Sirens - Our Flag Means Death (EdxStede)

Sirens

The deck of the Revenge was blissfully quiet, with nothing but the singing of the timbers where it bobbed gently at-anchor in a small cove.

The crew had all gone ashore in a little town on a little island - one, that by Stede's extensive map collection, shouldn't exist.

"You know I rather feel like Odysseus and that place is Circe's island. Who would have guessed that we'd just happen upon a little slice of paradise, complete with its own tiki bar."

"Nah, mate. I didn't hear any Sirens so I reckon we're fine."

Stede shifted up onto his elbow to better look at Edward, his eyebrows arched towards his hairline in surprise. "You know The Odyssey ?"

The two of them were seated the wrong way in one of the deck hammocks, so the shuffling from Stede nearly shook Ed out of his seat.

"'Course. I met a sailor from Greece who'd memorized the whole thing. Used to perch on the deck and sing the Song of Achilles to all of us at bedtime." Edward canted his head. "Well, he wouldn't...you know. Actually sing. It was more of a warble, really."

Stede settled back in the hammock, grinning a bit stupidly at the tale. "That's impressive. I guess they did start out as oral tales and there's probably some trick to it to help you remember all the bits."

"Plus that one's a real good sailor tale. So it went over well with the seafaring folk." Ed started to rock the hammock, swaying both of them gently. It also had the effect of jostling them closer, closing the small gap that had existed since they sat down.

Stede tightened reflexively and started to shift back out of sheer force of aristocratic politeness. But Edward's next gentle rock just closed it up again. After one more go, he resigned himself to feeling the press of the other man's body along his side.

"Are you certain that you don't want to go ashore?" Stede asked as he looked across the still water. There was a bonfire on the beach, and the occasional shape of their crew passed in front of the light. Laughter and music echoed across the bay.

"Hmm? Nah. Sometimes the crew should have fun away from the eyes of the boss." Ed turned his head towards Stede and added, "...bosses, in this case. They weren't going to fully relax with either of us there."

The two lapsed into comfortable silence. Ed continued to rock the hammock in time with the swaying of the ship. The stars winked brilliantly overhead. Someone shouted in glee at the party, followed by a chorus of laughter.

"You know. When I set off from home, I had all sorts of images about what my life was going to be like. And this...this is very close to what I hoped it would be." Stede closed his eyes and took in a deep lungful of salty, perfumed tropical air. "With one surprise."

"Mhmmm?" Ed intoned and rolled his head to face Stede. He studied the other man's features in the moonlight, his profile silhouetted.

Stede swallowed and opened his mouth a few times without speaking. Then, "You. I imagined I might run into some famous and bloodthirsty pirates on this adventure. But this isn't what I imagined a meeting with Blackbeard might be like."

"Mhmm. That's because you didn't meet Blackbeard. You met Ed."

It was true that Stede spent the first part of their friendship unaware of the true identity of the man he was speaking with. It was true that he introduced himself as Ed and never bothered to offer his other name until some time later.

Stede was suddenly aware that he had been looking rather contemplating at the other man for quite some time. Ed met his gaze with thoughtful dark eyes and the ghost of a smile.

"I...I suppose that's true," murmured Stede. And despite the awareness of the long period of contemplation, he continued to gaze at the other man.

Slowly, naturally, their gazes parted while both of them returned to take in the fabulously bright night sky with the colourful spill of the Milky Way cutting the sky in half.

After a time, Stede felt movement along his side. Then Ed slipped each of his fingers between his until they were fully entwined. He gave his hand a squeeze before relaxing, but still interlinked.

Stede gently flexed his fingers against Ed's, feeling the rough sailor's calluses that he had only just begun to develop. One finger had a swollen joint that hitched out. He could feel an old knit of scar tissue as he ran his thumb against the other man's hand in a soft, rhythmic motion.

Stede's heart thundered in his ears. It was loud enough that he was sure Edward had to feel it as well. He focused on the brightest star in the sky, but that couldn't distract him from the gentle movements of the fearsome pirate's long fingers.

After what felt like forever, Ed shifted to stand, pulling Stede up with him.

After a little awkward and very un-fearsome shifts that nearly had him on his ass or entangled in the hammock, Stede was righted and gripping the other man's bicep for support.

"Let's go to bed," Ed murmured as he kept hold of the other man's hand to lead him towards the rear of the ship.

As co-captains, they had co-ownership of the bed. And it wasn't unusual for men to share a bed for the purposes of sleeping.

But somehow Stede thought this night was going to be different seeing as Ed had yet to let go of his hand.

"A...alllright," stammered Stede. "Let's."