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Chapter Text

Against all odds, Israel Hands had once again escaped death with the skin of his teeth. It genuinely astounded the crew how the man had bounced back after the near-fatal gunshot and a week-long fever, but no-one was as surprised as Izzy himself when he set his feet on the floor of the first mate's quarters and stood up for the first time in almost a fortnight. He winced, gripping the healing wound. It hurt. Everything hurt. It wasn't a condition he was unfamiliar with – he'd basically been hanging on by a hair for months. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken up and felt completely at ease, no pain in his body.

He was grateful for Frenchie who just popped by the door frame when he shuffled closer to the exit and got dangerously close to tripping over. "Woah, woah, woah," Frenchie rushed to his side and slipped Izzy's arm around his shoulder. "Who said you're allowed to be up?"

"I did," Izzy snarled and leaned some of his weight on the taller man. "I'm sick and tired of this room."

"Okay, but ya could've at least told me to help."

"You're helpin' right now, aren't cha?"

Frenchie knew he was fighting a losing battle and sighed, dropping the subject. "The crew's gonna be mad."

"Mad that I'm not dead?" Izzy snorted.

"No, you knob," Frenchie bumped Izzy with his hip very lightly, afraid of accidentally hurting the injured man. "Mad that they're not gonna be able to throw a surprise Congrats-You're-Alive-party."

"Thank fuck ," the older man muttered and subconsciously put more of his weight on Frenchie when they reached the stairs. Frenchie practically lifted him in the air every time it was Izzy's hoof's turn to step. It had become an unspoken thing at that point. "The last thing I want right now is a party."

"I mean, they're still gonna do it. It just won't be a surprise."

Izzy rolled his eyes with a tired laugh. "Of course."

The fresh outside air hit Izzy like a cannonball the second they stepped foot on deck. He'd almost forgotten how much he loved the salty smell of the sea, the breeze in his hair. Judging by the color of the sky, he'd chosen the golden hour to come up. The evening sun filtered through the sails, painting everything in a gentle orange hue. 

He let his eyes get used to the brightness by observing the crew. Fang was sitting on a barrel in front of a focused-looking Wee John who was poking an ink-filled needle into the other man's skin again and again. Lucius laid on the floor against the railing, holding the teary-eyed Fang's hand reassuringly. Pete was next to his beloved, half-asleep with his head on Lucius's shoulder. Jim, Archie and Oluwande were all sitting around the main mast with Zheng who was showing off her sword to the other three. The woman's Auntie – whose name Izzy had never learned – was keeping a keen eye on her. Roach was smoking a joint on the forecastle staircase while sharpening a butcher's knife, accompanied by the Swede in a fast-paced discussion. Izzy saw a glimpse of Spanish Jackie's lounging form on the stairs behind the two men. And, of course his eyes had immediately shot up to the forecastle to where Stede and Edward were leaning against the railing and watching their newly expanded crew with quiet conversation.

Edward's eyes locked with Izzy's across the way. His whole body jolted upright and, impulsively as always, the former Captain jumped over the rail in his haste to get over to the main deck as fast as possible. The sound and the following trembling of the deck of Ed hitting the lower floor was enough to startle most of the crew, but by the time they raised their gazes Edward had already darted across the deck to Izzy and enveloped the man's smaller frame with his own.

"Ack– watch it!" Izzy tried to yell against the leather jacket. "Ow! Fucker! Off! Get off me, Ed!"

Edward practically lifted him up by the waist but at least some parts of Izzy's muffled screaming had gone through his thick skull, because he loosened his grip on the man with a bewildered expression. "Izz…" he uttered, hands still around his former first mate's shoulders. He had that kicked puppy look on his face that Izzy fucking despised and loved at the same time.

Izzy tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his stomach and extracted himself from the taller man's grip. The rest of the crew was finally starting to catch up to the speed of what was happening. "Holy shit, Izzy!" Fang yelled and stood up, all pain from the unfinished tattoo forgotten as he barrelled over to him.

"Hey, no hugs without a shirt on! Avast," Izzy ordered, raising his arm to act as a barrier between him and the shirtless man.

"Izzy, dude!" he heard Archie's voice somewhere behind Edward's broad shoulders, and the sound of multiple people rushing to get up from the deck. Jim and Archie sped over to him, beaming, as Oluwande and Zheng tried to keep up. "You're alive!" Archie exclaimed as if it wasn't obvious.

"You have got to stop sounding surprised about that," Frenchie tuned in, still shoulder to shoulder with the shorter man.

"Give the man some space, mi amada," Jim said and laced theirs and Archie's fingers together. "Good to see you breathin', though, hombrecito."

"Thanks," Izzy said, feeling stupid. He wasn't used to such positive attention, especially not sober. He'd been able to take all the teasing and the compliments when he'd been drunk off his head on Calypso's Birthday, but this felt too genuine for his liking. "And can you stop staring at me like that?" he barked at Edward who still hadn't let go of the puppy eyes.

"Man, what the fuck? I think I'm allowed to be upset!" Ed huffed and blinked away tears. "I thought my best friend was dead!"

"Maybe you wouldn't've thought that if you'd taken a moment out of your busy life to check up on your 'best friend' once?" Izzy snapped. Edward opened and closed his mouth like a fish, quickly turning into putty under Izzy's fiery gaze.

A low whistle broke the silence. "He kinda got you there, buddy," Zheng said, placing a hand on Ed's shoulder as she swiftly shuffled into the crowd that had formed around Izzy. She looked at him up and down, not necessarily judgmentally but rather impressed. "Hey there. I don't think we ever properly introduced each other?"

"I know who you are, and you know who I am. Do we need to do this?" Izzy asked, brisker than he'd meant. He tried to weed out the sassy tone he'd used for Edward. "I'm sorry about your fleet."

Zheng looked taken aback by the change of pace of the conversation. Her eyes flickered between Jim, Archie and Oluwande before she nodded stiffly and gave Izzy a smile that looked very forced. "Thank you. I… am sorry about almost beating your captain to death."

As if on cue, Stede finally stumbled over to the rest of the group after fighting his way past the people blocking the stairwell. "Izzy!" he spread his arms into what Izzy immediately registered as an upcoming hug, and he stepped back into Frenchie's arms. Stede noticed the apprehension and coughed, awkwardly dropping his cheery demeanor. "It's good to see you're up and about," he offered, trying to match the vibes a bit better.

"Yeah. Feels good… the air," Izzy shrugged. 

Fang had finally got his vest back on and hurried over to them, pulling Izzy into a hug. For once, the smaller man returned it, if for nothing but to spite the Captain. It seemed to work, based on how the corners of Stede's mouth dropped into an unapproving frown. "Okay, crew!" he said, clapping his hands. "We're all happy about Izzy's return, but let's not overwhelm him. Back to work you go."

"Uhh, we already finished all of our work," Archie pointed out, getting a swift stab of Jim's elbow into her ribs.

"Captain's right, we have work to do," they said pointedly and started dragging Archie away with one arm and Olu with the other. Zheng took the hint, nodding at Izzy for a sign of respect and leaving with the rest of her friends.

Fang gave Izzy one final squeeze before letting go. He was crying, which was very unsurprising, but still made Izzy feel bad. "You cry if I'm dead, you cry if I'm not dead, seriously…" he muttered, wiping the bigger man's face with his sleeve.

"I'm just so happy to have you back," Fang wailed.

Izzy grimaced at the snot dripping out of the man's nose, quickly pulling his arm down so none of it would get on his clothes. Luckily, Frenchie was already on the case with a handkerchief and a comforting arm around Fang's shoulder. "Good to get all of it out, yeah?" he smiled, glancing at Izzy who swiftly nodded. "C'mon, big guy, let's give 'em some space."

Silence fell upon the two captains and their second-in-command once Frenchie had dragged the sobbing man out of earsight. Izzy tried to mask the shiver that ran down his spine as something resembling a yawn. Edward stared at him, arms crossed. Stede bit his lip so hard it would draw blood at any minute.

"Are you… angry at us?" he finally asked, quiet, careful.

Izzy's nostrils flared as he snapped his neck to stare at Stede. "Oh, I don't know, Bonnet," he said, a dangerous grin dancing on his lips. "Am I mad that your stupid plot, which I said was stupid from the very first minute, almost got me killed and then I had to lay in bed for weeks while neither of you checked up on me once ?"

Stede couldn't hold eye contact anymore, awkwardly shuffling closer to his boyfriend. Ed took pity on him and loosened his arms enough for Stede to snake his own forearm around his bicep. "We weren't sure you… if you'd wanted to see us," Stede stumbled on his words, almost like he didn't believe in them.

"So you thought it was better to not even ask?" Izzy balled his hands into fists, knuckles turning white. "That it was better to let me wither away in the brig while you celebrated our escape?"

"You didn't wither away, mate," Edward interrupted. "You're literally alive right now!"

"And it's certainly not thanks to you two," Izzy said with an accusatory point of his finger. "It was Frenchie that nursed me back. Frenchie that sat there and watched me cry about how–" His breath hitched. "How I meant nothing to the captains of this vessel. About how I risked my life for your stupid asses once again and it was met with nothing resembling compassion."

Stede and Edward stared at him, expressions a mixture of guilt, confusion and anger. Izzy wanted to spit on both of their faces. How dare they act surprised and appalled about this outburst? They'd been the ones that had been ready to abandon him on a whim. They were the reason he'd nearly died again . The silence stretched out, only broken by the vague conversations of the other crew members who were clearly pretending not to see or hear the argument happening in the middle of the deck.

"Can we take this somewhere more private?" Stede asked, practically whispered, with a desperate glimmer in his eyes.

Izzy scoffed. "Can't even say what you need to say in front of your own crew?"

"No, I just–" Stede inhaled sharply, turning to look at Ed for support.

"We have shit to discuss, Izz. Important shit," Edward said, voice scarily monotone. Izzy knew that tone. It was the tone he heard whenever Ed was trying to not blow shit out of proportion. It never ended well.

"I'm only gonna say this once, Edward," Izzy turned his eyes towards his former captain. "You do not have the authority to demand anything from me. Neither of you do, after the shit you've put me through. And if I agree to this… discussion , it's for my own closure. Not because I want to please you, or your boyfriend. Clear?"

Edward stared at him, eyes wide on his otherwise expressionless face. He looked so eager to fight back. Instead of following those instincts, he put his head down and nodded. "Very clear."

Slightly surprised but pleased nonetheless, Izzy nodded back. "Good. Let's discuss, then."

The trio retreated into the Captain's quarters and Stede busied himself with getting them all something to drink from one of the many hidden compartments around his room. Ed flopped into an armchair and started absent-mindedly ripping apart the cladding around a knife hole in the armrest. Izzy stood in front of the fireplace, still as a statue, waiting for someone to say something.

"Brandy or wine?" Stede asked and lifted the two bottles.

"You got any rum?" Edward groaned, craning his neck to look at the man.

"Afraid not."

"Brandy," Izzy said to end the meaningless yapping. "But we didn't come here to drink, did we?"

Stede nodded, tight-lipped, and started pouring the alcohol into three separate glasses. He gave Izzy one before sitting into the other armchair and gesturing at the settee. "Please, sit."

As much as Izzy enjoyed the bit of dominance he felt when he got to look down on the two men for once, he knew standing long-term would not do any good for any part of his body. Clutching the bullet wound, he sunk onto the couch with a quiet hiss.

"Does it hurt bad?" Stede grimaced. "I can ask Zheng for a herbal remed–"

"I'm fine," Izzy barked and glared at him. "I've been through worse." He gave a pointed look to Edward before drinking from his glass.

Ed drank too, and so did Stede. The only thing breaking the tense silence was the soft crackling of the fireplace. Izzy refused to be the first to speak.

"I'm quitting."

Izzy's brow twitched in confusion as he looked at his former captain. "What?"

"Quitting," Edward repeated, staring at his brandy. "Next time we make port I'm out."

"Why?" Izzy asked and leaned closer despite the burning of his stomach.

Edward shook his head and shrugged in one motion. "You told me to follow that feeling. I'm… I'm following it," he said, brows knitted together in thought. "Retirement."

Izzy instinctively looked at Stede, and noticed a distinct lack of shock on the man's face. "You already knew, then."

"Yes. We… have talked extensively about this." There was a small smile on Stede's lips as he looked at Edward, but Izzy couldn't see the genuinity of it.

"Well… Okay then," he replied and took another sip of brandy. "You haven't really been a Captain for weeks, anyway. Blackbeard's long gone."

"Yeah. Blackbeard died in the gravy basket," Ed nodded. "Just good old Eddie now. Fisherman slash innkeeper."

"That's your plan?" Izzy snorted in disbelief. "Openin' an inn?"

"Jeff's Inn by the Sea," Edward gestured in the air with a smirk. "And bar and grill on the side, and fishing equipment rental."

"And a gift shop! Out the back," Stede added.

"Yeah. It's a whole resort. Might even add a pool."

"I don't think that'll be necessary if it's on the beach, love."

Izzy slumped against the backrest with an unimpressed expression. "And you're fine with that?" he asked Stede. "You left your wife for him twice and now he's leavin' you to be a general manager. What gives?"

"Oh," Stede's eyes widened. "Oh, he's not leaving me. I'm also going."

Izzy choked on the brandy he'd just swigged. "Excuse me?" he spluttered.

Edward leaned over and offered the struggling man his own drink to wash the coughs down. "Yeah, Stede and I are gonna do a bit of co-owning. Co-inning? Co…"

"Co-innkeeping?" Stede suggested.

"Oooh, I like that. Co-innkeeping, that's what we're doing."

"Are you mad ?" Izzy exclaimed the second he was no longer choking on his own spit. He shot up from the settee so fast he almost blacked out, and slapped away Edward's hand. The glass of brandy slipped from the man's fingers and shattered on the floor.

"Hey! I just got those!" Stede whined as Edward also stood and snatched Izzy's glass, throwing it into the wall. "Ed!"

"Sorry. Dunno why I did that," the man in question said, genuinely a bit confused by his own reaction.

"You cannot be serious about this," Izzy insisted, eyes flickering between the two men.

"Why not?" Stede asked, clearly not understanding the way he'd just shattered Izzy's entire life.

Izzy stammered, uselessly flailing around as he tried to choose what to say first. "You– Your– Fuck! Your whole thing has been becoming a pirate, no? This whole time! You left your family to pirate, twice!"

"Well, the second time was more-so for Ed…"

"You spent ungodly amounts of money for a ship and a crew. You've been building a name for yourself, like a good, infamous name this time and not whatever the hell 'The Gentleman Pirate' was," Izzy sneered. "You just had your first kill, Bonnet!"

"Izzy, breathe," Edward ordered and tried to grab the smaller man's shoulder. Izzy slapped his hand away again as if it had burned him.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do," he hissed, looking up at him with nothing but distaste. "You two have actually lost the fucking plot if you think this is a good idea."

Stede frowned, also standing up since he was the only one not at eye-level. "We thought you'd like the idea, Izzy!"

"Why, in the name of everything that is holy, would I like this idea?"

"'Cuz we're leavin' the ship to you," Edward said.

If Izzy's world had already been shaken by the earlier announcement, now the floor was completely removed from it. He genuinely thought he was going to throw up or start crying for a second as the words registered in his head. "You– you what?" he asked, feeling very small all of sudden, like he was shrinking.

Stede stepped in and grabbed Edward's hand. "We had a lot of time to think about this while you were healing," he said, "and we really cannot think of a better person to hand the mantle to."

"Remember when we had that plan to kill Stede and for me to take his identity and all that?" Ed asked. Izzy nodded, silent. He didn't trust his vocal chords at the minute. "Yeah, well, a part of that plan was me making you Captain," Edward concluded.

Izzy bit his lip so hard it almost drew blood. "But–" He aggressively cleared his throat when the singular syllable came out as nothing but a pathetic whine. "But that plan was a lie. You were never gonna– do it."

"Maybe not. But the best lies are the ones intertwined in truth," Ed said with a little grin. "I've had this in the works for years. Before any of this shit," he vaguely gestured at Izzy's injuries, "before Stede. For years. I knew that if I were to eat shit I'd want you taking over. That's why I made you my fucking first mate, mate!"

"You have the most seafaring knowledge out of anyone here," Stede joined in. "More than either of us."

"Definitely more than you," Izzy agreed quietly.

"Precisely."

Izzy clenched his jaw and let out a choked laugh. "I told you I'm done cleaning up your messes, Edward."

"You're not doing that," Ed said with a snort. "It's like… We are the trash collectors, and also the trash. And we're takin' ourselves out."

"That makes no fuckin' sense."

"'Course it doesn't. Why are you upset again?"

"Because I almost died and now you're leaving!" Izzy snapped, anger flushing into his veins again after the momentary cooldown. "Yes, I told you to listen to your gut, and you did. For like a day, and then you came back and quit fishing, or whatever the fuck it was that you went out to do."

"And you," he pointed at Stede. "You're fuckin' losing it big time, Bonnet. You're just gonna leave and settle down on some random plot of land with this–" He tried to find any word to describe his best friend that wasn't 'twat' or 'cunt'. "This fuckin' nutjob! After– After everything this crew went through, you're leaving them. After you spent weeks looking for us, after you repaired the ship, after all of it, you're running away?"

Stede struggled to find the right words, or any words for that matter. He clutched Edward's hand tightly. "I know it sounds silly–"

"Because it is!"

"–because it is! Yes! But… But everything that went down during Calypso's birthday and after it made me question everything I thought I knew about myself," Stede frowned, eyes glossy. "I thought I'd– I'd vanquished the demons of my past after making peace with Mary and getting rid of the Badmintons. But when I killed Ned Low all of those things came back to me."

"It's almost like Edward told you not to do it," Izzy scoffed, unable to feel sorry for the man before him.

"I know," Stede sighed. "Which is exactly why I think this'll be good for us. For me. To get away from this environment, from pirating, for now."

"We're not saying this will be permanent, Izz," Ed said in what Izzy assumed was an attempt at a soothing tone of voice. It wasn't very effective.

"What? You think that after being innkeepers for a few years you can just hop back into the grind?" Izzy could not believe his ears.

"Well maybe it doesn't have to be a fucking grind!" Edward barked back. "Maybe, once we fucking feel like it, we'll buy a little merchant ship and sail the seas selling trinkets or fishing or whatever the fuck we feel like!"

Izzy stared at him for a few seconds before turning his back on the men. "Fuck this," he whispered and started clomping off.

Edward immediately ran after him, which wasn't difficult considering Izzy was even slower than usual with the bullet wound. "You're just walking away from this?" he asked. "Real mature, Izzy."

"Mature?" Izzy spun on his hoof and snatched the taller man by his collar. "You wanna talk about mature, Eddie?" he hissed the nickname like a curse. 

"What is not mature is waking up one day and deciding to abandon everything you once stood up for. But that's exactly what you've been doin' non-stop ever since you stepped foot on this vessel. You've done nothing but hurt people by chasing your own happiness, and following your childish whims, and drug-fueled fantasies. And I have tried so fucking hard to stand by your side through all of that, even when you made it damn near impossible. But I'm immature?"

Edward had that look again in his eyes, the one Izzy usually saw before getting thrown into the nearest wall or having another toe cut off. He half-expected to get tossed into the fireplace, but Stede grabbed both of them by the shoulders before that could happen.

"Ed," he spoke softly yet fast, "would you mind giving me and Izzy a moment? Alone?"

Bewildered but unable to refuse his boyfriend, Edward stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut unnecessarily hard. Stede winced at the way it made the windows rattle. He opened his mouth to speak, but Izzy was faster.

"I've heard plenty," he said, eye twitching. "You don't need my fuckin' permission to leave. To… live our your fucking honeymoon fantasy, for a couple weeks 'till you realize you actually don't want to do this and end up fighting again and probably killing each other in the process."

Stede stared at him. "You think we'd do that?"

"Seen it happen plenty," Izzy shrugged. "Edward told me about Bonny and Read. Can't believe you saw that cautionary tale and decided to take it as a tutorial."

"We're nothing like those two lunatics," Stede said, stepping away from Izzy's personal space. "Regardless, you needn't worry about what happens once we're off the ship. All I want to do is make sure this crew is well taken care of and has a good man in command of it."

He sat back down, on the settee this time, and nodded at the empty spot next to him. Izzy swore under his breath and limped back to the sitting area, slumping onto the couch. Stede picked up his abandoned glass of brandy and sipped it in silence. Izzy glared daggers into his side profile.

"I'm sorry," Stede finally said.

Izzy was caught off guard by the sudden tonal shift and crossed his arms. "Whatever for?" he asked with a sarcastic smile.

Stede's hazel eyes were filled with tears as he looked into Izzy's dark ones. "For everything," he said and swallowed. "For putting you in harm's way with my stupid plot with the Navy. For every bit of pain Ed caused you because I had hurt him. For not checking up on you in these past couple weeks. For…" 

He struggled to get the last part out and averted his gaze, licking his lips. "For Edward never loving you the way you loved him."

Izzy didn't even realize he was crying until Stede turned to face him again and looked at him with a mixture of pity and shock. His first instinct was to duck away from the prying eyes, wipe his face dry and pretend it hadn't even happened, but when Izzy saw a tear roll down Stede's cheek all of those thoughts vanished from his head. He drew a sharp, shaky breath and let out a pathetic huff of laughter.

"Look at us," he sniffed with a hollow grin. "Now you've done it."

Stede placed his glass down on the coffee table and sunk into the backrest of the couch with a weak sob. "I'm such an idiot," he whispered, staring at the ceiling.

"Took you that long to realize?" Izzy asked, but didn't have the energy to put on his usual snarky tone. The corner of Stede's mouth twitched with the faintest of smiles.

"Hold me," the Captain pleaded. "Or just– something. Be close to me."

Izzy saw the desperation in the soft hazel eyes as Stede craned his neck to stare at him. He swallowed and blinked back his own tears before giving a brisk nod and, perhaps against his better judgment, leaned his head on the man's shoulder. Stede exhaled shakily and rested his head on Izzy's.

"You don't want to leave, do ya?" Izzy asked, staring at the abandoned glass of brandy with glossed out eyes. He felt Stede shake his head a bit. "'Course you don't. You love this fuckin' ship."

"I love it so much," Stede said, the weakness of his voice foreign to Izzy. "But it's not a good environment for Ed. Not after… everything he did."

Izzy placed his hand on the taller man's thigh much like back at Spanish Jackie'z. That night felt like a lifetime ago at this point. Had it really only been a couple of weeks? "You love him more than you love the ship," he muttered. It wasn't a question, though it did almost come out as one.

"Honestly? I don't know," Stede admitted. "We've been through a lot lately. A lot of turmoil. And I really, genuinely, want nothing more than to stay by his side, but… It'd be nice if that could be on The Revenge."

"But you'd be willing to give that part up if it meant you were near him?"

Stede swallowed. "I think so, yes."

"Fuck me," Izzy whispered with a low chuckle. "I can't even blame you since I've been compromisin' my own happiness for his for… what, decades?"

"He's just been so excited about this ever since we first started talking about it. It felt like back in the day when we'd eat breakfast in the crow's nest or when he'd try on my fancy garbs. I can't even think of ruining that."

Izzy drew circles on Stede's lower thigh with his finger absent-mindedly. "One thing about Edward is that he gets very excited about things and loses that excitement the second the thing actually happens," he said, speaking from experience. "He's a complicated man."

"You've said," Stede huffed.

"But," Izzy continued, "if you think it's worth it, I'm not gonna try to stop you."

Stede lifted his head so he could look the smaller man in the eyes. "How do you feel about the whole 'becoming captain' thing?" he asked.

Izzy had no answer. It had all hit him like a grenade. "Hadn't really processed that yet, to be honest."

"It's a lot to ask," Stede nodded. "We're not forcing it upon you. It's a big decision, obviously. Take all the time you need to choose."

"It's not that I don't think I can do it," Izzy sighed and wiped his face with his sleeve. He had cried enough for the day. "I've basically been doin' every fucking thing a Captain does while Edward acted as the poster boy."

"Right. So what's holding you back?"

Izzy furrowed his brows, though not in anger. "Why do you want to do this?" he slowly asked. He genuinely could not wrap his head around the circumstances. "Like, I would've gotten it if Ed was the Captain. That makes sense. But you? Handing your precious boat to… me?"

A small smile danced on Stede's lips. "I thought we'd gotten past our differences," he said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Sure, if that's what you wanna call it," Izzy rolled his eyes. "I don't want to kill you anymore. That's a pretty low bar."

"I think it's more than that," Stede replied. "You've changed in these past months. You taught me to punch, and swing ropes, and shoot. And you praised me after the cursed raid! That's nuts!"

"Okay, shut the fuck up," Izzy finally retreated his hands and put some distance between himself and the now-beaming Stede. "Just– fuck off."

Stede's smile turned more mischievous. "You like me, Izzy."

Izzy hoped the dim light of the room was enough to mask the reddening of his face. "You're egotripping again," he retorted. "I don't like you. I tolerate you, at best."

"Well, on your standards that falls into the 'strong affection' category, I'm pretty sure," Stede said, non-chalantly examining his nails.

"You didn't answer my question, twat."

"What was it again?" Stede asked.

"Why do you want me to be Captain?" Izzy repeated the inquiry.

"You're the first mate. It's only natural, no?"

"Sure, on a normal pirate ship. This is far from it. You're not exactly known for following protocol," Izzy scoffed. "There are some pretty good candidates among the crew. Jimenez, Fang, Frenchie? Or, y'know, the fucking Pirate Queen?"

Stede's gaze softened. "I don't want them. I want you."

Ignoring the potential innuendo behind the statement, Izzy groaned. "But why?"

"If I'm gonna be galavanting on some beach in the middle of nowhere, I want to know that my ship is in good hands. And, more importantly, I want to know that the crew have a Captain they can rally behind without it feeling like a chore."

"And I am the person you landed on for that?"

"Yes."

"Not sure if anyone ever told you this, but when you and Edward were in… jail? Whatever, off the ship, I was the Captain. Acting captain. Fuck– In charge," Izzy stumbled through his words. "And that very nearly ended with the crew tossing me overboard tied to an anchor. So probably not the best choice."

"True," Stede tilted his head, "but that was you from months ago. Do you really think the crew's perception of you has stayed the same, after everything you've done?"

"What have I done?" Izzy asked, feeling stupid.

"You protected them from the Kraken," Stede said with a melancholy smile. "You kept them safe, and alive, and relatively sane through all that awfulness. You apologized for your old ways and you improved yourself. That is not an easy thing to do."

Izzy kept quiet, not sure what would come out if he spoke, but nodded vaguely.

It was Stede's turn to initiate physical contact, carefully placing his hand over Izzy's own. "They love you. And I think you love them, too," he said, voice nothing but a whisper.

Izzy's brow twitched, jaw clenched, and wow, he was crying again. "That's not–" His breath hitched and he turned away from Stede. 

The Captain wasn't having it and grabbed Izzy's chin, forcing them to hold eye contact. Izzy wanted to fight it, wanted to slap his hand away and get up and fuck off, but his body wasn't doing any of those things. Instead, he just let the tears fall into Stede's fingers.

"Don't tell me that it's not true," Stede ordered. "Because it is. I see the way they look at you, hear the way they talk about you when you're not around. They all admire you, care for you. Love you."

Izzy sobbed and pinched his eyes shut to avoid Stede's intense stare. He felt Stede's grip of his hand loosen and the man lifted it up to Izzy's face, cupping it ever so gently. Stede wiped away the tears again and again, muttering something unintelligble in-between Izzy's cries. 

"Will you allow me to hug you?" he asked quietly. Izzy gave no vocal response but leaned against the soft touch of his hands, and that was all the confirmation Stede needed. He wrapped his arms around the smaller man's shaky frame, one hand on his mid-back and the other stroking his hair. 

Izzy pressed his face into Stede's chest and melted into the gentle embrace. His body ached, and not just because of his physical ailments, but out of the pure emotional release he was finally allowing himself after weeks, nay, months of holding it in. Sure, he'd let Frenchie see a bit of this side of him, and he'd had the few breakdowns in front of the crew, but this felt different. For the first time in years he felt like he was truly safe with someone, like all of the outside world stopped existing, if even just for mere minutes.

"It's okay," Stede whispered, rubbing circles into Izzy's back. "I got you, Izz."

They stayed there for a good while, until Izzy physically could not cry any more tears. Even when he'd quieted down he still remained against Stede's shoulder. He was exhausted. Stede was warm, and soft, and safe. He never wanted to move again, and certainly didn't want the man to see his red, puffy face.

"Are you alright?" Stede asked, chest vibrating comfortably as he spoke.

Izzy shrugged in his arms. "Never better," he croaked, voice so weak and raspy that he barely recognized it as his own. He was grateful that Stede didn't seem to be in a rush to get out of the situation and instead allowed him to take the necessary time to collect himself.

"Would you like some time alone?"

Izzy wasn't sure he should be trusted with himself at the minute. He shook his head no. "I– Could you…" He groaned at the discomfort of having to mumble against Stede's shirt and finally pulled himself free from the other man's grasp. He hid his face in his hands and ran his fingers through his messy hair. "Can you get Frenchie?"

Stede's worry turned into a small smile. "Of course," he said and pat him on the shoulder, standing up. "D'you want a glass of water, too?"

"Yeah."

"And maybe a little snack?"

Izzy looked up at him and tried to forget the fact that he looked utterly disgusting. "Depends on the snack," he sniffed.

Stede laughed. "Roach just baked some absolutely delicious carrot bread."

"Sure. Bread's fine," Izzy muttered.

"Great!" Stede said, perhaps with a bit too much enthusiasm, and began to leave. He was halfway out the door when Izzy's voice interrupted him.

"Don't tell Edward about this."

He looked over his shoulder, slightly puzzled, but nodded a promise before stepping outside and closing the door.

Chapter Text

Izzy felt a whole lot better now that he was bundled into a soft blanket in one of the armchairs, warm carrot bread in his mouth and a cup of honey-doused tea in his hands. His peg leg was propped on the coffee table and Frenchie sat in front of him on the floor, hugging his knees. Izzy had chosen not to question the odd decision to not sit on any of the furniture the Captain's quarters offered, and frankly he didn't mind it, because Frenchie was so damn cute right where he was.

They'd been alone for the past thirty minutes or so, half of which Izzy had spent crying and the other half explaining everything Stede and Edward had planned. Frenchie had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout all of it, but he could not contain his excitement once Izzy got to the part about him potentially taking over as Captain.

"I don't get how you're not more ecstatic about this whole thing," Frenchie said and tilted his head.

Izzy wanted nothing more than to reach over and pet him on the head, but that felt strange even in his brain so he stayed put. "I don't know," he sighed. "I mean, it's all I wanted for ages. For Blackbeard to trust me enough to put me in charge. But it… doesn't feel like that's what's happening."

"And why's that?"

"It feels like a last resort," Izzy shrugged and drank his tea. "Like they just wanted to run off and only then realized 'oh shit, someone's gotta stay and look after the ship' or whatever."

"Well, even if that was the case, which it's not," Frenchie pointedly added, "then so what? They still picked you out of all of us. That's amazing!"

Groaning, Izzy ate more bread to get away with not responding. Frenchie looked unimpressed with the tactic but said nothing, merely wiggling his toes in the warmth of the fireplace. 

Izzy struggled to organize his thoughts. His head was hurting from all of this fuckery. Stede's words still echoed in his head; "They all admire you, care for you. Love you." He took a long look at Frenchie while the younger man wasn't looking. Maybe, in the depths of all his self-hatred and doubt, he could believe that about Frenchie. That he… loved him. But the rest of the crew? That made no fucking sense to Izzy.

"You look really handsome right now." 

Izzy blinked at the words and realized Frenchie had indeed noticed his staring. He flushed crimson and hid his face behind the teacup. "Fuck off," he muttered and took a long sip.

"You do!" Frenchie insisted and crawled closer until he was on his knees in front of the armchair. "Can I kiss you?"

How in the hell was Izzy supposed to say no to that? Still completely red-faced, he nodded. Frenchie smiled and reached up, pressing his lips on the older man's. Izzy almost dropped the teacup in his haste to reciprocate. He placed his hand on Frenchie's cheek and held him close, basking in the seemingly ever-present warmth of the man. 

When they parted, Frenchie laughed against his cheek and nuzzled their noses together. Izzy frowned but was unable to keep himself from chuckling too. "What?" he whispered, breath ghosting on Frenchie's face.

"Nothin'," the younger man said. He grabbed the hand Izzy had been holding his face with and kissed the scarred knuckles with the utmost gentleness. "You're gonna be a really good captain, you know that, yeah?"

Izzy did not. He sighed and pulled away a bit, though a smile made its way to his lips when Frenchie snuggled his head on his lap and stayed close. It reminded Izzy of the night aboard The Red Flag. What a shitshow that whole ordeal had been. The only good to come of it had been Frenchie staying close to him the entire time, refusing to leave his side for more than a few seconds. He remembered the way his heart had almost given out when Frenchie had laid his head on his thigh, when he'd looked up at Izzy with those big, dark eyes of his. Izzy had wanted to swing him into the jail bars for having the gall to look so pretty.

"Why do you think that?" he asked after a while. Frenchie looked up at him, momentarily confused, until he remembered his own previous words.

"Well, let's see," he said and propped himself up on his elbows on Izzy's lap. "You're the oldest person here and have the most experience when it comes to the whole piratin' thing. You're a master swordsman and an amazing shot, not to mention all the other tricks you have up your sleeve. You're smart, well-respected, incredibly brave… And that's not even going into everything you did for us during Blackbeard's, uhh, episode."

They stared at each other for a bit. "Last time I was Captain you lot mutinied on the second day," Izzy said and snorted, choosing to ignore the urge to cry again after such a sweet moment.

"Yeah, because you were an asshole back then," Frenchie said with a smirk. "But you're not that guy anymore. You haven't been, ever since you stood up for us and almost died for it."

"Mmm, which time was that again?" Izzy asked as if he didn't already know the answer. Frenchie laughed and poked the wooden leg next to him. "Okay. Fair."

"You told me that you stepped in because you thought he'd kill you," Frenchie recalled their earlier conversation.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think that was the whole truth."

Izzy cocked a brow at him. "What? Is it so hard to believe I was suicidal?"

"No! Just–," Frenchie bit his lip, "you coulda easily waited until Blackbeard was done with us, maybe killed us, and then called him out on his bullshit in private. But you stopped him from hurting us. And when we were in the storm and he was gonna kill us all, you dragged yourself out there to stop him and save us."

"And?" Izzy huffed. He wasn't getting the point Frenchie was trying to make.

"And that proves that you care about us. We aren't just 'Bonnet's crew'," Frenchie did a terrible impression of the older man and got popped on the forehead for it, "we're your crew."

Izzy sighed and closed his eyes, leaning on the backrest. "Never thought of it like that," he said. It was a lie. 

Of course he'd thought of it like that, spent numerous sleepless nights thinking about the crew and his relationship with them. He couldn't rid himself of the guilt of his past actions no matter how many times he saved the crew's lives or did small things to show his appreciation. The only thing he hadn't done was straight up apologize, because pirates did not do apologies. Well, at least the pirates he'd spent most of his life with. Up until this week, Edward hadn't uttered any syllable of 'I'm sorry' to anyone. Izzy had followed suit, because he always did.

Frenchie's hands enveloped Izzy's and he gently pried the now-empty teacup from the older man's grip. He lifted himself a bit higher and clutched his hands tightly. "Talk to me," he whispered.

Izzy cracked one eye open and frowned. "I don't know what to say," he replied, hoarser than usual.

"Just say what's on your mind," Frenchie suggested with a small smile. Izzy looked at him properly and reveled in the way Frenchie's eyes glowed in the soft firelight. He was so beautiful, from the long lashes to the stray freckles and the unruly coils of his hair.

Izzy blinked a few times and licked his dry lips. "Everything's happened so fast," he muttered. "Have they really… forgiven?"

Frenchie rubbed his knuckles. "I think so, yeah," he said.

"But you're not sure?"

"Maybe you should just ask them yourself?"

"I'd rather toss myself overboard."

Frenchie giggled and kissed the palm of Izzy's hand. "It's not just these past couple of weeks that we've grown fond of you, y'know?"

Izzy furrowed his brows a bit and shook his head.

"Even when you were still being a total dick, we saw through that. We heard you cry sometimes, Jim and Archie and me," Frenchie said, examining Izzy's hands inattentively. Izzy's heart dropped into his stomach at the words and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the younger man's fingers.

"We wanted to help you but figured you'd just get more reserved if we brought it up, so we left it to Fang and Ivan. But then that day at the brig I couldn't walk away anymore. I just wanted to be there and hold you and… A part of me really wanted to kiss you." Frenchie ended the monologue with an embarrassed laugh.

"Good thing you didn't. I probably would've shit myself."

Frenchie chuckled and shook his head. "If anything I thought you were gonna murder me. Even the hand-holding felt crazy intimate."

"Was that the first time you felt that way?" Izzy asked.

"Not sure," Frenchie replied truthfully. "Sometimes, uhh, when we were still under Stede's command, we'd all watch you work and kinda… Fuck, nevermind."

"What?" Izzy leaned forward and forced the younger man to meet his eyes. "What'd you fuckers do?"

Frenchie flushed a soft pink. "It was Lucius that started it," he quickly said, almost as a defense for whatever he was about to reveal next. "So we'd, um. We would– wewouldrateyourass."

Whatever Izzy's brain had managed to cook up in the time it took for Frenchie to get the words out, it certainly hadn't been that. "What?" he screamed, completely breaking the intimate atmosphere around them.

"I'm sorry!" Frenchie yelled back and jolted away from him. "God, I should not have told you that, I'm so–" 

His panic-induced blabbering was interrupted by Izzy's loud laughter that immediately turned into a cry of pain. "Fuck!" Izzy exclaimed and clutched his stomach. "I forgot that laughing hurts…"

"You're not mad?" Frenchie asked and scrambled up from the floor.

Izzy tried his best to not let any more chuckles fall from his lips, more-so out of genuine fear of ripping his wound open than anything else. "No," he said with a disbelieving grin. "Was that actually something you cocksuckers did? You didn't just make that up to make me laugh?"

Frenchie, still blushing furiously, nodded. "There were days where you'd do a lot of physical labor or like… bending over– fuck, I gotta stop talking about this!"

"No no no, I'm all ears," Izzy said and pulled him closer. "I would bend over and then what? You'd bust in your briefs?"

"Stop!" Frenchie pleaded and sat on the armrest of the chair. "I would never. We would just discuss how good you looked each day. Which, saying out loud, isn't any better."

"I promise it is," Izzy snorted and grabbed the younger man's hand again. "Don't fuckin' leave me hanging. What got me a good rating?"

"That one pair of leather pants," Frenchie immediately replied and flushed a deeper red after realizing how fast the response had been. "Uhh, the one that had a bit of lacing on the outer thighs. They really, um… Hugged you."

Izzy could not shake the amused grin off his face. "I still have that pair. I'll wear it tomorrow just for you. Well, you and the whole fucking crew, apparently."

"When you're Captain, you're gonna be even more handsome than you already were."

"Is that the last resort you're going with to try and convince me?"

Frenchie smiled deviously and brushed some stray hairs off the older man's face. "I dunno. If it's working, then yes."

"Fuck," Izzy whispered, knowing he'd lost the fight, and pulled him in for another kiss. It was slow and sweet and made Izzy's stomach tingle with more than just the pain of his injury. He hummed quietly when Frenchie's hands raked through his hair and the kiss deepened. The moment was interrupted when the younger man lost his balance and fell off the armrest onto Izzy's lap.

"Sorry," Frenchie said, eyes wide. He scrambled to get up but Izzy pulled him back down.

"Don't go," he muttered and buried his face into Frenchie's hair. "I like the weight."

Still a bit cautious about potentially hurting the already injured man, Frenchie allowed himself to relax on Izzy's lap. He squirmed when Izzy's breath tickled his neck. "So was that a yes, then? On the Captaining thing?" he asked and fiddled with the collar of Izzy's shirt.

"Afraid it might've been, yeah," Izzy responded and sighed, snuggling against Frenchie's shoulder. "Fuck you and your sweet words and soft lips. Fucking twat."

Frenchie giggled and pressed a kiss on the older man's forehead. "My pleasure, Captain," he said.

"Wait," Izzy said after a few seconds and lifted his head. Frenchie looked at him expectedly. "A Captain's gonna need a first mate."

"Oh." 

Izzy couldn't decipher the expression on the man's face and it made him uneasy. "That… was an offer, in case you couldn't tell," he said and squinted in slight confusion.

"Right," Frenchie nodded with an awkward laugh. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm surprised. I was technically first mate for a couple weeks."

"Yeah. And you're also the person I like the most on this vessel," Izzy reminded him. "Don't let that get to your head."

"I don't know if I'll be any good," Frenchie admitted, averting his gaze.

"Well that's perfect," Izzy snorted. "We'll be incompetent losers together."

A shy smile made its way to Frenchie's lips. "I'd like that," he said quietly. "You'll keep training me? Show me the ropes?"

"I will."

"Seal the deal with a kiss?"

Izzy rolled his eyes benevolently and pecked the younger man on the lips. "That's not gonna become a tradition."

It took two more days for The Revenge to come across land. Within those two days, Izzy had concluded his discussions with Stede and Edward and they'd all agreed to keep the plan to themselves until the couple found a place to stay and start their little business venture. The hardest part about that had been keeping Frenchie quiet, but to Izzy's great surprise and relief, the man had managed to keep his mouth shut. 

Still, it wasn't difficult to notice that the crew could tell something was going on. Izzy simply ignored all the questions and went about healing his wound. Frenchie and him had gotten back to their reading and writing lessons, and the younger man was making significant progress in Izzy's eyes. He suspected it had something to do with the feeling of incompetence and pressure Frenchie was experiencing now that he knew he would officially become the first mate any day.

On the dawn of the third day since Izzy had gotten up, Stede and Edward called for a meeting on deck. The crew settled around the main mast, most of them still in the middle of their breakfast. Izzy slipped next to Frenchie who was sitting on the deck railing with a bowl of porridge. The younger man gave him a smile riddled with anxiety. Izzy intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand for encouragement.

"Okay!" Stede said and clapped his hands with a bright smile. Edward stood by his side in clothes that looked suspiciously like they were from Stede's wardrobe. "As you may have heard, we're set to make port in about an hour. I think now's high time we shed some light on our next steps."

"Can you stop blabbering and get to the point, pretty please?" Lucius asked and loudly slurped his coffee. The comment was met with nods and vague words of agreement from the majority of the crew.

As Stede kept fumbling around the subject, Zheng scooted closer to Izzy. "I know, by the way," she whispered and leaned on the railing.

"Guessed as much," Izzy nodded. "I still don't get why you don't want this job."

"Figured it'd be nice to lay low for a bit," the woman shrugged, twirling one of her pigtails around her fingers thoughtfully. "And I don't want a hand-me-down crew. No offense."

Izzy snorted. "None taken," he said. "You'll still stick around, though?"

"For now," Zheng hummed. "'Till we get that fucking prince, at least."

"Hear, hear." He couldn't wait to stab Ricky Barnes full of holes.

They both focused on their current Captain's rambling again. "So, long story short, we – Edward and I – are… moving to the next chapter in our lives," Stede said, wringing his fingers compulsively.

"Oh my God, are you gettin' married?" Black Pete asked. "'Cus we got dibs on that." He gestured at himself and Lucius who nodded smugly and flashed his engagement ring.

"No!" Stede exclaimed. "Well. I mean, yes, eventually, maybe." He glanced at Edward who raised his eyebrows but said nothing. "That– That isn't the point. The point is, we are leaving."

Izzy had expected a much stronger reaction from the crew, but apart from a few raised eyebrows, scoffs and whispers, they seemed completely indifferent to the announcement. Stede looked equally confused as Izzy felt by the lack of response to his big reveal. "Um…" He side-eyed Edward for support. "Perhaps you didn't hear me…"

"Oh no, Cap, we heard you loud 'n clear," Oluwande helpfully clarified. "We just don't really care, is all."

The way Stede's jaw fell open almost made Izzy burst out laughing. He disguised the noise he made as a cough and pretended to scratch his mustache to hide his smile. "What do you mean you don't care?" Stede asked, eyes looking like they were about to fall out of their sockets.

"I mean, it's not the first time you've left," Jim pointed out.

"And definitely not the first time Blackbeard's left," Roach added, others nodding along.

"If anything we were just kinda waiting when it'd happen again," Fang said, sounding more sad than the rest of his crewmates but still quite apathetic compared to his usual self.

"And, in case you forgot, most of us were already gonna go with Zheng until her fleet blew up," Archie reminded everyone. More nodding and agreeing hums ensued.

Flabbergasted was the word Izzy would've used to describe Stede Bonnet at that moment. There were so many emotions mixed into the shock on the man's face. He seemed to be a mixture of confused, offended, guilty, scared and downright sad. Izzy did feel a twinge of pity for him, even if he'd never admit it.

"I see," Stede finally said, voice completely foreign. "I suppose it was silly of me to expect… compassion, after everything we've been through. After everything we put you through." He gestured at himself and Edward. "But seriously, guys? You won't miss me? Even a little bit?" There it was; Izzy had been waiting for the petty desperation to hit.

Lucius did a dramatic once-over of the crew before blowing a raspberry. "Doesn't seem like it," he said with a fake smile.

"Lucius! We– We've had some good times, right?" Stede whined.

"Sure, before your boyfriend tried to murder me and half my friends."

"I thought you'd worked through that!"

Lucius sneered. "Then you don't know me at all," he hissed and slammed his coffee mug down on the deck.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Wee John asked. "You can 'move to the next chapter of your lives' with no trouble. We're not gonna try to keep you here."

"He probably wanted us to convince him not to go," Oluwande pointed out, Archie nodding along. "But seriously, Stede, we're happy to sail under Zheng's command."

"Hey, woah, who said that'd be happenin'?" Edward finally piped up, having been completely silent and increasingly irritated throughout the conversation, and stepped in front of Stede. The crew looked at him like they'd just remembered he even existed.

"Uhh, seems pretty obvious," Black Pete said. "She's the only other Captain here. Actually, not even a Captain. She's a Queen." The others joined in on the praise, gesturing towards the woman in question. Zheng glanced at Izzy, lips nothing but a tight line.

Edward snorted. "So? That doesn't mean anything. This ship's not a fucking monarchy."

"If not her, then who?" Roach asked from the back of the group and eyed the crew, clearly trying to think of anyone who could pass as the new Captain.

Stede grabbed Edward's shoulder in an attempt to soothe the hot-headed man. "We, as co-captains, have decided who we want to pass the mantle onto," he said and looked expectedly at his beloved.

"It's Izzy," Edward said with a lot less excitement than he'd been expected to based on the way Stede's face fell a bit.

Any bits of amusement from Stede's current situation washed off of Izzy when the entire crew's eyes turned to him. Edward gave him a wide-eyed look and nodded his head just enough for Izzy to notice. The shorter man cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened his spine after lounging against the railing for the entire meeting. "Yeah," he said and felt like an idiot.

It was quiet for a few seconds before pretty much every person on deck burst into simultaneous screams. Izzy jolted back against the rail when half the crew scrambled up and barreled towards him. Frenchie instinctively shoved his bowl into Zheng's hands and jumped off his sitting spot to stand by the other man's side. Izzy could not decipher a single word anybody was saying from the midst of the shouting match.

"Okay– Wait, I– Hey–," he tried to get his voice out before giving up on any kindness and belting off the top of his lungs, " Fucking end!"

Silence fell upon The Revenge, only interrupted by the soft splashing of the waves and a couple lone seagulls. Everyone stared at their newly appointed Captain, some of them more excited or startled than the others.

Stede broke the moment with a loud clap. "Okay!" he said and gave his former crew a forced smile. "I'm sure you guys have a lot of things to figure out, so we," he grabbed Edward's arm tightly, "will be in the Captain's quarters until we make land. Cool? Okay, bye."

"Hey, wait!" Izzy yelled after the two men, desperately pushing through the crowd. "Was that the officiation? Am– am I actually Captain now?"

Edward looked over his shoulder and gave a thumbs up. "Sure, mate. Congrats!"

It was Izzy's time to have his jaw on the floor. That was not what they had agreed upon. They'd specifically decided to wait to even have this conversation until the couple was certain their business was confirmed to even be a possibility. And now they were literally walking away from the situation, leaving behind a slack-jawed Captain Hands and the crew who were buzzing like a nest of hornets.

"Shut it!" Izzy yelled when the buzz began to turn back into a full-on bustle. He limped over to the main mast and pointed at the deck like he was ordering around a bunch of dogs. "Sit down and we'll do this one question at a time."

He was surprised by how quickly and without resistance the crew complied. In mere seconds they were all back on their previous spots and there were already a couple hands raised. Izzy ran his palm across his face and breathed in and out a few times before pointing at Jim. "Jimenez."

"Who's the new first mate?" they asked. While Izzy appreciated the brevity of the sentence, he was sort of scared to answer. He thanked all the Gods he knew when Frenchie hopped over to him and tilted his head with a sweet grin.

"That'd be me. Hi," he said and waved as if nobody had ever seen him before.

The crowd erupted into a disorganized choir of congratulations. Black Pete's hand shot up and he spoke before Izzy had even given him the go-ahead. "Is it just me or does this feel like favoritism?" he asked, cocking a brow.

"Well duh, but who cares?" Archie said and laughed.

"In what way is this favoritism?" Izzy asked with a huff. "Frenchie was the first mate for weeks while I was… incapacitated. He has the most experience apart from myself."

"Yeah, and you two are like in love and shit," Roach said, grinning from ear to ear.

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Izzy yelled back, awfully aware of the heat that had flushed on his face at the words.

"Sorry, lads," Frenchie said with a fake frown. "Maybe if you wanted to be first mate, Pete, you should've courted someone other than the scribe."

"Hey!" Lucius scoffed, acting offended but unable to hide the shit-eating grin on his lips.

"Oh, so that's what this is," Izzy gave Frenchie a slanted smile. "This whole time I thought you liked me, but you've just been climbing the career ladder."

Frenchie beamed at him and Izzy wanted nothing more than to grab his stupid face and kiss him for the next hour. He resisted the urge, but put it on his mental to-do-list. "Unbelievable," he rolled his eyes before focusing on the crew again. He was caught off guard by the way they were all looking at him.

"You two are so fucking cute," Archie said with a soft grin. "Makes me just wanna like–," she made a strangling motion with her hands, "grab you both and swing you around."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't," Izzy responded, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Fucking– anyway. Next question?"

Lucius lifted his wooden finger in the air, and Izzy gave him a nod. "Are there gonna be some… how should I put this? 'Aesthetic changes' happening now that Stede's leaving?" the younger man asked, making air quotes as he spoke.

"Aesthetic changes?" Izzy stared at him. "The fuck does that mean?"

"It means, the ship in its current state doesn't exactly look like a pirate ship," Lucius grimaced. "I don't know how many of us have been thinking it but I'll just say it: it's fucking hideous."

"Oh yeah, for sure," Black Pete agreed. "The yellow paint has got to go."

"I hate to admit that I agree," Izzy groaned, taking a look around himself. "We'll be renovating anyway, since the fucker's full of holes. Might as well spruce it up as we go."

"Thank you," Lucius clasped his hands together and bowed. 

"Should we also get a new flag?" Wee John asked and looked up from his current knitting project.

"Wait, why?" Frenchie ogled at him while Izzy craned his neck to look at the flag flapping on the top of the mast. "Nothing wrong with it as it is."

"Babe, you know you're the only person here who thinks cats are scary, yeah?" Oluwande asked with a smirk. 

"It's ripped," Izzy commented, deciding to stay out of the aesthetic side of the discussion.

"I'll sew it up!" Frenchie insisted and tugged the shorter man's arm.

Izzy sighed and looked at the puppy eyes Frenchie was giving him. He really didn't care one way or another, but judging by the muttering amongst the crew it seemed like a big deal to them. Still, he didn't want to upset his brand new first mate, either. "Those in favor of a new flag?" Izzy asked and glanced at the group. Everyone apart from Frenchie raised their hands.

"This is a coordinated attack!" Frenchie yelled, crossing his arms. "You guys are just jealous that I'm your first mate."

"Please, like we'd wanna sleep in the same bed Izzy has been for ages!" Archie shouted back. Jim and Oluwande cackled.

Frenchie was about to reply but Izzy grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back a bit. "Fight amongst yourselves if it's really that fucking important to you," he ordered and pointedly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I don't give a rat's arse what you do with the flag, as long as there's one on the mast. Other questions?"

A couple hands shot up and Izzy was about to give the next speaking turn to Fang before hesitating. "Any other questions not relating to the aesthetics of the ship?" All the other hands immediately went back down. "Yes, Fang."

"Maybe still a bit related to the aesthetics," the man spoke with a small grimace, "but are you going to change the name of the ship?"

Izzy rolled his eyes as aggressively as he could. "Why would I?" he asked.

"Well, I just thought it could be a good way to kick off your reign as Captain."

"And what would you have me change it to?"

Wee John lifted his hand. "Is Izzy's Revenge still on the table?" he asked with a devious smile. Everyone apart from Archie and Zheng, who hadn't been onboard during the ordeal, burst out in giggles.

Izzy's face flushed deep crimson and he almost threw his sword at Wee John's head for reminding him of the whole mess. "That is not a thing!" he yelled over the cacophony of laughs. "I should have you executed for even uttering those words."

"Honestly, it wasn't even that bad a name 'till John said the thing about intestinal conditions," Fang offered, chuckling into his beard. "I thought it had a nice ring to it!"

"Yeah, if we ignore that whole part, it's actually kinda nice," Lucius agreed, though his face was a lot more honest than his words. "'Sides, we are literally going out for your revenge, considering the whole gunshot thing."

"Wouldn't it be more Zheng's Revenge, though?" Jim asked. "Her whole life got blown up."

"If there are no takers, we could go for Pete's Revenge," Black Pete offered with a smug smile.

Izzy was just about ready to start pulling out his own hair when Frenchie grabbed his hand and squeezed. The shorter man looked up at him and let himself get lost in the sweet chocolate eyes just for a moment, calming himself. He sighed and gave Frenchie's hand a squeeze back before stepping forward and silencing the crew who'd started to argue about whose revenge the ship deserved to be named after.

"We are not changing the name of the ship!" Izzy shouted. "At least not now. That is not relevant."

While the group looked disappointed, they allowed their Captain to get back to business. "Are there any other questions that are in no way related to the outward appearance of the terminology used to refer to this vessel?" Izzy constructed his question in such a way he did not think anyone could bend it to their favor.

Roach raised his hand lazily when no one else didn't. Izzy looked at him expectantly. "Did Blackbeard kill Buttons or did he actually turn into a bird?"

"You're still thinking about that?" Izzy groaned, losing every last bit of hope he'd harbored for a productive meeting. "It's been weeks. Let it go!"

"I think it's a pretty valid question," Roach put his hands up in mock surrender, looking for support amongst the crew.

"Yeah, I'm also pretty curious about that, actually," Frenchie said. Izzy glared at him for enabling the chef.

"Fine," Izzy hissed and rolled his eyes. "The answer is: I don't fucking know! How am I supposed to know? I wasn't there."

"Well, you're his first mate–"

"Was his first mate."

"A Captain-first mate-relationship was present," Roach spun the words around, "so I just thought he might've confessed to you."

"He didn't. End of story," Izzy said point-blank. Roach cursed under his breath, the mystery of their former crewmate left unsolved yet again.

"I have a question," Zheng piped up from the sidelines. "What's our next heading?"

Izzy could've hugged the woman. "Thank you," he sighed, relieved that they were actually back on topic. "After dropping off the ex- captains, we need to set a course as far away from the Caribbean as possible."

"Why?" Frenchie asked.

Bless his heart, Izzy thought. "Because the entire British navy is after us."

"Oh. Right."

"Personally, I think heading to the Pirate Queen's turf would be a decent start," Izzy said and glanced at Zheng for any opposition. He felt a bit of confidence surge in his veins when she looked to approve of the idea. 

"We're pretty sandwiched in the crook of the Americas right now. Do you think it's better to circle from the south and the Pacific or go across the Atlantic?" he asked the woman.

"Well, obviously the best route would be straight through Panama, bypassing the whole South Atlantic."

"Not very likely to happen considering the Spaniards."

"True. What do you think, Captain Hands?" Zheng asked with a small smirk. "Would you rather go against the Spanish or the British? Because we'll run into one of them for sure."

"Don't particularly have good blood with either of them," Izzy grimaced.

"We also need to get supplies as soon as possible," said the Queen's Auntie who'd shuffled over during the crew's questions. "Ship's pretty damaged from the crossfire at the Republic. Food's running lower than is preferred."

"Hey, the food situation is more than okay considering the circumstances," Roach shouted from the other side of the deck.

"Yeah, we're pretty used to… being a mess," Lucius commented.

"Once we're done with Bonnet and Blackbeard, come to my Quarters," Izzy said to Zheng. It felt strange to refer to the area as his own but in a sort of exciting way. "We'll discuss our route, come up with a plan and another plan just in case the first plan gets fucked."

"Are we really going all the way to China?" Archie asked.

Izzy bit the inside of his cheek. "We'll see where the wind takes us," he replied, swiftly getting away with not actually having a real answer. "What we need to focus on right now is gathering allies. I take it you had a bunch of people willing to join you on your espionage, Zheng?"

"Yes, but most of those people are dead," Zheng said, wincing a bit at her own words. Izzy was impressed by how calm and collected the woman presented herself as after everything that had gone down. "I've been talking to Spanish Jackie about combining our remaining forces. The Republic's gone, and most pirates there were killed or captured. Those who got away must be looking for a crew to join or at the very least a ship to call home for a time being."

"Where is Jackie, anyway?" Izzy asked. He realized he'd seen neither the woman or The Swede all morning.

"They stole our room," Lucius said with a scowl. "And honestly, judging by the noises that were coming out of it last night, I don't want it back."

Izzy nodded quickly. "Best not bother them, then," he said and shuddered at the mere thought. "Come get me the next time you have a chat," he added, getting a firm nod from Zheng.

The crew fell into relative silence, all seemingly uncertain of where to go from here. Izzy stood in front of them, once again feeling out of place. "Is that the end of the questions?" he asked.

"No, but you weren't ready for the interior decorating conversation," Wee John said.

"You're right, I wasn't and still am not. If that's all, then…" Izzy froze, not actually having anything to order the crew to do. "Then, as you were. Dismissed." 

He also came to the realization that his Quarters were currently overtaken by Stede and Edward, which meant he was essentially stuck on deck until they made port. He turned away, looking for anything he could do to get his mind off things, but his options were quite limited with his current ailments.

"Hey, Izz." Fang's voice made him turn back around and he was surprised to still find the entire crew standing there.

"What?"

"We just wanted to say," Fang stepped in front of the others and placed a strong hand on Izzy's shoulder. "We're all really happy to have you as Captain."

Izzy stared at him, and his breath hitched a bit. He quickly ducked his head away and gave the man a brief nod, doing his best to hide the tears forming in his eyes. Frenchie's hand found its way into Izzy's own again and it did nothing to help the situation. Izzy blinked away the tears and squeezed the younger man's fingers.

"Thank you," he muttered, trying to collect himself.

Fang nodded before pulling him in for a hug. Izzy didn't care about the pain in his abdomen that followed the movement, and buried his face into Fang's strong shoulder. His grip on Frenchie's hand loosened and he clutched Fang's back as the dam broke and he started to cry. "Fuck you," he whispered with a weak laugh as Fang's hands rubbed his back and smoothed the hair on his nape.

"Hey, don't hog him all to yourself," Lucius said, a hand on his hip and a sweet smirk on his lips. "We've all got love to give, babe."

Izzy didn't have time to fight back before getting passed from Fang's embrace to Lucius's. Hugging the younger man was significantly different from hugging Fang, mostly because he was tall and skinny and a lot less intimate with it. "Don't get snot on my shirt," he said as he pulled Izzy's head against his chest. Izzy scoffed and made sure to do exactly what he'd been told not to do.

Once Lucius (and Pete who'd opted to simply pat him on the back) was done with him, and had given him an inconspicuous kiss on the temple, Izzy was tag-teamed by Jim, Archie and Oluwande. He was sure his ribs were going to get bruised as the three of them squished him in their arms from all directions, and especially when – to everybody's shock – Archie lifted him off the ground for a moment. Izzy was grateful that the next person to hug him was Wee John who was a lot more gentle with it. Roach ended the round with a tight squeeze and a kiss right on the Captain's lips.

His stomach throbbing and legs weak, Izzy hid his burning face into Frenchie's awaiting arms. As hard as everyone else had tried, nothing came even close to the happiness Izzy felt when the first mate, his first mate, enveloped him into a sweet embrace and kissed him on the forehead. Frenchie's curls tickled Izzy's cheek and he desperately clung to the touch like a drowning man would to oxygen.

"Welp, they're gonna stay there for the next hour," Fang said and smiled, giving one more pat on Izzy's shoulder before stepping away. "Anyone else still craving some breakfast?"