Work Text:
Bonnet, S.
Again.
Edward Teach stared at the screen of his computer until his eyes stung dry. He felt like punching something—or rather, some one.
Stede fucking Bonnet, as his research student Izzy Hands liked to call.
Ed had never personally met the man, nor was he interested in meeting him anytime soon, but he knew of him, more than he would have wanted.
A snob professor from a high end university full of posh students who thought he had it all figured out.
Ed read the title of his latest paper again. A Gentle Betrayal: Factors That Have Affected Stede Bonnet’s “The Gentleman Pirate” Fall. Ed wanted to pull his hair, scream, maybe leave Bonnet a hate mail in the process. Because this is war.
He wasn’t paranoid, no, he wasn’t making things up.
Stede Bonnet wrote this pissy paper in response to his latest one.
Edward was fucking sure.
He knew that posting his paper, Life At Sea: Recurring Themes Throughout The Piracing Life Of the XVIII Century, would get backlash, especially since he had a whole segment discussing and antagonising The Gentleman Pirate. However, he hadn’t expected Bonnet to come up with a new paper so fast.
And it was thirty pages long.
This was by far the most eloquent ‘fuck you’ Ed had ever gotten.
He felt his soulmark itching, as it sometimes did when he got this riled up, and decided it was time to give himself a break from his personal Hell. Izzy was calling him, but Ed ignored all his calls. The last thing he needed right now was to get even more riled up.
Instead, he sent a quick message to Jackie.
From: Edward To: Jackie
Please tell me you guys are open tonight.
Since it was a weekday and Ed only ever went to Jackie’s bar on the weekends, he wasn’t sure about their weekday’s schedule, so before he got his hopes up and showed up to his friend’s bar only to find it closed, he decided to check.
From: Jackie To: Edward
You bet your ass.
He let out a relieved sigh and headed towards his bathroom, almost tripping on his cat while at it. Kraken was a little beast when hungry, and he had no remorse for making Ed stumble on a daily basis. In fact, Ed had the suspicion he quite enjoyed it.
But food would have to wait a few more minutes, however. A good warm shower was all Ed needed to completely relax and forget about stupid fucking Doctor Stede Bonnet.
Except, Edward never really could forget about Stede Bonnet, could he? Not the prissy professor with a doctorate, but the pirate. Naked, standing in front of his mirror, Ed’s eyes fell to the inside of his forearm, and, snuggled between his other tattoos, sat his soulmark. A skull above a tibia, a heart and a knife on each side of it.
His soul mark was Stede Bonnet’s pirate flag.
So no, he didn't dislike the pirate Stede Bonnet, or better, he disliked him equally as much as he disliked every other pirate. No bones to pick with The Gentleman Pirate.
His soulmark and Stede Bonnet were what got him into pirate studies. It was the inspiration he needed for his history major, his masters degree and his PhD on XVIII century piracy. Maybe he subconsciously thought getting into this area of study would help him understand both his soulmate and his mark. He fell in love with the subject almost instantly after getting into it, and he never regretted his choices once.
Except in moments like this when he had to deal with bitter (probably) old professors with nothing else to do with their lives. Ed smothered the rage growing in his chest and let the hot water fall on his face, instantly relaxing all his sore muscles.
After his shower, Ed filled Kraken's food bowl and left, hoping Jackie had something edible for him to eat at the bar. The trip down to Jackie's was short, since her place was just around the corner from his apartment.
"Oh good, you actually came," Jackie greeted him at the door, which was weird, since she mostly never left her own table by the far corner of the bar. "There's a fellow historian here that's boring my balls off, I need you to entertain him before I lose it."
"But–"
"Drinks are on me." Jackie raised her eyebrows.
"And a burger."
"Fine."
"With fries."
"Don't push it."
Ed narrowed his eyes, but accepted her terms. "Where's the chap?"
"There." She pointed with her prosthetic fingers to a table where a man sat by himself, drinking a bellini (good choice) and reading something on his phone. He wore a very vivid turquoise blazer that stuck out under the dim light of Jackie's bar.
But still, everything about him called Ed in. He seemed approachable, kind. Maybe this would be easier than Jackie made it sound.
"Do you mind if I join you, mate?" Ed asked, tapping down on the back of the chair on the opposite side from where the man sat.
The man looked up from his phone to Ed, then turned to look behind him.
"Are you talking to me?" He asked, incredible, and Ed smothered a soft chuckle.
"Yeah, you." Ed raised his eyebrows. "So, can I?"
"I—well, yes, of course! Please." He motioned with his hands to the chair and Ed sat, giving the stranger a polite smile.
“It’s your first time here?” Ed asked. He’d never seen him around before, although, differently from what Jackie would tell, Edward wasn’t that much of a regular. Not anymore, at least.
“Yes, actually. The name caught my eye because–”
“Spanish Jackie.” Ed blurted out, cutting the other man unintentionally in the midst of his excitement. “The infamous pirate?”
“Precisely.” The man’s eyes seemed to shine.
“That’s what got me stumbling into this hole in the wall the first time around, too.” Ed laughed.
“How nice,” the man started, smiling wide. Ed was a bit taken aback by how genuine he sounded. To a complete stranger. “A fellow pirate connoisseur.”
“I know a thing or two.” Ed shrugged, smirking. There was no need to bring out his PhD to one small conversation with a stranger, now, was there?
The man hunched forward, and his excitement on the subject sparked something inside Ed. Something nice, something new.
“Tell me about it.”
And once Ed started, he could hardly stop.
So he talked about pirates. Ed shared his favourite facts, some of his hypotheses, and loved how the stranger never seemed to get lost. He simply followed Ed, added his own two cents to the conversation. He made Ed laugh, to lose track of time.
By this point Ed’s food had been delivered and eaten, yet the conversation still flowed. Drinks were bought and drank, but the two of them kept on going like they’ve done this thousands of times before.
At least, it felt that way.
“Say.” The man leaned back against his chair, swooshing his drink in his glass without spilling a drop. Ed was amazed. “For someone who knows so much, you surely have a favourite pirate, don’t you?”
“Well,” Ed blinked, not sure how to answer that. “I do have a soft spot for one… you’ll probably laugh, though.”
“I promise I won’t,” he answered in full honesty (or at least what Ed understood and hoped was full honesty).
“Stede Bonnet.”
The stranger choked. Coughed. Took a deep breath.
“See, I told you you were going to laugh.” Ed crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m not! I swear!” He shook his head and quickly amended. “I just thought, I don’t know—you look so cool, I thought you’d certainly be a Jolly Roger or—or a Blackbeard fan.”
Ed tried not to read too much into the fact that this stranger thought he was cool. It shouldn’t have gotten him blushing,
“What’s yours, then?” He asked, changing the subject and hoping his beard would hide his blush.
The stranger gave him a smug smile, “Blackbeard.”
Ed scoffed and decided to poke, “Typical.”
“Okay, but hear me out.” He placed his glass back on the table, shifting on his chair. “Can you keep a secret?”
Ed was a bit surprised by that question, but he nodded nonetheless.
The stranger smile got wider and he swiftly folded the fabric of his blazer back until he revealed his pale forearm. Ed held his breath, feeling his heart skip a bit because—
Right there on the stranger's forearm, right on the same spot Ed had his own soulmark, was a skeleton holding a spear with the end turned to three hearts. Edward Teach's flag.
This couldn't be a coincidence.
Without thinking too much about it, Ed pulled his own sleeves up and showed the stranger his soulmark.
The other man gasped, his eyes widened as he took in Ed's soulmark, and when their eyes finally locked after what felt like an eternity and a second, Ed could see the same weird (yet entirely right ) conclusion dawning on the man.
"Do you think we are…?"
"Yes." Ed nodded.
"Oh," and Ed had never heard someone put so many emotions into a single word before. "This might be a weird thing to ask, but… can I touch it?"
And he looked so hopeful, so innocent, Ed let him. He wanted him to.
So slowly, the stranger—his possible soulmate—gently touched with the tips of his fingers, the skin of Ed's soulmark. And it burned in the best way possible.
Ed felt a new kind of warmth starting from his soulmark which travelled through his body in pulses not so differently from heartbeats. He felt energised in a way he'd never felt before. He felt alive.
The man looked stunned, enchanted, and Ed realised he also probably looked all those things and more.
"Hello there, soulmate," Ed breathed out. He only now noticed the other man was still touching him, still had a warm hand covering his soulmark, but Ed didn't mind it.
He enjoyed it quite a lot.
"It's Stede, by the way." And when did the man get so close? They were side by side now, knees touching.
"What is?" Ed covered the man's hand with his own.
"My name."
He halted.
Wait.
"Wait, hang on—Stede?" Ed leaned back.
"Yes, I know, just like the pirate." Stede rolled his eyes shyly.
"No, no, that's not—" Ed groaned. "Doctor Stede Bonnet from Harvard University?"
"That—yes, that's me." Stede blinked a few times, his brow furrowed.
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me," Ed said, and then he started to laugh. "Of course, of course."
Stede squeezed Ed's forearm, which sent another jolt of warm feelings through his body.
"I'm not sure I'm following."
"Why did you decide to go out today, Stede?" Ed asked instead of answering.
"Well, I just published a paper with my research student and I felt like celebrating… What does that have anything to do with this?" He pointed from Ed to himself.
"Well, I decided to go out because someone had just published a paper refuting my latest one. I felt kind of crappy." He tilted his head to the side with narrowed eyes, waiting for Stede's reaction.
The moment he understood, his eyes grew comically wide. He straightened, and Ed couldn't hold back his laugh.
"Edward Teach!"
"That's me." Ed pointed his thumb to his chest. "God, okay, give me a minute," he said between huffs of laughter, "I cannot believe this is happening. And you're so much more handsome than I liked to imagine."
Stede jerked his head back in confusion. "Is that a compliment?"
"Yes."
Stede snorted before groaning and leaning down to rest his head on the table.
“Oh god, you probably hate me, don’t you?” Ed heard Stede ask, his mumbling muffled a bit.
“Hate is such a strong word.” Ed mused, and before he could talk himself out of it, he rested a gentle hand on Stede’s back. “Do I want to maim you sometimes when you publish a new paper trying to refute everything I worked hard on? Yes.”
Stede groaned once more.
“Could we possibly start over, you think?” Stede turned his head to the side, resting his temple on the table to look at Ed, and Ed’s breath hitched. He only knew his soulmate for two hours (if you ignore the years academically fighting) but he was already susceptible to his pleading looks.
And how could he not be when Stede looked at him with big sad hopeful eyes? Ed was doomed.
“I would like that.” Ed gave him a smile, squeezing Stede’s shoulders with the hand still touching him. “Hey, we could even write a paper together, who knows? Maybe we’re better at it together than we are apart.”
Stede’s eyes sparkled again. “I mean I do already enjoy your papers.”
Ed raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “I suppose I can also admit to liking yours, then.”
Stede straightened up, and Ed’s hand fell from his back. “You do?”
“Well, yes.” Ed shrugged, feeling heat blossoming on his cheeks. “Your opposing views do keep me engaged.”
A smile to end all smiles appeared on Stede’s face, and Ed couldn’t help but reciprocate it. It was intoxicating, breathtaking.
“We’ll see.” Stede said, and gently, almost as if he was scared to be denied, he linked his fingers with Ed’s.
-
One year later.
“Darling, wake up.” Stede softly whispered against Ed’s ears, laying a kiss on his cheek. Ed hummed and leaned back against Stede’s embrace, letting his warmth surround him. “They just published our paper, look.”
Ed opened his bleary eyes, wrinkling his nose at the bright phone screen right in front of him. His eyes slowly focused on the bold letters it showed.
Blackbeard and The Gentleman Pirate: the partnership of the century.
Bonnet, S. Teach, E. et al.