Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

As much as he would have loved a proper date night with Stede, movie night with Fang was a joy that Ed hadn’t indulged in for a while. He let Fang pick the movie while he made popcorn for them, and came back to find that his friend had selected The Princess Bride. A wise choice - great movie, one that they had seen plenty of times, and thus it was also one that they could talk through. Ed was a talker, so he knew he was annoying to watch a new movie with, and Fang had long given up on that with him as he spent most of his time shushing Ed. But something like The Princess Bride, which they could both quote backwards and forwards, was ideal.

Fang had just delivered his spot-on recreation of the poison scene when the doorbell rang, and Ed didn’t bother pausing the movie as he went to see who it was.

A familiar face, and one that Ed appreciated because it meant he didn’t have to trek downstairs for his parcels, even if he had no idea how his psychic mailman got into his building and up to his floor.

“Evening, Buttons.” Ed said, leaning against the doorframe. “Working a bit late tonight, aren’t you?”

“Special delivery, they want ye to sign for it.” Buttons held out the parcel, wrapped in iridescent paper. Someone was clearly trying to impress. 

Ed hadn’t ordered anything recently that he could remember, so he wasn’t sure who it could be from, but he took the parcel and scribbled his signature onto Buttons’ tablet. “No words of wisdom about the contents of this package then?”

“It has a purple aura.” Was all Buttons said, and then he turned and walked away without so much as a goodbye. He had the air of some mystical creature walking back into the forest even though he was just heading for the elevator, but Ed simply shrugged it off and went back inside.

“What’s that?” Fang asked when Ed rejoined him on the couch, parcel on his lap.

“No idea.” Ed reached out a hand. “Pass me that knitting needle?”

Fang plucked the needle from the basket at his end of the couch and handed it over, and Ed used it like a letter opener to slice through the iridescent wrapping paper to reveal the contents within. The box inside looked fancy as well, tied with black satin ribbon which Ed unravelled and passed to Fang, who fashioned it into a headband while Ed lifted the lid.

There was a card lying atop lilac tissue paper, and once Ed read it, he realised what the item was. It was a sponsorship he’d agreed to a couple of months ago, for a company that made custom fancy lingerie. They had taken Ed’s measurements, they’d discussed styles and colours and trimmings, and now the custom set was here. Their request was fairly simple - they just wanted Ed to film a video wearing the set, mention their company a couple of times and plug a discount code that his subscribers could use to get twenty percent off. Ed had agreed to their terms, with payment to be sent and the video filmed once he had received the lingerie and was happy with it. Of course, that had been before he’d announced he was taking a hiatus from Only Wangs.

He folded back the tissue paper to inspect the lingerie, and the quality was as high as he’d been expecting. A purple corset with lace trimming and panelling on the sides and a matching thong to go with it. Custom made to all of Ed’s measurements, not just his chest and hips.

“That’s pretty.” Fang said, looking over his shoulder. “Is it for a video?”

“Sponsored video.” Ed sighed. “Guess they didn’t see I’m on hiatus.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I am, a little. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have the break and focus on myself instead of being a content farm, but I do miss it.” He lifted the corset top out of the box and held it against himself, although he doubted it had any kind of sultry effect over his old sweatshirt. “Especially since I was dabbling more in stuff like this, which was different from my old style. Love doing the reviews, but it was fun to play around with my creativity too.”

“Can’t you take a break from your hiatus to film this one video, if you really want to do it?” Fang grabbed the popcorn bowl and tossed a piece up into the air, catching it in his mouth. “Plus it’s a sponsorship, so they might not keep their offer waiting if you’re on indefinite leave.”

“I’m not sure returning to making videos again will be that easy.” He dropped the corset top back into the box and replaced the lid. “After having a whole rivalry with The Gentleman Reviewer to confessing I loved him on a livestream and then going radio silent after that, I don’t think I can just jump back into making videos like nothing has changed.”

“Why not? You don’t owe anyone an explanation. If your fans don’t like it, they can unsubscribe.”

“It’s not so much me worrying about how to explain things to them, and more that I’m worried they won’t like this new direction.” He didn’t need to tell his subscribers anything about Stede or his personal life, but to suddenly return and make videos that were so different to what a lot of people had subscribed to him for in the first place… that made him nervous. It was what Ed wanted to do, and he shouldn’t have been afraid of other people’s opinions because it was his channel and he could do what he liked, but he’d spent years building his brand and getting to that number two spot, so risking all of that because he wanted to try something new was scarier than he wanted to admit. “Reviews aside, I got a huge boost in subscribers when I had my rivalry with Stede, and obviously that won’t be happening any more. I just want to avoid the whiplash of it, kinda ease people into this new direction my channel is going in.”

“Hmm.” Fang scooped up another handful of popcorn and munched on it thoughtfully. “What exactly is the new direction you’re going in?”

“Haven’t quite figured it out yet. Still trustworthy reviews, obviously, but I want to play around with some other stuff. Softer stuff, maybe.”

“Romantic stuff?”

Ed hid his heated cheeks. “Sure.”

“And would you want Stede to be involved with this at all?”

Now there was a thought. “You mean like have him on my channel with me?”

“Well, you appeared on his, even if it was brief.” Fang shrugged. “Would make sense, and it would be a good way to ease your subscribers into this new era without having to tell them everything. Stede appears in a video, the vibe is romantic, I’m sure they can work out the rest.”

“Without an official confirmation that we’re together.” Ed tapped his finger against his chin. “For all they know, we’re acting for the camera. We’ve already seen people have conspiracy theories that the livestream incident was a big PR stunt. People get to believe what they want, without Stede and I having to make some big public speech about our relationship.”

“It keeps some of the intrigue alive, so your subscribers get their fix of your rivalry, without it actually being a rivalry. You’re moving in a new direction, and that’s how you can kick it off.”

“You might be onto something.” Ed reached for a handful of popcorn for himself. “I’ll have to talk to Stede, obviously, see if he’s even on board with such an idea.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll do it in a few weeks, maybe a month.” Ed scooped the popcorn into his mouth, but noticed Fang’s disapproving look. “What?”

“Are you avoiding talking to him again?”

“What? No!” Ed scoffed. “He’s just busy with work is all, I don’t want to give him something else to think about, he overworks himself as it is.”

“Mhm.” Fang tilted his head. “A convenient excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse!”

“You want to make new content, you have a time sensitive sponsorship on the line, and you won’t even talk to Stede about your idea?” Fang tutted. “He doesn’t have to drop everything to film with you if he agrees to it, but you could at least let him know what you’re thinking.”

“I am trying to be a good boyfriend and respect his space and his work schedule.”

“Are you? Or are you so scared of fucking something up that you’re being overly cautious?”

Ed heard a clanging sound inside his own mind, which he presumed was Fang hitting the nail on the head. Ed had been aware of what he was doing, on some level, but he’d convinced himself that it was fine. Better to be overly cautious than not cautious at all, right? He’d already made so many mistakes with Stede, he didn’t want to do it again. “I can’t afford to make mistakes this time, Fang. I need to get this right.”

“Ed,” Fang said sympathetically, and reached out to pat his knee. “You’re human. You’re going to make mistakes and do dumb shit, no matter how much you try to avoid it. We all fuck up; it’s inevitable. But I can tell you now that talking to Stede about how you’re feeling is never a mistake. Keeping it from him, even if you think it’s for his own good, is never going to be the best choice.”

It made sense, and Ed wasn’t naive enough to think he was never going to make another mistake again, but he didn’t want to make one so early in his and Stede’s relationship. He’d been so proud of himself for telling Stede that he wanted to slow things down, and even though he’d said he didn’t want them to stop being intimate completely, when things had gotten hot and heavy in Stede’s living room the other night, Ed had been mortified at how easily he’d let himself get carried away. What if Stede thought that Ed wasn’t taking what he said seriously? That him saying he wanted to take things slow had just been all talk, no commitment? Ed didn’t know what the timeline was on ‘taking it slow’ but he was pretty sure he shouldn’t be grinding on his boyfriend only a few days after saying it.

“I just think that if you stopped thinking so much about what the ‘right’ thing to do is, you’d be a lot less stressed.” Fang reclined on the couch, a picture of relaxation that Ed wished he could mimic, but it felt like his whole body was tied up in knots. “Just go with the flow, see what happens. Be respectful, be honest, and if you make a mistake then apologise and work on fixing it. Right now it just looks like you’ve found a new way to avoid facing your fears, and that’s by pretending that avoiding them is actually what’s best for your relationship.”

Maybe it was because Fang knew him so well, but he was scarily good at this. “You ever think about becoming a therapist yourself, Fang?” Ed asked as he slumped down against the couch cushions (not as relaxed as his friend, but the best he could manage in the current circumstances). “I think you’d be good at it.”

“I’ll take that as you saying I’m right.”

“You can take it as a ‘let me think on it.’” Ed replied. “For now, let’s just enjoy the rest of our night and finish the movie.”

[Texts between Ed & Stede]

[The Photo Ed sends to Stede] - art by @ThatJadeykinns

[Voice Note that Stede sends to Ed in response] - click link for video/audio

Video Desc: A voice note playing the sound of Stede growling in appreciation

[Texts between Ed & Stede]

Fang was right. Ed was getting so caught up in trying to do what he thought was the right thing for his relationship that he was inadvertently reverting back to his previous behaviour of avoiding talking to Stede. Previously, it had been because Ed was afraid that talking to Stede about how he felt meant confronting those feelings he didn’t want to admit to head on; now it was because he was scared that if he talked to Stede about how he was feeling, it might scare him off. 

Ed had been more open with Stede, but telling him he wanted to slow things down a bit had just meant that when the two of them did start getting more intimate, Ed panicked that it was the wrong thing to do, even though Stede was his boyfriend and they’d agreed they were happy to continue with the physical aspect of their relationship. Now that he was thinking more about it, Ed wondered if it was because previously he had used sex as a crutch in their relationship, to avoid talking to Stede. And now Ed had gone too far in the other direction, stopping himself from going further with Stede not because he didn’t want to or wasn’t in the mood, but because he was worried of what Stede might think and if he’d believe Ed was using sex to avoid talking to him again. There had to be a balance somewhere, Ed just had to find it.

Right now, he wasn’t going to overthink it or try and follow some weird guidelines he’d set up for himself in his own head. Stede was on his way over, Ed was still in the lingerie set, and he was pretty sure it would be obvious what he wanted when he answered the door in it. And if Stede wasn’t in the mood, Ed could throw a robe on and they could just hang out instead. As long as he got to spend time with Stede, Ed would be happy. He’d missed him.

Little time was wasted on pleasantries when Stede buzzed his apartment, only a quick “it’s me” in Stede’s happy, chirpy voice and Ed let him into the building, then went to wait by his closed front door, bouncing on his heels as he anticipated the knock. He knew the speed of his building’s elevator, but it still felt like an age before Ed heard the rapping at his door, and he practically ripped the damn thing off its hinges in his haste to open it. Stede still had his hand raised to knock, and Ed noted with both surprise and intrigue that he was wearing dark burgundy leather gloves. It was barely September, still far too warm for gloves of any kind, but the leather on Stede was really working for him.

The leather-clad hand not raised to knock was curled around a bouquet of flowers, and while Ed briefly wondered how Stede had found a florist open at this time of night, he quickly jumped to the conclusion that if anyone knew a night florist, it would be Stede. And while the romantic part of his brain was swooning at the fact that Stede had gone out of his way to bring him flowers, the current, more dominant part of his brain was simultaneously growling and yowling like a cat in heat at the sight of his boyfriend on his doorstep.

“God…” Stede murmured in awe, eyes raking up and down Ed in the purple lingerie set like he wanted to devour him. “I thought the photo you sent was stunning enough, but it really doesn’t do the real thing justice.”

Even if Ed hadn’t decided that tonight was the night he got out of his own way, he never would have stood a chance.

Stede was wearing a suit, which given that he’d just come from an important meeting, wasn’t a shock. In typical Stede fashion, he hadn’t gone for a dull grey business suit, but one with a burgundy blazer and dark waistcoat complete with watch chain underneath it, as well as a shirt and tie. He had to be absolutely sweltering in all those layers, but Ed had a solution for that.

Stede’s tie made for a very useful handhold as Ed grabbed it and used the piece of fabric to drag Stede over the threshold so he could kick the door shut.

[Stede's Outfit Ref]

While presumably surprised (since he dropped the bouquet he was holding), Stede didn’t seem to mind the manhandling, especially not when he got pressed up against the door and kissed so hard that Ed thought they might leave a dent in the wood. Ed was both great with his hands and a good multitasker, so while he was kissing Stede, he was also working to undo his tie without looking, and he might have let out a smug little noise against Stede’s lips when he got it loose and threw the piece of fabric onto the floor.

Blazer next. As Ed was pushing it off Stede’s shoulders, he also spun Stede around so he was no longer pressed against the door but walking backwards down Ed’s apartment hallway and towards his bedroom. Ed had managed to discard both the blazer and the waistcoat entirely and was currently sucking on Stede’s neck after he’d gotten the top few buttons of his shirt undone when Stede spoke.

“You didn’t—” a pause for Stede to moan as Ed nipped at his pulse point with his teeth, “didn’t invite me over just to hang out then?”

“Can if you want.” Ed said as he lifted his head up. His fingers were still on the buttons of Stede’s shirt but he left them there, not undoing any more buttons. “Do you want me to stop?”

“God no, just thought since you wanted to take things slow…”

“Yeah, been thinking about what ‘take it slow’ means and I think for us specifically, the definition might be a little different.” They hadn’t exactly started their relationship off in the most conventional way, and in some aspects they were a hell of a lot further along than most couples. But relationships weren’t one size fits all, and it was going to take some trial and error for the two of them to figure out what worked for them, which wouldn’t necessarily be what worked for most couples. “We can talk about it now if you want, but in all honesty, mate, I really want to get your pants off.”

“Later.” Stede said hurriedly, and Ed got to watch in delight as Stede yanked his own shirt out of his pants and started unbuttoning it from the bottom. “We’ll talk about it later.”

They would, too. This wasn’t like before when Ed had used sex as a distraction to avoid things he was uncomfortable talking about; he knew that once this was over, they would have a conversation about it and figure stuff out. He also knew that he’d be very relaxed for that conversation, because he was confident they were going to fuck until they were both limp and wrung out like a couple of bar rags.

Stede was struggling with his buttons while still wearing his gloves, but when he went to bite the tip of his fingers to pull the glove off with his teeth, Ed stopped him. “Leave them on.”

Stede paused, and in that time Ed managed to get his shirt fully unbuttoned and just had to work on unfastening the cuffs. Damn long sleeved formal shirts. “You like them?”

“I don’t know why you’re wearing leather gloves when it’s not cold, but yeah,” One shirt cuff successfully unbuttoned, Ed kissed one of the freckles on Stede’s wrist peeking out of his glove. “I really fucking like ‘em.”

“They’re driving gloves.” Stede flexed his fingers and Ed heard only the faintest creak of the leather, so they had to be almost butter soft already. “I’m trying to mould them to the shape of my hands, so they’re broken in, in time for the colder weather.”

Of course Stede had bought himself a pair of driving gloves. Ed wouldn’t be surprised to learn he also owned a tophat and monocle; fuck, he loved him so much.

“Got something else you can break in.” Ed growled as he freed Stede’s wrist from his other shirt cuff and could finally yank the damn thing off him and throw it onto the floor. His hands were immediately on Stede’s chest, thumbing over his perked up nipples (garnet barbells through them today to match the blazer and gloves, maniac). “Me, in my bed, with your dick.”

“Sounds like X-rated Cluedo.” Stede joked, and Ed couldn’t help tipping his head forwards so it rested on Stede’s shoulder, giggling against his warm skin. This was one of the things he loved the most - that even in fits of passion like this, Stede could still make him laugh and he still got to see Stede’s silly side.

“If that doesn’t exist already then you should make that.” Ed grinned as he lifted his head back up. “A foray into X-rated versions of classic board games, maybe it’ll be a big moneymaker for Vindicta.”

There was a brief flash of something in Stede’s eyes, but Ed didn’t get a chance to figure out what it was as Stede grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him for a fiery kiss, and they resumed their stumbling down the hall towards Ed’s bedroom. Whatever it was, Ed could bring it up later.

Stede had kicked his shoes off somewhere on the way, and his trousers joined the trail of clothes leading to Ed’s bedroom once they reached the doorway to it. Ed only noticed that Stede had matched his socks to his boxers when they reached his bed and he pushed Stede down onto it. His boxers and socks were both red, although the boxers were satin and his socks had a pattern of little black stars on them and were held up by black sock suspenders. Ed lifted one of Stede’s legs up and propped it on his shoulder as he leaned forwards, his fingers dipping beneath the straps of the little suspenders keeping Stede’s socks up. “I think these are the sluttiest things you’ve ever worn.”

“Really? Because you seemed quite enamoured with these?” Stede was still wearing the leather gloves, and he lifted both hands in the air to wave them.

From anyone else, it would have looked ridiculous (and it still was, truthfully speaking), yet the man lying on Ed’s bed doing jazz hands was making his dick throb. He dropped to his knees at the foot of the bed, one of Stede’s legs still thrown over his shoulder as Ed grabbed his hips and hauled him to the edge of the mattress. Satin wasn’t a material that could hide much, and Ed ducked his head down to run his mouth over the shape of Stede’s cock through the material. Fuck, he’d missed this so much. He had planned to hold back somewhat, but as soon as his mouth made contact with Stede’s dick, there was no way to resist temptation.

He grabbed the waistband of Stede’s boxers, tugging them down but not even bothering to get them all the way off, just enough out of the way that Stede’s cock was free. Free and glistening and perfect, and Ed took a second to admire it before he couldn’t resist any longer and sucked it into his mouth.

Stede made a choked sound, and Ed could feel his eyelids fluttering as he slid his mouth back and forth on Stede’s half-hard cock, revelling in the way it started to swell under the ministrations of his tongue. It was perhaps not his best blowjob - too messy and too fast - but Ed blamed that on his excitement of having Stede’s cock back in his mouth after what felt like an absence of years even though logically he knew it hadn’t been that long. He was a little too distracted right now to cast his mind back to how long it had been; all Ed could focus on was the feeling of Stede’s cock in his mouth. He suckled on the head of it, ran his tongue down the familiar thick vein on the shaft, even nuzzled his nose against Stede’s thatch of golden pubic hair like a purring cat when he took the whole thing into his throat. It felt like he was greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in forever.

Maybe he was greeting him a little too enthusiastically, because he felt a hand in his hair, tugging at it, not to push his head further down, but to lift it off. “Darling, please…” Stede rasped, his voice hoarse like he’d just run a marathon. “You’re going to make me come.”

Ed was confident enough in his skills that he thought he could make Stede come with his mouth and he’d still be able to get him hard again not too long after, but he was also impatient. Sucking Stede’s cock had gotten him all hot and bothered, and he’d been pressing the heel of his hand against his own cock, pressing against the sheer mesh of his underwear, and rutting against it like a man possessed. He could get Stede hard again after making him come, but not within thirty seconds, and any longer than that felt like too long to wait. So he let Stede’s cock fall from his lips, set his leg back down on the ground, and got to his feet with only the slightest wince.

Retrieving the lube took eight seconds, yanking his own underwear down and off his legs took four, and returning to where Stede was now sitting up on the bed and climbing into his lap completely bare from the waist down took three.

Stede ran his hands along Ed’s bare thighs, and the sensation of that butter-soft leather against his skin made him shiver. He’d seen Stede in leather before, but somehow the gloves were affecting him ten times more than the pants. He caught Stede’s wrist, lifting one hand off his thigh and up to his mouth, where Ed let Stede rest his fingertips for a moment, pressing down against his bottom lip. They locked eyes, Ed asking him the silent question of just how much he wanted to break those new gloves in, and Stede’s response was a nod, and inching two of his fingers forward as Ed’s lips parted further.

Stede’s fingers tasted like leather, smooth against Ed’s tongue as he sucked Stede’s gloved fingers into his mouth. He ran his tongue over them, lost in the haze of this new little discovery he’d made, which was Stede plus leather gloves equals Ed burning as hot as a furnace.

He made a mournful little sound when Stede withdrew his fingers, but when he saw him reaching for the lube, he was practically squirming in Stede’s lap with his excitement. He was sure he’d gotten Stede’s fingers plenty wet enough to take them as is, but he knew Stede would always insist on thorough lubrication before fucking him. Too many people overlooked the fun in the preparation, according to Stede, and while Ed was sure there had been times where they’d both been so keen to get to the ‘main event’ as it were that they had hurried through the preparation as more of an annoying necessity than as something that could be enjoyed in its own right, he did always enjoy it when Stede took the time to make it good for them. Even if it could be frustrating at times thanks to his own impatience, he liked it when Stede took things slow and still managed to turn Ed into a trembling wreck before his cock was anywhere near him.

Stede drizzled the lube over his fingers while Ed lifted himself up onto his knees braced either side of Stede on the bed. He rested his hands on Stede’s shoulders for support so he didn’t go toppling off his lap, and gasped when he felt the light sting and heard the crack of leather against skin. Stede had spanked his ass when he’d put the lube bottle down, and that same hand was now rubbing circles over the spot he’d just struck.

“Harder.” Ed demanded, and Stede spanked him again, making Ed bite his lip at the rush he felt coursing through his body like electricity. “Fuck yeah. Gimme your fingers, baby.”

Stede obliged, using one hand to pull Ed’s cheeks apart so he could circle his lube-covered fingers around Ed’s hole, making him whimper already. And when the first leather-clad finger slid inside of him, Ed felt like he was ascending. The fucking gloves were going to be the death of him.

Stede went slow, as Ed had expected he would, but it just gave him more time to enjoy it. Stede had always been fucking incredible with his hands, and he had more skill in one finger than most people had in all ten. With just that one, he was pumping it slowly in and out of Ed, curling it just right so that he hit Ed’s prostate on the drag. Not every time though, so Ed could never be sure when it was going to happen, Stede teasing him with the anticipation of it, and then he’d curl his finger and press against that spot and Ed dug his nails into Stede’s shoulders and concentrated very hard on not coming untouched all over him.

By the time Stede introduced a second finger, Ed was a wreck, begging for more. His words were almost incoherent mumbles that Stede gently shushed as he worked his fingers in and out, pausing to add more lube when he thought it was needed. Stede had taken to kissing Ed’s collarbone at the bottom of his throat while his head was tilted back, murmuring his quiet words that only fanned the flames of Ed’s desire.

“That’s it, love, you’re taking my fingers so well.”

“So good for me, Ed.”

“You make the loveliest sounds, my darling, I adore hearing them.”

Even though Ed knew he was more than ready to take Stede’s cock, he let his boyfriend take charge and make that decision. As soon as Ed had Stede’s cock inside him, that was when he’d be in control, so until then he could wait and whine and whimper as Stede thoroughly fucked him open on his fingers. And finally, Stede removed his fingers, pressing a delicate little kiss at the junction where Ed’s neck met his shoulder, as light as a butterfly landing there. “Are you ready for—”

“Yes.” Ed interrupted, his eagerness getting the better of him, and Stede laughed as he grabbed the lube once more to slick up his cock.

“Come here, love.”

Ed didn’t need to be told twice. He took Stede’s cock in hand to line him up, and then sank down. Just like when Ed had been sucking Stede off before, having his cock inside him really was like greeting an old friend. The feeling of him inside was so familiar that Ed wondered if his body had moulded itself around the shape of Stede, ruining him for anyone else. Not that Ed wanted anyone else.

“Fuck…” Ed sighed happily when he was seated on Stede’s lap, his boyfriend’s cock fully inside him. His hand slid up from Stede’s shoulder to cup the back of his neck, fingers dipping into his curls. “I’ve missed this.”

“Me too.” Stede replied. “I love feeling so close to you like this.”

They could be close to each other without having sex, they already knew that, but it was impossible to deny just how damn well the two of them fitted together like this. Sex could be so many things, and for them, it had been. It had been frantic and passionate, impulsive and angry, slow and tender. It had been a means of avoiding communication but also expressing everything that was being left unsaid. Ed had thought taking it slow was the right call, that it had been what they were supposed to do so they could get things right this time, but now he could understand why it had felt odd to avoid it. It had felt like they had given up a part of their intimacy.

There were so many different facets to their shared intimacy, even the mundane things like Ed feeding Stede’s cats for him while he made tea, and sex was just one aspect of it, but it was an aspect they both enjoyed and made them feel closer, so what was the point of avoiding it? So Ed could check an imaginary tickbox on an exam no one had assigned to him so he could get a good grade in boyfriend? Like that was even a thing.

As Ed lifted himself up and dropped back down onto Stede’s lap, his fingers curled tighter into Stede’s hair. It was so good already, and after Stede had gotten him so worked up just with his fingers, Ed wasn’t sure how long he could last. His arms ended up around Stede’s neck as he began to move, not going at any particularly great speed, more just going with what felt good to his body in the moment, whether that was a slow drag of his hips or writhing and grinding in Stede’s lap.

He felt Stede’s hands on his waist as he rode him, his fingers digging into the dips accentuated by the corset he was still wearing. They didn’t stay there long, Stede’s hands moving up Ed’s back as he picked up the pace, where his fingers caught in the laces of Ed’s corset. Ed had left the ends of the laces loose when he’d tied it, and Stede tugged on them, tightening the corset even more. It wasn’t tight enough that Ed couldn’t breathe, but he felt the increased pressure around his torso, squeezing him like one of Stede’s amazing hugs, the kind where Ed never wanted Stede to let him go.

Stede’s hands slid higher until a fist closed around Ed’s hair, turning it into a messy ponytail of sorts as Stede clung onto him like he needed something to hold onto. And yet it was never harsh, even as Stede’s grip on his hair made Ed’s head fall back, exposing his throat to him. Stede just kissed up his throat, to the underside of his chin and his jawline, like his lips just had to be in contact with Ed’s skin, no matter where.

“Stede…” Ed moaned, his lips parted on the sound and got caught in the crossfire as Stede made it his mission to kiss every part of his face. “You feel so good…”

Suddenly Ed’s hair was no longer in Stede’s grip, and instead he felt his boyfriend’s palms flat against his shoulder blades, pulling him in closer so they were pressed chest to chest. It limited Ed’s movement a little, but he didn’t mind, more than content with the close contact as he rolled his hips.

Before Stede, Ed could count on one hand how many times he’d been held after sex. During? He didn’t think it had ever happened. There had been a lot of grabbing hands, but no one had really held him like Stede did. Like it was about so much more than the sex; Stede holding him so close like Ed being in his arms was something he craved just as much as Ed being on his cock. This was the kind of intimacy Ed had missed, where he not only felt romanced but also well and truly loved. It had never just been fucking for them, even right in the beginning when they’d been angry with each other. The two of them had been making love before they’d even realised that was what it was.

But they knew now.

“I love you.” Ed gasped as Stede managed to angle his hips to hit just the right spot as Ed sank down onto him again. “Oh god… I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Stede’s lips were on his short beard, kissing the wiry scruff even though it had to be ticklish and rough on those soft lips of his.

“Kiss me.” Ed begged, cupping Stede’s face between his hands and lifting it so Stede met his eyes. “Please kiss me.”

Their lips collided a split second later with a muffled sound from both of them, and all felt right again. Not that it had felt wrong before, but there were times when Ed just had to kiss Stede or it felt like there was an itch beneath his skin that he couldn’t scratch. He felt strong hands on his hips, Stede taking some of the strain and the exertion so it didn’t all rest solely on Ed, and using his hold to keep dragging Ed closer. Their bodies moved rhythmically like an ocean wave, the constant push and pull between them as Ed rocked back and forth on Stede’s cock like the tide.

Through it all, Stede kept kissing him, deep and hot and heavy. He kissed Ed like he had something to prove, and if what he was trying to prove was how much he loved him, then he had nothing to worry about. Ed already knew that.

“Ed…” Stede broke the kiss to gasp against his lips. “I’m going to—”

Ed cut him off, resuming their kissing. He knew what Stede was going to say, but Ed didn’t need the warning, although he appreciated the courtesy. Stede clutched him tighter, and Ed felt the way his whole body tensed up. He knew all of Stede’s tells, and continued riding him. Even though his thighs were starting to burn now that Stede’s grip on him seemed to be more about needing the support than guiding Ed’s movements, he kept going, ignoring his own throbbing cock crying out for attention. He bounced and gyrated and swivelled his hips, going faster and faster until, with a hoarse cry, he felt the heat inside him as Stede came.

He slowed then, not wanting to overwhelm Stede, gradually slowing his movements until he was still, holding onto Stede and stroking his hair as the man shuddered through his release. And only when Ed was confident that Stede’s orgasm was over, including the little aftershocks that rocked his body, only then did he gently press his hands to Stede’s chest to push him backwards so he toppled flat against the mattress. Stede’s cock slipped out of him as Ed adjusted himself, a small dribble of  his come leaking out of Ed, and they both groaned. Ed ignored his aching thighs as he shifted on top of Stede, straddling his waist and taking his own cock in hand at last as he towered over him.

“Can I come on you?” He asked, stroking his poor, neglected cock once just to get some relief. He was so sensitive that it wasn’t going to take much.

Stede looked absolutely blissed out, with his arms thrown above his head. His gloved hands gripped the pillow above him as he nodded, and whereas before it had looked like his eyes were about to flutter shut, now they were wide open. Stede wanted to watch, Ed knew that intense stare, and Ed suspected the man would be annoyed with himself for even blinking.

A hiss and a high-pitched whine escaped Ed as he began to jack himself off, sounding not unlike the tea kettle Stede owned that whistled on the stove when it was ready. Ed had been so focused on riding Stede and the feeling of being wrapped up in his arms that the only attention his cock had been given besides a little petting when he had Stede’s cock in his mouth was when they had been pressed together and it had rutted up against Stede’s stomach. It had been enough to feel good, but not enough to get him off, and it was crying out for someone to take it in a firm hand.

Ed’s own hand was good enough, but there was one better option.

Stede released the pillow and sat up halfway, propping himself on his elbows, and Ed paused his stroking of his cock, thinking something might be wrong. Far from it, as Stede balanced himself on one arm and ran his other hand up Ed’s thigh, caressing his skin, until he reached Ed’s hand on his cock. He brushed his fingertips over Ed’s, encouraging them to unfurl like the petals of a flower as he smiled up at him. “May I?”

Only Stede could make a request to jerk him off so gentlemanly, and Ed quickly relinquished his hold so that Stede could take over. He was shivering with anticipation, watching as Stede grabbed the lube and drizzled it over his gloved hand to make the slide easier. He was using his other hand, the one that hadn’t been inside him earlier, and Ed had never been so thrilled that Stede was ambidextrous, because now both gloves got to be ‘broken in’ by touching Ed in his most intimate places.

“I figured since you clearly like these gloves so much…” Stede knew what he was doing, the smooth bastard, as the words left him in a sensuous purr and he curled his leather-clad fingers around Ed’s shaft. “...You might enjoy me touching you with them rather than handling things yourself.”

Ed might have made a joke about it, were it not for his own body betraying him and his dick twitching in Stede’s hand as soon as the leather was around it. He did manage to grunt out a “fuck off” although it sounded more whiny than Ed had intended.

“No, I think I’ll do this instead.” Stede twisted his grip on the upstroke, then he did it again on the glide back down and Ed felt like his head was about to pop off like a champagne cork. His actual head or his cock head, either one was primed to blow.

Ed was determined to hold out just a little longer, because it would be kind of embarrassing if all it took was a couple of strokes of Stede’s hand to make him come, just because he was wearing a fucking glove. Where the hell had this even come from? Gloves had never driven Ed feral like this before, it had to just be some combination of them and Stede and the leather that had just formed a perfect trifecta to rev his motor.

The glide was smooth, in thanks to both the lube and the no-doubt expensive as fuck butter-soft leather, and try as Ed might, he knew he just wasn’t going to last. Stede knew it too, and was using absolutely everything he had to his advantage, and that included a running commentary with his voice low and husky and as sumptuous as a rich dessert. “So gorgeous, aren’t you, Ed? An absolute vision, I’m so lucky to have you like this. Look at you, all squirming and desperate, can’t even stay still while I touch you. And you love it when I touch you, don’t you? You keep bucking into my hand; you’re so close, aren’t you, kitten? That’s it, come for me, make a mess of me, I know you want to.”

All questions that Ed couldn’t possibly answer, he wasn’t even capable of forming words right now. Stede was reading him like a book, everything he was saying about him was the absolute truth. And on one more stroke, Stede’s grip twisting perfectly around his cock, Ed came, potentially harder than he had for a long time. His come splattered up Stede’s chest, but he encouraged it, murmuring quiet little ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’s’ as he kept stroking Ed through it, coaxing more out of him even when some of his release hit the underside of Stede’s chin.

Even though it felt like it could go on forever, Ed was finally spent. He would have collapsed right on top of Stede had it not been for some distant corner of his brain reminding him that he still had to wear this corset for a video so it was probably best if he didn’t smear it with his own come. Instead, Ed managed to get off of Stede’s lap with his trembling legs, but didn’t make it far and ended up planting face first against the mattress with a groan.

“You ok, love?”

Ed managed to give Stede a shaky thumbs up, and then he felt his hair get moved out of the way as Stede pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, and then the bed dipped and sprang back up as Stede got off it. Ed felt like he could happily pass out, but his drowsy state was interrupted by a tap on the back of his thighs a couple of minutes later. “Spread your legs, please.”

“Gimme five minutes before round two, fuck.”

“Since we both went off like a couple of fire hoses, I’m going to say round two is off the table for a little while.” Stede chuckled. “No, I just want to clean you up, love.”

That sounded really nice, actually, so Ed spread his legs and bent them at the knees for Stede to run the warm washcloth over his hole. It felt so good to just relax and let Stede take care of him like this, and he almost fell asleep as Stede carefully unlaced the corset, the clothing staying where it was on the bed when Stede rolled him over onto his back and used a second washcloth to clean up the mess of come on Ed’s softened cock. 

Stede had already taken care of himself apparently, as Ed discovered when he opened his eyes at last. The gloves were gone, and his chest was wiped clean, but he was still wearing the socks with the garters.

“Bedsheets are kind of a mess.” Stede hummed as he picked up Ed’s corset off the bed to go and put it on a chair out of the way. “We should change them.”

“You’d think we’d remember to put a towel down.”

“Well, we were a little preoccupied.” Stede started tugging on the bedsheets and Ed grumbled as he was rolled out of his comfy spot. “Go on, I’ll take care of this while you go brush your teeth. I know how much you hate fitted sheets.”

“They’re a pain in the ass to change, Stede! I only bought the damn things because they’re neater than regular sheets once they’re on.”

“I told you, there’s a knack to putting them on!” Stede tugged the sheet harder, sliding Ed further towards the side of the bed. “Off with you.”

“Ok, ok.” Ed said as he stood up. His legs were still a little wobbly, but he could manage, and he took a diversion en route to the bathroom so he could wrap his arms round Stede’s waist from behind and kiss his shoulder. “Love you. Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Ed wasn’t in the bathroom long, but when he came out, Stede already had fresh sheets on the bed with whatever devil magic he used to get a fitted sheet to stay on without the corners pinging off the edge of the mattress, and he was currently fluffing up the pillows. Still stark naked except for the socks, so Ed leaned in the doorway to enjoy the view for a minute until Stede spotted him.

“Well then,” Stede cleared his throat. “The clean sheets are on, so I suppose I’d better…”

He didn’t finish his sentence and Ed raised an eyebrow. “You’d better…?”

Stede looked up at the ceiling, even though there was nothing interesting up there except for a few glow-in-the-dark stars Ed had stuck up there when he was bored. “Go?”

Ed’s stomach dropped, but the fact that Stede had said it more as a question than a statement gave him hope. “You don’t want to stay over tonight?”

Stede visibly brightened. “You want me to? I just thought with the whole ‘taking it slow’ thing that I shouldn’t assume I could—”

“Ah, ok.” He’d caused more confusion than he’d solved with that, and Stede was trying so hard to be considerate that he was second-guessing what Ed had thought was obvious. “First of all, yes I want you to stay over. Second, I think let’s get in bed and talk about the whole ‘taking it slow’ thing, hmm?”

Ed didn’t bother putting pyjamas on while Stede was in the bathroom. If he had Stede to cuddle with then there wasn’t much point - Stede would keep him warm. And hell, the conversation they were about to have was already pretty vulnerable, so why not go all in and show he had nothing to hide?

Stede came out of the bathroom wearing a short green satin robe that Ed had hanging up in there. Short enough that Ed knew Stede would only need to stretch his arms above his head to flash his dick. It looked like Stede hadn’t expected Ed to be lying in bed naked for him, but as soon as Ed flipped back the covers to reveal that, Stede shed the robe and joined him.

He flipped the covers over the two of them, and they each laid on their sides facing each other. Ed rested his hand on Stede’s hip underneath the sheets, rubbing circles into it with his thumb. “So—”

“I don’t mind taking things slow.” Stede blurted out, and Ed could already hear the worry in his voice, so he let him carry on and get it off his chest. “I really don’t. Whatever speed you need to set things at to feel comfortable is fine with me.”

“But?” Ed asked, since he could tell there was something weighing on Stede’s mind.

“I’m not entirely sure what taking it slow looks like for you.” Stede said, smushing his face into the pillow. “And that’s my fault for not asking for a little more clarity when I didn’t quite understand, but I think I need some guidance here, because I’m so worried I’m going to overstep or rush something and make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I could have been clearer when I first brought it up.” Ed admitted. “And I know I’ve been giving mixed signals lately, so I’m sorry if that’s confused you.”

“I wouldn’t call it mixed signals.” Stede said. “But the other day when things were getting rather hot and heavy and then you suddenly pulled back and said you’d gotten carried away, I was worried I’d done something wrong. I’ll always stop whenever you want to, it just felt like maybe… you didn’t actually want to?”

So he hadn’t done as good of a job hiding it as he’d thought. Damn it, he should have just said something on the day.

“I didn’t want to stop.” Ed confessed. “But I was stuck in my head and thinking about how I was the one who said we should slow things down and yet I was fucking grinding on you on your couch. But I talked to Fang about it and—”

“You told Fang we were practically dry humping on my couch?”

“No!” Ed laughed, and gave Stede’s hip a playful little tap. “We were just talking and you came up, and Fang clocked that I was avoiding talking to you about stuff again, only this time it was because I was so scared of fucking up that I was being too careful.”

“What do you mean?”

Ed shuffled to prop himself up on one arm. “Ok, so the other day when I said I’d gotten too carried away and put a stop to things even though I really wanted to rip your clothes off with my teeth?”

Stede’s cheeks flushed pink, and it was cute that he got shy about something like that. “Yes, I remember, I was the one that brought it up.”

“Well, because I’d said I wanted to take things slow and then only a couple of days later I was doing that, it made me panic that you might think I wasn’t taking it seriously. And I should have just talked to you, but I’ve been so determined to get this right and not make any mistakes and show you that I’m committed to us having a real, proper relationship…” His breath left him in one big whoosh. “I got so caught up in doing the ‘right’ thing in general that I didn’t stop to consider if it was the ‘right’ thing for us. We don’t exactly have a conventional relationship.”

“What do you mean? Ninety percent of couples meet through online feuds about adult toys.”

He was glad Stede was making jokes. It really took the edge off, made this whole conversation seem much less daunting. Once again, Ed had been building things up in his head, but in reality, just talking to Stede about how he was feeling was never actually as scary as he thought it would be.

“So yeah, the taking it slow thing.” This all felt so much more relaxed than he’d been anticipating. “Basically, we’re both a bit whim-prone, so I think we should just be careful about jumping into the really big decisions. Because I won’t lie, mate, when I was at your house doing dishes and you came down in your sexy pyjamas, I was this close to asking if I could move in.”

He held his thumb and index finger up, the pads of them only a hair’s breadth away from touching. “And that definitely would have been way too fast, and you probably would have thought I was insane and too clingy—”

“I’d hardly find it clingy. The thought of you moving in has crossed my mind too.”

That rendered Ed speechless, until Stede took his thumb and index finger and kissed each one. “Really?”

“Mhm.” Stede nodded. “But you’re right, it’s too fast. I think we just got swept up in finally getting to be together after everything and wanting to be around each other all the time. I think you making that call for us to spend a couple of nights apart was the right choice.”

“Right.” Ed swallowed, still a little dumbstruck at Stede confessing he’d thought about them living together as well. “So we’re on the same page there then. Moving in together: sounds fun, but probably not the best idea right now.”

“Not the best idea right now.” Stede agreed, and even though he was just repeating Ed’s own words back to him, he couldn’t help but feel a little flutter in his chest at Stede saying ‘right now.’ He wasn’t saying never, he was just saying now wasn’t the right time, and Ed knew that they were both all in with this relationship, but just having it confirmed that Stede did see a future with him, one where they could, potentially, move in together one day… it was enough.

“Anyway,” Ed continued, because the sooner they got away from that topic, the sooner his heart would stop fluttering. “Sex has never really been something we’ve had an issue with. We’ve always been really fucking compatible on that front, so I don’t know why I got in my head and thought stopping that when we were both into it was the right choice for us. It doesn’t fix every problem, but as long as we’re not using it as a way to avoid talking, I don’t see why that has to be something we should slow down on. It would feel like giving up part of our intimacy.”

“Ok, let me see if I’ve got this right, because I don’t want to misunderstand.” Stede shuffled to prop himself up on his elbow to match Ed. “We try and slow down on the big stuff like moving in together, because we’re both whim-prone. We still have some time apart, because it’s good for us and because we’re trying to work on our other friendships and such, and we don’t have to be joined at the hip to know we love each other. And as long as we’re both into it, we don’t need to slow down our sex life. Do I have all that right?”

“That’s my thought process on it all, yeah.” Ed bit his lip. “What about you?”

“That all sounds perfect.” Stede beamed, and the last bit of tension Ed felt about it all left his body. They were good. They’d talked it through, and they were good.

He felt at ease now, but he couldn’t help but notice something lingering in Stede. Something in the way his shoulders were set, that maybe wouldn’t be that noticeable to anyone else, but Ed spotted it. There was something that Stede wasn’t saying.

“Are we good?” Ed asked.

Stede nodded, and he was still smiling, but he was holding back. And Ed didn’t want to push if it was something he didn’t want to share with him (after all, it could be something to do with his therapy session from yesterday and that wasn’t Ed’s business), but if it was something that Stede wanted to talk about and wasn’t sure how, Ed needed him to know that it was ok, and he would listen.

It must have read on his face that he knew, because Stede’s smile dropped. “Ok, there is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“Alright.” The words made him a little nervous, but he wanted to hear whatever it was since it was clearly something that Stede had been worried about bringing up.

“So the official launch for the Mythological Moments line is coming up.” Stede said, all in a rush like he would lose his nerve if he didn’t get the words out as quickly as possible. “Everything goes on general release, our stockists have everything ready to get put on the shelves and we see how the line performs.”

He had been wondering about the general release at the back of his mind since the pre-launch party. The whole line was cool as fuck, although he was obviously biased towards the Kraken toy. Trying it out on Stede had been incredible, but Ed was still yet to test it for himself. Even if he was dating the chief engineer and owner of the company who made them, he still intended to buy the whole line with his own money.

“We’re going big with the launch.” Stede said. “Mary and I have been planning a party for it, and we’re inviting a lot of people in the industry. Fellow toy reviewers, other brands, a few people who have some sway when it comes to choosing the winners of design awards for adult toys - Mary’s idea, not mine - so it’s, um, it’s a pretty big deal for me.”

Ed had expected as much. The amount of work Stede had put into the line was undeniable, so Ed was sure he was as excited as he was nervous for it to finally get a general release. A launch party sounded like a great idea - it would keep the buzz going and it was a chance for Stede to be celebrated by his peers, as he ought to be.

“And I was wondering…” Stede gulped. “If you might like to go? With me?”

Stede barely left a pause for Ed to give his answer, because he immediately rushed in to give all manner of corrections and adjustments to his question: “Of course you can feel free to say no, I know we literally just talked about not rushing into anything big. I mean, we haven’t been dating long and this is an event full of people who will know both of us, so obviously it’ll get people talking if we attend together. But I figured, people are talking anyway and it’s not like we have to tell them anything, they can assume whatever they like. It’s just that it’s a really important night for me and I want you there with me, but I also don’t want you to feel pressured to say yes just because I want my boyfriend’s support and—”

The only surefire way to stop Stede when he was rambling was to cut him off with a kiss, which was exactly what Ed did.

Stede melted into the kiss, which Ed took as a sign that all his fears were leaving his body. He could understand why Stede had been so nervous to ask him to go to an event with him, since Ed’s track records with events where Stede was in attendance wasn’t great. From feuding to lashing out to possessiveness to feigned indifference to accidentally causing a scene, he was a little surprised Stede wanted him to be his date. The last time Ed had gone to show Stede his support (admittedly uninvited), Stede had quite rightly ended things with him.

Ed had always been so caught up in his own feelings that he’d acted like an idiot, but he was determined not to be that person any more. If Stede was willing to give him another chance, then Ed was going to show up for him like he should have before. He’d fucked everything up at the pre-launch party, but the actual launch could be his do-over. He could show Stede that he did support him, that he wanted to be there on his special night, and he’d be cheering Stede on without an ounce of shame. Like Stede had said, let people draw their own conclusions - if anyone directly asked if they were dating, then it still wasn’t their business and neither one of them had to tell them a damn thing. They didn’t need to prove their relationship to anyone but each other, and even then, it was only a case of righting past wrongs and showing they were willing to make amends.

“I would love to go with you.” Ed whispered, his lips still close enough to Stede’s to brush against them when he spoke. “I’m so proud of you, love, of course I want to be there on your big night.”

Stede’s eyes welled up with tears. “You don’t have to go.”

“I want to go.” Ed pecked his lips once again, hating that Stede still had doubt about it but knowing it was his own fault. “If you want me there, then I am going to be there, Stede.”

Stede shuddered and lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes. “I– I really thought you were going to say no. It would have been fine if you had, it’s just that a ‘it’s too much too soon’ was what I was bracing for, but I knew if I didn’t ask the question then I’d never be able to handle the uncertainty. I didn’t think about what to do if you said yes.”

“For starters, if you change your mind and decide you’d rather I not go, then that’s ok, just tell me.” Ed suggested, but Stede shook his head. A smile was starting to appear, one that filled Ed with hope that this was just Stede being taken by surprise and not because he actually didn’t want Ed to attend at all. “Secondly, I think a nice cuddle, yeah?”

That, Stede seemed more than onboard with, and he tucked himself under Ed’s arm as soon as it was lifted, snuggling in close until he was pressed tight up against Ed and his curls were tickling Ed’s nose, but he wouldn’t move them for the world. “I’m sorry for being insecure.”

“It’s my fault you feel insecure in the first place.” Ed squeezed him as if he could get all of the suffering out of him like squeezing oranges for juice. “I’m going to make it up to you, Stede. Whatever it takes and however long it takes, I never want you to feel insecure around me again. And I’ll be on my best behaviour - no dragging you off and messing you up.”

“Yes, I do have to give another speech at this thing, it’s probably best if I look put together and not like I’ve just been railed in a hedge this time.” Stede giggled softly. “But as soon as the speech is out of the way, I wouldn’t object to sneaking off and finding a broom closet somewhere.”

“At your big launch? I won’t hear of it.” Ed kissed the top of his head. “Then again, me saying that is one thing, being able to control myself around you is quite another. Christ, it feels like it’s been months since we last fucked.”

“It’s only been a week.”

“A week?” Ed had to admit he was baffled. It was his own fault they hadn’t spent that time having sex, but it had felt like so much longer than a week. He should probably be embarrassed by how insatiable he was for his boyfriend that he hadn’t been able to last past a week without them fucking, but honestly, Ed wasn’t ashamed at all. Of his own stupid behaviour, yes, but his desire for Stede? Not at all. “Wow. Ok, maybe I lock my cock up in a cage to make sure it behaves then.”

“There’s an idea.” He could feel Stede’s smirk against his skin. “But we can figure all of that out later. In the meantime…”

Stede untucked himself from Ed’s body so he could get a good look at him, and the spark was back in his eyes. “Round two?”

“After we already changed the sheets? Stede Bonnet, you dirty boy.” Not that Ed was complaining. He was already flipping Stede like a pancake and onto his stomach so Ed could slide down the bed and get two handfuls of Stede’s ass. “I’m going to eat you out until the neighbours start banging on the walls because of the noise.”

“Isn’t your place soundproofed?” Stede asked, somehow still thinking logically even as Ed parted his cheeks to get a good look at his prize. If Ed was any good with his tongue (he was), then it wouldn’t take much before Stede could barely string a sentence together at all.

“That’s how loud I want you to be, baby.”

And just as Ed suspected, it took no time at all until he got Stede wailing like a banshee into the night.

[Roach's Café]

“Oh look, it’s the lovebirds.”

It was the first thing Roach said to them when they walked into his shop the next morning, as Stede very charmingly held the door open for Ed to walk in ahead of him. Given that the shop was still empty, Roach could have said a lot worse and Ed was a little surprised that he hadn’t. 

“That’s pretty light teasing, coming from you.” Ed remarked as he walked over to the counter with Stede. “Not fully awake yet?”

“It was supposed to be an endearment, not teasing.” Roach pressed his palm over his heart, eyes wide like he was offended by the very notion he might mock the two of them, as if he hadn’t called them both walking rom-com tropes the last time he’d seen them. “This is me being a good and supportive friend, who would never make fun of his friends’ happiness.”

“You won’t last ten minutes without mocking us for something.” Ed smirked, and just as he thought, Roach held a hand out over the counter.

“You’re on.”

Ed shook his hand, sealing the wager. “Twenty bucks?”

“Fifty, you can afford it, Mr. Second Spot Wang.” Roach replied, and when Ed raised an eyebrow, Roach unclasped his hand. “That doesn’t count, time starts now.”

“Fine, whatever you say.”

“What can I get for you?”

“Hmm…” Ed made a show of looking at the menu board whilst also very obviously slipping his hand into the back pocket of Stede’s jeans (which were actually Ed’s jeans that Stede had borrowed that morning). “What looks good to you, pumpkin?”

Without missing a beat, Stede answered, “The cakes look delectable this morning, honeybun. It’s not too early to have a slice of cake with our coffee, is it?”

Making a bet with Roach was nothing new to Ed, but he was thrilled that Stede slipped into playing along so easily, the two of them teaming up to prove their point and act so nauseatingly cutesy that Roach wouldn’t be able to help mocking them for it.

Roach managed to keep his face impassive throughout their ordering shenanigans, which was impressive since they kept up the disgusting pet names while talking through the menu before finally placing their orders. Ed did notice that Roach’s eye twitched slightly when Stede asked him if he could use heart-shaped stencils when dusting their coffees with cocoa powder. A nice touch, and Stede only made it even better by slipping his hand into the back pocket of Ed’s jeans as well, so they both walked over to their usual table with their hands in each other’s back pockets, and Ed made sure to look smugly back over his shoulder when he very obviously squeezed Stede’s ass, and Roach looked like he wanted to gag but he still didn’t crack.

To Roach’s credit, he actually did use the heart-shaped stencils on their coffees, which was a nice touch. However, he brought their drinks and cake over right when they were in the middle of a pre-planned conversation about which one of them wore Ed’s jeans better.

“Settle this argument for us, would you?” It would be too easy if Roach just dropped their stuff off and ran back to hide behind the counter until his time was up, so Ed was determined to keep him where he had to face them. “See, I think my jeans look so much better on Stede than me, look how well he fills them! Stand up and give him a twirl, cuddle bunny, let him see how they show off your calves.”

“Meanwhile, I think that Ed is just flattering me because he’s such a darling little smoochie pie and he thinks I look good in everything, but look at him!” Stede gestured to where Ed sat with one leg crossed over the other. “So stylish. I never would have thought to wear fishnet stockings under ripped open leg jeans. It really shows off his gorgeous legs.”

[Ed's Outfit Ref]

“I’m not settling this argument.” Roach said through gritted teeth.

“Then we’ll have to agree to disagree.” There were only a couple of minutes left on Roach’s time, so now was when Ed pulled out the big guns - the over the top PDA that would put anyone off their food. He leaned over the table, and Stede quickly cottoned on to what he was doing and mirrored him, so they met in the middle with a kiss. And not a sweet little peck that would be cute, but a full messy makeout, tongues swirling like washing machines on the spin cycle, accompanied by loud moans, all the better for grossing Roach out to the point where he cracked.

“Nope, can’t do it. I will happily lose the bet if it means I don’t have to witness this.” Roach raised his hands in defeat. “I’m glad you’re both happy, but this is disgusting and I need you to stop slobbering over each other in my place of business.”

Ed sat back in his chair, triumphant. “I accept cash or bank transfer.”

“And I’ll happily pay up, once I’ve deducted what you owe from my new store policy - All PDA is now fined.”

“Let me guess, we owe you fifty bucks so we’re actually square?”

“Actually, it’s a hundred dollar fine, so you still owe me fifty.” Roach grinned. “But I’ll waive that out of the kindness of my heart.”

Ed rolled his eyes. “You’re a saint. You’re buying next time we go out for drinks.”

“Fair enough.” The bell above the door rang as more customers entered, so Roach returned to the counter to serve them, but not without a parting shot muttered under his breath about how he regretted ever playing matchmaker for the two of them.

Now they were alone, they could enjoy their little breakfast date, even if cake technically wasn’t a breakfast food. They weren’t quite as disgusting when not putting on a show to torment their friend, but they still bumped their feet against each other under the table and held hands on top of it. It meant eating and drinking one-handed, but Ed didn’t mind and he doubted that Stede did either.

Things finally felt settled for them, and Ed thought that while now might not be the perfect time, there was also no such thing as a ‘perfect’ time. He did feel less worried about broaching the subject with Stede though, thanks to their talk the previous night. “I think I want to start making videos again.”

“So soon?” Stede asked, and he reached over to wipe a little frosting from the corner of Ed’s mouth with his thumb. “You didn’t announce your hiatus that long ago.”

“I don’t know if I’ll go back to my usual schedule just yet. I did have a couple of sponsorships lined up pre-hiatus that I should really make content for sooner rather than later, but that’s not the main reason.” Ed said. “That period where you and I were feuding, it’s the most creative I’ve ever been. You got me out of a rut, made me start thinking creatively again, and I tried some stuff I never would have thought went with the Blackbeard brand before. I liked it.”

“Presumably you liked the creativity and trying out new ideas, not the feud itself?” Stede asked with a small smile.

Ed grinned and swiped the little fondant orange off of Stede’s slice of cake. “Oh, I don’t know. The feud had its moments.”

“You’ll get another feud if you don’t give that back.”

Ed held the little orange up to his mouth just to tease, but he handed it back. He expected Stede to pop it straight into his mouth, but instead he took his knife and cut it into two halves and gave Ed one of them. It was only a little orange made of icing, but Ed did feel a lump in his throat at the easy way Stede had split it without complaint so they could share it rather than keeping it for himself even though he had every right to, since he’d ordered the cake.

“So,” Stede said once they’d both bumped their little orange halves together in a ‘toast’ and then eaten them. “What kind of videos do you want to make, if not the typical Blackbeard content?”

“I haven’t figured out all the details yet, I wanted to talk to you about it first, since we did make that hiatus announcement at the same time.”

“You don’t need to ask me if you want to start making videos again, Ed.” Stede said kindly, and Ed appreciated the concern, but that wasn’t what was on his mind.

“It’s more that I can’t really go back to filming like nothing has happened, people will be expecting me to say something about you, about us.” He saw Stede open his mouth, no doubt to say the same thing as Fang, which was that Ed didn’t have to address anything if he didn’t want to. “I know I don’t owe anyone an explanation, but I do want to try and avoid the whiplash of my subscribers seeing me return with a new kind of content. I talked it through with Fang though, and he did come up with one idea.”

“Oh?” Stede rested his chin on his hand. “What’s that?”

“How would you feel about making an appearance on my channel?”

Stede’s eyebrows briefly shot up before he levelled them again. “Me as in me, or me as in The Gentleman Reviewer?”

“I was thinking we stick with the Blackbeard and Gentleman Reviewer personas, just to get people used to the new direction and maybe get them used to us as well?”

Stede looked intrigued so Ed carried on. “I don’t really want to make a whole big thing about us dating, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I would happily shout it from the rooftops, but it’s also our relationship and our business so I just don’t think we need to sit down and do a whole explanation video of our personal lives for our subscribers.”

“We’re agreed on that.” Stede nodded.

“And people have been speculating so much about us anyway, why not let them speculate some more? We don’t need to confirm or deny anything, but you appearing on my channel when I make the move to some softer, more romantic content? It sends a message without actually saying anything, if you know what I mean?”

“People could assume we’re together, or they could assume it’s a publicity stunt, we don’t need to say who’s right.” Stede said, and Ed snapped his fingers.

“That’s it. Also I thought that since our fans loved the rivalry so much, this could be our way of sort of playing off of that. Your stream where we both appeared together got insane numbers, so we could use this as a little test to see if that was just a one-off or if our combined fans might actually be interested in some more Blackbeard and Gentleman Reviewer content.”

“We did cut that livestream off at a rather pivotal moment.” Stede smirked, and Ed could tell he was onboard. 

While Ed had no regrets about not letting their fans see that intimate moment between them, he wasn’t opposed to them seeing something more thought-out and planned. Ed had been on camera with other people before, it wasn’t something he was shy about, he’d just ended up doing more solo work because it had been how he liked to run his channel. He hadn’t cared about any of his previous partner’s opinions on his content, but Stede was different. Ed felt like he was on the cusp of creating something amazing, he just needed his muse.

“I’d love for us to film a video together.” Stede had taken to stroking his thumb over the back of Ed’s hand, which was enough to get Ed’s pulse racing, even though it was a very tame gesture in comparison to the kind of things they’d been doing last night, and again this morning. “Did you have a particular idea in mind?”

“Well…” Ed knew that Stede would be able to read the smoulder in his gaze from a mile off, let alone when it was so close and Ed was deliberately cranking up the intensity of it to make his boyfriend blush. “Blackbeard does owe The Gentleman Reviewer an apology for saying he gives bad head…”

[Video posted on Blackbeard's socials and sent out to his subscriber mailing list] - follow link for video

Video Desc: A black satin sheet being pulled, and the words 'Stay Tuned' in neon lettering appearing on the screen

Ed was nervous, which was weird, because he wasn’t usually nervous when he filmed a video for his channel. But this was no ordinary review, this was his first video since publicly outing himself as being in love with The Gentleman Reviewer and appearing on his stream. 

And The Gentleman Reviewer was here in the flesh, currently clipping a pair of white silk stockings onto his suspender straps.

This was it, people were actually going to see them together. Unlike last time, when they had turned the camera off, because that moment had just been for them, this was public. And Ed had never given a shit about fucking someone on camera, he just hadn’t had anyone he was so excited to collaborate with before. There was no better person for this than Stede, not only because he was Ed’s boyfriend, but because all the hype around Stede’s own online persona was certain to make this Ed’s most popular video ever.

He didn’t need the numbers or the money, not really, but this was the fun that Ed had been missing from his channel. Ever since he had started feuding with The Gentleman Reviewer, as infuriating as it had been, it had been fun and a chance for him to explore his creativity and do things he never would have done on his channel otherwise, for fear it didn’t fit the Blackbeard brand. This whole collaboration video had been Ed’s idea, and yet he couldn’t help but have butterflies as he set up the cameras.

As he was adjusting the angle of one of them, he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you ok?”

He nodded, turning so he could be enveloped in Stede’s arms properly. “Yeah. Bit nervous though.”

“We don’t have to do this.”

“No, I want to. As long as you want to?”

“I do.” Stede kissed his cheek softly. “And it’s not a livestream, so if we change our minds about filming ourselves at any time then we can just shut the cameras off and delete the footage. We’re doing this because we want to, we don’t owe anyone else a damn thing.”

Ed was glad they had mutually decided to pre-film, at least for this first foray into a new type of content for them both. If it went well, they could consider a livestream in the future, but for now there was the comfort of being able to edit and delete footage as they pleased. The cameras were their audience, but there were no real eyes on them yet.

“And,” Stede added with a smirk. “We can always film it and keep the footage just for us. You can keep me discreetly yours, if that’s what you want.”

“Tempting.” Ed squeezed Stede’s shoulders, chuckling as he recognised Stede repeating the words he’d said on his livestream that had entranced Ed right over to his house. “I don’t mind sharing you with our audience though, at least visually. It’s actually kinda funny, thinking about them drooling and desperate when they watch us, knowing they’ll never get to have you like I do.”

People would see their videos, their online personas, and think that they knew them. They’d believe they had real insight into their relationship just because they saw the two of them fucking. But they wouldn’t get to see Stede humming while he made tea, or Ed howling with laughter at a goofy joke he’d made, or the two of them cuddling and half asleep while some nonsense was playing on the TV. 

They could have Blackbeard and The Gentleman Reviewer, but they couldn’t have Ed and Stede.

“Quite right, darling. I’m only yours.” Stede’s hands smoothed down Ed’s sides and came to rest on his waist as he looked him up and down appreciatively. And then those hazel eyes met his, and Stede smiled that devilishly charming smile of his. “You look gorgeous.”

“Yeah?” Ed wasn’t really asking. He knew how good he looked and didn’t need Stede to tell him, although he enjoyed hearing it.

He’d had the bodysuit for a while, one of those ‘save it for a special occasion’ items that had sadly been languishing in his closet. Black (obviously, because he’d been shopping under his Blackbeard brand style), with sheer panels and lace flowers, and suspender straps hanging down. They weren’t attached to anything at the moment, he was going to put the stockings on once the cameras were ready, as well as the long black mesh gloves. 

The gold chain harness/necklace that draped over his shoulders and between his pecs was actually one of Stede’s. Ed had plenty of his own harnesses, but most were silver, and Stede had suggested a touch of gold might look nice. Stede had actually borrowed one of Ed’s silver chain harnesses for the event, thinking it would be fun for them to wear each other’s usual metal tones. Ed had his skull and rose earrings in too, just for that little extra connection to Stede that their audience would be none the wiser about.

[Ed's Outfit Inspo]

“Gorgeous.” Stede decreed again. “Stunning. Mesmerising. Beauti–”

Ed kissed him. Not to shut him up, but because he could. There would be no issues getting him ready for their little show, he was halfway there already. He ended the kiss with a quiet hum of appreciation, and nuzzled his nose against Stede’s. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” Stede caught the tip of Ed’s nose with a kiss as he backed away. “Now, let’s get you dressed.”

Ed made his final adjustments to the camera angles while Stede fetched his stockings and gloves for him, except when he held out a hand for Stede to pass them over without looking, he was surprised by a lack of silky mesh in his hands and the sound of a dull thud instead.

The dull thud in question was Stede’s knees hitting the floor, and when Ed looked down, his boyfriend cupped the back of his ankle ever so gently to lift Ed’s foot off the ground and onto his thigh. Ed was perfectly capable of putting his own stockings on, and had in fact been thinking of making a flirty little show of it, bending over in front of Stede, but this was far better.

He gave a little nod, and Stede started rolling the stocking. He lifted Ed’s foot up again (gentle, always so gentle with him) to pull the stocking over his toes, and then began the process of rolling the fabric up his calf and then to his thigh, where Stede stopped so he could attach the suspender straps to hold it in place. It all felt so intimate, and Ed didn’t think he breathed at all as he watched Stede gazing up at him in between fastening the little buttons in place that would keep his stocking up. And then once it was secure, Stede ran his thumbs over the lace trim, making a few tiny little adjustments so the top of the stocking was level.

The process for the other stocking was exactly the same, except by the time Stede got to his thigh, Ed was as hard as rocks. It wasn’t helped by Stede cupping his thigh with his hands, half over his bare skin and half over the sheer black mesh, stroking and kneading at the muscle.

Ed’s lips parted in a quiet moan, and Stede’s eyes glinted as he leaned in to press a kiss to Ed’s inner thigh. First one, then the other, all while steadfastly ignoring Ed’s erection straining against the crotch of his bodysuit.

“Stede…” Ed whimpered, tempted to throw the whole filming thing out of the window if it meant he got Stede’s mouth on his cock right that second.

But Stede stood up, and Ed couldn’t help the pitiful whine that escaped him as he retrieved the gloves and gestured for Ed to hold his arms out. It was another level of intimacy - Stede making sure each of Ed’s fingers was in the correct part of the glove, and then slowly pulling the mesh up his arm and past his elbow.

Ed managed to hold onto his control for the first, but when Stede pulled the second glove into place, he suddenly caught Ed by his elbow and spun him around, Ed’s back to Stede’s front. Ed’s right arm was stretched out, and Stede began kissing along it, from the tips of his fingers to his wrist and all the way up his arm.

And Ed snapped like a twig.

“Stede!” It wasn’t even a whimper now, but a full-blown moan as Stede kept kissing along his arm. Ed tried to spin himself back around so he could kiss his boyfriend properly and in all honesty, tackle him to the floor and shred their nice outfits so he could ride Stede like a prized stallion. However, he was prevented from doing so by Stede’s other hand grabbing his hip and pulling Ed back against him.

It didn’t help, because Ed could feel Stede’s own erection pressing against him, and with what movement he had, began grinding his ass back against it, to some success, because he heard Stede grunt before the hand on his hip was suddenly cupping Ed’s cock over the bodysuit.

Stede’s mouth left his arm and travelled up his neck, pausing to nip at his earlobe as Ed’s head tilted to the side willingly to let Stede absolutely ravish his neck if he wanted. 

“Patience, love.” Stede growled into his ear, low and seductive, and having the exact opposite of a soothing, patient effect. “Save it for the cameras.”

“You’re the one who… fuck…” Ed moaned as the heel of Stede’s hand pressed against his cock. He wasn’t just cupping it now, he was actively grinding against it, stroking Ed through layers of mesh and lace. “You’re the one who started it.”

“And I’ll finish it.” Stede promised. “On my knees for you.”

“Stede!”

“And you’ll be trying to hold it together, trying not to let your audience see just how quickly Blackbeard’s former arch nemesis can turn him into a quivering mess, but you know what I can do with my mouth, don’t you, darling?” Stede breathed into his ear, hot and heavy but with a strained edge that betrayed the fact that Ed wasn’t the only one currently affected so much by this. “How many times have you had my mouth by now? And yet you always want it, you’re always so needy for it. Begging for it…”

“Oh god, yes…” Ed panted, his head falling back and turning towards Stede. He knew Stede could see how desperate he was, and Stede’s eyes glinted as the hand stroking Ed’s cock over the bodysuit sped up. “Yes, I want it. Please give it to me.”

Ed’s lips were captured in a fierce kiss, and even with the angle making it a little awkward, Ed still burned for it. He pressed his mouth harder against Stede’s, his teeth catching on his lip, and Stede moaned into his mouth before tearing his face away.

“You’ll get it.” Stede said, his eyes flashing again as he let Ed go and stepped away. His hand trailed down Ed’s arm as he did, until he caught Ed’s fingers. With a look of molten fire, Stede kissed the back of Ed’s hand. “You’ll get anything you want from me, darling, you only have to ask.”

Except what Ed wanted was Stede touching him again, and he was letting go of his hand and stepping behind the main camera pointed at Ed. “But first…”

Stede’s finger hovered over the button that would make the camera start recording, and he smirked. “Blackbeard needs to greet his audience, already flustered and desperate for The Gentleman Reviewer before he’s even gotten started.”

It was a genius way to start things off and even though he knew Stede wouldn’t press record until Ed said so, and would allow him to regain his composure and start the video off more collected and dignified, if that was what he wanted, Ed was all in. 

Ed was the one who had made up the lie that The Gentleman Reviewer gave bad head, and the whole point of this video was to properly apologise for it and allow people to see how false that statement was. What better way to do that than to show his audience the effect Stede had on him? He wanted people to see. He wanted them to be seething with jealousy that he got to have Stede and they didn’t, wanted them to know that Stede was his, even if they didn’t plan on directly saying that in this particular video.

Their audience could infer what they liked, whether this was just a collab part of a whole crafty PR stunt where they pretended to be in love, or if they were actually dating. Frankly, Ed didn’t fucking care what his subscribers thought, as long as he got to have Stede.

“Fuck, I love your wicked little mind.” Ed smirked as he positioned himself against the foot of the four poster bed. He knew exactly where to stand to put himself in the centre of the frame. “Yeah, let them see, baby.”

Stede blew him a kiss, and then pushed the button to start the camera recording.

“Hello everyone,” Ed said in his best Blackbeard growl. “It’s been a while. By now, I’m sure you’ve realised that this is not my regular filming location. I think quite a few of you can work out where I am.”

He could see Stede smirking from his position behind the camera, and he gave Ed an encouraging little thumbs up.

“You see,” Ed carried on. “I always try to be completely honest in my reviews. It’s been part of the Blackbeard brand since the beginning, and that’s not going to change. However, some time ago, I made an unsubstantiated claim, and now I’m here to put my money where my mouth is.”

“Where my mouth is, you mean.” Stede quipped.

Ed grinned. “Dickhead, we’ve got to edit that bit out now.”

“Sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

Ed took a second to let his affectionate smile fade back into his sultry expression, and Stede took it as a chance to quietly go and start the other cameras they had set up recording. It was going to be a bitch to edit all the footage from the various angles, but that was a problem for their future selves. “In the heat of our rivalry, I claimed that The Gentleman Reviewer gave bad head. At the time, I had no experience with it, so I made that claim without evidence. I’m sorry for that. I owe you an apology, my subscribers, but I owe someone else an apology too.”

He extended a gloved hand, like they had discussed when planning how this video would go, and Stede walked out into frame as he joined Ed at the foot of the bed. Ed already knew that the two of them in the same frame would drive people wild, but their outfits would only ramp that up. 

Stede’s bodysuit was very similar in style to Ed’s own, with the delicate lace flower petals, only his was in shades of cream and white and blush, rather than Ed’s more monochromatic look. There were a few pearls scattered amongst the lace petals as well, in addition to the delicate links of the silver chain harness that Stede had borrowed from Ed, criss-crossing over the lace cups of the corset-style bodice. 

[Stede's Outfit Inspo]

He looked beautiful, like something out of a fairytale, and proved himself to be Prince Charming as he took Ed’s hand into his own and kissed his knuckles, while looking at Ed from beneath his lashes with a gaze so burning it was a wonder Ed’s skin wasn’t scorched from the heat.

“As you can see,” Ed said, struggling to concentrate on the camera when all he wanted to do was stare at Stede. “I invited the Gentleman Reviewer to hear my apology in person, and as I am a very thorough reviewer…”

He stared pointedly and unashamedly at the bulge at the front of Stede’s bodysuit, mouth already watering even though Ed knew that the whole point of this was that Stede would get his mouth on Ed’s cock, and not the other way around (although maybe the other way around, once they were done filming).

“...I thought it might also be an opportunity for me to give my real thoughts on his skills, should he be willing to demonstrate them for me.”

“And I very graciously accepted.” Stede said with a smirk. “Since Blackbeard so carelessly slandered my good reputation, I would quite like to set the record straight.”

“Last time I said you gave bad head without having evidence to back the claim up.” Ed remarked. “This time I will have evidence.”

“Oh, you think what you said still stands, do you?” Stede snarked, but Ed could see him holding back his smile. This was just banter, like it had been in the old days, to sell the rivalry. “I can blow your mind, Blackbeard.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Oh, you will. I have a very talented mouth, and I intend to use it to make yours useful, for once.”

“And how exactly will you make my mouth useful, hmm?”

“By keeping it occupied with you begging me for more instead of spouting your half-baked lies.” Stede smirked as he leaned in. “I’m going to drive you mad, Blackbeard. You’ll try to act calm and unaffected, but you won’t be able to keep up that facade for long, because I’ll shatter it. All of your subscribers are going to see you falling apart for me, begging me to let you come down my throat.”

Stede cocked his head. “And I might let you, if you’re able to deliver a half decent apology for your unsubstantiated claims while I make you see god.”

Ed was already struggling to keep a cool head, and they were barely getting started. Stede had always been good with his words, knowing exactly what to say to get Ed trembling with anticipation before he’d even touched him, but he wasn’t supposed to be Ed right now. He was Blackbeard, and Blackbeard always played it cool, always had to have the upper hand, so Ed swallowed and hoped his chest heaving with shaky breaths wasn’t too obvious on camera. “You want me to apologise to you while you’re giving me head, do I have that right?”

“It is rather fitting, don’t you think?” Stede was still standing above him, not sitting on the edge of the bed next to Ed, and he placed his index finger under Ed’s chin, tipping it upwards. “You apologising for your misinformed claims while I’m proving them wrong. If you can manage to stay coherent, that shows everyone that what you said wasn’t so far-fetched. However, if you can’t, if you stumble over your words and can’t string a sentence together without whimpering like a bitch in heat, it shows our audience just how wrong you were.”

Stede leaned in and Ed’s lashes fluttered as he thought he was going for a kiss (which they’d have to edit out), but when that kiss didn’t come, Ed’s eyes snapped back open to see Stede’s attention on the camera again, the blinking light their connection to the audience that would eventually see this footage. “After all, our audience can only really take your word for it on how talented I really am, can’t they? It’s not like I can demonstrate my skills for all of them.”

He turned back to Ed. “Which is a shame.”

Ed could see why he’d turned away from the camera for that part, because the Gentleman Reviewer’s expression had softened back into Stede. His Stede, who Ed knew would never want anyone else, despite what his online persona might say. It was a shame that no one else would get to experience just how good Stede was with his mouth, and they would simply have to take his word for it. Ed pitied them for missing out, but not enough to ever consider sharing. This video they intended to post would be as close as they ever got to being with anyone else, and really it was more just the two of them showing off than anything.

“You’re already losing points for yapping instead of getting on with it.” Ed snarked, and he hoped Stede would recognise that he was just playing. He would never tire of listening to Stede talk.

“Always in such a rush, Blackbeard.” Stede tutted. “No appreciation for the process, only the end result. You know, there’s no shame in being unable to last for very long.”

Ed spluttered at that, and tried to disguise his laughter as an outraged scoff. “Fuck you.”

“Yes, darling, that’s rather the point.” And all of a sudden, Stede dropped to his knees in front of him. Ed had known it was coming; it was what they had planned, why they had multiple camera angles set up, including one on the floor next to them, set at the perfect height to capture Stede’s side profile as he slid his hands up Ed’s calves and pushed his legs apart. “Specifically, my mouth.”

Ed wished he’d pre-planned a witty retort, because he was coming up blank. His mind was nothing but thoughts of Stede and his pretty mouth. His smug little smile that he was playing up for the camera when Blackbeard didn’t say a word in response, the way his tongue darted over those pink lips as Stede ran his hands up and down Ed’s calves.

“It’s a pity you have such a wicked little mouth.” Stede said with a smirk, and his eyes danced, suggesting he had no problem with Ed’s mouth at all. “Because the rest of you is quite lovely.”

Ed just about managed to get his wits together to huff out a; “I suppose I should thank you for the compliment, backhanded as it is.”

“My pleasure, Blackbeard.” He turned and pressed a featherlight kiss to the side of Ed’s knee. “Yours too, if you can be a good boy for me.”

The issue was less about being good, and more about Ed trying not to fucking come untouched and ruining this whole scene they’d prepared, and Stede wasn’t making it easy.

He knew every button to push, exactly how to tease Ed to render him incoherent, and Stede being Stede, had a few surprises up his sleeve as well. Or rather, under the bed.

Ed was suitably distracted by Stede kissing up his legs, starting at his ankles and working his way up. Every now and then, he’d give Ed a little nip of teeth or flick of a tongue, just to keep him on his toes, and even though the plan had been for Ed to make a few Blackbeard-esque snarks to camera while Stede did this, there was no way he was able to open his mouth without a moan slipping out, and it was too early for that yet. So Ed looked up at the ceiling and tried to keep his breathing in check so he didn’t give himself away. He wasn’t making for very interesting footage, but he already knew they’d exclusively be using Stede’s camera angles for this part, letting their audience enjoy watching his pretty mouth while Ed got to enjoy feeling it for real.

He only looked down when he felt something being tucked in amongst the lace panels of his bodysuit, and discovered that Stede, romantic devil that he was, had hidden tiny red rosebuds beneath the bed, and was tucking them into Ed’s ensemble around his waist as he kissed his way up Ed’s inner thighs.

Stede’s eyes were open, and they met Ed’s as he looked down, and when his mouth lifted from Ed’s skin, Stede blew him a little kiss with an accompanying wink as he tucked another rose into Ed’s bodysuit.

“What’s all this then?” Ed asked, hating his choice of words that made him sound like an old-timey police officer, but he hadn’t been expecting the roses, so he had to ad-lib.

“Just giving you your flowers.” Stede answered coolly, with a glint in his eye. “Unlike yourself, I am actually able to recognise and congratulate accomplishment where I see it.”

Of course Stede would take the ‘giving you your flowers’ phrase literally. Ed actually thought it was terribly romantic, but he had to play it cool. “And what achievement in particular are you congratulating?”

Stede smirked and ran his hands up Ed’s outer thighs, flowers abandoned as he sank his head between them, and his breath floated hot over Ed’s clothed cock. “You having the best damn legs I’ve ever had the pleasure of being wrapped around my head.”

Ed managed to press his lips tight together just in time to stop the whimper that threatened to escape him. Damn, Stede was almost too fucking good at this. Ed didn’t need to come up with a response though, as Stede had already turned his attention to other matters. Namely, teasing the ever-loving fuck out of him.

It started with little nips at the sensitive skin between his thighs - nothing hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to make Ed gasp out a breath every time Stede’s teeth caught his skin or the stockings. For Stede to treat silk like that, daring to risk plucking holes in the fine fabric with his teeth just to get closer to Ed’s bare skin, it was downright filthy.

And from there, breathing only became more difficult. Stede finally turned his attention to Ed’s cock, still trapped beneath the lace and mesh of his bodysuit, but rather than undo the fastening that would release it, Stede chose to press his hot mouth over the fabric.

It was direct contact with his cock as Stede mouthed along the shape of it, and yet it wasn’t direct enough. The fabric was thin, and Ed could feel the press of Stede’s lips against his cock, but he couldn’t actually feel that velvet mouth of his and it was driving him crazy. Stede was actually starting to make the fabric damp, and frankly, so was Ed.

He was so fixated on Stede that he almost forgot that there were cameras rolling. When he did remember, and glanced up at the one pointed directly at him, intending to make some bored-sounding sarcastic comment to keep up the ruse, he only managed to get as far as “I think-” before he got cut off. Stede had found the head of his cock beneath the bodysuit and pressed his tongue against it. Not just his tongue either, but that metal piercing in it, which Stede very much used to his advantage and pressed the stud against the head of Ed’s cock the way he always loved, hard enough to make sure Ed could feel it through the fabric.

He’d been mentally complaining about the fabric in the way only moments ago, but the moment that tongue stud made contact with his clothed cock, it was so intense that for a brief flash of a second, Ed could have sworn he was already naked.

Stede had more patience than him, but when it came to the bodysuit in the way, it had worn thin.

He didn’t even bother to unfasten it properly, just grabbed it and tugged it to one side, freeing Ed’s cock to the light chill of the air in the room at last. Ed thought that would be the moment that Stede started blowing him, but maybe he wanted a good shot of Ed’s cock, hard and weeping for him, because he turned his attention back to Ed’s thighs.

And Ed loved it when Stede licked and bit his thighs like this, especially now he was going harder and leaving flushed marks behind that turned the skin of Ed’s thighs into a field of purple pansies. But as much as he loved it, it wasn’t an act for the camera when Ed huffed out his frustration at Stede ignoring his cock again. His taunt was part of the act though, meant to give Blackbeard some illusion of having the upper hand again. “Stalling, are we? Delaying your inevitable failure?”

Stede bit his thigh and Ed quickly turned his moan into a laugh. “Afraid you’re not going to live up to the hype?”

Ed smirked at the camera then, a little play to their audience, but Stede knew how to knock him off his high horse, even when it was only a fake one. A high pantomime horse, if you will.

He had the gall to run his lips along the length of Ed’s cock, light as a feather, and purr out his response in a rumble that meant Ed felt every vibration. “Good things come to those who wait.”

“It’ll be a good thing if I come at al—ohhh, fuck!”

Stede swallowed his cock in one smooth motion, completely cutting off Ed’s retort and dissolving his act in a second.

Normally, Ed would have fisted his fingers through Stede’s curls, but he had just enough of his wits left about him not to do that. Too tender, too personal - so the hand that he had been about to bury in gold flew out to grab one of the posts of Stede’s four poster bed instead. Made of the finest cherrywood, Stede had said once, virtually indestructible. Ed could hear it creaking under his grip already and wondered if the bed was going to last the night.

Stede lifted his mouth off of his cock, but didn’t go far, his head bumping against Stede’s lower lip as he spoke. “Weren’t you supposed to be apologising?”

Shit, Ed had forgotten all about that. That was the whole point of this video. Well, that was the story they were sticking with anyway. In actuality, this video was an opportunity to introduce both of their audiences, particularly Blackbeard’s, to this new era. It was their clean slate.

“I sincerely apologise,” Ed said, keeping his voice calm and measured even as Stede flicked his tongue in little kitten licks over the head of his cock. He was being considerate by only using the tip of his tongue, because they both knew that piercing was the ace up his sleeve that he could deploy at a moment’s notice to throw Ed off his game. “For making claims about the head giving ability of you, The Gentleman Reviewer, without evidence or experie-heh-nce…”

Damn, he’d almost made it to the end of his point, and Stede had decided to press the stud in his tongue against the head of Ed’s cock, making him stumble over his words. Ed would have tried to get back on track, but this was already a fight he’d lost and was happy to lose, and he gave up on delivering a coherent apology in favour of moaning and fisting the fingers of his hand not clutching the bed post through Stede’s hair as he sunk his mouth down the entire length of Ed’s shaft again.

“God, your fucking mouth…” Ed groaned without meaning to, and he heard the confused little hum from Stede around his cock as he questioned why Ed was going off-script. He was supposed to keep trying to babble the rest of his apology out, but Ed thought it was pretty damn clear where he stood now. Fuck pretending, and fuck holding back, his fans were going to see exactly how good Stede’s mouth was.

Stede got the message pretty quickly and started bobbing his head up and down, gliding his tongue along Ed’s shaft. Ed held onto his hair, but never used it to guide Stede anywhere. He didn’t need it. Stede knew exactly how best to please him without any input from Ed, so he just needed to sit there and let Stede’s mouth work its magic while ensuring that viewers who would never experience it for themselves knew just how damn good it was.

He moaned and whimpered Stede’s name (which he’d confirmed with Stede beforehand that it was ok for him to do) because even if they were supposed to be in their online personas, crying out: “Gentleman Reviewer!” just didn’t have quite the right sound to it. Too impersonal for the two of them. Even if their audience only knew them as Blackbeard and The Gentleman Reviewer, they were still Ed and Stede, and to cry out any name besides his boyfriend’s just felt weird to him, even if they still hadn’t publicly confirmed that they were dating.

Stede brought him right to the edge, Ed whimpering “I’m close, I’m close, I’m close” before cruelly stopping things before Ed could come and pulling off. A string of saliva connected his bottom lip to Ed’s cock, and it was so obscenely gorgeous that Ed thought he might edit it out of the final footage and keep that image just for himself.

“I think I’ve made my point.” Stede said mischievously. “We could stop here, if you like.”

Ed didn’t like. He didn’t like at all.

“Or…” Stede continued, with a little kiss to the head of Ed’s cock that made it twitch. “I’ll consider letting you come down my throat, if you ask for it politely enough.”

“Please.” Ed groaned. “Please, I want it.”

“Want what? Specifics are very important, darling.”

Ed would have laughed at the pedantry if he wasn’t holding on by a thread. “Please let me come down your throat.”

Stede leaned in, as if he was about to take Ed’s cock into his mouth again, but swerved at the last second and kissed the crease of his thigh instead. “Any final comments about my head giving abilities?”

Ed opened his mouth to speak, but Stede wagged a finger. “To the camera, please. It’s your audience you need to address, not me, darling.”

Lifting his gaze away from Stede felt like torture, but Ed did it, staring at the camera in front of him straight on. “The Gentleman Reviewer has excellent head giving abilities. Best fucking blowjob I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, you’re too kind.” Stede rewarded him with one long, slow lick up his shaft that made Ed’s lashes flutter. “Anything else?”

They’d planned this for their big finale. His usual sign-off on his reviews, and Ed didn’t think he’d ever delivered it so enthusiastically before.

“The Gentleman Reviewer is Blackbeard approved.”

That was Stede’s cue to pick up exactly where he’d left off, swallowing Ed’s cock down again and again, taking him so deep that Ed could feel Stede’s throat around him, fucking milking him. He knew Ed’s tells, knew exactly how his cock twitched when he was about to come, knew the exact moment to fucking look up and wink at him and time it perfectly with Ed coming down his throat.

“Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck…” Ed grunted with each pulse, the hand not on Stede’s hair still clinging to the bedpost which continued to creak under Ed’s grip. Stede knelt there and took it, ran his hands along Ed’s thighs and lightly scratched his nails against his skin. Not enough to mark, but enough to be possessive.

When he was spent, and Stede had taken his mouth off of Ed’s cock and kissed it in the manner someone would kiss a person’s hand in a gentlemanly gesture, Ed was so tempted to flop back against the mattress. They had already planned to end the video here, a sharp cut to black once Ed came, meant to leave their audience wanting more, so it didn’t really matter what they did with the camera still rolling, because they could just not include the footage. But one look at Stede’s gorgeous face, which Ed would say was fucking glowing, and Ed knew what he wanted.

“Come here.” He said on a sigh, and Stede was already climbing up off his knees as Ed was reaching out his hands to help him up.

He climbed onto Ed’s lap and locked his arms around his neck, leaning in for a long, deep kiss. Ed could feel Stede’s hard cock pressing against him through his bodysuit, but Stede seemed in no particular rush to take care of it. In fact, knowing him, he’d probably insist he was fine and that he cared more about Ed’s pleasure anyway, which Ed had no doubt was true, but he fully intended to make Stede see god just as soon as he got his breath back. Funny how just sitting there while Stede worked his cock made him feel out of breath. Then again, he had been panting and gasping a lot.

“So, what do you think?” Stede asked, tipping his head back to gesture towards the camera still filming them. “Enough to make our fans happy?”

It would have been something Ed cared strongly about only a few months ago. Back when he’d first started out, he’d been doing it for fun and because he was tired of all the people who made fake reviews for sponsorships or to get free shit. Ed had built his brand on honesty and no bullshit, and over time, after he had really built up his following, Blackbeard had morphed into something else. He’d kept the brutally honest aspect, but as he’d kept growing his channel, he had become focused on the views and the hits and the subscriber count. His whole channel had become about his battle to take that number one spot, just to prove that he could, and along the way, he’d missed out on the fun and creative part of his work. There were things he’d wanted to try that he’d felt like he couldn’t, because they didn’t match the Blackbeard brand, and so he’d put himself in a box.

He’d only broken out of that box when he’d started feuding with Stede, who had reinvigorated his passion, had shown him that he didn’t have to just stick with one thing even if it was what brought him success. Sometimes, it was better to try something just because it was what you wanted to do, and not because it suited anyone else’s expectations. Ed had thought he’d been doing that as Blackbeard, but he’d come to realise that he’d been beholden to his subscribers and what they wanted to see from him.

Stede had always done what he wanted, what he was passionate about, even if it wasn’t what most people wanted. His fully clothed videos where he talked about the different mechanics of toys for example, he did that because he loved it, not because it grew his subscriber count. And he’d found success his own way. Not to Blackbeard’s level, true, but he’d done it his way.

That was what Ed wanted. That was what this whole new era of Blackbeard was going to be about. He was going to do the things that he liked, that he wanted to try, and if he wanted to only dress in silk and pearls instead of leather from now on, then his subscribers could fucking deal with it and leave if they didn’t like it.

“You know what?” Ed replied, and locked his arms around Stede’s waist, rolling them both and making Stede laugh as he flipped them so Stede was on his back on the bed and beaming up at him, a vision of creamy lace and flushed pink skin like strawberry ice cream. “I really don’t give a fuck what they think at all.”