The Thrill Of You

Chapter 8

Stede's POV

I stood there alongside Ed, looking around together. He seemed fascinated by the ship, commenting on how I seemed to be a "lunatic" but he supposedly liked it. I didn't say much as he stood near the chaise lounge in the library area, leaning against the shelves a bit as he lied back a bit. "You know, I meant it when I called you Captain. We could Co-captain," I told him, seeing him look at me a bit before averting his gaze. "I think I would like that," He whispered, moving his hair back a bit before setting his head against the wall behind him.

"Well, I would love to have someone experienced by my side," I admitted, hearing him chuckle and his leather moving against the wood of the wall. "I don't blame you, I know it's hard doing something from scratch," Ed told me as if speaking from experience, though everyone could. You don't just pick up a hobby or task without failing once or twice; it's not going to be perfect the first time around.

"This ship seems to be... Pretty cool," Ed whispered, his hand gently coasting over the chaise as he stood there, looking back at me eventually. "Yeah... There's actually a couple of cool things about the ship," I cryptically told him, walking over to my desk and sitting down on the chair. I heard nothing for a minute, Ed most likely thinking about what I said. I heard rustling behind me, soon feeling him right behind me.

"You commissioned this ship?" He asked, looking over my shoulder as I stopped my hand above a book that sat on my desk, feeling his breath ever so slightly on the back of my neck. "Y-yes, I made the design... Can you keep a secret?" I asked, moving a bit, feeling Ed's beard touch me just a little on the exposed area on the back of my neck. "Yeah," I heard him simply answer, though I sat there for a minute, debating on how to stand without hurting Ed. Before I could sidestep out of the chair, Ed had stepped back and I was able to get up as I normally would, though my knees felt a little weaker than usual.

I loosened my necktie just enough to let air come to my chest a bit since for whatever reason I was sweating and feeling hot. I went over to a shelf that I had to memorize, stumbling a bit trying to find the piece that triggered the secret door next to me, looking back to Ed and seeing his eyes were wide. "Fuck off," He whispered, looking at the door in amazement as he looked back and forth from the door to me, scoffing lightly as he let a small smile come to his face.

I led him into the room, shutting the door behind us so no one would find out about the secret passages to the ship. There were clothes on each wall, hanging from racks as he let his hands gently go over the clothes. "Are these all yours?" He asked, looking over briefly before letting his hands glide over a particular soft fabric. "I'm afraid so. I'm a bit of a clotheshorse," I confessed, seeing him looking at a silk robe that I had bought off the coast a while back. "You fancy a fine fabric?" I asked, looking at him as he brought the fabric to his face.

"I think maybe I do," He whispered, smiling a bit before looking back at me. I smiled as I backed up further into the closet, pulling out another robe that was yellow and had subtle details on it. "This one's my favorite if you'd ever like to borrow it, or anything here for that matter," I told him, seeing him nod as he looked at his hands, dropping them to his sides. "Thank you," He whispered, I nodded, but before I could say anything, I heard another voice outside in the room.

"Captain! Er- captains! God founded, where have those two run off to?" The voice exasperatedly yelled, seemingly frustrated as whoever came in stomped off and shut the door. "Well, looks like whoever that was needed us, should be our cue," Ed advised, going to the door and peeking out to see if the coast was clear, giving me a thumbs up before slipping out quickly. I got out just before the door closed behind me, brushing off my necktie before looking at Ed.

"What do you think we're needed for?" I asked, walking out of the cabin and fixing my sleeves. "My bet is on food, you?" Ed proposed, putting his thumbs through the belt loops as we walked to the deck. "I think food is a reasonable answer," I told him, seeing Lucius run by and then run back. "Where the fuck have you two been?!" He exasperatedly expressed, his hair sticking to his forehead and his chest rising and falling at a rapid rate. "Um- here, we're sailing, where else would we be?" Ed asked, seemingly being so confusing that it would throw anyone off. It was throwing me off and I was in the closet with him.

"Okay- whatever, dinner, Roach figured shit out," Lucius muttered, going down below deck to most likely eat. "Ah, so I was correct," Ed whispered to me as he walked behind Lucius. I chuckled a bit, Ed gently tapping my leg so as not to alert Lucius of my laughing, seemingly holding in a laugh himself when I glanced at him. Sitting down next to him at the table, it seemed to be calmed down a bit, chatter coming up from amongst the crew as food was served and eaten.

All was quiet only when Ed and I got above on the deck, the wind barely coming across as I looked beyond the rail into the dark sea. "Escape was a success," Ed told me plainly, his voice closer than I would have thought as we stood there on the deck under the night sky. "Indeed, now we can relax," I commented, letting out a deep sigh and smiled as put my hand on the rail. I felt Ed's hand atop of mine after a minute or two, though it only rested there for a second before he had realized it had been my hand and removed it swiftly. "Sorry, Mate," He whispered, though I shook my head, regardless of whether he could see me or not. "It's fine, Ed," I whispered back, feeling him scoot his hand next to mine after a minute of sitting there in the dark. He kept his hand there as we did, standing side by side in silence.