Extra Room
GentleBeard (Stede Bonnet x Edward Teach from OFMD)
Word Count: 2.5k
Warnings: lil bit of angst (BUT MOSTLY FLUFF), brief mentions of pirate-y (pirate-esque?) violence. It’s Blackbeard, yall know what you’re getting into.
Prompt: 20 Fluffy Dialogue Prompts (created by novelbear) #14 “sad…i have a blanket with all this extra room and no one to share it with.”
“Has anyone seen Edward? We were supposed to go gallivanting in the Republic of Pirates this evening?” Stede calls out to his busy crew that was halfway through the ship's store of liquor. It’d been a long week of escaping the British fleets that still constantly sought after the captains and crew of the Revenge, and they were finally able to go to port after a particularly tense run in with Spanish merchants in cahoots with the king.
“Gall-er-vanting? What’sat even mean?” Wee John mumbles where he’s half asleep atop a pile of ropes.
“I think it’s something to do with horses, yeah? Or a pony? Can’t tell the difference to be honest,” Frenchie muses. He’s curled into John’s side, snatching the rum bottle out of his hand and stealing a swig.
“Nay, I believe tis a species of jellyfish,” Buttons interjects where he’s staring over the railing at the slowly rising moon. Without warning, he spins around to stand directly under Stede’s nose. “If Cap’n Blackbeard is missing, I’ll gladly be your guide. I know many a jellyfish. Personally, even. The moon is ripe and the fish are f-”
“That’s quite enough, Mr. Buttons, but I do appreciate the offer,” Making a quick exit from that particular conversation, Stede addresses the group again. “Seriously, you guys! Have any of you seen Ed at all??”
“Not in a bit, no,” Lucius rolls his eyes, pulling himself from where he was oh-so importantly perched on Black Pete’s lap, staring into his eyes and whispering who knows what into his ear. The same thing they did almost every night. “Don’t even think of dragging me along to the Republic as your sexy, little assistant again. I still have nightmares about Spanish Jackie’s and the way that nose jar smelled when you shattered the thing into a million little pieces.”
“Yes, thank you, Lucius. We all remember! Haha, very funny! You don’t have to keep bringing it up,” Stede huffs haughtily, his nose up in the air as he turns toward his captain’s quarters. Obviously his crew was busy with much more important matters, not that he’d expect any of the bunch to know where Edward was when he didn’t want to be found. Stede would have sought out Oluwande and asked him, but Jim and him had snuck into their private quarters an hour ago. And last time Stede went and knocked on their door out of the blue, Jim had thrown a dagger through it and took an inch off his bangs.
So. That was a no-go.
Pushing aside the heavy door to his quarters, he’s greeted to the sight of his dark and empty sitting room. It was much less lavish than when it was first built, all of his bells and whistles torn and thrown into the sea after his and Ed’s…brief break up. Gilden decorations and lost books aside, Stede rather liked the new vibes. It was a reminder of who he was and who he’s become all in one. A reminder of his new life with Edward, the one he almost abandoned for a wife and children who were far better off without him lingering around their estate like some miserable, half-dead ghost. It was bitter sweet but functional and, best of all, fitted with a bed large enough for him and his co-captain to share.
A bed that was suspiciously more rumpled than it was before Stede left to speak with his crew, Ed’s favorite pillow missing.
While he and Stede were back together and working on better communication, Edward still had his share of bad days. Days where he felt more Legendary Kraken than man. Where there had once been boiling hurt and burning anger, now remained embers of shame. Shame over trashing Stede’s ship, shame over ditching Stede’s crew, shame over letting Izzy get to him so badly that he nearly killed Stede when they reunited. Shame that manifested in Ed hiding himself away in random holes throughout the ship, isolating himself as a form of punishment.
It was something that Stede was trying to help Edward with, but it could be hard to help someone who didn’t want to be found. Luckily for Stede, though, he could at least narrow down his love’s hiding spot to somewhere in his quarters. An added bonus was his lack of lavish decorations left Ed very few spaces to sequester himself away in.
Silently creeping through his room, Stede avoided creaky spots in the wood flooring as he glanced around his cabin. The fireplace was empty, as was their bed, and underneath the couch. It might seem ridiculous to look in places so small, but after the last month, Stede knew that if it could even slightly fit Edward? The man would find a way to hide away in there when you least expected it.
To his left, out of the corner of his eye, Stede noticed the hidden door to his wardrobe cracked just barely open. It was the only place in his quarters that had been untouched, even when Edward was dead set on throwing out any other reminder of Stede. Immediately he ceased his tiptoeing around and walked forward towards the bed.
“Shame that my darling Edward’s up and disappeared on me,” Stede projects, hopefully loud enough to reach into even the farthest corner of the closet. He flops backwards onto the bed, being sure to make as much noise as he can as he kicks off his heavy boots and settles in.
The bed in the ship’s window is the only thing on the ship that has remained a true luxury. Even more so after Edward began sleeping in it as well. Who would have guessed that the most feared pirate of all seven seas had a penchant for fleece blankets softer than you could imagine and plush pillows you could push into just about any shape you wanted. The infamous Blackbeard was stubborn and embarrassed about any other sign of luxury, but the draw of a comfy bed to crawl back to after a long, hard day was just too irresistible.
“It truly is sad…I have a blanket with ALL this extra room and no one to share it with…” Stede laments, grabbing the corners of one of Edward’s favorite blankets and rolling up in it. For a moment, he’s silent. Holding himself as still as possible to listen past the soft crush of waves against the Revenge, so that he might hear any sign of life from in the wardrobe. His answer is the sound of the wardrobe door finally clicking shut all the way. So much for that idea.
Stede slides out of bed, keeping Ed’s thick, warm blanket tight around his shoulders. As much as he’s striving to make things right between them, struggling to make up for his mistakes. It’s always a shot in the dark for him. Never in his life has he had this much to lose, this much to love. It was partly why he had run, it’s terrifying having your heart beat outside of your chest in the hands of somebody else. Even now there was a sickly, frightened voice from the back of his mind. It was yelling at him to head back out to the deck. Edward hates him and he’s only going to make things worse by pushing and pushing until Ed pushes back and they’ll be right back to square one.
Ignoring that small voice, Stede pushes forward and stands outside the hidden door.
What good has running away EVER done him?
Knocking lightly on the door, Stede clears his throat and asks, “Ed? May I come in?”
On the other side of the door there’s silence. For over a minute! Stede’s practically shaking where he stands, the sick voice in his head getting louder and louder. This was a mistake! Of course he doesn’t want to see you! This is all your fault, you weak-hearted, soft-handed, lily livere-
The door to the wardrobe quietly clicks back open.
Letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, Stede slumps a little. That had been a tense moment! Probably the most nervous he’s been all week! Which is saying something, he’s a pirate, you know.
He waits for the door to open further, for Edward to say something, make a noise, anything. Nothing goes on beyond the door opening just an inch. It’s small, but it’s enough for Stede.
The wardrobe is near pitch black when he toes the door aside and quickly closes it behind himself. As much as he adores his crew and always maintains an open door policy for any brave soul who might need to talk out their tangled emotions from their latest battle…well, nobody really even came into his room to do that. And right now Lucius whining about something or other or a bizarre bird related rant from Buttons was the last thing that would help him and Edward’s precarious situation.
Not sure he’d be able to make it more than a step or two without falling ass over elbows, Stede sits with his back to the door, blanket still snug around his shoulders.
“I’m not stupid. I know what you were trying to do out there,” Ed rasps after five minutes in silence. Edward could sit in silence for hours, maybe even days when it meant waiting out a particularly stubborn adversary. He’s used to playing strong and sullen and silent, but there’s just something about Stede not running his mouth for longer than a few seconds that just unnerves the man. It has him fighting the urge to fill the silence himself, which he knows is exactly why the bastard does it. Gentleman Pirate, his ass. These were dirty tricks.
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Ed,” Stede says back, matching his love’s quiet tone albeit much gentler. The blonde desperately wishes he could see Ed in here. That he could reach out and tuck his hair behind his ear, pull him close, beg him to forgive whatever he did this time to make him disappear again. “What’s going on?”
From somewhere a few feet to his left, there’s shuffling and a quiet sigh. Then silence again.
“Is it-? Did I-?” Stede begins and is almost immediately cut off.
“Oh, please, Stede. It’s not all about you,” Edward huffs, a sharper rustling noise coming from his direction. Stede can almost imagine the other rolling his eyes and folding his arms across his chest in frustration.
“Fair,” Stede chuckles. That’s yet another thing they’re working on, Stede’s insistence that all things evil and wretched were his doing. Albeit usually Edward spoke about it in a much kinder tone than this, but Stede couldn’t blame him. Not when he was centering himself when Ed was the one suffering. “Then talk to me. Tell me what’s going through your mind.”
“I just-!” Edward starts loud, the noise sounding sharp in the small space between them, but cuts himself off with a strangled groan. It’s always like this, like a physical block in his chest preventing him from saying anything. His throat tight and his face burning, it makes him want to tear down the frilly shirts and jackets he can feel brushing against his shoulders. But same as Stede working on his own self-blame, Edward is working on not letting his fight-or-fight response take hold of him. “Does it EVER get easier?!”
This time it’s Stede that needs a moment to gather his thoughts. He feels woefully unqualified to answer that question. Just ten minutes ago he was internally tearing himself to shreds, contemplating running out to the deck and jumping overboard just to drown out the unceasing thoughts of self-doubt. He was still struggling, what right does he have to comment on if it gets better or not??
“I think it does,” Stede says quietly, surprising himself. “I mean, just look at us! Do you think a month ago you would have even entertained me coming in here while you’re like this? Or even speak to me?”
“Well, no, but…” Edward starts weakly, his half-formed protest dying almost immediately.
“There we go, proof!” Stede is grinning into the dark now, Ed can hear it in his voice. “I don’t think this kind of thing ever goes away, really…but it will get easier. The time will keep passing, and before you know it, you’re surrounded by family you never thought you could have. You’ll find that you haven’t struggled like you used to in a long time.”
It’s quiet in the wardrobe once Stede finishes his little speech. He politely pretends he doesn’t hear sniffling coming from in front of him. Without warning, Edward flops into his side, burrowing his way under the blanket still covering his shoulders.
“Where’d you learn all that, huh?” Ed mutters while Stede happily wraps an arm around his shoulders and tugs him in close. “Certainly not from any bloody pirates.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I read it in a book somewhere, or maybe it’s just a universal truth. Who knows?” Stede sighs happily, feeling like a missing piece of him has been returned to its rightful place.
“Sounds like a crock of shit to me,” Edward teases back, not an ounce of sincerity in his voice.
“Oh, whatever! Seems to have done the trick just nicely,” Stede hums happily as he turns enough to wrap both arms around the other. Returning the embrace, Ed wraps his arms around Stede’s torso, burying his face into the space between his neck and shoulder.
“Sorry for screwing up the whole Republic idea you made,” Edward mumbles into the warm skin just above Stede’s collar. “Would’ve been proper nice to get in and old-fashioned bar fight. Might’ve even got to stab someone.”
“Ah, yes. Well, another time. Plenty of stabbings ahead of us, dear!” Stede’s a little less bummed about missing their evening in the Republic of Pirates now. While he’d done major change after starting his new life as a pirate, it wasn’t THAT much progress. “I think I’d rather like to stay in this evening, anyways.”
Making a soft noise of agreement, Edward sinks fully into Stede’s arms, going limp like a puppet with his strings cut. It makes Stede’s heart flutter almost painfully and it’s like suddenly he understands every trashy romance novel he’d ever snuck onto his bookshelves. For all the struggle and strife it took to maintain an actual relationship, the benefits largely outweighed any temporary discomfort.
“Ah, but maybe not on the floor of the wardrobe,” Sheepishly, Stede tries his best to shift his leg out from under where it’s pinned under Ed. “I think both of my feet are asleep.”
Edward laughs heartily as he sits up and shoves the hidden door back open. Hazey, burning light floods the once pitch space of the closet. It turns Edward’s eyes a honeyed orange that glows warmly as the two pirates stare at each other, positively love sick.
“Alright, old man, to bed with you!” Ed grins as he pushes himself to his feet and holds both hands for Stede to take. While it’s mostly just to help him to his feet when they’re filled with pins and needles, there’s the added bonus of being able to tug the blonde forward. Stumbling into Ed’s chest, Stede raises an eyebrow at him, unable to cut down on the lopsided smile the action brings to his face. “‘Sides, you’ve really sold me on the blanket thing. Looks mighty lonely on you.”
10 notes
·
View notes