ok i haven't read your answer yet, but bear with me because when i sent the ask i was thinking about sex and you came at me with sleeping arrangements (which i love). but now i want your thoughts on ed and stede purposefully corralling izzy into sleeping on the innermost side of the bed (i.e. against the wall) so he'd have to go thru both of them to leave them
lmaoooo sorry I got so caught up in the intimacy of sharing a bed I forgot about the concept of sex
No matter where Izzy ends up after their evening, uh, enjoyments, Izzy always crawls over to the far side, closest to the door, to settle down to sleep.
After the first few times, where Izzy pulled that shit, only to leave once he was sure the captains were asleep, Ed and Stede aren't pleased, to say the least, when it continues well after they convince Izzy they want him to stay.
Maybe it's Ed, still struggling through his abandonment issues, that brings it up. Maybe it's Stede, still trying to build something stronger, more durable, between himself and Izzy.
Either way, it comes up. "Why does it feel like you're always trying to leave?"
Izzy tenses. Hates having to talk about these things, the things that make him feel like an idiot, all twisted and weak inside. But Ed's looking at him expectantly, and no matter what, he hates disappointing his captain.
So he tells them. Tells them that if he's closest to the door, he's standing between them and any danger that might come crashing through their cabin. Tells them that if someone wanted to hurt them, that fuckwit would have to go through Izzy first. And he tells them, looking away because he can't fucking bear it, that if he dies protecting them, maybe then it would be worth it.
They don't say anything to that. Not really. What on earth is there to say?
But the next night, when they're settling into bed to sleep, Izzy finds himself manhandled by two determined captains and deposited right next to the window. He looks to Ed, who only raises an eyebrow, daring Izzy to fight him on this. He looks to Stede, who's trying to mirror the same look.
So Izzy grumbles, tugs the sheets up higher, and wishes them both 'goodnight'.















