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Ed is having a great time. Really he is. The past few months with Stede, getting their inn ready, have been the happiest of his life. Only.
The only thing is. At Lucius and Pete's matelotage ceremony, Ed caught the knife. He'd made sure that he caught it. And that Stede saw him catching it. Traditionally, the one who catches the knife is the next to be mated.
No one holds anyone to that anymore, but still. He'd hoped. And they've talked about it, haven't they? Stede says things all the time like, "we should invite Jackie to the wedding, but how many plus ones will she need?" and "oh my god, this is divine! We should find out if they do weddings." But he still, still, hasn't proposed anything.
A marriage is the same thing, right? The non-pirate version of a matelotage. Ed had always assumed so, and Jack and Annie's wedding was exactly like all the matey ceremonies he'd been to except for the traditional dress. (Anne's ornate confection of a dress had taken them ages to find all the pieces for.) But now he's starting to doubt that.
So Ed begins tactically dropping subtle hints whenever he thinks of it. He brings home catalogues from dress shops on the mainland. He tries out cake recipes. He sketches wedding knives. He creates a mood board of all his little drawings and clippings and recipes with dream wedding written at the top and hangs it in the loft.
Still, Stede doesn't propose.
Everything is going so well, so perfectly, other than this one thing. It shouldn't bother him. It doesn't really bother him. Except.
Is Stede expecting Ed to propose? He's kind of sick of responsibility, and of doing things in general. Planning, making decisions, being in charge. He thought Stede understood this about their dynamic. He even opens doors for Ed, which is fucking delightful. He's a gentleman. It's everything that tiny Ed had never dared to dream of.
Ed can do it. Obviously he can, he can do anything. It's just that- traditionally the, like, higher up partner is the one who pops the question, you know? Not that there's much of a hierarchy aboard a pirate ship, but it is considered a little bit rude to ask someone to share everything with you if you have nothing, right? And Ed isn't a captain anymore. He doesn't have a ship or crew, the way Stede (technically, kind of) does. He doesn't want to be a captain ever again. But then again he technically has more money than Stede now, since Stede abandoned all his wealth to be with Ed. So... then is Ed the one with more status or whatever? That doesn't seem right. They already share everything. And Ed calls Stede captain, like, all the time. So it's unclear to Ed how he should proceed.
No fucking way he can just talk to Stede about it. That would ruin the surprise.
So one day, while Ed is out fishing, he stops at the mainland to look around. Walking down the cobblestone street, he passes cute little shops selling bread, coffee, jewelry, fabrics, anything a person could want. And he can just fucking buy them now. No need for stealing! No lingering feeling of guilt because he doesn't know if the owner of the store will be ruined by it. (Once. as a kid, he'd stolen honey rolls for his mother's birthday from a lovely little bakery near the docks. When it went out of business a few months later, he'd been absolutely certain it was his fault. Every time he passed the baker's children in the street, he felt sick with the guilt of it.)
He goes into a few jewelry stores. They're mostly full of diamonds and carefully wrought, smooth bands made for fine, fancy people. Ed considers buying one, but he thinks that Stede wouldn't want something that reminded him of his old life. He'd want something that was completely him. Something piratey.
So Ed wanders the marketplace, looking through stalls and vendors for the perfect piece of jewelry.
At a stall full of handcrafted knick-knacks, he finds it. A small hoop made of gold. It's shaped like a vine, miniature golden foliage surrounding flowers made of teeny-tiny shards of crystal embedded in the metal. Looks like aquamarine, lapis, turquoise, quartz, and at the bottom point, a little sparkling sapphire.
It’s not a ring, it’s an earring. It's perfect. Stede's kept the same starter gold hoop in his ear since he got it pierced at the Republic of Pirates months ago. Ed buys it at once and gives the shop girl all his extra doubloons, he's so excited.
He plans a little picnic out by the creek. While Stede is off running some errands, Ed packs a basket with snacks. Mostly fruit and pre-prepared things he'd bought at the market. Bread, jams, cheeses. This is going to be so much fucking better than that breakfast in bed.
He surprises Stede with it when he gets home that evening. They walk down to the tiny stream together, and it's beautiful as fuck. Perfect, like a painting. Ed is so nervous he's getting a little bit nauseous. He holds his pretty wicker basket while Stede spreads out their blanket. He looks at the sky. It’s such a lovely color. If he could find silk in that specific shade, it would make a dress even better than Annie’s.
“Ed?” Stede says hesitantly, snapping Ed out of his daydream.
Stede is kneeling, looking up at Ed with his pretty eyes and soft hair. The late afternoon sunlight turns the strands to gold.
"Ed, will you-"
His heart skips. He's terrified, suddenly, more scared than he's ever been in a thousand raids and deadly fights. "Yes, Stede?" he says.
"Can you help me up?" he asks, holding his hand out. Ed takes a breath, and smiles, and sets down the basket to take both of Stede’s hands. “I’m such an old man. How did that happen?”
Ed laughs. “You're only 50. For a non-pirate, that’s like... middle age, I think.”
“Oh yeah, I mean, if you plan on living to 100?”
“Yeah, obviously we fucking will. We’re going to be the coolest little old men together.”
“Curmudgeonly.”
“We're gonna be curmudgeonly as fuck!”
“Get off our lawn, you ruffians!”
“Exactly! See? You've already got it!”
“Aw, yeah. Because I’m an old man. I told you,” Stede says as he leads Ed away from the picnic.
Ed scoffs. “I’ve seen way older people in town. You’re barely even wrinkly.” He follows Stede up a small hill. “Where are we going?”
“I found a gorgeous spot I want to show you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, remember how you said you hate nature but moss is alright?”
“Nature hates me,” Ed corrects. “But yeah. Soft as fuck. It’s like, earth’s pillow. Mattress? I want a whole fucking bed of it.”
They come into a clearing. There must have been a fire there, once. Tree stumps encircle the grove, and charred logs are strewn about. Nearly every surface is covered in a thick layer of moss.
Ed gasps. “Ooh. This is fucking sick!” he says, and immediately lays down on the ground.
It's just as comfy as he'd imagined it would be. It's thick and springy. Like lying on a cloud. A cloud that's a little bit itchy, and maybe has bugs in it. Ew.
He sits up. The sun is just beginning to set over the ocean. This place is beautiful. It's perfect. Even more perfect than Ed’s picnic spot. He looks around and Stede is sitting on a log, looking pensive. Ed hops on over to him, full of nervous energy and beans.
"Hey-hey, Stede? Um… can I-? I have a..." Ed’s throat freezes up and suddenly he can't force a single sound out. His hands and back feel weirdly sweaty.
He sighs, frustrated, and decides to go for it. He carefully kneels in front of Stede. Stede's eyes widen, and his mouth opens in that silly little way it always does when he's surprised. Ed gets the box out. And then Stede's eyebrows do that thing- he looks. Disappointed? Annoyed? No no no, oh no, that's not what his face is supposed to be doing. Ed must have miscalculated somehow. He looks down at his tiny box and- it's not even a ring, why did he think that would be a good idea?
Then Stede is putting his hand on Ed's so gently, and Ed looks up at Stede's face, sweet as ever. Then Stede is on his knees too, and they're kneeling together. He has a little wooden box too, one that Ed recognizes from the fancy jeweler in town. Is he proposing? Maybe it's just a gift?
"Edward," Stede says, opening the box. Inside, on dark purple velvet, lays a fine silver band with an irregular pinkish-purple pearl surrounded by a circle of tiny diamonds. Stede looks at Ed, so earnest and scared and hopeful, and says, "Ed, will you be my matey?"
Ed gasps with joy and touches his fingers to his lips. A tingling feeling travels through his whole body into his head. Tears sting his eyes. This is maybe the best moment of his life. He can't speak, and he can see that Stede is starting to worry. Which is ridiculous because Ed was literally just attempting to do the same thing. He remembers his own little box, clutched to his chest. He opens it quickly and holds it out to Stede.
"Could I… be your wife, maybe?" Ed manages to say, voice tiny and soft.
Stede's face lights up, crinkles with a blindingly sunny smile. "Yes!"
"Yeah?" Ed repeats, just to be sure. It comes out squeaky.
"Yes! Fuck yes, Ed! You can be whatever you want."
"Fuck yes," Ed echoes with reverence. He kisses Stede softly, like the first time. "I thought you were never going to ask."
"I was waiting for the perfect moment! And you almost stole it."
"Well, I am a pirate."
"Retired."
"Yeah, retired pirate."
They swap boxes.
"This is lovely, Ed!" Stede says, trying to put it on his finger. "The tiny leaves are so detailed."
Ed giggles. "No, wait- sorry, it's - it's an earring."
"Oh?"
“Yeah. I thought that would be more you? More nautical.”
“Yes, it is! Love that.”
Ed takes it from him and shows him how to change it out with his old one.
"There you go," Ed says. "Aw, it looks nice."
"Thank you!" Stede takes the ring out of its little velvet cushion and holds it up to the fading light. “There’s an inscription,” he says. Ed looks inside, where the word intertwined is etched into the metal in a delicate cursive script.
Ed gasps. "Just like in your letter!"
"I know you like that part."
"I do."
Stede takes Ed's hand in his, warm and gentle, and slips the ring onto his finger.