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Stede took a sip of tea and quirked a single eyebrow from his position in the crow's nest, looking down upon his crewmates. A cacophony of shouting, cussing, and the occasional crack of a whip filled his ears. It was dusk, and the sun setting provided a serene backdrop for the evening. However, he couldn't seem to enjoy the scenery and the ocean breeze for more than 5 seconds before he heard-
"HAHAHA! FUCK, GOT'EM GOOD MATE!"
He peered down once again to see the group of men huddled in a circle, playing with the whip that just the other day had been used to break bottles on the edge of the ship. Ed stood in the middle of this circle, holding the whip down low to about his calf's height, and then spun around, whipping it around the circle a few inches off the floor. The group of men took turns jumping up, trying to avoid their ankles getting smacked. Stede trained his eyes on the leather clad man in the middle, gaze following the tattoos on his single bare arm as it spun around, and around, and-
"OW!"
An uproar of laughter from all of the crew, as Frenchie stumbled backwards from the circle, hopping on one foot.
Ed reared his head back in laughter, his dark brown eyes crinkling at the corners. Surprisingly, Ed had charmed everyone on the ship (save for Jim and Oluwande, who were undoubtedly busy somewhere doing...something else) into playing the game, and Stede had to admit it warmed his heart a bit to see everyone having a good time. He tried not to flinch at the idea of that whip cracking his ankle though.
As his laughter died down, Ed raised his line of sight to where Stede sat, and caught his eye. He gave a quick wink, almost too fast to be noticeable, and playfully snapped the whip at the feet of Lucius, who giggled flamboyantly and hopped away from him.
Diverting his attention back to Stede, who was feeling a bit flushed from said wink, Ed shouted, "You gonna join us for a round?"
Stede grimaced. "As much as I appreciate the offer, i will have to decline. Just trying to enjoy a relaxing evening up here."
Ed squinted up at him, "Y'know it's not as bad as regular whippies, we're not aiming for the nuts at all, I swear."
"I am just fine, thank you."
Roach walked up to Ed with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. He reached his hand out, making a "gimme" gesture. "My turn to hold the whip!"
Ed handed it over to Roach, a bit dejectedly, and walked round to join the rest of the men circled.
Stede took notice of Ed's apparent disappointment. He was confused. What does he care if he doesnt play the silly game? Maybe he doesn't want to be hit with a whip, is that so unreasonable? Stede crawled out from his cozy position and climbed down the mast. He nodded to his crew before retreating back to his quarters, feeling Ed's eyes on him the whole way.
"Shit!"
Roach laughed in delight at having scored one on the infamous Blackbeard, who gave a strained smile, clutching his ankle.
Stede flipped to the next page, completely enthralled in the story he was reading. His eyes skimmed the pages of the protagonist's latest swashbuckling adventure. He was on the edge of his seat to see whether or not he would make it out alive, and the thrill kept him from noticing as Ed entered the quarters. He suddenly jumped at the sound of the floorboards creaking, looking up to see a certain bearded captain approaching him. Stede cleared his throat. "Hello Ed, done with your game I presume?"
Ed ignored the question, and continued walking towards him. He sat down next to him on the couch, not close enough to be touching, but close enough that Stede could feel his warmth and smell the scent of leather and sweat. "Whatcha reading?" He asked gruffly.
Stede blushed. "It's an adventure tale."
Ed looked down at the book and back up at Stede. "Looking for inspiration for our next raid, are you?"
Stede scoffed. "Oh yes, if I was actually brave or capable enough to do anything like this. It's fiction for me is all. ....I suppose it's closer to your real life."
Ed reached over and gently took the book out of Stede's grasp before throwing it behind the couch carelessly.
Stede frowned and couldn't help but worry if the binding might have been damaged.
"You know why that is?"
Stede just looked, wide eyed. "Um, you're quite brave? I suppose. I mean, no, you are, but its not just that. I think you're also a good pirate. And know good pirating things, like...raiding...and intimidating and such..."
Ed's hard demeanor softened a bit and he broke eye contact to look down at the floor for a second before clearing his throat. "Well, you know how I got to become Blackbeard? And go on all these raids and shit? It's cause at one point or another I simply stopped giving a fuck."
Stede quirked a smile. "Easier said than done for me."
"There's a time and a place for being prim and proper, Mr. Gentleman Pirate. Everyone needs to loosen up once and while. What did you do for fun when you were back home? Before you set sail?"
Stede glanced over the couch sheepishly. "Well...I do enjoy reading. That’s usually as exciting as it gets. You know, reading might seem like a tame activity, but it allows you to embark on the most fanastic adventures. Your imagination can take you anywhere! Just now I was-"
Ed placed his hand over Stede's mouth. Stede noted the rough, calloused texture of his hands, and definitely did not wonder how they would feel on other parts of his body. "But like. Actual fun. Like a sport, or a game, or a bet.”
Stede swallowed and Ed pulled his hand back, his eyes searing into Stede's.
"I suppose I miss dancing quite a bit." Stede immediately regretted the words that came out, feeling foolish.
Ed blinked, staring at him.
Of course Blackbeard would laugh at him, what big tough pirate likes to dance in his free time?
"Okay, that's a start. You mean like, shooting at each other's feet so you do a little jig? Me and the mates used to do that a ton, it's a good laugh."
Stede let out a laugh of both amusement and relief. "No, like…like a waltz. Set to proper music and following the steps."
Ed furrowed his brows. "Well, doesn't sound all that fun to me if there's rules to it."
"Well, yes there are rules but that doesn't take the fun out of it. It's more of...an outline. Once you get into the rhythm...you lose yourself. It's more freeing than it sounds."
"Oh." Ed suddenly stood up, loosening up his arms, and cracking his neck in both directions. "Alright then, show me the waltz. I'll show you a fun time before the night is over."
Stede tried to supress a smile. "It's not quite as...athletic as you might imagine. It's more about grace and timing. Also we need music."
Ed looked around the room, realizing there was indeed no way to play music. "Well, I can hum quite good, can’ I?"
Flattered by his determination, Stede agreed with delight, "Okay then, you hum and I will show you the waltz, if you insist."
Ed nodded solemnly, like he was going to learn the waltz if his life depended on it.
Stede stepped forward and laced Ed's right hand in his, then snaked his other arm below Ed's left armpit, placing his hand on his back.
Ed tensed up, not expecting the physical contact. "Oh...right, this is part of it then?"
Stede nodded smugly. "I suppose I'll lead...considering we're both men, but I'm the one who knows what to do."
"I...suppose that makes sense then."
"Place your left hand on my shoulder."
Ed followed his instruction.
"So, you're moving in a box step. I'll move my right foot forward, you'll move your left one back. Then I'll move my foot to the side, and you'll follow." Stede started moving his feet in unision with his description, and Ed clumsily followed him, trying to coordinate his steps and comprehend what Stede was saying at the same time.
They finished a full box step a few times, both men staring down at their feet, their foreheads nearly touching.
"And the other important part is the timing. It'll go 1,2,3, 1,2,3, got it?"
Ed met his eyes and nodded seriously.
"Alright then, I guess it's time for the music to put it all together."
Ed cleared his throat and started to hum a simple tune, something akin to a sea shanty but set in a slow, hesitant 3/4ths time so as to match up with their steps. The two men started their waltz, and Ed tightened his grip on Stede's hand involuntarily as he stumbled to keep time.
Stede graciously led the dance, quietly speaking praises to Ed each time he successfully finished a step. Once they got into the rhythm, and Ed felt comfortable moving his feet, they met each other's eyes and faced one another as they continued the dance.
Stede felt a flutter in his stomach, his face heating up as their dance continued. Ed was smiling now, watching him playfully. Stede held the eye contact, and slowly started to smile back at him. Up close Stede could see a million details that he had never noticed before, like the fact he has a small scar in his right brow, or the fact that, in the candlelight, he could tell his eyes were multiple shades of brown. They were darker like coffee in the middle around his pupil, and a lighter chocolate hue around the edges.
"Fuck," Ed let out a soft curse when he once again stepped on Stede's toes.
Stede's smile widened, watching the small line form between Ed's brows that always appeared when he was frustrated. "Hey," he said softly, "It's alright. We're learning."
Ed nodded. Stede's heart ached at the fact he was making such an effort.
Ed's song started to speed up a bit as their steps became more fluid, and soon enough he was singing the words aloud. Stede found himself lost in the sound of his voice. Ed had a glint in his eyes.
Before long they were moving around the room, Stede leading their graceful dance and Ed serenading. The two men's hands were clasped together in a perfect fit, and Stede couldn't help but notice that it felt utterly natural to have their arms around each other in the way they did.
Suddenly Ed took charge and sped up the dance, pulling Stede along with him. He moved Stede's hand up and down as they danced, and he started singing even louder, joyfully.
Stede let out a loud laugh, struggling to keep up with his shipmate.
Ed kept spinning them, going faster and faster and practically shouting the words. The two men clutched at each other, spinning in circles, feet not even following the steps of the waltz.
Stede decided to surprise him and released the arm holding Ed's back. He lifted the arm where his fingers were intertwined with Ed's and spun him around. Ed spun gleefully, and then rejoined the embrace they were in previously, this time his chest pressing into Stede's.
Stede started singing along, having picked up on the words by now.
The floors creaked under them and they had lost all sense of rhythm and grace, lost in the sound of each other's voices and the warmth of each other's bodies.
Ed tried to spin Stede in the same way, and failed miserably to twirl Stede with his hand.
"Oh hell, how'd you do that, mate?"
Stede burst out laughing, and grabbed Ed's hand again. "Lot's of practice doing it to Mary. Dancing was the only upside to countless stuffy parties with aristocrats."
"Alright, but did you ever do this at your parties?"
Ed let go of Stede's shoulder and held him just by his hands, before Stede could say a word, Ed was spinning them around in even faster circles, like they were kids playing in a grassy field.
"Ah! Ed, you're gonna make me sick!" Stede choked out in between bouts of laughter.
Suddenly Ed stopped, pulling Stede in close to his chest, their faces a mere inch apart.
Stede swallowed, feeling extremely lightheaded. Whether it was from dizziness or their proximity he couldn't tell.
"Well..." Ed breathed out, "We wouldn't want that, would we?"
Stede tried to catch his breath. Ed was also panting, and he could feel the warm air being exhaled on his face. Stede let out a nervous, breathless laugh. He couldn't think of a single witty thing to say. Something to maybe break the tension, make their proximity seem playful and platonic instead of so...intimate. He couldn't speak, finding himself transfixed on Ed's chocolate eyes. His gaze lowered down the line of his nose to Ed's mouth, which was slightly parted. Beneath a salt and pepper moustache sat soft pinkish lips.
Ed reached up and pushed a strand of curly blond hair out from Stede's line of vision. "Haven't seen you so disheveled since you were bleeding out on a Spanish ship." He chuckled.
"I-I try to keep a polished appearance, you know me."
The corner of Ed's mouth rose and his eyes softened. "That's a shame, I like you a bit disheveled."
At the sound of the word "disheveled" something involuntary made Stede release one of Ed's hands and reach up to fix his unruly hair.
Ed caught his hand midair. Looking Stede in the eye, he raised his hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on Stede's knuckles. "Thank you for the dance."
Chills went down Stede's spine. He felt warm, no- hot, and excited but scared and vulnerable and absolutely mortified but thrilled. He had never experienced this exact emotion before and was utterly overwhelmed by the onslaught of feelings that this one clumsy, loud, tattooed man had awakened in him.
"Ed-" Stede's voice croaked out shyly, "Are you t-trying to, erm,"
Self doubt flickered in Ed's eyes and he let go of Stede's hand. "Sorry, mate. I um- sorry if I made things a bit..." Ed took a few steps away, his hands lingering in the air before falling to his sides. His brows furrowed, and a tinge of regret flashed on his face.
Stede felt the emotions and warmth overflow and his body take control. He stepped forward, pulling Ed close to him once again. Completely unsure of how to achieve his goal of intimacy, he simply looked Ed sternly in the eye, their foreheads a centimeter apart.
"I want you to make things...that way."
Ed tilted his head forward till his lips met Stede's.
Stede had kissed women before- one woman, his wife- but he had never felt how it really was to kiss with this level of desire, with intent. The sensation of Ed's beard against his face was odd but enthralling to him, it was rough around his mustache but softer on his chin. Rough but soft. Just like Ed. Their kiss deepened and their bodies pressed together. Stede's senses were overwhelmed, feeling warmth and skin and hair, smelling leather and lavender, and tasting saliva tinged with rum. A low moan escaped Ed and Stede melted, realizing he was getting unavoidably aroused. He broke the kiss, putting some space between their bodies but keeping their faces close.
Ed's eyes were wide, gauging Stede's reaction. "Um. How was that?"
Stede didn't know how to respond to that, he simply cleared his throat and replied, "That was nice," his voice cracking at the last syllable.
Ed's face rushed forward at the same time Stede's did, almost like a magnet had been switched on that pulled them to each other. The feeling of Ed's lips on his was intoxicating, and it only intensified as he felt Ed's hand creep up to the nape of his neck, gently threading his fingers through the short curls.
Stede's hands explored Ed's broad shoulders and neck while he kissed Ed back. When they broke apart once more, they were both smiling giddily, and Ed leaned forward to press his head to Stede's chest. He could no doubt hear Stede's heartbeat, going a mile a minute. Trying to ignore the red hot desire that was raging in his trousers, Stede simply held him.
After a minute, Ed spoke up. "I liked the dancing. Let's do it again. Another time."
Stede hummed. "Yes. The dancing. Excellent."
His arousal eventually simmered down to form contentment and sleepiness. After a few minutes they returned to their position on the couch, where they held each other until the sun came up.