Home, At Last (Blackbonnet Oneshot)

Home, At Last

Set following the last episode of season 1

Word count: 1718

Stede rows the oars of the boat gently through the dark ocean with only one thing on his mind.

The man he has battled alongside with over the past few months, the one who taught him everything he knows about pirating. The man who showed him the maps of the land and ways of the wind, captained beside him with a passion for the sea that Stede had never seen in anyone before.

The man he has come to know and love, as Ed.

A small grin breaks out on his face, now having resolution with Mary and being a truely free man. Free to live however he wants, free to love whoever he wants. That very want brought him back to the sea.

He knows that he should have at least told Ed where he was going, gave him a heads up, instead of leaving without a trace after they shared that kiss under the light of the pale moon. He hopes that Ed realizes how much that kiss really meant to him, and how much he's longed for the touch of the black haired man since. He's dreamed of those soft brown eyes meeting his since the day he left and finally, finally, he will get to see them again.

***

Stede climbs the side of the ship with ease, stronger than he was when he first started captaining, soundlessly leaping over the wall and onto the deck without gaining the attention of any crewmates. The dark black of the night made it hard to see at times, but Stede knew his way around this boat now more than ever.

He could feel his heartbeat speed up as he crept across the deck; finding his way to the captain's quarters, assuming that Ed would have taken his role since they were co-captaining together before Stede's absence.

Stede turned the knob of the door handle slowly, holding his breathe and hoping that he saw a sleeping Ed when he peers through.

He saw nothing of that sort.

The cabin was trashed. All of his books, gone. Everything he had previously placed in the large room to make it feel like a home were nowhere to be seen.

What happened here?

He stepped through the doorframe, not making it further than two steps into the room before he was halted by strong arms and pinned to the wall. A large forearm restrained his neck, a small knife in the hand attached to it, and Stede felt a hand slam next to his head. His breathing quickened as he slowly looked up at his captor.

In front of him, pinning him against the wall, stood Ed in all of his glory. His black and grey hair falls over his shoulders and into his face, covering his eyes in the slightest as he sizes up the man in front of him.

Stede now realizes the black streaked across Ed's chin, almost like a makeshift beard, and around his eyes. Stede furrows his eyebrows.

"Ed." Stede says softly "Ed, it's just me."

The lock that Ed has him in against the wall softens along with his stern gaze. He lets go and tucks his hair behind his ears, revealing his eyes. They hold an expression that makes him seem so vulnerable in the moment. It's the same look that Ed had held that one night on deck when they were so, so close. It made Stede want to kiss him that night, but he chickened out before he could muster up the courage to.

"Stede..." Ed says in the faintest of whispers, shivers running down Stede's spine. Ed avoids eye contact, looking up at him from his turned down head, searching his face.

"You..." Ed tucks the knife away "you came back."

Stede nods, a small smile on his face. Ed only scrunches his face in confusion. He takes a few steps back, running his tattered hands through his long thick hair only sparing one glance towards Stede. Stede frowns.