To Live on the Land We Must Learn from the Sea

Chapter 8

  I'm sorry for not updating last week! I'm actually on vacation, so updates are going to be a little slower.

CW for stabbing (nonconsensual)

Word Count: 2,744

 Blackbeard awoke the next morning later and stiffer than he expected. That’s when he realized he was still in the crows nest, where he had been talking to Stede the night before. 

  Must’ve fallen asleep while he was rubbing my knee, he thought. He looked down to see his brace had been strapped around his kneecap again. He stretched and looked around, then saw a piece of paper wedged into a crack in the weathered wood. 

  He unfolded it to see loops and swirls–handwriting, presumably. Underneath was a basic drawing of a face with a hand motioning away from it. Blackbeard understood this to be thank you in sign language. He smiled, then folded the paper and tucked it away in his chest pocket, right over his heart. 

  He stood up and tested his leg, which felt a lot better than it had yesterday. He climbed down the ladder to the main deck, where most of the crew was already milling about. 

  Lucius was the first one to spot him, bustling over with a smirk in his face and giving him a once-over. “So, Oluwande told me that Stede never returned to his cell last night.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And you weren’t in the captain's quarters last night or this morning.”

  “Which means…what?” Blackbeard deadpanned, fully knowing where this conversation was going. 

  Lucius lowered his voice, leaning in. “You and Stede were getting things on, weren’t you, if you catch my drift?” 

  And there it is. Blackbeard groaned. “You know that’s not how those things work with me, Lucius.” He gave him a pointed look. Back when Jim first came out as being neither boy, girl, or mermaid, the captain made a point to let the crew know that he didn’t care who was hooking up with who and that they didn’t have to hide it, so long as their relationship-related activities didn’t interrupt his beauty sleep. He also made it a point to let them know that he was unavailable to be in any relationships unless he told them otherwise. He didn’t need the crew mutinying him if he favored one crewmate above the rest, since that was his downfall last time. 

  Lucius giggled at the captain’s frustration. “I know, Captain. I was just messing with you. Although, Stede seems to be growing pretty fond of you. He came and asked me for paper early this morning and I spotted him on deck writing a note.” 

  Blackbeard’s hand reflexively touched his chest pocket. He inwardly cursed himself as Lucius’ eyes followed the movement. “Aw, it was for you! And you kept it!?” He gushed. 

  

  Blackbeard leaned forward. “Not a word about this,” he growled. 

 “Of course,” Lucius replied. His voice lowered. “But if you ever need advice…” He waggled his eyebrows. 

  The captain scoffed as the boy left him to stand alone with his thoughts at the rail for a few minutes. Was he actually starting to like Stede, despite only knowing him for barely four days? Sure, he seemed really sweet and caring, and wasn’t scared of the fact that he’s Blackbeard. It occurred to him that before Stede massaged his knee, he couldn’t recall the last time someone touched him so gently. 

  Perhaps I'm just craving simple intimacy, nothing more, he concluded. A pirate’s life had starved him of that due to vulnerability.

  "Oi! Cap'n!" Buttons called from the helm. Oluwande stood beside him, gazing off the starboard side.