A Fish Tale 06

Rating: Mer-smut ahead.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money and etc.
Originally Posted: 2/07/06
Note: Ok... Finally... more A Fish Tale for you. Thanks to Porridgebird for all her help and beta work... and Elessil for her lovely picture.

James rolled over and stared at the low ceiling of the cave. "I seem to be," he answered slowly, and then, "I'm surprised to see you here."

James looked over at Jack and his thoughts returned to the morning, to how very close he had come to... he flushed in embarrassment and looked back up to the ceiling. "Christ, Jack, I'm sorry, if that matters to you at this point."

James sat up and curled his tail protectively around himself. Jack was still in the water beside the ledge and watching him alertly.

By the time James finally returned to the cave that morning, he had shamefully anticipated any number of reactions from Jack for his abominable behavior. He had expected outrage and perhaps even some form of retaliation. Eventually, though, he had concluded that the most likely outcome was that Jack would simply disappear, and even as he burned with his humiliation, that possibility had torn at him.

He looked away and fixed his attention on the far wall of the cave. "I can only imagine what you must think of me," he said, "but I swear to you, I have never taken another against their will, Jack, nor would I."

"Jesus Christ, Jack, I tried to... tried to..." he couldn't even think the word, let alone speak it aloud.

"I know what ya tried to do, mate. And I don't mind admittin' that it scared the bejesus outa me. But the odd business of it is, that didn't change how it seemed—how it felt—when ya pushed me away and left me to drift, all by me onesies, with the tide."

James looked down at his hands. He hadn't thought about how he had left Jack, or what condition he had left him in. "I had to get away Jack, before I... before I couldn't stop."

"I know. If I think about last night—and I did—I can't help rememberin' how hard and fast the blood rose in me when Cruu was touching ya."

"That's just it, mate. We're not men. Not any more. We're mermen. Would ya have done what ya did this morning if ya'd been a man?"

"No, of course not. That's not my nature, Jack. I'm not..." he hesitated and Jack tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

"You're not... what?" Jack pressed. "Come, come, Commodore, speak your mind, eh? A pirate, James? Is that what you're not?"

He almost considered letting Jack believe that, but instead, "No. That's not what I was going to say, at all." He looked up and added quietly, "I am sorry Jack, but what I was going to say was that I'm not like your first Captain."

Jack's brows twitched in consternation and then he frowned outright and looked down into the water.

When he remained still and silent, James continued. "I had guessed, when you told me who he was, that you had probably been ill-used as a boy. This morning, that's all I could seem to remember and I couldn't... couldn't allow myself to inflict that upon you again."

Jack looked up at him. "Ya mean then, that ya stopped for me... and not because of me?"

"Of course it was for you." James stared at him then in bemusement. "Sometimes, Jack, you have the strangest way of looking at things."

Jack shrugged and then rested his arms on the ledge. He propped his chin on them and studied James thoughtfully for several long moments. "You're a man o' rare honor, Commodore," he said quietly.

After a while, Jack climbed onto the ledge beside him. He fidgeted in the awkward silence and busied himself with picking at pieces of moss that clung to the sides of the ledge.

"I suppose you should know," he said, finally, "that Cruu's been lurkin' round the cove all afternoon."

"Apparently he figures you're back on the market, as it were." He looked up suddenly. "You're not, are ya?"

"Aye, well, good. That's good," He flashed James an almost impish grin and added, "cause I think if he touched you again, I might have to kill him."

They searched each others faces for a heartbeat and then James looked away self-consciously and asked, "This... unseemly desire has you in its grip as well?"

James chuffed out a harsh laugh, "I must admit to some degree of relief at knowing that the malady has afflicted us both... that I'm not completely alone in this madness."

He looked up to find Jack still watching him. "You don't appear to be too terribly bothered by it."

Jack dropped his eyes and let them linger for a moment on James's pouch. He looked up again with a tilt of his head and a quirk of his eyebrow. "Believe me, James. I'm bothered."

James caught his breath at the gesture and looked away again and Jack returned his attention to picking at the moss. James took a deep breath and allowed a glance of his own to run furtively along the length of Jack's body. He had never in his life desired a man, but he couldn't deny to himself that he desired one now. He wanted Jack with an intensity that unnerved him.

Jack sprawled out beside him. "It's quite a strange situation we've found ourselves in, innit? The rules have all gone and changed on us."

Jack fingered the limpet shell in his hair and then added softly, "Makes a man wonder if maybe he shouldn't re-think some of 'em."

"I've been thinkin' on that today. Been thinkin' on it a lot, actually," Jack said, then leaned even closer and lowered his voice, "Course, if a man, any man for instance, was going to rethink any rules, I expect..." he paused and James looked up to find him watching him carefully. "Well, I expect he'd want to be rethinkin' those rules with a man who was a man of rare honor... savvy?"

James looked away, his mouth suddenly dry and his heart hammering in his chest. He looked back again when he felt the flukes of Jack's tail brush feather-soft against his own. Jack tilted his head and looked up through his lashes at him and the corner of his mouth quirked into a suggestive, little leer.

Jack stroked his tail up the length of James's tail and then met his gaze squarely. "Only a little," he whispered.

"This thing between us, James?" he asked, pointing from himself, to James and then to himself again, "it's just a matter of time before it catches up with us."

He pushed slowly away from James and slid to the edge of the ledge. "I'll be back in a little while.

"Got some things I think I better ask Dree." He winked at James and added, "I don't fancy bein' hurt, mate, and I figure one of us better know what the hell they're doin'."

James's pride flared along with a wholly unexpected rush of jealousy as he watched Jack slip into the water.

"Well, do forgive me, Sparrow," he snipped, "how remiss of me for not being fully knowledgeable in all the nuances of merman seduction." He squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, for God's sake... what the bloody hell was he saying?

James was usually given to agonizing over decisions, weighing and evaluating the pros and cons carefully before determining his course of action.

He stroked lightly along the seam of the opening and caught his breath at the exquisite sensations that rippled through his tail.

In this instance, determining that course of action took approximately thirty-two seconds.

Working out the exact details of how he planned to wipe the arrogant, knowing smirk off Jack's face took a bit longer.

At least he knew what to expect this time and he'd not be quite so caught off guard.

He rather suspected that most of Jack's sexual repertoire involved pressing the night's whore to a wall in the back of an alleyway. And though by no means an actual ladies man himself, James had been around enough to be reasonably confident of his abilities between the sheets.

"James," Jack greeted as he hauled himself onto the ledge, stretching his tail out to graze a fleeting, teasing stroke across the end of James's tail.

"Jack," James greeted in return, and then reached out with his own tail and returned the caress.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise and a nervous half-grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.

James sprawled out on the ledge, resting on his side and propped up on his elbow. "You took long enough," he said, frowning thoughtfully. "Did you really need that much information from Dree?"

Jack slid closer and stretched out on the ledge facing James, and mirrored his position. "Jealous, were ya?"

The dorsal fin on Jack's back bristled. "That's probably not a good idea, mate."

James let his gaze travel the length of Jack's body and then back up to his face. He edged closer and reached out to run his hand along the length of Jack's dorsal fin, petting and coaxing until the hard ridges of it had softened and relaxed against his back. He let his hand rest on Jack's waist and looked down into his eyes.

"Aye, well, I suppose a man feels differently when it's somethin' he's decided to do...instead of something that's being taken from him." He looked up and grinned impudently, "Besides, Dree assures me I'll be getting the better end o' the deal, as it were."

Jack was very close to him now and James's desire sharpened. He could smell Jack, was acutely aware of the heavy male musk of him and he leaned closer to breath him in, his cheek just barely brushing against Jack's.

"You're very sure about this?" James whispered in his ear. He felt Jack shiver and pulled back enough to see into Jack's eyes. He was relieved to see honest desire there... and no small amount of nervous fear as well, but Jack held James's gaze steadily.

James tilted his head down and brushed his lips experimentally across Jack's mouth.

James kissed him gently, then delicately mouthed the full bottom lip and let his tongue trace its shape. He kept it light at first, then deftly teased a greater intimacy with each lingering kiss... each fleeting touch of tongue. It was a very careful and very adept seduction of Jack's mouth and Jack followed willingly.

When Jack's lips parted on a sigh, James pulled him flush against his body and deepened the kiss. He probed the hot interior of Jack's mouth and lost himself in the strange, strange novelty of kissing Jack Sparrow.

When he pulled away, Jack swallowed down a harsh gasp and his tail coiled reflexively around James. He cocked an eyebrow at him. "Gods blood," he swore softly then snickered. "You're good, Norrington."

Jack dipped his head and huffed out a self-conscious laugh and James took him by the chin and gently tipped his face up to his. "You're not having second thoughts, are you, Jack?"

"No, I... I just didn't expect it to be... sweet, is all. 'M not complainin', mind you," he darted up for a quick kiss of his own, "just didn't expect it."

Jack bent his face to James's neck and breathed deeply before licking a path along the ridge of his gills. "I want to touch you," he whispered. He rubbed his swollen pouch hard against James's pouch. "I want to touch you, there."

Arousal sparked deep and James arched and slapped his tail restlessly against the ledge. He grasped Jack firmly by the dorsal fin and buried his face in his neck, licking and nipping at the tender skin above the gills. The urge to bite was nearly overwhelming.

"Not yet," James gasped, rolling them both. He caught Jack by the wrist and pinned his hand to the ledge above his head. "Not yet."

Jack gave an experimental wiggle against the constraint, his eyes black as pitch and slightly wary now.

"Christ, Jack... it's too much." He pressed a rough kiss to Jack's mouth, "and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you."

Jack tried to calm his own harsh breathing and then glowered up at him. "If ya do mate, you'll wake up tomorrow a eunuch."

James huffed out a short laugh and released his hand. "Then tell me what Dree said. Tell me how to make sure that doesn't happen." He nuzzled against Jack's neck. "Tell me," he whispered, nipping and kissing along Jack's jaw line, "tell me how to ease it for you."

Jack shivered and caught his breath and then whispered. "Dree says you have to touch me... arouse me back, just before you... before you..." he stopped and blushed.

James lifted his head and looked down in amusement at the flushed cheeks. "Before I take you?"

Jack's narrowed eyes were the only warning James got before he was neatly flipped and then Jack was looming over him.

"Enough." Jack said, stroking his fingers across the arch of James's hip and teasing at the place where scales gave way to tender skin. "I'm thinkin' it's my turn now."

He traced a feather light path, along that nether line, until he had reached the lowest part of James's stomach, just above the opening, and then he hesitated. He looked up, chewing his lip, and met James's gaze. They held for a heartbeat, caught in the moment, until finally Jack gave a half smile and slid his hand deeply into James's pouch.

"Oh, God..." Even knowing what to expect, he still wasn't prepared for the sheer intensity of the lust that tore through his body. He felt his prick fill and harden in Jack's hand and his tail arched high into the air and slammed against the ledge. He grabbed Jack by the shoulders and hauled him down for a brutal kiss. Christ, he wanted... needed to bite, so badly. He tore his mouth from Jack's and fought for control of himself.

Jack was whispering in his ear. "Easy, James...shh, shush. I got ya, it's all right."

Jack had a firm grip on his prick and now he squeezed even tighter and that seemed to help somehow. The tightness, yes, that seemed to help somewhat. He took a deep breath and shook his head trying to clear it.

James nodded his head. "Yes," he panted, in some relief, "yes, you've got me." And then the full import of that hit him. "Oh, bloody hell..." He still had Jack by the shoulders and he hauled himself up and pressed his forehead into Jack's chest. "Bloody hell, bloody hell..." he panted, "Jesus Christ, you're holding my cock."

He felt Jack snicker above him. "You bastard," James panted, "you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Havin' you all worked up like this... by my own hand? Aye, I'm enjoying it quite a bit, actually," Jack murmured in his ear. "S'not like a woman at all."

"I should think not." James panted. Jack squeezed down hard on the knot and twisted his hand. "Oh God... Jack."

James's control reached its limit. He tightened his hold on Jack's shoulders, twined his tail firmly round Jack's and flipped him.

"Not like a woman at all, Jack," he hissed in his ear. He bit hard on the top edge of Jack's dorsal fin and spooned tightly against him.

James rubbed his prick into the crease of his arse, found the opening and pressed firmly against it. He held, poised there at the entrance to Jack's body and shook with the effort to hold himself back.

James could hear the panic in his voice and he released the fin to whisper in his ear. "I won't hurt you; I swear I won't hurt you."

James held very still. He could feel the lethargy stealing over Jack, making him soft and pliant in his arms. "This is all going to make sense to you in a minute," he whispered.

He slipped his hand down and into Jack's pouch and caught his breath at the heat and the wetness of it. He stroked gently against the soft interior wall and then cupped Jack's cock and felt him harden in his hand.

Jack's tail twisted and curled and he cried out some sharp, guttural oath in Irish.

"I have to have you," James growled low in his ear. "Tell me it's all right... say it."

James pressed his cock against the tight ring of muscle and Jack's head dropped against his shoulder, moaning deep in his throat. The timbre of it changed as James sank into him. It deepened and broadened into a long eerie cry from his gills.

Some rational part of James's mind recognized it, knew it for the cry he had once thought to be night birds. Mating cry, his mind supplied for him.

He bit down again on the dorsal fin and arched deeply into Jack. He felt the knot in his shaft swell and harden, securing Jack to him. Jack wasn't going anywhere now. "Mine," he thought in fierce satisfaction and then realized belatedly that he couldn't thrust. As effectively as Jack was locked to him... he was locked to Jack.

He whipped his tail in agitation and Jack's tail followed the motion. His arousal spiked with the movement of his tail and if Jack's cries were anything to judge by, then so had his. He curled their tails together and did it again, dragging Jack's tail back with his. Christ yes, that was it. That's what they needed to do.

Jack's head lolled back against his shoulder and he was shaking. "I'm comin' apart, mate, I'm gonna die."

He wrapped his arms tightly around Jack, took a firmer grip on his cock and whispered in his ear. "No you're not; I've got you, but we need to swim, Jack. We've got to get into the water."

He angled his head down for a quick, fierce kiss and then he rolled them from the ledge.

James managed to keep his senses as far as the cove and then blind lust took over.

They were flying through the water, far out into the ocean now and farther than either had gone before. James drove them harder, their lust building with each downward stroke of tail until he feared Jack might be right: they might die from the sheer overload of sensation.

He bit down on Jack's dorsal fin and squeezed hard on the thick knot in his shaft and was rewarded finally with a frenzied clenching of muscle around his own cock. Jack shuddered hard in his arms and spent, his seed hot against James's hand and in startling contrast to the cooler waters of the ocean. James was a heartbeat behind him, spending white hot seed deep inside Jack and awash in a blinding pleasure that seemed to go on and on.

When James finally came to himself, he and Jack were still firmly bound together. Jack was limp in his arms and they were in icy cold darkness and spiraling steadily downward.

He tried to halt their descent. The water was a crushing weight above them and the heaviness of it made it difficult to breathe.

It was near impossible going, and though they were no longer sinking, the progress James was able to make was small. At this rate, he would be at the end of his strength before they were ever close enough to the surface.

Thank God, James thought, that they were still bound together. He would never have been able to find him in this frigid blackness. He clutched Jack tighter to himself and could feel the steady heartbeat beneath his arm. When James gave him a tentative shake, Jack weakly lifted his head and then lolled back against James's shoulder. He had been quite effectively drugged by their mating.

James sent out a series of clicks, trying to gauge where they were. Behind them was a sheer rock wall, but all around them was only the vast open ocean.

Something very large moved far below them. James could hear it scraping against the rocks. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should use the clicks to see what it was, or even if he wanted to. Finally, he angled his head and sent out a short rapid series of clicks. Whatever the hell it was, James thought in panic, it was immense.

He stroked harder with his tail, made some progress in his fear, but it was so hard to breath.

He sent clicks frantically against the rock wall. If only he could find a cave or a ledge, something to rest on—or to hide from whatever that was beneath them, in the event it decided they were worthy of pursuit.

He heard it move again, against the sea bed and waves rippled up from the ocean floor, caught them and blessedly pushed them up a few feet at least. But he was tiring quickly. He nuzzled Jack's cheeks. "Please wake up, Jack," he thought desperately, then gave him another shake. If only Jack would come to his senses.

James finally found a hand-hold in the rocks and clung to it and to Jack as he rested and tried to regain some strength.

He was listening carefully for any movement from below when he suddenly felt arms encircle him from behind. He clicked frantically and almost collapsed from sheer relief when he realized it was Dree and Aroo. They moved quickly to bring them to the surface. Whatever it was beneath them, they were afraid of it too.

James and Jack's bodies separated as they broke the surface. Dree had Jack, and James rested for a moment against Aroo.

James looked up sharply at the comment, but there was no mocking to it, only a calm statement of fact.

Jack moaned softly and lifted his head from Dree's shoulder. He looked around himself in confusion, "James?"

James reached for him and pushed Dree away with a sharp, "Don't touch him." James pulled him close and Jack nuzzled against his neck and seemed to fall back asleep.

"Come." Dree said, tugging at his arm. "We must leave this place and it will take some time yet before Jack Sparrow has recovered from your loving.

Aroo climbed onto the rocks and faced them and waited until he had their full attention.

"Do not allow yourselves to be so overtaken with the frenzy to mate," he cautioned. "Confine your run to the shoreline and do not head into the open ocean or the near trench. There are creatures in the depths that you have no defense against."

James rubbed his cheek against the top of Jack's head and then nodded his understanding. "Thank you," he whispered gratefully, "thank you both."

Aroo dipped his head in acknowledgement. "You must both eat now and then, Jack Sparrow must sleep."

Later in the cave, James tucked Jack up close against his side and asked, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Just strikes me as comical to be on the receiving end o' that particular question."

Jack pushed himself up so he could look down into his face. "Aye, it was good... it was real good. In fact," he leaned down and kissed him lingeringly on the mouth, "it was so good, you've probably spoilt it now, for any woman I may happen across in the future."

The corners of James's mouth twitched in amusement and he reached up and drew Jack down for a quick kiss. "Good night Jack."

A Fish Tale

Chapter 6