Work Text:
As the sky begins to darken above them, Frenchie switches from officiant to wedding musician, the crew taking to the deck to dance and drink the night away. The newlyweds take it as their chance to sneak away hand in hand to the crows nest.
“We’re married” Stede giggles, clearly a little tipsy.
“We’re married” Ed confirms, giggling too, also a little tipsy.
“Kiss me” Stede whispers into the night sky
“You don’t have to ask twice” Ed happily indulges his husband in a passionate kiss.
The dulcet tones of Frenchie’s lute float up to them as they gaze at the stars above, sailing towards their honeymoon destination. Stede darts to climb back down the ladder “hey Stede slow down, where you going?”
“I wanna dance, come on!”
Ed follows him down “you’re a lunatic”
“I’m your lunatic though” and isn't that true.
“Yeah, s’pose you are” he smiles.
Soon enough, the ship docks on a small island, there’s a few people about, enjoying the nightlife the island has to offer, which isn’t much more than a small bar and a night market.
The crew wave them off “have fun lovebirds!” Jim shouts
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t” Lucius smirks
They walk through the crowd towards the inn where they’ll be spending the night, excitement filling the air.
“It’s a beautiful evening for it, isn’t it dear?” Stede comments.
“Mhm” Ed takes it all in, the soft but slightly calloused hand in his, wedding rings glimmering on their fingers, matching the stars that are twinkling above them.
“Ah, I think this is us” they stop outside a small inn, inside has a cosy feel, decorated in reds and golds “I must say it’s quite delightful in here”
“Stede, look at these statues they’re naked” Ed giggles
Behind him someone clears their throat “Can I help you gentleman?”
“Yes we’d like to rent a room for the night”
“Right let me go check availability, and don’t touch my statues” glaring at Ed as he leaves the room.
“What’s his problem” Ed grumbles
“Edward, love of my life, I really don’t fancy being kicked out of this inn tonight, so play nice”
“I’ll try”
“I was thinking we could have a bath, I packed some yummy lavender soap”
Ed brightens up at that idea “where’s the man gone” repeatedly hitting the bell
Eventually the man returns “you’re in luck, we have one room left”
Ed grabs his husband’s hand and starts walking to the room “Great, yep we’ll take it, and we want the tub filled”
“Please” Stede adds as he’s dragged away.
Ed let’s the warm water wash over him as he sinks into the tub, laying back against his husband’s chest, the scent of lavender filling his nostrils.
“Hi husband” Stede greets him
“Hi husband”
Stede wraps an arm around him, entwining their fingers, their matching wedding rings glinting in the gentle candlelight.
They hadn’t chosen the rings as much as the rings had chosen them. They’d spent hours looking for the right ones, visiting every neighboring island in search for the right jeweler. They came across some beautiful rings, in gold and silvers, set with opals and pearls, all different shapes and sizes. But none of them ever felt right, they were going to wear these rings for the rest of their days, symbols for the love that runs deep into their veins.
One day Stede had been tending to his vegetable garden when he’d spotted a seagull by Izzy’s grave, which wasn’t a rare sight, but this time there was something between their beak. The bird dropped whatever it was and flew away, Stede walking closer to get a better look to find a small leather pouch on the ground, untying the drawstring to reveal two gold rings.
“Ed!” he had ran back inside to show his partner the rings “Ed I think we’ve found our wedding rings”
Ed had took the leather pouch, gently pouring the rings into his palm, he didn’t have to ask where they were from, somehow he already knew.