#lyds writes

“what’s so funny?” his face twisted into some sort of sour expression.

“he’s not in love with me! we just… like complimenting one another.” your laughter died down, hand reaching to itch the side of your neck in semi-embarrassment.

“really.” julian frowned, unamused.

“really!”

“and you would consider him calling you the ‘fairest and most effervescent visage he had ever laid eyes on’ a compliment, yeah?”

“well…” you trailed off.

“kitty!” he shouted.

“no, no! don’t!” you’ve sat through one to many rose-colored rambles on how thomas and you had been “meant to be” and enough stories about how lovely it would be if the two of you were together to fill a library. “just… leave it?”

“i’ve bet on you, you know!” julian frowns as you get up to leave. “and i never lose!”

you huff, fleeing to the one place you knew you’d be alone. you hear an indignant “never!” right before you leave the room.

“y/n! my faithful and incomparable companion!” a voice called as you exited the house. thomas— who else would it have been? “whatever is the ma-“

“do you love me?” you blurt out, interrupting him.

“what?” thomas replies, his mouth failing to catch up with his brain as it flounders open and closed.

“julian said you loved me and i had to know for certain it was true.” you clench your fists. tight enough to bleed, though you supposed being dead had it’s perks that way. silence rang over the lawn and you could swear you caught figures in the window behind you. let them look. you needed to know.

“ah, well…” thomas searched for something to say. he had so many flowery sentences prepared and yet being out on the spot caused everything to just, well, disappear.

“if he’s lying, i am so-“

“no!” the poets hands fly out in front of him. “no. he’s, ah, he’s correct.”

“he,” you blink. “he is?”

“well, i hadn’t exactly planned it to happen this way, but, ah… i can improv it!” his hands wiped nervously on his waistcoat, resting on his bullet wound once done. “y/n. you have me completely enamored. i have been yours as i hope you have been mine and there is not a second i do not think of you; your smile, your voice, you. the sun and moon pale in comparison to just how much you shine.”

now it seems as though it was your turn for speechlessness, hand frozen in the air in some sort of silent invitation for thomas’ to grab yours.

“i would really love to hear you say you love me too, dove.”

dove? love?!

“you… love me?”

“well, i had hoped it was obvious by my speech that it was but yes, i do.”

“well, you didn’t say it in your speech.” your hands grasp the other’s. “if it means anything, i love you, too?”

“is my company that bad?” the man besides you teased, his boot lightly nudging your side as you look up. truthfully, no, it wasn’t. blackbeard- ed, rather- as he requested you call him- occupied most of your thoughts, and imagining him next to you here frankly made your head spin and the butterflies in your stomach cause a storm.

“no.” you huffed, moving your head away from his gaze. was it warm here? the sun felt especially hot as your face got even hotter (it had definitely been that, not the equally hot captain beside you.)

“cheer up! i’ll think of a way outta this. always do.” he said, resting beside you as one of his knees hits yours. “we just need to, uh, wait it out awhile.”

“wait it-“ you floundered. “wait it out?! ed, we’ll starve!”

“cannibalism’s a nice option.”

you shot him a withering glare before lying on the sand with a huff.

“brighten up!” he called your name, tugging you upright, his hand tied with yours as a teasing pout replaced the smile. “c’mon, sunshine!”

…sunshine..? you supposed you inquired out loud, as edward’s expression had morphed into one of surprise.

“oh. uh, yeah,” edward scratched his head with his free hand. “well, you remind me of sunshine… you’re all… bright n’shit.”

“really.”

“yeah, really.”

“huh, never knew blackbeard was so poetic.”

“i’m not fuckin’ blackbeard!” he groaned, ignoring the way your other hand began to envelop his. “‘m edward.” he almost whispered, eyes downcast as the two of you gravitated closer.

“well, i think i quite like edward.” you smile.

“i reckon edward likes you, too.”

"no, you can't. i have to go on lifeguard duty. you'll see me later." you reassure, making an effort to rise from your uncomfortable (and quite small) bed as your boyfriend groans once more.

"fine. you know i can't resist you."

"and i thank myself every day for that." you joke, pulling him up as you press a soft kiss on his lips. "now get outta here, i gotta change."

leaning in for another, tommy smiles, lingering at the doorway. "see you tonight?"

"sooner, if you're lucky!" you call, watching his retreating figure as you continue getting ready.

hours later, you find yourself hissing under the harsh summer heat, cursing yourself for taking this godforsaken job as you feel yourself almost literally burning to a crisp.

"enjoying yourself, babe?" a voice emerges from beside you.

"how could you tell?" you reply sardonically, the orange sweater in your periphery confirming your suspicions as to who it was. it was either that or the hand making its way to yours, your pick.

"your lovely expression." he said, giving you time to notice the intense furrow of your brows (and to unclench your jaw)

"how're you?" you respond, ignoring his retort and turning your attention directly to him.

"better, now that i'm with you." tommy smirked, gesturing his free hand downwrd in an attempt for you to level your head with his.

"flirt." you roll your eyes, leaning off the side of your chair to appease his request, kissing him. "you know, you're really distracting me on the job."

"i'll take that as a compliment." he smiles, leaning in again.

"hey, lovebirds!" a voice interrupts- ziggy, you assume. "you two're gross! fuckin', go somewhere else!" she complains, storming off once more. weird.

"you heard the lady," tommy begins, "wanna go cuddle?"

“jesus, y/n, i’m not a dog.”

“you follow me around like one.” you shot back, looking over your shoulder with a grin.

“whatever!” tommy sputtered, his mouth opening and closing while his eyes followed your form making its way back to his.

“okay, now sit still. this’ll hurt… only a little, i hope.” your voice lowered to a murmur, tending to the cut on his leg first, avoiding the obvious fact that you, y/n l/n, the one with a permanent home in the friend zone, would be touching tommy slater- the (secret) love of your life’s face. “jeez, tom, seems like you didn’t just stumble, looks like you collapsed off a cliff.”

“eh, stumble, collapse, same thing.” tommy shrugged, leaning into the palm of his hand as his arm rested on the desk. his eyes didn’t leave yours though you didn’t dare look into them. you were working- no distractions, and all that.

“ahem- nerd.” you coughed, finishing up the bandaging. “now for your erm, face… area.” you gestured around your face for emphasis.

“ah yes, that. i forgot i had one of those.” it was tommy’s turn to smile smugly, pushing the hair out of his face to allow better access.

electing to ignore his statement, you got closer. it had been hard to look anywhere except his eyes, now. it had also been quite difficult to ignore the soft breaths on your cheek, or the hand lightly grasping your arm (which admittedly gave you butterflies.) but after awhile, you rose a cotton ball up to his cheek, dabbing it with disinfectant, pausing at the hiss tommy made at contact.

“i’m okay. keep going.” he reassured. and so, you did, taking in more features of his face, committing those tiny, speckled freckles littering his face to memory. he would never know how truly beautiful you thought he was.

“done.” you whispered, the brightly colored bandage (you had chosen it specifically to irk him, though the two of you found it hard to think of or look at anything besides the other) placed delicately on his face. none of you moved, and it felt as if time had stopped, the universe urging the two of you to make a move, inching you two closer and closer until-

“y/n?” nurse lane. just your luck, you thought to yourself. just like that, the moment had been broken, the two of you darting away and stumbling upright.

“larry. it’s fine, we know i’m immune, yeah?” y/n assured, their hands rested politely in their lap. no sudden moves, sometimes that made him worse.

“yeah, but what if you’re not immune.”

“then i’ll melt into a puddle.”

“y/n!” they assumed he was frowning. there was a cadence in his voice they picked up on after awhile that showed his unrest.

“what?! i’d be a pretty puddle. would you still love me if i was a p-“

“enough.” larry interjected, and with a sigh he put his head in his hands. “it’s time.”

“yeah?”

“yeah.” he sighed again, and y/n’s hands inched their way to his.

“hey,” they began. “you know i’ll love you no matter how you look.”

“do i?”

“you’d better, asshole!” y/n hissed, lacking malice. “anyway, i’m not pushing you to do this. if you’re not ready-“

“i’m ready.”

“okay. take your time.” they pressed a kiss to his bandaged cheek, their hands leaving his as y/n waited patiently. he began unraveling the bandages, beginning with those wrapped around his head. embarrassed for this being their first thought, all y/n could think of was, ‘holy shit, this must be the worst thing ever to put on.’

“larry,” their tone sounded sympathetic, head tilting to the side and eyebrows furrowed. “you’re still the same person with or without bandages.” y/n frowned.

“yeah, but,” larry’s mouth turned downward, and y/n found even when he frowned they loved it. “i’m not…. ugly?”

“never.” no longer able to stay still, their hand rose to touch his face, electing to ignore the flinch larry made. it must’ve been years since someone did that. in turn, larry leaned his face into y/n’s palm, sighing in a reassured sort of fashion.