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For a time after Wee John gives Baz the little stuffed bunny Baz won’t let it out of his sight. He sleeps with it tucked in his arms or squished under his head every night, and carries it around with him all day. He loves to bring bunny to story time. He tucks it into his lap while he snuggles up in a blanket between Ed’s feet, drifting happily as Ed braids his hair.
Baz loves listening to the stories Stede reads. He never learned how to read but he loves to listen. Sometimes when the four of them are in the cabin at night, just resting, Baz will grab a book off the shelf and bring it to Stede, miming - (please?). Stede is always more than happy to read to him, admires how easily and freely Baz enjoys things, enjoys having such a rapt audience.
One day Baz finds a botany book in Stede’s collection and spends days looking it over, totally fascinated by the drawings of plants he’s never seen or heard of, even if he can’t read the names.
The next time they make port, Stede searches every bookshop until he finally finds what he’s looking for (it takes hours).
The next day, when Baz is looking through all of Stede’s books (Stede doesn’t know what he’s looking for, neither does Baz- he’s just having fun) Stede calls him over from where he’s sitting on the couch.
Baz turns and smiles sweetly as he walks over, humming a questioning sound. Stede pats the seat next to him and Baz sits down. He turns to look at Stede, hands in his lap, and waits.
“I have a present for you,” Stede says.
Baz’s eyes light up and his smile widens, he loves presents! (Before the Revenge a “present” was rarely if ever a good thing, so it took him a little while to learn, but he’s settled in now) Stede reaches under the couch and pulls out what looks like a large square, only an inch or two thick, wrapped in a beautiful dark blue paper tied with a gold colored ribbon.
Baz takes it from Stede gently and unwraps it slowly, trying hard not to tear the paper, sets the ribbon to the side (wonders if Stede will let him keep it for his hair) (Stede will, of course). He looks confused when he gets the paper open. It’s... a book? He wonders if it’s a special book, maybe it has a wonderful story in it Stede thinks he’ll enjoy? He looks at Stede and furrows his eyebrows, cocks his head, makes a hm? noise
Stede smiles and encourages him, “open it up, take a look.”
Baz’s eyes go wide when he opens the book to the middle - pictures! On every page, beautiful hand-drawn pictures of some kind of story - at first glance it looks like something about a wooden puppet? Pinnochio!! He loves Pinnochio!!
He grins at Stede as he holds the book, clutched to his chest, and hums happily, bouncing in his seat. Stede smiles back, finding the happiness infectious, “do you like it?”
Baz nods excitedly and leans towards Stede, pressing his head again Stede’s shoulder and rubbing it against him like a big happy cat, his way of saying yes, thank you, I love it.