Learning to Love Again

By Serena-chan

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing—applies to all chapters.

Summary: Will, after much soul-searching, decides that Jack is truly the one he loves and leaves Port Royal to join the Black Pearl's crew. Believing that the pirate will never return his affections, he is perfectly content just being near the one he loves. However, one night, while Jack is drunk, he inadvertently reveals to Will how his father, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner, was his old lover and broke his heart. Then, everything changes. (Takes place after Curse of the Black Pearl.)

Chapter 4: Battles and Pearls

Will awoke rather late the next morning to shouts from above deck. Pulling on some clothes, he rushed out into his smithy just as Gibbs came pounding down the stairs.

"Look alive, lad," he shouted and began gathering up swords, talking hurriedly. "Under attack—smaller pirate ship—won't last long, but Cap'tn wants everyone on deck."

Snatching up a sword and tucking an ax into his belt, he followed the older man up the stairs. Shouts and gunfire sounded in the air, but Will saw immediately that the fight was nearly over even though it had just begun. Their rival ship was impressive but small—they obviously hadn't realized that they were tangling with the Black Pearl when they had initiated the attack, and now they were paying for it.

Jack was near the helm, barking out orders to his crew and mostly observing the fight as the crew was more than capable of handling it. Turning, he yelled for the spare cannons to be brought forward—"I want to see 'em at the bottom of the sea!"—intending to sink the opposing ship for daring to attack the Pearl.

Will glanced from his captain, who had his back to their opponents, to the rival ship and back again. He had just enough time to rush forward, grab Jack roughly by the shoulder and pull him down to the deck, just as a cannon ball went careening over their heads, narrowly missing them.

For one brief instant, Jack's eyes met Will's, locked in an intense gaze that Will found hard to describe. He was just trying to work out exactly what Jack was thinking when the moment was over.

"Quick, lad." Jack pulled him to his feet.

The enemy ship had used the attack on the captain as a diversion, and men were now swinging onto the deck of the Pearl. The cannons were temporarily forgotten as hand-to-hand combat ensued.

Will knew in that instant that they had underestimated the smaller ship immensely. True, it wasn't the size of the Pearl, but that mattered little for their number of men more than doubled the Pearl's.

Each man had his hands full, and it was clear that this was a fight to the death. Will fought, throwing himself into simply staying alive, but all the while keeping a careful eye on his captain. Jack was fending off two men and doing it rather well, too, until two more men approached him from behind.

"Jack!" Will lunged away from his opponent without another thought.

The man he had been fighting had just been lunging toward him and was taken off guard by the smith's unexpected disappearance. He went stumbling forward as the ship pitched violently, rocked by cannon fire, and proceeded to tumble over the railing and into the blue waters below.

Will reached Jack just as the two men were raising their swords at his back. Quickly, Will put himself between the men and Jack, bringing up his sword to block their attack. The man on his left, however, reacted quickly and brought his sword round, sinking it into Will's left shoulder.

Will gasped in pain, stumbling slightly before recovering quickly. He was pressed back-to-back with his captain as he grabbed the ax from his belt, burying the blade into the man's head while slashing at the other man with his sword. A brief lunge and a counter-attack saw the second man dead in heap at Will's feet.

He turned to Jack, who had just finished disarming both of his opponents. The captain smirked at him most characteristically.

"Thanks for watching me back, mate," he said, but when he saw the blood running down Will's arm, his smile instantly faded. He quickly surveyed the remains of the battle—the Pearl seemed to have achieved victory again as most of the crew was busy killing or tying up the opposing men—before taking Will firmly but gently by the arm of his uninjured shoulder.

Will furrowed his brow in confusion as he was pulled across the deck and into the Captain's cabin. "Jack, what are you doing? Shouldn't we be out there helping with—?"

"Gibbs is more than capable of seein' to things," Jack said, making Will sit down on the bed. "Need to take care of that shoulder before anything."

"I can take care of it on my own," Will protested as Jack pulled out a knife and proceeded to cut away the damaged shirt. Will sighed indignantly. "You know, I could have mended that."

"Ye can get another shirt in the next town," Jack said firmly. "I need to get at yer wound without havin' ye raise yer arm."

"Really, Jack, it's fine," Will said, examining the cut himself as Jack went rummaging around for bandages. "I don't even think it'll need stitches. I can manage."

Jack paid no attention, however, and proceeded to meticulously clean and bandage the injury, swatting away Will's hand every time he raised his uninjured arm to help. As Will watched him work, he noticed for the first time the glint of panic in the pirate's eyes and the way his hands shook as the tied off the bandage.

"This may scar," Jack said apologetically as he finished.

"That's no concern of mine," Will nearly laughed. "I have lots of scars."

"Where?" Jack raised an eyebrow and surveyed Will's nearly flawless chest, stomach and shoulders.

Will wordlessly held out his arms for Jack to examine, and sure enough, all along his forearms were distinct burn marks and scars from deep cuts. Will's skin was so naturally pale that they didn't show much, but they were there, faint white lines against the golden glow his skin was beginning to take on from working under the hot Caribbean sun.

"How did these happen?" Jack asked, taking Will's arms in his hands and examining them closely.

"I was apprenticed at a smithy when I was ten years old," Will shrugged. "I learned but of course I made mistakes, and I have the marks to show it."

Jack took the younger man's right arm in his hands and began to slowly run his fingers across each individual mark. He kept his eyes downcast on the scars; his face unreadable. It was as though he was painting the lines and marks with his fingertips, trying to erase the memory of pain left there.

He moved to Will's left arm, repeating the action. He memorized every ridge, every discoloration, before taking Will roughly by his right shoulder. He looked as though he were going to say something, although he still wouldn't meet Will's gaze. After a moment, he swallowed hard and stood up.

"Lay down, and go to sleep," he said at last. "I need to see to things on deck." Will made to get up, but Jack clapped him on the shoulder, pushing him back down.

"I meant stay here and sleep," he said. Will began to protest violently, but Jack cut him off. "Me bed's more comfortable than yers, and besides, ye probably shouldn't be moved."

Will opened his mouth to tell him that that rule only applied to serious injuries, but the pirate had already left the cabin.

"Capt'n." Gibbs came scurrying forward to meet Jack. "We've left no survivors, sir. What becomes of the ship?"

"Take any valuables aboard and sink the rest." The crew scurried to the next ship eagerly, but Mr. Gibbs stayed behind.

"What about Mr. Turner, Capt'n? Saw ye take him off deck with his shoulder bleedin'. How bad is it?"

"He'll be all right," Jack assured him. "Just make sure he stays in me cabin. I don't think he ought to be moved right now."

"Aye, sir," Gibbs acknowledged. "But won't that be a bit of an inconvenience fer yerself?"

"I'll manage," Jack replied gallantly, pleased that he had steered the conversation away from the severity of Will's wound.

That evening, Jack entered his cabin carrying armfuls of odd bits and pieces from the enemy pirate ship. For a smaller vessel, they certainly had acquired a diverse collection of treasure, though very little of it was in actual coins.

When he'd looted the captain's cabin, Jack had found a carved box inlaid with gold and jewels filled with extravagant jewelry and other bits of finery. He'd also found a few bolts of silk, a fine sword and matching dagger, a couple of furs, and a healthy assortment of alcohol.

He carried all these things into his cabin and dumped them onto his table. He turned to his bed to remark to Will on the current haul but found him asleep. He deposited himself in a nearby chair and watched him sleep, cursing the boy once again for being so damned beautiful.

"What the hell was I thinkin'?" he wondered aloud.

It had been yet another one of his rash impulses to demand that Will stay in his cabin, and the more he thought about it, the more he was already beginning to regret it. He'd told himself at the time that it was merely concern for the boy's health that had fueled his decision, but here, in the quiet of his cabin, he could finally admit that he'd been lying to himself.

The simple truth of the matter was that he wanted to be near him. Every part of him wanted to be consumed by that beautiful form on the bed, his body remembering what had taken place with an older man…a man almost identical to the boy, in appearance anyway.

But Will was nothing like Bill in character. Will was honest, loyal and caring. He had a certain fire and passion that his father never bore. Perhaps it came from his mother, or perhaps he'd just come into the world that way. Whatever it was, it was what Jack had fallen in love with first.

At that moment, Will's eyes fluttered open, and he blinked sleepily up at Jack. "What time is it?"

"Late," Jack replied, kicking off his boots and flopping on the bed next to Will. "Ye should try to go back to sleep."

Will fidgeted with the blanket thoughtfully. "Jack, when Mr. Gibbs came in here to bring me something to eat, he seemed to think that I was hurt much worse than I really am. What exactly have you been telling him?"

"Didn't tell him nothing," Jack replied truthfully. "Just said that ye were hurt and shouldn't be bothered. He probably just assumed the worst because I'm letting ye stay in me cabin."

"Oh." Will rolled onto his back, moaning as he shifted his shoulder experimentally. Eventually, he closed his eyes and his breathing became even. Jack thought he was asleep until he suddenly spoke, though he didn't bother to open his eyes.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you treating me this way?"

"I'm not treating ye any different. Ye'd still be here even if we'd never had our little 'chat,'" Jack insisted. "Like I said, yer me best mate, Will."

Will turned his head to focus those beautiful brown eyes on Jack's face for a moment. Deciding that the pirate was being truthful, he nodded and settled against the pillows to sleep.

Jack watched him for a long while, deep in thought. Eventually he reached out to softly run his fingers through the younger man's hair in a distracted way. Will, who was half asleep at this point, moaned softly, appreciative of the unexpected pampering.

The pirate idly separated one of the slightly curly locks and twisted it tightly into a small braid. When he reached the end, he started to tie it off, but somehow that didn't seem quite right.

He leaned over the side of the bed, nearly falling out of it in an effort to reach his table without actually leaving the warmth of his blankets. At last, he flopped back on his bed, triumphantly clutching the carved jewelry box he'd taken from the rival captain earlier that day. He let his fingers dive in blindly and pulled out a necklace of black and white pearls—how oddly fitting.

Wrapping the fingers of both hands around the string, he pulled gently with his teeth. The string snapped, and Jack cupped his hands, carefully catching all but three pearls and returning them safely to the box. The remaining three—two tiny white pearls and a slightly larger black one—he carefully added to the end of Will's braid.

He surveyed his work proudly for a minute before gently kissing the braid and setting it down amongst the rest of Will's wavy chestnut tresses. He slept peacefully that night, without dreams.