Title: Dreams
Author: ShadeAngel
Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: Will/Jack
Rating: PG
Discailmer: Amazingly enough, it belongs to Disney, not me.
Summary: Will lets himself relax. He and Jack have a discussion. (God, I'm crap at this.)
Notes: Posted on the Piratesgasm fic community on LJ. www.livejournal . com / community / pirategasm Contains elements of slash, meaning homosexual relations. Don't read if this isn't you kinda of thing. Also, this fic has not be betaed, sorry folks. My beta has never seen the movie so he's a little lost on the fic. T.T

Will loved the feel of hands running through his hair. It was a new discovery, but no less true. The gentle pull as fingers caught, the slight massage against his scalp, the complete relaxation as that overtook him. It was sensuous and so wonderfully intimate.

Yes, it should not be happening. He should not be letting Jack of all people play with his hair, braiding it, beading it, combing out the tangle with his fingers. This was something only a lover should have the rights to. It was completely inappropriate for two mean to sit so close. He could feel the heat of Jack's skin through layers of fabric, the puffs of warm, humid air against the back of his neck where the pirates breath touched him.

But Will, didn't care that this shouldn't be happening, was fighting the warning bells and the voice that was wailing at him to put a stop to this nonsense. He simply leaned into the touch, letting his eyes drift shut and his mind wander to other things.

Jack's fingers continued on skilfully, braiding trinkets into his hair, adding a bead here, a sea shell there. Will couldn't even remember how they'd gotten into this situation, how Jack had convinced him into sitting on the bed and allowing the man to have his way with him. Well, with his hair at any rate, and, truthfully, in the state of contentment he was in at the moment he doubted he'd protest if Jack were to try anything else.

What that 'else' was, Will wasn't precisely sure. He knew from a rather embarrassing encounter in one of the brothels that it was in fact possible for two men to become lovers, but he hadn't payed much attention to the how as to the what. What little he had noticed had been enough to inflame his imagination and caused a few interesting dreams. Dreams which left lingering impressions of the feel of rough wood against his back and the smell of sea salt and rum.

The bed dipped behind him as Jack shifted his weight, causing Will to slip just slightly. They were closer now and Will held his breath for a few moments. Jack continued on, seemingly unaware of the change in position, fingers nimble and quick with their task.

And then the hands moved away and Will turned, startle at the loss of them. Jack smiled.

"There ya go, lad. All done."

Hesitantly, Will brought his hand up to touch the beaded strands, running his fingers over cool glass. The beads chimed musically as they moved and he swept them behind his shoulder self-consciously. Jack still hadn't moved and it was making him nervous. Nervous because he hadn't been this close to someone since he's left Port Royal. Not since Elizabeth had announced her intentions in marrying Norrington. He couldn't blame either of them. He was rather uptight about intimacy and Norrington was indeed a good, reliable man. Far more than he, with his pirate heritage and ever present longing for the sea. It hadn't been a hard decision to return to the sea, to the Black Pearl and, lastly, to Jack.
Jack ruffled his hair fondly, as he would a child. Will sighed. He was the son of an old friend of his, after all. Jack saw Bootstrap in him, the long lost friend. It was the reason Jack had been willing to bring Will along and semi-willing in going on some fool errand. It was because of that friendship that Will had been accepted into the crew without much trouble and why he was still here despite his earlier floundering in learning the true tasks of a pirate.

Will stood, wandering over the small window as he slowly became accustomed to the added weight about his face. He looked out at the cool, calm water, seeing nothing but sea and sky. It was almost healing, the sight of it all. It almost made everything okay; but not quite.

"Ya look like your father like that," Jack said from behind him and Will started and turned. The pirate captain smiled. "Spitting image of 'im, 'cept for your mothers hair. Lighter 'n Bootstrap's. Same eyes, though. You've his temperament as well, the fire."

He stood, coming up to stand before him hand moving to rest against Will's shoulder. "But you're different from your father, Will. I'd be a fool not to know that. An' I'm no fool." The cocky smile made Will smile back fondly. "Ya were willin' to stay on land for that lass and even Bootstrap couldn't do that for your mother. Jus' remember that."

Will nodded, disquieted by the seriousness in Jack's voice. "I know I'm not him, Jack. I know that as well as you, but it doesn't matter that I was willing to stay. It didn't make a difference. What would it have mattered if I'd have left with you when you first escaped?"

"Ya wouldn't 'ave tried at all. You'd've lived regrettin' and wonderin' what could've been. Now you know what happened an' you know that there was nothin' you could do. You can't force yourself to change like that, not at someone else's whim. Ya are who ya are."

"Of course you'd say that," the former blacksmith scoffed, "but you don't know what it's like. To know that because of something you didn't do you've lost someone."

Dark eyes flickered and Jack's other hand came up to grasp his other shoulder, both hands tightening. "I understand. It was the same with your father. I could've said somethin', but it was too late. He was head over heals for some girl at one of the ports an' there was nothin' I could do. You'll at least have the knowledge that you voiced your feelin's."

"You... loved him?" Will was weak, trembling slightly and knew that Jack felt it too.

"Aye, lad, but he never knew," Jack's eyes were sad, darker even then they usually were. "Wasn' uncommon for two men to keep each other company at sea, but I wasn' about to ask 'im help work of some tension. 'Cause that's what it always was, was tension. I man couldn' love another man. Wasn' right. An' then he fell for Lil's and there was nothin' I could do."

"Do you-still love him."

Jack nodded and Will felt his something within him crack before the pirate continued. "But not as I once had. If we do find 'im an' the curse really did save 'im I'd be no more inclined to start bunkin' with 'im than I would to return the Pearl to Barbossa."

The relief that flooded Will left him confused. He didn't actually really feel anything for Jack, did he? The answer was like a shout in a hollow cavern, echoing against the walls and bouncing back to hit him with it's conviction. He was indeed in love with Jack Sparrow.

It was this knowledge that made him lower his eyes and take a deep breath before speaking quietly. "And me. What to you think of me?"

Jack's hands dropped from his shoulders and Will's gaze snapped back up to find the pirates eyes round and startled. He waited with a sense of dread as Jack seemed to pull himself together.

"You're his boy, Will. You're family."

"I see." Will's hands tightened into fists as his gaze dropped again and he moved past his captain and towards that door.

"Will... isn't that what ya wanted to hear?"

The younger man stopped. "No." He turned his head to look at Jack, expression guarded. "When you figure out what I wanted to you to say feel free to come to me to finish this conversation. Goodnight Jack."

And he left the man standing there, feeling Jack's gaze burn into his back and ignoring it. This wasn't the end of it. Jack never left anything unfinished and Will was counting on that. Was counting on the slightest bit on uncertainty in the man voice. Will let himself hope.

He let himself dream.

~FIN~

Shade: Heya PotC fans! I don't know how this fic will be received, but it's my first PotC so I'm fond of it. Yes... shall be more fics from me, most likely of the slash persuasion. Not quite sure if I got the characterization, but it's a first try. Can't quite get Jacks speech pattern right so I decided just to make him talk basically the way I do. Ah... Canadian dialect. Ain't it fun?