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Izzy had been quiet lately.
Lucius first noticed it one morning when he and Pete were being more than a little flirty with one another while working.
Izzy had been nearby, in a spot he could certainly hear them.
Yet rather than do any of his normal insults or chiding remarks, or yelling to get back to work, he just continued on with whatever he had been doing, ignoring them completely.
That had been going on for a few days now, Blackbeard seaming to know what was going on too.
He was giving Izzy space, some sort of silent exchange between them from time to time, and any time someone would try and goad Izzy into a tantrum Blackbeard would meet them with a glare so strong it could drive someone into their own grave if he wasn’t careful.
Lucius, being the self-proclaimed nosy bitch that he was, was curious.
He wanted to know what had caused this ever angry twat, to suddenly talk less than Jim in their first weeks aboard.
unfortunately, there was no good way to ask about it during the day without others wanting to listen in.
It wasn’t until one night, Lucius happened to be above deck after ‘checking the cargo’ when he stumbled upon Izzy, sitting up by the bow, pipe in hand.
He debated leaving well enough alone till he saw his hands go up to his tie, undoing it and pulling off a ring that had been tucked within the fabric.
Well, now he had no choice but to approach.
Preparing himself for potential murder Lucius stepped up, making his steps a little louder before clearing his throat.
Izzy glanced over.
“Fuck off.” he spat, clenching his fist before opening it again, the ring disappearing.
“Well, typically when people are alone, sitting on the edge of a ship after weeks of… something going on…. It’s typically not a great sign,” he said gently, just getting a glare.
“Don’t give me the as a crew lecture.” he hissed, no real heat to it as Lucius sat down.
“Don’t have to talk it through with the full crew.” he offered, getting another glare and a huff from Izzy before turning away.
The silence held itself for a long time, Izzy waiting for Lucius to leave, Lucius not really sure what he was doing other than staying.
Finally, Izzy realized that Lucius wasn’t just gonna go and he let out another huff of annoyance.
“I’d think you rather I drowned myself actually.” he goaded getting a chuckle from Lucius.
“Well, like it or not we can't exactly afford losing many people here, plus I think fang kinda likes you.” Lucius shrugged, earning a slight snort from Izzy.
“Good to know.”
Silence fell again.
Lucius was more than happy to sit in it until Izzy spoke again.
“You and the other one.” he started, leaning on his elbow, one finger on his temple as he looked over
“Pete? What about us?” Lucius asked ready for the usual.
“You're quite close, be careful with that,” he said simply as Lucius noticed the ring now resided on the finger of his left hand.
“You say as if you know from experience.” Lucius pushed a little.
“Iye. we see a lot of death in our line of work…” he commented, looking down to the ring.
“It’s a special kind of death when it’s someone who isn’t just crew…” he sighed taking a long drag from his pipe.
“What was their name?” Lucius asked, about sixty percent sure he wouldn't be killed for it.
“Thomas… Thomas Richards…” he said, the air of grief in his voice as he looked down at the ring.
“Sailed together for nearly ten years before it all went to shit. It’ll be three years at dawn,” he said, resigned to that reality.
Lucius didn’t quite know what to say.
He had never quite looked at Izzy as a man to have loved before.
Sure the leather gave all kinds of ideas, but this was something very different.
Something raw that Lucius wasn’t meant to see normally.
“If you tell anyone I’ll be throwing you in the ocean before you can say foolish,” he warned that same air of annoyance coming back for a moment, causing Lucius to smile.
“Safe with me.” he promised, and he meant it.
There were a lot of things about Izzy that he would love to gab about, but this? This was something you don't share.
“You gonna sit out here all night?” Lucius asks finally.
“Depends if you insist on hovering.” Izzy snarked.
Lucius just chuckled.
Neither of them said more, simply sitting in silence till sunrise, when Izzy went back to his quarters and Lucius, went to start his day.