Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Mary had received the letter from Stede asking whether one of the Bonnet properties might be available for two men seeking refuge, she hadn’t expected this.

Edward Teach, once feared across the Atlantic as the pirate captain Blackbeard, stood beside her bearded ex-husband amid the domestic décor of the isolated beach house. Edward's tattooed hands were clasped in what appeared to be nervous anticipation. He wore a lovely shade of lavender, a simple braid in his salt-and-pepper hair, and at least as many pearls as leather.

”You’re—pretty,” Mary blurted out.

Edward Teach, once feared across the Atlantic as the pirate captain Blackbeard, flushed.

”Kids!” Stede bent his knees and reached towards Alma and Louis for a hug—the children responded by more reluctantly shuffling than leaping into his arms, but it was the thought that counted. Stede curled an arm around each child for a moment and pressed a kiss to Alma’s head before letting go.

Straightening, he gestured towards Edward Teach. “Alma, Louis, this is Ed! You remember we sailed together when he was Blackbeard—” Stede growled the name with a dramatic gesture. “—but he’s retired now. He’s my... he’s my Doug.”

”Hi, I’m Doug,” Doug chose to add in a spark of good humor, holding his hand out for Edward to shake.

”Hey.” As the two men greeted each other, Edward Teach glanced between Doug and Mary. The squint of his dark eyes said he was evaluating the strength of their connection, so Mary decided to help matters by snaking a possessive arm around Doug’s waist, pulling them together. The lines on Edward Teach’s forehead softened.

”I’m Mary,” she added, for politeness’ sake.

”Are you really Blackbeard?” Louis asked with a somewhat warranted depth of doubt in his voice. Alma stood nearby, her hands behind her back and her head tilted as she considered Edward Teach from a safe distance.

”Sure was, mate,” Edward told the boy in a friendly tone. “That’s what all the tattoos are for. But people make me out scarier than I am. I just like the adventure, you know? And staying alive, that’s pretty good. Takes a bit of work sometimes.”

Mary admired the diplomacy of that answer.

Louis scrunched up his face even further. ”And you like our father?”

“Louis,” Mary warned while Doug chuckled.

To Mary’s concern, Edward Teach tensed and cleared his throat, offering only an unconvincing “Yup.”

Some people weren’t comfortable displaying their affection in front of others. “We’ll only be staying about a week,” Mary told Edward, never sure what Stede had and hadn’t communicated with any actual clarity. “A family vacation sounded nice. After that, you and Stede will have the beach house to yourself for as long as you need it. The closest neighbors are hours away, so you should be safe here while your crew figure out how to disguise your ship.”

”Not really my crew or my ship,” Edward Teach mumbled, fiddling with the messy string of pearls at his neck. “I’m nobody. Not the captain.”

Stede brought that hand from the pearls towards his own mouth for a kiss, but Edward jolted away. Mary frowned.

For one reason or another, Edward Teach seemed unhappy. The wide-eyed hurt melting over Stede indicated he had no more understanding of the reason than Mary did.

”Doug, I think we should help the children settle in,” she suggested.

”Of course.”

As Alma and Louis thundered upstairs towards the bedrooms, Doug laughing and calling for them to slow down, Mary glanced over her shoulder long enough to see Edward Teach hugging himself, while Stede stood nearby in open uncertainty.

Dammit, Stede, talk to him.

A few days passed. Edward Teach treated Mary and Doug with a gentle respect that occasionally unfolded to reveal a deeper insecurity. His unbridled warmth and neverending creative playfulness soon created an attachment with the children so strong that Mary almost never found the three of them apart. Sometimes, she had to step in when Edward’s pirating stories gained a little too much detail, but he seemed to have a good heart.

The more familiar Mary became with Edward Teach, the more she realized how perfect a match he and Stede were. Yet the tense distance between the once-seafaring couple worsened every hour. In response to Edward’s constant rejections, Mary’s ex-husband began withdrawing in a too-familiar way, which only caused Edward to distance himself more.

The situation came to full light on the fourth day, when Mary walked into the pantry and nearly tripped over Edward crying on the floor while holding the fake pirate flags he’d created with the children.

”Fuck,” she said. “Ed?”

Edward Teach laughed, swiping at his tears. “Yeah, this might as well happen.”

”D’you want to talk about it?” Mary clasped her hands together and bit her lip.

”Your kids are fucking fantastic,” he told her, as if she didn’t already know. “And you’re—” He gestured vaguely in her direction. Mary had no idea what that was supposed to indicate, especially since Edward was still both laughing and crying. “So I get it now. Why Stede left me.”

Oh. Mary eased herself down to her knees beside him. “You’re fucking fantastic too.”

”I’m fucking terrified,” he corrected. “I’m so fucking scared because the last time I tried to give myself a new identity, I lost him. Now I have to do it again, and if Stede disappears, I—” He choked on a sob, his fist clenching in a swath of glimmering multicolored fabric. “I won’t survive this a second time. I won’t survive.”

”Hey,” Mary answered with a sharpness that surprised even her and made Edward Teach flinch, staring up at her with brown eyes so big and shiny they could melt a dead man’s heart. “No. You would survive. Because the Edward Teach that Stede has told me about in all his letters? He’s strong and clever, and more importantly, he has friends now to support him. You don’t need to build your new life on the foundation of one man. Yes, it would hurt like hell if you lost Stede, but you would make it through. I think I'd know what I'm talking about, as an official member of the widow’s club.”

”Heh.” Edward ducked his head, uncertain.

”But Edward?" Mary continued. “I promise he’s not ever leaving you again, not on purpose. That man loves you. I didn’t even think Stede could love a person the way he loves... pirates and bugs and clothes, but you’re it for him. He hasn’t gone more than a single sentence in his letters without mentioning you.”

The smile that bloomed on Edward Teach’s face then was a shy stunner. “Really?”

”Really. ‘My beloved E.’ this and ‘my beloved E.’ that. He told me how much he regretted hurting you, how much you cared for him. He told me about the work he put into finding you again. I was shocked when I realized who you were, but he insisted you were a good man. He wanted you to know how much he loved you and valued your love too." Mary paused. "Honestly? He shares too much information sometimes.” She scrunched up her nose, and Edward chuckled low in his throat. “But he ends every letter with, ‘Give my love to the children, Arthur S. Edwards.’ He named himself after you!"

Edward Teach had started laughing and crying at the same time. He might have wiped his face once with Louis’s flag, but Mary wouldn't tell the children that.

“So yes, he loves you,” she concluded. “And I’m happy for you both. Just please tell me you won’t start going by ‘Thomas E. Stedes’ or something.”

Edward roared a laugh before dabbing at his eye again. “I was thinking ‘Jeffrey E.’, but I dunno about a last name. I don’t suppose you could use an extra cousin? I could be—whatever your last name was before you became a Bonnet.”

”Allamby,” Mary told him. “I wouldn’t hate that, actually. It would mean there’s one decent Allamby in the world.”

Edward smiled at her like she’d given him the best gift. “Jeffrey E. Allamby.”

”Now, are you going to talk to Stede?” Mary raised a stern eyebrow. “Because you’ve been pushing him away since you two came here, and I think he deserves to know why.”

”Fuck. You're right.” Edward struggled to his feet, still clutching the flags.

It took Mary a moment longer to rise, so when Edward hesitated only two steps outside the pantry door, she had to lean around him to see Stede positioned in the kitchen, clutching the dark wooden countertop with his head bent and his shoulders trembling.

”Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck,” Edward sighed.

Stede turned to reveal a crumpled face reddened from tears. Edward started forward. “Stede—”

“I need to talk to you, Edward.” Stede spoke with an firmness unsuited to the tininess choking his voice but that seemed, nonetheless, to jolt Edward straight through the solar plexus into stopping. Mary had never heard her ex-husband talk in that tone before.

She nearly felt proud of him.

"I think you’re upset with me, but I don’t know what I’ve done wrong or whether you’ve simply grown tired of me—” Stede swallowed a sob. “I want most of all for you to have a good and happy life. But I promise, if you let me, I will do whatever it takes to give you that and to be the man you need—” Trembling still harder, Stede’s voice became frantic. “I love you so much—”

Edward stumbled towards him as if pulled by some terrible force. Sobbing so hard it almost became a wail, Stede collapsed against the other man’s chest, and Edward stroked his hair, his back, his arms, murmuring, “No, love, no, I was scared I wasn’t enough, Stede, please. I love you, fuck, please, Stede.”

”You still love me?” The words came out garbled.

”I still love you. You did nothing wrong; I’m not mad. Fuck, please let me show you.” Suddenly, Edward dragged his hands down Stede's face in search of eye contact. “Please let me show you how much I love you.”

Mary let out an undignified noise as Stede drew Edward in for a kiss more passionate than Mary had ever thought she'd witness from her ex-husband. Edward groaned into his mouth. Tattooed brown hands clutched through burgundy shirt fabric, their hips pressing together until Edward had Stede backed against the counter. Stede gasped and keened.

”Oh my God!” Mary cried. “I only came in here to make a salad! ...Stede. ...Stede. ...Ed.”

“Right, yup.” In a thunderous whirl of movement, the two men vanished from the kitchen.

”Oh my God,” Mary repeated.

The rest of the week went swimmingly, all things considered, and Doug, Mary, Alma, and Louis returned home the better for having made Edward Teach’s acquaintance.

A month or so later, Mary received a new letter.

Dearest Widow Bonnet,

I am pleased to announce that my beloved E. and I are embarking upon a novel journey at sea aboard the newly restored ship The Penance. The crew seem a delightful bunch. I think we fit well with them. Our intention is to first settle some matters here in the Caribbean, which will take much creative effort. My beloved E. hopes to convince his old first mate to continue with us afterwards, for the first mate's own sake. This may prove a rather large ask.

Subsequently, we set sail for South America, where I will begin collecting and authenticating rare books. My beloved E. is eager to assist, given the damage he wrought to a previous collection of mine. I only pray that we find enough adventure along the way to satisfy him—for securing my beloved’s happiness is, after all, my greatest calling in my life.

We both thank you for your kindness in accommodating us during our time of need. If all goes well, you will hear from us again soon enough!

Give our love to the children,

Arthur S. Edwards and Jeffrey E. Allamby