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“Love? I’m home!” Ed called as he pushed the front door open with an elbow, his arms full with grocery bags.
“In the garden, dear heart,” Stede’s voice carried from the back of the house. Ed set the bags on the kitchen island and put the perishables in the fridge. Susu was sitting in her perch next to the sliding glass door, watching the birds, and Ed gave her a head scratch as he opened the door and stepped out onto the back deck. Stede was lounging in the hammock that Ed had insisted they hang for “optimal afternoon napping”.
“How was the store? Did you find everything you needed?” Stede asked, not bothering to open his eyes, as Ed approached.
“I did. Even brought you home some fancy cheese and prosciutto. I’m familiar with your love of charcuterie.”
Stede hummed and opened his eyes, “I do love charcuterie. But I love you more.”
“And I love you.” Ed smiled fondly and carded his fingers through Stede’s hair. “How was therapy today?”
Stede’s eyes fluttered closed again and he sighed contentedly. “Good. ‘M doing my homework right now.”
Ed leaned in and gave him a little kiss on the tip of his nose. “Is that so?”
“Mhm. I’m supposed to challenge the voice in my head that tells me I’m a failure if I’m not constantly busy. Abshir said my homework for the week is to spend an hour each day doing nothing. He told me to ‘contemplate the sloth’, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“And did Abshir say that you could have help with your homework?”
Stede opened his eyes again and laughed as Ed waggled his eyebrows. “Well, he didn’t say I couldn’t have help.”
“Alright, then, I’m comin’ in. Make room for your nap co-captain” Ed kicked off his shoes, wiggled his hips, and leaned back as Stede tried to keep the hammock balanced. After a few minutes of clumsy maneuvering and copious laughter, Ed was snuggled up against Stede with his head tucked under Stede’s chin. They were holding hands, fingers interlaced and resting on Stede’s stomach.
Stede planted a gentle kiss on Ed’s dark curls, and they rocked quietly in the hammock, just enjoying each other’s company and the distant sound of the surf mixed with bird songs and the drone of insects.
Stede spoke softly after some time, “Edward?”
“Yes, love?” Ed mumbled.
“Would you still love me if I was a sloth?”
“‘Course I would. Sloths are cute as fuck. Babe, if you were a sloth, I’d be the algae that grows on your fur, so I could help keep you safe and taken care of. We’d be inseparable.”
Stede giggled, “We already kind of are.”
“Yeah, we are. And I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
They swung in the hammock as afternoon slipped into evening, contemplating the sloth and cherishing the quiet moments that shaped their life together.