Chapter Text
“I-I’m sorry, what?” The spoon Ed was using to dish sugar into his tea clattered against the porcelain as it fell from numb fingers. He stared at Stede, who calmly sipped his own tea as he looked at Ed.
“I said,” Stede repeated, calm and unruffled. “My heat is going to start in a few days.”
Ed’s hands fell to grip the edge of the breakfast table. “Yeah, I- that’s what I thought you said.” It was how he was supposed to fucking respond to that, that had Ed baffled. “I uh, how do you know?”
Stede smiled, entirely nonplussed. “Oh, they’re quite regular.”
“But you haven’t… I mean, I haven’t noticed you in heat before.” And he would fucking well notice. “I mean we’ve been back together for months now,” Ed continued babbling. “If they’re regular, you shouldn't have had a few by now.”
Stede smiled warmly at him. “No, Edward, you're thinking of menstruation. People with primary uteruses menstruate. As a male omega, I don’t. I have a secondary uterus only, so I just have heats. And those come about three times a year.”
Counting in his head, Ed started ticking off months on his fingers. “Okay, so, I reckon you still ought to have had one since we met.”
That was the first thing that had Stede’s smile faltering. “I, uh,” Stede sighed. “I had one when I went to settle things with Mary.”
Oh. No wonder he felt awkward about it.
“So,” Ed continued, stamping down the spark of hurt that memory still ignited. “You and Mary, while you were… away.”
Stede’s eyes grew big as dinner plates. “Gosh, no, of course not.” A little chuff of laughter fell from his lips. Ed couldn’t help but smile back. “I just availed myself of my old heat room until it had passed.”
Nodding, Ed finally picked the spoon back up and stirred his tea. “And d-do you have one of those on the Revenge?”
“It’s in the auxiliary wardrobe.”
“Right. ‘Course.” Ed sipped his tea, unable to suppress a soft hum of pleasure as the sweet bitter bite of it hit his tongue. “Well, uh, guess this is where having a co-captain comes in handy.”
Across the table, Stede sputtered into his tea. He coughed, politely excusing himself to turn to the side and bury his face in a handkerchief until it stopped.
“Oh, excuse me,” he said at last. Ed lifted a brow in question. Stede smiled sheepishly. “Ah well, I was… that is I wasn’t expecting you to offer.”
Ed’s brow furrowed. “Course I would. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, it’s just…” Stede chewed his bottom lip, eyes locking on the tea cup before him. “We haven’t really discussed- I mean, of course we’ve been intimate just not… Well I was hoping you’d want to, but I was ready to accept a refusal. It’s quite a big ask.”
The rambling was hard to follow, and Ed was more confused than ever. “Stede,” he said softly. “Of course I’m gonna Captain the Revenge while you’re down. Why wouldn’t I?”
Stede’s eyes shot up to his then, just as wide and confused as Ed felt. “Oh.”
The confusion faded, replaced with something else. An expression unreadable to him, thanks to Stede’s polite society training. The scent , however, uncovered, undisguised as they sat and had morning tea in their dressing gowns-- that Ed recognized immediately. The hot, bitter tang of disappointment. Rejection.
What? How had he messed this up?
“Yes,” Stede said tightly after a moment. “I-I suppose that makes the most sense, doesn’t it? Thank you, Edward.”
Stede stood, pushing away from the table and moving past Ed toward his wardrobe. Ed reached out and grabbed Stede’s wrist, halting his retreat. “Stede,” he said softly. “I can tell I messed up, but I don’t know how. Please tell me.”
Shoulders slumping, Stede slid into the chair nearest Ed. He practically flopped into it, and Stede Bonnet did not flop, so he was clearly a bit out of sorts. “You didn’t mess up,” he said quietly. “I just hadn’t thought it through. You’re right, of course you should stay and captain if I am… indisposed.”
Tugging on the hand he still held, Ed urged Stede to look at him. He smiled once their eyes met. “What else would I be doing?”
Stede flushed, his scent turning again, this time into something warm and sweet, though tinged with embarrassment. “I uh, I was going to ask… that is I was rather hoping…”
Oh. “Oh!” If Ed thought he’d been shocked before he knew better now. “Y-you wanted me to, us to, uh, together.” Blackbeard didn’t blush, but Ed felt his face heat, flushing down his chest to mingle with the heat that suddenly pooled in his hips.
Stede nodded wordlessly, ducking his gaze away again. “I’ve never… shared a heat with an Alpha or…” He took a deep breath and forced himself to look back to Ed. “Or with someone I love.”
And if Ed had had even a moment where he considered declining the invitation, it vanished with Stede’s final word. “Course I will,” Ed said hurriedly. “Izzy and Olu can handle things while we’re gone. Easy as pie.”
He was rewarded with the biggest, warmest smile he had ever seen. Stede positively glowed, eyes welling with tears as he looked at Ed. “Really?”
A joyful bark of laughter escaped Ed as he moved closer to Stede. “Yes really. Of course, really.”
They basked in that for a moment before Edward admitted in a quiet voice, “Won’t really know what I’m doing, don’t wanna disappoint you, but I want to be there.”
“Oh Ed,” Stede sighed, scooting closer and pressing their foreheads together. “You could never disappoint me.”
“Don’t have all your fancy learning,” Ed grumbled. “Didn’t even know how heat cycles work.”
Stede brushed the back of his fingers across Ed’s cheek. “Those are just facts,” Stede smiled. “I can teach you all that.” He leaned back suddenly, eyeing Ed carefully. “Uh, exactly how much do you know about heats?”
Edward shrugged. “Dunno. You go into heat ‘cause you’re fertile. Suppose if you get a knot you get in the family way.” This was uncomfortable, and it made Ed cranky. He’d fucked too much and too many to be left feeling like a blushing fucking bride.
“That’s the broad strokes,” Stede agreed with a soft smile. “But not every mating ends in a pregnancy. Sometimes it takes, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Ed nodded. “Makes sense.”
“I’ve never had the pleasure myself,” Stede added easily.
That surprised him. “You have two pups at home,” Ed reminded him.
“Ah, well, it’s… more complicated than that. I’m an Omega, Mary’s a Beta. So, no I didn’t carry Alma and Louis -- she did.” Ed must have continued to look confused, because Stede carried on. “The aforementioned menstruation can result in pups. I… fathered them. But even in as much as that I was a bit divorced from the process.”
“Huh, guess I never thought about it,” Ed grunted. Clearly, this was making Stede uncomfortable, so Ed tried to shift the focus of the conversation. “So, If I spend your heat with you… well you’re a little old for pups now aren’t you?”
Stede scowled. “I’ll have you know I’m only forty-five, Edward!”
Fuck, another misstep. “Well, I mean it’s just, don’t people tend to stop,” Ed waved his hand a bit frantically. “That thing you said. Menstruating! Right?” Stede nodded curtly. “Yeah, doesn’t that stop at your age?”
“Some do,” Stede said tightly. “But I don’t have a primary uterus, Edward. And that’s not true of Omega’s in general. We stay quite fertile well into our sixties, thank you very much.” Stede huffed, crossing his arms.
For a while, silence wrapped around them. A blanket of discontent and hurt that Ed desperately wished to discard. Finally, he stood, taking Stede into his arms and moving them both to the sofa. Ed sat, settling Stede in his lap and wrapping his arms around him. He dipped his nose into the curve of Stede’s neck, breathing him deeply, savoring the sweet smell of lavender that lingered under the hurt.
“Told you I don’t know these things,” Ed said quietly. He pressed a kiss to Stede’s scent gland by way of apology. “‘M sorry I upset you.”
Why did it upset him though? A little hurt was to be expected but Stede’s reaction seemed a lot more intense than Ed had expected. After all, it wasn't like Ed had told him he didn’t want to. Oh. Oh.
“Stede,” Ed began carefully. “Did- do you want pups?”
He could tell by the sharp shift in Stede’s scent that he’d hit upon something. “I… at least thought we would have a conversation about it,” Stede said softly, nosing at Ed’s dark curls. “Instead of being summarily dismissed as barren…”
“Hey.” Ed pulled back, shifting a hand to cup Stede’s cheek and draw Stede’s eyes to his. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”
Stede’s nod was stiff, but his lips did quirk up into a lopsided smile. Stede ducked his head and pressed a kiss to the corner of Ed’s lips. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m a little sensitive before my heats.”
Ed nodded, understandingly. “So, do you? Want pups?” he asked again.
“To be honest,” Stede sighed. “I’ve always wanted to carry a pup.” He relaxed again, leaning back into Ed’s space and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “I gave up on such foolish dreams when Mary insisted she wouldn’t share me with an Alpha. But I think I was quite good with the children, even if they were more hers . I love them. And I always wondered what it would be like to have my own.”
“Fuck,” Ed breathed, wrapping Stede in his arms more tightly. “I didn’t know, Stede. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Stede said, voice wavering despite his assurances. “But I don’t… we can’t…” Stede ducked low, shoving his head into Ed’s neck this time. “It’s something we have to do together, decide together. If you don’t want to--”
Ed cut off that train of thought. “Hey, it’s not that I don’t want to. Stede, we’d make some beautiful pups. It’s just… a lot to think about, yeah? Like, do we raise them on the ship? Can we? We can't, right? Growing up on a pirate ship? That’s not fucking safe is it? Not bloody fucking optimal.”
Soft laughter buzzed against his neck as Stede chuckled. “Getting a bit ahead of ourselves, love.” A warm press of lips ghosted over Ed’s scent gland, sending him purring happily. “I like to think we’d do whatever our pups needed us to do. When they’re small, it doesn’t really matter where they are. They’re portable like that.”
“Suppose we could just wait and see what happens,” Ed admitted sheepishly. “Can’t very well plan it all out can we?”
“No, dearest, not even the master tactician Blackbeard can tell the future.” Stede sighed and relaxed into Ed’s embrace.
“So we just… deal with it as it comes up.” Ed nodded. “I can do that. Yeah.” His hand slid inside Stede’s robe, finding skin, needing to touch him more. Ed needed to feel grounded. “I don’t know how to be a dad,” he admitted quietly. “Mine was an abusive piece of shit. You know that. What if-” Ed’s voice caught in his throat suddenly, tight. “What if I was what made that happen? What if there’s a trigger gets pulled when you become a parent?”
Stede pulled back, hands sinking into Ed’s hair and turning his head until their eyes met. “Edward Teach,” Stede said. His voice was strong, sure, and brimming with his adoration. “You are not your father, and nothing you can say will convince me you will be anything short of a doting parent.”
Ed felt tears fall from his eyes, rolling warm and wet down his cheeks. “R-really?”
Stede nodded, pressing fervent kisses to Ed’s cheeks and lips and beard. “You’d be a brilliant parent, Edward. You have such a big heart, I’ve seen it.”
“Pretty sure brilliant parents don’t kill people,” Ed grumbled. But Stede was giving no ground. He didn’t let Ed move his head away even an inch.
“They do if they need to,” Stede said. “To protect their pup? They rip throats out.” A low growl rumbled deep in Stede’s chest, shocking Ed’s eyes back to Stede’s. “Brilliant parents do whatever their pups need them to do, even when it’s hard, even when it hurts. And I know what kind of man you are, Ed. I’ve seen you do what needs doing. Any child would be lucky to have you care for them.”
Shaking, Ed lowered his head to Stede’s shoulder and his lover lessened his grip to allow him. Of course that only made Ed cling to him more tightly. Burrow into Stede’s chest as if he could climb inside his body to hide from all of the big feelings he was having.
For long minutes, Stede just held him and made soft sounds of comfort. Smoothing his hands down his back and through his hair. Humming a soothing tune. Finally, Ed came up for air and Stede beamed at him.
“Yes,” Ed whispered.
“Yes?” Stede repeated, wide eyes shining with surprise and hope.
“Yes,” Ed said again, louder, more sure. Nodding his head and smiling. “Yes. I… I do want that. With you.”
“Fucking yes?” Stede grinned, shaking Ed by the shoulders. Ed couldn’t help but laugh at that, the vulgarity still so charming when it fell from Stede’s lips.
“Fucking yes,” Ed parroted.