Chapter Text
Being in Nassau isn't my favorite place to be nowadays but it's a necessary evil of being a pirate.
The town itself used to flourish but now the entire island smells of piss and shit. The place the lot of us worked so hard to build up now sits in the rubble of its past self.
In one week Kenway and Thatch are off to find some medicines sunk in a shipwreck. Until that time Nassau will stay a home for thieves and heathens too drunk to stand on there own two feet and men and women too sick to breathe properly.
I've always wondered if it could have turned out different. Once I joined the assassins I had no time to play around with the drunkards. You can't run a town when all the citizens want to do is drink, sleep, and repeat.
I'm stuck here for the next three days on repairs for damage my ship suffered while taking a man-o-war owned by a known Templar associate, who has been using his ship to spread Templar influence. To my mates this is a feat in its own. Especially because my ship is only a schooner.
I've already visited the bureau and sent word to Tulum about my target. Now I'll just have to wait.
If anything, I'm happy to get to meet with my mates for the first time in awhile. All of them. In good timing too. I've heard rumors of a pardon that is about to be offered to any pirate who wants one. This may be the last time I sees them all alive.
I've never been very close with Ben. He reminds me of a man stuck between want and need. But Thatch and Kenway have always been close to me. I even trusted Edward will my true identity. I bloody well better trust him. He means something to me even if I can't admit it.
I also wouldn't mind seeing another person on this island. A pretty redhead who might make another attempt to make it into my bed.
The bright Caribbean sun has long since fallen over the island and the only sounds to be heard are the sounds of music and laughter from the beach by the docks. It's comforting to me. Hearing the sounds i've come to love. The people I care about.
A light smile spreads across my face. It's been awhile since I've seen any of them.
My footsteps are silenced by the soft sand lining the coast, where the land touches the sea. Ahead, the beach is illuminated by the orange and yellow glow of fire and around it nine figures sit drinking and being merry.
Thatch, Ben, Vane, Rackham, Anne, Ade, and Kenway. Two more women sit with them clearly just as sauced as they are.
"Kidd!" Thatch cheers as the I step into the ring of light.
"Nice to see ya Thatch." I say sincerely. "Nice to see you all really."
Only a few acknowledge my presents but that's how I would rather have it. I would rather just watch the night fade away. A short, fully endowed girl leans on Edwards shoulder and plays with his short blonde ponytail. At the sound of my name he looks up quickly and smiles. I nod to the girl beside him, thinking of the better things he could be doing with that money but it's his life to live not mine.
I take my place on the log beside him, content with just watching them be merry drunks.
Anne and Rackham go back to talking in hushed whispers and sly grins while Vane continues his drunken grumbling and slobbering all over the drunken woman at his side. Rum is flowing freely. Empty bottles are scattered across the ground and unopened ones are not in short supply
"Heard you took a man-o-war Master Kidd. Quite a feat." Ade commends as he hands me a corked bottle.
"Cost me ship quite a bit of damage though." I pull the cork out with my teeth and spit it into the sand by my feet.
I only take a small sip of the strong alcohol, not wanting to get pissed but instead relax for once.
"Come on Jim." Edward laughs. "You can do better than that."
He pats me on the shoulder but his hand lingers for a moment too long before falling back to where it was resting on his bottle that has barely been touched.
"Not in the mood to get pissed Kenway. By the looks of it you aren't either." I cast him a smirk but instead of a rebuttal he lets out a deep sigh.
"Aye."
He doesn't elaborate and that makes me worried. I've never seen him like this. I would have expected that he would be the drunkest of the lot.
"James." Anne calls. She is clearly more than pissed. She climbs into my lap and buries her head in my neck.
I glance over to see Rackham passed out, face down in the sand. Thatch whistles loudly and Ben claps clearly amused by the drunken antics.
Edward says nothing though. He looks like he clenches his jaw but it could just be the way the fire casts shadows on his features.
"Take me to bed James." She whispers seductively, with her warm breath hitting my ear.
"Okay lass."
I stand with one arm under Anne's knee and other under her shoulder, pulling her into my arms like a bride.
She buries her head into my shoulder and kisses the cloth there.
"Have fun Kidd." Thatch laughs and shoots me a wink that I brush off with disinterest.
I start my walk to the tavern with Anne mumbling incoherent slurs in my ear.
I feel bad for the poor girl. She is in love with a man who is almost always drunk and i've played her for a fool. I can never be the person Anne thinks I am.
We reach the door to Anne's room at the back of the tavern. I turn the knob but the door is locked.
"Anne, where's your key?" I ask softly, rousing her from her nap.
She motions for me to put her down and she stands on wobbly legs. "If you want the key you have to get it." Her Irish lilt thickening to point it becomes hard to understand.
I roll my eyes at her attempt. "Where is it, lass?"
She places her hand down the front of her shirt and looks at me expectantly. "You're so handsome James." She coos. "I want you for myself tonight."
"Anne you're my friend, nothing more nothing less. What about Rackham?" I just need to talk some sense into her. I don't want to hurt her unintentionally and not realize what I've done.
"He's a good man but I wouldn't mind having you... just once." The redhead walks closer until she's pressed flush against me.
"Not tonight Anne." I sigh as I place a hand on the side of her face. "You mean too much to me."
A look of acceptance flashes across Anne's features. She smiles and steps back cautiously, reaching into her blouse and fishing out a worn key that she hands to me.
I unlock the door and usher her inside, leading her around the small table to her bed and guiding her onto her back.
"I'm tired." Anne whines.
I laugh softly and pull the blanket over her. "Get some sleep lass. We'll talk in the morning."
I stand and walk to the door but I'm stopped by Anne's voice. "You're a good friend James."
I nod and with one last smile, exit the room making sure to lock the door behind me. I walk back to the fire where I sat before. Thatch, Ben, Rackham, and Vane are all passed out. Ade is probably too drunk to remember his name at this point but Kenway is nowhere to be found. The whore from before lays sprawled out in the sand. I can't help but smile at that.
I crouch down in front of Ade and he gives me a lopsided smile. "Kidd, so soon?" He jokes.
I scoff at the quartermaster. "Didn't sleep with her, mate. Now do you know where Kenway went?"
He thrust the bottle up to his lips and takes a long drink before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Kenway?" It takes him a moment before he processes his thoughts and remembers who it is I'm talking about. "H-he walked off towards the Jack after y-you left."
I pat the man on the shoulder. "Thanks Ade."
I head off away from the fire in the direction of the docks. The only sounds are those of the water lapping against the ship's hulls.
Moments like this make me remember why I do what I do. I'm free. Yes, I have to pretend to be a man to gain the respect I have and I lie, steal, and kill on a daily basis but that's the price of freedom in this life.
I climb up the hull of The Jackdaw, nodding to the men Edward has set on watch. The ship is silent. I walk over to the doors of Edward's captains cabin and knock on the wooden door, waiting for an answer to come from the other side.
"Who in the bloody hell is it?" Edward's voice yells back.
"It's James, you lout!" I call back. Now that he knows I'm a woman I can't let him believe I'm anything less than the pirate he's always known.
The door opens and Edward steps aside to let me in and closes the door behind me.
He looks disheveled. His hair is let down like it almost never is and his robes have been cast aside leaving him in just his white undershirt and a plain pair of trousers.
"Nice seeing you Mary." He teases. I return a glare to him and he laughs. "Come on lass. You're safe with me."
I consider it. Maybe he will open up if I show him I really do trust him.
I grab the knot of the red bandana and pull it off, letting my brown locks fall onto my shoulders. I shrug off my great coat and reach under the linen shirt to pull off the binding, which I place on his map covered desk. With the few buttons of my shirt undone, I take a seat at his desk and he sits across from me.
"Now, would you please tell me why you're so down and out. It's not like you." The irritation in my voice is clear but he can hear concern that I didn't mean to express.
He takes a deep breath as if he could release his troubles with it. "I was thinking about my wife."
I stay silent to let him elaborate. I knows how much his wife means to him and her acceptance means even more.
"I was never a very good husband." He stays looking at his desk, ashamed of himself.
"I would have never guessed." I say sarcastically, which causes him to crack a smile, that is again replaced with a calculating, grim look.
"She deserves better than someone like me. A sheep farmer turned pirate."
I shake my head. "She probably did, but there is nothing you can change now. All you can do is hope that if you go back she will want you again."
"I said two years." He says softly but his expression furrows into one of disgust. "Two years and to tell you the truth I don't know how long it's been."
"I'm sorry mate. I truly am."
I know the feeling. The feeling you've lost someone and have no chance of getting them back but in his case he might.
He reaches into his desk and pulls out a bottle of red wine. He hands it to me after taking a long drink himself.
I can't help but feel sympathetic towards him.
"Do you have some lad waiting for you?" The question seems innocent but it tears open a scar in my heart.
"No." I look down at the bottle in my hands. I can't even meet his gaze. I drown the shame in large gulp of the alcohol. It's going to make this conversation a lot easier. "I was married."
"What... What happened?" He stutters. He reaches across the table and places his hand over mine.
I pull away from him and place my hand back on the bottle. "He was killed in a small battle against the Spanish. Not everyone has been as lucky as we have."
"I'm sorry Mary. I shouldn't have brought it up." His hand retreats from the tabletop.
I can't help but wonder about his want to comfort me.
"You're fine. If you can tell me about your wife I can tell you about my husband." I take another gulp of the wine and hand it back to Edward who has the same idea.
I feel warmth spread from their head to their toes and a lightness washes over me. The drink is finally hitting.
"To lost loves." Edward toasts. We take turns taking another drink together. I can't help but to notice how alone he must feel. I have a cause, a purpose but he has no one but his ship, his crew, and dream that will lead him down a path he shouldn't venture.
A tipsy smile spreads across Edwards chiseled features. "When did you start dressing as a man? I know why you do it but how did it start?"
A smirk spreads across my face. I don't think I've ever told this story before. I collect my thoughts not finding this story as sad as I once did. "I am a bastard. I didn't lie about that. My mum was married to a man who gave her a son named Mark. My brother. Her husband died and she got pregnant by some drunk she would never see again. That babe was me. My mother moved to hide her pregnancy from Mark's grandmother. He passed of some aliment soon after I was born. We were only a year apart so mother had this idea to raise me as Mark and have me collect his inheritance. I was around five when I saw the woman. She didn't think twice. I lived as Mark Read from my very first year until I became a pirate and changed it to James Kidd. I didn't want to carry the name of my dead brother anymore." I keep a smile the entire time, thinking how much my life sounds like a story of unfortunate events.
He gives me a wide eyed look of surprise that I laugh at. "What did you think? That I ran away from home so I didn't have to marry a man I didn't love, or did you think I liked the taste of adventure and snuck onto a ship?"
The furrowed look of surprise slowly melts into a smile, one that causes my stomach to do flips. "That's one of the bravest things I've heard."
I don't know if it's the alcohol or something more sincere, but my heart skips a beat. It wasn't some cheap compliment like one about beauty or physical things. It was about who I am and who I've become.
"Real sap you are." I joke. "I did what I had to do, but I don't think i'd be a very good tavern wench or courtesan for that matter. Even though Anne has defied all the stereotypes of being a barmaid."
I glance down at the bottle in my hands. It's already almost gone.
He grins like he found free gold. "I don't know Mary. I couldn't see you as a tavern wench but you would be a very successful courtesan."
"Why is that?" I challenge with a matching grin. What is he playing at?
"Why wouldn't you be?" He avoids the question all together.
I roll my eyes at the daft man. "No one wants a woman with small tits, who's covered in scars and tattoos, walking around in trousers and boots."
He leans closer and lets his fingertips trace the scar over my eye. His touch is soft and loving, something I'm not used to. I almost pull back at the unusual feeling but still myself. I'm more curious about his behavior than I am about keeping my distance.
"Your scar suits you nicely... and as does your tattoo." His eyes glance down at the tattoo placed right below my collar bone. Then his gaze moves down further to my breasts with a dangerous glint in his blue eyes. The look he gives me next, so filled with lust and adoration, reveals exactly what he's thinking.
"Like teenage boys now?" I raise an eyebrow as his hand cups the side of my face.
He responds by grabbing my hand with his free one and pulls me to stand. He leans closer and without thinking i match his actions. The only thing between us is Edward's wooden desk.
My hands travel across the stubble on his cheeks and slowly wrap around to the back of his head, pulling him in that final distance.
It feels natural. His lips pressed tightly against mine. The taste of wine, salt, and sea present on both of us.
I lick his lips with the end of my tongue and he parts his, letting me take control of the kiss. His hands tangle in my hair as mine stroke his cheek, trying to remember ever dip, scar, and bump. This won't likely happen again.
I pull back slowly making him lean farther and farther over the desk to keep his lips on mine. It soon becomes impossible and I leave a small peck on his lips before stepping out of his arms.
"Goodnight Edward." I say slyly as I redo my shirt quickly and throw up my hair leaving him confused and visibly aroused.
As soon as I'm out of the room I breathe in deeply still trying to catch my breath from the thing I refuse to call a kiss.
I walk briskly back to my ship, hoping we're drunk enough to forget but knowing we each only had half a bottle.