Jack stood absently stroking the wheel and watching the sea. It was glassily calm and almost unnaturally blue, reflecting the clear sky above. The sails had been furled and the Pearl was anchored in a secluded cove. Their flight from Port Royal had been hard; they had managed to outrun the Dauntless—just, but the Pearl had sustained some damage and the crew were still on edge. Finding this cove had been a gift from above and Jack was thankful to have a chance to draw breath and conduct repairs. However, despite the warm sun there was an underlying edge of... something ... in the air and this had led to a sense of uneasiness on board the ship. Conversations were subdued, many nervous glances were directed overboard and Jack had seen more than one warding-off sign being forked at the sea. His men often had strange passing fancies and superstitions, but they were also experienced seamen and understood the sea. Natural or no, they knew something was brewing. Despite appearances, although Jack had a lot of respect for the supernatural, he had little time for superstitions. However he could read the elements and the mood of his men, and the mood of his ship and he found himself increasingly anxious. He dragged his gaze away from the sea, and head cocked slightly watched Gibbs climb towards him. "Ain't right, Jack." "I know" he grimly replied "take the wheel, I'll see to our guest."

He found James sitting listlessly at the table, a glass of wine untasted before him, staring unseeingly at one of Jack's charts. Jack regarded him silently for a moment before pouring a glass of wine for himself and moving to the table. James obviously hadn't heard him enter the cabin and visibly started, before offering a wan smile as the pirate sat. The younger man was too pale, and as he moved the chart Jack noted that his hands shook. There was a long moment of silence, before James spoke. "There's a storm coming, a bad one. I can feel it," he gestured vaguely "Changes in the air. Storms always make my head ache."

"An able seaman and senior officer of His Majesty's navy laid low by a storm?" Jack asked, only half teasing. James offered him a half hearted glare. "It's a blessing; you can read the weather too. All my family are... sensitive to storms. My mother..." he shook his head slightly "though of course the storms are milder in England..." He trailed off with a sigh and rubbed at his eyes. "It's bearable when you have duties. It's worse now because I've got nothing to occupy me." Jack smiled, a flash of gold in the shadows of the cabin. "I'm sure we can remedy that, love."

With that he reached across to gently pull James towards him. His skin was too hot, and he moved carefully as if scared of jolting his head, but he willingly offered himself to Jack's attentions. As Jack moved in for the kiss he reflected briefly on how much his commodore had surprised him since they had left Port Royal. He found himself surprised yet again as James bit lightly at Jack's bottom lip. That light nip changed everything and with a low moan Jack pulled James from his seat across to the cot.

Unlike earlier, which had been about power and claiming and need with neither man willing to submit, this time was unrushed and gentle. James was content to let Jack take the lead and Jack's clever touch was distracting and soothing. James was still moving gingerly, but Jack was glad to see that some colour had returned to his cheeks. He was suddenly struck by a wicked urge to see how far that slight flush extended, and so busied himself in getting James unclothed. After Jack slowly undressed him and patiently helped James undo his own lacings and buttons, the weather and his arousal making the younger man's fingers clumsy, Jack pushed James onto his back and moved to crouch between his legs. He began exploring the body before him, hands ghosting over the pale skin, while James propped himself up on his elbows and watched. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could form the words Jack leaned up, faster than James expected and hushed him with a long searching kiss.

As the sky darkened and Gibbs ordered the hatches battened down and the men below decks Jack slowly moved downwards again, licking and kissing a trail across the commodore's skin. He grazed the curve of James' thigh with his teeth, murmuring soft encouragement against the sensitive skin, making the other man buck slightly under him and bite down on a whine. Jack lifted his head to give him a sly grin and at last turned his attention to his so far neglected cock. He slowly licked the length of James' shaft before swallowing him down. James murmured something unintelligible, before taking a deep breath, and with gritted teeth forced his hips still and tried to resist the urge to thrust into Jack's mouth. Instead he contented himself with reaching down to card an unsteady hand through Jack's hair, neither helping nor hindering but rather petting him hesitantly. Jack registered that James had stilled but he could feel the sudden tension in the body beneath him, and while the petting was nice he needed both a little more participation and James to stop holding back. As the scent and taste of the man threatened to overwhelm his senses, Jack pulled back slightly to give him a chance to summon up his dwindling reserves of self-control. As he moved James' hand tightened in his hair and he moaned at the lessening sensation. That was all the encouragement Jack needed and leaning down again he did something cunning with his tongue that dragged another one of those wanton moans from James. Jack reached down so he could stroke himself and hummed softly round the hard flesh in his mouth. James tried to keep his eyes on Jack, but each long slow stroke made this increasingly more difficult until with the hum he finally surrendered and let his head fall back and his eyes flutter closed, hands still tangled in Jack's hair. He was trying to say something, but between Jack's clever mouth and his own impending release he was unsure what. He was fairly sure, however that whatever he wanted to say was most important. Whilst still considering this he became aware of a low keening noise, it took another moment to realise it was him. After that rational thought fled and he thrust into Jack's mouth on blind instinct, desperately trying to force himself not to use the hand in Jack's hair to hold him down.

Finally the wind, strangely absent all day, made an appearance and it howled past the ship in counterpoint to James' sharp cry as he came undone. That heady noise was enough to pull Jack mostly over the edge after him and after a few rough pulls he spent over his hand with a breathless moan. After a moment to collect himself, Jack gave one last lick before moving up his lover's body and nuzzling against James' throat. He pushed himself up to stare down into James' lust darkened eyes. "Better?" With a sated smile, James pulled him down and settled him beside him and they listened to the gathering storm.

When the storm proper finally broke, the thunder rolling around the hills and the ship pitching even in the relative safety of the cove, Jack watched the lightening and curled closer, protectively, around James who despite the storm slept peacefully at last.