Work Text:
The party had ended up a mess. Stede had known that it would, logically; bringing Blackbeard to an upper-crust party was destined to end in disaster. Still, though, he’s smiling as he and Ed climb back onto The Revenge .
"And did you see his face when-" Ed starts, and Stede has to cut him off with a laugh.
"Yes! And the siblings, they looked truly mortified, didn't they?" Stede manages to say, trying not to giggle again. Without talking about it, they’re both heading towards the captain's quarters, passing by Izzy on the main deck. Stede doesn't even notice the heated look Izzy throws at him - he's too distracted trying to keep the light smile on Ed’s face.
Stede closes the door behind the two of them, and doesn’t mind at all when Ed throws himself onto the lounge, sprawling on his back with one leg thrown over the side. Stede can’t help a fond smile, seeing how relaxed Blackbeard has become around him. Ed’s got a bottle of rum in one hand - Stede has no idea where he got it from - and tilts the bottle up as Stede comes to sit on the ottoman next to him. Stede takes it, takes a swig, almost doesn’t make a face this time. Almost.
Still, Ed’s smile is warm as Stede hands the bottle back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Ed still has flowers adorning his hair and beard, and Stede can't help the fond expression on his face. Who knew such a frightening man could look so beautiful?
As soon as the thought passes through Stede’s head he's blushing, turning to look anywhere else in the room. Ed doesn’t notice, luckily, already onto the next subject.
“All those rules with forks and knives and melon spoons and, and escargot forks are utter bullshit,” Ed proclaims after another swig from the bottle. “Bullshit! I swear half of them they just make up as you go along.”
“If you say so,” Stede says more quietly, trying not to question too hard why he keeps staring at Ed’s face, at his hair and beard, at the bit of stomach that’s exposed with the way he’s laying. Stede convinces himself it must be the alcohol.
As if reading his mind, Ed sits up, puts the bottle down, and starts to take off the fancy clothes Stede has leant him with surprisingly careful motions. Stede can’t help but watch as he strips down to his undershirt and the first layer of his pants. He’s still more covered than he’d usually be, but Ed in his undergarments feels like a sight Stede shouldn’t have the privilege of seeing. Regardless, he watches, trying to look as restrained and normal as possible. He’s totally normal. Not turned on at all, thank you very much. Normal.
Stede picks up the bottle and takes another drink of the nasty rum, face only scrunching a little, and he doesn’t think he imagines Ed’s lips quirking up out of the corner of his eye. He hands the bottle back to the pirate and removes his own jacket and shoes, though Stede doesn’t strip off any more layers than that.
They’ve fallen into an amicable silence while undressing, but Ed is staring at him while drinking from the bottle, an intense sort of look on his face.
“Why’d you go back in there?” Ed asks, his voice much quieter than usual.
“What?” Stede counters, face flushing a little. Maybe he can evade the question, because he knows he doesn’t have a good answer. At least not a non-embarrassing one.
“Why’d you go back and defend me?” Ed clarifies, which doesn’t help Stede’s cause in the slightest.
“Because, well,” He sighs softly, looking down at his hands in his lap. “Because you’re my friend.”
He doesn’t look up at Ed. He doesn’t want to see the expression on the pirate’s face as Stede crosses a boundary they had been avoiding up until now. Is it appropriate to call the world’s most notorious pirate your friend? Stede braces himself for the pain of a punch, or the much worse pain Ed could put him in just by telling him to fuck off.
Instead, there’s silence, and when Stede finally gets the courage to look up, Ed’s just looking at him with a puzzled expression—Eyebrows drawn in close, eyes unreadable, and a slight frown on his face. Not knowing what to do with that, Stede clears his throat.
“Want help getting those out of your beard?” Stede asks, gesturing to the flowers still adorning Ed’s facial hair.
Ed’s confused look settles back into his normal expression, one that Stede has learned means that the pirate is closing off his emotions, keeping himself a mystery. Stede just wishes Ed would let him in on that mystery.
Still, Ed nods, and Stede stands to get closer. Ed sits casually on the lounge after taking off most of his garb, and Stede sits next to him, close but not so close that their legs touch. Stede is profoundly aware of that.
Stede turns halfway, brings his leg up onto the couch, and carefully watches Ed’s face. He doesn’t want to touch without permission, still a little worried that he might get his hands cut off. Ed gives a slight nod, the lines around his eyes softening, and Stede leans in a little closer.
One at a time, in the slightly awkward silence that has followed Stede’s proclamation, he frees the bows from Ed’s marvelous beard. The hair is so soft, and he has no idea how Ed keeps it that way on the high seas. Maybe an oil of some sort? Stede will have to ask. Ed’s eyes are closed, and Stede half-wonders if he’s asleep, though he thinks it unlikely.
The ottoman collects a small pile of flowers, and eventually, Ed’s beard is clear once again. Stede almost feels disappointed, but catches Ed looking up at him with that unreadable expression once again. Maybe Stede is projecting, but he thinks he sees a bit of disappointment on Ed’s face as well.
The last thing Stede expected was for Ed to turn around, putting his back to Stede. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so close to Ed’s back before. He wonders who else gets to be this close to him, who else gets to see Ed so vulnerable. Does Blackbeard let his guard down this easily with others of his crew? Stede’s never seen it before.
“Can you get my hair, too? Can’t sleep like this,” Ed says, but it sounds like an excuse, and one Stede will gladly take. He hums his agreement, and reaches up to start undoing the bun he’d helped Ed put his hair into earlier, taking the flowers out and placing them delicately to the side. It’s easier to get out than it was to put in, and afterwards Ed’s still got some knots in his hair, and Stede should help him with that, right? He runs his fingers through Ed’s locks, easing out some of the tangles, and sees Ed’s shoulders slowly release their tension.
It goes on for a while, Stede steadily working his way through the knots in Ed’s hair, and then just running his fingers through his hair for no practical reason whatsoever. It feels so soft in his hands he can’t help himself, and Stede starts humming softly to himself as he untangles, a tune he’d once heard a band play. Maybe a wedding reception? He doesn’t think too heavily into it.
Finally, Ed shifts and turns back to face the front. He looks utterly magnificent, his hair down, his body relaxed into the couch. Stede’s eyes search Ed’s face, and as he realises he’s been staring, he tries to act casual.
“Despite everything, tonight was… fun, wasn’t it?” Stede asks quietly, not wanting to do anything to ruin the energy in the room, between the two of them.
Ed nods, and Stede can see the wheels in his brain turning, thinking too hard to respond. Stede realises how close they are together, now, since he’d moved forward to tend to Ed’s hair. Their thighs are pressed together, their shoulders and elbows rubbing. Stede swallows hard.
Ed’s intense stare traces from Stede’s eyes down to his lips, and back up again. Stede doesn’t move, doesn’t trust himself to move, doesn’t know what he’d even do if he did. He doesn’t want to break the moment, is almost afraid to breathe lest it send Ed back to his senses, bidding him goodnight and leaving for wherever on the ship he slept. Stede realises he doesn’t know where Ed sleeps. At that exact moment, he realises he longs for that place to be in Stede’s bed, wrapped up safe in Stede’s arms.
Before Stede can do anything one way or another, Ed moves. He leans toward Stede, hand rising up and landing on his cheek, and kisses him, all at once in a move so fluid Stede doesn’t even know what happened.
It takes Stede’s brain a second to catch up, past the Oh my god, he’s kissing me, oh god , to oh god, how do I keep from looking stupid, I’ve barely kissed anyone at all! Stede goes through a full-blown panic in a matter of seconds and realises he hasn’t been returning the kiss. Ed starts to pull away, hand dropping, probably discouraged by his lack of response.
Stede can’t allow that to happen.
This time he moves forward, kissing Ed firmly, with purpose, sure of what he’s doing for once in his life. He knows without a doubt that there’s nothing he’d rather be doing than kissing Ed, right here, on a pirate ship in the middle of the bloody ocean.
They press their lips together, Ed’s hand landing on Stede’s shoulder, but they don’t go any farther than just connecting their lips. It’s a little awkward, the angle making them both twist their necks in uncomfortable ways, but Stede gets lost in it, spends an eternity in those few seconds.
Stede reaches up and cups his cheek. Ed's soft gasp rocks through his entire body. He realises there’s actually one thing he’d like to do more than kissing Ed in the middle of the ocean.
Stede takes the opportunity to press his tongue forward, running along Ed’s lower lip, something that seems to happen in every novel of a particular genre that he’s read. He has a split second of fear that it’s too awkward, that people don’t actually do that in real life, that he’s going to look like a fool.
Ed makes a soft sound that Stede more feels than hears, the vibrations against his lips making them tingle. Stede can’t help the small smile that crosses his face, because he made Ed make that sound. Ed pulls back then, and Stede worries that he’s fucked it all up with that, made Ed think he’s laughing at him.
Instead, Ed looks back at him with a smile of his own, the most open expression Stede’s ever seen on his face. Stede gets lost in it, ends up staring for several moments too long. Ed chuckles at him.
Before Stede knows what’s happening, Ed has moved, sat up, and swung his leg over Stede’s lap. He gets his knees on either side of Ed on the couch, straddling him, and Stede’s hands automatically go up to Ed’s hips.
“Bit more comfortable, isn’t it?” Ed says, clearly teasing Stede as he looks down at him. Ed’s hands come up, one pushing through Stede’s hair and the other cupping his fresh-shaven jaw. Stede swallows, knowing his face is bright red from a combination of arousal and embarrassment. There’s another physical reminder of his arousal that he hopes Ed hasn’t noticed so far.
Stede finally remembers that Ed asked him a question, and he nods. “Quite a bit, thank you,” he says, wanting to be polite.
He’s cut off when Ed leans down again and kisses him, one hand holding onto Stede by the hair and the other grasping his jaw, keeping Stede’s face exactly where he wants it. Stede has no qualms with this, kissing back as best he can, but letting Ed lead him wherever he wants.
Ed’s tongue presses against the seal of his lips, and Stede grants him access immediately, taking note of how Ed explores his mouth in slow, tantalizing movements. He’s never kissed like this before, never been kissed like this before. He never knew kissing could be this good.
They keep making out, and Stede gets hard quicker than he thinks he ever has before, even as a teenager. Ed tugs his hair, tilting Stede’s head further back, and Stede groans softly into his mouth. After that, he knows Ed feels his erection, can feel it pressing up against his pelvis. He’s almost disappointed that he doesn’t feel an answering hardness in Ed’s pants, but he’s quickly distracted as Ed’s lips move.
Ed breaks from the kiss and starts mouthing at Stede’s jaw, and Stede has to recant his previous statement, because this is everything he could have ever wanted. Ed makes his way lower, pushes Stede’s shirt to the side so he can get at his neck and collarbone. Stede’s quickly having to redefine the concept of kissing in his head, because he’d never known that it could be this good, every new movement of Ed’s mouth and tongue another spark of pleasure going straight to his dick. His head is working a mile a minute, but all he can do is gasp and let out soft, embarrassing noises.
Then Ed latches on just above his clavicle, and bites hard , forcing Stede to whimper. Ed pulls back, looks up at him, and almost seems worried. “Too much?” he asks breathlessly, though he doesn’t stop kissing Stede’s neck for even a moment.
Stede is quick to shake his head, his hands on Ed’s hips keeping him exactly where he is. “No, it’s perfect , please…” he gets out, half whining and half begging. He doesn’t miss Ed’s smirk, but every thought is wiped from his brain when Ed latches onto another spot with his teeth. He bites, and then sucks, and the pain is a sharp flower that blooms when Ed pulls away and licks at the spot.
Stede briefly wonders if he’s died and gone to heaven.
Ed latches onto another patch of skin, and his hips give a slow grind, rubbing Stede’s erection perfectly, and fuck , he can’t even be embarrassed at how hard he is now, feels perfectly justified. How is Ed still not hard?
Stede helps with his hands, moving Ed’s hips in those slow rolls, head falling against the back of the lounge. He slides his hands inward, over Ed’s ass, and squeezes hard, relishing Ed’s soft gasp.
Ed suddenly pulls back, and then starts his assault on Stede’s clothing, not gentle in the slightest as he works to pull it off. “Why are you. Still. Fucking. Dressed ?” He grunts between hard breaths, finally getting the shirt off with a rip of the fabric. Stede doesn’t have it in him to care, buries his hand in Ed’s hair,, and pulls him in. He feels Ed’s groan as they kiss again, Stede trying his best to give as much as he’s been getting.
“I want you,” Stede breathes out between sharp kisses, tongues in each others’ mouths and Ed’s teeth nipping at his lips. “Fuck, Ed, I need…”
“I know,” Ed says uncharacteristically softly, and rolls his hips again. Stede whimpers as he pulls away, not wanting him to go anywhere, but Ed only sits back on Stede’s thighs and looks down at him, hand still on his chest. “I need to tell you something.”
Stede holds in a whine. Now? Whatever Ed has to tell him can wait until after they’ve gotten off. “What?” He asks anyway, a flash of fear going through his heart. Ed is going to tell him something and leave, leave him here alone and wanting, leave Stede forever and-
Ed takes his shirt off, stopping Stede in the middle of his spiral. Stede realises he’s never seen Ed shirtless before, but didn’t think anything of it.
Ed’s torso is covered in scars, from his neck to the line of his pants. Stede wants to lick every single one of the blemishes, disgusting as that may be. His eyes track up and down, finally settling on Ed’s chest, and he frowns.
“You don’t have nipples?” he blurts out, wondering if that’s what Ed stopped him to say. He hardly finds it relevant, but assumes it’s related to the thick, gruesome scars lining the underside of Ed’s pecs.
Ed sighs softly, and Stede knows he hasn’t gotten the point. Stede isn’t any less aroused, but he feels the mood dwindling and does all he can to hold onto it. “Whatever it is, I don’t care,” Stede assures him.
Ed gives him a smile that says he doesn’t believe him, and starts undoing his pants. Stede watches his face, careful with his expression. He doesn’t want to scare Ed off, not when he’s so close to having him.
When he pushes his pants down, Stede looks down, Ed’s crotch almost level with his face from where he’s sitting. And… oh . He doesn’t have a dick. Wait, no - under that thick patch of salt-and-pepper pubic hair is Ed’s dick. It’s small, and a slightly different shape than he’s expecting, and it lays in front of another hole.
“Oh!” Stede says despite himself, finally figuring it out. He feels incredibly thick. He stares for another moment, mouth open, trying to figure out what to say. He’s still too turned on for the words to come easily.
“Yeah,” Ed says, looking disappointed but not surprised. He starts pulling his pants up and turning away at the same time. Stede reaches out quickly and stops him, placing his hand over Ed’s on his thigh.
“I don’t mind. Not at all,” Stede says, packing sincerity into the words until they’re overstuffed suitcases. “I want to… Will you show me how to make you feel good?”
Ed regards Stede for a moment, looking down at Stede. He licks his lips, and Stede’s eyes follow the movement despite himself. Stede keeps his hand on Ed’s and squeezes softly, trying to tell him he’s still there, he’s still into this, he still desperately wants .
“Okay,” Ed breathes, and Stede’s entire body relaxes. “Go lay on your bed. And get naked, for fuck’s sake.”
Stede can only nod before he stands up, Ed stepping out of his way. He peels the rest of his clothes off, pushing them away as fast as he dares, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Ed even once. Ed, who looks weary and nervous now, a way Stede has never seen him before. Ed, whose small cock is standing at attention between his thighs. Stede salivates.
Stede lays back on the bed as he’s been told, and relaxes when Ed immediately eases over him, straddling his waist again. Stede’s hands return to Ed’s hips, and Ed leans down to kiss him again. He returns it, and they fall back into the ease of making out, moving with and against each other in perfect unison. Ed’s hair and beard fall over Stede, but he doesn’t mind, even when he gets hair in his mouth. Twice.
“Ed,” Stede says between heavy breaths. “Want you. Need you. Tell me…”
Ed cuts him off with one last soft kiss, and then a nip to his lip for good measure. He reaches down, slowly takes Stede’s hand in his own, and brings it between his legs.
“You can touch here,” Ed says, moving Stede’s fingers to press against the underside of his cock. It’s surprisingly silky, and Ed gasps as Stede rubs his thumb against the tip. Stede wants to hear that sound a million more times, at the very least. Ed shifts Stede’s hand backwards, and nudges his first two fingers to the hole behind his cock. “Or here. If you want.” He says it like he expects Stede not to want to.
Ed’s wet. Ed’s fucking soaking , and it’s all because of Stede, and his head feels dizzy at that fact. He traces his fingers around the hole, mapping it out physically, wanting to remember every part of him. “Can I…” Stede asks, unsure of how to phrase it, and looks up at Ed’s face again.
Ed’s face has a flush to it, his mouth a little open and his shoulders moving with the force of his breaths. “Put something in there?” Ed finishes for him, giving him a sly smirk for just a second, before it’s gone again. “Yeah, just. Go slow.”
Stede nods reverently, tracing Ed’s hole with his middle finger, collecting up his slick, before ever so slowly starting to slide it inside. Ed’s eyes fall shut, his mouth still open, and he lets out a moan Stede will never forget. Stede slowly continues until his knuckles finally bump up against Ed’s opening, coating them in dampness. Ed’s eyes remain closed, his hips rocking just a little bit, an almost unconscious back and forth motion.
“Is that good?” Stede whispers. Ed’s eyes open again, and he looks down at him, laughing a little.
“Yeah, it’s fuckin’ good,” he grunts, leaning down to kiss Stede soundly again. “You’re so fuckin’ good. Gimme another.”
Stede repeats the process, easing in his pointer finger as well, Ed pressed against his chest. They lazily kiss, Ed seeming distracted by the fingers in him. Stede can’t help but watch his face, wanting to take in every expression of pleasure he gives.
Once they’re both inside, and Ed seems to settle, Stede slowly starts to move his fingers. Ed’s fingers tighten where they’ve settled in his hair, and he presses his face down into Stede’s neck, hiding it and muffling soft moans. Stede’s almost entirely forgotten about his own cock, caught up in Ed’s pleasure.
After several minutes, Ed starts to straighten up again, looking far less put together than he had before. He nudges Stede’s wrist until he gets the hint and pulls his fingers out. Unable to resist the temptation, he brings them to his lips, licking the wet skin between his fingers and knuckle.
Ed watches him with a fire in his eyes, sitting up a little more on his knees. “You can get a taste later,” he promises, teasing, and Stede starts to imagine that. Starts to imagine Ed on his back, Stede between his legs, licking and licking until he cums, or Stede on his back with Ed kneeling over his face, pressing his cock against Stede’s mouth, or-
Stede’s pulled from his thoughts by Ed suddenly grasping his cock, hand perfectly slick from something he didn’t see, and arranging it upright. He gasps and holds his breath as Ed presses the head of Stede’s cock against his opening and starts to drop down onto it. He can’t tear his eyes off of Ed’s face, eyes sliding shut and breath heavy.
Then all that Stede can think about is the strong sensation of heat that is being inside Ed, and he can’t breathe, can’t do anything but watch and feel. His hands grip Ed’s waist, helping him slowly lower himself down.
Stede instinctively gives a little push of his hips and watches Ed’s eyes fly open and lock onto him. Stede’s worried he’d done something wrong, until Ed lets out the most wanton moan he’s ever heard, hands pressing down against Stede’s chest as he steadies himself. Together, Ed lowering and Stede giving tiny thrusts, they work him lower down, until Ed’s sat against his pelvis.
Stede finally lets go of his grip on Ed’s waist, instead running his hands over Ed’s abdomen, his thighs, his stomach. Every part of Ed is beautiful, wonderful, magnificent. He can’t take his eyes off him.
“Fuck,” Ed breathes out, and Stede echoes him a moment later. Ed looks down at him, watching, discerning, his chest moving with hard breaths.
“You feel wonderful,” Stede says quietly, looking back up at him, not scared to keep eye contact. He’s had sex before, obviously, but it’s never felt anywhere near as good as this. He’s never felt anything as good as this.
“Not too bad yourself, mate,” Ed says, clearly aiming for joking, but sounding too debauched to pull it off. He gives his hips a slow, experimental roll, and neither of them can help but moan.
Stede reaches up, threads his hand into Ed’s hair, prays that he isn’t making a mistake, and tugs him down. Ed goes with him and lets Stede pull him into a hard kiss between their heavy breaths. Stede bites down on Ed’s lower lip and thrusts up, tearing a broken moan from his throat. Stede thrusts up again, tries a few different angles, until he finds one that feels the most natural and has Ed gasping with every movement.
“Fuck, Stede,” Ed says into his neck, voice a lot higher than its usual growl. “Fuck fuck fuck. Fuck me. Please.”
Stede can’t help a slight smile, never having seen Ed so lost for words, so vulnerable , and ready for Stede to take, and Stede’s going to take and give back all that he can.
He wraps his arms around Ed’s torso, holding him close against his chest, and starts to thrust in and out in a solid rhythm. It isn’t fast, and it isn’t all that deep, but Stede feels sparks. It’s hard to hold out this long, it was hard not to cum the moment he got inside Ed, but somehow he’s able to keep his composure. He wants Ed to get off first.
Ed’s eyes are squeezed shut, his face pressed into Stede’s neck, groaning and moaning and whining every few seconds. Stede reaches between them, trying not to crush his hand, and gets his thumb and forefinger around Ed’s dick.
Ed’s head lifts, and he looks up at Stede with wide eyes, hips still rolling a little, seeking more. Stede almost asks if he’s done something wrong, when Ed throws his head back and lets out a louder moan, rocking his hips forward into his fingers.
They exchange moans and gasps and kisses, Stede rubbing Ed’s cock with back and forth movements, experimenting to see what makes him clench the hardest. He rubs faster, near the tip, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the head, and Ed fully sobs. Stede does it again, and again, and again, until he feels like Ed’s insides are about to squeeze his dick into a pulp.
Ed sits up a little more, pushes Stede’s hand out of the way, frantically rubbing his cock with the flat of his fingers. A few more thrusts from Stede later, Ed comes, going quiet after a hard gasp, hips moving in small jerks. Stede pushes up into him, trying to stave off his own orgasm, because he doesn’t know if Ed wants him to cum inside, or not, or-
“Fuck, Stede, so good, come for me,” Ed gasps, starting to move his hips with purpose, more for the friction on Stede’s cock than Ed’s pleasure now. Ed grips either side of his face, looking down at him, his hair falling over his face, and he looks like an angel.
Stede swears he sees white as he cums, holding Ed’s hips down against his. He comes back to himself with Ed kissing all over his jaw, and relaxes back into the bed, running his hands over his lover’s thighs, hips, and ass. He can’t believe that just happened, can’t believe how good it felt, can’t believe he got to do that with Ed.
The stickiness convinces him it’s real. Their skin sticks together anywhere they come in contact, even as Stede’s light and Ed’s thick body hair make a cushion between them. When Ed lifts up, letting Stede’s softening cock fall out of him, he discovers his entire groin is covered in a mix of Ed’s slick and both of their cum. He must have made a face, because Ed laughs.
“Let’s have a bath, shall we?” Stede says, not wanting to be sticky for another moment longer. And not because he wants to see whether his bath is big enough for the two of them. He has no ulterior motives, none whatsoever.
Ed rolls his eyes a little, clearly amused, and reaches down for one of their pairs of undergarments. Ignoring Stede’s wide-eyed, appalled shock, he uses the fabric to wipe both of them clean.
“That is not the purpose of those! That’s fine linen!” He complains, and shivers when Ed wipes his soft cock dry. Still, he melts into the kiss that Ed presses to his lips, linens forgotten in favour of those soft lips and the feel of Ed’s beard up against his face.