Mari (Soul Eater)

Part Forty-Nine

Mari smiled, happiness filling up her chest. "W-well?" she asked. "Is it t-true-" she was cut off by Kidd sweeping her off of her feet and spinning her around in circles. She held onto him, her laughter bright.

He set her down on ground, his smile so big. "We should go to Stein." He said, grabbing her hand. He pulled her out of the door, picking her up as his clear laughter rang through the garden of the mansion.

He lifted her onto his back, carrying her as if she weighed less than a feather. He started running to the school where the students would be finishing their day. Kidd started running up the stairs, not even breathing heavily.

When they made it to the top, Mari had been jostled around so much that she didn't know up from down. "Let's go!" Kidd said, his voice so happy and bright with joy.

They reached the infirmary where Stein probably would be, and opened the door. The older man was reading a student file and grading test papers at the same time, and barely looked up as Mari and Kidd walked in.

"Mari," he said. He set down the file and his pen, and stood as Kidd set Mari down. He looked at Mari under his glasses and his eyebrow raised. "Why does it appear you are-"

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Were Maka and Kidd right?!" she said, her big smile taking over her face.

Stein took a second, clicked his screw, then turned back to his papers. "Yes." He said. Mari laughed and hugged Stein tightly. He calmly kept grading papers, a tiny smile crossing his face. "Don't strangle me." he said.

Mari let go of him and ran back to Kidd, almost nocking him down with a hug. He picked her up and pulled her out of the room. "Let's go tell the others!" Kidd said, him smile saying he was unbelievably happy.

"Don't hurt her." Stein said as Kidd spun Mari in a circle. "Like, don't drop her." He said.

Kidd ran out of the Academy and began to rush down the steps, careful not to trip like Stein said. Kidd jumped off the last step, his laughter echoing through the streets. This was the happiest Mari had seen Kidd a very long time. And it made her happy.

"Kidd!" Mari said.

He slowed down on his way back to the house. He turned and looked up at her on his back. "What?"

"We should get ice cream!" she said.

Kidd smiled. "You have an obsession with ice cream these days." he said.

Mari blushed. "Well, I never got to eat it as a kid, so... Get me some!" she said.

He nodded and started walking to the one that Cassandra, the woman that knew Kidd, worked. They walked in and the older woman smiled as she saw them.

"So you're back from your trip?" she asked, already scooping out their ice cream.

"Yes." Mari said, smiling as she saw that the woman knew what they liked. "Guess what!" Mari said, unable to contain herself.

Cassandra looked up. "Yes?" she said, setting the ice cream up on the counter.

"I'm pregnant!" Mari said.

The woman smiled and clasped her hands. "Congratulations!" she said, smiling at Kidd as he pulled out his wallet. "No, no." she said, pushing away his money. "I got this one." She said, winking.

They left the shop a moment later and started back to the house. "I'm so happy." Kidd said, eating his ice cream.

Mari leaned down, wiping off a stray drop of cream. "Me too." She said, kissing his cheek.

He smiled. "You have to kiss the other cheek now." He said.

Mari smiled and laughed a little. "Okay, okay." She said. She leaned around and kissed his other cheek. "You and your OCD. I love it." She said.

He smiled. "No." he said, eating a little more of his ice cream. "I just wanted another kiss." He said.

Mari laughed. "Kidd!" she said. She bit her lip and slid off his back.

"Mari-" he began, but was cut off my her kissing his lips, softly. Her eyes were closed, and he closed his slowly as he fell into the kiss.

"I love you." She whispered when they broke away.

He moved a strand of hair away from her face, his eyes saying everything.

"How sweet." A woman's voice that sounded very familiar said behind them, and Mari whirled around.

Her got big as she saw...

"Arachne." Kidd said, angry burning in his voice.

The woman smiled, maybe a hundred, or two-hundred, of her minions fanning out behind her. "It has been a long time, Mari." She said. Her fan flipped out in front of her face and her eyes burned with purple magic, hidden behind her soul protect. "How long? Eight years?"