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Izzy sighed heavily as he looked at the people assembled around him in the large living room. This was a bad idea. He knew this was a bad idea. He’d told Stede this was a bad idea.
But Stede had insisted. So here he was, sitting in the ridiculously large conversation pit in Stede’s ridiculously large house surrounded by Stede’s kids, his wife, her painting instructor and her best friend participating in the Bonnet Christmas Eve celebration. Izzy knew them all, of course. He’d been to the house outside of his work duties, hung out with them on several occasions in his capacity as Stede’s “assistant-slash-body guard”, but this was different. This was a “family function” and Izzy was so terrified that this was going to ruin their carefully constructed house of cards that he felt like he was going to vomit at any moment.
The kids, Alma and Louis, were tearing into the rather large pile of presents from their family, thanking each gift giver before quickly tossing the gift to the side to tear into the next. They both kept coming back to Izzy’s presents - hand carved animal figurines. A shark for Alma and a horse for Louis. It made Izzy happy to know that of all the expensive gifts surrounding them, lost in a pile of torn wrapping and bows, they seemed to like his humble offering the best.
Once the kids were all done, it was time for the adults. Izzy figured this would be a rather quick affair. He didn’t really know what to get everyone but liquor was never in short supply with this crew so he’d picked out some lovely bottles of wine for the ladies and a bottle of pretentious whiskey for Doug. Presents with Stede would come later.
“Open your present from us, Izzy!” Louis shouted as he bounced over to sit at Izzy’s feet, holding out an unevenly wrapped present with way too much tape, a wide smile on his face. Izzy looked over at Stede, wanting to smack the fond smile right off his face. All this cheer and good will was making his teeth fucking ache - or maybe it was just the fact that he was clenching his jaw as tight as he could.
“Uh…thanks,” Izzy said with a small smile as he took the present from the young boy.
“It’s from me and Alma,” Louis explained as he nearly bounced out of his skin in excitement.
Slowly, Izzy tore open the wrapping, working hard to get through all the tape and ribbon. Inside was a small wooden box, beautifully engraved with intricate designs across the top and sides. Izzy was sure the children hadn’t picked this out by themselves but it was the thought that counts, right? Opening the lid, Izzy gasped. The inside was lined in a beautiful emerald green velvet holding six stunningly sharp knives. They were each wrapped with different colors of leather on the handles and the hilts all had different designs.
He must have stared a little too long because he suddenly heard Alma ask cautiously, “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, Nugget,” Izzy said softly, still not looking away from the weapons before him. They were practically calling to him, singing for blood that Izzy longed to feed them. “I like them a lot.”
“Yay!” Louis cried as he jumped up and bounced around in the room in his excitement. “I knew you would.”
“How did you get these, Bean?” Izzy asked once he could tear his eyes away and Louis had calmed slightly.
“Auntie Evelyn took us,” Louis said with a smile.
“It was kinda her idea,” Alma added softly. “We thought maybe you could make us more stuff. We know you like carving.”
“It’s called whittling, Alma,” Louis said teasingly. “Izzy! You should make us swords so we can play pirates again!”
“Well, these aren’t exactly knives you’d use for whittling but I’m sure I can still make us some swords. You think with some practice you’ll be able to best me at swordplay?”
“Of course!” Alma shouted as she stood tall, her hands on her hips, looking about as intimidating as her father - which admittedly wasn’t very much unless you were at the end of his blade. Then he was positively terrifying.
Izzy wondered if Alma would end up the same way.
“Avast ye!” Louis shouted as he grabbed an empty wrapping paper tube and brandished it at his sister. Both kids yelled and began running around, chasing each other with make-shift paper tube swords.
Izzy smiled as he watched the two of them run around until their mother cleared her throat pointedly and they settled back down on the floor.
“Open mine next,” Evelyn said with a smirk as she kicked over the smartly decorated box with the toe of her Yves Saint Laurent’s.
Izzy set the kids’ present to the side before reaching down for the gift. He was a little more patient with this one, peeling back the wrapping delicately, folding it neatly before opening the box. Again, he was shocked at what he saw inside. It was a very nice, very expensive knife sharpening kit.
“Figured it would go with the gift from the kiddos,” Evelyn said with a smirk before taking a big sip of her wine. “I’ve seen your old kit. Looks like it’s time for an upgrade.”
Izzy felt a shiver run down his spine. She knew. She had to know. There was no way she didn’t know. The knives from the kids that could not in any way be for carving wood and now this?
“Thank you, Evelyn,” he said softly, his throat dry and his pulse hammering under his skin. “Stede? Can I talk to you in the other room?”
“But Izzy, we haven’t finished opening the gifts yet,” Stede said with a smile, seemingly completely oblivious to Izzy’s impending panic attack. “You still have your gift from Mary.”
Izzy grit his teeth so hard he could feel a headache coming on. Stede couldn’t really be this oblivious, could he?
“Here,” Mary said as she reached over, handing Izzy the present from her. “You could say it’s from Doug as well, seeing as he helped me with the composition.”
A painting then. Unsurprising since she had gifted one to both Stede and Evelyn as well. Izzy pulled at the ribbon and the wrapping easily fell away, revealing the small painting beneath. Izzy’s breath caught in his throat as spots spun in front of his vision. It was a painting of Izzy and Stede standing side by side looking at something between them. The background was streaked with red with small droplets surrounding them, looking just like drops of blood. They stood close to one another, their expressions soft yet pensive, warm but needy. Izzy recognized this moment. This was right as they had come home after their time at Ned’s cabin. They were staring at the gift of the song Ned had given them before they’d left and they were both loath to go inside and break the spell that still hung over them from the encounter. Had she seen them? Is that when she’d figured it out?
“It’s beautiful,” Izzy whispered, his fingers trailing over Stede’s face.
“She really captured something there, didn’t she?” Doug said, his voice slightly teasing - but whether he was teasing Izzy or Mary, he wasn’t sure.
“She sure has,” Izzy replied as he looked up to see everyone looking at him. “I’m going to put this in my office now. Stede. Would you join me, please?”
Izzy stood and quickly made his way out of the living room, not even bothering to look to see if Stede was following him. Once he stepped through the door of his office, he didn’t have to wait long for his answer.
Stede closed the door of the office they shared before gripping Izzy by the throat and slamming him against the reinforced mahogany.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Israel?” Stede spit in Izzy's face. “Are you trying to ruin Christmas with my family?”
“They know,” Izzy croaked out, fighting for every breath as Stede held him tight against the door.
“What?” Stede asked, his grip loosening lightly in his shock. “No. No, there’s no way they know.”
Izzy held up the painting.
“They know.”
Stede looked at the painting, really looked at it, and Izzy could see the wheels turning in his head. Stede recognized the moment, he was sure of it. Did Mary know about Ned too? Did she tell Evelyn? Doug? Finally, Stede looked up at Izzy again.
“It means nothing,” Stede practically growled as he pressed in close again. “They don’t know a thing. We’ve been so careful.”
“Have we?” Izzy asked. “Look at this Bonnet. She fucking saw us! What if she found the recording from Ned?”
Stede clenched his grip even harder, nearly cutting off Izzy air supply. He began to feel lightheaded and wondered if Stede was finally about to snap with his family in the other room.
Finally, Stede slowly began to loosen his grip as he pressed in close, letting Izzy feel how affected he was by choking him, having him at his mercy. He began to grind his hardness against Izzy, the both of them breathing hard at the stimulation.
“How about we make a little wager?” Stede proposed.
Izzy groaned, his head falling back to thunk loudly against the solid wood.
“The fuck are you on about, Bonnet?”
“We go back out there and see how the rest of the night goes,” Stede offered. “We’ll see if there are any other signs, suss them out, as it were. Winner gets to top tonight.”
“What if Mary is expecting you to sleep with her tonight?”
After a moment, they both burst out laughing.
“Funny,” Stede said dryly once he got himself under control. “Do we have a deal?”
“That’s it?” Izzy asked incredulously. “Your wife, her lover and her other lover might know that we are fucking serial killers and you want to make a bet over who gets to top tonight?”
Stede’s head tilted to one side in contemplation as he lightly stroked over Izzy’s throat, making Izzy shiver in anticipation of what Stede could do.
“The winner gets to top and use the new knives you just got.”
Izzy’s eyes narrowed as he stared Stede down.
“Deal.”
Stede let Izzy go and stepped back, adjusting himself as he took a few deep breaths to get himself under control once again.
“Where are you going to hang this?” Stede asked, motioning toward the painting.
“Right by my desk,” Izzy replied. “It’s fucking stunning.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Stede smiled lightly. Izzy knew there was love there, had been long before he’d shown up, but Stede’s love for Mary was much different from his love for Izzy. Reaching past him, Izzy set the painting on his desk and turned, letting Stede adjust his collar, making sure he was put to rights before heading back out to the rest of the family.
“Everything alright?” Evelyn called as they walked back in, her face full of glee at the tension in the air.
Izzy had often wondered if she had it in her to be a true killer.
He didn’t wonder anymore.
Izzy settled back down onto the couch in his spot, happy to watch the rest of the proceedings, knowing that at least he was done with surprises for the rest of the evening. Hopefully.
Stede handed out his presents to Mary, Doug and Evelyn. They were all expensive, hand picked and much appreciated.
“Well,” Stede said just a touch too loud as he clapped his hands together and smirked at Izzy. “I believe that is all the gifts for this year. How lovely for everyone to be so generous. Why don’t we…”
“Wait a minute now,” Evelyn interrupted with a wicked smile. “You have one more gift from me.”
“What? Where?” Stede asked.
“Behind the tree there.”
Mary giggled, hiding her face behind her hand. “Evelyn! You didn’t!”
“Didn’t what?” Evelyn replied, her face breaking out in a wicked smile.
Izzy watched the two women and knew they were up to something. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
“This?” Stede asked as he pulled out the large wrapped box.
“Yep,” Evelyn said as she leaned closer to Mary, who still was hidden behind her hands.
Slowly, Stede unwrapped the gift. Upon opening the box, he discovered it was a very large suitcase with intricate locks.
“Evelyn,” Stede whispered in shock. “You really shouldn’t have.”
“It has a waterproof lining on the inside,” Evelyn said, pointing at it with her cigarette clutched in its holder. “I figure you might need it on one of your business trips.”
Stede gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water before his jaw clacked shut with a snap.
”Fuck,” Izzy whispered.
“Language in front of the children, Izzy,” Mary scolded. Izzy muttered a soft “Sorry,” before he looked around the room. No one seemed scandalized. No one accused them of anything. There was no fight. No screaming. They all just stared at each other until Mary clapped her hands and said, “Time for bed, children.”
“Awwww,” both children whined but they didn’t put up a fight as they stood and gave everyone a hug good night, Izzy included.
“Who would you like to put you to bed tonight?” Stede asked with a soft smile.
“Mommy and Doug,” Louis said as he fought back a yawn.
“Very well,” Stede said as both Mary and Doug stood to follow the kids up the stairs. “Merry Christmas, children.”
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” they both replied before Louis turned back and asked, “Izzy? You’ll be here for breakfast in the morning, right? Doug is making cinnamon rolls and Dad says you make really good omelets.”
Izzy knew he should say no. He knew he should keep Bonnet’s family separate, keep their lives apart - protect himself and them in case shit went bad - it really could go really, really bad. But they were looking at him with such hope that he couldn’t help himself.
“Sure, Bean,” he said with a soft smile. “I’ll be here. Off to bed with you now or Santa won’t come.”
“Yay!” Both kids cheered, “Night, Izzy. Merry Christmas.”
They sat in silence for a moment, waiting to make sure the kids were well and truly out of the room. Evelyn turned to Izzy, silently offering him a cigarette, which he gladly took.
Finally, Stede asked, “Does Mary know?”
Evelyn smirked as she exhaled a long sigh, smoke pouring from her mouth and nose.
“She’s the one who told me.”
Stede and Izzy stared at each other in shock.
“How?” Stede gasped.
“Don’t worry,” Evelyn said as she leaned forward to stare at them. “You’re good, I’ll give you that. You’ve covered your tracks well, but she was able to tie some disappearances to the same places you’d travelled to and when you hired Izzy instead of that kid she liked as your assistant, she did a little extra digging. She brought it to me and I used some of my connections to get information that seemed suspicious. Honestly, I never would have suspected if it weren’t for her.”
“What do you want?” Stede snapped, setting Izzy instantly on edge.
“Want?” Evelyn asked, slightly offended. “I want you to keep doing what you’re doing. Keep Mary in the lifestyle she’s become accustomed to, travel often, and leave us be. We all have a good thing going here. When you were around all the time, you were killing her - figuratively of course. She’s been thriving with your interest diverted elsewhere.”
“So we stay the fuck out of your business and you’ll stay out of ours, is that what you’re saying?” Izzy asked.
“Exactly.”
Stede and Izzy stared at each other, having a silent conversation as Evelyn watched. They knew this was a tricky situation. What if one of them decided to say something to the authorities? Was it safe for them to put their fates in someone else’s hands? What other option did they really have?
“Done,” Stede said, a finality to his words that made Izzy shiver. He loved when Stede was decisive and took control.
“Good decision,” Evelyn said as she rose to her full height as she stood. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning. I hope these omelets Stede’s been bragging about will live up to the hype.” She turned to head up the stairs to join Mary and Doug before she stopped to say, “Oh, and those knives have recently been sterilized, in case you were wondering. Have a good night, boys.”
They sat and watched as Evelyn ascended the stairs. Once they heard the door close, Izzy dropped his head in his hands.
“Well, fuck.”
“Quite right,” Stede said, sitting still in shock.
“Do you think she means it?” Izzy asked.
“What? That she’ll leave us alone if we do the same?”
Izzy nodded slowly.
“I do,” Stede replied after a moment. “It gives them the upper hand. We keep the cover of a loving family and she keeps her lovers.”
“No wonder Mary insisted I be here this year,” Izzy chuckled softly. “She’s a tricky one, isn’t she?”
“More than you know.”
Stede stared at Izzy. He knew that look. Stede was getting ideas. And when Stede got ideas that involved Izzy, things could get interesting - sometimes very interesting.
“What’s that look for, Bonnet?” Izzy asked, a smirk sliding over his face.
“I was just thinking of all the lovely things I could do to you with your lovely present from the kids.”
“Oh no, Mr. Bonnet,” Izzy said as he reached out to grab the beautiful box. “This present is mine and I believe you lost our little bet.”
“Oh, but Izzy,” Stede said sweetly as he moved in closer to press his lips to Izzy’s ear. “You know how much you love it when I make you bleed.”
Izzy barely held back the shiver at the thought of all the delicious things that Stede could do to him. Instead, he leaned forward to capture Stede’s earlobe between his teeth before biting down hard.
Stede yelped, pulling back in shock.
“Gotta fucking catch me first, Bonnet!” Izzy called as he clutched the box to his chest and darted for the room Stede kept as his own on the first floor, well away from the other bedrooms. He heard Stede following, quick on his heels, laughing as they ran to celebrate Christmas the only way they could - with love and come and blood.
END