#usually i project onto stede but this time im feelin the ed side

[stedebonnit]

I'm thinking about how Ed's ADHD and Stede's autism provide them with the perfect balance for keeping things clean.

They both enjoy when things are neat. They hold on to a fair amount of stuff, and find it easier to get through each day when things are where they're meant to be.

Ed is forgetful. He's great at cleaning, but he struggles with keeping things clean. Throughout the day Ed will pull books off the shelf or leave plates on the table simply because he was distracted by something new. Before Stede, he often found himself cleaning in waves, becoming annoyed with the monotony of daily cleaning and struggling to remember the smaller tasks.

Stede is a man of routine. He has a place for everything, and finds himself stressed when things are out of place. Stede is great at keeping things clean, but he's terrible at the overall task of cleaning. As soon as something breaks the mould of his routine, he quickly becomes overwhelmed, and will often put off larger cleaning tasks until they become unmanageable, at which point he usually breaks down and asks for help to get things back how they should be.

When they first get together, Ed is worried that Stede will get annoyed with his forgetfulness. He knows Stede has always been good with day to day cleanliness, and he worries that he'll annoy Stede by disrupting his routine.

Surprisingly, Stede isn't put off in the slightest. Effortlessly, Stede incorporates Ed's forgetfulness into his routine, picking up both sets of plates after meals and putting books back on the shelf when Ed is distracted by something else.

One day, Ed leaves one of his maps on the table when hes distracted by a sound out on the deck.

"Ed, dear?" Stede calls before Ed can step outside.

Ed turns around, and sees Stede's hand resting on the map. His chest grows tight, worried this will be the time that Stede snaps at him for his careless clutter.

"Did you need this?" Stede asks simply. Ed blinks, gulps.

"Uh, nah. Sorry, I'll put it away."

Stede shakes his head.

"No, dear, you go on ahead! I've got to tidy up my books as well, I just didn't want to put it away unless you were done with it."

Stede is smiling, but Ed can't help the creeping worry that he's hiding his annoyance.

"You do that a lot...tidying up after me, I mean."

Stede nods, his expression thoughtful rather than irritated.

"Does it...does that bother you? I know I forget shit a lot..."

Stede pauses, thinking for a moment before he shakes his head.

"Not really, if I'm honest. Its never anything big, and I just do it with the rest of my tidying. Besides, if I needed your help I'd just ask, like I do when I'm cleaning up after dinner."

Ed considers this. Its true, Stede does sometimes ask for Ed's help, delegating specific tasks for him to complete. Cleaning feels easier like that, when its at the forefront of his mind. With that comforting assurance, Ed nods, and bounds onto the deck to pursue the distraction.

Stede is worried, when they first get together, that Ed will become annoyed with him the moment things get overwhelming. His least favourite chores are the ones that don't fit into his routine. Things like dusting and cleaning behind the furniture, things that usually only require weekly or monthly attention.

Stede has been putting off cleaning behind the furniture for weeks now, dreading the scraping sounds of the furtinture on the floor, and the unpleasant sensation of a wet rag in his hand as he scrubs the floors. Usually, Stede would take a few days to grit his teeth and dread it before he gives in, but Roach's birthday is one day away, and Stede is already overwhelmed by the disruption it has caused to his schedule. He loves planning birthdays, but Stede knows that the moment its done he'll be stuck in his most unbearable cycle, too overwhelmed by the non-routine mess to clean it, and increasingly frustrated as things begin to pile up.

Stede is surprised when, the morning after the party, he finds Ed already awake with an armful of trash, pushing aside the couch to sweep under it with the broom in his other hand.

"Edward?" Stede asks, still groggy with sleep.

Ed turns to him and grins, balancing the broom against the couch and approaching Stede to greet him with a kiss.

"Morning, love," Ed says, bending down to grab another bottle that was laying by the bed.

"What are you doing, Edward?"

Eds brows draw together.

"Cleaning? What does it look like?" He asks, voice rising defensively.

"I told you that I don't mind, you know."

Ed shrugs.

"I know. But I woke up this morning and noticed all the bottles by the bed, so I went to grab them, and then on my way out I saw all the dishes lying around, so i came back for them, and then i dropped some scraps, and when I bent down I noticed it was getting pretty grimy under the couch, so i went to finish the dishes and brought back a rag to clean the floors, and I had to finish up with the trash since I'd started, and then I realized there were crumbs under the table, and-"

"Thats a lot, Ed. Doesn't it stress you out? To see all this mess and not know where to start?"

Ed considers this, then shrugs.

"Not really. Kind of easier for me to get into it when its all right in front of me like this. And once I notice one mess, I start to notice the other ones, so I want to get them all done. Its kind of fun, when I get to make a whole day of it, you know? Harder to forget when its twenty bottles instead of one book."

Stede grins.

"Guess I never thought of it like that. I find it quite overwhelming, when its all laid out like this, when I cant squeeze all of the cleaning into my usual routine."

Ed nods thoughfully.

"Mm, makes sense. Well, hey, since you do all that day to day stuff that I'm always forgetting, why dont you let me take care of the big messes? Balances out."

Stede grins, then nods.

"Yeah, I guess it does. Thank you, Edward."

Ed's lips form a lopsided grin.

"Course, love. Now, do you wanna see how many of these bottles I can carry at once? I promise Ill sweep it up if I drop them."

#ofmd #our flag means death #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #edward teach #stede bonnet #mine #d speaks #usually i project onto stede but this time im feelin the ed side #love a deep clean but Im terrible at day to day