#Stede gave him a connection that he had never really experienced

[saltpepperbeard]

ummmm so what if stede incessantly sticking by ed in season 2 leads to further heartbreak and misunderstanding?

because ed is at what he perceives to be the lowest of lows, the most “monstrous” version of his persona. he’s a beast from the depths, an unforgiving thing of legend, the kraken…

and yet stede sticks by that.

stede ran when he was his softest, his most open, his most vulnerable. so in ed’s eyes, how can it be that stede wholeheartedly loves him? how can it be that stede loves the authentic version of himself?

is he not sticking by to gawk at the legend, at his dreaded mask, just like everyone else?

[ourflagmeansparty]

TEAM BLACK - PROMPT 7, SYMBOLISM

By: @yourrainbowarrior

___________________________

Kissed on a Beach - By Edward Teach

Stede looked at the clock on his desk; Friday, 4:16pm.

Not long now.

He looked at the pile of manuscripts, planning to rifle through it for the shortest one in the hope he could get through one more before the work day came to a close. But he didn’t get very far before he saw one which caught his eye.

Kissed on a Beach - by Edward Teach

Stede made a sound of disbelief. Surely this was a prank, right?

Intrigued nonetheless, Stede peeled back the title page and began to read.

Man, he was not prepared for the gift this story gave him.

He was drawn into the world of the Gentleman Pirate; his attempt at sailing the seven seas with his custom-made boat and his hand-picked crew, all the while dressed in aristocratic attire. He reads as he was captured by the Spanish, moments away from death as he hangs by the neck before he is cut down by the sword of another man.

None other than the terror of the seven seas; the dread pirate Blackbeard.

The slow burn of their love story gripped Stede like a vice. He barely stops to blink as he reads about their first meeting, the genius ‘lighthouse’ moment, the new things they teach each other which the other finds endlessly fascinating. His heart skips a beat as the Gentleman Pirate tucks a precious piece of red silk - the one that represents everything Blackbeard yearns for, the thing that connects their two worlds - into the pocket above his heart. He feels tears in the corners of his eyes as Blackbeard reveals his darkest secret, which only brings them closer together. He shares the Gentleman Pirate’s excitement when he finds the petrified orange, and Blackbeard’s fear as he proclaims ‘Act of Grace’ and gives up his life of piracy in order to be with the man he loves.

And of course, he just about lost his mind as the two of them kissed on the beach.

By the time Stede finally looked up from the pages, it was past 7pm. He wasn’t even the slightest bit annoyed. He hadn’t experienced feelings like this in years.

Instead of heading home, he turned to his computer and typed the name Edward Teach into the search bar.

“For research,” he said to himself. He hit enter.

Turns out this man had self-published a few romance novels over the years, and had his own website with a blog attached. Stede clicked on the ‘about’ tab, hoping there might be a picture.

There was. 

Stede’s chest tightened as he took it all in. The tousled salt and pepper hair that went past his shoulders; the matching beard; those beautiful, dark brown eyes. Tattoos decorated the length of his arms, peeking out from underneath a tight, purple top, cropped just enough that he could see a slim strip of the man’s stomach. He couldn’t quite tell from the photo, but it looked as if his trousers were made of leather.

But it wasn’t that that made Stede’s heart stop. It was the fact that he knew him.

He was looking at the first man he ever loved.

The only man, really; not that he had ever had the chance to act upon it at the time. 

He couldn’t believe it. He refused to believe it when he read the name and he was still struggling to believe it now. This is someone he thought he’d never see outside of his dreams. Someone he’d have given anything to have another chance with.

Someone whose romance novel was now spread across his desk.

He looked at the pages again. The final one sat untouched still, and purely for something to do he picked it up, intending to return it to its pile with the other papers that made up Kissed on a Beach. As he did, he was surprised to find how much it weighed, and turned it over to see something taped to the back.

A small, square piece of red silk. 

A piece of his heart.

There was some writing in one of the corners. Stede scrambled to find his glasses.

If lost, please return to Edward Teach.

Friday, 8pm, Bar Revenge.

Stede looked at the clock on his desk; Friday, 7:28pm. 

There was still time.