I'm Really Proud Of Them For This ! - Tumblr Posts
🪐 — EDWARD TEACH for izzy !
❛ thought you’d be up here. ❜ he finds izzy in the crow’s nest, high above deck. edward is not as fast or graceful as he used to be ( or young, for that matter ), but he settles beside him just the same. for a while he just breathes, slow, unhurried, gaze lost to the clouds blanketing the moon from proper view, simply enjoying the chance to be doing this. edward feels calmer than he has in months — years, if he has to be honest — with izzy at his side and the certainty that he is not going anywhere bestowed upon him like a blessing, so when he turns and settles a hand just below izzy’s knee the rush of sorrow spearing through his heart is dimmer than it had been a few days ago.
edward had come back safe and sound from his lone venture like he said he would, and they had talked, probably for longer than they ever had. honesty poured out of each of them in turn, some hard to hear, but very much needed. let’s stop hurting each other, yeah? we’ve done enough of that and fuck off, izzy. twenty years and not a word of this? he had said that chasing away tears with a startled laugh, a breath distance away from izzy’s mouth. which he had kissed soundly, moments later.
still, words now crawl up his throat feeling like pieces of broken glass. ❛ does it still hurt? ❜ guilt laden grimace casts the edges of his mouth downwards, but it’s an important question ( even if it’s coming in a bit late ) and edward wants izzy to answer him truthfully. his hand stays well enough away from his maimed foot, though it sneaks gently down to his clothed calf, finally coming to a stop there.
IT’S A CHALLENGE TO GET UP HERE, even if you’re uninjured, even if you’re young. izzy is neither any longer. but it’s why he knows he likely won’t be disturbed. & here, there’s no chance of him running into one of the ship’s many pairs of happy lovers sharing an intimate moment beneath the moonlight. he’s still trying to wrap his head around everything, old dogs & new tricks. edward loves stede, but he loves izzy, too. & they have promised each other that things can be different between them. that they won’t hurt each other any more. & even lucius may say that it really is fine with black pete all that had happened between he & izzy — that there was no bad blood between them all, no matter what izzy wanted moving forward. but regardless of what anyone says, or how kind & welcoming they all are, it often just feels that he simply doesn’t fit down there. no, izzy belongs up here. sometimes, he fancies himself a black-clad crow, safe & solitary in its nest. but when he feels the rope ladder shift long after bonnet’s absurd bedtime story had fallen into silence, izzy is surprised to see ed climbing toward him. he’s usually retired to the captain’s quarters with bonnet by now, but there he is, pulling himself slow but sure into the nest to sit beside his first mate. he’s silent for a long moment, but when he speaks, edward’s hand falls onto izzy’s leg. & there are at least two layers of black fabric separating their skin, but still he shudders at the point of contact. has to stop himself from leaning into the touch. & the wings of the bird tattoo on his throat shifts when he draws a shaky breath. he’s no crow, & he cannot pretend to be — no, izzy is a swallow, & swallows mate for life. even still, he has to bite back a lie. blackbeard would have rewarded him for shrugging it off & going about his work while denying the pain. ut blackbeard is dead, & things are meant to be different between he & edward now. & lucius is forver making him say what he wants, tell the truth. so izzy knows by now how to swallow around the old lump of fear in his throat at & unlock his jaw, voice even more hoarse than usual after hours of disuse. ❝ it hurts, ❞ he admits, tone low as he looks out over the glittering sea. ❝ but i’ve had worse. it’s only really bad when i stand on it for too long. ❞ & slowly izzy drags his eyes back to his captain’s face, the moonlight catching in his long hair, gleaming even brighter now than it did in his youth thanks to the streaks of silver that runs through it now. ❝ & you, capt — ed ? your knee must be doing fine, for you to climb the ladder like that. ❞