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SAME SCARS

Stede x Izzy x Ed | Our Flag Means Death

Apologies if this seems rushed but I haven't written in six years lmao

Izzy is getting a little bit slow in his older age and it's not working out for his line of work.

Israel Hands wasn't as fast as he used to be.

Probably a bad idea for a man working as protection for Stede Bonnet, appointed by Blackbeard himself. The sappy blond got himself in trouble worse than a teenage boy surrounded by three whorehouses.

Like now, where a Spanish ship somehow caught up with them and decided to take revenge for what Stede's crew did to their sister ship.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill that twat of a captain!" Izzy growled as he slashed and stabbed at the offending soldiers. Bloodstained his face, his leather snagged and torn by offhand blows.

The Spaniards were growing thin, most lay bleeding in the light-colored deck. Stede will scream when he sees the stains they leave behind. Hell, Izzy didn't even know where that fuckwad of a captain was at the moment. He wanted to feel glad he was free of the idiot, but he caught himself watching and hoping to see Stede's blond curls bouncing around and avoiding getting hurt.

It was when he thought he was fully alone, safe to look for Stede, safe to lower his weapon, when he made the worst mistake he could have ever made.

Israel assumed. He assumed he was alone. He assumed he was safe to look for Stede. He assumed he could lower his weapon.

The sun beat down on Israel, his cheeks were pink with sunburn and he was already exhausted. The ocean roared in his ears, completely drowning out any noise from the ship.

It was too late to defend himself when a final Spaniard jumped down from the upper deck with a vengeance and stabbed Israel in the middle of his stomach. Pain ricocheted all around his body. He thought getting shot in the hip had hurt all those years ago, but this was something else entirely.

"Fuck."

The soldier slowly pulled the dagger out to leave the smaller man to die. The pull was accented by a sickening squelch, Izzy wanted to vomit.

"Unhand him you cur!" a lively voice yelped from behind Izzy.

"Fuuuuuck."

"You won't do shit, Gentleman Pirate," the Spaniard spat.

"I may not, but—!" Stede cut himself off with a scream.

The Spanish soldier dropped in a spray of blood.

"I will." Edward was revealed holding his gun with a terrifying grin as the Spaniard fell. He, too, was covered in blood and glistened with sweat in the sun.

"Aha! The final one is down!" Stede laughed giddily. His hand found Israel's shoulder, shaking him, and Izzy didn't have the energy to yell at him.

"What the fuck were you doing, Iz? Usually, they're dead before Stede can talk," Edward said. Stede nodded quickly in agreement.

Izzy grunted and tried to put more pressure on his wound. His hand was slick with blood when he pulled it back to inspect the damage.

"Is this enough of an excuse?" he asked, showing the bloodstained hand to both captains that were fretting over him. The bloodloss finally got to Izzy and it wasn't long before he hit the deck leaving Edward and Stede to flounder about and figure out what to do.

———

"Izzy... Israel. Dizzy fucking Izzy!"

Israel knew that voice. Calico Jack.

"Ja-Jack?" he cracked out. His voice hurt like he hadn't used it in years.

"You're getting old, fuckface." Calico Jack appeared in front of Izzy. He stood, towering over where the injured lay.

"I'm not. He just fucking surprised me. You're the one getting old."

Jack laughed something haunting, "Sure. First Mate Israel Hands got 'surprised'. Good fucking joke man."

"What do you want from me?"

"I just came to tell you that you're useless now. Edward will see it soon enough. Hell, Stede fucking Bonnet is more useful than you now. At least he can reach the top shelf," Jack sneered, "Soon enough Edward will come crawling back to me. Begging on hands and knees for me to join his fucking crew in replacement of you."

"Shut the fuck up." Izzy hated how his voice shook. "Ed is through with you. Stede threw you off the fucking ship."

"Oh, you know I'll keep coming back, Izzy. I'm always the first choice before you. Don't fuckin forget, the only reason you got first mate was because I was good enough to get my own crew. You never would have been good enough for your own. And now look at you. "

Izzy grunted and clenched his fists. Jack was hitting him with low blow after low blow and it hurt more than his stab wound.

"You are so...fucking...useless...."

It was silent. Calico Jack had faded away and there was nothing left around. Even the sound of the ocean, something that followed Izzy everywhere, was missing.

It didn't last long.

"Israel Hands!" the shrill voice of Israel's mother, Esther, rang out.

Izzy flinched. His mother was never the nicest person ever, especially with Izzy. She called her punishments the 'orders of God'. Effectively pushing her young son away from the protestant religion.

"Mum?"

"God warned me when you were young that I would have to discipline you into being a God-fearing young man. Apparently, I didn't do it enough," she hissed.

"You made me fear you instead!" Izzy replied. "I ran off to become this because of you!"

"You were never good enough, Israel. Your sister was always going to be the favorite and I had to show you one way or another. She was the prized pig. You were always going to be the runt of the litter being sold to the slaughter."

"I tried!" Izzy croaked, "I tried so hard for you to love me and look at where I am now. Dying in a shithole of a ship with a fucking graveyard of a crew."

"God may be an understanding man, but he will never accept a disappointment like you."

"God abandoned me the moment I was born. He didn't fuckin' want me in the first place."

Izzy's mother smiled a sickeningly sweet, too many teeth grin, "I didn't either. Burn in hell, pirate."

It wasn't long after that Izzy fell into a much more peaceful, silent, blackout.

———

It had been weeks since Israel Hands had been stabbed. Thankfully Edward and Stede had been smart enough to patch the wound and keep it clean. Roach helped sew as much as he could, but he was never the master at it and Frenchie vomited when he saw the damage.

But today Izzy was finally waking up.

The grey-haired man grunted quietly, slowly coming to. Hushed voices faded in and out and were more unintelligible than Izzy wanted.

"Ed.....worried about.....you look like shit......it'll be....doing the best we can," Stede's voice drifted in and out.

"But....been there for me....love him...like you..." Ed seemed to reply.

"I do too, but.....figure it out....awake. Sleep. I'll find you if anything changes."

Izzy fully awoke to the sound of retreating footsteps. He grunted in pain and slowly looked around the room. He seemed to be in the captain's quarters, lying snugly on the white silken sheets that Stede so carefully chose.

"God fucking damnit," he croaked out. He tried to turn over to his side but waves of pain crashed through him instead. He would never admit it, but he yelled out in pain.

"No. No...no no-no-no. Oh, Izzy. It's entirely too early for you to move like that," Stede rushed over to the edge of the bed. The blond gingerly sat, blocking Israel's only exit.

Izzy had never heard his name spoken so softly before. He melted. The grey-haired man groaned and went limp, flopping back onto his back and sunk into the feather-filled mattress.

"If you would like, I can help you sit on the side of the bed," Stede said softly.

Izzy hated how soft Stede's voice was. He also hated what he was about to say, "Please..."

Stede grinned and stood up. He held out his hands for Izzy to grab onto. Izzy noticed how soft his hands looked compared to his, ones that have never worked a hard job in their entire life.

Izzy followed his lead. Hand in hand, Stede (who was uncharacteristically strong for being previous gentry) pulled up the smaller man and helped him to the edge of the bed. A slight chill ran down Izzy's spine, the porthole windows were cracked open to let in some fresh air, cooling the sweat on his bare back.

"Oh, dear," Stede said. He looked down at the dressings covering Israel's stomach. "It seems as though it's time for a dressing change."

Izzy looked down. The bandages were yellowed with sweat and blood stained the center a dark crimson. If he didn't want an infection, he definitely needed them cleaned and changed.

Stede turned and fussed about on the other side of the room, humming some sort of sea shanty he had to have heard through Spanish Jackie's pub or even Frenchie.

"How long was I out?" Izzy asked.

"Three weeks...we were worried about you. Roach did his best and my book knowledge helped some, but it was just a waiting game," Stede replied. He turned to look Izzy straight in the eye, "I'm glad you're back, Israel."

Izzy felt pinned by his stare, only broken when Stede turned back around to gather the bandages. He felt as though he wanted to cry. Stupid fucking Stede Bonnet and his stupid fucking kindness making the first mate to Blackbeard soft.

"Alright, my dear. Lucius brought some fresh wrappings on board the last time we were at port. Ed got some salves from Jackie. She wasn't thrilled, but Ed is very persuasive!"

Stede carried on rambling about what all he had while Izzy just stared, open-mouthed and slightly red at the way 'dear' seemed to slip so easily out of Stede Bonnet's mouth.

"You know, I've read very little on medical practices but I'm sure I can figure this out," Stede laughed slightly. Izzy sobered and recognized the nervous energy that seemed to be thrumming just under the blond's skin as he turned to look at his underling.

"Lotta fuckin' trust you have in yourself," Izzy laughed dryly. He hadn't laughed in ages.

Stede startled, but a small smile graced his sun-kissed (and lightly freckled, not that Izzy was looking so close) skin. He turned to collect the small hoard of supplies he had gathered to clean Israel's wounds. As soon as he was done, he turned and kneeled at the bedside.

"Now, this may hurt quite a bit," Stede said just barely above a whisper.

Izzy barely registered what he had said, Stede was just tall enough that the top of his (perfectly curled) hair just brushed the edge of Izzy's nose. It smelled of lavender and chamomile tea, things Izzy was too damaged to keep pure.

Delicate, non-calloused hands slowly started unraveling the stained bandages that protected his wound. Though the hands were soft and tried their best not to hurt the healing tissue, a sharp tug on the final layer caused Izzy to suck in a sharp gasp and grip the sheets as hard as he could.

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Izzy,” Stede looked up with a small grimace.

Israel refused to study the way Stede's eyelashes fluttered every time he blinked. How he had to look out from under them since they were so long. How the lines around his eyes made him seem even kinder and genuine somehow.

"I—" his voice cracked, "I've felt worse. Don't worry."

Stede softened and turned back to what he was doing. The wound seemed much better than the week before. Much less angry and red, there was more healthy tissue growing in and around the entrance. The exit area on Izzy's back still seemed irritated, but with him being on his back for so long it was no wonder.

"Look, Israel," Stede said joyfully. He stood and untucked his shirt, pulling it up just enough to show the scar that had brought him and Blackbeard together, "We have the same scars!"

Israel's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten where Stede had been stabbed and he was right, it was the same area. The only difference was that Stede didn't have the matching exit wound.

Stede kneeled again, "Look, now we finally have something in common."

The two stared at each other. This was one of the rare moments Izzy didn't yell or make a rude comment. He honestly didn't even want to. No one had talked to him, touched him, so softly like this before.

Maybe that's why, without a second's hesitation, he leaned forward and his dry lips locked with Stede's soft ones. His eyes fluttered closed, as did Stede's, as they took each other in and kissed soft yet desperately.

Stede planted a hand firmly into Israel's hair, precisely trimmed fingernails scraping at the latter's scalp making him release the tiniest of noises from the back of his throat.

Izzy didn't know how long they were kissing, but it was long enough to where they had to pull away from each other to breathe, chests heaving with flushed cheeks and pink-tinged lips.

It wasn't until someone cleared their throat at the door that Stede remembered he hadn't shut the door behind Edward when he left.

"You got to him first, that's not fair!" Edward's voice called. He sounded like a toddler that didn't get his way, Stede chuckled.

Izzy was thoroughly confused. Edward and Stede had definitely been a thing for a while and that was not the reaction Iz thought Ed would have. He was thinking more along the lines of castrating Izzy with his own sword or forcing him to eat another toe.

"What?" he rasped.

"Oh, yes," Stede started, "Im sure you're very confused, Israel. Well, Ed and I have both come to realize what we thought was going to make the other uncomfortable. We both, nearly at the same time, fell in love with you."

"Both?" Izzy asked.

Edward strolled up to the bed and sat cross legged on the wooden floor, "Yeah, mate. About a month ago Stede and I blurted out that we thought you were hot at the same time in the middle of sword training. Few talks later and here we are."

Israel blinked slowly at both of them. He wasn't sure what to even say to the two co-captains. Surely, the crew wouldn't take too kindly to Izzy working his way in between the two.

"We would like to ask, if it's okay, if you would like to try us out? All three of us, together. It's okay if you feel uncomfortable Izzy, we understand," Stede asked with a genuine look of interest on his face.

"Or we could forget all this happened and go back to fighting each other with unresolved sexual tension," Ed snorted. Stede elbowed him in the side and he cringed.

"I—" Izzy started. He froze.

Did he want this? He had loved Edward for years and he's finally getting his chance! But there was the part with Stede and they've only really argued. Then again, Izzy is just now having the 'oh my gods it's because I thought he was attractive' moment.

"Yes." He spoke. Before he could even finish weighing the pros and cons, "I would like that. Very much."

Stede broke into a cheery grin and hummed happily. He busied himself with the first aide supplies, nearly knocking it all over, "Of course we have some logistics to go over, but I need to finish wrapping your wound. Do you mind, Izzy?"

Israel shook his head as he sat up straighter for Stede to get a better look at the wound. Ed stood from the floor with a smirk and sat on the bed next to his first mate, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him close.

Stede doused a white cloth with antiseptic. He sniffed it, cringed, and gagged before speaking, "This might hurt, Israel. However, it's beneficial for healing."

"I've felt worse, Bonnet," Israel replied.

"Yes, but—"

Ed interrupted with a smirk, "If it makes you feel better, I can distract him."

Stede nodded once before giving a signal to his other half.

Izzy was in a whirlwind of feelings as Ed took him into a deep kiss, cracked lips on ones glazed with lavender oils. At the same moment, Stede had put the antiseptic on his wound and Izzy definitely hasn't felt anything as bad as that. He definitely needed the distraction.

"All done, my dear!" Stede said cheerfully.

Ed and Izzy broke apart, leaning on each other for support. Izzy held out his hand, which Stede took, and the three of them say in silence for a while.

Israel Hands may be damaged goods, but in this moment he felt whole and unbroken.

#ofmd izzy #ofmd fic #ofmd edward teach #blackbeard ofmd #omfd stede #stede x ed #stede x izzy #stede x Ed x Izzy #stizzy #stizzed #ofmd #our flag means gay #our flag means death #fanfic #mxmxm #pirates

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