REC: like a dog with a bird at your door

[silverusagi]

like a dog with a bird at your door (10990 words) by chaiky
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet
Characters: Stede Bonnet, Nigel Badminton, Chauncey Badminton, Mary Bonnet, Alma Bonnet, Louis Bonnet, Blackbeard | Edward Teach
Additional Tags: cw blood, Violence against Children, Bullying, anxiety and depression, canon-typical toxic masculinity

Summary: As a child, Stede learns a hard lesson: don't resist. He carries this lesson with him into adulthood, allows it to define his life. If he isn’t ever going to fit in, the least he can do is get with the program. Stay in line. Accept what he's given with a stiff upper lip and don’t make a fuss because it’s always, always more trouble than it’s worth. It takes a horrible portrait, a conversation in a bathroom, thirty-seven years and a lifetime of loneliness for Stede to finally, finally start fighting back.

A fic about Stede's journey to getting what he wants. Only after he loses Ed does he realize that there are things worth fighting for. In this case, literally.

Stede swallows. Summons his courage. “I challenge you to a duel. A sword fighting duel. Captain to captain. If I win, you have to listen to what I have to say. If I lose, you get to do whatever you want with me.”

Time comes to a grinding halt. Stede’s palms sweat as Ed considers, gun poised at Lucius’s temple. The crew waits with bated breath. Olivia the seagull squawks restlessly.

“You don’t have a sword,” Ed says finally.

Fighting back a relieved smile, Stede turns towards the crowd. “Jim. Throw me Izzy’s sword.”

There’s a metallic twang, a yell from the angry little bugger, and then a sword is sailing gracefully through the air. Stede catches it with ease. Gives it a few flourishing swings. “There we go. Seems like this’ll work well enough. Well, how about it? Is Blackbeard man enough to face the Gentleman Pirate?” He raises his eyebrows in challenge.

“It’s been nice knowin’ ya, Cap’n,” says Buttons solemnly from the crowd.

“Oh my god, he has a death wish,” Lucius mumbles. His hands scrabble at Ed’s arm, trying to loosen his grip.

Ed throws him forward onto his knees. “Go.” He doesn’t take his eyes off Stede, not while Lucius stands on quaking legs and dashes towards the safety of the crew, and not while he yanks his sword from its sheath.

He saunters forward, and the entire crew jumps back. He doesn’t spare them a glance, just keeps walking forward, and forward, and forward into Stede’s space--

With a start, Stede realizes that the duel has probably started. “Oh, shit.” Eyes going wide, he promptly turns on his heel and tears off across the deck.

Now, Stede isn’t stupid. In a normal sword fight, he wouldn’t stand a chance against someone like Edward. The few measly lessons he’d had (which, come to think of it, were probably more flirting sessions than lessons) were not nearly enough to make him anywhere near prepared or qualified to face Ed in combat. Besides, Ed was the one who’d taught him. He knew all Stede’s moves.

No, the only way to win this would be to cheat, plain and simple. Hence, the plan.