Chapter Text
When Edward Teach first met Stede Bonnet, he was 20 years old.
Ed was sitting by himself at the bar of a tavern in the port where they’d made landfall. He had ditched the group he had walked ashore with, particularly Jack, who was already way too drunk to be out in public and not shoot something. Ed—who was usually right there on the same level, but had for once been too busy with his chores for day-drinking—did not want to spend his free night under arrest. He had left James and Charles to keep Jack out of trouble, though he suspected they were too intoxicated to be successful in that endeavor. Honestly, he had half a mind to go back to the ship and get some sleep for once, as soon as he finished his beer.
The sea had been his home for just about a year—or rather, Captain Hornigold’s ship had been his home. The authority figures at sea were not too different from the one he had finally done away with before he left his childhood home, except less focused on him. So, he fit right in—fit in with the crew, the lifestyle, the raiding and the plundering. It felt like this was what he was born to do, and maybe he was.
It was hunger, a hunger to do more, be more, see more, to chase fame and riches and adventure and take it for himself. But as it turned out, most days at sea were pretty dull. Apparently, raids took weeks to plan, and there wasn’t much prestige or riches in being a common crew member among 300 others. The novelty wore off along with the sea sickness, and climbing the ranks took way too long for his (lack of) patience. If only someone would listen to him, to all his brilliant (if he were to say so himself) ideas, he could show them.
And so, Ed was completely engrossed in his thoughts, tapping the toes of his worn boots against the footrest of the bar stool and fumbling with the strings lacing up his shirt collar, when—
“Hey!”
Ed looked up. Between two barstools, a little further along, stood a boy who looked like he might be around the same age as himself. But other than that, they couldn’t be more different: he was pale and soft and clearly well-groomed, and decidedly did not sleep on the deck of a ship every night, but most of all, he was dressed in a magnificent, clearly expensive suit of turquoise with gold trimmings. He was beaming at Ed with a visible hint of nervousness, and it elicited a strange swoop though Ed’s middle section.
“Hey?” was all he could manage.
“Are you… you look—can I ask—are you a pirate?” the boy asked in a half-whisper.
“Maybe I am, maybe I ain’t. What are you, a detective?”
In a whirl of colorful fabrics and flowy, copper curls, the boy strolled the few meters towards him and jumped into the free chair by his side, as if that had been an invitation.
“There’s rumors that it’s a pirate ship in the harbor,” the boy said.
“As far as I know, we’re still privateers,” Ed said, only a half lie. He concentrated on taking another sip of his beer.
“So it’s true? And you’re a real pirate?” Had he not heard what he just said? Ed huffed.
“Even if I were, I couldn’t tell a stranger, could I?” He made the mistake of looking up. The boy was staring at him with such illuminating fascination—he was glowing, all on his own, brightening up the surroundings more than the dim lanterns, and Ed felt blinded by it. He looked like a prince from a fairytale, or someone that belonged in a painting, with the vibrant hair framing his face in perfect curls and the suit that made him look like he should be sitting on a white horse. And he looked at Ed with an undisguised interest that made him lose his breath.
“Oop—I’m sorry, I’m completely forgetting my manners! Stede Bonnet,” he—Stede—said, reaching out his hand. Ed took it.
“Edward Teach.”
“So now that I’m not a stranger, can you tell me?”
Ed chuckled.
“Dunno. Could be dangerous, just goin’ around blabbering about being a criminal.”
“Right, that’s true.” Stede shook a curl out of his face. “I’ve just never seen a real-life pirate before, only read about them. I’m dying to meet one.”
“Maybe it’s your lucky night,” Ed said, and couldn’t help but be a little proud of his confidence in front of this fancy man. Stede beamed widely, and any grim thoughts Ed might have had before were blown right out of his mind. He cleared his throat.
“Are you here alone?” he asked. Stede’s smile faltered, and he turned his head to look at a group of people occupying a table in the corner of the room. They were laughing and chatting loudly, but there was something obnoxious about the tone that Ed could sense even from across the room.
“Might as well be,” Stede said, with a tinge of wistfulness. “They won’t miss me, anyway. Don’t think they even noticed I left the table to get a drink. How about you?”
Ed hesitated a little, observing the corner table. Did they not… see Stede Bonnet? How could anyone not bask in his presence, let alone not notice him? He even stood out compared to the others; their clothes were more subdued in colors and frills, but maybe this was part of the reason, Ed mused. Though he thought it would be a crime to dress Stede in anything that would blend in.
“I was just about to go back to the ship, actually,” he said, lifting his almost-empty beer to indicate he was just about done.
“So there is a ship! I knew it!” Fuck. Ed didn’t know what to do with himself when Stede looked at him like that, so he emptied his cup.
“Let me get you another,” Stede added, and got the attention of the bartender to order two cups of ale. “Tell me everything!”
“About what?”
“Living on a ship! Pirating! Please,” he said, the last word a little delayed and less secure, as if he was finally realizing that he might be coming on a little too strong. Ed chuckled.
“It’s not that exciting, mate, mostly just swabbing decks and cleaning out cannons.”
“Cannons?” Stede’s voice was an excited whisper as he leaned closer, elbow on the bar with his chin resting on his hand. His gaze was so intense, flickering candle-light clearly reflected in hazel irises, it felt like staring directly into the sun.
And so Ed talked. And talked, and talked, and talked with Stede for what simultaneously felt like days and minutes, time moving at that strange pace that happens when instant chemistry takes over and the other person’s presence is utterly consuming. He may have told some tall tales, just slightly exaggerating his role in various raids and sword-fights, but it was worth it to be a little untruthful just to hear the gasps and breathless wow’s and woah’s from Stede.
It also felt amazing. To be admired, for someone else to find him so fascinating, especially someone like Stede, who Ed was still unsure was actually real and sitting next to him, and not an animated illustration from his favorite adventure novel as a kid.
“…and then the captain said he would make me captain of the next sloop we took.” Another lie, but who was fact-checking here? In any case, it was only a matter of time, if it was up to him.
“No way!” Stede laughed.
They were turned towards each other in their seats, leaning against the bar, knees dangerously close to touching, and Ed suddenly wondered whether he was reading this correctly—whether Stede was doing this on purpose, making him feel like the most special person in the world, or if this was just how he always was. After all, he had only just met him.
“Wait and see. I’ll be the most famous pirate captain in history.” Ed emptied his third beer of the night. They had talked through the previous one quickly, but he didn’t know if the pleasant buzz he was feeling was due to the alcohol or the company.
“I bet you will,” Stede said, emptying his cup as well. “One more?”
“Sure.”
While Stede ordered, Ed looked around. The tavern had filled up, but the group in the corner had left and been replaced by a new one.
“Hey Stede, I think—I think your friends may have left,” he said, tentatively, not sure how this piece of news would land, and afraid to bring the mood down.
“Oh.” Stede looked over as the bartender slid two new cups in front of them, then shrugged. “Never mind. I think I know where they went.”
“Where?”
“Well, earlier they were talking about the brothel.” Stede was, for once, not looking at him, and was instead fidgeting with the handle of his mug.
“And… is that—you’re not going?”
“Nah, I’m not too keen on that. I’d rather stay here with you.” Stede gave him a weak smile.
He had to know, right? He had to know what that sounded like, in this context?
Ed could feel his ears burn, and was quite glad that his dense, black curls now fell to just above his collar bone so Stede couldn’t see the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Well, maybe they’ll meet my friends there.” He grinned at Stede, who visibly cheered up and hid a giggle behind his fist. “If they’re not already out cold.”
“Before midnight?” Stede had—of course—a pocket watch, which he was already stuffing back into his pocket when Ed caught a glimpse of it—gold chain hooked through a buttonhole. Ed’s gaze followed his hand into the little-too-tight-and-stretched-out fabric and was again thankful that he had let his hair grow.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” he said, mouth suddenly very dry. He took a sip of his beer. Stede copied him.
“I feel like I’ve been talking a lot.” He narrowed his eyes at Stede. “How about you? Do you live ‘round here?”
“Oh no, I’m from Barbados, my father’s estate is in Bridgetown,” Stede said, looking down at the ale in his cup. “I do enjoy hearing you talk, though. Your life is way more exciting than mine.”
Ed laughed.
“I wouldn’t be so sure, now. Estate? That sounds fancy as fuck.”
“The best thing is tagging along on these trips, honestly. They all think I’m useless, so they mostly leave me alone, but as the heir I’m supposed to learn what’s going on.”
“Heir? To an estate?”
“I’d rather be a pirate.”
“Not everyone is cut out for that, mate.”
The conversation dragged them along on its own, and soon they were “yes, and”-ing each other into ridiculous, hypothetical scenarios. The room heated up due to an influx of guests, all getting rowdier as the hours grew late, and at some point, Stede took off his coat, leaving him in his silk shirt and embroidered waistcoat. Ed tried not to look too much at how it hugged his waist and how the pointed ends spread out over his lap.
Unable to sit still in his chair, Ed was constantly moving and adjusting to new positions, feeling like his body was on fire, and really, really hoped it wasn’t that obvious. The stimulation he got just from talking to Stede and feeling that mental connection, the challenge in keeping up with the conversation (Stede’s mind worked as fast as his own)—it intoxicated him to a degree that the booze could not.
It was prickling at his scalp, heating his cheeks, and trickling down his chest to pool deep at his core. He felt hot and heavy before they had even touched—other than the handshake—and still he could not figure out if it was just him or if Stede felt it too. He kept that intense eye contact, yes, but unabashedly, almost innocently, and Ed genuinely didn’t believe Stede knew what it was doing to him.
When they got into a heated, playful debate about the existence of mermaids, Ed was done for. He needed some fresh air. Stede followed him outside, coat draped over his arm.
“If you feel that strongly about it, I believe you,” Stede said, giving him a wry grin and cocking his head to the side.
“I saw one, I swear.”
“Then I believe you.”
Ed took a deep breath of fresh night air, not cool as such, but easier to breathe than the stuffy air inside.
“Sorry, it was getting hot in there.”
“Ah, don’t worry ‘bout that. We’ve been sitting for hours, it’s only good to stretch our legs.” And with that, Stede stretched his whole body out with his arms over his head, letting out a small “ow!” when his coat fell onto his head—had he forgotten he was holding it over his arm? Ed started laughing.
“Yeah, yeah, very funny.”
“It is, actually.”
They stood for a while and smiled at each other until Stede broke the silence.
“Can I—can I see the ship, maybe?”
Ed’s stomach did a somersault.
“Don’t think we’ll have much privacy there, mate.”
“Privacy? Wha—oh.” Stede’s smile faltered, and he stared at Ed. Fuck. Fuck. He had misread it, he had been wrong, this was not what was happening—
“I mean—not that I assume—shit, forget it, uhm—I’m sorry, I mean, if I bring you there, they’ll take one look at you and rob you, and—”
He was rambling and he knew it, trying to steer back to safe waters and pretend he hadn’t just implied what he had actually implied. His voice trailed off and he fidgeted with his shirt. Only now, he truly noticed how dirty it was, maybe because he had been staring at Stede’s immaculate clothes all night for comparison.
“If we need—privacy,” Stede began, and Ed looked up in hopeful alarm, “I—uhm, I do have a room.” Stede bit his lower lip, looking a little nervous, as if searching for something in Ed’s eyes.
“You… you have a room?”
“Where else would I sleep? Here, on the street?” Stede tilted his head to the side again, quizzically, still searching, and raised his eyebrows. “I already paid for our drinks, so…”
Man, it made him almost gasp for breath. He wanted nothing more than for this fairy-tale dream to treat him to drinks and take him back to his room. Wanted to ruffle those perfect curls and wrinkle every inch of extravagant fabric covering him. And yet he could sense that Stede was in a new, foreign territory—that he had indeed been right in fearing that Stede did not know what he was doing, perhaps had not even entertained the idea before now. Luckily, a flash of eagerness sparkled in Stede’s eyes along with the anticipation for Ed’s reaction.
“Let’s go,” Ed said, and hooked his arm around Stede’s. He dragged him along for a few strides, then stopped. “Wait, what direction?”
Stede laughed and led them the opposite way.
── ❖ ──
It turned out to be not that far away, an inn a little way down the street. They continued their mermaid discussion while walking arm in arm, a new tension between them, shy but excited smiles and glances cast from one to the other under the warm flickering of the streetlamps.
It’s just a hook-up, Ed had to remind himself, when Stede sent him a look of pure admiration that made him slightly dizzy, you just think he’s hot and it’s been a while since you got any. Calm. The fuck. Down.
You’re a cool pirate, remember?
It helped a little that he had actual experience with the next part.
Stede’s room at the inn was small but clean and neat, nothing extravagant, except for the contents of the wardrobe, which clearly belonged to Stede rather than the room itself.
“I always pack too much,” Stede said, in the process of hanging up the turquoise coat among the others (apparently, it had a specific spot in an organized system). Ed’s gaze was fixed to where his waistcoat rode up over his backside, until Stede suddenly turned back to him, and Ed had to quickly pretend that he had been looking at the variety of shoes set up neatly on the floor beneath. Stede was, thankfully, oblivious.
“So. Privacy,” Stede said, motioning with his arms as if to show off the rented room. “Not nearly as exciting as a pirate ship, I reckon.”
“With you here? The most exciting place in the world.” He stepped closer as Stede gave a dry chuckle.
“Doubt it—no one particularly likes me.”
“Their fucking loss.”
Barely finishing the sentence, Ed drew Stede into a kiss, finally tangling his fingers in the soft curls at the nape of Stede’s neck and pulling him close. Hot sparks shot up Ed’s spine when he felt Stede respond, and he angled his head to deepen the kiss, dragging his tongue lightly over Stede’s lips until they opened for him, a vague taste of ale still lingering.
He usually didn’t waste much time on kissing, if he even did it at all, but this was too delicious. The whole evening, something—some hot, fiery ball of tension—had built up inside of him over the hours of having his mind stimulated and getting worked up over it. Finally, at a small, needy sound from Stede, it ruptured, spreading exhilarating relief through him. He was almost done right then and there as he felt Stede shudder with anticipation, their tongues sliding tentatively, then more desperately, together.
Ed pulled back from the kiss to look at Stede and to get air—it seemed he had forgotten how to breathe in the last few minutes. Absentmindedly, Ed was combing through his own hair with his fingers, pulling it back and gathering it in his fist.
Stede’s features were half illuminated by the soft, silvery moonlight slipping through the window next to them, the only light source in the room, casting the rest in shadows. His lips were wet and slightly open and his face a little flushed, and Ed saw his own elation mirrored back at him in eyes with wide-blown pupils. He dragged a band from his wrist to tie his hair up.
“Why are you doing that?”
Ed cocked an eyebrow at Stede and suddenly realized that he was on autopilot. He was already assuming that this would go down like his quick bouts on the ship with Jack and whoever else was up for a quick blowjob.
But for this, he did not want to be on autopilot—this time, it wasn’t just a means to an end, and he moved the band back to his wrist. His thick curls fell back down over his shoulders as he let go, and he smirked at Stede in a way he hoped would be seductive.
The tiny gasp Stede let out told him he was successful.
“Habit,” Ed said, leaning in to untie and remove Stede’s cravat to allow his lips to ghost over the pale, sensitive skin of his neck.
“Well, I liked it.” Stede’s voice had turned low and ragged. “I also like this,” he added, tangling both his hands in Ed’s long strands, pressing his fingertips into his scalp, then pulling gently at it.
Fuck. Ed groaned with the pleasure of having his hair handled like that, so needy and so tenderly at the same time, and buried his face back into the crook of Stede’s neck. A wave of need and want ran straight through him, settling deep near his rapidly hardening cock.
Ed wanted to take his time—he enjoyed making out with Stede way too fucking much to be finished with it just yet. Restraining himself, he trailed the tip of his tongue lightly up Stede’s neck and along his jaw, just barely touching skin, before joining their lips again. He soon found a rhythm of their tongues massaging together, feeling Stede press back with eagerness, occasionally breaking off to suck his lower lip or angle his head to the other side.
It was igniting, feeling the warmth of Stede’s hands roaming carefully and curiously over his back, squeezing a bit at his sides and his shoulders. And in turn, Ed enjoyed ruffling this fancy fucking estate heir (he knew he should hate it, but he didn’t) he had been so lucky to stumble upon (or, rather been stumbled upon by) and messing up all the well-groomed, tidy parts of him.
He began working his fingers down the way too many stupid buttons of Stede’s waistcoat, losing his rhythm a little and growing impatient. No matter how dashing it made Stede look, how well it framed him, Ed wanted it off so he could run his hands all over him. Thankfully, Stede seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and started from the bottom up to meet Ed halfway, quickly shrugging the waistcoat off without breaking the kiss, not appearing to care that it landed on the floor. Ed wrapped his arms around him again and pulled him clumsily towards the bed.
When they had landed and shifted up on the mattress until both of them could lie in the small space, Ed on top of Stede, Ed felt his head being pulled back and a sudden hesitation in the air. Stede licked his lips, glistening with their shared spit, and looked into Ed’s eyes. Ed propped himself up on his elbows to stroke an errant curl away from Stede’s forehead.
“I’ve actually… never done anything like this before,” Stede spoke in a soft whisper. Ed’s eyes widened.
“With—with a boy?” he asked.
“With anyone.”
Ed blinked at him in disbelief.
“As in, sex with?”
Stede swallowed and blushed a little, barely visible in the pale moonlight, before answering.
“Anything.”
“Wow.” Wow. Unbelievable, that no one else had tried to get their hands on this. Or maybe Stede had simply not been interested in anyone else? Never wanted anyone?
Anyone but Ed.
The thought brought a lot of fuzzy feelings to his chest, until another sentence echoed in his head.
No one particularly likes me.
He hadn’t thought too much about it at the time, having been far too occupied with getting his mouth on Stede’s, but now it hit him—in that moment, it was one of the saddest things he had ever heard.
“Ed?” The new vulnerability in Stede’s voice brought him back to the present—made him realize he had been frozen and silent for too long. “I know it’s weird, I’ll understand if you don’t—”
“No, no, it’s not that—it’s just—I’m surprised, that’s all,” Ed smiled at him, wiping his thumb over the corner of his lip, and then kissing the spot as it was dragged up in a tentative smile.
“So—how’re you liking it?” Ed grinned back at him.
“Immensely,” Stede said, on the exhale of a sigh.
“We don’t have to do anything else, other than this.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, mate. Having the time of my life here.” He wasn’t even lying.
This seemed to make Stede ponder, and Ed trailed a finger over his furrowed brow, still propped up on one elbow.
“And what if I’d like to? Do more, I mean.”
Ed’s breath hitched.
“Whatever you want.”
This time, Stede initiated the kiss, hand on the back of Ed’s head dragging him down until their mouths collided—clumsy, frantic, perfect.
Ed was lying between Stede’s legs and brought his palms down to run over the surprisingly firm thighs at his sides, until Stede hooked a leg around his waist and pressed their clothed erections together. Ed’s brain nearly short-circuited at feeling how hard Stede was for him already, and when Stede let out a needy whimper and grinded up against him, Ed got the cue. He rolled his hips, setting a pace just on the cusp of too slow, a new bubble of heat inside him already feeling like it might burst at any moment.
“This okay?” Ed barely drew away to ask, hot breath mingling between them. Stede hummed in approval and caught his lips again, getting sloppier with the kiss as he moaned into Ed’s mouth. Hot sparks ran down his spine and he needed more, pulling Stede’s shirt out of his breeches to roam his hands over the heated skin underneath.
Stede threw his head back with a deep groan, and Ed took the opportunity to lick and bite at the skin just below his jaw, feeling the vibration of the obscene sounds coming out of Stede’s throat. Stede pulled a little harder on his hair, fingers tangled close to his scalp, and Ed shifted to get a better angle, circling his hips and sucking bruises beneath Stede’s ear, moaning into the salty skin.
This set off a whole new string of sounds from Stede, who was holding on to him as if he would die if he didn’t—his nails digging into Ed’s backside and his heel into Ed’s thigh, their legs almost twisted together now. Ed reveled in being so wanted, in being able to exert this effect on someone belonging to the polished, upper society, to unravel him completely—although he couldn’t shake the feeling that Stede was somehow different.
Any and all coherent thoughts were blown out of his brain when Stede moaned a soft, desperate Ed into his ear.
“You wanna come like this?” Ed asked, vaguely remembering that he was wearing his good pair of pants but not caring very much at the moment.
“Yes,” Stede breathed, which turned into a chant of yes, yes, yes with every motion Ed grinded into him, harder and more urgent now. Chasing the friction, the pressure, the lit fuse burning its way to his core, faster and faster. He could see it on Stede, too, the way his brows knitted and how he was flushed red from his cheeks to below the collar of his shirt. He could feel it, the way sharp puffs of panting breath hit Ed’s face and the coiling tension in Stede’s body, like Ed was slowly stringing him out like a bow, preparing to release and let go.
Ed couldn’t remember when he had last come from not even having his dick touched directly, but the feeling of coarse linen over shiny satin and the thought of Stede wanting, almost begging to ruin his fine clothes for Ed made something go bright white and hazy in his brain.
“Fuck, fuck, Ed—”
And now Stede was fucking cursing while rutting desperately against him as if no longer in control, and the world was distilled to just the two of them, chasing something together under pale moonlight, and Ed almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of how he had found himself in this situation.
Instead he whined when Stede’s grip in his hair tightened and he leaned down to kiss him, all hunger and no grace, and he drank Stede’s moans from his lips as he came, shuddering and going still below Ed.
Ed felt the fabric between them grow warm and damp and shifted to the side, grinding himself hard against Stede’s hip for only a few more thrusts until the kindling found the fireworks and ignited his vision into a blur of crackling light.
Ed buried his nose into Stede’s hair as he came down, feeling Stede’s grip around him loosen, their chests heaving against each other. When Stede slid his leg off of him and brought his arms up around his shoulders, one hand gently raking through his curls, Ed turned his head to look at his profile. Stede was simply staring at the ceiling, eyes glassy and mouth just slightly open.
“Overwhelming?”
Stede blinked and swallowed.
“I—” He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no other words came out.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Ed said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“Sorry, my brain was just reset,” Stede finally said, and Ed let out a chuckle and eased his (suddenly very heavy) body off Stede to lie down next to him, scrunching his face at the sticky feeling in his pants. Stede seemed to have the same thought, as he looked down at himself with a frown, and used his free hand—the one not currently under Ed’s neck—to pull his shirt back down over his exposed belly.
It hit Ed that this—whatever it was, whatever it had been or could have meant—was coming to an end. His stomach dropped at the thought.
Just a hook-up, just a hook-up, just a hook-up, he chanted in his head, not succeeding very well at convincing himself.
Well, whether this could be anything more than that, it was irrelevant—there was no way and no reason they would ever meet again after tonight. It would require a different world, a reality where they were in the same world. They had happened to cross paths, something had clicked, but it was still just that—a coincidence, a sudden realization of a dream he didn’t know he still carried. He imagined it was something similar for Stede, the way he had craved to hear the stories Ed told about life at sea and had swallowed every word without question as if he needed them all to be true. An alignment of the stars to give them both something they needed, and it was just that.
Ed wanted to hold on to it just a little longer.
He slung his arm across Stede’s chest and enjoyed the feeling of Stede’s fingertips gently tracing over his scalp and sending gentle, tingling shivers down his spine.
Yeah. Just a little longer.
── ❖ ──
“I can’t believe I’m going outside without a waistcoat. Just feels wrong.”
“Hey, I do it every day, mate.”
Stede had insisted on ‘sending him off’, which meant he really, really, really wanted to see the ship (even if Ed insisted it had to be at a distance—he would rather avoid any questions from his crewmates about his companion). As it was a warm night, and Stede didn’t want to waste more time on buttons, they were walking to the docks in just their shirts and pants. Stede had insisted on cravats for both of them, though, to not entirely skimp on style (It’s a simple thing, but it really ties an outfit together! Stede had said, which Ed countered with Well, you better wear one that covers your neck tomorrow, unless you want some questions, to which Stede had blushed).
After redoing his own cravat (which didn’t quite cover the bruise Ed had left, to his great satisfaction), he had then tied a skinny, black silk one around Ed’s neck. Ed had tried to refuse it, but Stede insisted—it had been that or a whole fresh pair of pants, so he wouldn’t have to walk in the soiled ones, and he thought the latter would be harder to explain. Besides, he did rather like the feel of the silk around his neck and down over his collarbone, and couldn’t help but agree that it gave him an edge.
“You can always say you stole it.” Stede seemed to know what was on his mind.
“I can say I bought it. We get a fair share of the yield, you know.”
“Fair sh—wait, you don’t get wages?” Stede stopped abruptly with a positively scandalized expression on his face. Ed laughed.
“Fuck’s sake, we’re pirates, Stede. ‘S just how it’s done.”
“Well, maybe it should be different.”
They started walking again. Ed was swimming in how easy it was with Stede, and privately philosophized over the difference between talking to and talking with someone.
They reached the docks far too soon, and Ed let Stede marvel over the ship for some time, docked as it was a little way out from the port.
“Well, if you’re ever in Barbados…” Stede trailed off, but the meaning was clear. At least, that’s what Ed hoped.
“Sure, and if I live long enough to see it. You never know, being on the sea.”
“I’m sure you will. You’re gonna be the most famous pirate ever, remember?”
“Yeah… Yeah, I am.” Ed had said it as a joke earlier, but having Stede believe it made it—real, somehow. He couldn’t help but lean in to steal one last, quick kiss, Stede making an enamoring little sound.
“Then I’ll see you.”
Ed knew very well that neither of them had any capacity to make promises, that the chances of them ever running into each other again were minuscule, but a man could dream.
“See you.” He waved and turned to walk, but stopped in his tracks a few meters away, pausing to take one last look back at Stede. He returned his smile and gave a small wave.
“Take care of the cravat!”