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Stede had known, when he’d come out here, that there was a possibility of something like this happening.
It’s part of why he chose to run away and become a pirate, of all things, alongside his general admiration of the trade.
He’d always know there was something… different about him growing up. And he’s fairly certain his father had known too, unless those awful conversations they’d had had been inspired by everything else wrong with him. Probably his schoolmates and his wife, too. He’d never been particularly good at completely hiding it.
And he was fine with it! Hell, he’d hired Lucius of all people, and that man was about as subtle as a brick to the head.
But still.
It was taking Stede a while to adjust to the idea that the person he wanted might want him back, and that that was a good thing rather than something to hide.
***
The first time Stede had caught Ed watching him, he hadn’t been sure what to make of it.
It’d been right when Blackbeard first came aboard, when their friendship was still very transactional and he’d felt like Izzy was breathing down his neck at every moment.
Ed had looked at him like he was a curiosity, a wonder, and he’d never stopped.
***
Part of him felt like Ed couldn’t really be looking at him like that. More… the idea of him. What he represented.
It was clear from their interactions that Ed was fascinated by the everyday oddities of the upper crust. Even if he still glared at table settings like he had a personal vendetta against them, he paid perfect attention to every little detail Stede spilled about his former life, whether purposefully or not.
So really, Ed’s careful gaze had to be about his former status, rather than any personal interest.
But it still made his breath hitch in his throat every time that he noticed it.
***
On the days where he felt a little kinder to himself, he remembered the night of their failed fancy outing.
The night had been a mess from start to finish, a reminder of his constant failure to fit into this life, and seeing how Ed had gone from thriving to flopping had only made his own wounds deeper. But the memory of how happy the grizzled pirate had seemed to be at fitting into this environment that was so foreign to him, and then his stunned face at the results of Stede’s ‘passive aggression’ towards the guests, well.
They almost made the night worth it.
***
(What had made the night worth it had come after, but Stede rarely let himself think of it. For just a moment, though, he’d really thought that Ed was going to—)
***
Then, of course, things got weird between them.
They’d seemed to reach a settled peace, at first, after Ed’s confession and Izzy’s less than willing departure from the ship.
Not immediately after, mind you, but that seemed to be because Ed was still stuck in his traditional piracy mindset. Sure, having two captains wasn’t exactly traditional, and they probably had less adventure than Ed was used to, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t stick around.
The treasure map adventure was probably less well planned than it needed to be, but that was fine.
It had worked, after all.
***
Stede had immediately hated Calico Jack, and for good bloody reason.
He had no right to swan up to their ship and mess with the precarious balance he’d achieved. And he hated the way Ed acted around him, like being a macho pirate was all that mattered now, so different to his friendship with Stede.
Lucius was right, he was being bitchy, but it was his God-given right to be so, and he was going to use it.
When Ed had actually left the ship, left to follow Jack rather than stay with him, well. That had quelled all the thoughts that maybe he hadn’t been reading that gaze wrong after all.
***
(He still didn’t know what had been worse— The casual assumption that they must be fucking, or how desperately he wished it was true.)
***
And now they were here.
In a holding cell together.
Off to certain death.
Ed had already apologised, in that uncomfortable way all pirates Stede had met seemed to:
(“Look, I know— I know I said I never left, but we both know that’s not true, I definitely did leave there, and possibly would’ve left for good if Jack hadn’t told me what was happening and the part he played in it all, and for that— That was. Not great of me. I’m. Sorry about that. Was bad thinking on my part.”)
And he had graciously accepted:
(“All is forgiven, Ed— You came back, and that’s the important bit.”)
But that didn’t help them with any escape plans, and Ed was looking at him again.
“Are you quite alright?” He ended up asking, and Ed laughed.
“Am I— Am I alright?”
Stede huffed.
“Well, it’s polite to ask. I know the circumstances aren’t stellar, but that doesn’t mean I can’t check in with you when something seems to be wrong.”
Ed shook his head in apparent disbelief, but that didn’t stop whatever that particular emotion was from growing stronger in his eyes.
“Only you, Stede,” he murmured. “Only you.”
All of a sudden, Stede noticed just how close Ed was getting to him. He’d obviously shuffled over at some point, the chains connecting them to the wall allowing for a surprisingly generous range of movement, but the main fact sticking out in his mind was how dry his throat was all of a sudden.
“You— You didn’t answer my question, you realise,” Stede managed, and Ed grinned.
“I’m about to be fucking wonderful,” he replied, then their lips met in a kiss.
***
The first thing Stede noticed was that Ed had surprisingly soft lips, considering the piracy and the infamous beard.
The second thing he noticed was that it was, in fact, fucking wonderful to be kissing someone who he actually wanted to kiss.
He’d tried, of course, with Mary, but neither of them had ever been interested in each other. They’d done what was necessary to produce the expected heir, but that was it.
And he’d have worried about the distinct disparity in experience, about Jack’s smirking ‘Did I hit a nerve’ and all the other people Ed had surely bedded over the years, but as it turned out, there wasn’t time for that panic.
All he could think about was Ed.
The movement of Ed’s lips against his own, the scratch of his beard against his chin. The pleased noise he made when Stede opened up his mouth a little, and the wet swipe of his tongue against the seam of their lips.
In a perfect world, Stede would’ve been able to tangle his hands in that wild mop of hair, maybe tug on it a little like he’d been ashamedly daydreaming about pretty much since meeting the man.
But it wasn’t a perfect world, so he had to settle for what he got.
He hadn’t been expecting the distinct sound of a cannonball smashing into the ship to be what broke their first kiss, though.
***
“What,” Stede panted wetly. “What the hell was that?”
“The kissing, or the cannonball?” Ed asked. “Because I feel like the kissing’s been a long time coming.”
Stede blushed, resisting the urge to rejoin their lips.
“No, I— I know what the kissing was. The cannonball, I meant.”
Ed shrugged, looking as dazed as Stede felt.
“All we can do is hope that whoever it is will be inclined to rescue us if they search the ship,” he replied. “And maybe make out more while we’re waiting to find out.”
“Is that— Is that really wise?” Stede worried, and Ed smiled fondly.
“Love, we’re stuck here no matter what. We don’t even know if they’ll board the ship in the first place, let alone find us down here. If we’re going to go down, I’d rather go down having spent my last moments kissing the hell out of you.”
Stede felt his heart skip a beat, and he was sure his eyes were blown wide.
“I—” he started, words failing him, and when Ed just waited patiently for him to collect his thoughts instead of trying to rush him, he didn’t stop himself from leaning in and connecting their lips once more.
***
“You two seem to have sorted yourselves out,” a familiar voice called out, after what felt like an eternity and no time at all.
The noises they could hear had faded into the background as they continued to kiss, but some part of Stede had noted that they’d dropped down slightly a few minutes prior. They disconnected themselves at the interruption, and Stede willed himself not to blush as he looked back to see Jim waiting patiently by their cell, familiar knife in hand.
“Jim?” He found himself asking, surprised despite himself. “When did— How did you get here?”
They shrugged, even as they busied themselves with unlocking the cell.
“Me and Spanish Jackie came to a… truce of sorts. And when I found out what had happened to you guys, I convinced her to help.”
“Well, I am very grateful to you for that. I know I haven’t always been the best captain in the world.”
“You can be a bit shit,” they agreed. “But you do your best. Anyway, Blackbeard actually knows what he’s doing and he’s in here with you, so I’d need to rescue you anyway.”
He and Ed met eyes once again, both grinning, and Jim walked forwards to unlock their individual restraints.
“You ready to get out of here?” Ed asked, and Stede leaned in to steal one last kiss.
“Now I am.”