#smokedanced ( izzy hands )

[gentlepyrate]

𝐈𝐒𝐑𝐀𝐄𝐋 sent:

[ PALM ]: taking the receiver’s hand, the sender brings it to their mouth, and places a tender kiss against the receiver’s palm. 

He has long since learned that there is more to Izzy Hands than what is on the surface, but that doesn't mean he isn't continually surprised - and flustered, even - by the little gestures that he doesn't expect.

Stede had spotted the first mate all on his own at the bow of the ship, the night sky twinkling with stars that seemed brighter under the shadow of the new moon. After a gentle test of whether or not his company was wanted or appreciated, he had joined his - his partner? His Izzy? - not wanting him to be alone.

Their hands had been close on the taffrail, and Stede had been debating gently taking Izzy's hand in his own. But Hands beats him to it.

Stede's chest flutters and his heart beats loudly even at that simple touch. Israel's hands are calloused, heavily-worn, but delicate in some way. Graceful. His touch is that strangely familiar mix of gentle and rough, like he wants to be soft but can't be, or maybe the other way around.

And then Israel lifts his hand and presses a kiss to his palm and Stede's eyes might as well have stars in them. He looks bright and in love, and so, so, happy.

He has learned that Israel is not a man for words, so he doesn't open his mouth, worried that whatever might spill out of it would offend him, likely, somehow break the intimacy of this little moment. Instead, Stede runs the tip of his fingers over Izzy's cheek, very gently, very slowly, until he is cupping the first mate's face in his palm.

Stede leans in and presses a kiss to his temple and doesn't say a word.

@smokedanced​

[vocesincaput]

@smokedanced (Izzy) continued from [x]

Frenchie retracted the hand that he had placed upon the shorter mans shoulder but only slightly. Hovering it just a few inches away so that he could put it back their quickly enough if needed.

"Hey, it's alright, Iz. Just... everything okay? I know 'e's been a bit tough on us all and... well, I noticed that you've been quiet since you were last in there with 'im." He stopped talking for a moment and swallowed. Wondering just what he could say to get the other man to possibly open up a bit.

"You know you ain't alone on 'ere, right?"

[anderwhohn]

Standing toe-to-toe with him, Isabela's eyes narrow as she meets his glare with her own. "No matter how you try to frame it to live with yourself, what you did just shows deep down you're little more than a backstabbing coward," she hisses angrily. "I've dealt with more than my own share of those where I came from - more than one nearly leading to the destruction of the entirety of known civilisation thanks to their actions."

"And each time, over the course of five years, I was the one to fucking stop them. Not a single one survived me in the end, so if you even dare think about doing anything like that with me aboard," she growls, dark energy flickering in a dangerous aura around her, "I wouldn't, if I were you. We may never be 'friends', but you sure as hell don't want me as your enemy, Hands."

Emerald green eyes narrow sharply, a coldness darkening their depths like the most fearful forests - the kind that everyone fears to venture into for the whispers of monsters lurking in wait. While it took her some time to come to trust a pirate crew, there’s just something about this one man that seriously rubs her the wrong way.

If she actually let herself think about it too much, maybe it’s because of how some of what she’s heard from the others reminds her a bit too much of Alenko on Horizon, and later on Mars and then the Citadel. She doesn’t take kindly to those willing to so easily betray those whom they claim loyalty to, not after she was nearly forced to kill her own former squadmate in order to protect the rest of the Council from a traitor in their own midst when Udina was so willing and ready to throw them to Cerberus and the Reapers…

“And you’re lucky I wasn’t here when you decided to play your hand at mutiny,” Isabela growls in return, taking a measured step toward him. “Had you been on my crew and pulled even a fraction of the shit you’ve done here, I’d have thrown you out the airlock. And let me tell you: death by suffocation due to total absence of air is worse than drowning ever could be.”

[flownintothesun]

    𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 with @smokedanced and have come to a few conclusions. First is that (as I've been thinking for AWHILE now) Ed definitely has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), though other takes are super valid as well. Secondly, is that I am still Stede. Thirdly is that Izzy and Lucius deserve to be a (very fucked up) ship. Fourthly, I fucking love Buttons. Fifthly, when is @neverhangd going to come back and yell about Anne Bonny? Sixthly, Izzy Hands is in his emo phase (and also that I offer Westley to antagonize him, as ever.) Onward to episode five. God I love this show. You're not a fucking mermaid (but a reminder that Marin is...well...a siren...just tossing it out there.).

[anderwhohn]

@smokedanced asked: Send me a scene that happened in canon and I’ll write in detail how my muse felt in it + izzy, death scene ME2 prologue, hierarchy verse (if it happens like that there; if not, canon verse)

"I need more power for the shields!" Isabela yells as she rushes from one control panel to the next, frantically typing in override commands to bypass safety and security protocols to put everything they've got into keeping the Normandy together without taking away from her offensive capabilities as well.

"Sir, we don't have--"

"I don't care if we have to fucking drain life support to do it! Get me that damn power!" she snaps, interrupting the other engineer as she pulls up the shipwide comms. "All hands! Emergency power adjustments imminent! All crew prepare for emergency evac! Non-essential crew proceed to immediate evac! Get your damn helmets and mag boots on, people! It's gonna be a rough ride!"

Dammit, she wishes Nihlus or Garrus were here, rather than chasing Saren's sorry ass on the the fucking Citadel. At least the crew had learned to trust her - even those with little cause to, being Alliance themselves, while she served within the Hierarchy - so her orders were followed as she was the next in the chain of command.

"Joker, status report!" she calls out over closed comms to the pilot, checking the readings as reports of ejected life pods started flooding in on her displays.

"She's holding together for now, Shep," Joker returns, before a string of curses escapes him as the ship manoeuvres sharply to avoid more weapons fire.

Isabela grabs onto her console, pressing down to activate her mag boots while frantically clipping the tether to her armour. "Good enough. You're on the next evac, Joker. I'm coming up to take the helm until all other crew are in the evac pods."

"What?! No way! You're good, Iz, but there's no way--"

"That's an order, Flight Lieutenant!" Isabela growls into the comms. "We're going to lose the Normandy, but that doesn't mean we have to lose the crew with her! So you're getting yourself in that damn pod even if I have to drag your stubborn ass into it myself!"

If only she had known just how true that statement would prove to be, when after another several minutes of desperate struggle, with nearly all the ship's power diverted to shields, weapons, and propulsion, she's left hauling Joker into the nearest escape pod to get them off what remains of the ship.

It's just as she's managed to get him inside that another blast cuts through the hull nearby, disrupting her mag boots' connection to the floor plating and throwing her into a free fall in zero gravity. Emerald eyes widening in shock, she does the only thing she can as her fingers barely catch onto the bulkhead as she's pushed past the emergency controls, reaching out to punch the launch button for the pod... without her in it...

She watches sadly as Joker clearly tries to reach her still, even as the pod seals itself and launches far away from the wreckage of the Normandy, leaving her behind as she starts to float free from the torn hull. Being within the arms of the Citadel, she knows she has a chance, albeit only a small one, considering the battle still waging around her. If another ship can detect her and pull her out of the vacuum, so long as her suit integrity holds, she'll be fine...

That is, until she sees the red beam from that dreaded Reaper rip through the remains of the Normandy, striking the drive core and the resulting explosion...

...

'Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now! This facility is under attack!'

[blackflcgs]

smokedanced asked : ❛  you have no idea what you're doing to me.  ❜

Ed's heart plummets right down to his stomach. It's alarming words to hear from someone he'd just got done fucking not even, what, five minutes ago?

"Excuse me?" Fuck, that's probably not the way to respond. It's not how to wants to respond anyway. He's just confused. More than that, he's concerned. Izzy sounds really upset, but Ed can't immediately work out why.

"Sorry, that didn't come out right," he's quick to amend as he closes the distance to his-- their --bed. Ed had gotten up and stepped away just long enough to pull his hair back, soak a clean cloth in fresh water. Apparently long enough for the mood to turn.

Ed is still mostly naked save for the thin black robe he'd slipped on. For a moment he hesitates, but he settles next to Izzy amongst the blankets. He'd intended to wipe Iz down with the damp cloth Ed's still holding awkwardly in his hand, but now he isn't sure if he should touch him.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" His tone is gentle, but imploring. Izzy gets all sorts of emotional after sex. During it, too, so maybe that's what's happening, but Ed can't shake the worry he's fucked up somehow. "You're freaking me out, man."

@smokedanced

[indestructiblelittlefuckers]

( tears ) : sobbing openly, unable to stop / izzy, for stede! your call on which one is sobbing

@smokedanced

It's been days and it still feels like Stede has stepped into a completely different reality from the one he was living before. It is as if he entered those stories that he heard about Blackbeard — but even those seemed to be about pirating, not about what happened in his own ship. Because, as much as Stede wants to deny it, Ed hurt the crew the most. And from what Stede has gathered from the crew, Izzy got the worst of it. They all silently assume it was even worse than they knew, what Ed did behind closed doors stayed there and at times Stede wants to just shut the door, too, try to unknow things he knew, try to forget and just see Ed in the light he used to. Before.

But how can he do that if he sees how traumatised everyone is? When he catches Izzy of all people, sobbing? For a moment he thinks about leaving him alone, the other man would probably hate being seeing, especially by Stede, but he can't just walk away.

He places a hand on the other's shoulder as he sits down next to him and slowly wraps his arm around his shoulder — if Izzy lets him. ❝Just breathe, Izzy. Just breathe.❞ he says quietly, because... what else is he supposed to say? That it's okay? It's not okay. He knows that. He can no longer deny it. ❝How can I help? I am a good listener, you know.❞ he offers after a moment.

[musecraft]

❝ you know, i actually thought you’d be dead by now. ❞ 🪐 — @smokedanced ▶ izzy hands for stede bonnet

          ❝ WELL, I'M SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU. ❞ stede can't help but puff himself up as he speaks, pride at the single successful raid they had carried out with the new crew configuration causing confidence to bloom in his chest. the crew themselves seemed to be adapting to the arrangement rather nicely ( & clearly there was no love lost between them & edward, given all they had endured these past months ), most of them now scattered across the deck divvying up the loot without complaint. izzy seemed to be the lone holdout, remaining stubbornly bitter & impossible to please — despite surprising stede with by voting along with the rest of the crew for ed to be banished from the ship. the look of perpetual irritation on his face had become almost comforting in its own way, a reliable constant to count on as they found their footing again. 

                            not that he would ever say as much out loud. instead, he turns away from the other man to gaze out at the sea through his spyglass. the horizon stretches unbroken, not another ship nor a speck of land in sight. & even still basking in the glow of of his recent success, stede is starting to feel restless again. the truth is that concern about where ed is & what he might be doing seeps back into his mind the moment the action falls quiet, no matter what he does. but stede pushes the thoughts away with some force — ed simply couldn’t stay here, not when everyone aboard still distrusted him so. he knew that. but he also knew that they would find each other again. & for now, his place was here : with his crew.

yet despite being returned to his station as captain at last, despite a successful raid under his belt, stede finds he has little clue what he should be doing in these quiet moments when the sea is calm. with ed banished & buttons gone, izzy is certainly the most qualified sailor aboard. & loathe as stede was to admit it, the man was rather good at his job. the honest truth was that stede likely couldn’t do this without izzy's help. yet he doesn't know how to ask for such a thing, the man's foul attitude making any conversation challenging to broach. ❝ you know, it’s quite poor form for the first mate to be actively rooting for his captain’s death, don't you think ? ❞ he says, irritated & still unwilling to look at the man beside him. ❝ why even stay aboard if that's how you feel ? just hoping to be around to bear witness to my inevitable failure, is that it ? ❞

[swallowsandamazons]

@smokedanced asked: ' This is the last time I go anywhere with you. ' from Izzy

Ely had never been arrested before. It certainly wasn't something they were keen to experience again. The overall feeling of getting grabbed, roughed up and thrown in a dirty cell had left them shaken. They should have been used to that kind of thing by now. They were a pirate- had been for 2 and a half years already. The problem was that the feeling of being arrested had reminded them too much of their time before becoming a pirate. At least the cell was empty so they couldn't be scrutinised for their small sniffles and muffled sobs.

It had been hours since they'd parted ways with Izzy to each carry out their respective duties. They'd agreed to meet up within an hour to head back to the ship together. It had been much longer than that now; the sun was starting to set outside and the room was being cast in heavier gloominess. If they'd known forgetting their money and subsequently attempting to steal a bit of bread for lunch would have ended them up in so much trouble, they never would have done it.

God, what if nobody ever came to get them? What was the punishment for thievery these days? Getting your hand cut off?

As they sat, cradling their hand in thought, they suddenly heard the creak of the cell door opening and Izzys familiar voice.

' This is the last time I go anywhere with you. '

They're shocked, of course. More than that, however, they're worried that their misdeeds have somehow gotten Izzy arrested too. Their nerves are only quelled when they catch a glimpse of the guard counting out some coin and put the pieces together. Izzy must have payed them off.

"I-I'm sorry. I-" The relief at being rescued dies away as they take a stumbling step towards the door. "... Does Ed know?" Their voice is akin to a whisper now. The Captain's taken a shine to them, sure, but they're not certain how much that can protect them against being so stupid.

[isrighthand]

𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 sent:   Send   △ MINE △   for sender to sit in receiver’s lap. / ed but he's full mischievously straddling him and trying to fluster him

" The port closes at eight anyway, Captain, they don't let anyone in until - "

Israel sees Ed moving far before he actually processes what he does. Ed sliding into and over his lap, one leather clad thigh straddling either of his own, sitting there with a mischievous sort of look about him. Izzy tries to ignore the rush of fluttering heat that shoots through him in favor of focusing on the more prominent thought - what the hell is he doing?

The first problem he runs into is where to put his hands, which have been shunted off of his thighs. Putting them back there seems too close, and god forbid he touches Ed, but keeping them held aloft also doesn't seem ideal. Izzy ends up settling them outside of Ed's thighs, on the couch.

" . . . "

Maybe he is flustered, but not in the sort of way Ed might have been hoping - Izzy seems nervous in a bad way, like he's waiting for the moment this situation flips, when he inevitably makes some sort of mistake. This is unknown territory, and Edward is too important to be taken lightly.

He's going to fuck something up if he opens his mouth. Instead, Izzy just lets his gaze drift up to Edward, a whole legion of complicated emotions contained within that gaze, the summary of which can be added up to unsure and trying to cover it with forced nonchalance, a raised eyebrow as if to say what is this.

He waits for Edward to do something else, say something - hopefully something that will explain his actions, though he doubts it.

@smokedanced​

[gentlepyrate]

𝐈𝐒𝐑𝐀𝐄𝐋 sent:

the receiver has recently been kidnapped and held captive by enemies of the sender. the sender, having spent every minute since the abduction searching for them, reunites with the receiver after defeating the bad guys.

He hadn't expected to be kidnapped, really, though in hindsight that may have been an oversight. 

He is, after all, despite his best efforts, a bit of a weak point compared to Edward and Izzy. He's usually clever enough to talk his way out of trouble or at least to miraculously land on his feet somehow, but when someone puts a bag over your head and promptly knocks you out there isn't really much time to talk. Luckily for him, he seems to be a hostage, meaning they don't want him dead. From what he's gathered, he's being offered to the highest bidder - either Edward or one of many navies which have a bounty out for his head. 

That's the intention anyway. Stede knows better.

His inability to behave has left him a little worse for wear - bruised, cut, blood and dirt dried on his face, though not irreparably damaged. They've kept him alive, but only just, offering him moldy bread which at first he'd turned his nose up at, which is now looking like a fair enough offer, piss instead of water which remains disgusting. There is something personal to this - they'd spoken Israel's name with venom in their tone, not that he would ever tell Israel that himself. Knowing Israel, the guilt would never leave. 

 The day comes when Stede begins to wonder if they are coming at all, though he tries stubbornly not to think of it. It's just - he's never really been wanted. Is he worth the effort? The potential damage? If someone were hurt trying to retrieve him - if Edward or Izzy - well, he would never forgive himself.

So though he isn't irreparably damaged in mind or body, he's still feeling pretty shitty when he hears a crash from a ways off. Stede jumps with a little cry of surprise, then quickly gets to his feet, glancing at the guard they have stationed at his cell. 

" Sit the fuck down, "   The man growls at him, but Stede just grins, perhaps a little bit more unhinged than intended with how exhausted he is.

" Speak of the devil, "   Stede says in a voice which makes him sound sort of out of his mind, and for a moment, there is just a little fear in his eyes - and Stede adores it, actually, is more than happy that one of his captors is experiencing regret in this moment.

And then his brains get blown out of his skull by a bullet. Stede blinks, and intelligently says -   " Oh. "

The guard slumps to the ground and Stede groans as he uses the bars of the cell to heft himself up, his head swimming. His tongue is dry in his mouth, his throat filled with sand it seems, and his body isn't liking the standing bit, his heart thudding in his ears, but he holds on tightly, clutching the bars until his knuckled are white because he knows -

" Israel. "

It's a breath of a word and his vision swims - there's two Izzy's, which is a fantasy not to be had right at this moment, so he tries to blink and clear his vision. He thrusts himself forward and manages to stumble to the front bars of the cell, pressing himself the metal just so he can be closer. One of his hands reaches out. He wants to touch, he needs to touch. All of a sudden, he feels sort of insane, tears gathering in his eyes.

" I missed you, "   Stede chokes out, which is much too far for whatever they are - Stede loves Izzy, he knows, but they've never admitted it aloud, he can barely get Izzy to hold his hand yet. But he can't help it, just like he can't help the single tear that drifts down his cheek - a precious waste of what little water is left in his system. Stede sucks in a breath to try and get a hold of himself. He is capable and he has to pull himself together. They still have to get out of here.   " Where's Edward? The crew? "

@smokedanced​

[vocesincaput]

Send "Don't you remember?" for my muse's reaction to waking up in hospital with no memory of your muse, themselves or their life / izzy for ed

Send "Don't you remember?" for my muse's reaction to waking up in hospital with no memory of your muse, themselves or their life [x]

Groaning quietly at the dull aching within his head, Ed slowly blinked his eyes open. Raising his hand to try and shield them a little when the low light of the room he was in made them ache.

"Fucking hell..." He muttered, wincing from how the sound of his won voice felt. Laying still for a few minutes with his hand covering his eyes, Ed then raised it just a little to look around and try to work out just where he was. Nothing he saw seemed familiar to him at all and when a figure walked in, he tensed and tried to pull up the bed in a defensive position but instead Ed groaned in pain and collapsed back down onto the thin mattress.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck have you done to me....?"

[ourflagmeansroleplay]

@smokedanced: “Fine, I guess we’re doing this.” / from ed to izzy! i screamed when they first said Izzy's name on the show. Fucking love that funky little no-lines-having-ass motherfucker with ONE (1) whole scene somehow becoming everyone's favorite "second in command" in pirate lit.

"I guess we are," Izzy replies through gritted teeth, shifting his stance to better account for Edward's weight. The sun is in the apex of the cloudless sky and as it glares around it's reflection is thrown up the waves a thousand-fold. Sweat beads down the side of Izzy's face but he doesn't back away from the challenge despite understanding the depths of Edward's disappointment in his decision.

[flownintothesun]

⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───    𝟑𝟗.  𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 :  𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥. / 𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞? 𝐥𝐨𝐥

                    ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬. ( @smokedanced )

      𝐈𝐅 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓, the circumstances leading up to his capture of Blackbeard’s right-hand man are all a bit of a blur. There had been a small boat, a large scuffle, and then the question of what to do with him, which lingers even now, all this time later. He has no desire to try to condition someone’s loyalty when they’ve already sworn fealty to another — Westley may look young but he’s not stupid. All it takes is one act of trust, and then there’s a knife in your back and anyone who knows the legends of the Queen Anne’s Revenge are more than well-versed of this man’s loyalty to his captain.

     It’s a rather unfortunate circumstance, really, because Westley generally tries to leave ‘well enough’ alone. Now, here he is in the middle of the goddamned ocean with Izzy Hands locked in a cell — and fuck only knows how far Blackbeard is behind. It’s not that he thinks his crew is incapable, or his Arcady a less worthy ship — it’s just that scuffles with other pirates are a waste of time and energy and it would be a shame for him to have to take out a legend due to a ‘wrong place, wrong time’ mishap. Of course, he can’t exactly let Izzy go, either. He’s seen too much of the ship, and the only thing a pirate loves as much as gold is revenge, and this one’s got friends in high places.

      He trots down the stairs lightly, boots splashing in the excess water from some testy waves earlier. The light overhead sways with the ocean, and a mouse scurries across the floorboard in an attempt to save its own life. “I hear you’re causing trouble for my men again,” Westley says, brushing his hair out of his eyes and looking at Izzy with a contemplative cheeky grin. “But all I see here is a sniveling rat who misses his daddy. You do realize that you’re not in the position to make bargains or give my men trouble, yes?” Westley speaks with an accent that is mostly Dutch, but carries influence from half of Europe, “This isn’t Blackbeard’s ship, it’s mine. They won’t be bought. They say everyone has a price, but you couldn’t afford their loyalty. Consider me curious, though — I can’t help but wonder about the cost of your own. What would turn the renowned Israel Hands against one Edward Teach?”

[anderwhohn]

@smokedanced asked: [ control ] my muse gives your muse full control over their body to do with them what they please +reverse / ...hear me out, it's assassination verse and somehow this is how garrus way far in the future lets izzy know that he trusts her now

There's a wariness in her gaze as she slowly approaches the turian, having tested the waters, as it were, by keeping her distance while telling him where she'd like him, to see if he would comply. Of course, just because he did didn't mean he wouldn't change his mind the minute she got close.

This could be a trick... A trap... To what end, she's not exactly sure, but it hadn't been that long ago since her last failed attempt at assassinating him. He claims he trusts her not to try again, but... can she even trust herself with that? Looking at him right now, unarmoured, vulnerable... The temptation is there, to finish the job once and for all, even though it's never been anything personal - just another job, a matter of pride to complete the mission, and yet...

Careful fingers brush cautiously over his plated chest, emerald green eyes meeting blue as she looks as though she's prepared to run at a moment's notice. Her usual confidence shattered by the uncertainty of the moment, the shift in power clearly making her skittish as she watches him allow her slow, careful exploration of his body.

A quiet whimper escapes her as she pauses, her hands near trembling before fingers curl over the rim of his carapace as she suddenly presses her face into the side of his neck to hide the rapid flush heating her cheeks. He's not restrained by anything but her request and his own will, and that alone...

It scares her, if she's being honest about it, because if she can't trust herself, how can he trust her, truly? But then, he doesn't know the panicked thoughts going through her head, or the temptations he presents by allowing this. Even knowing he could easily defend himself, with her deliberately refusing to bind him in any way, it's still terrifying and heady to be given this kind of power.

"Blue," she whines softly against his throat, tears prickling at her eyes as she tries to hold them back, overwhelmed in the moment. A quiet sob escapes her then, as she shifts herself closer to him, her whole body trembling. "I... Hold me...?" she asks brokenly, her plea barely a whisper against his skin. "Please..."

[blackflcgs]

smokedanced asked: [ FALL ]: while pinning them against the wall, a brief tussle results in the sender and receiver falling over, with the sender pinning the receiver to the ground. / love from izzy

--

Izzy’s faster than Ed, but he’s also a lot smaller. Ed doesn’t usually have much trouble manhandling him once he’s committed to doing it. Not that they’ve gotten into it, physically, very often. More so when they were young men, but that was mostly playful roughhousing-- flirting even, on Ed’s part anyway.

This isn’t that. When Ed’s bum fucking knee goes out and they hit the floor, his first thought is he wants to knock Izzy’s fucking teeth out. Izzy’s fallen on him in a way Ed can’t immediately get his arm free to swing on him.

Just long enough for the hot flash of rage that’d blossomed in his chest and crawled up his throat to subside; secretly grateful for it. The truth is Ed doesn’t want to fight, but it’s the only way he knows how to relate with Izzy anymore.

He doesn’t let that vulnerability show through, glaring up at the man on top of him as if he’s still feeling that first flash of barely contained anger. His voice is steel even as his hand creeps, hopefully unnoticed, to his own knife still in its holster, “Better think real careful about your next move, mate.”

@smokedanced