A/N: Well, Well, it seems I do have it in me to write after all XD. A boring spring vacation does that to one. I found the beginning of this second chapter I started a while back, and finished it So here ya go, I gots a new computer and a lot of time…plus my ADD is focused towards writing now, so as long as the plot bunnies are jumping I SHOULD have a new chapter soon….don't take my word on it XD
Disclaimer: I want to own them, but I don't.
Warning: Slash.

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-Chapter Two-

Tortuga never ceased to amaze. Will noted this as he moved from the ship to the dock. He made a sudden change of face, quickly scrubbing the awe from his features. It would not do to go around looking like a newcomer to this island, why not just paint a sign on his forehead that read. 'Rob me'?

With a shake of his head he started for the main part of the bawdy town, only looking over his shoulder once to scan the horizon for the flap of black sails, he didn't see them. But, then again, that would have been too much of a hope. Seeing as hope had pretty much abandoned him at this point, he didn't even know why he had even glanced back.

With a sigh Will continued, a clear-cut path in his mind. He would need a place to board and maybe work. He would also like to maybe find a ship to hire him on…even if it didn't mean the most lawful of companions. But, if he was to start a new path; he might as well get acquainted with the old path of his father's blood.

Shifting his pack once more, he started down the main street. He was careful to avoid the puddles of vomit, beer, and other liquids he didn't wish to know the origins of. He made sure not to make eye contact with any of the ladies that called his way; he didn't want a woman right now. Elizabeth, though he try, still flared to mind at the thought of anything that had to do with anything in the realm of lovemaking...not that the women here offered that service, only a cheap imitation of it, but still…it was enough to tug at barely healed wounds.

He passed an inn at one point that must have been cooking something that was halfway decent, because his stomach decided to wake up and let up a growl that made several people glance at him. With a newly red face, his priority list of bed and job shifted to include food also. He glanced at the name of the place he was passing. "The Singing Fish." was carved into the wooden sign, a beer mug and bed painted underneath to help the illiterate realize why this building stood. Squinting at another sign placed underneath he smiled slightly. "Might as well kill two birds with one stone," he muttered to himself as he entered the door. He ordered himself a plate of stew and found himself a job and a place to stay.

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It was night; the Black Pearl all but disappeared from view among the waves. It had been about two years since its bow was seen in these waters, seeing as his past adventures had brought much mayhem upon this part of the world, it had been best at that moment to prove his name elsewhere before coming back. Did the Pearl succeed in this new venue?

…Must it be asked?

The Pearl managed to become quite infamous in the new waters, as did her slightly insane captain, one Captain Jack Sparrow. Gallows's bait from a young age, he was quite happy with his regained reputation; often laughing over stories relayed to him about himself, such things tickled a man's pride. But don't ask him which ones are true for he will only answer with a wink.

Said captain was now in the cabin of said ship, sitting at his desk. The stool he used was quite thankfully nailed to the floorboards, or the ground would have been very much acquainted with the captain's bottom. He was making his way through a stack of papers, humming odd tunes all the while. Of course, what he was looking for, he didn't know, but that didn't seem to faze him any.

Only the new lengths of his hair, and a few added trinkets, showed the passage of time on the captain. Same cock-eyed grin, gold teeth, and coal rimmed eyes. No, not much had changed on the captain, and it didn't seem like anything ever would.

He was glad to be back, these waters were more in tune to him and his Pearl than any other sea in the world, the weather was amazing, the scent of the air just right. Also there was the rum.

Who could forget the rum?

It had been hard to find a good batch in the places he had visited, none had aged so well as the caches he had around the islands. Now he had his stores replenished, two bottles at his side at the moment. Well, a bottle and a half.

A knock on the door drew his attention from his search. Who was disturbing the captain so late? He got up and made his way to the other side of the room, one hand on his sword as he pulled the door open. He removed his hand and opted for crossing his arms over his stomach instead once he saw whom his visitor was. "This better be good." He said with a sigh as he stepped aside.

Anamaria merely nodded "I didn't think you would want to wait for this news." She walked inside, closing the door after her, looking to Jack as he regained his seating on the stool. He pulled out his bottle of rum and looked to her, waiting for her to speak. "The grim look on your face does not bode well," he said upon noting the slight frown on her face. "My news is not the most welcoming…your old friend Elizabeth is dead." Never one to beat around the bush, Anamaria continued. "Childbirth took her."

That made Jack stand up with a shot, not much shocked him, but the learning of such news! He had never imagined such a thing would take Elizabeth so early, not the girl who battled pirates with the best of them. He shook his head. "What a way to go, not the death I perceived from such a woman." He held up his bottle. "To her memory."

He held it to his lips and then shook his head, a flick of his wrist and the contents were being poured to the ground. "A more fitting tribute to the gal that burned 50 cases of the stuff." He explained as he looked to Anamaria, who held quite an astonished look in her eyes. She had never seen Jack waste rum, ever.

He shook the bottle once more and let the glass fall to the ground. It landed with a thud and rolled out of sight. He shook his head and grabbed for the other bottle, opening it and taking a swing. He looked up to her again.

"How long has she been gone?"

"About a year's past."

Jack nodded, then shook his head with a sigh. Another swing.

"And what of the bonny lass's boy, Will?"

"Gone, he left Port Royal about two months back… no doubt heart broken."

"Am I to assume the babe did not survive?"

"Aye."

Jack tapped his chin, setting the bottle down. He was fingering the parchment on his desk once more.

"Do you know where he has gone to?"

"Where else would a boy with pirate's blood in his veins go in a time of trouble?" Anamaria asked rather dryly as she leaned against the wall, sending a look his way. Jack looked up, his eyebrows raised. "Tortuga? I didn't think the whelp had it in him." He shook his head again and pulled a map out of the pile, nearly sending it to the ground, and flipped it open with a dramatic snap, practiced and perfected over days of sailing with nary another boat or a piece of land in sight. Anamaria straightened from her position to look over the edge. Jack looked up to her face, and gave her a small grin.

"Inform Gibbs and the rest of the crew in a change of course, we are to make the Town of Pleasure our next stop."

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Will set the mugs he had picked up from empty tables back on the bar. Jonce, the tender and owner of the inn, grabbed them with a nod and Will disappeared back into the crowd. It had been about four months time since his arrival, and the time had passed fast in a mesh of nothing and everything. Some moments Will could pick at and remember clearly, and others he had forgotten entirely. It was like walking through a clearing haze, some parts still dark. Tortuga often sent people's senses reeling, and it was quite certain that young William was not excused from such an experience.

He had learned a lot in the short amount of time, he had needed to if he wished to survive the new life he had chosen. He learned how to navigate the streets of the dangerous town, which parts of a man's body to press in order to cause pain, what his limit in drink was and how to stretch it. He learned that the shirt he had picked up at the market earned him more tips than the one he wore into town, and that barmaids weren't the only ones who had to worry about the wandering hands of men.

He also learned that he didn't mind the hands.

Men touched differently than women, when they reached forward he wasn't reeled back into memories of a lost love, nor did he feel guilty that he may be cheating on his late wife by looking back and smiling as he did when the women of the street called his way. Of course, he didn't dwell on it, this new way of thinking. He didn't find himself seeking out the company of men now. No, that was still a step he found he could not take. It wasn't that he thought it a sin, it would be quite odd to be thinking in the church's ways whilst roaming the streets of a town that would be most condemned by god. It was just that Will still had some stiffness to shake loose, even if he had chosen a hard life he was still somewhat innocent, naïve to most things on this earth still. This was rapidly changing of course, but notions of love and intimacy still intertwined. He would not touch another back without loving them…and of course he thought he would never love again. Naïve once more he was in this line of thinking, the heart seldom agrees with the mind.

A few more rounds about the room and he was back at the bar, this time to order a drink before going out for a walk. His shift was done, and he needed some fresh air, not that the air of the town was fresh, but it was better than what was in the small building. He drank the beer he was given quickly before heading out. The sun was halfway through its sunset journey, the moon already in the sky. The coming night proved to be warm, and all he found he needed to grab was the knife he had bought not to long after arriving, a sword was preferable-but the knife was easier to conceal.

He was at the market in no time, not your average market at all. All the wares were mostly stolen, and there was not an honest merchant in the lot, but you could find what ever you wanted here. He looked around, but he was not in the mood for buying today, more so he listened to the calls of those looking to hire. He still had not found a place on a ship, the offers he had gotten were not from men he wished to spend days holed up with on a boat, especially those who didn't look to his face as he spoke.

Turning a corner he nearly bumped into a man who was walking with a sway. He murmured a quick apology and was about to go on when the man shot out a hand and grabbed his shoulder. Will was turned roughly, and he found himself facing the man once more. The knife was out before he was completely spun, and he had it up before he realized the other man was grinning. The knife was just as quickly at his side when Will also realized he knew that grin and the face that it was on. It wasn't long before there was a grin on Will's face as well.

(AN: and we are fini! Review, and a third chappy may come sooner than ye expected XD))