Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Pirates of the Caribbean. And that is the reason I have a broken heart. dramatic faint
Author's Note: Another chapter up in no time, just like the doctor ordered!
- - - - - - - - - - -
Gallagher sat in her cabin, on her wobbly chair, staring into the long, slightly cracked mirror as she piled her wild black locks atop of her head. Some curls trailed down her slender neck in the process, tickling at her nape. She blew some of the hair out of her face, gazing back at her reflection with a frown. Terrence was in a foul mood.
Of course, whenever corsets became involved, it was like thunderstorms destroyed her placid ocean, her unwavering course. It picked apart her cheerful demeanor and left bitchiness Jack couldn't even compete with. Corsets could burn in hell for all she cared.
And the jewelry! The lip paint! The rouge! She might as well hang herself right then. Terrence was never one for beautiful gowns or elegant diamonds. She liked things natural, untouched…just like nature intended.
Jack burst through her cabin door unannounced and needless to say, uninvited. After kicking the door shut, he sashayed over to her in that slightly feminine way of his before standing behind her in the mirror. She sighed and stared back at his reflection, waiting for a dirty comment or teasing. And then she realized Jack was still in his same old clothes, his same old hat. Same old everything. Damn him to blazes, he wasn't even going to get fancied up! He was going to leave all the fancying up to her!
"You look the same," she said bluntly, not even bothering to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
"I washed me face," Jack pointed out proudly, "That ought to do it. Before, I could have scared away small children." He took off his hat and the same ratty dreads popped out from the confines of his bandanna. "You look different," he remarked, raising an eyebrow as his brown eyes slid over her appraisingly.
"I washed up," she stated with a scowl. He wiped a few drops of water off of her bare shoulder before Terrence wrapped her robe tighter around herself.
"And ye didn't invite me?" Jack pouted, glaring at her, "That's not very nice."
"Now what kind o' bonny lass would I be if I didn't arrange one for ye too?" she said sweetly. She hopped out of her chair and opened the cabin door, yelling, "Bring in the basin!"
Two bulky men hoisted a full basin of water into the middle of the cabin and dropped it there, water sloshing over the sides in the movement. They stood up, awaiting further instructions, meanwhile casting curious glances at their robed Captain and a grinning Jack Sparrow at her side.
"You may leave now. Thank ye," Terrence replied with a nod of her head. The men nodded back and left, locking the door.
"They seemed kind o' interested in what we'd be up to," Jack commented innocently, staring at the basin, "That water better be warm."
"If it were up to me it'd be cold, now get a move on," Terrence ordered.
"Oh, I suppose ye want to be the dominant one today, aye? So I guess it'll be on top for you?"
"Jack, just stop it. Stop." She could never stay mad or annoyed at Sparrow, no matter how hard she tried. And that fact infuriated her the most.
Sparrow placed his hat on the chair and the grin was wiped off of his face. "What's wrong wit' ye, Terrence?" he said seriously, "Why are ye actin' like this?"
"Christ, I'm getting all clean and ready for this gala and ye just go and wash your face! I have to wear a corset! And you just wash your face?!"
"May I point out that I do not fit in those corsets?" Jack replied with irritation, shrugging off his coat.
"I'm not tryin' to sound childish or whiny…"
"Well you apparently aren't tryin' hard enough," Jack responded with a hiss, untangling his sash and belt, "Because you're actin' enough like a child for the both o' us, savvy? I have to wear a corset! I have to wear this, that, oh Jesus it hurts! I ne'er hear the end of it with you! Never!" Clunk. His belt hit the floor.
"At least I have enough decency to try and look respectable for our dear friends who, may I point out, saved our lives!!" Terrence cried, throwing her hands up in the air.
Jack angrily wrestled out of his white shirt and tossed it to the floor, kicking it away with his foot before saying, "I've been friends with the Turners longer than ye have. And we're pirates. I think they'd get the point that we don't have to look like stuck up aristocrats, that we don't want to be accepted into their snobbish society anyway. What's the big damn deal? If I want to go in this, I will! No exceptions!"
"In just your trousers, Jack? You might as well go dressed as a pig…you wanted to go smellin' like one!" she yelled, pointing a finger in his flushed face.
"And ye can try to slosh your face in as much rouge as ye want, it's not goin' to help matters much!" he shouted back, yanking his trousers down his hips and stepping out of them with wobbly legs. He threw them and they landed on the lamplight.
She opened her mouth and shut it desperately trying to remember what they were fighting about as she studied Jack Sparrow in all of his naked glory. Those long muscular legs, defined chest, and, erm, other unmentionable things. And that tan! Everything was tan, as always. No matter how many times she had seen him in the same predicament before, it took her breath away every time. Terrence pursed her lips together and cast him the most evil stare she could muster. He returned the favor before turning on his heel and practically falling into the basin.
Terrence stormed over to her desk, grabbed a map or two to keep her eyes occupied as he bathed, and collapsed onto the bed with them. She laid them out on the sheets and peered down at them, biting her lip as she pretended to be occupied with something important.
I don't care for the Navy
Nor does it care for me
I'd rather dance the hempen jig
Than give up me love, the sea.
Terrence bit back a smile. Sparrow was belting out one of his favorite shanties, one he usually sang softly to her after they stayed up all night and she finally drifted off to sleep. She remembered hearing him whisper the words as her eyes closed and she swam into pleasant dreams.
People say dead men tell no tales
I know that to be untrue
Those ol' bones contain more secrets
Than those landlubbers do.
Terrence's eyes finally disobeyed her and she glanced up at him. He was sitting Indian style in the basin, running the soap across his chest to form a lather of sorts. His bandanna had long since been removed and he had dunked his head under. Water dropped off of his dreads and onto his shoulders before rolling down his back and chest. She mouthed the words as he sang them:
I'd rather nurse my mug of rum
Cock my hat at passersby
Than give up my hard-earned cutlass
And have a will to die.
The kohl was dripping down his cheeks and she resisted the urge to walk over and wipe it off with her thumbs. He caught her staring and winked at her before continuing:
Weigh anchor and release the sails
Our plundering is done here
Time has no limit and we are free
To follow horizons most dear.
"Ye know, luv," Jack pondered aloud, "These baths aren't as much fun without you in them as well."
"Don't even think about it," she warned.
"Too late for that. I'm done," he replied with a shrug of his lean shoulders. And with that he stood up and stepped out of the basin.
She almost choked on her own saliva as he purposefully stretched and let out a loud, satisfied groan before sauntering over to where she sat and asked, "Does milady have a towel?"
Terrence pointed to the cupboard, unable to find words as her curious eyes strayed over him. He grinned wolfishly as he watched her look before turning and getting out a towel from the cupboard, beginning to wipe it down his arms and chest.
"We must do somethin'with your hair," she informed him at last.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, he questioned, feigning a hurt expression, "What's wrong with me hair?"
"Sit down and I'll rearrange some o' the dreads so you'll look a bit more cleaned up. How about it?"
Jack hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed. Terrence sat behind him, her legs on either side of him as she began to unwrap some of the bands in his tangled hair.
"Will is goin' to keep the key for us," Jack commented, gently grabbing her foot and placing it in his lap, "At least, for now."
She let out a shaky breath as he ran a finger down her heel to her toes. Terrence unbraided some of his thick locks and ran a hand through his hair to work out the rat's nests. He relaxed under her hands and his shoulders dropped a little under her caresses.
"That was mighty handsome o' him. But we're goin' to have to find somewhere else to put it once we leave Port," Terrence replied after five minutes of silence, finishing up the last of the braids.
Instead of moving away from him, she began to slightly massage his shoulders. He moaned in appreciation before saying, "You're goin' to be the death o' me, Gallagher."
She smiled and wondered how they went from fighting to, well, this. That routine of unbearable anger to unbearable sexual tension seemed to happen quite a bit around Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Perhaps I'll just keep the key. I could handle it," she mused softly, running her palms down his muscular back in slow circles.
"I don't want ye alone wit' that key," he said, another groan escaping his lips before he turned to face her.
"Well ye can't take it, because for some reason it doesn't like ye. And I wouldn't want ye to have it, savvy? I wouldn't want ye to get…" she paused, eyeing him as he grinned.
"To get what, luv?" he asked, leaning in close to her.
"To get hurt, is all," Terrence answered stubbornly, crossing her arms over her robe. She tensed when she looked down and found him toying with the ties of the robe, slowly undoing them.
"Did Terrence just admit she cares about me welfare?" Sparrow questioned playfully, finally tossing the ties aside.
She stared at him through her long lashes and said, "You know I care, Jack," and glanced down once again, watching as he slid the robe off of her shoulders in tantalizingly, purposefully delayed movements.
He gently hoisted her up by the hips and sat her in his lap, giving her a tender kiss in the process.
"How much time do we have?" he asked maliciously.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
And that chapter's a wrap! (waves hand in front of face) Is it hot in here or is it just me? Oh, just so you know, Jack Sparrow is in a country music video! Go to www.cmt.com and check out Terri Clark's "Girls Lie Too" video. It's not really our beloved Johnny, but it's a good lookalike. (swoons)
Reviewers kick tooshy!
Oh, and if you wanted to know who made those lyrics Jack was singing, it was me. : ) I couldn't find a shanty I adored to put into this chapter, so I decided to make one up myself. I hope it turned out okay.
Now go on, pirates! Pillage and plunder! And by pillage and plunder, I mean review!