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Ed's been wandering the wastelands of what used to be a town for ages now, picking through abandoned stores and desecrated shops to find anything useful or salvageable. He'd found some chocolate-orange flavored power bars in what used to be a grocery store, and he'd really scored at the old boutique where no one had ever checked the back for the emergency kit. He was able to restock his bag with bandages, gauze, and even a small bit of antiseptic.
Thanking his lucky stars, he exits the front door of the old shop and realizes the light is starting to fade. He needs to find somewhere to crash for the night before the dark takes hold and things start to go bump in the night. He's less worried about the fucked up animals that have started appearing ever since the bio war escalated, and more worried about the fucked up people he's run across. He's run into whole groups that are basically just hunting other humans for sport, terrorizing whoever and whatever they can find just to feel a semblance of power in this powerless world. The bio war had pretty much wiped out everything that power clings to; money, property, ownership, leadership, it was all a distant memory.
Now, whoever remains is just trying to scrape by however they can, some more desperate to relive the past than others who just want to survive. That's why Ed prefers to go it alone. He doesn't need anyone else, he's seen how it goes, and doesn't want to risk trusting another person in the midst of this. He finds himself wandering down the street, cars still dotting the lanes, frozen in time as people abandoned them to tried to leave on foot. He shudders remembering the first few weeks of the war, the chaos, devastation, the loss… The sadness still grips him but it's less now as he's learned to live with it, with the knowledge that he made it and so many others didn't.
He shakes himself out of his head and looks up to see a stone building covered in overgrowth, almost unrecognizable as a building. "Perfect," he thinks, rucking up his newly stocked bag onto his shoulder, tying his long, silver streaked hair back with some twine. He starts knocking away the foliage and forcing open the large wooden door that was likely the entrance to what would be his home. "Not home," he thinks, "Just a resting place for the night." He is greeted with a large staircase, and as he makes his way up, his eyes adjust to the lack of light as he reaches the top of the stairs and takes in his surroundings. Books. Hundreds of books, maybe thousands. Lining crammed shelves that barely look scathed from the previous decade's events. He wanders over to a shelf and starts pulling books out, fascinated to discover this perfectly preserved literary treasure trove.
Before he can pull out another book he feels a blunt force being shoved in his back and a rough but wavering voice says, "Unhand the books or bleed." Ed slowly places the book back in its spot and lifts his hands, keeping his pack firmly on his shoulders but showing the stranger he means no harm. He slowly turns around to see a shock of golden hair and bright hazel eyes in the low lighting of the library. He can't really make out the man's other features but he looks about Ed's age and is holding… "Mate, is that an umbrella?" Ed laughs. The other man falters and sputters out "What? No it's, it's.. it's definitely a weapon!" Ed laughs again, more freely, and the man takes a step back. "Alright yes, it's an umbrella but I've sharpened up the tip some, and to be fair I've only had to use it once," he admits. "Mm and how did that go?" Ed asks. "Honestly they were so startled they rushed back down the stairs, tripped down the last few I think," the man chuckled.
Ed's eyes have adjusted again and he can see the man more clearly now, his soft features and quirked smile, beard shorter than Ed's own, and wearing tan cargo pants, boots, and a tight, only slightly tattered blue shirt. He almost glowed in the dim lighting of the room. Before Ed could think better, he shoved his hand out and blurted "Well, the name's Edward, Ed. Ed Teach, born on a beach." He smiled as the other man's eyebrows shot up, clearly not expecting an introduction and definitely not one so… warm. The man cleared his throat, and grasped Ed's hand warmly, "Stede. Stede Bonnet. Unfortunately I don't have a clever rhyme for my name, maybe I should work up something." They both smile as their hands stay clasped, warm against each other.
It's like their hands were drawn together by some unseen force, pulling away was almost a physical effort. Ed wondered if Stede felt it too.
"So, Stede Bonnet, what's with trying to threaten me with an umbrella?" he asks, already a bit fascinated by the man in front of him. Stede huffs and he grasps the back of his neck with his hand, looking a little sheepish. "Honestly, I didn't mean anything by it, I just. I just don't want anything to happen to them, they're so very important, and I've been quite successful so far since not many people even realize this place exists anymore. So I've been scaring off anyone that comes in, just in case," he babbles.
Them?
"The books?" Ed asks, brow quirking up at the man. "Yeah," Stede admits, looking down a bit. "You… you've been here, protecting… the books?" Ed says slowly as he wraps his mind around what Stede had said. Stede looks around the room, his eyes gleaming with memories, and starts to wander down an aisle. "Yes. Books are instrumental in our survival and adaptation, we need to preserve them so we can continue to learn and find ways to escape even in this mess! Plus, this was one of my very favorite places before… well, before everything went to shit. I spent so much time here, especially after my divorce, browsing or sitting in the nook and reading for hours, I took my kids here all the time…" At this admission Stede's voice broke a bit and Ed's eyes softened as he followed him down the aisle and waited for the man to continue. "They loved it here almost as much as I did. Used to bring them every weekend. I decided that someone needed to try and take care of this place since… since I couldn't take care of anyone else." Stede leaned back against a shelf and tilted his head, tears shimmering down his cheeks.
Ed let out a breath he didn't know he was holding; He wanted to wrap the man in a hug, to wipe away his tears, tell him how brave he was for taking up this cause. "Mate, that's…" Ed starts.
"Foolish, I know. Stupid. After all, who cares about a bunch of little scraps of paper when the world has basically ended." Stede bitterly finishes, sniffling and wiping away the tear tracks on his face.
"Incredible," Ed breathes. Stede looks over at him, head tilted as if he didn't fully hear or understand Ed's reaction. "Man, it's incredible. What you're doing. Protecting a place you love? Guarding knowledge, making sure it isn't forgotten or destroyed? You're a lunatic and I like it," Ed looks into his eyes, trying to show how seriously he means his words through his gaze.
"Well, I–," Stede starts and clears his throat again, "Do you really think so?" Ed nods quickly, words failing him. "Well. Thank you then, Edward. That… that means a lot." Ed can't tell if Stede is blushing in the low lighting but he sounds relieved and a bit shy, his voice quieting. "How long have you been here?" Ed asks when he regains his ability to speak. They start to wander again, Stede leading them to what appears to be the reading nook he mentioned earlier. They take a seat in the still-comfortable chairs, Ed can't get over the condition of this place. The contrast between the rest of the deserted town and this haven is stark. "Hmm let's see, it'll be probably three years now? I've been trying to keep track but you know how it goes in these times…"
Three years.
This man had been taking care of a library during the fucking apocalypse for three whole years. "What the fuck, mate, three years?!" Ed says before thinking better, "How? Where do you get food? How has no one else found you?"
Stede smiles a bit sadly.
"Well, probably like many people, my family was worried about something like this for a while. We'd stocked enough food for the four of us for at least two years just in case. But things went south quickly, my family didn't make it after the first strike. So I decided to set up a little camp for myself here. I've still got enough food stocked for a while longer, and I grew up in this town so I know where to find what I need if I need it. There's a spring not far from here, I'm able to get water and wash as needed." Ed listens and nods, "And it's not that no one else has found me, like I said a few people have stumbled in before you. But honestly, I like being alone, I spent most of my time before all this alone except when I was with my children. So it's not been much different." He says. "People didn't tend to enjoy my company much before, so I can imagine they would hardly want to spend the apocalypse with a middle aged nutjob standing guard over a library," Stede laughs softly, sadness creeping over him. The same sadness Ed knows so well, and he wants to hold Stede through both of their different, but oh so similar feelings.
Ed leans forward in his chair, placing his hand onto Stede's knee, squeezing and swiping his thumb over the rough of the cargo. "Their loss then, man, you seem pretty fascinating to me" Ed says, quite seriously, holding eye contact with the lovely, fascinating man before him for who knows how long. There is some gravitational pull to this man that he's never felt before, like he's known him his entire life, but it took the world ending for them to finally meet. Ed wants to chase the feeling. "Wanna do something weird?" he asks. Stede's face breaks out into a huge grin as he nods, and Ed thinks maybe he doesn't need to be alone, maybe, just maybe, he inadvertently found a home.