Izzy pretended not to see him lurking in the corner of his field of vision, stalking his movements across the deck, following him from bow to stern just far enough away that it might be a coincidence. Of course, it wasn’t.
Ed was playing with him, like he used to.
Maybe not exactly like he used to, when they were fresh off Hornigold’s ship, newly anointed Captain Blackbeard and First Mate Hands, so giddy and drunk on their freedom and still so excited by life. Those chases, when Ed would stomp along the deck in his heavy leather boots to alert Izzy to what was coming, would always end up with Izzy underneath Ed being tickled to death by nimble fingers, loving every second of it. But they hadn’t done that in years, so surely Ed didn’t mean to do that now.
But, Izzy reasoned to himself with a quickening pulse, if Ed was going to restart the tradition of tickling him until his brain turned to krill anywhere, then it would be on Stede fucking Bonnet’s fucking ship.
Right. Time to move.
Izzy abandoned his post by the mast, his break in his daily routine purposefully alerting Ed to the fact he’d cottoned on to his plan. As Izzy tried to walk at a normal pace towards his room, aiming for some privacy, Ed’s footfall became louder. The anticipation of what he hoped was coming made him walk quicker, diving below deck and hurrying down the corridor towards his room.
He threw his door open and just managed to get inside, turning to slam it behind him when a booted foot wedged itself in, and Ed’s maniacal face appeared in the doorway.
“Whatcha running for, Iz?”
“Wasn’t running,” Izzy said quickly, hands tightening on the door frame. Ed hummed, pushing his way in, forcing Izzy to take several steps back. He shut the door behind him with a click. Izzy swallowed hard, eyes jumping between Ed’s face and hands.
“You were moving real fast there, mate. Was someone following you?”
“N-no, no sir.” Izzy jumped back with a gasp as Ed lifted his hands up quickly, but the bastard only stilled them before moving to push his hair out of his face with a sly grin. Asshole.
“That’s alright then. Just wanted to check, make sure you’re all good…” Ed looked him up and down and Izzy realised with a blush that he was poised as if to ward off an attack. “Are you suuuuure you’re alright, Iz? You look really tense.”
“I’m perfectly well, Captain. Thank you.”
Ed raised his eyebrows and fuck, Izzy had messed up. “Thank you? Oh, Iz. You’re really freaking out about this, aren’t you?”
Oops.
Izzy thought about it for all of half a second before launching himself past Ed to grab at the door, and was not at all surprised when strong arms wrapped around his middle and carried him to his bed, depositing him gracelessly in the centre. Ed hopped on top of him, straddling his thighs and cracking his knuckles loudly.
“You know what time it is, Iz?” Ed said cheerfully, holding his hands up into claws. Izzy smacked at them furiously, laughter already bubbling in his chest.
“Fuck off!”
“C’mon Iz, do you know what time it is?” Ed’s hands wriggled closer and closer to his trembling belly. Izzy whined and batted at Ed’s arms.
“Edward!”
“Do you need me to tell you?”
“No!”
“It’s time to tickle Izzy!”
“No it’s not- EHEHED!” Izzy shrieked and grabbed at Ed’s fingers as they descended on his belly, spidering his fingertips and digging softly into the skin. He tugged at them weakly, already too lost in giggles, rough from disuse. He had forgotten how good Edward was at tickling, and he briefly wondered if Bonnet had ever been on the receiving end. The thought made him feel a little better, even as Ed snaked his hands under his shirt to tickle at the soft skin.
His heels thumped against the bed as he giggled and squirmed, his arms weak already from laughter, and maybe, maybe, a slight reluctance to fight back.
Maybe he’d missed the way Ed used to play with him.
“Does this tickle?” Ed teased, pinching at his ribs. Izzy squealed before he could stop himself. His hands abandoned their weak attempts to push Ed away and instead flew up to cover his mouth. Ed threw his head back and laughed, continuing his assault. “Guess it does!”
“You’re so dead to me you bahahahastard!”
“What’s that now? Can’t hear you mate, you’re laughing too loud.”
“Ehehehed!”
“Fine, fine.” Ed withdrew his hands, watching like a hawk as Izzy’s eyes snapped to his with a scowl.
“What?”
“You wanted me to stop, didn’t you?”
“... I s’pose.”
“Exactly, so I stopped.” Ed cocked his head to the side and regarded Izzy with a look that made him want to crawl out of his skin. “So I’ll just be off then.”
“Right.”
“Right, see you later!” Ed got as far as getting one leg off the bed before Izzy was grabbing at his hands and dragging them back down to rest on his waist. Ed raised an eyebrow with a cocky grin. “Iz?”
“I don’t want you to stop. You never stopped this quick before,” Izzy blurted out, face bright red.
“Hmm…” Ed pretended to consider it a second, fingers tapping softly against his sides. “S’pose I didn’t. Guess I could spend some more time down here, working you over until you’re just a pile of first mate mush. If you wanted.”
Izzy scowled for a few long moments, before his face relaxed into something softer.
“I do.” He blushed a little, and Ed rewarded him with a gentle squeeze to his sides. “You’re still a bastard and you’re still dead to me, though.”
“That’s fair enough, mate,” Ed grinned, before digging in again.
Stede knelt down next to him, carefully dusting the splinters from his trousers.
"Darling, most people would fetch a wrench, or perhaps someone a little sturdier?" Stede shoots him a little apologetic look. "Not to say you’re not sturdy! Just that, well, this is a very strong door and you have trouble with your ankles, love.”
“A very strong door?” Izzy mimics, yanking his leg back repeatedly to try and get it through the way it went in. “Fucking thing was stuck! What if we were being raided? Who’s gonna fuck around with the door while the British are descending like little fucking locusts in wigs?”
“Well now, that’s not very kind - they can’t help their wigs.”
“Or being locusts,” Ed’s voice echoed from the other side of the door. Izzy breathed a sigh of relief which turned into a yelp as Ed’s hands grabbed at his ankle and shoved. Izzy’s hands grabbed at nothing as he tried to steady himself, failing miserably and ending up on the floor in a heap. Stede lurched forward to catch his shoulders before he knocked his head, tutting and patting at his hair.
“Ed! Be careful!”
“Sorry, loves!” Ed pushed, then tugged at Izzy’s trapped leg. “Yeah, boots caught. Gotta take it off.”
Izzy’s eyes narrowed immediately.
“Edward,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Do you really need to take the boot off?”
“Why, Izzy!” Izzy could hear the smug grin, fucking asshole. “I am only trying to help.”
Izzy felt Ed’s devilish fingers tugging at his laces, and swiftly yanked the boot from his leg. Before he had the chance to withdraw it and save himself from his inevitable torture, Ed had his ankle held in a vice grip.
“Aw, sorry Iz, boots proving hard to shift!”
“You’re so full of shit, Edward-”
“Are you alright?” Stede asked Izzy, concern laced in his words. Stupid fucking Stede and his stupid fucking feelings, making Izzy feel stupid fucking feelings.
Twat.
Stupid fucking Edward, tugging off his sock, not releasing his grip of his ankle.
“Edward, I will skin you in your sleep-!” Izzy cut off with a yelp as a single, leather clad finger dragged down the length of his naked sole. He bit his lip to stop the laughter spilling out, determined at least to maintain his dignity in front of Stede. Edward may know how devastatingly ticklish he is, but that didn’t mean his other partner had to be clued in.
But the way Ed’s fingers spidered up his sole… fuck.
“Stede!” He cried desperately, twisting in his arms to look pathetically up at him. “Ed’s trying to kill me!”
“He’s - what?” Stede blinked in confusion, looking even more puzzled when Ed barked a laugh.
“Izzy’s being dramatic, love! It’s just a little tickling, that’s all.”
“What?” Stede frowned even deeper, seriously lost. Izzy went to speak, to plead his case to Stede to just start firing his pistol off in Ed’s general direction, but then Ed must have shifted so his back was to the door, holding Izzy’s ankle in a vice between his bicep and side. This left both hands free to send him into an early grave.
One hand held his toes back, and now that the charade was over Ed clearly had no qualms about going all out. Izzy jumped in Stede’s grasp and let out a long stream of high pitched giggles, furiously kicking his booted foot against the door.
“Edward stohohop!” he squealed as Ed targeted a particularly ticklish spot under his toes. “Stehehehede hehehelp mehehehe!”
“Now Edward, if Izzy doesn’t like being tickled then you shouldn’t do it!” Stede scolded, running frantically soothing hands up and down Izzy’s arms, like that would help him. The gesture was nice, Izzy thought dazedly.
“Aw, did Izzy tell you he doesn’t like it?” Ed paused briefly, and Izzy thought he was safe before the touch of Ed’s fingers drumming against the top of his toes made him freeze. “It’s not good form to lie to your Captain, Iz.”
“Fuck off!” Izzy was squealing before Ed had even moved. But Izzy knew what was coming next. A devious little move that Ed used to tease him with when he was feeling creative.
“That’s not a disagreement!” Ed sing-songed. Stede huffed above him.
“Well even if Izzy does enjoy it, which is perfectly alright if he does - oh don’t give me that look darling, your laughter is very pretty - this is hardly the environment to be exploiting it. He might get splinters!”
“Nah, his trouser leg protecting him from the hole and I’ve got my arm as a barrier. Just a single ticklish little foot out in the open… anything could happen.”
“That’s… sweet?” Stede cocked his head down at Izzy. “But you’ll stop if he wants you to, won’t you Ed?”
“Yeah, course! It’s only fun when he’s pretending to hate it.”
Izzy was sure his fucking ankle must be blushing from how warm he felt. Irritated by his own enjoyment, he huffed.
“If either of you ever bring this up again I’ll cut your fucking tongues out and use them to swab the deck.”
Unusual: Izzy is very ironically ticklish on the palms of his hands. Ed absolutely loves holding his wrist and making tickly patterns while Izzy squirms and kicks and giggles. Stede then introduces them to a game he played with his children. To Ed's delight and Izzy's horror, he takes Izzy's palm in his own and draws gentle circles with his nail and says the rhyme,
"Round and round the garden like a teddy bear, one step, two step, tickle you under there!"
By this point Izzy is shrieking and wriggling and goes completely limp and giggly as Stede's fingers wiggle at his soft belly.
A/N: My Squealing Santa submission for @ticklish-scribbler, hope you enjoy!
Izzy doesn't think he's ticklish, and can't really understand why Ed seems to like it so much. He's very glad to be proven wrong.
Steddyhands, ler!Stede and ler!Ed with lee!Izzy (plus an extra lee!Ed sprinkling, as a treat.
Word count: 1660
---
It had been a long and horrid day, and all Izzy was looking forward to was falling into bed and sleeping off his bad mood. He pushed open their front door, calling out a tired greeting to whoever made it home before him. Instead of the usual reply, a high pitched squeal came from the living room. Suddenly wide awake, Izzy dropped his bag and dashed towards the sound. When he sees the cause of the noise, he slumps back against the wall with a groan.
“Iz! Help!” Ed shrieks, wiggling in Stede’s grasp as another raspberry is blown against his neck. “Ew, that’s gross!”
“Hello darling,” Stede ignores Ed’s giggly protests as he digs his fingers into his hips. “Did you have a lovely day?”
“Thought you were being fucking murdered, Ed, you cannot possibly be that ticklish.”
Ed flushes pink and he tries to scowl.. “Nohohohot!”
“Not ticklish, hmm? Then why are you laughing?” Stede’s fingers slide up to curl against Ed’s belly and spider across the softness there. “You should have heard the noises he made when I gave his tummy a good raspberry! I would recreate it for you, but I promised to ease off once the tears started. Maybe next time, hmm Edward?”
“No next time!”
“Oh, we both know you don’t want that.”
Izzy rolled his eyes and shrugged off his coat. “It’s like living with a child.”
“Like you’re any better!” Ed cried indignantly. “Let’s see - aha - how you stand up against torture!”
“I’m an adult, Edward. Adults aren’t ticklish.”
Stede halts his fingers.
“I beg to differ,” he says. He holds out his hand towards Izzy, and very slowly and deliberately crooks his finger. “Care to prove me wrong?”
Between them, still nestled underneath Stede, Ed shivers.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you love to be right, and if you’re not ticklish then there’s nothing to be scared of.”
“It’s fun, Iz,” Ed chimes in, looking a little embarrassed at the admission. “Stede’s good at it and he knows when to stop.”
Izzy grits his teeth. He hadn’t been tickled since he was a child, and didn’t really fancy being poked with clumsy fingers in an attempt to prove himself right. But Stede was looking at him like he was a meal, and Ed was flashing his big baby cow eyes - two things he could never resist. Sighing in defeat, he holds his arms out to the side awkwardly.
“Where do you want me?”
Ed jumps up immediately, grabbing cushions from the sofa and chucking them on the carpet. “More room on the floor.”
“If I get on the floor I’ll never get up again,” Izzy gripes. Stede tuts, sliding from the sofa to kneel next to the cushion pile.
“I’ll help you up darling, fear not!” He pats the space next to him. “Ed’s right, more room down here for exploration!”
“Explor-?” Izzy startles as Ed grabs his hands and tugs him down, nudging him until he submits to being moulded into position. “I can manage!”
“Manhandling is all part of the experience, just shush and let it happen.”
“You’re such a pest, you know?”
“Boys,” Stede interrupts with a soft laugh. “Edward, clearly I need to spend some more time on you if you still have the energy to be a brat.”
Ed clears his throat, blushing. “Well, if you think it’s best.”
“I do,” Stede grins. He turns his attention to Izzy, then, and taps his elbows where they rest at his sides. “I’ll need you to put these up over your head, try and keep them out the way if you can.”
Izzy rolls his eyes, but does as he’s told.
“Standard safeword rules apply here, and yours is…?”
“Red,” Izzy recites dutifully.
“Excellent. I’ll ignore all other assorted pleading and or begging, and - oh don’t give me that look, just you wait - unless you say your safeword. Agreed?”
“Fine.”
“Excellent!” Stede claps his hands together. “Now, I think I’ll begin right… here.”
His hands descend slowly to rest against Izzy’s sides. His tee shirt is tucked into his jeans, stretched across his torso with his arms held over his head. If it were Izzy doing the tickling, he’d pull the shirt up and go right in for the kill. Instead, Stede lets his palms lay stationery, and starts a gentle wiggle of his fingertips against the soft fabric. It startles a gasp from him, and his arms twitch to move back down to his side. He holds firm, though. Surely it was just the surprise of it?
Stede watches him with a gentle smile, slowly moving his hands upward, his fingertips creeping along Izzy’s ribs. He feels the urge to snap his hands down and push Stede away, but he holds out, gritting his teeth and allowing his body a tiny wiggle as consolation. So perhaps he’d been wrong about not being ticklish.
“Ooo, I saw that!” Ed chimes gleefully. “Knew you were the ticklish ribs sort, mate. Bet you’re ticklish all over, aren’t you?”
“No,” Izzy grits out.
“Yes you are,” Ed continues, wiggling his fingers menacingly. “Now the seal’s broken, I bet we could tickle you anywhere.”
Izzy opens his mouth to tell Ed to fuck off but is cut off when the fingers on his ribs move suddenly down again, to spider across his belly. The suddenness of it startles him enough that he chuckles, his arms snapping down instinctively to grab at Stede’s hands.
“Aha,” Stede grins. “It seems I was right, after all!”
“Fucking fluke,” Izzy says quickly, returning his arms to their position. Stede raises his eyebrows, meets Ed’s ecstatic expression, and goes back to it. Izzy’s hands grip a cushion as the teasing fingers explore his belly, finding all the spots that make him squirm. It’s soft enough that he’s not laughing properly, just the odd huff accompanied by a wide grin. Stede’s kind enough to keep quiet, but Ed has no such manners.
“Oho, seems like someone is finding out some stuff about themselves today!” He wriggles his fingers along Izzy’s neck, making him scrunch his shoulders with a snort. “Is that nice, Iz? You like it when we tickle you?”
Izzy abandons the pillow with his right hand in favour of smacking at Ed’s legs, but his wrist is quickly caught and treated to a flurry of kisses up his arm, something that had never tickled before, but made a giggle build in his throat now.
“Edward,” Stede admonishes. “It’s not nice to tease. It’s also very rich coming from you!”
“But it’s fun,” Ed winks down at Izzy as he progresses his little tickly line of kisses up his arm until he reaches his inner elbow.
“You know what’s fun, Izzy? Getting Ed all flustered and begging for more after spending such a long time teasing him.”
Ed pouts, his cheeks turning sweetly pink. Izzy’s own face flushes at the teasing, even though it’s not directed at him. Stede’s words combined with the swirling patterns of his fingers against his belly were making butterflies take flight from every inch of his body.
“I like to tickle him gently, just like this, all up and down from his hips to his neck. He’s especially ticklish just here,” he tugs Izzy’s top from his jeans and lifts it up over his belly. He wriggles the tip of his index finger into the space just under his belly button, and all the teasing bursts out of him in a loud train of giggles. “Yes, just like that.”
“Nohohoho!” His free arm shoots down to push him away half heartedly, but Ed is quick to snatch it up and pepper that one with kisses too. “Ehehehed!”
“Yeeees?”
Izzy doesn’t reply, can’t reply, because Stede’s hands are suddenly under his shirt and in his armpits and all he can do is kick his heels into the floor and cackle.
“Oh, you are just the most precious thing!” Stede coos, avoiding Izzy’s kicking legs by sliding over him in a straddle. “Are you enjoying yourself, darling?”
“No, fuck off!”
“Hmm, that doesn’t sound anything like a safeword,” Stede slows a little, letting him catch his breath and regain control of his mouth. Ed gives his hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze. Despite the teasing, Izzy knew Ed was on cloud nine to discover that Izzy was finding this fun too.
“It’s not,” Izzy says after a moment. “Think I was wrong before.”
“Oh? You mean you are ticklish?” Stede prompts. The word makes Izzy squirm, and suddenly he has a lot of sympathy for Ed and all the times Stede’s made him admit he liked it.
“I guess,” he manages, as if he wasn’t all pink cheeked and panting. “Not as bad as Eddie, though.”
“But you both seem to love it equally,” Stede chuckles, ignoring Ed’s petulant whine. “But we’ve only scratched the surface with you! Perhaps you’d let me give you a thorough going over, to find out all your favourite spots? Perhaps I’ll have you with your legs over my lap, see if you can keep still while I give the backs of your legs a good tickling. Or maybe you’d let me give your pretty belly some raspberries, but I expect we might need Ed to hold you down for those, my darling.”
Izzy’s going to implode with the amount of self discoveries he was going through since getting home. Yes, he wants to say, please fucking do that. The gentle attention felt lovely, like when Stede played with his hair, or Ed mindlessly used his fingers as a fidget. He could see why Ed always seemed to beg for it. He has a plan hatching in his mind, a game to play with them both another time. He wonders if Ed would be up for some giggly revenge on Stede.
He blinks sweetly up at them both, smiling with only a touch of leftover shyness.
