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”Ed, he’s not going to behave.”
”He’s tied up, love.”
There’s a spark in Bonnet’s hazel eyes, and he looks Izzy up and down, gaze almost predatory. They’re in the captains quarters. The sun’s dipped below the horizon outside the cabin’s windows, and the room in lit by only an oil lantern and a handful of candles.
Before, seeing Edward so obviously draped in Bonnet’s clothes would probably have bothered Izzy. Did, in fact, bother him. Now, his gaze is glued to the way the intricate, yellow fabric of the dressing gown contrasts against Ed’s brown skin and the dark lines of his tattoos. Ed moves across the room, until he can lean down to kiss Bonnet, who’s sat on the edge of the bed, opposite of Izzy.
It’s taken time to get to this point, to the three of them together, without fighting. In the beginning, when Bonnet first came back to The Revenge, there was yelling and fighting and broken hearts being put out on display, all around. Betrayal and annoyance and frustration, that eventually turned into something else, something less definable.
Well, what Ed and Bonnet have is well defined, clear and obvious to anyone who’s looking. How Izzy fits into all of that is less obvious.
And so, Izzy ended up here, rough rope tying his hands together behind the back of one of Bonnet’s cushioned chairs. Ed’s the one who tied the knots, of course. Hard and straining, Izzy watches Ed sink into Bonnet’s lap. They move together so fluidly, so effortlessly. Ed cups Bonnet’s face, thumbs caressing his freckled cheeks as they kiss softly.
When Bonnet’s hands slip under the dressing gown, the kisses turn less innocent, going from soft and chaste, to wet and open-mouthed, Ed’s tongue slipping into Stede’s mouth. Izzy can’t fully see what Stede’s hands are doing beneath the dressing gown, but Ed’s resulting gasp turns into a moan, and Izzy exhales sharply.
Under Izzy’s gaze, Bonnet pauses. His hand is still on Edward’s hip, fingers digging divots into his skin. Izzy can’t turn his gaze away.
”Ed,” Bonnet’s soft voice speaks, an octave lower than Izzy is used to hearing it. ”Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. He looks very uncomfortable.” He looks from Edward to straight at Izzy, hazel eyes filled with concern in a way that makes Izzy’s stomach turn. Ed turns to look at him too, thick hair falling around bare shoulders as he tilts his head to the side.
”You don’t know Izzy like I do,” he says, grinning at Izzy before turning back to Bonnet, breathing a murmur along Stede’s jaw, just loud enough for Izzy to hear. ”That’s just what his face looks like.”
”Still,” Bonnet sighs. ”Izzy, do you want to stop?”
Anger flares, red hot. Izzy’s pants are tight against his raging arousal, and if it weren’t for the constraints, he fears his hands might tremble with desperation and anticipation. His skin is over-heated, his head spinning. There’s no way he’s stopping, no way that he’s leaving the captain’s quarters without seeing this through to the end. He leans back in the chair, straining against the rope around his wrists. It’s rough, harsh, digs painfully into his skin. Edward always did know how to tie his knots.
”Don’t you fucking dare,” is all he says. He’s aiming for a growl, but what leaves his mouth is more akin to a breathy plead. Either way, he’s rewarded with Edward’s wicked grin.
”Told you,” Edward mutters as he leans in close to Bonnet again, pressing their lips together. Bonnet sighs against Ed’s lips, meeting his kisses with a gentle vigor. His hands cup Ed’s face for a moment, before slipping down, pushing at the robe that hangs off his shoulders, letting it fall down Edward’s back, bunching around his elbows, revealing his scarred back.
Bullet holes and stab wounds, slashes and cuts interrupting lines of black ink. Izzy has counted them all before, through stolen glances over years of yearning. And now, Bonnet’s hands map them out, easy and familiar as they flit over Edward’s skin. Edward sighs against Bonnet’s lips, and he begins to undo the laces of his white tunic before pulling it over his head, leaving Bonnet shirtless.
Izzy isn’t as familiar with Bonnet as he is with Edward. As could be expected from someone like him, Bonnet’s skin is unblemished compared to Ed’s (and Izzy’s own, for that matter). Only the occasional scar, one in the center of his belly and another above his left hip. Izzy put that one there himself, and the feelings rushing through Izzy at the sight of Bonnet like that aren’t as innocent as he would like them to be. He wants to push them down, deny them, like he’s used to. And in any other situation, he probably still would. But seeing as he’s tied to a chair in Bonnet’s bedroom, watching Bonnet’s tender hands roam over Ed’s body, Izzy begrudgingly has to admit that he’s long past that.
Edward dives into Bonnet again, pressing kisses to his neck, where his ginger beard gives way to pale skin. It’s mesmerizing watching them together. Edward’s rough hands, so gentle as they smooth over Stede’s freckled shoulders. He touches Stede like he’s scared he’ll break under his hands. He’s never touched Izzy like that, never held onto him like he’s something he cherishes, something he holds dear. The thought should make Izzy angry and jealous. Should make him want to leave, ending this whole confusing thing right here and now. Instead, his skin feels like a lightning storm, and he breathes heavily, unable to tear his eyes off the scene in front of him.
Bonnet, with his hands on Ed’s hips, pulls him against him harder, grinds up against him. Edward’s naked under the yellow dressing robe. He lets the fabric fall completely from his body, pooling at the side of the bed as it’s thrown aside.
Izzy watches Bonnet coat his fingers in oil, watches him press into Ed, watches Ed arc his back, smiling as he moans out Bonnet’s name. Izzy imagines that it’s his own name, falling from Edward’s lips like a prayer. He can’t suppress his own groan, and Ed turns his head, looking at him, long and hard, dark eyes wide. Izzy feels naked, bare, vulnerable beneath his gaze.
Then, a grin sneaks its way onto Ed’s face.
”Now, that’s a better face, isn’t it, love?” Edward’s voice is rough and breathy, and he glances at Stede, who follows Ed’s gaze, hazel eyes heavy on Izzy.
”Mhm,” Bonnet hums, too focused on Ed to give more than a passing glance at Izzy. His hands squeeze Ed’s ass. ”Can you blame him?”
Ed kisses him then, lips locking like it’s the most natural thing there is. Open mouthed kisses, little sighs and moans against each other’s lips. The kiss only breaks when Stede guides Ed onto his cock. With a pleased moan, Ed tilts his head back, burying his hands in Bonnet’s blonde locks. Bonnet kisses his way across Ed’s chest, and they move together slowly.
”F-fuck, Ed—” Stede moans, and Ed braces his hands against his shoulders, to gain leverage as he grinds down on his cock. Izzy’s entire body feels electric, and he strains against the rope again, desperately needing some sort of stimulation besides the rough leather of his pants against his painfully hard cock. Still, he can’t take his eyes off the way Ed rides Bonnet’s cock.
It’s like he’s seeing Ed for the first time. The warm smile, his lips falling open in a soft moan, the way he melts under Bonnet’s hands. And it makes Izzy warm, in a way he doesn’t expect, a soft affection joining the unbridled desire pumping through his veins.
He’s been in love with Edward for so long and he’s been so scared that he’s changing in a way that’s going to kill him, in a way that’s going to leave Izzy all alone in a world without Edward Teach.
So he’s been living for the good old days, reminiscing about a time when it was the two of them against the world. About Ed, smiling as he climbs the railing. About watching the stars, learning to navigate in the crow’s nest on a moonlit night. About sailing wherever the tide takes them, dreaming about distant shores where things are less complicated. About a time before there was this crevasse between them. To when they were actually happy.
There’s never been any going back, especially not since Stede Bonnet whirlwinded his way into their lives.
And as Ed throws his head back, as salt and pepper curls fall over scarred shoulders, embers of a new desire spark low in Izzy’s belly. When Ed shivers and trembles, moans and sighs under Bonnet’s touch, Izzy knows. Ed is happy like this. Beautiful like this. What Izzy wouldn’t give to be part of that.
”Look at you.” Bonnet’s voice, muffled against Ed’s neck, as he holds him as close at he physically can. ”You’re absolutely gorgeous.” A glance towards Izzy. ”Don’t you agree, Izzy?”
Izzy stifles a gasp, his hips instinctually thrusting up against nothing, only the tightness of his pants offering some semblance of relief as the leather strains against his erection.
”Fuck—” he mutters under his breath, tearing his gaze away from the pair on the bed, fearing he might come in his pants if this continues.
”What was that?” Ed teases.
”Let’s put the poor man out of his misery,” Bonnet says, voice airy and breathless. Ed laughs, but still slips off Stede with a soft gasp, and rises from the bed, taking two strides across the floor before he’s right in front of Izzy, completely naked, cock still hard and bobbing against his stomach. Izzy can’t keep his eyes from wandering, following the lines of Ed’s form. There’s a bead of cloudy liquid forming at the tip of his cock, and all Izzy can think of is how it would taste on his tongue as he licks it off.
”Would you like to be untied, Iz?” Edward’s voice is low and gravely. Izzy shivers at the nickname, looking up to lock eyes with Ed’s dark gaze.
”Yes, Blackbeard.” It’s habit, to call him that. For months, it was the only name Edward accepted, and though it felt like salt in the wounds of his broken heart, Izzy adapted. And even now, when Stede fucking Bonnet is back, when things are once again different, when Edward is back again, Izzy has stuck to the habit, clung exclusively to Blackbeard and Captain and Boss to keep enough space between them to keep his emotions from spilling over. Edward tilts his head to the side, a crack in his facial expression as he lets a hand run through Izzy’s hair.
”Edward,” he corrects, and it’s almost a plea, almost like Izzy’s not the one tied to a chair, the knots digging into his skin, the robe burning his wrists. ”At least in here.”
”Edward.” It feels correct falling off Izzy’s tongue, like finally coming home. ”Edward.”
”So.” Ed cocks his hip, tilts his chin upwards, holds onto Izzy’s hair a little rougher. ”Would you like to be untied?”
”Yes, Edward.”
”Good boy.” Izzy shivers, another wave of arousal rolling over him, unable to break away from Edward’s face. Ed leans over him, reaching back around the chair to reach where Izzy’s hands are tied tightly together.
He watches Ed’s dark eyes, focused on the task at hand, the beginnings of a stubble on his nowadays clean-shaven face, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the smattering of freckles across his cheeks and forehead. Down, to the tattoos that begin around his shoulders and collarbones, countless images eternalized with black ink on brown skin. Crude little drawings Izzy put on him way back when, mixed with beautiful masterpieces collected throughout the years.
Bonnet still sits back on the bed, just watching as Ed unties the rope around his wrists.
”What would you like to do next, Izzy?” Bonnet asks, watching Izzy as he rises from the chair, rubbing his wrists, where the rope has burned through skin. Izzy’s gaze darts to Stede, who’s running a hand through his blonde curls. His cock still stands at full attention between his legs, and he’s stroking himself lazily. A thousand scenarios flash through Izzy’s head, and he looks back at Ed’s face, then downwards, watching the bead at the top of his cock trail down the length of his shaft. Stede gives a snorting laugh before continuing. ”I see. That could be arranged, couldn’t it, Ed?”
And then, before he can respond, Izzy’s on his knees, Edward’s hand heavy on his shoulder. When he glances up, Ed’s eyes are wide, lips parted as he draws in a deep breath.
Izzy puts hands on Ed’s thighs as he leans in, letting his tongue run up the underside of Ed’s cock. He watches Ed closely, scans for his reaction. When Ed releases a shuddering breath that turns into a low moan, Izzy closes his eyes, taking the head of Ed’s cock between his lips. He sucks the tip, swirls his tongue around it, and Ed’s hand fists in Izzy’s hair.
As Ed guides Izzy’s head forward, Izzy relaxes his throat, welcoming the thick press of Edward’s cock. He closes his eyes, letting Ed decide the pace, using Izzy’s mouth as he pleases. Every time Ed’s cock hits the back of Izzy’s throat, a spark of warm arousal runs down Izzy’s spine. When Edward groans hoarsely and lets Izzy pull back, a string of saliva still connects Izzy’s lips to Ed’s cock. Izzy looks up at Ed. There’s more color in his cheeks, and his breathing is labored. When Izzy tries to dive in again, pressing a kiss to the tip of Ed’s cock, he’s stopped by a gentle hand.
”C’mere,” Ed mutters, pulling Izzy to his feet again. At first, dark eyes just look into Izzy’s, and Izzy stares back. Then, Ed’s gaze drops to Izzy’s lips, and Izzy feels like he can’t breathe. A hand comes up to the side of his face, Ed’s thumb caressing across Izzy’s cheekbone. Across the tattoo Edward himself put there, all those years ago.
When Ed finally kisses him, Izzy can’t help clinging to him. He’s been wanting Ed for longer than he can remember, and now that he’s got him in his arms, he can do nothing but open his mouth into the kiss, gasping as Ed’s tongue slips into his mouth.
There’s so much unsaid, so much baggage between them that isn’t going to get solved just by this, by Ed licking into Izzy’s mouth as Izzy’s lips fall open, welcoming him, pushing back against him.
Slowly, Ed pulls him along, one hand wrapping around Izzy’s tie. Swift hands undo the knot, slips the silver ring free from the fabric, and starts working Izzy’s vest and shirt open. It only takes a couple of steps until they’re by the bed, where Stede is waiting. Ed keeps tugging at Izzy, kissing him sweetly all the while.
Izzy ends ups straddled across both of their laps, one knee planted in the mattress between Ed’s thighs, the other between Stede’s. His shirt hangs open, and Stede pushes both it and the vest off his shoulders, leaving Izzy shirtless. Silently, Stede presses kisses to Izzy’s collarbone, down across his chest. Gentle hands trace the lines of tattoos and scars.
Izzy isn’t sure when Stede stopped shaving. But he shivers as the course hair of his beard drags over his chest. Ed, on the other hand, has kept clean-shaven since Stede returned. The prickly stubble burns against his chin and cheeks as Ed keeps kissing him, letting his lips wander across his cheek and jaw, over his beard and down to his neck. It’s overwhelming, and Izzy buries one hand in Stede’s blonde curls, the other in Ed’s salt and pepper tresses. He leans his head back and moans. He feels Ed’s smile against his neck.
Stede, on the other hand, has traced his way down Izzy’s arms, examining tattoos and scars in his wake. There’s a sharp sting as he brings Izzy’s wrist to his mouth.
”I think we could stand to be a bit kinder to him,” Stede murmurs into the rope burns, pressing gentle kisses to reddened skin. It feels… nice, and Izzy relaxes in Stede’s grip. ”Look at his wrists!”
”Mmm,” Edward hums, shifting until he’s pressed up against Izzy’s back, leaving him straddled across only Stede’s lap. Skin against naked skin, warm and solid, his hard cock pressed up against Izzy’s lower back. Izzy gasps and arches back against him as Edward’s hand comes up to wrap loosely around his throat. ”I’m not sure he wants us to be.”
Stede meets his eyes, before his gaze falls, like he’s taking in every bit of Izzy’s face.
”So we’re giving him what he wants now?” Stede voice is low, and the words are aimed at Ed, as if Izzy wasn’t there at all. His fingers are still massaging Izzy’s wrist. ”And not what he so desperately needs?”
Izzy shivers. Ed’s thumb strokes the underside of his jaw, tilting his head to the side. Then, lips and stubble feeling their way from his shoulder, up to the nape of his neck. Izzy takes a shuddering breath. A second later cursing himself for it. The curses are swallowed up by Stede’s as he presses a kiss to Izzy’s lips.
Stede’s lips (Stede, when did he graduate from Bonnet to Stede? Izzy doesn’t know, can’t muster up the energy to care) are soft as they meet his own, and he smells like lavender. Izzy lets himself get enveloped in it, breathing it in with every gasping breath.
The kiss is soft. Gentle. Kind. And yet, commanding. Izzy wants to fight it, resume the fight for dominance with Stede, that he always seems to lose. Instead, Stede’s hand cups the side of his face, fingers weaving into his hair. And Izzy’s resolve shatters, instead meeting Stede as much as he can, arching close while Ed’s hand still rests around his throat, heavy and rough. He doesn’t know when he became comfortable with being touched this tenderly, when his walls came falling down, exposing his inner being like this. But his mouth falls open, he meets Stede’s kisses. As he strains against Ed’s hand, it earns him a smile pressed against his shoulder. Ed’s voice rumbles, vibrates against his skin.
”Relax, Iz,” Ed tells him. He’s warm against Izzy, his cock hard as it presses into the small of Izzy’s back. And Izzy grinds back, making Ed gasp into his neck.
Izzy doesn’t know when Ed got his pants open, but his shifts, letting him push them off his hips, and pull them down his legs. He doesn’t know when Ed’s fingers got coated in slick oil. But when those fingers find their way into Izzy, slowly pumping, getting him used to the stretch, it all hits Izzy at once. This is happening. Has been happening. Is continuing to happen. Ed is here, with one hand grasping his throat, the other pressing fingers into him, pausing at the second knuckle, letting him get used to the stretch. Ed is here, naked and hard and aching. For him.
”What do you want, Izzy?” Stede hums, his fingers ghosting over Izzy’s torso. He traces the lines of Izzy’s tattoos, leaving a sea of goosebumps in his wake. ”If you want Ed to fuck you, you have to tell him.”
Izzy kisses him, hard and long, doing everything in his power to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face. Ed’s fingers linger on Izzy’s hips, pausing, waiting. He feels Ed’s slow breathing, warm against his shoulder. Izzy slips his tongue into Stede’s mouth, and Stede welcomes him, kissing back as he caresses Izzy’s skin with slow, deliberate movements.
When they break apart, that grin is still there. ”Well?”
His hands trace the lines of his crotch, ghosting close to his cock, neglected and desperately hard. Ed’s palms cup his ass, and his cock rests between his buttocks, and Izzy feels like he’s about to explode if something doesn’t happen soon.
”I want Ed to fuck me,” he finally says, and he’s surprised his voice doesn’t betray him.
”Tell him that, not me.” And fuck, if Izzy shouldn’t have stabbed him again when he had the chance.
”Edward,” he says (moans, gasps, pleads), and Ed’s breath hitches. ”Please fuck me.”
Ed’s grip on his hip tightens, and then the thick press of his cock pushes into him. Izzy moans at the intrusion, at he pressure, the pain-laced pleasure of being filled, being stretched. He holds onto Ed’s arms for support, and his forehead lands against Stede’s freckled shoulder. If he hears Stede’s quiet chuckle, he chooses to ignore it. When Ed bottoms out, Izzy draws a shuddering breath.
”Iz, I think you’re leaving someone out,” Ed murmurs, lips dragging against the shell of Izzy’s ear. Izzy just groans, resting his forehead against Stede’s shoulder as he’s struggling to focus on anything but Ed’s cock in his ass.
But then Stede shifts, and Ed tightens his hand around Izzy’s neck, keeping him upright. Stede shuffles, and glances behind Izzy, surely making eye contact with Ed. Without warning, Ed lets go of Izzy’s throat, instead planting his hand between his shoulder blades, forcing his torso forward.
The new angle, bent over on his hands and knees, lets Ed in deeper, and Izzy can’t keep increasingly incoherent moans from spilling from his lips, as Ed fucks into him, angling his hips so deliciously Izzy could cry.
But most importantly, in this new position, Izzy finds himself face to face with Stede’s cock, hard and leaking, shorter than Ed’s, but thicker in girth, standing erect from the thatch of golden hair. Izzy just moans into Stede’s hip, until a gentle hand grips tightly at his hair, forcing his head up.
”Let’s put that mouth to good use.” Stede’s voice is thick with desire, and Izzy meets his eyes as he obeys, dragging a long lick from the base to the tip. Stede’s lips fall open, just the slightest bit, and Izzy feels an almost perverse sense of accomplishment when Stede moans, soft and low in his throat.
All the while, Ed keeps fucking him, and as Stede’s cock hits the back of his throat, Izzy moans around it, his entire body tensing when Ed hits deep.
”Fuck, that’s good—” Ed moans, hands gripping Izzy’s hips. ”Iz, you feel so good—”
Izzy grinds back against him at that, squeezing Ed’s cock as he meets his thrusts. Stede’s hands comb through his hair, and Izzy leans into it as he takes Stede’s dick as far down his throat as he can. It’s hard to focus, and Izzy feels his mind grow numb as his body takes over, instinct guiding the way he moves back and forth between Ed and Stede.
”I think I like him better with his mouth full,” Stede comments, voice breathy. Izzy pulls back, resting his lips against the tip of Stede’s cock for a moment. ”He takes a cock exceptionally well.”
”Shut the fuck—” is all Izzy manages to get out before Stede’s hand grips harshly at his hair, forcing his cock back into Izzy’ mouth. Izzy moans around it, bobbing his head in quick succession, until Stede shivers, his hands once again turning gentle.
It all becomes a blur of pleasure and ecstasy. Ed’s thick and hard inside of him, fucking into him with slow, hard movements. With every thrust, Izzy moans around Stede’s cock, taking him as far down his throat as he can. Hands on his hips, his ass, his sides, pushing and pulling, squeezing, caressing. Nails scraping over his scalp, fingers tugging at his hair. A chorus of sighs and moans blending together until Izzy can’t make out which ones belong to them and which are his own.
When Stede comes, shooting his seed down Izzy’s throat, he keeps Izzy’s head still, a steady hand at the back of his head, as Izzy’s nose gets buried in the blonde hair at the base of Stede’s cock. Izzy swallows around him, careful not to choke.
Afterwards, when Izzy finally pulls off, Edward tugs him upwards, until they’re fully pressed together, Ed’s chest against Izzy’s back. Stede kisses him softly, as Ed’s pace goes rough, fucking into him erratically. Stede’s soft hands find Izzy’s cock, and in time with Ed’s thrusts, he strokes him.
Izzy blacks out for a split second as he comes, collapses against Stede as his body twitches and trembles. Ed’s arms wrap around Izzy’s midsection, and Stede strokes his hair. He feels Ed fall apart too, holding Izzy close as his hips still.
”Fuck, Izzy,” Ed curses into Izzy’s neck.
Afterwards, Izzy forces himself to the side of the bed. His legs still tremble, and he doesn’t look back at neither of them. Doesn’t dare face the feelings that will bring forward.
Then, breaking the silence between them, Ed’s voice.
”Iz, stay.” A request, or an order? Izzy pauses, looks back at Edward, and knows that he’s done for. Edward’s hair is even more of a mess than usual, his lips red and swollen. Dark eyes search Izzy’s. Stede rests on his elbow behind him, silent. Candlelight catches in blonde hair, and a purple mark blooms low on his throat. ”Please.”
A plea.
So Izzy leans back towards them, and Ed meets him, puts gentle hands on his skin again. Izzy’s throat is sore, and his wrists sting. His entire body aches, but Ed presses soft lips against the swallow on his neck, and in a strange way, it soothes even the pains that Izzy can’t quite place.
Izzy tries his hardest to stay awake, he really does. Exhaustion takes him sooner rather than later. He’s only barely aware of two sets of hands in his hair and on his skin, a warm, damp cloth running along his belly, lips at his temple, as he slips into dreamless sleep.
When he wakes hours later, it’s to Ed’s slow, warm breaths against his shoulder and Stede’s solid form underneath him. He disentangles himself from underneath the arm that Ed has slung around his waist. Lifts himself off of Stede’s shoulder. When he rises from the bed, Ed snuggles closer to Stede, who in turn welcomes him into a sleepy embrace.
Izzy looks at them for a long while. They look good together, like they belong. He’ll never admit that to them.
On the floor at the edge of the bed, he finds the yellow dressing gown. Picks it up and turns it over in his hands, the fabric soft under his fingers. He feels along the structured pattern, over to the pale pink silk lining. Buries his face in it, breathing in calming lavender.
If he knows Ed as well as he thinks he does, it might still be hours until he wakes, judging by the just barely rising sun outside the cabin windows. Izzy glances back at the pair, tangled up in each other under pristine sheets. In a moment of weakness, he slips the robe over his shoulders. It’s big, hanging off his frame, falling fully to the floor around his feet. But the silk is soft against his naked skin.
He grabs a book from a shelf and curls up on the sofa. He should leave, but he finds he doesn’t particularly want to. Soft silk caresses his skin, enveloping him in the scent of lavender.
Stede’s library isn’t what it used to be, nowadays mostly consisting of books that they’ve looted from other ships. The idea of looting books is still laughable to Izzy, and he’ll mention it to their eccentric captain at any chance he gets. Still, he’s spent more time in here than he’d like to admit, and as he browses through the pages, he finds himself caught up in the story.
He doesn’t notice Stede until he’s right beside him on the sofa. Tousled, blonde locks falling into sleepy, hazel eyes. Haphazardly wrapped up in a pink, patterned dressing gown that Izzy knows all too well.
”Sorry,” he says with a small smile when he notices Izzy startle. ”What are you reading?”
Curious eyes watch him, following the line of his throat, down to where he’s wrapped in Stede’s dressing gown—
”I didn’t—” Izzy begins, and then immediately interrupts himself. He feels dumb. Still now, Izzy’s instinctual reaction to anything Stede does is attack. Offense is the best defense, and all that.
Maybe it’s time to put all of that behind him. He’s sucked the man’s cock, after all. It’s a line they’ve never crossed before, one that Izzy didn’t think he’d ever want to cross, but that he cannot uncross.
Still, one night doesn’t mean anything, doesn’t mean Stede wants Izzy on his sofa, in his robe, reading his books. Doesn’t mean this thing between them is any more well defined than before. He hands the book back to Stede and prepares to stand up and leave.
”Ah, that’s a good one. Used to read it to the crew way back when.”
Izzy pauses. Watches Stede eye through the pages, a gentle finger following the lines of words. The silence between them isn’t entirely unpleasant, and Izzy forgets that he was about to leave. He watches Stede in the pale morning light. The way his crow’s feet and laugh lines crinkle as he smiles. Ginger and gray mixed into his blonde beard. Finally, Stede sighs wistfully, looking back at Ed’s sleeping form. Izzy follows his gaze.
”He loves you, you know that, right?” He doesn’t, he can’t— ”He’s just not very good at showing it.”
”He loves you,” Izzy counters. His voice is hoarse, rougher than usual, and his throat aches as he speaks. He thinks he catches a satisfied glint in Stede’s eyes as he briefly glances at Izzy, before resuming watching Ed’s sleeping form.
”I should hope so,” Stede smiles, his gaze softening, and yeah, that’s what a man in love looks like. No one has ever looked at Izzy like that. Stede takes his eyes off Ed, turning back to Izzy. ”Doesn’t make what I said any less true.”
Izzy doesn’t say anything, he just keeps watching Ed’s sleeping form, doing everything in his power not to meet Stede’s gaze.
”You should both be kinder to yourselves,” Stede continues. He sighs, and when he speaks again, Izzy hears the amused smile in his voice. ”Regrettably, he needs you as much as you need him. You’re just too stubborn to see it.”
Maybe he’s been stubborn. Too stubborn.
”So what happens next?” Stede is quiet for a long moment after Izzy’s question, but as both of them watch as Ed starts stirring, he smiles, looking back at Izzy.
”Breakfast, I’d reckon. I’ve acquired the most exquisite fig marmalade from a merchant in—”
”You know that’s not what I mean.” Stede only looks a little offended at the interruption.
”Let’s start with breakfast, and we’ll see where that leads us.”