Chapter Text
Stede heard the knocking on the door and stood up in an instant, straightening his jacket nervously.
“Yes, come in!”
He had been anxiously moving the plates on the table and rearranging the chairs for quite some time while he waited for Izzy to arrive. A part of him had been worried about Izzy changing his mind and he had been avoiding the first mate the whole day out of this fear. Ridiculous, yes, but Izzy couldn’t tell him he wasn’t going to come in the end if he couldn’t talk to him at all, couldn’t he? He would have to show up for dinner, even if it was just to tell Stede he thought this was a terrible, horrible idea.
When finally Izzy walked in, wearing a full new outfit, Stede gasped in surprise.
“Oh, Izzy, you look lovely tonight! Those colors really suit you!”
Izzy tried to hide a flinch, but still Stede noticed it and he felt bad, he had probably been too enthusiastic about his new clothes.
“It’s not as if you don’t usually look dashing in your black attire, Izzy, because you do,” he added nervously. “This is just a nice change-I mean, a different choice that-“
“It’s all right, Bonnet, I get it, thank you,” Izzy replied. “You-you also look… lovely, in that outfit. It’s very… colourful,” he added, looking with a barely concealed grimace at the turquoise outfit Stede had finally chosen to wear after two hours going through his full wardrobe.
They stared at each other, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, until Stede gestured politely toward the table where dinner was waiting for them.
Roach had done an amazing job getting ready a wonderful dinner in such a short time and even though they hadn’t had enough oranges for Stede’s favorite cake, Roach had managed to make a delicious-looking carrot cake for the two of them. The cook had claimed that Izzy would probably enjoy this one more, considering that this way they wouldn’t have to worry about running out of oranges and the crew getting scurvy again.
Stede explained the different dishes to Izzy through their dinner, excitedly praising Roach’s culinary talent, but aside from that and Izzy’s unusually polite brief remarks, they ate in silence most of the time.
While at breakfast their silence had been nice and easy, this quietness felt quite uncomfortable and Stede tried to fill it with small talk again and again, unsuccessfully. The weather had always seemed a good way to start a conversation, he thought, so he decided to try that as a last resort.
“Will we have a nice weather tomorrow, do you think?”
“There’re no signs of more storms at the moment, Captain,” Izzy replied immediately. “But even if there’s a sudden weather change, we could get the Revenge ready in no time. The crew has been doing some drills-“
“Oh, no, that’s not what I-, I mean, that’s great Izzy, but I was simply trying to… Oh, it’s not important…”
“Storm drills are important,” Izzy replied, looking half confused and half offended.
“Yes, of course, of course, I know they are,” Stede immediately trying to appease him. “I was simply making some conversation, not… trying to get a report on the ship’s condition. That’s all!”
Izzy frowned, still looking confused and Stede sighed and decided the carrot cake was his best option at the moment.
“Roach is certain that you’re going to love this, Izzy,” he said as he cut a generous slice for the first mate.
“Thank you,” Izzy mumbled, still frowning.
When he took a bite of it, though, his whole face changed. Roach seemed to be right, Stede thought delighted as he watched the pleased look on the first mate’s face as he tasted the carrot cake.
Stede didn’t wait any longer to try it himself and oh, goodness, it was delicious. He was going to have to congratulate Roach profusely, not only for the tasty cake but also for making Izzy enjoy the dinner when he obviously hadn’t managed to be an entertaining company for the first mate.
“It’s really, really good,” Izzy said, smiling lightly. “Roach is a great cook.”
“Yes, we’re very lucky to have him,” Stede said sincerely. “And we’re also very happy to have you with us too, Israel,” he added.
They went back to eat the rest of the cake in silence, much to Stede’s dismay, but that didn’t take them long and soon they were just sitting there with empty plates and apparently, nothing to say to each other.
Izzy was fidgeting with the napkin, looking restless and Stede’s heart sank. This had been a disaster, he was so nervous and Izzy was so clearly uncomfortable, but he was sure Izzy felt something for him. Maybe he had approached the issue the wrong way and shouldn’t have been so blunt, but the crew had sworn they believed Izzy would respond better to a direct approach and well, Stede had trusted them. Now, though, he was wondering if they might have been wrong or maybe the problem was simply that Izzy didn’t like him like that.
Stede was starting to panic, wondering what he could do to make things better when Izzy stood up, dropping the napkin on the table.
“The dinner is finished, right?” Izzy asked, looking straight at him.
Stede’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Izzy was going to leave, he had made him so uncomfortable that he didn’t want to stay any longer there with him.
“Yes, Izzy, but I was hoping we could have one drink at least,” Stede replied with deep sadness. “Before saying goodbye.”
“Maybe later,” Izzy replied. “I was thinking you’ve been missing too many sword fighting lessons lately, with the storm and all. You could do with some practice, Captain.”
“Now?” Stede asked, a hopeful smile appearing on his face.
“It’s a lovely night for sword training, I think,” Izzy replied, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Oh, I think you’re right, Izzy,” Stede agreed, beaming.
***
In a few minutes they were outside, ready to practice under the moonlight. Stede had changed faster than ever before in his whole life and now he was wearing one of his comfortable training outfits, just some loose trousers and a linen shirt. Meanwhile, Izzy had taken off the jacket and was waiting for him with the sleeves rolled up and the sword in his hand.
He looked way more confident and relaxed than he had been during their awkward dinner and the sight of him, so proud and so handsome, with the light of the full moon shining on the blade of his sword, took Stede’s breath away.
“Ready, Captain?” Izzy said, smirking at him.
“Of course, Izzy, you lead,” Stede said, raising his sword and getting into position.
They trained leisurely, no strain and no heat in their attacks. It was relaxed and playful, and they both were enjoying it more than they had enjoyed the rest of the evening. Stede certainly was and if the smile on Izzy’s face was of any indication, he was too.
The crew was sleeping inside after the horrible weather of the last days so they didn’t have to worry about tripping over them and they moved freely around the deck, clashing their swords, and dodging each other’s attacks smoothly.
They eventually stopped in the middle of the deck, panting, their swords pointing at each other. Izzy’s smile was blinding, a rare and honest happiness on his face that Stede had rarely been able to see and he knew the same joy must be showing on his own face as well. This, this was a moment of true happiness, Stede realized, and he wanted to live a thousand more like this.
Izzy thrust at him deliberately and Stede, instead of parrying and moving away, took a step toward him, blocking the attack with his sword and keeping them locked. Izzy lowered his sword to the side and moved forward, bringing their bodies together and when their eyes met Stede could see Izzy’s were dark and hungry.
“Stede…” he said softly.
“Yes?”
“You still leave your left side unprotected too often.”
“Oh, shut up, Israel,” Stede replied fondly.
“Make me,” he said with a smirk, tilting his chin up.
Stede didn’t hesitate then, he leaned down and kissed him breathless. Stede let his sword drop first, his arms wrapping around Izzy’s waist to bring him closer and then Izzy let go of his, his hands grasping Stede’s shirt tightly as if he never wanted to let go.
They kissed lazily under the moonlight and when they eventually parted for breath Stede shyly asked Izzy if he wanted to come back to his cabin with him. Izzy said yes without hesitation and Stede’s heart soared.
Smiling, Stede took his hand and together they walked back to the captain’s cabin and this time, once they were inside, Stede remembered to lock the door behind them.
***
The next morning, a loud knocking woke Stede up. He groaned as he turned on his side carefully, trying not to wake up the sleeping first mate that was curled against him at the moment.
He could hear hushed voices on the other side of the door and it wasn’t difficult to guess the crew had worried when Izzy had been nowhere to be found again.
“Are you crazy? Why did you knock, pendejo?”
“Well, you didn’t want me to pick the lock, didn’t you?”
“Maybe there is a secret passage to that room?”
“Guys, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Stede felt Izzy groaning against his chest and he guessed there was no point in keeping it quiet anymore.
“Guys, I know you mean right,” Stede said loudly. “But if you don’t leave immediately and let us rest a bit longer, I’ll put all of you on barnacle duty for a month. We’ll have a very clean ship!”
“Two months!” Izzy yelled turning around on the bed.
There was a chorus of ‘Sorry, Captain’ and ‘Sorry, Izzy’ and then some footsteps as the crew walked away.
“This fucking crew,” Izzy said, a fond smile on his face.
“Yes, but what would we do without them?”
Stede smiled and leaned down to kiss him softly, wondering if it would be too difficult to convince Izzy to stay in his bed for a bit longer. Well, he guessed he was going to have to do his best.