Chapter Four - Web of Delusions

It was dark when Will stumbled out of Jack's cabin, confused, desire-filled and a little unsteady on his feet. He made it to the railing of the ship without incident and collapsed against it, breathing heavily. He had wanted that, he knew, wanted Jack in all his unrivalled, insane glory, and yet he had backed out. He had done so after realising that whatever he did with Jack would matter, and that he would be unable to keep it from meaning something to him. His intention had been to get out before he was in too far, before he reached a point he couldn't possibly back away from, but now, as he let the cool ocean breeze caress his face, he realised that it had already been to late. Jack had already gotten to him, far more than he had intended to let the pirate do, and he there was no erasing that from his mind. The memory of *that* kiss was still fresh in his mind, tantalising, taunting him, feeling him with longing and the urge to go back to Jack's cabin and everything else be damned.

It wasn't long before he heard Jack come outside, a muffled curse as the pirate hit something alerting him to his presence. He could feel Jack's eyes on him, burning into his back, and wondered what the pirate was thinking, wishing that he could turn around and see what was in his eyes, but knowing that if he did he would be lost.

By the time Jack finally moved, Will felt as if the pirate had been staring at him for an age, and his hands were clenched roughly around the rail. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack move to the wheel, and rest his hands lightly on it He heard Jack muttering to himself, and felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. Maybe just for the moment he could pretend that the gentle words Jack spoke to his beloved ship were meant for his ears instead. He'd spin himself a web of delusions, and pretend, just for the moment, that he lived in the same distorted reality as Jack Sparrow, forever by the pirate's side.

~*~

Half way through the next day Will realised that he missed Elizabeth. Not in a 'I'm stuck in the middle of the sea and haven't seen the one that I love for days way', but more in the way he would miss a close friend, or a sister. He wanted her with him to tell him what to do, because he was certain that she would know. He didn't feel the need to make her his life any more, nor did he see any particular call to having her in his bed, he simply wanted her to be with him as a friend. He needed someone he could talk to, someone who could help him sort out the confusing mess in his head, and he didn't think that he was about to get any help from Captain Jack Sparrow on that front. The pirate was far from helpful, or even easy to understand, and he would most likely be the last person that Will would look to for help in this matter. Not that he was about to turn to anyone in the crew either.

It would, he thought, be a lot easier if he could have it all written down somewhere, in simple terms so that he would be sure to understand. That way there would be none of this insecure fumbling, or the confusion that seemed to be settling in for a permanent ride. It wasn't going to happen though, and he knew that he would be forced to muddle through things on his own, even if he did not want to.

By the time night fell, the sky a sparkling blanket of stars, Will had still made no decisions as to what he would do about Jack, and was sitting alone on the deck, feeling almost as if he were the only man left in the world. The stars above him made him feel lonely, sparking a romantic wish inside him to share them with someone. But Elizabeth was in Port Royal – perhaps she was gazing up at the same stars, with someone by her side. Norrington, maybe? – and Jack...Jack was at the other end of the Black Pearl, holding the wheel with the tender grip one would normally reserve for a lover, and staring out at the horizon, singing under his breath. Jack was never alone when he had his ship, and Will, doubting that he would need company, let alone appreciate it, lay back and let his eyes drink their fill of the stars.

"Boy!" He didn't register Jack speaking, let alone that he was directing it at him, until the pirate yelled again, this time his name. "Will!"

Sitting, and looking over at Jack, he saw the pirate resting lazily against the wheel of the ship, looking in his direction.

"What?" He yelled back, not moving any further.

"Get over here." Jack replied, and Will saw a flash of gold as he smiled at him, danger and seduction and a strange beauty all in that one small smile.

He shook his head slightly to himself, but stood anyway, and made his way over to Jack, knowing that there would be no point in arguing with the captain of the Black Pearl. His captain. He wouldn't last long aboard the 'Pearl if he decided to ignore Jack's orders. Not that there was any real reason for him to avoid going over there, but he still didn't feel like facing Jack after the events of the previous night.

"You wanted me?" Will said when he arrived beside Jack, doing his best not to look the pirate in the eyes.

"Why yes I did." Jack replied, a knowing look in his eyes and a satisfied smirk on his lips. "As your captain, I order you to cease in your sulking. 'S not good for crew morale."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Sulking?"

"Yes, young Mr Turner, sulking." Jack said. "Laying over there with that sullen expression on your face, as if the world has done you a great disservice. Quite irritating actually."

Will's eyebrow remained raised, and he regarded Jack solemnly, trying not to let his rising amusement show on his face. "Is that so?" He replied, deciding to allow a small smile to form on his lips. "I will do my best to stop."

Jack nodded, smirk growing. "Good then," he said happily, and took a drink from a bottle of rum that Will hadn't realised he was holding. "I shall let you go back to...whatever it is that you were doing. No more sulking though."

Will shook his head, smiling. No, he could see no reason to sulk. He was aboard the Black Pearl, having a conversation with Jack that seemed to mean absolutely nothing, and he felt happier than he had in a long time. It was, for lack of a better word, nice, and he decided that perhaps this was the cause of what he had been feeling lately. Not mood swings, but the way Jack smiled at him, like he meant it, showing rows of uneven teeth, some gold, and looking as if he was actually enjoying Will's company. It had nothing to do with strange hormones, and everything to do with the way Jack looked with the moonlit sea as his backdrop. It was the way Jack looked as if he truly *belonged* where he was, and the thought that perhaps Will, if he wanted, could belong there too.

He liked it, and with one last, almost too happy grin, he bed farewell to his captain, and left to seek out his bed, not worried about the dreams that he knew would accompany sleep, the ones which he had been so sure that he shouldn't have been having, but now knew better.

~*~

He dreamed of the events of the previous night, when he and Jack had been alone in the captain's cabin, but with small differences interspersed with what Will remembered as actually happening.

He still felt almost unbearably nervous, still didn't know what to say to Jack to break the silence that was between them, but this time when he leant forward, Jack didn't rest his hand on his chest, and he didn't tell him that what was happening wasn't going to matter to him. He simply leant forward, and when he met Will in the middle, his lips on Will's felt like burning fire. They kissed again, fiercely and with a passion that would have frightened Will had it not been a dream, and then Jack pulled him back down onto the bed with an almost foreign tenderness, and they did much, much more.

They lay together afterwards, entwined completely, and Jack whispered words that meant more to Will then life itself. Will answered him with tender words of his own, and realised that they were far truer when spoken to Jack, than to Elizabeth.

When Will woke the next morning, he felt tired, unsatisfied, and far more alone than ever before. And the knowledge that all he was doing was spinning an even larger web of delusions cut into him like a knife.

~

A/N: Sorry! My chapters are turning out kind of short lately. This one was written at school though, so perhaps that's the problem. Hope you liked it anyway, and please review.

Thanks heaps to everyone who already has reviewed. Luv ya all.