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Stede Bonnet and Edward Teach were the exact embodiment of the phrase “thick as thieves”. They had practically grown up together, and when they weren’t going on pirating adventures or swimming in the local lake they could usually be found under an old orange tree, one where Stede had once dug up a petrified orange during one of their little excursions.
Stede had always been the one to encourage Ed to be himself, and in turn Ed had taught Stede how to be tougher.
Stede had been the very first person Ed had come out to as trans, and despite them being best friends Ed had been shaking the entire team. Stede had accepted him without a fuss, and to this day Ed still denies that he cried tears of joy.
Once they reached high school their relationship evolved from platonic friendship to a not-so-platonic relationship. They were each other’s first kiss, which (much to Ed’s chagrin because it’s such a fucking cliche! ) occurred on a beach during Summer Break.
People didn’t expect their relationship to make it to adulthood, because they were both two completely different people, no WAY could they ever work out. But like with most things, Ed and Stede proved everyone wrong.
Stede went on to become a theater teacher, something he had loved since he was a little boy (his father had always given him crap about it, but Ed had been there to keep him from backing up).
Ed had opened up his own bar called Blackbeard’s Bar And Grill ( the name BlackBeard coming from the fact that Ed had grown out his facial hair so much that his scruff completely covered the lower part of his face. It was one of Stedes favorite things about him), and in his spare time he fixed up motorcycles, and often took them out for test drives.
Ed made an intimidating figure with his mountains of scruff and numerous piercings, and Stede came across as the more mellow fellow with his style of old fashioned clothing and warm smile. In reality Ed was a huge softie, and yes Stede was very level headed but he had his own mean streak about him, something Ed had learned early on when they were at a bar and a random guy had tried to make the moves on Ed. (“ He was standing too close to you, love!”
“Stede baby, you almost hit the poor fucker with a chair .”)
At night when it was just the two of them, when they were lying in bed together in the dark, Stede and Ed would sometimes just whisper sweet nothings together in the dark, Stede tracing the scars under Ed’s pecs with a feather-light and loving touch.
They loved each other, and they loved their lives. Everything was as it should be.