Although Stede's dream is the ultimate Romantic Hero fantasy, his insecurities bleed through just a little bit with dreamEd:
1 - He dreams of Ed with a full beard, not clean shaven like when he saw him last. He thinks that he's forced Ed to give up his identity to save him "You're not Blackbeard without your black beard!" and he feels terribly guilty for that. He panicked and felt like he couldn't deal with the weight of that responsibility. In his fantasy, he sees Ed as whole (he doesn't realise Ed was happy to shed the Blackbeard persona).
2 - He never gets a straight answer out of fantasy Ed. He's afraid of facing the consequences of what he did to Ed.
Ed: "I knew you'd find me, babe."
Stede: "You're not mad?"
Ed: "I knew you'd find me, love."
Stede: "So, we're good? About everything?"
Ed: "Fucking love the beard, mate."
Stede: "I'm just trying something new."
[farting joke ensues]
Notice how Ed never answers him. He sounds like he can't hear Stede.
But there's hope. Although Ed never answers him, he uses terms of endearment, two of them Stede hasn't heard real Ed use yet.
Stede is afraid, like Olu said, but we know he is braver than he thinks. He's not sure Ed will forgive him but he's willing to try.