He Likes His Books

by somfte (socialistmorgue)

Summary:

Two infamous pirate captains share a cup of tea.

Notes:

During the Great Tumblr Pirate Poll Debacle of 2023™, the following exchange occurred:

jay: hehe these tags are funny, "what if they just kiss a little" 😂
me: i could see a flint/stede fic working under the right conditions
jay: oh yeah absolutely
me: flint would be So Mad that he was even a little attracted to stede but he would be at least a little.

[18 hours later]

me: pspsps i've got 408 words of flint & stede 😔

Flint raised the teacup to his lips again, sipping the hot liquid carefully. It really was very good tea. Unbelievably good, given the circumstances. He watched silently as the circumstances nearly upset their own teacup while eagerly gesturing for emphasis.

“And this fine fern here is our loot!” The blond man pointed at an admittedly thriving houseplant on a nearby credenza.

Flint waited for the man to continue, but he paused, clearly expecting a response. Flint cleared his throat, “Oh, uh. Yes. Congratulations on your conquest.”

Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate beamed with pleasure. “So, what about you, Flint? Is Flint what you’d like me to call you? My fr-” he paused for a beat before resuming. “A friend of mine had a name like that, but he preferred something a bit more casual in close company.”

“Flint is fine.” Stede looked a bit disappointed, but carried on, “Alright, Flint. So tell me, how long have you been, uh, sailing the high seas?”

Flint set the teacup back down. Small talk. He could do small talk. He’d done it every day, once upon a time. And he was certainly capable of redirecting the conversation away from things he’d rather not discuss. “You’ve read all these books, then?” he asked, gesturing to the frankly massive shipboard library surrounding the two men.

“Oh yes! These are just my favorites, the ones I like to read most often. The rest I had to leave at home. I admit, recently I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to just cozy up with a good one. Things have been a bit much around here. But if I were going to read something today, well I think I’d like to read an adventure novel. I love a good adventure. Tell me, Flint, have you ever read Don Quixote?”

At the mention of that novel, Flint started, surprised, and looked more carefully at Mr. Bonnet. Maybe, as with so many people, there was more to this man than met the eye.

“I am, in fact, familiar with that work. It was recommended to me some years ago by...someone whose opinion I respect.”

“Oh that’s fantastic! Perhaps you’d like to talk about it? Love a good book club, don’t you?”

The corner of Flint’s mouth twitched in an almost-smile. “Alright. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You let me teach you how to use that dagger you pulled on me earlier. Your form is shit.”

Notes:

I can't believe my first ever AO3 work is Flint & Stede.