Black Wings of Fate

Summary: For every fiftieth human born into the world, there is one guardian born for them, their souls connected by a single gem. Others have gems and guardians they can't ever see or meet. But James Norrington was born with a black pearl in his hand and a guardian so opposite to him that they could never be.

The party was in full swing around him and yet Jack Sparrow could not find it in himself enough cheer to even smile. Not even to drink. He sat in one corner of the Faithful Bride in Tortuga, nursing only his second cup when he would have already been on his second barrel had he been of the mind to celebrate. Or to forget. Right now, he wanted to do nothing more than to remember. To remember everything in as vivid a detail as he could, for this might be the last time he will ever get the chance.

It had been funny, the last eighteen years. Yes, who would have thought that the great Captain Jack Sparrow would live so long? Well, get used to it, world, you won't be getting rid of his that easily, especially not after what he had recently learned. He'd been to quite a few parties like these, thrown in his honor, over those eighteen years, seen many a foe of piracy and any other sea dweller brought to an end, lifted a couple of curses here and there and found this or that treasure. Eighteen years ... He still could not believe it had been that long, nor that he and his life have not changed all that much in that length of time. Funny. He always thought time mended all wounds, but he knew that to be as much a falsehood as many other 'facts' about life and especially about love.

He finished his cup and waited until a passing barmaid changed it with a full one, not really paying it all that much attention.

It was a day of celebration as well as a day to mourn. He had actually seen many a days like these, many a parties where people drowned their worries and brought on fake cheer with drink, music and wenches. Eighteen years ago, he would have joined them. Hell, a month ago, he would have joined them, but he could not deny the reality he was living in now. Not any longer. For eighteen years he had clung to a fragile hope and today, it had shattered.

Eighteen years ago, Captain Jack E. Teague 'Sparrow's' Tutela, former Commodore and Admiral of the British Royal Navy and the East India Trading Company James L. Norrington had died in the Battle of Calypso's Maelstrom, leaving behind his Curatrix to pick up the broken pieces of himself after such a loss. Jack had held up pretty well that night, not drinking a single drop of rum in fear he will forget James' face and eyes and the feel and smell of him if he just let himself overindulge like he was certain he was going to in an attempt to forget. His father, bless his pirate heart, had been his sober buddy, not celebrating the astounding victory, not talking, not drinking, not singing or playing his damn guitar. He had just handed over the shrunken head of Jack's mother and let Jack take comfort in the presence of his father and the ghostly loving brushes of his mother's spirit for the night. And when Jack nearly broke down from grief, silent as it had been, Teague had gathered his son up into his arms as though Jack were still only an infant and rocked him through his dry sobs without a sound, without a comment. He had been the silent supporting rock Jack had needed and had taken Jack to the Misty Lady, docked right next to a fretting Black Pearl, and let him sleep it off while spending the night watching over him and feeling his pain, like only another Curatrix could.

(Whether he spent the night praying Lawrence Norrington will be able to forgive him or not was not a topic Jack ever brought up. For both his piece of mind and his father's.)

In the morning, when Elizabeth returned red eyed with a familiar chest and an even more familiar sword strapped to her belt, Jack had already been half numb. But when she presented him with the blade Will had made for James, all those long years ago - had it really been, what? Three? It felt an eternity ago, not just a couple of years - he nearly had a real breakdown, right there in front of everyone. He had tried insisting that she keep it - even though every part of his very being was protesting it since it was his Tutela's item - but Lizzy, bless her soul, had declined keeping it, saying despite it being Will's handiwork, it had been James' sword in the end. She had said she had other things to remember her husband by but Jack now only had the sword. He couldn't express how grateful he was in words, so he had only hugged the new Pirate King to his chest and gave her the opportunity to cry it all out. They clung to each other, as they both mourned the loss of James and William both. Their fathers watched solemnly from the sidelines, Teague glaring at anyone who would dare and try to disturb them.

Jack stayed a week in Tortuga, just letting it all sink in. After all, in a relatively short time period, he had been brought back from the dead only for his Tutela to join it. That was going to take a while to get used to, this pain that will follow him throughout the rest of his life. Jack hadn't yet looked at his gem, fearing it was the one representing him and not his Jamie. He wasn't ready to face that possibility just yet, but the sword Elizabeth had given him had had him looking about day four. After all, the little black pearl had once been treasured by Norrington. Even if it represented him, it was still a reminder of his Tutela. Only the gem was his and represented James, not Jack and that had flared a fire of hope through him so strong that he had immediately started asking around. The people of Tortuga knew little about this matter but Jack had ... more aquatic friends that answered his many questions. Knowing what he must do next in order to give James a life away from the Dutchman, Jack set off towards the docks to get his Pearl so they may get underway on the mission of finding the fabled Fountain of Youth.

Only to find a drunk-sleeping Joshamee Gibbs with a teddy bear sleeping in front of where his beloved vessel had been anchored. That bastard Barbossa had mutinied and marooned him again, although he had at least done it in Tortuga. Bad move on Barbossa's part. The Keeper's men were already tracking him before sunset that very same day, but the Pearl had already made off far into the sea and she was in open waters now. None could catch her and she was furious she was separated again. What's worse - and Jack swore he will kill Hector just for that - Barbossa had went and gotten some witch to put some sort of magical restraints on the Pearl's spirit and his beloved ship can't influence anything that she usually had full access to.

Good thing Jack had thought about something like this happening and he had stashed away the Mao Kun Map in his coat. It still didn't sooth the pain of being without Tutela and his item.

But he still got underway in a small dingy, sailing the sea with the caring and fond guidance of Calypso herself. He sailed and searched and served under a few fake names on various ships before he found himself in England, a couple of years later, just in time to learn of an imposter recruiting people under his name and Joshamee Gibbs also being arrested and trailed under his name. Seriously, it was as though he can't leave anyone alone for five minutes without someone getting into some kind of shitty situation. But he saved Gibbs, only to be double-crossed by the carriage driver and to be delivered before the fat, plump King George or something. Where he was requested to 'lead an expedition' to the Fountain of Youth and where he came face to face with a powdered up Admiral Hector Barbossa. His poor Jamie would be rolling in his grave if Jack wasn't sure he was serving on the Flying Dutchman.

Jack nearly tore Hector limb from limb when the older man said the Pearl was lost. Had he not been restrained, he would have.

Had he not felt her, even if distance and whatever had happened to her muted their connection, he would have taken his own life to end his misery. No James and no Pearl? He can't live with that. And he won't, not if he's got anything to say about it.

He escaped, was saved from a bullet by his father, learned a bit about the Fountain and finally talked to someone about his wings, which had grown another inch in the past two years. His father wasn't very helpful in that regard, but knowing he had his support was soothing. What he was doing in England in the first place, Jack hadn't bothered asking. Perhaps the same reason as Jack himself: a way to get closer to his Tutela, even though Jack knew James wasn't here but perhaps his Da had managed to talk to Lawrence? Maybe they had cleared some of the air between them. After that, he was shanghaied into Edward Teach's - Blackbeard's - crew by Angelica, who was supposedly the captain's daughter and Jack's one time almost bride. He'd escaped from her on the supposed wedding day and now she was pissed at him. It wasn't his fault that he recognized the same kind of lust he'd seen in Beckett's eyes in her. Sure, she grew fond of him later, maybe even to the point that she had really loved him, but Jack had never planned on marrying and having kids. He knew whom his heart belonged to. It would have been cruel to have married her and then left to search the world for Jamie and for adventure. Jack would never be a 'stay at home' kind of husband or father or even pirate, like his Da. He'd probably want to stay out at sea and Angelica hadn't wanted that back then.

He'd been forced to become Blackbeard's tour guide of sorts, to the Fountain of Youth. And they didn't only need him for the directions, either. They needed a mermaid's tear and it was a widely known rumor - fact - that Jack held the favor of mermaids. Sirens hated him, true enough, but mermaids were all inexplicably fond of him. To be expected, as he'd been saving their kind from sailors since he was a teen. He had wanted to warn the mermaids to go away when Blackbeard set up a trap for them, but he was in the light house with said pirate captain, who was a partitioner in the voodoo black magic arts. Blackbeard was a cruel man who had nearly burned the cook to a crisp when Jack had staged a mutiny with the rest of the men forced into the crew, and he would have, had Sparrow not swept in to save the poor lad. Turns out, that was what Teach had wanted. To see the most powerful Curatrix to live as of yet. Jack really hated the fascination men like him and Beckett had in his wings.

He'd joined forces with Barbossa after the stint with the mermaids, getting the Chalices required for the ritual at the Fountain. Jack had wanted so badly to find a way to get James back, but the Profane Ritual is not something he wants to put on James' shoulders. He knew his Tutela would not appreciate it. Even if he were to get the years of a menace like Blackbeard. He and Hector nearly got killed by the Spaniards they were racing against - why must it always be Spaniards? Why can't his life revolve around something other than Englishman and Spaniards? Seriously, he did not like the way that commander had been eying him up. His charms were apparently up too high. Serves the man right to get pinched, hard, by Jack's pet Stony the white stone-like crab that he got from Calypso to watch out for him - but were assisted by Gibbs - whom he will have a talk to about stealing and destroying precious mystic maps like the Charts - and Norrington's two Lieutenants, Groves and Gillette, whom he was delighted to see again even as his heart clenched in pain when he noticed the absence of James amongst their midst. He then led Blackbeard to the Fountain, where Barbossa was meant to accost them before Blackbeard could get any additional years. Long story short, Groves and Gillette died trying to claim the Fountain of Youth for England - he felt like he had lost even more of his Tutela with them gone, and he hadn't thought that possible since he figured out that the Fountain was a no go - Blackbeared unintentionally gave Angelica his years like any father should when they were both dying of frog/toad poison - with the help of Jack, of course - Angelica had sworn vengeance on him and Jack had gotten back his Pearl,even thought that bastard had put his beloved ship in a glass, sealed bottle. Barbossa had given up pretenses that he was a privateer and had returned to pirating like usual, taking off with Queen Anna's Revenge as was per the code since he had killed the previous captain.

They had parted on surprisingly good term, a little more of their old friendship rekindled, Jack had mused as he and Gibbs started searching for a goat and everything else he insisted they would need to release the Pearl from her prison. Perhaps there was a possibility he and Hector will one day be true friends again. It was unlikely, but still a possibility. He and Gibbs searched for a good few years before they found an effective way to release at least the crew that had been stuck on the Pearl. They made pitiful work for a while on land, Jack's luck dwindling by the day until his crew got fed up with him,even Gibbs, and left him to his own devices. Angry, alone and abandoned, Jack had wondered into a pub and traded his Compass - a thing as precious to him as his and Jamie's items and the black pearl still representing their bond - for rum before he realized what he had given and tried to get it back, but was arrested by two red coats.

That set off a series of events that led to Jack meeting Henry William Turner and Carina Smith-Barbossa (it wasn't that hard to figure out, since he could sense some of his protection she inherited from Barbossa and she had his eyes), nearly being executed - again - running from the law - again - taking off to the sea to find the Trident - his last chance to get Jamie back by lifting the curse off of the Flying Dutchman and freeing everyone on board, as was Henry's plan for Will and Bill (the family resemblance was scary, in those three; all three of them utter ninnies when it came to women) - and running from a cursed ship with a crew of (un)dead pirate ghosts. Again. Only this time it was Capitán Armando Salazar of the Silent Mary, El Matador del Mar. He had been a lover of Jack's for a few weeks before he realized Jack was a pirate and started hating and hunting him. They had been good together until Salazar decided they should be enemies. So one day, Jack had tricked him in to sailing straight into the Devil's Triangle and the fearsome Silent Mary was no more. It was the same day he had lost his mentor, Captain Morgan, the same day he had become Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow. The same day the Wicked Wench and the Compass officially became his.

But Salazar had sworn on revenge and he had returned to take it, a physical enough ghost haunting the seas and destroying pirates everywhere where he came across them. He was, of course, mostly after the man that had handed him such a humiliating defeat, but he wasn't above taking out his rage on everyone else along the way. The journey was tiresome and dangerous and Henry at one point got possessed by Salazar, but they had found the Trident. Poseidon's Trident, the last known artifact to hold the complete power over the sea, hidden by the god himself with only a star map that no man can read - but apparently a bright lass could - and Jack's last chance to free James and finally have him at his side ...

Broken.

That was the only way, you know? To break it. To break every curse in and on the sea, the Trident must be broken. All that power and it was gone. The shift could be felt immediately, not that they didn't see it when Salazar and his crew returned to being human. The following mad dash to freedom ended when Barbossa sacrificed himself so his daughter, her new potential sweetheart, his monkey and his once Captain - and friend - could survive. The Pearl had lifted them from the depths before the water could swallow them, but Barbossa had gone down taking Salazar with him. Two dead men returning to being dead.

Jack had half expected the same to happen to him.

But then he realized he was staying and that the curses across the seven seas were broken and that he could finally be with his Jamie, hope and happiness filling his soul. The Black Pearl had never rushed back towards Shipwreck Cove as fast as it did that day, shortening the trip by at least three days of sail, much to the amazement of the others. Henry now looked at Jack with the same kind of expression Will used to, that eccentric friend who exasperated and amazed and shocked and scared you shitless but whom you'd never change. They were both excited. They'd be seeing their family soon enough. Jack couldn't wait so see how the whelp and his charming murderess will react when they realize he physically hadn't aged a day - Curatrix appearently aged much slower, especially if they were powerful - and he couldn't wait to see and hug and hold James.

True enough, the Flying Dutchman appeared an hour or so after the Black Pearl did. Jack had not gone to shore with Carina and Henry, staying on board the Black Pearl and waiting to see what happened. Will felt alive to his senses again, as did Bootstrap, somewhere aboard the Dutchman, but the loss of Hector was still stinging almost bad enough for Jack not to notice the lack of that fulfilling relief that should have been there now that James was back.

Only he wasn't.

Jack had changed his mind about staying back the second he felt a tingling up his wings and he had unfurled them for inspection, only to be greeted with his, once again, white, brown, gold and black wings, like how he had been born. In his excitement and elation, he had flown over to celebrate with his friends to show them the good news, half expecting James to be there, only for Will to tell him that James had not stayed. The former Commodore went to the afterlife as soon as the curse was lifted, figuring it was where he belonged until the next time.

00000

Sparrow had fled back to the Pearl and sailed away with Barbossa's monkey on one shoulder and Tia Dalma's white crab on the other. He no longer searched for ways to bring James back. His Tutela was resting, preparing for his next incarnation and Jack let him. He sailed the seas for many years until he finally noticed it. He never aged, he never grew weaker, there was always something new only he could do. The world and the people around him changed, grew older but Jack Sparrow stayed the same. Occasionally, his wings would grow a centimeter or two, representing his own growth in power, but Jack never died, no matter how close to death he actually came. His friends grew old and retired or had kids. Their kids then took their places on the Black Pearl, making up the immortal Captain Jack Sparrow's crew. The gods finally addressed him a year after Elizabeth's death - she had not been as robust as his Grandmama but had still lived a long and happy life, outliving Will for a second time - when the world got sick of piracy and finally decided to exterminate them and Jack was chosen by the sixth Brethren Court for the third and final Pirate King, finally revealing to him their plan and expectation of him: to guard the magic of the world and to keep the divine well out of humanity's reach. Another Calypso must never happen.

But the world lost more and more magic with each year that passed. Human technology advanced and there were lesser and fewer partitioners, sorcerers and witches in the world by the day, either executed or no longer learning. Piracy was on the brink of extinction when Jack called back all remaining pirates to take refuge in Shipwreck Cove. He finally buried his father just before that mess started and he now held both titles as Keeper and King, despite the Code being adamant against it. But he was the only pirate, let alone Pirate Lord, with enough experience to lead them right. They hid for a decade before venturing out into the world again, and much had changed. A new brand of piracy had started taking root, a type completely independent and uncaring for the Code and they grew worse and worse by the decade. The world had continued spinning and turning and changing and Jack was forced to keep up with it from the shadows. He met great people and made marvelous friends and even acquired some spectacular enemies. He saved many lives in the two world wars and any other skirmishes that happen out in the sea, but the presence of the military in the oceans pushed him back and that actually let the new piracy spread like a disease. Human trafficking became worse than slavery ever had been, because they were sold for all sorts of reasons, from all over the world and even to some governments. The black markets filled with dangerous drugs and liquids, the weapons of war became even more destructive than they had ever been - Jack had seen what happened in Japan, what the 'Americans' had done and he had never been so disgusted with humanity.

Calypso kept protecting the Pirates of the Old, as they call themselves these days, shielding Shipwreck Island from new technology and any form of detecting. She also alerted Jack to where major shipwrecks were happening. These new metal boats sank faster than any old fashioned ship Jack had ever seen. The Titanic had left him feeling cold and resentful towards the higher classes, as he had seen how much space there was in some boats had the rich and pompous been less so and let more people sit with them. Lives were at stake, not that it mattered to them. So many had frozen and died, so many had he had to stay with until the Flying Dutchman - with some poor new bloke as Captain (he never did ask Calypso how she got this one, for the same of his sanity) - came to pick them up and cross them over. Jack Sparrow was disappointed with humanity but he never said anything. The Pirates of Old were few and far in between. They still operated under the Code and the Brethren Court, they still had authority over their claimed territories, but the new pirates were true terrorists and the governments of the world didn't see a difference between the two sides.

Jack was starting to lose his mind and he knew it, which meant quite a bit. He had waited for about three hundred years to be with his Tutela again, but James didn't seem so keen on returning to this pathetic plane of existence. Smart man. He wouldn't have liked what their world had become. It was by no means great in their time of birth, but people were at least trying not to appear corrupt. Now there was a Beckett in every seat of power and Jack was left alone to deal with them. He had seen so many loved ones and friends die, felt so many of their souls cross over in death that he was always surprised when he felt it again every next time. He had been sure he had gone numb, but it always came back and it always surprised him. Any other Curatrix would have gone mad a long time ago.

And speaking of Curatrix and Tutela, skepticism is the new black, it would seem, as rarely anyone believed in Curatrix anymore so an entire race had to hide their entire lives. Only every twelfth Curatrix met their Tutela but every third bond was broken. There had been another 'witch hunt' during the peace time between the two wars, although, thankfully, it had lasted only a month. Still, many Curatrix had died and even some Tutela as well. Mystical bonds were not appreciated in the modern world. And Jack had come to resent it. Even if he did ever find James - a thought more unlikely with every death anniversary where he holds and empty glass and blankly stares at the sword that belonged to Commodore Norrington in his cabin with his two immortal pets trying to keep him out of his spunk - again, in this modern age, it was unlikely James will accept him. He may even break their bond, a thought that truly terrified Jack. That would be it. The thing that shattered an indestructible fortress like it was a castle of glass. He almost wanted to miss any reincarnation of his Tutela if it meant avoiding that ever happening. Because he wanted to be with James again. Until eternity and beyond.

The Pirate King sighed and paid his bill, knocking back his drink as he stood up. All around him, drunken men and tipsy or smashed women were laughing and singing and just plain having fun or bringing on the cheer in the most artificial way known to man. He had been sitting here for the entire day, moping about James' death, like he did every year on the man's birthday. His death anniversary was a private and completely sober thing but Jack wanted to drink in his charge's name on the day he had been born and gifted to Jack as the other half of his soul, even though that wasn't the most accurate description. So he'd go some place cheerful and try to let it wash over him but even his Curatrix empathy couldn't lift his mood. Jack the Monkey chattered on his shoulder, holding the white stone-like sleeping crab as Jack made his way out of the pub. The monkey was sad since they had actually ran into some familiar faces earlier that day but they were not the people they knew.

Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa and Gibbs had somehow all been reincarnated, despite not being Tutela. Sparrow had heard of it happening before, but he had never met anyone to have gone through it. As was expected, there was no recognition on their faces when they saw them, Barbossa carrying a baby Carina while Elizabeth and Will were strolling with him through the park, Henry in his mother's arms. Bill seems to be alive again as well, but they hadn't seen him. Jack the monkey had been heartbroken when Hector didn't greet him warmly like the once Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea used to and Jack had felt cold and alone when Gibbs didn't recognize him. The children had instantly fallen in love with Jack but their parents were wary and so Jack had left as soon as he could. He was actually pretty sure he marched right past a certain pair of Lieutenants before he started running away from Angelica - she had found a different source to the Fountain of Youth and had kept adding herself years so she can avenge her father and chase Jack across the globe.

The day was simply too full of nostalgic memories and his mind always brought him back to the way things used to be before. He could rarely sail the Pearl anymore, unless he made a tourist attraction out of her, but that rarely ended well. Gods, he missed the good old days, when there was still so much to see and an open horizon for him to sail towards. The world felt so small and claustrophobic these days and he knew part of it was because he desperately wanted to see his Tutela again.

When he stepped out of the pub, he grimaced at the polluted air - his memory was still as great as it used to be and he, if no one else, can testify just how much the cars and factories have polluted the air - but he was used to it by now. Only Shipwreck Island and especially the Cove actually have any fresh air anymore. But the cool night was a nice contrast to the stuffy pub and he reveled in being alone again, even if only because he wasn't crowded in. He looked up towards the sky and grimaced when he could see barely one or two of the brighter stars. Another thing he hated about modern society. Stars were one of the few things he had first been taught as a sailor. He'd relied and lived by them for centuries before the flashy lights of big cities erased them from the night sky. He also didn't like how satellites and planes mimicked the twinkle of the stars but he did like airplanes occasionally. It was fun to fly so high. Even he can't reach that altitude. It would have been too taxing when the sir wasn't thick enough for him to breathe properly.

The pirate heaved another sigh and moved to start his short trek to his temporary accommodations when he heard a scuffle just before he saw five men gang up on one guy and shove him out onto the busy street. The approaching car beeped in alarm and tried to change direction or hit the breaks, but the driver didn't have the time to properly react but Jack did-

Without thought, without awareness, he found himself wrapping the stranger in his massive wings - still black; they change color now, if he concentrates, so they could go back to their original coloring if he wished it so; a great party trick for the numerous Turner kids he'd entertained over the years - and taking the brunt of the hit. A Curatrix is sturdier than either a car or a human when their in protection/combat mode so he's relatively fine. Only he had hit his head and everything was slowly spinning out of focus and his line of vision was narrowing with each blink.

The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was recognition fill familiar green eyes before all turned black.

00000

"You're an utter fool, Jack Sparrow," was the words the greeted him upon his return from the dream world, as well as a heavy body immediately joining him in a dingy of an uncomfortable hospital bed, arms holding him tight and a shaky breath ghosting his ear. The voice was so achingly posh and familiar that tears ran down Jack's face without him even noticing it. "A damn fool. I thought I lost you again and just when I finally found you!"

"Please don't let go." Jack begged in return, wrapping his own arms tight around the man pinning him to the bed. "Please don't be a dream, Jamie. I won't survive if you are."

"Idiot." James Norrington, reborn and alive, said with a sobbed out chuckle, burying his nose in Jack's hair, as wild as ever and still smelling of the sea, as though it was in his pores and blood since he was born. "I'm not a dream or a hallucination. I thought you were when I first saw you. I ... "

"You remember?" The Pirate King couldn't help but ask. In the distance, a long way away from the hospital, he could hear the Black Pearl singing in worry and relief. He wondered briefly for how long he was out.

"Of course I do! It's pretty hard to forget Captain Jack Sparrow," Norrington said with a chuckle. He looked and sounded and moved and spoke just how Jack remembered and it was a comfort unlike any Jack had felt in a very, very long time. His Da's death had taken almost all of what was left of it and only his Pearl and the constant presence of his two pets had remained but he had still too often felt that it was just ... not enough. But James was here now, his charge, his Tutela, his soulmate. He'd waited and served dutifully the gods for this moment and it was suddenly all oh so worth it. "Although that might be a problem. Your wings are quite the sight. You're the topic of the week. We'll need to get you out of here before someone comes to question you. I don't think they'll believe your story." James cocks his head to the side, studying the way Jack's appearance hadn't changed almost at all in the past almost three hundred years. He still had all his mementos weaved into his hair and more. He still wore his coat with its numerous buttons, although it was now folded on the table next to the hospital bed. Everything else was modern so he could fit in but he still wore his old clothes out at sea and around the Cove. "Did you actually live for three centuries?"

"Better believe it, love."

"The gods?" It didn't sound much like a question even if it was posed as one. The darker skinned man arched an eyebrow. They would be having a more in depth conversation on this topic later, it would seem.

"Aye. You don't seem surprised."

The Englishman shrugged with a sarcastic smirk. "I once met a gypsy who kind of told me what to expect. I doubt your work is complete."

"Yeah, I figured as much myself."

"We need to get you out of here. Now."

"Not leaving you ever again, James Norrington. I've loved you for three hundred years and waited for you just as long. I'll be damned if we get separated now. Savvy?" He held on tight to emphasize his words and James delighted him with a fond laugh and a tightening of his own grip.

"I did say we. I don't plan on letting you go, either, moron. It would ruin the whole point of this reunion." The Tutela grinned as he finally leaned back a little from the shorter man. He had practically caged Jack in and for the first time, Sparrow was completely okay with that. Not with the memory of the last time he touched this man, James was wet and cold and dying, was now being chased away by the warm skin under his fingers and the soft lips brushing against his in their first real kiss that knocked the air out of their lungs despite how chaste it was. They broke apart when the monkey screeched for their attention, pointing out the door and down the hall where someone had to be coming their way. The two sailors grinned at each other as James lifted himself and the Curatrix out of the bed and fathered the two animals and his sword - and hadn't he just been delighted when he saw it. He had feared it was lost to time or that he would have to search for it again - while Jack quickly put on his coat. Jack was even more excited to see that James hair was as long as it had been after Tortuga and was in much the same style, the hair tie a silver string with a black pearl attached that glinted in greeting to him. The representation of himself in their bond, returned to James when he was born again. He had not noticed when he himself got back the pearl representing James, as he would have been in a dark place when that happened - James looked about as old as he had been when he had originally perished - and he had not really dared look at his gem since the destruction of the Trident. He was glad everything was back to normal.

"Will you regret it? Are you leaving anything behind?" Jack asked even as he unfurled his wings, letting them flash momentarily their original color - just to show off to his Tutela and James did seem interested in this new phenomenon - before they settled back to black. It appeared to be night outside and black wings will better blend in with the sky than white and gold ones.

"I'll be leaving behind a life I never wanted, never enjoyed. I love the sea and I love you. There is nothing for me here."

Jack had to grin at that as he came to hug his soon to be passenger. They won't have trouble escaping the notice of whoever might search for them. Jack's wings had grown and strengthened, now a full twenty feet long wing span with more than enough power and durability to carry them halfway across the ocean, if Jack was up to it. He was sure Jamie would love it. "Are you ready?" He asked with an elated smile. They were finally going to fulfill their promise. It was a long time coming.

"I was reborn ready." James replied with an excited grin of his own and a loving kiss to the shorter male's lips. They'll have to do that more often. It really feels great. The crab and monkey had some sort of cheer between them and Jack just smiled. Fate had brought them together, tore them apart and tested them both, Jack with relentless tasks from the gods and James for the depth of his love for the gods' chosen champion. Now fate had brought them back together again to start a whole new journey. It was a big world out there. There were still relics that the gods wanted returned or destroyed. But they would do it together this time. And this time, not even fate could tear them apart.

The gods approved immensely, especially the ones particularly fond of one Jack Edward Teague 'Sparrow'. Calypso just smiled and wondered when she could visit.

And when the detectives, doctors and nurses entered the hospital room a minute later, it was to an open window and a far off outline of black wings in the moonlit sky, flying off towards the sea, a black ship and a new adventure.

THE END