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Ned snuggles deeper into the pillow, rubbing his face against the soft cotton fabric. He can't help himself; it's so squishy, stuffed with feathers and warmed with the sun streaming through the window next to Stede's bed. And it smells like Stede, which is, obviously, a fantastic bonus.
Behind him, beside him, the tiniest giggle escapes Stede. Ned rolls over to face him. Stede's eyes are closed, but his arms are open, and Ned catches him peeking with the shift in weight.
"Don't even try to tell me you're not awake."
When Stede closes his eyes again but pouts and reaches for Ned, like the few inches between them are an impossible chasm for him to cross, Ned relents and moves closer, settling into Stede's arms.
It still comes as a shock to Ned when Stede immediately latches on and sighs with pleasure, like Ned's presence is an immense comfort to him. Like the same hands that once tortured Stede just to upset his boyfriend are now something to be caught up and kissed, then held close to Stede's heart, right under the scar.
Now successfully entwined, however, Ned leans up and presses his mouth to Stede's. "Good morning."
Stede's lips curve up at the corners. He opens his eyes at last, their hazel color nearly as bright as Stede's hair in this light. "You're enjoying the amenities, I see."
"Well, can you blame me?" Ned plucks up the edges of the bed coverings, which include a heavy blanket and at least two quilts, now that the weather's turned cooler with the seasons. And he'll never complain about Stede wrapping him up to swaddle him from the winter's chill; however mild, it always seeps into Ned's aging bones, and with Stede—someone who actually cares whether he's cold—he at least has a chance at staying warm.
Even if that's by trying to burrow inside the hollow of Stede's chest will. Right next to his heart—oh, that has to count as romantic. Stede would agree, Ned's sure.
Stede's right next to him, so Ned could ask, but explaining the thread of his idle musings would take too long. Instead, he moves in closer, as close as he can until his head is resting on Stede's bare chest. He can't hear Stede's heart, but he imagines he can feel it, the steady, percussive beat of it right under Ned's ear. Keeping Stede and everything he is alive as long as it can.
"Not at all," Stede assures him. He strokes his fingers through Ned's hair, a gesture of affection Ned is very quickly getting used to. "I'd be disappointed if you weren't enjoying yourself."
"Mmm," Ned says. "Well, since you asked, and we're both up... I could be enjoying myself a little more."
Stede doesn't take the hint at first, blinking befuddledly at him when Ned looks up through his lashes, but he quickly gets on board when Ned pulls himself up and kisses Stede again, with more passion this time, more heat. More of everything Ned's been lacking in his life since forever.
There's just something about this, about Stede, he can't get over. Maybe it's the way he can just about trust Stede not to pick up a knife when Ned's asleep next to him; maybe it's the way Stede listens and responds to him, the way he cares about Ned's comfort, genuinely wants him to feel good and like he's wanted here. The way Stede leads with that care and trust, even when Ned needs him to use a firmer hand with him.
As Ned pins Stede down and slides his tongue into Stede's mouth, licking away the sourness that comes with mornings, Stede grins into their kiss and flips them over. Just like that; Ned will never get tired of the way Stede enjoys using his strength against him in bed.
Ned lands heavily against the mattress, his head hitting the fluffy pillows with a fwoomph sort of sound he wants to try to remember for later. But all other thoughts are pushed out of his head now that it's his turn to be pinned down, Stede's strong hands holding his arms down into the soft bed, Stede's mouth taking his again and again.
Ned pushes up against Stede's hold, just for the thrill of the game. He loves that he can't get away, loves that Stede never disappoints him, including now, when Stede only laughs and kisses him harder. Ned's erection, which he hasn't given much thought to quite yet, is only making itself more insistently known.
"Oh, you want more?" Stede sounds delighted at the brush of his hips against Ned's, eager for the chance at early morning sex.
As Stede grinds down, it's clear that Stede is nowhere near soft himself, but very, very hard, and seeking Ned. Out of all the people he could probably have, Stede's made it clear, over and over, that he wants Ned. In his life, and here beside him in this far too comfortable curtained haven of a bed.
"Honey, with you?" Ned winds his legs around Stede, trying to catch Stede as much as Stede's got him. Trying to keep Stede with him as long as he can. "I'm always going to want more."
And as Stede throws the covers off them with a grin, and as he kisses Ned into the mattress and moves down Ned's body, Ned counts himself very lucky to have woken up here, out of all the places in the world he could have landed.