Title: Home Soon
Fandom: Black Sails
Pairing: Maxanne
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 2,461
Summary: A snapshot of Max and Anne's life together in Nassau after their return from the New World. Post-finale domestic fluff.
xxx
The sun was low in the sky, hugging the horizon, bathing the island in a coppery glow as Anne Bonny slipped off of the Argonaut and headed briskly towards town, her skin still damp and chaffed from the wind and sea water gusting against her as she stood at the rail of the ship, watching Nassau grow larger and larger, anxious for their return to land.
The crews venture had been successful, but they had been over two weeks at sea, and though Anne would never have admitted it out loud - if someone was foolish enough to press her - she had missed Max, and she was looking forward to being reunited with her.
By the time Anne made it into the center of town, the sun had finished its decent, plunging Nassau into torch lit darkness. Her destination, Max's tavern, was still some yards ahead, but already Anne could detect faint traces of the music from the building in the cool night air, and despite herself, her lips twitched up into a small smile as she picked up her pace.
Upon entering the tavern Anne found it to be a boisterous, sweaty, noisy hell – as usual - and immediately her shoulders sagged with relief.
It was good to be back.
Anne's relaxation only last for a few moments however. A scan of her immediate vicinity did not reveal Max's radiant form, which meant that Anne was going to have to go on another hunt. Luckily, she had a very good idea where Max was likely to be if she wasn't holding court on the main floor of the tavern, so squaring her shoulders, Anne began to push and shove her way through the crowd.
As she approached the staircase that led up to the tavern's second floor, and Max's office, a feeling that Anne wasn't sure how to characterize, but had become very familiar with settled over her, and instinctively she lifted her eyes to the top of the stairs. When they landed at the summit, Anne's body stilled, and her heart seized in her chest as her gaze settled on Max, leaning casually against the railing, smiling softly as she tracked Anne's approach from the landing above.
"Four days behind schedule," Max admonished lightly, holding out her hand to Anne once the pirate made it to the top of the stairs. "You do know how to make your woman wait," she continued, taking Anne's hand gently into her own.
"Better late than never," Anne replied lightly, her eyelashes fluttering with pleasure a moment later when Max's thumb began to gently stroke the back of her hand. "'Sides," Anne continued, her lips curving up roguishly as Max continued to toy with her hand. "When you see what's in our hold, you'll know the wait was worth it."
"So, the Kelso was everything we heard it would be?" Max asked, stepping closer to Anne when the redhead tugged on her hand lightly, indicating that she wanted Max to move even closer to her.
"More," Anne responded simply, wrapping her arms around Max once she had moved close enough.
Anne sighed softly, contently as she wrapped Max up in her embrace. She missed such moments of tenderness, of intimacy, when she was away at sea. She dreamed of Max's full breasts and stiff nipples, of Max's smooth, dusky skin, and of the warm, wet place between Max's legs on those long, cold nights on the Argonaut. But it was this softness - Max's hand in hers, Max's sweet voice in her ear as they lounged together, Max's tiny frame cocooned protectively around her body, Max's lips pressed to her palm, her temple, the tip of her nose - that Anne truly longed for when she was separated from Max.
"Is that all I'm going to get?" Max murmured into the warm, salty skin of Anne's neck, her eyes closing momentarily as she spoke so that she could focus her attention fully on enjoying this rare public display of tenderness from Anne.
"Jack wants to show off to ya in the mornin'," Anne replied lowly, indicating that for the moment that was all she planned to say to Max about the successful hunt she had just returned from. "That don't mean I don't got nothin' to give ya tho'," she continued, her voice taking on a rough edge as she bucked her hips into Max's body suggestively, her actions and tone immediately sending a strong shiver of desire through Max.
"Is it gold earrings?" Max asked teasingly.
Anne shook her head.
"A string of pearls, perhaps?" Max inquired as Anne's hands shifted from their perch on her hips and began to slide up her torso with purpose.
Anne's lips twitched up briefly, revealing her amusement with Max's antics, but the expression only lasted for a moment before she gruffly shook her head again.
"Is it … a book of French poetry?" Max asked, her breath hitching a little this time as Anne's hands neared her breasts, a soft, tremulous sigh escaping from her lips a moment later when Anne's hands reached their destination, and squeezed.
Anne dipped her head down and leaned into Max until her warm breath was tickling Max's ear, making Max's body shudder with anticipation.
"It's my fingers under yer dress," Anne whispered, her voice low, and rough and full of promise, "fuckin' ya until all that's comin' outta that pretty little mouth is my name n' the Lord's." Max's eyes slipped shut as arousal coursed through her, and instinctively her right hand lifted to cover the one Anne still had at her breast, holding Anne against her. "And if you're good," Anne continued, Max's reactions to her closeness and her words driving her on, "I'll give it to you again."
"We should go," Max said quickly, biting down on her bottom lip anxiously as she pulled out of Anne's embrace. "It would not do for all of Nassau to see how easily the Dread Pirate Bonny melts in my hands."
"Ain't me who's gon' be meltin'," Anne replied, holding Max's gaze with a steady, predatory intensity that never failed to make Max want to sink to her knees before Anne and give worship to her goddess of the hunt. "But you're right 'bout Nassau not needin' to see none of it."
"Come," Max breathed out, entwining Anne's fingers with her own once again. "Let us properly say hello," she continued, leading Anne by the hand towards her office, which would take them to the bridge that would bring them to their bedroom, and the privacy and comfort of their bed.
xxx
The moment the door to their bedroom closed, Anne was on her, and Max sighed contently, allowing herself to be overwhelmed. Anne was never truly rough with her, but after weeks separated from each other, Anne was often raw and passionate, desperate for touch, and as always, Max was desperate for her.
Max loved the way Anne would rip her prized hat from her own head and toss it hastily to the side so that Max was free to bury her fingers in her hair.
Max loved the hot, wet, biting kisses Anne desperately sucked into her neck and upper chest as her strong fingers carefully but quickly worked at the buttons of Max's dress, making haste to reveal Max's skin to her hungry hands and mouth.
She loved the way Anne could not bear to have her lips parted from her skin, and would growl impatiently when she had to pull back from Anne's mouth in order to yank Anne's shirt over her head.
Max ached for the momentary calm that would come over Anne when she was finally naked before the redhead.
She lived for the sweet twinge that would settle in her heart when Anne gazed upon her nakedness with wonderment, and touched her hands to Max's hips, slowly, reverently tracing her hands over Max's skin as if seeking to assure herself that Max was real, and there, and hers.
And oh how Max throbbed, when Anne's hands moved to her breasts, taking hold of them possessively as her lips captured Max's again, hot and insistent and starving for Max once again.
A soft shove to Max's shoulders sent her tumbling back onto the mattress, and she laughed brightly as Anne tugged off her pants and then hastily clambered onto the mattress, covering Max's body with her own.
"Did you miss me?" Anne whispered hotly into Max's ear as her hands trailed up Max's thighs.
"Always," Max replied immediately.
"How much?" Anne asked.
"You tell me," Max breathed out, reaching down to grip Anne's right hand, which she then drew towards her center, allowing Anne to feel the answer to her question.
She'd been anticipating Anne's return for days, and it showed.
"That much?" Anne replied, smirking before biting down on her bottom lip as she fingers explored Max's womanhood, her mind becoming dizzy with pleasure from just how wet Max was for her already.
"More," Max assured her softly, her voice surprisingly serious as she reached up to gently stroke Anne's cheek, holding Anne's eyes with her own. "Since our return from the New World, I am happier than I ever thought it was possible to be, but I am never so happy as when you are here with me."
Anne's eyes slipped closed, and her head tilted to the side, nuzzling into the warmth and comfort of Max's hand.
"Missed you too," she said softly, eyes still closed.
She didn't have Max's way with words. She often relied on her actions to speak for her. But sometimes she knew that Max needed to hear as well as feel things, and so she tried.
"Never use ta wanna come back ta port," Anne continued, her eyes still closed. "Now I count the fuckin' days," she finished, her voice, little more than a whisper as her eyes fluttered open to meet Max's gaze.
Max's thumb stroked Anne's cheeks reverently, and then, blinking back tears roused by feelings of love so intense not even she could hope to express them in words, Max arched up and captured Anne's lips, kissing her slow, and sweet, and deep.
"Please," Max breathed against Anne's lips before pulling away to lie back against the mattress once again.
That was all Anne needed to hear to know that the time for words was over, and as soon as Max's plea washed over her, Anne leaned down, bringing their lips together once again, kissing Max hotly as her fingers began to explore once more, intent on seeing her earlier promise to Max to fruition.
xxx
Water sloshed slightly around them as Anne tilted her body to the side, disturbing Max's rest momentarily when she reached over the edge of the tub to pick up a bottle of rum she rested on the floor before they had clamoured into the tub.
"Other drinks do exist, you know," Max commented, resettling her head on Anne's chest once Anne had settled against the back of the tub once more, allowing Max to go back to using her as a human pillow.
"Other women exist too," Anne replied before taking a sip from the bottle. "But I know what I like," she continued, grinning down at Max who rolled her eyes at Anne, but could not stop an amused little smile from touching her lips a few seconds later.
"You know what Max likes?" Max asked a moment later.
"I know a lotta things Max likes," Anne replied, shifting her hand from where it had been resting on Max's hip so that it was cupping one of Max's full breasts.
"True," Max breathed out softly, enjoying the feel of Anne's hand on her. "But I meant full, detailed answers to my questions," she continued pointedly, though she made no effort to discourage Anne from continuing to fondle her breast.
Anne rolled her eyes and shook her head a little before lifting the bottle of rum back up to her lips.
"I told ya, Jack'll tell it all in the mornin'."
Max released an exasperated sigh, and then reached out for Anne's hand, taking the bottle of rum from her so that she could take a swig.
"Jack'll tell it for three hours in the morning," Max complained, not quite willing to let it go yet, even though she knew Anne well enough to know that Anne wasn't going to budge.
"Last couple days were real busy," Anne said thoughtfully. "Might take him longer 'n that," she continued, her lips curving up into an amused little smirk a second later when Max shifted against her so that she could glare up at Anne.
"Look at you," Max grumbled. "You think you are so cute," she pronounced, reaching out to pinch Anne's cheek brattily before she sighed resignedly. "And you are…which is very inconvenient when I'm trying to be cross with you."
"Ain't inconvenient for me," Anne responded cutely, and despite herself Max smiled, and then laughed before taking another swing from Anne's bottle of rum, which she then handed back over to her pirate. "Ya heard back from Granny yet?"
Max had sent a correspondence back to her partner in legitimate enterprise the day before Anne and the Argonaut had left for sea. She hadn't asked after details about the content of the letter since the business side of their operation bored her, but she knew that Max had been anxious about whatever it was, and that made it important enough to Anne for her to inquire about it.
"Oui," Max breathed out, moving her hand to rest over Anne's where it had once again settled on her hip, "A few days ago," she began.
As Max launched into her story about the contents of old lady Guthrie's letter, Anne settled in, resting her back more comfortably against the wall of their tub. For all Max liked to complain about how Jack never shut up, Max could spin a length yarn herself, and Anne knew that they would be soaking in the tub for a while as Max told her about the plans that were coming together for the further expansion of their current operation.
Anne didn't mind though, she enjoyed listening to Max talk, because like Jack, Max was good at it.
Anne lifted the bottle of rum in her hand up to her lips, took a leisurely drink from it, and then allowed her eyes to slip closed, luxuriating in the sound of Max's musical voice as she basked in the warmth of the water, the feeling of Max's supple body pressed against hers, and the now familiar sensation of feeling like she was right where she was meant to be … of feeling like she was home.
The End