Title: To Catch a Sparrow 2/?
Author:Molly Monkey
Pairing: Sparrington
Rating: PG-13 for language
Beta: none..forgive me!
Feedback: yes please!
Archives: , WhenDarknessBeckons, CaribbeanSlashers, else 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.
"James." My groggy mind struggled to acknowledge my name.
"James." There it was again, slightly louder.
"Norrington!" A voice spat, seemingly angry. I tried to open my eyes to tell the voice off for using that tone with me, but my lids were too heavy. I groaned instead, hoping to get the message across. I attempted to get my thoughts in order, to try to figure out where I was and why I was floating around in the dark. Cold water splashed upon my body with no warning, forcing my eyes open and jerking me upright. I reached for my sword out of instinct to defend myself against anymore cold water, only to find that it was not at my side. Sputtering, my eyes focused on my surroundings, coming face to face with a very red faced Will Turner sitting on the side of the bed.
"You bloody bastard," he growled before I could get a word out. My head spun a little and my vision doubled before returning to normal.
"Wha'?" was my very coherent response. It seemed as though I was sitting on Mister Turner's bed, though I have no idea how I came to be here.
"You are a horrible, filthy, lying bastard, Norrington," Will growled again. I resisted the urge to scratch my head curiously, trying to figure out why Will was so mad at me. As my mind came back to me, I remembered crying yet again over Captain Sparrow and stumbling to Will's room, telling him I needed to find said captain. After that, I don't remember a thing. Now, why Will would be so mad at me for asking the whereabouts of a certain Sparrow is beyond me.
"Will–" I protested weakly, reaching out a hand to grab his shoulder, but he danced out of my reach.
"How dare you storm in here telling me you need to find Jack!" Will cut me off. I cocked my head enquiringly. Why was he so mad?
"Will, what's gotten into you?" I asked quietly, hoping to not provoke him. Much to my dismay, the boy snarled, actually snarled at me! He grabbed my shoulders and gave me quite a rough shake, "What's gotten into me, Norrington? What's gotten into you? I thought you had agreed to stop hunting Jack! I thought you had left your pirate hunting days behind! And now you bloody ask me to tell you where Jack is? As if I would give up his location to you!" he snorted, "What in the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
I blinked…repeatedly. And again…just to make sure I heard correctly. Will thought I wanted to capture Jack? To try to find him and hang him? My love? How could he think I would do such a thing? 'Will doesn't know about your love for Jack, you bastard.' An ugly voice taunted in the back of my mind. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it again. What would Will think if I told him about loving Jack? I hardly think he would approve of a man loving another man, especially his pirate friend. I myself found it extremely different to come to terms with the fact that I had fallen in love with another man.
"Do you have an explanation for this, James? A good one for suddenly wanting to hunt down pirates?" Will asked, his voice lowering in volume. A thought struck me, albeit not a very good one, but it was a thought nonetheless.
"I need to talk to Mister Sparrow?" I did not intend for that to be in the form of a question, but it happened to turn out that way. Will snorted again, "You expect me to believe that, James? Because nothing short of you declaring your undying love for Jack will get you off the hook for this." My eyes widened in surprise. Could it be this easy? Could it possibly be this easy to just nod and say 'Yes, Will, I am in love with Captain Jack Sparrow. Please, may I know where to find him?'
I thought quickly; my morals were on the line here. Everything I had learned in all my training and growing up now came down to this. I was about to disobey everything that I had been taught and believed up until three months ago when Jack left me. Could I say out loud, to another person, that I, former Commodore James Norrington, was deeply and desperately in love with Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate that escaped the noose one too many times? I let out a breath I wasn't aware of holding and thought it over quickly.
Will was looking impatient, like he was about to say something, or leave; the latter being the worse of the two. Could I surrender myself to this vulnerability? Knowing perfectly well that Will could think this love even more preposterous than pirate hunting? Could I? I nodded, more to myself than at Will, who gave me a questioning look.
"Yes, Will, I love him," I whispered fearfully. I sucked in a breath of air and held it, waiting for the inevitable reply. Will sighed angrily and rolled his eyes, "Bullshit, Commodore." What? What was that? Was that Turner boy trying to call my bluff? Could he not tell that I'm being serious here?
"I am in…" I paused to take a deep breath; dare I say those words again? "in love with Jack, William." My head started to throb from thinking so much. Will, much to my dismay, shook his head.
"I ought to call Elizabeth in here to have her listen to these lies," he said, standing up.
"No!" my hand shot out to grab Will's shirt and pull him back down. He nearly fell over, but managed to stay in an upright position.
"Get off, James!" he barked, wrenching his shirt away. I felt tears of frustration well up in my eyes. Elizabeth could not see me like this! First claiming love for the one pirate I had been so determined to see hang and second to be crying over said pirate!
"Please don't get your wife," I pleaded. No, I was not above begging at this point. Anything to get Will to believe me, "Someone needs to stay at the helm," I added as an afterthought. Will seemed to think this a good idea, as he stayed on the bed. He stayed silent though, his brow knotted in concentration. I took this time to arrange myself more comfortably, leaning back against the headboard and drawing the blanket up around my middle. The silence stretched into minutes, which felt like hours as the seconds ticked by. I started to wonder if I should say something when Will turned his head to look at me, his eyes burning into mine.
"What you're saying, James, about loving Jack, is that true? The honest truth, James?" he asked quietly. I nodded my head, "Yes, I am speaking the truth. I need to find him, Will; I can't keep living the way I have been. I'll end up killing myself if we continue to England." I dropped my head to concentrate on a piece of the blanket I was fiddling, suddenly finding it fascinating.
"James," Will sighed. I didn't look up at him. I had just laid my soul bare to this boy; if I looked at him, he would see everything I had hidden just by gazing into my eyes.
"James," his voice was more insistent, but still, I refused to look at him. Tears I was unable to stop fell down my cheeks for a second time that day. Will grasped my face in both hands and gently lifted it so I was looking up at him.
"James," he said for the third time, his thumbs brushing the tears away, "if you are telling the truth, I will go tell Elizabeth to turn this ship around immediately. We'll go to Tortuga first to find out where Jack is; he's out on the Pearl now somewhere around there and hopefully we'll be able to run into him. Please, James, tell me you are not an amazing actor and you have truly fallen in love with my friend, because I will kill you myself if I find differently."
A sob escaped from my mouth at Will's words. We were going to find Jack! At last I could attempt to lead a better life than I ever have. I closed my eyes as I felt more sobs building in my chest. I tried to suppress them with a deep breath, but it only emitted a cry of relief. More tears slipped over Will's thumbs that he was unable to sweep away.
"I love him," I whispered brokenly. My resolve crumbled and I sagged against Will wailing piteously. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tight to his chest as my own went around his waist.
We sat like that for who knows how long before all the crying started to make me feel drowsy. Too lazy to politely inform Will I was about to collapse on him again, I let my eyes drift shut and succumbed to sleep.