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When it’s Izzy's time to do the chores, he leaves no stone unturned. Stede is good at simple maintenance chores: keeping the dishes clean and put away, taking out the trash, wiping down surfaces and dusting; But Izzy is the one who does the deep cleaning.
Every two weeks Stede takes the kids out for an activity and leaves Izzy alone in the apartment. While plenty of people would be upset by this, Izzy loves it. He plays his music as loud as he likes and scrubs the apartment clean from top to bottom. Before Izzy moved in, Stede just paid a maid to do everything, but cleaning is one of Izzy's comfort activities and it helps him feel just a bit more in control of his world, so he took the job over as soon as he could.
It’s on one of these deep cleaning days, Stede and the kids out at some art museum he and Izzy had explored the past weekend, that Izzy finds the box.
It's a small thing, blue velvet and silver hardware, hidden in one of Stede's coat pockets at the back of the closet. He was taking them out to see which ones they could donate like they did every month, only for the little box to fall to the floor at his feet.
He picks it up, curious about what could be inside a box in one of Stede's older suit jackets. He opens it, letting out a curious hum...and his heart sinks.
Inside is an engagement ring. Exactly the kind of thing Izzy would want, deep black with a sort of green inlay. He assumes the metal is something ridiculously expensive, but he doesn't want to know.
He also doesn't want to know who the ring is for, since it certainly isn't for him.
Izzy has never brought up the topic of marriage to Stede, too nervous that Stede never wants to get married again after his disastrous arranged marriage to Mary. Even if the two are friends now, Izzy can only imagine that the whole thing completely ruined Stede's view on the institution of marriage. At least, that's what he had thought before he saw the ring. Now he just wonders how he never realized that Stede had a second partner lying around somewhere.
Even if he doesn't want to know, Izzy can't help but wonder. Has he met this other partner? Is he going to have to watch as the love of his life marries someone else? Again. Is it a student, maybe? Stede has loved volunteering at the local community college, and Izzy couldn't blame any of the young college students if they made an attempt to steal Stede away.
Regardless of who the ring is for, Izzy can't look at it anymore. He closes the box and puts it back into the jacket, then retreats to the bed for half an hour to cry.
Once he has allowed himself to vent his feelings just a little, he washes his face and makes his way out of the apartment. He loves Stede, but he can't see him when he gets home with the knowledge he now has. He needs to go somewhere else.
The only places he can think of to go are places where their friends are. Every single part of this town, every person, has become theirs. Everyone knows Stede and Izzy as...well Stede and Izzy. They're a unit. So how could Stede have someone else? How could he do all this under Izzy's nose like...like...
He refuses to think about his other partners. All the lying and the cheating and the...Stede wasn't supposed to be like that. Stede said he'd never be like that.
He feels his chest tightening again, feels tears in his eyes. He scrubs at his face to stop them as he makes his way to Roach's cafe. The walk does good for his red face and for him to calm down and he knows that there will be people there who will comfort him at least. Roach likes him more than Stede (though he'd never say) and Lucius is at least always up for some drama. He can talk to them.
When he arrives, Lucius must clock his expression immediately, as he is dragged out of public sight and into the employee break room. Lucius doesn't work at the cafe and neither does Izzy, so they really shouldn't be allowed in the back, but it's not like Roach cares, and he joins them immediately.
"What did our idiot captain do this time?" The nickname is so stupid, especially in such a serious situation, that Izzy can't help but laugh. It's fucking ridiculous that Stede is "captain" to their friends just because of his love of pirates. He really doesn't deserve to be anyone's leader if he's been sneaking around behind Izzy's back. Which he has. Izzy can't deny the truth and he shouldn't try and shield himself from it, even in his own mind.
Sniffling, he turns to Lucius to answer his question. "He's going to propose to someone else."
"He's going to propose... To someone else." Izzy has never heard Roach's voice so deadpan. Normally he's rather manic, but he looks like he's doing his best to clear all emotion from his face.
Lucius is doing a terrible job at keeping all emotion from his face. His brows shoot up to his hairline and his eyes go wide. His mouth opens and closes a few times and he looks like a fish gasping out of water. He finally snaps his mouth shut and swallows, looking at Roach with wide eyes.
Izzy sniffles and nods, reaching up to wipe his eyes. "I found a ring hidden in one of his coat pockets. But we haven't even talked about getting married I mean- I've only been living with him for a little over a year! He must- he just has to have someone else I mean..." he bites the inside of his cheek. He will *not* cry in front of the others. He won't be that weak. He inhales sharply and straightens his back, trying to put on a stiff upper lip.
Lucius shakes his head "Oh no way! I dont- no! No, no, no, no, I don't believe that" he says. He's fighting tooth and nail to keep his voice even and the shock out of it and Roach finally covers his mouth to shut him up.
"That's impossible, little man." Roach says slowly "Stede is head over heels with you.”
"Then why would he have a ring?!" Izzy is sure he's loud enough for any customers outside to hear him, but he can't help it. He's been burned before, and the prospect of it happening again feels like enough to make him go crazy.
"Maybe it's... A gift? For Louis? He's turning 16 soon, right? Lots of men give their sons rings." Roach doesn't sound sure of his explanation, and Izzy scoffs.
"No way. This wasn't a ring for a teenager. It would have fit on *my* finger." Something about that comment makes Lucius snort, and Izzy turns to him.
Lucius holds his hands up, as if he thinks he's about to be attacked. "Don't look at me! Maybe he's holding the ring for Mary so that Doug won't find it! Their ten year anniversary is coming up, it wouldn't surprise me if she wanted to upgrade his ring."
"The ring wasn't Doug's style at all. He likes gold metals, this was a black and green ring." Izzy could cry all over again, thinking about the ring itself. It’s such a lovely piece.
Lucius eye twitches and Roach squeezes his shoulder. "There has to be a good explanation for this Izzy, I highly doubt that he has some secret partner he's planning to propose to." Roach speaks slowly as if talking to a dog about to bolt.
"Yeah! Maybe he bought the ring for himself and doesn't want you to know how much it costs?" Lucius suggests, a suggestion they both know is just as ridiculous as it being Doug's.
"Lucius, go make Izzy a drink. Izzy...do you want me to call Jim?" Roach asks once he realizes they're getting nowhere. Hopefully Jim can talk him down, or help them get to the bottom of everything.
Lucius starts up "I don't work-" but he's cut off by a dangerous glare from Roach. He nods and stands to go make a drink he knows Izzy likes.
Lucius seems like the most likely party to know what is going on, but him remaining silent and only mentioning implausible solutions isn't helping Izzy's state of mind. Surely if the ring was nothing innocuous, Lucius would just say so.
It doesn't take long for Jim to arrive, sprinting through the employees only door like a bat out of hell. Their expression is thunderous, and Izzy knows that if he asked, they would go and kill Stede right away.
The last thing in the world Izzy wants is Stede dead, though. Even with this betrayal, Izzy still loves Stede more than life itself. Stede's kids are Izzy's kids. They're a family. He doesn't understand how this could happen.
"What the fuck happened?!" Izzy is pretty sure this is the loudest he's ever heard Jim. They slam the door behind them right as Lucius is about to walk through and he yowls a 'hey!!'
They don't open it as they sit down next to Izzy. Out of everyone Izzy is closest to Jim, they've attached themself to him just like Alma has.
"Izzy found a ring in one of Stede's coats." Roach says the words through clenched teeth. Jim's gaze snaps over to him and they stare at each other as Lucius enters the room and passes Izzy's drink to him.
"Oh," Jim says slowly.
"Izzy, what do you think the ring is for?" Jim's eyes are as blank as Roach's earlier, as if they are doing their best to suppress all emotion.
"It has to be for someone else! I don't know how the man could have a fucking secret partner hidden in the walls somewhere, but that's the only logical explanation." Izzy doesn't know how Jim didn't jump to that conclusion immediately. Perhaps they have another suggestion that will make sense. Izzy hopes so.
"Right. I need to make a call." Jim storms out, punching their finger angrily into their phone as they go.
"Thank god. " Lucius slumps back into his seat, heaving a heavy sigh. Izzy appreciates that everyone is so tense because they're upset for him. Even if he felt relatively certain that this contingent of their friends likes him more, it's good to have that validation in the form of all of them supporting him.
"Just sip your drink and take a deep breath lil man" Roach pats Izzy's shoulder. Roach is the only one who can get away with calling Izzy little like he isn't one of the older people in their friend group. He sighs and sips his drink, shaking his head quietly.
Jim has to step out to the back of the store as they call Stede so that Izzy and the customers won't hear them.
Stede, of course, wasn't expecting a phone call at the art museum. His phone is on silent, tucked safely in his pocket as he and the kids listen to one of the tour guides talk about a piece of art.
Jim hisses as the phone goes to voice-mail. This was going to become a whole thing, hell it already was a whole thing. "Stede Bonnet." They start after the beep "you need to come home, or call Izzy or do something NOW. He found the ring amigo and he is having a fit about it! Thinks you've got a whole other partner you’re about to propose to! Call me! Or Olu or Lucius or Izzy! Call someone! You might be proposing tonight because of all of this!" They'd spit on his shoes if he was here. They didn't like seeing any of their friends upset, but Izzy especially. Especially not when it was because of Stede. Not that Stede truly upsets Izzy very frequently. But Jim is tempted to rip Stede's balls off every time it happens. If Stede were at the cafe, Jim would certainly have words to say, but the time being, their voicemail will have to do.
Inside, Izzy is still panicking, though the drink is doing a good job at calming him down. Rather than the usual extra shot of caffeine that Roach puts in the drink, Lucius had added some ingredients he knew wouldn't bother Izzy's stomach that would help to mellow him out a bit. Nothing drug related, just natural remedies like lavender that Izzy clocked as soon as he drank his first sip.
He lets the manipulation slide, though, appreciating what Lucius is trying to do.
Jim returns, pressing their hair back as they slip back to sit bedside Izzy. They give Roach and Lucius a subtle head shake to let them know they couldn't get ahold of Stede. Lucius presses his fingers into his temple before taking out his phone to call Fang and send him over to the museum to get ahold of him in person . This is quickly becoming an all hands on deck situation.
"So what's the plan?" Jim asks as they clap their hands together and prop their elbows on their knees. "Want me to kick his ass? I can do that. Want me to call Frenchie and have him like...ask the cards who it is...?" They squint, they have absolutely no idea what else to do besides threaten Stede's life. Roach makes a face at them and they just manage not to throw their hands up in exasperation.
Izzy eyes them "no...no I don't think I'm upset enough to turn to tarot for this. Yet.”
Lucius laughs, amused by Izzy's antics and relieved that his boyfriend has confirmed that he is on the case of the missing Stede. "Yet, you say. This truly is desperate then, if you're actually considering letting Frenchie do a read for you. He might actually piss himself in excitement, you know."
"If that is supposed to encourage me to let him read for me, you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do." Izzy snorts. Even if he feels like shit, Lucius can always be counted on to keep things light. Lucius's giggles are infectious, and Roach and Jim join in.
Roach smirks, eyes twinkling. "What, little man, you saying that isn't your kink? I never would have guessed. Seems right up your alley."
Jim, on the other hand, mimes fanning themselves. "No way, can you imagine the fucking mess? Izzy would die if someone asked him to do that. He needs shit way too clean."
"Hey now, no kink shaming here! You can like a clean space and also have a piss kink. Golden showers can actually happen in the shower too, you know." As always, sex guru Lucius needs to step in to make sure the crew remains mindful.
That only seems to make the others laugh harder. It's relieving to see Izzy laughing after he came to the Cafe in tears, which was shocking enough to give nearly all of them a heart attack as Izzy doesn't cry.
Izzy wipes the laughter tears from his eyes as he fights to regain his breath from his giggling fit.
Lucius leans over and pats his knee with a chuckle. "I highly doubt we'll need Frenchie though, I'm sure this is all a big misunderstanding." Lucius reassures Izzy who nods.
"I hope so" Izzy sighs as he sips his drink.
Across the city, Fang reaches the art museum. He rushes through parking his bike and getting a ticket, apologizing for jumping the line but telling the little old lady that he was doing it for love which he realizes was so cringe immediately upon saying it.
He rushes into the museum, gaze darting around as he tries to spot Stede. He thanks God as he spots his signature golden curls and that silly teal jacket he always wears, he starts over to him as quickly and politely as he can. He doesn't want to accidentally knock anyone over after all.
Stede is startled by the hand on his shoulder, but he is pleased to see that it's Fang who has found him. "Fang! Good to see you. Kids, you remember Fang, don't you."
"Of course we do, dad, we're not babies." Alma, newly eighteen, has mostly grown out of sassing her father, but occasionally, when he is being particularly stupid, she can't resist.
Stede pouts, embarrassed. "Well, you haven't met him as much as some of my other friends! I just wanted to check."
"Okay dad. We're going to go over to the dinosaur exhibit." Louis nods his head in a different direction, and he and Alma wander off. Stede hates missing out on time with his children, so he goes to follow them, but Fang's hand on his shoulder stops him.
"Fang, what-"
"You're going to want to listen to your voicemail, man." Fang looks serious. Stede doesn't like it. Normally Fang is all sunshine and puppies and rainbows. He yanks his phone from his pocket, seeing a missed call from Jim, and opens the voicemail. He can only hope Izzy isn't injured—surely if that were the case, Fang would just say so rather than giving him the runaround.
"What's going on? Is everything okay? I-" Stede presses the phone to his ear and stops speaking as he hears Jim's voice. He listens to the message and his face drops as hears it. "Oh fuck-"
"Yeah" Fang says as Stede looks at his phone. Fang can see the gears turning in his head as he stares at it.
"Oh fuck!" Stede looks at Fang quickly. "What- fuck what do I do?!" He rushes to pull up Lucius' contact "shit- shit- Fang can you watch the kids for me? Okay thank you!" He doesn't give Fang a chance to respond as he rushes past him. He calls Lucius as he sprints towards the exit.
Fang stands where he's left. Having no clue what to do or how he'll leave with both kids on his bike. He'll figure it out...probably
It's not like the kids really need him to watch them, anyway. At fifteen and eighteen, they're almost adults. Heck, one of them is an adult. Alma might have driven them both here. Fang can only hope as he goes to find them in the dinosaur exhibit.
Stede, much less relaxed than Fang, speeds home. Lucius won't pick up the phone, insisting that Izzy "needs him," over text, which is ridiculous, because nothing is actually wrong with Izzy. It's all just a big misunderstanding, and Stede needs to fix it as soon as possible.
He really isn't prepared to have to propose tonight, but he supposes that it isn't like he has a lot of choice. At least based on what Lucius has been texting him, it sounds like Izzy likes the ring, even if he thinks it is for someone else. He pulls it out of its hiding place in his old coat pocket and sighs. He should have given the ring to Jim for safekeeping.
Too late to think about what he should have done. Now he has to make a plan to make this a bit special at least.
Thank God for money and connections, he's able to get them a table at Jackies with a phone call and sends Lucius a text to get Izzy there. It's their favorite place, that should help make all this just a funny memory.
Then he worries that Izzy is going to think this is all just a big set up to a breakup or him coming clean. He whines and tugs at his curls as he rolls the ring box in his hand. He really should have given the ring to Jim!!
Plans are already made, no second guessing. He rushes back out to his car, ring in hand.
He'll just propose as soon as Izzy arrives! Surely that will be enough to ensure that Izzy doesn't panic... But it wouldn't be very romantic. Stede could scream. He doesn't know what to do.
Driving to Jackie's, he has to stop himself from crying in frustration. If Izzy felt half as bad as Stede does this morning, when he thought Stede was proposing to someone else, Stede can never apologize enough. He feels like dying when he pulls into the restaurant, but he manages to make it inside and to the table that Jackie has set aside for him in a private room. Stede at least has the good sense to know that Izzy won't want a public proposal, even after the drama of the day.
Patting his coat pocket, Stede checks that the ring is safe and secure one final time as he hears the door open behind him.
Stede straightens and swallows down his anxiety. He stands and turns to face Izzy as he walks into the room.
Lucius had forced Izzy to change into something more worthy of Jackies before coming thankfully. The white button down and black slacks are simple, and a bit too big since they actually belong to Roach, but they look nice on him.
Izzy's eyes widen as he sees the state that Stede is in, hair mussed and face red from trying not to cry. "Stede-" he starts, all anxiety and sadness rushing from his body and being replaced with the need to comfort his partner.
Stede shakes his head "no- no Israel I need to speak first" he says quickly. He can see Lucius and Jim lingering outside, but Izzy shuts the door so they can't watch. He straightens, holding his head up high as if he's preparing himself for the worst.
There's no way Stede could make this romantic, not after the blunder of Izzy finding the ring in the first place. "I love you." Stede starts, "I love you so much Izzy it feels as if my heart may burst every day. I am so sorry that I've hurt you by- by not hiding this well enough I-"
"Stede if there's someone else-" izzy goes to cut him off but Stede barks back
"There's no one else! Never was! Never will be! Izzy the ring is for you!" He reaches into his coat pocket to yank the box out.
Izzy stares at it, shocked. "It's... For me? But you never asked if I wanted to get married."
Stede feels like an idiot. "But you've mentioned to the crew that you'd like to be married, and I talked to them about it because I wanted it to be a surprise for you. I thought if I even mentioned marriage, you would know what I was thinking immediately! And I know people nowadays mostly talk about it before getting engaged but with Mary and I being in an arranged marriage I wanted to do my marriage to you my way, starting with a surprise proposal. If I had known it would surprise you in this way, I never would have done it."
Ever so slowly, Izzy finishes approaching, accepting the ring box that Stede is still holding out. "You really bought it for me, then? There isn't anyone else? It isn't like what happened with Ed?”
Stede shakes his head hard. He remembers the story Izzy had told him about Ed and now that he thinks about it...this is so fucking similar. The hidden ring, the secrecy...the only difference is that Ed actually brought home someone else and kicked Izzy out. It puts a bad taste in his mouth.
He reaches up to hold Izzy's cheeks. "No," he says firmly, "never, never anyone else." That's all he can say. The tears brimming in Izzy's eyes match his own, and then they're both crying.
"I'm so sorry Izzy, I completely forgot- I shouldn't have hidden it at the house- fuck I should have just asked you right when I bought it."
"No! No, I'm sorry I ruined the surprise by freaking out-" They're surely about to melt away into a cycle of tears and apologizing when their normal waiter, a man named Swede, walks in with their wine. He freezes In the doorway and stares at the two of them before he is promptly grabbed and dragged out by Jim.
Lucius leans into the room, "are we okay? Yeah? Yeah you're both fine." He answers his own question and closes the door as he leaves.
Stede pulls Izzy in for a hug. This is ridiculous. They both want to be married. They're both happy about everything happening. They just got too in their own heads about everything.
"We are okay, right?" Stede mumbles into Izzy's hair, hoping his words are coherent.
Izzy chuckles wetly. "Yeah, we're okay. I love you, fucking idiot."
"And I love you... Which is why I want to do this." Stede pulls back, kissing Izzy's brow before dropping to one knee with a flinch. He might have dropped a little too fast, but it's worth it for the look of surprise on Izzy's face. "Israel Basilica Hands. I know that this has not been the most conventional proposal in the world, but I hope that you know how much I care about you that I wanted to pull it off in the first place. You are the love of my life and you made me believe in marriage for the first time when I thought I would never even date properly for years after my divorce. I couldn't ask for any more from a partner—you are endlessly supportive, and though we bicker on a regular basis, I know it's always in good fun. We always have fun with one another, no matter what we're doing, and I want to have that fun with you every day from now on. Will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?”
Izzy's crying again, but he's smiling as well. He squeezes the one hand that Stede's holding, the other hand holds the ring box. "Yes, yes Stede I will" he laughs shakily.
Stede absolutely beams, standing to kiss Izzy properly this time. He ignores the twinging in his knee as he does so. Then, he takes the ring from its case and slips it onto Izzy's fingers. It fits perfectly and looks even better.
Izzy leans into Stede's chest, smiling weakly as he looks at it. "God, and everyone knew? They watched me cry and bawl over nothing! They all knew!" He laughs and shakes his head, "fucking Twats...could've saved us a whole load of trouble.’
"They didn't want to ruin the surprise, darling..." Stede raises his voice "and you all might as well come in now!"
Suddenly, all of their friends are piling into the room, and Izzy realizes that the table isn't set for two, but for more like twelve, and his shoulders shake as he laughs into Stede's chest. He can't believe that he was so stressed he didn't see that Stede had a whole party planned here to celebrate their engagement, even if he had to make the plans at the last minute.
It's incredibly sweet, and Izzy has to kiss Stede for it.
Stede laughs and let's it be broken by Izzy's kiss. He holds the sides of his face and kisses him back.
Their friends have a wide array of reactions, as they always do, to the kiss. Jim fake gags, Lucius lets out a short 'aweee' and the kids (who arrived with Fang) cheer and clap. The Swede, released from Jim's hold, claps politely.
Izzy pulls back and nuzzles their noses together before he goes to greet everyone. He thanks Roach for letting him borrow clothes that weren't his cleaning clothes.
They all rib Stede for hiding the ring poorly, but no one mocks Izzy for his overreaction to finding it. Everyone understands his hangups, and they don't want to truly make fun of either of the happy couple.
As they sit down and enjoy their dinner together, everyone is struck by how happy Stede and Izzy look together. It would have been criminal if a simple miscommunication had ruined their love story, and none of their friends would ever allow that to happen. They all have Stede and Izzy's backs through thick and thin, and they're honored to be able to celebrate with them. Even Alma and Louis are excited to officially invite a new dad into their family, the announcement of which makes Izzy tug them both into a tight hug.
The entire crowd is just happy to see them happy. Despite Stede's innate ability to make some sort of mess out of any scenario, he hasn't been able to make a mess of his love with Izzy just yet, and he knows that the two of them will be happy for the rest of their lives.