A/N: I just want to warn you guys that over the next several chapters there are strong adult themes as Philip and Syrena explore and develop their relationship. It will be tastefully handled and not ultra explicit, but it will deal with blossoming sexuality in very frank terms. That said, it will also be handled in the same always still somewhat lighthearted and humorous tone that surrounds this story and the POTC franchise in general.

However, when we later on do get characters engaging in adult activities, by request I will release explicit versions on AO3. If you want to read the dirty bits, I will put a note at the top of the chapter indicating you should switch over to the AO3 version. It is published there under the exact same title and penname.

Basically what I'm saying is the next storyline is basically Philip Swift wants to have sex for the first time and he doesn't know how to deal with these feelings and neither Syrena nor their idiot friends are helping matters. So enjoy Philip Swift having a month-long mental breakdown for wanting to stare at Syrena's ass and knowing it's not proper to do so.

Birds of a Feather

The Curse of the Black Pearl

Chapter Thirty-Six

A Boyhood Bond

There was something that always relaxed Will about watching Philip Swift pray. It was sort of a peace, an enduring faith, an infectious hope that everything would turn out alright.

To Will, seeing Philip be able to just kneel down at his hammock and do his nightly prayers to the Lord was a signal that for the moment they had peace and security. Philip of course prayed constantly, but it was when he took the time to step away and attend to it so reverently that Will knew the worst of their situation was over. Will always viewed it as his sign that one chapter of their life story had ended and it was time to cool off until the next plot twist.

As he watched Philip, Will couldn't help but smile. The sight of Philip reminded Will of the first time that he saw Philip pray.

It had been the day they met. Will had woken up on a strange bed, bleary and confused. Scattered memories of the attack, his encounter with Elizabeth, and what he now – eight years later – knew to be Syrena's rescue flickered through his mind in a hazy wash.

A strange boy about his age – Philip – had sat in a chair at the side of the bed. He was praying for Will's health and safety with Nathaniel's bible sat spread open on Philip's lap.

Before Will could ask what was going on, a soft snore caught his attention. Will had looked to the other side of his bed and found the girl who had called herself Elizabeth fast asleep in a chair at the opposite bedside.

The snore had also caught Philip's attention and when he looked up from his prayer, he had noticed Will was conscious. Will naturally asked what was going on and where he was and all the sorts of questions you would imagine asking if you were attacked by pirates, rescued by a mermaid, picked up by a random English ship, got robbed by a tween Governor's daughter, and woke up in a strange bed with a young boy who looked like a mini-priest praying over you.

Philip had immediately assured Will that he was safe and that everything would be alright. He very gently asked Will what he remembered in a way Will had recognized not to be pressuring him for answers but rather trying to best contextualize the situation for Will.

"I don't really remember much," the young Will Turner had groaned as he tried to piece together his flashes of memories. "We were heading for North Carolina and we got attacked by pirates. I don't… I don't really know what happened. One moment I was on deck, the next I was in the water, and then… I don't know."

"It's alright," Philip told him. "Take it easy. You're safe here with us."

"Thank you. Was anyone else rescued?"

The look on Philip's face said it all.

"Oh God," Will groaned. Due to the trauma of Will's situation, it was the one and only time Philip let him take the Lord's name in vain without comment. "I'm the only one?"

"I'm sorry," Philip reached over and placed a hand on Will's shoulder. "Was there any family on the ship with you? A mother? A father? A sister? A cousin?"

"No, I was alone."

"What about any children? Were there many on board your age?"

Will shook his head, "I was the youngest by a margin of at least fifteen years. I was their cabin boy."

At the time Will hadn't known why Philip specifically asked about a sister but not a brother, nor why he was so intent on children. Will figured having grown up with Elizabeth as his sister/cousin, that's just where Philip's head automatically went to. Eight years hindsight finally allowed Will to connect the dots and realized Philip was trying to probe about Syrena.

"Well," Philip cleared his throat, likely deciding to drop the subject, "I'm sorry for the loss of your crew."

"They weren't my crew. Not really," Will admitted. "I was only on the ship because I bribed my way into being a cabin boy for the one voyage. I'm grateful for the rescue. If your ship hadn't come along, I would have been a goner."

"The Lord makes sure to care for all of his beloved children." There was an awkward beat of silence as the boys recalled the burning ship littered with the bodies of the dead Will had come from. "You know… In his own special, mysterious way."

Will regarded Philip suspiciously, eyes sweeping over his cross and bible, "Uh huh…"

Another soft snore came from Elizabeth, catching the boys' attention again,

"I do remember her," Will said, perking up a little at the sight, though whether it was from successful familiarity or something else, Will couldn't tell. He hadn't noticed before how pretty the girl was, but he certainly noticed now. "Elizabeth, right?"

"My cousin," Philip nodded. "Although objectively it may be more accurate to call her my sister. I mean, technically the blood relation is that my mother and her father are full blood siblings, but my uncle – her father – is the one who raised me, but I still maintain my own father's surname and we do call ourselves cousin, though internally I do refer to her as my sister, but then again people think of us so strongly as cousins that some people joke one day we'll get married and that concept is the most disgusting and sinful and repulsive thing I can imagine… It's kind of complicated."

Will blinked, "Yeah, I'll just go with cousin, Mister…?"

"Swift. Philip Swift. You can call me Philip or if you would prefer, you can call me Swift."

Will smiled a little as the boy rambled. He couldn't help but tease slightly, "What about Phil?"

"I'm, uh… Not partial to it."

"Philly?"

"I mean if you have to?"

"Swifty?"

"Ok, now I think you're just messing with me."

"Swiftlet?"

"Now I'm positive," Philip's look was stern but his laugh betrayed him.

Will couldn't help but join the laughter. There was just something about the air of this boy that made him feel comfortable.

"Have I been asleep long?" Will asked, eyeing how soundly snoozing Elizabeth was.

Philip shrugged, "Few hours. It's not really bedtime but Elizabeth and I got exiled into the cabin with you, so Elizabeth decided to take a nap. We have to stay in here while the crew deals with the wreckage of your ship. They'll search for survivors and see if they can salvage any supplies, though likely the pirates took everything already."

"You know, it's odd. I don't know what they were after, but it didn't seem to be swag."

Philip lifted his brow at the term.

Will shrugged, "My mother liked to tell seafaring tales. A little of it rubbed off on me, but I'm not fond of pirates."

"Well, you and Elizabeth won't get along then."

Will glanced at her, "Should we wake her up?"

"Yeah, I guess."

In a demonstration of pure sibling energy, rather than politely waking his slumbering cousin with a soft voice, Philip instead chose to rouse Elizabeth by grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and throwing it at her head. With a surprising amount of force and accuracy, the garment smacked her in the face and Elizabeth jolted awake with an exclamation that a metal button had hit her in the eye.

But before she could brutally attack her cousin for his treachery, she had noticed that Will was staring at her, and Elizabeth immediately perked up.

"Oh good! You're awake!"

Immediately she launched into a thousand questions about his experience. He had cringed as she obliviously tried to pry into the events that his still throbbing head and traumatised mind had wanted to avoid replaying at the immediate time.

Thankfully, Philip had the emotional intelligence to key into Will's feelings. With an act only successful due spending years perfecting the art of Elizabeth wrangling, Philip managed to get her to back down… after about twenty-five minutes of Elizabeth badgering Will.

"Sorry," Elizabeth finally conceded. "Guess you've been through a lot."

Will sighed, "No, it's okay. It's obvious you would have questions; it's just I do too. A lot of questions. For example: where is this ship headed?"

"Port Royal, Jamaica," Elizabeth answered brightly. "My father was just named Governor of it. We originally come from just outside of London. What about you?"

"Port Glasgow, Scotland." Will paused, "Well, that was where I was born and raised. Mum and I moved to Bristol about two years ago."

"Bristol?" Philip perked up. "My father was born in a town very close to there. Black Hill Cove?"

Will brightened, "That's where my ship set off from."

"Funny world, isn't it?" Elizabeth smiled. "Where were you headed?"

"North Carolina," Will answered. "I'm trying to find my father. He's a merchant sailor and that's where we last heard he was."

"What about your mother? You said she wasn't on the ship with you. Where is she?"

Any semblance of a smile dropped from Will's face. In a moment he went from gradual relaxation to stiff and awkward. He lowered his eyes and avoided the cousins' gaze as he struggled to fight back the emotions of the fresh tragedy.

"She uh…" Will had to take a moment to clear his throat and wipe away a rebellious tear. "She got sick and um…"

Philip and Elizabeth traded a look. In that tone, they heard everything they needed to know.

Elizabeth reached out and clasped Will's hand. He looked up startled, but when their eyes met, Will knew he didn't have to utter the tragic words.

"How long ago?" she gently asked.

He closed his eyes and couldn't stop a pair of tears from rolling down his cheek, "Two months."

She nodded, "I lost mine when I was ten. And Philip… he lost his dad last year and mum four months ago."

Will looked up sharply, and in that moment, he found something in the eyes of Philip and Elizabeth. It was beyond mere understanding; it was kinship, the formation of the strongest bond humans could hold. They knew that tragedy, that emptiness, that fear that came with the loss of a parent to a very young child. A child who was far from ready to leave the nest.

Philip took a deep breath and slowly clasped Will's other hand with his own, "Do you mind if I said a prayer for her?"

Will couldn't help but smile a little. His mother wasn't religious, but Will very much appreciated the thoughtfulness of Philip. It wasn't an evangelist taking the chance to force his belief upon another but rather trying to use religion as a way to comfort and touch the stranger boy on a human level.

"Yes," Will nodded. "I think I would like that."

Philip smiled and looked to Elizabeth.

She squeezed Will's hand, "Don't worry, Will. We'll take care of you."

Then Philip gestured for the pair to bow their heads with him, and he led them in what Will would come to regard as the sweetest prayer of his life.

And it was in that moment three birds became of a feather.

Will couldn't help but smile as he watched Philip cross himself and end with, "In the name of our Holy Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen."

Of course, Philip was not expecting to have the audience of Will, who should have been busy tying up the hammock above Philip's.

"What?" Philip asked as Will went back to work.

"Nothing," Will replied. "Just memories. Good ones. Of the day we met."

"…You know, last time someone said that we ended up on this pirate adventure nonsense. Maybe we shouldn't push our luck."

Will chuckled, "I dunno. You were pushing your luck pretty hard with Syrena a few minutes ago."

He had never seen Philip go so red.

"I- I- uh…" Philip had absolutely no response. Eight years of Will Turner and twenty years of Elizabeth Swann usually meant he had a full arsenal of retorts, but there was something about Syrena that made him lose all face.

Will chuckled and shook his head, "I was starting to think you didn't have it in you. Course, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the situation to begin with."

"I'm right there with you," Philip admitted. "I've always known one day I would find a girl to fall in love with and live happily ever after, I just never expected it to happen like this."

"I doubt anyone but God himself saw this coming."

"It's just… it's a lot. This wasn't part of the plan. I was going to get ordained, go on a mission for a few years, maybe finally get around to visiting the Kifka, then come home and get married to someone like Hannah," Philip referenced the daughter of Pastor Thomas.

Hannah Woodberry was a pretty and petite blonde who was the picture-perfect preacher's wife. She was sweet, charitable, well-versed in the Bible, demure, submissive, and was the kind of person whose natural air about them made it very hard to dislike them.

She was a year younger than Elizabeth and it was well-known around Port Royal Hannah had a crush on Philip. He himself had been known to smile her way every now and then and Weatherby had conspired with Pastor Thomas to have her as a frequent dinner guest at the Swann Manor. Despite the attempts at matchmaking, no serious thought had been given to the pairing beyond it's an inevitability someday, but let the boy make something of himself first before he takes a wife.

Philip himself had given the occasional thought to courting Hannah Woodberry, but he had very little time beyond his studies and social obligations as the Governor's nephew (and technical heir as he was a man and Elizabeth had very little inheritance rights.) So Philip had resolved he would get ordained first and upon return to Port Royal maybe as Hannah to escort him to some function. And maybe if things went well, maybe he would casually court her as he prepared for his mission. Then maybe if the courtship went well, he maybe would write her while he was away, and maybe make it a priority to see her on his visits home. And maybe if when the time came to return home he would maybe consider maybe asking her to be his wife… Maybe.

Then Syrena swam right into his life like she owned the place and brought all of those maybes crumbling down.

"I never planned on this," Philip said.

"Oh, Philip, it's love." Will clapped him on the shoulder, "Like my mother always said, love is the one thing you can never plan for. I mean look at my parents."

Philip cocked an eyebrow.

"…Actually, on second thought, considering I'm now questioning absolutely everything I thought I knew about my family, let's not look at my parents," Will said. "How about your parents? You really think they planned for love to happen?"

"Definitely not." Philip chuckled as he remembered the story of how his parents met, "In fact my mother originally thought my father was attempting to make overtures to Aunt Kat. Turns out it's pretty hard for a young single man to offer any sort of comfort to a married woman without their motives being questions. Even if it's a priest offering to pray with a crying woman inside a church."

"As much as it is a disadvantage to be poor, I truly am thankful I don't have to put up with society."

"Yet."

"Don't," Will warned. "We're not talking about Elizabeth right now. We're talking about Syrena and how it looked like you were a second away from deflowering her right there on that deck in front of the Governor."

"Will!"

"Don't you Will me. I know what I saw. It looks like the Virgin Swift has finally got a face for his midnight fantasies that bring shame to the eyes of God."

"You know very well that it's a sin to self-"

"Don't you dare," Will laughed. He slapped his friend on the back probably a bit too heartily, "We have shared far too many ship cabins, inn rooms, and general bedroom accommodations over the years for you to ever give me a convincing argument that you've never indulged in the Sin of Onan."

Philip Swift took on a shade of red that up until that point had never been historically reported in human biology.

Even better was when Philip looked bashfully to the floor and admitted in an almost inaudible whisper, "…All men but our perfect Lord, Jesus Christ stumble into sin occasionally."

Will's laughter was so loud it gained the pair far too much unwanted attention.

"Look," Philip pulled Will over so their backs faced the Navy soldiers. He spoke in a whisper partly in respect to no disturb the King's men but mostly out of embarrassment, "I don't… really know what to do."

"You don't?" Unsure of Philip's exact meaning, Will debated whether or not to take a joking tone or a serious one. He settled somewhere in the middle when he asked, "Do you need me to explain the carnal relations of men and women?"

The glare on Philip's face told Will that he had missed the mark.

"No, William," Philip was always on the point of utter annoyance with Will when he called him William. "I know what happens in the marriage bed. Believe me, that is an afternoon with my uncle I very much wish I could forget."

Will winced at the thought of Weatherby Swann being the one to explain the birds and the bees. Philip had suffered many tragedies in his life and getting the talk from Governor Swann had to rank pretty high on that list.

"Then what exactly is it you're unsure of?" Will wisely chose to move the conversation along.

"Attraction," Philip admitted. "I've known Syrena for only a few days but… but there's something inside of me that's woken up that I really need to go back to sleep before I do something to compromise my honour. You have no idea how hard it is not to let your hands go roaming when you know exactly what's under that fabric."

"I can sympathize. I remember that confusing rush of feelings I got when I first met Elizabeth. It's a lot to handle."

"…Will, you know I'm all for you becoming my cousin-in-law, but just so I understand our conversation, are we talking about you having sexual feelings for my twelve-year-old cousin?"

Will discovered the shade of red that Philip had unearthed, "It's not like how you put it! For the love of all that's holy, Philip! Yeah, it sounds bad when you talk about it in the hindsight context of me as a twenty-year-old, but we were both twelve at the time and it wasn't that in-depth as children! I mean, for goodness sakes, Norrington was a literal adult at the time and he's trying to marry her now."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Philip held up his hands. "You're right, I put it badly."

"You're forgiven. Besides, any conversation you and I have about attraction is going to always be awkward due to you being related to Elizabeth."

"Well…"

"Yes?" Will smiled, loving the way that he could so easily make Philip squirm. It was payback for Philip's obsession with pushing Will and Elizabeth together so hard.

"Uh, that's why I wanted to talk to you," Philip scratched his neck, avoiding Will's eye. "Because… it doesn't always have to be about my relative."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've got experience other than Elizabeth, right?"

Will's smile faltered. It wasn't a question; it was fact and a rather awkward one at that.

While it was true that Will had always had eyes for Elizabeth, that didn't mean they had never tried wandering before. And while it was true that Syrena was the first to set Philip's world on fire, that didn't mean he had never done a double take at a pretty girl before.

The awkward thing about that situation was that the girl for both situations was one in the same.

Rachel Brown was her name, and she was the niece of Mister Brown – Will's blacksmith master. She was a seamstress by trade, and her parents had raised her in Port Royal at the same time Will and Philip had done their growing up.

By nobility standards, Rachel was quite plain looking, but for the lower class she belonged to, her long brunette curls, slightly tanned skin, and warm brown eyes made her quite beautiful. Not to mention her bust and hip measurements made her require very little amplification in her wardrobe choices.

She was of an age with Philip, and from the moment he first saw her, Philip thought her most beautiful. He would whisper to Will how Rachel must have been of the same loveliness as the Queen Esther who Philip had always claimed to be the most beautiful woman in the Bible. He would find any excuse to speak to her, and their conversations were quite pleasant. It was their class differences that prevented Philip from taking any action, as well as the determination not to involve himself with any woman before he had gone on at least one mission first. But the ultimate goal for Philip was to one day gather his courage and ask Rachel to accompany him to some event.

…It was a goal Will knew was fruitless. After Mister Brown's wife, Agnes died, Rachel was a frequent figure in the blacksmith shop to take care of her uncle. As a result she and Will conversed a lot. It was during those conversations that Rachel made it very clear that while she thought Philip Swift to be kind and handsome, she had an absolute zero interest in the man. Her interactions with Philip were pleasant but short, and Rachel didn't need anything else.

Being a good friend, Will initially tried to talk up Philip to Rachel, but it become clear she had no interest in changing her mind. As a decent man, Will dropped the subject and did his best to dissuade Philip from making any move, knowing it was unlikely Philip ever would do so.

Indeed, Will quite enjoyed his interactions with Rachel. She was very kind and understanding of her uncle's plights but made sure that didn't disadvantage his poor orphaned apprentice who was doing all the work.

It was Rachel who would make sure Will got paid properly when Mister Brown's drunken stupor would forget. Rachel would often bring leftovers from dinner to the smithy when Will was working late – he always worked late, and often didn't have time to prepare a meal, doing the work of two. She would insist upon providing Will with new clothes when he outgrew them or they became too worn out. Will tried to reject the charity, but Rachel would insist as she too needed to practice her craft for her apprenticeship.

They would talk a lot through their many interactions, especially once it became improper for Will to socialize much with Philip and Elizabeth. Rachel knew very well about Will's love for Elizabeth and did her best to support him and encourage him to go after her.

Which was why it shocked Will greatly when he turned sixteen and Rachel confessed her own crush on him, asking if Will would ever consider courting her.

It took Will the longest week of his life to think over the matter, but he knew he and Elizabeth were getting older. He knew that day by day it was less likely that he would be able to break through those social barriers to be with her. In fact, at that point, he had no idea if Elizabeth even returned his feelings of affection.

Ironically, it was that same week of consideration that Philip first conceived of his lock Will and Elizabeth in a closet plan.

Eventually Will agreed to court Rachel. Before he said yes, he made sure they had a serious talk to clear the air about Elizabeth. Rachel knew his heart was with Elizabeth, but they were both willing to set that aside and just give this thing a try. Will wouldn't compare the girls and Rachel promised she would never hold Elizabeth against him.

So Will Turner began to court Rachel Brown.

…And Philip Swift was furious.

Sure, Elizabeth was broken-hearted, but Philip was downright enraged. Upon hearing the news, he stormed right into the blacksmith shop and screamed at Will that he had been betrayed. The pair had a blowout so loud that could be heard five blocks away (Groves literally had a registered noise compliant proving the fact.) It was the only time the boys truly fought, and when Will ordered Philip out of the shop, Philip declared their friendship was over.

The Swann Manor was an unpleasant place for three weeks as Elizabeth sobbed over Will, and Philip – in his own words – grew as much hatred for Turner as Saul grew for David.

It was at that point Weatherby returned from a month-long business trip to a very confusing household situation. Elizabeth refused to explain, but he eventually managed to plop Philip down in his study and wrangle an answer out of the boy.

Weatherby Swann patiently sat across from his nephew and listened to the story of betrayal. He said nothing but held kindness in his eyes as Philip poured out his heart of his friend taking the girl Philip wanted for himself. As his uncle so peacefully listened, Philip could be certain that he had the love and support of Uncle Weatherby for this trial.

Which was why Philip was so confused when he finished the story and Weatherby said,

"Philip Nathaniel Swift. Your mother would be ashamed of you if she saw you like this."

When Philip's world assembled from a mass of sputtering and surprise, Weatherby calmly explained the very simple fact Philip had not seen at all. He had completely overlooked Rachel Brown's own feelings and right to choose who she wanted to be with. Rachel was not Philip's possession to be claimed by him when he chose. Rachel had every right to reject Philip and pick Will instead, and Will and Rachel didn't need Philip's permission to do so.

Philip initially tried to object that it wasn't that he was denying Rachel's choice, but rather it had been Will who-

The argument was stopped dead in his tracks by nine simple words.

"Do you realize you sound exactly like Cutler Beckett?"

That shut him the hell up. One sentence and Weatherby Swann straightened out his nephew. With literal hat in hand, Philip went to the blacksmith shop and apologized to both Will and Rachel. He admitted his wrongdoing and wished them nothing but the best.

And the best they had… for two years.

Will had just turned eighteen when the letter came in for Rachel. A fully trained seamstress, Rachel had been applying shops all over to find a position. It was a shop in Louisiana that offered her employment, boarding, and very handsome salary. She would have been a fool to say no.

Her beau was nothing but ecstatic for her, but then came the question they both knew was coming: what did this mean for their relationship?

Will had grown very fond of Rachel, and indeed he could potentially maybe someday see himself settling down with her… but only if Elizabeth was not an option. His love for Elizabeth was greater and Rachel knew it. Still, she had to ask him, take that chance, offer to let him come to Louisiana with her. They could put everything behind themselves and start a new life in America.

And yet Will couldn't do it… not when there was still a hope for Elizabeth.

He felt like an absolute dog, and it was a major reason that between the ages of 16 and 18, he refused to admit his feelings to Elizabeth. Ultimately, it was Rachel who made the decision to let him go. It was Rachel who smiled at him, held his hand, and told him,

"Give it a shot. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't try."

Will had looked away from her, "I'm sorry that I-"

"No," she touched his cheek. Reluctantly, she turned his face back to look her in the eyes, "All I want for you, William Turner is your happiness. If it's with me, great. If it's with Elizabeth, that's equally fine. I want you to make the choice you want. I don't want you to settle and grow to resent me."

"I would never resent you."

"I know… and that's why I'm letting you go."

And he smiled at her.

"Besides, we both know it's Philip you would be lost without. You two split apart for three weeks and you were a wreck. I'm not taking you away from him."

Will couldn't help but laugh.

Along with her parents and uncle, Will accompanied her to the docks the day she left. He hugged her tight, wished her the best, and told her to write him.

"Go get her, William Turner," Rachel whispered in his ear. "And send me a wedding invitation when you finally do."

"You're right," Will cleared his throat, pushing away the thoughts of the girl he once could have settled for. It always made him wince to think that in the two years since Rachel left he hadn't managed to try for Elizabeth, and now that he had… "I do have some experience in some areas. Of course, Rachel and I didn't do everything."

"Oh no, to be clear, not looking to do anything. I'm more interested in repression methods… Stop smirking at me." Philip glared at Will as he barely held it together. Quickly changing the subject, Philip asked, "Do you and Rachel still write?"

"Regularly," Will nodded. "Rachel's got a nice little life going on in Louisiana. Talks a lot about the food. Apparently, it's pretty good."

"We'll have to visit sometime." Philip rethought his words, "Or uh, maybe you should. You know when Elizabeth and Norrington…"

The men let silence fall upon them.

Finally Philip dared to ask, "You really think it's going to happen?"

Will sighed, "I don't know. I want to stop it, but I don't know how to get Elizabeth to go along with it."

"Honestly, I think if you thought of a good plan, she'd been in on it in a heartbeat."

"What about you? Wouldn't it be against your priestly beliefs to endanger the creation of a marriage?"

"Will, I helped you steal a Navy ship with a pirate we broke out of prison. If that's not going to convince you I'm game for any of your and Elizabeth's schemes, by God, nothing will."

"Fair enough," Will chuckled and clasped Philip's shoulder. "Alright, so what is it you wanted to talk about in regard to Syrena?"

"Just… What do I do? Or how do I stop myself from doing anything?" Philip sighed, "Because the thing is… I don't want to stop. I know we don't know each other very well but I want her with me in all ways. I want to hold her. I want to kiss her and caress her and… and when my lips are on hers and her skin is pressing against mine… I can't help it. I get feelings. Imaginings. I want to do things that only a husband should do to his wife. And I know I can't, but I crave it so much."

Will blew out a breath as he thought over his friend's plight seriously.

"Well… a wise man I call my best friend likes to tell me that the Devil would not be so successful if sin wasn't so tempting."

Something in Philip's posture untightened just a bit.

"Look, I've been there," Will said earnestly, "it's really tempting to go too far. It feels good and for a moment it can seem like the rules are so arbitrary. But I also very strongly believe that carnal relations should be reserved for marriage only."

"You do?"

"Yeah. This git of a pastor-to-be has been wearing me down for a decade and infected me with his Christian morals."

"Hallelujah, I got one!" Philip raised a hand to heaven in praise.

Will smiled and shook his head, "I'm not going to lie, there were times with Rachel that I struggled not to push things too far. It was especially difficult because… well, if she ever asks, you did not hear it from me, but she seemed to be interested in moving to that next level."

"Yeah, I get the feeling I might run into that with Syrena," Philip recalled her offer to share his bed and how it sounded decidedly not naively innocent. "So, how did you stop yourself?"

"I conceded that I'm human and fallible. So, in order to not go too far, I set parameters allowing for myself to stumble. I drew solid lines of my boundaries. I decided what I could allow myself to do and what was too far. So, sex was too far, but for me maybe sliding a hand under her bodice was something I could allow myself to do. Then I conducted myself accordingly, allowing myself to fault and go to those boundaries, but not any further. No matter who it was, those things were what I am and am not allowed to do."

"Huh," Philip thought it over. "Draw boundaries, allow yourself to slip up, go up to the line but not past."

"Sound good?"

"Yeah. Although I'm not sure why you're talking in present tense about what you can and can't do with- …Wait a minute. Did you grope my sister?"

Will sighed, "Look, relationships are different for everyone. How I interact with Elizabeth isn't necessarily how I interact with Rachel. Then again, maybe to a degree it is. What I'm trying to get at is how it's all about setting boundaries and making your own choices. How you conduct your physical relationship with your beau is no one's business but the two of you. Yes, you may have to answer to God, and that's one of the reasons I wouldn't go all the way before marriage – you being another, far more significant factor – but it's a choice you must make. You have to balance your desires and morals and use it as a way to really learn about yourself. How far are you willing to go? Where is your moral boundary? What do you do if you fall and cross it? How do you handle it when others may draw that line a lot closer? Truly, the discovery of sexuality intermixed with love, personal identity, and strength of your moral character is the ultimate expression of identity and learning who you are. So test those boundaries, play, learn… Find the full picture of who Philip Swift is. It's exciting and wonderful. So go out there and make some mistakes."

He smiled so widely at Philip, proud of the speech and wisdom he had shared with his best friend. That love and support to help his friend, and show that Will unconditionally had his back.

Philip on the other hand, just stood there and glared.

"You groped my sister."

Will's smile fell, "Really? That's what you're going to take from that speech?"

"Turner, if I hadn't just watched you single handedly fight three pirates without breaking a sweat, I would kick your ass. So instead I'm just going to frown at you very hard and judge you for the rest of the voyage."

"Yeah, I thought as much."

Seeing that the men around them were settling down for the night, Will patted Philip's shoulder and pulled himself up into his hammock. He could hear Philip's grumbling as he climbed into the hammock underneath.

But after a while of moaning and grousing, Philip gently called up, "Hey, Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the help. That will help me dealing with urges when I'm with Syrena."

"You're welcome. Oh, and one more thing."

"What's that?" Philip asked.

"In the nighttime, when you can't get those carnal thoughts of Syrena out of your head… Can you wait until I'm asleep before you disappoint the Lord?"

Bursting out laughing, Philip kicked Will's hammock hard. For all his back ached, Will's peals of mutual laughter with his best friend made it all worth it.

And as the laughter of the friends filled the hull, Philip once more thanked the Lord for bringing Will Turner into his life.