Disclaimer: I don't want to think about it.

Title: An Attempt

Author: Spider Wench

Rating: T, may be subject to change.

Pairing: SpiritxStein

Fandom: Soul Eater

Chapter two: A Bribe

The alarm clock blared to life when the red numbers on the face announced that it was 7:30 AM. Spirit rolled over and promptly slammed the snooze button and tried to get back to sleep. He failed miserably, the discomfort of the heat and his sweat dampened sheets over riding his reluctance to face the day.

Giving up, he peeled himself out of bed, and rubbing his stubble contemplatively, wandered into bathroom. A quarter of an hour or so later, he emerged with towels wrapped around his hips and hair, clean-shaven and ready to begin his day.

In full knowledge that none of the other teachers had any respect for the concept of business clothes, decided to forgo his regular suit and tie in favor of jeans and a tee shirt.

Ten minutes later he strolled out the door, coffee in hand. Ten minutes after that he was back in his apartment, panting. He grabbed his briefcase and ran back out the door, swearing all the way. As he went, he realized that he had spilled his coffee.

He had to be at work in twenty-five minutes at that point, he was coffee less and, thanks to his unscheduled trip home; was unable to buy a bagel on his way.

He missed the trolley and had to run to work instead. At eight thirty precisely, he arrived at Shibusen, but it took him a further five minutes to get to Shinigami's office, and thus he was late.

"Death Scythe, you're laaate~" Shinigami sang as the weapon ran in.

"I'm sorry, Lord Death" Spirit said, more an expulsion of air than words.

"M'kay~ just don't do it again," Shockingly benevolent for a God of Death.

'How the fuck can anyone be so goddamn happy so early, when it's so hot?' he thought.

The following hours were spent in excruciating swelter and boredom. No one called them. Nothing went wrong. Shinigami showed him some old, previously viewed, baby pictures of Death the Kid, but even Shinigami eventually grew weary of cooing over his ever adorable son.

Just as Spirit began to contemplate slamming his head into the boulder he was sitting on as relief from his misery, Shinigami spoke, this time without reference to adorable stripes, and the misfortune of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

"Death Scythe, I just thought that you should know that lunch starts in five minutes,"

Spirit fixed him with a blank look, prompting him to elaborate.
"You have lunch duty again to day,"

"Goddamn it, why didn't anyone tell me?" he swore racing under the guillotines and out of Shinigami's office.

"I told you," Shinigami stated calmly watching Spirit's retreating back. He smiled under the mask. He knew he should lay off the man, but tormenting him was just so much fun.

Spirit was certain that he had some how offended the gods of punctuality, because he was exactly two minutes and thirty seven seconds late.

The head lunch lady was a bitter woman. Her parents had hated each other, her husband had left her for a younger prettier woman and she wasn't able to get a pet, or even houseplants to keep her company because of her allergies. She also hated waiting. Two minutes and thirty seven seconds was like an eternity to her (on an interesting and fairly tragic note, she would hang her self, four years, one month, eight days and thirteen hours later. She would die after dangling there for two minutes and thirty seven seconds. The janitor would miss her terribly). After scolding him embarrassingly in front of the students, she banished him to a corner to supervise the masses.

He went, grumbling all the way.

Maka didn't have sixth period lunch. So he stood, observing disinterestedly for several minutes. He began to walk over to scold a boy who had just been hit over the head with a textbook, by the logic that when boys were hit with large books, they had done something to deserve it, when he bumped into something solid and man shaped. It was Stein who was grinning down at him as disturbingly as ever.

"I heard that you have lunch duty," he stated.

"Yeah, I do," Spirit replied wondering the significance of this simple observation.

"I heard about what happened yesterday," He paused. "I wanted to take over for you so that you would let me take you on a date tonight," Spirit really did appreciate Steins straight forwardness, but at times it could be disconcerting.

"Okay," tested Spirit, "and what it I say no?'

"Then I will be rather disappointed and try again tomorrow," Spirit nodded. It seemed fair enough. Stein had obviously come a long way if he was asking for a date at all, much less being calm about the idea that he might be refused rather than threatening him with dissection.

"Fair enough, you'll take over, and you'll pick me up at six,"

Stein smiled and it was a shockingly pleasant thing.

"Okay," he hummed. With that, paying no mind to the fact that there were students all around them, he grabbed him, pressing their bodies together his arms coiling around Spirits shoulders. A hug. Dr. Stein was giving him a hug. There was something deeply alarming about the concept, but that was what made it endearing. Except that they were in the lunchroom.

"Franken, let go," he hissed.

Stein did as he was told, but looked impossibly dejected. It struck Spirit that this was the hardest that Franken had ever worked at anything other retaining his mental stability. But this was voluntary, not a necessity, not something he needed to survive. This was trial and error but, in an entirely new way, in unfamiliar territory. He wanted to get this right.

"Look, Franken, it's just that there's um, a time and um, a place for everything, and hugs and students don't really mix well you see, it's just thing and…" he trailed off.

"Oh, okay!"

'Well,' Spirit though with strange amusement, 'he always did love learning new things,'

He left the lunchroom and Stein behind, trusting him to explain the situation to Ms. Amero.

Spirit grinned. Despite the heat and the punctuality god's vendetta against him, the day might not have been lost.

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A/N: Oh dear god I'm so sorry. I have a whole list of excuses and explanations as to why I haven't updated, but if I wrote them you would find out a good deal more about me, and my family than you want to know or I want to tell. That and it would take up several pages. However I still should have had time to write, but at the same time the whole writers block thing also kinda killed everything else. Anyway, I'm back. And it was one of the "please updates" that reminded me to do so, so keep sending them! I wrote this last night and chapter three is in the works so hopefully there won't be a six month wait in between posts.

Thanks for reading, please review,

Spider