Why hello again! Since I've last made an appearance, a new Pirates movie has been released! I was super excited for the new movie because it meant the RETURN OF WILL TURNER. He was for sure the best part! And that's counting the fact that I graduated with a guy who was IN the movie, lucky duck. He played the young Jack Sparrow. Totally not fair how a dude that was essentially in my prom group and, to my knowledge, wasn't a huge fan of the series gets in and I don't. So rude. Haha! But he did a good job, I'd say.

All right, my lovely readers, prepare yourselves for a new chapter! Hardly any movie stuff this time, so we're in uncharted waters. It'll be great. Thank you to all those who reviewed and are still here! You seriously motivate me even if it doesn't look that way sometimes.

Happy Reading! And remember: there may be delays, but one way or another I will finish this series. I promise.

Life update: I'm getting married, y'all! :D

~MisticLight

~.~.~.~

The Hai Peng was far from Sao Feng's best ship. Rotting wood seemed to hold it together, with pieces of the railing almost crumbling away with the slightest breeze. Each plank creaked and moaned far more than any ship I'd been on, and that included the old one Will and I used to sail to Tortuga. These two ships were roughly the same size, which worked great when there were only two of us. Not an entire crew. Only a tiny space between the deck and the hull could be used for a bit of storage, meaning we'd have to sleep on the deck each night unless something forced us below. The a thatched roof towards the stern could come in handy if the weather changed at night, but even that looked like the right gust of wind would send it out to sea.

Overall, I wasn't surprised Sao Fang so willing gave up the Hai Peng to Will. It was an easily-disposed-of vessel, and we were disposable.

Will seemed to hold as much faith in the ship as I did. All traces of the slight humor he had vanished into the creases his now stern expression created. I wanted to say something encouraging, but my first attempts turned words to strained sighs.

"It's only a ship," I eventually tried. "We just need it to reach Jack and the Pearl. Then everything will go back to normal."

His vision slid from the Hai Peng's sails to the back of Elizabeth's head as she turned towards the bow. "Almost normal."

"Will," I sighed, tentatively placing my hand on his forearm. He brushed it off immediately and pushed past me. When he reached the deck, he headed for the stern. My eyes closed as I ran the rejected hand through my hair, removing what remained of my bun in the process. I wanted to help him through the darkness Elizabeth casted upon him, but it was difficult to do when all he did was run away, both from me and from her. It was frustrating.

Yet I did the same to him before we reached the shores of Singapore. I was in no position to be angry with him, especially since we'd nearly managed to get ourselves killed… again.

My chest tightened. How many times would we do that? At some point our luck would run out. Surviving the Kraken twice, amongst many other things, was not something people simply walked away from freely. An icy sensation stung my heart and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

"Pierce!" someone shouted from the ship. I searched the deck for its occupant until I found the angry scowl of Pintel. "What are you standing around for? Come help us!"

As he spoke, shouts of Gibbs ordering the crew, Tai Huang commanding others, and everyone's following confirmations filled my ears. Somehow I'd managed to mute the noise amongst the crashing of my thoughts, but upon registering them, there was no way to fade it back out. I shook away my thoughts and trotted over to them.

Pintel stood with Ragetti, as expected, closer towards the bow of the ship. At the very front stood Tia Dalma, and Elizabeth seemed to be making her way in that direction. "What do you two need help with now?"

They looked at me as though I should know the answer. When I cocked my head to show I had no idea what was going on, Pintel's face managed to become even crueler. "Did you not hear anything Gibbs just said?"

"Well, no, my mind was…" as I spoke, Barbossa thundered past with a determined stride towards Will, "…elsewhere."

Ragetti took a breath. "Gibbs said he wants us to find the na—"

Anything Ragetti said after that I took no notice of. My attention locked on Barbossa and Will, whose body immediately tightened at the approaching footsteps. I could not hear their exchanged words, but whatever they were had Will walking away as harshly as Barbossa approached. My eyes darted between them. Though brief, their conversation created a line of tension I doubted would ever resolve. More tension, I should say, since there was an abundance of it anymore. I knew Will wasn't supposed to be captured. It wasn't part of Barbossa's master plan. But would that lead to harsh words? Especially when his capture was unpredictable?

Or did Will have his own agenda? He was speaking passionately about Bootstrap beforehand...

I shook that thought from my mind immediately and pressed a wrist to my forehead. Will wouldn't do that. Not only had he promised, but he wasn't that sort of man. He wasn't a pirate. "Stop thinking," I whispered.

"What did you just say to him?" Pintel snapped, his thumb pointing towards Ragetti.

I blinked a few times and shifted my attention back to him. "I didn't say anything."

Ragetti crossed his arms. "Then why was you whisperin'?"

"Because I-" There were too many mental distractions for me to think straight, and with Will quickly approaching in a way that begged me to soothe the stress placed by Barbossa, I struggled to find an easy way to leave these two. They'd never made anything easy on me, though, so why would I continue to do them a favor? I sucked in my lips for a tight smile and nodded towards Will. "I'm just going to go."

"Hey!" I heard as I spun on my heels to cross Will's path. Then their words blended in with the ship as we casted off.

Will was quiet when I fell in stride with him. Although silence was a way to amend hurt, he was in a place I couldn't reach. There seemed to be so much happening inside him, and although I knew where everything originated, I had a strange sense he was intentionally keeping me out. I could be wrong, but it was a feeling I had since our last discussion. Singapore had only strengthened it.

How did he manage to get caught? He had always been careful, such as when we took the key from Davy Jones. Then despite admitting to his theft, he still managed to get the charts from an angered Sao Feng? Something wasn't adding up. I needed to know, no matter what he revealed. As long as it was the truth. We could move forward and I wouldn't have this sickening feeling anymore.

I took a breath, knowing this was going against my earlier decision to leave him alone about the whole ordeal. "So what did Barbossa want?"

Start the conversation small then steer it towards Singapore.

"He asked about my capture." He forcibly replied. I noticed his hand clench into a fist, yet his stride remained the same.

"Oh," I hesitantly replied. "What did he say? Does he have reason to doubt you for any particular reason?" Will seemed suspicious of me when he looked my way, so I shrugged and smiled. He turned back and I sighed. Careful, Evelyn.

"I wasn't supposed to get caught. Since I did, he suspects I'm plotting against him." He shook his head. I was about to press him further when more words lashed out. "Not everything goes according to plan. Events happen and people get caught. Why doesn't anyone seem to understand that? It worked out the way I wanted and now we have the charts, a ship, and a crew. What more does Barbossa want?"

"It worked out the way you wanted? Will, if you made your own plan despite knowing Barbossa's intentions then-"

"I meant 'he,' Evelyn. You know that," he signed. "I promised we wouldn't betray our friends, remember?"

Yet since then you started acting differently. My voice softened. "Yes… of course."

His did, too. "I'm sorry, Evelyn." For a moment he grabbed my hand with his fingertips and stroked the back of my palm. The comfort of his touch brought a small smile to my lips. His lips flickered up as well, but it was fleeting and the action caused him to release me. "Although no one has said anything, I can tell something changed since Jack's death. Everyone is quieter, keeping more to themselves than usual. Maybe it's because of Beckett or Barbossa being back... or that we're sailing to a place we thought never could be reached... I can't tell. Everyone is just different… except for you. Somehow you've managed to remain true to yourself despite all of this. It's relieving to see you still have faith in the world, the crew, and, more importantly, me."

Guilt tingled down my skin, causing me to bite my lip. Of course I trusted him, but the questions I wanted to ask made it seem the opposite. Will had enough doubts, and there was no reason from me to accidentally be one. I never should have questioned his motives. Fortunately, I noticed we were approaching the bow and he seemed to be looking for someone. There was only one possible reason he'd lead us this way, and it was a perfect opportunity for me to take the conversation elsewhere.

"If you're trying to find Elizabeth, she's just ahead." I nodded in her direction. At the mere mention of her name, his jaw tightened and he took a deep breath.

"Why would I be looking for her?" His voice was low and harsh, making his words feel as though they could cut through my stomach. A bit of anger even flared within me for a reason I could not name.

I threw my hands up and he turned towards me. "Possibly because you both have something very important to talk about concerning Jack? The man whose death you claim has changed everyone, yourself included, might I add. You can't just let this stay silent. There has to be an explanation."

"If Elizabeth wanted to tell me about Jack, then she would. Since she hasn't, that can only mean there's something more." As his voice softened, so did his eyes. They glistened far more than they should beneath a clouded night sky. He looked down. "I don't know if I can handle more, Evelyn."

My lips parted as I realized what he was talking about, and at first I couldn't quite release the words from my mouth. "You… think she loves him."

"Isn't it obvious?" Since he refused to meet my gaze, I took a step closer. Possibly a little too close, but he spoke in such whispers that I knew his words were meant solely for me. He was in so much unbearable pain, and I felt nothing but helplessness as I looked at him. "She spent days alone with him aboard the Pearl, kissed him deeply before he sacrificed himself, mourned more than anyone else, and has avoided me since... It's why she won't speak to me."

I held my breath. Will wasn't supposed to be unhappy. He was the steady one in our friendship, the one who kept me grounded when my mind flew in all sorts of directions. When I panic, he calms me. If we're in trouble, he speaks with such concern that together we're able to resolve anything. I've tried to be that person for him since Beckett arrested us, but each time Will approaches me with a problem, I chip away slightly. If he were a rock fighting against the ocean's current, I'd be the sand swirling around him.

That didn't mean I wouldn't try, though. Never will I stop trying to help Will, no matter how much the thought of failing him terrified me. He deserved what lightness remained in this world, and seeing him so downcast shifted the mood of the ship. Rather than acting determined and thinking critically, he was becoming more impulsive, tense, and, at times, angry. It wasn't right seeing him this way, and I felt tortured watching him unsuccessfully fight his way through this.

"Will, you're never going to know unless you ask," I sighed, placing a hand on his chest. "Don't you love her?"

His heart raced beneath my palm. I assumed it was panic over the unreturned love he felt for her; a perfect reflection of mine towards him. My own chest felt constricted from my intention to turn Will back to Elizabeth, but they belonged together. She was the only person capable of making him happy, and I'd give anything to see him that way again. In better times, they helped each other far more than I ever could. My fingers pressed into him as the painful revelation coursed through me.

I continued in a whisper. "It's not like you haven't been keeping secrets from her either."

Instantly his eyes snapped up and locked with mine, but I couldn't read them. I tried to find a form of guilt for his part in hiding something from her or regret over expressing that hurt in Tia Dalma's shack with me, but I saw neither of those. Actually, I couldn't sort out what I saw. So much seemed to be happening in his eyes that I lost the words to continue on.

Instead, we remained silent, neither wavering from the other's gaze. I somehow managed to cause something to happen within him, but since I had no indication of what it was and he wouldn't display the thought on his face, we were at his mercy. At length his eyes hardened again, resorting back to what they were when we first boarded the ship. I took a breath to say something, but he backed away. He did not break contact from me, though, even when he also summoned the will to say something.

"Tai Huang!"

My eyes scrunched and I tilted my head with confusion. Tai Huang?

Just as I thought it, the man walked by us. He paused in his tracks and spun to face us. "Turner," he nodded.

"We need to start analyzing those charts," he said to him while looking at me.

Tai Huang didn't seem to mind. He merely ignored Will's actions and instead focused on his words. Though their conversation revolved around finding the end of the world, my ears fell numb. As much as I wanted to pay attention, I couldn't. I just wanted to fix the mess Will and I created while also resolving his engagement with Elizabeth despite being in love with him, but all he seemed to do was avoid everything by focusing on getting Jack back. What would happen when we retrieved him, though? Does he expect everything to return to the way it was before? Considering the rising tension amongst the crew, I doubted that was possible.

As much as I, too, wanted things to return to as normal as they could be, we were far from that. Beckett was latched to our trail, and I knew the deal I had with him to keep Will alive by excusing his acts of piracy in order to retrieve the compass was now moot. We were still technically getting the compass, but also actively fighting against him and committing further acts of piracy. We were all condemned in some way.

I turned away from Will and walked as far from him as I could on this ridiculously small ship.

~.~.~.~

With each passing day Will became more focused on the charts than I ever thought imaginable. He'd always been the best person to solve similar riddles in the past, but this particular one stumped him. I witnessed him and Tai Huang huddle over it numerous times, speaking aloud both to each other and themselves. They took turns trying the map, for it hardly acted like a map at all. It wasn't like ones I'd seen decorating walls or used to pinpoint a direction. Instead of having a solid picture, this one had mechanics. Multiple rotating pieces circled around each other, all of which could be moved to form different shapes. They believed these shapes to be forms of land, but every time they lined something among all the pieces, there never seemed to be an end. Rather, their supposed land morphed what they believed to be water. Nothing was complete.

To add to the mystery of the charts, symbols crossed over the pieces as well. They were so jumbled and strangely placed that we could tell neither their language nor message. If there was a single message, anyway.

"Perhaps these lands are not among us? Could they be in the locker?" I had asked on their second day of attempts. Tai Huang looked up, but Will didn't move. "Surely if this is to locate such a mythical place, then it would showcase other such destinations and how to maneuver through them?" I rotated the second circle from the drawing of the ship until two lines connected across another platform, forming a complete landmass.

"No," Tai Huang slapped my hand away. I retracted it to my chest and glared at him. Will returned the circle I moved back to its original position. "This is no mere map," he continued while rotating more fragments. He formed an illustration of a tiger on one side of the map, paused, then moved the pieces until a word formed on the opposite side in a language I did not recognize. Yet the word came from the same lines used to create the tiger. He had been practicing. "The Mao Kun Map is the only guide to consider chance, fate, and the supernatural. You cannot seek a fixed point, for it will never exist." He moved more pieces for prove his point, creating an image and morphing the same lines into something else. "When the world changes, so will the map. Only we can find our intended path."

"And… if we choose the wrong one?"

"That is impossible," Will snapped. The sharpness of them pushed me back.

Tai Huang ignored them, which I noticed was a common practice of his. "Then we will be at the Mao Kun Map's mercy."

Though his words rose the hair on my arms, my eyes lingered on Will and his sudden hostility. He sensed my stare and peered through the corners of his eyes. We shared a brief moment, which was all I needed to see he didn't want me to be there. I narrowed my eyes.

"You cannot avoid things with a distraction, William," I said before backing away from him.

He refused to speak with Elizabeth despite my best attempts, and I knew solving the charts was his excuse to continue avoiding the problem. Yet with the difficulty of the map and the pressure to assemble it as quickly as possible, I could tell his distraction was becoming a burden. So I wasn't necessarily frustrated with him for his tone, but standing beside him as he made useless movements on the map was something I could no longer stand. He wasn't the only one in need of a distraction, though mine wasn't to avoid a problem. Rather, I wanted to prevent one from happening. Tensions continued to rise, and I didn't want to further becoming its prey. Especially if it meant Will and I standing on opposite ends. We both couldn't afford that.

So I found small tasks to do throughout the next couple days: counting supplies with Gibbs, clearing pathways with Tia Dalma, and even repairing the thatched roof with Cotton. In the end, though, there was little to do. Barbossa took charge of the helm since he was the sole person capable of guiding us, and with the little supplies we had combined with his refusal to stop at port, the only thing we needed was the map. This only added to Will's pressing situation. I thought it best to avoid him, then. For both our sakes.

Yet I was not alone with this endeavor. Elizabeth and I crossed paths many times in our search to find something to fill the time. Although I knew she was avoiding Will as much as he was her, I was tired of my attempts of getting them to talk overlooked. I needed to stray away from it for a while, both to allow them the chance to mend on their own and to give my heart a break.

Why must I love the impossible? I asked myself while walking the perimeter of the ship for the eighth time that day. It would be so easy if I hadn't allowed myself to love, and yet…. My pace slowed as I passed Tai Huang and Will again. They still hunched over the map, turing pieces and rapidly murmuring back and forth. They appeared to be on to something, but I doubted anything would come to pass. It was just too big of a puzzle.

Will's eyes flicked over to me; not beckoning me over, but as though making sure he knew my location. Not knowing what to do, I gave a sad smile and a small wave. That seemed to satisfy him because he turned back to the map immediately and began turning a few more pieces, prompting a sharp stare from Tai Huang. I shook my head and sighed. Nothing was being accomplished anywhere. Only one thing held us all together: Jack.

So essentially we are all doomed, I thought. Fantastic. I let out another sigh, but my breath caught when I slammed straight into someone leaning against the railing.

"Oh," I cried, falling back and grabbing the rigging. When I looked up, Elizabeth stood before me as though nothing had happened. Her eyes were fixed on the sky across the deck. "So sorry, Elizabeth. I wasn't paying any atten-"

"Do you ever wonder what else is out there?" She asked. Her voice seemed distant.

I straightened myself. "What do you mean?"

"We've fought cursed crewmen, the Kraken, and have even faced Davy Jones himself. What more could there possibly be?" She looked down to her crossed arms, her eyes flitting back and forth. "I read so many tales as a child, but I never dreamed of them being real. It seemed impossible. Now I don't know what to believe."

Her last sentence trailed off, as though some deeper meaning lingered within. I chose to ignore it and instead took a step forward. "I don't know much of these tales, so I don't suppose sea serpents really counts?"

"Of course they do," she smiled, "though I believe it has a higher possibility of being real since we learned of the Kraken's existence."

"We certainly learned the hard way with that one…"

"As we did with Cortés and his gold." We both turned towards the helm since we knew Barbossa was there somewhere.

"That wasn't necessarily our fault, though."

"Yes, but that does make me wonder about other myths associated with that man."

I faced Elizabeth once more. "He has more?"

"He was a treacherous man, Evelyn. As a result, he sword was also cursed. It is said any person who holds his sword with the sheath will make that person unstoppable in battle and bestow strange powers. Those powers are limited without the sheath, but are still strong."

"That doesn't seem too terrible when compared to the coins."

"If that person becomes as bloodthirsty and greedy as Cortés, which always comes to pass, then the entire world could be in danger."

My face tightened. "Greed. Often, it seems, that is the cause for these curses. I've heard the Fountain of Youth has been an ongoing search full of greed for youth yet filled with despair."

"Or Poseidon's Trident, as it holds all the powers of the sea," Elizabeth said. I'd never heard of that legend before, either, and briefly wondered if Will knew about it before shaking the thought away. Elizabeth took that to mean I didn't believe such a weapon existed. Her voice lowered when next she spoke. "I heard it even has the power to control sea creatures, even the fantastical ones such as the Kraken and merfolk."

"Merfolk?" I asked, humor playing with my voice. "As in mermaids?"

She smiled. A real, genuine smile I hadn't seen from her for quite some time. "I know it sounds impossible, but that's what the legend says!"

Laughter exploded from be so unexpectedly that Elizabeth jumped, but after a moment she relaxed again and joined me. A mutual agreement seemed to fall between us. "There are many unknown things on this earth, but merfolk cannot be one of them."

Elizabeth took a breath to say something, but then both her shoulders and smile fell. She looked over the top of my head rather than my face, so I spun around, equally frowning when I saw Barbossa glowering at us.

"But they are real. Located at Whitecap Bay, if I'm not mistaken. Terrible creatures, the lot of them." He took a step towards us. I countered by taking a step back and nearly colliding with Elizabeth again. Though not necessarily afraid of this man, he was a very unpredictable and knew many things he should not, some of which I feared becoming known to others. "I've got another one for you." A dark humor played at his face as he looked between the two of us. I held my breath. "What say you about the Goddess Calypso?"

For a moment his gaze flicked to the left. I tried to see what had caught his attention, but all I noticed were some crew members, Pintel, Ragetti, and Tia Dalma.

"That is an old legend," Elizabeth said, drawing my attention back to the conversation.

"Aye, but if everything about Davy Jones is true, would hers not be the same?"

"Well," I started, then paused. Though I wanted to object, I found I could not. I didn't know much about Calypso, but her name appeared a few times when Barbossa spoke of the Brethren Court. She was the one bound to human form during the first meeting. "I suppose you are correct, then? Though there has yet to be proof of her existence. If she became human during the first meeting, she could very well be dead by now."

I sensed Elizabeth stir beside me. "And yet Davy Jones lives."

"That's because they were both punished," Barbossa smiled. "She tricked a lovestruck sailor into ferrying souls for eternity, which caused him to convince the Brethren at the time to rip away her control on the sea and bind her. If she hadn't been so fickle and unpredictable, Jones would be a free man and capable of living out his days with her still in control of our fates at sea. Her lack of loyalty caused her own demise."

Elizabeth tensed and I felt my own face go white. Luckily she was just as distressed as I was by the concept of "loyalty" to notice. Barbossa, on the other hand, only lengthened his cruel smile. He chose those words on purpose, I realized, and I despised the thought of him seeing our panic. I straightened myself and looked directly into his eyes. "Not a lack of loyalty." He raised a challenging brow, fueling my anger. "She was a representation of the sea, so I expect nothing less of a reaction from her. Whatever supposedly happened between her and Jones years ago was a result of her being true to herself, and if he loved her as is claimed, he should have realized this. He would have pursued further and fought harder, never giving up until he found her again. Loyalty and betrayal had nothing to do with it. I know her heart would have waited, even if it meant risking that love to never be returned again. Your version is only the story crafted so people like you can twist the minds of others. You may know a lot, but you cannot expect-"

"Miss Pierce," he interrupted. I took in a sharp breath, but let it out slowly. Not finishing my thought was probably for the best as I was treading a thin line with Elizabeth behind me. Yet Barbossa's eyes seemingly shined, as though this was the intention of his proding the entire time. "Any particular reason why you are so passionate about this?"

He knows, I reminded myself. Yet as I looked from Barbossa's humored expression to Elizabeth's pained one, I felt more anger rising rather than shame. My jaw tightened. That gives him no right to be cruel.

"There is always a reason, Captain. That is all I'm saying." I then spun on my heels and made my way below deck. Though a small part of me felt bad for leaving Elizabeth with him, I sensed he was done abusing us for the day. He got the reaction he wanted, after all. I just hoped my small defiance was enough to silence him for the time being. The last thing I wanted was for Barbossa to tell Elizabeth about Will and I rather than one of us. That certainly would be the worst form of betrayal to her.

Yet despite everything that just happened, I trusted Barbossa to keep his mouth shut.

I ran a hand through my hair. What else can possibly happen on this adventure?

~.~.~.~.~

The Hai Peng was so small that when night fell and most of the crew turned to sleep, many chose the deck rather than the space below. Between what was stored and the amount of people, there was no way of fitting everyone in without some uncomfortable closeness. However, more and more people decided to face the discomfortable because of the changing weather. The nights steadily became colder, making it more difficult to bear the whole night. Now most slept below, but I wasn't quite ready yet. The Kraken still haunted my dreams and the cold air helped me stay awake until I became so physically exhausted that I had to sleep. Only then did the dreams fail to find me.

My favorite spot was at the bow. Even when the crew slept on the deck, it was the least crowded and carried no activity for those working the night shifts. The solitude also allowed me to think about our mission, the threat of Beckett, trapped Bootstrap, and, at times, my own father. Then there was Will. I couldn't decide what to do with him anymore. The role of Elizabeth with Jack bothered him, just as me prompting him to speak with her did. At times, it seemed as though something greater than all of this was on his mind, but I couldn't figure out what. His father was, certainly, but it was only after Singapore that he became harsher, more bitter.

"What are you hiding?" I quietly asked myself. "You can tell me."

I looked to the stars peeking through the clouds, hoping an answer would present itself to me, but nothing did. Instead, I was only granted with someone approaching and sitting down beside me. I didn't need to look to know it was Will.

We remained silent for some time, gazing up at the stars, not even close enough for our clothes to brush against each other in the light wind. I had nothing more to say to him. By now, he knew what I thought he should to, which seemed to result in him acting strange and unpredictable. I could only brush off so much.

"You don't deserve this, you know," Will said at length. I allowed myself to turn to him then. He still looked up, as though the stars strengthened him. "All of this: hunted by Beckett and Jones alike, sailing to the end of the world as the days get colder, and they way I've acted towards you. I just want us to figure out this chart so we can get Jack with the Black Pearl and I can start freeing my father."

"There are more steps than just that before we can help him, Will. You know this." He tensed slightly at my warning. "The Brethren Court has yet to meet and then there's Beckett we have to deal with before we can even consider Jones. He's controlling him, and thus controlling Bootstrap. We can't just return with Jack and sail off right away. There are steps."

I expected Will to be met with some sort of harsh defense of the matter, yet again, but instead there was silence. He took a sharp intake of breath and suddenly became uncomfortable with every position he was in. When he refused to meet my gaze, I knew for certain he was not telling me something. My eyes narrowed. "Will?"

"You also didn't deserve what happened before Singapore."

My eyes widened and my fingers jumped to my lips. Our kiss.

"I feel lost, Evelyn. It began when I witnessed Elizabeth's love for Jack and has only continued as she avoids me. I've tried to approach her, as you suggested many times, but she either turns away or I can't bring myself to do it. Something stops me every time, and I can't figure out what it is. All I know is you're the only solid thing left in my life, and I panicked. I wanted to feel whole again, if even for a moment, but that does not mean I should have ki-"

"Enough, Will," I interrupted, placing a hand on his arm. He turned, finally, to look at it before following the length of my arm to my face. I smiled once he found me, but only briefly. "Things are a mess right now and every single person on this ship is confused. Can't you feel it? We don't know where we're going, what we're doing, or what will happen once this is all over. Yes, I know we're going to the end of the world to bring back Jack, stop Beckett and Jones, and free your father, but there is so much more than that going on, and I'm tired of it. We need to start acknowledging moments such as that, whether they were made in moments of desperation or not." I looked to Will for confirmation of one way or the other, but his gaze remained fixed on my face. He was unmoving, so I continued. "We need to stop apologizing for secrets we keep and finding an explanation for every action. If not to others, then at least to ourselves. I don't want guilt tearing apart our friendship."

"That would never happen," he immediately cut in.

I smiled, appreciating the affirmation but knowing the truth. "Yet I see it every day between you and Elizabeth."

"That's different."

I rose my brows, imploring him to continue.

Will turned fully to face me, his posture relaxed despite the frigid air. "Elizabeth has always hidden away pieces of herself. As we grew closer, she trusted me more, and piece by piece opened herself up. Yet even before this, I sensed she still had things tucked away or that I hadn't earned all of her. I never knew what it could be, but ever since I saw her and Jack… everything fit together. This could be what she hid all along. Even if it isn't, I don't know why she wouldn't trust me enough by now to tell me. Then if I do learn, I don't know if I would believe the answer, let alone her. Then there's you."

My breath caught in my lungs and I felt my insides turn cold. When Will grabbed the back of my hand, I felt a warmth start to melt it, but even then I remained frozen.

"From the day we met, we've been honest with each other. Never have I felt as though I had to earn your trust or prove myself to you. In every situation, you've been by my side without a second thought. You even volunteered to be on the Flying Dutchman when you found out I was not returning. We've never doubted each other. If a conflict does arise, we are swift to speak with each other about it. By now I know you so well that I can tell you have the same thoughts. You're just… Evelyn, and that's perfect."

A warm blush found my cheeks, and I was grateful we had this discussion at night rather than earlier in the day. Regardless, Will seemed to sense I was a bit flustered because he had to cough before continuing. Then again, perhaps he became so himself.

"You want us to stop apologizing and just admit things? We can do that. So here is my confession: watching you walk away from me after we kissed has been hard for me to handle. It's all I can think about. I want us to go back to when we solved every problem together."

"I-I-" Finishing sentences became difficult suddenly and I looked to the floor. Walking away was just as difficult to me, and despite everything Will just confessed, I could not tell him the reason I've always been so open is because I love him. I'd only just admitted it to myself after all this time. I wasn't ready to admit this to him, especially knowing he is bound to someone else. So I took a breath and changed the direction of my sentence. "That probably was not my best decision, was it? I apologize. You do need to speak with Elizabeth, by the way, but I know now she needs to come to the terms with herself before you can approach. I pushed you too hard. The rather than considering your discomfort, I overwhelmed myself instead. It was wrong of me."

Will chuckled. I snapped my head back up, a harmless glare planted on my face. This only caused him to laugh more and he pulled me into a side hug. Since he couldn't see my lips, I smiled.

"What?" I finally asked. Trying not to join his laughter was increasingly difficult.

"Well, I thought we were going to stop apologizing for things we did and accept our actions."

I elbowed my way out of his embrace, but once out in the open, the reality of the weather hit me. A shiver ran its way through my body. "The only thing I'm accepting right now is how I should probably start sleeping in the crowded space below. Those tight quarters, although suffocating, will definitely be much warmer than up here."

Will smiled. "I think I can help with that for tonight, at least, for I fear the nights will only get colder."

Before I could ask what he meant, he laid down, stretching himself out until he was comfortable. Then he pulled me into him, wrapping an arm around me. I instinctively knew what to do, taking the position I had so many times aboard the Dutchman. Almost immediately a warmth spread throughout my body. There were limited days left when we would have the benefit of this solitude, but for tonight, it was us and the stars with all being forgiven.

That night, the nightmares did not come.