#the squid has left to give him something resembling privacy

[izzy-b-hands]

Day One: Negotiations or Swords

It's Ed's birthday, the first one with Stede and Izzy working together to buy him gifts.

SFW, fairly short, and silly lol

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"You can't just buy him a sword," Stede scoffs. "He has plenty!"

"No reason to not have another," Izzy sets aside what has to be the fiftieth sword he's looked at in the shop. "Not this one though. Besides, is that not a sword in your hands now?"

"It's a letter opener!"

"For what size of letter would you ever need a letter opener that big?"

"Maybe another shop could service you both better," the shopkeeper says.

"Oh no," Stede chuckles. "You're the last one in the port that we haven't been to yet! It has to be here, or nothing at all!"

"You've answered your own question then," she says brightly, and suddenly they're both being tugged to and tossed out the door.

She yanks the letter opener from Stede's hands, and just like that, neither of them has anything for Ed's birthday.

"Do you think the shop with sweets is still open?" Stede ponders as they watch the sun begin to set.

"An hour ago, yes," Izzy replies. "I'm not going back without something. I've never missed a birthday gift for him yet, and I'm not starting now."

"Surely you've had one slip up!"

"Yeah, and that night I spent escaping the local jail," Izzy mutters. "Ed loved the key to the cells that I gave him though."

"Fuck off, that's clever."

"Clever is a generous word for it. Was all I had on me."

"Well, what have you got on you now?"

Izzy pats down his pockets. "Bit of glass from the beach. You?"

Stede grins and pulls something from his jacket pocket. "Bit of interesting metal I nearly stabbed into my hand when I tripped near one of the smithing shops. I've had an idea."

Fifteen minutes and an alarming amount of combined money and begging to one of the smiths later, and they have it:

A tiny, delicate sword, with a blade made of Stede's scrap metal and a hilt of Izzy's sea glass.

"The only way we could have improved on this is to have cleaned out the sweets shop too," Stede says as they make their way back to the beach. "When did you pick up that glass, by the way? I don't recall seeing you looking for any when we left everyone."

"Might have gone ashore early, looking for myself," Izzy makes the most hesitant eye contact with him. "What of it?"

"I'm glad you did."

"Oh."

Izzy's hand slips into Stede's the closer they get to the bonfire on the beach, and to the rest of the crew.

"Roach!" Ed calls as he motions them over to him. "You can start serving now; everyone's back!"

"What took so long?" Roach asks. "It's been hours, and the rest of us-"

"I'm sure they had a good reason," Ed interrupts. "No one in the village is dead, right?"

"No, nothing like that," Stede gently nudges Izzy. "I can't wait; let him have it!"

Izzy pulls the tiny sword from his vest pocket. "You'll never guess how much that cost based on how it looks."

Any nerves they had about his reaction disappear as Ed's eyes light up.

"Look at you," he coos to the sword. "So teeny! Absolutely miniscule! Where on earth did you two find this?"

"Stumbled upon it," Stede replies quickly, ignoring the giggle Izzy barely chokes back. "More or less."

"This is almost better than Buttons' gift," Ed smiles. "Thank you; I love it."

"What did Buttons get you?" Stede frowns. "I haven't even seen him since this morning."

"Wrangled a squid so I could swim with it for a bit!"

Stede gives Izzy's hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. There's no way they could have beaten that.

"And the squid and Buttons are now..." Izzy leans back to peer past everyone to the waves.

Ed's eyes go wide. "Probably fine."

"Should we ask Roach to keep the food warm while we-"

Ed nods, and then he's off to the waves rolling onto the sand, calling for Jim and Olu and everyone to sound off if they've seen Buttons, please let them have seen Buttons recently-

But not before he kisses them both, and gently tucks his new sword into one of his jacket pockets, leaving them smiling like idiots while they help search the shore.