Work Text:
I thought I heard the Old Man say:
“Leave her, Johnny, leave her”.
Tomorrow you will get your pay
And it’s time for us to leave her.
Edward stopped on his tracks when he heard the voice singing. He listened for a few seconds, until he recognized the voice and the song. It was one of the many shanties his crew sang when he still had the Jackdaw.
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don’t blow.
And it’s time for us to leave her.
Edward started to walk slowly, once he learned that the voice was coming from Haytham’s room. He stopped at the door and look through the gap it had and listened in silence.
Oh, the wind was foul, and the sea ran high
“Leave her, Johnny, leave her!”
She shipped it green and none went by
And it’s time for us to leave her.
She was walking from side to side, with little Haytham in her arms, calming him to sleep, apparently, while singing him one of the shanties his crew sang what he felt were centuries ago.
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her.
He stayed there, admiring and hearing her. For a few seconds, he closed his eyes, and imagine it again. The he was again at the Jackdaw, sailing in the vast blue Caribbean Sea, with a bottle of rum in one hand and the other at the wheel. Edward remembered the hot wind hitting him, the hot Caribbean sun, the smoothing way his ship moved when she was at the sea. He remembered all and he felt old.
I hate to sail on this rotten tub
“Leave her, Johnny, leave her!”
No grog allowed and rotten grub
And it’s time for us to leave her.
Edward sighed and when he opened his eyes, he focused them in her and his son. The fire was marking her silhouette, something that made him though of the first time he met her. He though she was a man, but then it turned out that she was the fairest, stubbornness and bravest female pirate (besides Anne, of course) he had ever known. That made him smile because it was the best day of his life, but he didn’t know back then.
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her.
He didn’t know back them, and it took him a few years and a few mistakes to get it, but when he did, he was hell sure that he wasn’t letting her go. And that’s mainly the reason why he was there today, in one piece, with two daughters and a little fellow who came a little while ago and was causing some nightly problems.
We swear by rote for want of more
“Leave her, Johnny, leave her!”
But now we’re through so we’ll go on shore
And it’s time for us to leave her.
Edward crossed his arms over his chest and stayed there, using the wall as support while he heard her sing like there wasn’t no one else near to listen.
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
Oh, leave her Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her.
When he was sure that the song ended, he smiled and decided to open the door completely and so he found her putting the baby, who was finally sleep, in the crib. She signed relived and then her words surprise him.
“Don’t ya dare say something, Kenway. I knew ya were there”, he smiled, knowing that she was referring to her singing and not surprise of her knowing he was there from the beginning. They were Assassins after all. Mary hated to sing, but he though that it was decent enough and Haytham apparently like it.
“Aye, Captain”, he said and when she turned around, they look at each other for a few moments before they cracked a smile to each other. “C’mere, Captain Kenway. Better nurse ya to sleep too”, he stretched a hand to her, and she took it chuckling a little.