Chapter Text
Jackie’s club used to be one of Izzy’s favorites. When he was 21, 22, just getting into the scene, he used to come down from the local college where he was studying and get some drinks, maybe get a quick scene in with a dom, if he was feeling really pent up, or just sit and drink with Jackie herself.
She wasn’t much older than him, maybe half a decade, but for some reason, she’d taken a liking to the prickly man. There was a softness in his eyes that no dom’s hands could ever chase away, and she liked how willing he was to stand up for himself or any of her other patrons.
He’d stopped showing up at 23, and she’d assumed he’d found a dom or moved away after school. Most of them did, in the end, though some would still frequent the bar but it was certainly not unheard of for that to stop, too.
What hurt her a little more was that he stopped responding to her; her texts went unanswered, and he didn’t seem to post anything on social media. She couldn’t say she was surprised; she knew, after all, how absolutely shit his home life was, and the idea of Izzy wanting a clean break was something she’d known since she’d met him as a scrawny, broody young man who knew Too Much at just 21.
That was why when she looked up from the bar six years after the last time she’d seen him, she almost didn’t recognize him. He was wearing a dark shirt over leather trousers, the same sort of thing he’d frequently shown up in, but there was something almost haunted in his eyes and he was limping slightly.
“Izzy Hands.” She breathed, rounding the bar to stare at him as if she needed proof he was real. “As I live and breathe, never fucking thought I’d see you here again. What’s it been, six years?” He managed almost-a-smirk, but it didn’t reach his eyes anymore. “Bout that.” he agreed.
“Fuck are you doing back here, boy? Thought you got shacked up or some’thin.” She tilted her head curiously at him, going back behind the bar and pouring him a whisky, pretending she didn’t see the way he bristled, and then shrank back in on himself. “Fuck’s it matter to you?”
She rounded the bar to hand him the drink, resisting the urge to grab him like she would’ve been more than willing to if they were six years younger. But she could see the edge of scars peeking up over his collarbone, now, and there was the slightest tremor in his hand and they’d never scened together, not really, but she wanted nothing more than to shield him from the world right now.
“You lookin’ for a scene, or just catching up?” He looks wholly uncomfortable, scanning the bar; it’s early enough that there’s not many people yet. A newer couple is sitting at a table in the corner, the woman sipping a whisky and stroking her partner’s hair as he kneels between her feet, two of her regulars are having a quiet discussion that will almost certainly turn into at least a public spanking, but it’s pretty light all things considered.
“Scene” Izzy grunted, which…was a surprise. The way he looked, right now…like he’d been unmoored, like a puppet with all his strings cut who found himself still able to move but with no idea why he ever would if not for someone else’s hands, had made her think that he was at best here to visit briefly and at worst to slightly torture himself.
“C’mon, I’ll treat you to a smoke.” He hauled himself up and after her, heading out the back exit till they found themselves sitting on crates in the alleyway passing a blunt back and forth like either of them was still 21. “So, what shit are you into these days?”
She said it abruptly enough that Izzy choked on his next inhale, pausing for a moment to gasp for breath. “What the fuck.” he managed and she laughed. “Not suggesting for myself, just thought I might be able to recommend you some options.”
His gaze was calculating as it turned back to her, considering, as if trying to figure out if this was somehow going to bite him in the ass. He stalled by taking another long drag of the blunt before passing it back to her. “I want it to hurt” He growled and Jackie sighed.
He’d always reminded her, in a much less annoying way mind you, of the macho assholes who would show up now and again, who thought all that mattered was how much pain they could take. She didn’t doubt that Izzy liked pain, she’d heard a story or two that made that much clear, but (and she would deny it to her grave) she worried sometimes that he liked it in a way that would give free license to shitty doms who would only hurt him.
Now, she rather thought she’d been proven right.
He looked tired, like this, older than his maybe 29 years. The last thing Jackie had any desire to do was send him in the direction of someone who was just going to hurt him further because there was a haunted look in his eyes. The next person who hurt this boy was going to break him if the last one hadn’t already.
“The fuck are you doing with your wings?” She noted belatedly. Izzy had always kept his big, jet-black wings out, so fucking proud to be one of the not-that-many people with them. But now, she could see the feathers peeking out of his shirt collar, which made it clear his wings were bound to his back but at least they were still there.
“Fuck off” he mumbled, with none of the heat she’d really hoped to hear. “Alright,” she sighed, finishing off the last of the blunt with a long drag. “I’ve got some ideas, I’ll fuckin’ find you someone, alright? Come back tomorrow, boy.” He gave a tense nod and then he was gone.
He almost didn’t come back. In the end, though, the options were either the club where he might be able to swing at least one drink and the shitty motel room that was his other option…well…
He went to the club. It was later than the night before, the sun already set, but most of the folks weren’t drunk and hadn’t filtered into the back (or the backside of the main room) for scenes yet. His old spot, at the corner of the bar, was still open and he sank into it with more than a little relief.
“So” Jackie leaned across the bar towards him, gave him the kind of wicked smile she’d used to give. “Got some folks I think you’re gonna like, boy.” he must’ve raised an eyebrow because she smiled, which was…frightening, a little. “Pair of ‘em.” she explained. “Weird couple of fuckers, but they’re good at this shit.”
Izzy gave a brisk nod, turning to glance around the bar as she gave a sharp whistle and beckoned a pair over and fuck they were hot. The dark-haired one had dark, wicked eyes and a confident smirk that took Izzy’s breath away while the blond looked…softer, somehow, not just physically, but also in his eyes. But he held himself with a confidence that somehow made Izzy have to fight back the urge to sink to his knees then and there.
“Stede, Ed, meet Izzy. You kids take care of each other.” Izzy awkwardly turned to face them, suddenly feeling small; both men had at least three or four inches on him. He took Stede’s hand, then Ed’s, when they were offered to shake, looking them up and down carefully.
“Hello dear! It’s very nice to meet you” Stede, that was his name apparently, beamed. “How about we get you a drink and we chat?” Izzy had never been one to turn down a free drink, especially now, so he nodded and silently followed as they claimed a table in the corner of the room.
“So dear. Jackie didn’t tell us much about you, what kind of things do you like?” Izzy hesitated, chewing on his lip; he knew what they wanted to know, how many different ways they could hurt him and so he said, as proud and shakeless as he could manage, “All kinda’ stuff, not many ways you could hurt me that I wouldn’t like.”
Edward nodded, gaze so careful it made him squirm slightly. “Alright. We can work with that” He assured the smaller man. “What are your limits?” Izzy hesitated, shifting in his chair; he knew how this worked. He needed to be careful, here, not to go so far that they’d want to test him but there were a few things that there was just no chance he could deal with.
“No touching my wings, or doing anything to my wings. Or talking about my wings.” Both of them nodded. “Whips, canes, floggers, whatever are fine, knives, sure, just don’t lop anything off.”
“Alright.” Stede nodded. “We’re not especially comfortable with knives, but we are certainly fine with whips or canes or what not. Izzy relaxed slightly internally, nodding. “I don’t know what you like verbally, but I’m a big fan of pet names myself. I’m not necessarily great at the demeaning side of it, but Edward quite enjoys that aspect of it, if that’s something you like?”
He nodded, and Edward gave a toothy smile. “How do you feel about spanking?” Stede asked mildly. “It’s one of our preferred punishment methods, along with stress positions, kneeling, lines, those sort of things.” Izzy gave a careful nod; he could do those, he could take those. Sure, they’d definitely go harder once they realized how Bad he was, but…sure.
Edward leaned forward, meeting the smaller man’s eyes and holding them with a scary intensity. “Do you want there to be a sexual component to our play?” He asked bluntly, and Izzy made a surprised sound at the bluntness. He flushed, ducking his head down and squirming and Stede made a quiet sound. “You don’t have to be embarrassed, dear; we would be quite delighted to have that component, but only if you also want.” “Yes,” he muttered, and the blond beamed.
“How about aftercare?” Izzy shrugged; with Jack, he’d been lucky if his wounds were wiped down and he was actually untied. “Whatever you normally do is fine. I don’t need much,” he promised, and he had his head down for too long to see Edward’s eyes flicker with concern.
They kept talking. They went over their safewords (Kraken for Edward, Jack for Izzy, and Pineapple for Stede), and agreed to use the traffic system, that sort of thing. Izzy looked twitchy and nervous by the end of it when Stede leaned forward to meet his eyes with a gentle expression.
“So, Jackie mentioned you like to be a brat. That’s fine with us, but I do want to make it clear that if your goal is getting us to do a certain thing, you don’t have to act out. If you want us to spank you, for instance, you are more than allowed to ask, if you don’t want to be bratty about it and push us into it that way.”
Izzy gave an awkward nod and Edward stood, stretching. “Alright, well, no pressure mate, but we did get a room. You interested?” Izzy hesitated, glancing between the pair; he still didn’t trust this niceness act for a second but it had been weeks, longer than it’d been since he’d gone down since he started, and he was exhausted so he found himself nodding before he even really had time to think.
The room was the standard one; a spanking bench off to one side, a bed, and a cupboard that Izzy knew was full of all kinds of interesting things. He let his shoulders relax as he stepped fully into the room, because in here he got to put up a fight in order to get what (in the end) he wanted; a scrap of attention.
“Alright. You remember your word, Izzy?” “Yessir.” “And you will use it?” Stede’s voice is very firm. “We want to scene with you, but we will not do it if we think it is a risk to our or your safety.” He nodded, once, and the pair approached.
“Alright,” Edward growled, slightly, sending shivers up Izzy’s spine. “Strip, now.” He raised his head, meeting the taller man’s eyes and growled make me.
“Come on, surely you don’t want to start like this?” Stede raised an eyebrow. “Strip, now, and we’ll forget about that little misbehavior.” “Or?” “Or you don’t, and we start this off with you stripping and a spanking.” “make. Me.” he growled, pushing forward into Stede’s space.
Edward grabbed him, tugged him back a step and slid his own hands under Izzy’s coat, dropping it to the floor and starting on his buttons before the smaller man wrenched himself away and snarled. “Fuck OFF.”
“Alright.” Stede’s voice is painfully calm, like Izzy’s protests are nothing but an inconvenience for him. It makes him feel…small. “You’re already getting a spanking. We’re going to start at twenty, and that will be going up if you don’t listen right now. ”
For just a moment, he had the truly absurd thought that he wanted to be good for them but…that wasn’t how this worked. They wouldn’t care if he was good, not really, and at least if he was bad then he could tell himself he deserved it. “Make. me”
Stede considered for a moment and then nodded and Edward was back in his space, pulling the smaller man flush to his chest and letting him struggle as Stede approached and started the unbuttoning process once more.
He flinched when the wrap for his wings was revealed, the appendages squished painfully to his back, but they both seemed content to ignore it and move on to his pants. “That’s an extra ten.” Edward growled in his ear. “When we give you an order, you will listen to it.”
He growled right back, and then Edward was taking the rope that Izzy hadn’t even noticed from his belt and starting carefully to bind his arms in front of him. He didn’t quite understand why the other man was doing it in front, it would be far more painful behind when it would also put pressure on his wings, but he certainly wasn’t gonna tell Edward he was doing it wrong.
Stede, meanwhile…Stede was trying not to look horrified at the number of scars littering the other man’s body. He couldn’t see his back, but there were old scars down his chest, on his hips from some sort of whip, and his foot…well, at least now he understood the slight limp. Someone…someone had hurt this poor man.
“Alright, so that’s thirty. Get over the bench right now, or it’s going to be 35 with the paddle instead.” That…that felt like a line that Izzy wasn’t sure he wanted to cross, right now. You could certainly do damage with a hand but you could do a lot more with a paddle and he wasn’t sure, yet, how much damage these two would want to do so he let himself be hauled to the bench and draped over it, hands secured.
“Well,” Ed murmured, voice low and almost frightening, not that Izzy got frightened. Certainly not of this. “Here’s how this is gonna go. You’re going to count, boy, and you’re going to say thank you sir after every single one or we’re restarting and adding five.”
Izzy didn’t entirely know what the point of saying that was; they were going to add more, anyway, when they decided he wasn’t good enough but maybe it was to make sure he knew it, knew that he wasn’t possibly good enough for them. He stiffened slightly as his pants were pulled down, then his underwear and Stede must have noticed because he gave a quiet “Izzy, color?”
“Green, just fucking hit me you coward.” He growls; he’s so tired of them dragging this out. Maybe then, when it finally hurts, he’ll finally be able to go down enough to sleep tonight. Edward’s hand connects with his ass, hard, and he bites down a howl of pain, remaining stubbornly silent.
“Izzy” Stede says very simply. “What are you supposed to say?” He stills because fuck he genuinely hadn’t meant to make them mad but now he had, and surely defiant was better than forgetting their one fucking order, but fuck.
He opened his mouth to say something snappy but had to stop himself before risking it coming out as a sob instead. “Sir ” he chokes, desperately, and Stede paused. “Do you need me to remind you what to say, love?” His voice was soft but Izzy flinched back because he couldn’t ask for that, that was surely going to make it worse.
“One” he manages, because surely that was part of it. And then…uh…fuck, what was it, what… oh right. “Thank you, sir.” He managed, almost sobbing in relief. “Very good,” Stede murmured. “You’re doing so well, sweet thing, you can do this.”
He almost scoffed at the man saying that after one, but a hard strike to his ass kept him from saying anything but a choked out “two, thank you, sir.” He just…he just didn’t want them to leave him like this. He could be good, for a moment, please.
Fuck, but Edward knew how to spank someone; by fifteen, Izzy was fuzzy around the edges, and by twenty-five he wasn’t even sure he was saying the right numbers anymore, so close to sub space properly for the first time in months and
And suddenly he was choking out 30 and he couldn’t breathe because here was where the illusion ended and he couldn’t stop himself from sobbing. They were going to keep going and going and going and it was going to hurt and any possible illusion of them caring would be lost and.
And there was a voice in his ear, low and worried. “You’re okay, shh sweetheart, you’re safe, you did so well my sweet boy. You did it, you’re done, you did so well .” He’s still choking on sobs as Edward comes to kneel in front of him, tilting his head up to make the smaller man meet his eyes.
“You did so well.” He whispered, softly, just for Izzy. “You took that so well, Mate, so fucking hot like that.” he stroked Izzy’s hair, while Stede knelt with a hand on his back, both of them content to just let him calm down even if Ed at least was a bit worried by the force of his reaction.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Stede murmured, once Izzy’s gasping sobs had calmed, and the sub shifted to turn his glazed eyes to the other man’s. “Can you give me a color, honey? Do you want to keep going?”
Izzy hesitated. He was floating, firmly down and soft and warm for the first time in months. And even though he was tired and shaky and still more than a little scared, under the deceptive warmth of subspace, he didn’t want to be on his own yet. Not again. He wanted the soft touches and the kind words to continue even if they couldn’t possibly be true.
“Green” he slurred. Ed was already untying his hands, helping the smaller man lean into his side and stroking his hair. “Good boy” he murmured, grinning when he saw how it made him flush. “C’mon, let’s get you on the bed, get you a reward for being so fucking good.”
He all but carried the other man to the bed, easing him down onto it and clambering up to press kisses into his jaw, down his neck. “You were so good” Stede crooned as he settled on the boy’s other side. “You’re such a good boy. Now, let’s just get a look at you you beautiful thing.” Stede murmured.
Izzy had made what he ah, had between his legs clear upfront. He hadn’t offered anything he did (or did not) like being called, but that was alright, Stede would just not use any particular terms and be as careful as possible about That. “Aren’t you beautiful” he murmured, dragging two fingers gently over Izzy’s clit and smiling softly when he gave an eager, broken little sound.
“You were so good, darling. What do you want us to do?” Stede asked and Izzy whimpered. He didn’t understand why they were asking, but all he wanted was them to keep touching him like this, like he was something precious. “Soft” he managed, slurred, turned his face away. A kiss was pressed to his jaw, and then they were whispering.
And then…then one of them has gathered up a blanket or something, because they’re touching him, dragging it over his clit, and he screams. “There we go” Stede murmured. “Just let him make you feel good, sweetheart.”
He’s sobbing, now, but this time it’s because it feels so fucking good . Stede kisses him, soft and sweet and they’re just touching him. It’s been…he’s not sure he’s ever been touched like this. Just to make him feel good. He’s mewling, begging, and Stede presses another kiss to his jaw. “Do you want to cum like this, honey? Or do you want one of us to fuck you?”
It’s so hard to think like this, this far down and this mad with pleasure but he forces himself to try because if he only gets this tonight it needs to be amazing. “In me” he manages and Ed gives a delighted sound, flipping him to his belly in one smooth movement.
He’s already wet as they switch places and Stede ends up between his legs. Ed pulls his head into his lap and strokes his hair, murmuring softly. “So good for me, mate,” he murmurs. Izzy mouths at his cock, hard through his pants, and Ed smiles down at him. “Want something to suck on, love?”
He shutters at the name but he does, is the thing, has always enjoyed the heavy weight in his mouth and by the last few months Jack wouldn’t even allow him that and he wants it so he forces his limp muscles to respond enough to nod. Ed smiles, unzipping his pants and guiding himself out of them. “Tap my leg if you want me to pull back” he orders firmly, and Izzy nods.
As soon as his hands are pulled back, Izzy is there, taking him into his mouth and relaxing with a happy little sigh as soon as his mouth is full. He could lay like this forever, especially once gently hands start running over his ass.
He doesn’t understand why they’re still acting like this will be gentle, still waiting for the moment it turns but for now…for now he lets himself feel good, for a moment. Fingers stretch him gently, his front hole aching for it, fucking dripping and he’ll be embaressed, later, but he doesn’t have it in him to feel anything but warm right now as he hears the sound of a condom package and then Stede’s cock slides in and fuck he’s big.
He’s babbling, gasped little “sir, sir, sir, sirs,” slurred and desperate and Jack would be hitting him by now, calling him a worthless slut but Ed, a little breathlessly, leans forward and presses a kiss to his lips and calls him good. “You’re so pretty like this,” he murmurs, stroking Izzy’s hair. He isn’t even fucking his mouth, not really, just letting Izzy hold him.
Izzy’s close all of a sudden, one of Stede’s hands dropping down to stroke him and then he’s cuming with a strangled gasp around Ed’s cock. The feeling of him clenching up is apparently enough for Bonnet, who gives a strangled little cry as he cums, reaching over to pet Izzy’s back. “So good, so so good for me sweetheart. So good for us.” he manages.
He slides out and Izzy rolls onto his belly; he’s shaky, now, but he wants to be good, wants to finish Edward off so he surges upwards, tilting his head at the right angle to take Ed deep . The big man clearly isn’t expecting it, given the howled curse he gives, but that’s alright because Ed is clearly close already.
“I’m gonna cum, Iz.” he gasps out and Izzy shutters because he’s never been called that before and…and it feels better than he’d expected. “If you don’t want it, you should probably…oh fuck. ” The last two words come out as a shout, as Izzy curls his tongue around his shaft and looks up at him with those big fucking eyes and Ed is crying out as Izzy swallows his load down before reluctantly pulling back off of him.
It’s over, now. It’s over. Izzy can’t possibly do more, he’s already shaky and the cold is starting to set back in because he knows how this will go. They’ll wipe him down, if they’re being generous, maybe get him some water and then he’ll be alone and for maybe the first time ever he doesn’t want them to go.
He’s shaking properly now, numbness settling in over the nice floating sensation that he’d been resting in. Of course they’ll go something in the back of his mind snarls. Why would they ever want you you’re just a useless brat who can’t behave for five fucking seconds .
They’re talking, he knows that much, but he curls away, drops down into a little ball and just…gives up in the face of the overwhelming pain. He’s sure he’s crying, shaking, and all he can do is listen for the footsteps that are going to leave him, but…but they don’t .
Instead, warm bodies drop down and press into either side of him, cradling him between them and he thinks he breaks truly, then, because he has no words, no thoughts, left. All he can do is wail in misery for the loss that hasn’t even occurred yet.
Stede’s eyes are wide and horrified. The poor, damaged sub in-between them is dropping, dropping worse than Stede’s ever seen before, and nothing he says is helping so he drops to one side and Ed, apparently seeing the same, drops down to the other.
Izzy doesn’t fight them, doesn’t even seem to notice them, just gasps for breath and howls incoherent misery and Stede doesn’t know what he’s thinking but clearly, it’s bad so he presses closer. Ed drapes a leg over Izzy, to make sure he knows he isn’t alone, while Stede presses closer and starts whispering in his ear.
It’s soothing nonsense, mostly, whispers about how good Izzy was, how they weren’t going to leave him no matter what, how he was safe here, like this. How he was right here with them, safe, and no one was ever going to hurt him again or they would end that person.
Slowly, slowly, Izzy wears himself out. He doesn’t calm, not really, but he’s breathing better, slumping slowly into them as the fight bleeds out of him. “Sweetheart.” Stede murmurs and Izzy turns glazed eyes to his face. “It’s alright, Sweetheart. Can we sit up? Can we get you some water?”
Slowly, they get upright; he’s in Ed’s lap, hand tangled in his shirt. Stede fetches their aftercare bag, wraps the pair up in a soft blanket, and coaxes bites of chocolate and sips of water into Izzy, praising him the whole time. “You were so good for us, darling,” he promises. “So well behaved. Such a good sub. It’s alright, sweetheart, you don’t have to do anything, just let us take care of you.”
He gets a cloth out, dampens it with the water bottle and wipes the smaller man down, cleaning himself and Ed up a bit while he was at it. Izzy’s glazed eyes follow him, and then he finally opens his mouth and hoarsely manages to whisper “d’n understand.”
“What don’t you understand, sweetheart?” Stede’s voice is painfully soft, even as he wants to demand the name of whoever had hurt this man (because someone had. He didn’t need to see the scars, though he had, to know that), and Izzy shutters. “Why’re you still here” he whispered and Ed gave a small, horrified sound.
“Izzy…” he breathes, looking lost. “We would never, ever leave a sub after a scene like that. You weren’t even back up, I…” he hardens slightly, though his voice is still oh-so-soft. “I don’t know what assholes you were sceneing with before, but you do not ever leave a scene partner like that.”
Izzy looks confused, eyes flickering between the two of them before he shutters and hides his face in Ed’s neck. “Fuck” he whispers hoarsely. “You…you…you mean that ? You…you won’t…” he shutters and suddenly he looks frail, huddled up against Edward’s chest in a way that makes it clear he barely realizes he’s doing it.
“We won’t what?” “ leave me like this.” He all but shouts it before crumpling back, trembling again. “I…no one has ever… ” “Oh, mate.” Ed whispers. “I should like to beat the shit out of anyone you’ve ever scened with.” Izzy actually turns and looks him in the eyes, wide and confused. “ Why?” “You deserve better than that shit!” Ed snaps. “You’re so fucking good, mate, that was fucking brilliant and I… and you deserve better.” he says it like a prayer, like a guarantee. Like there’s just no fucking question.
“You don’t even know me.” “I’d like to.” “So would I.” Stede reaches out, and slowly, tilts Izzy’s head so they’re looking at each other. “We’d like to scene with you again, Izzy.”
He hesitates. The last time someone offered to scene with him more than once…his foot aches and his breath catches at the memory. But even if it is a ploy, he would let them hurt him for one more moment of their hands on him like this, soft and gentle and real so he nods without thinking about it.
“Okay.” Stede’s voice is soft. “I’m very glad, Izzy, but we can talk about that later, okay? Let’s just sit here for a little while longer. Would you like more chocolate?”
It feels like admitting a weakness (and god, he just knows that if there’s any tiny chance they’re for real they’re gonna make him talk before they do this again), to say he wants it, but…but he does and fuck he’s already Edward’s fucking lap like a scared child. He can’t look much more weak and so he lets himself, for a moment, want it and gives a tiny nod.
Stede fucking hand feeds him the chocolate, and he wants to be embarrassed but by the time the chocolate is gone, with Edward fucking cuddling him, and his own inability to pull away from That, he feels far more stable than he’s ever felt after a scene.
He doesn’t want to leave, but he knows if the club isn’t closed yet then it’s Solely because Jackie didn’t want to interrupt them so he forces himself to his feet. He still feels shaky, but…not in the soul-crushing way he usually did. He felt well-fucked, but not like he was about to burst into tears and that was just too fucking much to unpack right now.
He hesitated by the door. His ass was pleasantly aching and he felt warm and…fuck, he might actually be able to sleep tonight. It feels awkward to say anything, now that he’s firmly back in his normal head, but he can’t say nothing after…after all of this and so he bites his lip and then forces out “Ask Jackie for my number. And thanks for…all of that.” and then he’s gone.
Stede and Ed talk a lot, after he leaves. Stede worries aloud about Izzy’s scarred foot and scarred shoulders and the terror on his face, but Ed quietly points out that Izzy…certainly had seemed to genuinely enjoy most of it, and the look of pure hope on his face when Stede had said they wanted to scene with him again.
“What if we hurt him more?” The blond worried, and Ed sighed, curled more into his husband’s side. “I’m not sure that’s possible, mate. And even if it is…we won’t. He…fuck, I want to hold him down and fuck him. Or just fucking snuggle him to death.”
Stede gives a soft laugh. “Let’s start with giving him a few days and then giving him a call, yeah?” His voice is soft, full of hope. “We can be good to him, Ed.” “Of course we can.”
Izzy goes back to his hotel room, but for once…for once it doesn’t feel quite as lonely as it typically does. He sleeps soundly, wrapped in the blanket Stede had tucked around him that he hadn’t realized he still had till he was already in the uber. For the first time in what feels like a lifetime, he does not dream.