Title: The Afterglow
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Jack Sparrow / James Norrington, Jack Sparrow / Will Turner, side pairings (FPS)
Warnings: violence, character death
Summary: Let there be insane soap opera plot twists from hell. And buggery. Lots of it. This story resumes after the ending of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Disclaimer: At no point do I claim any form of ownership of any of the characters depicted in this piece. My representations of them are not necessarily indicative of the intentions of their original creators. The plot in which I place these characters holds no relationship to their original context. I make no profit from borrowed characters. Don't sue me.
Word Count: 1,771

III. Odd Couple

The Commodore snored quietly in the morning light and Jack rubbed his eyes. Untangling his legs from the sheet and shifting his weight, he lifted Norrington's arms from about his torso. Norrington stirred gently and protested the shift in position before opening his eyes. Jack laid on his back and let the Commodore's head rest on his bare shoulder. Norrington blinked and stared unwittingly at the brown skin beside his face. Then, he realized what he was looking at – a man's chest!

Norrington sat up swiftly, the thunder he had drank swimming painfully to his head. He squinted in the light and willed his eyes to focus. Jack sat up and looked at him. When Norrington's eyes focused, his mind took a few moments to process the sight of Jack Sparrow sitting nude beside him. Spooked, Norrington tried to get away from Jack and scooted backwards, legs kicking comically until he fell squarely onto the floor. He jumped up with one hand on his rump and the other flailing about in a ridiculous effort to cover his indecency. He snatched up his hat from the floor and stumbled backward until he hit a chair and fell into it.

Jack laughed heartily and rocked backward, falling onto the pillows in near-hysterics. He laughed so hard he realized that his body was quite sore from Norrington's affections. Jack gripped one of his sides in light pain, but was unable to entirely stifle his giggling until Norrington stood abruptly, knocking the chair out from under him. Swiftly, he snatched his sword up from the floor and pointed it at Jack's neck, still holding the hat in front of his crotch. Jack looked quizzically at Norrington and when he paused, Jack leapt from the mattress and crouched behind it on the floor. In a moment he was up and running, sword in hand.

Norrington dropped his hat and gave chase, countenance flustered and red. Jack stood on guard while Norrington tried unsuccessfully to trap him in a corner. They circled and parried until the Commodore had nearly exhausted himself. He was too angry to fight well and he tired himself out easily, feeling weak and woozy from drink.

"Come off it, Norrington," Jack coaxed, his voice deep and gravelly from shouting the night before. "You can't tell me you don't remember a thing!"

"How dare you!" Norrington roared.

"Run me through, then, Commodore!" Jack scowled and forcefully stabbed the tip of his sword into the floor. He leaned on it lightly before leaving it behind and stepping forward. Norrington was caught off guard by Jack's unexpected surrender and Jack once again shoved the Commodore's sword to one side, stepping close.

"Run me through," Jack whispered. The memories came flooding back, bits and pieces at first until Norrington was able to fit them together into a story, however fragmented. He recalled going to the bar, slamming Jack through the front door, pulling Jack by the hips… He looked at the floor. It took moments but felt like years. Jack waited for the eyes to lift and dared to take another step. He breathed heavily from their duel, the air striking the Commodore's face.

Norrington met his eyes and Jack saw fury in them. Jack, of course, was up for the game. Norrington put space between them, again, but dropped his sword. He gasped and muttered phrases of disbelief.

"How dare you? I should have you hanged…"

"Well, Commodore," Jack's sing-song voice rang through the air, shaking the other man from his daze. "Come on, then. Give me what I deserve."

Norrington stood mindlessly and watched Jack's expressions. Before he knew it, Jack had him firmly by the back of the neck. Eyes blazing, Jack looked at him briefly before forcing their mouths together. The Commodore stood still for a moment and then flung Jack away. Jack went staggering backward and slammed into a dresser, sliding down its front and falling clumsily to the floor. He struck his head on the way down, and then sat there rubbing the sore spot. Norrington turned and swept the sheet off the bed, covering himself with it almost daintily.

Jack picked himself up and sauntered across the room. He took hold of the sheet around the Commodore's chest and pulled it hard forward. A breath away from Norrington's face, Jack hesitated.

"Had enough of me, then? Lost your nerve, after all? Some Commodore you are. Surely fit for the pompous old fleet you sail! Too piggish and scared to have your own way. You're a stuffed shirt, Commodore, but you won't forget the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack shoved him backwards and turned on his heel, but before he had a chance to get anywhere, Norrington grabbed him by the elbow and spun him back around. Forgetting his sheet, he punched Jack squarely in the jaw. Jack faltered a bit, but smiled. He licked the blood on his lip and in a swift movement, wrestled Norrington onto the bed.

Norrington laid on his back, grabbing frantically at Jack's arms in a livid attempt to fling Jack off him, but Jack was agile and managed to stay atop his adversary. Jack grabbed him by the hair and held his face still, pressing his bruised lips onto Norrington's. The Commodore's tongue slipped out to taste the blood left behind on his lip when Jack pulled away. Still fighting Jack for dominance, the Commodore groaned when Jack reached between their bodies, groping blindly. Gold glinting in his smile, Jack grabbed Norrington tightly and pulled. Norrington grunted harshly, head rolling back for a moment. Then, he caught Jack off guard and threw him over. Jack bounced on the soft bed, cursing briefly as he lost his advantage. The Commodore jumped up from the bed and grabbed Jack by the ankles. He swung Jack around until his legs hung off the edge and flipped him onto his belly, positioning himself behind.

Norrington slammed forward ineptly and Jack let out a sharp yelp. Jack squeezed his eyes tightly shut and lifted his chin, arching his back.

"Looks like I've missed my appointment," Jack mocked.

"Appointment?" The Commodore choked out.

"With the gallows. It's well past dawn," Jack spat between thrusts.

"I don't have to send you to the gallows. I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget, right here and now."

"Aye, Commodore, you certainly will if you don't use any oil," Jack said. He tried to grab the bottle on the bed table, but couldn't reach. Norrington slapped at his hands and pulled away. Holding Jack by the hips, he pushed him up onto the bed and laid him face down. The Commodore got onto the bed and sat on his haunches, oiling himself. Then, he knelt and pulled Jack's middle up off the bed. Jack allowed himself to be moved, propped up obscenely, face in the remaining sheet.

Norrington watched Jack's back heave with breath and saw a flash of his reddened face when Jack lifted it for air. He looked down and watched his own body, pushing forward at a totally unanticipated bed partner. He had no idea how he'd managed to end up with Jack… No idea how he'd lost so much sense, but he was terribly glad he had done whatever it was he'd done. He tilted his head back and used his hands to pull Jack towards him, eyelids falling shut. Jack heaved himself up on his hands and knees and pushed back.

"Tilt down," Jack demanded curtly.

"What?" Norrington was already close to losing himself.

"I said tilt DOWN," Jack repeated, becoming flustered. Norrington did as he was told and Jack keened with pleasure. He crashed back at the man behind him with destructive vigor, hands curling ineffectively in the bed linens. Norrington bent low over Jack's shoulders and licked them, leaning on Jack's back and wrapping his arms around Jack's middle. Jack held them both up without complaint as the Commodore sounded his release. The few staccato thrusts he was able to muster as he finished sent Jack to his own completion and they both shuddered, collapsing toward the mattress.

Jack rolled onto his side and rubbed the small of his back. Norrington watched, looking altogether confused. He looked as though he were trying to speak. Since the pair had exhausted themselves, they hadn't spoken at all. Jack wondered what in the world could be the matter with Norrington, who so obviously was inept at doing things he felt he wanted to. The Commodore tightened his jaw.

"Have you been taught an adequate lesson, pirate?" It had been a few hours that they'd slept between activity, but Jack was sore and still rather tired.

"Aye," Jack replied, "and I'm about to collect my effects and be on my way." Norrington looked exceedingly bewildered.

"That's like a pirate."

"I trust you will remember this as the day –" And then Norrington covered Jack's mouth with his own, stopping whatever stupidity Jack was about to spew. Jack extricated himself and they rose from the bed.

"You'll do no such thing. You will stay right in this bed and contemplate all possible meanings of the phrase 'measured for your chains.' It's the least you can do for ruining my linens with your filthy hands," Norrington said as he pulled on his clothes.

"You can't keep me here," Jack said plainly. The Commodore walked to the door and looked at Jack over his shoulder. He rested his hand on the knob.

"No, but you can stay and eat a decent meal and provide a bit of companionship, perhaps in exchange for amnesty, or at least escape… Or you can flee and see the town put on alert and your weasley black guts strung up in the square for all to see."

"Aye, that meal does sound fine," Jack agreed and sat back on the bed.

Norrington left and returned handsomely, plates of food in either hand. He climbed into the bed and offered one to Jack. They both ate greedily, but Jack finished first, having been longer without food than the Commodore.

"There's something to be said for you law-abiding lubbers," Jack offered.

"Lubbers! Hah," Norrington hastily replied, taking another bite of food.

"You've got plenty to eat."

"A life of virtue pays well. You'd do well to learn it."

"You've got plenty to eat, but not nearly enough to drink!" And Jack heaved himself from the bed, rummaging through his clothes. He found a flask and emptied its meager contents into his mouth. Norrington rolled his eyes and put his plate down on the bed table.