Work Text:
Crammed into a single rowboat, Stede and his crew landed on the beach of the island of Tortuga under the darkening sky, all parched and in need of drink.
“Do you want us to find you something, Captain?” Wee John asked.
Stede shook his head, frowning. “No. My plan is to find the nearest bar.”
“I’d drink to that if I had a drink in hand,” Roach said, clapping Stede on the shoulder, and they walked together inland.
Tortuga didn’t quite have the reputation of the Republic of Pirates, but it wasn’t far off. Yet the bar was near empty when they arrived. Stede was glad. The quiet would help him think of his plan to win Ed back.
By the time he was on his fifth tankard of rum, the rest of the crew had left to set up camp, and the bar had filled up with various shifty looking characters. Stede glanced around, barely paying attention, until he spotted a man at the bar and his heart leapt into his throat.
It couldn’t be—could it?
He stood, staggering a little, before walking deliberately over to the bar. The man turned his head a little and Stede sighed in disappointment. He looked like Ed, to be sure—albeit with short hair—but there were minor differences in his face and his clothes were a far cry from Ed’s usual leathers.
Looking up, Stede realized he had caught the man’s attention. He gestured to the seat beside him, and Stede thought for a moment before nodding, accepting the wordless invitation.
“You thought I was someone else,” the man said in a heavily accented European voice as Stede sat.
Surprised, Stede nodded. “I did.”
“I thought so. I am sorry I am not him.”
Stede shrugged. “It’s okay. He’d probably stab me as soon as look at me, these days.” He cleared his throat, remembering his manners through his drunken haze. “Stede Bonnet.”
“Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg (né von Blitzenberg),” the man said. “But you can just call me Viago.”
They shook hands, and Stede shivered at Viago’s cool touch.
“Tell me about this man.”
Stede took a deep breath and began his tale. Viago listened attentively, interjecting in the right places, until Stede had finished.
“You love him very much,” Viago observed.
“I do,” Stede agreed.
“And you think I look like him, and wish I was him.”
Stede blushed, just sober enough to be embarrassed.
“I would be him for you, if I could,” Viago murmured. “You are enchanting.”
If possible, Stede blushed even harder. “Thank you.”
Viago took his hand, and Stede followed him out into the moonlight. Once outside, Viago crowded him against the wall of the bar, before whispering in his ear.
“You really don’t know what I am, do you?”
“What you are?” Stede repeated helplessly. His body was responding to Viago’s proximity, and he whimpered as Viago placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
“You think I’m human.” Viago drew back, smiling widely, and Stede could see his canines, long and sharp in the light of the torches. He gasped, and Viago’s smile turned amused, and slightly goofy given the sharp teeth. “I am not.”
“What are you?”
“An immortal,” Viago replied, before kissing him again. This was no simple press of lips, but something deep and passionate, until Stede caught his tongue on one of the sharp teeth, hissing.
“Ouch!” He touched his tongue with his fingers, and they came away slightly bloody.
“Take care how you cut yourself,” Viago said, smiling darkly. “It is more dangerous than you think in this company.”
Stede looked at him uneasily, and Viago sighed.
“Would you like to be an immortal? To be shown how to make your Ed immortal too, so you may roam the world together forever?”
Nodding wildly, Stede couldn’t help the ferocity of his, “Yes!”
Viago kissed him again, and Stede melted into it. He could almost pretend that he was kissing his Ed.
“You are drunk, and this is not a decision to be made lightly,” Viago said. “Go back to your crew. If you truly want this, you will never see sunshine again, as it could kill you. Travel only in a coffin, and sleep in it during the day to make sure sunlight never finds you. Come here tomorrow night if you still want it.”
One final kiss, and Viago disappeared into the night.
Stede shook his head, and headed to the campsite, collapsing down between Black Pete and Buttons, and falling into a deep, drunken slumber.
***
Stede woke the next morning, wondering if it had all been a dream. But no—his tongue was still sore.
He was quiet enough that the crew noticed, but he was sure they assumed he was thinking about Ed. So he was surprised when Oluwande approached him.
“You alright, Captain?”
“I think so.” Stede took a deep breath, then began relaying what had happened the night before.
“So…” Oluwande said at length. “Are you going to become a vampire?”
“Vampire?” Stede asked, shocked. “You don’t think…?”
Oluwande gave him a long look.
“Yes, I suppose he was. Huh.” Stede frowned. “Do you think the rest of the crew would mind?”
“Would you feed off of us?”
“Never without your consent!”
Oluwande shrugged. “Then you’ll probably be fine.” He paused. “So we should find you a coffin, then?”
“I reckon so,” Stede replied, smiling.
***
Viago was already waiting at the bar that night when Stede arrived. Without a word, Viago led him out to a secluded area, and grinned.
“You’ve made up your mind, then?”
Stede nodded. “Please…” he trailed off, unsure how to word his request.
Viago nodded, then began to kiss him, deeper and harder as Stede relaxed into it. Then Viago was kissing a line down his neck, before scraping his teeth lightly over Stede’s skin.
Stede gasped in pleasure, then again in pain as Viago sank his teeth into the soft flesh of Stede’s throat. He felt himself begin to harden at the pleasurable agony of Viago guzzling his blood, and moaned softly. One hand was on the back of Viago’s head, holding him in place; the other slid down to press against his own crotch as his head became lighter and lighter.
“Drink,” Viago told him suddenly, holding his own wrist up to Stede’s mouth, and Stede realized he was lying on the ground. He took the proffered wrist, and began to drink the blood that ran from Viago’s veins.
It felt like nothing Stede had ever experienced.
His whole body felt as though it were lit up—he was aware of every nerve ending, every part of his body. He felt as though he could fly.
Viago pulled his wrist back, and Stede sat up. Already he could feel his canines sharpening. Already his eyesight was keener, his hearing more in tune with the sounds of the night.
A man was walking past, and Stede knew immediately that this man was evil—a nasty brute of a man who had beaten his wife half to death earlier that day. Quick as lightning, Stede was on him, biting him at the juncture of neck and shoulder, drinking down the warm blood from him.
When the man’s heart stopped he instinctively let go, and the corpse dropped to the ground.
“Very good,” Viago said, sounding pleased. “Now, let me teach you the joys of being a vampire.”
***
After a night of lessons, including animal transformation and flying, Stede returned to the camp just before sunrise. Oluwande was awake already, and smiled at him, pointing to a solid wooden coffin lined with soft, padded silk.
He climbed inside and allowed Oluwande to lock him in, before closing his eyes to sleep.
Hold on, Ed, he thought as he began to drift off. I’m coming to find you.