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“I uhm… I’ll go get someone,” Lucius pats him gently on the arm, tone pitying with an edge of respect. “You keep breathin’.”
“Thank you. Please. It’s been a while.” Stede laments, already expecting nothing to come from this exchange. Hell, it’s been over 2 hours since he’s been trapped here and the crew has managed to party and have a funeral without them being bothered in the slightest. Maybe he’s been truly decorative to them this whole time… Looking around, he finds himself abandoned on deck.
Head falling backwards he finally allows the exhale to leave him as sharply as his own sword. He’s felt like he’s been holding his breath this whole time, trying not to show himself for who he really is. Lily-livered. The term strikes him like a slap from the past and he gasps in pain. “…Fuck me. Stede what are you doing?” He whispers, shifting his aching arm to keep the sword straight. Stede can feel himself sinking.
He’s not sure when his eyes close, but he welcomes the dark.
The kicker of all this is that he had just started feeling better from the last time he was stabbed. Now that struggle is going to start all over again. Stiffly walking up the stairs, having to hide winces when dealing with the ladder, standing in place for long hours at a time to still show his head high…
His knees are shaking with fatigue now and he feels like he’s drowning.
———
“Look at how nice the texture is.” Lucius gushes to the table. The crew has piled down below post-Fuckery/Party/Funeral, ready to settle in for sleep after a successful night. The day is a little too chilly for sleeping on the deck, plus a lot of them have just sort of passed out where their drink bested them. The only ones seemingly awake are Oluwande and Jim. Both are splitting an orange and sharing a look.
“Hope it fits.”
“Sí, it’d be a shame if it was too tiny. Gotta wait for your nub to stop swelling.” They gesture to his bandage, “Gotta stop bleedin’ too. Don’t wanna lose the whole hand to a splinter.”
Lucius cringes at the mention, “Hey, give me time to mourn woulda? Look, I just think it’s very sweet… Charming even. I don’t see anyone whittling you limbs, Jim.” He’s almost petulant. Jim takes a bite of orange slice and points the rind at Lucius.
“I got all my limbs, so go fuck yourself, mi amigo.” They smirk at the audible offended gasp.
Oluwande chuckles and pops another slice into his mouth, “So ‘ows the Captain doin’ anyway? You think he’ll be stuck in his quarters as long as last time? Would be nice to dock somewhere for a bit. See if Buttons can get us to some better beach.”
The silence he’s met with causes him to look up from the remnants of his orange. It seems in this moment, Lucius remembers why he came down here.
“Oh shit. Shitshitshitshit!” Lucius scrambles up and in the same instance the other two as well.
“You just left ‘im up there???” Olu exclaims;incredulous. “It’s been hours, Lucius! Oh fuckin' Blackbeard is gonna kill you.”
“I was distracted! Plus, I didn’t see you fucking rushing to his aide either, dick.” Lucius doesn’t manage to dodge the swat from Jim. “Ow!”
“Silencio, pendejo. Mirada.” They hold their arm out, blocking the two from entering the light of day. Keeping to the shadows of the doorway, they nod towards the leather clad figure currently holding Stede’s face up.
It’s the sad end to an era, he decides, as he leaves his spot on the bow of the ship. He watched Izzy row as far as he could bear it before deciding it be best to turn in for the day. He’s ready to curl up on Stede’s couch to keep watch just in case Izzy decides to come back. Plus, he’s sure Stede will want the company as he recovers.
Noting the empty deck, he sees the crew had a similar thought. Buttons is the only one steering, and chatting with a seagull that sits upon the wheel. He giggles, “Ha. Love that we have a bird guy.”
The small bliss is disrupted, however, by the horror that greets him as he rounds the sail.
What the fuck?
It’s Stede.
He hadn’t expected him to still be up, let alone pinned to the mast.
“What the fuck? They didn’t break you off of there yet?”
His query is met with silence. And then Stede is slumping.
Edward leaps forward, “Oh shit!” he grips Stede’s shoulders firmly to keep him from putting his full weight on the blade. “Hey! Heyheyheyhey, Stede. Mate. Wake up. Come on.”
He wraps his arm around Stede’s shoulders so that they’re almost hugging, the broken hilt of the blade pressing into Ed’s stomach. His other hand comes up to gently pat Stede’s face. How did this happen? He was fine just a couple hours ago…
‘-Stede wins!’
The cheers of the crew fall on deaf ears as Edward looks Stede up and down. The Captain takes a triumphant drink from the bottle Buttons hands him and then Edward’s feet are moving without his permission. He gently rests his hand on Stede’s shoulder, the other hovering over the broken hilt.
“Thanks, Buttons.” Stede dismisses the man with a small smile before taking another sip from the bottle.
“You alright?” Edward whispers to Stede, looking up at him. Stede looks down at Edward with a tight yet fond expression.
“Never better. Go keep Israel in check, the crew’ll take me down.” Stede gently orders. Edward obliges, only because he knows Stede needs the win for the respect of his crew.
He never would have if this was how Edward was going to find him.
“Shitowfuck-” Stede jerks awake with a gasp, uninjured arm reaching up to grip Blackbeards shoulder tightly. “Ed! Ed. Hi. Sorry, dozed off a bit there. A cold wind like this always makes me tired.”
“What happened?” Edward asks, searching Stede’s face for pain and finding it behind a well placed polite smile.
“Oh time just uh… got away from everyone… it’s fine. It’s fine.” He wheezes in return. “Sorry, I’m really try to bear my own weight here. It’s just I haven’t… really gotten my stamina back yet-”
Edward can’t hear the rest through the sound of blood rushing through his ears. This is his fault. He should have intercepted Izzy. Stede had just recovered.
This is a set back. What kind of friend lets this happen?
“-might be still feeling the effects of the alcohol-”
“Shut up.”
“What?” Ed cringes as his eyes dart to Stede’s face, finding that he’s kicked the pup on this one.
“Sorry sorry. It’s just- I need you to hold onto me and keep standing up straight. I can’t reach my gun if I’m holding you at the same time.” His forehead comes to rest against Stede’s, who lets out a soft pained sigh.
“Right, right, right, sorry- Are you going to shoot the blade or are you just going to put me out of my misery?”
“Ha ha.” Ed drawls dryly, already working it off his belt.
“Are they making out? It looks like they’re making out.” Lucius murmurs, tucked under Jim’s arm after they grabbed him in a chokehold to save his hide. They’re sure Blackbeard would not be happy to see him right now.
“If they are, I don’t think we should be watching.” Olu mutters, tucked against Jim’s other arm almost fondly.
“Why not?” Jim mutters, squinting at the scene.
“Well for starters, they’re our captains-”
“That’s sexy though-” Lucius interjects.
“And second, one of them’s pinned to the mast. Pretty fucked, guys.” Olu grumbles.
“I just don’t think you have very adventurous thoughts, Olu.”
“They’re not making out.”
“What’s he doin’ then.”
“Oh- I see no-”
A loud crack resounds across the ship, followed by the sharp gasp of Stede Bonnet collapsing into Blackbeard’s arms. Jim can feel Lucius squealing and Olu trying to look respectively. It’s in that instance that Jim remembers where they are and starts to hustle the two backwards. “Rapido rapido!” Pivoting, they shove the men deeper into the ship as they hear Blackbeard start to pull the blade out of Stede. “Get Frenchie up, or Roach. Gogogogo Captain’s gonna be bleeding everywhere without help. Blackbeard’s fuckin’ pissed.”
“Careful please!” Stede’s voice goes up an octave, cracking at the end as Edward manages to tug out the broken blade in one very slow swoop. Stede gasps and collapses against him, trying to catch his breath as he clutches Edward’s shoulder straps. Both of them separately think how they wish this embrace was being had for a very different set of reasons and circumstances.
“You’re being very… brave.” Edward awkwardly reassures, feeling his own breathing start to ease now that the man is in his arms. Below the surface, the rage simmers.
“Wh-Why thank you. That wasn’t patronizing at all.” He replies with a wheeze, his hand immediately holding the front of his wound as Edward pushes down on the back. He can feel the blood seeping through his fingers, hot and sluggish.
Edward would chuckle fondly if it weren’t for Stede getting blood all over him.
“I’m really sorry about this. I should have stopped Iz.”
“No it’s quite alright. Honest. A captain needs to be dueled sometimes… Keeps him…” Stede inhales sharply as he struggles to straighten up, “Keeps him humble.”
“You’re incredible.” Ed rolls his eyes.
Just then, footsteps approach as both Roach and Frenchie stumble blearily onto deck, “Capt’ Lucius said you need us?”
“Yeah I got some bandages.” Roach pipes up, blinking awake at the sight of Blackbeard glaring them down. He offers them up in surrender but the Captain seems to be ignoring this particular white flag.
“Fucking took you lot long enough! Nearly three hours? Really? Fuckin’ embarrassing.” Blackbeard snarls at them, eyes sharp. The hiss falls short as Stede bumps his head gently against Edward’s shoulder.
“Hey, we can talk it out as a crew later, Ed. Cut the boys some slack, they needed their rest.”
Edward deflates and can’t help the exasperation in his tone, “Un-fuckin’believable. They’re not fuckin’ kids, Stede.”
“No, no they’re not. They’re my crew though, and I won’t-” He coughs weakly, “Won’t have you scolding them on my behalf, sweet as it is.”
Helping Stede to turn slightly, he faces the two crewmates that are now standing at rapt attention, their chests puffing out. Eyes darting behind them, he can make out Jim, Lucius, and Olu hovering in the doorway.
“Frenchie, Roach, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to stitch me up.” Stede notes with a nod. Blackbeard watches the two shipmates cringe sheepishly.
“C’mere and help your Captain keep his blood in his body, yeah? Chop chop!” Blackbeard barks out.
Edward carries him to his (Well it’s really their) quarters. It had taken both Roach, Frenchie, and he even thought he saw Olu, to help stitch him and patch him back together. The fever is already starting to set in and he feels kind of sticky.
“Stay awake a bit longer for me, yeah?” Ed says from so far away.
“I’m tryin’, honest, Ed.” He groans softly, cheek pressing against Edward’s bicep.
“Shh… Shh…” Comes the distracted consolation. His presence is a comfort. When he is set down on the bed, it is far gentler than Stede had expected.
“You’re a delight, you know that?”
Ed pauses mid motion to sitting beside him. “Aww c’mon, mate. You don’t mean that.”
“No I really do. I do mean it. You’re just the best and I’m really grateful to be your friend.” And when he says it, there is a such a heartfelt truth to his words. There’s an admiration that he recognizes as a similar fondness his mother’s voice had when she handed him his silk cloth.
“Stede.” He whispers.
Stede smiles, sinking deeper into the pillow. Edward can sense he’s falling unconscious. Reaching out, he gently rests a hand on Stede’s forehead, feeling the rising heat on his skin.
“I swear you don’t have the immune system for this life, mate.” He whispers with a sniffle, emotion tightening his throat.
Leaning back, he shifts so that he is settled in the chair beside Stede’s bed, preparing himself to watch for any signs of Stede taking a turn for the worst.
A gentle knock interrupts his ritualistic smoke and he casts a glance behind him. Lucius is shoved into the room by hands that can only have been attached to Jim. Stumbling in, the lad clutches his notebook to his chest and gives Blackbeard a sheepish grin.
“Uh… Blackbeard, sir-”
Lucius is roughly tossed into the auxiliary closet before he can even form a full sentence. His high pitched shriek for fear is cut off by Blackbeard’s hand over his mouth and a knife to his throat.
“Now listen here, boy.” He snarls, “The next time your Captain gives you an order, Hell, even a suggestion, you fucking do it. Got it? Immediately. No sidetrips.”
Lucius, quivering in his boots and eyes watering, nods almost violently.
“That man in there puts a lot of fuckin’ effort to keep you lot safe and in line, the least you can do is give him your loyalty. So the next time he’s fuckin’ hurt I better be the first one to know, got it?”
Something glints in Lucius’ eyes at that last part but again he nods with understanding. “So when I take my hand off your fuckin’ face, the next words better be ‘I apologize, Captain, it won’t happen again.’ got it? Then you can tell me why the fuck you decided to show your face in here.”
Lucius nods and so does Blackbeard, who then removes his hand.
“Forgive me, but can I just say that was so hot an-OW.” Lucius is cut off by a reprimanding strike to the temple, Edward rolling his eyes and groaning with exasperation.
“I apologize, Captain, it won’t happen again. Promise.”
“And I’ll be the first to know when he’s hurt.”
“And you’ll be the first to know when he’s hurt.”
“Good.” Edward nods with a small smile. “Now, what did you come down for?”
“Oh I was just going to ask if you wanted me to get a cool rag for the Captain?”
“Oh. Yeah. Yeah that’d be grand.” He claps a hand on Lucius’ shoulder, “Off you go then. I’ll be up to address the crew once Stede’s fever breaks.”
“Of course sir. Yes, sir.” And the little man hurries away, a grin breaking across his face at this new found information surrounding the two men. He glances at Stede’s sleeping figure with an eyebrow raise, before darting out to the hall.
Edward runs a hand through his hair and let’s out a long sigh. “This is gonna take some work.”
But that is something for a different day. Stede’s almost there with this crew, but he’ll need one last push to get them sorted out. Well, once he’s conscious. Edward worries that he’s stayed to long. That maybe his presence has shifted the power on the ship. The crew certainly respects Blackbeard, but not yet ‘the Gentleman Pirate’ it seems. Maybe he should move on to the next adventure…
His ears perk up as a soft, “Ed? Ed you still around?” Calls from the bedroom.
Edward pokes his head into the room and watches as Stede searches him out with his eyes. When they settle on him, the man relaxes. “Oh there you are. Sorry, dozed off.”
“Do you think you can stay awake long enough to get out of those clothes?”
“Uh… yeah. Yeah I think I can. Might need some help.”
“’Course.”
Edward darts back into the closet to collect a night gown and robe for him.
He can think about moving on another day.