Title: To Catch a Sparrow 1/?
Author: Molly Monkey
Pairing: Sparrington
Rating: PG..but will be Arr'R' later
Beta: none..forgive me!
Feedback: yes please!
Archives: , WhenDarknessBeckons, CaribbeanSlashers, anywhere please ask!
Disclaimer: Johnny Depp is mine! As are the rights to Pirates of the Caribbean! Mwahahaha! is shot and killed by Disney just kidding!All rights of PoTC belong sadly to Disney..and Johnny Depp belongs to himself.
In a sword fight, one should be able to concentrate on the duel and not be distracted, right? Wrong. Duelling William Turner, now happily married to my darling Elizabeth, proved to be very distracting indeed. My hands moved my sword without my knowing it to protect me from Will's attacks, but my mind was not with them. No, it was far, far away, across the sea on another ship. Not just any ship, oh no, it was on the Black Pearl, happily snogging Captain Jack Sparrow to be exact.
As Will and I moved about on the deck of the Dauntless, daydream Jack was currently relieving me of my clothes. Only the pain of Will's sword slicing into the tender skin of my collarbone brought me back to the present. With a very un-commodorish yelp, I jumped back, dropping my sword to the ground. Will looked up at me in surprise, his brown eyes widening curiously.
"Commodore?" there was a note of concern in his voice. Clearing my throat, I composed myself and bent to pick up my sword, gently touching the wound just inches away from my throat. Daydream Jack had disappeared and I was left with blood on my fingers.
"Are you all right, Commodore?" Will asked, untying the bandana from around his neck and placing it on the wound. I flashed him a brief smile, which turned out to be more of a grimace and struggled to maintain expressionless.
"I am fine, Mister Turner, just a bit…distracted, you might say," I answer smoothly. Will sheathed his sword, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Permission to speak freely, sir?" the boy had finally learned his place. I nodded and he grabbed my arm, pulling me in the direction of my quarters.
"Will, where are we going?" I demanded, knowing full well that he had not accepted my answer and required a private explanation.
"To your quarters, James, we need to talk," he answered, his voice telling me there was no room to argue. I sighed, letting my head drop and allowed myself to be steered into my room, the door shutting with a snap. Will not so nicely pushed me onto my bed and spat, "Out with it, Norrington." I feigned ignorance, "I am afraid I do not know what you mean, William." I put on my best I-am-not-hiding-anything face, hoping against hope that the boy would leave me be. But hope, apparently, was not on my side that day. Will pulled up the chair at my desk so that it was facing me and sat down in it.
"You can't fool me for an instant, James, I know you're hiding something. You never get distracted during a sword fight." I raise my hand absently to the wound on my collarbone, realising Will's bandana was gone, probably lying forgotten on the deck.
"And ever since we left Port Royal, you've had this distant look in your eyes. Your expression always seems to be that of pain, James. Why?" Will leaned forward, looking into my eyes. I dropped my gaze down to the floor. I could not tell him about Jack. Never, not in a million years. Here I was, the pirate-catching, strait-laced commodore, having given his heart away to a pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow to boot. Will could never know, nor anyone else, especially Jack.
"It's nothing, Will, just a bit of homesickness," I venture to say.
"You are lying, James, I know it. You've never been good at telling lies," Will chucked, still trying to maintain eye contact.
"I guess it would be pointless then to claim sickness, eh?" Will laughed again, hooking two fingers under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.
"I know you are still sore from losing Elizabeth," I wince slightly, "but I hope that you can open up to me, James, as I've opened up to you." I try to smile again, but it comes out as another grimace.
"It's nothing I can't handle, Will; just need a little time to sort things out." Will smiles at me sadly, ruffling my hair and standing up.
"I'll be in my quarters if you need to talk, James, savvy?" I roll my eyes at his use of the pirate word.
"As will I, William," I reply. I let out a sigh of relief as he leaves my room, shutting the door behind him. My eyes drift shut as images of Jack fill my head. The one that stands out the most is of the night after Barbossa and his crew were defeated. Elizabeth and Will came back to the Dauntless with a disgruntled Jack in tow. Will had his arm wrapped around Elizabeth as soon as they were both on deck and Elizabeth snuggled up against his chest, smiling euphorically. That was the night my heart was shattered into a thousand pieces. Just moments later, I was locking Jack Sparrow in the brig, making sure he could not escape this time. I was about to leave when one of his chained hands caught my wrist, pulling me back to face him.
"I hate wha's happn'd, Commodore," he had slurred with an ache to his voice I had felt all through my bones.
"It is too bad that your crewmates abandoned you, Sparrow, but you are getting what you deserve." At the time, I had believed those words true. Jack chuckled sardonically, "Not 'bought that, mate, 'bout Will and your lass. She oughta been yours." I blinked at him, not quite sure what to say. He continued, "I know how ya feel, mate; was in the same situation not to long ago meself."
I had struggled to maintain a scornful look and replied evenly, "That matter is not up for discussion, Sparrow, least likely from you." Jack grunted, "Just dun let ya heart dwell on it too long, savvy? Try ta another for ya heart." I freed my hand from his grasp and started walking away.
"Summat closer than ya think may jus' be savin' his heart fur you, matey," Jack called after me. I had ignored his comment and it wasn't until later, when Jack fell over the wall after he'd been saved from the noose that I noticed he had said "he" instead of "she."
Tears pricked at my eyes as I thought of his final words to me. Not the words everyone heard, saying that he preferred Elizabeth and me together, but the words he whispered in my ear just before he left. "Come find me when you're James again, without the title of Commodore." I rubbed my eyes, trying not to let the tears fall. Here I was, on the ÂDauntless, without the title of Commodore, and headed to London with Will and Elizabeth, instead of finding Jack Sparrow.
The tears came, rebelling against my orders to stay hidden, running down my cheeks, attacking my very soul. I flung myself onto my stomach on the bed, burying my face into my pillow, letting my tears overtake me. The sobs came hard, from deep within my chest; wrenching sobs that tore at my already tattered heart. The images of my love still floated around in my head, his words taunting me bitterly.
As I lay there, bawling like a woman, I came to a realisation that this was no way to live. I had cried nearly every night since this man left me. I was going to end up cold and heartless if I let this go on. I concluded that I wanted to find Jack right away. I needed to find him; I needed him altogether.
Sitting up abruptly, I let the room swim before my eyes before I managed to stand, still not totally balanced. I was going to find Will and ask him, no plead with him to take me to Jack. Not bothering to wipe away the tears that still fell from my eyes, I stumbled across my room, threw open the door, and staggered down the narrow hallway below decks to Will and Elizabeth's shared quarters. My head protested, making my vision blurry and my legs weak as I knocked on the door. Will opened it and barely managed to suppress a sound of shock when he looked upon my sodden cheeks and red eyes. His body became double as my vision began to darken.
"I need to find Jack Sparrow," I gasped before everything turned black.