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munsonkitten · 6 months

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Izzy Hands has almost met his end on more than one occasion. More than half of which were probably Ed’s own doing, if he’s being completely honest with himself. Each of those times, Izzy crawls out of wherever he’s found himself, right back to barking orders. Every single time. Right back to work like nothing ever happened.

Part of him knew that when he handed Izzy that gun. He definitely knew that when he shot him in the knee. Izzy makes it out, he perseveres. He doesn’t give up because he’s an indestructible little fucker that Ed can’t kill.

That’s just the thing about it, though, isn’t it? Ed didn’t do it this time.

And that’s why Izzy’s underneath the soil they buried him in, beneath the cross they fashioned out of his wooden leg and a stick they found. His cravat hanging around it, his mother’s ring glistening in the sunlight.

Ed spends a lot of time out there, sitting by Izzy like he’s still there. Because the truth is, he just can’t let him go. That’s why he took over that house on the beach where Izzy was laid to rest. That’s why he’s given up pirating to stay near him. It’s why he couldn’t let them toss Izzy into the sea like he probably would’ve wanted.

“Today Stede and me, we patched up the roof of our new inn,” Ed tells him, like Izzy can hear. It just feels like the thing to do when sitting next to someone’s grave, so they don’t feel so alone down there. Sometimes Ed thinks that’s the reason why he’s never been able to just sit with himself, why it felt so wrong to do it in that boat with Fang.

It’s because the whole sea is a graveyard of men he knew once upon a time.

“Ed, dear,” Stede’s voice rings out from the house. “Come inside, now, love. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Ed sighs, sniffles, and wipes the tears he didn’t realize were falling. It’s silly, really. He knew Izzy would die some day. He was almost the cause of it on multiple occasions and didn’t feel a thing when it happened those times.

But now, Ed himself feels like a dead man walking.

He’s missing a limb, missing his right hand. And the thing is, the thing that really hurts most, is that the person he wants to talk to most about it, is the person who’s dead.

“Coming,” Ed calls back.

He pushes himself up off the ground, his bad knee aching from sitting on it wrong this whole time. He doesn’t know how long he’s been out here, but he knows that it’s dinner time now and he came out after they fixed the roof, which was sometime after lunch.

He’s grateful that Stede is giving him the time to mourn, giving him this time to talk with Izzy when he needs to. When things just get so jumbled up in his head he can’t make sense of them, Izzy was the one that took those things and turned them into plans and got Ed’s head on straight enough to execute them.

They were Blackbeard. Not just Ed. Both of them.

And Ed likes being Ed, he does. Blackbeard wasn’t him, and it can’t be him without Izzy by his side.

He just… Wishes that Izzy could come with Ed. That they could be EdandIzzy together, just as they were Blackbeard together.

As he takes his first step back up toward the wooden house, a lone seagull swoops down from the sky and lands on the top of the cross. It coos at him, bobbing its head up and down as it stretches out and shakes off its wet wings. It closes them again, curling in on itself comfortably.

The seagull’s been around, Ed’s seen it, and through the haze of his grief he thinks that it’s nice that something comes to keep Izzy company when Ed’s away.

“That bird won’t leave him alone,” Stede says when Ed comes in. He’s wiping his hands on a dish towel, looking out through the open door with that look on his face. That confused one he’s directed at Ed a few times. Puzzles he can’t quite figure out. “Do you think it’s going to eat him? Do sea birds do that?”

“I dunno, mate,” Ed sighs. “Reckon they probably do.”

He pulls off his jacket and hangs it on one of the hooks Stede nailed to the wall.

“That’s unfortunate,” Stede says, turning back to look at Ed. His face goes from confusion to something soft. Something sad. “How are you today, love?”

“A bit shit, honestly,” Ed answers. “It’s… all a bit shit.”

“I know it is, Edward,” Stede says. He opens up his arms and lets Ed fall into them, one of his hands coming up to cradle Ed’s head. It makes Ed feel small, cared for.

“I’m sorry,” Ed sniffles. “I love this place, I love that we’re here. I just wish…”

“I know, darling,” Stede whispers. “You don’t have to be sorry. Not to me.”

Ed nods and pulls away from the hug, instead bending down to unlace his boots. Stede told him last night they should wear their shoes in the house until they make sure the floor is safe, but it’s a goddamn house, and Ed will take off his shoes if he damn well pleases. What’s a little rusty nail through his foot when the pain in his heart is so much worse.

“Well, I’m going to finish up supper,” Stede says. “I’ll leave you to that.”

“Thank you,” Ed says, short and quick to send Stede back off to the other side of the house.

He knows he’s not being the best partner right now. He knows that. But he just doesn’t know how to explain it all to Stede.

Yes, he loves Stede. He really, truly does. He’d give up piracy and shave his beard a million times over for him, there’s no debate on that. He just didn’t think he’d have to go through life without Izzy. Not like this. Sure, he could give up pirating and send Izzy on his way, but the fucker would always come back, that much Ed is certain of. He would make up excuses to dock and spend the night in Ed’s inn, to drink through the night. It’s always been part of the fantasy.

Every time he imagines his life, Izzy is there in every single outcome. And sure, he’s here now. He’s buried in the dirt a few meters away. That’s not how Ed ever wanted it.

He loves Stede and he always will, but he loved Izzy, too. Best he could. Always did.

Now, he feels like the best he could wasn’t really the whole of it. It was right at the end where his chest was cold and clenching and his chin wouldn’t stop wobbling and his brain went full of so much fog he thinks it had to have been coming out of his ears, where he realized he couldn’t live without Izzy Hands. His family stood behind him, sure, but Izzy was the only one that mattered right then.

He’s felt lost ever since and he doesn’t know how that could possibly be because Stede is guiding him through it. Stede is cooking dinner and he makes sure Ed is taken care of, and he held him last night while they slept on their little bed together, and it’s still… It’s still not enough.

And it should be enough. It should be enough that he has Stede, and he shouldn’t be so broken up about Izzy dying because it was always going to happen.

Ed just thought he’d go first or shortly after. All these years he thought that he would die with Izzy Hands. But that was just Blackbeard. Blackbeard is the only one dying with Izzy Hands, and Edward Teach is still here. Forced to rewrite his own story when the scenes in his head feel like staring at a blank wall.

Life after Izzy Hands is a blank wall, a lighthouse with no fire. He’s going to crash up on the rocks because he fell in love with an anchor that he couldn’t hold onto.

“Ed, darling?” Stede calls out again.

Ed snaps himself out of it. He comes back to the little wooden house with its splintered floorboards and its dirty walls. He pushes his boots over to the side, lines them up side by side next to the door they had to fix when they first arrived.

Fixing things helps. The door latch needed fixing, so Ed did that. The roof needed fixing so he climbed right up there. Their bedroom window was broken so Ed boarded it up until they can find new glass for it.

He can fix these things, so he does.

He walks on socked feet into the kitchen to find Stede there. He ladles something into a bowl, something that Zheng taught him to make with the ingredients and utensils Roach gave from the Revenge’s kitchen. Ed sits down at the table he took with them, something tucked away in the room that was holding all his remaining treasure. There wasn’t much after Calypso’s party, but there was enough to get them started in their little house.

“I was thinking we should call our inn Izzy’s. A way to honor him,” Stede says as he sets a bowl in front of Ed. “How does that sound to you, dear?”

“Think he’d have fuckin’ hated it,” Ed says. “Sounds good to me.”

Stede takes the spot across from him at the table, his own bowl steaming in front of him. Ed looks down at the bits of meat and the noodles swirling around in the broth.

He isn’t really hungry, but Stede’s going to tell him to eat, so he does. It’s good fucking soup.

“Izzy would’ve liked this,” Ed says.

“Well, thank you,” Stede says. “It was Zheng’s recipe, but I don’t think I could do it like her.”

“No, I mean,” Ed says, shaking his head. “He would’ve liked this. All of it. Having a home here, fixing it up, being right by the beach. Wish he could’ve had this. He deserved to have this.”

When Ed looks up from his bowl, Stede’s looking at him with a sad smile and glistening eyes. He doesn’t say anything, just nods and reaches across the table to take one of Ed’s hands in his own.

“I know he was kind of a dick,” Ed says. “You don’t have to pretend he wasn’t, or name your inn after him. I get it, babe, I do. He was a fucking dick, and I miss him, but you don’t have to.”

“He was your dick, Edward,” Stede says, then shakes his head. Ed can’t even crack a smile at it. “I just mean, he was often blunt, and he thought of me as quite the moron, but… You love him, and these last few weeks, I was able to see another side of him. I started to understand that the way he said things didn’t always mean he was mad or aiming to hurt, not all the time, and I know that if I had more time, I would start to fully understand why you love him so.”

“Loved,” Ed whispers.

“Your love doesn’t have to go away just because he’s gone, Edward,” Stede says softly. “He’s still in your heart. Always will be, darling. And that’s okay.”

“I love you,” Ed whispers. Because he has to say it, has to tell Stede that it’s true because it is. He loves Stede so it shouldn’t matter that he’s lost Izzy.

“I know you do,” Stede says. “You can love more than one person, darling. It doesn’t mean you love me less, or that you have to let go of him. I’ve always known that he would be part of our lives, part of our love, no matter what form that may have taken. I just feel horrible that it has to be this way.”

Ed nods, even if he knows Stede is giving him more than he deserves, just saying all of that, implying what he’s implying, because nothing can come from it. What Ed wants, what he thinks he’s always wanted, can never be given to him.

That’s why Stede’s words don’t wash away the pain or guilt. Because Ed would want them both if Izzy were still here. Now that he knows what it’s like to not have him at all.

“Finish your dinner, Edward,” Stede says softly. Gentle in a way Ed loves. “I think we should turn in early tonight.”

They finish up and Ed helps Stede clean up the dishes and put them away in the cupboards. He likes keeping busy, scrubbing their bowls cleaner than they have to be. He can look right out the front window above the wash basin and see Izzy’s grave from here. The seagull is still sitting there, just politely sitting. No scavenging for bones or flesh beneath the dirt.

“Didn’t you say Buttons turned into a seagull?” Stede asks, nudging Ed with his elbow.

Ed nods, and he looks out there again. The bird is looking right at them, black eyes staring right into Ed’s soul, if he even has one anymore.

“No fuckin way,” Ed whispers. “You don’t think…”

“Darling, it was just a little joke,” Stede says.

“No, but he really did,” Ed says. “That’s him out there. Certain of it.”

“I’ve told you, love, that’s not possible,” Stede says, resting a hand over Ed’s forearm. Ed stops scrubbing at the bowl in his hand. “C’mon, let’s go to bed.”

He stands there for a second longer, staring down that bird, waiting for something to happen, but nothing does.

Stede drags him away from the kitchen and pulls him over to the other room. He helps Ed with his pants, pulls them off his legs and leaves them in a pile of leather on the floor. Ed settles into their bed and scoots over to the wall, watching as Stede undresses.

When Stede settles in beside him and faces him, his eyes ask a question, one Ed has seen countless times now. He nods, just a small little thing, and leans in to press his lips to Stede’s. He’ll never get tired of this, of kissing the man he loves.

“Goodnight Edward,” Stede whispers when he pulls away. “Get some sleep.”

His arm settles heavily over Ed’s waist when he turns over to press his back to Stede’s chest. He curls in on himself, letting himself feel small again, like he did back when he and Izzy were younger, sharing a hammock on Hornigold’s ship, seeking comfort after the horrible days they endured.

It’s always been hard for Ed to fall asleep, but tonight he welcomes it easily.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy for him to stay asleep.

Izzy’s in his dream, the memory of him clutching the bullet wound on his stomach, hands turning red with the blood spilling out. In his dream he leans down and kisses Izzy’s forehead, his cheek, his lips, in those last moments, what he had wanted to do. He whispers I love you, please don’t leave me, Iz, like he should’ve said. I love you and I’m sorry. I love you, I love you.

Because he’s allowed to. Stede said he’s allowed to love Izzy, but loving Izzy like this hurts. It’s painful, knowing that it doesn’t keep him alive in the end.

He wakes up crying.

Something full bodied and overpowering. Sobs shaking every part of him. Choking him, like a rope pulled taut around his neck. He can’t breathe, can’t see through his tears.

“You’re alright, darling,” Stede whispers. He’s sitting up behind Ed, his chest pressed up against his back, but Ed can’t feel him. Can barely hear him.

“What are you fuckers cryin’ about,” comes a rasp from across the room. “Christ, you’d think someone fuckin’ died.”

And no. No, no, no.

“Wake up, Ed, wake up,” he tells himself. “Wake up.”

“You’re awake, Edward.” And that’s Izzy’s voice again, but it can’t be. It can’t be.

“Izzy?” Stede whispers.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Izzy says.

And no, it can’t be him. It can’t be because Izzy’s dead, they buried him. He’s buried out in the yard. Dead, gone. Dead.

Ed’s eyes start to adjust in the darkness, in the faint light of the moon coming in through the open bedroom door. The door that Stede shut before they fell asleep. He scans the room until he sees him in the corner, there in the chair Stede put in their bedroom for whatever reason.

He’s sitting there. Izzy’s sitting there, adjusting the buckles on his wooden leg.

“I guess this is where I thank you for not tossing me into the sea tied to a cannonball,” Izzy says. “Was hard enough digging myself out of that shallow grave. You know I would’ve washed right out of that thing if it rained? What then, Edward? I doubt your boyfriend would’ve liked cleaning that up.”

“What are you—”

“Oh, Edward,” Izzy says. “Didn’t you learn anything during your own brush with death?”

The gravy basket. Purgatory.

“I was stuck somewhere,” Izzy says. “And then I heard your crying. Oh Izzy, please don’t go. Izzy, I'm so sorry. Figured I should probably see what all that was about.”

Ed climbs out of bed, leaving Stede where he is. He takes a few steps toward Izzy, reaching out just to make sure he’s real. To make sure he’s really there. He reaches out until his hand comes in contact with the scratchy little hairs on Izzy’s cheek. He slides his hand down to cup his chin, the beard there.

“You want me to pinch you?” Izzy offers, his voice low and quiet in the dark room. They’re all so quiet, the sounds of nothing but their breathing and the waves crashing outside.

“You’re really back?” Ed asks.

“I’m really back, Edward. I believe you were the one that called me an indestructible little fucker.”

Ed laughs, something choked and wet. He falls down to his knees, his hands settling on Izzy’s thighs. He drops his head, sobs forcing their way out of his body, choked and strangled. A gloved hand rests in his head.

“Oh, get up, you twat,” Izzy says. It’s laced with something that sounds like affection coming from Izzy Hands. From anyone else it would be an insult, a knife in the gut. From Izzy, it’s everything Ed thought he’d never get to have ever again.

He doesn’t get up, just pushes himself closer, pushes his face into Izzy’s stomach, the spot where the wound is, and Izzy winces.

“Not healed, you fucker. Just because I’m back from the dead doesn’t mean I wasn’t there,” Izzy grunts.

“I don’t get it,” Ed cries. “I don’t get how you’re here.”

“It’s harder than that to kill me, Eddie,” Izzy whispers, the name bringing back the memory of his last words. Ed thinks he’d kill anyone else for calling him that, but not Izzy. “Wasn’t gonna let that fucking moron be the death of me.”

“If I may interrupt—” Stede says from behind Ed. “Izzy, let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?”

“Sorry for dragging dirt through your lovely home, Bonnet,” Izzy says in that way that says he isn’t sorry at all.

“Up you go, c’mon,” Stede says. “We have a lovely bathtub. Allow me to warm some water while Ed helps you undress.”

Stede lights a few candles before leaving the room, illuminating them in the orange glow of fire. Izzy has seen better days, that’s for sure. He’s caked in dirt and blood, and he looks like he’s about to keel over at any second.

He helps him with his clothes, carefully unbuttons his shirt and pulls it off his shoulders. He can see the wound now, the crusted blood and the hole in his abdomen. It’s in a bad spot, but as Ed looks at it, he sees how Izzy could’ve survived it. He can see it more clearly now, where it is, how he likely fell unconscious due to blood loss instead of anything important being hit.

There’s probably still a chance of him dying. From infection, most likely. From not being able to eat or keep anything down, also likely.

“Bath’s actually quite shit,” Ed says for something to do. “Not as nice as the one on the Revenge.”

Izzy just nods, standing there with his hand braced on the wall while Ed moves to the laces on his pants.

“Are you sure Bonnet’s okay with you getting in my pants?” Izzy croaks.

“Hush, Izzy,” Ed says. He doesn’t feel like now is the time to talk about it. It’s not the time to talk about it.

He gets Izzy undressed and gathers the clothes into a pile. They're British uniform clothes. They didn’t want to undress him just to bury him, so Ed has his old stuff tucked away in his trunk at the foot of the bed. He has them, and he’ll give them back when Izzy’s clean. Maybe for tonight, though, Ed will suggest one of Stede’s night shirts for Izzy to sleep in. Something easy to get on and off, something that will offer easier access to his wound.

“Do you want the leg back on?” Ed asks, trying not to look as Izzy stands there on one foot, naked save from the cravat around his neck, the ring secure above the knot. He’ll let Izzy take that off if he wants to.

“Just help me hobble,” Izzy says.

With an arm around Izzy’s waist, Ed helps him jump toward the little bathroom across from the bedroom. Stede’s in there, pouring a bucket of water into the large basin. He looks over his collection of bath oils, running his fingers along the carefully labeled bottles before picking one up and pulling out the stopper.

“Should I leave you to it?” Stede asks.

“No,” Ed and Izzy say at the same time. They look at each other and Izzy shrugs.

“Right,” Stede says, looking at a loss for words. “Well, in you go, then. Shouldn’t be too hot”

Ed helps Izzy over the ledge and gently lowers him down.

“Fuck,” Izzy groans. “Haven’t had a bath in fucking ever.”

“It’s quite nice, isn’t it?” Stede says softly.

He’s wringing his hands as he stands there, like he’s way out of his depth right now. Ed wants to reassure him, but he doesn’t really know what to say. He can’t shake the shock of his first mate coming back from the dead, crawling his way out of his grave and into his bedroom. He feels like he’s going to wake up from this dream and find himself back in his nightmare.

Instead of saying anything, Ed takes one of the wash clothes Stede set out and dips it into the water next to Izzy’s knee, the one that just ends. Because of something he did to him.

He can fix this. He can fix this now, one step at a time. Just like he fixed the door latch, boarded up the window, and climbed up on the roof. Just like how he’s going to fix the floorboards in the entryway tomorrow and find another bed in town to slide into place next to his and Stede’s so all three of them can fit in it together. Even though now isn’t the time to talk about that.

He can fix this. He’s good at fixing things, especially when Izzy’s involved.

“Alright, there, Eddie?” Izzy asks, soft and concerned.

Ed has his hand still submerged in water, lost in his thoughts while he stares down at the stump of Izzy’s knee.

“I’m perfect, Iz,” Ed says.

He pulls the washcloth out of the water and gets to work, slowly wiping away the blood caked around his wound, just gently dabbing as it comes loose from his skin and the hair on his body. Izzy winces, but doesn’t say anything. Grips Ed’s arm but doesn’t push him away.

He’s always been good at handling pain. It just breaks Ed’s heart that he can’t take it all away. That’s something he can’t really fix.

“I’m sorry Edward,” Izzy says.

“No,” Ed whispers. He squeezes out the towel and brings it to Izzy’s face. “No.”

“Yes,” Izzy insists. “I shouldn’t have left you like that.”

“You’re back now,” Ed whispers. “You’re back now.”

And even if Izzy doesn’t make it, at least Ed has more time with him. At least he can say what should’ve said, and done what he wanted to do. Not right now, not this very second, but he will. He has more time.

Stede rests a hand on his shoulder, warm and reassuring. Behind him, he has his guiding light, and in front of him he has his anchor. He needs them both because without one, he’ll just be adrift forever, and without the other, he’ll crash up on the rocks.

After Izzy’s as clean as he can be, they both help him out and set him down on a stool to dry him off. Stede talks, says something about getting him a leg custom-made to fit him and his needs, and Ed just listens. He listens as Izzy huffs, watches as he rolls his eyes and mutters stupid fucking Stede Bonnet under his breath, and he sees the smile on Stede’s lips like he’s missed this too.

“Thank you for doing this,” Izzy says after a while. “You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“We care about you, Izzy,” Stede says, helping Izzy into a long sock. “Ed hasn’t been himself since you left us.”

“I feel like I’ve had this same conversation with you,” Izzy says.

“Yes, well,” Stede sighs. “It appears that he needs both of us. Isn’t that right, love?”

Stede’s looking at him now, waiting for an answer.

Ed nods. “Yeah, guess so.”

“I’m going to give you two a moment while I figure out sleeping arrangements,” Stede says, pushing himself up to stand. He squeezes Ed’s shoulder. “You should tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Izzy grunts when Stede’s left and shut the door behind him.

“It wasn’t the same without you, mate,” Ed says. “I didn’t realize I’d miss you so much.”

It’s vulnerable. It’s hard to say. He knows he needs to say it, to let it all out. Stede said it was okay to love more than one person at a time. He thinks of Jim, of Archie and Oluwande and Zheng. How they’ve all fallen into each other and seem to make it work just fine.

“And I, well, I fear I might love you,” Ed blurts out, all in a rush.

“You fear?” Izzy scoffs.

“Hey, now, I’m trying to… I’m being serious, mate,” Ed says. “I wasn’t good to you, I know that. I know that I’m the reason you lost your leg, and I know I went a bit crazy back there, but I… I can’t live without you, Iz. I tried, and I knew I wasn’t going to last long like this.”

“What about Stede?” Izzy asks.

“He said I can love more than one person,” Ed tells him. “That loving you doesn’t mean I love him less, and loving him doesn’t mean I can’t love you. It’s… Fuck, I don’t expect it to be easy, but it’ the truth.”

“And what am I supposed to do with this truth, Edward?” Izzy asks. “I’m supposed to split you with Bonnet? Leave the room every time you want to dock your ship in his harbor, eh?”

Ed snorts. He can’t help it. “Don’t know about all that. I just know that I want you around while I figure it all out.”

“What do you want me to say to that?”

“Say you’ll stay,” Ed says. “Say you’ll love me, too.”

“Edward, I’ve loved you for thirty years,” Izzy says. “Didn’t take you almost dying for me to figure it out.”

“I know, Iz, I know,” Ed says. “I don’t expect you to just forgive me for everything, or to jump into my arms, okay? I just… I just needed you to know. I just need you to stay.”

“Don’t know where else I’d go. Didn’t see any boats on that beach,” Izzy mutters. “Fine, Ed, yes, I’ll stay. But… What about Bonnet?”

“You keep asking about Stede,” Ed says. “Might start to think you’re in love with him, too, mate.”

Izzy scowls at him, but his cheeks turn pink in the candlelight, and oh.

“You two got close, didn’t you?” Ed asks gently. “That’s nice. He cares for you, you know.”

Izzy swats at him half heartedly and Ed finally stands from where he’s crouched down. He helps Izzy stand, the night shirt Stede put over his head, falling down to hang beneath his knees.

They open the door to see Stede standing on the other side. He takes over on Izzy’s other side, his arm coming around his waist and crossing over Ed’s.

“There you both are,” Stede says. “Was about to come check on you.”

Stede guides them back to the bedroom, and Ed sees a bunch of blankets and sheets laid out on the floor, one of the pillows at the top of the makeshift bed.

“You two take the bed tonight,” Stede tells them. “It’ll be more comfortable for you, Izzy.”

“I can take the floor,” Ed offers.

“No, no, dear,” Stede says, helping lower Izzy down onto the mattress. “You keep Izzy safe tonight, I’ll just be right here on the floor.”

He stands there as Izzy scoots over to the wall and lays down on his back. Ed looks at Stede for just another second before nodding in agreement.

A kiss gets pressed to his forehead, then to his lips, something soft and sweet as Stede pulls the blankets up over both of them.

When he pulls back, he reaches over and cups Izzy’s cheek, thumb rubbing gently over his skin, something soft and affectionate that Ed is sure Izzy is going to smack away. Instead, Izzy presses his face further into the hand and his eyes flutter shut, a small sigh falling from his parted lips.

“There you both are, tucked in safe and sound,” Stede says softly, pulling his hand away to straighten the blanket over their chests. “Sleep well, my loves.”

The endearment isn’t lost on Ed, the plural of it all. Loves. Both of them, it seems. He feels Izzy’s hand find and squeeze his under the blanket, holding onto him like they did in their hammock thirty years ago. He knows that Izzy heard it too, that he doesn’t know how to accept it, how to let it comfortably wash over him.

A small whimper falls from Izzy, and Ed turns over to face him.

“It’s alright,” Ed whispers. “Scary at first, I know. You think you don’t deserve it, but you do. You do, Izzy.”

He sees Izzy nod in the dark, and feels his hand squeeze his own.

“You sure you want this, Edward?” Izzy asks, his strained words warm breaths against Ed’s neck.

He slides his fingers over Izzy’s wrist, feeling the thrumming pulse beneath his skin. The proof that Izzy’s alive, that he’s here with him, that they’re allowed to love each other like this.

“Always did,” Ed tells him. He presses his lips to Izzy’s forehead, feeling the warmth of his skin against his mouth. Hears the sharp intake of breath from Izzy. “Always will.”

And it’s the truth, the best he can give.

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izzy-b-hands · 2 years

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Penis sketches in a pirate dive bar, blowjobs, and Izzy bless him is such a sub. He just can't help it and I salute him for his service. Also Stede as the most cheerful gentle dom, and Ed loving being the dual little spoon for them.

---

"Do it, and I'll suck you off."

Izzy frowned. "What?"

"He doesn't believe me," Stede chuckled. "As I said: you keep your cock out long enough for Lucius to sketch it, and I'll get on my knees. Plain enough?"

Ed was smiling gently, hand around his tankard. "I told you he's got a wild side! But 'oh no Bonnet isn't like that', well! Now you get it!"

Izzy gulped and stared around the busy bar. Most likely, no other pirate there would notice, or if they did, they wouldn't give a fuck. Pirate bars were known for their notable weird shit, a bit of nudity wasn't exactly odd for most places.

It was the hunger in Stede's eyes, the open lust, that made him hesitate. Since agreeing to share Ed (who had happily agreed to be shared, in part because it meant he was the double little spoon in bed) they hadn't addressed yet if they would do anything with each other. At most, they'd agreed to play it by ear, and see what they both wanted.

And he wanted Stede on his knees.

"Lucius, you do actually want to do this, right?" Izzy leaned forward into their table to ask him as quietly as possible.

"Absolutely," Lucius nodded. "You're one of the last ones to sketch, and I have a bet running both ways, whether you do it or not."

"I don't believe that's how betting works," Izzy said.

"Maybe you're just bad at gambling," Lucius shot back. "So? Are we doing this?"

The three of them broke into giggles, attracting a few bored stares their way, as Izzy tried to discreetly get his cock out from his tied up trousers.

"These laces are always a pain, and yet here I am," he muttered to himself. "Here, switch chairs with Ed and get to it."

"With pleasure," Lucius grinned.

Ed pouted as they switched seats. "Aww."

"He can't draw what he can't see," Stede reminded him, kissing his cheek. "Besides, haven't you seen it before?"

"Changing after a raid because we have to clean blood off our leathers doesn't count," Ed said. "Besides he was never h-"

"Keep your voice down," Izzy interrupted him, but honestly, the thrill of it was getting to him in a wonderful way. It was a small thrill, with them in the far back corner of the bar, but he hadn't done anything like it since he was young.

"Stop twitching," Lucius commanded. "Or at least twitch less. I can't sketch at pace to keep up with that."

That was enough to drop his head to the cool rough wood of the table, to hide the blush that felt like fire on his skin.

He caught a glimpse of Stede's grin as he set his head down, and by the grin he was having the time of his fucking life apparently. It was hot, but it wasn't helping the twitching problem any.

"Oh you're adorable," Lucius smirked. "You can't help it right now, can you?"

"Fuck me," Izzy muttered as he lifted his head, sipping from the already warm rum in the hopes it might cool him down.

"I'd love to," Stede chirped. "Maybe back on the ship?"

Ed reached over the table to touch his bare hand. "You good?"

"Very good," Izzy managed. "But fearful I'll embarrass myself here."

Lucius nodded as he kept sketching. "If only you two could see what I see right now."

Izzy wished they could too. What he wouldn't give for Stede or Ed or both on their knees in front of him, licking the precum that was beading at the head of his cock.

"Hope Pete's ready for me when we get back," Lucius said, taking a deep breath. "This has been more fun than I thought. We should do this again, I think."

Lucius nodded to Izzy to let him know he was done, and there was a flurry of activity as he and Ed switched back.

Ed was fast enough to snag his wrist before he could tuck himself away again. "Stede? Love?"

Stede smiled. "Can't help yourself?"

Ed nodded, a hand loose around Izzy's cock, thumb slowly moving over the slit.

"Could you even make it back to the ship right now without anyone noticing?" Stede asked Izzy, moving his chair close enough to risk attention, but also close enough for him to see Izzy's lap. "Oh no you couldn't, could you?"

"Fuck you Bonnet," he whimpered, but it was teasing to distract him from Ed licking his precum off his thumb.

"Is there a back room here?" Stede asked aloud, and Izzy tried to lean himself into the darkness of the corner as the rest of the bar's customers looked over.

"Yeah," one said. "It's in the back."

Stede nodded. "Probably should have expected that. Is it open to anyone to use, and does it have a lock?"

"Stede," Izzy whispered. Of all the things he'd expected of this new relationship, it was certainly not this. He liked it, but it was intense.

"Give me a moment," Stede whispered back, a hand moving to squeeze his thigh.

He bit back the 'yes sir' that nearly escaped his lips, and Ed giggled.

"Look at you! We really should do this again."

Lucius nodded, but his eyes were on the door. "If I'm no longer needed, I see Pete there and I-"

"Go have fun," Ed cut him off and waved him to the door.

Lucius practically ran out, book and pen and ink haphazardly tucked under his arm, nearly dropping it all as he caught Pete in a hard kiss.

Izzy watched them drag each other away, kissing the whole while, and wondered exactly what Stede was planning for him if his idea worked out.

The bar's owner came over and handed them a key. "I don't care what you do back there, but clean up any mess you make."

Stede helped direct Izzy by the shoulder to the back hallway, keeping him in the shadows to hide his still-exposed cock. Ed lingered behind, making sure no one followed.

The back room consisted of a bed that had a frightening number of unidentifiable stains, a number of weapons, and an unsanded wooden dildo.

"No one touch this with bare hands," Izzy frowned in disgust as he set the dildo back down, glad that he'd grabbed it with his gloved hand.

"I don't think that should be a communal thing," Ed said. "That's. Hm. Don't like that."

"We won't need it," Stede said cheerfully. "Though I agree it does lend an unsavoury air to this place."

Izzy stared. "That? That's the thing that makes this pit seem unsavoury to you?"

"That and the rum wasn't very good," Stede replied. "What a shame."

With that, he pulled Izzy to the bed and motioned for him to sit.

"Feel like I shouldn't touch this with bare hands either," Izzy chuckled. "Definitely blood. And who knows what else."

Stede nodded, and took his bare hand and set it on his shoulder. "Keep it here, or in my hair. I've learned I like that!"

"He really does," Ed agreed dreamily. "Lots of testing that, and practice."

"Wonderful practice," Stede smiled. "Come over here. Have some fun and watch."

Ed bounced over and sat thigh to thigh with Izzy, pressing a kiss to the sparrow on his neck.

He unintentionally tensed up as Stede's tongue touched his cock, and Ed gently turned his face to kiss him. It was a lovely sort of torture.

"Don't worry about holding out for long," Ed whispered as he kissed every spot he could reach on Izzy's face and neck. "We'll break for a bit after you come, and then we can keep it going on the ship."

He wanted to state his enthusiastic agreement, but all he got out was a whining pant, pressing his face into Ed's shoulder and tightening his grip on Stede's.

"Like I said, he's gotten a lot of practice," Ed said. "When he's really at the top of his game, it's...I mean, minutes. He's got a gift!"

"Shame I didn't know until now," Stede noted as he took a breath. "But I can make up for lost time."

He nodded as he lifted his head again, swallowing as Ed traced a path up and down his leather-covered thighs. It left his muscles there shaking.

"Good boy," Stede smiled, then took him into his mouth again, just in time.

Not that he had expected Stede to swallow (he didn't always want to himself, he understood that), but he wasn't upset that he was.

In fact, if not for Ed's hand over his mouth, the entire bar would have known how not upset he was about it.

"Breathe," Ed murmured. "Still good?"

He could nod for Ed, but his voice hadn't yet returned to him. If it had, he would have tried to thank Stede for making sure he was clean enough to be tucked back into his trousers. He even did up the laces for him.

"Little break, then some more later?" Stede asked as he stood up. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah," Izzy swallowed, but Stede wrapped an arm around his back and let him lean on him regardless.

"That is so satisfying, you know? Absolutely love it, melting you like that. And Ed, of course. I think you'll like watching that later tonight."

"He will," Ed agreed. "They're going to wonder what we did to you in here; you walked in the bar nearly growling, and now you can't stop smiling, can you?"

Ed was right. He couldn't stop smiling. And they did get a number of curious stares as they dropped the room key off and left.

But that was probably as much his smile as the way he let Stede's hand creep into the back pocket of his leather trousers, a visible sign of exactly what they'd gotten up to back there. One that he was happy to show off.

#text post #marcian watches queer pirates #stizzy #stede/ed/izzy #ofmd fic

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