Gunpowder and Leather - our flag means death au

Thrown in the deep end

"Bonnet, psst, Bonnet," a voice whispered in his ear, "Bonnet, wake up."
He jolted upright, instantly colliding into the head above him causing both men to groan as they held their foreheads.
"Shit, how is your head so hard," Edward muttered as he staggered back.

"Well, you're the one who was hovering over me so close! This is your fault!" stede retorted, his headache from the alcohol last night only made worse now, "Why are you waking me up anyway? It's barely light outside for heaven's sake."

"Because today is baby's first highway robbery," He teased with a smug expression coating his sculpted features, "Now get up and at 'em while I ready the horses, m'kay?"

Stede blinked as the words sunk in, his sluggish brain struggling to catch up as he numbly followed his orders and returned to the horse to have Edward plant a holstered gun into his hands with a wink, "just in case," he muttered before ushering him onto his mount.
While they rode, he finally had a chance to wholly absorb the situation he was being spirited away into and the panic began to set in as he trotted up to Ed's side, "are you sure about this? Maybe I haven't practised enough?"

"Nah you'll be fine, I find life and death situations make the best lessons. Just hold up your gun and let me do all the talking"

Stede gulped deeply and gripped his reins tighter as he attempted to settle his rising nerves.

"Talk has it that some of the rich folks from the city here have been hitting the road to summer in their country houses. The wagon we're targeting will be a breeze. The tight-fisted aristocracy are easy marks since they never hire enough guards," he continued, abruptly stopping while he swung an arm towards Stede to halt him too, nodding towards the carriage that bumbled down the trail ahead, flanked by a few men on horses.
"There she is," He whispered, turning to his student, "ready?"

Before Stede could even answer, his teacher was charging toward their target with a rifle in hand. The scene that unfurled before him truly lived up to all the rumours that surrounded Edward Teach; within seconds he had shot down a few of the guards with scarily accurate aim. However, as he dodged gunfire he veered too close to the carriage, allowing the driver to jump onto his horse, knocking them both off. The sight was enough to finally kickstart Stede into action as he rode over to help but another rider cut him off before he could reach Ed. Panicking, he attempted to shoot a non-fatal part of the man but his aim missed, hitting the horse's rump causing it to buck its rider off and escape. With that man dealt, he closed in on where his teacher was locked in a struggle with the driver; the man was built like an ox but surprisingly Ed was holding his own. Thinking fast, Stede slid off his horse and grabbed the rifle on the floor to swing the blunt end of it into the head of the attacker.
"Oh hell," he mumbled under his breath when the hulking brute set his sights on him. He cocked the rifle at him as he stumbled back, "don't come closer! I will be forced to shoot you, sir!"
The man stoically snatched the gun and tossed it aside as he continued his advance toward him. Pure instinct took control as he landed a kick right between the attacker's legs, causing him to hunch over and drop to his knees with a groan. Before he lost his chance, he grabbed a rock and hit it straight into the back of his head, knocking the goliath out finally. Glancing back to where Ed was, he watched him efficiently incapacitate the couple that sat in the carriage before returning to him and lifting Stede's hat to ruffle his hair.

"You must have some pretty big cojones to take on a guy like that. And you fight dirty. I like that," Ed praised before shifting his attention to what they actually came here for. He shot the lock and swung open the trunk of the vehicle, digging through the clothes and other belongings before guffawing as he tossed Stede a jewelled necklace and its matching earrings. He caught them with shaky fingers, still reeling from Ed's compliments.

"We've got quite the haul," He stated, loading his saddlebags with all the expensive trinkets and money they carried before handing Stede an ornate letter, "Hey, what does this say?"

Stede scrunched his nose at the delicate writing, "Oh, it's just an invite to some stuffy garden party for the elite. Sounds boring"

Edward seemed pensive for a moment before he glanced up from under the brim of his hat, something untamed rippling in his dark eyes, "Wanna do something crazy?"

"...What?" he nervously questioned.

"Let's go to that garden party. We have the invite now. I mean, can you imagine all the finery we can pickpocket off these rich folk? We'd make a killing! And you can help me rub elbows with the upper crust," Ed exclaimed.

Stede stammered as he grasped to find an excuse before he said, "there's no getting out of this, is there?"

Ed gave him an impish grin as he hoisted himself onto his saddle. "c'mon, you're gonna need to learn how to pickpocket. There's a large town near here, we can practice there. You better get a move on before the big guy wakes up though."
With much grumbling and exasperated muttering, Stede kicked his horse into motion to follow his vexing teacher, glaring daggers into his broad back. That man somehow manages to be the bane of his existence while simultaneously rendering him dumbfounded and giddy with even the slightest compliment; yet even that was beginning to annoy him. His displeased murmuring continued right into the town and into the market hall before Ed nudged his arm and whispered in his ear, "watch this."
He weaved through the slow-moving river of people who perused the vendor's stalls, lingering close to a well-dressed lady before circling back to his student and discreetly slipping a delicate bracelet into his hand.
"Show off," Stede whispered.

Ed shrugged and explained the method of pickpocketing, pointing out who to look for and how to steal without them even noticing before pushing Stede out into the crowd to put his teachings to the test. After a few failed attempts where he hesitated for too long, he managed to pluck the wallet from a man and deliver it back to Edward who was encouragingly giving him a thumbs up. Alas, their celebration was short-lived as the cops had noticed the two suspicious individuals sulking around the market and began to pursue them. Grabbing Stede's hand, he ran with him, leading him down small allays and roads before pulling him into a small alcove. It was a tight squeeze and he found himself pinned against the wall by Ed's own body as they held their breaths, waiting for the sound of footsteps to fade. Stede bit his lip to distract himself from how every part of them pressed together, praying his racing heart was not felt. At this close range, he could see every freckle and scar that marred his sun-kissed face and notice how he smelled of pine and campfire smoke. Abruptly, Ed turned to face him, their noses practically touching with their proximity.

"I think we lost them," He panted before shuffling out of the alcove and patting Stede's shoudler, "You're officially a rotten criminal like me"

He stood smiling for a moment and followed him back to their horses yet he was preoccupied; his heart still thundered and knots formed in his stomach but there was no longer any threat so...why did he feel this way? He shook it off and decided it was just his nervous temperament getting the better of him.

"Won't we need something to wear to the party tonight?" Stede inquired as they untied their mounts.

"Hm? Oh don't worry about that, they had some fancy clothes in the trunk we robbed so I took 'em. Should be our size," He reassured.
Now they were moving onto their third thievery of today; this one by far the highest risk and the biggest payoff if they succeed. As they drew nearer to the estate it was being hosted at, Stede provided his partner in crime with a crash course on etiquette and how to behave at such an event yet it devolved into bickering over trivial matters like an old married couple. Before their squabbles could continue any longer, they had reached their destination and rode into a small forest nearby to leave their horses and don their formal attire. However, when Ed began undressing Stede found himself tensing up in surprise, caught off guard by his lack of modesty.
"Well, are you changing or not?" Edward urged as he looked over his shoulder.

Snapping from his startlement, he did as he was told, facing away from the other man as he removed his clothes. This time it was Ed's turn to stare, glancing over his shoulder again to observe him shrugging off his shirt, revealing a toned back with not a blemish in sight; another reminder of how they grew up in vastly different worlds. A world Ed will finally be privy to at tonight's party.