#I guess we can count this as my unofficial Edwin Payne appreciation post

[mostly-functional]

Headcanon that Edwin had a stutter when he was younger and that’s why he over-enunciates some words. Sometimes it comes back when he’s angry or tired, but he tries his best to never let that happen.

The first time Charles hears it is after a particularly had case. Maybe it involved a demon or sending someone to Hell (even if they did deserve it). Edwin is quiet when they get back to the office, and that’s fine because Charles understands that he needs silence sometimes.

But then Charles asks a question and Edwin all but chokes on the answer. Edwin braces himself because he expects Charles to make fun of him like all the other boys in school did. Instead, Charles stops what he’s doing and tries to help by guessing the answer and giving terrible advice he half-remembers from sitcoms. Eventually, Edwin manages to give the answer, and Charles smiles so widely as he thanks him.

Maybe that’s when Edwin first starts to realize that Charles is his friend. That he’s finally succeeding at socializing for once in his existence.

A few days later, Charles comes back from a walk with an Ouija board “cause we’re ghosts, yeah?”

Edwin pretends to be offended, but he agrees to use it when he’s having trouble with speech. It becomes the first of their little idiosyncrasies.

Maybe that’s also when he starts to fall in love with Charles. He won’t realize it for another 30 years, of course, but it’ll seem so obvious looking back