The Bond They Shared

My first Stein/Spirit from when they were teens at the academy. its drabble-shot aka longer than drabble but not really long enough to be a one shot. It's based off the anime not the manga but you'll get along fine if you haven't watched it. As always R&R. :)

this may be slightly AU, as I'm not sure how stein and spirit actually got paired. but on to the story!

Disclaimer: I dont own anything, if I did I wouldn't be here XD

They were each other's family when they had none other. The rock they leant against when backed into a corner, the strength they drew on when they thought they could fight no more. They stood up for each other, protected each other, backed each other up, looked up to each other, and although they would never admit it to the other, loved each other as brothers.

Stein admired Spirit's ability to navigate social interaction so easily, the way he could always make people smile and laugh, even in the most awkward of situations. He thought of Spirit as an older brother, always looking out for him, defending the silver haired meister when the other students of the academy picked on him or bad mouthed him. He was amused by the way Spirit could give the professor one of his patented dazzling smiles, and she would forget about the assignment that had been due a week ago. But most of all, Stein loved Spirit's soul. It was bright, and happy, and most of all, kind. Spirit could have chosen any meister he wanted, he was both a good enough weapon and popular enough to have more than his pick of meisters. But when Lord Death had paired them, he hadn't complained about being put with the outcast, the weirdo, the creepy loser that lurked in the hallways away from the other EAT kids, staring off into space and twitching occaisionally.

No, instead he had smiled that big, silly grin of his and offered Stein a high five, an offer which Stein sullenly stared at until it went away. And still the redhead had smiled, shrugging Stein's rejection off like a winter coat in the first summer heat wave.

The big brother attitude had continued throughout the years. Spirit had never once picked on Stein, never called him any of the nasty names the other kids were sometimes prone to doing. And, through Spirit and his own power, Stein had learned to stand on his own two feet, and proved to be a very powerful meister indeed. Gradually, the teasing had faded, replaced instead by a wary admiration and very slight fear of the incredibly talented scientist.

Stein would never admit how much he looked up to Spirit, but he had a feeling he knew. Even though at the present, Stein was definitely the more dominating and commanding of the two, neither man could or would forget the scared and somewhat malicious look on the silver haired meister's face the day of weapon and meister pairing, his lip curled back over his teeth and his head ducked, hair falling into his eyes as he watched the other kids running around pairing up. Spirit had watched him, arms folded, calculating, thinking for once. Then he'd called over Lord Death and whispered in his ear.

"I'd like to be partnered with Franken, if that's alright sir."

Death had pulled back in surprise. He, of course, saw all the potential and intelligence in the sullen little boy standing across from them, but he was surprised that Spirit had. However, who was he to deny the bright weapon's wishes? The Shinigami could see that the two would make an expectional pair, so he'd nodded and called Stein over. From there, it was history. The two had formed a strong, soul-deep bond that he doubted could ever be broken.

Spirit was enraptured with Stein from day one. He was fascinated by the almost-sickly looking boy's calculating eyes, the way his gaze would sweep over a person completely without fear or embarassment of being caught looking. He admired the scientist's vast intelligence, his knowledge of things that were far beyond Spirit's capacity of learning, things his attention span would not allow him to even begin to understand, and the way he valued his intelligence far above his social standing, preferring books to people. Spirit loved the feel of his meister's soul, the way it conformed completely to his, wrapping around him like a familiar blanket and magnifying his soul's wavelengths more powerfully than he ever deemed possible. He grew to fear and respect as well as love Stein. Even when the madness took over, even when the silver haired scientist was cutting him to pieces in his sleep, Spirit still found he could not hate this man, this brother he had gained where he had never expected one.

They were brothers, partners, friends, teammates, roommates, and much, much more. But most importantly, above and beyond any other bond they might have, they were linked souls. Their destinies were twined together as thickly as their memories at the academy were. Although they had sometimes left each other in the physical sense, their souls would never lose each other, would never be more than a hand reaching out in the dark, calling them back, saying Come to me, I am ready, I am waiting for you.

I'm actually really proud of this even though it took me an hour to write XD It felt almost... poetic? when i was writing it anyways. so yeah. there ya go. hope you enjoyed XD R&R greatly appreciated!