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Lucius is blending into the bustling marketplace, hiding in plain sight and trying not to wallow in his own lonesome misery when he spots an utter buffoon wearing a maroon jacket with gold buttons and matching shiny waistcoat.
The posh looking man is loud and flamboyant as he goes from stall to stall, flaunting his wealth while he purchases whatever silly trinkets catch his eye. He's lucky he hasn't been robbed and murdered in the streets yet. Lucius can only assume that the rag tag group trailing after him and dispersing amongst the crowd is hired muscle, though none of them look like they would care one bit if their boss was attacked right there in front of them.
Lucius grins to himself—he's found the perfect mark.
He casually sidles up to the man while he's alone perusing a stand piled high with books and various literary paraphernalia. Lucius runs his fingers over a couple of tomes then picks one up without even looking at it and pretends to study the ornate cover. His free hand slips into the oblivious idiot's coat pocket while the man is talking the clearly uninterested merchant's ear off about his own collection of books.
Lucius has a pair of coins within his grasp when his target abruptly turns towards him, grin blinding and voice high when he asks in a quirky accent that Lucius can't quite place, "so what've you got there, eh?"
Lucius nearly jumps out of his loafers but somehow manages to discreetly drop the coins and remove his fingers from the fancy jacket. He leans back with wide eyes, not having to fake his surprise at being addressed. "Oh, I wasn't—"
But the man seems to not have noticed the attempted thievery and only has eyes for the thick book in Lucius' hand. "Ah, yes," he interrupts with a reverent little smile, "a classic adventure story! Have you read it before?"
Lucius blinks at him, so thrown off guard that it takes a moment to register the unexpected question. He looks down at the cover and immediately recognizes the title "Don Quixote" emblazoned on it.
"I…actually have," he remarks, unsure why he's being so honest with some random aristocrat he had been looking to rob blind only a moment earlier. "I quite enjoyed it, in fact. Very entertaining. I'll never look at windmills the same."
The man beams. "I couldn't agree more! And this is a particularly good translation if I do say so myself, I have a copy of it in my own library." He quirks a curious eyebrow at Lucius. "Are you a student of literature by chance?"
Lucius shuffles a little, again confounded by the random questioning. "I mean, I'm educated if that's what you're getting at," he eventually answers.
"So you are capable of script?" Lucius nods in the affirmative and somehow the odd man's smile grows even brighter. "How fortuitous! I happen to be in the market for a scribe, I was hoping to hire one to assist with my memoirs while I journey on the high seas. Might you be available? I can provide a fair wage as well as room and board on my ship if you'd be willing to join me."
Lucius can only stare at him in disbelief. "You're serious."
"Yes, of course!" he exclaims. "So will you join me on my quest?"
"Well," Lucius starts, not wanting to seem too desperately eager right off the bat, "I am between jobs at the moment."
"Excellent! I look forward to having you onboard! None of the rest of my crew is even interested in my library for whatever reason, it will be a nice change of pace to have someone to discuss the arts with again." The man has reached into the pocket Lucius almost picked and drops a handful of coins to the shop keeper. "For my new friend's well chosen 'Don Quixote'," he calls out. "It'll be good to have another copy on the ship as a backup!"
"Thanks very much," Lucius says, "but—"
"You're very welcome! Now go retrieve whatever personal effects you'll need for a long voyage and meet me at the docks. We're shoving off by sunset, if that works for you?"
"Yeah, of course, I just—"
"Stupendous! I captain the Revenge, a quite lovely ship that I designed myself, you can't miss it. Ta for now!"
He is already headed to the next stand where two of his inattentive body guards are hovering when Lucius finally manages to blurt without interruption, "hang on, who the fuck even are you?!"
The eccentric man whirls around again and gasps, "oh good lord, where are my manners!" He looks sheepishly embarrassed when he returns to Lucius with a little bow and a daintily raised hand. "I am Ste—Captain Stede Bonnet."
Lucius shakes the hand, noting a lack of calluses on the clean, smooth skin and perfectly trimmed fingernails. Stede has likely never had to do any sort of hard labor in his life and will probably have the most boring memoir in the history of rich fools who decide to embark on a midlife crisis holiday at sea. Lucius smirks to himself—this will be the easiest money he's ever made and the quickest way out of the shithole of a port city he's found himself stuck in.
"Lucius Spriggs," he says, "your new scribe."
"I'm pleased to have made your acquaintance, Lucius!"
"Me as well, Captain Bonnet."
"Hey! Olu, Jim," Stede calls enthusiastically to his pair of cohorts. They are clearly pretending that they don't know the boisterous man they had arrived with, but Stede is not deterred in the slightest. He claps a hand to Lucius' shoulder and tells them, "this is Lucius, he's going to assist me with my memoirs! Isn't that wonderful?!"
The shorter young man with a cheery round face gives an awkward little wave while the other continues to appear indifferent below a wide brimmed hat that hides most of his features. Lucius can see why—their bulbous red nose might be the ugliest he's ever seen.
"I look forward to us working together, my boy," Stede says to Lucius with one last vigorous handshake. Then the captain hurries over to his men without a second glance back. He's loud and ecstatic while he shows off something he had purchased for himself, but Olu and Jim don't even attempt to hide their disinterest in it.
Lucius stares after Stede until the man is out of sight, then practically skips away from the market towards the docks. He's been miserable in the days since his latest messy breakup and subsequent stint living on the streets, so he has nothing to bring with him onto the Revenge but the clothes on his back and the new novel that he hugs to his chest. He can't help but grin, eager to start a new adventure and hopefully, finally, get one step closer to fulfilling his dream of seeing the world.
"I guess my shit luck is finally turning around," he says brightly to himself as a massive ship appears in the distance just off shore.
"Guess again."
Lucius startles at the sound of a gruff voice behind him. His good mood immediately disappears when he sees a familiar figure in a perfectly pressed uniform—he never had caught the burly man's name or even knew that they were a soldier, he had just agreed to a night of frankly terrible sex for some much needed cash. Now Lucius can clearly see the twisted rage on the man's expression and regrets ever flirting with him in the first place.
"You owe me, boy," the solider growls. "And I intend to make good on our deal."
Inside Lucius is panicking. Outside he puts on his most disarming smile and makes an effort to look endearing. It's worked to get him out of difficult situations before, he can only hope it will work again. "From my recollection," he says sweetly, "you paid for services rendered, so I would say we're squarsies."
The man takes a threatening step forward and Lucius stumbles back. "We both know I didn't pay you to pick my pocket," he says, voice low and dangerous.
"I swear I have no idea what you're going on about," Lucius lies, "but how's about I give you a full refund and we both go about our business, hmm? I don't have the coin on me currently, but I can get it for you first thing tomorrow—"
"You are under arrest," the man announces loudly, "for making a mockery of a man in loyal service to the King."
"Oh, come on," Lucius scoffs. "That's not even a real thing! You can't just arrest me for a made up crime!"
"As Brigadier General and upholder of the law in this colony, I can do whatever I want."
Lucius swallows hard. "G-general, was it?" Lucius stammers. He's suddenly aware of a handful more uniformed and armed men surrounding him on either side, clearly waiting for their leader to make the first move. "Should've mentioned that before, I'd've given you the King's bitch discount."
The General's face turns bright red with anger. He snatches the book Lucius had been holding like a shield in front of him and throws it violently to the muddy ground.
"Hey!" Lucius cries. "That was a gift!"
"Get this trash off my streets and into a prison cell where he belongs," the General snarls to his men. "I'll be dealing with him later. Personally."
Lucius doesn't care for the sound of that but raises his trembling, empty hands into the air when a number of musket barrels are pointed in his direction. He searches urgently for a way out of his dire situation but can only struggle in vain when he is roughly grabbed from either side.
"Hands off," he manages to squeak. "Don't—"
"I supposed we should add resisting arrest to the charge as well," the General growls right before he bashes the butt of his rifle against the side of Lucius' head. Bright stars erupt in Lucius' vision and he goes completely limp under the multiple sets of hands that drag him off the street towards his unjust fate.
-_-
Lucius knew he would never be cut out for prison life. He had lived a comfortably sheltered youth in an upper middle class colonial family, up until his mother began nagging him about marriage to the town's most eligible bachelorettes and his father started bullying him into taking over the family's profitable business.
So Lucius had made the very mature decision to not deal with either of them by running away with a stable hand in the middle of the night, never to return home again.
The pair roamed the countryside in a honeymoon like whirl of romance and adventure, but their tryst wasn't meant to last. His partner had wanted to stay on land while Lucius was desperate to get away and travel the world, and the only way he could logically accomplish that goal was by sea. He was fortunate to have found employment on a local merchant ship, and was even luckier that his flirting appealed to the captain enough that he became more of a ship's boy than a sailor. Which basically meant that instead of being subjected to hard labor along with the rest of the crew he was entrusted to more mundane things like inventory and log taking, so long as he also warmed the captain's bed at night.
But traveling back and forth to the same colony ports over and over was not enough for Lucius, especially when dissent amongst the crew grew more vocal and violent towards their oblivious leader. He abandoned ship at the next prosperous city they stopped in and sought his next vocation.
Lucius managed to find work as a printer's apprentice for a time, as his literacy and desperation for any sort of income made had him the ideal candidate. It was an enjoyable enough job, if not monotonous—one can only fiddle with letters on a press so many times before the work becomes dull. Lucius passed the time by making good use of spare parchment and ink, until the head printer discovered what Lucius' "sketching" involved while he used the print shop as an impromptu art studio for eager clients.
He was run out of town after that, but had more than enough earnings to purchase a ride on another ship headed further South. But travelling for long periods was expensive, and Lucius quickly found himself desperate once again after another job at sea turned out to be not nearly as pleasant as his first. He learned the hard way that most ship captains were immune to his flirting, and many were outright hostile in response to it. Free rides and easy employment had become increasingly difficult to come by.
Lucius became a pick pocket only out of necessity whenever times on shore were especially hard. He even made a bit of a game with it to see how far he could go with his newfound skills—he would snatch purses, pocket watches, hell, even the rings off of fingers just for the fun of it, then return the items to their owners with a sweet, innocent smile on his face. Often he was rewarded a decent sum, and if he spotted a mark he liked he was often able to get into bed with them too.
It was when the breakups became more frequent and his clothing started to feel a bit too baggy on him that Lucius knew he was in real trouble. The emaciated look of a homeless pick pocket was not a cute one, after all. In his desperation he had turned to exchanging sexual favors for money, which worked well enough until one particular port city and a man of authority who had regretfully taken an interest in him when he was at his lowest.
Lucius would come to wish that he had never picked that pocket.
-_-
Stede looks through his spyglass and points it towards the docks for what must be the millionth time.
"I thought we were shipping out tonight," Black Pete snaps impatiently. "What the fuck are we waiting for? Let's go plunder shit like proper pirates already!"
"Aye," Wee John agrees while Frenchie and the others on deck nod right along with him. "We haven't gotten to do anything at all pirate-y yet. It's a real bummer."
"Come on, guys," Stede insists. "Piracy doesn't just happen overnight you know! It takes time to get a crew, and supplies, and a lay of the land…or the sea I suppose."
"But ya did say this'd be our last pit stop, Cap'n," Buttons calls down from the helm. "I reckon we linger here for the night they'll catch on and start charging us proper dock fees." The seagull perched on his head lets out a squawk. "Karl says that ain't very pirate-y."
Stede frowns. "I suppose the bird's got a good point. Paying for parking is not the pirate's way."
"Fuck no it ain't," Pete spits, his lisp even more pronounced in his frustration. "So let's just fucking go already!"
Stede pouts and turns back to his spyglass. "Not without my scribe."
"Your what?!"
"Oh, Captain hired a new guy from the market earlier," Oluwande tells them all. "But I'm thinkin' he's probably not going to show at this point."
Stede sighs heavily. "This is what I get for going off a verbal contract," he mutters. "Damn my enthusiasm, probably scared the little bugger off! You didn't happen to see Lucius again this afternoon, did you Jim?"
Jim shrugs and says nothing. Oluwande answers for the both of them with a, "nope, sorry boss."
"What did the fellow look like?" the Swede asks. "And what even is a scribe exactly?"
"A scribe is the very person I need to help me write my thrilling memoirs!" The crew groans and Stede pointedly ignores them. "He's young, about yay tall." He raises his hand over his own head. "Light skin, dark hair, very nicely defined side burns."
The crew all look at each other and shrug. "I think you've just described half the population, Captain," Roach points out unhelpfully.
"He was wearing a striped shirt," Stede adds, to more head shaking, "with a red fringy jacket, and—"
Pete gasps aloud, his eyes wide with sudden realization. "An adorable little kerchief?"
"Yes, that's the one! Have you seen him?"
"Ah, yeah, kinda? Pretty sure I saw him getting arrested on his way to the docks."
"What?! Why didn't you say something?"
"Well shit, I didn't know who the fuck he was," Pete shouts. "I just thought, hey, really sucks for that guy, glad it ain't my ass gettin' dragged off the streets!"
"Damn, isn't that just my luck," Stede bemoans. "I finally find someone who will appreciate my library and he gets got!" He curses under his breath and looks thoughtful for a moment, then closes his spyglass with a snap. "I guess that settles it, then. We'll just have to rescue him."
The crew erupts in protest.
"Now, now," Stede shouts over the cacophony. "You all wanted action, you should be happy you're finally getting some!"
"Captain does have a point," Frenchie reasons. "And a prison break sounds like a pretty pirate-y thing to do."
The protests turn to low grumbles as the crew reluctantly agrees.
"Excellent! Mr. Buttons and…you, the Swedish fellow, get the Revenge ready for a quick departure," Stede orders. "Roach, continue preparing that cake we talked about for when our new guest arrives. We'll need a proper dessert to celebrate with when we return with a full crew and can finally embark on our pirate journey."
Roach salutes him with a grin. "Aye aye, Captain!"
"The rest of you are with me," Stede continues in his most assertive captain voice. "Let's go get my scribe!"
-_-
Lucius has been left in the dark, dingy basement cell for hours. He vaguely recalled through his blinding headache that he was dragged into an ugly stone building, then down through a dank cellar, then along a long deserted hall that ended in the locked cage he was currently residing. He had clung to the rusted bars and shouted for attention until he was hoarse, but no guards ever appeared and he was left as the creepy prison's solitary occupant. He's passed the time by cursing under his breath while he paces the small space and wishes he was anywhere else.
This just seems to be the way his life goes, he can't help but think. He has it good for awhile, has an occupation or a relationship that seems promising, then everything eventually turn to shit again. He especially regrets that things had gone bad so quickly this time—he really had been looking forward to being Captain Stede Bonnet's scribe on the Revenge.
Lucius startles when he hears a sudden loud banging followed by the slow, clanging steps of bluckled boots on the rough cobblestone floor. Lucius can only stand there, trying to not give in to his fear even while his hands flutter nervously in front of his chest.
The General appears from the shadows, staring at Lucius through the cell's bars with a predatory glint in his eyes. He has come alone and Lucius suddenly wonders if any of the other soldiers even know why exactly he was arrested. He doubts the pompous General would have shared the fact that he had been robbed blind after paying another man for favors of a sexual nature.
Lucius clears his throat and says as steadily as he can, "I believe this is when I mention that I want to speak to a lawyer, considering this feels like an extremely unlawful imprisonment of my person."
The man says nothing, just glares with his beady, crazed eyes.
Lucius shifts, more than a little bit uncomfortable under the General's scrutiny. "You see, normally I steer clear of arseholes in uniform for just this reasoning, but I was clearly desperate," he says, putting on the bravest front he can manage considering the circumstances. "And I'll have you know that I took the extra coin only as deserved payment for the less than ideal handling of my person as well as your overall frankly disappointing performance." The man doesn't react, just continues to ogle him. Lucius swallows hard, deciding that blackmail has become his best and only option. "S-so, I can't imagine you'd want me sharing the story of our dalliance with any of your men. I mean, god forbid that gets around, right? How's about we make a deal and let bygones be by—"
He's interrupted by a loud, ominous creaking sound when the General abruptly moves to unlock the cell door and push it open, taking away the solid barrier between them.
Lucius gets the distinct impression that this is not a sane person who can be reasoned with. He backs up as far as he can in the small space with a panicked gasp of "shit, fuck!"
The General lunges forward with a speed Lucius wouldn't think the bulky man was even capable of. Lucius can't squirm his way free when massive hands catch him easily by his flailing arms and slam him against the prison's stone wall. The back of Lucius' head makes contact with a loud crack and he sees stars again before his vision clears to the terrifying sight of the man's ugly, crooked teeth bearing a sadistic grin at his expense.
"I am going to enjoy tearing you apart, boy," he says, his tone eerily calm while he takes Lucius' face in a bruising grip and rattles him violently. His other hand is already working to undo the complicated belt at his uniform's waist. Lucius squeezes his eyes shut and can't help the terrified whine that leaves his throat. "You'll be begging for me to put you out of your misery soon enough, you pathetic, worthless piece of sh—"
The man's words are abruptly cut off by a thud and a wet squelch, along with the feeling of warm liquid that splatters Lucius' face. He opens his eyes a crack and wishes he hadn't when he goes cross eyed staring down the tip of a bloody dagger that sticks out of the center of the General's neck. The man stands there with a stunned expression, mouth dripping blood while he chokes like a fish dying on dry land. Then his eyes roll back into his head and the rough fingers digging into Lucius' cheeks finally fall away. Lucius gapes in wide eyed horror as the General's body collapses in a heap at Lucius' feet with the handle of a short dagger sticking out of the base of his skull.
"Oh shit, I didn't getcha, did I?" a lisping angelic voice asks, breaking Lucius from his stunned stupor.
Lucius finally blinks. There's a bald man with a hooked nose standing where the General had just been, his face creased with concern while he stares up at Lucius. "N-no," Lucius manages to croak. "I…I think I'm okay."
The man lets out a long breath of relief. "Phew, that's good," he says. He bends to yank the knife nonchalantly from the back of the dead General's neck and wipe it on his pants before returning it to a sheath in his vest. "Sorry about all the splatter there, didn't know the prick'd be that much of a gusher."
Lucius brings a trembling hand to his face and nearly swoons when the finger tips come back bloody. "Oh god," he whimpers.
His savior winces in sympathy and uses gentle hands to guide Lucius away from the body when he sways unsteadily on his feet.
"So, um, hey, I'm Black Pete, famous pirate here to rescue you," the man—Pete—is saying while he leads Lucius out of the cell. Pete lowers Lucius to sit below a lit sconce on the wall and crouches down so the General's body is hidden behind him. He rests a comforting hand on Lucius' shoulder while he sits there, trying his best not to have a full blown panic attack in front of his valiant hero. "And you're Bonnet's, like, new scribble guy or whatever, right?"
Lucius manages a shaky nod and Pete smiles warmly.
"Sorry again about the…I mean, shit…lemme just…" Pete trails off as he takes a ratty, threadbare handkerchief out of his pocket then dampens a corner of the cloth with his tongue before using it to gently wipe away the blood that was splattered on Lucius' face.
Lucius can't believe the employer he had literally just met went out of his way to hire a pirate to rescue him. Or that said pirate is carefully tending to Lucius in a way that is so unexpectedly sweet and intimate that Lucius can't help but gawk while his heart flutters with affection.
"There's a pretty face," Pete says with a blush while he finishes his ministrations with the handkerchief. Lucius suddenly wants nothing more than to throw himself into the pirate's strong embrace and kiss him passionately.
Instead he says in a shaky, cracking voice, "th-thank you."
"Oh, it's my pleasure, really," Pete tells him with a dazzling grin. "That guy was being a total dick, only wish I hadn't killed him so quick like, ya know? 'S more fun killin' jerks like that when I can torture 'em first."
Lucius lets out a bark of a laugh that dissolves into a sob towards the end. He curls himself forward to rest his aching head against Pete's chest and is relieved when the pirate doesn't push him away. Instead Pete rubs comforting circles into Lucius' back, and Lucius practically melts under his touch.
"You're alright, kiddo, I gotcha," Pete soothes while Lucius struggles to compose himself. "Now let's get you the fuck out of this shithole."
Lucius sniffles and nods and somehow manages to stand on his wobbly legs with Pete's help. The pirate supports him all the way down the long prison hallway and up the stairs into the main building where a handful of other guards are unconscious and bound together in a pile. He recognizes Olu standing over them, clearly nervous while Jim keeps watch at the door with knives in hand.
Olu lets out a relived breath when he sees them. "Thank god," he says. "Can we go now? Captain's still off doing…whatever he was doing."
"Yes, please," Pete grumbles. "This place fucking sucks."
"Oh, and hey," Olu calls as his hand disappears into his jacket, "we saved your book!" Sure enough he has the copy of "Don Quixote" in his hands and he holds it out for Lucius with a grin. Lucius takes the novel into his still trembling hands and examines it. There's a bit of mud caked onto the pages and a tear through one side of the hardcover, but other than that the novel seems to be intact and entirely legible.
"Thanks," Lucius manages with all the gratitude he can muster as he hugs the book to his chest again.
Olu leads them through the prison's entryway after a quick glance to make sure no other guards were in the vicinity. "Coast is clear," he announces and they all make their way cautiously towards the docks.
"So how many kills did you get?" Pete taunts haughtily at Jim. "Looked like a big fat zero to me. I got to actually kill a guy. Stabbed the prick right through his throat and saved the day like a proper pirate. Jealous much?"
Jim just rolls his eyes but doesn't say a word. Pete shoots a playful wink in Lucius' direction and Lucius can't help but grin. He is more perplexed than ever by this bizarre cast of characters who are all apparently in Stede Bonnet's employ.
"There you guys are," Stede himself suddenly calls, panting as he jogs towards them from the opposite direction. "And you've rescued Lucius already, outstanding!"
"Yeah, some dickhead had him locked up," Pete explains. "No need to worry 'bout it though, I murdered his ass good."
A fresh wave of cold panic suddenly washes over Lucius. "Oh fuck," he gasps. "You killed him, but he was important, there's no way they won't come after you for it!" Lucius doesn't think he could bear even the thought of Pete being hunted for a crime done on his account.
"Oh, never mind all that," Stede says, surprisingly nonchalant. "I just had a brief but lovely chat with the local Governor over tea in regards to the local authorities. Apparently this General fellow was very disliked in town and the plan was to ship him off out west ways on some pointless suicide mission in the name of King and country, which is very fortunate for us!"
Lucius is so relieved that he nearly crumples into Pete's arms. "Really?"
"Most assuredly! I even managed to secure your freedom with the Governor, and I have a feeling we'll be in the clear for offing the bastard who wrongfully arrested you in the first place."
A sudden explosion rocks the earth as a seemingly random storage building on the docks next to them goes up in flames. A very large man is doing a jig in front of the inferno while a smaller man strums his guitar and cheers at the scene.
"…Though arson might get us into some trouble," Stede says with a grimace. "Wee John, Frenchie! Let's make ourselves scarce, shall we?"
The two jog over to join the group, still looking gleeful in the wake of their destruction. "Did you see that, Captain?" the big man asks, breathless with excitement. "I finally got to burn something!"
"Ah, yes, very good show, lad," Stede says, humoring him with a congratulatory pat to the shoulder. "This town will be hard pressed to forget when Captain Bonnet and his crew stopped by for a visit!"
-_-
They manage to take a pair of dingies to the Revenge without incident despite the chaos left in their wake. The crew disperses to tend to their sailing duties while Stede leads Lucius below deck. He's taken through the typical looking innards of a ship and into a large, gaudy room that is anything but normal in a sea fairing vessel. Lucius stares at the massive shelves of books, the frilly curtains, the elaborate decorations, the unnecessary ornate furniture. There's even a lit fireplace situated at the head of the room.
"These are my quarters and office," Stede is saying. "I imagine we'll be doing a lot of my dictated journaling from here, but you're welcome anytime you'd like for a visit, just be sure to knock." He moves towards one of the paneled walls and pushes it aside, revealing a cozy lavatory complete with a porcelain claw footed tub. "My private en suite," he explains. "You can use it this once since you've had a pretty rough go of it, but don't tell the other lads. I mean to keep this one a secret for myself. Not that there are any other secret rooms or the like to be found in here, that would be just absurd!" He lets out a forced laugh that Lucius takes to mean there really are more mysterious passages to be found in the Captain's already bizarrely extensive cabin. "Anyway, I'll get some water heated so you can have a proper wash, get all the rest of that blood and prison gunk cleaned off. Laundry's typically done on Wednesdays and Sundays, so you can borrow something in the meantime. I have a fairly extensive wardrobe on board, not to mention the crew's rags, so I'm sure we'll find something to fit you. Then tomorrow I'll give you the full tour of the rest of the ship and we can get started on my memoirs sometime after all that, whenever you're comfortably rested and ready to begin." Stede's bright smile slips slightly when he realizes Lucius hasn't moved or reacted to anything beyond his wide eyed staring. "If that's all amenable to you, of course."
"Um, yeah, that all honestly sounds amazing," Lucius finally answers. "I just…I didn't expect this—" he waves a hand around the luxurious space "—or for you all to be so kind to me."
"Well, I do pride myself on being a gentleman first, pirate second," Stede says, his grin bouncing back as easily as it fell. "And there's no reason we can't all be civil on board. The crew's like one big sea faring family, and we're more than happy to have you join us! You can even think of yourself as an estranged nephew that I've taken under my wing if you'd like."
Lucius swallows hard against the emotional lump in his throat and manages a watery smile. "Thanks, Captain," he chokes. "Means a lot."
Stede gently takes the book Lucius has been clutching and pats him reassuringly on the shoulder. "There's a good lad," he says. "Now get yourself settled, cake will be on shortly in the galley!"
Then Stede is gone, presumably to fetch water for the tub. Lucius can't help but smile even while he swipes at the few joyous tears that had managed to slip down his cheeks. He's already so grateful to this man for letting him be a part of his strange little "family."
It takes a moment for him to full process everything that his Captain had said, and he gasps. "Wait, did you say pirate?!"
-_-
"So he really, truly does fancy himself a pirate?" Lucius whispers sometime later.
He's wearing Stede's least garish dressing gown while he sits at a long, crowded table next to Black Pete, who had generously saved the spot for him. There is a massive tiered cake situated on a platform in the center of the table covered with creamy white icing and decorated with fresh strawberries, an unusual sight for a sea voyage to say the least.
"Just go along with it," Pete mutters back. "We'll mutiny his ass eventually. Probably. Whenever we get around to it."
Lucius assumes he's kidding and decides to go along with the joke to not ostracize himself from his new shipmates. "Right, well then, count me in," he says in Pete's ear with a smirk. "I do love a good mutiny."
Pete grins and gives Lucius' shoulder a playful nudge then goes back to stuffing his face with cake, completely ignoring the silverware that has been laid out for him.
Their boisterous Captain, meanwhile, is standing at the head of the table, one foot up on his chair while he tells the exaggerated tale of the evening's events. He's swinging a butter knife around like a sword and the crew hangs on his every word, clearly entertained by his antics while sugar high on an abundance of cake frosting.
"…And now that we've officially begun our lives as outlaws we can finally take to the seas and become proper pirates," Stede calls excitedly. "Adventure awaits us, lads!"
The crew cheers and Lucius can't help but snigger under his breath at the man's fanatical search for adventure and ridiculous notion of piracy. "'Don Quixote' indeed," he mutters to himself with amusement. Perhaps Captain Stede Bonnet's memoirs won't be so mundane after all.
FIN.