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Izzy sat in the crows nest, legs stretched out in front of him and back leaning against the cherry wood mast as he looked out over waves and sky. The night was cooler than the day enough but still carried remnants of the Caribbean heat, while the waves were calm enough that even at this height the roll was gentle. On the deck below the crew was sleeping peacefully—the fuckers—barely a worry in the world. The only sound drifting up to him was the occasional snore or a vague grunt of shifting positions. Bonnet had finished story time well over an hour ago and the night had been near silent since.
He knew he should head back down at some point, get some sleep before first watch, but it was one of those night were the tiredness didn’t take him easily so he was perfectly content to sit awake up there rather than toss and turn in his bed. Collar loosened, sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and his cutlass back in his cabin he felt almost overexposed. Naked. He reached his ungloved hand out, framing stars between his fingers. He twisted his wrist so the curve of his thumb and forefinger matched the one of Ursa Minor. For a brief moment, he imagined he might be able to pluck it out of the sky. His hand folded so only his thumb stuck out, left eye closing as he covered up the point of light that sat at the end of the bear’s tail. Could he grab the spot, dig in just enough with his nail to free it from the velvet sky and peel the entire constellation out? Hold the jumble of stars in his hands and cradle them to his chest? He imagined it’d be cold.
There was a distinctive creak in the lines behind him and Izzy quickly dropped his hand, head snapping to the side towards the intruder. Of course it was Stede Fucking Bonnet, clumsily making his way up. Fucking ship and it’s fuckin’ ponce of a Captain was getting to him. Clearly.
Bonnet didn’t seem to notice Izzy right away, too preoccupied with his efforts while all Izzy could do was stare at him over his shoulder. It would be almost laughably easy to just push him over. Clearly he struggled in the lines, a fact that was known by most of the crew, and he’d seen tougher men die from shorter falls. Even better if he angled him towards the near side of the deck, then he may even fall into the water without a trace. The real trick would be getting himself down without whoever was at helm noticing either him or the fall.
But then Bonnet had his upper half solidly on the nest and glanced up enough to finally spot Izzy sitting there, shattering the fantasy. “Oh! My apologies, I didn’t realize,” Bonnet said, stuttering for a moment as he looked hesitant. “I thought….well I don’t mean to disturb you.”
“Too late,” Izzy said. Bonnet frowned. The twat was making enough noise that even if he did fall on accident he’d wake the entire crew up on his way down and there wasn’t a soul on board who would believe Izzy had no hand in it. “You coming up or what, Bonnet? I’d rather not have to try and catch you.”
“I—yes, well,” Bonnet said. The moon was just bright enough for Izzy to catch the embarrassed flush on his face. “Up I go.”
Izzy made no move to help as Bonnet scrambled the rest of the way onto the crows nest. He was dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, lacking his usual rings and the waistcoat he’d been wearing earlier in the day, but he had the sense to keep his boots on. Ever since Bonnet’s return from the dead he’d been a bit less peacockish overall, never quite letting go of his aristocratic dressing habits but at least a few months of fending for himself on the high seas gave him a better understanding of practicality.
Once firmly on the wooden surface, Bonnet sat himself near the corner of the nest, back to the railing but hunched forward almost painfully, as if he was painfully aware of the space between him and deck below. Izzy turned his attention back skyward, following the trail of Draco as it chased after Heracles along the line of horizon, and doing his best to ignore the other man’s presence. Bonnet’s chronic inability to shut the fuck up made it difficult though.
“Didn’t think anyone else would be here when I started up—especially you. Saw you had left the deck when I went to fetch tonight's book, I’d assumed you’d be asleep in your quarters.”
“Could say the same thing about you,” Izzy replied, not turning his head. He heard the creek in the wood as Bonnet adjusted his seat.
“Ah, well, yes. Just wanted to...clear my head a bit.” He kept shifting, the rustle of fabric loud against the near silence of the night. “It...well to be perfectly honest, Edward and I are having a bit of a tiff at the moment.”
Now that made Izzy raise an eyebrow, head turning slightly so he could catch sight of Bonnet in his peripheral. “Trouble in paradise?”
Bonnet startled, back straightening. “That’s, well…” He made in indignant huff, glancing to the side. “It’s really none of your business to be perfectly honest.”
“Right, course,” Izzy said. He let his gaze drift down and ran a finger over a slight imperfection in the wood next to him. “Though if you're calling him Edward now. Well, must be some tiff.”
Bonnet made a noise of disapproval and Izzy did his best to hide the dark smile on his face. Other than the prominent exception, Bonnet and Edward always seemed to be of the same mind on everything. Or at the very least Edward seemed quite willing to bend in favor of Bonnet’s eccentric desires. If the pair were disagreeing to the point where Bonnet was specifically calling him anything other than Ed (or Darling or Dearest), well, Izzy couldn’t be blamed if he got some entertainment from the situation. Plus, it had been a while since he and Bonnet had had a proper row, could be fun.
“So’d he kick you out or did you kick him out and then feel guilty about it?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.
“I! That is frankly none of your business, Mr. Hands,” Bonnet said. Izzy could practically hear him dramatically cross his arms and look petulantly out towards the waves.
“Perhaps,” Izzy drawled out. “But shouldn’t a good First Mate be kept aware of his Captain's well-being? Besides, you’re the one who told me you two were fighting.”
Bonnet’s shoulder’s sank. “Yes, well I suppose I did.” He chewed on the thought for a moment. Izzy didn’t actually care about who might have kicked who out of the cabin, except for the vague, ever-present part of him that still clung to the hope that one day Edward would grow tired of his newest flight of fancy and finally ditch Bonnet for good. The majority of him however, realized that was never going to happen and was focusing his efforts on finding his footing in this new dynamic. Unfortunately that new dynamic involved Stede Bonnet, which meant he spent most of his time avoiding Stede Bonnet, and since all Edward wanted to do was be next to the insufferable ponce, that meant he ended up avoiding Edward most of the time as well. Except for their conversation earlier that day, but he’d rather not think about that.
“If you must know,” Bonnet said. “—which you don’t, but, I supposed I rather kicked myself out. Edward was being rather unpleasant and I thought I might give him some space for the night.”
“So you climb up here,” Izzy said.
“Yes. Gets rather stuffy in the hold, and thought staying on the deck might wake the crew. It’s rather peaceful up here.”
Izzy couldn’t really argue with that, he’d always found something settling about being this high up. He’d gotten his start working the lines, had always been on the smaller side and never had a fear of heights. Get your head at the right angle and there was nothing around but the sea and sky, especially at night where the only line between the two were different depths of black. Simplicity.
“What are you doing up here yourself anyway?” Bonnet asked, sounding like he was trying to be accusatory.
Izzy just shrugged. “Can’t sleep. Happens.”
“Oh. Often?” and Christ dammit he sounded concerned suddenly. Izzy had been looking to pick a fight but if Bonnet was going to be concerned for him he was going to pitch himself onto the deck. “I have some chamomile tea tucked away if you need something to help settle. I can go and fetch it—”
“Fuck off, Bonnet.”
“Could have anticipated that I suppose,” Bonnet murmured to himself, but it was too quiet and the crow's nest too narrow for Izzy not to hear. “Why here though. I don’t know you as one to simply sit idle for long.”
Bonnet didn’t know him, Izzy thought, not well enough to make those kinds of assumptions. “Checking our location,” he said. “Easier to see up here, especially when it’s dark.
“Oh! Yes, celestial navigation,” Bonnet said, perking up. He moved closer to the mast—and by default to Izzy—and went up onto his knees to scan the sky. “I wonder if I could...ah—Yes! Over there, Orion. The Hunter.”
Bonnet had one arm wrapped around the mast as he pointed with the other, carrying all the enthusiasm of a young boy picking out the stars for the first time and not a man who purported himself Captain of a pirate vessel. Izzy turned his head mostly to see if Bonnet had actually gotten it right and, well, yes. Due west, the scatter of stars that formed Orion hung almost parallel to the horizon, the trio making up the belt one of the easiest formations to pick out.
“Are you familiar with the story of Orion?” Bonnet asked, glancing down towards Izzy for a moment before returning his gaze to the sky. “It was said in ancient Greece he was a famed and powerful hunter. He even caught the attention of the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, and the two became lovers. The only man she ever loved in fact, until one day he was blinded in an accident and killed by his own hunting dogs. Distraught at the death of her love, Artemis placed his body in the sky so he could live out eternity participating in his favorite pastime.” He let out a long, almost dreamy sigh.
“I heard Artemis shot him after he saw her bathing,” Izzy said flatly. “The dogs were extra.”
Bonnet looked at him, startled, Izzy meeting his gaze coolly until Bonnet cleared his throat. “Yes, well, there are multiple versions of the myths,” he said. His attention went back to the horizon, scanning intently. “Now, navigation. Let’s see if I can...oh I know there’s a trick to this, just follow the belt…”
Izzy watched out of the corner of his eye as Bonnet attempted to find...something he supposed. Orion was often used for helping find other important stars, a good way to orient yourself. Bonnet’s brow was furrowed, deep creases cutting through his forehead as his lips quirked down in a frown. Izzy sighed and shifted so he was facing west alongside him.
“Follow the belt,” he said and Bonnet jumped as he realized their proximity, too engrossed in his own study to notice Izzy’s movement. Izzy ignored him, extending his arm out to trace the paths in the sky ahead of them. “—southward, and you can find Sirius, the dog star.”
Bonnet followed the movement of his hand and made a small noise of recognition. “Yes, I see it. Brightest star in the night sky, Canis Major. One of Orion’s hunting dogs, yes?”
Izzy just grunted, moving his arm back across the belt. “Follow it northward and you can find Alpha Tauri.”
“Oh.” Bonnet shifted, leaning in towards Izzy as he tried to follow. “Yes I...I think I might see it. That one, yes?”
Bonnet pointed, and while it was hard to tell exactly where he was pointing without getting closer—which Izzy would much rather avoid—he was sill relatively certain it was not the correct star.
“It’s—you know how to find Taurus, right?”
“I—yes?” Bonnet’s voice carried a hint of hesitation. Izzy looked at him blankly.
“All those book in that library of your and you never read the ones on basic navigation?” he said.
Bonnet’s face at the accusation was indignant. “I’ve read all of them, thank you very much—several times in fact,” he said, crossing his arms around his middle. He cast his eyes towards the side and worried his bottom lip.
It had been incredibly clear from the first day they shared a ship Bonnet was, if anything, a book-smart sailor with next to no practical experience. Bonnet had quite the collection, several tombs on nearly every aspect of sailing, he’d even set a few of them aside during the purging since they actually had some use. He’d even seen a rather fine sextant in Bonnet’s cabin, though when he thought about it he’d never seen it actually in the man’s hand. Sure he’d gained some practical skills since, but using the stars to navigate was something those who learned to sail on land and not a ship always bragged about their skill in. Self-important men with degrees from universities Izzy couldn’t give a fuck about spouting off sidereal hours and declination and all twenty names of certain stars as if just memorizing a chart meant anything. It was different when you were actually on the deck of a moving ship, dealing with the rolling of the tides and the drift of the fog, and the tilt of the ship. He’d seen plenty of those men completely lose themselves when there was no longer a controlled, safe environment for them to boast from. When it was no longer looking out and locating a star you knew was there and was instead of finding stars to learn where you were.
“Clearly they didn’t stick,” Izzy said.
Bonnet huffed. “It’s just...well I’ve never had much luck in actually picking out the proper shapes in the sky myself. It’s much easier when the lines are already traced for you.”
Of course it was, that was the point, wasn’t it? Izzy had learned the stars the same way he’d learned to speak. Knew them as instinctively as he knew to breathe and fight. Every port he’d been in, every ship he’d served on, he had been able to look up and find himself. Could always follow the trails of the constellations on their predictable paths, knew how far south or north they’d managed simply by what he was able to see in the sky. Sometimes the day was more disorienting to him than the night. In the light, there was too much to take into account, too many things to worry about. At night, everything blended out into one. It made him and Edward a good match.
Edward knew the winds and the swell, could use the accident of the weather to his advantage, named clouds and their shapes and could tell the depth of the water they were fording from the color of the sky. Edward knew how to use the things people saw in broad daylight, things they took for granted and how to twist them into his own stories. People expected terrible things to come out from the darkness, they didn’t expect a ghost ship with a smoke-headed Captain to drift towards them at high noon. Sure, he knew the stars too but had never leaned on them the same way Izzy did. To Izzy, there was a simple straightforwardness in the dark.
Edward had found him that afternoon, the sun still high. Izzy hadn’t wanted to talk to him, Edward hadn't either, but did.
Bonnet being able to read the shelves of novels he insisted on keeping in his cabin but unable to read the sky and stars felt like just another example of how far out of his depth he was at sea. Izzy could easily say as much, laugh in his face and turn back to his own corner of the crow's nest. Tell Bonnet to look back at his precious books if he trusted them so much.
“Taurus,” Izzy said instead. “Is on the other side of Orion from Sirius, where the bow is pointing. At this point in the night, it’s right next to the moon—there.” He gestured and Bonnet followed his hand. “Between the moon and the horizon, just a touch westward and close to the waves. You see that triangle of stars?”
“I...wait, yes actually!” Bonnet said, brightening. “And there, that must be alpha Tauri. Yes, I see what you mean, following the belt I can spot it rather easily now.” He gave a small laugh of triumph and Izzy smirked. If he was this excited about managing to spot some of the simplest constellations, then he was truly lost.
On the other hand, Bonnet’s sheer enthusiasm managed to remind him of when he himself was first learning to pick out the stars, hanging on the every word of the ship's boatswain who had taken a paternal fondness to the young cabin boy. It was strange, trying to think about a time when he didn’t know the stars so intimately. He could remember learning them, but not a time before that, of looking up and having no recognition of the display before him. The intrinsic shift in self was all that remained, not whoever he had been before.
Who had he been before Blackbeard? And who might he be now that Edward was clearly done with him?
“You’re rather skilled at this,” Bonnet said, pulling Izzy out of his reverie as he turned to face him. The man was practically wrapped around the mast at this point which was the bulk of what was separating the two. Given the narrow space, it still wasn’t much.
Izzy scoffed and pulled back to face north once again. He kept one arm propped up on his knee, his other leg stretched out before him, boot just off the edge of the nest. “Been at sea long enough, sure as fuck should be.”
Bonnet just hummed, shifting his own position. He leaned back against the mast and Izzy felt his arm barely brush against his own. The wind blew, tugging at loose lines and the fabric of their clothing. Izzy could almost imagine how it would tousle Bonnet’s perfectly coiffed hair. He frowned.
“How long have you been at sea?” Bonnet asked, not on Izzy’s right.
“All my life.” It was only a slight exaggeration.
Bonnet didn’t comment and the pair sat in silence for a few long moments before he spoke again. “Do you have a favorite?”
Izzy looked at him askance. “Favorite what?”
“A favorite constellation,” Bonnet said, meeting his eyes. “You seem to know plenty about them.”
Izzy snorted. “It’s not some hobby you play favorites with, it’s practical.”
“Oh come now,” Bonnet said, leaning in closer. Izzy revisited his earlier desire to push him off. “Even you can’t look up at all of this—” he punctuated the word with a wide sweep of his arm across the night sky “—and not feel something.”
“I feel,” Izzy started. Bonnet waited eagerly, full attention focused on Izzy and it was almost enough to make him falter. “I feel like...we’ll be needed to move east come morning.” Bonnet deflated. “Should be able to intercept a merchant line in the next day or so.”
“Do you truly never relax?” Bonnet said, settling back down but not moving away from Izzy. “Ed said you were the type to just keep on no matter what but I was sure that had to be an exaggeration. Everyone needs to rest at some point.”
“Fuck off, Bonnet.”
“See now, we’re not going to do all this. Like it or no Izzy, you are a member of my crew which means your continued well-being is my responsibility.” Izzy scowled but Bonnet seemed to not notice. “I need to make sure you’re not wearing yourself too thin now.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t be wearing myself thin as you out it, if the imbeciles you call a crew actually did their fuckin’ jobs for once,” Izzy snapped back, meeting Bonnet with a dark glare.
“I, well I was under the impression their skills on deck had improved quite dramatically.”
“It’s not all about skill, not all of it, it’s about doing the damn work at all without someone breathing down their neck.”
“I see.”
Bonnet had tilted his head down, contemplating something as he twisted one of the rings on his finger. “That does sound like something address. I haven’t been the most...attentive captain lately, have I?”
Izzy snorted and caught Bonnet’s grimace out of the corner of his eye. “You know my answer,” Izzy said. “Besides, doubt I’m the one you want to hear all of this from.”
“You’re the one who’ll tell me,” Bonnet said. “I suspect most of the crew doesn’t bother anymore. Have I mentioned they planned to mutiny once?”
That made Izzy raise his eyebrows. “Seems odd to me,” he said. He had a lot of mixed feelings about mutinies in general—the one the crew had organized against him during his brief stint as captain non withstanding—but after seeing the display against the English the idea of the crew turning on Bonnet seemed out of character.
“Oh this was early, long before I met you and Ed,” Bonnet said. “Not to be self-aggrandizing, but I do feel like I have improved in my captaincy and sailing skills since then, but I worry that I’ve allowed some things to...slip so to speak. Especially since we’ve all met back up again. You’re the only one who seems to tell me when I’ve overlooked something.” He gave a heavy sigh and when Izzy glanced over he seemed rather dejected. “Most issues about the ship and such Ed simply... takes care of.”
“Edward indulges you,” Izzy said, perhaps bluntly.
“I don’t want to be indulged, I want to learn. To Captain properly.”
He turned and Izzy did as well, facing Bonnet directly. There was a lock of hair curled over his forehead and Izzy didn’t like the strange fondness in his chest as he glanced at it. “I know you think me a rather poor captain and I doubt there’s much I can do to change that, but I have begun to appreciate your willingness to point out my blind spots. So, thank you, Izzy.”
Izzy simply stared, not sure what to do with that information. “You’re thanking me for telling you how terrible you are all the time?”
Bonnet laughed, a rumble in his chest, and Izzy was rather annoyed about how much he didn’t find the sound annoying. “I suppose in a way, yes. You remember that time we first met?”
Izzy did. He still didn’t like thinking about it. He thought, not for the first time, that his life would have turned out a lot better if he’d never come across Stede Bonnet and his crew of fools. “It was rather unprofessional.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Bonnet said, somehow smiling. “I’ll admit though, I wasn’t lying when I said I enjoyed the experience. It felt rather...invigorating to have a rival like that.”
Izzy snorted, because of course that was something Bonnet would be excited about.
“In any case, I’m coming to think that a proper Captain is one who can handle taking a spot of criticism now and then, which in the past you’ve been more than willing to provide. Besides…” Bonnet paused for a moment, hesitating. “I know you’re rather important to Edward, and so I’d rather be—well friends might be a bit of an overreach I’ll concede. Hopefully, though we can find a relationship where we’re at least less acerbic towards each other.”
Izzy scoffed, turning away. “Edward doesn’t care about me.”
“That—how would you come to that conclusion?” Bonnet said. Izzy was turned away but could still feel it when the other man leaned in.
Izzy would really rather just tell Bonnet to fuck off as usual, but even that felt like revealing far too much. “It doesn’t matter,” he said instead, pointedly looking away towards the blackened horizon.
Since Edward and Bonnet’s reconciliation, Izzy had been avoiding Edward outside of their usual duties as Captain and First Mate. Izzy knew his place, knew what he’d done and what Edward had done in turn, they didn’t need to talk about it, and Izzy didn’t need a front-row seat to Edward and Bonnet’s puerile love affair. Edward for his part didn’t seek him out either, barely glanced at him from across the deck when Izzy was openly staring. They didn’t talk, didn’t need to, until apparently, Edward thought they did.
The afternoon sun had been shining directly in Izzy’s eyes when Edward cornered him on the deck that afternoon. It was a slow day, warm, and the rest of the crew was below having a leisurely lunch.
“Why are you here, Izzy?” Edward had said.
He looked different. He wore his hair pulled back more often than not, and his beard was still mostly gone. It had started to grow back but was kept trimmed tightly around his jawline, barely long enough to curl. He had forgone his usual leather, his dress now some strange hybrid of Bonnet’s loose shirts and his usual jackets, now worn open. Still wore that damn cravat and Izzy didn’t think it was possible to hate an item of clothing more.
“Where else would I be?” Izzy had said, meeting Edwards's gaze coolly.
Edward frowned. “Anywhere else. You could be on any ship you wanted to.”
Not here was the thing left unsaid. Edward thought Izzy didn’t want to be there, he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m still your First Mate,” Izzy had said, squaring his shoulder back. He kept his eyes locked on Edward’s. “You said you needed me here.”
Edwards eyes flickered to the side. “That was then.” Izzy kept any reaction he might have had locked deep in his chest. Edward eventually looked back towards him, expression turned regretful. “Izzy, before it was….Even you have to know it wasn’t good.”
Izzy didn’t feel like commenting on that. “Are you relieving me of duty?” he had asked, voice low but carefully controlled otherwise.
Edward had hesitated, clearly not excepting that. Izzy could read him all to clearly—he didn’t want to say no. “You do good work on deck, with the crew,” he had said eventually.
“Then if you’ll let me get back to it,” Izzy had said, not waiting for a reply before stepping around Edward and back down from the quarter-deck. Edward hadn’t followed.
Izzy looked up at the night sky from the crow’s nest. Edward had all but said he didn’t want him around anymore. Izzy had half a mind to stick around just on spite, not wanting to make it easy for the man after everything he’d put him through. But on the other hand...perhaps he was right, perhaps him leaving the Revenge would be for the better.
“Well, whatever happened,” Bonnet said, “I know for certain Edward does care deeply for you...even if you might not see it.”
Izzy frowned. The absolute last thing he needed at the moment was Bonnet attempting to comfort him about his relationship with Edward. It felt condescending, and the fact he knew Bonnet didn’t mean it that way made it even worse. But he also didn’t trust himself to not say anything that might make Bonnet want to pry further, so he simply sat and watched the stars.
Bonnet sat silently at his side for a few blissful moments, until he eventually shifted his seat closer and was clearly watching the same patch of sky alongside Izzy. “Oh! I know that one,” he said, pointing forward. “Ursa Minor—always thought it looked a bit more like a ladle than a bear but I’m not the one in charge of naming these things am I?” He chuckled like he had just made some funny joke.
Izzy raised an eyebrow but decided it wasn’t worth it and just turned his bead back. “Read about that one in your book too?”
“Oh, yes actually. Can’t say the stories about it are that interesting to me personally, but I know it’s good for navigation. Polaris at it’s tail, due north.”
“Nearly,” Izzy said. “Not quite a degree off but close enough. Good for a quick check on latitude but can’t use it for longitude like most of the others.” It was left off of some navigational tables for that reason.
“Well that seems pretty useful to me,” Bonnet said. “Good to know what direction you’re facing”
“Never said it wasn’t useful,” Izzy half growled. “Just it isn’t the end-all of proper navigation like some people act like it is.”
“More useful as part of a group?” Bonnet said, looking at him carefully.
Izzy returned it flatly, not sure what Bonnet thought he was getting at. “’ Course. You can’t just look at one star and know exactly where you are, you have to know how they all work.” His gaze drifted back out. “How they move in the sky, what time of night and year they’re visible, which ones to watch for, and where in the sky you can find them. North Star’s just one of them, just good at orienting yourself with.”
“Ah,” Bonnet said softly in that way of his. Izzy glanced back over and found Bonnet still staring directly at him. The moonlight caught in his eyes so they nearly glowed, a smattering of stars reflected in the irises. “That’s what your tattoo is, isn’t it? I’d been curious. Had a thought it might be the classic ‘x marks the spot’ at first, but I’ve been dutifully informed that’s not really a proper pirate thing. This makes much better sense for you.” His voice was soft, almost like he was talking to himself. Izzy instinctively had brought a hand up and brushed a knuckle against the mark on his face, the spot under his left eye almost buzzing with the strange attention. Bonnet was smiling. “Polaris.”
Izzy could feel the heat rush to his face and quickly snapped his head away, the indignation or...whatever might be rising up in his chest, it was too intense. The only other person who knew what the mark was supposed to be was the man who’d given it to him and, well, somehow Bonnet had stumbled into it. It threw him so off guard he didn’t even think to threaten the other man.
It was silent for several minutes, the ship softly creaking below them until Bonnet decided to regal Izzy with one of the myths about Ursa Minor. Izzy wasn’t really paying attention. He was almost painfully aware of Bonnet’s presence now, the crow's nest feeling almost claustrophobic despite the open around them. It was ridiculous. Izzy had somehow been fully infected by whatever piloted the insanity of the Revenge and its crew. He was too tired to deal with this. But Bonnet also seemed oddly...invested. In him? No, Bonnet had said himself he really only tolerated Izzy in so far as his relationship with Edward. Once the two had settled their argument (Izzy made no effort to imagine this could escalate to the point of the two of them separating) and Bonnet learned the truth his companionable mood would shift.
Still, Bonnet had taken a distinct interest in the stars, in particular Izzy’s knowledge of them. He said he wanted to learn, but when had Izzy started actually trying to teach him?
“It’s Argo,” Izzy said, after Bonnet had finished his story and some silence had passed.
Bonnet looked utterly lost. “I’m sorry?”
“Argo. You asked—” He grunted. “Fuck it, just...come here.”
Izzy shifted around the mast to face towards the south. Still looking slightly confused, Bonnet moved to follow before realizing it was much easier to just flip his own position to now sit on Izzy’s left.
“Argo Navis,” Izzy said, gesturing out towards the constellation. Bonnet had mentioned finding it hard to recognize the shapes without the aid of drawn lines. To Izzy, the lines were always there, and Argo Navis dominated the sight. “It’s...it’s a ship.”
“Oh, oh!” Bonnet said, glancing at Izzy for a beat before looking back out. “Yes, yes I see. I remember that one. Rather large, isn’t it?”
“Fucking huge,” Izzy said. “Hundreds of stars in there. It’s right there, on the horizon.”
“I—er—may need a refresher,” Bonnet said, leaning towards Izzy’s arm but having no luck in picking it out.
Izzy glanced at him. They were too fucking close. “You can break it up easily. We’ve got a good sight here.” He leaned in, tucking himself slightly between Bonnet and the mast. He extended his arm directly over Bonnet’s right shoulder so he could follow the line clearer, his head behind Bonnet’s ear. “That’s the sails there, Argûs in velis—” he traced the shape in the sky and Bonnet followed, curls brushing against his naked arm. “Then the keel, Carina, right on the water. Then Puppis, the stern.” It had fallen almost perfectly, the ship looking like it was actually sailing on the water, rolling with a particularly high wave, stern pointed to the sky. That same sprinkle of fancy came over his mind, the ship meeting the waves and falling back down into the spread of the sea as the wave finally broke, starlight droplets of water scattered across the melded horizon, catching face and beard in that stinging/cool spray.
“Ah,” Bonnet said in that way of his. Izzy couldn’t see his face but could imagine the smile he’d be sporting. “Yes, I see it. That’s perfect, truly gorgeous. I can see why you’re fond of it—”
He turned his head slightly to look at Izzy and his cheek brushed against the exposed skin of his upper arm. Izzy froze. Fuck they were way too close.
“Oh, apologies,” Bonnet said quickly, startling at the unexpected contact and shifting his seat to the side. He cleared his throat and duck his head down for a moment.
Izzy withdrew his arm, tempted to push his sleeves back down but he didn’t want Bonnet to think he’d gotten to him or anything. His wrist twisted around in his gloved hand while and his gaze was firmly on the waters when Bonnet spoke again.
“Thank you for showing me—I may actually be able to find it myself now.”
“Should learn how to navigate yourself, if you’re going to keep up the pirate thing,” Izzy said, half a mummer and with much less vitriol than he’d usually give such a statement.
“Yes, you are quite right,” Bonnet said, also half-spoken and without a proper bite.
They sat in uneasy silence. Bonnet was staring out towards the sky, perhaps double-checking he could indeed find Argus himself? Izzy was trying to go over the supplies they had in the hold but was finding it difficult to keep himself focused, his attention drifting aimlessly.
“You’re familiar with the stories, yes? Jason and the Argonauts? The search for the Golden Fleece?”
Bonnet and his stories. Izzy knocked his head back against the mast. “Most of them, yes.” Sailors always had a thing for stories about sailing.
“They’re quite exciting. Had a collection of them as a young man, part of why I grew so fond of sailing I’m sure.” He chuckled lightly, then sobered. “Will have to say, as I grew I became less and less fond of Jason himself.”
Izzy shrugged and didn’t think about how his shoulder brushed against Bonnet’s arm. “Heroes in those old stories were always twats.”
“You’re not wrong,” Bonnet said. “Still, I find him particularly detestable. You’re familiar with Medea, yes? Mary and I saw it performed once while we were in London.”
“Yes, of course. Me a the boys always made a point to visit the theater every Sunday,” Izzy said flatly, rolling his head to look at his profile. Bonnet looked at him with a frown.
“I was referring to the myth itself but—oh all right, I suppose that’s fair.” Bonnet sighed, eyes closing briefly before drifting back out towards the stars. “As I mentioned, Mary and I were visiting London for the week. This was before the children mind you, so it was just the two of us. There was a theater nearby that was putting on a series of productions classics by the greats, so naturally, I insisted I went. Marry indulged me, as I suppose she often did in those days. The night we had free they were performing Medea, by Euripides. I had read the play before of course and couldn’t say I was fond of it, but it was much more...visceral to see it acted out on stage like that.
“See, the play takes place after all the sailing and the business with the golden fleece. Jason and Medea had met along the journey and fell in love, Medea even betraying her family and homeland to protect him, and Jason in turn promising protection and a home with him back in Greece. Along the rest of the voyage, she was rather instrumental in its success due to her skills as a sorceress and when you read the tales it’s actually a rather touching love story. But now they’re in Greece, but Jason is unable to claim his birthright due to the crimes he’d committed along his journey, so he makes a plan to marry the princess of the kingdom they’re staying in instead. Medea is rightfully upset at all this, seeing as how they’re already married to each other and how much she’s given up and done for him over the years, and now he’s abandoning her and letting her and their children be exiled into a dangerous and unfamiliar land. So she crafts a plan, securing herself sanctuary and then orchestrating the deaths of the princess and her father before her departure. After the deaths of the King and princess, however, she also plots to kill her and Jason’s children, wishing to hurt Jason as much as possible, though she believes the act may hurt her more than Jason. Simply reading it the act felt so cold, but perhaps it was the way the actress performed it—even the Chorus rushed to stop her, but it was too late.
“Jason enters after the deed is done, and in a bit of fascinating stagecraft, Medea is seen flying over the stage in a chariot gifted to her by the god Helios as she gives Jason a rather deserved dressing down. See, this particular trick is usually only reserved to depict gods and goddesses, and so by placing Medea there the narrative frames her actions as just, even if they’re rather distasteful. It’s all very...well it can be rather compelling to think about, don’t you agree?”
Bonnet turned to look at him over his shoulder and Izzy became suddenly aware he’d been staring. Their eye met for a brief moment before Izzy skittered his gaze off to the side letting out a low and heavy breath. He didn’t respond to the question, wasn’t sure if he was supposed to, but Bonnet didn’t press either way.
Something had shifted, there, in the salted air around the crows nest. It was late enough that Izzy was beginning to give up on sleeping at all that night, and Bonnet didn’t seem that terribly drowsy either. The ship was asleep, and whatever strange power dynamic had kept both of them there had clearly dissipated. They were free to go. Neither moved. Bonnet asked idly if they were far south enough to spot the Southern Cross, and Izzy pointed out the visible stars near the horizon.
Izzy had completely forgotten about the apparent “tiff” with Edward that had driven Bonnet up the lines until Bonnet twisted in his seat, fingers drumming idly on his arm as he leaned his shoulder against the mast to face fully towards Izzy.
“You...know Edward rather well, I know.”
“I do,” Izzy said automatically, with a confidence that nearly surprised him given the last few months.
This was completely lost on Bonnet, whose gaze was focused on the strip of wood visible between them as he picked at a fold in his shirt. “My son, Louis, he’s turning eight soon—in two weeks actually. And, well, I’ve collected a few trinkets and such I think he might appreciate, and it’s been so long since I’ve seen them that I’d been considering….Well, perhaps that I might be able to visit for a bit. Help celebrate. Maybe even introduce Ed to the children.”
Izzy was very still, nearly afraid to breathe. This...Izzy wasn’t sure if he should be mad at Bonnet for feeling the need to tell him this, but he was starting to get the shape of what the issue at hand was.
“I’ve managed to send some letters since I’ve returned, and I’ve brought the idea to Mary who's open to it. It’s just. Well, tonight when I broached the idea to Edward he got...rather upset, in a way I’ve never seen on him. Kept going on about how there’s a price on both our heads and how I’m supposed to be dead and how terrible it would be if I was suddenly found among the living again, strolling around Barbados.” Bonnet scoffed and Izzy watched the twist of anger in his face that he rarely saw him display. “Like I don’t know all that myself—very well in fact. I’ve dealt with my own share of English sailors, thank you very much. And if he’d simply let me explain, he’d know I have some thoughts on how to take care of it, I’m not an imbecile—” Izzy pointedly didn’t react. “—besides, there’s still plenty of time to decide the details and how to accomplish it as safely as possible. Clearly, I’d be disguised, Jim could help I’m sure, but it’s just…”
He sighed, leaning his head against the mast as he stared out towards the sea. “Edward seemed so...utterly unwilling to even entertain the concept. I can’t really understand it, but I suppose I have my own strong feelings on the subject so…” he looked at Izzy, suddenly chagrined. “Sorry, this must be rather inappropriate to talk to you about given...well.” He cleared his throat, sitting up all at once. “Lack of sleep must be getting to me,” he said under his breath.
Izzy didn’t respond, gaze unfocused as he traced patterns in his head. He didn’t like Bonnet feeling comfortable enough to tell him all this, and he didn’t like how concerned Bonnet seemed about how discussing his and Edward’s relationship might be upsetting to him. He wasn’t sure how much Edward might have told him, or what Edward even thought about their relationship was—or at least had been. He equally didn’t like the idea Edward hadn’t said anything in particular and Bonnet had just inferred everything. Bonnet was shifting uncomfortably beside him, seeming like he was about to get up. Izzy sighed heavily.
“Well,” Izzy said. Bonnet paused. “It makes sense he’d be upset about it. Edward’s always had a jealous streak to him.”
“Jealous? Why would he—” Bonnet’s face paled. “Oh goodness, he couldn’t think I’m trying to leave could he?”
“Technically it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve pulled that,” Izzy pointed out.
“And it went horribly! It made me realize how much I was supposed to be out here, with him! With all of you! Besides, Mary wouldn’t stand for it even if I did try, she nearly murdered me last time I returned.”
That made Izzy turn his head. “Your wife tried to murder you?”
Bonnet nodded solemnly. “With a skewer. In the ear hold.”
Izzy barked out a laugh, perhaps too loudly for such a quiet night and a sleeping crew below but hell if he cared. “Brilliant. I like her already.”
“Yes, of course, you do,” Bonnet said with a roll of his eyes. “But if that’s what Edward is worried about it’s an easy fix at least, I’ll just explain it to him.”
“Mm, not quite,” Izzy said. “Don’t think even Edward’s daft enough to think you’re trying to run back to wifey.”
“Then...why would you say he’s jealous?”
Bonnet was looking at him in that intense way of his. Izzy clicked his tongue, leaning back and staring up at the sky to get him out of his sight. “’Cause he is—he’s a pirate after all, one of the best, and it comes with the territory.” He drew a hand over his goatee, eyes tracing the long line of the Hydra above them.
Edward was a strange nut at the best of times, wearing his mercurial temperament on his sleeve. He rarely talked about anything, but Izzy had known him for years and had taught himself how to read the shifts and what lead to them.
“He’s talked about his old man, right?” Izzy said.
“Oh, um. A bit, yes. Mostly in regards to the—er—end of their relationship.”
Izzy gave a sharp nod, gaze still trained upwards. So Bonnet knew about that at least. Shitty or non-existent parents weren’t unusual for their lot, and of the few stories Edward had shared of his life before the sea, Izzy could tell they weren't any exception. It presented itself in him strangely, particularly in how he reacted around kids. He’d always been weird around children, wanting them out of sight as quickly as possible if a target had them on board, never allowing anyone under the age of 15 to serve on the Queen Anne, despite many ships having boys as young as ten on board as powder monkeys or some other similar job. Not that proper children were that common in their line of work, but when they did pop up Edward avoided them like the plague.
There had been an instance, back when they were at port in Nassau, he and Edward had been walking through and looking for a decent rope-maker when a bustle of kids from the nearby brothel ran directly in front of them, too distracted by the game they were playing to notice the two weapon-heavy pirates they nearly collided with. They both stopped in their tracks instinctively, Izzy snorting as he watched the bastards race around without a care in the world, shouting and laughing among themselves. When he glanced back to Edward to share his amusement however his Captain seemed frozen in place, hand fisted tightly in Izzy’s sleeve.
“Captain?” was all Izzy had had to say and Edward snapped back into himself, continuing their walk like nothing had happened other than their pace quickening and taking a longer route back to the ship when they were finished. Izzy hadn't commented, still wouldn’t have brought it up, just tucked the knowledge away and kept it for reference. The snippets of a life before the sea that would crop up in stories and actions, peaking over the waves in familiar arcs before disappearing below the horizon again. Edward would draw into himself, hide away until Izzy coaxed him out and he was himself again. Patterns and cycles.
Edward didn’t like his father. Edward didn’t like children. Edward didn’t like his life before. Edward (unfortunately) likes Bonnet. Bonnet has a family. Bonnet wants to see his family. Bonnet has left for his family before. Bonnet has children. Bonnet wants Edward to meet his children. Bonnet’s an idiot. Edward wants Bonnet safe.
Edward is an idiot, and Izzy is still a little pissed at him for everything.
“Your family, they got access to a ship? Personal, not just for hire,” Izzy said, still facing out towards sea.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything?” Bonnet said.
“Just answer the fuckin’ question.”
“Well, Mary told me in no uncertain terms that she hates the ocean so it never really came up before. I remember Doug mentioning—Doug is Mary’s partner—that he has an uncle who sails.”
Izzy nodded, the shape taking form as he plotted sea routes and summer winds. Edward might be the strategist, but Izzy could whip up a plan or two. “8 you said? Big milestone for a young boy, especially after the year he’s had wouldn’t you say?”
“I—just what are you implying?”
“Just saying, wouldn’t bee to strange to do something special for the occasion. Like...perhaps a short sailing trip. Just to see the sights, and if a family friend has a ship then, well, that’s much easier than hiring one out and staffing strangers isn’t it.”
“I….suppose,” Stede said carefully, watching Izzy.
“Much less hassle, trust me. And there’s plenty of islands to visit, either for the sights, or a sailors friend. Petite St. Vincent, for instance, not too far from Barbados for a celebratory trip. It’s unfortunate though.”
“Unfortunate how?” Stede asked, shifting closer when Izzy didn’t elaborate right away.
Izzy glanced at him and didn’t hide the small smirk on his face. “Unfortunate that there is a pirate-friendly port nearby the island. Though pirate ships rarely target passenger vessels, unless they’re desperate...or if the vessel had a particular flag flying to let someone know who was on it.”
“That’s…” Bonnet’s eyes widened in a flash of understanding. “Oh. Oh! Oh Izzy, that’s brilliant I—that just about solves it, oh!”
Izzy had expected a certain amount of Bonnet’s overenthusiasm in reaction to the idea, but he didn’t expect Bonnet to pull him into a hug. It was brief and startling, and when Bonnet pulled away he was gripping Izzy’s upper arm with one hand while the other ended up resting at the curve of his neck. “Thank you Izzy, ah—”
Bonnet paused for the briefest moments, seemingly catching up to what he’d just done and pulling his arms back to himself. He cleared his throat. “Well, I’ll...have to present the idea to Ed in the morning. And I’ve intruded on your time enough this evening. I’ll have to go try and get some rest—and you should as well. Captian’s orders.”
It was well into the morning, and Izzy knew he was well past the point of getting any sleep before needed to be on deck. The crew would be even more insufferable to deal with tired but he wasn’t particularly worried about that. He was more worried about the fact he considered telling Bonnet he didn’t have to go.
“You’re not my Captain,” he said instead, but it lacked its usual bite.
Bonnet simply hummed. “Well, regardless, thank you for your advice, and your instruction. Perhaps, you could help show me how to locate the stars better another time?”
Izzy pursed his lips. “Maybe,” he said. He leaned back, knocking the back of his head against the mast as his eyes drifted out over the dim horizon. “Might as well make sure you’re not completely incompetent.”
If Bonnet smiled, Izzy didn’t see it, and it wasn’t just because of the low light. “Goodnight Izzy,” he said, making his way back down the lines in the quiet creak of the night. Izzy simply grunted in response, eyes fixed firmly on the stars as his mind buzzed quietly.