Disclaimer: All characters and dialogue belong to Disney.
A/N: Drabble, part one of two. On Rum Runner's Island, great minds think – and lie – more alike than they realize. J/E.
Rum and Firelight I
By: Sinnamon Spider
"Welcome to the Caribbean, love." He slapped the heavy bottle into her hand, brushing past her with six or so more bottles cradled lovingly in his arms, sashaying down to the beach in that drunken, ambling way he had.
Her eyes welled with tears of frustration and disillusion, clouding the rich amber hue of the rum that swished from one side of the bottle to the other. She bit her lip, casting about the island for something – anything – that would save them.
The leafy palms swayed in the breeze, lovely but uninspiring. Suddenly, she glanced again at the bottle still clasped in her hand. She weighed it, turning back to look at the wayward Sparrow, already deep into his second serving.
Spinning around in the soft sand, she set off across the island, uncorking her bottle as she went. If rum could get Sparrow off this island ten years ago, it could certainly get them off now, albeit in a different way.
As night fell, they built a large bonfire, fuelled with a bit of the pilfered rum. Elizabeth clinked yet another bottle against Sparrow's, sealing her lips shut as she tipped it to her mouth. When Sparrow was occupied with his own, she carefully poured a measure into the sand, and put a little extra stumble into her step. With the amount the pirate was drinking – actually drinking, she noted with disgust – her subterfuge didn't need to continue much longer. And once he started making eyes at her, she knew she was almost there.
But when she snuggled close to him, let his arm wrap around her shoulders, let his fingers creep down her skin, let his beard brush against her cheek, she couldn't help but wonder if she had accidentally drunk a bit of the rum herself.
And though she playfully brushed him off, when he sank down unconscious onto the sand, brown eyes hidden behing heavy lids, face for once smoothed of all deceit and trickery, she pressed herself close to him again, sleeping comfortably with his arms around her.