Hey guys! First fic for this fandom, probs won't be the last. And yeh, its basically the same thing that everyone else is writing, but honestly who doesn't need a few thousand fics of these two reuniting? We're all sharing in the same feels and desperate need for season two. Anyway, this is my take.

Hope you enjoy, much love xox

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Rowing out into open waters in something that could hardly be classified as a boat went just about as well as one might expect; terribly. It took Stede far too long to come across the island that the majority of his crew had been abandoned on. He'd almost run out of provisions, and thinking back, it was stupid of him to pack so little. Of course he hadn't really been thinking about spending days or even weeks alone at sea in the little boat when he'd set off. No, he'd only been thinking about how he was free now; free to be himself, and free to be with the man his was in love with.

He didn't think that the crew had ever been so pleased to see him, and boy was he pleased to see them. Minus Lucius, Jim and Frenchie though, who he was informed had not been left with the rest of them.

Being low on provisions, and slightly uncertain of how far from the nearest port they were (Stede may have gotten turned around once or twice after his map blew away in a strong gust of wind), they had all squished precariously into the boat and left their tiny speck of land far behind.

Along the way, the crew informed Stede of the new and improved version of Blackbeard called 'The Kraken' and how absolutely terrifying he was. Stede almost couldn't believe that they were talking about Ed, his Ed. He knew that Ed would be upset with him, perhaps hate him a little, but he had never expected this. He was shocked to say the least, but it only made Stede more determined to find the 'Revenge' and his love.

The crew were less concerned with finding Blackbeard (or The Kraken, or whatever he was calling himself), and they weren't quiet about it either. They understood that Stede was in love, and that was all fine and dandy, but they had doubts that the Ed he had fallen in love with was still in there. Stede had to believe that the man he loved could still be reached though, heartbreak could send a person off the deep end, but maybe Stede could fix it, he hoped he could anyway.

The only reason the crew dared to venture back to the 'Revenge' with Stede was to find their missing crew members. He understood their hesitation, but was glad for the company. They finally made port and managed to commandeer a larger boat to accommodate them better, and stocked up on some provisions. A rather terrified, but quite helpful young dockhand told Stede that The Kraken had been through merely two days prior, wreaking havoc.

Stede was sure that they could catch up, but a week later they hadn't so much as sighted the 'Revenge' and they were forced to make port again before Buttons tried to sink his jaws into Wee John's calf.

This sort of routine continued on for some time, the days running into weeks, and they seemed to keep missing the 'Revenge' wherever they went. Eventually, they ran into Lucius at a port. Apparently Blackbeard had thrown him overboard, but he made it back aboard and had been hiding with Jim until it was safe for him to flee the ship. Black Pete's eyes had shone with happiness at seeing his beau again.

Lucius was the hardest to convince to come with them back to the ship he'd fled, but he felt he owed Jim for saving his life. They set off again, though the crew were getting weary and while Stede was absolute on his mission, he too was beginning to wonder if they would ever catch up.

One night they had caught a current and were letting it take them along. Stede had volunteered to stay on watch while everyone else slept. He kept himself awake recalling his time with Ed, from the first moment Ed had boarded his ship, to their kiss on the beach.

At some point, Stede must have fallen asleep though, because he awoke to the boat bumping into something. Stede thought they must have drifted ashore or come across some rocks, but as he looked around he realised that there was a ship behind him blocking out the moon, a ship that he'd recognise anywhere. It was the 'Revenge' and boy was she a sight for sore eyes.

Grinning, Stede was about to call out to the crew, but as he looked around it was apparent that he was the only one who was awake. He gazed back up to the ship, then at the crew, and back to the ship.

The next thing he knew, Stede was pulling himself up onto the deck of his ship, trying to be as quiet as possible. He didn't want anyone, particularly Izzy to find him before he got to speak to Ed. He snuck past hammocks of sleeping pirates, catching a bottle from someone's hand before it hit the deck. To his great relief, Stede made it all the way across deck and to the Captain's quarters without being caught.

He congratulated himself on his success as he straightened his clothes and ran a hand through his hair. A gentleman should always look appropriate for such important matters. He stared at the handle of the door for a brief time. Should he knock? That would be the gentlemanly thing to do, but what if Ed didn't answer, what if was asleep, what if…?

Stede sucked up his courage and opened the door slowly without knocking. The room was dimly lit by a lonesome candle near the fireplace, and the moon filtering in through the window. And there was Ed gazing out to sea, caught in the middle of cool moonlight and warm candelight as he sat perched in front of the window.

Stede's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the man he loved, but the longer he stared, the more his eyes took in. There was a half empty bottle, it shook in a tattooed hand. Ed was shaking, sobbing, Stede could hear it now, the quiet rasping breaths as he cried, his shoulders hunched over and knees drawn up under Stede's pink floral dressing gown.

Now his heart skipped a beat, but for an entirely different reason. Slowly he took in the state of the room, horrified to find not a single book on the shelf, or in sight for that matter. He took a deep breath, he would mourn for his possessions later, right now he needed to begin to fix the broken man in the window sill.

Throwing caution to the wind, he took a few steps forward, "Ed, darling?" he spoke clearly in the almost silent room.

Surprise showed in his shoulders and the way he whipped his head around to face Stede. Ed forcibly choked back his tears and hurriedly tried to wipe them from his blackened cheeks but only succeeded in smearing the dark make up and staining his fingers with it. He pulled his gun as he did so, turning the rest of his body, and pointed it directly at Stede, stopping him from advancing further.

"Not another fucking step," he growled warningly. "How dare you? How fucking dare you show your face to me again."

Stede's heart hurt from everything that Edward was in that moment, every ounce of damage he had done to this beautiful man. He couldn't even begin to tell Ed how sorry he was, "Ed please, let me-"

"No! I won't listen, I can't listen..." his hand holding the gun wavered as he spoke, "I gave you my fucking heart Stede, and I will never allow myself to be swindled out of it again," he paused to take a decent gulp of alcohol, "so you…you can fuck right off with your apologetic speech, and beautiful linens, and nurturing nature, and your fucking lies. I don't want a bar of it mate."

"Oh Ed, I'm so so sorry," he took another step forward, but the gun didn't lower, and still he took another brave step toward the Kraken. "You see, I was kidnapped and-"

"It's Blackbeard. And are you dumb, deaf or both? I just said I don't want to fucking hear it."

"I heard it was The Kraken now. I'm sorry Ed, I was weak," Stede continued, "I let other people; my father, the Badminton brothers, even Mary, tell me who I was and who I should be. I had to find myself before-"

"Shut up, just shut up, or I swear to god I will pull this fucking trigger, then you will see The Kraken!" Ed yelled at him, but Stede could see the cracks.

He stepped right up to the end of the gun, so it was directly in his chest, "I'd never known love before, but now I do, because of you, I love you Edward," he announced leaning forward so that the tip of the gun touched his chest through the ruffled white shirt he wore, "my heart is yours, do what you will with it."

The light finally seemed to reach Ed's eyes, but Stede wasn't off the hook, "You think that you can just waltz in here and tell me that you love me…and what? You think that everything can just go back to the way it was before…before you left me?"

Stede dropped his gaze slightly, "Well…no, not quite, but I'd hoped that you would give me the chance to earn your forgiveness."

"The Kraken doesn't forgive," Ed told him bitterly.

"But Ed does, and he doesn't need to hide behind The Kraken, or Blackbeard," Stede assured him, reaching out to lay his hand over Ed's with faux confidence.

Emotions passed over Ed's face, but he still didn't lower the gun, "I threw out all of your stuff, threw it all over board."

"So I see, points for dramatic flare, but a bit of a waste. I know you liked some of those books too," Stede countered, he knew what Ed was doing. There was a time no too long ago when he would have used the same defence, he was different now though.

The gun slid down to his belly button causing Stede to shiver, but allowing him half a step closer.

"I killed Lucius. Tossed him overboard like your precious books," Ed stated, desperate to find anything to keep Stede at arm's length.

Stede frowned a little, "That was rather distasteful of you, but Lucius is alive and well, though furious with you, so I forgive you," his fingers caressed Ed's wrist and forearm soothingly.

Ed stared him dead in the eyes, black smudges added to the effect, but Stede didn't back down; he wasn't afraid of Ed, "I fed Izzy his own toe, cut it off and fed it to him," Ed told him menacingly, "that's who I am, do you still love me?"

"Mhmm, I see, while that is a bit dark and gruesome for my taste love, I can't honestly say that he didn't deserve it," Stede shrugged, an encouraging smile tipping his lips up, "I'll always love you Ed, because I know who you are. This," he gestured to Ed's attire, "is Blackbeard, The Kraken even, but in here," he pushed in as close as could, and Ed let the gun fall to his side as Stede put a hand over his leather covered chest, "this is Ed."

Ed blinked at him, looking close to tears again, his face fighting to stay blank.

"I fell in love with the man, not the myth, but I do accept that Blackbeard is a part of who you are too," Stede told him tenderly.

"I was going to shoot you," Ed confessed, and Stede could feel his heart racing under his hand.

"I figured as much, I take it you've decided against that for now?" he inquired, noting that the gun was now pointed at the ground.

There was a pregnant pause, and for one singular millisecond Stede thought that Ed might still shoot him.

"Fucking hell Stede Bonnet," Ed tossed the gun aside and set his bottle down, "I love you too," he declared, voice cracking as he cupped Stede's neck and gripped his chin, pulling him into a wet, desperate kiss.

Stede slid between Ed's legs, continuing the kiss. It was every bit as good as, and better than, he remembered their first one to be.

"I missed you," Stede whispered, slipping into Ed's arms as they held each other, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to meet you."

"Never leave me again," Stede thought that Ed likely meant it as a threat, but it came out broken instead. His arms tightened around Stede as if he would attempt to leave already.

"I promise. Co-captains until the end…if you'll have me?"

Ed nodded, nuzzling into Stede's neck, and Stede hadn't felt so content in weeks.

"Uh, there's something else you should know," Ed started pulling back to face Stede again, "I may have…uh…I left most of your crew on a little speck of land a few weeks back…" he tensed ready for Stede to unleash anger on him.

Stede caressed Ed's short beard and then kissed him again, "I know, don't worry, everyone is okay. None of them are too happy with you though. I left them asleep in the boat while I came aboard to see you."

Ed's eyes widened at the news, "Well we better go get them, I'm sure they missed their home."

"We all did," Stede confirmed as he looked at the love of his life, knowing that he was Stede's home, and he would make sure that Ed, Blackbeard, and even The Kraken, knew that every day for the rest of their lives.