Norrington's Darling

"James Norrington?"

POV: James Norrington

I stepped off a ship that had just docked at Tortuga. About a month or two had passed since my drunken tantrum. I've managed to stop drinking quite so much brandy, but I still have my moments. What do you want? I'm still wallowing in my sorrows, don't mind me.

I was walking on the docks, keeping my head up and trying to act like I was still a Commodore. I wished I could wash off the dirt on my coat. But then, I almost didn't want to be recognized. That would be far too embarrassing. But who would recognize me here? Who would be here to do it?

But just as I thought that I felt a hand on my arm. "James Norrington?"

I turned, a sinking feeling in my stomach. Then I recognized the woman and I felt sick and my face turned red. "Zuri Sparrow."

"Indeed," Zuri whispered. The female pirate's eyes searched me. "And why, might I ask, is the Commodore here?"

I looked down, the red of my face getting worse. "I'm not the Commodore anymore."

"I know. Governor Swann told me."

"Then why'd you ask?" I demanded. "To embarrass me."

Zuri shook her head. Her name was really starting to become an irony for me; I was getting distracted by her beauty. "To see if you had the heart to tell the truth."

"Why did you ask the governor?" I whispered.

Her eyes flicked around. "Come on. I'll tell you in privacy." She pulled me into an abandoned building just off the docks and a pang went through my body. Why did she have to make me remember?

She pressed me against the wall. "I went looking for you, and when I couldn't find you I went to the governor."

"Why were you looking for me?" I demanded.

A bit of color flushed on Zuri's face, which pleased me until she looked back up at me. Then my cheeks flushed just as hers had.

"It's about my brother," she started. "He's got a black spot. The mark of a dead man. Davy Jones."

I didn't understand a word. "Come again? This is about Jack?"

Zuri nodded urgently. "Yes! Davy Jones is coming to collect him! The agreement was thirteen years as captain of the Black Pearl. It's been thirteen and he's coming to get my brother."

"Why does that concern me?" I asked, but I knew what she was going to pull.

She punched my chest. "James! I love my brother, and you owe me still!"

I ignored the last part, rubbing the place where she'd punched my chest absentmindedly. Zuri really knew how to pack a punch. "Even when you're angry with me you talk fondly to me."

"Shut up!" she snapped and slapped me across the face. I gave her a look.

"Now is that how you treat the only man who caught your attention?"

Color spread on Zuri's cheeks, but she looked a bit guilty. She put one hand on the side of my face and gave me a tiny kiss. My heart fluttered, and before I knew it my arms were wrapped around her and I was kissing her back. Something in my chest tightened and I sighed in frustration when she pulled away—far too early, too.

"Zuri," I complained. 

It was her turn to give me a look. "James."

"Sorry," I muttered. "It's just..."

"I know, I know," she murmured, her fingers caressing my face. "Oh, what happened to you? You look like a pirate!"

I explained what had happened to me as she watched me attentively. She thumbed the edge of my jacket, rubbing off some of the encrusted dirt.

"Oh, you poor thing," she whispered. She planted a kiss on my lips. "But why on earth would you go through a hurricane to chase after my brother?"

"Because I hate your brother," I muttered.

"And that is the reason why I wonder how we managed to fall in love with each other," she said plainly.

I'd met Zuri shortly after Jack's escape and we took chase. At first, it was a copy of the relationship between me and Jack, but eventually, it grew to something more. Zuri was the kinder side, the side that knew right from wrong and walked the thin line between them. She had taken to piracy because of her hate for the restrictions of society for women. On the sea, she didn't face those rules and restrictions.

I guess I liked that aspect about her, first. It was weird, seeing I was a strict rule follower. But whenever it came to Zuri, I understood her completely. 

Slowly, Zuri fell in love with me, and before we knew it, we were sneaking out at night to sit on the ship's deck to watch the stars together. We had kept our relationship hidden from Jack until he walked in on us one night as I told Zuri aloud that I loved her.

Loudly, Jack had said, "Do you now!"

We'd both jumped and, blushing, explained to Jack. Jack had been shocked. 

"Zuri, perhaps you could have said something in the beginning? Then I would have warned you to stay away from the Commodore!"

Zuri rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, Jack. Like I'm gonna tell you when I get a relationship with the Commodore."

Jack had snorted and walked away. Zuri and I decided to stay there, just to annoy him.

"James? James? Hello? Are you awake?" Zuri snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just...thinking about how we met."

Zuri's face softened. "I was saying, my brother, he's here."

"HERE?" I gasped.

"Yep," Zuri confirmed. "He's trying to collect a crew. He's made a bargain with Davy Jones. That's why we are here. One hundred souls in exchange for his in three days."

"Your brother," I said frankly, "is an idiot."

Zuri cracked a smile. "That he is."

I dragged my fingers through her hair. "Oh, how much I've missed you, Zuri," I murmured, leaning forward and practically begging for a kiss.

Zuri raised her eyebrows. "Over Elizabeth, then, are you?"

I closed my eyes and sigh. Elizabeth has always been a sticky point for us. "Zuri," I said. "You know no matter what my heart says about Elizabeth, what it says about you is far more powerful."

She searched my face. "You can be awfully poetic when you want to woo a woman, you know."

"Zuri," I complained.

"What?" she snapped.

"Are we really going to have this argument again?" I asked.

Zuri studied me. Apparently, she found what she was looked for, and looped her arms around my neck, and looked deeply into my eyes. My heart quivered in response. "No. We aren't." And then she kissed me deeply, making my eyes flutter closed with pleasure.

Eventually, I pulled away. "Okay, okay. So about your brother's crew...you want me to join even though it will be my death?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not your death, silly. Just...well, go confront them. I'll let you deal with them however you want to. But we'll have to pretend we never met each other."

I grinned. "Does that mean I get this again?" I asked, referring to her arms around my waist, my hand resting on her hip and the other on her neck as she caresses my face with a free hand.

Zuri just rolls her eyes again.

I take that as a yes. "Then I'm in."

Zuri disentangles herself from me. "Must you be the most romance-driven man ever to exist?"

"Well, I highly doubt that," I snort.

"I don't!"