Stede's no longer in the hospital and goes to find Ed, who's been living on The Revenge for the last week
alone and sleepless.
⚠
N/A, little bit of fluff
It had been a couple of days since Stede had been released from the hospital after his initial reunion with Ed; a dagger to the gut would do that to a person, unfortunately. Put them in hospital, attached to various tubes and things that he didn’t understand, though truthfully he hadn’t needed to. He’d been sedated for quite a lot of the time, medically forced into sleep in order to heal and rest properly between the science and the magic that was being used on him. But once he’d been discharged, well– he knew he should’ve reached out to Ed, but mostly he just wanted to sleep more, so he did.
Until he finally felt human enough to get up and get dressed and try again.
That’s how he’d found himself back at his ship, carefully making his way up the rope ladder (he was getting better at using it, at least), and onto the deck. Knowing his way around the ship as well as he did, it didn’t take him long to navigate himself down to the captain’s quarters. He could only assume this is where Ed was keeping himself. Alone.
He gave a gentle knock to the door and then nudged it open to peek in. “Ed? Are you in here? I’m sorry for dropping in unannounced, I– well, I’ve been in a bit of a dead sleep and–”
Stede sighed, cutting himself off. What did it matter? He was here now, wasn’t he? But then he noticed the space. How empty it was, how void of… everything it was. And the sight of that made him lose focus temporarily on why he’d come there in the first place, pushing the door open further to get a better look.
Most of the week had been a blur for Edward. He’d gone with to take Stede to the doctors and entered the hospital with extreme caution after they’d taken his pistol. He’d been told to sit and wait, and being idle just wasn’t his way and there were so many noises to a fucking hospital. He’d thought he was going mad when he’d tried to talk back to the people in the box on the wall but he could never get their attention. Then, a nurse had come and taken him down the hall and he’d been beside himself seeing all those tubes and things poking into and out of Stede. It wasn’t right. Again, he was supposed to sit and wait, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. There was too much beeping and heavy breathing sounds and all the chatter in the hall. He’d tried to get into bed with Stede as he slept but they told Edward that wasn’t allowed and neither was his incessant need to poke every button on every machine as he tried to understand. He supposed he shouldn’t have been shocked they escorted him out of the hospital.
Now, Edward sat on the window seat and he’d made himself small as he sat wrapped up in the red floral frock of Stede’s that he fancied. He completely missed the fact that Stede had come down the beachhead to the ship. He’d survived on Nicole and Wynonna’s cookies and water he’d found on the ship for however many days he’d been sitting all his days in that window, berating himself for nearly killing Stede when he wasn’t crying because he’d nearly killed Stede. In fact, when he heard someone on the deck and them coming downstairs into the hull, he didn’t even pay them any mind. Did it really matter anymore?
Turning to the sound of Stede’s voice, Edward looked woefully sleep deprived as he sat with his arms around his bent up knees. Some color returned to him when he smiled. “You’re better,” Edward said as relief spread through him and relaxed his tired body. “They told me you would be but I couldn’t believe them with the way you looked in that bed. I can’t shake the image from my mind, but the sight of you absolutely helps.” Edward was gushing softly as he lifted out of his seated pose and his boots found the floor.
“Come! Come,” he insisted with encouraging gestures of his hands. “Let me hold you and be certain you’re not another ghost come to haunt me,” Edward said softly, eyes kind and tired. “Oh, how I miss the touch of you,” Edward practically purred in need as he waited for Stede to cross the room. “Like hugging the sun my dear love makes me feel entirely warm and safe.”
He hadn’t even noticed the other man sitting in the window that had once been his very own bed; the space felt so dark and empty. What had happened? Well, he had a decent idea of what had happened and it involved all of his things being destroyed out of anger, likely. He couldn’t say that he blamed Edward if that was the case, though it hurt a little to see his bookshelves so bare.
“I’m better,” he repeated to him, his voice soft as he pulled himself out of the brief shock to let his eyes settle on Edward. Even if most of his things were missing, at least that velvet and silk robe had survived. That made a small smile pull at the corners of his mouth as he crossed over the wooden floor toward him. “I assure you, I’m no ghost.” At that point it felt like he was being drawn to him and truly nothing else mattered as he closed the distance. Without a word, he met him and wrapped his arms around him in a tight embrace. “Oh, Edward,” he breathed softly, squeezing his eyes shut and momentarily burying his face against the crook of his neck.
After a few moments he carefully pulled back enough to get a better look at him, turning their bodies enough so that the daylight through the window panes illuminated them both. He brought a hand up to caress Edward’s cheek before tucking a bit of his long, graying hair behind an ear. “Are you well?”
Edward held onto Stede who found his neck and Edward rested his temple against Stede as one hand grasped the back of Stede’s neck and the other rubbed the man’s back. Finding the will to breathe deeply, Edward found the light musk of Stede to be intoxicating as he held on. He wasn’t surprised when Stede pulled back and looked at him with such concern. Edward chuckled at the question. “Do I look well?” Edward asked in return before he slipped free of Stede’s hold so he could grab the other man’s arm, squeeze, and then let his fingers trail down to take Stede’s hand.
“Come, I want to show you something,” Edward said and gave an encouraging tug as he sauntered toward the bookshelves. He grabbed the pull that opened the corner shelf and opened the passage with Stede’s wardrobe. “Pick one,” Edward said as he smiled at the racks of clothing. “You don’t look yourself either,” Edward lightly cheeked and turned to Stede to give a shrug. “Couldn’t get rid of all of you. Needed the rest of them to think that was exactly what I was doing.”
“You look tired, if I’m being honest.”
The tone in his words said more than what actually came out of his mouth – ‘You haven’t been sleeping well, have you?’ ‘Have you been eating?’ ‘When was the last time you bathed?’ It was rooted in concern and he just wanted Edward to be okay. That was all he’d ever wanted. After their initial reunion, it had been more than obvious that he wasn’t, but that had been nearly a week ago now.
Stede let the other man take his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he led him over toward the auxiliary wardrobe that was hidden away in the wall of the quarters. His eyes wandered over the emptiness of the space; all of his things were just… gone. Not that he needed them anymore, but it broke his heart a little to see the room so lifeless. Except when the door opened and he saw all of the clothing there, still hung neatly, it nearly brought him to tears. He glanced over to Ed and gave him a small smile in response to his words. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had gotten rid of them, but–”
He made his way into the wardrobe and began fingering through the fabrics. The weather here was warm, but not quite topical. Still. He reached for a set of breeches and a shirt, something simple but more to his taste than what he’d found in Vallo. “I don’t… I don’t know that I want to drudge things up, so to speak, but what happened? I feel like we haven’t really had a chance to discuss any of that yet.”
Edward sighed and nodded as he conceded, “Haven’t slept since I arrived. Not really. Dozed off here and there, but I don’t know how I’m expected to sleep with you in a hospital.” He frowned then as Stede gathered his clothes. “Don’t really know what day it is if I’m being honest. They told me it was a Monday when they made me leave. I lost track of days when I ran out of biscuits and water.”
Cracking a smile when Stede had picked out clothes that suited him, Edward was relieved that another step toward being back to normal was reached. When Stede asked about what had happened in his absence, however, Edward folded his hands in front of himself and looked at the old leathered skin of his fingers as his brow furrowed. He didn’t really know how to properly put into words what had happened when he’d returned to find the crew in the mutiny against Izzy before he’d made his fort and hid. Before he had… well, before he had his tantrum.
“I broke,” Edward said, the words sounding more damning than he intended. He shook his head and rounded his shoulders. “I broke and let the Kraken free.” He sighed and pulled his troubled expression back up to Stede, worrying his thumbnail into his palm. “It wasn’t a good moment for me, Stede, and Izzy, well… he relished it. I Shanghai’d most of the crew. Took everyone else to head out to sea. Came across the Spanish Armada and fled into the Bermuda Triangle. Never expected to end up here.”
Stede stood there almost dumbfounded at what was coming out of Ed’s mouth. He hadn’t slept? He’d run out of biscuits and water? It had been nearly six days and all he’d managed was to doze and barely eat. That realization made his heart lurch into his throat and he took a few steps closer to Ed, setting the garments he’d gathered down.
Then he listened intently as he went on to explain what had happened in his absence. He’d never meant to cause Edward the pain he’d clearly put him through. He closed the distance between them then, bringing his hands up to gently hold either side of Ed’s face as he looked at him. “I know about the crew. I came upon them when I tried to come back to you.” Another apology was sitting at the tip of his tongue, but he held that back, instead leaning forward to let his forehead rest against his a moment.
“I never intended to cause you so much pain. I’m sure that’s difficult to believe, but it’s the truth.”
His words were hushed as he spoke them, and thick with regret. Stede pulled back a moment later to look at him, but kept close. “I suspect I will be spending quite a bit of my life trying to make it up to you, somehow. To earn your trust and forgiveness.”
Edward let out a heavy breath as the softest sound of remorse left him. He leaned into Stede, as if the crux of their foreheads might hold him up. HIs hands foung Stede’s waist and gripped for purchase. Stede was solid and felt so good to him. Edward was drained and figured he would be crying at the moment if he didn’t have such a thirst.
“It’s not your fault,” Edward croaked. “Blackbeard is who I am. The Kraken is who I am and that will never be on your shoulders.” Edward then started to curl inward as he drooped against Stede and his face found a shoulder. He needed to sit down, but he didn’t want to. Holding onto Stede was all that mattered.
Another hushed sound escaped Edward. “They would have never been in danger and your books would still be here if it wasn’t for me,” Edward explained in something close to anguish. “Don’t put that on yourself. I’m relieved that you found them.” Edward closed his eyes and breathed deeply again before he spoke once more. “Now, I’m here and I’m with you, and I nearly killed you! I don’t belong, dear love. I’m made for things much darker than you can fathom. Blackbeard is who I am.”
“Will you stop saying such things, Edward?” As the other man leaned into his own body, Stede’s hold shifted, his arms moving around his body to keep him close. “It’s partly my fault. I should’ve found a way to let you know what happened. I didn’t mean to just leave like that.” But I was a coward.
He let out a soft sigh and then turned his head, pressing a kiss into the other’s hair at his temple. “I have seen who you really are, my darling. Izzy isn’t here, no one is but me, alright? You don’t have to be Blackbeard here. We can— we can keep to our plan and pretend as if this is China. How does that sound?” he asked softly, hoping that the suggestion came as some comfort to the one in his arms.
Then after a moment, he asked another question. “Would you like to lay down with me? We can settle by the window, maybe you’ll manage a proper sleep if I’m here with you. And then I can find you something to eat, too. For later.”
Edward slowly shook his head and sighed as he continued to lay against Stede and watch the rack of clothing with an unfocused gaze as he thought about the things he’d felt since he’d woken Stede and told him the plan to get free of the encampment. “I’ve been rejected plenty before,” he pointed out as his heart began to palpitate in pain again. “But never by you. You were supposed to be the one who’d never reject me. I put you on the pedestal. And then I built and hid in a blanket fort when you weren’t on it anymore.”
When Stede insisted that they sleep and stop talking of all this, Edward pulled up and nodded as he let his forehead rest against Stede’s again. “Just be careful. I don’t always come out of the nightmares with the best mind about things.” He chuckled then and gave a crooked smile. “You going to tell me a bedtime story?” he asked facetiously, another cheek because he was so glad Stede was okay and he was more than a bit delirious from sleep deprivation. “All that I ask is that I’m the sleeping beauty that you kiss, dear prince.”
Pulling away entirely now, Edward was a tad wobbly when he held out his hand and sheepishly grinned. “To bed, Sir Bonnet?” he asked with a toss of his hair and raise of his eyebrows.
“Oh, Edward, love.” Stede frowned at the words coming from his mouth and shook his head gently in response. “I never rejected you. I promise. I know it felt that way from your perspective, but that wasn’t the case,” he explained quietly. “Chauncey– he took me at gunpoint and he said things, horrible things that rooted themselves in my mind. He said that I defile beautiful things, including you.” There was a moment’s pause as he let those words turn over in his mind again. “Then he tripped over a root or a rock or… something and shot himself right through the eye.” Not unlike what had happened to Nigel. “I went into such a terrified shock that my body reacted without me thinking. Fear took over.”
Stede looked at Edward solemnly, his expression soft and sad as he brought a hand back up to caress his face. “I assure you, there was no rejection. I was simply doing what I thought was best to– to protect you from me. Which, in hindsight, wasn’t the right decision to make and I know that.”
A quiet sigh escaped him again as Edward’s forehead met his and he closed his eyes, his thumb stroking over the scruff on his cheek gently. He had no retort for the question about the bedtime story, instead letting out a half-hearted chuckle as the other man pulled away. But he took his hand and instead of leading him from the wardrobe, he closed the distance between them again and leaned in, catching his lips in a firm, but gentle kiss. Something he’d been desperate to do since first seeing him again.
“The Admiral called me beautiful?” Edward murmured and shook his head with an exhausted smile. “Absolute nutter that one and so was his brother. Terrible men. Don’t let his words get to you now, dear love. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see another Badminton shoot himself in the face, honestly.” Edward was now wandering off mentally and while he appreciated that Stede said it wasn’t rejection, a part of him didn’t entirely believe the words. After all, they were just words and Stede had left. He huffed a breath and looked back to Stede. “You’re not going to beat yourself up for an eternity are you? I mean, I forgive you, but I suppose that doesn’t matter if you don’t forgive yourself.”
When Stede not only followed Edward but inched him back, Edward raised his brow but immediately understood Stede was coming for a kiss. He reached up to catch Stede’s jaw with his palm and returned the kiss, but hesitated to push for something deeper. He would let Stede lead this because Edward damn well knew what his body and heart craved, but in the interest of not scaring the man he loved so dearly, he kept the urges to cover Stede’s neck and shoulder in marks so that every time Stede touched one he would be reminded of who made them.
Edward’s hand did slide down to have a grasp of Stede’s throat, though. He didn’t want the kissing to stop and as he deepened it by pushing open Stede’s mouth with his own before he panted a hot breath. Carefully, he tested putting his tongue behind Stede’s lower lip and then backed off every so slightly to catch his breath. He pushed their foreheads together again and searched Stede’s gaze with his own, looking for any sign that meant this was too much. “All right, then?” Edward asked between breaths. “Should we stop?”
“I’m going to do my best to not beat myself up over it, though you know how I am with guilt.” He sighed again, quietly, and gave Edward an apologetic look. “Though you’d have been proud of the fuckery I managed as a way of leaving Barbados behind to come and be with you. Everyone officially thinks I’m dead now – there were dozens of witnesses.”
But he didn’t think that he needed to go into too much detail, even if the story of it all was something he found terribly exciting.
The thought of the fuckery was lost though as the kiss lingered, growing more heated as the seconds passed. He felt Edward’s hand first on his jaw and then his throat; it caused an eruption of butterflies in his stomach as he leaned into every touch. While the matter of physical intimacy wasn’t something new to Stede, as he did have children, experiencing it with someone he loved, like he loved Edward, was. There was both a timidness rising up in him, unsure if anything he could offer him would be satisfactory, and a hunger he’d never quite known before.
When the kiss broke, he opened his eyes halfway and looked into Ed’s. His cheeks were flushed and there was a sheepish sort of look on his face. “I don’t want to stop, but don’t you need to rest, my love?”
Edward had been unable to keep himself to simply following Stede’s lead and he knew it was not what had been expected when he saw how much his fleeting addition of heat to the kiss had put a pepper of arousal into Stede’s belly. He reluctantly let his hand leave its gentle grip on Stede and fall to rest against his beloved’s chest. He dipped his eyes and watched his hand move against the shirt that Stede wore. It felt soft but certainly lacked the prestige of Stede’s typical wardrobe.
“Rest would be good, yes,” Edward conceded as he felt himself inwardly pulling back. Scaring Stede with his desire was absolutely something he wanted to avoid, especially when he wasn’t even in his normal state of mind. “I’m sorry that I got ahead of myself. Besides…”
With that, Edward’s eyes lifted to meet Stede’s gaze. “There’s so much about this fuckery you need to tell me. In fact, I demand to hear it. Though, I don’t know how long I’ll last. I can’t believe it’s been a week.” Emotion seized Edward suddenly and he swallowed, hard, trying to get the knot in his throat to go down. “You are the most important person who has ever happened to me, Stede,” Edward said with a great sniff followed by a breathy chuckle as his hands went to Stede’s strong shoulders and held on. His eyes flicked back up again and they were shining with potential tears though Edward’s entire expression from his smile to the twinkle among the tears said he was more than content with this moment.
“Never thought there would be someone quite like you who would make someone quite like me feel like I belong and that I didn’t have to pretend anymore.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. I don’t mind, I just worry about the fact that you apparently haven’t slept or eaten properly in the last week,” he replied quietly, his eyes sweetly searching Ed’s face as he spoke. When he noticed the shift, the emotion coming into Ed’s face, his expression softened more and he leaned forward to press a soft kiss between his eyebrows. “I will be glad to tell you about the fuckery, love.”
Stede reached for the other man’s arms, his hands, pulling them from his shoulders and bringing them both up to brush a kiss over his knuckles on each and then giving them a squeeze. “I adore you, Edward. You are the most important person to happen to me, as well, so at least we know the feeling is mutual, hm?” He flashed a small grin and then leaned in to steal a kiss before leading Ed from the wardrobe and across the room toward the bed tucked in its own nook of the quarters.
“Come, lay down.” He moved to sit and led Edward onto the bed, moving to press his back against the wall and lay on his side. He didn’t bother to remove his boots or anything else before he settled in, his head propped against his hand. “I’m glad that you don’t feel like you have to pretend, not anymore. Or– well, you don’t, do you? I hope you don’t. I want you to feel like you can be yourself here, with me.”
Edward wanted to protest that he had so much to be sorry for. He was Blackbeard for crying out loud! A persona that he’d gladly dropped the moment he’d introduced himself as Ed to bedridden Stede. There was really nothing exciting about being a pirate, though he knew Stede had certainly hoped there would be. You did what you had to and somehow, Edward had been naive enough in the beginning to think the raids would cure his desire for defying his impoverished stature. Not that it mattered now, in this place called Vallo, but he still had to live with knowing all the rotten things he’d done or even ordered to be done.
The kiss jarred Edward from his negative thoughts and he blinked, which caused a tear to fall down either side of his face. His bony knuckles were tingling after the kisses and he gladly allowed himself to be led across the room by Stede, love of his fucking life and nothing that Blackbeard deserved, but Edward was taking him anyway. He didn’t care if it was selfish. Stede had left because some arsehole had convinced him that he would only ever belong on his family’s estate. Edward would do anything to keep Stede from being led astray again.
Seeing Stede on the tiny bed, beckoning him, made Edward feel a little punch drunk off the sight. Stopping short of joining Stede on the bed, Edward paused to shrug out of the red floral frock made from silk and velvet. This revealed the bare upper-half of his strong, yet still a touch soft, body and the next thing he did was sit on the bed with his back to Stede so he could take off his boots before scooting back until he bumped into Stede’s chest. Smiling to himself, Edward pulled his legs up as he drooped into the pillow. They barely fit in the little nook for a bed, but he didn’t care. Having Stede hold him was all he wanted.
“So tell me more about the jungle cat who mauled you,” Edward requested as he reached back to bring Stede’s arm over his body and to lace their fingers together in a hold against his bare chest. “You don’t look mauled in the least.”
When Edward laid down and brought his arm over to wrap around his middle, Stede felt his breath catch momentarily in his throat. He couldn’t recall ever experiencing something like this with another person – this sort of quiet intimacy. His marriage with Mary had never gone further than something akin to tolerance and duty. She’d never particularly liked him, he knew that, so their bed had always felt cold more often than not.
So this? It was another new thing, having someone to hold in such a caring way, someone who wanted to be held. He smiled and shifted enough so that their bodies were flush against one another, before leaning his head forward enough to press a soft kiss to his shoulder.
“His name’s Ned and he belongs to a friend of Mary’s,” he started with a chuckle. “She– the friend, I mean, was married to the local undertaker. We’d gone to her for assistance in finding a corpse that was my size and shape, but then I saw Ned in the lounge and decided to add a bit of… well, theatrical flare to the whole ordeal.”
Stede paused for a moment, smiling to himself as he thought about it. “Do you remember when you thought we were all going to die and you mentioned that you thought perhaps you’d get eaten by a tiger? That inspired me when I saw him there. So… first it involved being mauled by Ned and then subduing him, though really I just used a chicken leg– he was quite pleased. Then I was run over by a horse and carriage, which caused further distress. Finally a piano was dropped on me as I escaped! It was incredible, my love. The perfect fuckery and now everyone back in Bridgetown definitely thinks I’m dead.”
The tension in Edward from his concern for Stede waned as his shoulder was kissed so sweetly once their bodies were snug together. A simple gesture that was another sign that Stede did still want him despite everything that he’d done. The bed was a welcome spot for his tired old bones. At least if he passed in his sleep from sheer exhaustion of every system in his body, he could know that at least he’d gotten this much from Stede. Someone caring for him due to how his brain truly worked and not the show he put on? That was all he’d ever wanted, especially when he’d grown tired with his life as a pirate.
Chuckling in pure mirth when Stede said it was his decision to add all the dramatic elements to the fuckery, Edward pulled their hands up and tucked his chin to place a scruffy kiss against Stede’s hand. He loved how excited Stede was when talking about things like this, the things he enjoyed about being a pirate. At least there was some good to the life, even if Edward struggled so much with his own morals.
“I told you about the tiger?” Edward asked gently, clearly impressed with the revelation. “I must have been in quite the spot. I’ve never told anyone about the tiger, Stede. It’s how I deal with my own feeling of the inevitability of death.” He paused and looked down to their hands again. “That is a brilliant fuckery, dear love. I couldn’t have done it better myself. Though, I am quite happy you’re not actually dead.” He cried enough about that prospect already.
Edward cleared his throat and shifted a bit to make himself more comfortable. He then closed his eyes as he kept a determined grip on Stede’s hand. “You’ll have to tell what’s it’s been like here without anyone from home. Still not sure how I feel about it, but you’re here and for now, that’s all that really matters.”
“You did tell me about the tiger. I suppose it was a bit in passing and you had a bottle of brandy in your hand with every intention of drinking yourself into a stupor while the ship goes down, but I was listening.” He chuckled softly, smiling at the feeling of the kiss to his own hand. Stede had needed this, needed Ed, and the intimacy that came with this still fairly new revelation of his feelings for the other man. “Though I’m rather glad to not actually be dead, too. I’d hate to be missing out on moments like these.”
Stede shifted a little as well when Edward did, making sure he kept close to him, though he took the opportunity to carefully toe himself out of the boots he was wearing while he talked.
“I actually haven’t been here much longer than you. Maybe a week or so? A little longer? It… well, it’s strange. The ship seemed to have arrived around the same time as you, so I’ve been staying at a place called Morningside. It’s free boarding, fully furnished, though trying to learn how to use these– hmm, oh! Appliances. That’s what they are. Learning how to use them has been a strange adventure, to say the least. They’re designed to help with household chores, to make things easier. The running water is wonderful, though that took me a few days to adjust to, as well. I thought the en suite here on the ship was high class, but I suppose finding one’s self three hundred years or so ahead of where we were means our modern comforts are no longer modern.”
Once the boots were off, he nudged them over to the edge of the bed and let them fall to the floor with heavy thuds before he settled against Edward again, tucking his face against the crook of his neck with a smile. “But I feel more at home now than I have been, anyways.”
Eyebrows becoming knitted, Edward thought back on when he would have had brandy because of the ship going down. “The lighthouse,” he fondly announced as his face relaxed when he remembered the night in question. “We were brilliant that night. I had really thought we were done for and then, the lighthouse.” Edward softly smiled and squeezed Stede’s hand. “I used to think that you were my lighthouse. Another warning of the land I desperately wanted and the rocks I would crash upon if I went directly toward the light. Eventually, I realized your light is not about danger, Stede. I don’t think I’ll ever not be in awe of it.”
Sighing in exhaustion when he heard the boots fall, Edward started to drift toward sleep but he had tried to pay attention to everything Stede said, as ludicrous as it was. “Three centuries worth of industrialization,” he softly pointed out. “Would rather have nothing to do with all that as it were.” The word ‘home’ meant quite a lot to Edward in that moment. If he’d been not half-asleep his chest would have swollen with pride instead he settled for the feeling of being wanted and how wonderful that was.
“We don’t have to leave the ship,” Edward muttered. “I would go for supplies and to look for a crew but I can’t just leave her. Not when someone else may lay claim.”
The tired, half-asleep murmurings about the lighthouse and his own light brought a smile to his face and he nuzzled his nose against the back of Edward’s neck affectionately. He wanted to ask more about what his light did mean, but that was a conversation that could be saved for later. After Ed had managed to sleep a bit.
Instead he pressed closer and settled in against him, finding a comfortable position so that he could get some more rest as well – and maybe he’d find himself sleeping better now that he had him in his arms, as he’d been wanting for days. “I don’t think we need to worry about anyone laying claim to her,” he replied gently, “but I’ll be glad to get supplies for us, darling. I don’t want you to concern yourself with any of that if you’d rather stay on the ship for now.”
Vallo was a lot and he knew that Ed’s arrival had gone less than well. If staying on The Revenge was something that would make him feel more comfortable with being here, then Stede would gladly stay with him. There was no pressure to succumb to the ways of modern life on the island; they could continue to live how they had been, if they wanted.