Little Sparrow
Summary: "Now up is down," was the last thing any of them heard before the rush of water drowned everything else out. Later, waking up on a random, deserted island, they almost immediately notice that something was not right with their Captain. Sparrington, Salazak, Willabeth, maybe others mentioned.
"Where have you been?" A worried James asked hours later, when Jack finally returned to his cabin aboard the Black Pearl, a good few hours after midnight. He had been starting to worry due to Sao Feng's men and the distaste some of the other Pirate Lords had shown for the new Pirate King and had started fearing they had gone and done something stupid. He relaxed now upon seeing Jack unharmed and safe, back where he can keep an eye out for him and protect him if the need arises.
"No need to worry, love!" Jack told him brightly as he perched himself on the seated ex Commodore's lap, carefully tucking away his effects like he did every night before falling asleep, this time making extra sure that nothing can fall out of his hidden pockets before smooching James on the lips. "I couldn't be protected better anywhere else in the world and that was before I was made Pirate King. As the Keeper's Heir, I have my own guards around this place. You saw them, Ivan and Ian. Scary duo, aren't they." He chuckled as he snuggled up to his older lover, almost purring in content when James' absently started playing with his hair and scratching his skull.
"That didn't really answer my question, Jack." Norrington sighed, sliding his arm around the lithe waist to better hold Jack to himself so he wouldn't be in danger of sliding off. "In fact, there are a lot more questions I'd rather like for you to answer."
"Shoot." Jack shrugged, not really all that interested in what questions James might want to ask. But for all that he appeared to be nonchalant about all of this, his mind was actually racing miles per second. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day and he was trying to figure out how he should go about it all. He hadn't been kidding or faking it when he had said he would allow himself to be killed if it would give the other pirates a fighting chance. Will had already told him of his plans - that now seemed all but forgotten, ever since he and Elizabeth finally made up some days ago - to stab the heart, take control of the Dutchman and liberate his father. Not that Jack would really let him. The blacksmith from Port Royal was still too young to bind himself to that duty and that ship, especially since he had someone who he loved so dearly. Jack wouldn't let him leave her behind. There were plenty of other fools who'd want immortality. He'd just have to fish them out and send them on their merry way.
"How did you really know that Sao Feng has betrayed us?" James wasn't sure when he had become a part of the piratical 'us', but he didn't really care anymore. He had no where else to return to anymore. Beckett would most definitely not want back one of the men who had brought back his most hated enemy. "When could you have possibly gotten such information?"
"I told the truth. A siren told me." Jack said a bit petulantly, pouting that he wasn't believed. Why does he feel people often discard half of the things he said as lies even if they were the truth? Is it a trend for his older self?
"I thought sirens aren't all that fond of you. Only mermaids."
"Not true." Sparrow protested and flicked James' nose in retribution for the slight against his charms, as though all sirens were immune to them. Although, they kind of were and kind of would rather see him dead, ever since that one time with the crew of the Barnacle. But not all sirens were displeased with him, either. "Regina, queen and mistress of all aquatic creatures, is rather fond of me, thank you very much. She told me some of her subjects have overheard the deals some weeks ago, after you lot set off to rescue me from my terrible prison, and she gladly told me. As queen of all things that breathe under water, she is forever grateful to me for looking out for mermaids and for not harming sirens since I have that power as I am immune to their songs. And since a mermaid's kiss allows a man to practically breathe under water, she says I am one of hers so she pretty much treats me as such."
"So you did get to have your desired meeting, then?" Norrington had no idea when this could have happened, since they had all practically been glued to Jack ever since they found him de-aged in the foliage of that island where they were washed out from the Locker. No one had seen any more merfolk since Morveren's departure. "When did this happen?"
"When you were sleeping, before we made the Crossing, Jamie." Well, that would explain Jack's standing near an open porthole. He must have been musing an all that she had told him until James woke up. Thinking about that image stirred more than one interest, especially with a lapful of warm, content and willing pirate. "Any more questions?"
"Your tattoos ... What do they mean? And, actually, how did you know the Silent Mary was on her way? You seemed to know way before that messenger came by to inform you. Or was he supposed to inform us all?"
"Well, he was probably off to speak with the Keeper-"
"Who is your father. Another thing we need to discuss, if you don't mind."
"One question at a time, love." Jack chided with a teasing smirk, silencing any retort that might have come with a peck on the slightly parted lips. They snapped shut and the teen settled himself more comfortably against his lover as he started answering. "Anyway, he was probably off to tell my Da but kind of just ran into me, so he told me first. As the Keeper's Heir, I was quite possibly the second most powerful individual in pirate society. Can't believe I'm Pirate King now. That's gonna take more getting used to than the Captain and Sparrow thing." He mused to himself before getting back on track. "Anyway, that means he has to listen to me as though I'm his boss so he asked me for orders, which I gave. As for how I know about the Mary's coming," he reached for his Compass that was neatly placed on top of his coat but beneath his hat and opened it, letting James see the moving needle. Even when Jack handed it over to the older male, it didn't change as it should have done normally. "The Compass, as long as you are loyal to it, will show you the way to what your heart wants most."
"As you've told me a number of times already." James nodded as he handed the device back. "So why is it broken this time?"
"It's not. It's working perfectly. For you see, you must stay loyal to the Compass or else it will lead your greatest fear to you." Jack explained, tucking away the trembling navigation gadget.
"And yours is Salazar?" The skeptical ex Admiral and ex Commodore asked warily. Because that just didn't seem like Jack. The man had, in the end, returned to face certain death just to be with his ship in her second sinking. Sure, Elizabeth had forced him to stay but he could have very well just kept rowing and never looked back. It seemed unusual that Jack would fear a single man.
Said Pirate King just shrugged. "Salazar is the greatest nightmare and fear of all of pirate kind." He said, never quite answering James' question. Norrington sighed through his nose, already seeing where that was going - to a dead end. Better focus on other things lest he never get any other answers.
"What about your tattoos? I've been fascinated with them for a while now." Ever since he'd seen them, actually. He had never seen an array of tattoos like the ones decorating Jack's skin.
"Ah, the text on my back, aye?" His lover just nodded so Jack shrugged off his shirt and wiggled a little until his back was presented to curious eyes. "What do you think it is?"
James looked curiously at the inked images on his young lover's back and gently traced them as he tried to make out the elaborate handwriting. It took him less than a minute to pull back as though burned as he recognized some of the few rules of the Code he knew of, only worded far more eloquently, as though written by a scholar.
Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have an equal title to the fresh provisions or strong liquors at any time seized, and shall use them at pleasure unless a scarcity may make it necessary for the common good that a retrenchment may be voted.
Every man shall be called fairly in turn by the list on board of prizes, because over and above their proper share, they are allowed a shift of clothes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even one dollar in plate, jewels or money, they shall be marooned. If any man rob another he shall have his nose and ears slit, and be put ashore where he shall be sure to encounter hardships.
And things like None shall game for money either with dice or cards.
Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action.
He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.
And so on and so on. All in a careful hand, all of it worded like any law might be, if only a bit more simply so everyone could understand. It was not simple do this and do that. Although not nearly so as open to interpretation as Will and Elizabeth once suggested after their dealings with Barbossa and Sparrow and their crews, it was not nearly as restraining or unbending as land laws. Some of them even sounded more like reasonable suggestions than rules. James read all eleven that were inked into Jack's skin, wondering why on earth someone would go through all that pain of getting a tattoo like this.
"As I already told you, I am the Keeper's Heir and his only son. Da trained me for picking up his duty after him if anything were to happen to him or if he simply thought it was time for him to retire for good. As a youth, I had been educated more than your bloody princes and princesses and queens and kings and emperors and priests and the like, had been taught the Code since I was four but I was a little kid who had to be protected most of the time. At eight, though, I got this tattoo willingly, proud of being my father's son. That was before the second time Grandmama nearly best me to death. After that happened a bit later, I grew a bit resentful of it and never showed it to anyone until I met Tia Dalma. That circle on my back, amid the text? A sign of Calypso's favor and a protection charm against dark magic. There are rare few spells stronger than it, so it keeps me very safe in that regard. Only some voodoo is stronger, I hear. Anyway, she was the first who saw my tattoos since that one beating. I didn't even let the Cove's doctor see under my shirt after that third time."
James watched with a disgusted and incredulous face as a shiver ran down the entire body of his lover. "Your own bloody grandmother beat you near to death!? How many times!? Why did your supposedly overprotective father allow this!?"
Jack looked away and shrugged, not wanting to meet James' gaze. "Grandmama is his mother so he probably figured she won't be violent with his only child. And he was often so busy around the Cove that we at times didn't speak or see each other for three days straight if we didn't go out of our way to seek each other out. Sure, he always made some time for me, if only to come and check on me well after my 'bed time' and it always left me giddy that he'd leave his work for me if I asked. But I knew his job was important and so I left him to it, learning the family business from the rest of our family. Unfortunately, Grandmama was a rough and toughened pirate of near eighty when I started my studies and, as much as she loved me - do you know she actually nearly died of grief when I first ran away? I didn't believe it, either, until I saw her still so frail from it when Da and I returned on the Misty Lady - she didn't know how else to express it than with violence. My lip didn't really help when I got sick of it all. Da very nearly killed her after that second time. I had been in really bad shape for weeks. Had Aunt McFlaming not arrived when she did, I wouldn't be Pirate King now."
He smiled bitterly and James gently turned his face around so they were looking at each other. "That's not love, Jack. That's abuse."
"I wanted to hate her for it for years. Did, even, for a few. But she was still the same Grandmama who would on some days take me with her to her beautiful ship and take around the region. Old she may be but she's a lively one, my Grandmama. She'd tell me stories, about Granda and about his Da before him. Piracy is in my blood, mate." Jack said with a sardonic little smile. He pointed at the other circle that was on his bicep, the one with the hidden swords. "Before this was the symbol of the Keeper of the Code and all who serve him, it was the symbol of our family. Grandmama married in but she survived. She became the second Pirate Lord of the Atlantic-"
"So you're third in your family to be a Pirate Lord?" James was impressed. It would seem his and Jack's lives weren't entirely so different, after all. James was the third Admiral in his own family, albeit the youngest and the one with the shortest commission. Then again, Jack was the youngest Pirate Lord ever, if he was to be believed. And he was. Eighteen. How much younger than that could one get?
Sparrow's eyes were suddenly twinkling excitedly with mischief. The teen turned around so they were face to face again and leaned in until his lips were against James' ear and he breathed a secret to the ex Commodore meant for no one but those of Teague blood to hear. "Actually, love, you didn't let me finish. The first to bear this symbol, this mark, was my great grandfather, Alexander Jackson Teague, first Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, the very first to sail into this very Cove, the first to make a deal with Jones. The first Pirate King of the Brethren Court. The seed of the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, aye?"
Norringron's jaw dropped and he gawked at his lover as though he had told him it was the Armageddon and James hadn't noticed. The wicked glint in Jack's eyes wasn't quite enough to snap James out of his stupor. This, on top of everything, was too much. Yes, he had accepted pirates had hierarchy like 'normal' society had. Yes, he had accepted that they had 'nobility' like they did, only ruling over far more territory than any noble or monarch could, since we were talking about seas here. And yes, he had accepted that there are quite a few similarities in the law and in the Code. The structure of their society was almost as complex as that on solid land. He'd even accepted that Jack was a noble of sorts, a vice-judge and now a King.
But he had never expected, even from Jack Sparrow, to be of what was apparently a royal bloodline. At least amongst pirates. He was hopelessly lost and Jack was laughing at him.
"Come now, Jamie! This can't be the weirdest thing you've heard of so far!"
"Actually, I've come to expect mythical creatures and sea monsters where you are concerned." And wasn't that just a sad fact of both their lives that such things no longer fazed either of them beyond the need to survive them. "This ... Dear God, Jack. Why did you ever run away?" Then he winced at the stupidity of his own question and went to apologize but Jack beat him to it.
"Because I wanted freedom." He replied, ignoring the fact his family was batshit crazy and that his own grandmother used to beat him within an inch of his life. James was still trying to see how you could still hold any sort of affection for someone who treated you like that. But he knew of Jack's too forgiving nature. By all rights, Barbossa, James, Will and Elizabeth, along with those two idiots Pintel and Ragetti, should all have been left in the Locker for having betrayed their Captain and yet here they were, no one but Gibbs, Cotton and Marty any wiser about it, in the protection of the Cove and James in the comfort of the cabin of the new Pirate King.
"Didn't you get enough of it as the Keeper's Heir? I imagine you could do almost anything you wanted around here." He commented as he absently traced the chain tattoo going around Jack's left bicep.
Jack seemed to be melting under his touch. "Not nearly enough. Overprotective immediate family aside, I was always watched, people always fretting, fearing my father's or god forbid my Grandmama's ire if I got hurt. I was suffocating. I loved learning, aye, but I was born out at sea and the Cove doesn't have nearly enough of it. There was no seemingly endless horizon before me and I craved that. So when I was sent to learn sailing from all around the world, I was very glad for the opportunity. Sailing with that Sao Feng's uncle, Liang Dao, was my first experience away from home and he thought me some of the first things I know now. I wish he were still alive. He was a good man, that one."
Norrington frowned in thought. "Jack, just how old were you when you saw the entire world?"
"I doubt I saw the entire world even now, twenty years later, but I have seen all seven seas and more before I hit double digits. I think I liked the Nile the best. That's quite a cruise." James just shook his head and decided he shouldn't have been surprised. Jack bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before speaking, voice a bit meek. "Do you think I'll ... remember ... When I return back to normal?"
James ... hadn't actually thought of that. Tia Dalma had never said anything about what will be after her spell wears off, only that Jack had needed the reprieve and that if he didn't get it, the Jack they all knew could very well forever be gone. But Norrington found himself not wanting to give up this Jack, either. This Jack was a lot more open and drank a lot less and didn't lie nearly as often and ... And he was still hurting and not the Jack Sparrow who had the experience needed to survive in a world where he had had twenty years to make enemies. And this Jack had had his chance to live. What about the Jack that had so desperately fought and clung to his life and freedom.
For Jack Sparrow was freedom. And it would be as much a cage to leave him like this as it would be to lock him up in a cage.
"I don't know. Do you want to?" James knew he did. He wanted Jack to remembered how much everyone had cared and worried and fretted. He wanted Jack to remember their quiet night on the deck or in the crow's nest. He wanted Jack to remember being chosen for the Pirate King. He wanted Jack to remember this. He was suddenly scared that he wouldn't and was contemplating begging Tia Dalma to let Jack remember when Jack's words broke him out of his thoughts.
"If I don't, promise me you will remind me?" Jack didn't want himself to forget, either. He was desperate for it, not forgetting. He had had too much fun, telling stories, fishing, singing, dancing, fencing, laughing, pirating ... He didn't want to forget falling in love again or the healing of his heart. He didn't want to forget James.
"I give you my solemn word." The older replied, sealing it with a kiss, which turned into another and another, all short, slow and sweet. When they finally pulled away, James quirked an eyebrow at his lover and drawled in a deadpan voice. "You still haven't answered my first question."
Jack outright laughed at that, nearly falling off of his perch in James' laugh had Norrington not reached up to catch him. When he was finished, he decided it won't hurt anyone and reached over for his coat as he answered. "Well, I first had to finish some things of a more Code-keeping nature with Da regarding Sao Feng and Barbossa - they were lucky I was there and managed to stop him from outright shooting them. They owe me, now - and then Da dragged me off to see the others. My Uncle Jack was most joyous to see me-"
"His name is Jack, too?" James interrupted, surprised Jack had been named after his uncle and not his father like William had been. Jack shrugged.
"Actually, his name is Jackson, after their Da, who shared the name with his Da, even if it had been his middle name. I'm simply Jack. My full name is Jack Edward Teague, if you must know."
"So you both continue and break the tradition?" Norrington asked. He didn't need to tell Jack that the L. was for Lawrence, after his own father. Jack already probably had it figured out.
"Do you want to know where I've been or not?" The new Pirate King pouted and James chuckled, motioning for him to carry on. "Well, anyway, I've had a little family reunion. I swear Grandmama was almost near tears and Aunt McFlaming had actually sobered up upon lying eyes on me. And Valerie was most surprised. I swear she was trying to worm herself into the position of the Heir, but fat chance Da was going to accept that. I won't, either, although she might have to. I can't be both King and Keeper." He mused to himself before shaking those thoughts off and going back to his story. "After that, I just came back here and ... waited for the opportune moment to get these." He took out a sack from one of his many hidden pockets and showed its contents to James.
"You didn't?" But James already knew he had and was chuckling. Jack just grinned."as if I'd let that old bastard get one up on me. These," he jiggled the sack. "Will be properly used only when I say they should be used. No need to release a fury worse than hell's on us all at an already too precarious time."
"You are the best pirate I've ever seen."
Jack preened at the compliment.