The Breaking
Chapter 16

There was a bubble of untargeted energy around the pirate as he hauled Sparrow off the messy wooden table and shoved him onto the machine. The flicker of an icy imprint stung Sparrow as he lay winded on the platform, feeling the pirate crawling up his body. The collar that Reaver had taken from him the day before was back around his neck within moments.

"Did I not bind you to me, love?" was whispered harshly against his lips before hands encircled his neck, not squeezing yet, just holding him down. The cold touch stole his breath. "Did I not make you crave me? Long for me? Want me?" Sparrow's heartbeats jumped. A bite on his lips made Sparrow inhale sharply, the grip on his neck suddenly tightening. Reaver pressed him into the machine, the metal hinges digging into the side of Sparrow's torso making him give a small cry at the pain. Yet, past the unflinching grip, Reaver's gaze was soft, like the way he would look at Sparrow sometimes when they were alone. Sparrow tried to shift the grip around his neck but couldn't because Reaver squeezed his throat as soon as their fingers touched. He cupped the pirate's chin and pulled him close instead, trying to plant a kiss to distract him away from taking anymore of his breath. There was a tremor in his fingers that he could not tell was from the coldness or from intimidation. "Breathe for me?"

"Aye…" Sparrow gasped as though he was weak, but it was only because a hot mouth closed over the side of his throat. He could feel the burning swipes of the silver tongue over his pulse, the vibrations of a satisfied growl rippling over his skin. The grip around Sparrow's neck slipped as his hand was pulled away from its touch and pinned somewhere above his head. It seemed that the permission to touch had now been wrenched from him once again. Reaver pushed their lips together, rubbing his body against Sparrow's, causing a violent shiver to course through his frame.

Sparrow wanted this so much for so long that it hurt.

"I miss that voice more than I should," was mumbled into his neck, followed by heat-filled kisses down his chest. Sparrow curled his leg over Reaver, pulling him close even though the pirate was cold to the touch. Being draped over like this was akin to taking a dip in the iced waters at Knothole, the frost biting and gnawing through his skin, causing shivers to rack through his frame. The mix of temperatures frazzled his nerves and drove his body into a pulsing desire that frustrated him with its pushing and pulling. "You haven't been faithful to me, Sparrow. Do you not love me anymore?" Sparrow stayed silent as the velvet wetness of a tongue licked a trail over his ribs. "Do you?" Reaver demanded this time, puncturing the flesh on his stomach with a bite.

"Aye…" Sparrow answered in the same breathy moan, arching his back at the pain shooting up his body. He had forgotten that this man could bring forth his insanity, making him equate that pain with pleasure, making him want more of that sinful combination. No. That was a lie. This side of Reaver always appeared to him in his own dreams. Burying his face in the crook of Sparrow's neck, Reaver murmured several things Sparrow could not hear, while scraping patterns onto his thighs with his nails. It sounded like…-

The exhalations ghosted over his throat; it almost seemed like grumbling yet, Sparrow could feel hesitant breathing, as though Reaver was sobbing into his skin. Sparrow shifted underneath the familiar weight of the pirate, creating a bit of heat where their chests slid against each other.

"Well, then. Explain to me how…why… you…" the pirate's voice trailed off, ending in a hissed curse. "What happened to your cunning?" he asked. The head lifted and the piercing grey eyes that looked strangely weary now bore into his. "Did I take that from you?" Sparrow noted the uncommon hesitance in the way Reaver slid his palms back around his neck in jerky motions, releasing the hold around Sparrow's wrists. The hands slid back to his chest. He sighed.

"Reava…"

"You know that I cannot love you, Sparrow."

The words ripped through his heart; it hurt even though Sparrow knew it from the start, from the first touches and the first lies. He smiled sadly at the man above him as he ran fingers through the soft hair; relishing at least this touch he had been allowed.

"Aye…" Sparrow whispered onto the other's lips as he pulled Reaver close. "Ne'er 'spected ye to," he said, his voice husky and rough, revealing the intense longing he felt.

"I could." Gentle kisses warmed his lips now. "I have been through worse than simply a love potion, Sparrow," Reaver said. Had their roles been reversed, Sparrow would be under that very inducement without question. But, Sparrow was not Reaver. No matter how much he wished for the same devotion to come his way, he could not bear to put Reaver under all that induced feeling. And what, then? Now that Reaver was undead, he would have to live in that permanent state of unreal love, even when Sparrow was gone. That was…cruel.

"I canna do that to ye…" Sparrow said, his now freed hands sliding up the other's body to pull Reaver close. He could not do that to Reaver. And he could not do it to himself. "I love ye..." he confessed. It stunned him how easily the confession slipped past his lips. Never had he said that aloud to the pirate, or to himself, rather. "Ye broke me well."

The grey gaze travelled over him and Reaver's face shifted into an expression that Sparrow had never imagined would appear on the pirate. It tore at him that he, Sparrow, had caused that look when he was the victim of that same misfortune. It was the face of a broken man. Sparrow knew because he had seen that face many times when he stared into a mirror. All Sparrow did was… obey Reaver. As he always had.

"When you brought me back, I longed for you. I thought…" Reaver sighed. "Well, I..." Reaver faltered. A deep laugh tickled Sparrow's ear as Reaver nuzzled him. "I expected to be in love when I awoke. And now…" He lifted himself to stare down at Sparrow, his lips parting to say something, but he closed them into a smirk. Skilful fingers untied the collar around his neck in a very uncharacteristic motion. "My, my..." Reaver chuckled. "Death brings out the worst in me."

They stayed wrapped around each other on the machine, breathing quietly as their bodies calmed to the same temperature, till the cold stopped stinging Sparrow when Reaver resumed coaxing him with caresses, till the burning within him escaped the confines of his body to wash them both with a kind of fire.

It felt like the last time they would be together.

And this time, it was most probably right.

They enjoyed each other slowly. Sparrow memorised and rememorized every touch, taste, cry, stain marring his flesh. He imprinted the feel of Reaver buried within him, the absolute fullness; both physical and internal, the swell of his heart as the satisfied groans reached his ears. Their bodies were never apart, hands wound around each other like they would never let go. He looked down at the rise and fall of a chest glistening with sweat and a mouth frozen in a silent scream when the last few thrusts milked his 'only' lover. Sparrow spilled over his navel, shuddering with Reaver's name on his lips. As they lazed in post-coital haze, Sparrow reached for the collar that lay beside them. He fingered the leather, feeling comfort at the familiar sensation. Reaver laced that collar around his own fingers, lips capturing Sparrow's in a most passionate kiss. It almost felt like they were both equally in love with each other.

He thought Reaver would return that leather collar to him. He thought Reaver would tigten that collar around his neck again. Sparrow watched horrified as Reaver flung it into the blaze roaring at the fireplace. And Sparrow watched it curl into ash, his body clenching at the sight. He realised then, that Reaver wanted to break their bonds. That finally, after all that breaking...

…this was the throwing away.

Alex came to collect Reaver at noon.

And Sparrow finally let him go.