Unconventional Couple
Saying: If it fits, it ships.
The Challenge: Respond to everyone who tags you, no matter how unexpected, crazy, or mismatched the characters are. Play a ship.
RULES
- Comment with your character and preferences. If you want, you can include a one-sentence or so blurb about your character. But blank comments are fine.
- Tag to others.
- RNG for prompts. Prompts cannibalized from random memes.
Sweet
1. Can't deny it - you've tried to run from your feelings for so long and you can't do it anymore. It's time that you show the object of your affection exactly how you feel. Hopefully, you don't lose everything in the process!
2. First time - it's your first time making love together. Is it awkward? Do you go all out or is it spur of the moment?
3. Accidental - you didn't actually mean to confess or kiss. They overheard you or it was an accidental kiss. Maybe you were just really drunk and let it slip!
4. Close as can be - you just want to make love and you've found a spot where it's just you and your partner, however you want it to be.
5. Happily ever after - somehow, you've made it work and you're both happy together, even if it meant you had to run away together.
6. Appreciation - show appreciation for your lover! With words, a look, or whatever your choice way to display affection is!
7. Cuddling - nothing wrong with a day of cuddling...
8. Vacation - you're on a vacation! Wherever you want to be. Road trip, amusement park, Grand Canyon, etc.
9. Family - you're visiting family! Maybe they find out about your relationship, maybe they already know, or however you want to play it out! Maybe you've got news you're starting a family by getting pregnant, adopting, or even getting a new pet.
10. Acceptance - someone who disapproved of your relationship before suddenly approves. How's that feel to you and your lover?
11. Surprise - you've planned a surprise! What is it?
12. Date - first date, second date, hundredth date, etc. What are you doing for it?
13. Reunited → it's been awhile since you've seen each other and nothing can ruin this moment.
14. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
Angst
1. Conflict - you've just had a fight with your lover over your relationship or how you handle it. Can you find it in yourselves to forgive each other?
2. Cheated - your lover has cheated on you and you need to confront them about their reasons why and if you can work it out.
3. Found out - you've been found out by someone close to you and they're less than thrilled with your relationship.
4. Disgust - though they play along with it, they're secretly disgusted by the relationship they have with you and it finally comes out into the light.
5. Guilt - one of you is feeling guilty over your relationship, knowing it can never be truly normal or more than a secret.
6. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
Comfort
1. Soothing touch - what better way to sooth your lover than to make love to them and show them that no matter what other people say, you're not going anywhere.
2. Fight for you - whoever has found out about your relationship is trying to hurt your lover and you're not going to let them.
3. Won't let you go - you need your lover to realize that you won't let them go, no matter what.
4. Back together - you broke up for a bit, but whatever it is between you two, you can't stay apart.
5. Injured - your lover was injured because of your relationship and it's time to patch them up.
6. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
Twisted
1. Forced - you know your partner isn't interested in you like this, but you keep them going along with the relationship no matter what. Coercion, blackmail, whatever it takes.
2. Won't take no - their lips might say no, but you're not listening.
3. Control - you've given them some kind of potion to get your love interest to love you in return and they have to do whatever you say.
4. Recorded - you're not really interested in this forbidden love affair, but you must do it or you'll face some tough consequences.
5. Insult - you're cornered by those who disapprove of your relationship, hearing how filthy you are.
6. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
Sexy
1. Rough - you want it rough and hard tonight. Bites, scratches, bruises, etc.
2. Toys - you want to try some props tonight... toys or fuzzy handcuffs.
3. Bondage - more extreme. You're tied up, used, forced to orgasm, whatever.
4. Make up - make up sex is the best sex.
5. Public - you're feeling a little wild so why not a blowjob under the tablecloth in a restaurant or sex in the car?
6. Interrupted - oh yes, oh yes, oh--who the hell is that watching us?!
7. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
Ending
1. Left alone - you woke up to your lover trying to slip away in the night because of the strain of the relationship. Do you let them go or try and fight for it?
2. Torn apart - others are keeping you apart after they found out about your relationship, giving you only minimal contact. What do you do?
3. Ending fight - the argument has turned dirty and ends with one of you storming out.
4. Parting ways - both of you have decided to part ways. It's just so much easier.
5. Always love you - though you'll always love each other, maybe it's time the relationship goes back to being strictly platonic. It would be easier... or maybe that's just how one of you feels.
6. Other - is there another scene you'd like to play out? Want to combine something? Do it here!
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lilpoundcake) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bakerstreet2023-10-19 07:38 am
Ego Jinpachi | Blue Lock
Kyoutani Kentarou | Haikyuu!!
Tendou Satori ( Haikyuu!! ) m/m
Hajime Shino | Enstars | OTA
nilou ( genshin impact )
Blackbeard | Our Flag Means Death | M/M
👀
🦈🙌🦄
🐱️🩹🦩 in this thread tho
[ It's an adjustment, doing fucking anything on only one leg. As soon as Izzy thinks he's got a handle of walking on the fucking thing, the ship will pitch slightly and he'll be ass over teakettle again. He's got more bruises all over the place than he's had in his fucking life, which is quite the accomplishment given his life prior. And though Izzy is more willing than before to ask for help from the crew when it's needed, his pride keeps those moments to a minimum.
...Which is how he's ended up in the Revenge's kitchen long after supper's done, with his stupid fucking wooden leg caught in a metal grate of the flooring, not enough leverage without a second leg to pull it off, and too fucking sentimental to try hacking the thing off, or un-belting it and risk losing it entirely to the drainage slop below.
Pride and sentimentality don't stop him from cursing angrily as he tries twisting and tugging at increasingly awkward angles, though. ]
YOU STUBBORN FUCKING DRIFTWOOD PIECE OF— FUCK—
💖
He's gathered up the stray dishes and is carrying them back to do the washing as part of his probation. A helpful chore, one that he's confident he can't screw up, at least that is until he hears the telltale curses of his (former?) first mate. Maybe it isn't a good time, but Edward takes a deep breath and moves along, always swimming forward as he's expected to.
The tinkling of the bell around his neck gives him away before a quiet footstep, Edward's eyes glued to the tray in his hands as he walks it to the washbasin and sets it inside. Through his peripherals he can see that Izzy is stuck, but he hesitates to offer assistance. ]
Driftwood... Hn. [ He murmurs, emptying the tray into the basin one item at a time. ]
Feels like that sometimes, doesn't it? Floating about... far off from where you've started. Directionless.
[ The bell jingles slightly as he turns to face Izzy. Edward sucks at the inside of his cheek, working up the courage to make some sort of amends. He keeps muttering along as he creeps closer, anything to fill the silence.]
You know that driftwood is critical to a stable environment? Keeps all the bits on the beach in place. Offers shelter to animals. Nutures everything living around it...
[ He crouches once close, eyeing where the wood is stuck inside of the grate. ]
Technically, you're not supposed to remove it.
♥ ♠
He's back to this, then. Directionless, like he said. Doesn't take a genius to see that much. Strange that being welcomed back to the ship— to Stede, really— hasn't smoothed that out, but there are more important things to worry about at the moment: namely his stuck fucking peg leg. Once Ed's close enough to strike, or hold a conversation with, Izzy looks up at him, tired around the eyes. ]
Oh, the poor fucking crabs and seaweeds that lose their rotten fucking stick.
[ The problem for Izzy isn't that it's difficult to feel sympathy for the man who nearly killed him and their entire crew; it's that it's impossible not to. He should be angry as the rest of them, and he is... It's just anger directed the wrong way, inward instead of out. Frustrated with his own lingering habits, Izzy turns back to the caught hoof and tries tugging at it again just so he doesn't feel completely fucking useless as well as trapped. ]
They'll adapt. Or else they'll be eaten by the birds.
[ The effort doesn't last long, though, before Izzy's sighing. He shifts his weight onto his good leg, leans an elbow towards Ed for support and attempts to stand. ]
Go on already and help me up, yeah?
no subject
[ Ed asks in a deadpan tone, no real venom behind it. He wants to help Izzy- wants any form of redemption, but he doesn't know if he'll be allowed to touch.
They'll adapt. There's a metaphor there somewhere, Edward's sure of it... but he sounds insane enough as he is. Maybe he should be more grateful that Izzy is still here at all. Still alive at all. ]
Nah, see- the birds need the driftwood too. Without it they'll all fucking go extinct.
[ Permission granted, he leans forward to give Izzy a shoulder to grab onto while he attempts to dislodge the hoof from the grate. It's stuck good, and the angle will need to be just right to extract it. ]
Yeah, count of three... one, two--
no subject
[ The obvious, literal answer is the one Izzy offers, not because it's the only answer, or even the most accurate in the little story they've concocted, but to help Edward focus on the actual fucking problem before digging into all the rest.
Izzy's grateful when Ed does offer a shoulder to help. After so long doing the opposite, and so much blood spilled, it takes real effort to help each other now, even for something as small as a stuck prosthetic. He grasps onto the shoulder Ed offers readily and leans half his weight on the stability Ed provides, while the rest of him stands spring-tight, ready to add what strength he can at this fucked angle to pop that beautiful, stupid excuse for a wooden foot out of where it's wedged. ]
Three—
[ He finishes the count as Ed does, like any good sailor would, and heaves. Whatever manipulating Ed's done of the hoof pays off, and though there's a sick scraping sound that'll mean a loss of gold paint along the way, the leg pops cleanly free otherwise. Which is fabulous, though it leaves Izzy reeling a bit at the sudden shift, and he's left having to hang even more heavily on Ed's shoulders until he's balanced, and breathing like a winded horse for the effort it takes not to be bowled over completely.
The stomp of his wooden foot stepping down on the floorboards feels overly-loud, but satisfying. It's becoming familiar now. And though he's still grabbing onto Ed's shoulder (in his stupid potato-sack shirt) for support, the problem's solved. Rather than thank Ed for his help, though, Izzy goes back to the driftwood story, because it's easier to find the words. ]
Don't have much faith in a community to survive a storm, do you? The beaches would all be empty with thinking like that.
no subject
The task distracts him enough from both that heavy guilt and their close proximity. In his current state, touch-starved as he feels, he could probably lean into it, hold Izzy close and beg him to forgive him, but pride alone would be the barrier there, probably for both of them. He doesn't let go as long as Izzy clings to him. The whole point is to make sure he can stand on his own, but who knows how long he's been fighting with the grate? He could probably use the crutch. ]
Not sure I have much faith in anything. [ It's muttered, barely audible, Edward's line of sight stuck on that leg, his spare hand reaching between them to make sure the straps of it are secure to Izzy's thigh.
And that's crazy to think, because they did survive the storm. Literally and metaphorically. Mostly. But Edward has never been a sane man, so he can't be expected to see what's truly special about that, despite the fact that the analogy isn't lost on him.]
no subject
Easier fucking said than done, though. Especially when the person you need to move on from is melancholy and beautiful and tightening straps that wrap around your fucking thigh. It's a good thing Ed is looking at that leg, because Izzy's sure the emotion in his own eyes would give him away. His fingers squeeze into a fist across Ed's shoulder as he steels himself, until he sure there won't be any shake to his voice as he answers Edward's muttering just as quietly. ]
Sometimes it's enough, just... them having faith in you.
no subject
He should move on himself, cut their losses and part ways. He doesn't know why Izzy stays. It doesn't make sense to him that it could be for Stede... the others, most likely. Couldn't be for Edward, at any rate.
Izzy's words sting at his heart but only because he isn't certain who they're meant for. It seems the rest of the crew has faith in Izzy. Edward doesn't imagine anyone as faith in him yet, except obviously Stede. But after all he's done, he doesn't think that just Stede believing in him is enough. Could Izzy ever believe in him again? It's too painful a thought. Aggravating, too. Because he isn't sure why the two of them can't just fucking talk like normal people.
Edward is quiet. He can't bring himself to look up again. Just stares at the leg while setting and resetting his jaw. It'll always be a constant reminder of what he's done. After a long exhale, he claps Izzy on the back where he holds him, still not looking him in the eye.]
...You stable, now?
ah yes, my constant affliction
He doesn't feel that rush, now. Just an old ache, and self-pity for the man he was, and a longing to be by Edward's side that never went away, even with his death. The clap to Izzy's back doesn't startle him any more than the jingle of the idiot bell on his necklace. There's no violence to it, and Izzy didn't expect there to be anyway. They really are fucked up. The irony of Ed asking if he's stable isn't lost on Izzy, either. He answers with affection. With humor, even, and the beginnings of a toothy smile. ]
No. Not even close. Still more stable than you ever were, though.
[ He covers Ed's hand on his shoulder and squeezes before letting go, the briefest little show of affection, might miss it entirely if you blink, before he goes hobbling a few steps back towards the kitchen's exit, yanks open a cabinet he can just barely reach and drags a bottle of wine by the neck from a much-reduced collection, then begins walking unsteadily again, more even than he has been these last few days, obviously sore from the stupid fucking grate ordeal. ]
Come have a drink, Ed. Think we both could use one.
my man
Such is the conflict of Edward Teach; a drive to be important, to be the best at something, to be needed, acclaimed and feared... as well as a longing to be normal, to be loved and wanted, warm and comfortable in being mundane. All while, if it wasn't fucking obvious, hating himself and telling himself that he deserves none of it.
It does a man's fucking head in.
Izzy's reply is as quick as ever, and tickles Edward slightly because it's true. Israel Hands was always the more adjusted of the two, and Edward coughs out a knowing little laugh in reply, the squeeze to his shoulder not lost on him. Hope, as they say it, is a passion for what is possible, and somehow a simple squeeze and a joke has lit a flame for Edward to use as he claws his way out of darkness and back to a world where the two of them feel like a partnership again.
The smallest smile ghosts his lips as he follows. ]
There's not enough liquor on this ship for what we need.
no subject
Which is a lot of the problem, probably. And while wine and rum aren't the best solution, they'll do in a pinch. Even if they won't do much, as Ed implies. It's good to hear him banter back a bit. Anything that isn't sullen as he'd become feels like fucking rainbows now, and Izzy grins back, leaning the wrist with the bottle against the wall to help steady himself on the long haul up the stairs. ]
Good thing we're fucking pirates then, yeah? When we start to run dry, we'll just plunder some more.
no subject
As much as the banter warms him and he longs for some sense of normalcy, he can't help the guilt he feels as that hoof begins clopping its way up the stairs. Edward wonders if he should offer help or if that would just fucking insult the man. Better to keep quiet, probably. Teasing feels easier. ]
Are you up for plundering, old man? I'm not sure I'll be let off my leash to help.
no subject
Suppose you'll have to learn how to do your job with it on, then. Unless, of course, you'd rather play the pampered puss and wait on the ship while leaving the real work up to Bonnet and me.
no subject
Should go over well in a stealth operation. And I wouldn't exactly call it pampered, by the way. There's still plenty of shit around here I'm meant to fix...
[But it's busywork, and he knows it. He also has absolutely no desire to attend any more raids as it stands. A bit raided-out, actually. Even if it's just for liquor. ]
Where are we headed, anyway?
no subject
That's what he has you doing? Repairing the ship?
[ Despite what Ed (what anyone) might expect, there's no derision in Izzy's tone, only curiosity. The infamous Blackbeard, Terror of the High Seas and legendary pirate captain, has been put to task, same as any cabin boy might. This is no way for a man of his caliber to be treated. An insult to Edward and himself, not to mention a waste of this ship's best asset. Izzy should be irate at the idea. A month back or more, he wouldn't hesitate to get in Edward's face about it and tell him all that.
We all saw how that ended though, didn't we? They can't be those men anymore, for the crew's sake. What a tipsy-turvy world it's become, even for someone with both feet still attached. He shakes his head as if the action itself could clear those old thoughts and habits from his brain.
He turns down the hall and begins hobbling again, if only because the sooner he starts, the sooner he'll have somewhere private to fucking sit down and get thoroughly sloshed with his jingling shadow, if it doesn't wander off. ]
My cabin. Nothing broken in there [ besides, you know, him ], though I'm sure we can find something to ruin and then repair, if you need the excuse.
no subject
It's as if he can read Izzy's mind as he watches the way he comes to terms with it and shakes off the thoughts. A month ago Izzy would have given him shit. And Edward would have taken another toe, probably. Who can say?
He follows as expected. This is an opportunity to restore a level of respect between them, and he won't miss it by becoming distracted again.]
That supposed to be the euphemism it sounded like, mate? Or did you just forget how to talk like a normal guy.
no subject
Case in point. Izzy flusters at the accusation, almost missing a step but catching himself on the wall as he turns back to scold Edward for his own embarrassment. ]
Oh, shut it, twatty. See if I offer you help again. You can come up with your own rotten excuses for drinking on the job.
[ It's a relief when they arrive at his bunk and Izzy's able to shoulder open the door and walk into a room with privacy and a soft place to sit at fucking last. After a generous swig from the bottle, he passes it back to Ed and sits with a groan, kicking his bad leg up until the pain in his back finally quiets down. ]
no subject
Help? [He actually laughs at that.] Didn't I just dislodge you from a fucking grate just a little while ago?
[So fucking typical for Izzy, isn't it? To the point where he's nearly parodied himself. Edward remembers when he used to joke and tease and Izzy would do so back. It's been ages.
He takes a seat beside the other man and takes the bottle, giving it a healthy sip before passing it back.]
Morale, then. That's the excuse.
no subject
[ There's no tooth to it, though. As embarrassing as that encounter with the grate had been, he couldn't be blamed for not knowing the exact width of floor draining when he'd walked over it without issue dozens of times before, when he had an actual boot on that foot. Besides, it's good to hear Ed laugh, even if it's at his own expense. He gladly takes the bottle back and takes another sip, all the same.
Morale is a questionable excuse when it's just the two of them, if you ask Izzy. It's not his approval Ed needs to stay aboard; it's the rest of the crew's. He casts a skeptical look at Edward that says as much. ]
And whose morale are we looking to improve here? Yours or mine?
no subject
Both. Maybe. I dunno.
[ He can't take seeing Izzy like this, actually. Once he'd snapped out of his fucking depression fog and realized what he had done to all of them, Edward has been consumed with guilt. Izzy was the biggest reminder of that guilt, every time he hobbled somewhere that Edward could see or hear. A reminder of what a monster he is. A reminder that he'd not just hurt his only family, but mutilated him.A reminder of what loving Edward Teach gets you.]
Dunno if I even deserve it.
no subject
A hard lesson, that. And one Izzy's still grappling with when the rest of the crew is bedded down and he's left alone in the dark. Even more so on the rare instances when he finds himself alone with Edward like this, a fucking yawning abyss of pain and blood and guilt spilled between them, and all he wants to do is get on his knees and clean up the mess. Izzy, eyes downcast and unfocused in the dark, sighs. ]
You weren't yourself. That fucking filth you were inhaling more days than not did a number on you. You weren't sleeping much, either. Barely eating by the end. Raids day after day, with no repose between... Any man would go mad, treating himself the way you did.
[ After a moment of fighting the words in his throat, he adds on. ] I did my part, too, of goading you to it. Can't blame you for doing what you felt you had to after that. [ He takes another long, long drink before passing the bottle back. It sits sour in his stomach, but at least it's warm. ]
no subject
...I dunno if I've ever been 'myself'. [ He admits quietly, unable to look at Izzy as he says it, a familiar stinging at the corners of his eyes and the back of his throat. He swallows it back hard, blinking up at the ceiling.]
I'm just a collection of fucking impressions of guys I think other people want to see. And I fucked up, Iz. With you. With all of them. But mostly you.
no subject
Izzy's fingers twitch with wanting to reach for Ed's shoulder. Instead, he squeezes them into a fist. His voice drops, confessional quiet. ]
No. No, I deserved it. Blackbeard was never just you; it was us. That impression was one I helped you hone, even when you wanted to be done. I'm sorry, Eddie. I spent years feeding you that poison. That was never who you are.
no subject
You shouldn't apologize to me. [ Edward whispers at his feet, then forces himself to look Izzy in the eye. ] I should apologize to you.
[I wasn't strong enough, he thinks. I took things too far. None of this comes out, because Izzy is wrong in a way. It was who Edward is, at his lowest. It may not have been what he wanted to be, but it was still him. He was capable of that darkness and probably still is, and it scares him to think about.]
I'm so sorry, Izzy.
no subject
Edward's eyes had looked so empty during those last few weeks. It's good to see life in them again, even if it's a painful kind. It's good to hear an apology, too, even if Izzy doesn't think he deserves one. Good to feel like Ed cares enough about him, about anything, to give it. Warmth rushes to Izzy's face in a flood. His eyes begin to well. But he lifts his chin and sniffs the tears back, wipes his nose with his gloved hand and clears his throat like it's the dust in the air getting to him, because some habits are harder to break than others. ]
While you were dead, below deck— [ His voice begins surf-rough but gradually smooths and strengthens the more he talks. ] —The crew was there for me. I didn't ask them to be. I didn't want them to be. Told them to fuck right off and leave me alone. But they wouldn't. They were... kind to me, in ways I'd never imagined anyone would be, when I'd only ever been an annoyance to them at best.
[ To the point. ]
If someone's willing to give people like us a second chance, a chance to be good, despite all the evil we've done... Who are we to spit in the face of that kindness?
no subject
He exhales a shuddering breath, eyes reflecting all the pain and love he feels simultaneously, a weak smile forced beneath his short beard. ]
...I never thought you'd want such a thing, Iz. [He'd fought so hard to keep Edward from wanting it, too stuck in his ways. But watching Izzy begin his own journey of growth has been inspiring, if nothing else. He remembers Izzy as he was, all those years ago, before the rot set in.]
But I want to be good, too. For Stede. For the crew. For you.
no subject
Neither did I.
[ That was Izzy's failure, and his job now is not to make the same mistakes twice. He twists in his seat until both legs are hung off the bed. The wine's numbed him to the point where he can forget that the wooden block strapped to his thigh isn't his real leg. It feels like it belongs. Scooting over closer to Ed is an easy thing. Izzy's hands rest loosely tangled in the gap between his knees, letting the shared warmth of his thigh and shoulder pressed to Ed speak to his desire to touch when he still isn't sure that more would be welcomed. ]
You've always been good, Eddie. You're one of the kindest men I've ever met. And you belong here, with this crew, and with Stede. I'm sorry I ever tried to convince you otherwise.
no subject
Words are muffled by sniffles and the way Ed's face presses into Izzy's shoulder, his hair, his neck. Anywhere he can feel the heat radiate from his body and reassure him that Izzy is real, alive, and doesn't fucking hate his guts.]
--I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... [Edward's grip is strong, like if he squeezes Izzy hard enough he'll know he means it.]
...and you? [He pulls back, just slightly, his eyes big.]
You belong here too... if you want to be here. With me.
no subject
That rush and warmth he feels now is like bleeding, or sinking into a steaming bath, the way Ed's arms clutch at him and his wet face presses to the scrap of bare skin showing at Izzy's neck. For the first time in as long as Izzy can remember... he allows himself to have this, and relaxes into the embrace, though it still feels undeserved. Edward deserves it, though. He's always deserved more kindness than Izzy gave, and Izzy tries to make up for something of that mistake now by folding his arms around Edward's middle and rubbing his back, shushing him softly through his apologizes and tears.
When Ed's head lifts, Izzy isn't expecting to be invited to stay along with the rest. It feels good, as only Edward's approval can. The swell in his chest feels like pride, and purpose, and though Izzy's promised himself that his world will no longer revolve around Edward Teach like he's the fucking sun... he has to wonder: who wouldn't do anything, anything at all, for those eyes? A stronger person than Israel Hands, that's who. ]
I do, yeah. Of course I do. For as long as you'll have me.
[ The crew's already done their job of making Izzy feel like he belongs. They'll come around on Ed. And Stede will come around on him. Why wouldn't they? They're kinder than he deserves. Edward is, too. He pets Ed's cheeks, one than the other, to wipe away the tracks of tears, and tries to remember a time when he didn't want to be beside Ed in whatever way he could.
He can't. Edward's always been special, exceptional, and Izzy has loved him since the day they met, it feels like. Everything around them has changed, even their treatment of each other, but that one thing never has. Izzy's sure at this point that it never will. ]
no subject
As long as you'll want to... [He answers weakly, sniffling a bit even as Izzy wipes tears from his cheeks.]
I don't want to be that person again, Izzy. I know it's not on you to keep me from it, but I hope I haven't scared you away from telling me when I'm wrong.
no subject
Now, Ed says he doesn't want to be the person he was, the person they were together, and Izzy knows they have that in common, too. They're good, he thinks. He hopes. At least, he thinks they'll try to be, and that's a start. His hands are still rested on Ed's jaw, thumbs on his cheeks, and he can't quite bring himself to pull away when there's still so much sadness in Edward's eyes. ]
Scared? No, never. But it's not my job to tell you when you're wrong. You already know it. You want to be good, yeah? Listen to that, to Ed, and you will be.
no subject
You really think so? [ He asks, voice small but brimming with hope. It's one thing for Stede to see it, but it's another entirely for Izzy to think as much. Izzy had never wanted him to be good to begin with. ]
I hope you're right.
no subject
[ There's sincerity in Izzy's answer, softened by an ache that may be regret, or wistful longing, or both. He tells himself it's the wine making his face, and Edward's where it's pressed to his palm, feel so warm. The wine making his heart beat rabbit quick in his chest to have his hand being held instead of slapped aside. The excuse feels especially hollow when he tries to use it as the reason for why he's imagining himself closing the little distance between them and kissing Ed's lips, imagining being kissed back instead of shoved away. He's never needed to be drunk to dream like that, and he'd need to be a lot drunker than he is to consider acting on such a stupid impulse.
He forces a teasing grin instead, and his voice strengthens. ]
You've already begun with it, haven't you? Forgiving Bonnet, apologizing to me, playing puss for the crew. [ The hand not warmly caught by Edward's drops, and he flicks the bell at Ed's collar for jingling emphasis. ] You'll be feeding orphans and helping old bats with their shopping before long.
no subject
With Izzy, it's more than just a rift. More like a crater, dark and deep and fragile. This touch between them is clung to like a life raft, the only warmth currently keeping him going other than the hope for more once he reaches the end of his probation. He couldn't slap it away if he wanted to.
Izzy teases him and flicks at his collar and Edward frowns in that exaggerated way he tends to when he wants to disagree with something factually true. ]
Shut up. [ He groans, easing back from Izzy's hand, his own still clasped over it like he's terrified of letting it slip through his fingers and never feel it again. It's his captive, now. ]
You've gone soft too, old man.