Lexie’s excitement was practically palpable, and frankly, Eisen hadn’t seen anything quite so adorable in his life. He turned his eyes toward one of the crane shaped napkins and his smile went from excited and happy to filled with adoration. It was hard to love her from a distance as it was, but when she was adorable like this, when she was herself, it made it all that much harder to keep quiet about it. She explained that Katie had taught her to make the paper cranes and he listened attentively, just as he did when she talked about anything else. Chatter that others would deem meaningless, Eisen loved, because Lexie treated each topic as though it had just as much importance as the last. “Maybe later you can make me one out of real paper,” he suggested with a smile. “That way, it’ll be less likely to end up smeared with spaghetti sauce.”
He laughed softly when she did her little twirl in the middle of the room and he decided that if he hadn’t realized before that he loved her? This - being here with her and seeing her back to her old happy self - would have done it. “I’m positive. Just as long as you keep the girl cooties back,” he joked. “Those things are ferocious.”
He held the spoon out, giving her a gentle smile as he waited for her to take the bite.