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Izzy Becomes one of the Pack

Summary:

Tensions among the crew have eased since Stede Bonnet"s return and Izzy goes into his first heat aboard the Revenge. He"s ready to suffer through the heat by himself like he usually does, but the crew of the Revenge simply won"t allow it. He"s pack now and they"re going to make sure he knows that.

 

(This is really just omega Izzy getting taken care of by the crew in every way he needs and forming relationships with his new pack.)

Notes:

This is Izzy/Everyone with no particular pairing endgame but I also tagged the main pairings who share interactions.

Wasn"t sure if I should rate this as Mature or Explicit. There are sex scenes but I wasn"t sure how graphic they were to rate them, so I played it safe.

Anyway! This is probably my favourite thing that I"ve written so please enjoy!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

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The Revenge sailed on calm waters, the sun high in the sky. The deck was quiet, too quiet when somebody dared to think about it for too long. It was late in the morning and Izzy Hands hadn’t shouted at anyone yet, hadn’t berated a member of the crew. 

Lucius frowned to himself when he realised he hadn’t seen Izzy all day. Normally he was the first up, always the first to grab a coffee and check on the ship before whipping the crew into action. Everyone might have been relieved by the morning off, but they were also growing a little worried about their prickly first mate. The peace was almost unsettling.

Lucius had asked Fang and Ivan about it, they had sailed with him for longer and might have some insights. After he and Pete had shown some mild concern that the man might be dead, the only thing they could see stopping Izzy from crawling out on the deck, Fang volunteered to check on Izzy.

Fang walked down to the first mate’s cabin and knocked on the door. His concern grew a little when there wasn’t an answer, he at least expected to be told to fuck off. 

“Boss?” Fang called through the door. “You alright in there?” Would Izzy kill him for letting himself into his cabin? Probably, yeah.

Something that sounded like a groan reverberated from the other side of the door. 

“Boss?” 

There was some shuffling and then the door opened. A part of Fang expected it to be roughly thrown open, instead it only cracked open an inch or two, Izzy’s face in the gap. 

“I’m fine. Fuck off.” That was pretty much the response Fang expected. 

Despite the unconvincing reassurances, Fang could smell the telltale scent of the beginning of a heat, and he could see how dishevelled Izzy looked. Not like himself at all.

“Boss, why didn’t you say anything?” 

Izzy scowled at the concern in the larger man’s voice, it was patronising. “I’m fine. Just fuck off.”

“Boss-”

“Fuck off!” 

“Should I get the Captain?” Fang asked as Izzy began to close the door.

“No!” Izzy answered a little too quickly, his eyes widening with something like panic. “No…just…I’ll be…out of commission for a few days. Just…just take care of things, okay?” 

“Sure, Boss,” Fang nodded, wanting to inspire some confidence from the first mate.

Izzy slammed the door in his face. The conversation was over.

Unfazed by the abrupt end to the conversation, Fang hurried back up onto the deck, to where Lucius and Pete were waiting for them. 

“Is he still alive?” Pete asked, both men worrying even more at the nervous look on Fang’s face. 

Having noticed the concerned expressions, Ivan joined the three of them again. “The boss okay?” he asked, something almost knowing in his tone. 

“He’s going to be busy for a few days,” Fang told them vaguely.  

“That’s not like him,” Lucius frowned, “is he sick?” 

Fang looked unsure how to answer that. “Oh…” Ivan nodded slowly in realisation.

“What?” Lucius looked between the two men, almost pouting at the thought of being left out of the loop. 

“He’s in heat,” Ivan told them plainly. 

“I offered to get the captain, he said no,” Fang told Ivan.

“Why would you get the captain?” Pete asked, brow pinching. 

“Because he’s an alpha,” Ivan shrugged.

“Used to take care of Izzy sometimes,” Fang added. 

“I knew it! I knew they were mates.” Lucius had known there was something weird going on between those two leather clad pirates, and nearly everything about Izzy would make more sense if he had been sitting witness to his Alpha mating with somebody else this whole time. 

“Oh, no…they aren’t mates,” Fang corrected him. 

“They’re not?” Lucius couldn’t help but sound doubtful. There was definitely something complicated going on between Blackbeard and his first mate. 

“There was a ‘no bonding’ rule on Blackbeard’s ship,” Ivan explained. 

Pete, as much as Lucius loved him, felt the need to point out the heart wrenching reality that was obvious to everyone. “But…he bonded with Stede.” 

“Fucking hell, no wonder Izzy was so pissy about everything,” Lucius almost felt bad for giving him a hard time. Then again, Izzy was kind of an asshole. He’d eased up lately and the crew had been trying to involve him in their group activities more often, even as he remained as resistant as ever.

“He’s got nobody to look after him?” Pete frowned to himself. That was just sad. 

“Blackbeard didn’t take care of him for every heat. He handled some of them alone,” Ivan had experienced a few of Izzy’s heats, never been too close to the Omega, but the scent sometimes crept up onto the deck, especially when Izzy was moving from his cabin to Edwards and back. It was his instincts that made him feel the need to pay attention to the changes in the scent, but Fang always seemed a little down during those times. Izzy had never been good at making connections with people but they still worried for their first mate. 

“Used to take him food and stuff sometimes, but that always seemed to upset him,” Fang mourned. 

“The crew didn’t take care of him?” Lucius’ frown deepened. 

“No…it wasn’t like this crew. We weren’t a proper pack, not like we are now.” Fang sniffled slightly. Ivan sighed, wrapping an arm around the other man and taking a sad looking Fang off to be comforted. 

“You look sad, babe,” Pete looped an arm around Lucius’ waist, pulling him into his side. 

“I know Izzy’s an asshole and everything but…he’s pack, y’know,” Lucius sighed, resting his head against Pete’s shoulder. 

“Don’t think he wants to be part of the pack.” Lucius found himself a little pleased to hear that Pete sounded a little sad about it too. 

“...or maybe he doesn’t know that he can be pack…”

Pete smiled into Lucius’ hair. He knew what his boyfriend sounded like when he got a plan in his head. He wanted to help that sad little Omega, and Pete would support him the whole way!


The first mate’s cabin aboard the Revenge was overly warm and uncomfortable. Izzy was curled up on his thin little cot, his clothes sticking to him as he writhed and groaned.

A knock sounded at his door, his second visitor of the day. Normally nobody visited his cabin, of course they would wait until he was going into heat to bother him. 

Izzy sobbed into his arms, he just wanted to be left alone. Well, he doesn’t . Every instinct in his body tells him to not be alone, but he can’t deal with the crew right now.

“Fuck off!”

It was quiet and, just for one hopeful moment, Izzy thought whoever was outside had left. Then the door creaked open. 

“Hey, Izzy?” Lucius poked his head in. 

From the cot, Izzy snarls at him but it’s incredibly weak. It made Lucius feel sad rather than intimidated. 

“Fang told us what’s going on. Don’t blame him, we made him tell us.” 

Izzy made a little noise of disapproval and curled up more, tugging his scratchy blanket around himself. This was no way for an Omega to spend their heat. Even as a Beta, Lucius knew that. 

“Just wanted to drop off some things…Roach put together some stuff that won’t be too heavy on the stomach. And I brought water…I’m just going to put them down on the desk, okay?” Lucius knew better than to move any further into the cabin without permission. 

Izzy glared at him, feeling a little lost when the scribe didn’t move from the doorway. Then he realised that Lucius was waiting for permission. 

Giving the boy one more look over, Izzy gave a curt nod. Lucius even fucking smiled at him before walking up to the desk, placing a tray of food and drink down. Lucius turned to him then but purposely kept his distance. 

“Would you like some nesting materials? The crew wouldn’t mind letting you borrow some things,” Lucius offered. 

Yes . Yes, Izzy wanted materials. He wanted to build a nest, somewhere comfortable and safe to wait out his heat in. He even found himself wanting pieces of the crew’s clothing, to fill his cabin with their scent, he had no idea why he suddenly wanted that, probably some stupid Omega instinct. Damn hormones. 

Izzy shook his head. 

Lucius could see the turmoil in the first mate but didn’t push it. “Just shout if you need anything, okay?” Another smile and then the scribe was leaving. 

Once Izzy was sure it was safe and the door was shut, he slipped off of the bed and examined the food he had brought. There were some finger sandwiches and cured meats but it was mostly fruit. There were also some sugary biscuits, the ones Izzy favoured. The delirious thought that Roach prepared those biscuits because he knew Izzy liked them was pushed from his mind as quickly as it arrived. 

Still, Izzy picked at some of the fruit before keeling over with a cramp. With a groan Izzy crawled back into his sorry little cot to writhe and sob and plead for the damn heat to just be over already. 

He had days left, and Edward definitely wouldn’t want to help him now. He just had to tough this one out. He had done it before and he could do it again.

Edward had been the only Alpha he had ever trusted, the only Alpha he ever wanted. But Edward apparently wanted another Alpha, just more evidence that Izzy could never be enough.

He sobbed into his pillow.


The captains emerged from their cabin for the first time just after midday, finding the ship unexpectedly still and silent.

“Are we anchored?” Edward asked rhetorically, he could very much tell that the ship wasn’t going anywhere. 

“I don’t recall telling the crew to anchor,” Stede frowned.

“We didn’t.” 

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.” 

Despite the ship being sedentary, Buttons was up at the helm with Olivia. Stede placed a hand against Edward’s arm as they went to speak with the man, interrupting his conversation with his avian companion. 

“Mr Buttons, how come we have dropped anchor?” Stede asked.

“Mr Hands is incapacitated. The crew didn’t want to disturb ye,” Buttons answered blankly, just reporting to his captains.

“Who gave the order?” Edward frowned. Izzy wouldn’t tell the crew to put everything on hold just because he was busy, he would be very much against that. 

“Oluwande gave the suggestion. The crew were in agreement.” Olivia squawked, seemingly in agreement. 

“What’s wrong with Izzy?” Something must have been seriously wrong if Izzy had handed any decision making power over to another member of the crew. 

“That is privileged information, Captain,” Buttons insisted, making both captain’s pause.

“Privile-we’re the captains, we need to know what’s wrong with our first mate,” Stede spluttered indignantly. 

“The whole crew knows but we can’t?” Edward questioned with a scoff. Izzy was his first mate! 

“Fang was under the impression Mr Hands didn’t want you to know,” Buttons continued. It was difficult to tell whether he knew he was making the situation worse and just didn’t care or if he was oblivious to it.

“Know what?” Edward was growing angry with the mystery and Buttons’ aloofness about the whole thing, that he didn’t even seem intimidated by his captains. 

“I appreciate that you’re abiding by Izzy’s wishes but, as captains, we really do have to know the goings on among our crew,” Stede tried, sure that Buttons would understand.

Buttons blinked at Edward and then just started. It was enough to make even Blackbeard a tad uneasy. “Sorry, captain. I am not at liberty to share that information.” 

“What the fu-” 

Stede placed a grounding hand against Edward’s chest. “It’s alright, Dearest. We’ll ask somebody else.” They would get to the bottom of this. “Thank you, Mr Buttons.”

“Aye, captain,” Buttons nodded before going back to his conversation with Olivia, like nothing had happened. 

“Why wouldn’t Izzy want me to know something?!” Edward demanded from nobody in particular, especially since there was nobody else up on the deck. 

“I’m sure he has his reasons. I’m sure everything is perfectly fine and the crew is overreacting,” Stede comforted as they headed down into the ship. 

Even below deck, it was eerily quiet. They expected to find the crew, at least a couple of them, in the galley but it was as deserted as the rest of the ship. They eventually found the entirety of the crew, minus Buttons of course, gathered in the Jam Room. 

“What is going on here?” Stede asked, he couldn’t help but sound a little accusing. The crew were acting strange, stranger than usual, and he didn’t like it!  

“Uh…crew meeting?” Lucius responded. The group had fallen completely silent as soon as the door opened. 

“Why the fuck have we anchored and why the fuck did nobody tell us?” Edward demanded answers. 

“Well, uh, Izzy is…incapacitated at the moment and without our first mate on deck…well…anyway, Roach checked the rations and is positive that we have more than enough to take a break for a few days before continuing on,” Oluwande explained, mostly because everyone looked at him like they expected him too. 

“You should have brought this to us,” Stede chastised, sounding like a disappointed father. 

“We were going to but…” Black Pete’s excuse drifted off, like he wasn’t quite sure what it was.

“But?” Edward prompted sternly. 

“...Izzy said not too,” Fang confessed. “We’re sorry, captain.”

“What the fuck is going on with Izzy?”

Everyone was quiet. Nobody wanted to answer. Right, the answer was confidential or something.

“Alright, I’m going to his cabin!” Edward spun on his heel, hand gripping the door when somebody spoke up.

“He’s in heat!” 

“Swede!” the rest of the crew chastised.

“He was going to go to him!” the Swede shrunk down further where he sat, an apologetic look on his face.

Edward froze before slowly turning back to the crew. “Izzy’s in…fuck…”

“Oh, I hadn’t even considered…I forget Izzy is an Omega…” Stede admitted.

“Some Alphas you are,” Jim muttered. 

Sure, they hadn’t known Izzy was going into heat last night but they could smell it now if they tried. All the little nuances Izzy showed over the last couple of days made more sense, if Edward had been sailing with him for so long he should have noticed before anyone else. 

Edward snarled at them but Jim didn’t seem intimidated, Jim still hadn’t really forgiven him for the whole Kraken thing so they didn’t care much about pissing him off. 

“Well, uh…what should we do?” Stede looked to Edward for some sort of guidance. He was the only one who knew how to handle Izzy, right? 

“I took him some food and some water. He didn’t want company,” Lucius told them, he felt like it might be somewhat helpful information. 

“You propositioned him?” Edward growled.

“No, not exactly. Just offered to bring him some nesting material, he didn’t want them,” Lucius defended himself.

“Edward?” Stede asked carefully. 

Edward seemed to consider the situation for a moment. “Iz’ll be fine, he always is,” he claimed but sounded tense. 

“Perhaps you should check on him. You are who he’s closest to, after all,” Stede suggested.

“He doesn’t like being disturbed during his heats. He’ll be fine,” Edward muttered as he left the Jam Room, Stede scampering after him, pulling the door closed behind him.

“He told me not to tell the captains!” Fang lamented, feeling like he had failed Izzy in some way. 

“Don’t worry, babe. We won’t let you take the blame,” Lucius promised, kissing his cheek quickly.

“So…what are we going to do about Izzy?” Oluwande asked.

“He wants to be alone…” the Swede sounded upset about it. 

“He should be with pack,” Jim huffed, the Alpha in them wanting to protect the Omega, to protect their pack. 

“You can drag him out of there if you wanna be bit,” Roach shrugged. The crew murmured, knowing Roach was right about the risk of being bitten.

“He should know he can be with pack,” Fang agreed sadly, “...he doesn’t know what it’s like. We didn’t either until now. He’s hurting.” 

“Technically I only offered him some clothes from the crew…I never actually said anyone would join him. Should…we offer that?” Lucius asked. He felt like he should, it was only an offer after all, it wasn’t like he was forcing him or anything. 

“I don’t think he’d go for it,” Frenchie admitted. 

“But he should know he has options, right?” Wee John argued, which made sense. Izzy can’t make a measured decision if he doesn’t know all his options. “Even the angry little fecker deserves that. 

“Do you think he’d want an Alpha to stay with him?” Lucius figured that would make the most sense.

“No,” Ivan finally spoke up, protesting before Fang could. “Izzy…he doesn’t like Alphas. Avoided even the ones on Blackbeard’s ship.”

“Even you?” Pete asked. Izzy had seemed fairly comfortable around the two larger men when they first arrived on the Revenge.

“When his heat was approaching,” Ivan nodded, his expression giving no clue to how he felt about that.


“Are you sure about this?” Oluwande asked, frowning at the door of the first mate’s cabin. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help, nor that he thought an Izzy Hands in the beginning of a heat could really be a threat to Jim, it was more that the whole thing was strange and they really couldn’t predict how Izzy would react.

Either way, they had talked about it and they had both agreed that they would offer any help he would accept. Jim was happy to take care of the strange little man through his heat and Oluwande thought having another Omega present might help Izzy relax a little, especially after what they had been told about Izzy not trusting Alphas. 

“If you’re alright with it,” Jim nodded.

“Fucking hell, I can smell the distress from out here,” Oluwande had to hold back a whine, a natural reaction to being near a distressed Omega. He wondered exactly how Jim was feeling. “Yeah…yeah, I’m okay with it.” 

Jim gave another nod before knocking on the door. 

There was no response, just something that sounded like a whine on the other side of the door. His heat must be getting pretty bad now, approaching its first spike.

Oluwande shrugged when Jim looked to him. Jim sighed and opened the door, cautiously stepping inside, Oluwande right at their shoulder. 

“Izzy?”

Covered only by a thin blanket haphazardly draped over his lap, Izzy jolted up on the cot, sweaty and ruffled. His eyes widened at the sight of Jim in his cabin, at the scent of an Alpha being so close. 

The distress and fear in the air thickened as Izzy scrambled backwards into the corner, tucking his knees up to his chest.

“Shit, I…” Jim didn’t know what to do, they didn’t consider themself great at the whole comforting thing. Thankfully, Oluwande is gently pushing past them and towards Izzy.

Even as Oluwande approached, Izzy only stared at Jim. An irritating voice in the back of his head begged him to throw himself at the Alpha’s feet, to hand himself over, but his body (along with his more conscious mind) refused.

“Hey, Izzy. You’re alright. Jim isn’t going to touch you or anything,” Oluwande put himself between Izzy and Jim, blocking his view. 

Izzy stared at the other man, the scent of another Omega overpowering the Alpha that was behind him. The Omega smelt calm and Izzy relaxed a little at that. 

“I’m sorry, we should have given you a heads up. I should have come alone,” Oluwande apologised.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” Izzy asked shakily. Of course something would go wrong with the ship or the crew as soon as he needed to step away. He couldn’t go out there like this, sweating and dripping through his clothes, whining pathetically whenever an alpha passed by him. What could have- 

“Just wanted to know if you wanted an Alpha to help you. You can choose any member of the crew, we all just want to help. Jim wants to help, I can stay as well if you want, if you choose them,” Oluwande explained, making sure Izzy knew this was an offer and not a demand.

“No,” Izzy shook his head frantically, Olu almost worried that he would make himself dizzy. “No Alphas.”

“Alright,” Jim nodded, raising their hands to show they meant no harm as they backed out of the door, not wanting to upset Izzy further. They could feel themself growing angry about whatever alpha, or alphas, that might have hurt Izzy in the past and they didn’t want him to smell it and think it was directed at him. “Olu?”

“Just give me a minute?” Oluwande looked back at Jim over his shoulder. 

Jim looked between the two Omegas before nodding and leaving. They trusted Olu to know best. 

“Sorry for scaring you,” Oluwande apologised again once they were alone. 

“Not scared,” Izzy internally scolded himself for sounding childish.

“The crew really just wants to help, we’re worried about you,” he hoped that he would believe it coming from another Omega. 

“Worried? About me?” Why did that make him sound so sad ? Olu wanted to hug the poor guy but thought better of it. 

“Yeah, ‘course. You’re pack, Izzy. We look out for each other,” Oluwande couldn’t believe he had to explain such a concept to the man. “I can stay if you want, just so you’re not alone. You can ask for another member of the crew, I’m sure one of the Beta’s wouldn’t mind helping you out either. Or…you could come and be with us all.”

It was too much and he wanted it too much. 

He denied himself. Izzy shook his head. 

“Alright, that’s okay too,” Olu assured him with a small smile. 

Oluwande received the blanket that Izzy had kicked away in his rush to distance himself and wrapped it gently around Izzy’s shoulders, surprised that he let him. “You got everything you need?” he asked once Izzy was covered up. 

Izzy nodded. Struck dumb, and apparently mute, by the kindness. 

“Alright, I’ll leave then. If you want anything, just shout. Pretty sure the whole crew will come running,” Oluwande gave him another smile before standing and heading for the door. 

He had just pulled the door open when he heard it, Izzy had whispered something. 

“What was that, Izzy?” he asked softly, turning back to the curled up man. 

“...Lucius…” Izzy repeated, this time a little louder. His face heated up, turning red, in shame and embarrassment. He wouldn’t even look at Oluwande now.

“You want Lucius?” Olu asked, trying to hide his surprise. He didn’t want to discourage him but he did want to make sure he understood correctly.

Izzy nodded sharply. Back to not speaking. 

“I’ll send him down,” he promised, practically running to the Jam Room once he shut the cabin door. 

“Jim said it didn’t go well,” Frenchie frowned, the whole crew looking a little disheartened.

“He asked for Lucius,” Oluwande announced with no build up.

The crew went quiet.

“Me?” Lucius checked.

“Yep?”

“Why me?”

“I don’t know.”

“You alright, babe?” Pete grinned, planting a wet kiss against Lucius’ temple.

“Yeah, I’ve got it, babe,” Lucius nodded, only feeling a little unsure as he stood up.


Lucius was beyond confused as he walked down to Izzy’s cabin. He was under the impression that Izzy couldn"t stand him, well…obviously Izzy had a small thing for him at least, Lucius wasn’t blind, but he didn’t think the first mate would ask for him. He’s not even an Alpha! 

Lucius knocked, alerting the Omega to his arrival, before letting himself in. “Hey, Izzy. Olu said you asked for me.” 

Even to Lucius’ senses, the sweet scent of an Omega in heat was dizzying but it was suppressed under the tell tale scent of distress. Lucius tried not to look too pitying. Izzy was curled up in the corner of his cot, blanket wrapped around him like a shield, watching him with a careful gaze. 

As he quietly closed the door, Lucius quickly looked over to the desk. Izzy had eaten most of the food but there was still enough left and enough water for a little while longer. At least he had eaten. 

“Can I sit?” 

Izzy considered it before nodding, not looking completely confident with his answer.

Still, Lucius sat on the edge of his cot, just made sure to sit as far from the fearful Omega as he could. He might just be a Beta but he can smell the distress rolling off of Izzy. 

“Why did you ask for me?” Lucius asked. The question is honestly curious rather than mocking like Izzy had partially expected. 

“...why are you helping me?” Izzy asked, he sounded small. 

“What?” Lucius blinked, he hadn’t expected to be asked that. Maybe he should have.

“All of you…Fang was all…worried. You came to…offer things. Roach gave me those little biscuits. Jim and Oluwande were being all nice. Why?” Izzy tugged his blanket further around his body, holding it tight. 

“Oh, Izzy,” Lucius tried not to sound too heartbroken, but he couldn’t help but let it slip a little. Izzy looked almost afraid at the idea of the crew being nice to him. “Just because we want to, we want to help you and make sure you’re okay. There’s no ulterior motive, we just care,” he wasn’t sure how easily Izzy could be convinced.

“But why ?” Izzy asked desperately, his voice watery.

“Because you’re pack. You’re one of us.” It really was that simple. Despite everything, they cared about their first mate. “Plus, you’re not all bad,” he attempted to joke a little but Izzy ignored it.

“Do the captains know?” Izzy asked quietly, something heavy in his tone.

“That you’re in heat?” Lucius asked and Izzy nodded. “Yeah, we had to tell them because they were asking questions. Edward was going to come check on you himself, so we let it slip,” he confessed. 

“Edward was going to come?” 

Lucius wanted to hit himself for the way Izzy perked up. He wanted to know what was going on there, but knew it was not the time to ask questions about it.

“Yeah…but when he heard you were in heat, he said you could take care of it yourself,” Lucius only felt worse when Izzy looked disappointed. He shook it off, wanting to make things right. “Now, I’m sure you’re perfectly capable of getting through this on your own but you don’t have to, okay? We just want to help you, make you comfortable.”

Izzy just looked at him. His shoulders had relaxed, his hold on his blanket had loosened, and his eyes had softened. If Lucius didn’t know any better, he would think that Izzy was coming around to the idea. 

Izzy wasn’t going to come closer without invitation, he still needed a little more encouragement. “Come here,” Lucius spoke softly, opening his arms, a silent invitation that Izzy could decline.

The first mate was obviously very hesitant, glancing between Lucius’ hands and his eyes repeatedly, but Lucius decided that he would wait as long as he needed too. Slowly, Izzy inched closer, uncurling from himself and shuffling down the bed.

Once Izzy was close enough, Lucius slowly wrapped his arms around his frame, giving him plenty of opportunity to pull away and change his mind. He gently pulled the smaller man into his chest, feeling how tense he still was.

“There you go,” Lucius cooed.

Izzy, on the verge of falling deep into his heat despite his attempts to resist it, couldn’t help but melt at the praise and into the warmth of Lucius’ body. Lucius smiled softly to himself as he played with Izzy’s hair, letting him nuzzle into his neck. 

Izzy was letting himself be held, he couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he had been held, probably not since he was a child, no it was when he and Edward were still young deckhands. And it was by Lucius of all people. 

While Lucius held Izzy, running his fingers through his hair and stroking down his back, he looked around the little dimly lit cabin. Lucius wasn’t sure what a first mate’s cabin usually looked like but the cabin was small and impersonal. Izzy hadn’t decorated it, only brought his few belongings in and put them away neatly. The cot was small, suitable for one person Lucius supposed, but thin. The pillow wasn’t very plump and the blanket he was wearing was thin and scratchy. He thought a first mate would have some nicer things.

“This is no place for an Omega to spend their heat,” Lucius sighed. “Let us help you, Izzy,” the scribe sounded like he was the one pleading.

Izzy lifted his head from Lucius’ shoulder, glossy eyed and openly vulnerable. Lucius gently stroked over Izzy’s cheek. 

“You get to make all the rules, okay? Nobody is going to touch you without asking, nobody will be there if you don’t want them there. It’s all under your control, okay?” he promised. He was sure that Izzy already felt like he was lacking control because of his heat, so he needed to know that he decided what would happen while the crew were taking care of him. 

“Promise?” Izzy asked, eyes wide. Lucius’ heart clenched. 

“I promise, Iz,” he couldn’t help but sound fond of this strange little man, of using the little endearment that Izzy wouldn’t usually allow.

Izzy assessed him again with hazy eyes. “...no Alphas.” 

“No Alphas,” Lucius doesn’t ask why, he could put that together himself. 

Izzy took another moment to consider it, letting the hand stroking up and down his back ground him. “Okay then…”

“Alright,” Lucius kissed his forehead before he could think better of it. Izzy hummed, sounding a little startled but not upset. “I’ll go let the others know so they aren’t surprised and aren’t too overwhelming, and I’ll send Fang for you, is that okay?”

Lucius knew he had to tell the others before bringing Izzy in, not because he thought any of them would choose to leave but because he wanted to warn them that he might be a little skittish. And, of course, tell the alphas Izzy wasn’t comfortable with them being there.

“Fang,” Izzy murmured, pondering over it before nodding in agreement. He trusted Fang enough to let him help, he had seemed sincere in his concern earlier now that he allows himself to think about it properly. 

Lucius gave him another little cuddle and another promise to be back soon before leaving.

Izzy whined at being left alone again. Lucius had been so warm and soft, and he had smelt like pack. In comparison, his cabin was cold and only smelt like him. It was awful and he hated it.


Time passed, Izzy couldn’t keep track of it properly right now so he wasn’t sure how long he waited in his cabin, but he was beginning to worry. Worrying that Lucius had actually been lying, that he was laughing about how pathetic he was with the rest of the crew. 

Or worse…he had just forgotten.

Izzy had been forgotten in his cabin, not worth remembering.

Tears pricked at his eyes.

Breaking Izzy out of his spiralling, the door opened. No knock coming first. “Hey Boss, Lucius sent me. He said you were going to join us,” Fang spoke, sounding happy about the decision Izzy made. Izzy couldn’t think about it too much.

His blanket had tangled around his limbs from writhing about on his cot, the burning in his belly worse than it was before. 

“It’s getting bad, huh boss?” Fang asked sympathetically.

Izzy just nodded into his pillow, crying.

Fang didn’t look down on Izzy in the slightest for being an Omega, for having to suffer through heats, but he was well aware of just how vulnerable he was right now. He knew that if his boss had been in any clearer state of mind, there was no way he would let anyone see him like this.

“C’mere, Boss. I’ve got you.”

Fang is a large man but he was surprisingly gentle when he wasn’t in the middle of a raid, Izzy had always known that. His hands were soft and careful as he wrapped the blanket around the smaller man, before scooping him up.

Izzy murmured, maybe complained, Fang couldn’t make it out, but nuzzled into Fang"s chest anyway.

Yeah, it looked like Izzy was pretty deep in heat now. 

“I’ve got you, it’s going to be okay.” Maybe it sounded a little like Fang was cooing at a pet but it helped Izzy relax further. 

Cradling Izzy to his chest, Fang carried him out of the cabin and to the Jam Room where Lucius had got the crew to set everything up.

Entering the room, Izzy is immediately surrounded by the scent of pack and it made him relax. The combined scent of different alphas, omegas, and betas had never had a comforting effect on him before, but now it did. It was almost overwhelming, he still had his face buried in Fang’s chest.

“Boss, open your eyes. Take a look,” Fang encouraged.

Still in Fang’s strong arms, Izzy peered around the room and his heart immediately fluttered at the sight.

The whole crew apart from Buttons, up at the helm, Jim, Roach, and Ivan (the ship’s alphas), were gathered around the edges of the room. In the centre of the room was a pile of pillows and blankets and various items of clothing belonging to the crew.

Izzy’s mind buzzed with the need to organise the collection as he saw fit.

“There’s no cots in here or anything…thought you might want to make a nest, something a little more comfortable,” Lucius, who had been appointed as captain for this exercise, offered. He knew Izzy would want to make a nest but also had a feeling Izzy might feel a little embarrassed by that instinct. “Is this enough?” he asked kindly.

It’s more than Izzy has ever had. He nods.

Lucius grinned, pleased with himself and the rest of the crew. 

Izzy wiggled in Fang’s hold and the larger man set him down on his feet. Fixing his blanket around his shoulders, Izzy looked to Lucius for some sort of permission.

“Go on,” Lucius nodded, gesturing towards the pile.

Izzy padded over to it, ignoring all the eyes on him. The crew weren’t great at subtlety and Izzy was certain he was blushing under all the attention. He knelt down beside the pile and pawed through the items. He couldn’t help but smile at the selection, everything was so soft. The blankets and pillows surprisingly lacked much scent, but they did infuriatingly have hints of Stede Bonnet on them. But the clothes were heavily scented by whoever they belonged to. 

The scratching, greying blanket fell from Izzy’s shoulders as he got to work, wearing only his smalls. Everyone just watched as he fussed with everything, moving things around in a way that didn’t really make any sense to anyone else. He built his nest with the same fastidiousness that he ran a ship, not settling until it was perfect. 

Once he seemed pleased with it, a nest made of pillows and blankets that they found down in the hold and some clothing from the crew, Izzy made himself comfortable in the centre of it. 

“Alright, Iz.” Purposely not entering the nest, knowing better than to do that without being invited in, Lucius knelt down beside just outside of the edge. “I know you said no Alphas but they offered some of their clothes so you could still have their scent. They thought it might help. You don’t have to take them if you don’t want them.” 

Izzy started at him, looking at the others gathered around, before staring at him again. He didn’t speak, just held his hands out. Frenchie came over with some items in his arms, handing them over to Izzy.

Izzy dropped the clothes down in front of him and picked through them.

The first thing he pulled out was Roach’s shirt. Izzy brought it up to his nose. The smell of smoke and grease is prominent but just under that was the scent of Roach, it reminded Izzy of his cooking, of warm meals and those sugary biscuits he loved so much.

The next item was Jim’s coat, the scent surprisingly made Izzy feel safe. Jim was a very protective Alpha, they wouldn’t let anything happen to their crew, to their Omegas.

The last item is Ivan’s shirt. Just like he did with the other items, Izzy buried his face into the material. This scent was the most familiar, the most grounding of the three. He slipped the shirt over his head and tucked the other two items into the structure of the nest. The shirt drowned him and the crew silently thought it was adorable.

Blinking back into reality, Izzy remembered all the people surrounding him. He looked around the room, nervously wringing his hands in his lap, squirming where he sat.

“Hey boss,” Fang crouched down on the other side of him to Lucius, also not entering the nest. “Can I come in?” he asked.

Izzy looked between Fang and the nest before nodding, he didn’t really want to be alone in his nest.

Fang smiled warmly before climbing into the nest, squeezing in behind Izzy and having him sit in the V of his legs. He waited for the omega to relax again before wrapping his arms around him, holding him against his chest. Izzy sighed and moved about to make himself comfy. Fang was warm and soft, and large enough to make Izzy feel protected. 

Izzy reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Lucius’ jacket, eyes silently pleading.

“Want me to join you?” Lucius asked, heart warming at the cute little gesture. 

Izzy just nodded again.

Lucius kicked off his shoes and happily joined the two men. He lent against Fang’s side and stroked Izzy’s hair, smiling even more when he lent into the touch.

“Can the others join us? They don’t have to if you don’t want,” Lucius asked.

Izzy’s eyelids felt heavy, the fog of his heat settling thick over him, accelerated by the chance to build a proper nest and be surrounded by a pack that actually somehow made him feel safe. 

“Want,” Izzy nodded, his speech a little slurred now.

The rest of the crew didn’t need any more prompting, fumbling to remove their shoes before piling into the nest. It was a large nest but still a tight fit for the whole crew, but they supposed that was kind of the point.

Izzy hummed his approval and nuzzled into Fang’s embrace. He could smell Ivan on him, even faint traces of Edward. Izzy frowned a little at that before focusing on the scent of the pack that surrounded him, the pack that was there for him just because they wanted to be, because they wanted to help him. 

For the first time since his heat began, Izzy managed to succumb to sleep. Finally feeling safe enough to be that vulnerable, the burning ache finally fading enough to relax. His scent rolled off of him in waves, filling with room with sweetness. It was almost a content scent, much less agitated and distressed than how he smelt when he was carried into the room.

“He’s actually kinda cute like this,” Pete whispered, propping his chin up on Lucius’ shoulder.

“Yeah…he’s just a little guy,” Wee John sat up against the side of the nest, Frenchie sitting between his legs. 

“A little guy who would gut you if he heard that,” Lucius chuckled. 

“I dunno…he’s kinda alright,” Frenchie shrugged.

“He never let us take care of him on the Anne. Would take him food sometimes but he would just snap,” Fang told them, admitting that, “we always wanted to help. Me and Ivan, I mean.”

“You’re helping now,” Lucius reassured him, kissing his cheek and making Fang smile.

“Can’t imagine how his previous heats have been,” Oluwande couldn’t help but feel bad for Izzy. He’s experienced a few heats on his own as well and they’re never fun, you never feel completely safe. “It’s awful, spending them alone.”

“Yeah. Really hurts. And it’s really lonely,” the Swede agrees solemnly. “Why doesn’t he want an Alpha?”

“I don’t know exactly but if he doesn’t want one, we won’t let one near him,” Lucius was determined about that, and everyone nodded their agreement. It was Izzy’s heat, he made the rules.


When Izzy next wakes up he feels warm and fuzzy. 

The familiar warmth of his heat that burns him from the inside out, that makes him sweaty and uncomfy, was still present but there was also a different kind of warmth. Something almost safe…it was nice. 

Somebody makes a small whining sound and it takes Izzy a moment to realise it was him, and that there was already somebody shushing him. He slowly peeled his eyes open, surprised by his own lack of panic. Normally if he woke up mid-heat with somebody else in the room, he would lash out.

Once his vision focused, he realised that he was tucked up against Frenchie’s side, embarrassingly grinding against his hip. Izzy yelped at his own actions and pulled away. 

“It’s alright, babe. Do what you got to do,” Frenchie smiled warmly, slowly guiding him back into his side.

Izzy looked around a little frantically, checking for any danger but also searching for some sense of safety.

“Don’t worry. Fang has gone up to help Ivan fix up the rigging while we’re not going anywhere, the two of them will get it done quicker than anyone else, and Lucius has gone to fetch you some food. They’ll be back,” Oluwande reassured, smelling the sudden distress under the arousal.

“They laid you down but you started to whine in your sleep, thought you needed somebody to snuggle up to,” Frenchie explained why he was in Fang’s place.

“...thank you,” Izzy muttered, not sure what else to say in a situation like this.

“No worries, babe. No need to thank me,” Frenchie beamed and kissed the top of Izzy’s head. Izzy heard himself whine again before shuffling closer, trying to control the bubbling heat in his gut. “Really, Iz. It’s okay,” the musician used the hand not wrapped around his shoulders to give his hip an encouraging squeeze.

Cautiously, Izzy begins to wiggle his hips against Frenchie. 

“There you go. Won’t touch you unless you ask, but this is okay with me,” he reassured, giving Izzy’s hip another little encouraging squeeze before moving his hand back up to his shoulder.

Izzy pressed a little closer, hand fisted in Frenchie’s shirt, one leg thrown over his hips. He moaned quietly into Frenchie’s neck as he continued to grind against his hip. Frenchie only cooed, playing with his hair and brushing his lips against his forehead, and praised him when he found an unsatisfying release. 

A more conscious part of his mind was still waiting for the other shoe to drop but this was nice. Nice enough to ignore that nagging little voice for now. He even found himself perking up when Lucius and Fang returned to the nest, the more pack, the better.

Laying in his padded nest, propped up by various bodies, Izzy found himself being hand fed little bits of meat and fruit before having a cup of water brought up to his lips. After taking his fill, he batted the cup away and turned to nuzzle into somebody’s frame. He wasn’t sure who it was but it didn’t matter, it was warm and safe.

“Kinda want to keep him like this,” Wee John hummed, stroking the omega’s back as he cradled him in his lap.

“He is sweet like this,” Fang agreed.

“It’s cute. How clingy he is,” Pete smiled, wondering when it would be his turn to hold the omega. He had expected Izzy to be more…bitey, but this was a pleasant surprise.

It had only been a few hours but Izzy clearly craved a gentle touch, even in his sleep he would cry until somebody was holding him. “We might have made a monster,” Lucius warned fondly, smiling at the Omega.

“Can’t be any worse than he was before,” Oluwande jokes.

“Can still hear you,” Izzy grumbled, too warm and relaxed to put any real bite into his words. 

“Sorry, Iz,” the Swede apologised sincerely. 


Up on deck, Ivan was pacing back and forth, not liking that he had nothing to do, nothing to keep his mind busy. Jim had been sharpening every blade aboard the ship to keep themselves distracted. Roach has been in the galley, putting things together for Izzy, at least he could find something useful to do. 

“Fang said he’s doing good. Seems a little happier now. Heat’s getting worse though,” Ivan told them.

“Will get worse before it gets better,” Jim sighed. “Want to help?” they gestured to the pile of blades and offered an extra whetstone. 

Ivan sighed right back but accepted it, sitting across from Jim and beginning to sharpen a knife he didn’t recognise.

“Feel like I can smell him from up here,” Ivan muttered. He had never had an omega to take care of but he had sailed with Izzy Hands long enough to consider him a familiar omega. 

“Me too,” Jim admitted, “feels wrong.”

“Never really had a pack before…”

“Me neither. Not since I was a kid.”

They continued their self assigned task in silence, ignoring the buzzing in the back of their minds.


Stede walked into the galley, pausing in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of a counter full of fresh pastries and cookies. 

“Ah, Roach, there you are!” Stede perked up when he spotted the cook, preparing another batch of something to be baked. “What’s all this?” He moved closer, reaching for one of the still warm cookies. 

Roach was in front of him in a flash, slapping his hand away from the fresh baked goods, his favoured cleaver clutched in his other hand. 

“They’re not for you,” the cook warned, something menacing flashing behind his eyes. Stede decides not to ask why he wasn’t wearing a shirt under his apron.

“Oh, uh…what are they for?” Stede asked, definitely not pouting.

“They’re for Izzy. They’re his favourites.”

“Izzy has favourites?” Stede wasn’t sure he had ever seen Izzy openly enjoy anything. 

“I know what every crewmember likes. Kinda my job,” Roach shrugged. 

“This is a lot of baking…”

“Don’t worry, captain. I accounted for rations until we could reach port. We have plenty. I think Izzy knew his heat was coming when we last docked, think he stocked up a little extra,” Roach turned and started rummaging around for something.

“Oh, how practical of him,” Stede said distantly, frowning longingly at all the fresh baked goods.

Roach rummaged around some more before pulling out something and turning back to Stede. “Here’s the orange cakes, captain,” he held out a plate of bitesize orange cakes.

“Thank you, Roach,” Stede accepted the plate. Edward really liked these cakes.

“Will that be all, captain?” 

Stede knew he wasn’t always wonderful at social cues, but he was pretty sure Roach was rushing him to leave. “Perhaps some tea?” he still asked. 

“I’ll bring it to your cabin,” Roach nodded, foot tapping impatiently.

“Thank you,” Stede put on a big smile. “Carry on!” he waved his hand and hurried back to their cabin.

He knows how important a pack is, Lucius had explained all of that to him during his time as pirate captain, the differences between them and his upbringing. In Stede’s old life, packs had been important in the sense of name but they weren’t close, not like the crew was. 

Still, he was surprised by how quick everyone was to fuss over Izzy. Roach never seemed the type to fret, but there he was running around the kitchen to make sure Izzy didn’t go hungry for even a second. Even Jim and Ivan, the more stoic members of the crew, were worrying up on the deck. Ivan, like Roach, also shirtless but, once again, Stede decided not to ask questions.


That evening Izzy falls asleep in the middle of the crew, bodies pressed into a cosy pile. His smaller frame sandwiched between Lucius and Fang. They weren’t alphas but they made suitable substitutes with their care and fretting to make everything perfect.

It was somewhere between the late hours of the night and the early hours of the morning, Lucius couldn’t tell, when he woke up to shuffling and the sound of whining. 

Lucius woke up with a small groan, feeling Pete shuffle up closer behind him, warm breath against the back of his neck.

“Izzy?” Lucius asked quietly, not wanting to wake the rest of the crew. 

Izzy only responded by sobbing into his chest. It was then that Lucius realised that Izzy was rutting his hips against nothing, like he was purposely avoiding using Lucius to get any friction. 

“Shh, it’s alright, love,” Lucius cooed, burying a hand in his hair and gently massaging his scalp. 

“Sorry,” Izzy apologised, voice cracking. He had woken Lucius up, now Lucius felt like he had to deal with him.

“It’s okay,” Lucius pulled Izzy closer, letting Izzy get some friction against his thigh. He only moved with the gentle tugging because Lucius sounded so genuine, like he really wasn’t bothered by being woken up. 

Plus, Izzy was feeling too desperate and hazy to feel self conscious about his neediness.

“I can help, if you want. Or we can wake somebody else up and they can help. Or you can just get off against my leg. You just have to say,” Lucius caressed his face as he gave him options.

“Please…” Izzy gasped against his shoulder. “Please, Lucius, please, I…I’ll be good-”

“Shush, love. You’re already doing so good,” Lucius interrupted his rambling. He didn’t need to earn his pleasure here, he would happily be provided what he needed here.

Lucius offered his hand but nothing more, not when Izzy was this compromised by his heat, anything more could be discussed when he was more lucid. Lucius slipped his hand between them, pushing under the waistband of Izzy’s smalls, immediately feeling how soaked he was.

Izzy’s hips rolled and jutted, he was clearly desperate and needed to get off to ease his pain, but the little furrow of his brow made him look like he was struggling. A hand just wasn’t enough, wasn’t what he needed, even when Lucius slipped three fingers in with ease.

Lucius spotted Jim’s coat draped over some pillows behind Izzy and reached over to grab it. “Here you go, this might help,” he brought the coat between them.

Izzy clutched at Lucius’ arm with one hand and at Jim’s coat with the other, burying his face in the coat, muffling his whines and moans. 

Lucius kept up his encouraging whispers, letting Izzy take what he needed. The thrusting of his hips became more erratic before twitching and moaning, yelping something into the material of Jim’s coat. Lucius couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he supposed it didn’t really matter.

Izzy rode himself through his high on Lucius’ hand before settling back down with a little groan. Lucius pulled his hand away once Izzy’s grip loosened, wiping his hand on the blankets. They would all have to be washed by the end of Izzy’s heat anyway.

“There we go. Feeling better?” Lucius asked, combing his fingers through Izzy’s hair. 

“...a little,” Izzy murmured sleepily, seemingly sated for the time being. “Tired.”

Lucius smiled, still petting his hair. “Get some rest, lovely.”

“...twat,” Izzy huffed.

Lucius just laughed, surprisingly pleased by the little glimpse into the first mate he knew, as Izzy snuggled closer. Fang stirred slightly and followed Izzy, not letting him out of his sleeping arms. Lucius had no idea how Izzy’s fidgeting hadn’t woken him up already.


Izzy slept peacefully through the rest of the night, waking up once it was morning and the rest of the crew was already awake. They still hadn’t abandoned him to take care of himself. 

“Morning, boss.” Izzy blinked, taking in his surroundings some more. He was curled up against Fang’s side. 

Lucius had just come through the door with a tray in his hands, Pete was closing the door behind him. 

“Did you sleep well?” the Swede asked. By the looks of it he had made himself comfortable with his head pillowed on Izzy’s stomach. 

“...yeah,” Izzy nodded, surprised that he was actually telling the truth. He never slept well during a heat, never really slept well at all, but he did last night.

“Roach made breakfast…and some more cookies,” Lucius moved closer, presenting the tray for Izzy’s judgement.

Izzy just snatched a cookie from the tray, making Lucius smile. The scribe placed the tray down as he joined the crew back in the nest, everyone helping themselves to something to eat while making sure Izzy ate.

Izzy complained, grumbling, when Frenchie brought some bacon to his lips but he ate it anyway. Then, ate again, when Wee John offered some toast. The two of them had apparently taken it upon themselves to hand feed him that morning. Izzy thought that it should be degrading, be treated like a child or some pet, but he reluctantly found himself enjoying it. It was nice…being doted on.

“So, you seem a little more lucid this morning,” Lucius commented, his tone purposeful. Izzy just glared at him, he didn’t like being reminded of how he got when he was in heat. “See, there you are,” he smiled, Izzy dared to think that the smile was even fond.

“Heat’s eased up a little for now,” Izzy nodded. Normally, in these moments of relief, Izzy would pull together something to eat to fuel himself through the next spike, but this time he had people to cater to him, to feed him and hold him. 

“Good, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Of course Lucius wanted to talk. Izzy groaned.

Frenchie frowned at Izzy’s displeasure, petting his hair as he offered some more food. 

“Not a fucking dog,” Izzy grumbled but still accepted the food, licking the residue off of Frenchie’s fingers before he pulled his hand away, which made everyone smile.

The grumpy little man was cute like this, and it wasn’t all pack instincts and they knew that. 

“Anyway…when I was grabbing breakfast, Roach, Jim, and Ivan were all in the galley. They’re all pretty…worked up,” Lucius told him but it only made Izzy shrink back against Wee John’s large form. 

“No, nothing bad!” Lucius quickly reassured, realising how that sounded. “They want to help too but they’re keeping their distance. They were asking about you and how you’re doing. Do you think you’d be open to them checking in on you?”

Izzy looked unsure, still pressed against John, but he wasn’t immediately protesting like he had yesterday. Maybe he was beginning to understand that the crew didn’t want to hurt him. 

“We’ll all still be here,” Frenchie whispered his reassurance, still playing with the first mate’s hair.

“They won’t hurt you. And we wouldn’t let them anyway, right?” Lucius looked around, prompting the rest of the crew to nod and voice their agreement. 

“Yeah. When I told Jim to leave, they did, didn’t they?” Oluwande reminded him and Izzy nodded thoughtfully. Jim had listened to what he wanted, and the others didn’t try to barge in, they had respected his wishes so far.

“They won’t even come near you if you don’t want them too,” Lucius promised.

“We’ve got you, boss,” Fang agreed, looking a little hopeful.

Jim had left when he showed fear, Roach had been producing plate after plate of food for him, and Ivan had never tried anything in all the time they had sailed together. Outside of his heat, Izzy had never really felt a need to cower from either three of them. Roach could be a little scary, but that didn’t really have anything to do with him being an alpha.

“...alright…we can try,” Izzy answered after a short silence. He realised then that the crew had been giving him time to think, and hadn"t pushed him to make a decision or the decision they wanted. 

“Say the word and we kick them out, okay?” Lucius wanted him to know that he could change his mind at any time. One word and the alphas would scamper out of the room.

Izzy nodded, leaning into Frenchie’s touch as he continued his petting. Lucius gave him a quick kiss on the forehead, sharing little kisses with Fang and Pete, before leaving the Jam Room.

Even pressed between John and Frenchie, Izzy seemed antsy. Fang scooped the smaller man up and cradled him in his lap, Wee John and Frenchie still on either side of him, even as Izzy grumbled and huffed about it. He accepted another bite of cookie from Wee John and downright purred when Frenchie continued to play with his hair.


Lucius stepped into the galley where Roach was cooking something again and Jim and Ivan were eating breakfast at the table. 

“Everything okay?” Jim’s head perked up instantly. Lucius had just left with the crew’s breakfast, he didn’t forget anything, so had something happened?

“What do you say to paying Izzy a visit?” Lucius asked, making them all pause and perk up. Full attention on him. 

Lucius had obviously never experienced Alpha instincts, but he had seen it from time to time. The way Jim got so protective over Oluwande and their newfound pack, how the crew gathered together to comfort the Swede just like they were doing now for Izzy. He could smell the alpha hormones radiating off of them, heightened by an omega in heat, an omega that was part of their pack. It was their instinct to take care of them. 

“Look, he’s kinda…shy. Nervous around Alphas. So, just don’t come on too strong or get too close without his permission,” Lucius told them. He didn’t doubt that they would behave themselves, but he had to make sure none of them got ahead of themselves.

“Obviously,” Jim rolled their eyes, they had seen how Izzy had reacted to their presence yesterday. 

“Like a stray cat,” Roach nodded seriously with understanding. If you tried to touch without permission, you got bit. Sounded reasonable to him.

“Surprised he’s even letting you guys help. He only let the captain near him when we were on the Anne.” Ivan could completely understand why Izzy would keep his distance from the few other alpha’s aboard the Queen Anne and he had never dared to offer his own services, despite having wanted to in the past, especially when the captain was busy with other things. The crew of the Queen Anne wasn’t a proper pack but, to Ivan, Fang and Izzy had felt like something close to it, and he knew that Fang felt the same way.

“I am not going to dive into that right now,” Lucius sighed. He definitely wanted to untangle that whole situation but now was certainly not the time. “So…you guys coming?”

They all nodded, abandoning the rest of their breakfast while Roach put out the stove, before following him out of the galley. Lucius was almost jealous, being able to have the whole crew wrapped around your finger in less than a day.

The four of them entered the Jam Room, the room that had been converted into one large nest. As soon as the door opened, the three alphas were hit by the scent of an omega in heat, no more barriers between them. Just a dizzying sweetness that made them keen.

Eyeing the alphas, Izzy curled up further into Fang. Their scents were on the verge of overpowering the rest of the pack but they slowly started to lace in nicely.

Jim gave Izzy a small nod before heading over to Oluwande, sitting down beside him and nuzzling a little against their bond mark. Only then did they relax. Olu smiled, nuzzling back against his alpha. 

“Morning Boss,” Ivan spoke like it was just any other day, knowing better than to make a big deal out of Izzy squirming in Fang’s lap and wearing Ivan’s shirt. Maybe, even if only on a subconscious level, Izzy had considered the two them pack before as well. 

“I brought more food!” Roach placed a new tray down by the empty one, this one was just filled with little snacks and another pitcher of water. 

“See, they all want to take care of you, boss,” Fang whispered to the omega.

“Fucking whatever,” Izzy muttered, but he still squirms, feeling that familiar heat building up again in his gut.

Fang and Ivan shared a look, conversing in a way you just learn when you work together so long aboard a ship.

“Can Ivan come over?” Fang asked, voice still quiet, letting Izzy make the choice alone.

Izzy looked over at the alpha, assessing him before nodding. They had sailed together for a long time and he had trusted him more than any of the other alpha on the Queen Anne. Izzy met his eyes, seeing no anger or threat on his face. So, he nodded.

Ivan was still slow about it as he kicked off his shoes and climbed into the nest, sitting beside Fang.

“You can get in too…” Izzy offered, looking at Roach, who was still standing on the outskirts of the nest. The cook grinned, showing off his teeth, as he made himself comfortable among the pillows and blankets, making sure to keep some distance between him and Izzy. He had been invited in, not invited close.

Lucius couldn’t help but smile, feeling proud of his hard work, as he made himself comfy in Pete’s lap. Looking over at Fang fussing over Izzy, Lucius wondered if he would have to share the larger man with the first mate even after his heat. Of course, he didn’t mind in the slightest.

“You’re doing a great job, babe,” Pete complimented, grinning adoringly at Lucius. 

“Thanks, babe,” Lucius snuggled up to his boyfriend, watching the grouchy first mate getting doted on. 

“He actually looks kinda…happy,” Pete smiled over at the first mate as well.

“I know…”


“Edward, will you please sit down?” Stede sighed, the constant movement beginning to give him a headache. “You’ve been pacing all morning and you barely slept last night.” 

“Why wouldn’t Izzy want me to know he was in heat?” Edward asked with a huff, though the question didn’t actually seem like it was directed at his co-captain.

“I’m sure he just didn’t want to disturb the running of the ship,” Stede reasoned.

“Except the whole fucking crew is down there. Buttons is the only one on deck!” Edward spoke as if it were some personal attack on him.

“They’re just taking care of their pack. I thought you’d be glad Izzy was integrating himself with the crew,” Stede couldn’t quite understand why Edward was so upset, he had wanted Izzy to integrate into the crew, to accept his place aboard the ship.

“Izzy never lets anyone near him when he’s in heat. Anyone who got too close when it was approaching ended up maimed. Now he’s okay with everyone being around him except me?”

“Darling, don’t take this the wrong way but I thought you said that Izzy wasn’t your omega.”

The two of them had spoken about it before, an alpha captain with an omega first mate, people were bound to make assumptions. Edward had been quick to reassure him that the two of them weren’t like that.

“He isn"t. He’s just…I would help him through his heats sometimes. Guess he trusted me. It wasn’t even for every heat!”

Stede knew they were going to have to talk about this more once Edward had calmed down, probably once Izzy’s heat was over, but now just wasn’t the time.

“If you’re worried, go check on him. I’m sure he won’t mind,” Stede suggested, hoping it might ease some of his mate’s worries.

“Maybe I will,” Edward huffed, dropping down in one of their chairs. 

“Okay…” Stede nodded slowly, confused by what was going on.


It was just after lunch when Edward decided to do as Stede suggested and check in on Izzy. Stede followed behind him, feeling like he should be there for Edward, he seemed somewhat distressed about this whole thing.

Edward didn’t bother knocking on the door of the Jam Room, he just let himself in. As soon as the door began to open, everyone in the room was looking in their direction, confusion on their faces since they were pretty sure that everyone was already in the nest.

Izzy didn’t seem to hear the door open and he had his back to it, perched in Ivan’s lap, fully nude now, his smalls discarded somewhere among the rest of the nesting materials. 

“Who’s running the ship?” Edward’s voice boomed through the room and Izzy instantly stilled before scrambling off of Ivan’s lap, pulling a blanket around himself.

The scent of an omega’s fear thickened in the air. That scent had been a tiny bit apparent since the alpha’s joined them, even then it was quick to fade back into content arousal. The scent had the whole crew growing protective, against their captains.

“Buttons is on watch, he has everything handled and will come get us if we’re needed,” Jim told them lowly.

“I’m sure the three of you can handle the ship for a few more days,” Roach reasoned, something more taunting than helpful to his tone.

Edward growled a little at the blatant disrespect, causing Izzy to shrink back into himself, the blanket being pulled tighter around him.

“Iz, you really need all this fussing?” Edward asked in a way that told the crew there was only one acceptable answer.

“No, Captain…” Izzy responded, tight and forced. “They can go. I’m fine.”

“The ship is fine. We’re here for Izzy,” Lucius huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Admittedly, he had been nervous around Edward ever since the whole being thrown overboard incident, but he felt safe surrounded by the whole crew.

“He’s fine, you heard him,” Edward scoffed, waving his hand at the bundle that was his first mate.

“Listen, Cabrón. We want to take care of Izzy, and that’s that,” Jim’s tone didn’t leave any room for argument. “Salir.”

“Well…perhaps Edward and I can set him up in our cabin. Make sure he’s alright while you tend to the ship,” Stede suggested.

Izzy went tense at the mere thought of it. Being surrounded by nothing but Bonnet’s scent. Even if Edward took the time to take care of him through his heat, he had never handled him like this, with this much care and love. 

“You’re upsetting Izzy,” the Swede frowned, shuffling closer to the other omega. 

“He asked for us. Not you,” Lucius reminded them.

“We’ve got everything handled,” Pete nodded, his chin held high in protest.

“Yeah, we can manage, captain,” Fang assured them, hoping it came off as generous rather than insubordinate.

“They seem to have it all covered, dear,” Stede agreed with the crew. They obviously knew how to take care of an omega better than he had been taught, and Izzy had seemed fairly content until they had intruded. 

Izzy whined against his will, even if you couldn’t smell his scent, he was visibly distressed. Everybody moved to coo at him and fuss over him like it was second nature.

“Alpha,” Izzy cried quietly, seemingly to no one in particular. Everyone paused their fretting for a moment. He hadn’t used that word like that yet. Hadn’t cried for an alpha, hadn’t referred to any of the alphas as that title.

While the crew seemed confused, slightly lost as to what to do, Edward perked up, his scent thickening. The omega was clearly calling out for him.

Wee John and Frenchie whispered reassuringly to Izzy before manoeuvring him to sit back on Ivan’s lap. Roach was quick to join them, scenting Izzy while Izzy scented Ivan, snuffling at each other’s necks.

Edward’s blood boiled at the sight of the omega being taken to other alphas, his mood only worsening when he could smell that Izzy was relaxing.

“Izzy!” The voice wasn’t Edward, it was Blackbeard. 

Izzy went still again, tense as he peered over at Edward. 

“Heel,” Blackbeard ordered.

Everyone complained, beginning to protest again, but Izzy just scrambled away from the crew to kneel at Edward’s feet. Hands holded in his lap, head hung so that his mussed up hair fell over his face.

Stede was honestly a little taken back by the display, trying his best not to let his gaze linger on Izzy. He deserved some modicum of decency.

“You said that this wouldn’t affect the crew,” Edward spoke lowly, gaze focused solely on Izzy, folded up at his feet. 

“I…they…I told them not to bother you with it. I didn’t ask them to do this,” Izzy explained himself, voice a little hoarse. They should get him another drink…

“Izzy,” Edward growled, stern and primal.

“Edward,” Izzy whined back, shifting uncomfortably on his knees.

In a flash, Edward grabbed a fist full of Izzy’s hair and tugged his head back, forcing him to look him in the eyes. 

“What was that?” Edward asked dangerously.

“Alpha,” Izzy corrected himself immediately, pupils blown. 

Edward softened a little then, his grip loosening and mood lightening. “C’mon, me and Stede have you,” he said, almost as if he was doing Izzy a favour. Izzy supposed he was, in a way, bringing him into their cabin. Just like when Edward had helped through past heats. They weren’t mates, they would never be bonded, Edward had made that clear. He was only ever doing him a favour.

Izzy didn’t hate the idea of being handed over to Ed for the rest of his heat, he thought that he preferred what the crew was offering him but he wouldn’t mind being taken care of by the alpha. 

Still, he glanced at Stede. Unsure. Things had been a little better, less hostile, but mostly because Izzy accepted that he couldn’t change this. Edward had mated with Bonnet and that was that, nothing could be done, he would just be a part of their lives from now on. But the thought of spending a heat with Stede…it made Izzy’s stomach churn. 

“Edward, perhaps we should discuss this,” Stede suggested. Admittedly, the thought of pampering Izzy in this condition appealed to some part of him, but the omega looked downright fearful of him. 

“Jim,” Oluwande nudged his alpha. He wasn’t sure that Izzy would say no to Edward even if he didn’t want it, so he thought it best for Jim to intervene. 

“I’ve got it.” Jim was on their feet quickly, striding over, pushing between Edward and Izzy. “We have everything handled,” they assured. The message, and threat, more than clear. 

Behind Jim, Olu came up to Izzy and gently took him by the shoulders. He gave the smaller man a friendly smile before pulling him away. Izzy sulked away with Oluwande, letting himself be planted in Wee John’s lap while the Swede and Frenchie fussed over him.

“You’re upsetting him. It’s time for you to leave,” Jim told them.

Edward flared, mouth curling up in a sneer. “Come on, Ed. The ship is fine, let’s leave them to it,” Stede prompted, placing a hand against his arm. 

Edward snarled but allowed Stede to whisk him away back to their cabin. 

“...that was weird,” Pete cleared his throat, the Jam Room falling into a sombre silence as the captain’s took their leave.

“Can’t believe Edward has the nerve to be jealous when he mated with Stede,” Lucius huffed.

“Getting a little protective there, babe,” Pete nudged him with a little smile. 

“It’s just not right,” Lucius mumbled. 

“Go take care of your Omega, babe,” Pete teased.

Lucius would protest but Izzy made such a sad sight at that moment. So, instead, he just poked his tongue out at Pete and crawled over to Izzy.

“You alright? That was kinda a lot,” Lucius asked, settling down in front of the omega.

Izzy just shrugged. 

He had been so warm and content, feeling all fuzzy and floaty, and then Edward barged in and it all came crashing down around him. He just wanted to get back to that place.  

Jim appeared beside Lucius, always so quiet when they moved, crouching down in front of Izzy. “You okay?” Jim received a small nod in response. “Want me to kill him?” 

Izzy’s eyes widened at them, knowing that they most likely would if he gave the go ahead. They hadn’t been shy about their attempts on Edward’s life when the Kraken was in control.

“...no, it’s okay. I’m okay,” Izzy shook his head quickly.

Jim nodded bluntly and held their wrist out, letting Izzy tentatively nuzzle against the scent gland there. Replacing the angry scent of Edward with Jim’s protectiveness. “There you go, Omega.” 

Izzy preened under the praise.

“Want to go back to Ivan?” Lucius asked as Jim pulled away.

Izzy considered it for a moment and then nodded, his face flushing pink. He thinks it was John that plopped him back down onto Ivan’s lap, the man instantly placing his large hands on his hips.

“You’re alright, Iz. We have you,” Ivan soothed, forgoing formalities and falling into endearments. 

Izzy didn’t seem to mind, was maybe even pleased. Whining as he nosed at Ivan’s jaw, wiggling in his lap.


It had taken some time to fully settle Izzy down again, the crew could feel how tense he had become as opposed to the boneless state he had been in before the captains barged in. They also didn’t miss the way he kept glancing towards the door, like he was worried it was going to swing open again.

Everytime Izzy looked towards the door, one of the alpha’s would distract him by scenting him and encouraging him to scent them back. It took time but the crew managed to get his mind off of the intrusion, helping him relax again.

It helped a lot when Jim positioned themselves in front of the door like a hired guard.

And just like the disruption never happened, Izzy happily lounged in the laps of his crew members like a spoiled lap dog, being doted on, and played with whenever he started to whine and squirm.


“Hungry?” Roach asked, laughing a little when he heard Izzy’s stomach growl. Izzy nodded against his shoulder. Roach grinned, pulling a tray of food closer like he had planned it from the moment he pulled Izzy down onto his lap. “I’ve made some of your favourites.”

“Favourites?” Izzy questioned, perking his head up to see what Roach was presenting him with.

“You’re not as subtle as you think, Hands,” Roach teased before getting to work at hand feeding Izzy bite sized pastries, cakes, and biscuits. The cook had noticed that Izzy had a bit of a sweet tooth, that he liked Roach’s cooking but would linger around the galley more when he was making a dessert.

Roach pressed his thumb against Izzy’s lips, encouraging him to suck the jam from the digit, laughing when Izzy nipped at his thumb. Apparently Izzy could be quite a sweet omega, but Roach did rather like when Izzy was a little more feral.

Once he was done eating, declining Roach’s next offer of baked goods, Izzy nuzzled into his neck, scenting him. Roach scented him back without complaint. Even though Izzy was an omega, it was a little surprising how sweet he smelt when in heat.

One of Roach’s hands brushed over Izzy’s bare stomach, slightly calloused fingertips against soft, though scarred, skin.

Izzy wiggled at the sensation, hips lifting for a second before dropping again, a frustrated little groan pressed against Roach’s neck. Izzy palmed at Roach’s chest and abdomen, the cook’s shirt still tucked somewhere in the nest.

“Yeah?” Roach asked, slipping his hand from Izzy’s stomach down between his legs.

“Yeah,” Izzy gasped against warm skin, surrounded by the haze of alpha hormones.

"Take what you need, little man."

Roach participated more than Lucius had on that first night, though the scribe had more than made up for it since then, clever fingers drawing moans and whines out of Izzy. Roach had one hand between his legs and the other arm wrapped around his waist to keep him from squirming away. But there was also a hand in his hair, another on his hip, and another playing with his chest. He couldn’t quite figure out who they belonged to but he didn’t really care, as long as they kept touching him.

His release had him gasping and whining wordlessly into Roach’s neck while somebody petted his hair and praised him. The hand in his hair was batted away and replaced by another, fingers curling in the strands and tugging slightly. Izzy hummed as he head was pulled away from Roach’s neck, instead being forced to meet the cook’s gaze.

Roach’s eyes shone with mischief as he brought his other hand up to Izzy’s mouth. The omega obeyed without hesitation, licking and sucking his digits clean of his tangy release. Roach smiled, toothy and pleased.

“Hot…” somebody, Izzy thought it sounded like Frenchie, whispered to themselves behind him.

With his belly full and heat in his gut cooled for the time being, Izzy lets himself doze off once again.


At the peak of his heat, everything became a bit of a blur for Izzy.

He was used to crying and sobbing through intense cramps and burning need but this time the burning was eased by the alphas around him. Each gently taking their turns with him whenever he pleaded for it. He was barely even able to get a couple of ‘pleases’ out before somebody was tending to him.

Somebody, one of the betas normally, would cradle his head in their lap, petting his hair and muttering praise while somebody else knelt behind him. In between knottings, Izzy would sometimes be laid on his back while somebody pressed their mouth between his legs, careful to soothe the sensitive area as they so kindly cleaned him up.


Izzy woke up one morning with a pleasant, sated, ache in his body. With a smile on his face, he stretched out like a cat in the sun, the soft pillows and blankets stroking his skin as he moved.

It wasn’t until he blinked his eyes open that he properly remembered where he was, the heavy fog of his heat lifting. In the Jam Room, whatever the fuck that meant, surrounded by nearly the entire crew in various stages of undress. Sitting up slowly, Izzy looked around and saw that nobody else was awake. It must have been early in the morning and he didn’t want to disturb anyone.

He had never felt so well rested after a heat. He had always felt weaker afterwards, sore and exhausted. Izzy’s body still ached a little but that wasn’t anything new to him and he was sure he had some marks that told the tale of what had happened over the last few days. He looked down and saw that his hips were slightly bruised, though not as deeply as they had been in the past. Flashes of his time with the crew flooded his mind and Izzy was sure that he had plenty of mouth shaped bruises over his neck and collarbones.

Still, he felt warm and content. Which was a strange feeling for him.

Izzy looked around for a moment before remembering that his clothes hadn’t been brought to the room with him, so he scavenged for his soiled smalls and reluctantly crawled towards the edge of the nest. He knew he should leave, that his heat was over that would be expected of him, but he was almost mournful to leave the room that had made him feel so safe. 

“Izzy?” Lucius’ voice was thick with sleep, making Izzy pause.

The first mate turned to him and cleared his throat. “Uh…heat’s over.”

“Oh…okay. What time is it?” Lucius frowned, pushing himself up. He was only wearing his breeches and Izzy couldn’t help but eye the red mark on his chest that he could remember putting there.

“Not sure. Early morning, I think,” Izzy shrugged.

Lucius seemed pleased with that answer for some reason. “The ship will survive for another couple of hours.”

“Wha-”

“Come back to bed, Iz,” Lucius invited him back in, as casual as ever. “Roach will be up first to make everyone breakfast. Just sleep until then.”

“I…alright,” Izzy supposed a few more hours wouldn’t change anything and he really couldn’t find it within himself to leave when he was being encouraged to stay.

Lucius smiled sleepily, taking the older man by the hand and tugging him back into the nest. He placed Izzy between him and Pete, they had learnt over the last few days that Izzy quite liked being squished between people. He liked the closeness even if he wouldn’t admit that in this state of mind.

“Hey, Iz,” Pete rumbled sleepily against the back of his shoulder, just cuddling closer before falling right back to sleep.

Izzy didn’t want to have to worry again just yet. Didn’t want to think about how things would be going forward, how the crew might think of him now, how Edward was going to react to the whole thing again. For now, he just let himself fall back to sleep.


Roach woke up only a couple of hours after Izzy went back to sleep. It didn’t take long at all for him to smell that Izzy’s heat was over, and he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.

He gathered his clothes and pulled them on, putting his shirt on for the first time in nearly a week. Roach then stepped over where Jim and Oluwande were cuddled up, quietly leaving the Jam Room.

Roach headed straight for the galley and set about making food. Once he had everything cooking, he prepared the captain’s morning tea and headed for their cabin. It would be the first time in the last few days that Roach delivered their tea on time. 

He knocked before letting himself into their cabin. They were both awake and sat at the table, only looking a little surprised to see him. “Morning, captains,” he placed the tea tray down on the table.

Both alphas could smell Izzy on him, even from their seats. “How’s Izzy?” Edward asked, forgoing pleasantries.

“Heat’s ended, I think. Will be shouting at us again in no time, I bet,” Roach assured them. 

“Oh, good,” Stede smiled. That was good news, wasn’t it? 

“Think we can use your bathroom, captain?” Roach asked. 

“Uh…” Stede blinked at him, like he wasn’t sure what the cook was asking for. 

“Izzy should take a bath. Y’know, help relax his muscles. Plus, I wouldn’t want to be wiggling into those leathers if I were him,” he explained, deciding against being too graphic with his more sensitive captain. Stede still cringed at the thought, rightfully so.

“He can use the bath,” Edward allowed and Stede nodded in agreement. The poor guy must be rather uncomfortable…


The bath was prepared after the crew had eaten breakfast and after the crew promised that they’d get the ship moving once Izzy had bathed and taken care of himself. Of course, now, he was more grumpy about the whole thing.

Once the bath was ready, Lucius took the first mate to the captain’s bathroom. Izzy had frowned a little at the water, it was scented with something that made it look a little cloudy.

“It’s just bath salts, you’re fine,” Lucius couldn’t help but be a little amused by the concerned look on Izzy’s face. “I picked something subtle. Cedarwood. Thought you might like it.”

Izzy sweeped his hand through the water, seeming satisfied that it wasn’t going to kill him. Lucius busied himself with laying out the soaps and washcloths, giving Izzy some privacy as he fiddled with Fang’s shirt. They had all taken breakfast in the Jam Room as a pack, and since Izzy didn’t have his clothes, Fang had offered his shirt to cover himself up with. 

“Don’t be shy, babe. Think we’re a little past that, don’t you?” Lucius smiled, knowing it sounded a little teasing but he didn’t mean it that way. That’s just how he talked.

Izzy must have been beginning to understand that though, because he mumbled to himself but still undressed. Discarding of the oversized shirt, Izzy noticed that Lucius was just kind of…waiting.

“You just going to watch or something?” Izzy muttered, flushing slightly.

“Thought I’d help,” Lucius shrugged. Of course, Lucius had never experienced a heat himself but he had experienced his fair share of marathon sex, he knew how nice some tender aftercare could be. Plus, Izzy was naturally tense, so Lucius figured he could use a hand.

“I’m not a child, I can bathe myself.” Even as he complained, Izzy stepped into the bath.

Lucius smiled at the sight of Izzy sinking down into the water, relishing in the little sigh he let out. Izzy had to admit that the warm water felt wonderful on his aching muscles, and the scent of the salts or soaps or whatever it was, was rather relaxing. “You’ve had a tiring few days, just thought I’d help you relax.”

“Why?” Izzy looked down at the water, dancing his fingertips over the surface. 

“Izzy, baby, I thought we were past this as well? We actually happen to like you, let me do something nice for you,” Lucius tutted fondly, kneeling beside the bathtub. “I’ll just wash your hair, won’t let my hands wander,” he promised.

Izzy nodded and Lucius lathered up some shampoo in his hands. “...maybe they can wander a little,” he whispered, sighing when Lucius’ fingers pressed into his scalp.

“You little seductress,” Luicus teased, smiling brightly. 

Even Izzy smiled to himself. It was a little smile but he was actually fucking smiling.

Lucius let Izzy enjoy the peaceful silence as he washed his hair. Turns out, the artist was really good at washing hair. He pressed his fingertips into all the right places of his scalp, occasionally scratching his nails over his scalp. And, thankfully, Lucius didn"t comment on it whenever Izzy let out little pleased hums.

The pleasant comfort of the room was disturbed, just as Lucius was washing out the conditioner, by a knock on the door.

Izzy tensed at the reminder of there being a whole crew on the other side of that door, while Lucius just huffed and muttered to himself. He ignored the insistent knocking for a few seconds, making sure to finish with Izzy’s hair before standing and going to open it. Izzy was tense but, at the same time, he was surprisingly calm, knowing that Lucius and the rest of the crew wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

Lucius cracked the door open, not letting the intruder see into the bathroom. On the other side of the door was Edward, an unreadable expression on his face but at least he didn’t seem angry. Lucius looked him up and down. “Can I help you?” he asked bitchily. 

“Want to talk to Iz,” Edward told him. Apparently he was beginning to understand that he couldn’t just barge in.

“Can it not wait?” Lucius asked. Izzy was being taken care of and he really wasn’t in the best shape to be getting into that whole thing he had going on with Edward.

“I’m not going to do anything, alright?” Edward sighed, pushing his frustration down. After their last interaction, he supposed he couldn’t really blame them for being cautious.

“Lucius,” Izzy sighed. He was only a few feet away, of course he had heard the whole thing. He wasn’t in heat anymore, he could deal with Edward and whatever he was going to say. “It’s fine,” he assured.

Lucius frowned slightly, looking over his shoulder at the first mate. “You sure?” 

“I’ll shout if he tries anything,” Izzy promised, rolling his eyes.

“Fine…but I’m getting Jim,” Lucius pouted, and Izzy believed him, before he stomped out of the bathroom, pushing past Edward purposely.

Edward ignored the not-so-intimidating threats and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. In the tub, Izzy pulled his knees up to his chest to help maintain some dignity.

“How you feeling?” Edward stood in the centre of the bathroom, looking out of place, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Alright,” Izzy shrugged, not properly looking at his captain.

Edward nodded. Izzy couldn’t remember ever seeing him so unsure. “They…didn’t hurt you or anything, right?”

Izzy held back his scoff. “You know they didn’t, Ed,” he sighed instead.

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” Edward asked, deflating.

“You kinda freaked out…kinda embarrassed me…” Izzy shrugged. 

“You never let me take care of you like that.” 

Izzy’s face screwed up, it wasn’t like Edward ever tried and he rebuffed him. “You never offered,” he reminded him.

“...I’m sorry, Iz…”

Izzy’s head snapped up at that. Edward was apologising? Has Ed ever apologised to anyone? He certainly hadn’t apologised to Izzy for anything, though Izzy had never held that against him.

“I shouldn’t have barged in, shouldn’t have talked to you like that…” Edward knew he had messed up, the crew had made sure he knew that, and he had spoken more about his reaction with Stede afterwards. “Just wanted to be the person you came too,” he admitted.

“I didn’t go to them, they came to me,” Izzy pointed out. He really had only intended to correct Edward, but both of them were aware of the implication. Edward hadn’t come to him.

Edward refrained from snapping, knowing it was deserved. “That’s what you want during your heats?” he asked, as if he couldn’t even process the possibility of Izzy wanting to be treated…softly.

Izzy sighed, shoulders dropping, as he absently played with some of the suds on the surface of the water. “Of course it is, Ed. It’s… instinct or whatever. Just never been anywhere I could have that…never had a pack.”

“And now we do,” Ed nodded in understanding.

“Yeah…they’re alright, I guess,” Izzy shrugged. Even now, he couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly at the thought of those lovable imbeciles. “You gonna punish Jim for threatening you?” he asked, looking genuinely concerned when he lifted his head.

“Nah. I kinda deserved it. Plus they were looking out for you, so…they’re forgiven or whatever,” Edward declared with a small smile. “I’ve taken care of you in the past…think I could now? Help you bathe like the boy was doing?”

Izzy looked at his captain for a moment. Edward never really asked if he could take care of him before, especially not tenderly, he would normally just decide that he’d be offering help during Izzy’s heat. Never asked .

“Yeah…suppose you could,” Izzy nodded.

Edward smiled properly this time, one of those bright smiles that Izzy hadn’t seen for a long time before they stumbled upon the Revenge. He hadn’t smiled at Izzy like that in a long time.

Edward messily tied his hair up with a ribbon he had wrapped around his wrist and knelt by the side of the tub, not caring about his bad knee and Izzy decided not to chastise him about it for once.

Grabbing a washcloth and the bar of soap that Lucius had picked out, Edward lathered up the cloth and got to work. He started at Izzy’s shoulders, wiping the cloth over the damp skin. He was suddenly struck with the thought that he had never helped Izzy wash up before, not when he wasn’t significantly injured anyway. Even when he did help Izzy through his heat, Izzy always sorted himself out afterwards.

As Edward worked from his shoulders, down over his back and chest, his gaze was drawn to the marks that littered his skin. The bruises were all different shapes and sizes with colours of varying intensity. All of them appeared to be made from somebody’s mouth, somebody else’s mouth, scattered all over his upper body. He couldn’t see the damage to Izzy’s lower body through the sudsy, cloudy water but he could imagine that the lovebites carried on.

Edward had been getting better at analysing his emotions, thinking through them properly. Thinking before acting, he and Stede had talked a lot about that after his return. He knew his frustration was coming from a place of jealousy, maybe even possessiveness, and he also knew that it wasn’t the time nor place. He decided against commenting on the marks, at least Izzy had somebody to take care of him and cherish him the way he should have done all those times in the past.

Edward wiped over Izzy’s legs before pulling his hand back out of the water, he couldn’t recall Izzy ever looking so relaxed. 

“Do you think that…for your next heat, I could help?” Edward asked. 

Izzy immediately tensed a little. He had really enjoyed being taken care of by the pack, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before and he realised that he would like to experience it again. At least once more. He finally knew what it was like to be a part of a pack, to have people around him who cared and he could trust, he didn’t think he could survive if he lost all of that now. 

“With the others, I mean. You’d still have everyone there to dote on you,” Edward teased fondly, just like he used to. He wasn’t asking to own him for his heat, not anymore, he wanted to be part of whatever had been so good for Izzy. Wanted to do something right.

Izzy relaxed a little at the clarification, that didn’t sound so bad, he might even like Edward being there. There was the worry that Edward would try to take control of the whole thing once the hormones kicked in, but then he remembered that the rest of the crew would be there, they would make sure everything was alright.

“Yeah…suppose you could join us.” He didn’t want it to sound like a big deal but it kind of felt like it was, that Edward wanted to help and care in the way Izzy had always wanted him to.

“Thanks, Iz,” Edward sounded like Izzy was doing him a favour.

Then reality came flooding back to Izzy. Edward wasn’t just Edward anymore, was he? “I don’t know about Bonnet…” he stared back down at the water, feeling like he had just thrown out some sort of deal breaker.

“If you don’t want Stede there, he won’t be. Okay?” Ed promised. He didn’t even think about it, like the response was obvious.

“He’s your mate…” 

“Yeah, Iz. But you’re mine too,” Edward took Izzy’s face in his hands, turning his head to look at him.

“Ed-” Izzy could feel himself tearing up but how could he help it when Ed was looking at him with those big brown eyes.

“Going to do it right this time. My Izzy,” Edward promised, stroking his thumb over the cross under Izzy’s eye. 

“I’ll think about it,” Izzy mumbled but Ed only gave a confused little hum. “About Bonnet being there. I’ll think about it. No promises.”

He really couldn’t see himself becoming comfortable enough around Bonnet to let him in on his heat but he supposed stranger things had happened. If the day came and he didn’t want Bonnet anywhere near him, Edward would respect that, wouldn’t he? Even if Edward didn’t, the rest of the crew would. Hell, he actually felt like he could rely on them now…

“Whatever makes you comfortable, Iz,” Edward promised, sounding like he really meant it. “It’s your heat, it’s your decision.” A hand slipped around to the nape of Izzy’s neck, toying with the wet hair there.

Izzy sighed, going nearly limp at the touch. He couldn’t help but lean into Edward’s body heat but his captain didn’t seem to mind, not seeming to care about his clothes getting wet. Izzy sighed as he nuzzled into Ed’s neck, the scent familiar and comforting because of that.

Edward shifted and Izzy was worried he was going to be pushed away, that he had crossed the line. Instead, the hand on the back of his neck just guided him closer, letting the omega scent him while Edward scented him right back.

Izzy’s heat might be over but it had only ended a few hours ago, so there were still some residual hormones lingering in his system.

“I like this crew, Ed,” Izzy confessed quietly.

“Yeah…yeah, they’re pretty good,” Edward agreed, combing fingers through wet hair.


Edward had ordered that Izzy take it easy after his bath, as if he hadn’t run a ship during a waning heat before. At least the crew listened, getting the ship into shape before getting the Revenge moving again. The day had gone by pleasantly, the ship running smoothly and having a warm dinner. 

Izzy’s favourite thing about the day was that the crew didn’t act like he was some child, or some fragile housepet of an omega. They gave him a look over once he came out onto the deck, dressed in his usual attire, but seemingly realised that things were back to normal. He was perfectly capable of being their first mate and they knew it. The only thing that changed was that he and the crew had come to some sort of silent understanding.

The day had gone fine. Izzy actually felt good.

The day had gone smoother than any Izzy could remember in a while, so why was he tossing and turning on the thin mattress of his cot. He never had been a good sleeper, only ever got a few hours before waking with the sun. But this was different. It wasn’t his usual restlessness, it all just felt wrong…

With a groan, Izzy mushed his face into his pillow. That’s when he realised what was wrong. The room smelt like him, but only him. The scent of pack had been washed off of his skin and replaced with calming cedarwood, his clothes hadn’t even been that close to the pack, not close enough for the scent of pack to sink into the threads.

The cabin just didn’t feel right anymore, it didn’t even offer the small sense of security it once did. His cabin was safer than the deck, but the pack was safer still.

Izzy tried not to actively think about what he was doing, knowing he would only talk himself out of it. He slipped off of the cot and pulled on some cotton pants and a shirt. He didn’t even waste time with his boots, instead just padding up onto the deck where the crew was sleeping.

They slept like a pack, all together, mostly huddled up for warmth and comfort. And Izzy stood on the outside of their sleeping area, suddenly regretting his moment of weakness. He didn’t even know if they would want him there, if he would be welcome. He allowed himself another moment to long for the warmth they radiated before beginning to turn. 

“Just lie down. You’re being creepy,” Roach mumbled from his hammock.

Izzy spluttered at being caught but Roach had already fallen back to sleep, clearly not bothered by the thought of him joining them. He took another look around, it didn’t seem like anyone was awake or noticed he was there. 

He tried to find a place he might be able to slip into. His gaze landed on Ivan and Fang, who were sleeping side by side and sharing a blanket. 

Before he could talk himself out of it, again, Izzy tiptoed over to the sleeping men. As carefully as he could, he crawled under the blanket and nudged his way between them.

The two of them groaned and muttered senselessly as they woke up. Apparently they had felt safe enough among the crew to not shoot awake at the slightest disturbance.

“Wha-”

“Who-”

“Shut up…twats,” Izzy grumbled, making himself comfy between the both. If even one of them mentioned that he was joining them or dared to question him, he’d be back in his cabin in a flash.

Thankfully, the two men didn’t question him. They didn’t even hesitate before wrapping their strong arms around him, sandwiching him between their broad bodies. 

“Night, Iz,” Fang whispered and Ivan hummed something like agreement.

Izzy let himself relax, snuggling in as the two men shuffled ever closer, finding himself falling asleep contently. And if he was purring, just a little bit, then that was his business.

Notes:

I can definitely see myself writing more for this universe so feel free to speak about any follow up instalments!
Thank you for reading!

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