OMG, where have I been?! Well, there are many reasons why I haven't updated either of my two chapter stories in a ridiculously long time, and the main one is it's a critical year at school for me; I'm fourteen so I'm doing GCSE stuff constantly, and basically school's just getting on top of me.
But alas; here is my apology :) A random fluffy Sparrabeth OneShot, something I haven't done in a long time, so forgive me if I've lost the knack for it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome ^_^
His skin was cold. It was cold like the icy depths he'd been submerged in when she'd left him to the Kraken those many months ago. He was colder than the snowstorm they'd survived trying to reach him. He was even colder than how she felt everyday, racked with guilt and the reality of what she'd done...
His eyes were still shut. They had been shut the entire week since they'd found him, unconscious in his cabin on the Pearl. She missed his smoldering gaze terribly; and every morning she'd wake up hoping that that's what she'd be greeted with, with memories of a previous passionate night illuminating the room more than the sun ever could...
But alas, no. She wakes up alone, with a cold space in the bed next to her that Will vacates at least an hour afore she awakes. He doesn't like to be near her anymore.
He still wasn't really talking to her. Nothing had been right between them since Jack's death, but she felt no remorse. He hadn't kissed her, which she was thankful for, because everytime she thought of Jack, she was granted the euphoric knowledge that his lips had been the last to claim hers. But then her euphoria would dissolve when she remembered that painful, betrayed look upon his face when the shackle clicked deafeningly loud around his wrist, and his sinful mouth pulled back.
She'd told the biggest lie of her life that day. She couldn't be more sorry! Now Jack had to wake up for her to tell him...before her suicidal thoughts got the best of her. She sat in the same spot for hour upon hour as she had everyday since they'd arrived.
A few more lonely tears drifted down her sunken cheeks and she clamped her eyes shut. If he should wake up at this very moment, she did not want to look weak. But that's what he made her feel...with every casual glance she would mistakenly catch before his eyes darted away, the merest trace of a smirk dancing about his lips, and she'd turn and smile secretly, revelling in this beautifully dangerous game that they played.
In this game, there was only one rule: Will must never know. So, of course, it was game over when he found out. His accusatory tone and glare when Elizabeth sat down in that boat was enough to let her know that he'd seen.
She let out a few sobs, muffled by her hand clasped tightly over her mouth, her fingers tracing around her lips, reminding herself of the fervor in Jack's kiss, and how much she craved a second time.
It was enough. In fact, it was too much! She darted from the room with such speed that if you'd blinked, you'd have missed it.
It was dark out on deck, as she climbed up the stairs from the corridor of quarters. The deck was deserted, other than Pintel and Ragetti in the crow's nest, arguing over some silly little thing during their night shift. Gibbs was also around, up at the helm. He'd been unusually quiet since Jack's death, and her heart went out to him; he must feel like he'd lost his best friend.
She walked on, over to the rail, and looked down over the side, breathing in gulps of cold air to relieve some of her pent-up nausea. She quickly glanced over her shoulder and saw that Gibbs had disappeared, and Pintel and Ragetti were still busy settling their argument.
Before she had the chance to turn fully around, she was sinking to the wooden floor of the deck in anguish, falling quietly and very thoroughly apart. She somehow managed to keep her sobs to a quiet level, although how nobody heard her, she'd never know. It seemed that someone had seen her though, and it wasn't long until a figure towered over her, the moonlight behind him casting his silhouette over her. She looked up.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Gibbs?" she asked quietly, wiping her cheeks a bit.
"Actually," he smiled ruefully, "I think it be me who might be needing to help you."
"Good luck," she mumbled, looking down at the floor.
Gibbs let out a small chuckle and lowered himself to sit beside her. "Is this about Jack?"
She sniffed.
"C'mon, 'Lizabeth, we're all a bit depressed without him. He'll come around eventually," he said reassuringly, squeezing her shoulder softly as if to emphasize his point.
"I think he hates me," she whispered blankly, staring off in a haze. "He doesn't know how much I regret...he doesn't know how much I love him..."
She trailed off as more tears filled her eyes and she buried her face in her hands. Gibbs saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned to look, but it appeared that there was no-one there.
"Jack doesn't hate ye," Gibbs chuckled. "And I bet he'd call ye a silly lass for suggesting such a thing!"
Elizabeth scoffed and looked the other way, smiling without humour. "You don't know what I did, Mr. Gibbs."
"Well," he considered slowly, "why don't ye tell me?"
"You'll hate me too," she replied, turning to look at him, her artificial smile gone. And for the first time since Jack's death, Gibbs saw how much this young woman had aged in that time. Her eyes were filled with sadness and grief, but there was something else he could identify but...couldn't find a reason to associate it with her...guilt?
She looked frail and broken, and her current state reminded Gibbs of when he worked under Commodore Norrington, and this anguished woman was a mere child, innocently oblivious to the wicked ways of the world. He tightened his grip on her shoulder protectively without even realising.
"I won't," he assured her, "but please tell me? I might be able to help."
She couldn't help but smile at his concern, turning away again. "That....that day, with the Kraken...I said Jack volunteered to stay behind..."
Gibbs frowned slightly, not quite wanting to know where this was going.
"...that was a lie. I kissed him, and pushed him back to the mast......I.....I shackled him there....a-and told him I wasn't sorry, and I left him to die!.....How could he not hate me?! I killed him, Gibbs! I killed him! And now he hates me, I know he does!"
Her words were coming out in a whispered shout as she put across her desperation for comfort. Gibbs was utterly stunned. But even despite her confession, he found himself feeling sorry for her as she broke down even more in his arms. He saw another movement, but chose to ignore it this time.
"Listen, Elizabeth. I can understand why ye think he'd hate ye, but when ye've know the Cap'n as long as I have, ye know the way his mind works. He does not hate ye! In fact, those last few weeks before...that day...all the crew had seen him at his happiest."
She looked up at him. "Thankyou for lying to make me feel better, but I think I'd like to be alone now."
She gave him a look that cut him off from any arguments he might have had, and he sighed as he stood up. She watched him as he walked away, rubbing his head.
When she was certain he'd gone, and quickly checked once again on Pintel and his partner in crime, she stood up, and quietly climbed up onto the rail.
She looked down at the icy waters below her, and resigned herself to the fact that Jack was, in a way, having his revenge. Her fate would be almost identical to his, plunging into the depths of the ocean, except this time, there would be no-one willing to save her...a murderer.
She closed her eyes, and prepared to jump....
...but a tight grip encircled her wrist and pulled her back before she knew quite what was happening. She landed on the deck and tried to scream, but a large hand covered her mouth and she was spun into the person. They took their hand away from her mouth as soon as they realised she was going to stop attempting to scream, and she went limp in their arms, which they'd just wrapped around her thin frame.
The person could hear muffled sobs as she clutched onto their shirt with tight-balled fists. Small whimpers could be heard as she whispered, "He hates me....he hates me...."
"Sssh, sssh, sssh," they cooed, stroking her hair. "I don't hate ye..."
Elizabeth associated this mysterious person's phrase with what she'd just been whispering...she froze and her breath hitched. With agonizing slowness, she pulled her head from his chest and looked up into Jack's dark eyes. Her own eyes went wide and she backed away from him, fear coursing through her body at the thought of what he might do to avenge himself.
His expression didn't change, but he made one move towards her.
"I'm so sorry Jack! I really am! I don't know what I was thinking that day, and I-"
As her eyes searched the floor for hidden answers, she didn't have time to register that he'd been drawing closer, and now his lips seized hers passionately. She went weak in his embrace and let herself just...be kissed.
Just to be kissed by this wonderful man whom she adored, whom she loved...whom she killed...
His kiss grew evermore fierce, and she started to wonder if it was this he was going to use to kill her, because surely if he put more effort into it, she would suffocate! Just as she thought she'd pass out from lack of oxygen, he pulled back, but kept his arms tightly locked around her to prevent any means of escape.
"Ye aren't goin' anywhere Elizabeth," he growled lowly, and now she started to feel real fear, "not until we've sorted this whole mess out."
She bit her tongue to stop herself from crying again, and instead, pretended to look strong, as though her apology was fake, and his absence had no effect on her whatsoever. He saw right through it.
"I've already apologized, Jack. What more do you want from me?"
"Well...." he started, "...I want ye to explain why ye told Gibbs ye loved me. And then we'll work our way from there."
Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. "Because....." she sighed, ".....because it's true. But it doesn't matter anymore; you don't care. You don't care about me."
"How do you know that?" he challenged back quietly. "Prove it."
"Jack, I can see your eyes. And do you know what I see in them? Anger. Hurt. Resentment. There isn't any love there. Not for me anyway."
"What can I do to prove to ye that I don't hate ye? That I don't wish to run me sword through ye? And that maybe I do care for ye traitorous, murderin' self? Hmm? Tell me, Elizabeth."
His eyes bore into hers, challenging her. Finally, she spoke:
"Call me Lizzie," she said simply. "I don't care if you hate me, I'll survive. Just call me Lizzie!"
"Would ye?" he asked sincerely.
Elizabeth was puzzled. "Would I what?"
"Would ye survive if I hated ye? I mean, ye seemed pretty torn up about it jus' now. I mean, suicide? Ye don't think I'd ever let ye do somethin' like that, do ye?"
She didn't answer for a while. "I don't know. I don't know if I could...."
"Exactly," he smiled, surprising her. "Lizzie,-" she grinned, "-I've tried hatin' ye since I arrived down here. Truth is, I can't do it."
He caressed the side of her face gently, reminding them both of a previous time and place....curiosity....
"Liz, I'm not a man to beg, so if ye say no, I won't press the matter. But...."
He trailed off, thinking. Suddenly, he turned back towards her. "How are things between ye and yer dear eun-ahem-William?"
Elizabeth supressed a smile. "It's fairly safe to say it's over between us. He saw us..."
"There is no 'us'," Jack said faintly, almost breaking Elizabeth's heart into two. He looked down. "However, if ye want there to be, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Like I said, if ye say no, I won't -"
"Yes."
Jack's head snapped back up towards her. "What?"
Elizabeth was smiling gleefully. "Yes. I want there to be an 'us', Jack."
"Peas in a pod, love," he grinned cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows to make her laugh. He claimed her lips again, catching her bottom lip between his.
Elizabeth's expression when they broke apart was serious again. "I really am sorry for killing you, Jack."
"I admire a person who's willing to do whatever's necessary," he smiled warmly. "Besides, ye only took from me the one thing I'd give up for ye anyway. I love ye, Lizzie."
"I love you too, Jack," she smiled happily, and his mouth slanted across hers again.
Will stood in the shadows, where Gibbs had seen him standing previously. He smiled; he was glad that he'd told Jack to confront Elizabeth. As they'd both stood together and watched Elizabeth's conversation with Gibbs, Will had realised that Elizabeth truly loved Jack. Jack apologized for his loss, but Will merely smiled.
He'd find someone, someday. He was just happy that Jack and Elizabeth had found theirs. Watching the exchange betwixt the euphoric lovers, Will Turner smiled.
A touch of destiny, indeed.
Awwh, bless ickle William ^_^
This is one of the few times I've been in such a good mood that I've given him a bit of a reasonably happy ending :) I've been bashing him a lot since the second movie, so I thought I'd give him a break! Lol.
Review? It will make my full-blown comeback arrive a lot faster, I assure you ;)
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