A/N: Couldn't help myself when Nydt suggested this prompt to me the other week. I had to come home and write it or else I wouldn't have gotten to chapter 23 of Esprit de Corps!

Enjoy, loves!

Pairing: Jack/Isabella, my OC
Word Count: 986
Prompt: Chocolate

Café au lait

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He believed that loving caresses or expressions of some sort were necessary to a life of affection, just as a flower to the life of a plant. If he were to remain wholly restrained in physical touch, their affection would die at the very roots, never to flourish again.

To him, all tongues of the world could greet her, all honors could crown her with infinite wisdom, and all eyes could follow her with desire.

As she lay nude in his arms, smiling as her love went out to him, embracing him while running her fingers along uncharted courses, letting her eyes journey upward at the numerous scars scattered along his form. He was symbolically adorned with the painful lessons of his life.

"And this one?" she inquired, eying the jagged edges of skin on his left arm.

"Ah! That one," he sighed, holding his arm up to her. "Quite a gruesome one, isn't it, Bella?"

"Not as much as you might think, it is apart of you, so I find it quite fascinating to see that you made a mess of things at some point," she retorted, watching a small smirk rise from the corner of his lips.

"Aye, so it seems…" he began, clearing his throat. "It seems as though all of life's lessons tend sneak up upon us, hit us with a sort of radiant climax, and then proceed to fade away into the oblivion. I can attest to it, I suppose. During one particular storm a number of years back, I got me arm caught in the topping lifts of the topgallant yard - sliced right through the muscle and bone, it did. I was trying to prevent the yard from turning since the sail had not been set and the yard had not yet been hoisted."

She curled her lip and grimaced at the thought of his injury. Even though she had seen far worse, she had yet to see him harmed or would ever want to pleasure of seeing it first hand.

"Every sailor knows of the dangers of the sea and are aware that the storms that brew above us are far more terrible than they could ever imagine, but those who truly love her tumultuous nature have never found the notion of danger or death a sufficient enough reason to stay ashore."

"Sailors probably love the taste of danger that comes with the essence of adventure," she concluded.

"Nay, we know that all great storms will eventually pass and that a new day and a new horizon will patiently await us in the distance," he said, pointing a knowing finger.

She smiled, nibbling softly at his cheek. "Those sailors are an optimistic lot, aren't they?"

He chucked under his breath, gazing down toward her stomach where his fingers were continuing onward toward a downward journey, exploring the curves of her form as he reached an unexpected junction.

"Now, darling, what about that?" he asked, circling caresses around a fairly large, brown spot on her abdomen.

She looked down, focusing on the peculiar mark. "Oh, well, I never really knew what that was. I've had it ever since I was a child and it never went away. I had forgotten all about it."

He licked his teeth, propping himself up on his elbows as he shifted his weight to closely inspect the spot. "Looks like chocolate…"

She laughed at his comment, stretching her skin between her fingers. "It does not … I mean, it has a slight resemblance to chocolate paste, but no, chocolate is much darker and far more delectable."

"Well, you know, I've never exactly had your chocolate. Thus, it would seem unfair for me to pass judgment on something I've never tasted, doesn't it?" he asserted, running his fingers along her sides as he descended upon her, his braids and trinkets grazing her stomach as his tongue traveled from her naval to her chocolate spot.

She smiled, giggling as she felt his rough hands devour her wherever they passed, but they too had natural beauty, considerately trained for caressing and the creation of affection.

"Well, how was it?" she asked playfully as he emerged from his investigation.

"Don't think I've had enough for a full review, I'm afraid," he said, gingerly nibbling the spot with his teeth.

"You know, my mother used to call it 'una voglia' when I was little."

"A wish?" he queried, raising a brow at her statement, resting his chin on her stomach as he kicked his feet up in the air. "Why's that?"

"Well, they say that those particular spots come up from unsatisfied wishes of a mother while she is with child," she explained, moving her hand down to entwine her fingers within Jack's feral locks. "Perhaps, she wished for my father to return home from Rome a lot sooner than he did… or maybe she wished to never have me or my brother in such terrible times…"

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed, waving off her comment with a flick of his wrist. "Me own mum could have told you that I was a damn handful as a child, but I was hers, after all. Think of this way, love - when a child is brought into this world, a mother is born. You can always argue that the woman existed, but the thought of being a mother is something absolutely new."

After a moment of silence, he looked up at her, noticing a small frown on her face which caused him to frown as well.

"'Sides, by my reckoning, you're sweeter than all the bloody chocolate in the Caribbean. Why wouldn't she want to have you around?" he said, smiling as he saw her face light up at his remark. She pulled him up to her by the braids of his beard, enclosing her lips upon his, filled with an emotion so deep and tender that no other feeling could possibly compare.