Work Text:
The glowing from the full moon entering through the window reminded him how he should've been asleep for some time. Yet there he was, wandering around his room with his hand over the stab wound Izzy had left behind. Once they'd managed to remove him from the post, the whole crew had looked after him, making sure he was okay and got all cleaned up. Everyone but one man, Black- Edward, he was trying his best to just call him by his name.
Sure, he had lurked around the makeshift infirmary down by the kitchen, keeping an eye on Stede to make sure he was okay. But he hadn't said anything to him, just walked in circles around the scene holding his hands behind his back, as if he was too scared to touch him. Stede was fine, he'd taught him well, yet he couldn't help but feel the guilt take over his mind every time he saw him and the blood stain on his linen shirt. He wasn't going to be able to wash that one out, he'd learned.
But Stede's mind wandered way past his worries about his new friend, he was on his sixth lap of the room, the pain not letting him advance too quickly, and he had time to worry about everything under the sun. Well, moon now. His body was still frail and he couldn't walk around for much longer, but his mind was more awake than ever, lying down and staring at the ceiling wasn't an option. He stopped for a few seconds and held on to the back of the couch for balance as he heard a gentle knock on the door. It was so soft he would've thought it was the wind had it not been followed by a whisper calling out his name.
“Stede? Are you up?”
He recognized the voice immediately, allowing himself a second to tie his silk robe around himself and fix his pose as to not appear as uncomfortable and exhausted as he truly was.
“Come in”
Edward walked into Stede's room, closing the door behind him upon entering. He didn't say a word at first, continuing his behaviour of the evening. He took a few steps, looking around him, taking in the books scattered over the room, the unmade bed and finally, Stede awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, looking at him.
“How are you?” Edward asked, ready to be met with the reality of what had happened. He expected Stede to reply in anger, blaming him for bringing a murderous psychopath onto his ship with the idea to kill him. He knows he could've saved him, his dueling skills were always better than Izzy's, but he wanted him to learn, as much as it hurt him. He didn't think it would get that far. He expected passive aggression, for him to realise he shouldn't have agreed to be friends with the man who planned on killing him and stealing his identity.
“I'm alright” Stede answered calmly, as a gentleman pirate would, quickly reminding Edward his life wasn't as violent and erratic as it had been before.
Edward continued to shuffle around the room a bit more, leaving his nerves behind at every step. Stede wasn't like the men he normally surrounded himself with, he had already established his forgiveness and willingness to become his friend, why was he still afraid? It was the first time he felt this type of fear. He wasn't afraid of dying at his hand, he could beat him in a fight no bother. No, it was a different sort of fear, one that terrified him to his bones. He felt it before confessing his initial plan to him, and he felt it again now after letting Izzy stab him in that duel. The common denominator was always him, his reaction, or more specifically, his rejection.
“Are you alright?” Stede asked, his worry starting to appear on his face, dimly lit by the moonlight.
“Yeah” he replied, dryly, but accompanied by a look in his eyes, for the first time since the incident. “I'm alright now”
A smile drew on both their lips as they looked at each other from across the room. Despite this moment of calm and comfort, a shot of pain ran through Stede's body, causing him to hold on to the couch for balance once again. He placed his free hand over his wound, as if he'd be able to scoop up the pain and get rid of it. The gesture made Edward's eyes travel to where he'd been hurt, reliving the moment over in his mind. But this time, he wasn't going to stand around and watch.
He sprinted over towards Stede and wrapped his arm around him to keep him up.
“Is it bleeding again? Let me see”
Stede clumsily unwrapped his robe so they could see the bandages, but there didn't seem to be any new blood on them.
“It's okay, it just hurts”
“You need to rest, Stede” Edward softly said as he watched him trying to stand by himself, not letting go of his grip. “Let's get you to bed”
Stede leaned on Edward, letting the man slowly walk him towards his bed, where he gently removed his arm from around his back and laid him down on the mattress. He tried not to let out any noises as to not scare him, but he couldn't hide all the pain, resulting in a worried frown forming on Edward's face, sitting next to him on the bed.
“It's late” Edward said, his hand reaching over Stede to grab the blanket that was pushed into the corner. “What were you still doing up?”
“Couldn't sleep”
Edward pulled the blanket over his friend and let his hand rest on his chest as he tucked him in, watching as he shuffled around and his eyelids started to appear heavy.
“Ed?”
“Yes”
“Why did you come here?”
He thought about his answer for a second, all the memories and guilt coming back to him again. He pushed those thoughts away and focused on Stede’s breathing, steadier now, as he felt beneath his hand. He settled for a simple answer:
“Couldn’t sleep”
He could make out a glimpse of a smile on Stede’s face, who appeared to be drifting to sleep, finally. He looked at him, how he lie there so peacefully despite everything that had happened.
“Goodnight Stede” he whispered, preparing to get up and return to his room.
Edward was wide awake, he had secretly hoped Stede felt the same and they could keep each other company throughout the restless night, but he understood that their situations were different. Stede needed to rest, he had been stabbed after all. But deep inside, he just wish they could stay up together.
“You don’t have to go” Stede softly said, without opening his eyes.
He smiled to himself, thinking about how he had expected something completely different when he’d mustered up the courage to walk to Stede’s room that night. At first, he expected anger, aggression, or even being told to pack up and leave. But when he was met with the kindness of the Gentleman Pirate, he hoped they might stay up and talk like they’d done on nights before. Sharing stories of their different worlds, learning about each other’s lives.
Instead, he was climbing into the man’s bed and lying down beside him, a hand on his chest. It’s not what he had expected, he could safely bet it’s not what anyone expected. But somehow, it felt good, and he let himself get lost in the moment.