This is a little something for dollypopup, who's quite the SteinxMarie fan. I like the couple myself and I figured I could use some practice writing them, so here we are. It's a bit late, originally being a Halloween present, so I hope that won't stifle your enjoyment.

Just for background, this fits into the same universe as my other fics, Shape and Form, Free My Soul, and Expectations.

Please be cool if you like it and if you don't.

Normalcy was not something Marie was accustomed to. Now, you wouldn't say that it was something she desperately needed or craved, but still, sometimes, like when she was trying to get her husband to quit dissecting rare birds or when she was combing her adopted child's hair (whose gender she still didn't know) so that it wouldn't fall into their third eye, or being just the slightest bit worried that her unborn second child would adopt some of her father's more unsociable habits, she really had to wonder what normal families were doing.

"Come on, Crona, you don't have to be scared, you look cool." She said gently, trying to coax them to come out (and simultaneously wondering if she was too old to use the term "cool").

"But, Miss Marie, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be!" The child said distressed, looking over their white and brown robed outfit in confusion.

"I told you, Crona, remember? You're a Jedi warrior."

"Uh, Marie, I hate to bring this up, but, while I'm not familiar with the series, I'm fairly certain that none of the Jedi-masters had three eyes and pink hair." A monotone voice interjected, the owner of it casually walking into the living room.

Professor Franken Stein. Marie couldn't help but roll her eye at him, half in endearment, half out of annoyance. Much as she loved the man, his commentary at times could be... less than appreciated.

"It's Star Wars, Frank." She softly corrected. "With every other kind of alien in the series, I don't think they'd say much about a kid like Crona with a third eye."

"Just trying to be accurate." He shrugged, smirking a little teasingly. Even in his home life, the man was still something of a troll.

Just as she was about to reprimand her husband, she felt the slightest little tug on her skirt. Looking down, she stared straight into the innocent eyes of her firstborn, the three year-old Victor Stein. Well, as innocent as one can look when wearing a patchwork of different animal costumes put together.

"Mommy, will I be out long? I wanna get back soon so I can help daddy make the monster." Marie frowned, reaching out to smooth the boy's silver hair. While Stein was indeed a good father, always playing with their son and being close in his upbringing, she did wonder if that would have any... adverse affects on the child.

"It won't be too long son, Miss Tsubaki knows Death City pretty well, she'll have you home in no time so you and your father can finish your... project together." She said reassuringly, though hesitating on the last part. Still, it made her little boy smile.

"Okay." He said, quietly, politely, cheeks turning a rosy color. He really was a great kid. It even seemed like he'd picked up some of Crona's mannerisms, despite not being related.

Ding-dong.

Oh, they must be here already.

Crossing the short distance to the door, the pregnant deathscythe opened it to reveal several interesting sights:

Tsubaki, clad in a Wonder Woman costume (and quite nicely at that, something Black Star agreed on apparently, since his arm was resting on her thigh...), smiling pleasantly as ever, Black Star, dressed as Superman, chest puffed out, Maka, looking quite lovely in her Princess Zelda guise, Fire and Thunder, in matching skeleton duds, Angela, rocking a Minion outfit, and Soul... looking quite annoyed and embarrassed in the green tunic befitting Link.

"You all look wonderful." Marie said, clasping her hands together in adoration. At times like these, it felt like she was the proud mother to all of them.

"One person's opinion." Soul muttered, glancing off to the side, face red.

"Well, I think you look cute." Maka chimed in, cheerfully trying to lift Soul's spirit. Marie actually thought she saw a slight blush form on his face at that. Nah, couldn't be.

Looking behind her, she saw that Crona and Victor had stepped up to the front door to greet their friends.

Black Star gave an impressed whistle at Crona's outfit.

"Lookin' good there, Crona. Almost as impressive as me." The assassin complimented.

"Seriously pal, you make a natural Jedi, though I still think Darth Vader would have been cooler." Soul added.

"Come on Soul, like Crona needs any more affiliation with the wrong side." Maka quipped.

"Anyways, the uh, Force is with you Crona." The scythemeister joked, chuckling a little.

"Huh?" Crona questioned, eyes blinking in confusion.

"Crona hasn't actually seen the Star Wars movies." Marie explained, slight beads of sweat forming from embarrassment.

"Oh?" Black Star said, concern in his voice, he then pumped his fist skyward, "Then this is a grave injustice that must be corrected!" He proclaimed, voice deliberately sounding puffed up. "After Kid's party that is." His voice returned to normal.

"Anyways," Marie turned towards Tsubaki, "try to get them back before it gets to be too late, okay?" She said, noting the clear blue of the night sky, still indicating it was early.

"Of course." She said demurely, pleasant smile easing Marie's worries.

"Well, then I guess it's time." She turned towards her young son, kneeling.

"Have fun, okay? And please try not to be too scary." She said, looking her child in the eyes.

"And, when you get back we'll eat some candy and finish our little project." Stein said, kneeling as well, hand on the boy's shoulder. Father-mode activated.

The boy smiled, nodding a little, his cheeks a light pink, before going over to join Tsubaki and the other kids. Even though they were a bit older, the sight of her child hanging out with other children made her heart swell... even if the patchwork deer head mask he put on unnerved her. Like father, like son.

"Well, I'll see you all after the party." She said, offering a wave goodbye before leading the children off towards the city, in search of sweets and treats. The children obediently followed her, save Victor, who stopped briefly, giving a big wave.

"Have fun, brother-sister!" He called to Crona, still unaware of their gender himself. Crona gave a little wave back, a slight smile on their face before Victor ran to rejoin the others.

"You guys get along pretty well, huh?" Maka inquired, happiness underlining her voice.

"Y-yeah, Victor's really good at poetry. Sometimes we write stuff together. He says I'm actually really good and he has fun reading my stuff."

Maka and the others couldn't help but gape their mouths at the statement. Seriously?

"Trust me, you should see what Victor writes. It... worries me a little bit." Marie said nervously.

"Why? Both their poems seemed perfectly normal to me." The scientist questioned, genuinely confused.

"Frank, there are some things about people you still don't understand." She replied, voice a mix of fondness and exasperation.

"Well, that's why I have you, right?" Her husband said, fondly putting his arm around Marie's shoulder. In response, she reached up her hand to stroke his own, letting out an agreeing "mm-hmm." He really was more romantic than people gave him credit for.

"Anyways, we better get going soon, or Tsubaki will beat us to the party." Maka inserted.

"Okay, okay," Marie said, "but first," She reached out a hand to Crona, pulling them into a hug, softly wrapping her arms around her adopted child, holding them close.

"You make me happy just being by here... my child." She softly whispered into the shy child's ear.

All Crona could do was tear up in response.

"I-I-I-"

"Crona." She gingerly wiped the tears from all 3 of their eyes. "I'll see you later."

"Same here, but with less intimate physical contact." Stein chimed in, gently patting Crona's shoulder.

Regaining their composure, Crona smiled a little, bowed their head in respect, and went off to join Maka and the others.

Before long, they were out of sight, but Marie could still hear Maka and Soul's voices.

"I still don't see why I couldn't have gone as Sheik instead."

"Last I checked, Soul, Sheik's just Zelda in disguise."

"Well, at least it's a cooler disguise than this outfit."

"Whatever, I told you you look cute."

"Now you're just trying to make me feel better because you look cool."

Marie closed the door, making her unable to her the rest of their conversation. Honestly, those two... like an old married couple.

She dragged herself to the couch, collapsing upon it. Closing her eye, she let loose a long breath of air. It had been a tiring day, grading papers, getting the kid's costumes ready, decorating the house, and, of course, just being seven months pregnant in general, and she still had candy to pass out...

It was then that a hand came to rest on her shoulder, touch firm, yet somehow, gentle as well. Gingerly, the hand eased her sideways, until she felt her head come to rest on a familiar strong chest. She opened her eye to see her husband smiling back at her, eyes holding an uncharacteristic kindness, a look reserved only for her.

"You know I can help pass out the candy, right?" He said, two fingers massaging against her outer thigh.

"I don't know, considering the "eyeball incident" from last year, I'm not sure you can be trusted." She replied, half-teasing, half legitimately worried, as she reached one hand up to cup his face.

He her hand in his own, tenderly kissing it. She closed her eye, doing nothing but taking in the sensations of this man she loved.

He halted his attentions, causing her to open her eye again.

"I promise you I'll behave." He said, conviction evident in his voice.

She couldn't help but smile back.

"Alright." She says, eye closing again, head moving to rest on his shoulder.

Smile widening, he closed his eyes, resting his head atop hers.

The couple simply sat like that for several minutes, savoring the presence of each other. Soon, Marie felt Stein's other hand come to rest atop her belly. Whatever else people said about him, the man was a proud father.

Yet, Stein's hand wasn't content to simply stay where it was. Warm fingers moved to slip up under her blouse, the palm and wrist of his hand soon joining them. His hand rubbed along the bare skin of her stomach, feeling her soft skin just as much as he was trying to locate their soon to be born child.

A catch of breath from Marie an outward pressure from the stomach was his response. Their baby just kicked, lively as her mother.

Another intimate smile was exchanged between them. Stein leaned in, lips pressing against Marie's. His hand traveled farther, up between her breasts, simply settling there, not trying to explore any of her more lewd areas. From the center of her chest, Stein could feel all he needed to. Even from behind her skin, her soothing, comforting soul could be felt.

DING-DONG.

Somewhat startled and rather disappointed, the couple pulled apart.

Stein sighed. "I guess it's that time." He said with a frown, mentally pulling himself toward the doorway.

"You can scare them a little bit you know," Marie advised, trying to cheer up the man she loved as she straightened her blouse, "just no real organs, okay?"

He looked back, smirking a little. "Promise."

...

The rest of the evening went by fairly well.

Stein kept his psychotic tendencies mostly under control, though there were a couple of particularly bratty children who were last seen screaming and in need of unsoiled underwear...

Crona had a good time at the party, even if they were a bit taken aback by Black Star's body of Star Wars knowledge. (Further examination of the series would lead them to becoming quite a fan of R2-D2 and wondering why people hate Jar Jar Binks so much.)

Victor got a good amount of candy and compliments for his costume, even if no one could agree on exactly what he was supposed to be.

The night ended with Stein being reminded just how good sex with a pregnant Marie really was.

All in all, it served to teach the age old lesson: Normalcy, who needs it?

...

Then Stein and Victor brought their experiment to life... happy as she was, she had to sweatdrop a bit at taking care of the patchwork animal... but that's another story.^^

Happy Halloween!