FIC - Beyond the Sea (2/2)

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

Title: Beyond the Sea (2/2)
Author: arieltachna and namarie120
Type: FPS
Pairing: Diego Alatriste / Will Turner
Rating: NC-17
Warning: none
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, created for entertainment and enjoyment only. We don’t own the characters or the actors portraying them.
Feedback: would be wonderful
Beta: sileya
Summary: The banner says it all
A/N: This was supposed to be a short little one-shot inspired by dreamerswings42’s gorgeous manip until the angst bunnies bit us. (It's all tularia's fault.) So instead, it's a long, complicated two-shot.
A/N2: This one’s for sirkayem – is this fast enough? Enjoy, birthday boy!





~~~

Beyond the sea, beyond the sea,
My heart is gone, far, far from me;
And ever on its track will flee
My thoughts, my dreams, beyond the sea.

Beyond the sea, beyond the sea,
The swallow wanders fast and free:
Oh, happy bird! were I like thee,
I, too, would fly beyond the sea.

Beyond the sea, beyond the sea,
Are kindly hearts and social glee:
But here for me they may not be;
My heart is gone beyond the sea.

– Thomas Love Peacock, 1831

~~~


I awoke slowly to a sliver of warm sunlight teasing my closed eyelids through the narrow window of my cabin, and a warm chest pillowed against my cheek. Both sensations were so novel and so welcome that I let myself lie still and simply savor them. I usually found sleep difficult enough to come by that I was awake long before the sun; and I had only twice been able to wake beside Elizabeth. The thought of being able to awaken beside Diego every morning warmed me as much as the sun's waxing rays.

My eyes opened to an expanse of toned chest, covered with a light coating of dark hair. I exhaled gently, letting my breath ruffle the short curls and flow over the small ruddy nipple just beyond the reach of my lips. It tightened before my eyes as its owner stirred languidly beneath me, moving just enough that I could stretch out my tongue to swipe at the tempting nub.

~~~

I could get used to this, sleeping in a real bed instead of a hammock slung between two rafters in the hold, waking to nuzzling kisses rather than to the shouts of the first mate. Stretching, I arched into Will's lips, a light moan escaping my lips as my pulse began to pound. My hand went to what I could already tell would be its accustomed place, covering the scar that bound him to the Dutchman, seeking again the proof that our love and our lovemaking restored him.

I felt nothing. Not even the faint echo I had first noticed the night before.

Sitting upright, I stared down at my lover in panic. "It's gone," I cried.

~~~

For an instant, the thought that flashed through my mind was that the scar was gone, healed by Diego's love; but the ugly red weal still defaced my chest beneath my lover's palm. Then I realized I was hearing only his heartbeat beneath my cheek – the miraculous sense of my own heart beating was gone, so completely that I wondered if I had imagined it in the first place. Pushing up onto my elbow, I pressed my other hand over Diego's, as if somehow we could find the pulse again if we only bore down hard enough, but only his blood pumped beneath my fingers. I met his worried gaze with my own bewildered stare. "What happened?"

~~~

"I don't know," I replied, trying to keep my tone even, to control the panic that rose in my chest. Last night, I had interpreted his heartbeat as a sign, a blessing even. Its absence now chilled me to the bone. My thoughts raced as I considered the possible repercussions of both the returned pulse and its subsequent disappearance. Had Bootstrap been right? In trying to help Will, had I condemned him to break faith with Calypso, thus damning us all? "I don't know. Do you think we...?"

I couldn't make myself finish the sentence, my arms opening to embrace him despite my fears. I needed the comfort as much as he did. "I love you," I affirmed. "That can't be wrong."


~~~

I moved gratefully into Diego's embrace, his words the reassurance I needed that whatever else I had lost, I had not lost his love. Raising my hands to his tangle of dark hair, I brought our lips together in a slow kiss, the emotions that filled me every bit as strong as they had been the night before. "And I love you," I promised him, "that will never change." Too much of what had happened to me since Jack's machinations led me to this place was beyond my understanding, but I knew what I had found with Diego, and I would allow nothing to threaten it.

Losing myself again in his tender kiss, I was slow to recognize the sensation that began to nag at my awareness. It was one of the things I didn't understand, but I always knew when the Dutchman was nearing a wreck. Perhaps the souls I needed to collect called to me somehow. Just now I was too shaken to react immediately – Diego's kiss was too tempting, too consuming to give up. Not until the harsh clang of the ship's bell rang out, followed by my father's deep voice calling to the crew "Ship ho!", did I pull reluctantly from Diego's arms.

~~~

In the six months I had been on the Dutchman, I had never known Bootstrap to sound the bell without the captain already on deck, facing unerringly toward the ship that needed our aid. Had he not known this time? Or had he felt whatever summons came to him and ignored it? Neither option reassured me, despite the words of love he had murmured before we kissed. I wanted to believe that nothing had changed, that our lovemaking had not somehow corrupted him, but the evidence already before my eyes was less than reassuring.

"They'll be looking for the captain on deck," I commented, handing him his clothes before beginning to search for my own.

~~~

"I don't need you to tell me my duty," I snapped before I could bite the words back. Horrified by the harshness of my tone, I tried to meet his gaze to ask forgiveness, but he had already turned away, pulling on his trousers. I threw on my own clothing and moved to take him by the shoulders, flinching at the distrust in his gaze even though I knew it was warranted. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "You didn't deserve that. I don't know what's happened, and I can't explain it, but please believe that I love you."

His beautiful eyes softened and he nodded, but before he could speak the bell sounded again. "We'll settle this afterward," I told him, my role as Captain overriding that of lover. Only temporarily, I silently promised both Diego and myself before heading for the bridge and the souls that already awaited me there.

~~~

His apology did nothing to ease the pain his words caused me, though nothing could diminish the power of his vow of love. I watched him stride out of the cabin, my lover sublimated into Captain Turner. How I had ever confused the two, I could not now say, but Will was well and truly hidden. Slowly, I made my way onto the deck, taking my spot and awaiting the captain's orders as we approached the sinking vessel.

I watched a ritual that had not varied since I arrived aboard the Dutchman, Captain Turner welcoming the souls of the dead, offering them comfort before they moved on to the crew, to be ushered below where they would dwell while we made our way to the other side and the white shores that awaited them there. There were no survivors among this group, no one to be offered the same choice as the captain had offered me. I could not decide if that was fortuitous or not. Would there have been some still left alive if he had not waited to take the helm? Had I caused him to fail in his duty?

The thought ripped at my heart. I had wanted only to ease his burden, but it seemed that everything I had done only added to it. His heart had beat again in his chest last night, only to be gone this morning. And now, he was torn between his duty and a lover he had not even asked for – that I had all but forced on him. Perhaps it would have been better if I had drowned before he found me. At least then, he could simply have taken me beyond and been done with me instead of having his life disrupted by my meddling.

Determined not to add any more to his burden, I followed the souls down into the hold, retreating to the corner I had carved out as mine. There was no place on a ship to truly hide, but at least this way, the captain would not be troubled by my presence.

~~~

By the time I had finished with the last of the Lucinda's crew, easing their fears and preparing them for the transition to come, Diego was no longer on deck. Thinking he had returned to the Captain's cabin, I hurried below as soon as the last of the stricken vessel's masts disappeared below the surface of the waves, but the room was empty, my lover vanished as completely as the ill-fated schooner.

Irritation added to the anxiousness that already gnawed at me. Had I driven Diego away already, merely because as much as I might wish to, I could not ignore my responsibilities as the Dutchman's captain? I had not asked for this fate, hadn't volunteered to take it on – I had endured more than fifty years of loneliness, suffered the loss of everyone I had ever loved, except my father. Did Diego think I had wanted to push him away? To hell with him, then. I didn't need a lover who would abandon me the first time something displeased him. Maybe that was the explanation for what I thought I'd felt last night – stirred by lust, I'd imagined my heart had been restored, but the cold light of day had proven differently.

A spasm of pain wracked me at the thought, so fiercely that I dropped to my bunk, pressing the heels of my hands into my closed eyes. Despite myself, my mind conjured up the image of Diego beside me in the bed, whispering that he loved me. The emptiness that ate at me was more than just unsated desire. Hadn't I told myself only this morning that I wouldn't allow anything to threaten what I had found with Diego? That would have to include my lover's unhappiness with me. I would need to make him understand, somehow, that I could not neglect my duty to the souls I shepherded, but also that my duty would never mean as much to me as he had come to do.

Resolved to make Diego listen to me, I rose to search for him among the crew.

~~~

I did not look up when I heard the murmuring begin. I wanted everyone to forget I was there, so I huddled deeper into my corner, my face hidden against my knees. The captain rarely came into the hold, but it seemed he had come now.

"Diego." His voice was firm, neutral, requesting, not ordering my attention. I almost refused to look up, but that would have been churlish, and I could not do that to him, not when I loved him so much.

"Yes, Captain?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

~~~

Hearing Diego call me 'Captain' when I longed to hear him moaning 'Will' fueled my determination to make things right between us again. "I would like to see you in my cabin," I told him, willing my voice to remain dispassionate before the crew. I realized some of them might guess why I wanted Diego in my cabin, but I would neither confirm nor deny that impression. I respected my crew, but what transpired between Diego and I was none of their concern.

To my relief, I did not have to enact a scene before them. Diego rose to his feet, and I gestured him to precede me. His face, what I could glimpse of it as he passed me with his head lowered, looked as haggard as I felt. At least the distance that had sprung up between us seemed to be troubling him as much as it did me. I tried to look at that as a hopeful sign. As soon as he entered my cabin, I shut the door behind us and turned to face him, trying to decide where to begin.

"Why did you go back to the hold instead of waiting for me on deck or returning here?" I asked finally, when it was clear Diego was not going to speak unprompted. "Did what we shared last night mean so little to you?"

~~~

"Dios que non!" I replied instantly, shocked into a response at the idea that he might think I had discounted what had passed between us. "But your duty must come first, as you reminded me quite aptly this morning. You cannot afford to be distracted by me as you very nearly were."

I bowed my head as the shame of that lapse filled me. "I know all too well the cost of not fulfilling your duty. Mr. Turner made it very clear what would happen if you failed in your charge. He told me not to interfere, and I didn't listen. I'm sorry." I looked up, about to offer to join the souls from the Lucinda when we arrived at the distant shores, but the look on his face caught my attention, forestalling my words.

~~~

"The responsibility I bear is not one I can neglect or ignore," I agreed. That was what we had fought Davy Jones to overcome, and I would never forget what his crew and those unfortunate enough to refuse his ultimatum had suffered. I stepped before Diego and forced him to meet my eyes. "But you are not a distraction to that duty, my love. Or rather, you are only as much a distraction as I need to remain sane and human. I don't pretend to understand what happened last night, but your love made me whole again, if only for a few short hours." I took his hand in mine and held it to my chest. "Please don't take that away from me, Diego."

~~~

What could I say to that?

Nothing, I discovered.

I had no words that would explain to him that he, too, had made me feel whole, had made me feel human again, and I had lost far less than he in agreeing to stay on the Dutchman when he offered. Words failed me, but actions did not, and so I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him close, mating our lips together ferociously. The missing heartbeat still troubled me, but I could do nothing about that. I could, by my actions, promise to stand at my captain's – my lover's – side for as long as my presence was a balm to his soul.

The night before, I had taken my lead from him, letting him guide our lovemaking in case he changed his mind. This morning, I had no such patience. He could not change his mind. Not now. And so I seized his mouth with all the love and passion he roused in me, expunging the fear and doubt through the contact of our lips, our clasped hands held between us still as if by continuing to believe in what we had felt the night before, we could make it real again.

~~~

I opened myself completely to Diego's kiss, as though the breath I stole from his mouth was all that kept me from drowning, our joined hands against my chest easing the empty ache inside. Last night I had been eager to explore my lover's body, to learn all I could about what gave him pleasure, and while I was no less eager this morning, I was equally aroused by what I sensed was his natural dominance coming to the fore. Contenting myself with sliding a palm beneath the hem of his shirt to feel the strong muscles of his back as he held me, I ceded control of the kiss to him, the evidence of his desire reassuring me as his passivity could not.

It was a new sensation, and a surprisingly enticing one, to relax into his strength, to let him shift and position me as he wished. I had always been the initiator, the leader in lovemaking until now, but Diego's mastery was powerfully seductive. I wondered how long I had yearned without knowing it for the chance to lay aside the burden of always being in command. Diego seemed to know what I needed better than I knew myself.

Keeping one hand locked between us against my scar, his other roved over me possessively, staking an unspoken claim everywhere he could reach. I was beginning to ache for the touch of his skin against mine when he broke our kiss to curse darkly at the amount of clothing blocking his way.

"Then get rid of it," I suggested, nothing of the Captain left in my voice.

~~~

Will molded against me so willingly, so seductively, that I simply took charge, guiding him where I wanted him, learning his body as he had learned mine the night before. His purred response to my complaint about the clothing between us left me with no doubt as to his agreement, not only with making love again, but with leaving me in control. I stripped the jacket, shirt, and bandanna from him first, ripping my own shirt in my haste to get it over my head. His chest was marvelously smooth, I knew already, but this morning, I could linger and explore as I pleased.

Urging him to lie down, I knelt over him, my weight across his thighs pinning him lightly, though his acquiescence assured me he wanted this as much as I did. I stretched up, stroking his long, wavy hair, enjoying the way it felt beneath my fingers. His head turned into the caress, and I realized how starved for affection he must be. The crew treated him with all the respect he deserved as Captain, but I had seen none of them touch him in any way in the time I had been aboard, not even to clap his shoulder jokingly as they did with each other. Silently, I swore to touch him every chance I got, not just sexually, but simply, humanly, giving him all the affection that had been missing along with Elizabeth's love, these past years.

Scooting forward to give myself better access, I threaded my fingers into the dark locks, kneading his scalp gently, easing away the burdens he bore. Leaning down, I nuzzled his cheek, making my way across the arch of his cheekbone to his ear, tracing the whorl with my tongue. "Te amo, William Turner," I swore. "Always."

~~~

The glide of Diego's bare skin against mine was everything I wanted and yet not nearly enough. One part of me wanted him desperately enough to pull him down beneath me and take what I ached for, but the greater part of my consciousness was floating on the blissful strokes of his hands through my hair, the sensual rasp of his tongue over my skin. When his warm breath whispered words of love into my ear, followed by his agile tongue, I arched off the bed with a wanton moan. "Diego," I begged, not sure what I was asking for but knowing only he could grant it to me. "Diego, please..."

"Patience, cariño," he murmured, using his body to hold me still as his hands stroked over my skin with the same gentle touch. With each languorous caress, I felt desired, cherished, the weight of my command and my fate drifting away until all that existed was Diego's hands, Diego's lips, buoying me on the surety of his love.

~~~

Will's body shifted restlessly beneath mine, but I saw the way he leaned into my careful caress, into my tender kisses. He needed me to cherish him far more than he needed me to fuck him. I wasn't fool enough to think we would end up anywhere else before the morning ended, but I intended to love him thoroughly first. My fingers smoothed across his face and down his neck, skin touching skin, all the while whispering endearments in his ear. I avoided his nipples and his scar, the former because I wanted to take our time, the latter because I didn't want to shatter the mood of contentment between us. The breadth of his chest and shoulders offered plenty of other delights, and I traced each curve, each hollow, tenderly, until he was gasping with each pass of my fingers.

Abandoning my murmurings, I let my lips trail lower, down his neck to the curve of his shoulder. Nipping along the top gently, I stopped when I felt him jerk beneath me, paying particular attention to that one spot. I wanted to mark him as mine, leaving behind some proof of my love, but I hesitated, fearing to undermine his authority should the crew see such a bruise.

~~~

Diego's massage had lulled me into an erotic haze, but the nip of his teeth at my collarbone reignited the banked flames of desire. He pulled away when my body stiffened beneath him, and I threaded a hand into his shaggy hair, urging him back. "Yes," I told him, wanting to bear his mark, to see something other than the hateful scar when I looked at my chest. "Gods, yes."

His teeth closed again over the faint bruise, sucking more firmly this time. I could feel my pulse beginning to throb through my veins, matching the avid suction of his lips on my flesh. I groaned deeply and he raised his head, drawing his lips gently over the livid spot, soothing away any pain.

~~~

To my surprise, he let me mark him, arching beneath me as I bit and sucked at his skin. Gentling the kiss finally, I lifted my head and smiled down at him. Seeing the tension in his shoulders and around his eyes finally fading, to be replaced by desire, I bent my head and kissed him quickly before turning my attention back to his chest, my lips closing over his left nipple, my hand settling over the scar on his chest to steady myself as I teased him.

The flutter beneath my palm was so faint I thought for a moment I imagined it, but as I laved the pebbled flesh beneath my tongue, it grew stronger. My gaze flew to his as I grabbed his hand, pressing it over his scar. "Can you feel it, too?"

~~~

I had thought the throbbing I felt was my reaction to the increasing ardor of his touch, of his lips on my chest; but when he held my hand to the scar I felt it again, the unmistakable heartbeat growing stronger even as his hand covered mine. I could no more explain it now than I could last night, but I no longer cared – it was there, conjured through some magic only Diego wielded.

"Love me," I pleaded, pulling his head down to my chest, needing to feel his lips on me again. The pulse grew stronger still as they slid with aching tenderness over the scar before closing around my sensitized nipple. I cried out in joy, my back bowing to offer more of myself, all of myself. "Love me as much as I love you."

~~~

"I do, mi corazon," I promised against his now-pounding chest, his plea tugging at my heart. I had no explanation for his returned pulse except the idea that somehow our loving restored him to himself for a time. If that was so, I would make sure he was always loved.

I could not make my lips leave the pulse beating beneath his scar, but my hands resumed their wanderings, working down his flanks until they encountered fabric, sliding between us to unfasten his breeches. His hips lifted as I worked them down his thighs. I should have removed his boots and breeches, but that would have meant pulling away, and I could not bear to do that. Leaving the cloth tangled around his knees, I returned to my stroking, learning every inch of skin I had been too overwhelmed to touch last night.

His legs parted as much as the confining trousers would allow, an unexpected invitation that I could not refuse. Coasting up the inside of his thighs, I palmed the heavy sacs with one hand, his erection having already hardened to stand proudly against his belly.

~~~

Diego called me his heart, but he was surely mine, for I could feel it swelling within my chest beneath his worshipful lips. I pushed up into his touch, frustrated in the full contact I desired by the cloth twisted around my knees. As much as I didn't want to give up an instant of his touch, after a moment's vain struggle I tugged gently at his hair, urging him away. "Just until we can get rid of these clothes," I temporized, toeing off my boots as I reached for the laces at his waist.

Releasing me with a moan that assured me he was as lost in passion as I was, Diego rolled to the edge of the bed and stripped off his remaining garments quickly, tossing them aside along with my own things and returning at once to my side. I pulled him down atop me, tangling my legs with his, the feel of his lean, hair-dusted body molding to mine nearly enough to bring me to completion.

~~~

Everything in the way he held me once we were naked proclaimed he wanted to be claimed as he had claimed me the night before, but I had to be sure. Sliding my hand beneath his buttocks, I let my fingers brush his crease, finding the virgin entrance and ghosting across it. "Is this what you want, mi corazon?" I verified.

His breathless gasp of a reply left me with a smile on my face, his hips pushing back against my finger. "You're the only one who can fill the emptiness inside me."

The words left no doubt about how this morning would end. I buried my face in his neck, striving for control as I thought about what it would feel like to join our bodies again. Reaching for the lamp that remained by the bed, I coated my fingers and returned them to the tight portal. "Relax for me."

~~~

I was too far gone in passion to relax, but I let my legs fall farther apart, opening myself wholly to his touch. His mouth moved roughly over the chords of my neck, but his oil-slick fingers were gentle as they brushed down my crease, teasing at the yearning opening until I felt I would go mad if he did not breach it. "Diego!" I cried hoarsely, thrusting my hips upward in an effort to force the contact I craved.

Drawing his lips down my torso until they once more feathered over the scar and the pulse that shook it, he gently penetrated me with one thick finger, easing it in minute increments until I had granted it full ingress. Knowing that it was Diego moving inside me, awakening feelings I had thought deadened forever, overcame any hesitance at the unaccustomed sensation. Avid to feel him filling me completely, I pushed against him, taking him deeper even as I pleaded for more. A second finger worked its way inside, the burn only adding to the fever consuming me. My cock jumped against my belly each time Diego twisted and stretched the clinging passage, his equally hard length riding against my hip. Unable to wait any longer, I closed my fist around it, drawing him toward the union I needed as much as the air I gasped into my heaving lungs.

~~~

My hands trembling as I struggled for enough control not to simply dive into Will's heat, I marveled at his responsiveness, his eagerness. The touch of his hand on my cock left what little control I still had wavering, and rather than try to fight, I gave in to that silent entreaty, moving between his legs as the night before he had moved between mine.

My lips never left his scar as I helped him position me at his stretched entrance. I wanted his lips free to tell me to stop if the stretch became too much. The rhythmic thump-thump of his heart was a reminder of the power of what we shared, and feeling it beneath my mouth gave me the connection I so desired.

He was tight as I forged my way inside, his muscles squeezing me almost painfully. I knew I had to be hurting him, but only encouragement passed his lips as I inched my way deeper, joining us again, body and soul. When I could go no further, I nuzzled the scar once more and looked up to meet his eyes, burning with dark flame. "Te amo, mi corazon," I repeated again, lest he forget it.

~~~

"You are my heart," I vowed, bringing his hand back to my chest where we could both feel the proof beneath our palms. The pain of his entry was fading, melting into the overwhelming heat of him filling me, stirring within me, giving me life with the power of his love. I hitched my hips beneath him, gasping when he slid even deeper, enough to press the head of his cock against my most sensitive spot. "There," I groaned, "like that, just like that." My legs locked around his, holding him prisoner so all we could do was rock together, the subtle movements of his cock inside me and his belly rubbing against mine more than enough to set me afire.

Our hands still entwined, I lifted the other to his head, urging him down to meet my kiss. Our tongues met and parted, stroking each other to the tempo our bodies set, the tempo of our hearts beating as one.

~~~

His legs wrapped around me kept me from thrusting like I wanted to, but it was probably better so, given this was the first time anyone had loved him this way. I stirred my hips gently in his sheath, keeping constant pressure on the spot that made him groan and thrash beneath me, his words only encouraging me.

Hands covering his heart, lips engaged in a powerful, passionate kiss, we ground against each other, seeking the same glorious release that we had known the night before. I wanted to reach for his cock, but nothing could have persuaded me to separate our hands in order to touch him. I only hoped this would be enough to bring him to climax. My own need growing desperate, I increased the intensity of my movement, snapping our hips together with all the force I could muster given the constraint of his legs holding me in place.

His trembling began deep inside, triggering an answering shiver in my own loins. "Come with me, love," I pleaded, knowing I could not hold back much longer.

~~~

I did not know if it was supposed to feel this way, this powerful – I had no experience to compare it to, but nothing in my life felt as incredible as the tremors of heat lightning flashing through me. Each time Diego moved, the electric charge built and strengthened, until it felt it would burst out of my skin and consume us both. My body tightened around him, trying to hold him closer, to fuse us into a single being so that I would never have to let him go. I felt him begin to quiver against me, inside me, the rapture I sought so close that just a single spark more would set it crashing around me. We hung on the cusp, suspended for a timeless moment, and then our eyes met and what I saw reflected in Diego's turbulent gaze unleashed the maelstrom. My climax engulfed me with the raw elemental power of sea and sky, deeper and stronger than any I had ever known. With a harsh cry, I convulsed against Diego, the hot thick spill of my release pulsing out to coat his belly, and then the tempest swept through him, too. He shuddered against me, filling every empty place within me before collapsing, his weight a delicious burden as we clung together through the rumbling aftershocks of our lovemaking.

~~~

Eventually, our breathing slowed, our bodies calmed, and the stickiness between us made moving a necessity. I rolled to the side, just enough that I might wipe Will clean with the sheet, before settling my head in the hollow of his shoulder. I had made the mistake of walking away from him that morning, but I wouldn't make it again, not when I had felt the connection between us spring back into place. We belonged together. Nothing, now, could convince me otherwise. I would stand at my captain's side and support him in his duties, and then when time permitted, I would love him with all my being, and hope that it would be enough to chase away the doubts and fears that had plagued him. Enough to keep him whole and alive.

Beneath my hand, his pulse slowed, then weakened progressively. Frowning a little, I lifted my head to meet his languorous gaze. "Your heart is fading again," I observed, perhaps unnecessarily, for surely he felt it even more than I did. That this had happened before reassured me only marginally.

~~~

Perhaps I ought to have been more concerned, but the connection Diego and I had forged was so powerful I could not doubt that it would endure, as eternal as the tide. And I believed I had learned the secret of its ebb and flow, as well. "Then when it grows too faint, you will simply have to make love to me again," I told him.

"That will be no hardship," Diego replied with a subtle smile, running a possessive hand down my side to curl around my sated cock. I kissed him lazily and settled against his chest. Calypso might not have answered my entreaty, but the steady beat of Diego’s heart beneath my cheek was all the answer I needed.

~~~

Will's words proved prophetic. His heartbeat faded by evening that day, but another bout of making love restored it before we slept. As the days went by, his pulse stayed strong for longer before fading, until now, six months later, it never fades completely. Weakens, yes, to the faint echo I felt the first time we were together, but if I were to walk up to him now, hours after we last came together, I would still feel it.

I will not approach him now, for he is the Captain at this moment, ushering the last of another group of hapless souls off the ship and into the world beyond. When that is done, though, I know we will retreat to the privacy of his cabin. Carrying out his duty always takes a toll on him, for he is a caring man, but today his duty weighs on him more than most. Today, his father will be among those who leave the ship forever.

A week ago, Mr. Turner asked to speak to us, declaring once we were alone that he had served his purpose on the Dutchman, helping Will find his feet after suddenly becoming captain, helping him hold on to his humanity through all these years. But he was tired now, he explained, and ready to pass on. He never would have left his son alone, he went on, but he said he knew that Will had something – someone – far better suited to the task now than he had ever been. We were both caught off guard and argued against his departure, but he was adamant. What could we say in the end? The decision to stay on the Dutchman had been his, and the decision to leave was his as well.

I watch in silence as father and son embrace one last time. "Take care of him, Señor Alatriste," Bootstrap calls back to me as he steps from the ship.

"I will," I vow, stepping to Will's side.

~~~

My father's farewell was proof again, had I needed it, that Diego had restored my heart, for it ached at parting with the man I had dreamed of as a child and learned to respect and love as a man, the man I had fought Davy Jones to save. Yet he had suffered under Jones for long years before we met and after, and now he was ready to rest. I would miss him, as I missed all the years I had never known him for the good and loving father he proved to be, but I could understand his choice. Had I not found Diego, I would be longing for the same rest myself.

As I held him in a final embrace, he murmured, "The title of captain will be always be yours, but don't let that keep you from relying on Diego, from making him your partner in this endeavor. It will only make you stronger." I nodded and he clasped my shoulder before stepping back. "I'm proud to call you my son, Captain Turner."

When the shore fades in the distance and finally disappears from view, I turn to the man at my side, his eyes beneath their dark lashes warm with concern and love. His hand tightens around mine, offering his strength, and I raise our joined hands to my chest.

"Your orders, mi Capitán?" my new first mate asks.

"Join me below deck, Mr. Alatriste," I tell him, the address sounding awkward when I think of him only as Diego. My lover. My love. I smile at him, a quick, private smile no one but he can see. "I believe we should discuss your duties in more detail."

"Aye, mi Capitán," he answers, with a twist of his thick moustache that tells me he understands exactly what duties I am most interested in having him demonstrate. I wonder exactly when the title I once hated became a term of endearment, one I know I will never tire of hearing from Diego's lips.

As the Dutchman heads back to sea, I follow Diego to our cabin, my heartbeat quickening in anticipation.


~end

Comments

[dreamerswings42.livejournal.com]

Ok ladies, you left me with tears of two kinds, well maybe three, it's over, Bootstap leaving and Diego/Will together and devoted. Amazing. Wonderful story xoxoxo

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

We really didn't mean to make anyone cry, but it seems to be a common reaction! See what you do to us?

[dreamerswings42.livejournal.com]

Not all tears are an evil! ;-)

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

That's just what I told Pecos! *grins*

[mistry89.livejournal.com]

Bit weepy now.
Thank you - a poignant tale.

Cheers!

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

*offers you tissues*

((hugs))

[sveta-111.livejournal.com]

This is the most beautiful crossover I've ever read...
Thank you.

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful compliment, thank you!

Amazing!

[oak-titmouse.livejournal.com]

What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it. The way that you tied the two stories together was seamless and you did it in such a way that it seems obvious that it was meant to be. I'm so glad that they ended up together and I'm curious as to where the future and the Dutchman will take them.

Re: Amazing!

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

We hadn't planned to continue the story beyond this, but you never know - we hadn't planned to write this until Cat's manip inspired us!

Re: Amazing!

[oak-titmouse.livejournal.com]

If you continue the story, that would be great, but even if you didn't it wouldn't at all detract from my love of the story. I find that almost all of my favorite stories don't want to let me go. They gain a life of their own, and regardless of whether they are continued, the characters continue to live in my head.

Having read others of your stories in the past (I know, I know... I'm a bad, bad person for not reviewing) I know that whatever you write will be wonderful and I can't wait to read it whatever it may be. :)

[feenie.livejournal.com]

I would miss him, as I missed all the years I had never known him for the good and loving father he proved to be

Shows a bit how Will's grown since we all first met him. And dad telling him to let Diego be his partner was good advice.


Just a wonderful story.

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

Thank you, we enjoyed being able to explore the relationship between father and son a bit more.

[sarkka]

*big weepy smile* =)


Lovely, just lovely !

[oceansecrets2.livejournal.com]

Why is everyone crying, it's supposed to be a *happy* ending!

((hugs))