Soupernabturel

The coffee cups are damn adorable too, with little illustrated pirate ships and the ocean filled with sea creatures on the sides (and some weird swirly writing as well, probably the barista writing the order? Not sure what the hearts are about, who cares, cursive is beyond him). The coffee shop is called ‘the revenge’ which seems an odd name, but their Tattoo parlour is called ‘Queen Annie’, so who is he to judge (said Izzy never). There’s only one problem, however, every time Ed comes back from the coffee shop, he practically skips into the studio, smile dimpling his cheeks like he just ate something sugary sweet. And Izzy knows that smile, even though it’s been years since it’s been aimed at him, it’s almost enough to put him off his coffee (almost, it’s fucking good coffee, right!).

Anywho, this goes on for a couple of weeks, with Izzy gritting his teeth every time Ed prances through the Parlour doors, until one day Ed’s not here to give him his daily coffee fix ( he told Ed going clubbing with Jack was a bad idea, but what’s does he know? He’s only been on the wrong end of Jacks generous pours since before he was legally allowed to drink, but whatever). Beforehand, Izzy would of just used their shop owned coffee machine in the kitchen, but perhaps he’s been a tiny but spoiled these past few weeks because their Nespresso coffee capsule doesn’t sounds appealing at all (that, and he’s not sure when it was last cleaned). He eventually decides, fuck it, and grabs his coat to head out side. It doesn’t take him long to find ‘the Revenge’, the place has a distinctly 16th century feel to it, in that it looks like it’s came right of the set of a period drama. The outside of the shop resembling the front of a ship, equipped with a unicorn figurehead, intricate wood carvings and what appears to be several hand made flags (including the trans flag, which, fuck yeah).

Inside, the place is bustling with customers and live music, the pirate theme seems to continue with the interior and there is a relaxing low light illuminating the shop. The live music, a tall but awkward man playing sea shanties on stage, seems to be the reason for the large number of people in the shop, and fortunately the line behind the counter seems to be relatively short. He makes a beeline for the line and repeats his coffee order in his head (it pays to be prepared). After five minutes, the line has annoyingly, not budged an inch; at this rate he’ll end up late for his next appointment. Izzy stretches his head to peer over the few heads in front of him and notices a tall, blonde twat babbling away to the frazzled barista. Fucking twat.

“Oye, quit holding up the line, some of us have places to be,” Izzy yells over to said twat. Startled, the man turns towards Izzy, and oh shit, assholes shouldn’t be allowed to be pretty, Jesus Christ. Shit. The asshole looks directly at Izzy, his eyes seem to drift and then linger on his chest, before moving slowly back to his face. Shit. He must be feeling the effects of a caffeine withdrawal, the only explanation to why he suddenly feels so flushed.

“One moment, sir. We’re quite in the middle of something.” With that the twat turns back to the barista, picking up their conversation.

Never mind, the only thing he’s feeling now is pissed.

“Mate, I doubt this guy wants to listen to your sad attempt at flirting, just order your damn coffee and go.”

The blonde asshole splutters angrily? Embarrassedly? And turns his full body towards Izzy (Jesus, those shoulders don’t deserve this guy, not fucking fair).

“My attempts at flirting are not sad! You angry little man! And I’m not flirting, that would be unprofessional, considering I am attempting to converse with my own staff!” The man speaks in a way that emphasises the unspoken exclamation points in his speech without actually increasing the volume of his voice, his accent is familiar in the way a 5 year old might play Mary had a little lamb on the piano. And wait… did he just say his staff?

He scoffs. “ Your staff?.”

The asshole raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Mine.”

Izzy raises his own bushy eyebrow. “Well if I was you, I’d—”

“Oh, hey Izzy, didn’t think I’d see you here!”

Izzy turns too see his ex husband turned current best friend and forever love of his life weaving quickly through the crowd, suspiciously springy for someone who was supposed to be ‘too sick to work’ hungover.

Ed finally makes it through the cluster of people, and swings an arm around Izzy’s shoulder. He grins at Izzy and then weirdly enough at the blonde asshole Izzy was in the middle of arguing with. “I see you’ve met Stede!” He cups his hand to his mouth and mock whispers to the blonde twat, of course he’d have a pretentious name like Stede. “Man, Izzy here loves your cappuccinos, won’t drink it from anywhere else, he even said they were ‘not shit’ which coming from Izzy, is a five star review!”

Wait, what?

“He makes the cof—”

“He drinks the cappuccino?!?”

The big scary Blackbeard is stressing about his cookies not being good enough 😔

So Stede and Ed start dating and they both join Izzy for a drink one day because those are the rules apparently (‘Izzy just wanted to know I’m not dating a psycho, mate’, ‘Really?’, ‘Yeah, jury is still out, Bonnet, let’s see what you order at the bar’). And Stede thinks Izzy is kind of blunt and surly, but he is also funny and smart (and very, very hot) so they end up having a few drinks some other time or even lunch one memorable day and everything goes well.

And one day, Stede and Ed are having a walk on their way back from a date and Stede is using Ed’s phone to take a pic of some really beautiful wildflowers he has just seen because his phone’s battery is mostly dead and when he checks the gallery to see if the picture looks right, Stede ends up seeing something that almost makes him drop Ed’s phone.

It’s a photo of Izzy. A photo of a bare-chested Izzy lying on a bed, smiling at the camera, looking so relaxed and so sexy that Stede bluescreens for a moment and doesn’t even notice that Ed is talking to him until he looks over Stede’s shoulder to see what has him so distracted and the man starts laughing.

“I knew you thought Izzy was hot!”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to pry, I swear!” Stede says mortified as he gives him the phone back.

“Don’t worry, man, I believe you,” Ed replies, grinning. “Also, that’s not a ‘no’.”

“Of course, he obviously is,” Stede admits, because how can he pretend when he is blushing furiously.

“And you’ve simply seen his chest, man,” Ed says, excitedly scrolling down the phone. “I’ve more pics here somewhere.”

“Ed, I’m not sure that…“

“Do you want to see a pic of his dick?“

“Ed!”

(It was not that Stede wasn’t interested, he was simply worried that Izzy wouldn’t want his ‘private’ photos to be shared like that, but Ed immediately explains that it’s not a problem because Izzy finds Stede hot too and would be ok with it and Stede bluescreens again.

There is something to be said about the connection between man and shark…

Couldn’t be me, making a joke about giving Izzy a Blahaj and then proceeding to think about whole au based on the emotional significance he puts on this stupid shark plush.

Bonus:

They often spend time alone together, remembering old stories or sometimes simply watching the stars in comfortable silence and it’s one of those times, when Ed is looking at Izzy as he laughs about some silly joke Ed has just told, when it happens.

Izzy turns to smile fondly at him and Ed thinks ‘Izzy looks beautiful under the moonlight’ and then without realizing, he is leaning down to kiss him as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

It’s barely a peck, but when Ed realizes what he has just done, he freezes, then he panics. And Izzy panics as well and in seconds they are both apologizing and running away in opposite directions and the whole crew has a few busy days trying to calm things down because both of them are emotionally-blind and don’t seem to notice they have both fallen for each other all over again.

Ed is worried he had overstepped and scared Izzy away and what will Stede think?

Izzy is worried he might mess up Ed and Stede’s relationship again somehow and get kicked off the ship.

And Stede is very confused because he thought Ed was trying to get Izzy to join their relationship and doesn’t understand why they are panicking when it was going so well.

“I thought you were courting him, darling, we did talk about this,” Stede says to a teary-eyed Ed.

“When??”

At this point, Sam is asking more for the sake of it than any belief Izzy will ever say yes, a remnant of childhood dedication touched with 30 years of heartbreak and regret- though even now, a small part of him still holds out hope. Sam's promises have only got more extravagant over the years, from a job as his first mate, to a captaincy, a fleet at his command, a whole fucking island if that's what Izzy wants- but he knows it isn't though, not really. If Izzy was ever going to agree to marry him, to leave his life and go with Sam, it wouldn't be for anything Sam could offer him. Izzy never did care for flashy shows of wealth, for a ship or to be captain. The only thing that ever mattered to him was loyalty given, and loyalty shown in return. 

It all comes to a head after Stede left and came back, after Izzy lost a toe, lost his leg. Sam hasn't seen him since before things with Ed started to really slide off the rails, before stress permanently set into the lines of Izzy’s face. So, when he sees a dishevelled man with a hoof for a leg in a no-name port, he doesn't even consider the idea that he might know him. It's only when he turns towards him, and Sam catches a glance at those oh too familiar tattoos, he realises this is Izzy, his Izzy, that stands before him.

Knowing Izzy's discomfort with pity, he doesn't treat him any differently than he would in years gone by, positioning himself in Izzy's line of sight before approaching and sweeping him up into a bone crushing hug. 

“Israel-goddamn-Hands!” he exclaims, as Izzy grumbles back a begrudging “Samuel-fucking-Bellamy”, a tradition almost as old as their friendship itself. Izzy might not hug him back, but he can’t keep the corner of his mouth from twitching, just for a second.

(If Sam holds Izzy a little tighter and a little longer than usual, well. That's his business)

By the time Sam lets go, most of the crew has appeared in the town square, drawn in by the commotion. They may have given Izzy his leg and welcomed him as one of them, but still there’s an underlying tension, with nobody quite ready to set aside everything that happened before the Kraken. Seeing him cosying up to an unknown man sets everyone on edge, unsure whether to come to their first mate’s aid, or to assume that they've been betrayed once again.

When Ed sees that the yelling was Sam, his hand goes tense where it's held in Stede's. He knows the routine, has seen it more times than he can count, but as he watches them part he realises that this is the first time in a long time he's unsure of what Izzy's response will be.

Knowing that something’s different, knowing that Izzy's feeling vulnerable already, Sam doesn't go for the same flashy proposal he’s been giving for years. He doesn't promise Izzy the world, he doesn't cause a scene (or, any more of a scene than he already has, anyway). He looks at the fractured man in front of him, takes his face in his hands, and says the exact same thing to him he said when they were little more than boys. “Israel, I have to ask you. I know what you'll say, but I have to try. Come with me. Marry me and sail away with me. I'll keep you safe”

And Izzy… hesitates. He glances over at Ed, at Stede, and says to Sam “...We’re staying in port for a week. Ask me again then”

(about to be smitten)