#gentlehands ficlet

[san-sebastienne]

Izzy and Stede at a gay bar

Izzy: *hands Stede a quarter*

Stede: what’s this?

Izzy: condom machine’s in the bathroom. Go on.

Stede: you mean this baR, A WELL KNOWN HOOKUP SPOT AND PILLAR OF GAY NIGHTLIFE, ISN’T GIVING OUT FREE CONDOMS? let me talk to the maNAGER THIS IS ABOUT COMMUNITY SAFETY –!!

Izzy: so….. you don’t want to fuck, then? Typical.

[cononeillbreastingboobily]

Prompt: gentlehands "are you flirting with me" "have been for the past [x amount of time] but thanks for noticing ~ blackhannetandco

@blackhannetandco this one's for you!!! *fucks up immediately*

***

"You have to remember to keep your back straight as you parry, or else you're risking losing your nose. Bonnet? Oh, for fuck's sake. Bonnet? Are you listening?"

Stede wasn't listening. It was decidedly hard to do, given that Izzy was shirtless, flexing his muscles before God and everybody.

Which, to be fair, that "everybody" was just Stede himself.

It's been several weeks since the two of them reconnected. Several weeks since Izzy started training Stede in combat in an old back room of an inn with a leaking roof, in the hopes that, if sufficiently prepared, he could at least survive the confrontation with Ed, or rather - Blackbeard. At least long enough to talk some sense into him.

If Stede wasn't already just a little bit nervous at the thought of seeing Ed again, the thought that the love of his life could actively want to kill him made him absolutely mortified.

And yet, at times, all of that seemed to pale in comparison with the feelings that have been raising in Stede's chest for a little while now. Nevermind that Izzy Hands was an incredibly talented swordsman, nevermind the way he looked in candlelight, his chest bare, eyes focused, forehead misted with sweat.

He was also, as much as it surprised Stede - a very decent guy to talk to. He had so many stories to tell, both from his youth, as well as from the time he spent pirating with Ed.

To be fair, Stede did have to pry words out of Izzy's mouth at the beginning, but when Hands saw that Stede's interest was genuine, he did start opening up, slowly but surely.

All of these factors combined amounted to Stede's confusing, no good, very weird time. He barely just realised he had feelings for Ed - what's all this, then? He couldn't help but imagine that after he reunited with Ed, they would live happily ever after with no hiccups at all. And this. This was a big hiccup.

And it wasn't even that he stopped loving Ed amidst all this, not even for a second. No siree, then he could at least have something to beat himself up for. No, these bizarre feelings he had for Izzy existed in tandem, as it were, not instead of his feelings for Ed, but rather next to them.

At least that's how Stede explained it to himself. It made sense in his head.

He couldn't help glancing at Izzy time and time again when the man wasn't looking his way, and looking away when their eyes met. He couldn't help the way his voice would sometimes get quiet, softer, when he was talking to Izzy. He couldn't help the warm feeling spreading all across his body whenever Izzy would touch him to help perfect his stance. Stede was just a man, up against something unfathomable.

"Huh? Um, yeah. I'm listening. Obviously." Stede said, convincing neither Izzy nor himself.

Izzy let out a long sigh.

"You know what? Let's wrap things up for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Make sure you're focused by then."

Stede nodded, and having put away his sword started making his way to his shoes that he abandoned in the corner of the room.

Izzy in the meantime snuffed out the candles, with only the moonlight seeping in through the window serving as a modest source of lighting.

Neither of them however accounted for the small puddle slowly but surely forming in the middle of the room, thanks to a sneaky little hole in the roof that's been there for years.

It was a moment. A blink of the eye.

Izzy was walking, until gravity took a hold of him.

Stede launched himself in the man's direction without thinking. Izzy has been helping him with sharpening his reflexes, and it's been working... rather splendidly.

There they were - Stede leaned over Izzy, strong arms of the Gentleman Pirate wrapped around his middle, Izzy's face turned towards the ceiling, one leg stuck midair.

They were stuck like that, simply staring at each other in shocked silence.

It was Stede that finally broke it off.

"Well..." he tried, slowly. "You know Izzy, if you wanted me to hold you that badly, all you had to do was say so. No need to risk injuring yourself."

Stede was weirdly proud of himself for getting that out as smoothly as he did. All the more chance he would be this suave and confident flirting with Ed, right?

Izzy scoffed in response, equally shocked as he was amused.

"Fuck off." he said, though there was no malice in his voice.

Stede quietly helped Izzy stand up. When the first mate's back was turned to him, he waited a beat and said:

"Bonnet?"

"Yes, Izzy?"

Izzy turned to face Stede, his eyebrow cocked.

"Did you just flirt with me?"

Stede couldn't help but chuckle.

"Have been trying to for a little while now. Thanks for noticing, though."

And with that Stede passed him and made for the door.

Izzy considered this. His head was spinning ever so slightly. This was going to become a problem.

***

Right so first of all

Can you believe I waited over a year to answer this ask. It was sent to me... In June? Last year? In the meantime I dropped out of uni. Dear god. Sorry it took me so long 😭😅

Anyways, hope you like it!!!!!!!

[kharti]

[ Closing Time #10 ]

      ( first | prev )

Izzy’s breath left him, all at once, as Ed slid into him. His body was so relaxed post-orgasm that there wasn’t any resistance, just an even glide until he was full, so full, so fucking deliciously full—

      ( Continue reading on AO3 or... )

Izzy’s breath left him, all at once, as Ed slid into him. His body was so relaxed post-orgasm that there wasn’t any resistance, just an even glide until he was full, so full, so fucking deliciously full—

“Proper prep always leads to a better meal,” Ed said, his voice strained as he tried to stay in character, running his tongue over his teeth. “No one likes tough meat.”

Stede huffed a shallow laugh, sweat visible on his brow as he watched with pupils blown wide. “I dare say not.”

“This meat is—” Ed struggled not to groan as he started to move his hips, pulling out nearly all the way and shoving back in. “Tender.”

“Warm?” Stede asked, his body swaying closer, his eyes fixed on the place where Ed and Izzy were joined.

“Fuckin’ hot.” Ed’s grip on Izzy’s hips tightened. “So fuckin’ hot inside.”

Izzy was rocked by each thrust, his skin sliding with a bit of friction along the tabletop, his fingers struggling to find purchase against the smooth surface as they tried to grab onto something, anything.

“Oh,” Stede breathed, his own hands clutching at the front of his pants. “May I—”

“Whatever the—customer wants.” Ed was pounding into him now, relentlessly. He moved a hand to the back of Izzy’s knee and lifted his leg up to give Stede a better view.

Stede, meanwhile, frantically unzipped his pants and had fished his cock out so quickly that he looked like a teenager, fumbling and trembling with too much arousal. He sighed with relief as he wrapped his fingers around himself and started to stroke, tight and quick little motions along the shaft and head.

Izzy had never felt so wonderfully helpless before, pinned under both their gazes, unable to do anything but moan and whimper with every thrust.

He'd also never felt so—loved.

This scene was one of worship, all of it put together by these two men to please him. To love him. And, he realized with a ripple of satisfaction, he was driving the both of them wild by just existing.

He wasn’t even trying to be sexy. He was just being fucked, just trying to keep up as Ed pounded into him, and Stede was about to cum with his belt still on.

His cock throbbed with the need to cum again, but he was too wrung out to even manage a dribble. He felt it bob against his stomach, bouncing with each thrust.

“Don’t cum yet,” Ed said, and it took Izzy a moment to realize he meant Stede. “I’m almost—fuck—I’ve almost got ‘im ready for you. Sir.”

Stede’s head snapped up. “You mean—”

Ed gave a wheezing little chuckle. “Just a moment—”

Izzy’s lungs couldn’t keep up. He was trying to gasp for air, but Ed kept fucking the breath out of him in pitchy whimpers and whines. His vision started to blur and his eyes watered, his chest ached with each heave.

And then Ed’s hips went flush to Izzy’s ass with one final push, throbbing deep inside him, filling him up.

“F—Fuck,” Ed groaned, his shoulders hunching forward as he curled in, trying to get closer with a little push of his hips. He shuddered, eyes closed, lips parted, his hands tight on Izzy as he squeezed tighter.

Then he straightened up and withdrew, Stede’s eyes following the movement while his own hand slowed.

“All ready for you, sir,” Ed said, voice hoarse, stepping to the side. His eyes flashed as he continued, “Please be sure to describe your experience… in detail.”

Izzy’s mouth went dry.

Oh, gods, he wasn’t going to survive this.

“Looks delectable,” Stede said, standing up and moving to place himself between Izzy’s legs. “I love what you’ve done with the center.”

Stede’s hand slipped between Izzy’s cheeks, his thumb prodding at his entrance, and Izzy could feel the wetness leaking out of him as Stede toyed with it.

“Is it a cream sauce?”

“Housemade,” Ed replied as he dropped down onto a seat, running a hand through his hair, pushing sweat-soaked strands out of his face.

Izzy watched with widening eyes as Stede brought the hand to his lips and licked his thumb.

“Delicious,” he said, his eyes locked with Izzy’s. “This whole meal is unspeakably delicious.”

A whine rose up in the back of Izzy’s throat, unbidden, forced out of him from the intensity of Stede’s stare.

Stede smiled and took himself in hand to line up with Izzy’s entrance, pushing inside with almost too much ease. The sensation of a large cock sliding into him, slick with Ed’s cum—it made Izzy actually whimper, his head falling back against the table.

“It’s so warm inside,” Stede said, his voice rough with desire as he started to pull back out, pulled all the way out and slammed inside again, skin slapping loudly against skin. “I feel like I could drown inside it. Not just from your seasoning, but from the way the meat hugs my cock.”

Izzy’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out. A shiver coursed through him as the warm words continued to rain down.

“It fits so perfectly, like it was made to be devoured.” All the way out again, back in with a hard thrust. “Oh, I’ve never had anything like it—absolutely divine. Absolutely divine.”

Stede leaned down and ran his tongue over the curve of Izzy’s chest, finding a nipple and swirling around before brushing his teeth over it. He panted a bit, his breath warm where his tongue left a wet trail on Izzy’s skin.

“I think—” Stede moved to the other nipple and opened his mouth wide to bite the meat of his chest, then laved the marks he made with soothing licks. “—this might be my new favorite dish.”

“Glad to hear it, sir,” Ed said, one arm slung over the back of his chair while he watched with dark, glittering eyes.

Stede continued to thrust in and out of him, each movement made slick from Ed’s cum, slicker still from what Stede’s cock leaked in all his excitement. Izzy groaned as he imagined how wet he was, how full of cock and cum he was. How utterly debauched he felt, and Stede hadn’t even finished yet.

“I want to have it again and again—” Stede’a breath puffed across Izzy’s skin as he tried to speak without panting, and failed. “How many times will you prepare it?”

Ed chuckled and stood, his strength recovered enough for him to move beside the table. He leaned over, palm pressed to the flat surface that rocked with Stede’s hurried thrusts, and hovered his lips right over Izzy’s. Close enough to feel the warmth of his skin, but not the touch of his lips.

“As often as you like,” he said, eyes locked on Izzy’s before he leaned in the rest of the way to swallow his cries with a hard kiss.

Izzy felt himself tighten as his cock tried to spend, but he had nothing to give. Maybe if he was a younger man, he’d be on his third or fourth orgasm now. But it was enough to push Stede over the edge, skin slapping to skin with one final thrust, and the man groaned low and deep as he came.

There was a quiet moment filled only with panting while Izzy trembled. He was worn out, wrung out, turned inside out. He had never felt so completely exhausted after sex before, like he had been running the whole time and not just lying there and taking it.

Ed continued to kiss him, softening with each swipe of his tongue against Izzy’s, and Stede slowly pulled out with an audible sound of wetness.

Then the two men stood together as they gazed at Izzy, and Izzy stared back at them through half-lidded eyes.

“Are you ready for dessert?” Ed asked, and Stede smiled.

Izzy’s heart thumped in his chest. He had nothing left to give, so what did they plan to take?

Both men took their seats, chair legs scraping against the floor as they scooted closer, and Izzy watched as two mouths descended on his uselessly hard cock.

He had to prop himself up on his elbows so he could watch, breath caught in his throat, while Ed and Stede all but made out with his cock between their lips and tongues.

Ed slid his lips along one side, down to the base, while Stede took the head in his mouth. They licked and sucked together, sometimes glancing up to meet Izzy’s gaze before returning their attention to finding ways to kiss without losing contact with Izzy’s cock.

It was, quite possibly, the most erotic thing Izzy had ever experienced.

He didn’t care that he couldn’t cum from this, or how sensitive his dick was after everything it had been through. It verged on painful when one of them sucked, but they were enjoying themselves almost as much as he was enjoying watching them.

Finally, Ed popped off with an audible, wet sound, and Stede licked a stripe from root to tip. For a moment, Izzy thought they were going to finally kiss unimpeded, but instead, they turned to look at him and smiled.

They descended on him, two gentle kisses to the corners of his mouth, and he realized the scene was over.

“I hope you enjoyed that,” Stede murmured into the soft kiss.

“Hope it wasn’t too much,” Ed said as he pulled back and looked into Izzy’s face with genuine adoration.

It took a moment for Izzy to find his voice after suppressing it for so long. The words came out quiet, but not soft—more like the crunch of autumn leaves under a boot.

“Focking twats.” His lips twitched into a brief smile at the momentary worry that crossed both their faces. “It was the best sex of my focking life.”

Stede let out a shaky breath, almost a laugh. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that.”

Ed moved to slide an arm under Izzy’s back, the other under his knees, and lifted him up off the table to help him onto his feet, Stede taking up position on his other side to support him.

Izzy shuddered at the sensation of how much he was leaking, but before he could say anything, Stede had pulled a small packet of wet wipes out of his pocket and was already starting to wipe him down.

“Don’t worry, Iz,” Ed said, nosing his temple. “We’ll take care of ya.”

Izzy just stood there, a little shaky as he was gently cleaned and tenderly dressed. Every movement was accompanied by soft kisses all over—his knees, his hips, his shoulders, the small of his back, the curve of his neck.

It was like being put back together again, and he didn’t even realize he needed it until it was done, and he felt whole.

He glanced between both men who stood there, watching, waiting… and his heart swelled.

“Come here,” he muttered, opening his arms with a flush crawling up his neck as Stede and Ed moved in to wrap their arms around him and each other. “Fuck, I—”

There was a moment of vulnerability he allowed himself with his face out of sight, cheek muscles twitching as he fought against a smile and lost.

“Thank you,” he breathed out. “For taking care of me.”

For caring for me.

“M’place is just around the corner,” Ed said, pulling back enough to look at them, grinning. “How ‘bout a proper cuddle? Bed should be big enough for the three of us.”

“Sounds delightful!” Stede tittered a small giggle and tightened his grip on Izzy. “How about it, Izzy?”

A cuddle. Izzy had never considered himself much of a cuddler—more of a fuck and fuck off kind of guy.

But things were different now, with them. With Stede, and with Ed.

Because a cuddle sounded fucking amazing.

So Izzy draped his arms over their shoulders and let his head fall forward to hide yet another smile he couldn’t fight.

“Yeah, okay. Sure.” He glanced up to see them smiling back at him. “But you twats are helping me walk, because my legs are focking wrecked.”

Stede’s expression flickered with concern. “Did we go too far?”

“I already said it was perfect,” Izzy snapped without an ounce of bite in his voice.

“Actually, y’didn’t say that.” Ed grinned so wide it threatened to split his beard apart. “Perfect, huh?”

Stede smiled and reached up to intertwine his fingers with Izzy’s hand resting on his shoulder. “He deserves nothing less.”

As they leaned in to kiss his cheeks, Izzy felt his breath leave him for a moment.

No one could deserve this much, no one could be worthy of such loving worship.

And yet here he was, receiving it. Being drowned in it.

He couldn’t say the words, couldn’t imagine hearing them—not yet—but he felt them in his heart.

All he mumbled was a quiet, "Thank you."

Thank you for loving me.

📚 view a list of all my current stories!

[urproblematicfav-arsonk]

Stede finds out about Izzy's vertigo and headaches and quickly decides to force him to lay down while he messages his head and closes all the curtains in the room. It doesn't help because that's not how migraines work but it makes Izzy feel better emotionally. Izzy doesn't even fight it when Stede offers him the bath and some fancy teas for nausea, too sick and on the verge of blacking out to pretend that he'd do about fucking anything to make this stop. And later when he's half asleep in Stede's fancy bed with his fingers still rubbing uselessly at his head, Stede lies to Ed when he appears. Whispering that it took nearly 40 minutes of arguing to get Izzy to even lie down and its practically a miracle that he's even sleeping now and we should let him rest while we can. And Izzy is half grateful that he would think to protect his pride like that and half miserable that Ed was confused why Stede would even argue for that in the first place

[cononeillbreastingboobily]

Thing is. There's a cat 🐈. On the ship. Nobody knows where it came from. Everyone just kinda quietly accepted it's presence (except for Frenchie, as you'd expect).

Izzy has always been more of a dog person himself, so he's more or less indifferent towards the newest member of the crew. His indifference turns to annoyance bordering on anxiety or violent intent, when he realises that the cat is determined to cuddle with him.

The crew take turns cuddling with the cat, petting it while it's purring loudly in their lap, stealing bites to eat in-between regularly scheduled meals fixed up by Roach.

Eventually there comes a day when the sea is calm, the crew is happily scattered doing whatever across the ship, Ed joining them to ward off the looming boredom.

Izzy, ever-vigilant, is standing on the deck. He's suddenly approached by Stede, who trots up to him with an annoying spring in his step, carrying a small tray with two teacups on it.

"Care for a little break, Israel?"

Izzy catches a whiff of the aroma of the tea carried by the wind. Ah, the finest stuff. He's made the mistake of revealing how he likes his tea (no sugar, no cream. they spoil the taste) and Stede wouldn't let go of attempts at serving him some of the finest brews money can buy across the seven seas.

"Fine." Izzy said, taking it as permission to relax.

They sat down on the deck, munching on scones in-between sips of tea.

Then, a creature.

The cat saunters in their direction, and, by reflex, Stede reaches out his cupped hand, which the cat happily bonks it's head against.

Izzy observes them, yet he says nothing.

"You know" Stede says suddenly. "I heard cats are very intelligent animals. They can recognize some of human speech if it's repeated often enough around them, and their purrs are said to help broken bones heal better."

Izzy took another sip of his tea.

"Would be nice if it also caught the mice hiding in the kitchen."

Stede looked at the cat, and then at Izzy, smiling.

"I'm sure we'll get there someday."

Then, before either one of them could do anything, the cat walked over to Izzy, and, hopping onto his lap, rested it's front paws on Izzy's chest, all the while purring loudly.

Izzy raised his arms when the cat approached, and now he put away his teacup. The cat looked him in the eyes and blinked slowly, just once.

Stede stared at the scene quietly.

"Well. Look at that." he finally broke the silence. "Looks like it knows better than you do what it is you really need."

Izzy looked at him helplessly, but nevertheless didn't try to push away the cat, that afternoon, or anytime after that.

[kharti]

[ Closing Time #4 ]

      ( first | prev | next )

Stede hummed, the sound echoing off the ceramic tiles of the large shower he stood at the threshold of, one arm extended to test the temperature.

      ( Continue reading on AO3 or... )

Stede hummed, the sound echoing off the ceramic tiles of the large shower he stood at the threshold of, one arm extended to test the temperature.

Izzy, meanwhile, hovered awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom, not sure what to do with himself. Stede seemed so casually confident, like they’d done this before, like this was just another Saturday night together.

His mind replayed the sex over and over—it hadn’t been long, but the unfamiliar passion and intimacy made his skin feel too tight. He shifted from one foot to the other while his insides twisted up and he tried not to think too much about it.

“There we are,” Stede said, looking over at him with a smile. “Shower’s ready. Do you want to go first, or—?”

Izzy ran his tongue along the back of his teeth as he mulled it over, then shrugged one shoulder. “Seems big enough for the both of us.”

He couldn’t lie, at least not to himself: he wanted more of Stede’s touch. It was dizzying to crave something, a little scary, and at the same time… completely exciting.

“Oh!” Stede tucked his chin in toward his chest and gave a cheeky smile. “It certainly is.” He stepped inside and held the door open, blocking the water with his body.

Izzy moved in between Stede and the wall, his skin brushing against the cool ceramic that contrasted with the warm water bouncing off Stede’s shoulder and onto Izzy’s face. They shuffled about for a moment, a bit like two people trying to awkwardly move past each other, until Izzy was the one in the spray and Stede stood in front of him, smiling.

“This okay?” Stede asked, leaning back to rest against the wall. “Not too warm?”

Izzy kept his eyes focused on Stede’s chest hair, particularly where his own cum was still clinging to it. “You’re a focking mess,” he said, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.

“Oh?” Stede looked down, then laughed quietly. “I didn’t even notice.” He stepped a little closer. “Mind if I—”

Izzy just shifted to the side to give him some of the shower and watched Stede scrub at his chest, watched the evidence washed away with a strange twinge of some emotion he couldn’t quite name.

“All yours,” Stede said as he moved back again.

Izzy didn’t move at first, instead trying to find the words that were lodged in his throat. Fucking was easy, almost a thoughtless thing. But intimacy—

“Mind if I wash you?” Stede asked in a quiet, almost uncertain voice.

Izzy blinked up at him. “Sure,” he tried to reply casually, as if that hadn’t been the very thing he wanted. “If you want.”

Stede smiled wide enough that his eyes crinkled, and he reached past Izzy to grab a loofah hanging from a hook near the shower head. There were three containers affixed to the wall—shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Izzy watched over his shoulder as Stede pumped a dollop of body wash onto the loofah, then started to gently rub it onto Izzy’s back.

Izzy closed his eyes and just felt. He felt the constant pressure of water pattering his skin. He felt the warmth radiating from Stede like a palpable caress. And he felt, of course, every circle rubbed into him from the loofah, felt the occasional brush of Stede’s thumb or fingernails as he changed angles.

“You’re gorgeous,” Stede whispered, and Izzy felt the words more than he heard them. “I can’t believe you’re here with me, honestly.”

Izzy swallowed and opened his eyes to look up into the earnest smile and soft gaze that were focused solely on him. “You know there’s no need for flattery after we’ve fucked,” he said with no resolution, and the quiver in his voice gave too much away.

He knew Stede meant it. He knew it wasn’t just flattery. And that was both exciting and terrifying.

When was the last time Izzy had let himself be vulnerable with someone? Had he ever?

Stede just smiled and leaned in to brush his lips over Izzy’s temple while his hand continued to move in slow, soothing circles down his back. His other hand came up to rest on Izzy’s hip, and his head tilted to press another kiss to Izzy’s cheek.

A small sound caught in the back of Izzy’s throat, and he tried to distract himself from the way his legs trembled by angling his own head to slot their lips together in the hopes that it’d distract him.

All it did was make him more aware of how soft and gentle and intimate this was. How this wasn’t just hormones and lust and desire. How this was—sincere.

Stede chuckled as he leaned back to break the kiss and gave a cheeky grin. “I’m doing a rubbish job of washing you.”

Izzy almost forgot about the loofah entirely and hadn’t even noticed that it stopped moving. “I’ve had worse,” he said in a quiet, hoarse voice.

Stede’s eyes crinkled with another smile and he redoubled his efforts, his hand moving in broad strokes to spread the soap along his back and arms, then paused when he reached Izzy’s chest and, for a moment, just stared.

“What?” Izzy frowned and glanced down, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“Sorry.” Stede gave a nervous laugh and hurried to swipe the loofah over Izzy’s chest. “I got distracted.”

Izzy almost dropped it, then thought better of it and dared to ask, “By what?”

Stede paused. He moved his hand in a small circle while he seemed to mull over his answer before finally replying, “Has anyone told you that your chest is—bewitching?”

Izzy choked on a snort. “I’ve never been called that in my life.” And then he frowned, his eyes dipping to his own chest again. “But… sort of, yes. I’ve been told I have a great rack.”

“You do,” Stede said with such sincerity that it almost sounded desperate. “You really do. The—The shape of it is just exquisite.”

Izzy’s frown stayed in place. He didn’t see it, just saw a normal hairy chest. Sure, it did pretty well in a corset, made for good breasts when pushed up, but he was certain that any man’s chest did the same with a tight corset.

“I just want to, well,” Stede continued, laughing under his breath. “As weird as it sounds, I just want to chew on them.”

“Chew on them?” Izzy’s gaze snapped back up. “What?”

“I feel unhinged saying it.” Stede laughed again and swiped the loofah across Izzy’s chest, right over his nipples. “But it’s true. I can’t explain it. There’s just—something about them that makes me have urges I can’t quite explain.”

Izzy closed his eyes to focus on the sensation of the soft spongy material against his skin and the soapy bubbles dripping down his chest and stomach.

Stede’s voice dropped a bit lower. “Would it be all right if I played with them next time?” There was hardly any time for considering an answer before he added, “Assuming there is one. It’s fine if there’s not, I’m sorry if I—”

“Yes,” Izzy cut in, quietly, quiet enough that he wasn’t sure Stede head him at first.

“—presumed…” Then Stede’s voice shifted, and Izzy could tell he was smiling from the sound of it. “Really?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Izzy felt his own smile take hold in spite of his determination to fight it. His eyes opened and he took in the brilliance of Stede’s expression, and it softened his heart. “Yes,” he muttered, trying not to look as smitten as he suddenly felt. “There’s a next time.”

Stede slid the loofah down lower, and Izzy’s stomach twitched at the sensation. There was a quiet moment as Stede put the loofah back on its hook and Izzy turned in the water to rinse himself off before the man spoke up again.

“Are we… dating?” Before Izzy could even form a thought, Stede hurried to continue, “It’s fine if not. I just don’t know the rules, and I want to avoid making assumptions about a world I’m still learning. I’m not suggesting—”

Izzy turned back around to face him, keeping his expression as even as he could. “No, it’s… a good question.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s a good conversation to have sooner rather than later.”

Stede just swallowed and stared at him like a child waiting to be scolded.

“I don’t do monogamy,” Izzy said, his eyes involuntarily cutting to Stede’s left hand.

“Oh.” Stede’s expression didn’t quite falter, but it did shift to something less scared. “No?”

Izzy shook his head. “I’ve tried it, dedicating myself to one person. It’s… not for me.”

Izzy hoped Stede wouldn’t pry for more information, because there wasn’t more to give. It was like explaining why he preferred men over women, or why he woke up some days wanting to wear a dress.

“Okay,” Stede said, a soft smile breaking across his face. “That’s fine.”

“Is it?” Izzy stepped back to feel more hot water on his skin.

“Of course! Of course it’s fine.” Stede swayed a little closer, but didn’t otherwise move. “I can’t be upset with you for being who you are, as you are.”

This was it, then. Izzy tilted his head back and closed his eyes to let the water run over his face, to keep himself from giving away his feelings in his expression. It had been nice, but—

“Could I meet your other boyfriends?”

Izzy’s head snapped back forward and he blinked rapidly, water in his eyes. “What?”

Stede quickly raised his hands and stepped back. “Is that not how it’s done? Sorry, I’ve never dated this way before, I just thought… it’d be nice to meet them?”

There was a long moment that bordered on awkwardness, and then Izzy sputtered into laughter. He reached up and grabbed Stede’s face with both hands, pulling him down into a kiss that barely counted as one because Izzy couldn’t keep his lips from curling into a grin.

When they broke away, Izzy gazed up at him and swiped his thumb over Stede’s cheek. “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“Honestly, no,” Stede replied, laughing. “I haven’t really dated anyone besides my ex-wife. I don’t even know what dating means as an adult.”

I meant to me, Izzy thought, but he said instead, “It means whatever you want it to mean.”

Stede’s brow raised. “What if I want it to mean candlelit dinners and beach picnics?”

“Focking hate sand,” Izzy said, tilting his head to let the water hit the side of his face.

“And what do you want?” Stede placed his hands over Izzy’s and squeezed them.

Izzy gave it a serious moment of thought, then said with quiet sincerity, “Room service and hotel room sex.”

Stede’s face lit up with a brilliant, beaming smile. “Oh, what a coincidence. The breakfast here is wonderful.”

Izzy tried not to smile, too. And failed. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

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[ Closing Time #2 ]

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Saturday night, and Izzy was back at the Queen Anne’s. But for the first time in a long time, he was actually looking forward to it.

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Saturday night, and Izzy was back at the Queen Anne’s. But for the first time in a long time, he was actually looking forward to it.

Of course, he shouldn’t get his hopes up. It wasn’t a guarantee Stede would be there, nor was it a guarantee that Stede would be interested in him tonight. He was newly available and desperate for action, so it stood to reason that his attention would be all over the place.

Izzy just hoped he wouldn’t have to watch as Stede awkwardly flirted with someone else. It was irrational, but the thought made him—jealous.

No, it was human. Every human wanted to feel special. And Izzy was no exception.

He sighed and ran a hand down the front of his low-cut dress, smoothing out the lines before he walked into the bar, heels clicking against the smooth wood floor.

The music was god awful, as always. And he spotted some familiar faces that were on his shit list. But the bartender looked up when he arrived and reached for a bottle to prepare his drink before he’d even reached the bar.

“Here y’go,” the man said, sliding the martini across the counter toward him. “Y’look nice tonight.”

Izzy paused. Was he being flirted with by the bartender, whose name he realized he didn’t know? “Thanks,” he replied, a little uncertainly.

The man smiled beneath his heavy beard and turned to attend to another patron.

Of course it wasn’t flirting. The man was running a business, and Izzy was a patron. He sighed into his glass before taking a sip and turning around to look out at the crowd tonight.

His eyes searched for and found Stede almost instantly, as if drawn specifically to him. And to Izzy’s utter disappointment, the man was engaged in conversation with fucking Jack.

They’d fucked once, and only once. He had a filthy mouth that was admittedly skilled, but gods, he never shut the fuck up. Talked the whole time, liked to call himself Daddy, kept calling Izzy babygirl.

Which would have been fine, but the next day, Izzy overheard Jack using the exact same lines on someone else.

Absolute twat.

And now he was talking to Stede, whose face was red as he laughed. He probably found all that talk new and exciting. He probably found anything new and exciting.

It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter.

It fucking mattered.

Izzy turned away to force himself to stop leering at them, tried to make himself look approachable and open to anyone else who wanted to distract him from his unpleasant thoughts.

Like the week before, as soon as he finished his drink, another was set in front of him.

“Yer friend says hullo again,” the bartender said with a nod of his head.

Izzy frowned as he looked over to see Stede at the end of the bar, smiling and waving like an excited puppy. Izzy’s eyes cut over to see that Jack had moved on to someone else, and Stede was alone.

He couldn’t suppress a smile despite his best efforts and raised the glass in Stede’s direction, who hopped off his seat and started making his way over.

Izzy turned to face him, saying as he approached, “Thanks for the drink.”

“Of course!” Stede sat down beside him. “It’s the proper way to say hi, right?”

Izzy snorted. “The first time. After that, you can just say it.”

“Oh. Good to know!” Stede smiled softly, his eyes travelling over the black evening gown Izzy wore. “You look absolutely stunning tonight.”

Izzy tried not to blush like a fucking schoolgirl as he shifted to cross one leg over the other. “Thanks.”

Stede’s eyes didn’t meet his own, focused somewhere lower, half-lidded as he took him in. “May I ask—”

“I just like to wear dresses sometimes,” Izzy answered reflexively. “It doesn’t mean anything special.”

“Well, it suits you.” Stede finally looked up to make eye contact with him. “I think you could wear anything and it would look ravishing.”

Izzy didn’t respond, not at first. He was too busy trying to get himself back under control.

Stede was naïve, but honest. These weren’t just lines used to pick someone up.

He really meant them, and that scared Izzy, just a little bit.

So he turned his attention back to his drink and took a large gulp to settle his rising nerves, then glanced at Stede. “Don’t you want to explore your options?”

Like Jack, he wanted to add.

“Oh!” Stede flushed and ducked his head. “Yes and no? I’ve met a few of the fellows here, but…” He glanced up, looking just as much like a nervous schoolboy as Izzy felt inside. “I’d really rather explore you.”

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Why was this working? He was a grown fucking man. He shouldn’t be so giddy over a few nice words.

He ran his finger along the rim of his glass as he tried to calm himself enough to speak. “Do you want to take me home?”

Stede sucked in an audible breath of air and swayed a bit closer. “Is that an option?”

“It could be.”

A smile broke across Stede’s face and he reached out to place his hand over Izzy’s. “I would love the opportunity.”

Stop fucking swooning, you old twat.

Izzy dared to turn his hand over, interlacing their fingers, his own face growing hot. He reached into the pocket of his dress to fish out couple bills and tossed them onto the counter. “Then let’s go before I change my mind.”

Stede gave a little giggling sound and stood up, holding onto his hand tightly as they made their way through the crowd toward the door.

Izzy spared a glance back to see the bartender watching them leave, and something pulled at the core of his stomach.

But then they were outside, and Stede turned to face him.

“Sorry, but—how does this work? Do I take you in my car and bring you back here? Do we take separate cars so you have yours available?” He swallowed. “Are you staying the night, or—”

Izzy yanked him forward and forced their mouths together in a hard, brief kiss. “Just focking shut up and take me home.”

Stede blinked a few times, his eyes locked on Izzy’s lips, before his own curled into a smile. “Right. Yes. Sorry.”

Izzy let himself be led over to Stede’s car, noting with pleasure that the man opened the passenger door for him like a gentleman.

It was a short drive, filled with Stede’s nervous chatter and occasional glances, as if to confirm Izzy was still there. Izzy thought about a lot of things—how he could smell the man’s cologne in the confines of the car, how clean the interior was with only one stray receipt balled up.

How much Izzy liked the look in Stede’s eyes when he glanced over.

How suddenly nervous Izzy was, going to a veritable stranger’s house without a thought for his safety.

But then Stede reached over and took his hand in his own and squeezed it. “Izzy?”

Izzy looked at their hands, then at him. “What?”

“We’re here. But you seem like you’re elsewhere.” His voice softened as he asked, “Do you want me to take you back to the bar?”

“No.” Izzy opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air. “I’m just thinking about…” He trailed off, uncertainly. “This isn’t a house.”

“Ah, yes, well.” Stede climbed out of the car and came around to Izzy’s side. “I let the wife have the house, since the kids opted to stay with her.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry if this disappoints.”

Izzy stared at the luxurious resort hotel in front of them with a frown, then at Stede. “This place is expensive.”

“The regular rooms aren’t that bad.” Stede gave an awkward, lopsided smile. “I’m renting a suite while I figure out my housing situation.”

There were a few clues Izzy’d picked up on that Stede had money, but this was ridiculous. He knew of this place in passing, knew that people came for the spa and rarely stayed in the hotel because of the cost for just one night.

And this fucker was staying in a suite.

Stede ran his hand over his jaw. “I’m sorry, have I made things awkward?”

“Just processing.” Izzy gestured with both hands toward the building. “Lead the way, you rich fuck.”

Stede tittered a laugh and grabbed one of his hands to walk together up to the glass doors that swung open into a grand lobby, complete with a pretentiously oversized chandelier. Someone at the front desk greeted them with a polite smile, and Stede returned it with a wave of his free hand.

They went to a gilded elevator that opened as soon as Stede pressed the button. Soft music played over a speaker, and Izzy watched Stede select the topmost floor.

As the elevator doors closed and they started to rise, Izzy leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, some people would shit themselves over this.”

Stede blinked at him. “Over an elevator?”

Izzy snorted and rolled his eyes. “Over this sugar daddy display.”

“Sugar—” Stede’s eyes widened. “Oh, no, is that what I’m doing?”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to show off.” Izzy inclined his head to the side. “But you’re not, are you?”

“Heavens, no!” The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to a hallway. “I just wanted to. Treat myself. The divorce wasn’t easy, and I felt I deserved something nice to make up for it.”

Gods, what had Izzy gotten himself into?

He waited until they were inside the suite before he grabbed Stede by the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, trying to bury all his thoughts and concerns under sexual desire.

He could have a talk with himself later about all this.

For now, he wanted to be fucked out of his mind.

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[ Closing Time #9 ]

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It was closing time for the Queen’s Revenge, and Izzy was somewhere between excited and a little nervous. Ed and Stede had been whispering to each other all night every time Ed had a moment between customers, the two of them glancing at Izzy with conspiratorial grins.

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It was closing time for the Queen’s Revenge, and Izzy was somewhere between excited and a little nervous. Ed and Stede had been whispering to each other all night every time Ed had a moment between customers, the two of them glancing at Izzy with conspiratorial grins.

He knew he was in for the best night of his life, but gods, he also wasn’t sure he trusted the two of them. They seemed to feed on each other’s energy in a way that Izzy found simultaneously endearing and unnerving.

“So,” he started to say as Ed walked over to the door, but the man stopped and looked at him with a serious expression.

“No words from you, ‘less it’s your safeword.”

Izzy’s mouth snapped shut.

Ed flicked a switch, and through the blinds, Izzy saw the lights outside go off. Ed locked the door and turned back around to survey the room, his gaze almost predatory.

“Oh, he’s good,” Stede said from beside Izzy, beaming. “I’ve got chills already.”

Izzy just sat there, waiting.

Ed pushed two small tables together, the sound of the metal legs scraping against the floor seeming to echo in the empty space. Then he patted the tabletop with one hand.

“Hop up, Iz.”

Obediently, Izzy got up from his stool and crossed the distance to take a seat on the table. Stede followed, and Ed pulled out a chair for him.

“Thank you.” Stede grinned with mischief in his eyes as his gaze fell on Izzy.

“Welcome to Chez Anne’s,” Ed said, clasping his hands together. “Tonight we’ve got an interactive fine dining experience for you.”

Stede barely restrained his excited titter of a laugh. “Oh, sounds positively wonderful.”

Roleplay. The two cunts had been scheming and planning to roleplay. Izzy tried not to smile as fondness bubbled up in his chest and just sat quietly as he waited.

Ed gestured at Izzy with both hands. “Would you like to inspect the meat before we begin?”

The meat. Ed said it so casually in his low timbre that Izzy almost missed it.

Stede scooted to the edge of his seat and looked at Izzy with his lips pursed and brow furrowed, letting his gaze wander slowly over Izzy’s form.

“Afraid I can’t see too much in its current state,” he said with a sigh.

“By all means, sir.” Ed smiled. “Feel free to peel the layers off to get a better look.”

Stede stood up, taking the time to brush the creases from his trousers while Izzy fought the urge to snap at him to get on with it. He smiled as he moved into position between Izzy’s legs and dragged his fingers along his thighs, up under his shirt, lifting it as his fingers moved along Izzy’s skin.

Each touch was warm, each one followed by little oohs of appreciation from Stede while Ed narrated in an aloof sort of way.

“You’ll find him to be quite the specimen. Nice thighs. Soft stomach. Big bosom. The hairs of his chest are the perfect length for grabbing, and he’s particularly sensitive around the nipples, in fact.”

Stede dragged a thumb over Izzy’s right nipple and smiled when it stiffened under his touch. His other hand moved over the front of Izzy’s crotch, fingers pressing and kneading the bulge growing there.

“Yes, he is,” Stede murmured, his eyes flicking up to meet Izzy’s. “I rather like a sensitive nipple.”

Izzy tried not to rut against the hand massaging his cock through his pants, tried not to arch his back to press more into it.

As if knowing what Izzy wanted—and he probably did—Stede withdrew his hands to start unbuttoning Izzy’s rucked shirt. He leaned in as he pushed it down Izzy’s arms, exposing him from the waist up, his nose brushing along Izzy’s cheek in a facsimile of a kiss.

“At Chez Anne’s, we pride ourselves on the quality of our meat.” Ed moved in behind Stede, reaching around him to take his hands and guiding him through his next words. “Take note of the supple curves of his chest down to his stomach.”

“Oh, I’m noting.” Stede tilted his head to press his cheek to Ed’s.

Both of them stared at Izzy as he was slowly undressed, as Ed spoke and Stede smiled. Their eyes were so different—Ed’s soft and round and deep, Stede’s crinkled at the corners and warm.

He could drown in the depth of fondness in both.

“Would you care for a sample of the first course?”

Stede’s lips curled with feigned surprise as Ed guided their fingers into unzipping Izzy’s pants and pulling them halfway down his thighs, then moving to cup the bulge of his boxers.

Izzy could feel how warm he was from how cool their skin felt through the thin cloth. He shuddered with a moan as too many fingers to count were massaging him, as a few slipped through the slit at the front of his boxers, feeling their way into gripping his cock.

“Oh, well, now.” Stede’s voice was a purr as he watched Ed’s hands take the lead in pulling down Izzy’s boxers. “Doesn’t that looks delicious.”

Izzy wanted to say something, anything. He really wanted to tell them both to fuck off. But he knew they’d know what he really meant was fucking more, please, don’t stop.

“Let’s see if we can coax out an appetizer pearl, shall we?” Ed gripped Izzy tightly in one fist and gave a slow, leisurely pump.

Stede slowly lowered down onto his knees and positioned his open mouth, tongue out and waiting, eyes locked on the flushed head of Izzy’s cock.

“Be a good meal and give the customer what he wants,” Ed whispered, pressing his forehead to Izzy’s, letting his breath move over his face. “Don’t keep him waiting.”

Izzy shuddered. His hips twitched to rut into the tight ring of Ed’s hand. His eyes closed and he bit down on his tongue as he tried to obey, tried to will precum to bead at the tip. Then he thought better of it and forced his eyes back open so he could look down at Stede’s face.

What if he came all over that chiseled jaw and long nose and golden curls? Would he get in trouble for going too far? What kind of punishment would Ed have for him?

He needed Ed’s hand to move faster than that. Instead, his strokes were slow and long, squeezing at the head, trying to milk the precum out of him.

Think sexy thoughts. Think of Stede’s face painted in cum. Think of Ed’s hand coming down on his ass, striking him for his impudence. Think of Stede watching as his ass was smacked red and raw.

“There we are,” Ed murmured, and Izzy refocused his attention to watch the bead of precum sliding down the tip of his cock.

Stede pushed himself up and chased it with his tongue, the warm slide along his skin stirring him to leak even more onto it.

“How is it, sir?” Ed asked, giving his cock another slow stroke before letting go.

Stede smiled as he sat back down and made a show of licking his lips. “Good, but I’m hungry for more now.”

“Of course.” Ed pulled Izzy’s pants and boxers down all the way and moved to take Stede’s place while the other man returned to his seat.

He unzipped his own pants, slowly, letting the sound of each metal tkk fill the silence that followed.

“Lie back so we can have a look,” Ed continued, but instead of waiting for Izzy to move, he put his hand on the center of Izzy’s chest and roughly pushed him down.

Izzy’s breath caught in his throat as he hit the table hard enough that he jolted from the impact. Then his legs were pushed apart and—cold lube was drizzled on his hole, and Izzy didn’t have time to wonder where Ed had been hiding it before a finger was pushed inside him.

“Y’know about preparing meat, I assume?”

Stede cleared his throat and replied, “Oh—hm, ah. Yes, but I’m always eager to learn more.”

Ed chuckled, and Izzy swore he could feel the sound of it inside him. “The trick to preparing this particular cut of meat is to find his prostate.”

Izzy frowned up at the ceiling. What man didn’t want his prostate found? That wasn’t special to Izzy in specific.

“And try to force him t’cum from it, ‘cause it embarrasses th’shit out of him. Enhances the flavor of the meal.”

Izzy’s eyes went wide, and his mouth opened to protest, but then Ed pushed on that spot and massaged a circle into it. Pleasure intense enough to hurt fluttered through him, waves of bliss as Ed pushed on it from the outside with his other hand.

It was almost an assault on his prostate, and his whole body twitched as his muscles tensed and loosened all at different intervals.

“Oh, my,” Stede breathed out.

“Just fuck that little gland ’til he can’t fight it. Force the cum right out of him.”

It was somehow more difficult to keep himself under control with Ed talking so casually and knowing how intently Stede was watching. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes, blurred the edges of his vision—it hurt, but fuck, it felt good—too good—

The sound that came out of him sounded like it was from someone else, and he felt the wetness of his own release spilling over his stomach. It felt like it wouldn’t end, that he was being drained completely, like everything that had ever been bottled up was finally being let go.

“And that concludes the first course,” Ed said, so casually, withdrawing his fingers and hands.

“Fuck,” Stede said, breathless, and Izzy heard him shift in his seat. Likely trying to find room in his pants for his erection. “Could I—”

“Of course.”

Izzy just tried to find a way to catch his breath while Stede hovered over him, licking up his cum, likely trying to make eye contact while Izzy could only stare at the ceiling.

“How is the flavor, sir?”

Stede didn’t respond at first, lapping up every last drop before he huffed a warm breath over the wet skin. “Delectable. As expected from a fine chef such as yourself.”

“Thank you,” Ed said with a chuckle.

Izzy started to close his eyes as he tried to get his mind back in sync with his body.

And then he felt the blunt press of a cock to his hole, and his eyes snapped open.

“Now,” Ed continued, a smirk audible in his voice, “it’s time for the main course.”

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[ Closing Time #8 ]

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Izzy was a few minutes away from Queen Anne’s when his phone buzzed and the display on the dashboard told him it was a message from Stede.

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Izzy was a few minutes away from Queen Anne’s when his phone buzzed and the display on the dashboard told him it was a message from Stede.

He reached over and tapped the button to play it aloud, and the robotic voice recited a dauntingly vague message.

“Can’t wait to introduce you to my new friend!”

Izzy frowned. New friend? He felt a strange surge of an emotion he couldn’t think of a single word for. It was—a concerned protectiveness. It was certainty that Stede had a terrible judge of character and was talking to someone who would hurt his sensitive heart.

His foot pressed on the pedal a little harder to get him there a little faster.

Stede was an adult, sure, but he was a baby at dating. He had no idea how any of this worked. He saw the best in everyone, which meant he was blind to someone who was just going to use him.

Izzy barely parked the car before he was throwing the door open and walking at a brisk pace to the bar’s entrance, ready to throw a drink in someone’s face—

“Izzy!” Stede called out over the noise of the other patrons and the terrible music, smiling and waving. “Hello!”

Izzy glanced around. There was no one nearby, both stools at his left and right empty. “Where’s your ‘friend’?”

Stede beamed and gestured in front of himself. “Meet Edward!”

Edward. Izzy’s gaze slid over to where Ed stood behind the bar, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Hullo,” he said, his tone clear in its uncertainty.

Izzy just stood there, his brain full of static while Stede prattled on.

“I was sitting here going over my concerns in my head when this fine fellow inquired as to what was the matter. And, well, one thing led to another, and I think he’s the perfect candidate to resolve our issue!”

That snapped Izzy out of his fugue state. “Issue?”

Stede clasped his hands in his lap and smiled, openly and honestly. “I can’t be the rough partner that you need, but my new friend Edward seems amenable to catering to your needs.” His face lit up with momentary panic. “Assuming he’s to your liking! I find him exceptionally handsome, myself, but if he’s not your type, that’s of course quite all right, but—”

“Stede.” Izzy raised a hand to clamp it over the man’s mouth, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his own nose with his other hand. “Ed is my other partner.”

“Oh,” Stede replied, muffled. His eyes darted between them before crinkling with a smile Izzy felt against his palm. “Wonderful!”

“Thank fuck,” Ed said on a laugh. “I wasn’t sure how to break it to’im once he started going on.”

“He does that,” Izzy muttered, pulling his hand back. “How the fuck did this happen?” He gestured at the two of them with both hands.

Stede shifted to face Izzy more properly. “Well, after the other night—” He cleared his throat, then continued, “I was concerned that your needs weren’t being met. The thought has been rather consuming, and I suppose Edward noticed something was off while I was waiting for you to arrive.”

“Man looked like the world’d fallen in,” Ed supplied, crossing his arms on the counter and leaning forward. “Thought he could use someone t’talk to.”

Izzy’s eyes narrowed. “Because you knew it would be about me?”

Ed tilted his head to the side, taking in Izzy’s squared shoulders and tense jaw. “Because he looked troubled, an’ I like to listen if it helps folks.”

Izzy, reluctantly, tried to step himself away from the suspicious ledge. “All right.”

Stede waited a moment before he continued, “I expressed my concern that I can’t satisfy all of my partner’s needs, and he tried to assure me that I was likely overthinking the issue.”

Izzy still wasn’t sure if he was upset or not, so he did his best to sound as neutral as possible. “You just talked about our sex life with a stranger?”

“He was real vague,” Ed cut in. “Didn’t mention anythin’ specific.”

“But you knew he was talking about me.”

Ed just shrugged. Stede, meanwhile, put a tentative hand over Izzy’s, rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry if I crossed a line,” he said, quietly. “I honestly thought I was helping.”

The softness of his voice pulled at Izzy’s heart, and he turned his hand over to thread their fingers together. “You meant well.”

His gaze cut over to Ed, who looked back at him with big eyes and an open expression.

“Swear I didn’t have an ulterior motive,” Ed said when their eyes met. “It’s my job to listen to customers, y’know?”

“Just…” Izzy sighed and finally took a seat, dropping down onto the stool beside Stede’s. “Walk me through the conversation.”

Stede lit up again. “So! I expressed to him that I was worried about satisfying my partner, and that I wished I was more of a tough fellow like him. And that gave me the brilliant idea to ask him if he enjoyed being rough in the boudoir.”

“Which, well, I do.” Ed gave a little waggle of his eyebrows, and Izzy tried not to flush.

“And I said, brilliant! And asked him, if my partner was interested, would he be open to pleasuring him in a rough way.”

Ed’s eyes crinkled with his sheepish grin. “And I said sure.”

“And that’s when I texted you, and I told him a little about you while I waited for you to get here.”

“He said the kindest things,” Ed added. “If that helps any.”

Stede nodded, and Izzy looked between them with his expression schooled into neutrality.

They seemed genuine. And he had no real reason to doubt either of them—he just… couldn’t really believe in sheer coincidence. He was so used to ulterior motives, used to being used.

In front of him were two men who seemed to sincerely care about him, and that made him feel more unsettled than flattered.

Which probably said more about himself than them.

“Well, then.” Izzy tapped on the counter. “I’ll have my usual.”

Ed hesitated, then nodded and stepped away to pour the drink. As he set it down, he asked in a low voice, “Are we good?”

Izzy’s lips twitched as he tried to keep his smile under control. “Yeah. Just… weird, the two of you connecting.”

“Is it?” Stede piped up. “I mean, I’m actually rather excited, myself.”

Izzy glanced at him. “Why?”

Stede bit his bottom lip in a clear attempt to smother his own smile. “Because I like him for you. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, and those arms look like they could crush a watermelon.”

“You’re one to talk,” Ed said, chuckling. “Have you see yourself, mate?”

“Aw.” Stede tittered a laugh. “Well, thank you.”

There was a pause where only glanced were exchanged. At the same time, Ed and Stede started to speak, then went quiet again.

Izzy took a long, slow sip of his martini, then sighed. “If you two want to fuck, then just fuck. I don’t care.”

Stede’s face turned red and he sputtered a few false starts of a response, then looked at Ed, who just stood there.

“Actually,” Stede finally said, voice a bit strained. “I was more interested in watching the… the two of you.”

Ed slapped a hand on the counter, laughing. “I was thinking the same fuckin’ thing!”

“You were?” Stede smiled, sitting up a little straighter. “Really?”

“Yeah, man. Thought it’d be fun t’make you watch. Teach you a thing or two.”

Izzy stared down at his drink, heat simmering under his skin, crawling up the back of his neck.

The idea of Ed fucking him while Stede watched—enjoyed watching, even. Why was that so fucking hot?

He glanced between the two of them as they talked back and forth, both getting more excited as they discussed the idea.

“Hey,” Izzy snapped. “Don’t I get a say?”

Both looked down, equally chagrined.

“Sorry,” Ed muttered. “Got a bit ahead of m’self.”

“Same.” Stede took a sharp breath in. “Izzy, would you be all right if—if I watched you and Ed together?”

Izzy drew his finger along the rim of his glass, pretending to give it thought. His face betrayed him, a smile breaking out across it, and he tried to duck his head to hide it.

“Yeah,” he replied, fully grinning now. “I’d focking love it, actually.”

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[ Closing Time #7 ]

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Well, this was it.

It was time for Izzy to find out if Stede was actually ready for an open relationship.

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Well, this was it.

It was time for Izzy to find out if Stede was actually ready for an open relationship.

The man had been silent for a moment too long as he took in the distinct bruises on Izzy’s neck and thigh, sitting very still on the bed, not moving since Izzy had taken his clothes off.

Stede had been married for some time; Izzy figured it was somewhere around twenty years. It was one thing for him to say he was fine with Izzy having multiple partners, but this was the first time having to face it for real.

Izzy sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but Stede cut him off.

“Did it hurt?”

Izzy blinked, then tried not to snort. “Yes. That’s the point of biting someone.”

“So you were bitten.” Stede’s lips pursed in thought. “I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”

Izzy waved the statement off with one hand and dropped down onto the bed beside Stede. “I’m into a lot of things with the right partner.”

Stede’s voice softened a bit. “What kind of partner are they?”

He didn’t sound jealous, exactly. More inquisitive. Like he was trying to put a puzzle together, and Izzy could understand that, at least.

“A new one,” Izzy said with a sigh. There was no point in dragging things out, so he turned his head to level a frown at Stede. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, no!” Stede hurried to raise his hands in a placating gesture. “Just curious what kind of partner I am, and if biting is on the table for me.”

Izzy’s brow arched. “That’s what you’re wondering? Not…” He trailed off as his mind supplied all the ways he’d imagined Stede reacting.

Most of them weren’t good.

So he just shrugged off his own words and said instead, “You can bite me, if you want.”

Stede sat up a little straighter, his expression brightening with a smile. “Truly? And you’d like that?”

“If you want to.” Izzy tried to sound unaffected, like he wasn’t thrilled by the idea of Stede taking charge, like he wasn’t excited to bear more marks on his skin.

Without another word, he inclined his head to bare his throat, the side that Ed hadn’t bitten.

Stede shuffled to sit up on his knees and scooted closer. His hand lifted to Izzy’s neck, fingertips tracing the bruise with a light touch, and he whispered, “How hard am I supposed to bite?”

Izzy closed his eyes. “As hard as you want.”

There was a long pause, long enough that Izzy cracked one eye open to see Stede opening and closing his mouth, leaning in and pulling back.

“Just fucking bite me,” Izzy snapped, trying not to smile at how annoyingly adorable it was to watch.

Stede made a little sound in the back of his throat and dove in, teeth meeting Izzy’s skin without much pressure and holding there. His tongue moved over the skin between his teeth before he bit just a little harder, then let go.

Izzy waited a moment, then frowned. “You can’t be serious.”

“I don’t want to hurt you!” Stede squeaked, recoiling to sit on his knees with his hands in his lap like a scolded child.

Before he could stop himself, Izzy sputtered into a laugh. “That’s the focking point of biting someone.” He cleared his throat and turned to face him, brow arched. “Unless you don’t want to leave a mark.”

Stede stiffened, his eyes going momentarily wide before narrowing with a flash of desire. “I do,” he said in a low voice.

Izzy inclined his head again, chin jutted, lips ticked into a faint smirk. “Prove it.”

In one motion, Stede crowded into Izzy’s space, legs over legs, one arm around his waist, the other raised to cradle the back of his head with a hand. He forced Izzy’s head to tilt a little further, then leaned in, breathing heavily enough that he blew hot air over Izzy’s skin.

It was a bit like something out of a vampire movie, truth be told. And truth further be told, it had Izzy tense with anticipation and a little excitement.

“Do it,” Izzy dared to whisper.

Stede obliged, a gentle bite at first. Slowly, he applied more pressure and held there, waited a moment, then dug his teeth in.

Izzy shuddered when the pain finally bloomed beneath his skin, one hand coming up to rest on Stede’s back. “Like that,” he said, trying not to sound breathless. “Now suck.”

Obediently, Stede started to suck, the pressure elevating the sensation further. It made his teeth feel like they went even deeper, made the point of his canines dig in even more.

Izzy closed his eyes and tried to enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect, didn’t have the rush of adrenaline that came with someone pinning him down and having their way with him. He was still in control of his mind, and that was what he craved losing the most.

“Okay,” he said with a little rasp in his voice. “That’s enough.”

Stede pulled off too quickly, his eyes searching Izzy’s face. “I’m sorry, did I do it wrong?”

Izzy sighed and put a hand on Stede’s face to push him away. “No, you—” He frowned, moving the hand to his neck to feel the little dents made by Stede’s teeth. “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?” Stede repeated, his voice cracking and his eyes going wide. “It’s never fine when someone says it’s fine!”

“Don’t focking start.” Izzy rolled his eyes. “I just don’t want to get into it.”

Stede huffed, puffing out a breath of air that played with a curl of blonde hair over his forehead. “I’d rather not let something fester that one conversation could resolve.”

Izzy stared at him a moment, at the look of absolute determination on his face, and sighed.

He was not going to get laid tonight, was he?

He leaned back on the bed, propping himself up with his elbows, and let his head fall back as he groaned. “You’re just not cut out to dominate. It’s not a problem, it’s… just a fact.”

Stede’s face screwed up like he’d tasted something sour and he shifted to sit cross-legged. To Izzy’s surprise, while he himself had started to go soft, Stede was still hard as a rock.

“I can learn,” Stede finally said, threading his fingers together. “I’d like to learn.”

Izzy shrugged one shoulder, a bit awkwardly in his position. “You don’t have to.”

“But you’d like it, wouldn’t you?” Stede offered a small, meek smile, tucking his chin in toward his chest. “I want you to be happy. And I think I might enjoy being rough with you.”

That got a twitch of renewed interest out of Izzy’s dick.

“I like it rough,” Izzy admitted in an attempt at sounding casual. And then he dared to go one step further, because—because he was the one who’d said he preferred honesty, and Stede had been nothing but open with him. “But I also like… you.”

Stede’s face lit up, and he moved a bit closer. “Yeah?”

Izzy felt heat rise up to his ears. “Don’t make me repeat it.”

Stede just smiled, looking every bit like a self-satisfied cat. “I like you, too,” he said with complete and soft sincerity.

“Shut up and fuck me already.”

“Roughly?” Stede asked, a little too eagerly.

Izzy should have said no. He should have insisted that they just do it the way they usually did it, that he didn’t mind that Stede was soft and gentle. That he kind of liked the way Stede treated him like a precious thing.

But he was curious.

“Whatever,” he replied in a way he knew Stede would interpret as yes.

And Stede did, because he moved in and started to nip at Izzy’s throats, rough little bites that wouldn’t leave marks but hurt enough to make Izzy lean into them.

Stede worked his way down to Izzy’s chest, lavishing one of his nipples with hard suction while he grabbed and kneaded the other in one hand. He caught the nipple between two fingers and pinched it, pulled on it, while the other he treated to a scrape of teeth.

It was actually working for him, enough that he shivered and moaned to encourage Stede to keep going.

“Is this right?” Stede asked against his skin, then opened his mouth as if to try to fit all of Izzy’s tit in it.

Izzy’s moan fell into a groan. “Talk less, do more.”

Stede chuckled, the vibration pleasant, and then—he bit down.

Hard.

Izzy swallowed a cry of surprise at the sudden pain, but the sound made it past his lips, and Stede was off him in an instant.

“I’m so sorry,” he quickly said, his hands hovering an inch away from touching Izzy. “I thought you’d like that—”

“I did,” Izzy growled, looking down to see the red ring of teeth marks circling his nipple.

Stede blinked. “But you sounded like it hurt.”

“That’s the fucking point.” Then Izzy laughed, unable to stop himself, lifting a hand to cover his face. “You’re rubbish at this.”

Stede sighed and slouched onto the bed beside him, propping his head up on the palm of his hand. “I don’t mean to be.”

Izzy parted his fingers to look at the unabashed pout on Stede’s face and, grinning in spite of himself, he said, “You were doing good for a moment, though.”

“Yeah?” Stede smiled. “I was?”

Gods, he… really liked this absurd man.

“You can try one more time, if you want.” Izzy dropped down to stretch out on the soft sheets. “Are you familiar with safewords?”

“Oh! Yes!” Stede practically beamed with excitement. “That’d be perfect, actually. What’s your safeword?”

“Whiskey.”

“Interesting!” Stede’s head tilted to the side. “Why ‘whiskey’? What made you choose that word of all words?”

“Do you really want to talk right now?”

Stede actually paused to give the question serious consideration before he moved to straddle Izzy’s lap, letting the warmth of his balls rest on Izzy’s cock.

“I suppose not right now,” Stede admittedly, his gaze raking over Izzy’s naked body beneath him. “But I’ll have a million questions for you later.”

“Later,” Izzy repeated for emphasis.

Stede nodded, then took a breath in and out. On the breath out, he leaned down and grabbed Izzy’s wrists with both hands and pinned them to the bed above Izzy’s head.

Izzy felt a flutter of excitement low in his gut and looked up at Stede, saying nothing, but he did quirk his brow with interest.

“Close your eyes,” Stede said in what was likely his best attempt at dominating.

When Izzy complied, lips brushed over his collarbone, trailed down to follow the earlier path they’d taken to reach one of his nipples. He teased and played with it again, wrapping his lips around it and sucking gently until it firmed up enough that he could hold it between his teeth.

Izzy braced himself, but no bite followed—just a nibble, just a tease of pressure.

Then Stede pulled away, and Izzy tried to guess what would happen next.

He couldn’t have anticipated the sharp slap of Stede’s palm to the side of his breast.

It stung, certainly, but more than that, it startled Izzy into gasping and opening his eyes to see Stede looking at him with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry?” Stede asked more than said, then winced. “I’m sorry for saying I’m sorry. I’m—I just—”

Izzy stared at him a moment longer, then burst into laughter.

Stede didn’t join him at first, pouting for a moment with sad eyes, but a chuckle overtook him and he started to cave.

“Whiskey,” Izzy gasped out for good measure, to make sure it was over while he shook and laughed and cupped his stinging breast. “Did you—Did you just focking slap my tit?”

Stede rolled off him to land on the bed at his side, rubbing his hands over his face. “I didn’t know what else to do!”

“So you—you slapped my tit?”

Stede didn’t respond, just laughed alongside him.

Izzy shifted into his side to face away from him, hoping that maybe if he couldn’t see him, it might calm him down. But he just replayed it over and over, the open-palm slap, the wide-eyed stare.

“I’m sorry,” Stede said, moving to spoon against his back, his chest shaking with his smothered chuckling. “I panicked.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Izzy wheezed out with too much affection in his voice.

They laid like that for a while. Every time Izzy thought he had himself under control, one of them would snort and he’d break down again.

Stede drew his fingertips up and down the curve of Izzy’s waist in gentle strokes, and when the laughter started to calm, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the back of Izzy’s neck.

“May I…” Stede’s lips curved into a smile against his skin. “May I just take you, like this?”

Izzy hummed, shifting his legs to open himself up, arching his back to push into Stede’s crotch, feeling his cock hard and wanting against his ass.

“Yes,” Izzy said on a breath out, closing his eyes and smiling as he let himself be taken gently and with a softness he couldn’t deny liking just as much as the rough.

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[ Closing Time #6 ]

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Izzy shuddered as lips teased his cock, and he watched Ed tilt his head back to look up at him with one eyebrow arched, eyes full of mischief.

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Izzy shuddered as lips teased his cock, and he watched Ed tilt his head back to look up at him with one eyebrow arched, eyes full of mischief.

“I was fantasizing about you,” Izzy started, and cut himself off with a moan when Ed slowly descended on him. “About you… tormenting me.”

Ed hummed with interest, the vibrations shooting straight to his core.

“Making me fuck myself on a bottle.” Izzy felt his face heat up with embarrassment as he said the words aloud. “Watching as I had to sit there with it—with it inside me.”

Ed sucked gently, his tongue swiping over the head of Izzy’s cock before he slid down lower, sucking harder on his bob back up.

Izzy shuddered and gripped the edge of the bar as he tried not to thrust his hips into that sinfully warm mouth.

He usually had more control over himself, had a stronger composure, but could anyone fucking blame him? Especially when he glanced down and found dark brown eyes staring up at him, watching his reactions with interest.

Then Ed stopped moving, the corners of his taut lips ticking into a small smile.

“Fock off,” Izzy almost laughed out. “You want more?” He shook his head and dared to continue, “I imagined you taking shots off my stomach while I couldn’t move or make a sound, otherwise you’d start all over.”

Ed hummed and started moving again. He slid all the way down to take all of him in his mouth, sucked hard enough that Izzy saw stars behind his eyes.

“I want you to fuck me up,” Izzy said, his voice tight, his head falling back so he could stare up at the ceiling and avoid drowning in those beautiful eyes. “I don’t usually go hard with a new partner, but you’re—”

He hesitated, and Ed held in place, not even moving his tongue.

“You make me want it rough.”

Which would be absurd to admit if they’d only just met, but it felt like they had been dancing around this for a long time. It felt like this was somehow inevitable, like Izzy had just been waiting for it to finally happen.

Or maybe he was just drunk and horny and trying to justify it to himself.

Ed popped off, and Izzy looked down in time to catch him licking his lips. “Y’know, I’ve wanked a few times thinking of you,” he said, drawing his fingertips down where his mouth had just been. “One time, y’came in wearing a halter top and a short skirt, an’ all I wanted to do was shove my head between your legs just like this.”

Izzy pursed his lips in thought while his thighs trembled at the featherlight touch on sensitive skin. “Then why only now—?”

Ed chuckled. “You always have someone else’s attention. Felt rude to my customers if I took their favorite meal off the menu.”

“Favorite meal?” Izzy choked on a laugh and closed his legs to wrap them around Ed’s shoulders. “Really flattering to be objectified.”

“Sorry,” Ed said in a voice that didn’t sound very apologetic, grinning as he turned his head and bit the inside of Izzy’s thigh.

Pain bloomed where his teeth dug in, and Izzy sucked in a shaky breath as he tried not to moan too much like the desperate whore he was.

“It’s the truth, though,” Ed murmured against the ring of teeth marks. “Thought I lost you to fancyman. But when I saw you tonight…” He grinned, his beard tickling the still tingling skin. “Couldn’t keep making excuses.”

Izzy did his best to not melt into a puddle right there on the bar top. His cock twitched with eagerness, and his thigh twitched from the last spark of lingering pain.

“Then let’s not have any more delays.” He wanted to sound composed, but he heard the tremble in his own voice. “Safeword is whiskey.”

Ed’s brow raised toward his hairline. “Y’serious? Don’t want to take it slow for the first time?”

“I’m not a focking virgin.” Izzy grabbed Ed’s hand and pulled it to him, canting his hips upward and rubbing his cock against Ed’s palm. “I want you to wreck me.”

“Aren’t you a marvel,” Ed said like a prayer, grinning, rubbing his thumb over the head of Izzy’s cock. “All right, then.”

Ed stood up straight and slipped his jacket off, then tossed it at Izzy. “Take off what you’re wearing and put that on.”

Izzy nearly stumbled over himself as he slid off the bar top and started to undress, his hands shaking with excitement. Once he stood there, naked save for Ed’s jacket, he looked up at the man and waited for further instruction.

Ed, meanwhile, stayed fully clothed, leaning against the counter with one hand on his hip. “C’mere.”

Izzy stepped closer and was rewarded by Ed leaning down to kiss him, slowly and leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world. His hands went to Izzy’s, guiding them behind him, and started to fiddle with the sleeves. When he pulled away, Izzy tested moving his arms—and as he both suspected and had hoped for, found himself bound in place with his arms behind his back.

Buckles. The sleeves had buckles on them, and Ed had tied them together.

Ed started to sing a slow tune that Izzy was startled to recognize, because it wasn’t one of the old rock songs that always played on the speakers.

“Stars fading, but I linger on, dear.”

Slowly, Ed started to zip the jacket up, each little tick of the metal locking together like an instrument to his song.

“Still craving your kiss.”

The leather was tight over his chest, and he sucked in a breath at the feeling of it rubbing against his nipples that firmed up at the touch.

“I’m longing to linger ‘til dawn, dear.”

Ed’s mouth ticked up in a brief smile before he put his hands on Izzy again, guiding him to lean forward against the bar and knocking his legs apart with a tap of his boot.

“Just saying this…” Ed took position up behind him, chest pressed to his back, and whispered against the curve of his neck, “How does the rest go, again?”

Izzy gave a surprised laugh. “What?”

He jolted when Ed’s hand came down hard on his ass, sending a wave of pain and pleasure through him, making his legs tremble and his weight fall against the counter.

“Wasn’t really a question, mate.” Ed’s lips brushed against his skin, his voice soft and quiet despite the firmness of his hand. “Sing the rest.”

Izzy’s throat went tight. He swallowed and dropped his head forward, forcing the words out. “Sweet dreams ‘til—ah!”

He shuddered as another strike landed on his ass, right on the same spot that was still stinging from the first.

“I said sing.”

Izzy felt momentarily delirious. He would have never fantasized about this, would have thought the notion absurd if he had. But the gentle way Ed spoke paired with the pain was—confusingly intoxicating.

He cleared his throat and sucked in a shallow breath. “Sweet dreams ‘til sunbeams find you,” he sang as best he could while trembling, dropping his forehead down toward the counter.

“Lovely voice.” Ed drew his fingertips in a slow circle over the contour of Izzy’s hip. “Thought y’d have a good one.”

Then Ed withdrew, and Izzy fought the urge to look over his shoulder to see what was happening. He wanted to find out when it happened.

Ed moved about behind him, the sound of glass clinking. Briefly, Izzy flashed to his fantasy of being fucked with a bottle, and he tried not to get his hopes up.

Cold liquid landed squarely between his cheeks, trickling down over his hole and dripping when it reached his balls.

“What—”

Smack. Ed’s hand landed on his other cheek this time, but it hurt no less.

“Didn’t say to stop singing,” Ed said, his voice still quiet, but dangerous.

Izzy breathed in and out. His ass stung, and twitched as more cold liquid was poured on it.

Was it alcohol? Would he get drunk like this? He knew college students would do shots up the ass to get drunk quicker.

“S—Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.”

Then Ed’s finger circled his hole, sliding around it with ease from the slick liquid, pressing on it without pushing in.

Izzy bit the inside of his cheek as he fought the urge to push his hips back. “But—in your dreams, whatever they be.”

This wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d said to be wrecked, but he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying himself nonetheless.

“Dream a little dream of—hnn!” His voice cut off into a moan when Ed pushed a finger inside him and crooked it with expert precision.

“Of what?” Ed leaned into him, kissing the back of his neck, moving his finger in and out.

“Of—of me.” Izzy shivered and turned to look over his shoulder. “No more singing, please.”

“But I rather like listening to you sing.” Ed tilted his head to meet his gaze, his eyes dark and hungry. “And are you in a position to make demands of me right now?”

Izzy shook his head. “I’m not demanding, I’m—I’m begging.”

Ed chuckled and crooked his finger again. “Then beg.”

Izzy’s hips tilted to try to force Ed’s finger to rub against that wonderful spot, but the finger withdrew. “Please, Ed.” He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. “Please, don’t make me keep singing, please.”

Ed angled his hand so his thumb pressed to a spot just behind his balls, triggering that delightful sensation that Izzy was only used to happening from within.

“No,” Ed said, simply and firmly. “Next verse.”

Izzy groaned, his knees trembling as they threatened to buckle beneath him. “I don’t remember—”

Ed’s free hand came down on his ass, and he pushed hard on that spot behind his balls, hard enough that it almost went past the point of pleasure into just pain.

“Then remember quickly.”

Izzy clenched his eyes shut. “Sweet, ah. No. Stars… Stars fading, but I linger on, dear.”

“There we go. That’s a good lad.” Ed slipped a second finger in, and Izzy huffed at the delight of feeling fuller. “Keep going.”

“Still craving your kiss.”

Ed placed a kiss to the back of his neck, then opened his mouth wide and bit down hard.

Izzy cried out, his vision darkening at the edges for a brief moment, especially when Ed spread his fingers apart as wide as Izzy’s ass could handle.

“Ed—” Izzy swallowed. “I want—”

“Not how the song goes,” Ed murmured, but the reprimand wasn’t followed by a smack on the ass. Instead, he pulled away, the warmth of his touch fading quickly in his absence.

Izzy thought about looking, but instead, he continued, “I’m… longing to linger ‘til dawn, dear. Just saying—”

Ed’s cock pressed its way inside him with a single hard thrust, Izzy choking on his words as his voice wanted to cry out instead. Hands landed on his hips and squeezed, fingernails digging in, holding him in place as Ed fully seated himself inside Izzy.

Izzy could see, but he didn’t perceive. His surroundings were a complete blur, all of his senses focused on how suddenly full he was, how it should have hurt, but whatever Ed had poured on him made the movement smooth and easy.

“This,” Ed finished with a low, husky chuckle.

Izzy’s hands clutched the cuffs of the leather sleeves that bound them behind his back. He breathed in through his nose and out his mouth, biting his tongue as he tried to stay quiet.

He hadn’t been instructed not to make a sound, but a part of him was embarrassed at how desperately he wanted to sob from how overwhelmed he was.

There was a pause, and then Ed tapped his fingers against Izzy’s hips.

A silent question.

“Fock off,” Izzy choked out in a quiet rasp. “This is nothing.”

“Nothing?” Ed infused his voice with the sound of his grinning. “Rather rude t’say to a bloke balls deep inside you.”

“I meant—”

Ed canted his hips as he pulled back, his cock dragging along that sensitive spot inside him, then shoved his way in again. “I know what y’meant.”

Izzy huffed a breathless laugh. He almost couldn’t believe this was really happening. Any moment now, the real Ed was going to say something and pull him out of his too-vivid fantasy.

But Ed moved, slowly out and quickly in, the pace almost maddening from how it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Next verse,” Ed said, not sounding the least bit affected.

Izzy blinked back tears and let his mouth fall open with a quiet moan as he was filled over and over. He couldn’t remember where he left off, couldn’t remember the rhythm of the words.

“Dream a little—”

The hand came down on his ass again, hard and unrelenting.

“Nope.”

He groaned, letting his weight fall forward onto the counter. “Ed, please.”

Ed didn’t respond with words, just paused his thrusts as he waited. And that was worse than any spank or bite, to have the wonderful sensation of being fucked taken away from him.

He choked on his words as he forced them out, “Please, I don’t want to sing anymore.”

“A shame, really.” Ed leaned forward to spoon against his back, one arm snaking around so his fingers could rub over Izzy’s throat. “’Cause I’m not done listenin’ to you yet.”

Izzy’s chin quivered and he closed his eyes. This, Ed had finished for him. Just saying this was his last line.

“S—Sweet dreams ‘til sunbeams find you,” he sang, feeling the vibrations against Ed’s fingertips.

And when Ed started to thrust into him again, he nearly broke with relief. He put his weight against that hand on his neck, let himself be held up by the man with the other hand still on his hip.

“Sweet dreams that… that leave all worries behind you.” It was getting harder to get the words out when all his body wanted to do was moan and gasp and fight for air as it was forced out of him with each pound of Ed’s cock into him.

Izzy closed his eyes and took a few shuddering breaths, a high-pitched whine leaking into them. Ed gripped his throat, not tight enough to choke him, but certainly enough to feel like it when he was struggling for air.

“But… in your dreams…” Izzy panted and shook his head. “Ed, I—please—”

Ed chuckled and let go of his throat to return his hand to Izzy’s hips. Both hands then repositioned to grab his thighs, and he hoisted Izzy up enough that his feet left the ground. The new angle was fucking phenomenal, Izzy able to even feel even more of him like this.

He felt completely at Ed’s mercy, his face rubbing against the countertop as he was fucked into it.

“You did good.” Ed finally sounded a little winded, his grip firm on Izzy’s thighs. “Fuckin’ great.”

Izzy just whimpered, unable to think past how good it felt to be so helpless. He was out of his mind, out of his thoughts.

There was only him and Ed and nothing else.

Ed picked up the pace, unrelenting now, pounding into him faster than Izzy could catch his breath. His vision blurred a bit, his lungs started to burn.

He wanted to reach down and jerk himself off, but his hands were still bound together. All he could do was feel his cock bouncing with every thrust, feel Ed move in and out of him.

“Can I—” Ed grunted. “Can I cum inside you?”

Izzy just nodded as best he could while delirious. Ed leaned into him, chest to his back, moving just his hips in shallow thrusts while he whispered in Izzy’s ear.

“Would like it if y’came first, though.” His teeth teased Izzy’s earlobe. “Want you t’paint this cabinet so I can think about it later.”

Izzy shook his head. “Can’t—need—”

“Aw, I’m sure y’can.”

It wasn’t nearly enough to even consider. He’d need a hand around his throat and a cock pounding harder than Ed’s was right then if he was going to cum untouched.

Ed hummed in thought, his movements slowing even more. “All right, then.” His hand slid around to Izzy’s front and wrapped around his cock, grip just the right amount of tight. “Fuck yourself on me.”

Izzy didn’t hesitate. He pushed back onto Ed, then forward into the tight ring of his hand, shuddering as friction bloomed. He tried to move faster, grinding his own hips to force Ed’s cock at the right angle, moaning when he found it.

“That’s good.” Ed held perfectly still while Izzy did all the work.

Izzy huffed as he fucked into Ed’s hand, fucked back onto his cock. He wasn’t sure he could finish like this, but when he turned his head to say something to Ed, he was struck by those gorgeous brown eyes.

They were watching him, full of desire and—wonder. Like Izzy was a wonderful thing to behold.

Izzy tried to hurry his movements, but it wasn’t enough. Just as a whine started in the back of his throat, Ed tightened his grip.

“All right.” He pulled Izzy back to him, one hand on his chest to pull him close, the other starting to move along the length of his cock. “Y’did good. Now let me take care of you.”

Izzy nodded, his voice lost under how desperately he wanted to finish. Ed’s strokes were fast, and with how pent up he was, it didn’t take long before he was cumming hard, watching as his release striped over the cabinet doors in front of him.

“Oh, that felt good, didn’t it?” Ed murmured in his ear. “Y’went so tight around me.”

Before Izzy could respond, Ed started to fuck him again, chasing his own pleasure. Izzy just dangled in Ed’s embrace, his face pressed to the cool countertop, unable to feel much beyond his post-orgasm bliss.

It wasn’t long before Ed came with a grunt, his hips flush to the curve of Izzy’s ass and thighs, holding there as he filled him up.

They didn’t move for a while, just breathing, just coming back to their own bodies slowly.

“By the way…” Ed ran his fingertips down the Izzy’s hips. “What’s your name?”

Izzy blinked, then burst into a fit of laughter. “It’s—” He trembled as he tried to smother his mirth, but it only made him laugh harder. “It’s Iz—Izzy.”

“Izzy,” Ed repeated with a chuckle. “Sorry for not askin’ sooner. Just kinda got into the heat of things before I realized I didn’t know it.”

Izzy shook his head, still unable to get himself under control while Ed stroked his hands along Izzy’s thighs, murmuring soft nothings.

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[ Closing Time #5 ]

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Just like every other Saturday night, Izzy found himself sipping on a martini and eyeing the crowd of faces at Queen Anne’s for someone new and interesting.

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Just like every other Saturday night, Izzy found himself sipping on a martini and eyeing the crowd of faces at Queen Anne’s for someone new and interesting.

Stede was busy with his kids this weekend, and Izzy felt guilty at how he was secretly grateful for the break.

Stede was great. He really was. He made Izzy feel like the only person in any room they were in, took him to nice restaurants and fucked him on expensive sheets in his fancy suite.

But he was also… so fucking nice that it made Izzy’s teeth hurt.

Izzy wanted something rough tonight, and maybe Stede could oblige it, but he’d probably apologize the whole time and keep checking in to make sure Izzy was ‘okay’ and fucking hell, Izzy was already feeling irritated and it wasn’t even happening.

So here he was, wearing all black and trying his best to look like a dark little slut that needed a firm hand. But there was no one new tonight.

Maybe it was time to check out a different bar. It wasn’t like there was some sort of loyalty system that encouraged him to keep coming back here.

A drink came into view, and Izzy’s eyes followed the tattooed arm up to the bartender’s face.

“Which twat is this from?” Izzy growled out, looking back down at the dark red cocktail in front of him.

“Me,” the bartender said with an amused lilt to his low voice. “Hope that’s all right.”

Izzy nearly startled right off the stool he was on as he jerked his head up to stare at the man whose name he’d never known, but had eyes that had followed him into a few dirty dreams before.

“What?” Izzy asked and immediately regretted how dumb he felt. “You?”

The bartender chuckled, putting a hand to the side of his neck and rubbing it almost sheepishly. “Can just take it back and pretend this never happened, if y’want.”

Izzy’s hand shot out to grab the glass and pulled it closer to himself. “No, I—I don’t want that, actually.” His eyes flicked between the drink and the man. “Thank you… ?”

“Ed,” he supplied with a glimmer in his eyes as he smiled. “Nice t’meet you properly.” He leaned forward to rest his forearms against the countertop. “Figured I wouldn’t see much of you since y’got together with that other fella.”

“Stede?” Izzy said the name with a little too much fondness, so he quickly amended, “I’m not off the market.”

“No?” Ed’s brow raised. “Things not work out with fancyman?”

Izzy gave a slight shake of his head. “Things are fine with fancyman.” His mouth wriggled as he tried not to laugh at the word. “It’s an open relationship.” And then, because he was confident they were flirting, he leaned in and lowered his voice as he added, “So long as the other bloke is interesting enough.”

Ed didn’t respond right away, instead letting his eyes wander over Izzy’s body, making no effort to hide the drag of his gaze before it returned to meet Izzy’s again. “And am I interesting enough?”

Izzy drew his fingertip along the rim of the glass. “Depends on what you do next.”

“I see.” Ed pushed himself upright and put his hands on his hips, his fingers framing the way his tight purple shirt rode up to expose some of his waistline. “Well, if y’can wait ‘till my shift’s over, then I can show y’what’s next.”

Izzy felt a small tingle course through his veins as he openly stared at the soft tummy being bared to him. “I think you already have,” he said, voice gone raspy and quiet as he thought of all the ways he wanted to feel the man’s skin on his own.

Ed grinned and winked—actually fucking winked. Then he turned to move down the bar to attend to another patron, but his eyes cut over briefly to show he knew Izzy was watching him still.

It was almost like someone was writing a story just for Izzy’s pleasure. This fucking walking wet dream of a man who moved in leather like it was a second skin was propositioning him? Fucking hell.

Izzy took a sip of the nearly forgotten dark red cocktail. Vodka and cranberry juice. Not his first pick, but he tried to suss out what it meant. Heavy and sour? Heavy and… good for the kidneys?

He snorted into his glass and set it back down, letting the sharp tang dance on his tongue a while longer, and then it clicked.

Strong, distinct, and lasting.

His eyes returned to Ed, watching him while he slinked about and put drinks together, their gazes meeting like brief sparks. Heat coiled low in his gut and he shifted in his seat, trying and failing to not imagine what the man was capable of.

He imagined those strong arms pinning him down—or maybe holding him up, fucking him against a wall. Maybe bending him over the bar itself and giving his ass a firm smack before pounding him from behind.

Izzy checked the time and groaned. It was going to be another three hours before the bar closed.

He was going to die before then.

With a quiet grunt, he took a gulp of the cocktail and hoped that the alcohol would at least dull his mind a bit to make the time go by easier. But all it did was make him feel warmer, made his imagination run more vividly as the vodka settled into his blood.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Ed tied him up—could use a belt to bind his arms behind his back, prop him up in a booth with his pants around his ankles and legs splayed to show off his aching cock.

Izzy leaned forward and crossed his legs to try to hide the way his real cock was tenting the front of his pants while he imagined Ed using a bottle to tease his hole open. He wasn’t even that into playing with objects like this, but it was the first thing his slowly addled mind could come up with in a bar.

And given the way he had to hold back a moan, he was suddenly reconsidering whether that was a kink of his or not now.

It didn’t matter—in that moment, it was doing it for him something fierce. The cool glass against his hot skin, Ed leaning over him and whispering words of encouragement, how good he was, how well he was taking it. He sucked in a shuddering breath as Ed worked the bottle in all the way to where the neck widened, felt himself tighten around the imaginary object. Felt the twinge of disappointment that there wasn’t actually anything inside him.

“Need a refill?” Ed’s voice said, and Izzy involuntarily shuddered as he tried to figure out what that meant.

And then he realized it was the real Ed talking to him, not the fantasy one.

Izzy looked up at him in surprise, and he wondered how obvious it was that he’d been lost in a filthy fantasy just a moment ago. Or that he was still a bit lost in it, truth be told. That he was about ready to just launch himself over the counter and damn who watched.

“No, thanks,” he rasped out. “Think I’ve had just the right amount.”

Ed gave a little smirk beneath his beard as his eyes dipped down. “I’ll be th’judge of that.”

Then, before Izzy could react, Ed leaned across the bar and kissed him. It was a hard press of lips and a firm swipe of his tongue, and then it was over, Ed pulling away with a coy grin.

“Yeah, y’taste like y’ve had enough.”

Izzy just stared and watched him walk away, his lips tingling, his tongue darting out to feel where Ed’s had just been.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he was shaking a bit from how desperately he wanted this man to take him.

His mind dove right back in, bottle up his ass and fingers digging into his thighs to force his legs further apart so Ed could see everything.

Izzy whimpered. “Please, Ed, I want—"

Ed chuckled. “I know what y’want. Only good boys get treats.”

How could Izzy be any more good than this?

What could he possibly do to be better?

If his hands were free, he’d fuck himself on the bottle while Ed watched, but he’d already fantasized himself into a corner with the belt.

His mouth twisted as he tried to think, but the edges of his brain were fuzzy now, and he wasn’t sure how he could progress this scene.

So he changed it.

He was on the bar, now, lying on his back. His hands weren’t bound this time, free in case he needed them later. Ed was sitting on one of the stools, slowly pouring a shot of tequila onto his chest, watching as the rivulets ran off to the sides and down toward his stomach.

Izzy shivered as the cold liquid made his nipples firm up, and he casually brushed his fingers over his real chest to try to simulate the sensation as best he could without looking too obvious.

He needed to stop. He was setting himself up for disappointment when all Ed wanted was a quick blowjob in the back alley.

He turned his head to stare at him, to try to focus on the real Ed, not the one he was building in his head.

Ed was casually chatting with someone, posture relaxed, long hair tied back in a half updo. He wore black leather and was covered in tattoos, sure, but that didn’t mean he was kinky.

It didn’t mean he was going to shove two fingers in Izzy’s mouth and grip his jaw like someone inspecting a dog’s teeth. It didn’t mean he was going to push him past the point of coherency until finally fucking him when he’d given up on all hope.

Izzy groaned and put a hand over his eyes, unable to look at the real Ed or think about the fantasy one a moment longer.

Only two and a half hours.

And now he was back on the bar, his skin wet with tequila, under strict orders not to move or make a sound while Ed started to drink from the pool around his navel. The drag of his tongue along Izzy’s skin, the tickle of his beard, the press of his lips to lap up the last drop.

His muscles twitched, and Ed chuckled in a dangerous way.

“Told y’not to move,” he said with no hint of actual disappointment. “Another shot, then.”

That’s right. Shots until Izzy behaved. His skin was hot and cold at the same time, air moving over the sticky wet rivers as more tequila was poured onto him. He’s so desperate for Ed’s touch that he couldn’t help himself—he shivered, and Ed reached for another glass.

“Fuck it,” Ed’s voice cut in again. “Can’t fuckin’ work with y’making faces like that.”

Izzy tried to apologize, wanted to promise that he’d do better, but he was under strict orders. No sound.

“Bar’s closin’ early tonight,” Ed called in a deep bellow. “Everyone fuck off.”

That snapped Izzy back to reality, and he glanced around to watch as people began to disperse, and the muscles of his jaw twitched as he tried not to grin with delight.

“So, tell me,” Ed said, and Izzy looked at him to see a dangerous glint in his eyes. “What have y’been thinkin’ about, and how much of it can I do right now?”

Izzy tried to not get too excited. It wasn’t like he had the balls to explain his stupid drunken fantasies aloud. He cleared his throat and started to shake his head, but Ed leaned in.

“Fuckin’ serious, mate.” Ed put a hand over one of Izzy’s. “You say it, I’ll do it.”

Izzy stared at him a moment, lips parted with the intent to speak, but the words escaped him. The images of his fantasies flashed behind his eyes until he shuddered and turned his hand over to squeeze Ed’s.

“I don’t care what you do,” he said, slowly. “Just—do it. Please.”

Ed’s brow raised toward his hairline. “And by it—”

“Anything.” Izzy’s voice cracked. “Literally fucking anything.”

Ed hummed in thought, his fingers curling to run his fingernails over Izzy’s palm and down to his wrist. Then he shrugged one shoulder and cocked a lopsided grin.

“All right, then.” He gestured with his free hand at the bar between them. “Hop up.”

Izzy went momentarily weak with the sudden hope that, somehow, they had the same fantasy. He struggled a bit to get on the countertop—he wasn’t a fucking teenager anymore, and the stool swiveled beneath him, but with a bit of help, he was sitting on the counter with Ed standing between his legs.

“Let me just—” Ed reached back and fiddled with his hair until he’d gotten all of it pulled into a high ponytail. “There.” His hands moved to Izzy’s thighs and gave them a tight squeeze, his lips ticked up in a small grin. “So, here’s what’s gonna happen.”

His hands slid higher up, and Izzy’s breath caught in his throat.

“’M’gonna suck you off while y’tell me what y’want me to do next. And if y’stop talking, I stop sucking. Got it?”

Izzy ached as his cock strained against his pants, desperate for this man’s mouth on it. “Y—Yeah.”

“Better start talking…” Ed leaned down while one hand moved to unzip his pants and fished out his cock with ease. He was close enough that his breath was warm on Izzy’s sensitive skin as he whispered against the tip, “Now.”

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[ Closing Time #3 ]

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They made their way slowly to the bedroom, interrupted by the need to touch and kiss and undress and feel one another the whole way through the lavish suite. Like they were hormonal teenagers instead of middle-aged men.

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They made their way slowly to the bedroom, interrupted by the need to touch and kiss and undress and feel one another the whole way through the lavish suite. Like they were hormonal teenagers instead of middle-aged men.

Izzy couldn’t remember if he’d ever felt like a teen since he was one.

But Stede brought it out of him, in the way his hands fumbled in their grasping and the way his lips seemed unable to leave Izzy’s for too long before crashing back together.

He wanted Izzy—craved Izzy, even, if Izzy allowed himself to speculate. It was hard to think too rationally when Stede was pulling him down onto the bed, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close.

“I—” Stede had to gasp for air, then looked up at him with a vulnerable expression. “I don’t know—the rules?”

Izzy propped himself up on both elbows and shook his head to get his mussed hair out of his eyes. “What rules? You mean limits?”

“Maybe?” Stede leaned up to kiss the side of his neck. “I’ve never… slept with anyone outside of my wife. Ex-wife,” he quickly amended. “Just to be clear.”

Izzy closed his eyes to focus on the sensation of Stede’s lips moving over his skin. “No kink stuff. Not yet.”

Stede’s kissing paused. “Kink stuff, as in… BDSM?”

Izzy frowned and shifted his weight to one elbow so he could push Stede’s head back down onto the pillow with his other hand. “You can’t be this naïve.”

There was a pause before Stede’s lips twitched into a nervous smile. “Admittedly, I do know about kinks… I just don’t think I can say them aloud.”

“What are you, twelve?” Izzy shifted to sit up, his thighs straddling Stede’s sides, positioning himself so Stede’s cock was resting between his cheeks. “Name three kinks.”

Stede opened his mouth to speak, and Izzy moved his hips to grind against his cock, earning a small shiver from him.

“Watersports,” he gasped out. “Diapers. Feet.”

“There you go.” Izzy looked down at him and tilted his head to the side. “Are you into those things?”

Stede’s face twitched with a couple different expressions, all one after the other. “I don’t know. I don’t think so? I—I’ve watched a lot of porn on the internet, but—”

“We can negotiate kinks next time.”

“Next time?” Stede gave an open and sincere smile. “There’s a next time?”

Fuck. Izzy’s head was swimming with too many thoughts, most of them different positions he wanted to try to see which felt best with a dick as large as Stede’s.

“Depends on how this time goes,” he said as casually as he could with all of his blood between his legs. “Now’s your chance to wow me.”

Stede’s smile was almost too brilliant as he reached up to pull Izzy down with a hand cupping the back of his neck, meeting his lips in a soft and tender kiss.

He kissed like they were lovers, like they’d kissed a hundred times before and would a hundred times more. The thought made Izzy’s head swim too much, so he grabbed Stede by the jaw and forced his mouth open so he could plunge his tongue in, heat things up, move away from the gentleness.

Stede made a sound of surprise in the back of his throat, then tentatively tried to push his tongue against Izzy’s.

Izzy pulled back to look down at him, one eyebrow raised. “You haven’t kissed much, have you?”

“Just my ex-wife,” Stede replied, quietly. “I feel like I mention her too much. Do I?”

Izzy shrugged and straightened up to tower over him. “Are you thinking about her instead of me?”

“Heavens, no!” Stede gestured with both hands at him. “How could I? How could anyone?”

The things Stede said were like having a glass of wine; they made his skin heat up, made his mind go a little soft and fuzzy, made him want more.

It was a bit exciting and scary at the same time. Izzy didn’t want to get addicted to anything, much less someone.

But a glass of wine didn’t hurt. Just one or two.

“Then tell me where your lube is.”

Stede sat up and twisted his torso enough that one arm could reach the nightstand, fumbling with the drawer that was nearly out of reach until his hand came back with a discreet bottle.

“Have you used it on yourself?” Izzy asked in a casual tone as he took the bottle and squeezed some out onto his fingers.

“Well, yes, and no.” Stede swallowed, his eyes following Izzy’s fingers until they disappeared out of sight behind his back. “Not in the way you are.” His hands moved to ghost a light caress up Izzy’s thighs. “Can I—watch?”

Izzy froze. His mind whirled with so many incoherent thoughts, most of them just surprise at his own embarrassment. They were going to have sex, so why the hell was he nervous over being watched as he prepared himself.

With as much nonchalance as he could muster, he moved to face the other way, still straddling Stede’s middle, and leaned forward to expose himself to the man.

He heard the sharp intake of air as Stede looked at him, watched as Izzy penetrated himself with two lubricated fingers and spread them apart.

“Oh, wow,” Stede breathed more than said. “You just—right on in—”

“Your dick is about to go right on in,” Izzy grumbled, his face growing hot. His eyes dipped to look at the cock in question, standing tall, angled right at him. “I need to be prepared for this monster.”

Stede huffed a quiet laugh. “Thank you?”

Izzy just snorted and tried to focus on scissoring his fingers, but once he’d looked down, he couldn’t look away. It was full and thick, curved toward him with the head leaking a dribble of precum onto Stede’s stomach.

“May I?”

That forced Izzy’s attention back to his backside, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder at the man. “Huh?”

Stede’s tongue darted out over his bottom lip and he glanced between Izzy’s face and his ass. “I’d like to try.” His lips twitched into a brief smile. “It seems important, and I’m… curious.”

This was—new. Izzy was used to preparing himself as part of the foreplay, usually while his partner lavished his chest with attention or sucked him off to have fun while he did the boring work.

Everything about Stede was… new.

Izzy hesitated, then withdrew his hand to pull his cheek out of the way. “S—Sure. Knock yourself out.”

“I’d really like to knock you out,” Stede said, then gasped loudly. “Oh, no, I didn’t… that… that didn’t come out right.”

Izzy couldn’t help it.

He laughed.

His whole body shook with the laughter, and he braced his hands on Stede’s thighs to keep himself from toppling over.

“I’m so sorry—” Stede broke off with a nervous chuckle. “They make dirty talk seem so easy in porn.”

“Do they?” Izzy managed between laughs. “Isn’t the dialogue the—the worst part?”

There was a pause, and then Stede started to join him in laughter, uncertainly at first until it seemed to take hold of him, too.

Izzy gave a wiggle of his hips, his balls brushing against his inner thighs. “Go on, then. Knock me out.”

“I…” Stede snorted. “I will try my best.”

The sound of the lube bottle being squeezed punctuated his sentence, and a moment later, Izzy felt the first tentative press of a finger to his hole, and he flinched.

It was no different to touching himself, logically. And yet it bloomed a plethora of sensations across his body, tingling up his spine and down to his toes.

The finger pushed in to the first knuckle and held there, and Izzy heard the sound of Stede’s breath leaving him.

He wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but neither of them were laughing anymore. The room was still and quiet save for their shared breaths.

Stede worked a second finger in, mimicking Izzy’s ministrations, spreading them apart to stretch him open.

“Like that,” Izzy said, because the silence was unnerving. “But deeper.”

“It’s so warm,” Stede marveled aloud as he slipped his fingers in deeper and scissored them again. “And—tight? But not?” His voice fell into something almost reverent as he continued, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to last very long if you feel this good on just my fingers.”

Izzy wasn’t sure he would last long if Stede kept talking like that.

“How much can you fit?” Stede asked in the manner of talking to himself. As he slipped a third finger inside, Izzy watched Stede’s cock throb with interest. “Oh, look at you… Marvelous.”

“Shut the fock up,” Izzy muttered, withdrawing from Stede’s touch. “I’m ready.”

When he turned around, he found Stede smiling up at him, openly and sincerely, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

Izzy felt his own face growing warm under the gentle gaze. “What?”

“Just thinking of how utterly lucky I am.” Stede ran his hands up Izzy’s thighs and rested them on his hips. “You are just so very out of my league,” he added with a laugh.

Izzy reached for the lube and poured some into his palm, then reached back to spread it along the head and shaft of Stede’s cock, earning a low moan from the man.

“You’ve been watching too many stupid pornos with lines like that.” Izzy held the cock by the base and lined himself up, pushing his hips back.

“Oh, but it’s not a line,” Stede managed with a bit of strain to his voice as his eyes flicked down to watch. “I really mean it.”

Izzy didn’t know what to say, so he did the only thing he did know: he sat down all at once, taking the entirety of Stede’s cock all in one motion.

Which was a mistake.

It was overwhelming, to be so full so suddenly, with a large dick pressing on his most sensitive spots without even trying. He gasped and shuddered, and likely would have collapsed if Stede wasn’t grounding him by digging his fingernails into Izzy’s hips.

“Oh, fuck,” Stede swore, his eyes wide as he gazed up at Izzy’s face. “Are you okay? That was—”

Izzy couldn’t take any more talking. He forced himself to rise up and drop back down, earning another expletive from Stede.

“I—” Stede’s grip on his hips tightened. “What do I do?”

“You enjoy the ride,” Izzy growled.

“But I want to—”

“Then fucking do it instead of talking about it!” Izzy hated the desperation in his own voice, but it was there, plain as day.

Stede obediently nodded and used his hands to lift Izzy up enough that he could then thrust his own hips upward, and the pace he set was startlingly relentless. He pounded into him, grunting as he worked to find the right angle that made Izzy finally cry out.

And once he found it, he hammered away at it, like a man possessed, like his fucking life depended on it.

Izzy had never been helpless while on top before. He had no idea what to do with himself except be held in place and make the most wanton noises he didn’t know he was capable of. His hands hung uselessly at his sides until he remembered them, and one moved to grab his own cock and start tugging on it, trying to match Stede’s rhythm.

“Izzy—” Stede’s face was flushed, his voice strained, his eyes half-lidded with focus and determination. “Yes, please, fuck, stroke yourself—gorgeous—”

Izzy was defenseless against the words with a cock pounding into him and his own throbbing against his palm. Stede thought he was gorgeous, even when he felt like he was falling apart.

He just whimpered and obeyed, forgoing the attempt to match rhythms and just jerking off as fast as he could, his hand still slick with lube.

Stede made a strained noise in the back of his throat as his hips went flush against Izzy’s ass and held there, spilling into him, filling him up in a different way.

The lack of movement made it easier for Izzy to focus on chasing his own release. He replayed the fresh memory of Stede’s face when he asked to watch Izzy prep himself, the reverence in his eyes, the—the adoration, all ways Izzy wasn’t sure he’d seen on anyone’s face before.

He was cumming before he knew it, and he watched as he painted Stede’s chest, cum catching in his chest hairs and pooling around his navel.

They stayed where they were for a while, breathing in and out as they came down together, Stede lowering his hips back onto the bed. His softening cock slipped out, and Izzy felt a rush of cum follow with it.

But if Stede minded that Izzy was leaking onto him, making a mess, his face didn’t show it.

His face only showed the adoration that Izzy had just gotten off to, and that thought made him want to run away.

Instead, he looked over at a doorway that led into what appeared to be a lavish bathroom and asked, breathlessly, “Bath or shower?”

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[ Closing Time #1 ]

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Izzy didn't know why he kept coming back to Queen Anne's. The drinks were overpriced, the clientele wasn't his type, and the old rock music that played over the speakers hurt his ears.

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Izzy didn't know why he kept coming back to Queen Anne's. The drinks were overpriced, the clientele wasn't his type, and the old rock music that played over the speakers hurt his ears.

But here he was, again, spending his Saturday night at the same bar he kept coming back to every weekend, looking for his next forgettable encounter.

He nursed the same martini that'd been in his hand for the past half hour, waiting for someone to catch his interest in the slightest. There were a few new faces that he was currently eyeing, watching their mannerisms to try and tell if they had a chance at being compatible in bed or not.

And just as he finished his drink, a tattooed arm set a second in front of him. The bartender winked and nodded his head off to his right, muttering just above the god awful music, "Man down there wants t'say hullo."

Izzy's eyes cut in the indicated direction to spy a blonde-haired man in a fitted suit smiling back at him, his face open and sincere and a little too friendly.

"Great," Izzy growled out and took the martini, looking away from the overeager fellow.

Interested or not, he wasn't going to turn down a free drink.

But the message didn't seem to get across, because a moment later, the guy was standing beside him.

"Sorry, I'm rather new to this," he said, his accent light and airy. "Does you accepting the drink mean I can sit next to you?"

No, Izzy wanted to say, but instead he shrugged, and the man happily sat next to him.

"I'm Stede, by the by." He offered a hand.

Izzy thought about spitting on it. He thought about throwing the drink in the man's face. He thought about why his existence seemed to irritate him so much, but he didn't have a good answer, so he took the offered hand.

"Izzy," he said. "What about this are you new to?"

Stede tittered a laugh. "All of it! I only just found out I'm gay, and newly divorced because of it."

Baggage. Izzy hated men with baggage.

"And, well, you're rather stunning, so I thought, wouldn't I be a lucky man if I could talk to you?" Another nervous, giddy laugh. "I do feel lucky, now that we're talking."

"Is that all you want to do? Talk?" Izzy took a slow sip from his drink, eyebrow arched.

"Oh! Good question!" Stede clasped and unclasped his hands, a bit of red creeping onto his cheeks. "Again, newbie here. How honest am I supposed to be?"

Fuck, Izzy couldn't fight a small grin at that. Was it the alcohol, or was Stede actually starting to seem—less irritating?

"I prefer honesty."

"Right! Honesty is the best policy, or so they say." Stede ducked his chin in toward his chest. "I came here hoping to experience, well, all of it. With someone." He quickly raised his hands. "But I don't have any—any expectations, or demands, or anything of the sort! I'm happy just talking. Or more. Whatever you're comfortable with."

Izzy turned in his seat to face him more openly, taking the man in from head to toe. He wasn't his type, but he wasn't unattractive, either. Not with his curly blonde hair and well-fitted clothes that showed off the broadness of his chest. And when Izzy's eyes dipped lower, the khaki pants showed a sizable package against his left leg.

Izzy could give him a chance. For fun. "Tell me more about yourself."

Stede smiled, a bit sheepishly. "I'm not sure what to say. I married my high school sweetheart because that seemed the proper thing to do, then had a midlife crisis when I saw a gay film by happenstance. When I got to the sex scene, I had my first spontaneous erection as an adult and realized I might be gay."

Izzy snorted behind his glass, taking another sip.

"I tried to convince my wife to try... Well, anal sex. Said I just wanted to spice things up. She was suspicious, given that we didn't exactly make love on the regular." He swallowed, his eyes darting away. "Or, well, hardly ever. I always struggled... getting it up."

"And now you're at a gay bar." Izzy set his glass down and looked over his shoulder, then back at Stede. "Ever had a blowjob in a public restroom?"

Stede's face turned a bright shade of red, all the way to the tips of his ears. "Definitely not!"

"Let's fix that, then." Izzy slid off the stool and started toward the restrooms without glancing back to see if he was being followed.

He knew he would be.

And he was right—he heard the scrambling steps hurrying to catch up with him as he made his way across the bar.

The restroom smelled of cleaning products and was dimly lit, but it would do. Izzy waited by one of the stalls with his arms crossed over his chest while he watched Stede hesitate at the doorway.

"Is this sort of thing—allowed?" Stede swallowed, his throat visibly bobbing. "We're not going to get in trouble?"

Izzy rolled his eyes. "Consenting adults don't 'get in trouble.' Now take a seat."

"On a toilet," Stede squeaked, but he did at least step forward to let the door close behind him.

"Unless you prefer to stand." Izzy gestured into the stall. "Come on."

Stede made little sounds in the back of his throat like he was gagged and trying to speak. It was almost as endearing as it was annoying.

Then he hurried forward, ducking his head as he passed by Izzy and turned to settle on the toilet, his hands clenched on his thighs and shoulders hunched.

"This seems so—dirty," he said, his voice high and tight.

But Izzy could see his growing erection against his thigh, and he stepped into the stall to kneel between Stede's legs while the door swung shut with a loud creak.

"Just close your eyes and imagine we're at a focking beach," Izzy muttered while his hands worked to undo the man's belt, the metal clasp dragging along the leather as he pulled it apart.

"Why the beach?" Stede asked with a small, nervous laugh.

"Because the beach is relaxing." Izzy slid the zipper down, slowly so that the sound was dragged out as long as possible. Then he reached into the man's boxers to grab his erection, thick and warm against his palm, and pulled it out so he could get a better look.

To his pleasant surprise, it was bigger than he expected. Bigger than most he'd encountered, too. He held it firmly in one hand and ran his thumb over a prominent vein along the side and felt it stiffen to attention at the touch.

"Is it—err, normal?" Stede stared down at him with wide eyes, pulling his lower lip between his teeth. "I don't really know what normal looks like."

Izzy arched his brow as his eyes flicked between the man's face and his sizable cock. "No, it's not normal." His voice dropped lower, turning to gravel as he continued, "It's better than normal."

Izzy leaned in and trailed his lips along the side, his tongue darting out as he reached the head to run along the flared crown.

Stede gave a sharp gasp and his hands twitched where they pressed into his thighs. "Can I—What should I—"

Izzy huffed a breath of warm air over where he'd licked. "No hair pulling, but you can grab it if you like."

"Yes, I would—I would like, very much—" Stede reached out one hand and caressed the top of Izzy's head, then stroked his thumb along the shell of his ear.

Izzy was surprised to find he didn't mind the soft and gentle touches. He preferred a rougher hand, but only with a partner he trusted, and someone fresh on the scene wasn't nearly ready for that.

He tilted his head and ran his lips down the other side, dragging his tongue along the warm skin, huffing air out his nose for extra sensations. The man smelled pleasantly clean, and his pubic hairs were nearly trimmed. Everything about him was tidy—even his fingernails were manicured, Izzy noted with a quick glance.

"Oh my god," Stede gasped out. "You—Is it all right to say you look beautiful? Because you do, really, truly beautiful."

Men would say anything to someone sucking their dick. Izzy knew not to take to heart whatever words fell out of their mouths when his was full of their cock.

But it was nice to be called beautiful, even if it was just the heat of the moment.

He moved back up to the head with a slow, long lick and flicked his tongue against the little dip just beneath the head, dragged his tongue back and forth there to tease it before sliding up to the slit. A bead of precum was waiting for him, and he licked it up eagerly, pleased to get an early reward for his efforts.

"You must do this all the time," Stede continued, unable to shut his mouth. "Which is good. Great. You're great."

"Shut the fook up," Izzy growled before taking the whole head in his mouth, sliding his lips down past the crown.

"Oh, f—fuck!" Stede buried his hand in Izzy's hair. His nails scraped his scalp as he tightened his grip, but obediently didn't pull.

Izzy held there and used his tongue to massage the shaft, flattening it out and swiping from side to side. Stede cursed again, his thighs visibly clenching as he made a concerted effort not to thrust his hips.

There was something to be said about a courteous partner, Izzy had to admit.

So he rewarded the man by closing his lips tight around Stede's cock and sucking so hard his cheeks hollowed out.

"Fuck!" Stede swore again and dropped his head back to look up toward the ceiling. "Izzy—your mouth—"

Izzy hummed and slid down a little further, sucked a little harder. He stroked his hand along the rest of the shaft to meet his lips and back down, squeezing while his tongue moved in the limited space left in his mouth.

He slid up to just the head and ran his hand over where his mouth had been to spread the saliva left behind, making the next stroke smoother. Stede was leaking precum and breathing out curses like he'd never known pleasure before, and perhaps he hadn't.

Izzy popped off and made a show of dragging his lips and tongue down the side to meet his hand, looking up to make eye contact if Stede was looking back at him.

And he was, with glassy eyes and parted lips and flushed cheeks. When their eyes met, Stede's widened before they softened and his mouth curved into a brief smile.

"Beautiful," Stede murmured on a panting gasp out.

Izzy smirked with Stede's cock pressed to his cheek. "Your vocabulary is astonishingly limited right now."

"Oh!" Stede tittered, his laugh almost a giggle. "Gorgeous. Stunning. Exemplary. Beguiling. Allur—"

"All right, enough, enough." Izzy pressed his lips to the base of his cock, not quite a kiss, just a touch. "You made your focking point."

"Is there—" Stede slid his hand down to cup Izzy's cheek. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Izzy arched his brow. "Sucking cock is its own reward. But if you want—"

"I do."

Izzy chuckled and moved his mouth back to the head, whispering against the tip, "Shut up and let me enjoy this."

Stede nodded as he brought his hand to the top of Izzy's head to bury it in his hair again.

Izzy swiped his tongue along the slit before sliding down as far as he could go. His lips touched to his hand, and he coordinated the bob of his head with the stroke of his hand. Once he got the rhythm, he sped up, moving a bit faster, filling and emptying his mouth of Stede's cock with each movement.

Stede's hand followed him, gripping his hair without pulling, his breaths growing erratic and his hips giving a stuttered thrust. He murmured a few broken sentences about Izzy, about the perfection of his mouth.

Izzy held his head still and reached his free hand to grab onto Stede's hip and tugged, wordlessly encouraging him to give in.

"Are you sure?" Stede gave a tentative movement of his hips. "Is—it all right?"

Izzy hummed and squeezed the hip in his grip.

Stede thrusted up into his mouth again, the head of his cock bumping against the roof of his mouth, deliciously overfull. Izzy held still and kept his jaw loose when Stede moved again, saliva leaking from the corner of Izzy's mouth as he tried to stay pliant.

"You're—" Stede gasped and lifted up off the seat again, burying himself deeper into Izzy's mouth. "Marvelous—Absolutely amazing—"

Izzy grunted when the head bumped into the back of his throat and he tried not to gag. He felt the throb against his palm, against his lips, and knew the man was close.

So he dared to move his hand lower, brushing past Stede's drawn-tight balls, and pressed his thumb to the man's hole.

Stede choked on a gasp, and his whole body shook with the force of his orgasm as it crashed over him and spilled into Izzy's mouth.

Izzy swallowed him down as quickly as he could. It was an impressive load, enough that he lost some of it down his chin. Probably from being pent up for too long.

Stede groaned through the rest of his orgasm, buried deep in Izzy's mouth, each throb followed by more salty cum that spilled down his throat.

"Oh my—" Stede gasped, panted, forced air in and out of his lungs as he came back down. "Oh my god."

Izzy slid off his cock, cum and saliva trailing from his lips to the tip, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Mm. Yeah."

Stede stared up at the ceiling with wide, unblinking eyes. "Oh my god," he repeated, quietly. "Is it always that good?"

Izzy snorted and swallowed what was left in his mouth before he said, his voice hoarse and throat sore, "Depends."

Stede dropped his chin in toward his chest to look at him. "On?"

"Whoever's sucking you off."

Stede's lips twitched into a brief smile. "Oh. That makes sense."

Izzy stood up and brushed his hands over the front of his pants, then leaned back against the stall door while he watched Stede tuck himself back into his own pants.

"Do I—" Stede stood up and looked down at him, his mouth twitching with a suppressed smile. "What now? Do I thank you? Do I kiss you?"

"Gods, no." Izzy snorted and reached behind himself to unlock the stall door. "You buy me another drink and maybe if we see each other again, I'll let you suck me off."

Stede's face lit up, and he followed Izzy over to the sink, watching him wash his hands. "Oh! I'd like that a lot, actually."

"Yeah. I figured you would." Izzy couldn't suppress his own smile as he grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands off.

And when he stepped out of the bathroom, he glanced over at the bar to see the bartender looking at him, face mostly hidden behind his thick beard.

But those eyes stood out, even at a distance, and he felt the weight of their stare.

      ( next )

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[cononeillbreastingboobily]

If Stede and Ed finally got together, and Stede wanted to ✨ get it on ✨ with Ed but had no idea what to do, Izzy would show him how it's done, just like a good first mate would for his captain.

Plus he would probably tell Stede of all things Ed secretly loves in the bedroom, which, if he didn't learn those from sleeping with Ed himself, he probably heard or saw a liiittle too much for his own liking over the years.

They go through one of such lessons (clothes on of course, as Stede might be a pirate, but he's still a gentleman pirate, and even if he were to even try and suggest any degree of undress, Izzy would gouge his eyes out) and Ed walks in on them one time. Stede is simply embarrassed, while Izzy could throw himself overboard. Ed, however, turns the whole situation into a joke, saying things like "gentlemen, if you wanted to, ahem, spend some time alone without me or the crew, all you had to do was ask :D".

Stede goes on to explain that it was nothing like that, and all the while Izzy gets so red in the face one could think he was about to explode right there and then.

They separate that day and never have those "lessons" again. If asked, neither Izzy nor Stede would tell you the truth about whether they have pictured themselves in an intimate situation with the other since they started their little training, or even before then. Izzy, of course, would say something along the lines of "what the fuck did you just say to me? get back here so I could cut out your fucking tongue!". Stede, in a typical Stede fashion, would trail off from the conversation and change the topic entirely.

And yet neither could ignore the way they looked at each other since that day. Stede couldn't help observing the motion with which Izzy fixed his glove from that moment forward. It felt so 17th century, to feel yourself... Lose focus, from the sight of a simple wrist or a peek of a hand. And yet, there he was.

And Izzy was in no better condition. He'd catch himself staring a little too hard for a little too long in Stede's direction whenever he had an especially loosely fitted shirt on, and a bit of chest hair could be visible just above the fabric. He'd get increasingly frustrated with himself, as even Stede's laugh or the way that he smiles would immediately catch his attention, even from across the deck.

He couldn't take it much longer.

He was about to depart in a dinghy one night, gone forever, when, after having a lengthy conversation with Ed, Stede sorted through his feelings and decided to pursue Izzy just as he'd pursued Ed, with just as much warmth and flair and ✨ Stede charm ✨. He approaches Izzy to tell him as much.

Izzy, of course, is dumbfounded to learn this. Because it's a joke, right?

But alas, it is not.

And Stede decides to prove it by pulling one of the the "stun moves" Izzy has taught him during their lessons.

Which included grabbing Izzy and dipping him low, and then kissing him silly.

At least... Until then they ended things on the dipping.

And it is super effective, when he does the whole thing.

Izzy found kissing his second captain strangely enjoyable, even if he was mad at Stede for surprising him so suddenly.

But their kiss ends, and Izzy's face changes somewhat. And Stede sees that, and knows what it means. He happily calls out to the captain's quarters:

"You were right Ed, I think it worked!"

Ed shows up at the door, dressed in one of Stede's fancy nightgowns from the auxiliary wardrobe. On his face - a knowing smile.

Izzy got even more confused than before.

"Wait, boss? This-" here he pointed at Stede, then himself, then at Stede again. "You're okay with this?"

Ed lazily strolled in their direction.

"Oh, Izz. How could I not be? I care about both of you, and you make each other happy. There's nothing wrong with that. Plus-"

Ed stood facing them both, one hand on Stede's shoulder, one on Izzy's. He gave a peck to Stede's cheek, and then he did the same on the little "x" marking Izzy's face.

"-We don't own each other. Okay?" Ed finished.

Izzy stared at him, thoughts running through his head. Finally however, he replied:

"Okay. Thank you, boss."

Ed patted their shoulders and started making his way back to the captain's cabin.

"You really don't have to call me that anymore, Izzy. But anyways, I'll leave you boys to it, yeah?" he said with a wink, and disappeared behind the door.

Izzy looked after him, until he heard Stede clear his throat.

"Now-"

"Where were we?" Izzy interrupted, and pulled Stede closer by the collar, shutting him up with a kiss.

[cononeillbreastingboobily]

SteddyHands beginning with a strong GentleHands middle and again, a SteddyHands finish! Who would've thought!

You can also find it on AO3!

Someday during one of their day long excursions inland, Ed comes back with a nasty bite on his skin. Whether it was a bug, or whether his fear of snakes finally felt founded and he fell victim to a sneak attack, was to remain a mystery for now.

What truly matters is that Edward was feeling worse and worse by the minute, increasingly feverish and shaking as the moments went by, and Izzy and Stede had to spring into action.

Or at least, Izzy did. The unwritten rule that prevented him from letting the crew see his captain in a state of sickness had him barking at the crew members to back off and leave him to it in the captain's quarters. Stede followed him quietly, and only made himself known when he neared his bed, where Izzy gently put Edward down.

"How is he?" Stede asked carefully.

"Not fucking well as you can see, Bonnet" barked Izzy in response.

Stede fell silent for a beat. However, then he felt overwhelmed with the need to do something, anything. He stepped closer to the bed, and looked directly at Izzy's face, who in turn had his eyes fixed on Edward.

"Tell me what I can do to help, Izzy"

For a moment, silence. But then, something seemed to shift inside Izzy. Truth be told, he thought Stede a completely incompetent captain. Well, he wasn't very subtle about his opinion of Stede, was he? But the matter of fact was that Bonnet was helpless at sea, happy to spend his time doing stupid arts and crafts with his crew, but when it came down to the harsh reality of the life of a sailor, Stede was at a loss.

And yet there was something in Stede's face at that moment, which Izzy could see from the corner of his eye. It was panic, and it was helplessness, but mixed in with a healthy dose of determination. This helpless sap is just looking for someone who could show him what do to, is that it? As Izzy recalls, Ed taught him how to swordfight, and those lessons stuck well enough that Bonnet actually managed to defeat him, even if he used a dirty trick to do it.

Bonnet was a potent student, and if it took guiding his hand this one time to save the man he loved, then why shouldn't Izzy take the risk? He could feel embarrassed about it later.

After a moment of silence, Izzy finally spoke:

"Tell the crew to bring a bucket of cold water and a piece of cloth. And go get Roach."

Stede nodded immediately, and with a small smile left the cabin to do as he was told. The cold water managed to help with the fever, and after consulting Roach they found what ingredients they had on the ship could potentially help with Ed's state. They had to make a stop in Nassau and buy some more herbs, but when Roach had everything he needed, he prepared a potent brew, which managed to get whatever toxin was inside Edward right out of his system. Admittedly, that included Ed throwing up everywhere, so it wasn't pretty, but once he got it out, he was as good as new.

After waking up and making a mess Ed was helped by Izzy and Stede into the bathtub, where they left him to clean himself up.

"Don't eat the soap, Ed!" Stede reminded last thing through the shut door.

Ed only chuckled in response.

And with that Izzy left the stuffy bedroom, walking out on the deck to finally catch some fresh air. He wouldn't say it if he was being tortured, but he was incredibly relieved to have Edward back. This entire situation took a much bigger toll on him than he let on.

And yet Stede knew.

He knew, because he was in a very similar spot.

That's why it was no surprise to Izzy, when not a few minutes after he left the cabin, he heard slow, careful steps of shoes way too elegant for a pirate ship. Bonnet quietly took a spot right beside Izzy by the railing, and they both looked on to the horizon.

The stars were out tonight, shining brighter than ever. Their reflection on the water looked like a flood of diamonds below them.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Stede asked, his voice delicate and sweet as always.

Izzy chanced a look in Stede's direction. His profile looked soft and radiant against the starry sky.

"It is." he replied softly, back to looking ahead.

A beat of silence. Then Stede spoke again, this time a bit more carefully.

"Izzy, I hope that you know I'll be forever indebted for what you did today. You know I wouldn't have managed this... This situation, if it wasn't for you."

Izzy laughed dryly.

"Of course you wouldn't, Bonnet."

Stede gave a genuine giggle at that.

"I'm pretty helpless, aren't I?"

"That's one way of putting it, yes."

More silence.

"Well," Stede continued, "regardless of how bad I actually am at captaining a ship..."

"Which is extremely. Quite appallingly so." chimed in Izzy.

"... I wanted to know how I could thank you for your guidance today, in a way that would be best for you" said Stede, an honest spark dancing in his eyes.

Izzy laughed, this time more earnestly than before.

"Oh, fuck off" he said, shaking his head with a smile. "You and I both know we only wanted to get Edward back to proper health. It's not like you have to thank me for that. Not to mention, that definitely wasn't the last time something like this has happened."

"Well, don't say that" pleaded Stede gently. "I hope that the next time we work together as well as we did today would be under some much more... Relaxed circumstances."

Izzy turned that though in his mind once, twice, and...

"I hope so, too" he said slowly, and to his own surprise, with complete honesty.

With another moment of silence stretching dangerously between them, Stede inched his way towards Izzy, until they were standing elbow to elbow.

"So then" he murmured slowly. "How may I thank you, Izzy?"

Izzy turned to face Stede, whose face was just inches away from his own. What harm would it be if he...? I mean, it's crazy to even think about, but what if...?

"Any way you want to, Bonnet." he whispered, so quietly Stede had to come even closer to hear Izzy at all.

"May I?" Stede asked, with that gentlemanly, seductive edge to his voice. Be honest with me, dear Reader - how could anyone, even Izzy Hands, say no to that tone?

"You may".

And with that Stede closed the little space left between them, pressing his soft lips ever so gently against Izzy's, who try as he might've, but could not stifle the quiet moan that escaped his mouth at that. He placed his hands, left completely bare sometime during the dramatic happenings of the day, on Stede's equally bare chest. Stede, in turn, wrapped his arms around Izzy's back.

Izzy's head was, quite honestly, spinning. For years he dreamed of his captain, Blackbeard, leaving bruising, bloody kisses on his mouth and body. Never did he imagine having two captains, nor sharing such a sweet, gentle kiss with the more incompetent one of them. He was at a loss with what to do with that. How does he proceed from there?

"Well, well, well" said a familiar voice, making the two of them break their kiss immediately.

In the door to the captain's cabin stood Edward, the fuschia robe draped loosely around his body, still dripping with water in places. He looked and smelled fresh like he haven't in days, and one of his eyebrows was playfully cocked.

However, there was no trace of mockery in his face.

"Gentlemen, if you needed some time alone with each other before, all you had to do was say so." Ed said in his mellow cat voice.

"That's-" Izzy tried to retort, but again, was at a loss. Instead, Stede chimed in:

"It's good to have you back, Edward."

To that Ed responded by stretching his arms wide enough that they covered the entire width of the doorway.

"Come here, you two".

Stede wrapped his arm around Izzy's back, who in turn let himself be led into Edward's embrace. It was bizarre, this closeness with both of his captains. Izzy really wanted to let his embarrassment from being caught in a mouthlock with Stede fucking Bonnet consume him, but now that he was back behind closed doors with these two men he's come to feel so strongly about, he felt his discomfort slowly melting away. Soon it didn't matter whose lips were on whose, who had his hands around who. And as layers of clothing were coming off, Izzy was struck with a realization that it was all from love. It was all that mattered to them. The details didn't matter at all for now. All that mattered was that they cared about Izzy, and that Izzy cared about them. And, truth be told, he has never felt so loved before. If he had to share both of his captains in order to feel that, maybe there was nothing wrong with that? Maybe he could belong to more than just one person at once?

Maybe, just maybe.

All Izzy knew at the end of the night was that his body felt completely spent and loved up, and his soul satiated and full. A part of him couldn't help but feel like this is the way love is supposed to feel like.

And honestly?

As he was falling asleep on Stede's absurdly large bed, limbs intertwined with the two men he loved the most in the whole world, Izzy felt more than okay with the possibility that it's the truth.