[ SMUT WARNING. gibbs' bed is really seeing it all. also last update for several days. I've got a long weekend. I'm at a convention in Chicago for the show psych and I'm so excited ]
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I HAVE NO REASON TO BE JEALOUS OF JACK SPARROW.
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SILENCE FELL OVER THE BLACK PEARL the very moment that Nerissa came out of Gibbs' cabin. All eyes were either on her or the very hungover Norrington who was being forced to scrub the deck of the helm, just behind Jack, who was at the wheel.
They all knew what was coming and wanted to listen in.
As a shadow passed over James, he finally noticed her arrival on deck. Slowly, starting at her feet, he looked up her body until he met her pain-filled eyes.
"Nerissa," he breathed out, now convinced that the night before hadn't been a drunken mirage. "You're really here."
Her jaw rolled angrily as she balled her fist up. "If you'll join me for a word in the First Mate's cabin, Mr. Norrington."
James' face fell as she didn't use his name, and everyone else's faces fell too, realizing that they wouldn't get to hear the argument.
With his head hanging low, James followed Nerissa off the deck and back to the room she'd just come from. Once the door was shut, a deafening silence fell over them. Only for the loud sound of a smack to fill the cabin.
James didn't even reach for his burning cheek. He just looked sadly at Nerissa, whose eyes were red from crying herself to sleep the night before. The silence just continued, and James was the first to break it, as he'd been studying her carefully.
"Your neck," he said, stepping closer, not afraid to be slapped again. "It's bruised. Who hurt you?"
Nerissa took a step back, biting her lip as she covered the marks on her neck that were of Jack's doing. Already, regret was coursing through her but she wasn't going to let James unknowingly make her feel worse.
"It's not your job to worry about me anymore," she said, her voice cracking a bit.
James looked crushed as he took a step back. She hated the expression on his face but had to remind herself that he deserved it. He was the one at fault, not her. So, she took in a deep breath and asked the one thing she'd been dying to know. The question that kept her up all night.
"Why didn't you come back?"
James was silent for a moment too long, considering his answer. And he settled with the harsh truth.
"I could not come home without Sparrow in my grasp. My inability to track him down marked me as a failure."
Nerissa scoffed, thinking it was a ridiculous excuse. She'd never understand the fragile masculinity of men who let such things control their lives.
