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For the past few weeks things have been…well, weird. Not that Ed isn’t happy spending time with Stede. He is! Stede’s got that dorky hot thing going on and he’s a perfect balance of sweet but with an edge.
It’s just that…Stede’s a little weird? In the best possible way! Ed’s not complaining or anything. Stede’s a lunatic, sure, but Ed likes that about him.
So when Stede asks Ed to go with him to a butterfly conservatory, Ed doesn’t think much of it. Seems like a perfect Stede destination, to be honest. A little quirky. A little outside what most people would consider a date (if it even is a date). But the guy really loves moths and butterflies are moth adjacent. They’re all bugs after all. Butterflies are just, you know, prettier bugs.
So it’s all cool.
Until Ed shows up at the butterfly conservatory and sees Stede.
He’s got on rose-pink jeans and a sky-blue shirt covered with flowers in the same color as his jeans. It’s…a look. A super cute look if Ed’s being honest. So cute in fact that Ed has to kind of stop for a second to take it all in.
And when Stede finally looks up and spots Ed standing there—when that slow grin spreads across Stede’s face as their eyes meet—well…not to sound too corny, but there are butterflies in Ed’s stomach as well as in the indoor garden they’re about to enter. Ed’s not ashamed to admit that. At least not in his own head. Out loud…that’s another thing altogether. (He really isn’t sure if this is a date or not.)
So instead of saying something he’ll regret, Ed ambles over to Stede. “Like the outfit, mate.”
A happy flush blooms on Stede’s cheeks. “I wore it to try to lore the butterflies to land on me!” he admits. “I figured if I look like a flower then maybe…um…oh….”
Another weird thing: Ed can already tell when Stede’s self-censoring. Trying not to be as gloriously quirky as he is. But Ed doesn’t want Stede to cut himself off or shut himself down. He wants Stede to be completely and utterly himself.
“Makes sense,” Ed assures him. “You look...like springtime.”
A relieved, almost joyful smile spreads across Stede's face. He reaches out and tentatively touches Ed’s hand. “That might be the nicest compliment anyone’s ever given me,” Stede says in a low voice, like he’s telling Ed a secret.
“Only telling you what’s true.”
Their fingers slip between each other’s and for a long moment or two they simply stand there, smiling the softest kinds of smiles. The spell’s only broken when Stede raises their joined hands and kisses Ed’s knuckles. (Okay, maybe this is a date after all.)
The butterflies are back with a vengeance. Ed feels almost giddy with the sensation.
Because who does stuff like this? Who dresses to attract butterflies and kisses people’s hands? It’s like Stede never got the memo that this is the real world and not a fairy tale.
But really, who the fuck wants reality when they can have this? Not Ed, that’s for sure. This is adorable. And nerdy. And really hot at the same time (which Ed realizes is kind of Stede’s whole thing—nerdy and hot). So when Stede holds out his arm for Ed to take, Ed goes right ahead and slips his hand through like they’re living in a freaking Jane Austen novel. Stede’s even rich like Mr. Darcy was. Just not stuck up or condescending. At least not to Ed. He has, after all, seen Stede be a real bitch to other people when they’re behaving, as Stede would put it, in an uncouth manner.
After Stede buys both of their tickets (“Honestly, Edward, would you ever have chosen to come here if I hadn’t invited you?”), they walk inside the warm, humid enclosure that houses the butterfly garden.
Ed has to hand it Stede—it’s a pretty nice place. Stede might look like springtime today but he’s given Ed a piece of summer in this butterfly garden.
The place is overflowing with flowering plants and even full-on trees. There’s a pleasant mix of smells in the air. Wet soil. Dewy flowers. Even a note of citrus. The sun streams through the overhead windows lighting Stede’s hair like a halo. Ed closes his eyes for a second and just breathes in the warm air. When he opens them, Ed finds that—pretty unexpectedly—Stede’s outfit has done exactly what he wanted it to.
The man is covered in butterflies. Okay, so not exactly covered. More like he has three or four of them perched on his outstretched arms. But from the look of pure awe on Stede’s face, you’d think there were a hundred of them.
“Aren’t they beautiful, Ed?” Stede whispers. “Like little flying jewels!”
One flies off Stede’s elbow—a pretty blue number—and lands on Ed’s cheek just on the edge of his beard. Ed almost jumps out of his skin. Without thinking, he moves to swat it away.
But Stede gently stops his arm. “Here, let me.”
Ed freezes as Stede’s fingertips just barely graze his cheek. Heat flushes Ed’s face, his neck. Hell, even his chest. But that light touch is gone soon enough as Stede pulls away again, the blue butterfly perched on one his fingers like he’s stepped out of a Disney movie. God help him, Ed is rapt. He can’t look away.
Finally the butterfly takes off and they watch it flutter onto a nearby branch. “This doesn’t seem to be your thing, Ed,” Stede says in a soft voice. “We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
For a second or two, Ed gives him a questioning look. “But if we leave, won’t you be disappointed?”
This seems to take Stede aback. “Of course not!” he says. “I know that most of my interests aren’t exactly…normal. I’m so sorry I dragged you here when you….”
Ed slips a hand into Stede’s, silencing him. “I didn’t say I want to home,” he clarifies. “I’m happy to do stuff that makes you happy.” His thumb runs over the edge of Stede’s knuckles. “Happy you want to share what you love with me.”
Stede eyes widen then narrow like he’s figuring out what to make of that.
He must make some kind of decision because he pulls Ed forward by the hand till they’re right up in each other’s space. For a second they just stand there, eyes locked. So close to each other. Breathing the same air.
Stede’s hair still glows in the afternoon light and there are flowers everywhere and even though there are bugs flying around too (because yeah, butterflies are pretty enough but they’re still bugs), the whole scene is so damned romantic that Ed can’t really help himself.
“Can I kiss you?”
A nod (a really enthusiastic nod) meets this question. So Ed does it. He kisses Stede. Just once. Just softly. Then twice and less softly. Stede gasps as Ed runs his fingers through Stede’s golden halo of curls.
“We could always take the picnic back to my place,” Stede breathes as their lips part. “I made us sugar cookies shaped like butterflies. We could eat them in between….”
“Or,” Ed replies. “We could stay and see how many more butterflies will land on your shirt.” He kisses Stede lightly. “Then have your picnic outside in the sun.” Another whisper of a kiss. “And then go back to your place.”
Another enthusiastic nod from Stede. Another soft brush of kiss.
They finally pull apart enough to smile at each other, but they don’t lose each other’s hands.
“Now come on,” Ed says. “We have some pretty bugs to see. Then some pretty bug cookies to eat.” He gives Stede a sly smile. “And then we’ll get to the good stuff.”
“Yes,” Stede agrees. “Let’s do exactly that.”
As dates go (now that he definitely knows it’s a date), Ed thinks this one is turning out be a goddamn magical one. Bring on the fairy tale.