Chapter Text
A few days after dislocating his shoulder saving the bard from falling overboard, Izzy was able to resume light work. He didn't really need the sling anymore, but he wore it most of the time he didn't need both hands for his task. It was useful in that he didn't have to bother about it, didn't have to think so carefully before he moved or worry so much about bumping his arm into something. It would be weeks yet before he could be back to fighting shape, pushing his body now wouldn't change that. Not being his first injury, he knew how to make himself useful and stay busy with only one hand to work with.
His work was interrupted by Stede Bonnet.
"Mr Hands, I would like to consult with you about our next course."
Izzy did a rather good job at repressing a reflexive sigh. Bonnet had a mind to stick his nose into navigation now? The neverending pirate lessons continue. Fine.
"Fine." Curt enough to be a bit insubordinate but lacking his usual level of venom.
Bonnet accepted it.
"I have charts on my desk, if you wouldn't mind..." the captain waved a hand for Izzy to precede him.
When they made it to the captains' quarters though Bonnet made no immediate move to grab any of said charts.
"Where is it you want us to go?" Izzy asked with tempered impatience.
"Actually, that is the question I was going to ask you."
Izzy only blinked in response. What the fuck was it to him where they went? So long as they made sure they were properly prepared for whatever lie that direction.
"Yes, I was hoping you would know have a nice, out-of-the-way island where we could safely stop a while. Something pleasant and hospitable, with a suitable beach."
Izzy couldn't suppress a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his tone and marshaled the least derisive tone he could manage.
"You want to find a lovely little cove to anchor in so your dead-weight crew can have a vacation? A little recovery from the trauma of their incompetence nearly getting one of them killed? Reward them for uselessness every time one of them almost dies?"
Okay, by the end there that had moved beyond just derisive, into a spiteful angry hiss.
Bonnet blinked abruptly, and turned several colors in succession before his shoulder slumped.
"All right. That's... not unfair of you to say, as much as it hurts to hear it." Izzy didn't bother to interrupt to say how much he didn't care what hurt Bonnet's precious feelings. "But no, actually, quite the contrary. I'd like to careen us."
What?
"What?"
"Yes. You've advised many times on the necessity of beaching the ship for certain maintenance. It seems like a good time to get that done, does it not? I dare say we have more enemies than we've ever had before, and it would be best for the ship to be in tip-top condition. I, well, I know you would prefer many things about the Revenge to be different. I wont apologize for things like my leadership style or management choices, but I am inviting to your suggestions for constructive improvements to the ship itself."
"You want to careen and have the crew scrape and caulk the hull then?"
"And redo the rigging," Stede added.
"Bonnet, you've been fighting me on the rigging since day one. Why now?"
"Well, I wanted to- that is... the entire ship is very grateful to you for saving Frenchie and-"
"Fuck off, Bonnet," Izzy interrupted. "I don't need thanks."
"No, I know! And I'm not trying to embarrass you by speaking them. But... if it was another crewmate who had done something so, well, so heroic," Izzy's face soured considerably and Stede rushed on, "I would make gestures like request a cake baked in their honor, read their favorite stories at night, give them first pick of the loot in the next raid. Just little things to show my appreciation."
Izzy rolled his eyes. At least one of those things was properly piratey.
"I know you don't want a cake and stories. And I'm certain you wouldn't want to accept a reward from me. So, can we call this a compromise? Like when we first met? You decide where we go, what repairs we do. We can completely overhaul the ship if you like. Only... no redecorating. It is still my ship."
Izzy snorted, but there was amusement in it instead of anger.
With a sigh that didn't sound completely put-upon for once, Izzy accepted Stede's gesture.
"Careening's a bitch. Putting the whole ship on its side is no small endeavor," he pointed out.
Izzy was aware that Bonnet was in this lifestyle more to have fun than be serious about it or chase real successful as a pirate. Stede and Ed preferred to spend their time pleasing themselves rather than working hard. Stede could choose to leave the work entirely in Izzy's hands, like Blackbeard used to do when he was too melancholic to bother. But Stede instead asked,
"What do we need to do?"
"Get supplies while we're in port, first of all," Izzy answered immediately. "If we make the effort to run the rigging, we should do it right. You like shopping for expensive top quality stuff don't you? Apply that to getting us new line. New sails too if you want to go all out." Stede fucking Bonnet loved to go all out.
Stede had seated himself at the desk, taking up a quill to begin writing down Izzy's list. Instead of finding something to sneer at in the other man's flouncy handwriting, Izzy enjoyed the novel experience of actually being taken seriously and listened to attentively. Never fucking happened to him on the Revenge.
"We'll need to offload all cargo in the holds to the beach before we begin, along with everything not nailed down in crew quarters, the galley, munitions room, etc. And secure everything we can't carry."
"What if we just sell everything in the holds?" Stede suggested "Empty out all those odds and ends that never found a home anywhere. Then there will be less to worry about moving and more coin for everything else."
Izzy stared at Bonnet's bent head as the captain scribbled neatly. Bonnet was a bit of a packrat and liked to hang on to the shiniest things. Most goods they seized in raids were sold if they weren't used, but Bonnet always had a few favorites he kept for himself among the silver and silks and the jewelry. He never kept a particularly excessive amount from each raid but what he didn't find immediate use for did tend accumulate the corners of the holds.
It also tended to be luxury goods, the shiny fancy things Bonnet and Edward loved so much, that Izzy wouldn't expect them to want to part with. Exactly the kind of loot that would buy all the supplies they needed with some gold left over besides.
"...Aye. Yeah, it'd be wise," Izzy answered.
"Excellent." Bonnet still didn't look up, merely pulled out a second piece of paper to refine his to-do list. "So, the rigging and the hull. I'll have to ask you to make a list of supplies we'll need for that, you're the expert here. I know we have tools for scraping the hull but will we need more if we will have everyone working on it at the same time? Or do they take shifts? I don't really know how ship tasks work on land."
You don't really know anything, Izzy thought but didn't say. At least the man acknowledged that Izzy knew what he was about.
"I doubt we have even half of the tools for any of these jobs. Plus we’ll want a few tents to keep the weather off, it’ll be at least a week of sleeping on land. I'll look into what you’ve onboard, make a list of what we need."
"I didn't intend for this to make more work for you." Bonnet looked guilty now.
Izzy snorted again. But again, it didn't sound as annoyed as one might expect.
"Its a big job careening a ship, Bonnet. It was always going to be a lot of work but it's necessary. Besides, i know the ship's inventory best, I know where to look for things so it won't take me long. And..." Fuck him, Izzy had to say it and without choking on it. "It's a good choice. To do it. It will be good to see it get done."
Bonnet was a twat but he did have a way with people that occasionally allowed him to read between the lines, to hear what wasn't said about Izzy actually being pleased by the situation. And for once Stede thought better than to call attention to what he observed, and ignored his desire to make people talk about everything.
"I quite agree," was all he said as he set his lists aside and pulled a few maps out. "Give some thought about where we ought to make land. I'm going to go consult with Buttons and see what time we'll reach port tomorrow."
The rest of the day saw Izzy occupied with tasks, but... better busy than dizzy. Or bored.
Bonnet had let Izzy take the lead entirely. He had offered to have Ed help oversee things but it was immediately obvious that Izzy preferred not to trust Ed's flighty attention span. Since the whole point, from Stede's perspective, was to do this as a gesture to Izzy it just made sense to do it the way Izzy wanted it done. But Bonnet didn't simply back away and approve everything from a distance. He was actually a very interested pupil, attaching himself to Izzy's side and frequently asking questions that were mostly not stupid. Stede had even opted to take his own notes as he learned about the process.
Bonnet knew that Izzy and Lucius tended to antagonize each other. Izzy's explanations about what needed doing would get nowhere with the scribe around interjecting his own wisecracks and derailing Izzy into retorting. They'd never get anywhere that way.
Stede almost did send Lucius away when he came to join Stede and Izzy when they were down in the one of the lower holds that evening, inspecting the cargo they intended to offload. (Stede wanted one last look just to make sure there wasn't a knickknack he might want to keep for his bookshelves.) But the captain and first mate weren't talking much at this point as they worked separately. If Lucius and Izzy wanted to trade insults it wasn't going to interfere with anything at the moment.
The crew was up on deck getting a crash course in how to rig sails the right way, so there could be a hope in hell they might be useful when the time came for it. Mostly Izzy expected to do all of the work with the 4-5 competent men he had (competent people, mustn't forget Jimenez) while Bonnet's useless lot handled the scraping, caulking, and carpentry.
Lucius didn't think he was above learning more about sailing, even if he never intended to try his hand at it personally. But he'd been the one to draw out the many diagrams that Ed, Fang, and Ivan were using to teach the others. That repetition had really burned it all into his brain. He'd never mix up the sails again.
No, Lucius wanted to corner his captain away from the crew so there was a chance to have a word with him. If that word was easily overheard by a certain first mate, that was actually a bonus this time.
"Captain," Lucius settled on a crate next to the one Stede was poking through while Izzy canvassed the other corner of the room. "I need to speak to you. About Frenchie."
"Oh?" Stede asked, turning his attention to Lucius. Over his shoulder, the scribe could see Izzy suddenly moving a bit more quietly so he could easily listen in. "Is everything okay? Is he healing alright?"
Lucius blew out a breath. "Well, that's the thing. As far as any of us totally-not-doctors can tell, he is healing fine. The bruising is starting to fade and he hasn't had any problems with, like, eating, or drinking, or breathing. But..."
Izzy turned his ear towards them. The expression Lucius spotted on his profile was intense.
"Well, his voice hasn't come back yet," Lucius finished.
"Oh."
'Oh.' Stede fucking Bonnet ran his mouth more than was good for him, and all he had to say now was 'oh.'
Not that Izzy could have found any words himself if he had tried.
"Oh dear," Stede said, voice heavy with sadness.
Singing meant so much to Frenchie, and he loved a chat! It had been so hard for him to hold his tongue in the days since his near-hanging. And difficult for him to communicate, since the poor man didn't know his letters well enough to write out any notes.
"Well." Stede tried to be an optimist. It was never more apparently to others how much effort that could take than it was to Lucius and Izzy in that moment. "It's early days yet. Too soon to despair, I think. Healing takes time."
Stede forced a smile but it fell again quickly. The three of them were silent, thoughtful, for a long moment.
"We'll need to keep his spirits up," Stede said quietly.
There was really nothing more any of them could say.