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Standing before the sea, bare feet submerged in cool sand, Stede understands how people once thought the earth had an edge.
He doesn’t catch the sunrise on the beach often these days. Aboard the Revenge he’d forced himself to rise early with the rest of the crew, but now he far prefers to spend his mornings dozing in Ed’s arms. But today he’d awoken with the first soft beams of sunlight and disentangled himself from his lover’s limbs to watch the world wake up. Standing on the shore, he basks in the feeling of the salty breeze washing over his face. A little wave crests and settles around his ankles, sending a chill straight up his spine. It’s alarming, but comforting, a pleasant little reminder that nature keeps moving even when he’s still.
It is easy to imagine the greyish-blue expanse before him as finite, something that would swallow you whole if you went out far enough. All his life he’d dreamed of chasing the horizon line, of dropping off the edge into nothing. He’d tried, God knows he’d tried, but the urge to turn back to land always kept a firm grip on his heart - that quiet desire for safety, for stillness, for the assurance that the ground wouldn’t move beneath his feet.
Stede finds himself smiling as he looks out over the water, sunlight shimmering gold over the rippling waves. He thinks of the version of himself he buried in Barbados so many months ago. The man who was ready to fall off the edge of the world if it meant love, who had no way of knowing all the pain and grief that lay on the vast unknown. He’d thought love meant hurricanes and whirlpools but he’s now learning that a quiet life is full of adventure when you are with the right person.
He hears the footsteps padding down the beach but doesn’t turn to face Ed. Instead, he merely waits for the solid, sturdy arms to slide around his waist, the inevitable gentle kiss on the top of his head. Stede closes his eyes, melting into the touch with a dreamy smile.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Ed purrs in his ear.
Stede chuckles, laying his hands atop Ed’s. “Good morning. Just thought I’d watch the sunrise for a change.”
Ed hums happily. “‘S a good one.” They lapse into a comfortable silence, something else Stede has learned to appreciate in the last few months. Routine doesn't mean monotony, comfort doesn’t mean boredom. To be in someone’s presence in the quiet moments was every bit as exhilarating as the loud moments.
“Do you miss sailing?” Ed asks.
“Sometimes,” Stede admits. “Do you?”
“Sometimes.” Ed squeezes him gently, resting his head on Stede’s shoulder. “I can steal a dinghy for us any time you like.”
Stede smiles, turning to press a kiss to Ed’s cheek. They’ve weathered more storms than anyone they knew, ridden out the volatile waves, and held their heads above the riptides. They’ve been to the horizon and back again. And maybe there would come a time when they would want to search for it again, chase some fanciful thrill toward the edge of the world. Right now, though, Stede is content to let the world move around him. To be in love with Edward Teach is all the adventure he needs.
“I know you would,” he breathes. “Today let’s just watch the sunrise.”