Chapter Text
Ed wakes from a drunken slumber to the sound of blades clashing against each other. He rolls over, assuming the crew is just revolting against Izzy, and closes his eyes again. Before he can fall back asleep he hears the unmistakable sound of Frenchie whooping and screaming “In your face, Jizzy!” Ed groans. The combination of the loud whooping and hollering from the crew, the rum, and the non stop crying over the past week has left him with an excruciating headache. He rolls off the wooden surface and stomps out of the captain's cabin, ready to out-yell the crew. He stops dead in his tracks.
Stede’s golden locks are illuminated from the setting sun behind him, giving him the appearance of a halo. Edward is sure that he’s imagining the man. He was standing triumphantly over Izzy, sword pointed at his chest. “Yield or die, Iggy.” Izzy puts his hands up in surrender. Stede drops his stance, and his positive demeanor is back. “Fantastic! Lucius, Pete, throw him in the ball room until I decide what to do with him.” Ed’s brain is reeling. This must be a drunken hallucination. He killed Lucius, and there was no way Stede was here right now, looking like a goddamn knight in shining armor who had just bested Izzy, of all people, in a duel. Stede sets the sword down and claps his hands together like there’s dust on them. “Well that’s that, does anyone know where Ed is? I desperately owe him an explanation.” Frenchie clears his throat and points to where Ed is standing, watching them.
Ed is suddenly hyper-aware of his appearance. Rumpled leather, tear streaked kohl, puffy eyes, hair that hasn’t been combed or washed in a week, and Stede’s cravat still tied around his neck. He can practically feel the pity and guilt radiating from Stede’s eyes. He turns and hurries back towards the cabin, tears forming in his eyes. He slams the door and is desperately looking for a bottle of rum, or brandy, or something that will put him back to sleep, so he can wake up and realize it really was all a hallucination, when the door opens once more and Stede walks in. Even without the sunlight illuminating him he seems to glow, but that may be attributed to the dreariness of the cabin they stand in, in which Stede is the only fine thing left.
“Ed,” whatever Stede was about to say was cut off by Ed’s lips crashing into his. It’s desperate and sorrowful. The tenderness from the beach is gone. Stede gasps and seems to lean into the kiss before softly pushing Ed away. “Ed, I- I really think we should talk about what happened,” Stede’s hands cupped Ed’s face, so gently, like Ed was a piece of priceless china, precious and fragile. Tears started to well from Ed’s eyes, and he tried to lean in again. Stede puts a hand on his chest, stopping him, and uses his other hand to gently brush the tears away. He presses a soft kiss to Ed’s forehead. “As much as I want to kiss you, I think it’s imperative that we talk first. Everything the crew told me, as well as the state of you, well, it worries me. So, if it’s ok with you, I’m going to send Roach to get you a cup of tea, and I’m going to fill up the bath, and we are going to get you cleaned up. Then you need some rest.” Ed nodded, and leaned into Stede for a hug. They grasped on to each other for far too long, breathing each other in. An outsider would assume that they had been separated for years, not a mere week.
Stede pulls back, squeezes Ed’s hand, and leaves him to get the bath ready.
~~~
The bathroom had been left untouched by Ed’s fury. All of Stede’s soaps and oils were still there, much to the man’s relief. He filled the tub and added some bath salts with the lavender scent he knew Ed was partial to. He found some soft towels and lavender soap and set them beside the tub just as Ed entered the small room, tea in hand.
“Right then! I got everything ready, so I’ll leave you to it!” Stede turned to leave, but was stopped by Ed’s hand gently grasping his wrist.
“Just, please, stay. Don’t leave me again.” Stede didn’t need much more convincing. He swallowed the guilt rising in his chest and turned to face the wall, offering Ed some privacy as he stripped out of his leather and stepped into the tub. “Stede, can you help me? I don’t actually know how to get this stuff off,” He gestured at the kohl smudged all over his face. Stede nodded, and tentatively grabbed one of the towels and a vial of oil.
He started at Ed’s eyes, gently rubbing the towel, so as not to hurt him more than he already had. When Stede moved down his face Ed’s eyes fluttered open, eyelashes brushing against Stede’s knuckles. Ed was staring at him now. Even in the dim light Stede could see that the life that had once infected Ed’s eyes had dulled.
“I should kill you,” Ed said, breaking the eye contact, “for leaving me there, waiting.” a tear escaped his eye.
“It would be deserved. I know that it isn’t the explanation you deserve, and that it doesn’t fix anything, but I am sorry, Ed.” Stede lifted Ed’s chin up, so that they were looking into each other's eyes once again. He wiped the last of the kohl off. “There we go, there’s Ed,” he smiled sweetly, “Now turn around and I’ll wash your hair.” Ed obeyed, and they didn’t speak again as Stede gently combed through his tangled hair and applied yummy smelling lavender soap and oils to it. Ed thought that this must be the most intimate thing he had ever experienced. When he finished, Stede pressed a kiss to the top of Edward’s head, and left him to get dressed without a word.