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Deep End
Author: Jeff McKay
<xhewit@yahoo.com> Series: Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: James
Norrington/ Will Turner Warnings: Reading this fic may induce diabetes :p Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money off them. Notes: For the “No Magic Words” challenge on charactersinbloom.com ************************************************************** I would walk away from it, away from it all. Everything that made me the man I am, the man who would ultimately have his heart ripped out and handed to him on a silver platter. My life should have been simple. Uncomplicated. I should have settled down, married Elisabeth and we would have 5 lovely children. She was just right for me; beautiful, intelligent, witty… my life would have been perfect with her. But it wasn’t to be that way. No, she left me for Will – for William bloody Turner, the dashingly brave blacksmith with warm brown eyes and a smile that could brighten up the darkest mood. Fine. Be that way. If she wanted to throw her life away on someone who could barely support himself, let alone a family of his own, then let her. Would she run to her daddy for financial support every time Will’s business was in a slump? What if he decided to cut her off completely? She’d starve! No… I mustn’t be bitter. Elisabeth is a good person after all, regardless of our past. She desperately wanted Will and myself to get along and tried her best to encourage us to spend more time in each other’s company. How happy she was when she saw the two of us enjoying a pleasant conversation over a glass of wine. Will may not have had the kind of education and upbringing that I’d been given, but he is a very smart man. We often enjoyed casual meetings with each other where I could easily forget the formal, arrogant demeanor that was expected from a man of my rank. No, I never once felt the need to put on a pompous façade for Will. “Where’s the stick?” he’d asked me once when he was teaching me to make a plain horseshoe. “What stick?” I’d asked him, wondering where a stick would go in a horseshoe. “The stick that’s been up your behind all this time!” Had that remark come from anyone else I would not have hesitated to draw my pistol in warning. But it was Will. I’d simply burst out laughing and threw him a playful punch. Dear, dear Will… he’d been so upset when Elisabeth left him. He spent hours with me and an open bottle of whisky every night, wondering what he’d done to drive her away. Poor chap. I could really sympathize with him. He often apologized to me for taking her away in the first place, and joked about how karma had dug its sharp little claws into him. In truth, I don’t think I ever really loved Elisabeth. Not like Will did. He often spent the night curled up on my sofa, too drunk and emotional to make his way back home. I didn’t mind. In fact I rather enjoyed having him there when I woke up. It was a pleasant change from having to wake up to an empty house with only the furniture for company. As time passed Will and I grew closer. He became one of my closest friends. But it wasn’t until the night he fell asleep with his head in my lap that I realized just how fond of him I’d gotten – a little too fond to be platonic… He wouldn’t return my sentiments. I knew he wouldn’t. Not in the way I wanted him to. So I would leave. I really didn’t find the idea of being rejected again too appealing. Reject… I’d be lucky if Will JUST rejected me. He would surely think I was a monster if he knew how I felt about him. A part of me remains furious with him for making me feel this way. Furious with the object of my affections… how ironic! I’d rather leave now before I fall deeper and can no longer take it, and end up bearing my heart so it can be trampled upon. I can almost see the disgust on his handsome face as he calls me a sick pervert for feeling the way I do for another man, no less a friend. No, I would not let that happen. Nothing is worth that level of personal torment and indignity. “James!” I hear a voice call out in the distance. It’s Will. He’s confused, wondering why I’m on my way out of Port Royal in the middle of the night. I can’t let him stop me, not now. I must keep walking; the harbor is not far. “James wait!” he calls out again, and again I ignore. The footsteps get closer. I must stay focused, and I mustn’t look at him. If I do, my emotions just might get the better of me in my current state. It’s only when I feel a pair of foreign arms on me that I stop. Not because I want to, but because the said arms have forced me to do so as they wrap around my body from behind. Oh how I wish the circumstances were different. “Please just stay in one place for a minute and talk to me!” “There’s nothing to talk about William,” I reply as coldly as possible, still facing away from him and secretly enjoying the feel of his slender frame pressed against my back. “Didn’t you get my note?” “I did,” he says as his grip on me loosens a bit, “and it made no sense!” No sense to him perhaps, but it was the best I could do. I know it was brief and vague: //I must leave Port Royal as soon as possible. This place is suffocating me. - James Norrington// “What’s gotten into you lately James? Don’t you trust me enough to share your burden with me?” I remain silent. Why must he be so difficult! Why can’t he just let me go in peace? “Damn it James, answer me!” Roughly he spins me around to face him, but I still refuse to answer. “You can’t just wake up one fine day and decide this place has become a prison to you! Please…” Will’s voice softens a little, “tell me what’s bothering you.” If only it was that simple. If only I could just wrap my arms around him and swear my undying love for him like a love-struck Romeo… Not in a million years! Wordlessly I turn and begin to walk away from him once more. I’m only a few feet away when he speaks up. This time I stop on my own. “I’m not perfect James,” he says coming a few steps closer. “If you’re leaving because of me, because of something I’ve done to upset you so much, please give me another chance. I’m sorry for whatever it is!” For the first time tonight I meet his eyes, and I’m rather surprised to see them well up with emotion. I wish he’d stop looking at me like that. I don’t know how much more self control I can muster up… “You’re the only one I have left,” he says softly, “everyone I’ve ever loved has left me without an explanation. First Jack sails off into the horizon, then Elisabeth gives me back her engagement ring, and now my only friend…” Before I know it I find the young man in my arms, embracing me firmly. That’s the last straw. Every bit of tenderness I’ve ever felt for Will hits me with ample force and I enthusiastically return the affectionate gesture. God help me if he realizes I’m enjoying this more than I should be. I close my eyes, taking in his heavenly scent and savoring… Jack? “Will,” I pull back a little so I can see his face, “why did you just mention Jack in the same context as Elizabeth?” He gives me a slightly quizzical look. “You didn’t know?” Know? Know what? He couldn’t possibly mean… No it can’t be. Can it? I break eye contact with him and try my best to subdue that stubborn little glimmer of hope that just lit up within me at the mention of that pirate’s name. Jack Sparrow and hope – never thought I’d see a connection between the two! “What are you talking about William?” A slight blush creeps onto his lovely face and he breaks all physical contact with me. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” he says sadly. I can feel my heart wrench for the boy. Never before have I felt a stronger urge to wring Sparrow’s neck! He hurt Will. I don’t know how or why but I know he must have, or else Will’s face wouldn’t be marred with such sorrow right now. “Tell me Will,” I request softly and bring my hands up to grip the young man’s shoulders. “And then maybe I’ll tell you why I made this hasty decision.” Bloody glimmer of hope! “If you must know,” he says plainly, “Jack and I were lovers.” Shocked, I stare dumbly at him. “Yes James it’s true,” he says with angry undertones, “I like men. But you don’t care do you? You’re just going to board your ship and sail off without a care in the world. You’re just like him!” Will’s cheeks flush with anger as he speaks. “You give me this false sense of security, make me believe that you’ll always be there for me no matter what, and then just walk away as soon as you damned well feel like it!” This is a side of Will I’ve never seen before. It catches me off-guard and before I know it, I find I’ve firmly pressed my lips against his. Now it’s his turn to stare at me in mute shock as our mouths part. “That, is why I’m leaving,” I say softly, daring to intertwine my fingers in his long brown curls. “James you fool,” he whispers, bringing a hand up to caress my cheek. He gazes at me intently and closes the distance between us again by softly capturing my lips with his. His touch is exquisite, so tender. I feel as though my heart is going to burst. But it’s only when I sense a trickle of moisture run down my cheek that I realize the intensity of emotion Will stimulates within me. “Why Commodore,” Will murmurs as we pull apart, “how unmanly of you!” With a smile he wipes away my tear before embracing me once more. “Men have hearts too,” I reply, enjoying the feel of his silky soft curls brushing against my face as we hug each other. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this beautiful blacksmith to return my feelings. I must have something good to deserve this! “And you’ve captured mine,” he says softly as our foreheads come to rest against each other. “What can I do to make you stay?” “Just ask.” With a slight smile Will meets my eyes again in a warm gaze. “Stay?” I smile back and reply with a nod. Perhaps walking away from it all wouldn’t have been the best solution after all. _____________________________________________________________ AUTHOR’S NOTE: Even though Jack/Will are my favorite POTC couple, I just thought Norrington would have been better suited for this particular plot. Hope you liked it :)
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