Work Text:
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, the thunder of cannons and pistols. Some hit their mark, some didn’t. Ed had no way to know until after- if after came for him- who would make it, whose hammock would hang empty tonight, whose only tombstone would be the red stain on the deck. Oh god- why did Ed do this?! Why did he leave his home, his FAMILY, his whole life- and to what, become a pirate ?? To sail the seven seas in search for a romanticized vision of freedom? God help him, he was was a fool. And he was going to DIE.
His men- the ones he hired, the ones who less than an hour ago were shouting in anger, words like “mutiny” and “tie him to the anchor” and “good riddance to the worst pirate captain to grace the seven seas”- were shouting, screaming for their lives all around him. Someone not far from him let out a shout that was cut short in a way that Ed had no doubt would haunt him for the rest of his , probably, very short life.
‘Oh god,’ Ed thought again, “I’m an idiot. I’m gonna die. I’m going to DIE.”
Something hard slammed into his shoulder, knocking Ed on his arse with his hands still tied behind his back. It was just his luck that the raid of actual pirates had snuck up on the Revenge while the crew was busy and occupied with sending their ex captain to the bottom of the Caribbean.
He didn’t think it’d end like this. Cowering on the deck of the ship he built, the ship he ran from his loveless marriage on, the ship that was supposed to bring freedom. He was going to die here at the hands of real pirates, or by his own crew. Either way- he wasn’t going to live to see dawn.
Another shout was cut short, causing Ed to look up with tear tracks down his face. Here it came, here was the end- here was the…
Hottest man he’d ever seen?
The man stood just shorter than Ed at his full height, but carried himself like he was larger than life. His head was framed by a halo of golden curls, soft and neat, not a hair out of place. His teal waist and over coats were marked pristine while the world around him slowly faded to red. And worst of all, the man was staring down at Ed as though god himself had sent him through the trials of hell to get to this moment, and Ed was his reward. And that, right there, might be more terrifying than any impending death could ever be.
“Blackbeard, I presume?” The man’s soft but powerful voice reached his ears, remarkably audible over the battle raging around them.
”Y-yes?” Ed stammered, not sure if he was actually getting the words out or just thinking them to himself, “You’ve heard of me?”
The man smiled, his face turning fond and gentle while at the same time very at home in the hell swirling around the deck around them.
”Oh, I’ve heard of you,” he said, stepping forward and sheathing his sword, “I’ve heard all about you.”
Ed watched, mouth agape, as the man reached toward him. He thought briefly how this man, this pirate, seemed to have an unearthly glow about him, like a lighthouse there to guide him through the smoke of hell fire threatening to choke him.
”Oh,” Ed huffed, the corner of his mouth ticking up in an exhausted half smile, before swiftly, and promptly, passing out.