Archive of Our Own

Edward Teach just had to know. He had to know what made Stede Bonnet tick.

How many sugars he liked in his tea (none, actually). How many books he liked to read (any he could get his hands on really, especially books he knew the crew would like). He wanted to know all of his little idiosyncrasies ever since the moment they met. Stede was fascinating to him, and he wanted to know everything he could.

He was pretty open about his fascination with Stede, but one thing he never really thought to consider was what made Stede tick in a more intimate sense. The things he thought about when no one else was around. The things he did when no one else was around. The stuff that could bring a man to his knees in all the right ways.

Ed had never considered this aspect of Stede, until Izzy made a passing comment on deck and Stede fucking lost it. Stede had been helping Ed sharpen some swords, something Ed had been delighted to teach him about, when Izzy strutted up.

“Step aside, Bonnet.” Izzy said his name like it was poison. That always drove Ed mad, seeing the disrespect Izzy felt and expressed towards someone he cared about. “This is a real man’s job.”

“Well, lucky for both of us I am a real man.” Stede had said dismissively. Izzy sneered, and Ed shot him a warning look that he apparently didn’t see.

“Real men don’t prance around like girls.” he had said, getting in Stede’s face. “Real men don’t stay locked up in their rooms giggling like school girls over books. Real men fucking-”

“Izzy.” Ed hissed, but Stede was already standing and getting back in Izzy’s face.

“Fucking what? I should be fucking what?” he had asked, surprisingly stern. Izzy pushed him a little.

“That’s just it, isn’t it. You aren’t fucking anything or anyone for that matter. And I’d wager you never have.”

“I have two kids you fucking idiot.” Stede said, a little flustered. Izzy just shook his head, grinning a grotesque smile.

“That’s not fucking, Bonnet. You’re too soft for that.”

That’s what drove Stede mad. He was obsessed over that comment for days. He raved about it to Ed on a few different occasions, always just as mad as the time before.

“I mean, he doesn’t know me.” he was saying one day, fuming. “Who is he to say I’m soft. Just because I like to bathe more than once a month doesn’t mean I’m soft.”

Ed was sitting down, sharpening one of his personal knives. He held it up to the light, half listening.

“Mate, you gotta let it go.” he said. “Izzy doesn’t know what he’s talking about most of the time.”

“Yeah, most of the time.” Stede said, pacing. “But you all think he’s right.”

Ed hesitated.

“I mean… You do seem a little soft. Regarding that aspect, I mean.” he finally said. Stede stopped pacing and looked at him, appalled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, sounding genuinely upset. Ed frowned, not realizing maybe he should have kept that opinion to himself.

“I mean, well… you seem a little too nice for that. Too innocent.”

Stede looked too stunned to speak for a long moment, blinking rapidly.

“Well,” Stede said indignantly “I’ll have you know I’m not as innocent as I look.”

Ed smirked, going back to sharpening his knife.

“Sure, mate.” he said, glancing back up for a moment.

“I’m not!” Stede insists, his face flushing. “I’m just like any man. I have thoughts, and dreams, and… desires.”

Ed puts down his knife, leaning back in his chair.

“Oh really? Like what?” he asks. Stede looks away from him.

“Come on, now, you don’t want to know all that.” Stede says, his stomach flipping. He turned away from Ed, focusing on the view out of the window.

“Sounds like you’re just fuckin’ with me,” Ed challanged, crossing his arms.

Stede considers this thought for a moment. On one hand, he isn’t sure how Ed would react to knowing the things he thought about. On the other hand, there was a chance the thoughts might be reciprocated.

‘Yeah, right, get a hold of yourself Stede.’ he thought to himself, picking up a book and opening it.

“C’mon, then,” Ed prompts him, tilting his head. “Tell me.”

Stede felt something inside of him snap just a little bit. Maybe it was a need to show he wasn’t just a fancy, little rich boy. Maybe it was a need to show he wasn’t a prude. And maybe, a part of him was willing to admit, he wanted to see Ed sweat.

He closed his book, taking in a breath. He turned to look at Ed, a look in his eyes Ed had never seen before. He looked stony, but sure of himself. Ed felt a twinge in the pit of his stomach he decided to ignore.

“You really want to know?” he asked in a low voice. He set the book down on the table, slowly and smoothly. His fingers dragged along the cover of the book as he stepped away, just for a moment. Just enough for Ed to notice. Stede walked slowly to where Ed was sitting, smiling a smile unlike Ed had ever seen before.

Stede had three smiles that Ed had seen before. The first was the smile he gave his crew. It was also the smile he gave the people trying to kill him– it was big and it was bright. It lit up the room he was in, but there was a falseness to it.

The second smile was one he only saw when Stede was genuinely proud of himself. This was a more rare smile, but it left him looking flushed and wild and teeming with an electricity you could almost feel. It was the kind of smile you couldn’t see without smiling yourself.

And the third he had only seen thrice before. The smile he gave him when he reboarded The Revenge after his run with Calico Jack. The smile he had given him after their first kiss on the beach. And the smile he had given him when he himself reboarded The Revenge after almost a year of separation.

But this smile was neither of those smiles. It was sly, teasing, and backed by a confidence that shook Edward Teach down to his core.

This was a game of chicken, Ed thought as Stede sat down next to him, crossing his legs casually in a way that made the coat he was wearing ride up his thigh. And he wasn't one to lose.

"Go on, then. Don't hold back if you're so sure." he said, pulling out his tobacco pipe. "Mind if I?"

"Oh, not at all." Stede says dismissively, as if this conversation were about supplies they needed rather than a discussion about sex. "I hope you don't mind that your name comes up quite a bit in these stories."

This caught Ed very off guard. Internally. Outwardly, he raised an eyebrow and lit his tobacco. Internally he was frozen.

"You think about me in bed?" he was thinking.

"Stop stalling." he said instead.

He was surprised to see the corner of Stede's mouth twitched, as if he was trying not to smile.

"Well, I'll start you off with an easy one. The other night I was drifting off to sleep when I started dreaming about you. How you looked when you had Fang sew up a bullet wound on your shoulder."

Ed scoffs.

"Yeah, that's not what I'd call-"

"I imagined climbing into your lap." Stede continues, still staring straight at him with an unwavering intensity. "And kissing your neck. Running my hand through your hair. Biting down into the skin of your shoulder so hard it left marks."

Ed puffed and blew out a smoke ring. He imagined it as Stede walked him through it.

"And I imagined all the ways I could fuck you." Stede says, as casually as a man pointing out a cloud in the sky. "I really liked imagining that part, you see. So much I couldn't hide the evidence."

It occurs to Ed there might have been a reason Stede decided to sit cross legged.

"I liked satisfying myself to the thought of all the sounds you'd make with that smart mouth of yours. And I've done it quite a lot, I'll have you know."

Against his better judgment, Ed pictured the sight. It wasn't hard for him to imagine, he was surprised to find. Stede lay in the cozy bed by the window, wearing one of his remaining robes. Stede had definitely dialed back on his clothing choices, but still found the robes comforting in their own way.

He imagined Stede drawing the curtains shut and closing the window, leaving him in near darkness. He imagined Stede leaning his head back, his fingers gingerly sliding under the waistband of his trousers…

Ed came back to reality, trying not to think about that too much. He found it difficult. He had expected Stede to tell him a story or two, revel in his dirty mind that wasn't all that bad, then drop the conversation. This was not the case.

Stede kept talking. And talking. And talking. At some point Ed had no choice but to cross his own legs.

"Sometimes I like to imagine you waiting for me in my bed. All day, doing nothing but waiting without a stitch of clothing on you. Maybe I'd come in and be kind enough to fuck you. Maybe I'd make you wait for me again the next day first." Stede was saying when Ed couldn't even pretend he wasn't interested anymore. "I like the thought of you like that. Only wanting me. I really like it, actually."

Stede kept his face and voice free of emotion the entire time he spoke. Ed was amazed at how he went from slightly embarrassed to confident and almost dismissive in the blink of an eye. He considered Stede was making some of this up to try and get under his skin, but there was something about the way he spoke that told him this was something he thought about all the time.

Ed was also aware that Stede’s hand had found its way to him. At first he didn’t notice it, fingertips barely touching. Then hand over hand, hand over arm, all the way to hand over Ed’s chest. Stede had leaned over, speaking in low tones that felt as though they were the only two people in the world. Certainly the only two that mattered in that moment.

“Sometimes I wonder what kind of faces you’d make,” Stede drawled, his hand lifting gently under Ed’s chin. Ed swallowed thickly, his brain was reeling at just how much detail Stede was sharing with him at once. “Kind of like the one you’re making now, I think.”

Ed had no way to deny, there had been some tension between them the past few weeks. It took a long time for Ed to warm back up to Stede after he had returned to The Revenge. After almost a year, during which Ed had known Stede to be dead, there he was. His har had grown longer, he had a short, kept beard. He had a piercing in one ear and his nose. His hair was sunbleached and his skin was tanned. No longer was he donned in the clothes of an extravagant rich boy playing pretend. He was the real deal.

For the first few weeks Ed didn’t speak to Stede at all. He was beside himself with a combination of fury, devastation, relief, longing, sorrow, and many other emotions he couldn’t even begin to describe. He had spent the 8 months of their separation loathing Stede. Resenting him for his abandonment and his supposed death. Of course, Stede was quite angry himself.

“You tried to kill my boy,” he had said, trembling with silent anger. “You threw Lucius overboard.”

Evidently, Lucius had managed to remain afloat with the aid of other things thrown overboard that night long enough to be found by Stede and his crew.

“You abandoned me.”

“And it was the biggest fucking mistake of my life,” Stede had snapped back “But you better fuck off if you think I’m not beside myself, Edward. Pick up your sword and take it out on me if you must.”

The two had fought, ending with their fair share of injuries each. Eventually they conceded, and begrudgingly agreed to merge the two crews for the sake of trying to fix things diplomatically (per Stede’s suggestion).

After those initial weeks of simmering hatred and resentment, they spoke. Stede explained what happened with Chauncey in the woods, with his wife and children, the fuckery he pulled with their help. He explained how he thought he had ruined Ed, and that while that didn’t make up for what he did, he was scared and didn’t know what else to do. He said he regretted it more than anything and would do everything he could to make it up to him– if that was even possible.

Ed didn’t know what to think, but he knew he couldn’t forgive Stede yet. He also knew he didn’t hate Stede. At least not as much as he had.

Over the course of the past few months, with slow work and persistence, their relationship became friendly again. Not quite the same, but friendly. Ed had held a secret desire for Stede the entire time. And Ed was hearing first hand that after all this time Ed wasn’t alone in his feelings. Stede thought about him this way too.

“I’m not making a face,” Ed insisted, but Stede smirked, leaning in closer.

“Are you sure?” he whispers, and Ed nearly feels his heart stop when he realizes Stede’s lips are so close he only needs to tilt his own to meet them. In fact, he’s thinking he might do just that when suddenly Stede stands, straightening his coat.

“So, you know. Those are the basics.” he says calmly. Ed blinked, unsure of what just happened. He stuttered over his words.

“I… well… basics?” he managed to spit out after a moment. Stede had picked up his book again and was flipping through the pages absently.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. The basics, the mild as they say.” he says. “I hadn’t even delved into the filthier fantasies. Why?”

Ed opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. While none of what Stede had described was particularly crazy, it was loaded with detail. And he had said these things so casually that it almost felt stupid to get worked up over. And yet, here Ed was, uncomfortably aroused and filled with more longing than he’d experienced in almost two years.

* * * * * * *

It was a few days later before Ed and Stede resumed their conversation. That night Ed’s mind had been swimming with images of skin on skin, hot breath on his neck and hushed, almost growled curses in his ear. The way Stede told it, he was surprisingly dominant. Edward fucking liked it.

Ed remembered how he had first felt the need to meet Stede Bonnet in person after learning that Stede had absolutely no interest in him. He had, apparently, told him to 'suck eggs in hell'. Whatever that means. No one had ever spoken to or about him that way before, and it intrigued him.

A similar feeling was felt now. Not for the same reason, but it really was the same when he thought about it. Nobody had ever talked to him like this before. Ed had had sex before, probably more than anyone else on board. Certainly more than Stede. But the way Stede talked about it… it was different than anyone else had done it.

Ed’s experience with talking about sex usually consisted of a lot of drinking, some drugs. Always consensual, but never more than a basic agreement. Sometimes people asked him to pull their hair or slap them on the ass. Once he was asked to humiliate Calico Jack, which he didn't enjoy much for a few reasons. It was fine, everything about it was fine. Sex was sex, and it didn’t really need to be much more.

But it wasn’t until Stede that Ed realized that wasn’t true. He was undeniably touch starved. He craved the safety and intimacy that he never receiced– fuck off if he’d tried to just hold someone before, during, or after. He was used to using and being used. Kind words were never a part of the equation.

But Stede was different. He didn’t make Ed feel like an object. The way he talked about sex wasn’t just a declaration of the act, but an appreciation of the art it could be. Ed supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, everything Stede does has an air of delicacy to it. Never before had he been described in such detail, described with such words.

“I like thinking about running my hands over your chest,” Stede had said, and at that point he was. At that point Ed was painfully aware that suddenly his leather jacket was much too thick. He had wanted to feel Stede’s skin against his. “-and feeling your skin. Warm, I think.”

Something that wasn’t even terribly sexual managed to bring a flutter to his heart and a pulsing thrum of wanting. He’d never felt that before. He’d never wanted to ask someone for it more. But, he reminded himself sternly, this is a game of chicken. He knows what he’s doing, surely he must. Somehow.

He had been alone in the kitchen when it happened. He had been rooting through one of the cupboards for a specific cake he had set aside for himself when he felt the presence of another person right behind him. He was about to turn around when he felt a pair of arms slinking around his waist. He suddenly smelt lavender and knew without looking it was Stede.

“Mate, what are you-” he had begun, but Stede was tucking some hair behind his ear. He could feel Stede’s breath on his neck, and his lips brushing against his ear just a little, just for a moment.

“I like thinking about fucking you in here, too.” he murmured, his arms sliding slowly up to his chest. Ed hoped he couldn’t feel his heart pounding through his clothes. “Would you like me to share?”

Ed felt himself nodding before he could tell himself not to. It was like he was a puppet, useless and limp with someone else– Stede– holding the strings.

“Well, my most common fantasy is simple, so you’re lucky today.” he continues. Ed could feel a wicked smile in his voice. “There are some rooms on board where I can’t say the same.”

Ed felt a shiver run down his spine, and he could tell by the small chuckle that Stede had felt it too. His face flushed with mild embarrassment. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling.

“Well, I’d come in here to find you, kind of like right now,” Stede starts, leaning forward so Ed has to hold himself up with the counter. Stede isn’t pressed hinto him, but his arms remain a firm anchor on his chest. “And I’d walk up to you and wrap my arms around you to get your attention, kind of like now.”

Ed swallows. Could this be considered cracking? He’s doing exactly what he said he wants to do, but is it only to mess with him? Stede loosens his hold on Ed and turns him around.

“Up you go,” Stede says, gesturing for him to sit on the counter. Ed raises an eyebrow, not wanting to show how eager he is for Stede to continue. Stede raises an eyebrow back, stepping closer so there’s barely any space between them anymore. Ed is only a few inches taller than Stede, but in this moment he feels smaller. Stede puts his hand on Ed’s chest, his eyes intense and steady. “You heard me.”

Ed finds himself sitting on the counter.

“Good boy.” Stede says warmly, and Ed feels an immediate rush of blood flow. He didn’t even know something so simple could do that to him. Stede puts his hands on Ed’s knees, very lightly. Ed swallows.

“Where was I? Oh, yes. I’d start running my hands over your body,” Stede says quietly, and that steady, emotionless intensity is back. “And feeling how you respond to it. Your skin heating up, your heartbeat getting faster. The change in your breathing.”

The change in his breathing? Could Stede really pick up on that? Was he picking up on it now?

“And I’d slowly bring my hands lower,” he’s describing these things painfully slowly, Ed decides “And I’d slip my hands under the hem of your pants.”

Stede was gently, so gently, pushing his knees apart to step between them. Nowhere to hide now, if Ed were to become hard- which was already starting to happen- Stede would know in an instant. Stede’s hands make their way up to his thighs.

“And I’d feel you shuddering in anticipation for all the things I could do to you as one of my hands wrapped around your cock.”

Stede’s hands were dangerously close to him now, resting on the dips in his hips. His face was also very close to his at this point, so much so that Ed was having an even harder time focusing. He felt his eyes darting, trying to decide whether he should focus on his eyes or his lips. Ed licked his lips as subtly as he could.

“What about your other hand?” was all he could think to say. Stede smirked.

“My, you’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked, and Ed found himself shaking his head. Denial, obviously, there was no way Stede hadn’t noticed the growing bulge in his pants. But he refused to say so outright. Stede just chuckled.

“No, you just said both hands.” Ed insisted. “It’s hard to take you seriously if there are plot-holes.”

“How about my other hand is doing this?” Stede asks, and before Ed can ask what he means he feels Stede’s hand on the move. It slowly curves over his hip bone, up his stomach, chest, and collar before resting at the base of his neck. Stede gathers some of his hair and tugs, forcing Ed’s head to lean back for a moment.

“Yeah, okay.” Ed manages to say after a moment. Stede leans forward, speaking in his ear again. This in combination with his hair still being firmly in Stade's grip, his chest pressed against Ed’s, and Stede’s knee about three inches away from the danger zone leaves Ed feeling dizzy and breathless. The smell of lavender and sea air is intoxicating.

Stede chuckles, and Ed is horrified to realize he is practically purring under Stede’s touch.

“Sounds like you are enjoying this.” he teases, tugging his hair again, harder this time. “Are you enjoying this, Edward?”

“No,” Ed says, more a question than an answer. Stede lets go of Ed’s hair, his hand now resting on his neck. His other hand has migrated, pressing into the small of his back.

“Are you sure?” his voice sounds warm, sweet.

Ed swallows thickly, closing his eyes and trying not to shiver at the rhythmic, tickly sensation of his breath against his neck. It takes all of his energy not to kiss him right here and now.

“And what if I was?” Ed asks, licking his lips again. Stede’s thumb skims light circles over the crook of his neck. Ed is taken aback at how wild this is driving him. It’s so simple, it’s so insignificant, it’s so…

Stede. It’s so Stede.

“Well, then that would make my job a lot easier.” Stede whispers. And just like that he’s walking out of the kitchen– leaving Ed cold, flustered, and alone.

* * * * * * *

This happens several more times. Sometimes when they’re alone, sometimes when they aren’t. When they’re alone together, Stede basically repeats what happened in the kitchen. He manipulates the situation to have parallels to his stories, always catching him off guard. He never kisses him, or touches him where Ed wants him to. Every time Ed is surprised at how quickly Stede is able to leave him with such an intense sense of longing with just his words and gentle touches.

Stede also starts, at some point, delving into more fantasies that truly are something. Ed wasn’t really sure what Stede had meant when he said some of his stories were simpler, safer than others. Turns out, there are a lot of reasons why. One night while the two of them were working on repairing some fishing nets, Stede had casually mentioned wanting to tie Ed up. He had looked at him with a soft smile, running some rope between his fingers. Another night when Stede was helping him sew up a wound he told Ed he thought the blood was sexy.

When they aren’t alone, Stede is much more subtle. Sort of. He never said anything, but he held eye contact with Ed while using his hip to nudge him out of the way. He made a little too much eye contact licking the back of a spoon. He had gotten into the habit of slapping him on the ass rather than the small of his back when they got back from a raid.

This went on for almost a month. A few times during this time Stede had pulled him aside with an earnest look on his face.

“I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?” Stede asked one one particular occasion, fidgeting with his hands. “I mean… Well, I do admit I’m being a little ostentatious, but I-”

But Ed was grinning. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was.

“You’re fine, mate, really.” he said honestly. “I’d tell you if I wanted you to stop, you know that.”

“Then… well… why haven’t we…” Stede was choosing his words slowly, and Ed finally realized something about Stede. He was only confident when he was trying to be. When he was trying to mess with Ed. This version of Stede was the real Stede– kind, gentle. The other Stede was Stede too, but only in private. Only with Ed.

“Why haven’t we… what?” Ed asks, and it’s like a switch flips. Ed can see the cogs in his head turning, and there’s this calculated change in his posture.

“Acted on it.” Stede says. It hangs in the air for a moment. Ed smiles.

“Honestly I thought this was a game of chicken, mate. I was waiting for you to crack.”

This does something to Stede. He steps forward with that smile he only has in these circumstances. He puts his hand on the small of his back, his other hand slinking up into his hair. He pulls Ed forward, and for a second Ed thinks this is him cracking. But Stede pulls on Ed’s hair, stopping them from a kiss at the last moment.

“Oh, I really don’t think you should have said that.” he murmurs, and he’s so close Ed can practically feel their lips brush together.

“What?” Ed asks, but Stede’s already walking away. “Mate, are you on about?”

Stede doesn’t turn around.

* * * * * * *

And oh yes, Ed is always reminded, he really shouldn't have said that. Unbeknownst to him at the time (though they would talk about it later) Stede was planning on cracking that very day until he was given a challenge. But he didn't, and he didn't look like he was going to.

He was doing this every chance he got now. There was no rest for Ed, none at all. He was in a constant state of longing only satiated by the occasional raid they needed to do. But with the ending of each raid came the meetings.

Stede, in his own little way, had cracked some. But Ed wasn't sure it was cracking so much as it was adding a whole new level of torture to their little arrangement.

The first time it had happened Ed was sure Stede was going to admit defeat. They were in the captain's quarters, an area of the ship they both slept in– occasionally they would take turns in the bed, but mostly Ed was happy sleeping on one of the couches they had collected during one of their rounds near a market.

They had been sitting by the fireplace, each caught up in their own task– Ed sharpening a knife and Stede reading a new book he had stolen from a merchant ship– when Stede closed the book and moved up right next to Ed. He had looked away from his knife and barely had time to process things when suddenly Stede was kissing him.

They had only kissed once. It had been short, squished, awkward. Their mouths had been closed, and their hands had held each other for support. It was messy. It was perfect.

This kiss was much different. Stede was holding on to Ed's arms, gentle but firm all at once. It was still a little squished, but it was more certain. It was a little longer. For a moment Ed was stunned, and when Stede pulled away he brushed a strand of hair away from Ed's face.

"I'm sorry, I- mph!" Stede began before Ed's lips crashed into his again. Ed didn’t realize how much he had missed this, how much he had needed this.

At first it was squished and a little awkward, but all at once it wasn't anymore. Stede was propped up on his knees, kissing Ed like a dying man who just received an oasis. Ed had his hands at Stede's waist, pulling him closer. They broke away panting, and Stede buried his face into Ed's neck.

"Finally broke?" Ed asked, grinning to himself. Stede looks back at him.

"What? No." He says, laughing a little. "We've kissed before, that's fair game."

"We've never kissed like that," Ed protested. "That's a crack."

"Edward, are we having sex right now?"

"I… what?" Ed asked, still a little dazed.

"Are we having sex right now?" Stede asked again, tilting his head.

"No?" Ed asked, a hopeful note in his voice that Stede would prove him wrong.

"No." Stede said, shutting the notion down. "This whole game started about sex, and one of use loses when we admit we can't stand not having sex. I'm fine with kissing your lips raw as long as it takes for you to beg for me like a good boy."

Before Ed can point out how stupid he thinks that is Stede is climbing into his lap and kissing him again. Ed decided it was better to savor this moment than to argue.

At some point Stede's kisses had ventured to his neck, and Ed was determined to keep his composure. He would not lose. He would not.

But as Stede’s legs shifted so he was fully straddling his lap and his tongue started lapping at the parts of his neck that were most sensitive, it became one of the hardest things he'd had to do.

Somehow he survived. Horny and needy, but he had managed to remain afloat and only let out two, low moans. Stede was kissing him, and then suddenly he was back to reading as if nothing had happened at all.

This happened a few more times, mostly when the two were going to turn in for the night. It was the third or fourth time that Ed was getting desperate. He didn't admit it, but he was so close to cracking that it was all he could do to focus during their meetings. Any time he was left alone with Stede he did what he could to avoid being alone with him.

There was a particularly violent raid not long after this new routine had started. No one died, but there were definitely some injuries. Stede had received a stab wound in his right arm, and Ed a few nasty cuts on his hands.

There was a moment right after Stede had been stabbed by one of the pirates they were fighting, where Ed saw something he hadn't ever seen before. Usually on their raids it was quite peaceful. Stede did what he could not to engage violently. But he had been stabbed with a dagger, and he was pissed. He pulled the dagger out himself, knocking the poor bloke aside against the railing and pulling the blade to his throat. He was saying something low and the person he was fighting looked like he might soil himself. Stede pushed the bloke down, slammed the knife deep into the wood of the ship, grabbed his own sword, and moved on to the next person. His hair was wild and his face was flushed, and there was a danger in his face Ed had never seen. For just a moment, barely even a moment, they made eye contact across the deck. Stede winked.

Ed finally cracked.

That night after they returned to the quarters Stede was very much in good shape. The wound was closed and didn't appear to be bad enough to warrant bed rest. Thank fucking christ.

"So, what do you reckon we should- oh!"

Ed had closed and locked the door behind him, closing the distance between them and quickly fumbling to unbutton Stede's shirt.

"I can't fucking take it anymore, Stede," he said, looking up at his face for a moment. "You win, alright? You win."

Stede looked stunned for a moment, dimly aware that his shirt was now on the floor.

"I win what?" he asked. Ed shook his head, starting to remove his own shirt. His hands were bandaged which limited his mobility just a touch. Stede took Edward's hands and held them. Ed looked up and saw Stede was grinning, a sly, triumphant grin. "What did I win, Ed?"

Ed huffs, giving Stede a pleading look.

"Our game, whatever you call it, please just…"

"Just what?" Stede asks, reaching up and cupping his face with his hands.

Ed felt a stirring deep inside of him. Stede was really going to make him beg for this, wasn't he? Stede cocked his head to the side, expectantly. In any other circumstance, Edward Teach would rather have his tongue cut out than beg for anything. He was Blackbeard for fucks sake, or at least he was. He never begged for anything.

But Stede wasn't just anything. He was everything.

"Please." Ed said in a small voice that was so surprising to both himself and Stede that Stede's eyebrows raised slightly. "Please, fuck, please Stede. I need you. Please, I need you."

He wasn't in control of his own words anymore. He was begging, and he didn't care one bit.

"Please what?" Stede asked, pushing Ed back so he was leaning against the wall. Ed was running his hands up Stede’s back, feeling a soul deep pull at the warmth. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. The smell of lavender and gunpowder was clouding everything around him.

"I'm yours." was all he could bring himself to say. That was apparently good enough for Stede because he was grabbing Ed by the front of his shirt and kissing him fiercely.

Finally, mercifully, Ed was allowed to relent. He kissed Stede back, moaning into his mouth as he felt Stede slip his hands underneath the shirt he was still wearing for some reason. He pulled away from Stede long enough to pull it off, and when he was practically slammed back into the wall Stede was kissing his neck.

"Stede," he gasped. Stede pulled away, and Ed made an impatient noise.

"What is it?" Stede asked, looking very pleased with himself. Ed shook his head, pulling him in closer by the hips.

"Just sayin' your name, mate," he said, his voice uneven and breathy. "Please, keep doing that."

Stede happily did as he was told. Ed felt his knees go weak and wobbly after just a short amount of time, and he was already hard.

"Stede," Ed gasped again, this time with a reason "I can’t stand anymore, should we-"

Stede was already pulling him away from the wall, sitting him down on the bed.

They kissed again, Stede stepping between Ed's legs. Ed let out something like a whimper when Stede's knee pressed up against the bulge in his pants. Stede grinned into the kiss, gently pressing his knee closer in rhythmic motions. Ed found it harder to kiss him back when he did this.

"Now, I must confess," Stede murmured against the crook of Ed's neck, his hands running slowly up his arms and chest. "That while I've had sex before, it's only been with two other people and only one of them was a man."

Ed nodded, his own hands at Stede's hips. He pulled Stede so he was straddling his lap, and the two adjusted to the friction it caused.

"So, please tell me if there's anything you want, and please tell me if I'm absolutely thick and doing it wrong."

"Okay," Ed said, biting his lip. "How long ago was the last time you-"

"Oh, my last was with Mary. After we had our second kid we stopped… well, it's been a long time." Stede answered, pushing Ed back onto the bed. Ed let himself fall, trusting Stede would be there to make sure he didn't hit his head.

Apparently this was a mistake because he hit his head. Not hard, but enough.

"Ow! Fuckin' hell!" he said, rubbing the back of his head. Stede’s hands flew up to his mouth.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, are you okay? Should we stop?" he asks, having Ed sit up again. Ed's shoulders are shaking and Stede suddenly fears he's crying. "Oh my- I misjudged the distance! I'm so sorry, I-"

Stede trails off as he realized Ed isn't crying, he's laughing. He takes Stede’s hands away from his face and kisses him gently.

"It's okay, Stede, just a little shock. Maybe I'll lay myself down this time."

Stede nods and Ed lays back down, positioning himself further away from the window sill. Stede smiles shyly at him.

"That ruined the moment, didn't it?" he asks. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Stede you have about three seconds to start kissing me again or I'm going to flip you over and do this myself." Ed said, grinning just a little. This shut Stede up.

They were kissing again, and it didn’t take long before it devolved into a desperate smashing, hands fumbling over belts. Stede’s hips were rocking over Ed's, and they were both loving it.

"You know how to prep for-"

"Yes, I think so," Stede said, standing quickly. "Kick off your pants, I need to find some of my oils."

Ed did as he was told, and within a few moments Stede returned with a bottle of something. His eyes fell on Ed's erection, taking in the sight for the first time.

"Wow," was all he said, which made Ed's stomach flutter. He sat up, smiling. He taps his fingers to the hem of Stede's pants.

"Well, come on, don't be shy," he said, and Stede smiled.

"All in good time," he said. That edge was back in his voice, and Ed knew shit was about to get real. Stede set the bottle aside and made eye contact with him as he got on his knees at the side of the bed. Ed’s heart was pounding in his ears when Stede reached out and touched him. He propped himself up in his elbows while Stede gently stroked his cock. Stede smiled at him.

“This is when you need to tell me if I’m doing something wrong, okay?” he asks, leaning forward and licking the length of him, agonizingly slow. Ed felt a shudder up his whole body.

“Have you done this before?” Ed asked, Stede continued. It seemed like he had, even though Stede admitted to being inexperienced. Stede shrugs.

“Yes,” he said, still stroking with his hand “But I was young, around… 19 I reckon. I will probably be rusty.”

“That’s okay,” Ed said, and it was.

One thing Ed didn’t expect about this experience was that talking like this, awkward and uncertain, wasn’t a turn off. He didn’t think it would be, but there was something so intimate about this. Something he’s never experienced. Usually when past partners of his were inexperienced they plunged forward without giving it much thought. It always did the job just fine, but it was never spectacular. He craved the release more than the actual act.

Stede was asking him questions, though. He was talking Ed through what he planned to do and only continued when he received confirmation that it was okay with him. He was trying to make sure this was as enjoyable for Ed as it could be. Stede’s uncertainty wasn’t because he wasn’t prepared to be told he was wrong, it was because he was making sure Ed wanted this as much as he did.

By this point Stede was blowing Ed with surprising skill. Gentle, calculated. Ed reached forward and ran a hand through Stede’s hair. Stede looked up at him as he continued, looking to see how he was feeling. He was feeling bloody amazing.

“Stede, you should stop,” Ed groaned after a while. Stede lifted his head off with a small pop. He was smiling.
“Everything okay?” he asked, standing so he could kiss Ed. Ed nodded into the kiss, his hands resting on the sides of Stede’s neck.

“Yeah, mate,” he assured him. “Just if you keep going I’m gonna-”

“Oh! Oh, yes, we wouldn’t want that yet, would we?” Stede said, and they both chuckled. Stede reached for the bottle he had grabbed before, and he held it up. “Would you like me to-”

“Please.” Ed said, so suddenly that Stede laughed.

“This is some olive-oil,” Stede explained as he opened it and put some into the palm of his hand. “Lucius told me this is a pretty good lubricant for… this sort of activity.”

“When did you ask him about that?” Ed asks, feeling Stede starting to coat his cock and ass with the stuff. It was cold at first, but not unpleasant.

“Well, he is one of the only people I trust to discuss this sort of thing with.” Stede said, glancing up at Ed for just a moment. “And we aren’t the only ones on board who have need for something like this. I left your name out, just in case you-”

“I don’t care if people know.” Ed said. “If Izzy gives either of us shit I’ll cut off more of his toes.”

“Please don’t,” Stede answered, chuckling. His fingertips ran lightly up Ed's thigh. “Should I start with one or two?”

"One," Ed was suddenly very much aware that this is about to happen. Was that weird? Maybe it should have sank in sooner. I mean for fuck's sake, Stede was just blowing him. Was he overthinking this?

Definitely overthinking this, he decided. It was much easier to stop thinking with the sensation of Stede slowly opening him up.

Stede continued to walk Ed through what he was doing, always on the lookout for any sign this wasn't something Ed wanted anymore. Ed never gave such signal, in fact he was practically begging for more at every step.

"I think I'm ready," Ed said after adjusting to three fingers. Stede smiled, small and shy. It made Ed melt.

Stede shifted so his underwear fell to the floor with a dull thud. Now it was Ed’s turn to stare.

"Wow," he said, and Stede went to pour some more oil into his hand. Ed sat up and gently grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, um… can I do it?" he asked, and Stede raised an eyebrow.

"If you want to, be my guest." there was something in the way he said it that made Ed think he anticipated this and was happy he hadn’t been wrong. Ed sat up on his knees and let Stede pour some oil into his palm. He was a little hesitant at first to touch Stede, but once he'd started the hesitation melted away. Stede was brushing Ed's hair back behind his ears, his breathing had changed ever so slightly. Ed realized now what he had meant when he'd made a point to mention thinking about that subtle change.

In the past, there had never been much prep. It was always the bare minimum before getting into it, Ed had noticed. Sometimes it hurt a little, but he didn’t mind it. It wasn’t supposed to be something for fun or for love, only for quick fixes– to scratch an itch, almost.

But this. This was so much better, Ed had decided. The intimacy he’d never felt before added so much more than he’s ever imagined. There was something so personal about this, so full of love. To be able to notice something so small as a change in breathing, to really know your partner enough that you know you’re doing something right without words. It was awkward and fumbling at some parts, but sure and smooth all the same. It was something Ed never knew he needed. Stede was something he had never known he needed.

Ed was stroking Stede's cock at a steady pace, listening to the way Stede was reacting to it. It started as a small change in his breathing. It evolved into breathy whispers in his ear.

“Yes, that’s it darling,” Stede was kissing the sensitive parts of Ed’s neck as he spoke “Just like that.”

Ed was settling into the motion when Stede's hands found his hips and made him lie down. This time he didn’t hit his head. Ed was gripping at his shoulders, and Stede pressed a kiss to the bridge of his nose.

"You ready?" he asked, looking deeply into his eyes. Ed nodded, leaning up to kiss him. He let out a long, low moan when Stede at last entered him. For a moment he couldn’t see straight, everything was a happy, hazy blur of smells and colors. Pure bliss. And then– fuck, he was moving and Ed thought he could just about pass out. He was dizzy, looking at Stede with such adoration that a blind man could have seen it.
“Is this okay?” Stede asked, and Ed was nodding long after he’d asked.

“Yes,” he practically sobbed. “Yes, Stede, it’s fucking amazing.”

Stede smiled, leaning down to kiss him as he kept thrusting.

‘How has he not done this more?’ Ed managed to think through the haze. ‘If people knew he was this good there’s no way he’d have only done this with two people.’

Ed moaned into Stede’s mouth as Stede settled into a rhythm that was hitting his spot perfectly. Everything about this was fucking perfect. Ed couldn’t wrap his mind around this, how was he so fucking-

“Perfect,” Ed was moaning into his lips over and over without realizing it. His hands had ended up over his head, gripping at the posts on the headboard– no, he was facing where your feet were meant to go, wasn’t he? “Fucking perfect.”

Stede had started sucking delightfully possessive bruises into the crook of his neck and throat. Ed was fucking glad he was. He wanted anyone to look at him and just know. He wanted to ask people what they were staring at before they looked away, looked at Stede This perfect, bubbly, absolute ray of sunshine who was capable of fucking his brains out.

“You’re so beautiful,” Stede was saying. “So lovely, Ed. You’re taking me so well.”

Ed was nodding, trying his best to focus on what Stede was saying. He felt his finish coming, but it was slow and steady. It wasn’t sudden as it had always been– there was no sense of trying to just get it over with. It was a feeling that was overwhelming his senses all the way to the every ends of his being.

“You’re so good for me, Ed.” Stede was kissing him again. “So good.”

Ed opened his mouth to say something but only moans came out.

“I’m-” was all he could gasp out, his hands finally removed themselves from the bed posts and found themselves wrapped around Stede. Stede pressed himself almost flat into Ed, allowing Ed to dig his nails into his shoulders.”Stede!”

“That’s it, darling, be a good boy and cum if you want.” Stede murmured in his ear.

That fucking did it. Ed buried his face into Stede’s neck, half moaning and half sobbing as Stede fucked him through his orgasm. He felt his vision go out for a moment, breathing in the smells of gunpowder and sweat and lavender. At some point he realized Stede was moaning with him, filling him with his own release.

The two collapsed, and Ed felt Stede exit him. For a long moment they lay panting, clinging to each other like a lifeline.

* * * * * * *

“That wasn’t too much, was it?” Stede was laying beside Ed, his hands gently tangling themselves in Ed’s hair. Ed was grinning a dopey, lovesick grin at him the entire time.

“No, not at all.” he said, his arms wrapped around Stede. He enjoyed the warmth of skin on skin, the intimacy of it. Stede seemed more than happy to remain in Ed’s arms forever.

“Really? Because I didn’t want it to be too much, you know, not the first time.”

“First?” Ed asked, feeling the gentle tugs of Stede untangling his hair. Stede laughs, stopping to look at him.

“Well, I mean… if it’s okay with you, I- well I’d like to do this again.”

Ed felt a swell in his chest.

“Do you mean it?” he asked, so small Stede almost didn’t hear him. He smiles his warm, wonderful smile and kisses the bridge of his nose.

“Of course I do, darling.” he says. He blushes a little. “Is… is it okay if I call you that?”

“Yeah, mate, it is.” Ed says, and he realizes he’s smiling uncontrollably. “Sorry, but I’m not gonna be calling you anything besides your name.”

“And mate.” Stede lays back down. His head rests on Ed’s chest. He feels a laugh rumble in his chest.

“Yeah, and mate.” he agrees.

It wasn’t long before Stede had drifted off to sleep, but Ed was awake much longer thinking. He hadn’t ever thought it could be this good. How nice it could feel. How wonderful the part that came after could be too. He was glad this happened, that he was allowed to let this happen.

He was glad he cracked. He was glad he had met Stede Bonnet, and that against all odds he had come back to him. He was glad about a lot of things he couldn’t quite place. But for now, he was in Stede’s arms about to drift off to sleep.

That was all he needed to know.