The new year is fast approaching, and Stede’s desperate to cross at least ONE thing off his very old bucket list so he can prove to himself that the last five years (and by extension his entire life) haven’t been a complete waste. The mission? Learn to French braid. The complication? The salon he chose for his mission is closed because it's New Year's Eve. The unexpected solution? A beautiful stranger with kind eyes and the most insanely gorgeous hair offers to Teach (heh) him. This is a New Year's AU for those who hate New Year's. Or, rather, have some rather messy, complicated feelings about how all the twinkling lights and period of reflection emphasizes feelings of inadequacy and unfulfillment that leads to an annual period of existential dread, but that doesn't make for as catchy a tagline.
Read On a Clear Day (16K, explicit) on AO3 here.
