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The seas were calm and the supplies in the cargo hold of the Revenge were half-empty. Or rather, half-full depending on how you looked at it. Captain Stede Bonnet, ever the optimist, decided to present the inventory of the cargo hold as half-empty to persuade his guest first mate to make a stop at port. Perhaps it was the calm seas that put Izzy Hands in a decent enough mood, but he agreed, and directed Buttons to turn course to the nearest port. With a shopping list in the hands of his trustworthy crew, Stede called Ed down from the crow's nest to join him and parse through what the small but bustling port had to offer.
While Stede flitted and fluttered from stall to stall, Ed strode behind him, one hand resting on his pistol out of habit. Despite the glittering gems and golden rings and fine fabrics the merchants were offering, Ed couldn't take his eyes off Stede. Even as he was earning more and more confidence every day as a pirate, Ed would never get tired of seeing Stede in his element— surrounded by gilded luxury. A tiny voice in his heart wondered and hoped that he fit at Stede's side, too. Maybe never as well as silk robes or cashmere throws, but… somewhere.
A booth with wooden swords, carved wooden carriages, and cloth dolls stole Stede's attention. With slow hands, Stede ran his fingers down the grooves of the sword. And that's how we deal with pirates the voice of his daughter echoed through Stede's head as melancholy panged in his chest. He withdrew his hand quickly as though he had been burned and tried to banish the thought. They were better off without him, and his family was here now, at sea. His family was—
"Aw, mate, check this out," Ed's voice was bright and inquisitive, which was quickly becoming Stede's favorite tone for it. Stede knew he would be in for some new, challenging, exciting experience as he turned and saw Ed—
Cradling a doll.
Not… really what Stede was expecting. Perhaps you removed the head and there was a blade hiding inside it? Stede stepped a foot closer to Ed, the breath leaving his lungs in a shaky exhale, as Stede took it into his own hands and examined the thing. The doll wore bright turquoises trousers that shone softly in the sun, not silk, but satin, Stede noted, as the fabric had heft behind it that silk did not. Stede ran his hands up the trousers, to the doll's torso that was clad in plain cotton—soft, but light and breathable. If the little fellow could breathe, Stede was sure he'd appreciate the light fabric in the Caribbean heat— it was far more practical than the satin trousers.
The crowning embellishment of the doll was its golden robe. Stede's fingers traced the fabric carefully, recognizing a plant based fiber he couldn't quite name as he took in the floral pattern. His hands stopped once they met the lining of the robe, he lifted his head and met Ed's eyes with vigor.
"Silk," Stede said with confidence. "They used real silk to line the robe! What— incredible attention to detail. What amazing commitment to craft! And the robe is it—"
"Hand painted, yes," the merchant said without lifting her head from her knitting needles. "That soutache 'bout drove me mad, but it came out quite nice." The merchant lifted her gaze and tossed her curls out of her eyes with a throw of her head.
"Oh, I say," Stede breathed in agreement. "It's—"
"Mate, it's you." Ed interrupted.
Stede shook his head, confusion and denial creasing his brow. "What? No. Look at its hair! Far too mussed up to be mine."
"But the color's the same," Ed moved to hold the doll next to Stede's head to compare. "And the style's like— like that time Karl perched on your head and wouldn't get off for five minutes! Remember that?"
Stede raised his hand to move the doll from his line of vision, his fingers brushing Ed's. A curious string of heat rose to his cheeks. "It was six minutes! And of course I remember. Had talon scratches on my head for days."
Ed cradled the doll in his arms in a way that almost looked parental. "Yeah, seagulls have webbed feet, mate."
"Oh, whatever," Stede rolled his eyes.
"Ey, give you… 15 dabloons for it," Ed spoke to the merchant without looking at her, his gaze on the doll's face.
"Make it 20 and I'll throw in another outfit." The merchant revealed a pink robe and pair of brown trousers. Stede took the robe from her hands to inspect it.
"Hold on, I've seen this fabric before. These paradise birds— I own this robe myself!"
"You caught me, didn't hand-paint that one." The merchant raised her hands in feigned guilt. "So we got a deal or what?"
"Deal." Ed dug in his pocket and laid the money on the table. He held the doll up to the sun, a hand under each of its arms, before tucking it into his jacket and walking back towards the ship.
Stede scoffed at his friend, but couldn't help the warm smile he felt moving to his face. Ed probably didn't have many toys as a child, and most definitely none of this quality. Perhaps this doll would help him turn a much needed corner to heal his inner child.
A doll that looked just like Stede. Ed couldn't believe his luck. Even down to the fussy little bows on his shoes. So what if the dread pirate Blackbeard was acting like a kid with a crush? A find like this didn't cross the ocean every day, and a man like Stede certainly—
Ed stopped in his tracks. He had to know, right? After the fancy party, the You wear fine things well, the stretched out glances in his direction, the way his fingers tinged with warmth every time their hands brushed, the way their laughs caught the smoke of his pipe and made a sweet and intoxicating home in his chest. Stede had to have some inkling of the feelings Ed was harboring by now… right?
Ed walked up the steps to the Revenge and took the doll out from the shelter of his jacket. The sun was beginning to go down by now and its golden rays complemented the gold of the doll's robe.
"Whoa, Blackbeard, nice lookin'… whatever that is." Frenchie gestured in his direction.
Wee John rose from the barrel he was sitting on. "That jacket looks to be a quite good quality. An incredible find, captain."
Ed recalled a detail the merchant said. "Handpainted and lined with silk. Got it for quite a steal, boys."
"Some needy kid will definitely appreciate it, sir, Blackbeard, sir," Frenchie concluded.
Needy kid? What the fuck am I? Fuckin' Santa Claus?
"Yeah, a needy kid, sure, definitely," Ed smoothed the frizzed hair of the doll, twirling some strands of it around his finger. Ed saw the back of his first mate and tucked the doll back into his jacket. No need to explain why the feared Blackbeard suddenly had a pension for well dressed dolls with golden hair.
Distracted, the toe of Ed's boot caught on a nail risen from a floor board. With his hands wrapped firmly around his middle, Ed's knee took the blunt of his fall, and with it a loud thud as he hit the deck.
Izzy was by his side as quickly as the impact happened.
"Oi! Make yourselves fuckin' useful and hammer down these nails! What kinds of fuckin' disgraces have lifted nails on their ship, ha?" Izzy yelled in the general direction of Frenchie and Wee John. He helped Ed to his feet, one hand at his elbow.
"Shit happens, Iz, just make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else." Now on his feet, the usual dull ache in his knee was screaming. Fucking hell. With his arms still wrapped around his torso and the soft squish of the doll against his chest, Ed breathed a steadying sigh. "Tell Roach I'll take tea in the captain's quarters." And he limped off.
With his arms full of new treasures, Stede climbed aboard his ship. It felt good to be home, even if he was only gone for a few hours. He couldn't wait to show Ed the surprises he gathered in his absence.
"Hey, uh, cap'n, Blackbeard was askin' for ya," Frenchie lifted his head as he scattered taps of a hammer around random planks of the deck. "He's back in your quarters."
"Thank you, Frenchie, and uh, good job… Doing that." Stede gestured with his elbow at the man as his hands were full. Of course Ed would be in his (their? His. Their?) quarters. His new doll was something precious to shield from the prying eyes of their crew. Stede smiled as he balanced his items and freed one hand enough to open the door.
When he entered their (his?) quarters, Ed was sitting on the chaise with his knee stretched out. His doll was sitting up prim and proper on the neighboring chair. Stede looked on with quiet concern as Ed rubbed at his knee with both hands, his regular brace sitting on the floor. Stede gasped, dropping his parcels so quickly it was like they burned his hands. Ed turned to face him and moved his hands behind his head, like the picture of relaxation. A very forced and tense picture of relaxation.
"Ed!" Stede stepped over his bags and bolted towards Ed. "Ed, are you okay?"
Ed removed his hands from his head at once and started picking at his leather pants nonchalantly. "Oh— Yeah, mate, yeah. Totally."
Stede nodded slowly, his eyes roaming as he thought. "And Frenchie pounding the deck with a hammer is just him… having a laugh? Everything is in order? No one's… hurt themselves, recently?" Stede's gaze focused back to Ed, trying to show care without prying.
Ed refused to meet Stede's gaze as his fingers stayed busy. "Might've… Taken a spill up on deck a bit ago." His tone was sheepish. Even though the time Ed had been in Stede's life has been short thus far, Stede felt like he and Ed just… got each other in a way he'd never had with another person. Seeing Ed happy made Stede happy, and seeing Ed hurt made Stede hurt, too. He crossed the floor of their cabin towards Ed and knelt beside him.
"The bed's much larger than the chaise, stretch your leg out there." Stede's voice was impossibly warm. Ed gazed up at him from his seat with shining eyes that Stede couldn't quite read. "Here, let me—"
Stede offered Ed his hand which he took with hesitation, like he was worried Stede would vanish the second they touched or pull his hand back and declare his kindness to be a joke. Warmth flooded Stede as Ed pressed against the side of his body as he supported Ed's weight on the far too short walk to the bed nook.
With Ed now seated on the bed, Stede wet a rag in the basin of cool water in the ensuite. In his short time away, Ed had shimmied himself out of his pants and covered his lap with his favored cashmere blanket. An excuse to have more than a snatched glimpse at the tattoos covering Ed's leg, Stede placed the wet rag over Ed's knee that was already turning a deep purple.
"Keep that there for a bit. I'm going to fetch some hot water and more rags, alternating the temperature will help with the swelling." Stede cast him a smile that Ed didn't return, but Stede could see it in his eyes. A layer of trust that Stede would come back even if he would be gone for a moment to bring him something warm. Stede's smile grew wider. "Perhaps I can even snag a few of the pastries Roach was preparing for dessert. The ones with the blackberries that you liked so much last time."
Stede watched the line of Ed's throat bob in a swallow. Ed cleared his throat with partial success as his voice was raspy. "Yeah, mate, that would— that would be great. Thanks."
With one last smile, or rather a smile that never left, Stede left Ed's side. A bolt of teal caught his eye.
"Oh, can't forget this one, can we?" He took the doll into his hands and placed it by Ed's side. "He'll keep you company until I return. Now, I won't be gone a moment." Stede watched Ed's arms fold gingerly around the doll before taking his leave.
Ed looked into the beady black eyes of Doll Stede and saw his reflection in them. He honestly didn't look… half bad. Hair pulled out of his face, the line of his nose, beard could do for a trim just to keep the hairs out of his mouth and off of his lips. He wondered what real Stede saw when he looked at him and half-hoped for not half bad, too.
Ed pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and laid flat on Stede's bed. Typically laying on his side was the most comfortable position for him, but with his knee fucked like this, no position was truly comfortable. The bed was a major improvement to the chaise, at least. Not just because of the layers and layers of down and feathers and pillows and blankets made out of fancy as fuck fabrics Ed's only dreamed about, but the relaxing smell of lavender that followed Stede was concentrated here. Pulling the blanket up to his nose, Ed took a deep breath in of the scent. With Doll Stede in his arms and the promise of real Stede returning soon, Ed could shut his eyes just for a moment…
The crew did not take the postponement of the next installment of the Pinocchio, er— the Wooden Boy story as well as Stede had hoped and he had to spend more time than he wanted to promising them an extra chapter tomorrow night to make up for it.
"Good things come to those who wait, but my apologies, nonetheless." Stede pushed open the door, balancing a pitcher of steaming water in one hand and a small plate of blackberry tarts in the other. Ed… didn't greet him. With a twinge of unease, Stede set the pitcher and plate down on the coffee table. His eyes landed on the bed nook with the tiniest gasp.
Ed was a handsome man, Stede could admit it simply for the fact that he had two functioning eyes. But the picture that awaited Stede, of Ed snoring quietly in his bed, a doll wrapped up in his arms… Stede was breathless. A warm, tugging, fluttering feeling seized his gut and refused to let go. Unsure whether it be best to prolong or banish the sensation, Stede cast his gaze to the window and the dark sky full of stars there. Days always seemed to pass so quickly when he could spend them with Ed, talking about nothing and laughing about everything. With a smile and a sigh, Stede retrieved his nightgown from the dresser as quietly as he could and changed in the en suite. When he emerged and sat on the chaise, ready to attempt sleep, he quickly realized how incorrect the fit was for a more of his stature. If he and Ed were about the same size, it only made Stede even more grateful that Ed accepted the offer of his bed.
But now the matter at hand here was— Stede could not sleep on the chaise.
But his bed… Well, it was sizeable enough for two, ideally.
No, he could make the chaise work. He could—
Stede's shin knocked against the wooden arm as he nearly fell off of the chaise. No, it seemed he could not make the chaise work after all.
With a defeated sigh, Stede crossed the floor to the bed nook and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.
Ed was his friend. He trusted Ed and Ed trusted him. And really there were… no other viable options… And Stede would absolutely not do something as cruel as to wake Ed on purpose, especially not when he was injured.
Stede prayed that his habit of spreading himself like a starfish would take a night off as he lifted the covers and laid down in the bed, trying to put as much space between himself and Ed as possible. Even with the inches between them, the scent of smoke and spice from Ed almost made Stede dizzy, the combination of his lavender soap making an intoxicating perfume.
Determined to not cause any further harm to Ed, Stede shut his eyes tightly and waited for sleep to come.
Only the faintest amount of light had begun shining through the gossamer curtains. An unusually sharp pain was in Ed's knee as he blinked awake, but an even more unusual warmth was at his back. A warmth that was… slowly breathing.
Stede.
Oh, Ed was an idiot. He'd fallen asleep in Stede's bed and Stede, with no other option, laid beside him. Now, Stede's arm was slung around Ed's waist as Ed's own arms were wrapped around Doll Stede at his torso. Ed couldn't possibly disturb Stede's rest, not after all Stede had done for him yesterday. Yeah. Totally. It was best for Ed to stay put. Best for Ed to keep up with his own slow breaths as though he were still dreaming and wait for Stede to wake on his own. Maybe Ed wasn't such an idiot after all.
He just thanked his lucky stars Stede was a late riser.