Hey guys, this is part of my Christmas in July portion of this year's Under the Mistletoe series.

I love the idea of them being all happy and domestic together, I hope you do too, let me know, much love xox

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Ed had been out that morning at the trade vessel that stopped by fortnightly, getting them some bits and bobs that they needed for the inn, and themselves. Meanwhile Stede had wandered into the vegetation surrounding their inn, picking some local, edible fruits – he knew which ones were edible now, don't ask, yes, he found out the hard way – and collecting some new natural décor. Natural décor included interestingly shaped sticks, shells, pine cones, pretty rocks, and whatever else caught his eye.

That day however, he'd discovered a patch of greenery featuring white berries growing amongst the dead section of a half collapsed tree. It would be a lovely addition to hang about the inn, very festive. So he'd added a few sprigs to his basket, and headed home.

Stede was busy finding the right place for the first piece of the lovely plant when he heard the front door creak open – note to self: put some oil on the hinges later.

"Stede? Babe? You home?" he heard Ed's booming voice call out.

"In here, Ed!" Stede replied loudly, smiling to himself. It was nice to hear Ed's voice again, even though they'd only been apart for the morning, plus he still got a bit giddy when Ed called him 'babe'.

He listened to the slightly uneven footsteps of Ed tramping through the inn looking for him get closer, until the man himself appeared in the doorway, a purple hibiscus flower tucked behind his right ear. The flower looked lovely on him, it really complemented his deep purple crop top, but then Stede thought that he looked rather lovely in everything, and nothing.

"There you are, hullo, I got-oh…I was gonna say I got some sick stuff today, but so did you by the looks of it…" Ed's eyes darted to the basket, and then to Stede's hands holding the piece of plant.

"You like?" Stede smiled, "Thought it would brighten up the place a bit, make it feel fresh, welcoming…"

Ed nodded, "Yeah, good idea, love the mistletoe."

"Oh, you know about mistletoe, do you?" Stede's eyebrows rose in surprise, he wasn't sure that Ed would know about the tradition tied to it.

Huffing a laugh, Ed confirmed that he did indeed know about it, "'Course, love that you're makin' a little spot for our customers to meet and make friends, share a kiss if they want," he explained, coming into the room, closer to Stede, "though not with the inn keepers," he added as an afterthought, "inn keepers can only kiss other inn keepers...like this…"

Ed lightly grasped Stede's wrist holding the mistletoe, the other cupping his stubbled cheek, and leant in, kissing him soundly.

Stede melted into the kiss, but still managed to talk between the caress of their lips, "Mmm, yes, exactly, mm, like that."

"Never cared for this stuff before," Ed admitted, "but now…well, I think we should hang it all over the place."

Stede chuckled, and swatted at Ed playfully, "If I didn't know better I'd say you just wanted an excuse to kiss the other inn keeper all the time."

"Nah, just like it, livens up the place, like you said, the bit of green and white..."

"Really? That's the only reason?" Stede was sceptical, he knew the ulterior motive was there.

"Yep," Ed told him, barely containing the grin that went all the way up to his eyes, hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Right, so if I..." Stede held the sprig above his head, and Ed immediately dashed forward to kiss him again, "Thought so," he beamed smugly.

Ed shrugged it off, eyes twinkling, "Well, rules are rules, right? And the other inn keeper is pretty fuckin' hot, so... not gonna turn down a kiss, am I?"

Stede blushed at the compliment, he fidgeted on the spot, and looked at Ed bashfully through his eye lashes, "You know, you're rather attractive too, Mr Inn Keeper."

"You think so, huh?" Ed inquired, voice gone a bit husky as he played with the string of Stede's blue shirt, twirling it around his finger.

"Mhm," Stede nodded, any words he'd had to say were caught in his throat as he swallowed. God, Ed knew just what to do to make his brain turn to mush instantly.

Ed made a quiet, pleased rumble in his throat, and the next moment he'd taken Stede by the hand, "C'mon, love, it's break time..." he announced, already pulling them toward their private quarters. Stede made to drop the mistletoe on their way out of the door, but Ed quickly stopped him, "No, no, bring it with us," and when Stede gave him a questioning look, Ed explained, "think we should hang some in the bedroom, don't you?"

Stede's response was to kiss him through the doorway into said bedroom, and kick the door shut behind them. Hopefully no customers would turn up for the rest of the day.