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You watch as Izzy barks out orders to the crew. Buttons had assured everyone that the wind picking up and the slightly choppy waters were merely a brief affair and that the sea did not have a full-blown storm in store for them, but Izzy was still insisting that the crew prepare the ship just in case.
From what you’ve seen, the odd Scotsman's intuition is usually pretty accurate, but Izzy is far too practical to take a chance. He's seen what can happen to ill-prepared ships caught in a bad storm.
Izzy stands confidently on the deck with one hand on his hip and the other grasping the rigging for support as the wind whips around him. He looks sure of himself, confident, like he knows exactly what he’s doing. The pomade that Izzy uses to slick his hair back is no match against the breeze and you’re treated to the rare sight of his greying hair falling loosely around his face.
For all that Izzy may have had a very rocky beginning when he first boarded the Revenge, it's undeniable that Izzy is truly in his element as first mate.
If Ed and Stede are co-captains, then Buttons is technically Izzy's co-first mate. Their shared position has never really resulted in any issues however- Buttons tends to stick more to the navigating and steering the ship portion of the job, while Izzy does more of the giving orders and actual overseeing of the crew. This arrangement has actually been working out well now that Izzy has managed to let go some of the resentment that he'd first boarded the ship with.
Coiling together a length of extra rope to be stowed somewhere if won’t be in the way, you watch as Ed walks over to Izzy and says something that you're too far away too hear.
The skin at the corner of the first mate's eyes crinkle as his mouth splits into a rare grin at whatever the captain said.
Between how charming Izzy looks when he smiles and the competence with which he instructs the crew, you're struck by how breath-taking Blackbeard's first mate truly is.
Ed walks away after giving Izzy a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Izzy turns his gaze across the deck in your direction and he raises an eyebrow when he catches you looking.
You just smile and give a shrug in response.
Izzy rolls his eyes, but he gifts you with a little smile and his expression remains light when he turns away to inspect Frenchie's knots.
Despite knowing that your primary focus should be your work, you keep replaying that smile in your head as you go about doing your part to help the rest of the crew.