A/N: Some of the information in this story about Pompeii has been fabricated for the purpose of making this story work, I am well aware.
-mz.turner
Pompeii
It felt like a lifetime had passed, and most of it was spent waiting. Waiting to see her after work, waiting to take her out to dinner, waiting to hold her hand, to hug her, and then, every once in a while, there were those stolen kisses. He waited for those the most.
A wise man once said "Patience is a virtue", and so, William Turner waited patiently. He would wait a lifetime if he had to. Fortunately for him and his ever important hormones, he didn't have to wait very long.
When he felt that he was ready and the time was right, he proposed to her – the love of his life. Elizabeth Swann did not hesitate for even a single second before accepting his offer. 'I thought he'd never ask,' she said to herself as he held her in his arms. Her poor William never knew that all that waiting went in vain.
The ceremony was simple, as both of them had preferred it. Though Elizabeth's parents had trouble accepting her one wish, she threatened them with an elopement until they agreed. The idea had never actually crossed her mind, but stubborn as she was she would have her way, and that's exactly what she did.
Her eyes rimmed with tears as her father led her down the aisle; the small train of her dress flowed elegantly behind her. Weatherby Swann kissed his daughter's cheek and told her he loved her one last time before handing her over to her husband. Will took her hand and kissed it softly, piercing her eyes with his dark chocolate ones. Her heart was beating so fast she had barely heard a word the Celebrant was saying as he preformed the ceremony.
"I know pronounce you, husband and wife."
'Was it over already? When did we say our vows? What about the rings?' Elizabeth thought, her face breaking into a panic. She looked down at her hand, the gold band she wore on her wedding finger glistened in the light. The ceremony had gone by so fast, she felt as if she had missed it entirely.
Before she had time to process anything further, Will pulled her to him, kissing her passionately for the first time as her husband. She lost herself in this kiss; everything in her mind went blank. Suddenly it was as if nothing else mattered. They were married now; she was finally Mrs. Turner.
Oh, and how she liked the sound of that.
As husband and wife, they moved into their newly purchased London flat and unpacked hastily before setting off for their honeymoon. There they had hoped for the chance to officially consummate their marriage as the opportunity was lost on their wedding night. Elizabeth was not the least bit surprised to find that Will's mate Jack had spiked the punch at their reception. As important as the night was to her, she much rather preferred it if her husband could remember the intimate moments they would share the next morning.
"Are you ready?" he asked her the morning they were to leave for their first vacation together. She nodded a simple 'yes' and kissed him quickly before dragging her two extremely large luggage bags out of the door. He knew she was being excessive but thought it was a wiser choice to pick his battles, especially after having just ruined her wedding night.
Their flight from London's Gatwick Airport to Naples was relatively short and easy. Italy had been their destination of choice. Actually, it had been Will's destination of choice. He had always been fascinated by the Italian culture, the country had a lot to offer history buffs such as himself. He was a bit of a geek in that sense; he could talk for hours about the spirit of the Renaissance, and his favourite enlightened thinkers. Elizabeth always listened half heartedly and wondered if he knew how cute he was with those lame reading glasses on. And because he never before had the luxuries of vacationing anywhere outside of the United Kingdom, off to Italy they went.
Their first night in the city had proven to be a major success. In his excitement, Will had created an itinerary for the two to follow so that they could take in the sites and sounds of Italy in its entirety.
"Will, this place, it's…it's"
"Breathtaking?" he said as he reached for her hand and kissed it. Intertwining his fingers with hers, they walked hand and hand towards the seaside. Elizabeth smiled warmly at him wondering how he managed to pull it off. The Sorrento Resort they stayed in was an authentic Italian Villa with the most beautiful views of both the village below and the sea at bay. It was warm and inviting, and though staying there came at a great cost, the couple found it to be worth every penny.
"What are we up to now?" Elizabeth asked her husband, who for the first time that day had been leading her around aimlessly.
"I'm not sure," he answered honestly, and though she was surprised to hear this, she was also quite relieved; all that walking had been doing major damage to the fresh pedicure on her toes. Along with that, she was beginning to feel the muscles in her stomach tighten up and mild cramps begin to set in. "It was nearly that time of the month," she thought logically, but she wouldn't let it ruin her honeymoon, so she decided not to mention her discomfort to Will.
"I thought maybe we could go down to that pier and watch the sunset," he said. They stood at the top of a mount that overlooked the surrounding sea. Will pointed down to a dock bounded by soft white sand and clear blue water. It appeared like something straight out of the story books she had read as a girl, and yet there it was, no longer a simple painting. It was painfully beautiful. How could she refuse?
When they reached the peaceful beach that evening, the sun had already begun its slow descent into the ocean turning the sky a magnificent shade of peach. Will opened the knapsack he had been lugging around all day and like the true tourist he was, he came prepared. He pulled out a navy blue coverlet rolled up at the bottom of the bag and spread it majestically across the warm sand.
"After you my lady." He bowed awkwardly at his wife who giggled uncontrollably at his antics.
"Why thank you kind sir," she said, plopping herself down.
The two settled themselves comfortably in the sand, Elizabeth resting the weight of her body against Will's. He had wrapped his arms around her lower half and his thumbs massaged slow circles into her midriff. She let out a light sigh and enjoyed the feel of his skin against hers; forgetting all thoughts of her sickness because the intimacy of his touch was something she would never take for granted.
Slowly then, he kissed the hollow under her ear, and trailed his lips lightly along the length of her neck and shoulder. She tilted her head to one side allowing him further access to her skin, and he laughed lightly to himself. She could make him so weak that there was probably nothing he would deny her if she asked.
He reached under her shirt, and his hands roamed the front of her body, up along her abdomen, her rib cage, and even further to her bra. The lace of the fabric tickled the tips of his fingers; he reached even further until he could feel her soft flesh peaking out of their confinement. With one hand he caressed her breast, driving her wild with the trace of his fingernails. Her lips elicited a soft moan, the sound evoking excitement within him.
She was lost in the moment; somewhere off in the clouds, exploring an alternate universe, one of pure bliss. But Will's own pleasure was something that needed immediate attention. His breath became heavier with every moment that passed, so he turned her to face him. Her wide eyes were soft and adoring. All he had to do was look at her, and he knew how she loved him. Everything was suddenly very different to him now; maybe he was looking at her, truly looking into her eyes for the first time since she had become his wife, but he felt as if spending the rest of his life with her would still not be enough to satisfy his desire to be with her.
All the time he wasted looking and not touching was driving Elizabeth mad. There was a look of contemplation on his face that worried her, and not to mention killed the moment.
"Will? What is it? What's wrong?" she asked with concern in her voice. Will was immediately pulled from his thoughts.
"Nothing; nothing is wrong," he repeated. "How could anything possibly go wrong ever again?" he asked her, and she titled her head in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…I found my soul mate and married the most wonderful and beautiful and absolutely perfect woman this world has ever seen. And I did that all in one lifetime," he finished laughing.
Elizabeth blushed at his words, feeling a pressure in her chest that she recognized to be her heart attempting to jump right out of her body.
"No man has ever been so lucky," he said, brushing some of her hair behind her ear and raising her chin so that he could have a better look at her. "Elizabeth," he simply said with a big dorky smile on his face and her whole body lit up. Just as soon, he was kissing her again, on the lips this time, deeply, hungrily; he was kissing her like she had never been kissed, and she was loving it.
Her hands were free to roam his body, down his chest, past his belt, right down to his...
He stopped her suddenly, feeling her hands pull on the natural bulge of his trousers. Pulling her hand away immediately he was relieved that she had failed to seize his now erect flesh down below.
"What?" Elizabeth asked, pulling away apprehensively.
"It's just… not here," he said into her hair. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm the exhibitionist type, and I don't know the laws in Italy, but I'm pretty sure this is not a nude beach."
Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" And as quick as that, she was on her feet, folding up the blanket even before Will had time to stand.
"My, my, someone's in a hurry" he teased as she had already begun to make her way back down to the path that led to their hotel. Will grabbed his pack and followed after her. When Elizabeth noticed he was only a few strides behind her, she began to run down the sand and eventually onto the concrete path. The sooner they arrived, all the better in her opinion.
Normally she was a fast runner, but some time during her jog she felt the pain in her lower abdomen return. She slowed her pace and wrapped her arms around herself, praying for dear life that the feeling would pass. But it didn't. It eventually grew to feel like a thousand pins and needles piercing through her. Unable to bear the unwelcome pressure any longer, Elizabeth stopped from the sudden wave of nausea. "Aw, crap," was all she could say to herself.
Will approached and noticed the sour expression, "Liz? Elizabeth, are you alright?" She looked up at him with a sort of panic in her eyes and then turned quickly, only to spew bits of her dinner onto the grass beside them. Will reached into the bottom of his bag for a bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to her.
"Hey, Liz what happened?" he asked in a nurturing tone, the sort of way a parent would talk to a child. He did that often, and it occasionally irritated her to no end. She wasn't a child; she could take care of herself, well, most of the time. But now wasn't one of them.
She mumbled something incoherent as she gargled the water and spat. She then drank from the bottle, allowing the cool liquid to sooth her burning throat. When she was through Will grabbed her by the waist and helped her along as they began their way back to the hotel, this time, for an entirely different purpose.
"It hurts Will," she moaned into his chest as he struggled with the key to the hotel room door.
"What is it? What hurts?" he asked, but before Elizabeth had time to form a response, she was hit with another urge to upchuck. She pushed the now unlocked door open and sprinted right for the bathroom, emptying the remains of her stomach.
What she now felt, as she lolled hunched over in extreme pain, was a throbbing, sharp feeling in her lower belly that surged through her body, causing those unbearable cramps that every female past puberty knows quite well. She couldn't hold anything down and perspiration gathered on her face, neck, and back as she fought the urge to simply roll over and die. Her illness had become so severe that the only thing she knew for certain was that she could rule out the pre-menstruation symptoms. It was so very beyond the simple aches and pains now.
When she was motionless for a few minutes, Will walked over to her and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her out of the bathroom and over to the soft bed in their honeymoon suite. He sat and rested her below him, her head in his lap as he brushed her hair back and cooed in her ear.
"Will, I..."
"You're having an allergic reaction," he said, informing her rather than asking her. "It must have been from something you had at dinner." To both Elizabeth and Will this sounded logical. Elizabeth was a light weighted woman with a weak stomach, and she was never partial to seafood, but she had tried a stuffed calamari dish at dinner. "Your body might not be used to the unfamiliarity of certain Italian cuisines," he said, and she believed him because he knew a thing or two about…well, just about everything. Or at least that's what Elizabeth thought. He was dork like that though, always with his head in a book, but she loved him for everything that he was and all the ways that he loved her, even when she looked just as horrible as she felt, the most repulsive as she could possibly come, sprawled over a strange toilet puking her guts out. He loved and cared for her. Tonight however, Elizabeth was in no mood or state to give him the only part of her that was left to give – the only thing left to offer as a thank you for all the years they had and all that was to follow.
"I'm sorry Will," she whispered with a voice of deep remorse.
"For what darling?" He was circling the soft skin of her cheek with his thumb.
"For killing the passion," she laughed awkwardly as she said it.
"Well, I think we can call it even now, considering my drunken stupor on our wedding night had initially delayed...the uh...passion, as you called it." She punched his leg and he laughed a little harder.
Sex was a difficult conversation for the two. Though they were both very mature, well most of the time anyway, they found it hard to articulate their feelings on the topic. So they put off talking about it until well into their relationship. When they had decided to wait, it was not for any particular religious reason, but because Elizabeth had what now seemed like a prehistoric tendency to think of her virginity as honourable. Will admired that in her and promised to never rush her or push her too far. As hard as it was for the both of them, they managed to hold through until after their wedding. But now that the vows were said and the bands were on, they were both very eager to get the show on the road.
The night had stretched on and Elizabeth eventually fell asleep after tossing and turning for quite some time. Will played her husband, doctor, and mother, making sure she drank plenty of water to hydrate herself, turning up the air conditioner when she was too hot, cuddling and smothering her with hot kisses when she got cold. He was there to wait on her hand and foot, but Elizabeth didn't need a servant; all she needed was to feel him lying next to her and have him there in the morning when she woke to a promising new day, and then, just maybe then, the passion they shared in their dreams would come alive.
The following morning had arrived quicker than either Elizabeth or Will had expected. Though their busy itinerary began as early as sunrise, the couple slept in until a quarter to noon, recovering from their exhausting yet eventless night. By this time, Elizabeth was feeling much herself again, and after a long shower and a big breakfast, she was ready to pick up where they left off. But Will had something else in mind.
"Will slow down!" Elizabeth called after her husband, whose fast strides made following him through the busy train station difficult. Soon, however, they were boarding a train.
"Sorry, these trains only leave on the hour; I didn't want to miss it." He simply shrugged at the irritated look she shot him before they both settled in an empty car near the back.
"So, where exactly are we going?" she asked a few minutes into the ride. "And how long till we get there?" She suddenly looked very excited, like a child anticipating their first trip to Disneyland. Will laughed.
"We're going to this incredible museum in Pompeii I was reading about."
"Oh." And just like that, at the mention of her least favourite word all the excitement was drained from her voice. "Another museum."
"But Liz, this isn't just any old museum; this is the museum: the National Museum."
"Uh-huh," was the only response she could form, failing to recognize how this could be of any interest to her.
"Do you remember learning about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius when you were younger?" he continued despite the lack of enthusiasm. She nodded.
"That volcano that erupted a hell of a long time ago, destroying all the villages down below it?"
"That's the one. 79 AD actually. Pompeii was one of those villages, and after the volcano erupted, it was believed that everything in its path was destroyed. But in the 18th century, excavators had found that the volcanic ash that had fallen on Pompeii had actually worked really well in conserving the village. Apparently scientists have plastered the decomposed bodies they found so that the casts that came from their forms are so vivid, even their facial expressions are visible to this day.
"Oh Will! That's absolutely disgusting." Elizabeth was intrigued and yet completely mortified. Will simply laughed at her disturbed face.
"But anyways, this museum stores the many artefacts that have slowly been discovered over the last few centuries. It's incredible how well preserved they are considering they're thousands of years old. It's the culture of a lost world really; I think it's going to be brilliant." Will smiled and turned his head to look out the window.
Elizabeth looked at him and could almost feel his exhilaration; she could never understand how this sort of thing always managed to get him riled up. The man lived and breathed for history and truly did not belong in the twenty-first century, but boy was she glad that he was.
"There's one particular exhibit I think you'll be interested to see," he said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hmm? Which one is that?"
"Well, Pompeii sort of has a reputation for erotic art."
Elizabeth immediately began to laugh.
"Well, you know, paintings, mosaics, frescos, that sort of thing."
"You think I'm going to be particularly interested in looking at a bunch of naked people!" She found this really amusing. "Why, Will? Why is that?"
"Well, I don't know, but I know I am," he said with a wink in a rather weak attempt to seduce her, but his failure left him with no other choice but to laugh, because there was really nothing else left to do.
When Elizabeth was through giggling, she kissed him very suddenly, barely leaving him the time to process what was happening.
Her hot lips were on his, and soon her tongue was in his mouth, and she was pushing his back further against the seat as she pressed herself into him. Their lips parted briefly as they caught their breath while Liz opened her eyes in time to catch the small smirk that lingered on Will's face. No more than a second later they were kissing again, but this time it was him who parted his lips and sought entrance to her mouth, and she very willingly obliged, slowly falling into him until the weight of her body finally rested on him. This gave him access to her body, his hands roaming through her hair and down her spine, eventually landing on her behind. He held them there, holding her up as she kissed him.
At this point, Elizabeth was ready to have him right there on that train. The car was empty, providing them with a bit more privacy than the beach had offered the night before. And she would have, had the conductor not decided to use that particular moment in time to pull up to their destination in Pompeii. The train stopped, and Will pulled his lips from hers to look out the window.
"This is us!" he exclaimed with sheer excitement in his voice. He stood to his feet and pulled Elizabeth up until she was standing on her own. "Come on, let's go!" He pulled her along the train and helped her down the stairs and onto the platform. He was so amazed by the city that he had failed to recognize the look in her eyes. She was disappointed, and she would probably stay that way until he gave her a reason not to be. And now, there was only one thing left she wanted. But when?
After leaving the station and a short walk later, Will and Elizabeth were fully immersed in the town of Pompeii. Will was walking with quick strides up and down the one way road, and although no cars were about, the streets were hustling with the movement of people. It was easy to spot the tourists from the natives. It was obvious that the big boned blond woman in the acid washed jeans and plastic pink visor with the Polaroid camera around her neck was American. The old geezer with the pipe and the Sherlock Holmes hat was a fellow Brit. And the guy in the too tight t-shirt with the sleek black hair passing by on the Vespa was clearly a native to these parts. Okay, so maybe Elizabeth was feeding into the ridiculous stereotypes, but something had to entertain her thoughts while Will was gallivanting around like a fool.
"Liz, you gotta see this!" he called, waving his arms about at the end of the road with an animated look of excitement strewn across his face. She followed him as he pulled her along the buildings until there were less people and less movement. In the distance, a high rock formation was visible, forming what looked like a mountain.
"There she is," Will said eagerly. "Mount Vesuvius." He was staring in silent awe, and Elizabeth dared not speak either. What could be said at a moment like this? It was the biggest, most breathtaking thing they had ever seen. It was truly amazing. "Come on, we're almost there," Will said, pulling her along again a few moments later. They walked for another ten minutes or so, all the while following the great big volcano that seemed so close, and yet so far away. Up ahead Elizabeth could see the left over rubble of stone buildings. They were crumbling and moulding all over. They must have been ancient. Then finally it occurred to her: they were! They were approaching the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, destroyed when the volcano had erupted how ever many years ago Will had mentioned earlier. Feeling a bit guilty, she decided she should pay more attention when he spoke.
The scene was magnificent once again; Italy was growing a reputation in her for providing moments of picturesque serenity. Will had his map out now, navigating them around the rubble; soon they entered the portal to the lost city through the Vesuvio Gate which faced the volcano. Elizabeth traced her fingers around the contours of the dilapidated stone archway. She wondered about the men who had built it and how many people had touched it however momentarily, like she had. History was literally at her fingertips now, and she felt like she was a part of something – something bigger than herself, bigger than her understanding. Some ancient past she could finally appreciate.
There was a courtyard ahead of them, and Will walked ahead, drinking in every bit of what he saw. Elizabeth walked slowly, following his lead. There were a few other people about, but for the most part they were alone. It was a cloudy, cool day and the sky seemed to sing the blues. Elizabeth thought about all this as she realized how eerie it was to be walking on a piece of history. Land that for hundreds of years was living and thriving and just as quickly as it was built, it was lost to the threat of hot molten lava. It was a place of death, like a massive graveyard where everyone shared the same untold story. However dim these thoughts were, a small part of her fought to shake the bleakness off. These ancient ruins are history, they are art, like beautiful old memories speaking for the miraculous wonders of the universe. She almost couldn't breathe. The moment was just so invigorating.
She had barely noticed Will approach her quietly when he took her hand in his. The feeling of skin brought her back to reality, but she remained on that constant high. He smiled at her faintly, those eyes speaking words of their own, as if he understood exactly what she was feeling, and he probably did too. He came in slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her softly on the lips. Then, breaking from her, he kept them agonizingly close and brushed his lips against hers. Neither of them said a word, standing in the court yard of the lost city, worlds diverse from their own. Yet they could connect with it, feel the vivacity of it and in some strange way, see themselves as a part of it. It was in those moments of silent understanding that she had the epiphany that allowed her to truly identify with her husband.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
The feelings that surged through Elizabeth that day were complicated to describe, but she could not deny that she was emotionally charged. Will had noticed a change in the uneasy tension between them since earlier that morning her focus seemed to have changed. Elizabeth slowly but surely began to appreciate their honeymoon for what it was worth and not just as an excuse to stay in bed and have wild and crazy sex all week. Rather, she was beginning to use it to bond with her husband in a whole new way. She could understand the things he was passionate about and begin to see herself participating and responding to his interests.
It was about a forty five minute walk from Vesuvio Gate to the National Museum. The couple took this time to absorb the scenery, and each other's company. Conversation was scarce except for the moments that Will felt the need to point out important details to her and explain what she was looking at. She was once again amazed by the amount of knowledge he had on the city and all this without even a tour guide. When he finally pointed out the Museum as it came into view, Elizabeth couldn't deny her slight disappointment. Everything about it seemed too artificial. The walls were a fresh sandy brown, smooth and well kept. The perfect Roman arches clearly defined by some sort of man made mechanics of the twentieth century. By the standards of today it was a truly a magnificent building, but the old and rustic feeling of the city had been tampered with and almost completely destroyed just by the sight of the museum.
"It's now how I imagined it," she spoke, her voice cracking from the dryness of her throat.
"Oh? And how exactly did you imagine it?"
"Older. Frailer. I don't know a bit more— prehistoric?"
"Well, you see," Will began in that academic voice that made him sound like an established history professor rather than the 24 year old geek that he was, "the artefacts in the museum have slowly been excavated for the last few hundred years. They're pretty important, not to mention priceless, so it only makes sense that the people of the city wanted to have a safe and secure place to exhibit the work..."
'Duhh Elizabeth!!!' she thought to herself silently, "Nobody would just leave their findings lying around the dead city waiting to be snatched up by the next disrespectful tourist."
"Let's go inside." Will ushered a red faced Elizabeth in, and she was thankful he hadn't noticed.
The room was wide and covered in…things. Elizabeth couldn't make out what half of it was supposed to be. What she did notice was the line of bodies, or what once was, off to her right, lining again the wall, stiff and half skeletal. She gasped suddenly and just as quick Will was by her side.
"It's okay," he said, "They're not real, they're plaster, remember? It's sort of cool, you have to admit."
She just nodded as she walked closer towards them. She wished she could reach out and touch them – what was once the stone corpses of centuries past, hung on the wall as a piece of art. The very idea of a human body exploited for such a purpose unnerved her but she couldn't help but be fascinated by it. She stood stock still for minutes, analyzing every inch of every body before her. She could almost make out the faces, and from the size and shape of the bodies she could estimate the age of each one. She would never know their stories, but her mind worked quickly to create their own. As she worked through the kinks in each story, she was brought back to reality when she realized Will had abandoned her. Oddly enough she was clearly more fascinated in the bodies of the dead then he was. She looked around for him; the museum was buzzing with loud and obnoxious tourists on either side of her, but as she stood, studying the dead, she felt alone and soon wished that she was when a non-observant woman nearly knocked her over with her oversized purse. If that didn't kill the moment, the commentary from the whining child near the entrance definitely did.
Elizabeth resolved to leave her post and return later after she had found Will. The Museum was a lot larger than she had expected. The rooms were wide and empty, and the sandy coloured walls of the exterior were mimicked on the inside, giving the impression that one truly was in the inside of an old rustic building even though it couldn't have been more than a few decades old. She noticed a lot of the rooms seemed to exhibit paintings and pottery work engraved with symbolism far beyond her comprehension, and she made a mental note to ask Will about it later, but that was only if she could find him. Had he run away from her already? They'd only been married for three days! Elizabeth laughed at herself as she climbed the stone staircase at the far end of the museum to the second floor. Wishing she had brought her cell phone, she then realized that this place was far out in the middle of nowhere, and picking up a signal had to be virtually impossible, and if it wasn't, she would be even more annoyed that technology was practically inescapable. Then as if by magic, her suspicion was proven correct as a little boy glued to his game boy passed her by. He had no idea what he was missing.
Elizabeth continued to wander aimlessly through the great halls of museum, eyeing each piece of art admirably as she did. She looked in each room nonchalantly for that 5'11 hottie with short brown hair she called her husband. She found him in one room, the sign on the door printed in so many different languages she didn't bother to look for the only one she understood, so she walked right in. Will was staring at the wall on the far end of the room. Elizabeth hadn't noticed what exactly it was that he was looking at, but she approached him and began to stare herself, not at the art work but at Will.
He didn't speak; he didn't move. Elizabeth glanced quickly at the wall of the exhibit and back at him, more curious to understand his trance like state. "Will?" she whispered in his ear. He only raised his hand slightly to signal his attentiveness but didn't shift his eyes one bit. Settling with that, she turned to look at his distraction and actually shook from astonishment at what she saw.
"Jesus, Will!" she said, maybe a bit too loudly as she began to laugh. He looked from her back to the exhibit and let out a small chuckle as well. "So this is the erotic artwork?" She pointed and couldn't help but laugh, particularly at the mural of the man with the erect penis at least three feet long. She had decided then that that one was going to be her favourite.
The sex was everywhere – pictures, tiles, frescoes – each covered with penises and vaginas. There was even one of a faun ogling a woman's naked body, and Elizabeth laughed uncontrollably at that. She had known the ancient Romans were a liberal kind, but she had no idea how liberal they were. Elizabeth fell absolutely in love with the place. The women in the photos were so real, so curvaceously depicted, and the contours of the male bodies seemed so natural for the times. Some of the images looked raw and animalistic, while others were more sensual and soft. Her laughter had subsided then, as she traveled around the room examining each individual illustration, losing herself completely in the eroticism that surrounded her. She found it ironic that so much could change over history, but the sexual positions had remained consistent over the years.
Sexual desires, such as the feeling that she had been fighting since she had first thought intimately about Will, was as human a trait as breathing was. Now that they were married, Elizabeth could remove the stigma she had placed on sex and simply go for it like she had always wanted to. Finally, she could evade any after-sex guilt she otherwise would have felt and rest assured that their union was now real, consummated, and pure.
"Nothing like erotic art to get your engine going," Elizabeth thought as she felt the hot blood pumping through her veins when her heartbeat quickened. The muscles in her stomach tightened as the feeling of her own arousal was provoked not by the unfamiliar images before her, but the ones of Will painted in her mind. She was blushing a deep scarlet when she felt his hands on her shoulder. He looked at her and then at the painting she was facing. She hadn't given it a moment's thought, but when she heard Will chuckle, she realized she hadn't chosen the greatest spot to stop and stare. The woman in the picture was sitting directly on top of her companion's midsection, straddling him with her thighs on either side. She was grabbing at his hair as if she absolutely needed something to hold onto while he fondled both of her breasts at once. Nothing could be more erotically charging. Elizabeth's lips parted and a heavy breath escaped from her mouth.
"What are you thinking?" Will asked, all humour lost from his voice.
"I can't even begin to tell you," she responded after a moment. There was an honest desperation in her voice. He approached her slowly, and she hesitated to meet his embrace, tensing up in concern from the effect his touch might have on her body now. But who was she kidding? She couldn't fight him off as he placed a hand on the back of her neck and every one of her hairs began to rise. Or when he circled his arm around her waist and brought her closer to his chest. And then, it was as good as over when she felt him rise beneath his jeans against her thigh. There was no more stopping herself now.
All of this, the eroticism of the art and the unspoken sexual tension between the two, had erupted faster than Vesuvius itself when Will put his lips to the exposed skin of her collarbone. Elizabeth moaned quietly and bit her lip to suppress the great cry that threatened to escape from within. He looked around noticing that the room was all but empty of tourists, so he slid his warm hand underneath the back of her shirt, allowing it to travel all the way up to the straps of her bra. The way he moved closer and smelled her hair as he fingered the intimate parts of her body clearly illustrated that what they had seen had awakened his senses in the same way it had hers, and nothing could come between them now, except for one small detail: they were in a public museum.
"Time to go," Will said, retracting his hand from her shirt. As usual, she was one step ahead of him, nearly sprinting to the door. "Wait!" he called out to her. She turned back to look at him; he hadn't moved an inch.
"Give me a second." He turned away from her and held his head down fighting the sensation. He had to try harder than ever before to calm himself, thinking only of platonic things like puppies and old people and…well, that was as far as he got before he gave up. He pulled down his jeans, loosening them a bit in certain areas, warning Elizabeth not to touch him until they had arrived back at their hotel. She giggled and blushed as he pointed an accusatory finger at her before he passed her and led the way out of the museum and through the streets of Pompeii.
It was almost an unbearable task to sit alone with him in the empty car of their train, as they once again fought the urge to keep off one another, even though they both really wanted to savagely rip each other's clothes off right then and there. Elizabeth pressed her lips together so as not to laugh at the very idea; Will was too busy squirming in his seat and tapping his feet as he peered out of the window, desperately trying to wear off his temptation however temporarily.
The destination seemed further away than they had remembered it to be, and the train felt as if it were moving at a snail's pace. But after over an hour and a half of anticipation and maddening tension they arrived at the Sorrento, and Will fumbled with the key card before finally gaining access to their suite.
Elizabeth followed him before silently pushing past him and heading straight for the bedroom. The sun was setting, and the full moon had already begun to settle itself in the evening sky, visible from the many grand windows in the room. In the distance, the calm waters of the Mediterranean sprang against the shoreline, reminding the couple of the events of the previous evening.
"Elizabeth?" His husky voice spoke just above a whisper. She turned to face him and noticed he was more a shadow than anything else in the dimly lit room. She closed the space between them, cradling her head in the crook of his neck as his arms came around her body. He rocked her slowly from left to right and stroked her back easily, the movement comforting her anxiety.
"I'm ready," she spoke into his shoulder softly. And from that point on she could only follow his lead.
His hands moved around her waist and eased as they came around the hem of her shirt, lifting it slowly up inch by inch over her flat stomach and over her breasts. Then he pulled it completely over her head, and he went for the button on her dark blue jeans to open them and pulled them down around her ankles. She stepped out of them and kicked them aside, standing there in nothing but her slinky black lingerie. Will of course, had seen her in such outfits before but only briefly as she changed, and never with the intention of eating her up ravenously as he so often had to fight the urge to do. Tonight however, she was all his, and he was free to do so.
"That's so unfair!" Elizabeth teased as he undressed himself, both of them knowing the process would be quicker than allowing her to do so. She snickered childishly at his haste and left him for the bed. Crawling underneath the satin covers, he noticed her shaking fingers were eager yet apprehensive. Will joined her then and took her hand, kissing it. He could feel it tremble beneath his lips, but the feeling was less than foreign to him. He kissed her hard on the lips, ushering her hand to his shoulder and letting it glide down his arms and then to his broad back. He kissed her neck, slowly trailing down to her chest and stopped at her bra, reaching below her to unbuckle it and pull it from her shoulders effortlessly. He was surprisingly talented at this for someone who claimed to have little experience. She was almost completely nude below him, her usually milky white skin now tan from the Italian sun. She was breathtakingly beautiful and driving poor William Turner mad.
Elizabeth had her own agenda now, tugging at his boxers until he got the message and slid them off. The force of his manhood rested against her thigh, inches away from her tender flesh. The warmth between her legs was spreading fast now, and she had to bite down on her lips to keep from moaning against him. When she felt his fingers around the waistband of her underwear, she lifted her hips, allowing him to pull them down and off her legs completely. Soon they were both stark naked and ready to get the deed done. No foreplay was needed; their entire relationship up until this point had been foreplay – the worst of the teasing and tantalizing sort.
"Now Will," Elizabeth said, buckling her knees as his waist came down on her. He held his arms out for support on both sides of her head, watching her expressions morph when he entered her. Her fingers pressed into his back, and she sneered through gritted teeth at the burning feeling that washed over her.
It hurt; it hurt so bad that she was afraid she might cry, but that would have been the most embarrassing way to end it. So she fought the tears and waited it out. This wasn't an easy task to accomplish, but she called out at every striking movement he made. Will knew from the very beginning that Elizabeth would feel discomfort at first, so he went slow and eased his way into a rhythm, all the while whispering comforting words in her ear. Slowly then, the pain subsided, and she was free to enjoy herself. Their rocking hips met in unison as their bodies found a way to move in sync with each other. After a few minutes Elizabeth felt what she could only imagine to be her firstreal orgasm pulse through her body. She shuddered involuntarily as the pleasure surged through her body shooting shards of ecstasy in every direction. She shot her head back against the pillow, allowing a moan to escape her lips; it was heavy and full of satisfaction. Gratified now, she worked on fulfilling her husband's desires by rocking her hips more sharply against his. Finally, he pushed a little deeper into her and fell limp on her body. One hand squeezed her breast, maybe a bit too hard than he otherwise would have if he wasn't unconsciously aware of anything that would bring him down from his high. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and made a sour face at the pressure that began to ease seconds after he released himself into her. Breathing heavily into her neck, he began to focus on catching his breath, and he rolled his body off of her and stared at the ceiling while waiting for recovery.
Elizabeth whimpered quietly, feeling more exposed under the covers than she was with him resting on top of her. She turned in his direction and curled her body in a ball hugging her knees. The recovery process for her was bound to be slower than his. She could tell based on the sharp pain in her abdomen. Still, she couldn't fight the beaming smile on her lips, excited about what had just occurred between them. This was definitely something she could get used to.
"Hey," Will said, brushing the hair off her moist face with one hand. "You're amazing." They shared a laugh, and he winked at her.
"You think so?" she asked.
"I always thought so," he responded. "But now, every part of me is certain of it." Elizabeth blushed through a smile. "You're beautiful Liz… you're constantly red faced," he added, "but you're beautiful, and I love you for it."
"Stop!" she said, playfully hitting his exposed chest. He caught her hand and kissed it while bringing it to his face and resting it on his cheek. His face was suddenly serious.
"Listen Liz, I have a confession to make."
"A confession?" she repeated all the time thinking, "Uh-oh."
"It's about Italy, and why I wanted to come here." He stopped and looked at the confusion on her face. "Well, you see…" He hesitated, and this irked her. "It's, it's 'cause back when we met – in University – I was taking this ancient mythology course, and well, I had this slight obsession with Venus, the Roman Goddess." Elizabeth simply rolled her eyes. Leave it to Will to give you an after sex history lesson. But she let him continue.
"I know it's not possible, but, there was just something about you, so maddeningly frustrating to understand. I swore you had so much power over me."
"What?" Elizabeth sat up, covering her chest with the sheet. "Will what are you saying?"
He was staring at the ceiling wondering why he even brought it up but continued, "Metaphorically, at least in my mind it was possible, and the idea was just so entertaining."
"What idea!" she demanded to know, her voice rising slightly with anger.
"I was convinced, well no, actually I still am, that you are sort of a reincarnation, or at least a small part of you is, of Venus the goddess of love."
Elizabeth was silent, stifling her laughter. She smiled even between her clenched lips.
"So…" he looked at her. She couldn't contain herself then. Collapsing into his chest, she let out a roar of laughter, as if what she had just heard was absolutely the funniest thing she had ever heard, and it was, in every right.
"Will you can't be serious!" she said shaking her head to look at him.
"Don't I look serious?" Actually he did. Elizabeth felt horrible for laughing, but it was just so random and funny.
"You brought me to Italy because I remind you of a Roman Goddess?"
"Not just any Roman Goddess. The Roman Goddess. She represents love, beauty, femininity and sexuality." Elizabeth began to blush again, but mostly at the last part.
"I guess I should be flattered then." She smiled and kissed his brawny chest.
"Mmhm," he agreed through closed eyes, his fingers roaming through her honey hair.
"Will?" her voice was calm and quiet now. "You're a dork. I just thought you should know that."
"Thanks!" he was laughing wholeheartedly, and the sound warmed her heart. Elizabeth looked up and out of the window into the evening sky of the unfamiliar city, immortalizing the moment in her memory.
"But I love you," she said, kissing him before he had the chance to respond and pressing her lips hard against his to feed her desire once more. Of all the things they had seen and done that day, he was the only work of art she ever wanted to admire again.
-Fin.
So, yeah, again, some things about Pompeii were real, others not so much, don't hate me if you're an expert, cause I didn't mean to ruin it for you :P
Three things: One, many many thanks to everyone at HTR, especially the folks who gabbly-ed with me tonight and made me feel better about what I like to consider my Willabeth betrayal. Two, this would have been impossible and probably never would have happened with out the help and encouragement of unacymbal, sorry it took 6 months! And third…I love you williz!!! Haha.
Okay, now I'm done.