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Stede Bonnet-Teach is a fucking menace.
If Ed didn’t know that before, he definitely knows now.
Both of their schedules have slowly become less hectic in the past couple of weeks, meaning they’ve been able to start regularly spending their evenings together again just like they used to. Every night is easily spent in each other’s company with no worries or exhaustion. Just the two of them being together.
It's been really nice.
It also means that their flirting has resumed tenfold.
Stede has been teasing Ed ever since their movie night. He really didn’t remember much of what he said when he was half-asleep on the couch, so Stede recounted everything to him the following morning as they lounged in bed.
Everything.
“I didn’t think Patrick Swayze would be your type,” Stede had remarked. “He’s a handsome man, of course, but…”
“And what did you think my type was, exactly?” Ed questioned.
Stede gave a half-shrug, then gestured to himself. “I mean, you seem to like me.”
“Yeah, you’re alright,” Ed teased, earning a glare from Stede. “Kidding. Love you. Cherish you. So lucky you’re mine.” He sealed the apology with a quick kiss. “Okay, but seriously, you don’t… you don’t see the comparison?”
“Between who?”
“You. Swayze.” Ed explained. “Okay, more like you and Johnny Castle, really.”
Stede shook his head. “I can’t say I’ve ever noted many similarities between the two of us. I’m not much of a dancer, for one—”
“Okay, well, my type, right?” Ed interrupted. “You’re both confident, and kind, and sexy as all fucking hell. Shit, you both have fucking incredible arms. I mean, incredible. Insane arms, really.”
“Suppose I hadn’t thought about any of that,” Stede mused.
“Well, I reckon you should think about it and get back to me with whatever you come up with, love.”
Stede gave him an overly sweet smile, gears clearly shifting in his mind. “Perhaps I will.”
Ed thought he was kidding.
At first, Stede has the decency to be a little bit subtle. He starts by playing the Dirty Dancing soundtrack pretty much nonstop. In the car, while vacuuming, during his workouts.
Oh, Christ, his fucking workouts. Ed immediately notices that Stede is suddenly even more focused on strength training than usual, really working on toning his arms and bulking up his muscles.
But it’s not like Ed is just sitting there watching his husband do bicep curls in their home gym, getting weak in the knees at the sight of Stede’s arms flexing and listening to him groan as he lifts heavy weights. Of course not. That would be ridiculous.
And now today, with the fucking flirty texts.
Stede: So I have a question for you.
Stede: If I’m Johnny
Stede: Does that make you Baby?
Ed: well shit
Ed: hadn’t thought about that
Ed: fuck
Ed: uhhhh what do you think?
Stede: Not sure.
Stede: I think I just like calling you baby. <3
Ed’s pretty sure he’s fucked.
“Babe? I’m home!” Ed calls out as he walks through the doorway after work. He smells something cooking and hears the vague hum of music somewhere in the distance.
“In the kitchen!” Stede’s muffled voice calls back.
Although it’s typically something Ed does more often, it’s not unusual for Stede to cook dinner. Especially when he gets home from work earlier than Ed or when he has a day off. But fuck, if the domesticity of the gesture doesn’t go straight to Ed’s dick every time.
He turns into the kitchen, prepared to drop to his knees right there, when he sees his husband.
Stede’s still dressed like he normally would be for work. He’s wearing tight black slacks and a white button-up shirt with the top buttons undone, just enough to show the slightest glimpse of his chest. He can hear the music playing off of Stede’s phone more clearly now, and unsurprisingly, he’s once again playing the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Ed vaguely recognizes the song playing.
"Baby, it’s true, can’t think of anything but you
And what I need, baby
Is a little bit of sympathy"
Yeah. He’s definitely fucked.
“Hello, my darling,” Stede beams at him. “How was work?”
Ed is frozen. He tries to speak, but his throat has never felt so fucking dry.
“Oh, no, what’s wrong?” Stede frowns. “Bad day?”
“N-no. It was… it was fine,” Ed eventually squeaks out.
Stede smiles again, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the way that makes Ed go fucking insane. “Well, why don’t you go wash up while I finish dinner, hm?” Ed nods a bit too enthusiastically and bolts upstairs to the bathroom. He tries to ignore the song as it blares off of Stede’s phone, the lyrics so painfully obvious to Ed’s current situation it feels like someone somewhere is laughing at him.
"You got me on my knees
I burn throughout the night
And I can’t live without your love
Won’t you help me cure this overload?"
He showers in record time, scrubbing off the day’s grease and grime and sweat. He changes into a pair of sweatpants that hug his ass just right and throws on his favourite fuschia robe. The robe is technically Stede’s, but Ed started stealing it soon after they first began dating and it slowly gravitated towards his side of the closet when he eventually moved in, at Stede’s insistence (“It suits you far better than it ever did me, sweetheart”).
After towel-drying his hair, he throws it up into a messy bun. He gives himself a once-over in the mirror — adjusting his pants so they hang low on his hips and letting the robe hang open to nonchalantly show off his chest — until he’s satisfied that, yes, he looks decidedly fuckable, and exits their bathroom.
The music is still playing as Ed saunters downstairs towards the kitchen. Ed recognizes the song immediately from the twang of the guitar and the rhythmic cowbell, the scene from Dirty Dancing of Johnny and Baby flirting while dancing around on the floor flooding his memory.
"Sylvia?
Yes, Mickey?
How do you call your loverboy?
C’mere, loverboy!"
Ed turns into the kitchen to find Stede is standing at the counter, casually bopping his head and wiggling his hips along to the music as he finely chops some herbs — rosemary or thyme or something. Whatever. Ed’s not exactly focused on the goddamn herbs right now.
"And if he doesn’t answer?
Oh, loverboy!
And if he still doesn’t answer?"
Ed sneaks up behind Stede at the counter as the song’s flirty dialogue comes to an end. He turns Stede around and wraps him up in his arms. They sway gently together to the beat as Ed leans forward, humming the next lyrics in Stede’s ear.
"I simply say,
Baby
Oh, baby
My sweet baby
You’re the one."
Stede laughs and cups Ed’s face with both of his hands, kissing him hard. When they eventually pull away, Ed can’t help but look down and—
Oh, the little shit.
Stede’s shirt is unbuttoned. Not only are the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, but the buttons of his crisp white dress shirt are undone all the way down to his stomach, his chest now fully on display.
“Edward?” Ed realizes Stede is talking to him and he has to pretend to act normal.
“Hm?” he looks up, slightly dazed.
Stede rests his hands on Ed’s shoulders, giving them a light squeeze. “I asked if you had a good shower.”
“Oh,” Ed blinks. “Shower was… yeah. Good. It was good. Real good shower.” Smooth. “Missed you, though.”
“Is everything alright?” Stede asks with a puzzled look on his face. “You seem… distracted.”
Yeah. ‘Cause you’re distracting. “No. I’m fine. All good. Just…” Ed’s eyes drift downwards again, and he gestures to Stede’s exposed chest. “Doesn’t seem like the most practical cooking attire, does it?”
“Oh! Well, you know how dreadfully hot the kitchen can get, dear,” Stede says innocently, as if it’s the most logical explanation in the world for having his tits out while making dinner. “All that steam and the heat from the oven. You know.”
“Uh-huh,” Ed gives him a slow nod.
Stede nudges Ed out of his cooking space and turns his attention back to the sauce that’s simmering on the stove. As Ed leans back against the kitchen island, mindlessly drumming his fingers along to the music as he watches Stede, all he can think is arms. His eyes narrow in on Stede’s wrist, flexing as it stirs the wooden spoon around the pot. He thinks of how badly he wants that hand tugging at his hair, those fingers curling deep inside him—
“Here, taste,” Stede is talking again, snapping Ed back to reality. He’s lifting a spoon to Ed’s mouth, cradling it carefully with one hand underneath to prevent any sauce from dripping off. Ed takes the spoon into his mouth and swallows, attempting to be seductive with it but letting out a genuine, embarrassingly loud moan as he tastes the sauce. Stede huffs out a little laugh. “Good?”
“Fuckin’ delicious, babe,” Ed nods.
“Thank you. C’mere, you’ve got a little…” Stede says in that low sweet voice that always makes Ed’s heart start pounding. He reaches out and swipes a little bit of excess sauce off Ed’s bottom lip with his thumb.
Without really thinking, Ed leans forward and takes Stede’s thumb in his mouth, sucking off the rest of the sauce while holding Stede’s gaze. “Delicious,” he whispers.
“That’s… and w-what about you, hm?” Stede stammers weakly, turning his attention back to the stove. “You’re, uh, not exactly dressed suitably for a romantic dinner, are you?”
Ed puts his hands on his hips dramatically, letting his robe fall open just the slightest bit more. “What, you don’t think this is suitable?”
Stede looks him up and down. His cheeks are slightly flushed pink, but Ed can’t tell if he’s flustered or if he actually is just hot from being in the kitchen. “Oh, I think you’re plenty suitable, Edward.”
Ed chuckles and leans in closer to him, dropping his voice to a whisper. “If I’m being honest… I just wanted to give you easier access.”
“Easier access?” Stede narrows his eyebrow, frowning slightly. “What for?”
He can’t be serious.
“You can’t be serious.”
Stede sets down the spoon and turns away from the stove again, wrapping an arm securely around Ed’s waist. “I’m really not sure what you mean, Edward. Would you like to tell me?” He pulls Ed closer so their chests are pressed together, and — shit — Ed can feel the heat of Stede’s skin on his.
“Stede… come on.” Ed leans closer, his lips ghosting against Stede’s. “Don’t make me beg.”
“Thought you liked to beg,” Stede mutters casually.
Ed sighs. “Oh, you fuckin’ tease.”
The tiniest of smiles pulls at Stede’s lips. “Tease? Me? I thought we were having dinner. Unless you wanted something else…?”
Fuck it. Ed leans forward and captures Stede’s mouth in a rough kiss. Ed drapes both of his arms across Stede’s shoulders to pull him closer as Stede tightens his grip around Ed’s waist, using both arms to press their hips firmly together. They both groan at the contact. Ed tests the waters, giving his hips a slight roll, and Stede lets out a delightful moan into his mouth.
Stede gently pushes Ed so his back is pressed against the island. His hands start sliding lower down Ed’s waist, giving his ass a quick squeeze before settling around his thighs and lifts Ed off the ground.
Ed inhales a sharp breath of air as he adjusts to the new position, instinctively wrapping his legs around Stede’s waist.
“Stede,” Ed gasps. “Fucking hell. I need you. Now.”
Stede laughs breathlessly. “But what about the food?”
“Does it look like I give a shit about the food right now, babe?” Ed mutters, sucking Stede’s bottom lip into his mouth.
“Oh, but I put in so much effort for you, my darling—”
“And I will thank you quite generously for all of your effort in bed,” Ed sighs contently as Stede rolls his hips again. “Stede, I love you with everything in me, but if you don’t fuck me in the next five minutes, I promise you I will keel over and fuckin’ die right here on the bloody kitchen floor.”
“I see. Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Stede leans in for another quick peck and starts carrying Ed out of the kitchen, his legs still wrapped tightly around Stede’s waist and fingers gripping at his shoulders.
Ed’s eyes grow wide in concern as they reach the bottom of the staircase. Stede has carried him before, many times, but never in this position. “Um… mate, I love you, but there’s no way in hell you can carry me up these stairs like this without busting your ass.”
“Of course I can,” Stede says with a confident grin, adjusting his grip under Ed’s thighs. “Have a little faith, Edward.”
Slowly and carefully, they manage to make the ascent up the stairs without any tumbles or injuries. As soon as he knows they aren’t at risk of falling to their deaths, Ed latches onto Stede’s lips again. They’re practically panting into one another’s mouths as Stede blindly kicks open their bedroom door. Ed tears open the few remaining buttons on Stede’s shirt and it falls to the floor, along with the robe.
As they reach the foot of the bed, Stede suddenly releases Ed from his grip, tossing him down onto the sheets with such force that the headboard shakes with it. Ed leans up on his forearms, watching as Stede strips off his pants at the foot of the bed. “Stede, holy shit…”
With a mischievous look in his eyes and without warning, Stede grabs hold of Ed’s legs with a forceful yet gentle grip, pulling him down closer to the edge of the bed. Ed gasps at the sudden movement, then giggles.
The giggling quickly shifts into whimpering as Stede straddles him, knees on either side of Ed’s hips, pinning his wrists down to the bed.
Stede starts mouthing at Ed’s neck, altering between soft, sweet kisses along his collarbone and tender little bites across his throat. It’s too much and not enough. Ed shouldn’t be falling apart just from this, but he is. He’s already a mess underneath Stede, moaning and whining and pleading, and Stede has barely even touched him yet.
Ed tries to buck his hips up. He’s desperate for a little bit of friction, aching to feel their bodies grind together — their hips, their cocks, anything.
But Stede isn’t about to let that happen.
He repositions himself so his legs are like a vice grip on either side of Ed's hips, holding him right where Stede wants him. All Ed can do is writhe and squirm beneath him. He tries to chase Stede’s lips for a kiss, but Stede pulls back where Ed can’t reach, pressing his wrists firmly back into the mattress.
“Is there something you need, Edward?” Stede asks, nipping at his earlobe.
“You — fucking shit — you know what I need,” Ed bites back.
“Oh?” Stede gives him that same innocent look from before. Those sweet hazel eyes narrowed down, his head tilted slightly to the side, feigning confusion. “So this is enough, I suppose? You want me to get you off just like this?”
And Stede — the absolute fucking bastard that he is — rolls his hips down slowly, just once. A long, drawn-out moan falls from Ed’s lips and his eyes flutter shut.
Ed’s already so far gone that it probably is enough to get him off, frankly. But he wants more. And Stede loves to make him use his words.
He looks up at Stede through his eyelashes, eyes pleading. “Please. Baby, please. I need you to fuck me. Need to feel you inside me. Want it. Need it so fuckin’ bad. C’mon, please.”
Stede smiles down at Ed and rewards him with a quick kiss, grinding his hips down once more. “Of course. But not here.”
The fuck is he on about? “What?” Ed blinks up at him.
“Not here. Come on, up you get.”
Stede pushes off the bed and stands up, offering his hand to help a rather puzzled Edward onto his feet.
Just as he gets his bearings, Ed is being pushed back against the wall. Stede’s kissing him again, all teeth and tongue and heat. He starts tugging at the waistband of Ed’s sweatpants and pulls them off, raising an eyebrow when he finds that Ed isn’t wearing anything underneath. “No underwear? Really?”
Ed laughs into his mouth. “What’d you expect, babe?”
“Stay here,” Stede whispers. He leans over to the nightstand just a couple of feet away and pulls out a bottle of lube, quickly pulling off his own underwear. He shoves Ed back up against the wall. “I’m going to fuck you right here, sweetheart. That okay?”
Jesus fucking Christ. “Y-yeah, yeah, that’s… shit, yes. More than okay. Please.”
“Good boy. Now hold on tight for me,” Stede instructs him.
Before Ed can even fully process what’s happening, Stede’s lifting him off the ground again. He wraps his legs securely back around Stede’s waist and clings onto his shoulders — the same position they were just in downstairs.
Once they’re both sturdy in the position, Stede pops open the bottle and pours out a generous amount of lube into his hand as he kisses Ed hard. “Is this alright?” Stede asks softly against Ed’s lips as he warms his lubed up fingers. “How’s your knee?”
“Fuck my knee,” Ed growls back. Stede gives him a firm stare and he sighs. “It’s fine, seriously. I’m good. Now please hurry up and fuck me.”
“Since you asked so nicely.”
Stede briefly teases a finger around Ed’s entrance before pushing it inside, eliciting a sharp gasp out of his husband. It isn’t long before Stede adds a second digit, curling them in the way that always makes Ed scream.
Ed’s clawing his nails into Stede’s shoulders so hard that he’s undoubtedly leaving marks. His lips are pressed up against Stede’s neck as he babbles out little moans of please and fuck and god, yes and stedestedestede with every rhythmic thrust of Stede’s fingers.
“So good for me,” Stede says against Ed’s shoulder. Ed’s doing his part, but Stede is holding most of his weight with one arm, using the other to work Ed open. “Christ, Edward, look at you. So ready. Taking me so well already.”
“Stede, fuck! Please, I’m…” Ed whimpers.
“What do you need?”
“More…”
Stede doesn’t hesitate, pressing a kiss to Ed’s hair as he slides in a third finger. Ed groans. He starts grinding his hips down, writhing himself deeper onto Stede’s fingers.
“Stede!” Ed practically shouts. “Oh, fuck me, please, please, please, I… I need it… n-need more…”
“You need what?” Stede breathes against his ear. Ed’s hair is starting to fall out of his bun at this point, long loose strands framing his perfect face, and Stede gently brushes them back behind Ed’s ear as he leans down to press a kiss against his jaw. “Words, baby. Tell me.”
“Hnnnnggg” is the only response Ed manages to come up with, a shudder coursing through his veins as Stede crooks his fingers again.
At the lack of a proper answer, Stede abruptly stops moving his fingers. Ed whines and tries to rock himself down on them, and Stede gives him a gentle warning smack on the side of his thigh. “Edward. Look at me. Use your words.”
Ed takes a moment to collect himself. “I… fuck, Stede, I need you to fuck me. I’m so close already. So close. Need to come on your cock. Please.”
Stede nods. “Good boy.”
He slides his fingers out and chuckles as Ed whines at the loss. “Just a moment, honey.” Stede reaches over to grab the abandoned bottle of lube from the nearby nightstand, slicking himself up before tossing the bottle back down with disregard.
“You ready?” Stede asks, his slick fingers pressing firmly into Ed’s waist.
A small needy noise falls from Ed’s throat. “Babe, please. Yes. Just — shit — just fuck me. I need you inside me right the fuck now or I — fuuuuuuck…”
Before Ed can finish rambling, Stede is lining himself up the head of his cock at Ed’s entrance, slowly slowly pushing in until he’s fully buried inside of his husband.
Ed clings to him as he adjusts, digging his heels into Stede’s lower back and tangling his fingers in messy blond hair.
The angle is perfect. Stede is impossibly deep, filling Ed so completely that he feels absolutely fucking delirious with it.
“You okay?” Stede checks in, gently pressing their foreheads together.
Ed nods vigorously. “Fucking move.”
That’s all the confirmation Stede needs, slowly sliding his length out of Ed’s hole before driving back in with a forceful thrust.
“Oh, fuck!” Ed shouts. “Shit, fuck, yes. Like that. Just like that.” His head falls back against the wall with a bit of a thud.
“Oh, there you are. Good boy. Fuck, you look so pretty like this,” Stede says breathlessly. “So gorgeous. Always take me so well. So perfect for me.”
Ed’s incoherent now, moaning out little ah-ah-ah’s as he hips stutter forward helplessly to meet Stede’s thrusts.
“St-Stede, I’m so close,” Ed sobs. “Feels so good. So fuckin’ deep. Please, fuck, touch me. Almost there.”
“Yeah?” Stede reaches between them and takes Ed’s cock in his hand. “Are you gonna come for me?” Ed just lets out a needy little sound of assent, nodding vigorously. “Come on, darling. Show me. Let me see it.”
With a few more quick strokes, Ed is spilling out over Stede’s fist onto both of their stomachs. Stede fucks him through it, muttering sweet praises right into his ear. “There. Let go for me. That’s it. God, I love you so much. Such a good boy. Love seeing you like this. So good, sweetheart.”
Ed’s legs are shaking from the aftershocks, but he keeps them locked tightly around Stede’s waist to prevent him from pulling out. “Don’t stop yet,” he says, voice slightly slurred with pleasure, but certain. “Want you to come inside me.”
“Yeah?” Stede pants. “Want me to fill you up?”
“Fuck, Stede, yes, yeah, wanna feel it, please,” Ed babbles. “Give it to me. Please, wanna fucking feel it. Fuck, want it so bad, baby. C’mon.”
Ed’s wanton moans and desperate pleading are all Stede needs to pick up the pace, thrusting relentlessly until his own release starts to stir in his belly. Ed keens as Stede spills inside him, filling him to the brim, and Ed pulls him in for another messy kiss.
As they come down from their respective highs, both groaning as Stede slowly pulls out, Ed suddenly starts giggling.
“What?” Stede asks, trying to catch his breath.
Ed manages to collect himself as he looks back at his husband, eyes twinkling like Stede just recited a sonnet to him or presented him with a bouquet of flowers and not like he was just railed within an inch of his life against a wall. “I just fuckin’ love you,” he sighs.
Stede chuckles himself and gives Ed a quick kiss on the forehead. “I love you, too, my sweet.”
Ed untangles his legs from where they were wrapped around Stede’s waist and Stede slowly guides him back to the floor, helping him readjust to his feet after being lifted up for so long.
Once Ed is steady again, Stede makes quick work of cleaning them both up, pressing kisses to Ed’s cheek and neck and shoulder and wherever else he can reach as he does.
Stede takes Ed gently by both hands and guides him back over to their bed when he’s all done. They collapse onto the mattress together, still trying to catch their breath.
“Holy shit,” Ed sighs. “Think I might be dead.”
“I don’t think you'd be speaking if you were dead, sweetheart,” Stede informs him.
“Nah, I’m pretty sure,” Ed grabs hold of Stede’s hand, holding it firmly to his wrist. “Check my pulse, I think you might’ve actually just fuckin’ killed me with your dick.”
Stede laughs and pulls Ed’s hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. “So it was alright, then?” he asks.
“Oh, you shut the fuck up,” Ed teases. “Babe, seriously, where the hell did you come up with that?”
“I don’t know,” Stede says earnestly with a shake of his head, his mop of messy blond hair flopping around on the pillow. “I mean, I didn’t plan it. But after realizing I really could carry you up all those stairs, I started imagining how long I might be able to hold you up like that, in that same position. And well… I wanted to test my limits, I suppose.”
“‘Test my limits,’ he says,” Ed huffs. “Fuckin’ lunatic. God, c’mere, I fucking love you.” He rolls over to kiss Stede properly, slow and sweet and tender.
“Mm, Ed. Listen.” Stede says as they both pull away. “I think I get it now.”
“Get what, love?” Ed asks, nudging Stede’s nose with his own.
Stede smirks. “The Patrick Swayze thing.”
Ed rolls his eyes, but he’s laughing. “Oh, fuck off with that, mate!”
“So did I finally win your heart, then?” Stede teases. “Or do we need to have a dance battle?”
Ed shoots Stede a glare as if to say don’t be fucking stupid in the most loving way possible. “Fuck Johnny. Baby can have ‘im. You’ve had my heart for a while now. Even got the ring to prove it.” He lays right on top of Stede, his cheek resting against Stede’s chest as he looks up at him. “Although I wouldn’t mind seeing what kinda dance moves you want to pull out in my honour…”
“Hm. I was going to take some dance classes for you, I’ll have you know,” Stede says as he absentmindedly runs his fingers through Ed’s hair.
“Oh, were you now?” Ed hums.
“Mhm,” Stede says. “Something to really knock your socks off. But I’m afraid time got away from me.”
“Nah, c’mon, I like the way you dance already, love,” Ed says, nuzzling his cheek against Stede’s chest like a cat. “Remember our wedding? At the reception? My socks were fully knocked off that night.”
Stede sighs. “Darling, we did the Macarena.”
“Mmph, and it was so hot.”
They lay in comfortable silence after that. Stede almost starts to wonder if Ed may have fallen asleep on him when he suddenly speaks.
“So that sauce you were making—”
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s just simmering,” Stede assures him. “I’m not going to burn the house down.”
Ed raises his eyebrows and blinks, as if an accidental house fire wasn’t even something he’d considered. “Uh, okay, well, that’s a relief. But I actually meant, like, is it almost ready?”
“Oh, for god’s sake, Edward,” Stede sighs.
“Babe, I’m hungry,” Ed pouts.
“I did try to get some food in you before I seduced you,” Stede reminds him. “I had a whole plan. But you were just too impatient to wait for—”
“Oh, so you were trying to seduce me, you little minx!” Ed interrupts, playfully smacking Stede’s arm.
Stede laughs. “Ed, I had my shirt almost fully unbuttoned while cooking pasta. Of course I was trying to seduce you. And what about you, sucking the sauce off my bloody thumb?”
“I was absolutely trying to seduce you and I don’t deny it for a second,” Ed concedes. “But seriously, will dinner be much longer, or…?”
“It’s a good thing I love you,” Stede mutters as he adjusts to sit up properly in the bed. He leans back down quickly to kiss the top of Ed’s head. “About half an hour if I go downstairs and finish cooking now, my sweet. Just let me get dressed—”
“Wait,” Ed grabs Stede’s wrist to stop him from getting out of the bed.
“Everything okay?”
“Just… I can wait a few more minutes. Just a few more minutes?” Ed’s voice is much softer now, almost timid. As if he’s afraid of asking for what he actually wants out loud.
But Stede knows. He knows from the way Ed looks up at him with those big brown eyes and how he gently squeezes his wrist.
Hold me. Fuck the pasta, just keep holding me.
Stede lays back down and pulls Ed close to him again with a knowing, warm smile. They wrap up in each other wordlessly, limbs tangling together. “Anything you want.”
And he means it. Anything.
Dinner can wait.