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It took accidentally offing a bird but they were finally getting off that stupid fucking ship.
Honestly Jack hadn't expected it to take so long. Any other time he'd come across Blackbeard, the pair of them had hauled off on their own adventure pretty quick. But Blackie had been reluctant to abandon the Revenge at first.
When Jack had agreed to this job, Hands had tried to sell him a sad story about how the man they knew as Blackbeard had lost his edge. Jack hadn't believed it.
Israel Hands had always been twitchy fucker, standing a little too close to Blackbeard and taking every victory as his own personal success. Why Blackie kept such a clingy loser of a first mate around was beyond him.
Of course loyalty was hard to find, he thought ruefully. The story of a mutinying crew that got him on the Revenge had been more or less true.
But things were coming up Jack now. With the cash from this job, he would be on his way to doing what he did best.
Even his little visit on the Revenge had been a decent piece of work, Jack thought. Treating that joke of a crew to some real pirate shit and fucking with their loser captain. Whippies, yardies... good times.
Of course the best part had been the breakup scene with that twat, Steve, Stede, whatever his name was, and Blackie.
Asshole had looked like a fish, with his wide eyes and open mouth. He hadn't expected Blackie to choose Jack over him, that was for sure.
With what he knew about tomorrow's action, Jack thought it made the most sense to go back to shore at Blind Man's Cove for the night. He said as much, leaving out what was to come.
Blackbeard made a vague noise in response. Jack took that for agreement and so that was the direction he rowed them.
He tried to keep up a conversation but Blackbeard didn't seem to be listening. He'd nod or grunt once in a while but Jack had a feeling he could have said he'd just seen four mermaids having an orgy and he would have gotten the same response.
Jack didn't like it. On the ship, Blackie had seemed sure of his decision. But with every dip of the oar, Jack could see the certainty leaving his face as Blackbeard watched the shrinking light of the ship.
The whole thing was just weird. Blackbeard had been with that group of jackoffs what, a few weeks? But maybe the time with Bonnet had really changed him, just like Hands had said.
Jack didn't like the thought of that. The name Blackbeard was a legend for a reason. His stories weren't the empty rumors pirates liked to spread about themselves. Jack knew, hell, he'd lived more than a few of them alongside him. They had a history together. He was on this particular mission for the money, sure, but he also didn't mind doing it. Blackie was on a very short list of people he might call a friend, and who would also call him a friend in return, as evidenced by his easy acceptance on the Revenge .
Well whatever it was that has been going on with that idiot Bonnet, Blackbeard was better off away from it, Jack told himself. Their type of people and whatever type of fancy shit Stede Bonnet was were not meant to mix.
Once they reached shore, Blackbeard immediately hopped off the row boat, leaving Jack to pull it onto the sand alone. Jack grunted with the effort, cursing under his breath. Wasn't like he couldn't do it alone, but who would want to, especially after rowing them in without any help.
Once the little boat was more or less secure, Jack removed what they needed for a rough campsite. They wouldn't be there long but no need to be without the basics, Jack thought as he grabbed a few bottles of liquor. And then grabbed a few more. He'd restocked from the ship supplies earlier, so they would be ready to leave as needed.
Blackbeard was sitting at the edge of the remains of a fire. A fire he hadn't bothered to light, Jack noted with irritation as he joined him.
"Couldn't have helped with that?" Jack asked, trying to keep the edge out of his words as he looked down at Blackbeard.
It didn't matter. Blackbeard seemed not to have heard. He was looking out at the faint light of the Revenge again, face glum.
Well there was one remedy for that. Jack passed a bottle to Blackbeard, who took it without looking.
Jack rolled his eyes. He set the rest of the bottles in the sand before grabbing one himself and sitting down.
Jack took a long pull of rum, savoring the burn, and looked over at Blackbeard. There wasn't much light beyond what the moon gave them and at this angle, the shadows were deep on his face. It wasn't the most inspiring sight for a conversation.
"So..." Jack started, trailing off as he realized he didn't have much to say. Nothing he'd tried earlier had made much of a dent, and there were a number of possible landmines that he wanted to avoid. Needed to until tomorrow at least, after that who the fuck cared.
They drank in silence for a while before Jack tried again. He never was able to let sleeping dogs lie.
"Be good to get back to captainin' your own vessel, eh?" he said.
After a moment, Blackbeard tilted his head to the side in affirmation. He was still thinking too much, Jack thought. And his bottle was already empty, Jack noticed.
Time for another drink.
He had to reach past Blackbeard to grab it. There was an ever present smell of ocean, and the less familiar but interesting smell of man beside him. Musk and salt but a little sweeter than most. He smelled expensive. More evidence of Bonnet's corrupting influence, Jack thought.
It brought back Jack's irritation from earlier and something else too. Blackbeard didn't need that asshole. He needed a reminder of who he was.
And rum always made Jack horny.
Jack handed Blackbeard the second bottle, letting his hand linger a bit. Blackbeard still didn't look at him but he took the liquor and Jack felt like it was enough of an opening.
"When's the last time you had a good fuck?" Jack asked bluntly.
For a moment, Jack thought he'd made a mistake. Blackbeard stiffened and Jack braced himself for a hit. But quicker than it came, the tension disappeared and Blackbeard merely shrugged before taking a swig of his drink.
So those two hadn't been buggering, Jack thought with some satisfaction. That asshole Bonnet had come off as a little virgin bitch, but Jack had wondered. The way the two had looked at each other should've been a hint, you couldn't have that much fucking wistfulness for a person you'd put it to.
Jack laid a hand on Blackbeard's shoulder. "What do you say we warm each other up?"
.....
Back on the Revenge , Stede had retreated to his cabin soon after Blackbeard had left. He couldn't face the crew's pitying looks or Buttons' sadness.
He retrieved a cup and bottle of port. It was one that he had set aside in anticipation of a nice nightcap for Ed and himself, but that would no longer be an option.
Of course he couldn't stop Ed from following his own path, he thought glumly, but he couldn't help but think that Jack was bad for Ed. Truly, Jack seemed to bring out the worst of him. The story about the burning boat and the melting faces... Stede shuddered.
While he and Ed hadn't known each other long, he had felt such a deep connection with the other man. When they talked, there was a whole river of meaning under every sentence.
He had learned so much from him, and Stede fancied that Ed had learned from him as well. That was what a friendship should be, not the meaningless and hateful carousing Jack and he had carried on with that day, Stede thought.
Still, upset as he was, he hoped Ed would be okay heading out in the dark as they had. Stede wondered if he might be able to see where they had gone. Perhaps they were back on shore for the night. Surely they wouldn't be braving the open sea at this time of night. His telescope would let him see that far, certainly. But would that be an invasion of privacy, he worried.
Ed had told him "this is who I am" and Stede felt he should respect that as much as he disagreed. But surely taking a look couldn't be construed as disrespect, he thought. He merely wanted to ensure that Ed had made it safely to shore, if that was the way they had gone at all.
Yes, he decided, it would be a quick check on their well-being. He just needed to find his telescope. He left his cabin, intending to ask Lucius to bring it to him but he met Oluwande in the hall first.
"I was looking for Lucius," Stede told him. "I was hoping he could grab a telescope."
"What do you need a telescope for?" Oluwande asked curiously.
Stede paused for a moment. With some of the crew he might have prevaricated but he knew Oluwande was grieving an end to a friendship as well with Jim's departure.
"I wanted to check if Ed and Jack had made it ashore safely for the night," Stede told him.
"Ah well, Lucius is already abed with Black Pete," Oluwande said, tone implying a bed only partially figured into what Lucius was up to. "But I know where I could find one."
After a quick reconnaissance, Oluwande returned with the telescope.
Looking out his window, Stede was briefly pleased to see he was right. Ed was on the beach! He was sitting with a bottle in his hand, and Jack was next to him. It didn't appear they were talking much, Stede noted. The bottles did remind him of his own glass of port. Empty, he was surprised to find.
After refilling his cup, he returned to the window. He could barely make out their expressions but he fancied he could read Ed's body language. Ed didn't look happy. He was holding himself like he did when he was hiding an injury.
Stede hoped Ed wasn't cold out there. The two men hadn't bothered to light a fire and despite the heat of the day, the nights could bring a chill on.
"So what's happening?" Oluwande asked. Stede startled. He'd completely forgotten Oluwande was in the room.
"I was right. They did return to shore," Stede said briefly, not removing the spyglass.
"They doing anything interesting? Biting the heads off turtles?" Oluwande ventured.
"No, nothing like that. It appears they are just sitting and drinking."
Stede watched in silence for a while. It was just more of the same for a time. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for but when he saw Jack put his hand on Ed's arm, he felt his heart drop to his stomach.
Stede saw what looked like a bit of a tussle. For a moment he worried they were brawling but it became very quickly clear they were embracing. He watched in horror as things progressed to clothing being partially removed.
"Oh. Oh, no," he squeaked.
"What's wrong?" Oluwande had taken to the chaise but lifted his head at the tone of alarm in Stede's voice.
"Um, nothing?" Stede said. He was unable to force himself to remove the spyglass but he felt the weight of Oluwande's disbelieving stare. "It's, uh. They're just." Stede clicked his tongue.
"Oh." Oluwande sounded suddenly knowing.
"It's nothing," Stede said, trying to keep his voice even.
"It's ok to be upset, captain," Oluwande told him.
"I'm not," Stede insisted. He was proud that he had managed firmness this time. "Ed is his own person. I respect that and I respect that Ed can have... liaisons as he likes.”
"Right. Of course," Oluwande agreed. "Sometimes our friends make choices and we have to accept that." He didn't sound happy about it.
...
For all Blackbeard’s preoccupation, he didn't need much convincing.
Jack's hand on his shoulder had seemed to bring him back to himself a bit. Enough that he had looked at Jack's hand and then locked eyes with him before chuckling a bit.
"When have you known me to turn that down?" Blackbeard asked. Jack smirked, trying to hide his relief. Blackie was a good time but he could be a real moody fucker, Jack thought.
Jack slid the hand on Blackbeard's shoulder around so that he could pull him closer.
"And who would want to, when it's me who's offering?" Jack countered. Jack saw Blackbeard's mouth turn up at the corner and he took that as an invitation to lean in and nip at his lip.
Blackbeard grunted and returned the favor. It was a mean bite, more teeth than Jack had gone for. Jack fucking loved it.
They were so close now, but he pushed in, keeping them tight together, shoulder to shoulder, chest to chest. It was an awkward position seated on the sand. Blackbeard fought it for a moment even as they kissed until Jack threw a leg over. That settled them both as the grind of their bodies got more intense. Jack leaned back just enough to take a breath.
“That’s what we needed, babe,” Jack said into the side of Blackbeard's face, riding him and moaning as it sent pleasurable little shocks to his cock. He was hard and he could feel that Blackbeard was on his way there too.
Jack crowded in for another kiss that Blackbeard returned eagerly enough. Maybe it had been a while but he still knew what Blackie liked, Jack thought.
Jack had to shift back a bit to open his pants and get his shirt out of the way. He helped Blackbeard slide his coat off and open his pants as well before getting his hand around both of them.
Jack watched his hand move over their cocks. His chapped hands felt a touch dry and he spit on his palm to smooth the way.
It took a few minutes of work to get Blackbeard to full mast. Jack wasn't ashamed to admit he had been more than halfway there since grabbing his second bottle of rum.
Jack turned his attention to Blackbeard's face, but even this close, the lack of light made it hard to see his expression. Jack could only see a faint glint from his eyes and the clench of his teeth.
Through the cloud of rum and the heat of their bodies, Jack was distracted by how loud it was this close to the sea. The water muted everything else, the familiar wet sounds of sex, their heavy breathing. It unnerved him. He couldn't remember ever fucking next to the ocean like this, on land and so far away from crew. If it weren't for that dick Steve, they wouldn't be here, Jack thought. Jack felt a heat that had nothing to do with sex.
Even the slick slide of his hand and the pleasure of his cock against Blackbeard's didn't stop him from feeling off. Maybe Blackie had never been his loudest partner but he'd been more talkative than this, Jack thought.
In the past, he could always count on Blackie to tease and goad and turn even fucking into a competition.
"Feels good, right?" Jack said, more for himself than Blackbeard.
It was a simple question with a simple answer, he thought. Yes, it fucking was good. He was winning and he was fucking.
He tugged a little harder on them both, twisting as he got to the skin just below the heads, moving faster, and finally Blackbeard gave a soft moan. Jack could feel a little spurt of precome easing the slide of his hand even more.
Jack grinned viciously. Fuck the ocean, fuck Bonnet. This was good, and he got it, not that asshole, he told himself.
Better than that fucking fop captain could ever be, he thought and that last bit he said out loud.
At that, Blackbeard reared back violently. With Jack sitting atop his legs, Blackbeard couldn't get totally out of reach but the sudden move made it awkward for Jack to keep hold of him.
"Don't talk about him," Blackbeard said, his breathless voice harsh.
There was a brief moment where neither of them moved. The air between them felt ice cold as the breeze from the surf blew through the space between their bodies.
Jack felt his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to speak.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah. Of course," he said finally, hesitantly leaning over Blackbeard to close the gap.
They were both still half hard but the sweat had left a chill on Blackbeard's skin. Jack used his free hand to softly rub along Blackbeard's arm and down his chest, mirroring the rhythm of his hand on their dicks. He kept the pace slower this time, trying to ease them back to where they had been before.
Instead of a kiss, Jack sucked a bruise into Blackbeard's neck. He smirked when he heard the answering moan.
"Yeah, you like that," Jack said. "I know you do."
"Christ, do you ever shut up?" Blackie growled but the edge from before was gone.
Jack started laughing but it ended with a groan as he hit the finish line. It wasn't many strokes before Blackbeard followed. Jack sank in the sand next to him, trying to catch his breath.
For a moment, it was like the aftermath of any other casual fuck. Jack felt very pleased with himself and was about to make a smartass comment when he looked at Blackbeard again.
The clouds had moved and it was bright enough now that the moon light let him see Blackbeard's face. His expression was empty, eyes focused on something far away.
Jack looked away and rubbed his hands against his arms. He wished he had set a fire. It was getting cold.
...
Stede poured another cup of liquor, spilling some as he tried to keep an eye on shore. He'd finished the port and moved on to something else at some point.
It was dark and difficult to make out too many details of the goings on but the brief glimpses he saw of Ed’s face wouldn't allow him to look away.
He couldn't tell himself he wasn't violating Ed's privacy now. That ship had sailed. He could convince himself that it had been fine to check that his friend was safe, and he had done that when he had seen Ed was ashore. But now he was just playing the voyeur of a private moment.
Or at least what should be a private moment. He couldn't imagine doing such things in plain sight, outside on a beach.
In truth, imagining anything like that at all was tricky at best. Even considering where he might be a part of such an act had him shying away. He had never been very good with the idea of intimacy or the reality of it.
He should have known this friendship with Ed would end this way. It was the way everything in his life ended, broken and split up.
From the beginning, his time with Ed had felt fragile. Some of it had been his excitement around meeting a real pirate and not wanting to muck it up. Ed's mercurial nature had kept him guessing as well, he admitted.
Still he had believed they were creating a lasting bond with their shared enjoyment for their type of pirating. Although apparently it was only his type of pirating, he thought sadly.
He was still watching as it looked like things had come to a conclusion on shore. He clenched the telescope and his eyes burned.
He startled a bit when a careful hand was laid on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Oluwande asked.
Stede's chest was so tight he could barely take a breath. It felt like something soft inside him had been crushed.
"No," he said.
"Perhaps you should put that telescope down?" Oluwande suggested gently.
Stede's lips tightened but gave no other reply.
"Ah, well. Whatever you need then, captain," Oluwande said.