Chapter Text
"Captain, you’ve got to see this!” Oluwande shouts, from somewhere down the hall. Stede perks up. Maybe something of value? An abandoned ship floating in the middle of the sea had seemed too good to be true, and so far they've come up empty-handed. Which is preferable to more bloodshed, if Stede's being honest.
“Coming, I’m coming,” he calls back, following the sounds of Oluwande’s voice. He pushes open a door, finding himself crammed into a small bathroom with the other man. “Well, this is certainly cozy," he quips, raising an eyebrow. "What did you call me in for-?” his question abruptly cuts off as he gets a good look around the room, and he covers a gasp with his hand.
“Oh!” Stede exclaims in surprise, taking a step closer to the tub.
“Captain, be careful-” Oluwande starts, grabbing his arm, but Stede absently shakes him off, transfixed by what he sees.
The loveliest man he’s ever seen rests in the tub, asleep or passed out, Stede can’t be sure. But--and Stede can’t believe what he’s seeing-- in place of the man's legs is a large, black tailfin, sleek and powerful, hanging out over the edge the bathtub, trailing on the floor. Stede takes a cautious step closer.
“A siren?” he whispers in awe, glancing at Oluwande. The other man looks nervous, and as if summoned by his discomfort, Jim appears behind his shoulder, gently squeezing his arm.
“What’s going on - what the fuck?” Jim asks, noticing the the man in the tub, too. He's hard to miss. Jim's eyes go wide as they take in his fin. Unlike Oluwande, though, Jim seems intrigued rather than frightened. They move to stand beside Stede, examining the merman
Jim let's out a low whistle, grimacing at the state of the merman. “He’s hurt,” they say quietly. Stede nods. He definitely noticed that, as well. Bruises and cuts litter the man’s body, the water a pale pink from the blood. Some of the cuts look quite fresh, and quite deep. Stede's not sure what kind of weapon made the variety of injuries the man has, and it makes him shudder. How could anyone harm such a lovely being?
“Some of this happened recently,” Jim says, while Stede frowns.
An idea is already forming in his head, and as Stede stares at the merman for another moment, he makes his decision. He claps his hands together to draw their attention. “Right,” he says, looking at the two of them. “Well, we can’t just leave him here, can we?”
“Uhh, are you sure that's a good idea--?" Oluwande starts, but when Jim nods in agreement with Stede, Olu sighs, knowing he’s outnumbered.
“All right, so what do we do? Dump him back in the ocean?”
Stede's affronted. “Of course not!” he says, shaking his head. “Be reasonable, Olu, this man needs our help! He wouldn’t survive like this!”
Jim nods, still examining the merman's injuries. “I bet Roach could fix up some of those cuts.”
Oluwande shakes his head, chuckling in disbelief. “I guess we’re really doing this, then,” he says, sounding mostly good-natured about it. Stede nods, taking off his jacket, and Jim takes it from him, throwing it over their shoulder.
“Right,” Stede says again, cautiously approaching the tub, rolling up his sleeves. He feels just a touch nervous, not knowing how this interaction will play out.
The merman doesn’t stir.
“Okay, erm, I’ll just…” Stede reaches into the water, doing his best to get a good grip on the merman, carefully picking him up. He’s surprisingly lightweight, definitely malnourished. The merman exhales, frowning, and lovely brown eyes flick open as his brow furrows, his confusion obvious.
“Oh, er, hello,” Stede says, trying to play it cool. He doesn't want to make a bad first imoression, after all. The merman pulls back his lip in a weak snarl, revealing sharp, pointed teeth, and Oluwande makes a distressed noise.
"Captain, watch out for the teeth--!"
Stede ignores him, focused solely on the man in his arms. He feels… something. But not fear, definitely not. Something warm, a fiery need to protect this being. He vows right then to do whatever he can to help him. “Sorry," he says with a wince, " I know this is quite awkward, and I don’t know if you can even understand me, but we’re getting you out of here.”
The man in Stede’s arms grunts, looking around, taking everything in, and then seems to realize he’s not with his previous captors. He reaches out, touching Stede’s face in curiosity before he exhales through his nose, eyes fluttering closed again. He rests his weary head against Stede’s shoulder. Stede holds him closer, resisting the urge to comfort him more.
“Ok,” says Stede, turning to Oluwande and Jim. “Let’s get him back to the Revenge.”
It takes a lot of awkward maneuvering, and the three of them almost drop the poor merman more than once, but they miraculously manage to get him back to their ship. They run a bath in Stede's quarters, full of seawater, and Stede carefully places the merman in it.
The merman opens one bleary eye when Stede calls Roach in, and Roach seems unusually relaxed about their new guest. Perhaps this isn't the strangest thing he's ever seen. He sets to work, cleaning his wounds, stitching up some of the deeper ones.
"Looks like a knife made some of these," he observes, "but I'm not sure about these longer ones. Probably something with a good amount of reach, I don't think you'd wanna get close to him-"
"Yes, Roach, we get the picture," Stede interrupts, feeling ill at the thought of this man's mistreatment. Roach is gracious enough to switch topics.
“So, you guys found a mermaid, huh?” he asks conversationally. “What are we going to do with it?”
Stede frowns. “We will, of course, release him once he’s healed,” he says. The merman makes a low growling noise in his chest.
Roach rolls his eyes.
“Captain, no offense, but this is real pirate shit. Maybe you should reconsider-”
“No,” Stede says, voice harder than normal. Everyone looks surprised. “We will not keep him prisoner. He… he deserves to be free.” He stares down at the merman, knowing all too well what it's like to be trapped. The merman closes his eyes again.
Roach says nothing more, simply goes back to his work, but Stede can tell he might not agree. He wonders what the rest of the crew will think. Is he being foolish? Will this cause discord-?
“Captain’s right,” Jim says, and Stede looks at them with gratitude, exhaling in relief. This is good. “We might be really shitty pirates, but that’s not who we are.”
“I take offense to the ‘really shitty’ part, but thank you, Jim,” Stede says. Oluwande sinks into the chair by the tub, chuckling weakly.
"What are we gonna tell the others?" he asks. Stede purses his lips in thought.
"The truth," he decides, "I shouldn't keep something like this from the crew."
"Some of the others might not want to let him go, either," Jim says, glancing at Roach.
Roach shrugs.
"It just seems like a wasted opportunity," he says, continuing to fix up their new guest, letting out a low whistle. "Somebody really did a number on him, though."
Stede winces in sympathy. "Yes, I suspect he's not been treated kindly at the hands of other pirates."
Roach nods. "I'd stay clear of him when he wakes up," he says, nodding toward the merman’s hands, showing them webbed fingers and sharp nails. Stede remembers his teeth.
"Poor thing is probably defenseless outside of the ocean," Stede says, watching his face. He really is lovely.
Roach rolls his eyes.
"Don't let your guard down around him, captain."
Stede says nothing.
