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The Salt in the air dips down and swirls around on the deck with the wind, and the deck in turn creaks in time with the gentle bob of the sea. The ocean is void of activity, lucky for the crew who lay about with their various activities and luckier for their captains, who are nestled together in the berth below.
The air wafts in through the open window, entangling itself with Ed’s bountiful locks. He’s propped up on the bed, supporting his head with one hand while the other runs through his boyfriend's own tufts of hair. Stede Bonnet is laid out flat on his back, chest rising and falling with a low crackle in his breath. He sleeps with a small pout to his lips and a crease between his eyebrows. He's waxy and sallow, and yet, Ed’s own breath catches at his beauty. He's worried, really he is, but there's something so peaceful here, hidden away from the rest of the crew. Ed is almost grateful for the excuse. Almost.
He's broken out of his lovesick daze when Stede starts to squirm against the sheets, inhaling a shaky breath through his mouth. He groans pitifully, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. The other fumbles around for something. Ed catches it, rubbing a thumb across Stedes hand gently. Stede rolls over toward him, longing to be close and places it in Ed’s lap. The man smiles down at the poorly one.
“How are we then, Stede?”
Stede is rarely silent, but he almost considers a vow today. He feels like he's drowning, in his head at least, and he tries to sniff to alleviate the pressure there. It's soupy and thick; does nothing for him except grate along the walls of his nostrils. He lugs himself into an upright position and his nose starts to run. He only gets a squinty, too-bright-to-see glance at his boyfriend before his eyes snap shut, and he gasps for another breath, this time involuntarily.
“eh-hih! HeHnxt! Hep-chuh!!”
He thinks he's done and sniffs long and hard, only to gurgle as the pressure builds again. Surely he's setting himself up for failure later.
“I'm fine,” he says, struggling to sound even remotely chipper. “I reckon i'll be right as rain soon enough.”
Ed smirks, doubting the validity in that statement and brings his cool thumbs up to rest on top of Stede’s sore eyelids,rubbing his temples gently with his other appendages. Stede sighs, mouth going slack and the pressure in his head recedes a little. He brings his shaky hands up to rest on the sturdy wrists there.
His nose starts to quiver once more and Stede tries to scrunch his face up to stave off a sneeze. His grip tightens on Ed's wrists as his chest heaves and he ultimately has to duck his head down away from Ed's fingers to avoid drenching the man’s face.
“ehttcheh-huh! Htchssh! hah-achshiew!”
Stede moans and slumps down, anchored by the weight of his sickness. Ed grips his biceps gently, straightening him into a more upright position, eyeing him fondly.
“Yeah, I'm thinking later rather than sooner” he tsks.
Stede just shivers in response. He's extra cognizant of Ed's hands on his arms and it's taking all his strength to not just collapse into him, begging to be held. He knows Ed needs to divert attention to more pirat-ey things. What those things are? He doesn't know. Just that this can't be the most pressing matter to him now.
The words are tumbling out of him before he can stop himself, “don't you have a crew to tend to?”
Ed shrugs. “silence, while worrying, doesn’t have to mean anything. Unless you make it something. Then I suppose it is.”
Stede swallows. Neediness and drowsiness crash into each other like waves on the sea. “Am i something?”
Ed blinks languidly. He acts so Stede doesn't have to, pulling him in and cradling him to his chest. Stede lets out a puff of air as he utterly deflates in Ed’s arms. He wants to bring his arms up to hold him, to meet him halfway, but he's beginning to melt, lulling himself with the ocean again and Ed’s heartbeat. Ed’s fingers are threading through his hair once more.
“You're everything.”