Norrington's Darling

Alone Time

POV: James Norrington

We woke the next morning to Sparrow glowering down at us. 

"Really?" he demanded.

"Really," Zuri agreed. She added insult to injury by snuggling deeper into my chest. I tightened my hold on her, her thin frame pressed closely to my body.

Jack scowled, continuing to glare down at us. "Well, Zuri, would ya mind gettin' up? We've got to get to land."

"What is your obsession with land?" I asked.

Jack's scowl deepened, but I noticed a trace of fear growing in his eyes. "Do you not pay attention, Norrington? I've got to get the heart of Davy Jones!"

I shrugged and buried my face in Zuri's hair. I felt Zuri grin.

"Well, you can deal with that without me."

"Zuri!"

"Jack, I love you and all, but I love James, too. I'm stayin' with him," she said firmly.

Jack, muttering angrily, stormed out and slammed the door shut behind him. I could barely hear his voice yelling at the crew to work double time because 'Zuri's being a little love to her little Norrington and wants some alone time—leaving us to the work ourselves!'

I raised an eyebrow at her.

She flashed me a grin and returned her head to my chest. "Who cares? Jack can blab his mouth and make fun of our relationship all he wants. Doesn't mean I'm gonna rise to his jealous jibes."

"Jealous?"

"He's jealous I'm choosing you over him, especially seen as the last time you and I saw each other, we weren't doin' so hot together."

I harrumphed. "He won't let that go, will he?"

"Well, you did try to hang him...," Zuri started.

"I was following the law," I interrupted. Then I felt shame and embarrassment rise fresh and hot onto my cheeks. "And I'm no honest man of the law now."

Zuri looked at me with what appeared to be pity. "Oh, sweetheart...I'm sorry." She unwound an arm from my waist and brushed a strand of my matted hair out of my eyes. "I'm sorry, love," she cooed.

"For what?" I asked, trying not to sound too miserable. "It isn't like you could do anything about it."

"I know," she whispered. "But I'm sorry I hadn't been there to help you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to keep you from turning into this. I could have kept you as an honest gentleman in Port Royal if you'd wanted."

I gave her a look. "Oh, face it, Zuri. You would have made me into a pirate anyway."

She gave me a lopsided grin. "Okay, maybe. But you'd like it better if I'd done it to you," she pointed out. "You wouldn't be so miserable and drunk all the time. You'd be content to be a pirate. You'd like the life at sea that we would live." She brushed my hair out of my eyes yet again and let her own dark green-hazel eyes get lost in mine while I got lost in hers.

"You seem to be under the impression we'd still be together if you'd tried to make me a pirate," I murmured, but my tone was playful and teasing, taking the sting out of my words.

"Of course we would be," she murmured back, her lips suddenly captivating. "You know we would be."

"I do," I admitted, my eyes still tracing her lips. "But what would you do if we weren't?" I lifted a finger to trace her lips as I forced my eyes back to hers.

Her green-hazel orbs held a smile. "The question is what would you do, not me."

I laughed softly. "What makes you think that? It is true, but tell me why."

"You need and you crave my attention," she whispered, tucking my loose strands of hair behind my ear and placing a hand on my neck. "You need my support. You need my heart. You need my ship. You need my eyes. You need my lips," she added, her eyes flashing playfully, suggesting my attention to her lips had not gone unnoticed.

I smiled, laughing low and soft yet again. "You're right. But you missed something." I pressed my lips weakly to her mouth so I would be able to tell her the very thing she missed. "I love you. And that matters more than my dignity." 

I turned my weak kiss into a very passionate one. Zuri smiled as I did. When we separated, she grinned at me.

"I need you, too," she said. "I'm a sucker for your romance."