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“Do you like them?” Ed asked, eyes flicking to Stede as he pulled out another gown, the crushed rose petals it had been packed in fluttering to the floor. This one was a vibrant pink with a yellow stomacher and gold embroidery details, and it was stunning, just like the other two he had put away so far.
“Gorgeous, darling,” Stede said, sifting through the rest of the contents of the trunk. There was a flurry of silk chemises and stockings with clocked heels, and beneath those, linen and lace petticoats, and beneath those , pairs of stays and hip pads and a few sets of beautifully embroidered pockets. Ed had clearly been working on this collection for a while.
The odd thing was, they were all almost exactly the same size, and there was something about that size that seemed off to him…
“Sweetheart,” Stede called, in the general direction of where Ed had disappeared into the auxiliary closet, “aren’t you concerned about the hems?”
“What about them?”
“I think they’re going to be a bit short on you,” Stede said, peering into the petticoats to see if they might have some extra length to let out.
“On me?” Ed stuck his head out of the closet, looking at Stede like he was daft, which he thought was a bit uncalled for.
“...yes?” Stede held up one of the petticoats in demonstration. “By an inch or two, at least.”
“Why does it matter if they’re short on me?” Ed said blankly.
“Do you not intend to wear them, dearest?”
“Ohh! Nah, man, these are for you!” And Ed disappeared back into the closet before Stede could process that statement.
He held the petticoat in his hands up to his waist and swished it back and forth thoughtfully. He wasn’t
opposed
to the idea, though he was surprised. Stede wasn’t fluid in his ways the way that Ed was– he was solidly and comfortably a man: he liked his ribboned shoes and lace cuffs and satin frock coats, liked he and sir and all the other accoutrement of his gender. But then again, now that he thought about it he had never actually seen Ed covet gowns like these. She had amassed her own collection of women’s clothes, but they were things like patterned bedgowns, linen skirts that were loose enough to gird around his legs, the occasional pair of stays that she mostly preferred to wear in the bedroom, or when her back hurt. Beyond those, she mostly dressed in her loose, short-cropped shirts, men’s breeches in a variety of colors, an interchangeable collection of men’s and women’s stockings, and still, on occasion, her leather pants. She had a particularly grand collection of expensive scarves that she used in all manner of creative ways, and that was perhaps the most traditionally feminine thing about her wardrobe. When she wanted to get dressed up, she still preferred the rich man's kit of richly colored frock coat and breeches.
On the other hand, these gowns were all in peach, lavender, turquoise, pink– colors that Stede favored, not Ed’s deep jewel tones. They had trimmings that bordered on the excessive, tassels and bows and rosettes, things that, when they were on Ed’s clothing, he tended to worry off with his fingers without noticing his own fidgeting until they were gone. No, these gowns, now that Stede was thinking about it, were definitely for him.
Light bloomed in his chest and he smiled, pressing one hand to his own cheek in sudden overwhelming fondness.
“You do like them, don’t you?” Ed said, appearing behind Stede’s shoulder nervously.
“I love them,” Stede said immediately, spinning in place to grab Ed up in a hug that made her laugh as he nearly rocked them both off their feet. “What a wonderful idea. You’re so good to me, my heart.”
“Aw,” Ed said, ducking his head in a failed effort to hide his blush. “No need to make a big deal of it, just thought it might be a bit of fun is all.”
“And you were right,” Stede declared. “And do you know what would make it even more fun?” Ed met Stede’s eyes again and let a slow grin roll across his face as they said in unison, “if I dress you?” “if you dress me?” They dissolved into giggles and a brief shoving match for a moment before Ed snatched Stede’s cravat off.
“Get naked, then,” he prompted, waving his hands urgently at Stede. “I need to get the outfit together!” And he disappeared back into the closet, taking an armful of underthings from the trunk with him.
It took him a while, long enough for Stede to not only get naked, but fold and put away all of his clothes and still leave time for him to sit on the settee and wait. He could have put a dressing gown on, he supposed, but it was fun to tease Ed like this sometimes, so he simply arranged himself there and waited, listening to Ed’s unintelligible muttering, the swish of fabric, the thumps of shoes and boxes moving around.
“Don’t look,” she called at last, and Stede obediently closed his eyes. He smiled when he heard Ed’s quick intake of breath as she saw him, laughed quietly at her tiny “oh, not fair.” Cool, rough hands landed on his shoulders and he leaned into them minutely.
“You don’t have to close your eyes, angel, just look away,” Ed said softly, right into Stede’s ear, her stubble catching pleasingly against his face. Stede opened his eyes halfway, just to see her, and was caught by surprise when she dove in to steal a kiss, knocking him off balance. But Ed righted him quickly, one hand trailing over his chest as she turned to the pile of clothes unseen behind him.
“Okay,” Ed said, clapping his hands together once. “Up you get. I think I remember the order of all of these, but you have to tell me if it isn’t right.” Stede agreed, raising his arms to receive the silk chemise over them, tugged down so the lace trim rested low on his chest. Then Ed nudged him back down, pushing the chemise up to his waist to roll stockings up his legs, tying each with a ribbon and sealing the bows with a quick kiss. Then Stede was up again, being turned away and having his arms lifted so Ed could get the stays around him.
“Tell me when they feel right,” Ed said, setting to work on the laces. Ed liked to wear stays himself sometimes, often over pants without a shift underneath at all, which always made Stede tut in disapproval that he could in no way sustain when faced with her grin. So his hands were steady as he pulled the laces in, not far enough to do more than straighten Stede’s posture and give the barest suggestion of shape to his hips. “Good?”
“Perfect,” Stede said, catching a glimpse of Ed’s beam as she turned away.
Next were pockets– “very important,” Ed assured him, “don’t know how I made without them in that fucking leather for so long,” then hip pads and bum roll, not too exaggerated, but enough to give the skirts some shape. Ed looked to Stede for approval after each piece, only moving on to the next when he nodded or smiled his agreement with the placement, or offered small corrections. Stede balanced himself with a hand on Ed’s shoulders as he stepped into the petticoats, set after set, so the ties could be wrapped back and forth around his waist, Ed swishing them around once they were all on to be sure the pockets aligned with the gaps in the sides. Stede already felt like a confection, like a beloved piece of art as his silhouette changed under Ed’s careful touch, swishing his hips a bit under his own power just to feel the linen chase along his ankles.
“I see why you like these,” Stede murmured, smiling faintly. In his mind’s eye he saw Ed spinning on the deck, sweating lightly under the peak heat of summer, skirts swirling out around him as he turned under Wee John’s guiding hand. Her smile could have out-competed the sun then, her carelessly thrown-back head and the long line of her neck that led to it more graceful than the waves around them.
“Cool, right?” Ed agreed, oblivious to Stede’s reverie. “All right, now close your eyes. We’re getting to the end and I want you to see it all at once.” Ed’s fingertips skimmed down over Stede’s face and Stede let his eyelids follow them.
The rustling sounds of the overskirt were stiffer– satin, Stede thought– and it was heavy around his hips. He felt tugs at the hems, Ed pinning up the bottom at intervals so that the topmost layer of petticoat could be seen underneath. Then a bodice sliding over Stede’s arms, hanging open until a stomacher was slotted into place across his front, then the soft heat of Ed’s breath on his skin as she drew close to pin those pieces in place as well.
“Can I look now?” Stede asked, struggling to contain his excitement now that they were nearly finished. Ed’s finger bopped against his nose admonishingly.
“Accessories,” he said firmly, ignoring Stede’s pout. It quickly vanished anyway as he felt something cool settle around his neck– pearls, perhaps? Ed lifted each of his hands as well, adding rings and bracelets to them.
“Last thing,” Ed said, and Stede laughed out loud in delight when he felt a hat settle onto his head.
“Ed, you’ve outdone yourself!” he cried, hands flapping around his waist to resist opening his eyes.
“I know,” Ed said smugly. He placed his hands on Stede’s waist and started to guide him into the closet, where the full-length mirror was. “I have to spoil you now that you’re penniless, you know.”
“You’re very charitable, sweet.”
“Fuckin’ philanthropist, I am. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” Stede breathed, though one of his hands reached blindly until it found Ed’s and gripped it tightly.
“What are you worried about, sweetheart?” Ed murmured, lips tucked in close to Stede’s neck. “You’re beautiful. Open your eyes.”
Stede had to blink against the light for a moment, so his form came into focus slowly. First just a smear of pink and sea-glass green, then a blink that resolved the flecks of gold jewelry and accents, then another that finally brought his image out clear.
Stede wasn’t sure what he had been afraid of– that he would look irredeemably silly? Or worse, revolting?-- but whatever it was he feared, it was not what he saw in the mirror now. It was his face, his hands, but the rest of him was utterly transformed, even the way he stood. He was carrying himself like a fine lady, chin high and back straight. His own delighted smile lit up his face under the hat, which tilted at an angle atop his head, casting a faint haze of tulle over his forehead. He had been right about the pearls– a triple strand draped around his throat, with a silver-and-diamond heart hanging from the bottom. The dress was mostly green, but the pink accents were vibrant where they came through at the stomacher and beneath the pinned-up falls of the overskirt. The sleeves hit him at the elbow, where they exploded into fountains of lace, and the neckline left his shoulders almost bare. The stays had even created the faintest suggestion of breasts at his chest where they pushed at the flesh, and Stede was surprised to find he enjoyed that too.
He glanced up to get Ed’s reaction, blushing proudly to find that she looked somewhere between transported and ravenous. Stede smirked at her when he caught her eyes lingering on his chest, and she looked away, feigning innocence.
“I am quite beautiful, aren’t I?” Stede asked, eyes crinkling with his grin. Ed seemed to struggle for words for a moment.
“Fucking gorgeous, mate,” he eventually got out, wrapping his arms around Stede from behind and burying his face in Stede’s neck. Stede stroked and kissed his hair indulgently for a moment, before wiggling out of his grip to turn back and forth in front of the mirror, getting in every detail of the dress.
“I had better change too,” Ed said, brushing the back of his hand across one of Stede’s sleeves. “Can’t have my lady outshining me, can I?”
“Well, go on then,” Stede said, still quite thoroughly distracted. A mayfly-quick grin passed over Ed’s face before he was slipping out of the closet, grabbing an armful of something as he went.
He’d been wearing a cream silk chemise tucked haphazardly into a pair of dark blue breeches when he left, blue embroidery on his stockings to match, a purple scarf loosely tying up her hair. Stede had thought her lovely then, and he’d thought his own dress also one of the loveliest things he’d seen. The moment Ed reentered, Stede realized- while he hadn’t been wrong , he also had not realized just by what order of magnitude there could be even lovelier images.
Ed came back in wearing a gown of similar cut, though sleeker and with less trim than Stede's. It was all over the palest shade of purple, except at the lace cuffs, stomacher, and peek of petticoats, all of which were the deepest shade of the same. The effect was practically luminous, accentuated further by the pearls woven in and out of the coiled braid at the back of his head. Stede recognized his own black cravat, appropriated so long ago, sitting at her neck, though it had been woven and tied to look more like a ribboned choker. She had taken off her fingerless gloves and added a few rings, and a chandelier earring winked from her one pierced ear. She had that charming expression on that she always did when showing Stede something new, a combination of shy and proud that shaped his face beautifully. He watched Stede’s expression carefully for a moment, searching for his reaction, and smiled with confidence when he found it.
“My lady,” Ed said gravely, extending one graceful hand. “May I have this dance?”
“My darling,” Stede said breathlessly, “if you hadn’t asked, I was prepared to beg quite prettily for it.”
Ed led Stede out of the auxiliary closet into the wider floorspace of the cabin, where they could dance to Ed’s tuneless humming. The melody was unimportant; their feet followed the same rhythm, and it only took them a moment of shuffling to settle into lead and follow, then follow and lead and back again. The rustling of their skirts provided a soft counterpoint, and the air smelled of roses and cloves as the dresses aired out from their storage.
At the end, Stede took Ed’s waist in both hands and lifted him entirely off the ground for a dizzying spin, setting him back down so gently that his bad knee didn’t even feel the landing. Ed draped herself over Stede, still swaying minutely against him, though her humming had quieted.
“I must tell you,” Stede murmured, hand pressed warmly to the exposed back of Ed’s neck, thumb brushing gently at his hairline, “I truly, ardently, blissfully adore you in ways that are incredibly improper for a pair of fine ladies after only one dance.” Ed giggled, clutching him closer.
“Good thing we’re not so much fine ladies, then,” she said, putting a low purr in her voice. “No one on this ship of criminals and mollies is going to tell on us.”
“Very true,” Stede mused, then yelped as Ed swung him into a low dip and kissed him deeply. The kisses marched from lips to jaw to neck to chest, and in short order they were both on the floor with clouds of silk and linen bunching up around them.
“I adore you pretty ardently myself,” Ed said, into the dip of Stede’s sternum. Then “I love you” against his collarbone, “I love you” into the pulse of his throat, “I love you” with clutched hands and rolling bodies and ragged breath.
Cherished
, Stede thought.
Precious.
That was how he felt, laid out among silk and jewels under the scarred and gentle hands of the one he cherished and held precious right back.