Chapter Text
Stede had always loved flowers, he said so and Ed had kept the words in his memory, like every single thing about Stede Bonnet. He had kept them and planned to do something about it, except he didn’t know what. Until he knew.
They were ashore, it was summer and the park where they had decided to take a nap was full of beaming flowers. Ed saw from the corner of his eye that Stede couldn’t stop watching them, on his left then on his right, like a moth to a flame and so he knew it was his mark.
They talked until Stede finally fell asleep on the grass, his golden curls against shiny green and tiny white flowers. Ed wasted no time, picking all the daisies he could see, weaving them in a delicate crown, adding some scarlet poppies to brighten it all.
He put it on the top of Stede’s tilted head, his own eyes watering at the sight. It was like trying to put a flower crown on top of the Sun. It wouldn’t last, nothing could last so close from the star, it was doomed to perish, to burn within seconds.
But, for a brief, wonderful, ethereal moment, it was beautiful. And Ed could only cry silently as he felt his fingertips burning against Stede’s forehead.