(A.N. School has been flooding me with work, and I haven't had time to write at all. Thanks for sticking with me through this. Please keep reviewing! Every time you don't Stein dies a little bit inside. How can you do that to him? :'(
Nah, I'm just joking. But reviews are nice.)
Ten years.
The DWMA loomed over Marie, and with it, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu filled her.
Ten years.
She waited, willing history to repeat itself, willing him to find her here.
Ten years.
She wondered what he would say, what he would think. Her eyes filled with hot tears, just like they had on those same steps so long ago…
Ten years.
It was a long time to be apart. Would he even recognize her? Especially with the eye-patch she now wore, the mark of the only near-fatal wound she'd ever experienced.
Ten years.
"Hey, are you crying?"
Marie's head shot up. Was it really him? She collected herself and turned around…
But it was only Yumi. Marie smiled wide at the sight of her old friend.
"Oh…I'm just a bit…nostalgic. After all, it has been ten years since I've been here. I was hoping to be retired by now!"
"Shall we go inside? Lord Death is waiting."
Yumi had never been one for small talk. Marie nodded and followed the woman up the numerous steps to the Academy.
Stein paced down the long hallways of the DWMA. His meeting with the other Death Scythes and Lord Death would be starting soon, but somehow he didn't want to go. Because he knew she'd be there. Unless she was too busy…no Oceania was never too busy.
What would she think of him? He was even more of a freak than before…the screw, the stitches, his twisted thoughts…
Those twisted thoughts were put on hold as he noticed Spirit up ahead, his sleeves rolled up, a rag in his hand, polishing sconces.
Stein sighed, preparing himself for whatever idiocy awaited him when he asked Spirit what the hell he was doing.
Throughout her life Marie had always had the penchant to want to marry whatever was close to her. No matter what it was. It was a very bad thing, because it caused her to do things like destroy innocent toilets.
"And Marie the Pulverizer strikes again…" she heard Yumi sigh to herself as Marie stormed out of the bathroom and angrily walked down the hall. Yumi caught up with her eventually.
It was then that Marie saw him. Well, saw his back. But it was obviously him.
Tall, silver hair, lab coat…she could even hear his monotone voice. It made her weak in the knees. She stopped walking and Yumi came up from behind her, loudly exclaiming, "Marie, it's Stein! Your first love!"
A deep red spread over Marie's cheeks as he turned around. To her surprise, he smiled a little. She gave a small smile and wave, cursing Yumi to hell in her head.
Sure, he had definitely changed in ten years…but so had she.
Yumi and Spirit immediately got into an argument over who-knows-what, leaving Stein and her to talk.
"So Marie, it's quite a surprise to see you here. I thought you planned to retire after some time in Oceania?"
"Don't remind me…"
It was set. She was going to live with him.
They hadn't even lived together when they were dating.
He wondered if he should have used some air freshener that morning. Spirit always complained his entire house smelled like cigarettes…
Would his house scare her? It was a scientist's home…meaning lab tables and scalpels and test tubes everywhere…not to mention his penchant for stitching just about everything…
She walked beside him, having been dismissed from Lord Death's company. She seemed perfectly happy, humming softly to a song in her head.
(A.N. Something about this chapter seemed sloppy to me…not one of my best…But I promise I'll try harder! I just had to set up that they were living together, and Stein was feeling self-conscious about his house. Now the real fun can begin...*devious smile*)