Chapter Text
“This really is some of my best work, if I do say so myself.”
Ed looks up at Stede through the reflection of the mirror and feels his heart swell with something. Pride? Happiness? Alcohol?
He’s never been a possessive person. Or, he’s never let himself be a possessive person. Years of “anything goes at sea,” and “we don’t own each other,” made him less eager to shout his infatuations from the rooftops. Why would he, when he didn’t belong to them? They would run off, doing lord knows who, and Ed would be stuck with himself, telling himself it didn’t bother him. It did.
No one’s ever belonged to him. No one’s ever been his.
Until Stede.
Stede, who calls him “babe,” and “darling,” and wraps a protective hand around his waist at the first sign of danger like Ed’s not the most fearsome pirate on the seven seas. Stede, who knew what Ed needed before he did. He saw the way Ed wasn’t tethered to anything in his life, and came up with a solution. “If you don’t have anything to hold onto, hold on to me.”
Like tying himself to the mast in a nasty storm, he’s married Stede.
And yes, Stede never took ownership of him. Nobody can, really. It was more like he relinquished control, “Here, have me.” Ed gave him his trust, a new and breakable thing, and Stede held it in his hands like treasure.
He trusts Stede. Stede trusts him. That’s a lot, for two pirates wanted by most royal governments.
“Darling?”
That name again. God, Ed cannot wait for the rest of their lives. Pirates aren’t supposed to grow old together, he knows, but. He’d really like to grow old with Stede. His husband. He shivers at the thought.
“Yeah, mate. You did great.”
“I know,” Stede says in a beamy voice, pulling more pins out of Ed’s hair than he can count. He rakes his nails across Ed’s scalp every few pins, making him regret insisting on taking his hair down before getting into bed with him. Of course Stede wanted to help, which is how they got here.
Stede, standing behind Ed, both ingesting the look of themselves as husbands in the mirror before them. Ed’s sitting on a little wooden stool, carved with foreign flowers and fruits, a wedding gift from Jim.
“I should do your hair like this more often,” Stede says to himself, tucking Ed’s curls behind his ears.
“Hm,” Ed responds, his eyes closing of their own accord from Stede’s touch. Stede’s hands slow to a stop.
“Edward? Is everything okay?”
“What? Yeah, totally. Why?”
“You’re quieter than usual.”
Ed huffs, put on the spot. He’s about to deflect, make a stupid joke, when Stede tilts his chin back to look at him. Actual Stede, not Mirror-Stede is a lot harder to lie to. He doesn’t want to lie, anyway, it’s just that the truth is embarrassing.
“I’m just really happy. I never thought this would happen, I just-”
And now he’s crying. Very suave. It feels like the floodgates have burst open, even though this is hardly the first time he’s cried tonight. Probably won’t be the last, either.
He speaks through tears, sniffling a little, “I love you so much it scares me.”
Stede hauls him up and into his arms, giving a bone crushing hug. He feels Stede’s breath into his clavicle, whispering something like his name. Out of all of his pet names, this is Ed’s favorite.
“Oh, Edward. Me too.”
They stand there for a long time. Maybe hours. It doesn’t matter to either of them, though, clinging to each other like they’ll cease to exist once they let go.
.
“Olu. Are you awake?”
Oluwande’s eyes flutter open. He rubs one with the back of his hand, yawning slightly.
“I am now,” he smiles when Jim comes into focus, like always. God, he’s adorable.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up, I’m sorry. I love you.”
Olu’s smile somehow gets warmer, his eyes brighter. It’s not the first time Jim’s said it, not by a long shot, but the phrase still feels like a revelation to both of them.
“I love you too,” his voice cracks with sleep, and Jim wants to kiss every surface of his face.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, I just-”
They close their mouth, seemingly done with the sentence. Olu leans closer, presses his forehead to theirs.
“Well, now you have me intrigued.”
Jim smiles, but it’s not one of the smiles Olu knows, and Olu knows most of them. He doesn’t press, knowing Jim will open up or drop it soon.
“What do you think about marriage?”
Oh. That is not what he was expecting.
“Uhh,”
“You don’t have to answer right now, you know.”
“Answer what? Is this you proposing to me?” He laughs, “Kind of shitty, if-”
Jim leans away from him, sitting up and putting cold distance in the middle of the bed.
“Okay, even if I WAS proposing, you don’t have to be a dick about it. Just say no, don’t torment me.”
Olu sits up and grabs Jim's hand, running his nail across their scars. He massages one, pressing the tissue deep into their hand muscles, giving relief.
He speaks softly, “Where’s all this marriage talk coming from, anyway?”
They close their mouth again, looking at their hands intertwined together, illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the window. They speak to their lap.
“I dunno. The captains seem really happy.”
“Yes. They do. They’re also, like, a hundred years old.”
This draws a smirk out of them. He continues, “And I thought you were against all that ownership stuff.”
“Well, we wouldn’t own each other. Just, you know. Support and like, love each other forever. Sappy shit.”
“Do we not already love and support each other?”
Finally, Jim meets his eyes.
“We do.”
“And I plan on doing it forever. Do you?”
Jim grins, their eyes a little wet.
“Yeah.”
“You don’t want to get married.”
Jim shakes their head.
“No. I don’t.”
They lean forward, resting their head in Olu’s lap, their hair fanning around them like a black halo. Heavenly. He cards his hand through their hair, untangling the few knots. They stay there for a while, until Olu breaks the comfortable silence.
“Thank god I didn’t say yes, right?”
Jim snorts, covering their face with Olu’s hand. Their response is a little muffled, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Especially not Ed.”
“Oh, I would never! Not as your future husband, of course.”
“I hate you.”
Olu feels Jim smile against his hand. They have time, and if they ever do get married, Olu wants it to be perfect.