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dontcallmenans · 2 years

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Captain Steve, Pirate AU (Steddie)

Reposted because I had A LOT more to say.

Don't get me wrong, I love BAMF pirate king/captain Eddie and poor defenseless Steve.

But can I bring to you today the idea of pirate captain Steve Harrington 'King Steve' and his rag tag group of brigands?

THIS IS LONG, AND I'M NOT SORRY

Steve's parents no longer enjoyed a life by the sea and their "beloved" son is more than capable of running the day to day of the plantation on his own by now. So they leave back to... Wherever it is they came from, it's not important because they're gone and Steve is free.

There is no one to stop him from using his weighty inheritance to build himself a lovely seafaring vessel. One he's dreamed about since he was a boy and heard the first siren call of the sea.

His advisors beg him to rethink his decision. He knows nothing of sailing or the true realities of being out on open water. They don't even know he intends to use the ship for pirating... But Steve's mind is made up.

And while he may know very little of sailing, he knows the perfect crew to take a long to help him learn the ropes.

It wasn't just his dream he was fulfilling.

Living on remote islands in the Caribbean leaves much to be desired in ways of socialization.

There were the hoity toity types his parents wanted him to rub shoulders with. But they were dull and superficial, and most couldn't see Steve past the Harrington name.

While he loved and trusted Tommy enough to stay behind to take care of the business in his steed, he couldn't venture to have ever called them friends.

That title belonged to an unlikely array of people from the town proper that he'd grown to consider his family.

Dear Nancy, a friend since childhood, an almost betrothed, was the gateway to them all.

She and her brother were as rebellious against their birthright as Steve. At a point, the boy was still young enough for no one to question when he hung around the "rif-raf".

All of them coming together was just a natural progression over the years from there. Steve followed after Nancy one day to see the group they both kept going on about.

The tailor and shop-keeps sons. The daughters of the captain of the guard, a tanner and a local drunk. Both children, a son and a daughter, of a local banker.

He was welcomed with open arms by a group of children (and a couple of ones his own age) and never looked back.

It caused quite a stir around the upper-crust the first time Steve was seen leaving the jungle with the others, dirty and clothes torn. His parent's banned him from ever going near any of them again, but they were never around enough to actually check.

But they're gone for good.

The rest of them are grown and ready. They've spent years learning all they can by the docks, scrounging up what books they could on the subject of sailing.

As the final touches were put on the affectionately named Bad Hair Day, a crew was called to arms.

Captain Harrington had a difficult time choosing a first mate. So he chose two.

The ever reliable Robin, of course. He couldn't imagine doing this without her by his side. She mostly took over the role as bosun, her voice being the only one loud enough to carry all the way across the deck.

But there was also Will, the most steady and sound of the bunch. He was quiet, but it seemed to bring more authority to him than Robin and Steve could ever muster... even combined.

Dustin was an obvious choice for navigator. He was whip smart and absurdly clever and a master of the charts. If there was anyone Steve wanted to be forced to spend hours in close planning-proximity with, it was Dustin.

Maxine and Nancy gravitated towards taking care of the weaponry. They run drills on clear days, showing the rest of the crew how to properly throw knifes or clean their guns.

Lucas and Erica team up and spend their time in the crows nest as their barrelman (and woman), being the second most knowledgeable on the charts under Dustin. Lucas even had an additional proficiency for star charts, and Erica knew all of the stories behind the constellations.

Mike and El took eagerly to bosun mates, being the lightest and quickest up the masts.

Johnathan was just happy to be there, filling in the gaps where he was needed.

They were... Well, they're terrible pirates. Still a bunch of children playing pretend out on the open sea, really. They had the practical knowledge, but none of them had the practice.

But their chaos and wildness works out in their favor most of the time. They gain a reputation for being a touch unhinged, led by their King Steve, and no one can tell if it's all an act or not.

They raid frequently, always with the intention of making a profit and avoiding violence.

But it's always something.

An overeager crewmate taking a shot at King Steve. As long as it doesn't actually hit him, he isn't ever too bothered. Too bad for that guy, though. Steve's crew are all feral enough to start shooting back without hesitation. Gods help anyone who takes a shot at one of his kids, though.

There were several seamen out there with missing fingers after trying to take grabs at any of the girls. Most of them were curtesy of Max. Though King Steve doled out plenty himself.

One time they didn't board fast enough when Robin wanted to go up first and fell off the ladder, knocking down everyone under her in the process. It gave the captain a chance to throw the manifest overboard. They walked away with only the contents of the galley, and the first few boxes that were below deck. Robin was not allowed up ladders first anymore.

Someone (they suspect El) smuggles a cat on board after they make port for supplies. It wouldn't have been an issue, would have been a benefit even, since they were getting a rat problem below decks. But the cat had fleas. So everyone on board also got fleas. They're too busy dealing with being itchy to pursue any passing ships for over a week. Thankfully Dustin and Nancy eventually come up with some sort of noxious concoction that kills all the fleas on board. Turns everyone orange for a day, though.

There are plenty of successes, of course. They do work well as a team after all. They just really don't quite know what they're doing yet.

They don't make much in the way of money or loot for the first few months, but they're all having too much fun being free to care.

This was the life they had dreamed up together as they escaped into the jungles to hide from the lives their home had offered them. Steve built this for them, just as much as himself. They could never turn a profit, have to turn into a passenger vessel, crash and burn... doesn't matter to him. He just wants to be on the water with his family.

He never wants to go back.

It's been a few months at sea when they come across a rowboat with a single sun-singed inhabitant.

They've just left the closest port, within the last day or so... so they assumed he followed them from there. But he was woefully unprepared. He didn't bring water or proper sun protection, but had a stuffed bag and a disproportionate amount of food.

They know for sure he was rowing towards them when the Sinclair's noticed him. They'd called down to Steve who'd called for immediate action on turning the ship around. Still, it was a whole ship and it took awhile for them to get to the little boat.

Poor man was mostly just floating by the time they got there, slumped over in his seat and waving blearily from below.

Nancy was livid with Steve's lack of caution on immediately bringing the man on board.

"Look at him, Nance. You think a man stupid enough to follow us like this is a threat?"

There was no time to question him as Johnathon and Argyle practically had to carry him up the ladder. He immediately passed out on the deck from dehydration and exhaustion.

Nancy took pity on him then.

Steve was rubbing his decision in Nancy's face before they even had him nursed back to full health.

He had been quick to tell them that his name was Eddie, and he wanted to join their crew. He'd been hearing stories about The King and the crew of Bad Hair Day for months and had been just waiting for them to pass through.

Unfortunately, he'd missed his chance to meet them at the port. He'd been hungover, of course, but knew this was his destiny. He had to make chase.

They allowed him to watch from the sidelines as he recovered, and he watched the daily goings on with rapt attention. Where he found a lute was anyone's guess. But it was nice to have some entertainment for once.

No threat to be found.

But it was another mouth to fill, and they were still just beginners themselves. Could they really take on another crew member that was more green than they were?

The crew meeting a week later to decide his fate devolved quickly. Nancy was pretty much the only dissenting voice, the only one applying reason to the situation.

But the kids loved Eddie. Dustin and Will in particular were pulling out some serious puppy-dog eyes as Nancy repeated "no" over and over again. Even Robin, usually a hard sell, was particularly smitten with the curly-headed man.

It was Steve's choice in the end. Unfortunately for Nancy, King Steve had already been lured in by the siren-charms of the bard.

Where Steve went, Eddie followed.

When they first pulled him on board, Steve had agreed that since it was his choice, he would be the stranger's personal watch-dog on the ship. If only to get Nancy to leave him alone. It meant that they spent a significant amount of time together.

He'd been set up a cot in Steve's cabin (it was a particular 'fuck you' from Nancy) Once he was conscious enough to do so, he bombarded Steve with questions.

Something about the stinky, crispy, ill man on the other side of the room brought his guard so far down, he practically gave his entire life story on the first night. Eddie listened carefully, and Steve almost thought he'd fallen asleep when he started lauding how 'bad-ass' that was, choosing his own destiny like that.

It was pointed like, 'look at us', but Steve knew he wasn't wrong. It was stupidly endearing. They spent the entire night, and the rest of the ones after it talking. Eddie never talked about his past, though.

In the days following, Steve got to watch first hand as Eddie endeared himself to the crew. He had an astounding sense of humor that seemed like it was almost personally curated to each person, while still being entirely his own.

He was a quick learner, too.

It only took him a few days to almost entirely memorize every part of the ship, and how they each worked with each other.

He gave Mike and El a run for their money as he chased them up the masts. Dustin and Lucas each lauded his natural sense of direction. He became the first person Argyle allowed into the galley, citing having spent some time in kitchens before. Erica even let him join her in retelling the story of Orion at the end of a long day.

They didn't need to vote in the end as everyone pleaded their cases as to why Eddie should join the crew of Bad Hair Day.

So he did, and they were better for it.

He kept spirits high, a song always ready on his lips. He was an endless fountain of stories, and Steve was never sure if he was making them up as he went or not. Story time became a nightly event.

Their raids started going well, too.

Eddie was good at a lot of things, learning more every day, but he had a particular knack for being a tactician. He knew which ships were good pickings for what days, and how best to approach them in the first place. Everyone on board was given a specific role for each attack.

They walked away with less injuries (on both sides) and more loot.

Steve loved Eddie's company. Every moment where their attention wasn't needed elsewhere was spent together. Eddie's cot never left Steve's cabin, though it did eventually get shoved into one of the storage spaces instead.

Things were going better, but pirating was not a perfect science and something had to go wrong eventually. As far as it went though, a year without a disaster had to be some kind of record.

No one had been expecting a hidden compartment full of weapons under the deck of the Spanish vessel they raided. They were working on corralling the crew to tie them up when the maelstrom started.

It took them too long to react and resulted in a retreat rather than a victory, but everyone came away unscathed. They thought so at least. King Steve had a special skill of his own, after all. He had long ago perfected the art of stuffing every single pain (emotional and physical) deep inside himself if need be.

He just didn't want anyone to panic until they were safely back on Bad Hair Day. His crew was more important than the shot he'd taken to the gut during the first volley.

Eddie, of course, noticed when Steve couldn't get up from his seat when they got back to the ship. He had been planning on being the last up, like always... but he just couldn't move.

He didn't remember much past Eddie's panicked face coming close to his, and then some yelling.

He finally came to several days later. It was dark outside and he had a mouthful of ratty brown hair. There was no question who had crawled into bed with him. If Steve had been able to, he would have pulled the man closer.

He'd been in and out of consciousness for days, slipping quietly between wakefulness and dreaming. But Eddie was always at his bedside, and the first thing in his minds-eye. He dreamed vividly of his whole crew, his family. But it was always Eddie.

Steve wouldn't say he'd been pining, though Robin and Nancy would insist that he was. But he was tired of waiting. He'd almost died without the chance to tell Eddie everything.

He couldn't raise his cracked voice over a whisper as he called out Eddie's name. Thankfully, he was a light sleeper, jumping quickly to action. He rolled out of bed with an apology, and said he was getting the others.

Steve was still too weak to call him back.

He knew Nancy and somehow Johnathon noticed the way his eyes were tracking Eddie around the room as everyone swarmed the cabin. They tried to corral everyone, but Steve still had to suffer through an hour of everyone fussing over him before he and Eddie were alone again.

He tried to tell him as he worked on cleaning Steve up. He had just enough energy to let himself be sponged down, and his bandages changed. Eddie even let him clean his teeth, but he wouldn't let him talk.

Eddie sure had a lot to say, though, about "stupid heroics" "you could have died" and "how dare you"-s

He even retreated back to his cot when he was done. Steve could stand for the rest, but that wasn't going to work for him.

But the damn man was stubborn when he wanted to be, and wasn't responding as Steve tried to get his attention. It was not how he wanted the moment to go, but he had one last hail Mary.

He just bit the proverbial bullet and said it.

"Eddie, I'm sorry I almost died. And I'm sorry I haven't told you sooner, but I love you, so please get back over here because I do not want to waste any more fucking time"

He was reminded of their first time alone in this room together as the silence lingered. Maybe Eddie had fallen asleep and Steve had wasted his breath. Maybe it wasn't what he wanted to hear after all.

-then Eddie fell out of the cot in his scramble to get to Steve.

They couldn't do much more that night than carefully hold each other, but they made sure to never waste their time together again.

It took a few years, but King Steve and his crew became one of the most well known set of pirates there were. It was a dream. Their dream, each of them.

He'd tried explaining this dream to his parents one of the few times he went into check on the business. Mostly, they were there so that the kids could see their families, but he usually checked in on his own property at the same time. He wasn't expecting them to be there when he showed up, and wasn't surprised when he was immediately banished from the property.

He was told he had no family anymore and to not return. That was fine, he was making a name for himself and they were wrong. He defiantly had a family. He didn't even need anyone to tell him as much.

He didn't worry so much after that day.

Everyone trusted Eddie with their life, especially Steve. But there was one thing that always rubbed them all as weird. Every so often when they made port, Eddie would manage to slip off on his own. He wouldn't find his way back until morning, usually still drunk, looking like he'd swallowed sunshine. He refused to answer any questions on the subject, and managed to shake them off his trail every time they tried to follow.

But Steve trusted him. Especially after a particularly weak moment when he'd confronted Eddie thinking he was sneaking off to brothels. His fear's had been thoroughly and astutely assuaged then, after several hours, and he knew Eddie would tell them when he was ready.

In the end it wasn't a decision of his own making.

Eddie was with their crew for three years when they boarded the Coffin Maker. Eddie was up first as their showman, putting on a performance to introduce the rest of the crew. Will was the one that pointed out that some of the crew were looking at Eddie weird.

His side still twinged from time to time, and there was no way that he was letting Eddie get hurt. He was ready to rush over to his Eddie when the captain of the Coffin Maker's crew spoke up.

"Ed?"

That drew him and everyone on deck up short, weapons lowering in confusion as the fluffy haired captain kept going.

"Eddie Munson, I'd know you anywhere you dog. Thought you took over The Revenge when your Uncle retired. What are you doing here?"

It was the first time any of them had seen Eddie speechless. The idea that this was still a raid dissipated as the stranger walked up to him and greeted him with a warm handshake, shaking him until his stupor was gone.

"Gareth. No- Wayne sold the ship and I was landlocked with him for awhile. I've got a new crew now"

He stepped to the side and indicated to Steve and the others with a sweeping gesture. Gareth finally noticed the tension and took a step back.

That was when Nancy broke. Loud peals of laughter rang out over the entire ship, startling several of even her won crew.

"You're Edmund Munson, you were first-mate to Wayne Munson of Chrissy's Revenge. I should have known" she gasped and pointed as each member of their crew slowly came to the same realization. She nearly choked when she looked over at Steve's shocked face.

Everyone knew of Captain Wayne Munson. He's what people described as a gentle pirate. Master of tact, refusing to come to violence unless absolutely necessary. Most of what he pillaged ended up in the hands of those who needed it, rather than his own pockets. His first mate had been wild, and untamed waif with a penchant for theatrics. No one was very sure where he'd come from.

Then they had just disappeared.

"I was practically a kid" Eddie had tried to deafened himself, looking to Steve, face as red as the day they pulled him out of the sea. It just made Nancy laugh harder.

Gareth looked uncomfortable as Eddie visibly debated throwing himself overboard. Someone produced a bottle of rum and pressed it into his hands.

That broke the rest of the tension and the two crews called a truce of sorts over the odd introduction and started mingling.

Dinner was a joint effort that night as the two crews shared in the woes and joys of pirating. Gareth, and a few others who greeted Eddie in a less obvious fashion, smartly kept his mouth shut about their time on Chrissy's Revenge.

Steve was quietly livid, though he did see the humor everyone else did. But he didn't like being lied to.

He eventually let Eddie pull him aside when they got back to Bad Hair Day, and listened as he explained that he'd planned on being honest from the start, but he'd heard Steve and Nancy arguing about how he was a threat. He kept putting off telling the truth until it was far too late to admit anything.

He apologized wholeheartedly, and finally told Steve where he went when they made port.

They kept their travels very well planned. Enough so that he was always able to get word to his uncle a whole port ahead so that they could see each other when he was close enough.

Steve asked if he could meet him the next time. It was the closest Eddie was getting to forgiveness for now.

It only took two days of apologizes to Steve and the others before all was forgiven, though it was in no way forgotten. He took the hazing in stride.

It was another year before Steve got to meet Wayne. The man wasn't what he'd been expecting, but he obviously fiercely loved his nephew. He'd settled down with a nice lady, and they had opened a bar together. He wished the best for Steve and Eddie. Said they were much better suited to the life than he ever was.

They made it in time to be at his bedside a few years later.

He was still mostly kicking around by the time they got there and the decision to take an indefinite shore leave was unanimous. Turns out the bar was in rough shape, and in desperate need of some attention.

Steve's crew was more than willing to help out.

They fit into rolls here as easily as they had on the ship, and with just as much of a learning curve. But it was a nice reprieve.

Eddie got to hold Wayne's hand as he slipped away.

Steve had never bought into the idea that someone looked like they were sleeping once they'd passed, but Captain Munson looked quiet and peaceful as Eddie wept.

They only stayed for two weeks after Wayne's small funeral. There were still a few things left to be put right, and Eddie didn't seem ready to say goodbye yet. Everyone was respectful of the fact, but eagerly agreed when the idea of shipping back out again came up.

Wayne's Lady slipped Eddie the deed to the bar as they went to the docks, saying she was happy to take care of it until he decided to sell... or come back if that was his prerogative.

They didn't touch it for a very long time. But being on the sea was hard on the body, and eventually wears down on the mind.

They weren't the only ones slowing down, either.

All the "big kids" were getting up there. Only a little over 43 wasn't that old in the grand scheme of things, but they were tired.

The kids were still wild things, though. The decision to leave Bad Hair Day in their capable hands (under the direction of Captain Will) wasn't difficult, though saying goodbye was. It took days for Steve to stop crying after the ship disappeared over the horizon without them.

The kids still came back often. Truthfully, maybe too often to be good business. Steve wasn't going to complain, though.

There were even a few times where each of them went back out for a stint or two.

It was everything and so much more than Steve could have ever wanted from any of them. They'd plotted and planned this life in their secret fort in the jungles of what was once their home. But now he knew freedom, it wasn't just a dream. He knew love, he had a family. He had Eddie.

He didn't go down in history as another little boy with all the advantages in the world handed to him on a platter.

He went down in history as King Steve, first captain of Bad Hair Day. Predecessor to Will The Wise and so many more to follow. He was father, mother, brother and captain to his family.

More importantly, he went down in history to them, those who mattered the most, as beloved.

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