"Maka! No... I'm... Maka's papa!" Spirit wailed, tears and snot dripping down his face as he watched his daughter turn her back on him again. Stein was no longer Spirit's meister, but he still felt slightly responsible for him. It was a very foreign feeling to the brilliant scientist, genuinely caring about somebody other than himself. He had been nearby, watching the whole spectacle with detached interest. As with most of his experiences, he found it mostly disgusting, but he thought experience with people might be useful for future queries. After seeing that his only friend was still floundering in self pity, Stein savored one last drag of his cigarette and departed from his perch on the park bench. As Maka left her father, Stein walked up to him. The whole scene reminded him of the days of Kami; Stein dragging Spirit's sorry ass back home to keep him out of trouble.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Stein bent down and picked up his former weapon with surprising ease. Death Scythe let himself go limp in the younger man's arms, no longer caring about what judgements he was currently passing. As soon as the doctor began to drag him like a rag doll, he picked up his feet and followed in silent compliance.

"But... Maka..." He sniffled, babbling at the air. "Whyyyyy?" Stein cut him off with a sharp sigh. He had a strange feeling growing in his chest. Their current situation was reminiscent of all their debacles when they were still students. Some time between their fights, graduation, and work, Spirit had stopped speaking to him. The doctor tried to take mental notes on this novel feeling, for later investigation.

His attention was brought back to the present situation when his old partner tripped over his own feet. With lightning-fast reflexes he caught him, getting more than a little whiff of alcohol in the process. No wonder Maka left, he bitterly thought to himself, It's only 4pm! "Spirit! What were you doing, drinking on a Tuesday?" Spirit halted at the sudden demand, and tried to edge away. Every time the doctor got like this it was bad news for everyone around. "Well?" Stein shook him by the collar.

"Geez, I was just having a celebratory drink for Maka!" Stein shook his head. "She has been doing so well in school. I just..." Stein realized he would have better luck conversing with a beaker of drugs and hurried his friend back to the laboratory. Upon entering, Spirit gasped. "Not a thing has changed!" He chuckled to himself before plopping down on the familiar stitched-up couch. He craned his head back to talk to Stein, only to find him rummaging around in a kitchen that looked like it survived an earthquake.

Listening to the banging sounds of pots and pans, he let himself drop back into a laying position. He stared at the ceiling for a good minute before realizing how strange it was to be back to the doctor's lair. He probably doesn't get much company now. Maybe at work he has some colleagues he talks to. Yeah, totally... Stein knew he was kidding himself and gave up on the internal argument. He was so lost in thought he didn't notice Stein speed towards him in a rolling office chair, armed with a cup of black coffee that he promptly set down on top of a stack of papers and textbooks.

"Coffee." Stein said bluntly.

"I can see that." Spirit grabbed the cup eagerly and looked up at his former meister. "Thank you." He looked at the floor and took a sip of coffee. Stein had a small smile on his face; maybe he enjoyed the company. Or maybe not. He slid a notepad out of a pocket on his lab coat and looked at Spirit impatiently. "What?"
His train of thought was cut off by the overwhelmingly urgent feeling that he needed to find a trash can. Fast. He looked up as the doctor slid a large metal bin across the concrete floor. He rolled up on his chair and began taking notes.

About 15 minutes later

"Why would you do that? Do you hate me?" Spirit's face was turning red, and it wasn't from alcohol this time.

"No, I was helping you! What better way to sober somebody up than to-" He was cut off by an enraged howl.

"But NOBODY wants that!"
"Also, I had to test it out and you were right there. It's a win-win situation!" Stein smiled evilly.

Spirit's face was still a tad green. "Nobody wins but you, as usual..." Stein opened his mouth to retort but Spirit wasn't done. "It's this kind of thing that make people leave!"
That was too much. He could tell by the doctor's expression. "I see how it is. It was only a SUCCESSFUL procedure to speed up your recovery." He spoke coldly and analytically now.

"Stein." The Death Scythe looked down. "You know..." But he was gone.

He came back, quickly walking with a stack of flimsy sheets which he dropped on the unrecognizably messy coffee table. "Here. You should stay for observation. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen." He lit a cigarette and left, muttering about notes.

Later that night

What a mess, Spirit thought as he picked his way through the disheveled kitchen. The guilt came back when the nausea had worn off, and he wanted to make it up to his old partner. If he hadn't changed much, as Spirit had correctly guessed, Stein would still be living off of snacks and coffee. He opened the refrigerator and ignored the petri dishes and mysteriously labeled containers. Assuming/hoping nothing was poisoned, he found enough ingredients to make spaghetti. If not even a warm meal couldn't cheer up the doctor, he was sure he wasn't human. While he cooked, he thought of all the late nights he had spent in the very same kitchen. They weren't a bad team, not bad at all. When they were studying late at night, they always had an unlikely meal of popcorn and coffee. He chuckled to himself. How times have changed, or not.

"Stein?" He peered across the laboratory floor, sure that the mad man was lurking somewhere out there. "I made dinner." Like a magic charm, he stepped into the pool of light and sat down at the small dinner table. It was for one person, but they both dragged up chairs. Handing Stein his plate, Spirit couldn't help but grin at the hungry look in eyes upon smelling fresh food. After properly wolfing down the first real meal he had eaten in weeks, Stein spoke up.

"Next time don't hug her. Or drink. Or try to convince her to come back." He said it with a straight, expectant face.

"What?" Spirit look up, surprised.

"Maka. When you hugged her, her expression changed. She doesn't like the..." He tried to find the right word. "Intimacy."

Spirit looked down. "I'm such a failure as a father."
"If you were, she wouldn't be doing so well. You said it yourself, she is very successful at school."

"Well, I guess so." Spirit flashed a grateful smile. "You know, it's strange to be back. Nothing has changed."
"If something is good, I don't see a need for change." Was Stein's reply.

After the meal was finished, Stein washed the dishes and the two sat down again. They talked late into the night, catching up and reminiscing about the good old days. It was almost like their all-nighters back when they were students.

The next morning, Spirit woke up on the couch. Stein was flopped over in his office chair, silver hair falling into his face and wrapped in his white coat like it was a blanket. He turned to leave when Stein's notepad caught his eye; it must have fallen out while he slept. He bent over to pick it up, smoothing the crumpled pages. The doctor's usual scrawl covered the pages, something that to this day only Spirit could read successfully (it had made a great party trick back in the day). At the bottom of the page, Spirit read "Conclusion: Next time- have coffee and popcorn"