#pufferfish rags to riches | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

edactually · 1 year

Text

Stede POV - 10.3

Being apart from Ed was still torture, but Fang and Ivan made for good company. Every now and then they would be approached by people wanting to gush over the two of them, but such conversations usually ended rather quickly and it saddened Stede to see that two such lovely people were not considered band members worth much time, just placeholders until Blackbeard and Izzy Hands were free. The bulk of the attention was on Ed and Izzy, and Stede continued to flick glances over in their direction constantly, trying to spot if Ed needed an escape call at any point, but Ed never made eye contact.

Stede’s phone didn’t buzz with a message from him either, but he still checked it often as he joined Fang and Ivan in taking large swigs from a bottle of brandy they’d procured. He would rather have had it in a glass, perhaps with some ice, but he didn’t want to spoil the fun. He gulped too much on his first swig and almost spat it out and Fang snapped another photo at that moment. Stede looked like a pufferfish, but he could admit it was funny and didn’t ask Fang to delete it.

Ed rejoined them when Stede was mid-swig again, approaching from behind so Stede didn’t spot him, just felt a pair of arms clutching around him and pulling him in for a hug. “Sorry for leaving you.”

Stede swallowed the brandy he’d almost choked on and handed the bottle to Ivan. “It’s ok, you had to do it, didn’t you?” He wanted to be supportive and had no intention of making Ed feel any guiltier than he probably already did for abandoning Stede so abruptly.

“For old time’s sake, a favour and to be left alone for the rest of the night, yeah.” Ed clutched Stede tighter against him. “Had to.”

“Blackbeard! Here you are!”

Oh god.

Not here. No, no it couldn’t be.

But then again, hadn’t he heard that they were… oh fuck, the party invitation. The embossing.

BB.

Badminton Brothers.

He’d heard that they’d gone into the music industry together on the more corporate side of things. Riding on other people’s talent to make their money was how Stede saw it. He’d remembered seeing them interviewed for some business rag and they’d been spouting off about how they’d started the company themselves and had built it from the ground up and they were self-made successes.

No mention of the huge handout they’d gotten from their father and all the help from his contacts then.

Well, Stede could hardly criticise rich boys and nepotism, but at least he didn’t go around claiming he’d done everything himself.

At least Stede was only face to face with one of them as Ed turned around. He didn’t squeeze Stede as tightly, but his arm remained around his waist and Stede held onto it like an anchor. There was some fun to be had in Nigel Badminton’s double take when he recognised Stede, but not much.

“I don’t believe it! Stede Bonnet!” And Nigel laughed. That horrible high-pitched warbling laugh that had echoed through Stede’s childhood nightmares. It hardly sounded any different, but Stede did his absolute best not to tense up at the sound, knowing Ed would feel it. If the Badminton brothers were the party hosts, then they were the ones trying to win QAR over. Even if Ed didn’t want to sign, he’d agreed to play nice as Blackbeard for one night with Izzy, so Stede had to respect that choice and not ruin it for him.

“Nigel Badminton.” He attempted a smile that was more of a grimace. “How…” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Nice to see you.”

Nigel had taken one look at Ed’s arm around Stede’s waist and Stede saw his expression flit between disgust, confusion and then finally that horrible smile of his. He didn’t know what Nigel intended to do with the information that he and Ed were obviously close, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good. “We were rowdy school chums.” Nigel explained, presumably for Ed’s benefit. “Always playing pranks on one another.”

As Stede recalled it, those ‘pranks’ had definitely been one-sided. And he wouldn’t call them pranks so much as bullying. It wasn’t a prank to tie a child’s hands to the oars of a rowboat on the boating lake and throw rocks at him while he tried desperately to escape. It wasn’t a prank to steal all of his clothes and leave them in the middle of a thicket of stinging nettles and thorn bushes and it wasn’t a prank to invent a game called ‘Bonnet Bashing’ where he was trapped in the middle of a circle of the Badmintons and their friends and things were thrown at him from all angles. That last one had resulted in a concussion and a broken wrist and had been the incident where his boarding school had called his parents.

However upon hearing that the Badminton boys were responsible, Stede had been told by his father to toughen up and try to get in their good graces - that forming connections with a family as powerful as the Badmintons would only do him good later in life when it came to calling in favours.

Stede had opted to find various hiding places instead.

“Yes, lovely to see you again, Nigel.” Stede attempted to duck out from Ed’s hold. As comforted as he felt by it, there was only so much Ed’s presence could do to dull the sting of being confronted with one of his childhood tormentors, and Stede didn’t want to be around when Nigel no doubt started trying to regale Ed with tales of childhood ‘pranks.’

“I didn’t realise you knew Blackbeard, Stede.” Nigel continued before he could make his escape. “The two of you are…?”

Fuck.

Stede hadn’t even defined the relationship with Ed, he sure as hell wasn’t having that conversation in front of Nigel.

“We are.” Ed answered for him, vaguely enough that Nigel could interpret it how he liked.

“Such a small world, isn’t it?” Nigel grinned. “Imagine me being childhood chums with one of your friends, Blackbeard! It seems like a sign to me.”

“Does it now.” Ed sounded bored. His arm dropped from Stede’s body. “If you’ll excuse me, I just have to take a leak.”

Ed looked pointedly at Stede and he was immediately thrilled. A real life escape call, but this one was for him. He went to follow as Ed began to walk away, but found an arm around his shoulders and the scent of stale sweat and expensive liquor invading his nose. “Gives me a chance to catch up with Bonnet!” Nigel called out. “We’ll wait here, come and find us again when you’re done.”

Ed shot Stede a look and he could read everything in it. Ed was desperate to save him from this hostage situation of courtesy he’d found himself in, but what could he do? Stede just mouthed ‘it’s ok’

“I’ll be quick.” Ed said, but the promise wasn’t made to Nigel.

As soon as Ed was out of sight, the arm around Stede’s shoulders dropped. “Well, well, well, Bonnet.” Nigel smirked. “Looks like those rumours about you were true.”

“What rumours?” Stede asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

“That you left your wife and children and upended your entire comfortable life because you wanted to run around waving your little rainbow flag.”

“Ah.” Stede felt no shame about that. Nigel was missing the minor detail that Mary had been the one to leave him, technically speaking, but it felt pointless to correct him. “I mean, it’s true.”

Nigel suddenly looked like the cat that got the cream. “So you and Blackbeard aren’t just friends then.”

Stede didn’t answer. Nigel didn’t deserve an answer.

“Isn’t that…”

Ridiculous, inane, horrifying - Stede was braced for whatever insult Nigel wanted to throw at him.

“Fantastic!”

Stede blinked. “Pardon?”

“If Blackbeard has a soft spot for you,” and Nigel’s mouth did twist at that like he couldn’t quite believe it. “Then you can really help me here. You scratch my back and I scratch yours, so to speak. I’ll owe you quite the favour if you help me land this one, Bonnet.”

“Land what, I don’t understand.”

“My white whale.” Nigel looked ready to start rubbing his hands together gleefully. “You see, we’ve been trying to sign QAR for ages. No one has managed it so not only will it be quite the win for us as a company and a nice little cash cow, but Chauncey and I have a little bet going on which one of us can get Blackbeard to agree. He’s our last hold out. According to Mr. Hands, the rest of QAR are willing to sign with us, we just need to secure their frontman.”

The arm lifted to loop over his shoulders again but Stede side-stepped it. Nigel continued regardless. “That’s where you come in, Bonnet. Use your… charms to get Blackbeard on side. Convince him to sign.”

Stede had never once confronted his childhood bully. He’d avoided the Badmintons like the plague, getting caught occasionally, but once his time at boarding school was over then he had walked away never to see either of the twins again. He had always regretted not standing up for himself back then, but now this was his chance. “I don’t think I’ll be doing that, Nigel.”

“Oh come now, Stede. What do you want in return? Name your price, name your favour, you’ll have it.”

“If Blackbeard doesn’t want to sign with Badminton Brothers then I won’t be twisting his arm into doing so. In fact,” Stede dared to take a step closer, squaring up to Nigel. “Perhaps I’ll convince him it’s the worst idea ever.”

Nigel’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Nigel snorted. “No, you wouldn’t. You have no backbone, Bonnet, just like at school. So soft and weak. You cried all the time and picked flowers for fuck’s sake. So you’re going to convince Blackbeard to sign, because we both know you’re too much of a coward to deny me.”

“A coward, am I?” But Stede’s voice was trembling and he knew he was physically shaking. Not the picture of strength that he wanted to be right now.

“Exactly.” Nigel smirked. “So be a good boy, Bonnet, and do as I say and I’ll still owe you that favour I promised. I’ll even throw in a nice big bunch of flowers for you, I bet you’d like that.” Stede didn’t answer and Nigel took that as confirmation he was backing down. “Just as I thought. Pathetic.”

Not that word. Stede despised that word. The last time he had heard it had been at the museum, and he’d been able to do nothing but tremble. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Bracing his hands on Nigel’s shoulders, he shoved him hard and sent the man careening backwards. He stumbled, but didn’t fall completely, and glared at Stede with such hateful intensity that for a moment he thought about running, just like he had when he was a child, but he stood his ground. If he was about to come to blows with Nigel, then so be it. It had been a long time coming.

He could see Nigel’s hands curl into fists as he straightened up and began to stalk towards him. “You’re going to regret that, Bonnet.”

Stede fought the urge to squeeze his eyes shut so he wouldn’t see the first punch coming, but a familiar arm swept out and created a barricade between Nigel and Stede. Nigel stopped in his tracks, all the wind going out of his sails as he took in the sight of Edward Teach in his flowing white shirt and breeches like a romantic hero. “I don’t think he will regret that actually.” Ed’s voice was cool and calm, and as he lowered the arm braced across Nigel’s chest, Nigel took a wary step back away from them both. “Just like I won’t regret this.”

And then Ed’s arm swung with force and Stede heard the sickening crunch as it connected with Nigel’s nose, and this time the other man did go sprawling to the floor. Blood gushed from his nose like a fountain, and Nigel lifted a hand to it. His face was a picture of shock, and then much in the same way a small child takes a moment to understand they’ve been hurt before they react, he paused and then began screaming.

Ed ignored it. “I think we should leave, Stede.” Stede was still staring dumbfounded at the scene, but allowed Ed to take his hand and guide him away from the party.

First Post

#edactuallysmau

0 notes