if you can take my hand

A minute doesn’t seem that long, really, but when five of them pass in some of the thickest quiet Ed has ever experienced in his life, they feel like an eternity. Ed’s hands have gone clammy-cold and he thinks he’s actually about to start shivering with anxiety when he finally gets the air in his lungs to ask, “So… What do you think?”Stede inhales, as if he’s surfacing from beneath the sea. His face is flushed pink, hectic splotches of color high on his cheeks as he whirls to meet Ed’s eyes with glassy tears filling his own.“Is this for me?” Stede asks, his voice cracking on the last word, and Ed’s smiling before he even realizes the expression is coming onto his face.