Chapter Text
“Something wrong mate?” Edward looked over at Stede who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. They’d both changed out of their soaked clothing and were relaxing with some brandy. Stede was sipping in between holding a cloth on his lip at Edward’s insistence. He found he enjoyed being cared for and did not argue.
“I’m sorry that your birthday was a bust.”
“What the hell…” Ed shook his head. “Mate, this was the best birthday I’ve ever had! Cake, presents and you. What else could I want?”
Stede chose to ignore the fact that it had been his only birthday celebration and he really didn’t have a basis for comparison.
Then he remembered. “Oh, presents! I have something for you. From me.” He got up and brought back a small package wrapped in brown paper.
“Okay, but after this, I have something important I have to talk to you about.” Edward turned the package over in his hands and examined it.
“Of course. Gift first!” Stede insisted.
“I’m guessing it’s not a new sword.” Ed teased.
Stede moved over to join him on the settee. “Open it, silly.”
He removed the brown paper to find two small wooden boxes. Stede watched with excitement. He opened the first box. “A ring… with an E for Edward.” He smiled broadly. “It’s perfect!”
Stede nodded. “Open up the other one.”
“It's another ring… with an S on it. You gave me a ring for you?” he seemed bewildered by the gift.
“Matching rings for each of us that I was hoping we could exchange as wedding rings. If you’ll have me of course.” Stede got down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Edward Teach?”
Edward chuckled. “I said I had something to talk to you about…once the gift opening was done…” Stede remained on his knee awaiting his answer, wondering where he was going with this. “Well, during the storm, I kept thinking - if we survive this fucking thing I am marrying that man. So I planned to ask you myself tonight.”
Stede laughed. “Great minds think alike.”
“Now get off your knee and get up here and kiss me. Of course I’ll marry you, you maniac. I love you.”
“And I love you, you wonderful, beautiful man.”
~~
A tentative knock on the cabin door woke Stede who had fallen asleep in Edward’s arms on the settee. Both men were well and truly exhausted.
“Enter!” he called out.
Lucius entered hesitantly. “Captains, I am so sorry to disturb you.”
“No, no, Lucius. What’s up?” Stede smiled at him.
“Well, boss, everyone is really tired but they’d like for you to read to them for a little while.”
Stede smiled. “Did you volunteer to come ask?”
“Short straw, captain.”
That brought a laugh from both of the other men.
“Of course, Lucius. Give me just a few minutes and I’ll be out.”
“Thank you!” he ducked back out of the door and closed it.
“So what do you think is going on between Lucius and Izzy?” Edward said when he was certain Lucius was out of earshot.
“I was going to ask you the same thing! I’ve never seen Mr. Hands show concern for anyone but you! You know, Lucius did recently give Mr. Hands a very lovely knife as a gift.”
Edward stared at Stede. “He…what? Okay, this is going to be interesting.”
~~
Stede and Edward stepped out onto the deck to applause. Edward surveyed the deck. Everyone was there, even Izzy.
“No, no… please. It’s us who should be applauding you!” Stede protested. The group settled down.
“Crew,” Stede continued. “I can’t say enough about the jobs you did today. You kept your heads about you and performed wonderfully. I’ve never been more proud.” Stede and Edward applauded the crew.
“And I would be remiss if I did not recognize the absolutely stunning navigation skills of Mr. Hands and Mr. Buttons. We truly have them to thank for being here alive and well.” Everyone cheered, yelled and applauded. Edward clapped Izzy on the back.
“Well done, guys,” Ed added.
Stede moved to sit down with the crew. He went to open the book he carried as Edward cleared his throat.
“Crew, we have an announcement to make. And since you are our family, we’d like you all to be the first to know.”
Lucius practically jumped up and cheered because he had a pretty good idea of what was coming. He’d seen the rings.
Edward hesitated, trying to think of a way of saying it that would be special. He thought, how would Stede put this? After a moment of anticipatory silence, he just blurted out, “Stede and I are getting married.”
General pandemonium broke out amongst the crew. They were hugging Stede and shaking Edward’s hand. The only person not celebrating the announcement was Izzy Hands. He stood with his arms crossed, watching the crew with an unreadable expression on his face. Edward stepped out of the revelry and went to him.
“Izzy, I hope you can be happy for me,” Edward said to him quietly, trying not to be overheard. “I’m fucking over the moon, man. Never been this happy about anything.”
“Then I’m happy for you I guess. I still don’t think he’s good for you Ed. He distracts you. But I kind of figured out what was coming… I was there when he ordered the rings.” Izzy gave him a sad look.. He leaned in. “I still don’t like him, Edward, but for you, I promise not to kill him. On purpose.”
Ed gave Izzy an awkward hug. “Thank you, man. That means a lot to me.” He then went off to sit next to Stede, laying his head down in his lap. Stede looked down and smiled at him, gently pushing the strands of hair off his face. The announcement had been a surprise to him and he was awash in happiness. Then he looked up at the crew.
“Tonight we’re reading the story of Beauty and the Beast,” Stede began as the crew settled in.
~~~
Izzy volunteered for the first watch to give Buttons a chance to rest. While not a kid anymore, he was certainly younger than his co-first mate and it seemed the right thing to do. He briefly considered that he might be getting soft in his middle age.
Lucius also took first watch. He felt it was the least he could do, having been afforded the ‘luxury’ of being below deck during the storm. Most of the crew fell asleep before Stede finished the first chapter of the book. Everyone was wide awake while the adrenaline was still coursing through their systems but crashed hard once they could relax.
He moved to stand next to Izzy at the helm. It wasn’t common for the crew to be up there but he felt comfortable taking certain liberties as the ship’s scribe who accompanied Captain Bonnet wherever he went. He looked at Izzy expectantly.
“I suppose I should thank you for my present.” Izzy said, emotionless.
“Oh, that silly thing?” Lucius teased. “It was nothing.”
“Yeah, well, I like it. It’s… nice.” Izzy seemed to have trouble finding the right words. He stood awkwardly making sure to keep his distance from the other man, not looking at him.
There was silence for a moment, making Izzy wonder what the hell Lucius wanted.
Lucius blurted out, “You’ve never called me by my name before.”
“Had to make sure you knew I was addressing you, fucker. The entire crew was on deck.”
“No, no they weren’t. I was the only person standing there.”
“Look, twat, don’t read anything into it. We were going into a storm and my mind was on preparing to keep the ship in one piece.”
“You were worried about me.”
“No, you’re a shit sailor. Don’t know bow from stern. Didn’t want you getting in anyone’s way.”
Lucius stared at him. “You really do like me, don’t you?”
“Good god you are an insufferable ass. I tolerate you. There’s a difference. Now piss off before I throw you overboard myself.”
“Aye, First Mate Hands,” Lucius teased as he left the quarterdeck. Izzy watched him go and then very purposely looked away in the event that the idiot turned back around.
Izzy swore he would never put himself in this position again. He promised himself. Better that he was a miserable bastard who didn’t let anyone close enough to hurt him. He looked up again to see Lucius climbing up to the nest.
“What the hell am I doing?” he muttered.
~The End… for now~