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Though it looked small from the outside, the bed in Stede's cabin had been designed to fit two, since he'd been planning to bring his family with him when he had the Revenge constructed. That it had only held one since he'd come aboard was not a sad matter for him; he had a tendency to sprawl in his sleep, a way of taking up more space than even his solid frame might suggest he would.
Waking up with a hangover and a sleep-warm lean body half under him was not a thing Stede had planned on doing, but here he was, wincing against the morning light and sputtering out a mouthful of salt-and-pepper curls. Last night filtered slowly through the pounding haze filling his head: the end of one freshly opened bottle of brandy, and the start of another, toasting their newly established co-captaincy as thoroughly as possible; Ed's laughter triggering Stede's, until they were both wheezing helplessly with hilarity; a strong, solid shoulder against his own, listing together on the couch as the night grew later and sleep threatened to claim them still sitting upright.
There's plenty of room for us both, Stede remembered insisting as he pulled Ed over to the bed with him, not recalling his own tendency to sprawl in his desire to share the more comfortable spot to sleep with his co-captain and dearest friend. It had been even more of a lie with the way Ed turned out to occupy space too, broad shoulders and long limbs, his bad leg stretched out until his toes touched the far corner of the berth. It was a good thing that his good leg was on the side Stede was on, because Stede had a leg wrapped over it, an arm thrown around Ed's chest, his face buried in Ed's shoulder and the tangled mess of his flowing hair.
Ed's hair smelled of pipe smoke and salt air, the bend of his neck like sleep-sweat, and Stede burrowed into the darkness at that fragrant juncture, both to spare his eyes and to indulge in the closeness he wasn't sure he'd be able to admit he wanted, were they both awake. But Ed must have still been asleep, from the steady rise and fall of his tattooed chest beneath Stede's, whose breath was coming quite a bit quicker now that he was awake and aware of just how entangled they'd gotten while asleep, precisely which parts of them were pressed together, including a part that Stede hadn't pressed against anyone since he'd fathered his second child.
It didn't seem unreasonable for Stede to conclude that it was his fault; after all, he was the one on top of Ed, and the one who'd encouraged Ed into his bed in the first place. When he attempted to withdraw, though, the arm Ed had beneath Stede tightened round his waist, not letting him get away. Stede became aware of two things at that moment: first, Ed was not still asleep, since he murmured, "oh no you don't" as he pulled Stede closer, and second, in fact part of Ed was quite definitely awake, nudging against the inside of Stede's thigh that crossed his hips.
"Ah," Stede breathed, briefly considered apologizing for his condition, briefly considered trying to be seductive since they were in the same condition, and finally decided that the best course of action was to settle more comfortably against Ed, shifting until he was in a slightly more advantageous position before he lifted his head to look Ed in the eyes. "Good morning."
"Just might be," Ed agreed, looking sleepy and fond as he tugged Stede more fully on top of him. "Gotta say, mate, this co-captain thing, the perks are astonishing." His hand smoothed down Stede's back and cupped his rear, eyes lighting up at the gasp that escaped Stede.
"C-co-captains with benefits?" Stede stammered, "I didn't realize that was part of—"
"Is it not?" Ed asked, worry creasing his face until Stede reached up to cup his cheek and smooth the wrinkles by one eye with his thumb.
"No! I mean, yes! I mean— oh, hell with it." When Stede bent his head, it was an act of desperation, no more eloquent in a kiss than in his stumbling words, but this, at least, was an unmistakable acceptance of the premise. Ed's mouth was sleep-sour when Stede found it through the cloud of greying beard, opening without hesitation, inviting Stede to take whatever liberties he cared to, while Ed's hands took a few liberties of their own, rucking up the back of Stede's nightshirt to seek out smooth skin with his calloused fingertips.
"That's it," Ed murmured, wrapping a hand around Stede's thigh to hike it up as he rolled his hips up to meet Stede's arousal with his own through two layers of cloth. "Yeah, that's it. We good?"
"Mmhm," Stede hummed, not trusting his voice against the swell of pleasure building at a dizzying pace at Ed's confident touch. He buried his hands in Ed's hair and kissed him again, a bit more surely, his hips moving on instinct more than intent, letting Ed's motion guide him in a physical repartee no less thrilling than their swordplay lessons.
It hadn't been Stede's intention at all to seduce Ed when he'd insisted on taking to bed together; he'd only meant to preserve the closeness they'd found as the night went on, but this closeness— the wet heat of Ed's open mouth dragging against Stede's jaw, bracketed by the tickle of his beard, his hands going places no one had touched Stede before, the hard length of him dragging hot and insistent against Stede's— if Stede had any idea that this was possible, he would have thought of it with longing, but he felt blindsided by it, ravenous to satisfy a hunger he had never named.
"Fuck, Stede," Ed gasped into the side of Stede's throat, his fingers digging hard into Stede's thighs as his hips ground up, "fuck, fuck, I'm—" The sound he made was too akin to the one he'd made when Stede had stabbed him, but a slightly different hue, shaded with bliss instead of pain.
"Christ," Stede swore helplessly when he felt the twitch and throb of Ed's cock against his, wetness soaking through the silk of his nightshirt adding a whole new sensation to what was already a completely novel experience for him. "Ed, darling..." The endearment slipped out of him naturally, and he reared back to find delirious pleasure writ large on Ed's expressive face, his dark eyes gone dazed and adoring as he gazed up at Stede. "Oh..." Stede's hips snapped, once-twice-thrice, and he spent with a whimper, overcome with the devotion on his co-captain's face as much as the feel of Ed's body beneath him.
In the wake of pleasure, they found themselves in much the same position as when they woke, just sweatier and far more satisfied. Stede was astonished to realize that the headache from his hangover had fled somewhere along the line, all that remained in him a slow, syrupy contentment distilled from the affection he'd felt for Ed this whole time, refined into something sweet and sticky and satisfying. When Ed's fingers ran through Stede's hair, they both sighed quietly, and then Ed chuckled.
"Didn't know you had ulterior motives or I woulda come along more easily last night," he purred.
"I didn't," Stede protested, "I had nothing but pure intentions for you, I swear!"
"Well, I'd call it a shame, but all's well that ends well, mm?" The brush of Ed's beard against Stede's face softened the smooch he pressed to Stede's blushing cheek. Stede breathed a laugh and hid his face in Ed's shoulder, just where it had been before he had made his (thankfully foiled) attempt to leave the bed.