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The whole world is spinning before Ed’s eyes as he waits to hear the crew’s verdict from Stede. It’s been an unbelievably long day. From waking up to see Stede’s face hovering above his own, to watching his old friends burn their own house down, to now, standing (or at least trying to) in a little dinghy moored up next to the revenge, head pounding, staring at the barnacles clinging to its side, waiting and waiting to see if the crew are willing to give him a second chance.
He’s not sure how much longer he can hold on when he hears Stede’s voice calling to him from above.
“They’ve said you can come aboard! We’ll figure out the details in the morning.”
He tries to climb the ladder but his dizziness gets the better of him and he just ends up falling backwards into the little boat, completely disorientated. Before he knows it he can feel a pair of strong arms around him, hauling him up and over the railing, holding him steady once he reaches the top.
“There we go, I got you. Are you alright?” Stede asks. He can’t answer. The pounding in his head has gotten worse and he turns to vomit over the side of the ship, the sour taste of it stinging his throat and nostrils. He hears himself let out a pitiful little whimper and catches Stede saying “Woah it's okay, I've got you.”
He’s guided to the captain’s cabin, Stede’s arm warm around his waist. It’s been cleaned up a little since he last saw it and he’s grateful for it. The reminders of his nights spent crying alone far from his mind.
Stede sits him down on the edge of bed and looks him over. He must look a right mess, and he can see the worry in Stede’s eyes. The day is catching up with him now, the exhaustion kicking in properly. He knows he has cuts and bruises all over his face and he’s starting to feel others all over his body. His skin is sore and his clothes feel sticky from the dried saltwater, all he wants to do is take a bath and go the fuck to sleep.
“Ed can you look at me please?”
Stede’s voice is full of worry as he tilts Ed’s face up so he can get a better look at it. He gingerly traces his fingers over a particularly gnarly bruise on Ed’s cheek.
“How are you feeling? Can you see me okay? How’s your head?”
“’M fine, just need a bath and some sleep, is all” Ed replies. Stede seems somewhat satisfied with that, at least enough that he doesn’t seem terrified Ed will drop dead on him at any given moment.
“Okay, I’ll go get you some soap and water. You need anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
And with that, Stede scurries out of the room to fetch some bath supplies.
Ed sits in silence for a few moments, mentally preparing himself to remove the outfit hes been wearing for the last few days and see whatever damage is underneath. Under any other circumstances he’d be excited to undress in front of Stede, he remembers the thrill of doing it when they had only just met, but not now. Not when his head is throbbing and his body is aching and he feels more vulnerable than he’s felt in a long time.
Stede returns sooner than expected, towel tucked under his arm and a wooden bucked full of water in his hands.
“They were heating up some wated in the kitchen and let me nick some!” he says brightly “So you won’t have to worry about taking a cold bath.”
He sets the bucket down next to the bed and begins to busy himself with looking through all the cupboards in the cabin, clearly trying to give Ed some privacy.
Ed finally gathers the courage to take off his clothes, they cling to his skin where the blood from his injuries has dried and it stings when he finally pulls them off. He dumps his clothes on the floor, a worry for later. He slides off the bed to sit next to the bucket of warm water, standing is too much effort right now and he isn’t certain he won’t just fall right over again. The warm, soapy washcloth feels good against his skin, washing away all the grime and salt that’s built up on it over the last few days. As he cleans himself he starts to become aware of the extent of his injuries. There’s a couple of gashes on his stomach and a particularly nasty bruise covering the upper right side of his chest, it hurts to run the cloth over it and he isn’t certain that he hasn’t cracked a rib. The rest of his body is covered in a litany of other bruises and cuts, small enough to ignore individually, but when all brought together causing his body to ache from head to toe.
A little “Ha!” from Stede breaks his focus. From god knows where, probably another one of those secret compartments Ed hadn’t managed to find, Stede has pulled out an old nightshirt.
“I knew there’d be at least something left!” Stede beams, looking very proud of himself. “Here Ed, you should put this on, it’ll be more comfortable.” Stede brings the nightshirt over to Ed and helps him change into it, pointedly avoiding looking at Ed’s body. He’s clearly trying not to fuss more than he already is but his eyes keep flitting down to the nasty bruise across Ed’s ribs.
“I’m okay” Ed reassures Stede, giving him a little smile.
Stede smiles back, a lot less confident than before but still warm.
Stede helps Ed stand and lay down on the bed. Ed hisses in pain as he goes down, finally releasing all the tension in his body once he’s settled into the matress. At this point the exhaustion is inescapable, Ed feels his eyes start to droop almost instantly. Still, he doesn’t want to go to sleep just yet. Stede begins to potter around the room, carrying away Ed’s dirty bathwater and clothes and bringing in a little lamp that bathes the room in a soft, warm light.
“Where are you gonna sleep?” Ed mumbles as he watches stede fold up a blanket, trying not to give away the fact that he so badly wishes Stede would stay by his side. It feels too soon for that, too soon for him to forgive Stede so quickly and yet it’s all he can think about doing.
Stede seems to read his mind though and replies “Oh- well I was hoping I could stay here. You know... considering you’re not very well. Just to make sure you’re okay...”
A convenient excuse, they both know it.
“Yeah. Yeah good idea.” Ed says quickly and Stede hums, moving to drag the sofa over to the bed, setting it up so they’re parallell to each other.
“I’ll sleep here, if it’s alright”
“Perfect” says Ed.
Stede sits down on the sofa and takes off his shoes, moving to lay down and turning to face Ed. They smile at each other across the gap between their beds. Stede scrunches his nose up and lets out a small laugh, Ed can’t help but do the same back.
“G’night” Stede says with a smile, snugglind down into his pillow.
“Good night” Ed says back.
Finally, finally, for the first time in months, Ed feels safe. He settles down into his pillow, determined to keep his eyes on Stede for as long as possible, taking in those features he thought he’d never get to see again. Those perfect blond curls, emotive eyebrows and charming nose.
But of course, the exhaustion wins, a handful of seconds later Ed is out for the count, sleeping soundly for the first time in months. Knowing that, for tonight, he is perfectly safe, and that no matter what comes Stede will be by his side.