taking those herbals, that's not medicine, it's a curse." Your eyes searched his for an indication that he was joking but came up short. "She has you addicted to this remedy, but all it does is make the problem worse, that way when you need a higher dosage, you'll have no choice but to go to her for more. Then she'll use you against us." Something in his voice revealed itself. Maybe it was worry, maybe frustration. Either way, it made your stomach churn.

"I'm about to tell you something you won't want to hear," he warned, sighing before looking back up to you again, mossy eyes boring into your (e/c) ones. "You've most likely got a parasite inside you, and it's possible she's been using it to gather information on the academy. Now that she's no longer a member of staff, you're much more important to her than you might realize."

There was nothing you could do to hold back the tears that began to stream down your cheeks. It was so ironic that the thought of bringing harm to the school had driven you mad, but in an effort to stop the madness from taking over, you put everyone in danger. "Oh my God," you sobbed, not even noticing when Stain pulled you into his chest.

"Shhh," he hushed. "Don't cry, it's gonna be okay," he reassured, rubbing your back as you cried. "Now that we know what's wrong, we can fix this."

"I'm such an idiot!" you sniveled. "I can't believe I fell for her lies!"

"You're not an idiot, you were deceived. We all were." he soothed, pushing you away and holding your shoulders at arm's length. "You made a mistake and that's okay." He withdrew himself from you, giving you a moment to compose yourself, and turned back to the desk. He then opened a drawer and pulled out a smaller pad before scribbling on it before tearing off the top page and handing it to you.

"I'm prescribing you something for the headaches and something for the parasite. When you stop taking the herbals, the hallucinations, nosebleeds, and nightmares should go away on their own."

"I didn't even know you could write prescriptions..." was all you managed to get out, still stunned at the revelation and his overall coolness about it. He simply gave you a kind smile.

"I am a doctor, after all." he chuckled, putting the two pads back into the desk drawer. "If you give me a second, I'll walk with you to the infirmary to have Nygus fill these."

-----

You'd been nearly silent since Stein's diagnosis, and now that you were walking through the halls beside him, you couldn't bring yourself to speak. He chatted away, nonchalant as ever, and you'd usually be delighted to see this rare side of him, but you couldn't get out of your head.

Finally, you both ended up at the infirmary, him walking in ahead of you. "Evening, ma'am," he greeted the woman behind the counter, grabbing her attention.

"Oh," she said, turning around and smiling softly behind her bandages. "Hello, you two. A bit late to be at work, huh?"

"I could say the same for you," Stein laughed, leaning on the counter. "If Sid left early, I assumed you'd be with him." Nygus rolled her eyes and sighed with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Not this time, I needed some time to reorganize my office." Her sky eyes suddenly flicked up to you, then back to your companion. "So, what can I help you with?"

Stein looked back at you and tilted his head towards her, prompting you to hand over the slip he'd made you. "We just need some prescriptions filled, if you're not too busy."

"Not at all!" she chirped with a grin, taking the slip from you. "Let's see here..." Suddenly, the contour of her wrappings fell flat and the sparkle in her eyes disappeared as she looked back at the man with a questioning look.

"I know you can keep a secret, Nygus. I appreciate that about you." He smiled, aware that she'd caught his meaning.

"Well, if you've got worms, that's none of my business, now is it?" She finally said, spinning on her heels and walking deeper into her office, dreads bouncing as she went. Something about her reaction melted your heart, knowing that she knew even a fraction of the truth- the worst fraction, and she wasn't upset with you.

Within a few minutes, she'd returned, a small white paper bag in hand. She gave you a reassuring smile as she handed it over. "For the headaches, take one as needed and no more than four in a day. For the other one, take one with breakfast and one with supper every day for two weeks."

After a tad more conversation, you both thanked her and exited the infirmary. "Start those both tomorrow and keep me updated on how they work for you, if need be, we can always adjust your dosage," Stein said, turning to head back to his classroom. "Have a good night, (Y/N)."

As he walked away from you, the question that had been burning in your mind bubbled back up to the surface again and you blurted out his name. "Stein! Wait," He halted, glancing at you curiously over his shoulder as you ran to catch up to him.

"Was there something else you needed?" he asked as you stopped beside him.

"I wanted to know..." you began, fidgeting timidly with your fingers. "Why are you being so kind to me?"

He laughed heartily, which embarrassed you a tad. "I can 't recall a time where unkind to me, why wouldn't I?"

You blushed a bit, shuffling in place. "W-Well.. you're-"

"Big and scary?" he chuckled lightly.

"Um, yeah..."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, perhaps one day I can change your mind." he mused, turning to leave again.

"U-Um, Stein?" you called out again, and once again, he indulged you with a quizzical look. "I'd like to get to know you better," you confessed. "I know you're not like I thought you were, and I'm sorry I made assumptions about you."

"Well, that's kind of you to admit," he accepted, beaming.

"I was wondering..." you trailed nervously. "Since you're going to be keeping up with the results of my treatment...we should probably..." try as you might, you couldn't will the words from your throat.

"Miss (Y/N), you're going to have to come out and ask me if you want me to say yes." he finally said, hinting at knowing what you wanted.

"W-Would you like to get coffee with me tomorrow?"

"I'd love to."

Thank you for reading, if you'd kindly like and reblog, I'd greatly appreciate it!

#soul eater #franken stein #franken stein x reader #stein x reader #stein x teacher!reader #soul eater stein #mira nygus #soul eater nygus #nygus x reader #dr. franken sten

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takeyourcyanide · 3 months

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Repulsion

(Part 1): Judgement

As a summary, this is a particularly dramatic and not at all canon telling of how the group met Kami, and how Stein ended up losing his partnership with Spirit. I might write a different version of how Stein ended up kicked out, as well, but that will be later. I don’t really know how great this one is LMAO. This is set when Spirit and Kami were approximately 17 and first got together, Stein and Marie being of about 15, Azusa also being about 15, and Sid and Nygus being about 12.

This is a rough draft I’m redoing it

————

Marie groaned lightly in pain, practically doubling over on Stein and Spirit’s couch.

Marie, Azusa, Sid, and Nygus had been invited over on a warm, bright Saturday by Spirit for what was essentially their weekly hang out session.

Despite Spirit being the host (and sort of Stein, as well), he still hadn’t arrive, which had raised multiple eyebrows.

Stein, of whom was sitting by Marie, looked up from his little gaming console, giving the girl a curious look. The rest of the group did the same, Azusa being the one to speak up.

“What’s wrong, Marie? Do you have a stomach ache?” Azusa asked, observing as Marie’s arms wrapped around her lower abdomen.

“I’m just on my period. That’s why I’m glad we weren’t all chauffeured over to the park today,” Marie responded.

“Oh, there’s some Midol in the cabinet if you need it,” Stein added, waving his finger towards the cabinet in question.

“Why do you guys have Midol here?” Marie asked, raising an eyebrow curiously as she laughed.

“Well, with the constant female company Spirit has moving in and out of here, we ended up needing it,” Stein said, amused smirk on his face.

Marie snickered, the rest of the room following suit, as she said, “I should’ve guessed.”

“Yeah, well, he’s going to have to stop that now,” Stein spoke up once more, smirking wickedly.

“I wasn’t supposed to tell you all this, it was supposed to be a surprise, but in all honesty, I don’t give a shit. He’s got himself a little girlfriend - not a fling!”

“Seriously?” Nygus and Sid snickered, Azusa and Marie gave looks of amusement and surprise.

“So, that’s why he’s late? He’s bringing a date with him?” Azusa asked, Stein nodded in response.

“What’s her name?” Marie asked, attention fully on Stein’s sadistic little expression.

“Kami. She’s pretty sweet towards most people - well, so far anyway. I don’t believe it for a second,” Stein replied in suspicion.

“What if you’re just being your usual cynical, paranoid self?” Azusa asked, chuckling lightly.

“No, no… I just don’t have a great feeling about her.”

“Well, we’ll see, I suppose,” Azusa once again responded.

“I don’t think she likes me much either,” Stein stated.

“Oh, don’t say that, I’m sure she does!” Marie encouraged.

“Stein isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, Marie,” Nygus said plainly and bluntly.

“The girl’s right,” Stein spoke in agreement.

A short-lived silence fell upon the group, as Stein’s attention turned back toward his game.

Marie’s attention, however, never left Stein’s indifferent and focused expression.

She stared at him with large, pleading eyes, and a wide, mischievous smile.

Eventually, Stein raised an eyebrow at her, asking, “What is it, Marie?”

“Could you please, pretty please get the medicine for me, Stein?” Marie clasped the hands that had previously been wrapped around herself together in order to beg.

Stein chuckled, replying with, “Sure,” before raising up and walking over to their little medicine cabinet.

He searched with his fingers, eyes intently scanning the labels until he found the Midol, bringing it back to the pouting blonde.

“Here you go,” Stein said, handing her the whole box.

“Could you also get me a glass of water to swallow them with?” Marie continued with her pleading.

Stein sighed, shooting a mildly unamused look at Marie, effectively juxtaposing his small chuckles.

“You’re exploiting my compassionate soul, Marie!” Stein sarcastically exclaimed, clutching his chest melodramatically.

“Yeah, right, asshole,” Marie snickered.

“Tell that to the dog you ripped the intestines out of,” Azusa crossed her arms, laughing.

“Says the one who ruined my fun with that dog,” Stein replied, simultaneously glaring and grinning at Azusa.

Right as Stein had begun walking back with Marie’s glass of water, a certain redhead and a certain blonde barged through the door, laughing wildly with one another.

“You’re just too much, Spirit!” Kami might as well have screamed, slapping his shoulder playfully.

Marie nearly fell off the couch in surprise, Azusa and Stein glared at the couple in mild judgement, while Sid and Nygus simply stared at the couple, looking as though they’d seen a ghost.

Stein continued walking over to the visibly startled Marie, a bit more cautiously this time, as though expecting someone else to barge through the door unexpectedly, and handed Marie her glass.

“Hey, guys!” Spirit yelled joyfully, a dorky, gleeful smile on his face.

“Hi,” Marie said shakily, still going through the aftershocks of being so incredibly startled.

“I’m sorry, did we scare you, dear?” Kami said in an overly sweet tone, so sweet it was almost demeaning.

“Yes, very,” Marie responded, eyes wide as she opened the box of Midol.

“So, I’m Kami, I’m Spirit’s girlfriend. I’ve heard a lot about you all!” Kami exclaimed in a valley girl accent, and in an ear-piercing voice. Stein grimaced.

“Have you?” Stein asked, eyes narrowed in analysis, face entirely emotionless and empty, yet wielding an air of curiosity. Marie recognized that this was because he was observing her intently. Most people found it intimidating and creepy. She thought it was kind of cute.

“Yes, Stein. Spirit really loves you all,” Kami said, suddenly with a touch of animosity and suspicion, continuing to stare directly at him.

Kami kept up her smiley, friendly facade - or what Stein assumed was a facade, despite this all. It was at least completely falsified when it came to him specifically.

“I hope what you heard was good,” Sid said, amused and chuckling, jokingly feigning a sense of nervousness and concern.

“It was overwhelmingly positive,” Kami replied, eyes squinting with her disturbingly wide smile.

Stein finally sat down, refusing to continue with his game, deciding to instead do what he did best - dissect - or rather, observe and analyze.

There was something so obviously off about her.

Spirit’s new girlfriend has had it out for him since the first day that met - that day being about a week ago now. And whether it was deserved or not doesn’t matter. She didn’t know enough about him to be so against him.

“You’re a people watcher, aren’t you, Stein?” Kami asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

“You haven’t taken your eyes off of me since the moment I walked in.”

“Oh, he does that with everyone, it’s just him,” Marie said, with a strange hint adoration that confused Stein to some degree. He’d question her later.

Kami suspiciously nodded her head, eyes narrowed.

“Anyway, may I guess who all of you are based off what I’ve been told?” Kami playfully suggested. The group agreed.

“Of course I know that you’re Stein,” Kami said, pointing at that the silver-haired boy.

“Hmm,” Kami tapped her finger on her chin, staring at Marie, who had long since finished taking the medicine Stein had gave her. She had already placed both the glass and Midol on the coffee table.

Stein decided he’d take both the medication and the glass back to the kitchen, receiving a small “thank you” from Marie.

He returned quickly to the couch, continuing his observation of Kami.

Stein found her to be overtly theatrical. She belonged in a low-life theatre troupe.

“Well, he mentioned a blonde and short Marie, so, I’m going to guess that’s you,” Kami finally decided upon a name.

“You’d be correct,” Marie politely smiled up at the girl standing directly in front of her.

“You’re Azusa, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And you two would be Sid and Nygus.”

“Mhm,” Sid and Nygus responded in unison.

Marie leaned over close to Stein’s pale ear, whispering, “She’s trying too hard, isn’t she?”

“Oh, definitely,” Stein agreed, a slight smirk making its way to his empty expression.

“What are you two whispering about over there? You’re awfully close to one another, don’t tell me you two are together,” Kami desperately searched for some sort of topic of conversation.

“No, we’re not. We were simply quietly discussing what to make for dinner. We didn’t want to disturb your time with the group,” Stein quickly rebutted, lying through his teeth.

“Oh, and Marie,” Kami begun, “I just love your hair. It’s so pretty and looks so soft.”

“Oh, thank you,” Marie said, moving to touch her hair. She didn’t have said hair in braids this time.

Stein lifted his hands and began playing with Marie’s hair, the girl in question sighing in relief at his actions.

“Anyway, what kind of food were you two thinking of?” Spirit inquired, leaving Stein and Marie relatively on the spot.

“We were thinking about ordering out. But we can cook if that would be preferred,” Marie responded, shooting Spirit a sweet look.

“Why not a home-cooked meal?” Kami

clapped her hands together, cheeks most likely in agony from the smile that had not yet left her face.

“Sure,” Marie responded.

Stein leaned over, now his turn to whisper as Kami returned to her ginger playboy.

“The cramping is better now, I presume?”

“Yeah, thanks, Stein,” Marie practically beamed at him.

“Why not thank modern medicine?”

“Well, there’s that,” Marie began, shrugging her shoulders and giggling, “but a lot of the guys I know would’ve just called me dramatic and made fun of me. I’m grateful for our little group.”

“That’s what happens when there’s a lack of scientific literacy among the general population,” Stein responded, raising his pointer finger to emphasize his point.

Marie laughed in response.

“You two gonna cook or not?” Sid said, playfully teasing the two.

“Yeah, for real. I’m fucking starving,” Spirit said, rubbing his entire abdomen.

“What are we cooking, first of all?” Marie asked the obvious question.

“Do you have the supplies for Miso Soup or sushi or something?” Kami asked excitedly.

“In terms of Japanese cuisine, all we have is some instant ramen and rice. Why do you ask?” Stein inquired.

“Well, I’m half Japanese, so I always really enjoy cooking and eating Japanese food. Makes me feel more connected to my culture,” Kami responded joyfully.

“Oh, cool!” Marie exclaimed.

“I find that fascinating as well. Anyway, I know for a fact that we have the ingredients necessary for spaghetti and garlic bread, and I don’t feel much like going to the store right now,” Stein stated.

“That’s fine, too,” Kami spoke.

“So, are we all good with Spaghetti?” Marie asked.

“Uh, yeah, I think we’re all okay with that,” Sid replied.

“Um, all right, then… Stein, would you like to head to the kitchen now? I’ll help you out some,” Marie offered.

“Yeah, sure, thanks,” Stein said in response.

- - - - - -

Stein was glad Marie was in the kitchen with him, because he could hardly focus on cooking. Not with the amount of times he had to pause to grimace at the cacophonous sounds being emitted from Kami’s mouth. Kami, although sometimes polite and quiet, also was extremely loud when she wanted to be….

And most often was.

Stein stirred the bowtie pasta, grabbing the spaghetti sauce from the refrigerator as Marie monitored the bread.

“Hey, Stein, are you okay? You’ve seemed pretty off ever since Kami arrived,” Marie sweetly questions the sketchy bastard.

Stein waited until he was right up by Marie in the small, humble kitchen, placing the sauce on the counter top, to respond.

“She has it out for me, and I haven’t even done anything to her. She doesn’t even really know anything about me. I can already tell this is all going to turn out to be shitty,” Stein says, eyes narrowing in thought.

Marie outstretched her hand, placing it upon one of his shoulders, and caressing him. She effectively smoothed his shirt over back and forth.

“Yeah, I noticed that. She might not really know you, Stein, but are we sure she hasn’t heard about you from around the school?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s true. Didn’t even think about that.”

Marie peered down at the kitchen floor thoughtfully.

“If she sees you rubbing my shoulder, she’s going to accuse us of hooking up next,” Stein said, a mix of playfulness and genuine consideration.

Marie gently hit his shoulder, chuckling. She turned her attention back to the bread, pulling the cooked food out of the toaster oven.

“How much longer do the noodles have?” Marie waved over at Stein’s portion of the kitchen.

“Well, not long at all. All I have to do is pour and stir this sauce into it, and of course strain the water out, and it will be done,” Stein replied.

“Oh, thank god.”

“Hungry?”

“Ravenous.”

—————————

Multiple bowls and plates of garlic bread had been placed upon the brown, wooden coffee table, just waiting to be devoured.

Marie clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling and mouth watering.

Each of the teenagers grabbed their food and happily dug in.

“Wow, this is great, Marie! And Stein, I had no idea you could cook!” Kami praised, sounding a bit backhanded once she moved to Stein.

“You didn’t necessarily know that Marie could cook either, but thanks,” Stein replied with furrowed brows, mildly confused and annoyed.

“Well, yeah, but you just don’t look or seem like the type of person to be able to cook,” Kami said.

“I don’t know how to take that,” Stein responded.

The rest of the group eyed one another, feeling the not-so-sudden tension between the two.

“I’d have to agree with Kami, this food is delectable,” Azusa spoke in an attempt to release the previously mentioned tension.

“Thank you,” Marie and Stein both said in a synchronized manner.

“Marie’s a good cook and a good cooking partner,” Stein complimented the now grinning girl seated beside him.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Stein,” Marie returned the compliment.

“You said you were half Japanese, right? What else are you mixed with?” Marie curiously inquired.

“Well, I am primarily Japanese, but I’m also Swedish and Polish. That’s where I the light hair and eyes came from, despite me having more Japanese facial features,” Kami responded politely.

“Hey, Stein, aren’t you like half Slavic, too,” Marie stared at Stein, hoping desperately that him and Kami could find at least something in common.

“Well, I’m primarily German and Russian, but I’m partially Swiss, as well,” Stein stared right back at her expectant brown eyes.

“Well, that explains the cold, standoffish behavior,” Kami said, placing her food on the coffee table, crossing her arms, looking smug.

“First of all, that’s just stereotyping me and multiple entire groups of diverse individuals. Second of all, my ethnic background isn’t what determined my behavior, because it doesn’t determine anyone’s behavior - that’s scientifically inaccurate, and I was born in the US like you, and was raised in the same, overly fake and smiley culture as you. I myself am simply not overly smiley. And didn’t you just say you were partially Polish? So, you’re partially slavic, too, and yet you’re clearly not stereotyping yourself. And If you weren’t Japanese, Swedish, and Polish, I would’ve thought that you were Austrian, because you’re starting to sound a little bit like a certain infamous Austrian painter,” Stein stared at her with nothing but complete judgement and repulsion, placing his own food on the coffee table. Kami’s eyes narrowed in offense. It took everything for the majority of the group not to snicker at his last remark.

“It was just a joke, Stein, get over yourself. And what’s with you and science anyway. I’m starting to think that if I were Hitler, you’d be one of my Nazi scientists experimenting on a bunch of poor prisoners,” Kami sharply replied, pouting like a toddler.

The entire room stared at the two with widened eyes, just watching it all play out.

“What the hell’s your problem with me, anyway? You know nothing about me,” Stein questioned Spirit’s little lover.

“Well, I’ve sure heard a lot about you around the school. I don’t know why Spirit is even friends with you, or any of these people, for that matter. I genuinely worry for my boyfriend’s safety because of you. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Kami stood up, speaking with the thickest valley girl accent Stein’s ever heard.

“Come on, Kami, don’t be rude-“ Spirit started, being interrupted with a quick, “It’s not like you even want to be here, Spirit, you just feel bad for the guy. He’s fucking nuts! Where else is he going to go except for your apartment? Weren’t you forcefully assigned him as a partner, anyway?” Kami began flailing her hands around, evidently speaking with them.

“Oh, come on, that’s not true, I mean-“

“Yeah, right. And there’s clearly something wrong with him! I don’t know what exactly it is - I don’t know if he’s some kind of psychopath or schizo or whatever - but something is off about him, Spirit! Was he traumatized as a child or something?” Kami practically shouted, waving her finger in front of Stein’s face.

Stein grabbed the girl’s finger, pulling it as far back as possible, refusing to let go even when the blonde in question began to yelp in pain.

“Let go!” Kami repeatedly and frantically screamed, desperately attempting to take her finger out of Stein’s tight, malicious grasp.

Stein responded by tightly grabbing her wrist. Marie intervened, quickly putting her food on the side table, grabbing Stein’s wrist and attempting to yank it away from Kami’s. Stein simply refused to budge.

Spirit himself ran over, as the rest of the group stood up and left their food behind, attempting to grapple him away.

Stein unnaturally maneuvered her finger even further.

Spirit and Marie continued to pull on Stein, Stein effectively shoving them away. Azusa, Sid, and Marie tried pulling Kami herself away.

The group was frantic in their efforts, desperately grabbing at the clearly agitated Stein, and the clearly terrified Kami.

Eventually, a snapping sound echoed throughout the room. Kami’s wailing followed suit.

Stein finally let go after he could see that the girl’s finger was bent like a straw, stuck in place.

The boy relished in the sound of her cries, feeling she got what she deserved, a sadistic smile painted on his visage, whilst simultaneously grimacing at her screaming, wishing it would stop. It was like hearing a helpless, fussy, bratty infant wail from all the way across a Walmart.

Spirit glared holes into Stein’s soul, clearly about to bar his teeth and scream at him. Nothing Stein wasn’t used to.

“Stein,” Spirit began, voice trembling with rage, sounding overly controlled and unnatural.

Stein didn’t give any verbal signal, only looking with wide, void-filled eyes at Spirit.

“Don’t fucking look at me like that,” Spirit said, averting his gaze as though Stein’s eyes had burned him.

“What do you mean?” Stein asked, genuinely confused. “What look?”

“Just get out. I don’t want to hurt you, so leave right now before I do,” Spirit ordered Stein.

Stein, now reduced to a scolded child, moved towards the door as the group stared at him, eyes filled with an emotion Stein was not yet aware of. Perhaps a mixture of multiple? It all seemed to range from anger, to shock, to disbelief, to repulsion - Stein couldn’t keep track of it all.

Stein placed his large, pale hand on the smaller doorknob. But before turning said knob, he turned back to the group, of whom stared at them as though a lecturing him for not feeling shameful, and said, “The bitch deserved what she got.”

Spirit’s left eye twitched, angered by his meister’s complete lack of any remorse and guilt. Kami herself, with tears rolling down her flushed cheeks, looked extraordinarily offended, despite technically starting the fight.

Marie began to follow after Stein, upset as well, but still concerned about Stein. She knew how Stein thought, and she knew that he’d interpret that as being essentially “kicked out of the tribe and left to die.” He’d view it as him once again being very clearly not welcome in a human environment.

That was probably why he retaliated in such a way. At least that’s what Marie thought. He was tired of constantly being told he wasn’t even a part of the Homo genus. Tired of being a case study, in a sense.

Of course, she understood why the rest of the group wasn’t exactly thinking about Stein and why he broke the girl’s finger, instead deciding upon rushing her to the DWMA’s infirmary, and planning how best to do it. But she just wanted to let Stein know that someone being upset with him is not equivalent to a sort of abandonment. At least she wouldn’t abandon him. Even if it didn’t truly bother him at all.

Multiplied judgmental and curious looks were sent her way as she made her way to the door.

“Where are you going? Aren’t you going to come with us to the infirmary?” Nygus asked.

“I’m going to check on, Stein,” Marie responded quickly, ready to run after him already.

“What’s the point? He’s clearly a loveless, un-empathetic asshole,” Kami spoke in the most mean girlish tone possible as she visibly cringed.

“I think loveless, un-empathetic assholes deserve kindness and love, as well. Plus, shunning such individuals isn’t going to make them any better. If anything, it’ll only do worse, won’t it?” Marie questioned thoughtfully as she left the apartment as fast as possible.

“Unbelievable,” Kami pouted, holding her injured finger gently.

“I can’t believe she has the nerve to go after that fucking psycho.”

“Well, that’s Marie for you,” Azusa stated, mildly amused.

“Why does she even care about him?” Kami asked, grimacing.

“Well, we all do, at least to some degree, Kami,” Spirit began, “he’s one of us.”

“Hardly,” Kami responded.

“Now can we please get to the infirmary?” Kami frantically begged.

———

“Stein?” Marie called out, running about as fast as she possibly could.

Stein had managed to make it as far as outside the apartment buildings by the time Marie managed to catch up with him.

“Marie? Have you come to lecture me?” Stein asked, confusion evident all over his face.

Marie, through pants, managed to respond with, “No, Stein. I’m not here to lecture you. But you seriously can’t do that.”

“Well, then what are you here for? And as I stated previously, the bitch deserved it,” Stein spoke with a simultaneous look of indifference, hatred, and sadism.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But still, that’s not how we solve our problems, Stein,” Marie scolded like a parent. At this point she was about ready to put him in time out after saying, “we don’t hit, Stein,” - or rather, “we don’t break people’s fingers, Stein.” She felt as though she was a parent teaching her child basic morality - basic empathy.

“I don’t typically solve my quarrels with violence unless it is warranted. I’m not a mindless beast, and I’m not a child, by the way. You don’t need to lecture me like I’m one,” Stein said, awfully pouty for his latter declaration.

“To be fair, she was kinda pissing me off, too - but anyway, that’s not what I’m here for,” Marie rushed out, placing her hand on Stein’s shoulder once more.

“I just hope you know that while you did break her finger, we aren’t forcing you out of the group or anything - or at least I’m not,” Marie said, terribly kind.

“It’s fine if you do, I’ve made my bed and now I’ll have to lie in it. I suppose I’ve evaded the r consequences of my actions long enough. I knew this day would come. I just didn’t know it’d be this early. They’ll notify Lord Death of the violence I’ve enacted on the students, and I’ll be put to death, won’t I?” Stein stared at her with the same soulless eyes he gave to Spirit and Kami.

“Lord Death already knew of your tendencies before he brought you here, if anything it’s his fault for enrolling you,” Marie pouted in frustration, siding with Stein, per the usual. Sometimes she knew that wasn’t a good idea, but what could she say - she’s entirely biased. Plus, she figured that no one else had ever taken his side before, so she hoped desperately that he’d appreciate it.

“I’d have to agree, Marie. But no one else will see it that way,” Stein replied, contemplating.

Stein suddenly released a deep sigh, continuing to stare at the visibly concerned girl.

“Do you really believe all that, Marie, or do you just feel bad for me?” Stein’s expression suddenly had a sorrowful twinge to it.

“Oh, come on, Stein, Kami was just spouting a bunch of bullshit back there,” Marie quickly encouraged the boy, waving her hands around wildly.

“No, she was right. Do you know how many people stick around me out of both pity and fascination, only to punish me once they realize I’m not just some character they’ve seen in a book or on TV? If you and the rest are doing that, too, I won’t be mad. Perhaps a little disappointed, but it’s fine,” Stein averted his gaze thoughtfully, looking out at the sky.

Marie sighed, feeling quite bad for both Stein and Kami at this present moment. On one hand, having a broken finger would suck, and on the other hand, Stein looked like a cornered animal back there. He still does. And cornered animals bite back.

Marie didn’t miss the childish look in his eyes, one of pure confusion. A lot of people seemed to think that Stein just decided to struggle with basic morality one day to be an asshole, but it was clear to her and - hopefully - the group that he genuinely didn’t develop a concept of morality or even empathy when he was young. He truly was left confused. It wasn’t an act - it wasn’t an attempt to be unique, and it wasn’t a cry for attention.

“Stein, have you ever had a genuine connection with anyone before? Did you have friends as a kid?” Marie asked, an expression of sincerity and curiosity on her face.

“No,” Stein responded plainly.

“All right, well, why don’t you take a walk with me, then?” Marie suggested, a bit guilty about leaving Kami and the group behind, despite the fact that Kami was a huge bitch.

Stein raised an eyebrow, but complied nonetheless. He enjoyed walks, they helped to clear his mind at times.

——

“Can I ask you a couple questions, Stein?” Marie gently asked.

“Sure,” Stein agreed to the questioning.

“Do you genuinely not understand why everyone’s upset with you?” Marie quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the thoughtful looking boy.

“Well, I mean. I suppose I get it scientifically - or I know that when you hurt someone another cares about, they’ll be mad.”

“But, Stein, do you get why? And take the science out of it.”

Stein went silent for a brief moment, seemingly considering his words.

“I don’t get it, Marie. I don’t understand why everyone thinks it was so bad - or why everyone always thinks I should be ashamed or feel guilty - or something.”

“That must be difficult, huh?” Marie stared at him with an expression of empathy, despite not truly understanding. It freaked Stein out.

“Why do you always look so empathetic, even when you don’t get it at all?” Stein asked, ceasing his walking motion, resembling something of a cornered and stranded cat once more. He wore a wide-eyed expression, eyes looking around frantically, ultimately searching for nothing. Maybe an escape?

“Empathy doesn’t require understanding,” Marie responded with a gentle smile on her face.

Stein began soothingly rubbing at his arm, subconsciously chasing after some kind of comfort. Marie didn’t yet understand why he seemed so taken aback. Perhaps a lack of understanding, once again?

“I don’t understand,” Stein mumbled, expression returning to one of indifference. The up and down motion on his arm did not cease.

“That’s okay, Stein, I can try to help you-“

“No, no, you can’t. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, or how hard people try to teach me - I just don’t get it at all. And it’s clearly not okay, not if everyone is always this upset about everything. Why is everyone so emotional anyway? Don’t get me wrong, it’s fascinating, but-“

“Stein.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever felt empathy before?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Eventually, they began walking once more, reaching a small bench by a small park.

“Sit with me, Stein,” Marie said as she plopped down, patting the seat beside her.

“What all have you and haven’t you felt before?” Marie questioned as he sat down.

“Erm… I’ve never really felt shame or humiliation, I suppose. Or guilt. Or remorse. Or sympathy. Or empathy. I’ve felt curiosity, though!” Stein replied, holding up his pointer finger.

Marie sighed lightly.

“Well, of course you’re not gonna get it, Stein,” Marie laughed a little.

“Your brain works differently, and that’s okay.”

“Yeah, to you. Tell that to everyone else.”

“Do you view anything at all as being right or wrong?”

“No, not really. I’ve never really considered morality before doing anything. I’ve tried developing a concept of one, but I couldn’t.”

“Have you ever loved anyone - platonically, romantically, in a familial sense…?”

“No,” Stein responded, shaking his head.

“Has anyone ever really loved you?”

“Well, no. You can’t love someone you don’t truly know, can you? Nor can you connect with them. And typically when someone loves another, don’t they expect love in return?”

Marie sighed once more, tilting her head slightly in pity.

“I’m sorry, Stein.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think the world’s been very kind to you.”

“I haven’t been very kind to the world, have I?”

Marie shrugged her shoulders, grabbing Stein’s head and bringing it down to rest on her shoulder.

“I’ve had to teach myself cognitive empathy from scratch, Marie. Since I was a toddler. I had to teach myself about basic human emotions and concepts that everyone is ‘just supposed to get.’ Do you know how difficult that is, Marie?” Stein mumbled.

“I don’t,” Marie responded, looking down at the clearly tired Stein. Marie began to play with his hair, caressing him.

Marie just let him rant, as she was sure that he’d bottled it all up for long enough. She’d force him to apologize to Kami later, and he’ll surely be all pouty about it. He’s as stubborn as a mule. She found that both endearing and frustrating.

“I’m not allowed to complain about it, because no one relates to the sentiment. And yet they go on and on and on about anything and everything. They’re allowed to complain. They’re too disgusted by my lack of empathy to want to hear about it. They’re disgusted by everything,” Speaking of pouting, Stein was sure doing a lot of that know, undoubtedly looking back on specific times in which he felt wronged in some way.

“No matter what I do, there will always be a barrier between me and others. It’s fucking obnoxious,” Stein continues.

“You know what else is fucking obnoxious? I don’t have the privilege of being myself. That is something people take for granted, as well as emotions like fear, anxiety, sadness - I don’t even remember the last time I felt sad, anxious, or genuinely fearful. And if I were to be myself, I’d be fucking crucified. They don’t even realize how much ‘scarier’ and ‘monotone’ and shit I could get.”

“Maybe somewhere out there, there’s a better world for you,” Marie sighed.

“I’m sorry, Stein. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you. I like you just the way you are,” Marie said, staring down at Stein, of whom was now looking up into her eyes. He looked as though he might have a meltdown.

Marie placed her unoccupied hand on his cheek, a small smile on her face.

“You don’t mean that,” Stein said, sounding almost frantic. He began to sit up and rip himself away from Marie’s touch, Marie continuing to hold him in place in retaliation.

“Of course I do-“

“That’s what everyone says, just give it a while.”

“You look all freaked out - like a cornered wild animal again. Come on, relax. It’s okay. You’re safe, Stein,” Marie spoke in a gentle tone, encouraging him to simply rest upon her, and to put his trust in her.

He began to begrudgingly relax, his body fighting against him.

“Did someone put you up to this? Is this like a dare or something? Do you feel bad? What do you have to gain from this?” Stein interrogated her.

“Stein, I have no ulterior motives here. It’s okay. You can be yourself with me. It’s all right if you don’t believe me yet, but just know, I’m telling you the truth,” Marie replied, still smiling gently.

Stein closed his eyes, giving into the hand in his hair.

“I’m still going to make you apologize. And before you say anything, I know you’re not sorry,” Marie teased him, giving him a playful smile.

He opened his eyes, now staring directly at her, glaring.

“I don’t want to. She deserved it. She was obnoxious.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re still going to need to if you hope to keep living in that apartment. And if you hope to not deal with switching partners right now.”

“…Fine.”

Marie ruffled his hair, saying, “Thanks, Stein.”

“I’m going to turn you into my own personal frog, Marie,” Stein shot her a sarcastic smile.

“Hey, now,” Marie said, laughing.

“They don’t call me the ‘Pulverizer’ for nothing.”

“And they don’t declare me utterly insane for nothing, Marie. I’m pretty strong myself, you know.”

“Yeah, I figured that out after we all unsuccessfully tried to pull you away from Kami.”

Stein smirked, reliving the wonderful feeling

“Apologies aren’t really going to do much after I broke her finger. So, what’s the point?” Stein asked indifferently.

“Well, it’s better than nothing, yeah?”

Stein shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Why don’t we head to the infirmary - where they all are?” Marie suggested.

Stein groaned, sitting up and staring daggers at Marie.

“They’re all just going to yell at me. They’ll know I’m not sorry.”

“True. But come on, just lie or something.”

“Fine.”

———

“How can she possibly know that what’s he heard about me wasn’t just gossip?”

Stein had rambled on almost the entire way to the school.

Stein suddenly ceased his movement, standing as still as a statue in front of the gargantuan academy doors, grimacing and pouting.

“So, are you going to throw yourself a little tantrum and force me to drag you in there, or will you make it easy on the both of us?” Marie questioned, pushing him on the back a bit.

Stein sighed harshly, trudging into the academy.

Marie smiled in relief, saying, “Good choice, Stein,” to which Stein rolled his eyes playfully at her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Stein whined childishly, begrudgingly walking alongside Marie.

….

“Where’s the infirmary, Stein?” Marie asked, looking mildly embarrassed, stopping in her tracks.

Stein sighed, shaking his head whilst chuckling.

“How have you been to this school for years and still can’t remember where the infirmary is?,” he teased, walking further in front of her to lead the way.

“Stop talking,” Marie chuckled, slapping him playfully on his back.

——

A small cast had offered Kami’s finger support as she shat on the edge of the hospital bed. The group surrounded her, staring intently. The nurse had left the room briefly, needing to find some painkillers as they had run out in the infirmary.

“Spirit,” Kami calls out, sounding awfully serious. She stared with an air of concern and determination at Spirit.

“What is it? Are you in pain?” A nervous Spirit rambles out.

“Well, yeah. But it’s not that.”

Kami’s confident expression dissipated as she suddenly began staring at the tile below her feet.

“Well, what is it then, darling?” Spirit worriedly asked.

Azusa snickered quietly under her breath at the sappy pet name.

“You know those strange scars and stitched up wounds you wake up with all the time?”

“Yeah, what about ‘em?”

“I think Stein had something to do with them.”

Spirit’s eyes widened briefly. He bit his lip, and peered down at the shining flooring.

“I know. I was wondering myself. But… No. I-“ Spirit stuttered.

“I know you don’t want to believe it, Spirit. But come on. Who else would do some crazy shit like that?” Kami attempted to reason with Spirit.

“I was hoping I was just a clumsy sleeper,” Spirit’s now flushed cheeks appeared almost sad.

“Were you also hoping that you were a sleep walker who stitched and bandaged yourself up?” Kami bit back, picking apart the flaws in Spirit’s logic.

“Honestly, yeah,” Spirit responded, looking terribly disappointed in himself. He was trying much too hard to give Stein the benefit of the doubt.

“What do you even see in that psycho? Why have you been trying so damn much?” Kami insulted, earning a few wide-eyed glances from the students circling her.

“I… I don’t know. He’s really useful to the school… But I also care about him. Whether I want to or not - I don’t know why, I just do,” Spirit replied, eyes meeting dramatically with Kami’s.

“How’s he useful? Doesn’t he go around practically trying to kill the students? He’s a liability, if anything,” Kami responded, appearing to be a bit repulsed by Stein.

“Is that all you’ve heard about him? The guy’s wicked smart. He’s an incredible meister with skills no meister should be able to possibly have at his age. I know he’s a bit.. eccentric, but he IS useful,” Spirit disagreed.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not wrong. But I think my point still stands.”

Spirit shrugged his shoulders sluggishly in response.

A sudden knocking was heard at the door, Marie being the first individual they were able to see. Then a certain finger-breaker.

Marie waved, looking a bit nervous. A small, welcoming smile was on her face. Stein, however, looked incredibly annoyed.

All eyes were on the two.

“Hey, how’re you doing, Kami?” Marie spoke.

“Don’t speak to me right now, please. I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but I’m honestly a little pissed at you for going after the guy who literally broke my fucking finger,” Kami herself appeared annoyed.

“Yeah, I get that. I just brought Stein over to apologize-“

“I see you’re no longer speaking in a strong, atrocious valley girl accent!” Stein feigned friendliness. In theory, apologizing to Kami would be difficult for Stein anyway. But actually seeing her in person made it ten times worse.

“Fuck you,” Kami responded, face resembling an agitated chihuahua. Stein stifled a mocking laugh.

Marie swiftly smacked Stein on his shoulder, earning a groan as the boy winced.

“Ow!” Stein exclaimed, glaring daggers at Marie.

“You were supposed to apologize!” Marie yelled.

“Oh, yeah, and you forced him, right?” Kami angrily guessed.

“Well…” Marie began fidgeting with her blouse.

“She very much did,” Stein stated in his typical monotone, earning him another smack. Stein yelped, pulling his body farther away from Marie’s abuse.

“You can’t keep talking like that! Just say you’re sorry, Stein,” Marie huffed out.

“He’s not sorry. I don’t fucking care. And even if he was, an apology isn’t going to fix my damn finger. I appreciate the sentiment, Marie, but I’d honestly prefer if I never saw him again. I’d also prefer if Spirit never saw him again, as well,” Kami only glanced at Stein, contemplating flipping him off.

Save for Stein, the entire group’s eyes widened in unison. Stein only continued staring homicidally at Kami.

This was precisely what he expected.

“What?!” Spirit shouted in shock.

“Why?! I get he broke your finger, but why does Spirit have to completely cut ties with him?!” It was now Marie’s turn to shout.

“Not only did he nearly rip my finger apart,” Kami began, enunciating greatly on the last portion of her sentence, grimacing and practically growling directly at Stein, “but he’s also been experimenting on Spirit in his sleep!”

“What?!” Marie yelled, staring with large eyes and furrowed brows at Stein.

Spirit sighed deeply, staring at Stein with an expression of sorrow. He looked as though he might even cry.

“I’ve known you for all of a week, why the fuck are you trying to push me out of the picture already?” Stein barred his own teeth at the girl.

Kami stood up from the hospital bed, stomping over towards Stein, pointer finger outstretched toward him once more in accusation.

“I will put you behind fucking bars, I will tell Lord Goddamn Death if you don’t move out of Spirit’s apartment and leave us alone unless absolutely necessary.”

Stein’s faced contorted into a face of pure and unbridled rage.

“Fine. But right after the fact, I will rip both of your intestines out of your abdomen, tie them into a noose, and hang your rotting, bloated corpse with them,” Stein threatened, leaning closer to Kami, eyes unnaturally blown out.

Stein wrapped his hands around Kami’s thin neck, squeezing tighter and tighter as the girl’s eyes widened in panic.

The rest of the room once again ran over towards the two, panicked as well, as they yelled Stein’s name.

The door slid open as the school nurse bolted over to the pair, dropping the bottle of painkillers.

“What the hell is going on here?!” The nurse shouted, attempting to break the two apart.

Stein let go, leaving the infirmary, and once again running from the consequences of his own actions.

Marie quickly followed after him once again, the sound of Kami gasping for air growing quieter and quieter.

“Stein!” Marie yelled, grabbing into his wrist, preventing him from getting any farther down the hallway.

Stein whipped his head around, observing the expression on Marie’s face. It was one of concern and mild anger.

“Did you really experiment on Spirit?” Marie questioned Stein, disbelief being added to her facial expression.

Stein briefly stared at the floor, meeting the gaze of Marie once more as he nodded his head.

“Stein, why would you do that? Didn’t you know you were going to get caught?” Marie huffed, sighing.

“Yes,” Stein emptily responded.

“Then why?”

“I was enthralled in curiosity.”

Marie pursed her lips, looking all around the hall, searching for a response. She continued to hold onto his wrist, once again making eye contact with Stein.

“But now you have nowhere to go unless you want to be imprisoned!” Marie worriedly shouted.

“I know.”

Stein stared directly through Marie, seemingly not all there.

“Stein… What’s wrong?” Marie’s voiced quieted down to something barely above a hushed whisper.

“Nothing. Nothing at all, Marie,” Stein’s indifferent expression turned to one of pure elation, smiling wildly. His eyes were still quite empty, though he began to laugh.

Stein bit his lip in an attempt to stifle his seemingly manic laughter, grappling onto his mouth with the palm of his hand.

Marie’s eyes narrowed in concern, her head beginning to tilt as she moved closer to him. She pulled him into a hug, shoving his head in her shoulder. She hoped that might help with quieting the sound of his laughter. She recognized he wasn’t trying to even mock Kami with his laughing, and didn’t want anyone to think as such.

“If I’m being honest, I’m kinda frustrated with you, Stein,” Marie whispered to him.

“I know, Marie, I know,” Stein responded in between giggles.

“I get that you both don’t care and don’t understand why, but you can’t do shit like that, Stein. Not even just because of the moral implications, but also because it screws you over in the end, too,” Marie gently scolded the boy, suddenly his laughter grew harsher and laughter.

“Marie, I can’t stop. I can’t stop laughing. I can’t stop myself from doing all of that shit either. I can’t stop. I know my lifestyle isn’t sustainable, Marie. But either way, I’ll be miserable. I’ll be worse off trying to stop. Please make it all stop. I know it’s all my fault. But is it?” Stein became mildly more and more incoherent as time went on, thoughts racing around in his skull.

“Stein…” Marie pet his hair again, still a bit angry, but also worried.

“God, man… Do you wanna stay at my place for a little while?” Marie, a little reluctantly, offered.

“Why? You just heard that I experimented on Spirit in his sleep. Why would you let me do that?” Stein lifted his head from her shoulder, so baffled his laughter ceased.

“Yeah, I know. I’m honestly not sure this is a super great idea,” Marie nervously laughed a little, “but I care about you Stein. A lot. And I have faith that you won’t take advantage of my kindness. So, please don’t, Stein,” Marie stared sadly and concernedly at Stein.

“I’ll lock my door at night?” Marie suggested, unsure of how effective that would be.

“I can pick locks, Marie,” Stein replied.

“Oh. Well, damn.”

A silence fell briefly upon the two.

“I’ll lock you in a cage during the night, how about that?” Marie laughed.

“Sure.”

“I’ll even put you in a straight jacket.”

“I’d actually enjoy that.”

“What? Seriously?”

“It would be like a nice weighted blanket.”

“You like weighted objects and blankets, Stein?”

“Very much so.”

“Huh,” Marie began thoughtfully, “then perhaps a straight jacket would be a good idea!”

“I wouldn’t be able to leave it on for too long. That can cause some damage.”

“Oh, well,” Marie shrugged.

“Why don’t we go back to the apartment and pack up your stuff?” Marie suggested.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

———

“Are you okay, dear?” The nurse worriedly questioned Kami.

“Yeah, I think,” Kami responded, soothingly rubbing over her neck.

Spirit was at Kami’s side, rubbing her back comfortingly, the rest of the group surrounding the two.

“I brought you some painkillers for your finger, but let me check on your neck first, sweetie,” the nurse said, leaving the bottle on the floor.

The nurse placed her own hands gently upon Kami’s asking nicely for said hands to be removed.

Kami complied, revealing her sore neck.

The nurse empathetically winced as a large red mark, sure to bruise, decorated Kami’s neck, forming a long and thick ring.

“God…What happened?” The nurse whispered out, inspecting the skin.

“This is going to leave a mark, dear. I’m sorry,” the nurse pulled back, giving a compassionate and sympathetic stare.

Kami’s eyes began to tear up, Spirit continuing his soothing motions, hoping to make her feel better.

“Aw, I’m so sorry, baby,” Spirit sappily said to Kami.

“I want to be your meister, Spirit. You’re not safe with him,” Kami tearily stated.

“But, honey-“

“No, Spirit. Look what he did to me! If you’re really sorry, you’ll be my weapon instead!”

Spirit averted his eyes from Kami’s, feeling particularly unsure.

“Fine,” Spirit begrudgingly agreed, shaking his head slightly.

“Thank you,” Kami said, kissing Spirit as a reward.

The rest of the room remained silent, giving one another looks that truly said it all:

“Where do we go from here? What’s going to happen now?”

The nurse picked up the bottle of pain medication from off of the floor, dusting it off and handing the bottle to Kami.

“Here you go, darling,” the nurse sweetly spoke.

“Thank you, nurse,” Kami replied.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can leave. Just make sure to keep an eye on your finger, and come back in about 2 weeks, please, so I can check on the fracture myself,” the nurse requested politely.

“Of course, thank you,” Kami responded.

“Ready to go, then?” Sid asked, speaking up after quite a while.

“Yeah, I am,” Kami replied, beginning to leave the infirmary.

The rest of the group followed along, the nurse waving them a goodbye.

———

“Do you have a suitcase, Stein?” Marie asked, opening the unlocked door to what was previously Stein and Spirit’s shared apartment.

She supposed they were so focused on Kami that they had forgotten to lock it.

“Yeah, I do,” Stein replied, making his way to his bedroom.

Or what used to be his bedroom.

“I think I’ll need more than a suitcase, though. What about my computer?” Stein questioned, staring at the girl standing in his doorframe.

“Yeah, true. We’ll have to take that separately, I guess. My apartment is in the building next to this one on the second floor, so if you’ll take the suitcase, I’ll take the computer up there,” Marie stated.

“Oh, thanks. We always meet up here, so I honestly forgot precisely where you lived, honestly,” Stein replied.

“Understandable.”

“Dammit, I left the door unlocked,” Spirit’s frustrated voice emanated throughout the dorm.

Marie and Spirit, in unison, looked in the direction of the now entering group.

“Great. They’re here now, too, I suppose,” Stein quietly huffed. Marie sunk into Stein’s former bedroom, hoping to minimize the amount of communication of which is bound to happen as much as possible.

“Damn,” Marie cursed under her breath, staring worriedly into the eyes of Stein.

“I’ll try to pack a little quicker,” Stein said, and Marie nodded in response.

“What’s that sound?” Azusa asked.

Spirit ventured towards the direction of the sound, finding Marie and Stein packing up.

“Shit, you guys are here,” Spirit spoke, slightly annoyed, slightly concerned.

“Did something happen, Spirit? Is someone there?” Nygus yelled out.

“Yeah, it’s just Stein and Marie,” Spirit responded, sighing deeply.

“What?!” Kami shouted, storming over.

“He’s packing his shit, Kami, don’t start something with him again,” Spirit, horribly annoyed, didn’t hold back.

“Excuse me? He’s the one who literally broke my finger and choked me out!” Kami screamed at Spirit, evidently ready to start a fight with him instead.

“Yeah, but you were the one who originally started all this!” Spirit yelled right back, refusing to back down at all.

“Oh, so you’re siding with him now?!”

“Fuck no! He shouldn’t have done ANY of what he did! And I’m incredibly pissed at him! In-fucking-credibly! But you were fucking rude, Kami!”

“What the fuck, Spirit! He literally experimented on you!”

“I know! And I already said that I’m incredibly angry at him, and even hurt! But I’m not going to lie and said that he was the one who started the fight! He did start the experimenting, though, obviously!”

Stein and Marie just stared at the quarreling couple, as well as group - of which peaked curiously behind the corner to the hallway in which the two were currently having a screaming match with one another.

“God, Spirit, don’t scream at me, you dick,” Kami quieted down a little, still acting like an angry mutt attempting to display its dominance.

“You are the once who screamed at me first! You always start shit first!”

“Says the whore who can’t keep his eyes off of other girls.”

“What?!”

Marie and Stein exchanged amused glances.

“Wanna go pop some popcorn, Marie?” Stein whispered, smirking.

“Hell yeah,” Marie responded, returning his smirk.

“See, Spirit! He’s such a jerk! Did you hear him?!”

Oops.

“I didn’t fucking hear him, Kami! You’re probably just making shit up!”

“Oh, so you’ll believe him over me now?”

“Oh, my god, Kami.”

Spirit stepped back a little, face in his hands. He was beyond frustrated at this point.

“Please leave, Kami. I can’t take this shit right now,” Spirit said, shaking his head, pointing at the door.

“You know what? Go to hell, Spirit,” Kami yelled, rushing out the door, and proceeding to slam it as hard as humanly possible.

Spirit flinched, peering down at the floor. He was utterly humiliated.

He was honestly ready to have a breakdown at this point. He felt betrayed by Stein, and so hurt and disappointed when it came to Kami. He was hoping everything would go great, and that his friends would love Kami and that she’d love his friends.

Spirit settled for sitting on the floor, knees up to chest as he rubbed his pounding temples.

The entire room went silent, unsure of what to do. Should they just leave him there? Hug him?

Stein began to throw more clothing into his suitcase, movements slow and cautious.

Sid was the first to wander over to Spirit, plopping right down next to him. Sid gently patted him on the back, saying, “Hey man, is there anything we can do?”

Spirit shook his head, his eyes shut tightly.

“How about some ibuprofen?” Azusa suggested, noting his incessant rubbing of his own head.

“I’ll get it,” Nygus stated, quickly moving over to the cabinet she saw Stein go to previously.

Sid rubbed up and down his back, a nearly silent yet telling motion.

Spirit suddenly opened his eyes, turning his head towards Stein.

“Stein?” Spirit called out.

“Yeah, Spirit?”

“Did you ever care about me at all?”

Stein was startled out of packing, instead opting for staring at the man with, yet again, childishly wide eyes.

“Well, what do you consider to be care?” Stein asked, mumbling out his question. He felt put on the spot. He felt the eyes of everyone upon him. He was being outcasted, he could feel it.

“Stein, just answer the question,” Spirit, annoyed, rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t want you to die…”

“Yeah, so you could continue experimenting on me, right?”

“I don’t know..”

God, the look on Stein’s face made him feel guilty for even asking. He didn’t want to feel so bad when he had felt so wronged by the boy, but with the expression on his face, he felt as though he was bullying a small child for not understanding something.

“Look, Stein. I can practically hear the gears turning in your head. So, I get you’re genuinely considering all of this. I know you’re a little…different, fundamentally speaking, so I’ll cut you some slack. But seriously, Stein…”

Nygus returned with the ibuprofen bottle, as well as a glass of water, handing them both to Spirit.

“Well, I think I cared? Maybe a little? I don’t know, I’ve never felt it before. But care or some kind of fondness doesn’t factor into anything for me… It’s not going to stop me from experimenting.. I appreciated you,” Stein continued to mumble out, deep in thought.

Spirit stared at him with an emotion Stein couldn’t discern.

Was he sad? Mad? Glad Stein was finally leaving? He didn’t know.

“I’ll take it,” a sudden, seemingly partially forced smile appeared on Spirit’s face. Spirit proceed to down three ibuprofen pills, sipping on his water.

Stein looked at Marie, who had been staring at him for quite a while now. She looked concerned again, Stein didn’t understand why.

“You can keep packing, Stein, it’s fine,” Spirit said.

Stein nodded, continuing to carefully place his clothes, among other items, into his gray, stitched up suitcase. It was his motif.

Marie watched as he strategically placed his possessions into his suitcase, clearly still lost inside of his own head.

She decided she’d help him, standing up, and handing various different objects from around his room to him.

“Thanks, Marie,” Stein quietly uttered, Marie nodding at him in response.

“You’re welcome, Stein.”

#soul eater #franken stein #stein #stein soul eater #dr stein #marie mjolnir #dwma #spirit soul eater #sid soul eater #sid barrett #mira nygus #yumi azusa #hurt/no comfort #hurt/comfort

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