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Most people didn’t understand what Marie saw in Stein.
Sometimes, Marie didn’t even know what Marie saw in Stein.
Sometimes all she could see were the lab coats strewn across the house. And she definitely saw him set her beloved couch on fire for “a new experiment to test the speed at which fabric would burn.” She was even a first-hand witness when he prioritized cleaning the lab over being on time to their first date.
And of course she could see the scars, and the stitches, and the screw, and the horrid sense of style.
But then…
She also saw when he smiled, his mouth quirking up into lopsided grins. She saw when he had just woken up, his hair a mess and lines pressed onto his cheek from the sheets. She saw when he looked at her with admiration so clear on his face that she swore he would combust if she did anything else endearing.
She saw when he was fast asleep at his desk, fabric and thread everywhere, with a new yellow dress folded neatly next to him. She saw when he had final exams to grade, lab reports to finalize, and undergraduate research to check up on— and he bought her coffee because she looked tired.
She could see Stein. All of him. And despite the bad days, despite the headaches, despite the days where she couldn’t understand even a modicum of where his head was at— she loved him.
And when she remembered how much he loved her back… She didn’t need two eyes to know that she had set her sights on the right man.