* * * * * * * * * * *
Will bent over the flame, beads of sweat dripping off his hair and down his face. The blade, bright red and a shimmer of metallic liquid, would be his best yet. And more importantly, it would be his.
No more flashy blades for royals who didn't need them and who would never use them. No, this would be his first display of the truly perfect blades he always knew he could make. And it would be his.
He turned his head, as the sign out the front of the blacksmith swayed. The old hammer and forge symbol had been replaced when Will had become the master of the blacksmith. It had the insignia on it was of swan with its neck craned around a sword. A turning swan. Elizabeth had come up with the idea, before they had eloped, when the two of them had been so full of dreams and hopes.
"Now, see here," Will said, nodding towards his apprentice who came forward hesitantly. "Tommy, see how the metal melts at this heat intensity? Well to keep the blade smooth you do this.." Will said, tilting his arm. Will thought dreamily while he made the action of his own children, when him and Elizabeth were ready to try again. He would teach the boy how to make blades and the skills of the fight, and he would tuck his daughter in with stories of William the Pirate, Elizabeth the Heroine, and Captain Jack Sparrow who walked the thin line between good and evil.
Will felt the tip of a blade pressed against the back of his neck and drew a breath. His mocha eyes widened with shock, and then thinned slightly with determination. No one had yet bested him in a fair fight, and no one ever would if he could help it. Will stayed very still, placing the half made weapon on the bench next to the flame without moving his head.
"You look very familiar boy,' A well-known voice drawled, and Will smiled as he felt the slightly rancid breath on the back of his neck. "Have I threatened you before?" Will nodded his head a little with acknowledgement at the greeting, his face lit up with a smile. He darted a look at his apprentice and saw the boy trembling in fear.
"It's alright Tommy, he's a friend." Will said, taking a step forward and spinning around. Jack was grinning, obviously well pleased with his joke. He kept the blade pointed at Will.
"Jack," Will said, beaming, whipping his hands on his apron. Then he darted to one side, grabbing a blade from the weapons table and drew it up next to Jacks, the clanging noise causing young Tommy to clap his hands over his ears.
"Still crossing blades with pirates are you my lad?" Jack said, sparring with Will casually, a mutual grin on both faces. "Hasn't your adventure taught you anything?"
"Only that I still haven't been bested in a fair fight." Will replied, their faces close for a moment while their held their blades in a tight embrace against one another. Jack grinned.
"Don't you remember what I said about fair fights?" Jack said, and kicked Will's legs so that the boy stumbled backwards, tripping over a stool, and crashed to the floor. Will looked up with shock. Jack Sparrow gave him a hand to help him up.
The two men embraced, and then broke apart still grinning. This over display of affection might have been uncharacteristic of Jack usually, but after all he'd been through with the boy, there was no room for embarrassment.
Sparrow clapped his arm around the blacksmith's shoulder.
"Come on, I think it's time for a drink, what do you say?" Jack said enticingly. Will found himself nodding along with the pirate, his face lit up as it had not been for months.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I mean," Jack started again, gulping slightly with the disorientation caused by his head movements. The bar was dark, the dappled light of the Caribbean sun had nearly disappeared for the day, and only smudged traces of pink and orange were evident on the horizon. "It's not like I don't try, I do, but it's not natural. I try, but sometimes I just can't. Don't understand how you do it." Jack Sparrow finished, taking another shot of whiskey. They were sitting outside on the corner of the veranda outside the bar which ran down to the soft beach and the lapping water.
Will shook his head, casting one guilty look around to see if anyone had was there to see him with the pirate. But there was no one except the barman inside chatting up the few dreary customers bent over their drinks.
"I never wanted anyone else the way I wanted Elizabeth. Not one woman ever tempted me like my Lizzie did." Will said with a shrug. Jack Sparrow looked at him in disbelieve. Will made an indignant face. "What? It's true. I've only ever wanted one woman."
"One woman? Only one woman? Will, you've got to get out a bit in the world. Saying there's only one woman for you is like... its like.." He paused, and looked around for inspiration. "It's like saying there's only one type of alcohol." He raised his whiskey to emphasise his point. "But there's millions mate." He wheezed, shucking it back. "There's all the beautiful different types, all the different concoctions, the tropical ones, the homebrews, rum.." He stroked the bottle of rum in his pocket absent- mindedly, loosing track of his point.
"Jack, I've only ever wanted Elizabeth." Will repeated. Jack shook his head sorrowfully. Will shifted and then fought back. "And what about you, Jack? The rumour on the winds says you're getting pretty close to your first mate, and that the whore houses of Tortugua have been sadly missing you of late." Will said with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
Jack Sparrow pulled a face, and shook his head again.
"See the thing about that is," He raised a finger. "Its not that I don't want to visit the beautiful women of Tortugua anymore, it's just that Ana- Maria..." He broke off. Will laughed.
"She's tamed the wild Captain Sparrow. I would congratulate that woman if I met her." Will said. Jack drew himself up, giving Will an offended look.
"I'm not tamed." Will gave him a disbelieving look. "I'm not." He repeated angrily. Then he shrugged. "Ana-Maria's got a way about her that sends a very clear message about what she'd do if I crossed her. What we have, what we have is an understanding. And she knows that I'm weak sometimes, with or without grog." He said quietly. It was true.
Ana-Maria was the closest thing Jack had to a confident. Even if she didn't understand him always, she knew him.
"Anyway, my point is that I'm still tempted." Jack said triumphantly, now back on track with his argument. "I still want the women, but I just don't take them."
"Well, for me there's only her." Will said simply. "And I've got you to thank for us being together." Jack waved away this compliment.
"Had my own reasons, boy." Sparrow said quickly, and pulled a metal box out of his pocket. He drew out a thin smoke, grinning at the thought of it. He lit a match on the smooth surface of the table; his fingers x-rayed as he sheltered the flame between his hands to keep it alight. He lit the smoke with satisfaction. He passed it to Will, who took it gingerly.
"What is it?" Will said, sniffing the smoke with slight reproach. Jack grinned; putting his feet up on the table and watching the boy's discomfort. He nodded towards Will as he took a puff and then spluttered.
"It's a home brew lad," Jack said simply, trying to hide a grin.
About ten minutes later, Will was giggling like a schoolboy and Jack's eyes had gone a soft wavering brown, his pupils dilated so that they seemed huge in the night sky. Will leant forward, gasping for breath between laughs, pushing the shot glasses away.
"And then I'd make him clean the deck. Love to see Norrington have to do an actual day's work." Will wiped tears from his eyes. "Sometimes, I really wish I was a pirate. It'd be so much fun." Jack grinned agreeably.
"It's the best. No one tells you want to do, no rules, just you and the open water." Will thought about it dreamily for a minute, and then shook his head.
"Could never do it. Elizabeth couldn't live like that, especially now." Will mused sadly. Jack leant forward eagerly.
"Nah, mate. I think you underestimate the little lady. She's a tough one. You two should come on my ship, I'd make you first mate.." Jack said enticingly. "Well, after Ana-Maria. She'd kill me if I gave away her position. Ah, Ana." Jack whispered grinning. Will smiled at the faraway look on Jack's face.
"She's really got you, hasn't she Jack?" Will said smugly.
"It's the hair. I just can't get over how it feels." Jack said with a shrug. "And the skin, oh the her skin." He groaned. "I never felt anything so smooth, it's like molten cocoa or the darkest rum. All I want to do is touch her."
"That's how I felt about Elizabeth," Will said reminiscently. "Wanted to see her perfect hair falling on her naked back. Used to dream about just a touch from her smooth hand."
"And now?" Jack said suggestively. Will shifted, a shadow passing across his face.
"Now, things are different. Since the baby died, Liz hasn't been herself." Will didn't notice Jack start, didn't notice the shock and horror that crossed the pirate's face. This was a surprise to Jack, and it hurt him more then he'd have thought it would. Jack thought back to the sad little blonde girl in the kitchen earlier that day, the way she'd skulled back the vodka. It made sense. Jack nodded grimly.
Will looked up at Jack though worried eyes.
"I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know how to help her. She won't let me touch her or talk to her about it. It's like she's... the girl I knew, it's like she's gone." Will said. Jack froze; realising how close Will's words were to how Jack felt about Ana-Maria. "I don't expect you to understand." Will said dismissively.
But Jack did. He knew what it was like; occasionally catching those vacant looks from haunted eyes when it was thought that no one was looking. He understood the lack of passion, the stillness that had overcome Elizabeth, which Will mourned, because Jack had mourned it himself when it spread over Ana-Maria like a sickness.
Will fell forward on the table again.
"I don't know what to do Jack. It's like she's broken." Will said in the tone of a small boy with a broken toy, wanting it to be fixed.
Jack let a bitter smile on his lips, and said the words he'd been repeating to himself in the darkest moments.
"Give her time." But the words sounded hollow, and the bleakness of the night swallowed them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please R&R
Will bent over the flame, beads of sweat dripping off his hair and down his face. The blade, bright red and a shimmer of metallic liquid, would be his best yet. And more importantly, it would be his.
No more flashy blades for royals who didn't need them and who would never use them. No, this would be his first display of the truly perfect blades he always knew he could make. And it would be his.
He turned his head, as the sign out the front of the blacksmith swayed. The old hammer and forge symbol had been replaced when Will had become the master of the blacksmith. It had the insignia on it was of swan with its neck craned around a sword. A turning swan. Elizabeth had come up with the idea, before they had eloped, when the two of them had been so full of dreams and hopes.
"Now, see here," Will said, nodding towards his apprentice who came forward hesitantly. "Tommy, see how the metal melts at this heat intensity? Well to keep the blade smooth you do this.." Will said, tilting his arm. Will thought dreamily while he made the action of his own children, when him and Elizabeth were ready to try again. He would teach the boy how to make blades and the skills of the fight, and he would tuck his daughter in with stories of William the Pirate, Elizabeth the Heroine, and Captain Jack Sparrow who walked the thin line between good and evil.
Will felt the tip of a blade pressed against the back of his neck and drew a breath. His mocha eyes widened with shock, and then thinned slightly with determination. No one had yet bested him in a fair fight, and no one ever would if he could help it. Will stayed very still, placing the half made weapon on the bench next to the flame without moving his head.
"You look very familiar boy,' A well-known voice drawled, and Will smiled as he felt the slightly rancid breath on the back of his neck. "Have I threatened you before?" Will nodded his head a little with acknowledgement at the greeting, his face lit up with a smile. He darted a look at his apprentice and saw the boy trembling in fear.
"It's alright Tommy, he's a friend." Will said, taking a step forward and spinning around. Jack was grinning, obviously well pleased with his joke. He kept the blade pointed at Will.
"Jack," Will said, beaming, whipping his hands on his apron. Then he darted to one side, grabbing a blade from the weapons table and drew it up next to Jacks, the clanging noise causing young Tommy to clap his hands over his ears.
"Still crossing blades with pirates are you my lad?" Jack said, sparring with Will casually, a mutual grin on both faces. "Hasn't your adventure taught you anything?"
"Only that I still haven't been bested in a fair fight." Will replied, their faces close for a moment while their held their blades in a tight embrace against one another. Jack grinned.
"Don't you remember what I said about fair fights?" Jack said, and kicked Will's legs so that the boy stumbled backwards, tripping over a stool, and crashed to the floor. Will looked up with shock. Jack Sparrow gave him a hand to help him up.
The two men embraced, and then broke apart still grinning. This over display of affection might have been uncharacteristic of Jack usually, but after all he'd been through with the boy, there was no room for embarrassment.
Sparrow clapped his arm around the blacksmith's shoulder.
"Come on, I think it's time for a drink, what do you say?" Jack said enticingly. Will found himself nodding along with the pirate, his face lit up as it had not been for months.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"I mean," Jack started again, gulping slightly with the disorientation caused by his head movements. The bar was dark, the dappled light of the Caribbean sun had nearly disappeared for the day, and only smudged traces of pink and orange were evident on the horizon. "It's not like I don't try, I do, but it's not natural. I try, but sometimes I just can't. Don't understand how you do it." Jack Sparrow finished, taking another shot of whiskey. They were sitting outside on the corner of the veranda outside the bar which ran down to the soft beach and the lapping water.
Will shook his head, casting one guilty look around to see if anyone had was there to see him with the pirate. But there was no one except the barman inside chatting up the few dreary customers bent over their drinks.
"I never wanted anyone else the way I wanted Elizabeth. Not one woman ever tempted me like my Lizzie did." Will said with a shrug. Jack Sparrow looked at him in disbelieve. Will made an indignant face. "What? It's true. I've only ever wanted one woman."
"One woman? Only one woman? Will, you've got to get out a bit in the world. Saying there's only one woman for you is like... its like.." He paused, and looked around for inspiration. "It's like saying there's only one type of alcohol." He raised his whiskey to emphasise his point. "But there's millions mate." He wheezed, shucking it back. "There's all the beautiful different types, all the different concoctions, the tropical ones, the homebrews, rum.." He stroked the bottle of rum in his pocket absent- mindedly, loosing track of his point.
"Jack, I've only ever wanted Elizabeth." Will repeated. Jack shook his head sorrowfully. Will shifted and then fought back. "And what about you, Jack? The rumour on the winds says you're getting pretty close to your first mate, and that the whore houses of Tortugua have been sadly missing you of late." Will said with a grin and a raised eyebrow.
Jack Sparrow pulled a face, and shook his head again.
"See the thing about that is," He raised a finger. "Its not that I don't want to visit the beautiful women of Tortugua anymore, it's just that Ana- Maria..." He broke off. Will laughed.
"She's tamed the wild Captain Sparrow. I would congratulate that woman if I met her." Will said. Jack drew himself up, giving Will an offended look.
"I'm not tamed." Will gave him a disbelieving look. "I'm not." He repeated angrily. Then he shrugged. "Ana-Maria's got a way about her that sends a very clear message about what she'd do if I crossed her. What we have, what we have is an understanding. And she knows that I'm weak sometimes, with or without grog." He said quietly. It was true.
Ana-Maria was the closest thing Jack had to a confident. Even if she didn't understand him always, she knew him.
"Anyway, my point is that I'm still tempted." Jack said triumphantly, now back on track with his argument. "I still want the women, but I just don't take them."
"Well, for me there's only her." Will said simply. "And I've got you to thank for us being together." Jack waved away this compliment.
"Had my own reasons, boy." Sparrow said quickly, and pulled a metal box out of his pocket. He drew out a thin smoke, grinning at the thought of it. He lit a match on the smooth surface of the table; his fingers x-rayed as he sheltered the flame between his hands to keep it alight. He lit the smoke with satisfaction. He passed it to Will, who took it gingerly.
"What is it?" Will said, sniffing the smoke with slight reproach. Jack grinned; putting his feet up on the table and watching the boy's discomfort. He nodded towards Will as he took a puff and then spluttered.
"It's a home brew lad," Jack said simply, trying to hide a grin.
About ten minutes later, Will was giggling like a schoolboy and Jack's eyes had gone a soft wavering brown, his pupils dilated so that they seemed huge in the night sky. Will leant forward, gasping for breath between laughs, pushing the shot glasses away.
"And then I'd make him clean the deck. Love to see Norrington have to do an actual day's work." Will wiped tears from his eyes. "Sometimes, I really wish I was a pirate. It'd be so much fun." Jack grinned agreeably.
"It's the best. No one tells you want to do, no rules, just you and the open water." Will thought about it dreamily for a minute, and then shook his head.
"Could never do it. Elizabeth couldn't live like that, especially now." Will mused sadly. Jack leant forward eagerly.
"Nah, mate. I think you underestimate the little lady. She's a tough one. You two should come on my ship, I'd make you first mate.." Jack said enticingly. "Well, after Ana-Maria. She'd kill me if I gave away her position. Ah, Ana." Jack whispered grinning. Will smiled at the faraway look on Jack's face.
"She's really got you, hasn't she Jack?" Will said smugly.
"It's the hair. I just can't get over how it feels." Jack said with a shrug. "And the skin, oh the her skin." He groaned. "I never felt anything so smooth, it's like molten cocoa or the darkest rum. All I want to do is touch her."
"That's how I felt about Elizabeth," Will said reminiscently. "Wanted to see her perfect hair falling on her naked back. Used to dream about just a touch from her smooth hand."
"And now?" Jack said suggestively. Will shifted, a shadow passing across his face.
"Now, things are different. Since the baby died, Liz hasn't been herself." Will didn't notice Jack start, didn't notice the shock and horror that crossed the pirate's face. This was a surprise to Jack, and it hurt him more then he'd have thought it would. Jack thought back to the sad little blonde girl in the kitchen earlier that day, the way she'd skulled back the vodka. It made sense. Jack nodded grimly.
Will looked up at Jack though worried eyes.
"I don't know what's wrong with her. I don't know how to help her. She won't let me touch her or talk to her about it. It's like she's... the girl I knew, it's like she's gone." Will said. Jack froze; realising how close Will's words were to how Jack felt about Ana-Maria. "I don't expect you to understand." Will said dismissively.
But Jack did. He knew what it was like; occasionally catching those vacant looks from haunted eyes when it was thought that no one was looking. He understood the lack of passion, the stillness that had overcome Elizabeth, which Will mourned, because Jack had mourned it himself when it spread over Ana-Maria like a sickness.
Will fell forward on the table again.
"I don't know what to do Jack. It's like she's broken." Will said in the tone of a small boy with a broken toy, wanting it to be fixed.
Jack let a bitter smile on his lips, and said the words he'd been repeating to himself in the darkest moments.
"Give her time." But the words sounded hollow, and the bleakness of the night swallowed them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please R&R