Chapter Text
Ed couldn’t believe that it had been a year since they left The Revenge. For the few first months they’d been so busy, there was no time to rest. After all, a roof could collapse on their heads with the smallest wind. And then they started growing their little house. Now they had four buildings in total, two goats, four chickens and a rooster, and two pigs. In the past few months they hosted many people, both pirates and regular folk alike. Some needed to lay low for a bit, or just needed a few days off, or just were travelling through. Last week Jackie, with Swede and her ten new husbands, and two wives came over and they discussed building the bar.
“We could turn it into a resort!” Jackie pitched them her big business plans. And they agreed to them.
Once all of their guests left, it seemed like they would have a few days off, with no people coming over, and Ed was happy for a chance to just relax with his husband. They sat on the porch, holding hands, and looking at what they’ve built together. Ed never expected to be so okay with living on land…
“Hello!” A shout came from the woods and Ed saw a carriage approaching them.
“Oh hell no…” Ed felt a wave of frustration flooding his body. It was so strong that he was considering taking his gun and shooting the man.
“Edward, we’re an inn!” Stede smiled at him as he stood up.
“Babe, I just want a week only with you,” Ed hissed through clenched teeth.
“Hello, sirs! I have a package for owners of the inn!” The man looked almost lost when he stopped next to them. “This wasn’t here last year…”
“Yes, that’s us!”
“I have a package from Mary Smith,” he said, hopping to the ground.
“Oh, that’s exciting!” Stede was rubbing his hands, as the man pulled out a large, rectangular package that was quite flat. “Will you be staying for the night?”
“Stede.”
“No,” the man shook his head just as Stede tipped him and signed the receipt. Even before Ed opened the package, the man was already leaving.
“Oh shit,” Ed gasped. “Fuck me, it’s amazing…”
“What is it?” Stede turned on his feet and now they both were staring at the painting of them, from their wedding on the beach. “Oh, it’s lovely…” Stede sighed and when Ed looked at him, he saw tears in his husband’s eyes.
“We need to figure out where to hang it,” Ed smiled and embraced him. “And she kept the dresses!”
“She better have! We looked amazing!” Stede laughed. “You looked gorgeous.”
“So did you,” Ed smiled softly. Looking at the painting, with the bottles added at the bottom, Ed knew he had to ask him something. “Stede?”
“Yes, love?”
“I’ve been wondering…” they tangled their fingers together and Ed almost automatically rubbed his finger against the golden band on Stede’s finger. A smile instantly appeared on both of their lips. “We’ve got about forty letters. It should be most of them, right?” Ed raised his eyebrows as Stede let out a loud laugh.
“Oh, God no.” Stede laughed, looking at him with eyes filled with love. “I would say we retrieved… almost half of them?”
“What? Half?”
“Yes.” Stede picked up his cup, his cheeks crimson red. “Well…” he said slowly, and Ed understood that there was something as Stede looked away as we spoke again. “Thirty-three percent to be exact,” Stede mumbled into his cup.
Ed blinked, processing what Stede had said to him. They’ve got forty letters, and… it was only thirty-three percent…
“You’ve sent… one hundred and twenty letters?” Ed said slowly, looking in disbelief at his crazy husband.
“One hundred and twenty-seven to be exact.” Stede blinked at him innocently.
“We’d been apart for ninety-five days…”
“Yes. And I started writing them after eleven days, once I faked my death.” Stede started talking faster; clearly, he felt nervous and ashamed. “At the start, I wrote two or three a day, but later on it was one a day. At first, I had to explain myself, and then I just wanted to keep you updated, hoping that even one letter would reach you and…” Stede stopped with a sigh. “I know it’s too much…”
“Nah,” Ed stopped him, squeezing his hand. Stede looked up at him, taking a deep breath. “It’s just enough.” A relieved smile appeared on Stede’s lips as his eyes filled with tears. Ed leaned towards him, and kissed him on the cheek, whispering. “One hundred and twenty-seven is a perfect amount of letters. I want to read all of them.”
“Oh, Ed,” Stede sighed softly, kissing him on the lips. “I think we may ever get them all…”
“Babe, we’ve got forty in a year. I think we’re good.” Ed laughed easily, once again rubbing the band on Stede’s finger.
“You’re right,” Stede said with an easy smile. “We have our whole life ahead of us. And even if we don’t get all of them, maybe someone will find them and get inspired by our love in, I don’t know… 2019!”
“Stede, that’s 300 years from now,” Ed laughed, but he had an idea in his head. “Should we write them an update, that we found each other and we’re married?” Ed suggested and Stede looked at him with a wide, excited smile.
“Oh, Edward. That’s an amazing idea.”
Dear Historians of XXI Century,
If you’re reading this, you must know that we - Edward Teach and Stede Bonnet, known also as Blackbeard and Gentleman Pirate, were in fact not just two guys who sailed for a bit together. We were not “roommates”, and even if we called each other “co-captains”, we were so much more.
We were friends, lovers, husbands, who ran an inn. We were the loves of each other’s lives. We were our other halves. We were disgustingly in love. We were a homosexual couple.
If you wrote that we were just friends, fix that or our pirate ghosts will come and haunt you.
As a proof I, Edward Teach, reveal where I have hidden all my treasures.
With respects,
Edward Teach & Stede Bonnet