They snuck out of the jail and into the darkness of Port Royal. The town was sleeping, save for a few partiers that wandered the streets. From time to time, Pintel would have to clamp his hand over Ragetti's mouth to keep him from giggling.

"Sorry, Pinters. This is jist so fun!" Ragetti whispered breathlessly. Suddenly, a large man appeared from the alley and stood in front of the gang, specifically Ragetti.

"Hey there, princess. Wha's a pretty girlie like you doin' wit the lobsters?" The man slurred drunkenly. He ran his hand down Ragetti's cheek, making Ragetti gulp nervously and back into the 'guards'. Shannon stepped forward.

"Sir, this woman is under our protection for the night. You'll not be laying a hand on any part of her." Shannon stated firmly. This man had not taken much rejection in his life (to his recollection anyway) and would not put this black mark on his record.

"Beat it, buddy. She's right purdy an' she's gonna be a good girl and come wit me." The man grabbed Ragetti wrist and started to pull him along to a hotel. Ragetti writhed in his iron grip, screaming a bit.

"Leggo, ye filthy maggot!" Ragetti yelled. The man chuckled darkly.

"Tha's s'okay babay. I like the naughty talkin'." The man continued to pull Ragetti along. Pintel finally snapped out of his shocked state and stepped forward, growling deep in his chest.

"Give 'im back, ye drunkard! He's mine!" Pintel launched himself onto the man, taking him to the ground. He still would not let go of Ragetti, however, and brought him down into the dog-pile.

Pintel was releasing the very definition of hell on the man. He slammed Ragetti's would-be rapist's head into the ground and punched him senseless. The drunk's motor skills were completely shot at this point; he couldn't make a punch if he tried. At the end of the brawl, he was a little more than a bloody mess on the ground. Pintel stood up, grabbed Ragetti, and spat on his victim as the trio walked away.

Ragetti was beside himself, sniffling a bit. Pintel looked up to him and saw a deep scar on his cheek and a bit of blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"Rags!" Pintel gasped. He immediately tried to wipe away the blood but Ragetti recoiled from his touch.

"Ye hit me…" Ragetti whimpered. He sniffled again as tears welled up in his eyes. Pintel gapped at him, shocked speechless.

"Rags… I didn't… I wouldn't ever… no…" Pintel strung these words into a loose sentence with desperation in his voice. Shannon stared at the both of them, worried.

"Ye did. It 'urts, too." Ragetti looked dejected and shifted his gaze to Pintel's face. Tears fell silently, stinging the fresh wound on his face. Pintel grabbed Ragetti softly and brought him into a gentle hug.

"Rags, I love ye too much te ever hurt ye. If I did, 'm sorry." Pintel whispered softly. Ragetti didn't return the hug, he only accepted it. He nodded in response. Pintel let go of Ragetti and nodded to Shannon.

"So… this is going to be fun." Shannon commented.

--

"'M jist sayin' it's a purdy dress is all!"

"Ye were eyeballin' 'er, ye bastard! Ye don' think 'm purdy no more!"

"Rags!"

This fight started about five minutes ago when a woman rode by in carriage. She wore a dull burgundy dress that left very little to the imagination as far as cleavage went. Pintel made a comment more about the dress than the cleavage but Ragetti took it the wrong way. Shannon tuned them out about two minutes into the fight.

"I only saw the dress, I swear."

"Oh right, like yer gonna pretend ye didn't see all that cleavage! If ye want 'er so bad ye can jist take 'er seein' as yer free NOW!" Ragetti yelled. He marched off ahead of Pintel who was growling angrily. He glared at Shannon who suddenly became very fascinated by a bug near her shoe. Pintel huffed and went to chase after Ragetti.

"I swear, if it's possible fer a man te get a monthly, Ragetti is PMSing so hard right now." Pintel muttered under his breath.

Shannon hung back and watched the muted fight carry out. She could barely make out the words but caught a few as 'bird o' paradise' and 'bastard'. Those were pretty common ones.

Suddenly, in the middle of Ragetti's ranting, Pintel grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him squarely on the lips. Ragetti froze for a minute but soon was kissing him back.

The snog stopped and Pintel spoke softly to Ragetti as he stayed close to him. Shannon could barely see it, but there was a definite smile on Ragetti's face. He nodded and kissed Pintel again. They started to walk off together.

Shannon smiled but realized that she needed to catch up with them. She had to sprint as fast as she could but eventually caught up, out of breath and glistening with sweat.

"Okay there, poppet?" Pintel asked with a chuckle. Shannon nodded in annoyance as she continued to breathe deeply. Ragetti smiled and clung onto Pintel's shoulders as they made their way to the docks to commandeer a boat.

--

The threesome crept quietly along the planks of the docks. The sand crunched under their feet no matter how softly they stepped. Shannon's breathing became ragged and uneven. She had never been so nervous. Pintel had spotted a nice Bermuda rig they could 'salvage'. They stalked along the piers as silently as they could, making sure the only noises that night would be those damn crickets in the bushes.

"Poppet," Pintel breathed heavily, "untie the docking rope while Rags and me get th' masts ready." Shannon nodded in reply and began to decipher the terribly complicated knot some sailor had prided himself in. Her nimble fingers started to check for lose spots where she could untie it, but this was one sound knot.

"Bugger fuckin'…" Shannon cursed under her breath. She had never been on a boat or ship before this trip to Port Royal and she kicked herself for not learning anything about these things.

The rig lurched suddenly and knocked Shannon off balance. Her delicate cheek slammed into the dock tie. She bit back a shriek of pain as she tasted the salty flavor of blood leaking forth. The cheek itself had already turned bright red and began to swell. Ragetti came over to see what was taking her so long.

"Shannon! Yer bleedin'! 'Ere, I'll untie the rope. Ye can go sit down." Ragetti helped her off her knees and over to a seat. She nodded slightly as tears threatened to escape her eyes. Shannon sniffled them away and shook her head.

"Ye know, poppet," Pintel began, a smirk crawling onto his face, "pirates don' cry 'bout bumps nor bruises." Shannon's head shot up and stared at him straight in the face.

"I should think not. Load of thieves would not cry about such petty things. I, however, am not a pirate, therefore I have the privilege to actually have emotion once in a while; but I guess you wouldn't understand that sort of thing." She scoffed. Pintel's smirk only broadened.

"Ye got the wrong idea, luv. Ye are a pirate. Ye freed two convicted men from jail, stole a marine's uniform, impersonated said marine, and socked a pirate straight in the gut out of a temper. Yer a pirate, poppet."

"…I know you are but what am I?" Shannon sneered and threw in a stuck out tongue for good measure. She heard Ragetti laugh in the background.

Pirate Hatter: This chapter was written with no prior knowledge about ships/boats. Here is everything I know: Starboard, Port, Bow, and Stern… And I thank God for Wikipedia. But I like this chapter because of the angst and the love. For anyone who cares, the drunk guy's name is Jeremy Wakefield.