Chapter Text
28 November, 1817
Three days later, Ed was at the dinner table with Stede and his mother, chatting about their respective days.
“How are you finding London, Mrs. Teach?” Stede asked just before dessert was brought out.
“Oh, it’s lovely. I always did love London in the autumn, and it’s fun to be here during the season. There’s an excitement in the air.”
“We haven’t been to any balls or parties, though, Mum.”
“There’s still an excitement in the air. You two won’t be homebound forever. You’ll start being social again in a little over a week.”
Ed fought down some trepidation. “Feels close.”
“You’re doing remarkably well, son. I’m immensely proud of you.”
“I’m proud of you, too,” Stede said, and Ed gave him a warm look.
“I feel like I’ve hardly seen you, mum.”
“Well, you two have your lives to lead. I’m not trying to interrupt that.”
“I do have a life, but I was meaning that you’re spending a lot of time with Lady Sarah.”
“She’s taken me under her wing. A very kind woman.”
“Have you got a ball gown?” Stede asked. “Money is no object. You can have anything you can dream up.”
“Thank you, truly. You’re very generous. But I don’t want to make a spectacle of myself.”
“Oh I can’t imagine you’d ever do that,” Ed poohpoohed.
“I’ve found a gown for the ball that will be serviceable. I go for my final fitting in two days.”
“What about for the wedding?” Ed asked.
“I’m making my own dress for that.”
“Really, mum, we’ll buy you a whole new wardrobe.”
“Are you afraid I’m going to embarrass you?”
“No, not at all! I just want you to be draped in fine things. It’s what you deserve.”
“What I deserve is a happy son and a warm bed. You’ve given me those things. I’m exceptionally happy.”
“We’re still looking for a house for you,” Ed said around a lump in his throat. “We think we may have found one. It’s about a half mile from here, so you’ll be close.”
“If it’s only a half mile away, it’s probably too grand for me.”
“It’s not,” Stede said. “But it is befitting your new station. You’re going to need a house to receive members of society and we’ve been looking with that in mind.”
“It also has a garden for the grandchildren, like you asked for,” Ed said.
Roberta sighed. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there?”
“No, there’s really not.”
“We’re glad you see resistance is futile,” Ed said with a smile.
She sighed again. “Very well. I’ll look at your house.”
“Good. And we’ll put out an advert for staff, but that will have to wait until after the ball. It will be one of the first things -”
There was a knock at the doorframe and Buttons cleared his throat. “The Crown Prince and his cousin for you, sirs.”
“Both of us?”
“At this hour?”
“Yes, sirs.”
Ed and Stede shot each other a look, then got to their feet. “Please excuse us, mum.”
“We’ll be back as soon as we’re able.”
“No need. I’m going to do a little sewing before bed. Goodnight, boys.”
“Goodnight, mum.”
“Goodnight, Mrs. Teach,” Stede said, and Ed joined him to walk down the corridor toward the sitting room. They pulled open the door and found Oluwande and Frenchie lounging like they owned the place.
“There you are!” said Frenchie.
“We’ve come to kidnap you.”
Ed immediately tensed. “Kidnap us?”
“For a party,” Frenchie clarified.
“Oh.”
“We’re not going to any parties until after the ball,” Stede said.
“But don’t you want to practice?” Frenchie asked.
“This is just a small thing. Less than fifty people. And they’re all friends of yours.”
Stede looked unsure. “I don’t know…” He turned to look at Ed. “What do you think? Do you feel ready?”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out if I’m ready or not, isn’t there?” he said with a grin. “Let’s do it.”
Oluwande clapped once and Frenchie said, “My man!”
“Alright,” Stede said. “Let’s go.”
When the carriage pulled to a stop thirty minutes later, Stede said “Why, this is Fergus’ house!”
“It is?” asked Ed curiously, looking out the window.
“it is,” Oluwande confirmed.
“This was his idea,” chimed in Frenchie.
“Why, you sneaky boors,” Stede chided. “This was planned?”
“For the last two weeks,” Oluwande said proudly.
Stede shook his head, and Ed grinned.
The party looked to be less of a party and more of a small ball, and Ed estimated there were about forty or fifty people there. He was comforted to see a couple of gay couples. They were quickly surrounded by well wishers and Stede made introductions. Ed did his best to remember his manners, not to let Stede down, and thought he did a reasonable job. He didn’t think he’d committed any major gaffe. At any rate, Stede seemed pleased with him.
Two by two, the couples went back to dancing, and after an extended period of introductions when Ed was sure he’d met everyone, he looked up and saw Fergus was next, with a very pretty young woman. His smile now was more genuine.
“Fergus,” he said, extending his hand to shake, even though it had been shaken a couple dozen times by now and was clammy. “It's good to see you.”
“Glad you could make it,” Fergus said, eyes twinkling.
“The way we heard it, we didn’t get much of a choice,” Stede said, shaking Fergus’ hand. Then he looked to the young woman, took her hand to bend over it and kissed her knuckles. “Lady Ella, you look more radiant every time I see you.”
“And your tongue grows more silver every day,” she said, smiling. “Fergus, is this the Blackbeard I’ve heard so much about?”
“It is,” Fergus said. “Edward Teach, this is my fiancée, Ella Osgood. Ella, this is my archnemesis, Edward Teach, more popularly known as Blackbeard.”
Ed bent over her hand and kissed her knuckles. “For a beauty like yours, Fergus should have retired from the sea ages ago.”
“Watch it, Teach,” Fergus said, eyes twinkling. “I kicked your arse once, I'll do it again.”
Ed recognised the joke and they all laughed.
"So Fergus... you don't throw parties like this unless your parents threaten you with the rack. What's going on?"
"Ella and I were talking, and she wanted to meet Ed properly--"
"Of course I did! Fergus has stories!"
"--and we were thinking… you never got a proper stag night before you married. Either of you."
"This isn't typical stag night fare for toffs, is it?" Ed teased.
Fergus went on. "And then Ella pointed out that if we had a small gathering here, you could both gather some allies before the Duke's ball, and neither of you would feel quite so much like you were alone and on display."
"Tactics and fun, Fitzgerald. Very like you."
“But for now…” Ella turned her gaze to Stede. “Lord Bonnet, would you be willing to ask me to dance?”
He grinned at her. “First of all, I’m Stede, you know that. Second of all, it is highly improper for a lady to ask a gentleman to dance.”
Her smile was a little wicked, and utterly charming. “I didn’t ask you to dance, I asked you to ask me. I’ll make it worth your while.”
Stede raised a brow. “How so?”
“I have gossip.”
“Oh, how wicked of you. You know my weakness. In that case, May I have the honour?” he asked, bowing and extending his hand.
“I’d be delighted,” she replied with a victorious smile, putting her hand in his.
Stede looked over his shoulder and winked at Ed as he escorted Ella out onto the dance floor and Ed grinned as he watched them go.
“Smitten is a good look on you,” Fergus said, also watching them leave.
“I could say the same to you,” Ed replied, not taking his eyes off Stede. “It's a side of you I’ve never seen before.”
“No, I suppose not. But I’m glad that worked. I wanted to talk to you.”
“You did?” Ed said, turning to look at Fergus.
“Yep. Let’s get champagne.”
“Alright,” Ed agreed, and followed him to the outskirts of the party, to the refreshment table.
“I wanted to check with you,” Fergus said. “See how you were doing. Really doing.”
Ed grinned. "Really? I’m great, man. Stede is... sometimes I'm still not sure it’s all real, that he's real, and then he'll do something I couldn't possibly make up and I have to accept that it’s all true."
“You seem to be adapting well,” Fergus said, taking a sip of champagne.
“I’m trying hard. I don’t want to let him down.”
"And what about you, without him? You've done very well swimming in a different sea, my friend, but don't ever think there aren’t sharks. Or that the sharks here don't bite."
Ed considered this a minute. "You've been great. Stede is, Stede's great. And his mum has been amazing."
"I sense a 'but' coming."
"I've run into a couple of others, who were... less fucking great."
"Don't let them get under your skin. People are going to be terrible, sometimes. It comes with the territory of thinking that you were born better than everyone else. Even though there's no difference in heart or skill that I ever saw, just in opportunity."
"It's not that, even. It's…” Ed hesitated, wondering if he should ask. Then he decided to go for it. “Can I ask you something, in confidence?"
"Of course."
"What did Stede do, before? He's been clear about not liking women, that doesn't seem to be a surprise to anyone. But what did he do, as far as romance goes? He claims to have never had a love affair, but I’ve heard different."
Fergus looked pensive for a minute. "Stede really should give you this answer himself, you know. And I do encourage you to ask. But from where I stood? He was figuring himself out, and without any good role model for a while there, when we were young. Second son and all that, all the attention was on Robert, and he went a bit wild. Nothing that would scandalise the great Blackbeard, though."
"Oh,” Ed said, not comforted by that.
"But it wasn't him, not really, I don't think. He steadied out there well before he might have. I'm sure he's had liaisons, but they've been remarkably discreet."
Ed still wasn’t comforted. “I see.”
“I’ll tell you one thing, though,” Fergus added.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve known him since he was eight, and this is the happiest and most content I’ve ever seen him in his whole life. That’s you,” he said, poking Ed in the centre of the chest. “That’s your doing.”
Ed smiled a little at that, couldn’t help it. He was proud - and finally a little comforted.
“Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome,” Fergus said. “My pleasure, anytime. Now, let’s go reclaim our loves before they waltz off into the sunset.”
“I think that sounds like a capital idea,” Ed said, draining his champagne. “I’d like to dance with my husband very much.”
“Then let’s go.”
Stede was stumbling up the stairs, he and Ed leaning on each other, laughing. They let themselves into the house and stumbled in, still laughing, until they drunkenly shushed each other.
“You’re gonna wake everyone,” Stede said.
“Not yet, but I do intend to have you making noises in a bit,” Ed said with a lascivious look. He reached for Stede and started nibbling his neck. Stede giggled.
There was a cleared throat behind them that made them jump apart. “Good evening, sirs. Would ye like me to send Ivan and Luci up?” Buttons asked.
“No need, Buttons,” Stede said. “We’ll undress ourselves tonight.”
Ed let out a low, seductive chuckle and ran his hand over Stede’s backside.
“Goodnight, Buttons,” Stede said, grabbing Ed by the hand and pulling him up the stairs.
They stumbled a couple of times on the way up, and giggled like naughty children. Once they were in the corridor, Ed pulled Stede into his arms and did a sort of waltz down the hall towards the bedroom, and Ed grinned at him.
“Are you - hic - are you drunk?”
Ed grinned back at him. “Maybe a bit, yeah.”
“Oh, bother.”
“Why is that, love?”
“I was going to ask you to fuck me.”
Ed stumbled and Stede laughed again when he righted himself and pulled them into the bedroom, still largely in each other’s arms. Ed looked like he’d been clubbed over the head with something hard, and Stede was amused. “Ed, darling? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Just fine. Just sobering up very fast. You want me to what?”
“I’d like to you fuck me. Can you really sober up that fast?”
“Nah, but I’m a pirate. You should see my … swordplay when I’m a bit drunk.”
Stede trailed a fingertip down the front of his chest. “That's exactly what I’m angling for.”
“I’m still not sure I heard you right. you want me to-”
“Fuck me. Yes.”
“I thought you wanted to wait. We agreed to wait.”
Stede grinned. “We agreed to wait until after a ball. After your social debut. And we just had that, didn't we?”
“You’re splitting hairs.”
Stede leaned forward and nibbled Ed’s ear, then breathed into it. “You’re putting up a lot of fuss when you could be putting your cock in me right now.”
Ed clutched him tighter. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Stede was nibbling and licking Ed’s neck. “I’m so sure. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever, and I want you so much. Please, darling. Make love to me.”
Ed kissed him hard, needly, his tongue coming out to claim him right away and Stede clung to his shoulders for a moment, letting himself be carried away by sensation. Ed walked him backwards towards the bed, while Stede was lost in the kiss, until he realised what Ed was doing and started to work on Ed’s clothes with clumsy fingers, pulling at buckles and buttons urgently.
Stede broke the kiss and looked at Ed with bleary eyes. “Get naked. Now.”
Ed looked wicked. “Well, alright then,” he said, pulling at his clothes. Stede also got to work on his clothes, going as fast as he could to get them off.
Stede was more successful in removing his clothes than Ed, so he was naked while Ed was still fiddling with his trousers. Feeling bold, Stede pushed on Ed’s chest to knock him back onto the bed, then started pulling on his trousers hurriedly, eager to get them off. Ed, for his part, looked highly amused and put his hands behind his head to watch.
“Why are your trousers so tight?” Stede complained.
“I thought you liked that. Shows off my arse.”
“Well right now, they’re a pain in my arse.”
“Oh, I'm going to give you something in your arse,” Ed growled.
“That’s hardly going to be a pain,” Stede said, finally successfully getting his trousers off and Ed naked. Victorious, Stede started pressing kisses to his skin at his knees, crawling over him to straddle him, working his way higher until he was at his cock, taking him into his mouth. Fuck, he tasted so good…Stede could suck him all night.
“Holy fuck, your mouth feels good,” Ed said. “Jesus, Stede. God, you’re good at this.”
Stede did his best work for him, sucking and slurping and making a terrible mess, humming around him to vibrate him.
“I’m getting close, love. you need to stop.”
Stede stopped, then crawled up until he could capture his mouth and kissed him impatiently.
“I’m gonna fuck you,” Stede said.
Ed raised a brow. “I thought I was gonna fuck you.”
“You’re gonna lay there and let me.”
“Fuck, I like this bossy side of you,” Ed said.
Stede gave him a wide grin then reached over to the bedside table and retrieved a little pot of lube. He got his fingers slick and massaged his arsehole for a second, until he could get two fingers in. It only took a minute. He was so ready… he was eager.
Then he got a dollop of oil on his hand and slicked Ed’s cock with it, sliding up and down, making it ready.
“You're going to feel so good in me,” he said, clenching a little at the thought.
Ed was running his hands all over Stede’s body. “I think you're going to feel amazing around me. I can’t wait to find out.”
“Well, let’s get started, shall we?” Stede said, then lined up Ed’s cock with his entrance. He slowly eased back, taking him in deliberately, steadily, enjoying the stretch that was almost a burn. He closed his eyes to relish and Ed ran his hands all over Stede’s body he could reach.
“Are you alright, love?”
“I’m perfect,” Stede groaned.
Finally, Stede had taken him all the way, and he was sitting on Ed’s legs, his cock buried as deep as it would go, his eyes closed in bliss.
“Fuck. Fuck. You feel good,” Ed said, his hands caressing Stede’s thighs and his arse.
“I can’t imagine anything feeling better,” Stede panted, and he started swirling his hips in a circle, fucking him shallowly. Ed grunted, his eyes closed, and Stede looked down at him.
“Look at you up there,” Ed said, his face a little flush, his voice a little strained. “You’re sitting up there like a god. And you are. You know full well I worship you.”
“I worship you, too, darling,” Stede answered, then started to bounce on him a little.
Ed put his hands on Stede’s hips and guided his motions. “That’s it. That’s perfect. Just like that. Fuck, I like that.”
Stede rode him just like that, hands planted on his chest, until he felt like he’d die if he didn’t get more. So, in a near whine, he said, “Need more. Please…”
“Take what you need,” Ed said, and at the same time started fucking him from below. Stede cried out in pleasure. Every motion of Ed’s cockhead was hitting his spot and Ed was making constellations behind his eyes.
“Ed, oh fuck, Ed! Ah! Ah! Your cock is so good, it feels so good in me! Fills me just right! I love it! Give it to me deeper! Harder! More!”
Ed clutched his hips and started fucking up into him harder and faster.
Stede cried out again and fell forward, catching himself on his arms, propping himself over Ed, so their faces were inches apart. Ed was pummelling him from below, and it felt so good, so fucking good… he was so close…
“Ed, oh God… Ed… You’re so good… I’m so close.. Please don’t stop… don’t ever stop…”
“I won’t. I won't stop. Fuck, Stede. Fuck. Your arse feels like a dream. Fuck. Fuck. I’m getting close.”
“Come for me, Ed. Please, please, come. I’m begging. I need it! Ah! Ah!”
Ed fucked him even harder, until he buried himself as deep as he could go, threw his head back, and shouted his release, his hands clenched painfully in Stede’s skin. But Stede didn’t notice at all. He was too busy flying apart in a fissure of bliss.