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Hold Me Tight
BY: Miss Fortune*** Will took a deep breath of the
heavy sea air. He could feel it
prickle in his lungs like the sweetest incense. He cast his gaze out over the swaying horizon, barely squinting at the golden glare coming off the water. The kohl that lined his eyes was something he'd become accustomed to over time. After Jack had first convinced him to wear the dark powder on his face, it had become a morning ritual for them to apply it to each other's eyelids. If Will closed his eyes he could still feel the tender stroke of Jack's thumb as it smudged the powdery substance over his eyelid. It was something familiar and comfortable and one of the million ways Jack had of showing him that he cared. That and Jack said it made him look sexy. The former blacksmith turned pirate grinned as he returned his attention to the wheel under his hands. A steady wind propelled them forward and with an easy hand he guided Jack's lady on towards the sky. The Black Pearl sliced effortlessly through the water, eager to move onward to the next mysterious point on Jack's compass. Will still wasn't quite sure what the compass told Jack, but he did know that it hadn't yet failed them, so they followed its strangely pointing needle on to treasure and adventure. Jack might be eccentric and misleading at times, but when it all came down to it, Jack had never steered him wrong. Jack was currently residing in the crow's nest with a bottle of rum to keep him company. How Jack could drink that much rum and still manage to effortlessly scale the rigging was beyond Will. He held his breathe every time he watched his lover shimmy up the rigging. Jack was made for a ship. Everything about him was well adapted to living on the seas. From the natural swaying rhythm of his step to the perfect copper tone his skin would take on in the sun, Jack was made for the sea. Will wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that seawater and rum ran through Jack's veins. On the wind he could hear the steady rhythm of Jack's voice as he sung that horrible song he'd picked up from somewhere. The song was like a sickness. Once you caught it, it would infect your mind, sticking in your head. It wasn't that it was truly a bad song; it was merely that the constant repetition seemed to engrave itself permanently on the mind. The whole crew knew it, even Cotton's parrot, and it was not unusual for everyone to occasionally burst out into a hearty round of "Yo Ho". He clamped down the song before it could escape his lips and look up at the Crow's Nest. Jack couldn't have been keeping a very good watch as Will could not see the man. More than likely, Jack was sitting at the bottom of the nest knocking back the bottle of rum and soaking in the noon sun. Jack would of course descend with his skin that nice even brown tone while Will still got scorched by the sun and often times Jack wouldn't allow him on deck in the noon hours. Today was an exception as it was a fine day with a good wind and Will had promised to keep his shirt on. It was sometimes amusing to Will how Jack doted over him. Jack was a pirate, cunning and ruthless and yet when it came to Will, he could be so tender it was like dealing with another person. Not that he minded Jack's attentions, far from it as he treasured the attention. Growing up as an orphan, one did not receive a lot of tenderness. Mr. Brown had raised him well to be a blacksmith, but he didn't fill any of Will's emotional needs. Jack did. Maybe Will was silly to still carry such needs in his heart, but he could no more stop them than he could stop the tides. He considered himself lucky to have found Jack. He'd thought that Elizabeth had been what he needed. She had cured him of that notion when she'd run off with another man. Jack had never really left him. Jack always came back for him. No matter the danger, Jack always returned. It was something that Will was thankful for every day. He was so glad that Jack hadn't left him to rot in that port town. He couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life on land, with the sea so close he could see it from his window, while he was bound to land. The forge would own him, sapping his life away until he could no longer lift a hammer to form the swords he loved. He had not been so foolish as to think he'd make swords all his life. Having taken on almost all of his master's duties over the years he knew that it would be an endless stream of horseshoes, pots, cannonballs and nails. It would have become unbearable. As he looked back, he really couldn't see himself settling down and having children. His soul was too restless. He reveled in the freedom that his new life provided. They were always on the move, never settling in one spot for a great stretch of time. For now they were sticking to the Caribbean as Will got used to the life out at sea. But Jack promised him that one day he would take Will across the ocean where they would visit China, India, and the infamous Singapore. He knew that the sea voyage would be hard, but he was up to the challenge as he was eager to see the wonderful places that Jack had described to him when they both lay awake at night and talked. Will would listen, entranced by Jack's tales of the colorful people he had met and the strange wonders he had seen when he'd traveled with his father as a young child. Jack's father had been a merchant sailor and when Jack was old enough to travel with him, he'd taken young Jack out to see the world. Jack could speak three languages and knew enough oaths and curses to make up a fourth language by themselves. It might seem strange that the son of a merchant would turn into a pirate, but Jack had good reasons. His father's partners had turned on him, betraying him and taking his ship and everything else he owned. Jack's father had vowed to get his ship back. His money and reputation might be lost causes, but the least he could do was get his ship back to pass it onto his son. Jack was twenty when they put in with a pirate crew and took back the ship. Unfortunately, Jack's father was shot in the battle and only just lived to hold the wheel of his beloved ship one last time. To this day, Jack still took the utmost care with the ship that his father gave his life to pass onto him. The story explained Jack's extreme devotion to the Black Pearl. It was just another fascinating piece to the puzzle that was Jack Sparrow. As much as Will learned of his lover, he still wasn't sure that he was getting the whole story. It didn't really bother him that he didn't know every sordid detail of Jack's past. He knew some things were better left unsaid, like the passion with which Jack talked about his father, Bootstrap Bill. There was something unspoken there. He accepted it. It made him feel closer to the man that he'd barely known, but he did not push the subject. All in all, he was finally satisfied with his lot in life. He no longer had to work in the shadows and watch as other people claimed his hard efforts as their own. He didn't have people watching over his shoulder to see the next move that he made, ready to pounce on any small deviance he committed. He didn't have to put up with derogatory words behind his back or unwelcome faces as he walked by. So what if he was a pirate now? He was still a good man and it made him happy. That happiness was all that mattered for Will in the grand scheme of things. "Lost in thought luv?" Jack's arms wound around Will's waist as his words tickled Will's ear. "Mm, just thinking," Will replied, leaning back into Jack's arms. "It's time to go inside," Jack murmured into his neck. "The sun'll be getting to ye soon. It's best yer not around to feel its sting." Will sighed as Jack's rum scented breath flowed across his skin. "But it's such a nice day. Couldn't we stay out just a bit more?" Will turned his head to look at Jack. "Will lad, I like me lobsters red, but not me lovers. But what say I make it more enticing for you to join me in my cabin?" Jack's grin promised mischief. "And just how do you plan on doing that?" Will took his hands from the wheel and turned in Jack's embrace. "Maybe a little somethin like this," Jack whispered as he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips firmly to Will's. Will slowly opened his mouth to Jack's questing tongue, tasting the strong flavor of rum lingering in his mouth. They would have continued had the ship not veered hard to the right. Will fell against Jack before the captain got his hand on the wheel and set them back on their straight course. "What the hell're ye doin' up there?" Anna Maria bellowed from below the deck. "Nothing Anna dear," Jack called out. "Nothing me black bottom, I'm comin for the wheel." Anna said as she emerged from below the decks, glaring at Jack. "Yes, ma'am." Jack stepped away from the wheel, taking Will with him. "None o' that now Sparrow." She grumbled as she took over the wheel. "Jus' get him in afore he turns colors and gets stuck on kitchen duty for a week. We all suffer when that happens." Will pouted. "Are you saying I can't cook?" "Not at all lad." Anna shook her head. "I'm sayin that Jack can't resist the temptation of havin ye down there and things end up burnt more often than not." She gave her captain a look that dared him to refute her claim. Will blushed while Jack merely shrugged. With a lazy grin he began to herd Will down to their cabin. "We'll just be leavin ye to your duties then." Anna mumbled something unintelligible in response before turning her attention out to the sea. Will took one last breath of the fresh salt air as the moved into their cabin, Jack once more wrapping him in his embrace. Will leaned back into Jack's arms and closed his eyes. He smiled as Jack nibbled at his neck. "Wha's goin on in that head of yours?" Jack murmured, nuzzling Will's cheek. "Just thoughts," Will replied. "What kinda thoughts?" Jack's hands rubbed over Will's hips. "Good ones. Thoughts about you and Pearl and how glad I am that you came back for me." "Will lad," Jack turned Will in his arms, looking at him seriously, "I will always come back for you. Always." Will smiled back. "I know Jack. I know." |
