Okay, I havent talked about how Edith and Theodore ever became a thing so I figured it might help understand them and their.... odd connection a little better.
In the very beginning they hated each other. And not like coy hatred or "oh he makes me so mad!" Like, total venomous hatred and anger. Every interaction was tense. Both of them were pretty much at the lowest points in their lives when they met. And well, since I revealed this to a few people already, Theodore was an active serial killer at the time. Edith was the one who figured him out and basically black mailed him?? If he helped her with another murder case, she wouldnt turn him in.
There was also the added note that if he resumed killing, all bets were off and she'd give her case file on him to the police. So yeah, they did not mesh well in the beginning and mostly wanted to get this over and done with. There were a lot of violent clashes between them. Like, furniture getting knocked around, punching, a knife was even pulled out at one point. I know under some circumstances that might sound like, sexual?? in knowing theyd be a couple later, but it was really just BAD like sometimes other people had to step in if they fought in public.
They were two extreme opposites at the time and neither could understand the other at all. But, the case was far harder than Theodore expected. It wasnt a serial murder, but the culprit was good at moving sporadically and covering their tracks. He was forced to look at himself and his own behavior from an outsider perspective in order to try and figure this man out, and that in turn made something shift in him.
Edith also was experiencing a shift in perspective. She never had partners since she worked on her own. Edith always believed she was right and everyone else was wrong. If people had information and refused to disclose it, she took that as a personal affront and resorted to violence. She believed if she asked for something, you had to give it to her, there was no other option. Theodore's approach was different, he could talk his way through anything, he picked up on social cues quickly and silently coerced people to let go of important details. Suddenly, her job was less difficult if he was there to handle certain situations. His calm air in turn, naturally made her calmer.
Edith pushed him to speak more openly. Theodore never thought you could possibly be allowed to talk about darker, more raw emotions with people. Society covers everything with a veil, and despite how much he hated it, he played along just because he hated the awkward silence or looks of judgement even more. But Edith never acts like that, in fact some think she's almost too blunt. She probes into the root of people, often asking massively personal questions without batting an eye. It made him more comfortable to be himself, however disgusting he mightve been at the time, and that lifted an immense weight off his shoulders. She didn't exactly accept him for what he was, but she didnt judge.
I can honestly keep going lol but basically a chain reaction began and they influenced each other, one person would change and the other responded. It wasnt exactly easy, and other time change took some serious conscious effort and self control for both of them, especially with their worst vices. The case was taken care of, but, another case would crop up. Theodore, reluctantly at first, stayed for another case, but over time it just became normal. He lost that edge and bitterness he held onto for so long, and Edith began to relax herself, more of her real personality was coming out.
It was slow, it happened over the span of years. It got to a point where they were both just, utterly comfortable with each other. The unknowingly learned to read each other, and would slip glances or signals back and forth. Theodore became a little too comfortable with Edith. He would talk to people like he would with her, but it often put people off or they wouldnt respond in the way he expected them too. He didnt utterly despise people like he used to, but most conversations felt too shallow or boring at this point. Edith would try to talk to people like she did with Theodore and people might just shrug her off and laugh.
I guess when they realized their weird feelings with each other, it wasn't like some bold decleration in the rain or anything ahaha They both started to think about the fact that he's stayed on all these cases, and why exactly, when he was only supposed to help with one. Edith openly took back her black mail and gave him the chance to leave, and she felt a teeeny guilty for keeping him there. But at this point Theodore was like, I don't want to?? Admittedly they became slightly mor couple like after that. A year or so later is when the idea of marriage came up in discussion. They both just decided they didnt really want to be with anyone else. They had a simple court marriage, no one was invited lol, and just continued on normally the rest of the day.
While they aren't the traditional couple, they are lovet dovey in their own ways. It might be more obvious though when they're together which is something I want to work on. But yeah, basically I set out to write the first couple I've ever bothered to come up with and we get these two weirdos.