Author's Note: I do not own this show or the characters, and no profit will come of my mutterings.

I noticed that for pretty much every fandom in which I've written, I have one angsty story where my OTPs spend a fair amount of my word count having difficult but necessary conversations. So I'm glad to get this out of my system, and that the show presented such a perfect platform for it.

I wrote much of this story weeks ago after the finale. And then I sat on it so I could mull over the many issues it wrestles with, get some other perspectives, fiddle with how much I wanted to explore. There are a lot of ways to think about what happened between Silver and Madi in the finale and I've really enjoyed thinking about those angles and learning how others saw things as well. What came out of all that musing is just one interpretation of that.

Thanks so much for reading. And my thanks to those who've tipped your friendly fanfic writers in this fandom with reviews. I hope you "enjoy" the ride on this one, and feel free to share your impressions and thoughts.

Chapter One

Silver took a long last look at the sea and the horizon beyond it. He'd been perched in this spot for a while, thinking about Nassau and what lay ahead for the town he'd fought and nearly died for. He peered down into the crashing waves, contemplated how each lap ate at the cliffside, slowly eroding what appeared so solid underneath him. One day it would be unrecognizable, the result of the destruction, or evolution rather, that he could not now take his eyes off of.

The inevitability of where he found himself in this moment harkened a most depressing mood. Indulging a brief reflection of his life's journey, he acknowledged a stubborn insistence on refusing to shy away from the wretchedness of his current state. He accepted the almost mundaneness of these details as much as he reveled in the pleasurable ones. And any reflection on pleasure brought an image of Madi back into the foreground of his thoughts. Never far did notions of her linger.

Despite this, he'd vowed not to spend the entirety of his moments torturing himself over sweet musings of his dearest companion … even if she'd barely spoken a full sentence to him directly in weeks.

Not even a season had passed since he'd last stood in this spot, eager to wage war against the British and anyone else who stood in the way of his ordained purpose: protect his men, protect his captain, protect his allies; and most prominently, protect Madi and the life he'd begun imagining with her. Silver would return here when he needed the space of mood and thought, away from the responsibilities he'd taken on in a new home to which he'd devoted himself. For her, he would stop running and prove that he could be a partner worthy of her companionship. This spot, away from the guilt-tinged contentment of this new existence, made for a convenient shelter to ease the gnawing in his gut for wanting to affix himself to Madi's every whereabout until she had no choice but to accept him again.

That this spot reminded him of the other person he'd considered a companion and friend – still considered a friend – appeared fitting. If his and Madi's rift seemed a deep emotional one, he hoped the distance between him and Flint could only be defined as one of geography rather than rapport, or at least it would one day. Long John Silver's waiting destiny, realized at this very spot in some ways, struck Silver as both yesterday's memory and another lifetime ago. The world he'd imagined then had been so much more glorious, a sign in hindsight of its impossibility. He realized that now, as much good as it does him sitting alone with so many desires hanging in the balance.

On days like today when he made the arduous trek, he tried not to dwell long lest his maudlin temperament become a regular occurrence. God, he had enough on his mind.

Never before had he forced himself to such optimism as he did now, pinning his hopes on the ardor that had grabbed him by the throat in those first moments with Madi. This inevitable force he'd welcomed into his heart, and he'd expected it to triumph over all else that he'd been through in his life. Maybe this is why this spot, this cliff, those waves appealed to him as they did. As he considered which of her passions would prevail against the relentless tide overwhelming him right now, it would help him make sense of the possibilities. Would it be her anger? Her disappointment? Or their love and acceptance?

Silver afforded the sea – his only remaining companion at the moment – one last spare contemplation, standing up to leave as nimbly as his dexterity allowed.

When Madi crested the hill, she spotted Silver staring down into the water. From his steady gaze to his stillness against the strong breeze, he appeared to be pleading to the waters below to reveal every answer he'd sought in the weeks he'd insisted on traversing this terrain again. Even to her, this particular path seemed full of memories and unfulfilled promises; or perhaps this impression was only a reflection of her mood these days. Yet, as always, the sight of him invoked a rush of affection and excitement. A tightening anger in her stomach followed, invading those pure feelings before making space for the sadness.

Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she silenced her frustrations. No, she could not afford to descend into more of the emotional turmoil she'd been navigating these past weeks.

Silver had come here regularly since the pirates and chiefs had departed the island a month ago. It had become part of his routine. She suspected he had no idea that she paid attention to such things. After all, she had not spoken a word to him since their confrontation beyond a sentence or two of essential responses. However, she maintained knowledge of how he spent his time and where. Even if she'd had no interest in knowing his whereabouts – such was the heat of her ire with him – there were few secrets in a community as small as hers. In any event, news of his movements reached her whether she wanted the information or not: his assistance with the season's planting; his frequent participation in constructing housing for the newest freed slaves from Nassau; his casual return to daily conversations with elders who helped him to learn Madi's native tongue as well as the hybrid English spoken on the island.

In other words, he'd adjusted to this new life along with everyone else in the community, while simultaneously waiting out his days for her to notice him again. In many ways, he'd returned to that stranger in the cage whose eyes she felt stalking her every move, the dangerous attraction both frightening and exciting to her.

For her part, she found this new world – the world that the man before her helped shape – to be a surprisingly easy one in which to adapt herself.

Oh, she'd wept for hours following their argument. She'd wrung herself dry as mind and heart violently accepted the abrupt end to her fantasies of victories in the name of freedom for her people and the noble ideals for which her parents had both sacrificed so much. She wailed for the death of her dear Kofi, executed and discarded for his loyalty; of her men who had lost their lives in a crusade she had no choice in abandoning. Finally, as night settled across the camp and preparations were finalized for their new allies to move on, she silently cried over the man she loved so fiercely, who only a week before she thought gone forever and had mourned. Her pulse quickened remembering the power of that love rediscovered by way of a miracle. If only she'd known that such sweet reunion would heighten the sting of the trust needlessly thrown away so soon after.

Her mother had sat with her for hours, holding her, understanding her pain. That night and for many nights after, she waited for Madi to accept that the world had settled around her, gently imploring her to acknowledge what could not be changed. After the tears dried, a heavy melancholy replaced that initial despondency, even as those around her were brimming with excitement and the possibilities of a new existence lived in the open. And still her mother sat with her, supporting her and ushering her into this inevitable crossroads.

The decision to follow Silver today to a spot that filled her with such conflicting emotions reflected the duty she felt to repay her mothers hours upon weeks upon years of patient grooming to become a woman fit to lead others by first knowing her own mind and spirit. From those first days, she'd shared with Madi two truths their people would be looking to her for: knowing her place in this changing world and knowing with whom she could live it. This would shape not only how they'd view their new allies in Nassau and the surrounding communities, but how much of their pasts they should take with them to fully realize this new freedom they'd fought for.

Answers for the first truth came with ease; the latter would depend on the conversation she intended to have right now.

As Madi watched Silver rise up, leaning heavily on his crutch, she remembered a different question from another moment at the crossroads. He'd asked her if it all ended and they had to walk away, would he be enough for her. Oh what must have been going through his mind then; and now as well. As he'd orchestrated, it had all, in fact, ended. For very different reasons, they'd, in fact, had to walk away.

Is this enough? Is he enough?

Reaching the clearing at the top of the hill, Madi paused. She didn't have to wait long for Silver to notice her presence. His face revealed a surge of heartbreaking emotion: shock, hope, indignation, fear. Every last one seemed appropriate.

The two lovers stared at each other as the waves crashed against the rocks.

TBC