Work Text:
The island they docked at is small, little more than a speck of sand in the ocean. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in beauty. Giant palm trees stretch up to the sky, an outcropping of rocks surrounded by lush ferns and monstera with giant leaves. Ed and the crew are on the beach, unloading boats, fishing, probably blowing something up, or making sea creatures fight again. They’re having fun and that’s what’s important.
It’s a lovely day, a nice breeze, the sun ducking away behind pillowy white clouds now and again and Stede wishes it could ease the knot in his chest.
In truth, things hadn’t been the same since… well, since Stede left Ed alone on that dock.
They talked about it, they yelled about it, they went into long and tense days of silence. It was awkward for the crew, but for Stede it felt like his chest had cracked open and now all these feelings were spilling out of him.
When the crew told Stede what happened after he left, what happened when Ed was alone and lost and betrayed, well, it didn’t feel right to tell Ed how he felt. What business did Stede have bringing it up when he’d taken Ed’s beautiful confession and dashed it on the rocks not hours after it was given? What right did he have to show up like some dashing hero from a romance fiction with his billowing shirt and his arms wide open, proclaiming his love when the one he loved had done terrible things to others and himself for want of that love?
So yes, they talked. Stede apologized, Ed apologized, and then everything went back to the way it was.
Except not really.
Ed didn’t sleep on the lounge in the captain’s cabin anymore. He took over Izzy’s room instead, claiming he preferred the smaller space. Stede had smiled like he was fine, helped Ed move his things, and went back to the cabin to cry into his pillow.
The room felt hollow without Ed to fill the quiet, to make Stede laugh, to brighten all the dark corners with his smile.
Ed didn’t come to visit him anymore. The only time Stede really saw him was when they were on deck co-captaining. And, God, that was going terribly.
They’d lost that familiarity, that rhythm of oneness. Now instead of finishing each other's sentences, they trampled over one another. They gave conflicting orders. Lucius was often used to carry messages from one end of the ship to the other. Every time Stede said, “You better check with Ed.” Lucius would come back and say, “He said to check with you.” Stede could see Lucius wanting to snap.
Which made it all doubly frustrating because the crew didn’t deserve to get pulled into this nonsense. It is not good for morale. So Stede called for a vacation and this time the crew latched onto the idea with ferocity. They did most of the organizing and the flurry of activity was enough to distract them from the discord between their two captains.
When they land on the beach, Stede helps Olu pull a dinghy onto shore. Ed’s already there, helping Fang unload their boat. Stede slogs through the rolling waves, sweat seeping through his shirt. He’s watching the boat, not where he’s going and his boot catches on a rock buried in the sand. Stede goes pinwheeling over, arms flailing. Before he crashes face first into the beach, he lands on something far warmer and pliable.
Ed’s chest, Ed’s arms around him, Ed touching him for the first time since that fateful day on the beach. Stede looks up and Ed is looking down at him, his eyes wide and warm, the sun falling perfectly behind him and lighting up a halo around his head.
He’s beauteous, splendid, exquisite.
Something in Stede’s chest constricts and he gets his feet back under him, leaning on Ed for balance. Stede laughs, too loud, too strained and flees before Ed can speak.
He flees away from the whole group, not really knowing where he’s going. He just keeps walking until sand turns into brush and then into thick trees. It’s calmer here, safer.
Sometimes Stede tells himself it's a timing issue. When he sees Ed standing on the deck, the sunlight glowing through his dark curls, giving him a perfectly angelic look, Stede thinks "Now. Now’s your chance, chap!" and then Ed will turn and meet Stede’s gaze and his expression shutters, and Stede can't do it.
It's not that Stede’s feelings have changed. Quite the opposite, in fact. Before, he never had a name for this. He'd given up on romantic love, thought he wasn't built for it, that it just wasn't the cards. But then he talked with Mary and she helped him see what was right there, what he thought he couldn't have. So, he chased after it with all the gumption of a man with nothing to lose. He gathered his crew, saved Lucius, chased Ed to the ends of the earth. But once he'd seen the chaos and ruin left behind in his own mishandling of the situation…
It isn't that he can't have this romantic love, it's that he doesn’t deserve it.
He doesn't deserve Ed. He tossed Ed aside, he panicked and fled instead of fighting for his love. Of course he isn't deserving of Ed and Ed’s love. Ed deserves someone who didn’t hurt him, abandon him, betray him.
Yet another beautiful thing ruined by Stede Bonnet.
After a while of walking, Stede decides he'd better head back before he gets truly lost and ruins the vacation by needing the whole crew to come out and find him. He takes a different route back, tries to distract himself from that persistent stinging in his chest by naming the plants he sees.
Vriesea splendens. Anthurium cordatum. Oh, carica papaya! Pilosocereus royenii. Opuntia quitensis--
“Oh, hello! What’s this?”
Stede bends to examine a strange looking flower he’s never seen before. Red, velvety petals spring out from the stem in a spiral with a thick pistil rising up from the center with a bulbous tip at the end. It’s quite beautiful and there’s a whole bunch of them.
“Luckily I brought my garden shears!”
Stede unsheathes the shears from his pocket and carefully cuts himself a lovely bouquet of the flowers. Perhaps they’ll brighten up his gloomy quarters. He stands and brings the flowers up to his face for a sniff and immediately sneezes, three times in a row.
“Well! Bless me!” Despite the heavy pollen on them, they smell amazing. Sweet and slightly tart, a soft floral note with musky undertones.
“Lovely.” He sniffles.
Stede returns to the beach with his bouquet, the first few buttons of his vest and shirt undone, his cravat loose. He looks up at the sky, expecting to feel the heavy beat of the sun, but those soft clouds still float dreamily by. Perhaps he just needs a rest.
When he emerges from the treeline, the first person Stede sees is--
“Ed!”
Stede’s not sure what makes him do it, but he finds himself rushing over to where Ed stands, under the shade of a palm tree, examining a bottle of rum from the crates they brought ashore. The crew are off a ways, all safe and accounted for. Stede’s stomach flutters as he approaches Ed.
“Look what I found!”
Stede shoves the flowers forward, bumping them right into Ed’s nose.
“Oh! Sorry!”
Ed’s head rears back and he sneezes, three times in a row.
“Damn! What are those?”
“I don’t know! I just found them, on my nature walk. They’re quite lovely, don’t you think? They seem to be a cousin of the hibiscus rosa-sinensis, but not one I recognize. Still, so pungent! I’ll put them in the blue crystal vase when we get back to the ship.” He runs out of breath, the heat building up under his collar getting warmer. He must be blushing.
“Yeah, they’re--” Ed leans in again, sniffing at the flowers. Stede feels a tingling in his hands. “Oh wow, this is amazing!” Ed takes another deep breath, “Wow, how can one little thing put off so much smell?”
Ed looks up from the flowers, cheeks rosy over the short beard he’s regrown. Their eyes meet and Stede’s breath catches in his throat. The tingling in his hands spreads rapidly up his arms and over his chest. The tips of his ears burn as he looks into Ed’s eyes, Ed’s dark eyes, full of promise--
“Oh, hello! What do we have here?” Lucius’ voice interrupts and Stede startles, pulling the flowers back to his chest protectively.
“Just--Just some flowers.” Stede says, voice suddenly wobbly and weak.
“Flowers that smell. Smell good, I mean.” Ed says, tucking his thumbs into his belt. The movement drags his pants down and Stede’s mouth goes dry at the strip of skin that’s revealed.
“Oh no!” Lucius gasps and then turns back to the crew to yell, “Olu! Aren’t these the ones you told me about?”
Olu joins them, forehead crinkled in a frown. “What?”
“The flowers?”
“What?” Olu finally looks at the bundle in Stede’s hands and that confused frown stays there until Jim joins him and elbows him in the side. “Oh! Those flowers! Yeah, right, yep. That’s them!”
“What?” Stede says, glancing between his crew in confusion. “What about them?”
“The pollen in them is a potent aphrodisiac,” Lucius explains and Stede’s eyes blow open wide.
“No! ”
“Aphro-whattie?”
“Yes! It’s used in-- in teas around here, you know. To stimulate the libido.”
Stede stands aghast. He can’t help glancing over to Ed who looks delectable - no! Lascivious - no! Prurient - no! Shocked, he looks shocked.
“What?” Ed looks frustrated.
“It makes you fuck like bunnies!” Pete chirps from over Lucius’ shoulder and immediately gets whacked in the arm by Lucius. “What? It does.”
Soon the whole crew is gathered round.
“They say it makes you so horny, if you don’t fuck as soon as possible, your heart explodes from the stress.” Jim says.
“Aye.” Buttons intones from the back. “I’ve seen many a man’s cock and balls fall off when they tried to fight the will o’ the flowers.”
Most of the crew take a big step back from Ed and Stede. A couple of them go as far as to cover their nose and mouth. The Swede looks ready to faint.
Stede swallows. No wonder he’s been feeling so warm and it’s only getting worse the longer they stand here and talk about it. When he risks another glance at the alluring Ed, he sees a bead of sweat drip down Ed’s neck as his enchanting Adam’s apple bobs.
Stede sways, thinking about what Ed’s skin and sweat would taste like.
Ed looks over at him and this time Stede can’t look away. He watches as Ed’s eyes drop to his lips, can’t help licking them and Ed’s eyes go heavy. The hand at his side lifts, as if to reach for Stede then clenches into a fist and falls back.
Lucius is the only one brave enough to step towards them, clearing his throat pointedly to get their attention. It barely works.
“I think,” he says in a low voice, just for the three of them, “you should head back to the ship. You know, figure this--” he gestures between the two of them, “--thing out.”
Stede looks back to Ed and finds Ed already looking at him.
Stede’s cock twitches in his britches.
“We should--”
“Should we--”
“Yeah, if you--”
“Probably best if we--”
“Yep, I’ll get the dinghy ready.” Decided, Ed strides off and Stede sways after him. He realizes he’s clutching the flowers to his chest, far too close to his face. He lowers them quickly. No need to make this situation worse than it already is.
Oh, how he hates to see Ed go but he loves to watch him walk away.
Lucius clears his throat and Stede startles, caught.
“I should go-- see if he needs help.” Stede strides off, following after Ed.
Ed rows and Stede sits, clutching the flowers in his lap. He can’t seem to let them go. He wonders if that’s part of their properties. He’s got them carefully placed in his lap, covering what will soon be an obvious erection.
He can see the outline of Ed’s, pushing up against his pants, but it’s kept pressed down by that tight, tight, tight leather. Stede gasps as a surge of heat thrums through his body, feeling precome seep into his smallclothes.
When he looks to see if Ed noticed, Ed’s staring at him with a heated gaze, like he knows exactly what Stede feels.
Stede’s mind goes a bit foggy from there. They manage to pull the dinghy up between the two of them, making their way to the captain’s quarters unconsciously.
Stede enters first, the heat crawling under his skin building up to a crescendo. He turns as he hears the door shut, takes one look at Ed and then he drops the flowers to the ground, trampling over them as he throws himself at Ed.
Their mouths crash together, a searing kiss that burns Stede to the bone as he clings to Ed’s shoulders with two hands. It’s closed-mouthed at first, so much like their first and - until now - only kiss, but then Ed’s tongue licks across the seam of Stede’s mouth and Stede moans, his mouth opening. Ed groans, his hand gripping the back of Stede’s neck and hauling him in impossibly closer as he dives in.
Stede cries out at the wholly foreign sensation of another person’s tongue in his mouth, so wet and wriggly, yet somehow sensual and intoxicating. He finds himself mimicking Ed’s movements, following them and learning what Ed likes. For example, Ed likes it when Stede suckles on the tip of his tongue, as evidenced by the way Ed groans, wrapping an arm around Stede’s waist and holding him so close it feels like they might just melt together.
“Oh, Ed!” Stede’s head falls back as Ed’s mouth travels over his jawline, lips and tongue and teeth leaving a scorching trail of heat behind.
“Taste so good, how do you taste so good?”
Stede doesn’t know, can’t comprehend anything other than the press of Ed’s hands as they slide into the open collar of his shirt. His hand feels like a brand where it touches Stede’s skin and he suddenly needs more of it. Stede gets his fingers into the clasps of Ed’s jacket, starts to undo them when Ed suddenly rears back. Stede’s stomach drops, his mind flashing with Ed glaring, yelling, leaving--
Ed strips off his jacket with practiced hands and pulls his shirt off in one smooth motion and then he’s back in Stede’s arms.
Stede drags his hands over Ed’s shoulders, down his back and into the dip of his waist.
Ed giggles, dodging away from his hands, but coming right back, kissing Stede with a smile on his lips.
“What?” Stede can’t help asking, even though he thinks he knows the answer as his hands settle on Ed’s hips.
“Ticklish.”
“Even here?” Stede murmurs into the skin of Ed’s shoulder as his fingers dance along the hem of Ed’s pants.
Ed’s breath catches, “Different kind of ticklish there.”
“Oh, really?” Stede can’t wait to find out.
Ed’s hands go back to the collar of his shirt, gripping the lapels in each hand and--
“Ed!”
Ed freezes. “What?”
“Were you about to rip my clothes?”
“...No?”
“You were!”
“All right, maybe! But come on man, there’s too many buttons and layers--”
“So let me deal with it!”
Stede takes off his jacket, laying it at the end of the-- when did they get to the bed? He lays it over the end of the bed and gets to work on the buttons of his vest.
Ed’s lips find delicate skin at the back of Stede’s neck, Ed’s hands sneak around his waist, and Stede nearly doubles over as Ed’s hand palms over his cock, making him cry out as pleasure surges through him.
“Better hurry,” Ed purrs into Stede’s ear as he moves his hand in firm strokes, “Or you’ll start losing those precious buttons of yours.”
Stede hurries, his fingers moving as fast as they can with Ed doing his very best to distract him - and it works. He gets his vest off in record time, tossing it blindly to the floor and it really speaks to the potency of that aphrodisiac that Stede doesn’t even care where it lands.
A feeling Stede would rather ignore chokes up in his throat so he turns in Ed’s arms, pulling Ed in for a kiss so forcefully they lose their balance and go toppling onto the bed. But it’s perfect because now Stede has the full weight of Ed’s body pressed against him, feels him everywhere.
“Ed,” Stede moans, revelling in the scrape of Ed’s beard against his cheek as they kiss, open mouthed and hungry.
“Stede, fuck,” Ed grinds down and Stede gasps, feeling the hard length of Ed’s cock pressing against the crease of his thigh. He’s certain Ed can feel him too, can feel how his cock strains, buttons probably ready to pop off with how desperately his cock tries to get out.
Abruptly, Ed sits up, kneeling up on the bed and fumbling with the buckles of his pants. Stede follows his lead, rushing his way through the buttons of his breeches, to get his cock out. He shoves his pants down around his thighs, doesn’t even get them to his knees before he’s distracted--
Ed spits into his hand and wraps it around his cock. His thick, wet-tipped, perfect cock. Stede stares in open mouthed awe, his own hand wrapped loosely around the base of his cock, not even doing anything to it but it still leaks.
“Like what you see?” Stede’s eyes dart up to Ed’s handsome face, taking in the wet lips and flushed cheeks.
“Maybe,” Stede says, dumbstruck.
“Maybe, huh?” Ed’s mouth quirks up with a smirk. “Let’s see what we can do to change that.”
Ed lays down beside Stede, hands on his hips guiding him onto his side and Stede goes, his brow furrowed, but not complaining when Ed budges up tight behind him. He feels Ed’s face against the back of his neck, his breath soft and hair tickling Stede’s skin. Ed slides an arm under Stede and wraps his arms tight around Stede’s waist, his cock pressing up against Stede’s buttocks.
“Oh!” Stede gasps, a full body shiver cascading down his back. Ed grasps Stede’s thigh and then slides his cock between Stede’s legs.
“Squeeze,” Ed growls into Stede’s ear and Stede does as he’s told, sandwiching Ed’s cock between his thighs. It rubs along Stede’s balls all the way to his rock-hard cock, making him cry out. Ed thrust his hips, snapping hard against Stede. The pollen must be driving him into a frenzy because he groans into Stede’s neck, breath hot and sharp against his skin.
“Feels… so good…” Ed’s breath fans across Stede’s ear, stimulating every erotic nerve in his body. Stede feels Ed’s cock throb as he tightens his thighs around it, panting. Already Stede can’t help imagining Ed’s thick cock inside him, how it would throb and pulse. He might just die for want of it.
It must be the pollen.
“Please, Ed? Please?” Stede begs, grabbing Ed’s hand from where it grips his hip and guiding it back to his hole. Ed’s cock slips free from his legs, leaving him bereft, but Stede wants more-- no, he needs more.
“Are you sure?” Ed asks, even as his thumb rubs over the furl of Stede’s hole.
“God, yes,” Stede fumbles under his pillow, retrieving the vial of oil and shoving it into Ed’s hand.
“Where did you--”
“Later, Ed.”
“Right.”
When Ed’s finger slowly penetrates Stede’s hole, it’s wet and slick. He goes slow, too slow, giving Stede time to adjust.
“Please, Ed! I can take more, I promise.”
“Fuck --Fuck yeah, all right,” Ed’s finger presses deep and Stede groans, canting his hips back into it. As the desperation overtakes him, Ed gets bolder, rubbing his finger against Stede’s insides and exploring deeper and deeper.
“Another, please, Ed! I can take it-- oh--” Stede’s hips jerk as Ed pulls out, only to thrust back in with two fingers now.
“I’m fit to fuckin’ burst, you feel so good like this, so wet.”
Stede reaches behind him and snakes a hand around Ed’s cock. Ed’s moan comes out like a sob as he thrusts his cock into Stede’s tight grip. The bulging tip is wet as it slides through Stede’s fist.
“I want you inside me, Ed.”
Ed groans right into Stede’s ear, his cock so hot in Stede’s hand it feels like it could burst into flames at any moment.
“Yeah, fuck--” Ed groans and then he’s removing his fingers. Stede feels oil drip onto his fist as Ed dribbles it over his cock. Stede eagerly rubs the oil from the tip of Ed’s cock all the way down, making it wet and slippery. His imagination already runs wild, thinking about Ed’s cock thrusting inside him. Eager, Stede guides Ed’s throbbing cock to his hole, feeling greedy and impatient.
“Stick it in, Ed-- ah!--”
Ed’s in no mood to take it slow and Stede agrees. Ed thrusts in deep, his thick cock so deep Stede feels it throb and pulse against his insides. The most intense pleasure he’s ever felt starts to spread from his hole to the rest of his body, like a rogue tidal wave.
“It’s--” Stede gasps, “It’s so deep, so hard. Oh, Ed.”
“God, you’re so tight, so fuckin’ hot, Stede.” Ed groans into Stede’s shoulder, lips mouthing over his skin. “I can’t stop-- don’t wanna stop.”
“Don’t stop-- please, don’t stop!”
“Wanna stay in you forever, keep you full of my cock-- fuck--” Ed groans as Stede’s hole clenches around him, the words sending fire through Stede’s very veins. His skin feels so sensitive that even the touch of Ed’s hands on his skin is like an electric shock.
Which is, of course, when Ed decides to start playing with Stede’s nipples.
“Ah!” Stede cries out, “You naughty--!”
“Stede, god-- your tits! Your nipples are so hard, they’re just begging for it.” Ed punctuates his point by rubbing Stede’s nipples, then giving them a pinch and a pull. “God, you get so tight when I pinch them like this.”
All the while, Ed’s hips don’t stop thrusting, fucking into Stede’s wet hole over and over and with building urgency.
“Ed-- oh-- ” Stede gasps.
“Wanna see you come for me, Stede.”
“Yes,” Stede breathes, reaching a hand down to wrap around his cock, stroking it firmly as Ed massages his nipples.
Ed’s thrusts turn fierce, each one sending intense waves of pleasure coursing through Stede’s body. The simultaneous stimulation of three different erogenous zones has Stede in a total frenzy.
“So good, Ed! You fill me up so good.” Stede’s rambling, he knows it, but - the pollen - he can’t stop. “I wanted this for so long, wanted you, oh! You fill me up so deep, that’s it, darling. More, Ed, I need more!”
“God, you’re so wet inside, so smooth,” Ed gasps, clinging to Stede as the intensity of his thrusts turns to frenzy as Ed loses himself to the pleasure. He holds Stede so tight, he barely has space to breathe.
“Ah, yes! So good, Ed, so good to me,” Stede gasps out.
“Stede,” Ed cries out, his hips turning frantic, “I’m gonna--almost-- fuck--”
Under the tight squeeze of Stede’s hole, Ed shoots his load. It feels like it’ll last forever, filling up Stede’s insides as Ed’s cock pulses and Ed clings to him.
“I’ll-- Ed! ” Stede cries out as Ed’s hand drops down, rubbing over the leaking head of Stede’s cock and that simple touch sends him hurtling over the edge. The pleasure roils through him, ropes of come spilling over the bedding as Ed continues fucking him through it.
Eventually, Ed’s hips slow to a stop, though Ed still clings to him, shuddering. Stede feels much the same, holding tight to Ed’s hands and shivering.
“I love you,” Stede says, still panting, his head hazy and lost in the afterglow of his pleasure.
“What?” Ed gasps against his skin and then he’s sitting up on one elbow, propped up above Stede.
“I love you.” The words come easy now, the splintering ache in his chest gone. He doesn’t even have space for worry, to fear rejection and abandonment. There’s only--
“I love you too.” Ed says and Stede breaks into a smile. Ed smiles back, “I love you too.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, you nut, I do!”
“Well, I love you too!”
“I know ‘cause I love you!”
They dissolve into laughter, sweet peals of laughter as they cling to each other in the fading sunlight. At some point, they break apart long enough to clean up and shuck their remaining clothes, curling up naked under the covers together.
Stede’s tucked warm into the curve of Ed’s arm, his head on Ed’s shoulder and he could weep with the sheer perfection of the moment.
“I must have done something good, in my youth.”
“What’s that, love?” Ed says, a sleepy edge to his voice.
“To deserve this. For you to be here, loving me.”
Ed stills under him and then Stede feels a hand cupping his chin and lifting his face.
“You didn’t have to. I love you, Stede Bonnet. Always have. Always will.”
Stede’s heart feels fit to burst.
“I love you, Edward Teach.”
They kiss, a gentle thing that leaves Stede feeling fuzzy and warm.
They’re just starting to drift off when Ed says,
“You know the pollen was made-up bullshit, right?”
“What?!”