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A mere three month after Izzy becomes Blackbeard’s first mate he gets sick.
He tries to push through, sniffling back congestion and shaking his head clear every time a coughing fit leaves him dizzy as he climbs rigging and orders crew around but he can feel Blackbeard’s eyes on him. There’s a coil of dread in his stomach, knowing that he’s screwing up the best thing that’s ever happened to him. If, he thinks desperately, he’s focused enough, maybe he won’t lose the treasured position. But inevitably, Blackbeard comes close, eyes raking over his shivering frame. “My quarters, Izzy.”
Izzy stands at attention, breathing just deep enough to keep his nose from running embarrassingly. He fixes his gaze to a point just over Blackbeard’s shoulder.
“How’re ya feeling, Izzy.” The man’s like a shark, circling and then zeroing in, gliding slowly closer.
“I’m fine, Captain,” Izzy rasps, locking his knees to keep himself standing.
Blackbeard makes a low noise and he’s suddenly much closer, towering over Izzy and wrapping a hand around the back of his neck. “Shouldn’t be lying to your Captain, mate.”
Izzy braces himself. But it’s just a firm grip. When he forces himself to make eye contact, ready to accept punishment, it’s just Ed. Ed with his big eyes all full of concern. Ed’s hand on his neck pulling him in, warm and gentle, thumb brushing softly behind one of Izzy’s ears.
“How’re ya feeling, Izzy,” Ed whispers, soft and worried and the hand on his neck tightens just enough that Izzy knows not to lie again.
“Feel like shit, Captain,” Izzy sighs and Ed laughs, low and sweet.
“Good thing you said it, woulda been rude of me to assume based on how shit you look. Come on.” Ed pulls him forward, guiding him deeper into his quarters and pushing him towards a daybed he’d picked up a few raids ago.
Izzy resists, because he should. “Edward…”
Ed forces him down, fingers combing through his sweat damp hair. “Shh, ‘s okay. First mate privileges,” he says, like it’s a secret, just for them.
“I have duties…” Izzy says, as Ed tips him to his side. He drapes a blanket over him, eases a pillow under his cheek, sits on the edge and pets him like he’s something precious.
“Your duty is to get better, can’t be losing a first mate this soon, wouldn’t look good.” Ed explains and in Izzy’s fuzzy mind it makes sense.
Izzy spends the next few days in a fog, lost in fever and barely able to breathe, and when he emerges, at least enough where he doesn’t need Ed’s arm around him to sit up, he’s a little surprised he hasn’t been chucked overboard. But Ed simply hands him a bowl of soup. “What would I do without my first mate,” Ed muses as Izzy eats. “Can’t have this happening all the time, Iz.”
He doesn’t like worrying his captain, so Izzy tries to keep his bouts of illness or injury to a minimum.
He even tries downplaying how he feels, but Ed quickly learns his little tells and guides him to his quarters time after time. Usually it’s just a small sniffle and Izzy feels silly being doted on, but every so often it spirals and Ed holds his hand and pets his hair and looks like he’s losing a part of himself, so it kind of justifies the scrutiny.
It’s not all the time, of course. Izzy’s not that useless. But a couple of times a year doesn’t seem excessive to either of them. Izzy certainly takes care of Ed more often than that.
And, eventually, Izzy even starts taking himself to the captain's quarters when he’s feeling run down. Not begging for Ed’s attention, just curling up with a blanket for a few hours and then waking up with a mug of warm tea in front of him or cool fingers stroking his hair.
Until Stede Bonnet came along.
Things hadn’t been great before Stede, but after? Especially after the Kraken and Stede’s return? Well. Izzy basically writes off any first mate privileges he thought he had. He’s barely even first mate anymore. Who needs a first mate when you have a co-captain.
And then Izzy gets sick.
He doesn’t go to the captain’s quarters (forces himself to turn the other way when his muddled brain aims him in that direction) and he doesn’t go to his own quarters. He just carries on, congested and muzzy.
Izzy doesn’t even realize he’s being watched until his back collides with Ed’s solid form and the man is whispering in his ear. “My quarters, Izzy.”
As soon as they’re behind closed doors Ed is on him, hand wrapping around the back of his neck and Izzy tries not to flinch too badly. But the hand is gentle and Ed’s thumb is rubbing behind his ear and his eyes are big and concerned. And just like that everything slots back into place. They just pick up where they left off as Ed pushes Izzy onto the couch.
That’s where Stede finds them, Izzy stretched out on the couch, head in Ed’s lap.
“Ed? Are you… oh…” Stede flounders at the scene. “What, umm…”
Ed pets Izzy’s hair. “Izzy’s not feeling well, Stede.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry to hear that, Izzy,” says Stede, not sounding entirely sorry and actually more put out that he now has to deal with this instead whatever he’d come to find Ed about.
Izzy narrows his eyes at Stede and sniffles, in a very put on way by Stede’s estimate, and then gives the softest weakest ‘hehh’shoo’ sneeze Stede’s ever heard. He opens his mouth to comment but Ed coos “aww, Iz” in a wildly soft voice and rummages through his pockets for a handkerchief.
“Sounds like quite the case of sniffles,” Stede huffs and leaves them to it.
He comes back later and tries to discuss dinner plans with Ed. “Maybe something nice up on deck,” he says, only to have Izzy give him a dirty look and then roll over to press his face against Ed’s middle.
Ed frowns at him and shakes his head, gently rubbing along Izzy’s side. “Honestly mate, when Izzy’s so sick?”
It takes a lot of assuring, but eventually Stede’s able to get Ed to leave Izzy tucked securely on the couch and come to bed later that evening. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Ed. And you’re right here, in case anything happens.” He tries not to sound exasperated about it.
Stede wakes up in the middle of the night to an empty bed. He squints in the dark towards the couch and vaguely makes out two figures sitting, the smaller one leaning against the taller. He stays awake until Ed comes back, but keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to be nosy.
“He’s okay,” Ed whispers as he slips under the sheets, somehow knowing Stede is awake. “Wanted to get some tea into him.”
“Isn’t this all a bit… excessive?” Stede asks, carefully. “After all, he is a grown man and he does have his own room…”
Ed pulls him close and presses his face into Stede’s hair. “It’s first mate privileges,” he says, like that explains everything.
Stede wakes up in the morning to an empty bed. He sighs and looks towards the couch but there’s only one figure sitting there.
After dressing he goes to take a look at Izzy. The man looks decidedly more damp than yesterday and Stede wrinkles his nose, wondering if an offer of a handkerchief would end in a knife wound.
Izzy sniffles and coughs weakly into the blanket he’s bundled up in.
“Ed’s not here, I see,” Stede says and Izzy gives him a withering glare. “Do you know where he might be?”
“How the fuck would I know,” Izzy grates out and then sneezes so harshly that Stede jumps a little.
He does offer Izzy a handkerchief after that wet display and hurriedly leaves the room. As he reaches the deck he sees who he hopes can provide some answers for him.
“Ah, Buttons, I wanted to ask you something.” Stede comes to stand next to him and gazes out across the ocean, trying to see what the man is staring at, but for all he knows it might just be the water. “What can you tell me about ‘first mate privileges’?”
Buttons turns to him, blinking in confusion. “First mate privileges, Captain?”
“Yes,” Stede nods. “You know, like when your first mate is under the weather so you, as captain, bring him to your quarters to hold him and take care of him…” he trails off, mentally going over what he just said. “Ah, that’s not really a thing, is it.”
Buttons seems to take pity on him, sighing and turning his gaze back to the ocean. “Honestly Captain, most pirate ships don’t have a “first mate”, least not one appointed by the captain. I reckon Blackbeard simply… likes Mr. Hands.”
Well. That would explain a few things.
Stede nods and makes his way back to his cabin.
Ed is struggling to keep Izzy upright and get him to eat a bowl of soup. “Come on, Iz, you gotta eat something, mate.” Izzy sounds like maybe he mumbles something like ‘fuck off’ and Ed sighs. He glances up and sees Stede and shakes his head “I can’t deal with you too, man, okay?”
“I’ll leave if you want, but I thought perhaps…” Stede says gently and slips behind Izzy, holding back a grimace at the heat coming off him and neatly propping him up. “I won’t do anything else.”
Ed gives him a grateful look and Izzy mumbles something rude. “Aw, Iz, he’s just helping,” Ed says fondly, finally able to spoon some soup into Izzy’s mouth.
They sit like that for a few minutes until Izzy has a coughing fit that leaves him shaking and curled against Stede.
“Done, Edward, please,” he groans and Ed looks like he’s going to insist, but Stede reaches out and pats his hand and Ed sets the bowl aside.
“You’re having more later,” Ed says firmly, carefully stroking Izzy’s hair and Izzy huffs, leaning into the touch.
Stede shifts so that Izzy can lay on Ed’s lap and then goes to sit in a chair so that Izzy can stretch out the length of the couch. He’s quiet until he sees Izzy’s face relax into sleep. “Is it always like this with him?” he asks and then quickly clarifies when Ed gives him a dark look. “I mean, is he always this unwell?”
Ed relaxes, fingers gliding through Izzy’s hair, comforting him. “Sometimes, if we don’t catch it early, and even then…” He glances at Stede. “He got real sick just after I made him my first mate. Freaked the hell outta me, Stede, thought I was gonna lose him. And now...”
Stede nods and then smiles softly at him. “I understand.”
Ed smiles back, settling in against the couch.
It’s sweet, Ed’s care and devotion. And yet… “So,” Stede pipes up after a moment. “How long is he usually sick for?”