Adventure

“What?”

“I said Elizabeth isn’t the only reason I freed you from your cell.”

“Nae, of course not.”

“What? You knew?” asked Will, looking confused, alarmed, and a little bit hurt with those sensitive deep brown eyes.

“Lad, I’m Captain Jack Sparrow. Of course. You wanted me,” and here Jack deliberately paused for just a moment, noting Will’s instant flush and then continuing, “to tell you about your father.”

“Oh, yes,” Will agreed with a lie, feeling guilty that he was actually disappointed with this interpretation.

“Well, sit back, and I’ll tell you a tale of my adventures with William Turner.”

Jack launched into a riveting account of life as a treasure seeking pirate on the high seas before Will had the chance to settle to the deck. Well, it would have been riveting had Will not immediately tuned it out, transfixed by Jack’s fluidity of motion. He listened to his voice, but heard no words, favoring the inflections over the substance. Jack danced across the ship, reliving fights with long dead pirates. He cursed and gestured maniacally. He stared. Deep into Will’s eyes. Lulled by the gentle rocking of the boat, and comforted by the warm heat of a Caribbean afternoon, Will stared back, unaware of the wistful smile creeping up on his face.

“....and that is why one should never try to commandeer a boat belonging to a woman. Unless one happens to be Captain Jack Sparrow. Now the next tale, if you’ll further indulge the superb yarn spinner that is Captain Jack Sparrow, regards the exact moment when I knew you could not be a eunuch, as I ‘ave never wanted more to give a man a blow job than at this particular point in time.”

At this, Will’s head snapped up, and he proceeded to choke and splutter on his own saliva. “Wh- *ackh* - what did you say?”

“I called you a eunuch, and said you ought to pay more attention to my tales, as you might learn something. I’m not speaking out of a desire to ‘ear the sound of me own voice, lad. These stories are edifying for a whelp like you.” Jack couldn’t resist a half smile, perhaps even a three-quarters smile, daring the youth to challenge any number of the previously spoken lies.

“Hm, that’s funny,” smirked Will, rising to his feet. “Because I get the feeling that you do talk out of an appreciation of your own voice. And I am neither a ‘whelp’ nor a eunuch, which, I believe, is a point you just acknowledged when you said you wanted to give me a blow job.” The smug smile stayed on Willfaceface right until Jack’s head propelled backwards in disbelief, the rest of his body flailing after him in a typical Jack move.

“I beg your pardon!” cried an outraged Jack, his gold teeth glinting in the sun. “I said nothing of the kind.”

“But I heard you-”

“May I finish? Hm?” Jack paused, looking angrily quizzical, his head cocked sharply to the side as he glared, causing Will to blush and turn silent, examining the fine nail work of the Interceptor’s deck. He half expected to be hit by a flying boom again, this time landing in the sea, rather than back on the deck. Jack raised his two index fingers to emphasize his point, shaking them at just about every word. “What I said, and look at me boy, I want to be sure you’re listening this time, so there’ll be no more mistakes, is that I wanted to tell you about the blow job I want to give you. Savvy?”

Will looked just about ready to smack the Captain, but held himself back. Perhaps because of his upbringing, perhaps even out of some misguided sense of chivalry. But more likely than not it was because he suddenly found himself kissing the man, and didn’t trust his aim enough to avoid smacking himself in the process. Breaking the kiss as abruptly as he started it, Jack began to speak.

“First, I would press you up against this fine ship’s mast, ensuring you had no path of retreat.” Staring him down, Jack moved forward like a feral cat. Will quickly stumbled and tripped his way across the ship, eyes glued to Jack’s, genuinely surprised when his movement was halted by the beam behind him. “Good. Very good. And next,” Jack had kept walking even after Will had stopped, and now he was so close to the boy it seemed impossible that the onhinghing pressing against him was the Captain’s overwhelming personality. Jack pulled back and gave one last shark’s grin before swooping his head next to Will’s ear. “Next, one might assume I would go straight to divesting you of your trousers, however, I’m Captain Jack Sparrow, and I know the importance of the rest of the nerves in the body. No, the first to go would be that fine shirt of yours. I’ve not yet decided which I would enjoy more, cutting it to shreds around you, or watching you put it back on later,” he whispered, as if this was a grand secret between them. Will shuddered and stared out at the horizon. He was without doubt more attentive to this monologue than the previous one. “And then, naturally, I would be ravishing your mouth with mine, as my calloused hands ran along that fine pale chest of yours. No one deserves to be deprived of the caresses of Captain Jack Sparrow.

“Now,” and here Jack managed to lower his voice even more. It became even breathier, and the lust in it was heavier than before, “there still remains the matter of the trousers. They’d ‘ave to come off all the way, otherwise how could I run my tongue along your thighs, driving you wild. And as for the act itself, I’m not one to sing me own praises, but I’ve learned from the best masters of Tortuga, Singapore, Shanghai, Paris, you name it. Such a callow lad as yourself wouldn’t be able to stand it, so I’d have to keep your hips pinned to the mast with my rough, pirate hands. Right here.” Jack moved back just a fraction, pressing his thumbs to the sides of his own pubic bone, careful nottouctouch Will in the process. He stared into those deep brown eyes, before shifting his weight and moving to the boy’s other ear. Will felt almost as far gone as he looked, but something, some little doubt was worming its way into the back of his mind.

“ And of course, before long, you would be screamin’ my name out to the sea, as I swallow you whole.” And then, all of a sudden, Jack leaned back, looked at Will one more time, then turned on his heel and yelled over his shoulder, “Mind the ship, lad. I’m off for a bit of rest.”

“WHAT?!?” demanded Will, “JACK! You lousy, despicable, cheating...”

“Pirate?” Jack finished for the gibbering blacksmith, trying not to smile too widely. “And you’re screaming my name much sooner than I thought you’d be. I can only imagine what would’ve ‘appened had I done what I said.”

“But you didn’t! Are you actually going below?” Will said, his eyes burning with frustration.

“Course, mate. What did I jtelltell you about paying attention? So there would be no further misunderstandings. You know how we all hate a misunderstanding. Cause nothing but trouble. The whole lot of them. In general.”

Will just stood there agog.

“Now, if there’ll be no further outbursts,” and he paused, pretending that he expected one, “I’ll be on my way. Ta.”

Jack had waited just out of sight until he heard Will’s footsteps approaching the ship’s wheel, but now he was busy below decks, going through all his recently acquired possessions. He was looking for some reading material. One of the more lamentable losses of the Black Pearl, other than the loss of the ship herself, of course... and then that injury was compounded by the quirk of fate that put Barbossa in charge of her, the bastard. Oh, but he would pay. Now, what? Ah yes, the losses. There was the fact that he no longer had access to his personal library. Knowing Barbossa, the man had most likely used it for kindling at the first opportunity. Jack was having little luck finding any documents more interesting than inventories of trading vessels, but what he was really looking for was something that could be used as lubrication. For later. He rifled through Norrington’s desk drawers, overturning them as he went. Ah, now here was what he was looking for. Something shiny. A gold ring. Perhaps intended for the dear Elizabeth. Yes, Elizabeth, without doubt. Well, such a fine upstanding lass as herself would never be interested in so gaudy a trinket, and since there was no use wasting it... Jack slipped the ring onto his finger and got back to the task at hand: finding some sort of bead that could be worked into his hair. Something to remember this conquest by...

Will had been staring out at the horizon for quite some time, contemplating any number of things he wanted to do to Jack Sparrow. In spite of his anger with the man, most of these invented scenarios simply ended up with the pair of them naked. Will sighed. Oh, this was not going to end well. He was not making good choices. Currently aboard a stolen - commandeered - ship, consorting with a wanted pirate - and wanting to consort a bit more with him, - and going after a ship full of other pirates, who were cursed and perhaps even more crazy than Jack.

Oh no, Jack. For the first hour or so Will had been at the helm, there had been a near-constant stream of curses and crashing noises coming from below. Will wasn’t quite sure how long it had been silent for, but he thought it best to go and check on Jack. After all, he could be in some sort of trouble. Maybe something had fallen on him. Or he had accidentally locked himself in the brig. Or found the ship’s supply of rum. Will quickly checked the horizon for other vessels, and then positively ran down into the ship’s hold.

He found Jack soon enough. Once he got away from the noise of the surf, he could hear the snoring. Leaning against the cabin’s doorjamb, Will sighed and looked at Jack. “Damn you. I wish you weren’t asleep, so I could sleep with you.”

“What?”

Will jumped, but managed to get out a snappy comeback. A real winner. “You heard what I said.”

“Lad, you woke me from a wonderful dream. Humor me, and repeat yourself. Unless of course it would be too much of a bother for you, in which case I would grudgingly go back to sleep,” Jack explained with exaggerated annoyance.

“I said I...” and here Will took some time to examine the fine nail work below deck. “I want to sleep with you.”

“Lad, this berth is hardly big enough for me to sleep in. Add in your ample blacksmith’s frame, and neither of us will get any rest at all.”

“That’s not what I meant, Jack.”

“Oh, it’s not then?” Jack started to smile.

“No, it’s-” Fed up with words, seeing as Jack could obviously talk circles around him and his lust-addled brain all day, Will gave up and moved towards the man’s bed. He took a moment just to stare down at the man. Then another moment, running the back of his hand down the side of Jack’s face as they stared at each other. The next moment, Will bent at the waist, and touched his lips to Jack’s. This kiss was far more gentle than the one shared on the deck. Will’s lips barely parted, and Jack returned with touches far more delicate than either would have expected from a pirate.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to get down ‘ere,” commented Jack after the embrace was broken. He stood up, and pushed Will so he was sitting on the bed. First he deftly placed his hat on a nearby shelf. Next he moved opposite Will, leaning back against the wall and placing his foot on the bed between the boy’s thighs. Jack slowly unlaced his boots, staring at Will the whole time. After both were off, Jack took off the rest of his clothes, somehow managing to look so sexy that his actions didn’t appear hurried. He reached down and grasped Will by the hand, pulling him roughly to his feet. Placing a hand on one shoulder, Jack slid around behind him, pressing their bodies together.

“Your turn, mate,” Jack ordered, hoarsely whispering into Will’s ear. With that he flopped onto the bed, staring up at the blacksmith with a giddy look, full of feigned innocence. He really would have pulled it off too, if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was sitting in bed naked waiting for another man to undress and join him.

Will managed to recover his senses in record time, considering the circumstances. He used one foot against the other to get out of his boots, while his hands were busy with shirt, belt, and trousers. This strategy managed to get Will naked in even less time than he had taken to recover himself. As Jack saw it, this had its disadvantages, as well as the obvious benefit of having a disrobed and exceedingly willing lover next to him. “Now, that wasn’t much of a show, was it?”

“Oh, I’ll just have to make it up to you,” Will said with a feline smile, coming around to Jack’s brand of tease.

“Will you now? Hm, perhaps you’ll just have to owe me one.” He had acquired a particularly devilish glint in his eye.

By this time, Will was already in bed, busy kissing the side of Jack’s face. As he ran his tongue along the tanned skin, he tasted sweat and the sea. Jack wrapped his arm around the blacksmith’s waist and rolled him so they were lying next to each other, Will’s back against the wall of the cabin. As he faced the boy, Jack turned his attention to his fine lipped mouth. Running a finger along it, he mused out loud, “Well, we can’t ‘ave this going un-ravished, now can we?”

Will’s wriggling soon became unbearable in such close quarters, and so Jack broke the kiss. While the lad was distracted in his attempts at breathing, Jack fished around, trying to find the small bottle he had hidden in the bedding. “Ah! ‘Ere we are. You’ll have to remember to thank the Commodore for this. His quarters were quite obliging.”

“The Commodore?” Will sputtered. “Oh, Elizabeth will be so disappointed.” All this time with Jack and he was starting to bounce back with much greater speed. A sort of a sea legs of the mind.

“Elizabeth and Norrington? But I thought you and she...”

“Jack, who’s bed am I in?”

“The Commodore’s. We’ll add it to the list.”

With that, Jack moved down between Will’s legs, looping one over his shoulder. Opening the discreet little vial, he poured some of its contents onto his fingers, savoring the slick feel of them for a moment as he regarded Will. The lad was half raised up on his elbows, his hair framing his slightly flushed face and tumbling down behind him. To the untrained eye, Will must have looked so precariously balanced, that every breath he took seemed impossible. But Jack could see the strength in his arms, and the desire in those dark eyes. Snapping his gaze away, he focused on preparing his companion. First one finger slid into Will, who looked a bit confused and somewhat uncomfortable, until Jack curled it. He chuckled at the noises coming out of the boy as he added fingers and then took them away.

“Lad, I must warn you, once you’ve taken a pirate to bed, life on the land just isn’t going to be a possibility for you.” Jack managed to get the whole sentence out without betraying his internal laughter. Oh, he believed what he was saying, just there was next to no chance first, that the son of Bootstrap Bill would be happy on land anyway, and second, that Will would be able to process what he was saying.

“Damn you Jack,” Will practically sighed.

“I shall take it we have an accord!” After all, much as others may have doubted it, Jack was only human, and he was being driven crazy by the man thrashing beneath him. He swiftly moved to Will’s entrance, and carefully worked himself in. Will gasped, holding completely still for a moment, and then grinding back against the pirate captain. Jack began thrusting wildly, moaning and cursing incoherently as he did. Between the soft rocking of the Interceptor, the pace at which Jack was jolting him, and his lust, Will was dizzy to the point of barely being able to keep from passing out. As Jack reached for his erection, Will tried to thrust up into his hand. The bits of flesh connected, and the air left Will’s lungs in the form of Jack’s name. Hearing this the pirate came, his seed shooting deep into Will’s spasming channel.

Jack was grumbling to himself as he stood at the ship’s wheel. Damn distracting blacksmiths, curse the lot of them. Just as he was putting together a new and creative string of terms for them, what had to be the most distracting of all their sort came stumbling into the sharp sunlight. He looked up at Jack and just smiled, his tousled hair being blown off his shoulders by the breeze, his arm rising up languidly to shade his eyes as he yawned.

“Jack,” he murmured, his voice still muddled with sleep.

“Get below and stay there, before I ‘ave you locked in the brig!” Jack yelled, by means of reply.

“What?” He sounded betrayed, his head suddenly cleared.

“You ‘eard me. Our little dalliance has taken us at least two hours off course, so if you care at all for the fair Miss Elizabeth, I suggest you do as I request.”

Chastened, Will slunk back inside the ship. Of course Jack was right. How could he have been so selfish? His best friend, his angel, was gone. In the hands of pirates no less. And here he was, giving into his base urges. And it took a pirate to point out the error of his ways. Angry and depressed, Will threw himself into a bed, planning to stay there for the rest of the voyage.

Jack meanwhile was humming to himself as he stood at the helm. He may have... exaggerated. Just a touch, mind. And, all things being fair, if there were any further distractions, the delay would run close to said amount. And he had swore on pain of death that he would aid in the rescue of the Governor’s daughter. And Captain Jack Sparrow is a man of his word. Of course, there was the added incentive of knowing that the sooner they arrive Tor Tortuga, the sooner there would be rum and more... dalliances. “Now there’s a thought,” Jack smiled out to the sea.

“It is indee’ a sad man, who ‘as... wo ‘as never breaved deep the swee’ pearlibbious... percival... pah... pah...”

“Proliferous, Jack. And you already said that. And you said it much better the first time. Right before all those women... expressed their affection for you.”

Will grumbled that last bit to himself, as he helped a very drunk Jack return to the Interceptor. It was rather remarkable, he grudgingly admitted. When they had left the brothel, Jack had barely been able to walk on his own, and had draped himself across Will’s body. Scant minutes later and Jack was sobering up. The only explanation Will could think of was that the sea air was clearing the pirate’s head. More to add to the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow.

“Whi’ women were those then?” Jack asked, craning his head around to look up at the man who was practically carrying him back to his boat.

“Scarlet and Giselle.” Will’s voice was flat with poorly concealed jealousy.

“Ah, so you were listening then,” Jack whispered sensually, all hint of drink gone from his voice. He really could hold his rum better than a certain blacksmith appeared to believe.

“What? You’re not drunk!” An outraged Will Turner unceremoniously dropped his companion onto the dirt street of Tortuga.

“No, I am not drunk. Which means that that ‘urt very much, a fact that I do not entirely appreciate.” Well, maybe he was a little drunk. “But I would be willin’ to overlook such a slight, if you would agree to accompany me back to our dear friend the Commodore’s well equipped lodgings.”

Will stared at him, open mouthed. Did the man actually think Will was going to fall swooning at his feet after all that had happened today? After his coldness on the Interceptor, his intent to use Will as “leverage,” his obvious promiscuity? Obviously he did, as Jack had taken Will’s silence to be an assent and had started guiding the pair of them back to the ship.

“Actually, Jack, if my services as nursemaid are no longer required, I think I may spend a bit more time exploring the port. After all, ‘tis indeed a sad man who has never-”

“ ‘Ere now, mate. I’ll not let you confine the Captain to a lonely bunk and be stealin’ me lines. It’s one or t’other,” warned Jack, assuming that Will would make the right choice and he’d hear his own words coming back to him. But he threw in a devastatingly sexy stare, just to be sure.

“Well, in that case, I shall bid you goodnight, Captain.”

As Will walked back towards the debauchery in the streets, it was Jack’s turn to stand with open mouth. The lad picked the most annoying moments to take after his father, really. As Jack started remembering all of his... friends... in Tortuga, he closed his mouth, whirled on his heel, and returned to the empty ship. Though he wasn’t happy about it.

By this time, Will had mad bac back to the brothel and had begun trying to order a drink. Trying, because he couldn’t make himself heard over the din of the drunken revelers. Eventually he gave up and settled for taking a neglected flagon on his way to a relatively uninhabited corner.

“You’re Jack Sparrow’s, li’l friend, ain’tcha?” Apparently not uninhabited enough. Will found himself sitting across the table from a rather cranky looking Scarlet.

“I am,” Will’s mouth answered before his brain could tell him not to. It probably wasn’t the best strategy to admit even to knowing Jack, let alone having any sort of warm feelings for him. And besides, the Captain certainly wasn’t treating him like much of a friend. Not at the moment anyway.

“He’s trouble tha’ one. Though I probably needn’t be tellin’ that to you, lad. Seems every time he’s in this town, I lose business,” Scarlet confided, talking to herself as much as to Will.

“Funny, I would’ve thought he meant more business for you,” Will said dourly, again not doing a very good job of hiding the feeling behind the words.

“Le’ me tell you, boy. Last time Jack Sparrow was in Tortuga, he came storming up to my bedchamber, grabbed my... acquaintance, and stormed ri’ back out. Not so much as a by your leave! Later I find out he’s stolen the ship of another of my steady acquaintances - who was so angry as to not come round for a fortnight, mind you - and the two a’ them are off attackin’ ships a’ the Spanish Fleet! D’you have any idea wha’ coulda happened? I’m surprised that man isn’t dead six times over.”

Will winced at the thought before furrowing his brow. “Wait, you mean Jack and you didn’t...”

Scarlet laughed at his politely finished sentence. “Lad, your friend is a pirate. ‘E’ll run after practically anything that moves, and ‘e’s quite good at catching whatever i’ is that turns ‘is ‘ead. In fact, I’ll be quite surprised if ‘e doesn’t topple you before you’re little adventure is done.”

Will blushed and took a deep draught of his drink, a gesture that was not lost on Scarlet. “Oh ho ho! So ‘e ‘as, then! Well done Jack. Listen lad, I’ve spo’ed a friend of mine, so I must be goin’, but remember. Jack may be a pirate, but ‘e’s got a good ‘eart. That’s one that looks after ‘is friends.” With a whirl of petticoats, Scarlet left Will alone at the table with his drink.

Suddenly Will decided he was less thirsty than he had originally thought. He carefully picked his way out of the establishment, dodging several hurled drinks and just barely avoiding a brawl, into the only slightly less crowded streets. He thought about going back to the ship, but decided that perhaps he should give the Captain some time to fall into a drunken slumber. He wasn’t really mad at Jack anymore, but it would do the man some good to realize that Will might not be as easily manipulated as he had aed. ed. Besides, the ship was too confining, and he needed to walk while he thought. Earlier that day, he had been a pirate-loathing blacksmith, and now he found himself on an island he would have never dreamed of sailing to even if he had been able to sail, taking advice from a prostitute about his Captain and lover. What would Elizabeth think?

He stopped short as he realized that he honestly couldn’t answer the question. Sighing, he started walking again, deciding that two possibilities were more likely than all others. The first, she would be heartbroken. Will wondered how much of him wished this to be the case. He loved Elizabeth, or at least had always suspected he did, but their vastly different classes had stood in the way of the pair getting to know one another. He truly admired Elizabeth, but it had always had to be from afar. That’s why he couldn’t tell which of the two possibilities was more likely. That she would cry and run from him in disgust, or that she would beam and congratulate him. After all, a part of him had always thought any interest she had expressed in him was only to annoy her father and flout their society. It had been the rallying cry of his self-doubt in his darkest moments, but now he could see an advantage to it. Maybe Elizabeth would even join them aboard the Black Pearl, and he could finally get to know her. He smiled at himself as he realized how deeply entrenched that particular belief had become in such a short time. That Jack would win back his Pearl and have Will sailing by his side. Why not bring Elizabeth along? From what he had heard, Jack did seem to like Elizabeth... and if he was being honest, seeing her aboard a pirate ship didn’t seem all that much more unrealistic than seeing her as a blacksmith’s wife.

Bloody blacksmiths! Let the lad prattle on about pirates, they couldn’t hold a candle to what blacksmiths were capable of. The whelp had actually walked off - walked off! - and left him, left him, that’s Captain Jack Sparrow, to return to his ship alone! He would not have done that had it been anyone else, deserting him on the streets of Tortuga, no indeed he would not. All the anger went out of Jack’s face, replaced by a look of puzzled self reflection. His eyes narrowed and lips pouted as he thought. Yes. Yes, that was true. If it had been anyone but Will, Jack would be out whoring right now. Jack sleepily murmured to himself as he realized this would be the first night in Tortuga he spent alone, “Well, now that’s interesting. That’s very interesting.”

Will was damned tired of ing ing sails. The storm had ripped through most canvas on the ship it seemed. Will couldn’t even be angry with Jack for pressing on like a damned fool, because he had only been thinking of Elizabeth. Well, there was the possibility that he was also thinking that the sooner they rescued her, the sooner he could abscond with Will. He smiled. And then he stabbed himself with the long needle. He yelped, cursed, and stuck the digit into his mouth.

His cries had attracted the attention of Mr. Gibbs. The man walked over to him, eyes focused on the work Will had just done. “Lad, mebbie you’d best be leavin’ that. I’ll take over ‘ere, why don’t you go on down below?” Will mumbled his thanks and left, frustrated at what a bad pirate he was. He couldn’t even mend a simple sail. Though, it did mean he didn’t have to do it anymore. And, to be fair, it was his first time near needle and thread. These things needed to be learned through hours of practice. And Jack was somewhere below, exhausted after his night fighting the storm. This may not be as bad as Will had originally thought.

There were no snores emanating from behind any of the doors, and Will took that to mean Jack was actually asleep this time. He found the Commodore’s room abandoned, and began searching the rest of the ship. Luckily everyone else was busy on deck, so he didn’t need to explain his random wanderings to anybody. Eventually he found Jack, asleep in a hammock. One side of his face was pressed up against the mesh. His kohl-rimmed eyelids were flickering, anery ery once in a while his hands would twitch. Perhaps the Captain needed his sleep, Will thought, so he silently regarded the man as he dreamed. “I couldn’t have needed anyone more in my life, Jack,” Will murmured to the sleeping form before him.

And it was true. Will was being slowly crushed in Port Royal. He had come across the ocean to find his father, on a grand quest for adventure, hoping to be united with someone who would love him. Instead he found a girl to pine after and a town too busy to care whether he lived or died. Brown had taken him in and taught him his trade, in probably what would be the last fully human act of his life. Despite what the rest of Port Royal thought of its blacksmith, the drink had buried a truly good man. Will knew this, but he soon grew tired of attempting to convince the rest of the town. They thought him a fool to stand up for the man who was laughed at for being unable to stand on his own, more often than not. And Jack had been right, he needed to get away from the forge. As it turns out, it wasn’t a girl he needed though. Will wondered how long it would be before Jack took credit for an entirely acte pte prediction, insisting he remembered - correctly, of course - using a less gender-specific term. Will smiled a pained smile.

But there was a girl. And not the strumpet Jack had thought. No, a marvelous, beautiful, outspoken woman. One who could most likely keep her head around pirates much better than Will had been able to thus far. Still, the thought of her in danger made his stomach ache. He wished he could see her again now, talk to her.

Laughingly Will cursed himself. Here he was staring at his lover and thinking about his crush. Well, he appeared to be well on his way to becoming a pirate, and as he was rapidly discovering, their romances were seldom what you would expect from the staid land-dwellers Will was accustomed to. Why, he had just heard Anamaria talking abo-

“Whoa!! WHA!!” Screaming, Jack woke up, attacking the hammock that supported him. As he scrabbled at it, still screaming, he became more and more caught in its netting. Which proved to be a bonus when the whole thing spun around, suspending Jack upside down, a few feet above the floor. Will stood in the doorway, mouth open and eyes wide as dinner plates.

“Will! You near scared me ‘alf to death! What were you thinking, starin’ at me like that.” Jack got through that part of his diatribe before realizing just how upside down he was. A loo looking around the cabin, and then back to Will, noticing that he was not in his usual orientation, he began trying to right himself. As he met with little success, he began muttering. “Creepy enough to raise the dead... ‘ow can a man expect to get any sleep at all if he’s ‘avin’ to worry about people watch- Will are you going to stand there like an idiot, or are you going to help me?” He looked to the man with pleading eyes, hair standing off his head like a Gorgon.

Will burst out laughing. He grabbed the edge of the door to keep from doubling over. Jack thought that really, he should be angry. What kind of a fearsome pirate captain, scourge of the high seas, would stand for such an insult from one of his crew? Probably the same kind that melted at the sound of that laughter. Jack tried his best to look annoyed and settled in until Will decided it best to let him free. Or at least until he stopped laughing, and Jack could think again.

“Oh, oh,” Will started, still breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath, “I’m sorry Jack. Here, let me help you.” He walked over to the hammock, and flipped it around, steadying it with both hands. Hands that just happened to be placed directly on either side of Jack’s head. Brown eyes met brown, and both men stared into each other. Will stopped worrying so much about breathing. Jack forgot about the grievous wrong that had been done to him. Will grabbed Jack’s head and pressed their lips together. He roughly ran his tongue across Jack’s gold teeth, tasting every corner of the man. Jack responded enthusiastically, or at least he did until his position on the hammock became threatened. Then he dug his hands into the netting and tried to keep as still as possible while still responding to Young William’s advances.

After the kiss was broken, Will continued his habit of trying to speak while still regaining his breath. “Jack,” deep breath, “I need you.”

“Will, ‘ave you ever tried to bed a man in a hammock?”>
>

“What? No, of course not.”

“Exactly.”

“What?” Will’s brow was well on its way to developing a permanent furrow.

“Well I ‘ave, and it’s just not possible.”

“But you’re Captain Jack Sparrow!”

Jack glared at him with fiery narrowed eyes. “Get over ‘ere.”

***

After the Interceptor was underway, speeding from Ilsa de Muerta, Will showed Elizabeth to the hold. “Elizabeth, there’s something I must tell you... I apologize if I seem forward, but I must speak my mind.”

Oh no. She didn’t think she could handle another marriage proposal. This life was becoming altogether too routine, proposals and kidnappings by pirates. Of course she could tell Will fancied her, and it wasn’t as if she was as appalled at the idea as when it had been put forth by Commodore Norrington, but still. “Will, I...”

“No, please let me finish. This is difficult for me to say. I’m in love,” Will paused, getting up the courage to speak. Elizabeth calculated how close she was to fainting again. “With Jack.”

“Jack?! Jack Sparrow?” Well this was certainly not what she had expected.

“I know. Elizabeth, I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry? Will, I’ve always cherished feelings for you, but you must admit, we barely know one another... He’s a pirate.”

“Yes, a pirate. I’m rather confused as well, I must admit.”

Elizabeth regarded Will carefully, “If you do truly love him, then I’m sure everything will work out. Do you know if he... returns your affections?”

“Yes. I think so anyway. It’s sometimes difficult to tell with him.”

“Well I think it’s fantastic. Congratulations to you both!”

“I must say, I’m glad you think so,” Will smiled, “I had rather thought-”

“Look Will, in the last two days I’ve been proposed to once and kidnapped by pirates twice. By far I’ve preferred the kidnappings. I fear my place may not be in Port Royal, at the side of my husband.” She smiled at him with a wicked glint to her eyes.

Will stared at her in slack-jawed admiration, and then noticed her hand. “You’re bleeding. Here, let me find something to-”

He started looking around the cabin, before giving up and tearing off a strip of his shirt. As he handed it to her, she looked at him quizzically. “You chase after me, when we are just childhood friends, and yet you leave him behind with a crew of pirates bent on his destruction.”

Will cringed in spite of himself. “Jack can take care of himself. I’m sure he’ll leave the island with more than he started with. Besides, he was ready to trade me for the Pearl.”

“The ship? Surely not! What sort of man trades another man’s life for a ship?”

Elizabeth helped Jack drag some more combustibles over for the fire, after making sure her rum bottle was safely supported by the sand. She watched the light glint off those eyes that seemed so easily distracted.

“What are your intentions with Will, Mr. Sparrow?” The rum made her bark that out a bit louder than it had sounded in her mind.

“Wha’ever do you mean, Miss Swann?” Now what had the lad gone and told her...

“All I know is, Will told me he was in love with you and that you were willing to trade his life for your ship, and so I do not feel that your intentions are entirely honorable.”

Oh. That’s what he’d said. “I assure you Miss Swann, I return the lad’s affections from the very bottom of my black ‘eart.”

“Yes, while that is reassuring to hear, I am far more concerned with the fact that your heart is indeed black. I feel Will could do better.”

“I’m ‘urt Miss Swann, truly I am!” Jack raised a fluttering hand to his chest in mock disbelief. “But I fear the fact of the matter is William has fallen for a pirate. Not much gettin’ around that.”

“If you do anything to hurt him, if you ever think for one moment of trading his life for your precious ship again, I will find you, and you will pay.” As Elizabeth said this, she walked closer to the Captain, poking him in the chest, her voice becoming quieter and more fearsome with every word.

Jack grabbed her pointing finger. “Lass, I make no promises. But last night I slept alone in Tortuga. Tortuga! Do you ‘ave any idea what a contradiction in terms that is? Nae, you probably wouldn’t, a good lass such as yourself. But I assure you, there is no clearer indication of love among men such as meself.”

Elizabeth was rather taken aback. Who knew rum could be such a boon to conversation. “Well, as long as you are going to be faithful-”

“I said I make no promises. Rum turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Why, after another hour or so, I fully believe that I will be attempting to cast my lot in with your fine person. I’ll probably make some comment on your beauty, and then wrap my arm around your shoulders. I may even say ‘The company is infinitely better than last time, and the scenery has definitely improved.’ Yes, I wouldn’t put that past meself after I’ve ‘ad a bit more of this lovely rum.”

Elizabeth smiled, not immune to Jack Sparrow’s charms. “Well, then I shall be on the lookout.”

“Good, good. We wouldn’t want me doing anything stupid.”

“I beg your pardon!”

“What?” Jack excelled at looking confused. “I thought you were lookin’ out for the whelp.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean... Ooh!” Elizabeth slapped him, and angrily marched back to her bottle of rum.

Commodore Norrington had ordered Murtogg and Mullroy to lock both Will and Jack Sparrow into the two cells that made up the brig of the Dauntless. Governor Swann had insisted that Will be locked up separately from Jack. He saw the value of scaring the youth into a life that didn’t involve stealing ships of the Queen’s Navy, but then again he didn’t want the lad injured by the far more fearsome and accomplished pirate.

“Is this entirely necessary, gentlemen? Surely we aren’t going to attempt to commandeer such a fine vessel as this, with so many competent sailors aboard.”

“Quiet, pirate,” Mullroy spat out the line Jack had heard oh so many times before. He was rather fond of it, actually. Made him feel a real villain. However, as he had overheard the Governor’s insistence on separate lodgings, he knew some alterations must yet be made. As they descended the staircase - decidedly less rickety than the one aboard the Interceptor, Jack made note - he cast about for something to aid his quest. Gaze settling on a nail protruding from the floorboards, he attempted to look completely un-suspicious.

“’Ey now! Watch where you’re going!” Jack had cleverly caught his boot on said nail, and propelled his shoulder into the locking mechanism of the cell on the port side. What wouldn’t have made a dent when the thing was locked, crippled it when the door was able to bang itself about a bit.

“Aw, he’s broken it!” Murtogg really did look put out.

“Well, we’ll just ‘ave to put ‘em in the same cell then. Sorry lad.” Mullroy really didn’t look all that sorry, but Will was too happy to notice. He was also too busy trying not to look happy, both for the soldier’s benefit and Jack’s. He was repeating to himself that this was the man who was willing to trade Will away to a band of mutinous pirates.

Murtogg and Mullroy soon retreated up the stairs, and Will turned to look at Jack. Jack who was leaning up against the brig wall and regarding him with those beautiful eyes.

“An oar, mate?” the pirate asked.

“Jack, do you really expect me to know what you’re talking about?”

“Oh ho ho then! You’ve come up with a line other than ‘what!’ Congratulations lad, I’ll write up the notices meself.”

“You can’t write,” Will laughed in spite of himself. “Can you?”

“’A course I can! I can both read and write, thank you very much. You wouldn’t believe the library I left behind on the Pearl.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

“Look, you scrawl out anything, and I’ll read it back to you.”

“I can’t write, Jack,” Will admitted, trying not to look ashamed in front of the man.

“Oh well, that’s no problem then, I’ll just ‘ave to teach you. Jus’ like I taught your dad.” Jack did a good job making Will think it was nothing to be ashamed of. He had to be given credit for that.

“I still don’t believe you,” Will smiled.

“Will, I’m ‘urt. But not as ‘urt as I was when you attacked me with that oar, which is a subject we seem to have left behind. I, ‘owever, feel it still merits some discussion.”

Will thought it best to look at his feet, rather than Jack’s eyes. “Yes... about that... sorry. I just though that, with you being Captain Jack Sparrow and all, you would manage a fine way out of any situation you were presented with.” Perhaps looking coyly up at Jack through his eyelashes was better than the floor after all...

“Awh, well then,” Jack preened, “all is forgiven!” He cursed under his breath, and then once more a bit louder for Will’s benefit. “You know lad, there will come a day when that won’t work quite so well.”

“I shall just have to devise some new trick before that day arrives.”

“Curse you, ya scalawag,” Jack beamed and just stared for a moment. “But there remains the matter of your sending the lass after me.” His faux-serious demeanor was impressive. Very impressive. Will actually looked worried.

“What? I did no such thing!”

“Bloody ‘ell you didn’t. I got a crack across the face the like of which I’d never seen. Outside a brothel,” he hastily amended with a dismissive hand gesture.

“I never told Elizabeth to slap you.”

“Oh well she certainly is an inventive girl, isn’t she now. She has taken quite the interest in your romances, and seems to think I’m not good enough for the likes of you.”

Will smiled and walked across the cell, facing Jack. “Romances, eh?”

“Aye,” was all Jack got out before the pair melded together, kissing one another. It seemed as if each was trying to reassure the other that he was indeed unharmed after their rather eventful absences. Hands worked themselves through layers of clothing to run along sun browned and weathered skin. Jack gave one final tug before he released William’s lip, turning his attentions to the lad’s neck. Will shuddered and threw his arms around Jack’s neck, toying with a lock of his hair. As Jack worked his way down along the edge of his blacksmith’s open shirt, Will moaned and felt a pair of hands on his belt.

“Finally,” he sighed and smiled as Jack looked up at him, surprised at his sudden lewdness. Jack chuckled as he ran a ring encrusted finger along the line where fabric met Will’s hip. His tongue followed soon behind, and Will was practically writhing as he leaned against the wall of the cell. He smiled. Elizabeth’s father had thought this would deter him from piracy? “Ohhh...” He moaned as Jack’s tongue slid up his inner thigh, his trousers shoved down past his knees. As Jack began flicking his tongue across his cock, Will’s knees buckled and Jack’s hands flew up to support him. He wove his hands into the beaded mass of hair for further assistance with remaining upri As As Jack moved back and forth against him, Will thought that no matter what happened when they got back to Port Royal, he wouldn’t have done a thing differently. He studied those beads, at the same time watching Jack’s eyes gaze up at him. Before long, he was biting the side of his hand in an attempt to keep the ship’s crew from barging into the brig to rescue him from the clutches of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Will slid to the floor, Jack curling against him and capturing his mouth in a deep kiss. While Will was distracted, Jack pulled his breeches back on as best he could, and put his arms around the boy. Will made to move away from Jack’s embrace.

“Nae lad, none of that then.”

“But you’re still...”

Jack smiled at him, both tenderly and saucily, “I’m fine, love. For the moment anyway.”

Will was still protesting. “What if someone-”

“Hush. We’ll ‘ear ‘em comin’ with time to spare. That staircase was awful rickety.”

Will settled against the curve of Jack’s body, his hair tickling the man’s bare chest. The two men sat nestled together for some time, content and cherishing every moment they could, before this most likely came to a nasty end. Jack angled his head down, to better smell Will’s hair. Will pressed as much of himself up against Jack as he could, savoring the feel of the man breathing beneath him. It was he who finally broke the silence.

“Jack, why didn’t you tell me about the Pearl?”

He softly chuckled, “I dunno lad, for some reason thought you might not want to ‘ear it. Perhaps I got that into my head on account of your professed loathing of pirates and all things non-law-abiding.”

“What can I say, you’ve turned me into a liar.”

“And a damned good pirate.”

Will blushed at the compliment, “You should see what I did to those sails before you say that.”

“Gibbs ‘ad you mending sail? Ho ho, I wish I’d been up to see that,” Jack crowed. Will smiled and leaned back so he could look into Jack’s eyes.

“Jack, will I always be second fiddle to the Black Pearl in your affections?”

He took a deep breath as he looked down at the boy. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

Will felt odd about bringing up the subject. Like it was something that he shouldn’t be worried about, or if he was, should keep to himself. He could see the concern in Jack’s eyes an mad made his heart ache. Gathering up his courage, he said softly, “You were going to use me as leverage to regain your ship.”

“I was going to use a bit of your blood as leverage. You were already hellbent on goin’ there. I was putting you in no additional danger. An’ I did still feel terrible doin’ it, but... I need my ship.” Jack looked off at where the horizon would be, were it not blocked by layers of wood. “My Pearl. I wouldn’t be worth loving if I didn’t have ‘er back. A ship’s not just a keel and a hold and a deck and sails. That’s what a ship needs, but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom.” There was a pause as Jack looked wistful and Will felt somewhat torn. “ ‘Ere now, that sounded somewhat familiar. Perhaps I read it somewhere....”

Jack stayed at the helm of the Pearl until the highest point of Port Royal dropped below the horizon. Handing the ship’s wheel over to Anamaria, he swaggered below decks to take stock of his home and to collect himself. It was a pity to leave William behind, but he didn’t want to chance an accident on the rocks below the fort. And he was safe, fully pardoned and in the very competent hands of Miss Swann. He trusted her to look after his Will until he could find an opportunity to come back for him.

As he opened the door to his cabin, he began waving his hands around in front of his face as if he were a cat batting at string. Smelled of monkey. Foul little creatures, couldn’t abide them. Jack grabbed all the bedclothes and threw them into the corridor, planning on ordering someone to wash them later. He was once again on his Pearl. Captain Jack Sparrow, home and whole again. Monkey stink or no. He walked back to the bunk, grasping one of the boards and heaving it up. It was stuck in fairly well, and Jack nearly flew across the room when it came loose.

They were still there! His treasures. He knew Barbossa wasn’t so stupid as to be unaware of this cache, yet still he had kept them. Clearly proof he knew he was not fated to remain Captain of the Pearl for long. He ran his fingers over the books’ spines, delighting in the familiar feel of their leather bindings. Picking one up, he smelled its cover, finding it thankfully free of monkey odor. He sat cross-legged by the side of the opening, and began spreading the books out around him. Giddy like a child, Jack sorted them into little piles. These were the ones he could quote entirely from memory. And these were the ones he had pillaged from members of the clergy. These ones were so worn that he had to be particularly careful handling them. And these... these would be good ones for Will to start on.

Jack picked up one from that last pile and leaned against the wall, just holding it. A thousand curses upon that bastard Norrington. And he wasn’t so pleased with the lass’ father either. In fact, anyone who stood between him and Will could use a sound lashing, in his opinion. He knew he’d have to spend a good amount of time away from Port Royal, until it was reasonably safe for him to return. He sighed. Poor lad. Well, Captain Jack Sparrow would just have to find a wonderful present to make it up to him.

Will stopped his pacing and whirled around when he heard the door open behind him. “Elizabeth! You look beautiful. You’re not supposed to be here....”

“Well done, Will. I managed to send the servants off on some errand and snuck down here. And thank you for the compliment, but I’m sorry to say I cannot return it. Are you all right?” Elizabeth regarded at Will with a concerned look. Both were dressed in full wedding regalia, on what most of Port Royal assumed would be the happiest day of their young lives.

“I just... Are you sure this is what you want? You could have any man, someone who could be a better husband, someone who didn’t-”

“Understand that I cannot live as a normal wife and mother? I think not. Will, you are the only man I would wish to spend my life with. My father wishes me to marry, and if you are still willing, I could think of no better pair than the two of us. A bride who only wants to retain her freedom, and a groom who is in love with another man.”

“Elizabeth, I do love you.”

“I know, Will. But I’m no Jack.” Elizabeth saw the pain this caused her friend, and she ran to hold his hand. “He’ll be back, Will. Don’t worry on that score. He’s a good man, and cares for you deeply.”

Will looked to his fiancee with watery eyes. “Thank you.”

“I’d best get back before they miss me.” With that Elizabeth turned and left Will alone with his fears.