The pest

1

It was a normal day on the Revenge, above normal actually; there hadn't been any accidental injuries in the last few days. Buttons hadn't bitten anyone, the crew had been as well behaved as they can be, and the thing that Stede liked the most, him and Ed had been spending more time together than usual.

Sure in the many weeks that they've known each other, the two had clicked together automatically. One wouldn't think that Stede Bonnet and fucking Blackbeard would be automatic best friends, but the universe is funny like that; like it's always doing one big fuckery on everything and every one.

But ever since that night of the French party, where Stede showed Ed just how badass passive aggression is, Ed had grown even more fonder of Stede, which he noticed whenever Ed would insist on having breakfast with Stede, or whenever he would sit down and listen to Stede ramble about one of his many books.

Stede had been enjoying the attention; it was nice to have someone actually listen to him. It seemed whenever he talked, most people would have a bored look on their face, but with Ed it was something different. Ed always looked so engaged and fascinated by Stede and his ways, there was always a spark in the mans eyes whenever the two conversed. It made Stede feel appreciated, which is a feeling he hasn't felt in a while.

But that all changed when a pest came aboard the ship. Now this pest wasn't like any other pest Stede had seen. This one was obnoxious, vulgar, and down right awful in Stedes opinion, but everyone else seemed to love it, even if it broke basically everything on the ship. This pest also goes by another name, Calico Jack.

Now apparently Jack and Ed were friends long before Ed and Stede. So when Jack first boarded, Stede had no idea. The way he found out was the firing of his own canons. In a panic, he threw on his robe and ran out, afraid of another attack. But he was met with this pest.

Ed seemed very thrilled to have Jack on board, but Stede had his doubts of the man. Stede understood that that Jack was an actual pirate, so he was going to act differently than the behaviour he was used to, but it seemed like Jack was just being a dick in Stedes honest opinion.

At first Stede felt guilty; the man had been mutinied three times in the span of one year (which was a very big red flag that Stede chose to ignore), and the man just wanted a familiar face to comfort him, and that face just happened to be Ed.

Now Stede wasn't jealous or anything about Jack and Ed hanging out; he actually thought it was quite nice to see Ed so happy...even though it was Jack that made Ed that happy. And sure, did Stede feel very lonely when he was excluded in all of Jack and Ed's conversations? Sure. Did he want to jump overboard when Ed didn't show up for their usual breakfast? Absolutely. Did he want to ring Jacks neck when he found out that him and Ed used to have sex? You bet your ass. But he wasn't jealous. Not at all. He didn't mind Jacks company not one bit.

But then Jack fucked up. Severely fucked up.

Stede was awoken by the sound of whips and laughter on deck. He didn't think much of it, but didn't want to seem like a prude and decided to go see what it was all about. He got dressed and walked out and what he saw didn't surprise him coming from Jack. The crew was laughing as Jack was whipping various objects. Again. He tried to hit a bottle out of Swedes hand, but ended hitting the poor mans finger instead.

Stede grew worried of his crews safety, but everyone seemed pretty happy so he didn't say anything to intrude. Stede looked to his left and saw Ed. He had a giant smile on his face, letting out a hardy laugh. Stede smiled at the sight. Ed saw Stede, and his smile grew wider.

"Stede! Man! Look at this!" Ed said, he then proceeded to show Stede something called "the whip dance". It looked similar to a chicken, but Stede thought it was cute nonetheless.