"Then Mary said 'love is easy, like breathing,'"
Izzy's snort of derision and disbelief escaped him before he could stop it.
"Something you want to add, Izzy?"
Izzy grit his teeth, "I'm trying to /work/ Bonnet, though I realize that's a concept you have no familiarity with." Izzy didn't bother to look up from where he was repairing lines to see Stede roll his eyes at him. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from hearing Bonnet continue waxing rhapsodic, "as I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, upon hearing Mary's description I realized-

Izzy is acting off. "He's feeling insecure," Ed tells Stede when he asks about it. "Probably nervous you're only tolerating him for my sake." Stede gasps in shock and horror and the thought, and goes to find Izzy to reassure him. "Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love!"
"What the fuck Bonnet"
"Err Ed thought you might be feeling insecure about my affections so I wanted to confirm them again in the most beautiful way I could think of!"

"Gentlemen, I'm so glad you felt up to joining us! May I introduce Lady Agatha Newbury," a tall, slim woman in a pale blue dress that Stede probably thought was far to plain for a woman who is apparently titled stands, and inclines her perfectly coiffed auburn head at them.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1671389833598754816

"Lady Newbury, may I present Captains Edmund Thackery, Thomas Edwards, and their First Mate the esteemed Izzy Hands." Out of the corner of his eyes, Izzy sees Stede bow as he mumbles something about it being and an honor to meet this rich stranger. Fuck Izzy's gotta BOW now?!

Mary greets them at the door when they arrive at the Bonnet estate, "I'm sure you all will want to freshen up a bit after your journey, but I was hoping you could join us for tea in the parlor for tea in hour?"
"It would be our pleasure," Stede readily agrees.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1668846820741779456

Izzy breathes deeply as he follows the servant to the room they'll be staying in. He'd argued that he should just stay on the ship until the wedding, where things were familiar & comfortable. But Ed had looked at him with those big sad doe eyes and Bonnet's lip had begun tremble.

The first things Izzy noticed as he began to wake were the smells - coffee, citrus, lavender & tobacco. He went to roll over to begin his morning routine which was when he noticed the weight pinning his torso & the just mass of hair that he huffed to try to blow out of his mouth.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1657817375331450880

"Oh Israel, you're awake!"
"So fuckin chipper. Timesit?"
"End of the forenoon watch. Thought it best to let you both sleep in a bit considering last night's...excitement."
Izzy rolled his eyes and tried to shove himself into a sitting position without completely dislodging Ed.

CW: Panic attack, depressive self-talk Ed couldn't hear anything beyond the roar of blood in his ears and his own hitched sobs. For some reason Stede was clutching him close, as though he were deserving of comfort. He tried to get the words out, to tell Stede to *go.*

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1609344227808542720

He knew Stede had better things to be doing. It must've come out wrong, though, because between the sounds of his sobs, Stede's voice begins to filter through, murmuring softly about how he isn't going to go anywhere, don't worry, everything is ok. But it's not okay.

Izzy woke feeling better rested than he had in months. He hadn't even realized how tired he had been until he woke feeling...was this refreshed? How novel.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1655042024851243011

He stretched and groaned as he pushed himself up in bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an orange ball. Oh right. The cat. In his exhaustion Izzy had forgotten all about the furball (#IzzyIsMe)

With Izzy's help Ed gradually managed to calm his hyperventilation. Once Ed was mostly breathing normally, though still sniffling a bit, Izzy went to withdraw his hand, only for both of Eds to fly to it and clasp on as though holding on for dear life.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1644771206695112705

"Ed?" Edward just shook his head no. "No what, Edward?"

"Don't go," Ed's voice was soft and frail and cracked. "Please. I need you here, Iz." Izzy drew in a breath, trying to figure out how to respond, but before he could Ed continued, voice increasingly desperate.

"Where the fock did you come from?!"

But whatever urgent needs had brought Izzy to the captains' cabin had flown out of his head when he was confronted with a cabin which held neither of his captains but did have a huge ginger cat amidst a pile of fabrics on the settee, meowing. The cat meowed and hissed as Izzy gently picked it up and cuddled it close to his chest while glancing around to confirm no one else was in the room. "Shhh kitty, I'm trying to keep you safe." The cat's tail twitched as if to disagree. "Trust me, Ed hates pets. If he finds you

Izzy goes to the art studio where Lucius generally spends the time his isn't being forced to trail around after Stede taking notes and setting up appointments. Everything Izzy know about the studio he had learned entirely against his will, most of it from Fang.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1635129360012410882

The studio is on the 2nd floor of an old Victorian-style house that Stede had bought & remodeled, originally planning to use it as his base of operations. After he met Ed tho, Stede & his crew had largely operated out of Blackbeard's Lair, and the house became a community center.

Izzy doesn't really hear Stede thanks Roach and takes his leave, too busy focusing on breathing through the surge of emotions he felt upon hearing "breakups," so as to not reveal himself from where he had camouflaged against the shelves.

https://twitter.com/fabuLizSup/status/1619944380374355972

By the time Izzy has calmed enough to trust himself to move, Stede is long gone. Izzy manages to eventually sneak back out of the apothecary, and tries to decide on his next move.

If Stede followed Roach's advice, he'd be turning to his personal assistant, Lucius.

#HappyEdIzzyWeek #ActofTrueLove
I was thinking about what I wanted to write for this & I knew I did not want to write "sacrifices himself for the other" & I didn't wanna write a true love's kiss scene. I thought about what are the truest acts of love I've experienced & performed And what I decided is that the act that speaks most powerfully to me as that of true love is forgiveness.

Why am I writing this here, when for all the other prompts I didn't tag until I finished the thread? Bc I want you to know why I decided to do this, and since it will have

Izzy was 36 and angry. He had spent 20 years working for the British Navy, watching rich twats with fancy educations make shit decisions with the sole goal of advancing the officer's careers, nary a thought to danger posed to their sailors by their orders. And all of this for wages that hadn't increased since before Izzy'd joined. So when pirates boarded the ship he was on, Izzy figured it was as good a time as any to vent his frustration with the officers whose careless "leadership" had put them in this situation to begin with.

Izzy is standing in the kitchen, chopping vegetables when Ed comes bounding in.
"VICTORY IS MINE!"
Izzy rolls his eyes affectionately. "So you found it then?"
Ed reaches into his tote bag and reveals a few heads of blue cauliflower with a flourish. "Rinse em & I'll start chopping."
"Sure thing." Ed does so then wraps his arms around Izzy's waste & nuzzles at his neck, "Need anything else from me love?"
"Red peppers, carrots, baby corn, broccolli, blue cauliflower, & eggplant. Think thats all we need for pride stirfry."

~~~~
The next 5 days of shore leave are more or less normal for Izzy. Ed is a bit clingier than usual, but that's not too unusual for the rare occasions when Ed feels like he's actually lost an argument.

Once they are back on the ship in the open ocean, though, things start to get weird. The first few days, Ed showers Izzy in compliments. Given how much Izzy thrives on praise and external validation, he is shocked to discover he does not enjoy it. They are tend to be absurd or shallow, or for such basic tasks that they border on condescending. At first

"I think it's sweet" Frenchie declared. "the idea that some people just /belong/ with each other, that they always find each other."
"'S fucking absurd is what it is," Iz sneered.
"Aww c'mon Iz, you don't think the idea of fated loves is at least a little romantic?" "I'm a pirate," Iz replied dryly, "fate has no power over me."
"So you think in other universes we aren't together?" Stede sounded hurt.
"Fuck are you talking about, Bonnet?"
"Well it's fate that brought us together!"
Ed wondered if it was bad the way his heart swelled at the

@favouritefi If they worked properly they'd be camouflage powers, allowing him to blend into the background, observe w/o being noticed. Problem is he has no control over it so it's more just a visibility quirk, w sometimes him fading into the bg, but other times sticking out like a sore thumb @favouritefi If he could just control it, it'd be such an asset, he could be such an amazing slut (lmao Swype I was going for spy but you know the izzy of my heart 😍)

But w/o control its to risky so he just henches. Problem is Ed tends to get distracted, forget to look for him sometimes

@valiantrats Ed points the gun at Izzy. "On your feet, Hands. No first mate of mine dies on his knees." Izzy swallows, cannot bear to look up, but he obeys. "Before I pull this trigger, I want to say thank you, Iz. You coulda left me back in Bermuda. Coulda let Quatro Gallos gang ambush me" @valiantrats "Oh my God GET ON WITH IT!" one of the captors screams.
"Ugh, FINE. Izzy, it's been an honor and a pleasure to serve with you. I'll see in the next world." Then, without missing a beat he turns and shoots the man who had just yelled right through the head.
"Bonnet, DOWN!"

"Jack?! The fuck are you doing here?!"
"Does a man need a reason to visit his sexiest friend?"
Izzy snorted, "Ed will be in shortly, don't worry about that."
Jack tried to reign in his frustration at Izzy's refusal of his compliment, "Who said anything 'bout Eddie?"

https://twitter.com/TheDubsy/status/1599660964747808768

"Yeah sure Jack. Seriously though, what brings you up here? Thought you were busy with your steakhouse down in Utah. Fuck did something happen? Is everything okay?"
"Aww Izzy, I forgot how your love language is anxiety! Fuck it feels good to have you worry about me."