“Ed, look what I found!”
Ed smiled at the excitement in Stede's voice. He couldn't wait to find out what little trinket Stede had brought home from the market this time that made him so happy. When Ed went to the door to greet him, Stede immediately threw his arms around him, squealing with joy, and Ed couldn't help but laugh. Stede was so adorable, especially when he was excited about something.
“Had a nice shopping trip, love?” he asked, smiling fondly at him, and Stede beamed.
“I discovered the best thing ever, Ed! Look!"
Ed watched in anticipation as Stede pulled out… a book? He tilted his head, confused. Stede loved books, sure, as did Ed. They were both proud of the inn's ever-growing library, and they read together almost every evening, but for Stede to bounce around and giggle with excitement over a book was a little unusual, even for him.
“A new book?” Ed asked, hoping Stede would explain what, exactly, was so special about this book in particular.
“Oh, Ed, but it's not just any book - it's a book about us!”
That… really wasn't what Ed had expected. He frowned in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘about us’?”
“Well, it's not exactly about us,” Stede admitted, “but about people like us! Ed, I finally found a book by someone who's like us!”
Understanding finally dawned on him. This was one of those books. The special books that went on their own shelf in their little library.
A few years ago, Ed had discovered a little hand-bound book, a story about two men falling in love, and since then, he and Stede had begun to collect books that might be … frowned upon in larger society. Their collection wasn't very large yet, but they were always overjoyed when they found a new book to add to it. Most of these books were from very small publishing houses or bound by hand, some of them only unbound manuscripts, but Stede and Ed collected and cherished them all.
They found books about men who fancied men, women who fancied women, people who were neither men nor women or both, books about boys who were mistaken for girls and the other way around… The crew had been so excited when they came to visit and found themselves in the books Stede read to them for storytime.
But there were no books about the kind of relationship that Ed and Stede had.
They had long since realized that neither of them were interested in sex, nor kissing most of the time, and while ‘romance’ was not a word they used to describe their relationship, ‘friendship’ didn't seem quite right either. They had begun to refer to each other as partners, and they were more than happy with their relationship and their life, but they had always been a little disappointed that there were no books about people like them.
Until now, apparently.
“Wait, really? Stede, I–how?”
Stede was still beaming at Ed when he pulled him to the living room to sit on the sofa and opened the book in his lap.
“Well, I went to the market like always, and one of the sellers–you know the nice lady who sells the apples?–was complaining about a book she couldn't get rid of because it's in German and apparently no one here speaks German except me, so–”
“Wait, hold on. German? You speak German?”
Stede nodded. “Taught myself when I was younger. Dreadful language, if you ask me, but at least not as boring as my father's lessons.”
He rolled his eyes, and Ed smiled proudly at him. For a long time, every mention of his father made Stede flinch, but now, the only thing it did was make Stede bitch about what an annoying arsehole the man had been.
“So, the book?” Ed prompted gently when Stede didn't immediately continue with the story.
“Oh, yes, the book! Well, I asked the lady about it and when she realized that I speak German, she insisted that I take it. I, um… “ Stede smiled at Ed sheepishly, “may have forgotten to buy the apples, though.”
Ed laughed and wrapped an arm around him. “I think we'll survive another day without apples, love.” He winked at Stede. “As long as you didn't forget about the oranges.”
“Of course not! Wouldn't want you to get scurvy,” Stede grinned. “The book is by an author named Emma Trosse, and it's called ‘Ein Weib? Psychologisch-biographische Studie über eine Konträrsexuelle’.”
“Ugh, that's a long-ass title,” Ed muttered.
“It means ‘A woman? Psychological-biographical study of a contrary-sexual’, but I don't think her writing only applies to women. She writes that some people are ‘asensual’, meaning they are not sexually attracted to anyone, and that she herself is one of them! We're not the only ones, Ed!”
Ed's face hurt from grinning, and he pulled Stede into a hug. “Stede, that's awesome! I-I don't know what to say, this is–”
He realized there were tears in his eyes, and Stede seemed to notice as well. He gently cupped Ed's face in his hands, looking a bit worried. “Are you alright, darling?”
“Yes,” Ed laughed and leaned into Stede's touch. “Fuck, yes, I am. Just happy tears, I promise.”
For a few minutes, they just sat there, smiling and enjoying each other's company, until Stede whispered: “Want to put the book on the shelf? I think it deserves a special place.”
Ed grinned and took Stede's hand, pulling him over to the other side of the room. “Careful,” Stede murmured as they knelt down in front of the little bookshelf, and Ed rolled his eyes playfully at him.
“I have a bum knee, mate, I'm not going to die. But thanks for looking out for me.”
“Always”, Stede answered earnestly, and Ed's heart swelled with affection. He placed his hand on top of Stede's on the book and smiled at his partner.
“Ready?”
Stede nodded, and together, they put their new favorite book on the shelf.
“I know it's just a book,” Ed said after a moment, “but this feels… I don't know, it feels right somehow. Is that weird?”
Stede smiled at him, shaking his head. “No, it's not weird at all. I feel the same way.” He leaned his head against Ed's shoulder and admired their book collection again. ”It feels like home.”