Title: Choosing A
Side
Author: curiosity
Pairing: Norribeth, because I love
James, and always thought he deserved better.
Rating: PG to
PG13
Warnings: Spoilers for AWE
Summary: James says yes
instead of no aboard the Dutchman. I suspect that the writers did
what they did to James because, if they hadn't, this would have
happened.
"Come with me,"
she says, holding out her hand. "James, come with me. Please."
He looks into her eyes and reads what she doesn't say- that what she
doesn't need is another dead hero, that if he tries to give her a
speech about their tragic destinies, she'll hit him over the head and
drag him with her anyway- that she might need him, after all.
"Yes,"
he says, and takes her hand, and they jump together.
James
stands beside her as she watches Davy Jones murder Will with his own
sword. He holds her while she screams, and knows she is not just
screaming for Turner, but for the life she has lost and the girl she
has been. He mourns for that girl's loss also, but he marvels at the
woman who has taken her place. James cannot help but remember the
other times he has held her in his arms, happier times while he was
turning her on the dance floor with sure steps as she made fun of the
other officers and he pretended he wasn't amused at her cruel but
accurate descriptions. He is a world away from any of that, now.
He carries her back to the Black Pearl, where he sets her down and
swipes her tears away with his thumb. She looks at him, really looks
at him, for the first time since she fell in with pirates- though
now, he has also fallen in with pirates.
"I like you much
better without the wig," she says, and gives him a small,
brittle smile, trying to be strong. He loves her for it, as he always
has, and wants to protect her, even though he knows that time is long
gone. "You look younger. More like a pirate."
"I
may be a pirate," he says, "but I refuse to wear a
ridiculous hat. That's not required, is it?" That wins him a
laugh, and he feels his heart swell with something akin to happiness.
He has almost forgotten what that feels like.
"What
happened to us, James? We could have been happy together. I think I
loved you, once." He knows she is saying these things because
they are on the brink of total destruction, and most likely won't
survive. So, instead of 'I still love you, don't ask me to stop
loving you', he says what she wants to hear:
"The man I was
then would have suffocated you and your sense of freedom. You
wouldn't have been happy with me."
"You're not
suffocating me now," she says quietly, and takes his hand.
"You're a good man, James, at heart. I meet so few good men
these days." She kisses his cheek. "Thank you."
"For
what?" He is genuinely confused.
"For not giving up on
me. Even when I did." She walks away to give orders to the crew,
and he is left touching his cheek in wonder.
The Dutchman
must have a captain. How convenient. Turner, James thinks
resentfully, is like a cockroach who just won't die. Elizabeth is so
pleased Turner's not dead, she'll have forgotten all about him. I
can't do this, he thinks, turning away. But she touches him on the
shoulder and says,
"James. He'll only have shore leave for
one day every ten years." She shakes her head in disbelief.
"Not
much of a marriage," he agrees, carefully. "What will you
do the rest with of the time? Somehow, after this Pirate King
business, I can't see you knitting baby clothes." Now comes
the part where she says she could really use a friend in the
intervening years, and he knows he'll agree even though it will break
his heart not to be able to touch her as he wants to, love her as he
longs to. The words never come. Instead she looks up at him
anxiously.
"I was hoping... if we survive... that you might
be willing to... that is, I've come to appreciate the value of a man
who truly... I find you comforting, but not just comforting, also
brave and gentle and every so often there's this predatory gleam in
your eye that Will never gets that's been driving me mad, and
Jack's stupid compass never worked, or rather it worked too well,
because it always pointed to you..." Her customary quickness of
wit has deserted her entirely, and James Norrington feels a smile
twitching at the corners of his mouth, another sensation he has
almost forgotten.
"Elizabeth. Are you proposing that, aside
from a conjugal visit to Mr.Turner once every ten years, you would
consent to," he pauses, struggling for the words, "renewing
our relationship?"
"Yes. If you still want me. I know
I've changed..." He quiets her with a kiss that goes on for
quite some time.
"Oh. So that's a yes, then."
"Under
normal circumstances, I don't share the women I love, but I think I
can afford to be generous, considering the odds are rather in my
favor."
"I was hoping you'd see it that way."
Oh yes, he sees. He sees that he has ten years to win her over, by which time he plans to make her forget all about Will Turner.
"I don't know
the first thing about piracy," James says, frowning. "I am
completely at a loss on how to proceed."
"I'll teach you,"
Elizabeth murmurs into his ear. "The first and most important
rule is: take what you can. Give nothing back."
"I'll
put that into practice immediately." As the former commodore's
eyes darken with desire, he claims her lips in a searing kiss and
pulls his prize into the captain's quarters, locking the door behind
him. Piracy, he thinks, has been deeply underrated.
Feedback always appreciated.
