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Stede is lying on Izzy’s chest while they both are still trying to catch their breaths and he is already worrying about the moment the first mate is going to tense under him and start moving to get up from his bed.
It’s always like that, Izzy always leaves shortly after they have finished, while the sweat is still drying on their skin. Stede had tried different tactics to stop him from leaving, but nothing has worked so far. Soft words and pet names have simply made the man bristle and leave faster and pretending to fall asleep on top of Izzy has only earned him a poke in the ribs or a shove to the side.
Izzy doesn’t cuddle, doesn’t stay the night. They barely kiss at all and when they do it’s rough and bruising and Stede is not complaining, not really, because he enjoys it, but something is telling him that the first mate longs for more. It’s the way Izzy’s breath catches when Stede calls him darling (before grunting and glaring at him for that), it’s the way his eyes turn soft and vulnerable for a second when Stede gets inside of him (before turning his face away, trying to hide it).
Deep down Stede knows Izzy craves a soft touch and sweet words, but for some reason he doesn’t let himself have them. But Stede is nothing if not persistent. Be alert and wait for an opening, Izzy is always repeating during their sword training, and those words keep echoing in Stede’s head all the time. Wait for an opening and when you see it, don’t hesitate.
So when after a few minutes, after their heartbeats have barely slowed down, Stede feels Izzy’s body relax slightly underneath his, he doesn’t waver. He turns his head slowly to lay a kiss on Izzy’s collarbone, holds his breath and waits. The first mate lets out a soft gasp, but doesn’t move otherwise and Stede sees his opening right there and goes for it.
Stede moves up slowly, leaving a trail of kisses all over Izzy’s skin. Another kiss on the collarbone, a soft brush of lips on the side of the neck, a few more kisses following the path to his jaw. Then, without missing a beat, he pushes himself up on an elbow and keeps going, relentlessly leaving kisses on Izzy’s jaw, on his cheek, on the star tattoo and then, finally, he presses their lips together.
And Izzy… Izzy melts underneath him. When Stede brushes his tongue against his lower lip, he moans softly, lips parting immediately and Stede deepens the kiss, licking into his mouth greedily. Izzy whines into his mouth, low and needy, and his arms wrap around Stede, holding him tightly as he finally kisses him back.
They kiss, deep and slow, again and again and Izzy doesn’t leave Stede’s bed until the rising sun wakes them up the next morning.