Observation

 

 

Rating: G

Summary: The story of how Jack and Will got together, told from a different point of view.

Genre: Romance/Fluff

Disclaimer: I don't own these lovely characters, Disney does. I promised I'd have them home in time for supper. I'm not making any money from this, so there's no point in suing me. I have 5 bucks and a few hairballs. Hardly worth the hassle. This is all from my rather troubled mind, and I don't mean any harm.
Really, I'm harmless. I promise.

Warnings: none

Beta: Princess gave it the a-okay, but any typos are mine.

A/N: This was written for the JackXWill group ficathon. A great big thank you goes out to Sparrowhawk for giving me a challenge even though there was an email mix up and my entry didn't get to her on time. Thank you muchly dear!

Original Challenge: Tell the story of how Jack and Will got together as a couple from the point of view of a neutral observer. Include this line: "Will knew running away never solved anything". This is what happened.

Loud voices, rough words, dim light, smell of too many bodies pressed too close. This is a tavern. This is the place that men come to forget their lives, to drink their fill, or to conduct their business. We see all types in here. Little boys trying to be men, men trying to be little boys, and even some who don't know what they're trying to be. We see the same faces every so often, the same group of rag tag men and boys stumble in for a hot meal, cold drink, soft bed, and willing woman. After a while, you get used to the rotation of crews going in and out. You become familiar with their lives in ways you never thought you would. It gets so you can read them like open books. So you begin to read their story.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's cold tonight, unseasonably cold. There must be a storm coming in. You go about your duties, rubbing down the top of the bar with an already filthy cloth, lining up the tankards, hiding the cash box. The first stragglers wander in, sitting at tables or on the few stools around the bar. You watch as the barwenches strut over and flirt a little, and take orders, and it promises to be just an ordinary night. As the night grows old, and plates of food are replaced with tankards and mugs, you notice a lone figure slink through the door. He catches your eye because he doesn't look the part of pirate. His clothes are better made, and they match, and he seems to be more boy than man. He looks to be one of those snooty upper class fools to you. Which is rather odd, now that you think of it.

So you watch him. He sits down with another man, one who fits the pirate description rather well. The other man looks shocked to see the newcomer. Boy smiles at Pirate, and Pirate slowly smiles back. They talk for a while, and it seems to you that it's a bit awkward, with Pirate sitting rather closed off from Boy. Boy sees this, and reaches out a hand to rest on Pirate's elbow. Pirate doesn't react, just allows the contact for a moment. Your attention is pulled away from them when a barwench comes up and asks for two pints and a bottle of rum with two glasses. You shake your head at yourself, angry that you let yourself get that involved with just watching those two.

You place the order on the barwench's tray and by the time you fill another order and turn inquiring eyes back in the direction of Boy and Pirate, they're gone. You're rather disappointed, and you don't understand why. You think you don't want to understand. You turn and put them out of your mind as best you
can and go back to work.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three weeks and two days later, not that you've been counting, they're back. As you look up from the tantalizing sight of the barwench's rather low bodice you see Pirate sit down at the same table as last time. Before you can ask yourself where Boy is, he walks through the door and over to the table, and sits down. This time, you notice it's no longer awkward between them. Pirate motions for a barwench as Boy leans back in his chair. You manage somehow to fill three tankards without really knowing how. You don't remember looking away from Boy and Pirate. You shrug as you bend over to pick up a fallen rag. You straighten up and are met with the sight of the barwench from Boy and Pirate's table, and you take extra care to clean their glasses and get them a fresh bottle of rum. After the barwench leaves with a somewhat suspicious glance you're convinced you've gone crazy.

The main difference this time, aside from their laughter, is that they stay long into the night. You've begun to clean up behind the bar when they struggle to their feet. They're rather drunk, which is as it should be after three and a half bottles of rum between them. You're running a soapy cloth, still filthy, over the grimy bar top when Pirate catches Boy from a stumble. They laugh like it's their last, and clinging to each other, head for the door. You watch as they choose a rather indirect path, which you attribute to more than one door in their field of vision. They finally pick the right door and with another burst of laughter and a few coins tossed to the barwench, disappear into the night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It's more than a month before you see Boy and Pirate again. During this time, you wonder at the importance of these two people in relation to your own life. You have never spoken to either, you don't know their names, you don't know why they mean so much to you. It begins to leave a slightly sour taste in your mouth, like you've drunk the last swallow from a day old tankard of beer. You decide that if Boy and Pirate come into the tavern again you won't watch them like you usually do. You'll just forget that they're there and go about your duties as you did before they ever came into your tavern.... Was there a time before they came into your tavern?

When Boy walks in the door, you have the misfortune to be cleaning a glass. Your hand stills at the sight of Boy with the late afternoon sun shining behind him, making his skin glisten like nothing you've ever seen before. His hair is longer you notice, and when that glass slips from your suddenly numb fingers, he looks in your direction with a smirk, like he knows the reason for your clumsiness. Before your head disappears under the bar to pick up your mess, Pirate walks in, with a noticeable limp. Like he sat on something funny. He lowers himself gently into the chair of the table you've come to think of as theirs, Boy smirks harder, and Pirate winces.

Boy is different tonight, there's an air of confidence about him, something that you never noticed he lacked. But now, he's.... more. Smiling bigger, laughing louder, shining brighter. They go through their customary three and a half bottles of rum, and by the time they head for the exit, Boy is the one to catch Pirate in his stumble. You don't think you can call him boy anymore, but what else are you supposed to call him, Pirate #2? So you just decide to stick with Boy. Even though you can see he's a man.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next three months are lonely ones for you. Not hide nor hair of Boy or Pirate. You've gone through days where you're just convinced that one or both is going to walk through that door RIGHT NOW and when they don't, your disappointment is sharp and biting. Then you've almost succeeded in your plot to wipe them from your mind. Never saw Boy or Pirate before, no siree. But then you see someone walk in and the sun hits them just right, or you catch a glimpse of a leather tricorn hat, and your plot is foiled. Disillusionment is hard for you, and you wonder if you'll ever recover. Then you fall back into your old routine and you think that you never needed them in the first place. Then the thought that you actually did need them at some point hits you and you again wonder at your sanity.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One night, when the supper rush has passed and you're waiting for the serious drinkers to stumble in, you raise your head from washing tankards and fall right into a pair of shining golden-brown eyes. It takes you a minute to recover from that, and when you realize that Boy is standing waiting patiently for your attention, you nearly faint from shock. Now you know how Pirate felt. Poor lad, his heart would never be the same judging from the rate that yours is racing. Boy quietly and politely asks for a pint of ale, and you serve him quite efficiently, hoping that he doesn't notice your hands trembling. He takes the tankard from you with a quiet thank you and heads to their table. This time, Pirate doesn't show up.

You keep an eye on boy as the night wears on. He's had a fair amount of ale at this point, and with each pint, slips just a lower into his chair. His shoulders have slumped, and his confidence is lying on the floor at his feet. Shredded. Now, he really looks like that boy who walked in here over a lifetime ago. What happened to tear down that bright shining Boy, you cannot even begin to fathom. But you feel angry and frustrated and you suddenly need air or you will make it your place to defend Boy's honor, and you're sure that would be bad. You step out the front door of the tavern and lean just to the right of the door. Your eyes scan your surroundings automatically and come to rest on a figure in the shadows across the road. Tall, slender, leather tricorn hat, leaning just so. And just from this vague glimpse of the man in the shadows, you know it's Pirate. Boy comes out then, and he offers you a sad smile before walking down the street. You catch shadow man straighten up across the road, and now you're absolutely sure it's Pirate. Come to check up on his Boy. Suddenly, everything is right in your world, and you go inside to fill more tankards and wipe more glasses, but with a lighter heart.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two more months pass, and you've seen Pirate just once, with another man. Not his Boy. They come into the tavern and order rum and sit down at a table. Not their table, which makes you glad. They talk quietly and drink their share of rum and when they get up to leave, they pause by the bar. You hear Pirate's companion speak a single sentence.

"Will knew running away never solved anything."

You wonder who Will is. Then they're gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This went on for quite some time. Pirate would come in with one man or another, and though sometimes he would laugh and play merry, you knew he never was. He never smiled at any of these men quite the same way he smiled at Boy. And you think that it's a shame that Pirate won't smile that way or laugh that loud or radiate that glow now that Boy's gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You don't know how much time has passed. Pirate has stopped coming in with other men, and you almost don't remember what Boy looks like. At least, that's what you tell yourself. You still see his eyes in your mind, and they follow you everywhere. So naturally, it's quite a surprise when Boy walks through the door one night. He looks at you and smiles, like greeting an old friend. You smile back at him and nod your head, your way of saying welcome back. You somehow know he understands. Before you can process this though, Pirate walks in and heads for their table, where Boy is already sitting. They talk softly for a few moments, eyes never leaving each other. You sense something's changed with them, and you watch closer, looking for anything that would give you a clue. Then you see it, a hand brushing an arm, legs pressed close under the table, smiles in their eyes. Then you understand what's changed, and you smile approvingly in their direction. They order supper and ale from their barwench and continue their conversation. A soft glow of contentment seems to spread out from them, like a warm fog rolling in from the sea at sunrise. You turn to fill an order and feel a quiet peace settle over the tavern.

They linger over their meal, and then order another pint each. This they drink as slowly as the first, but they're quiet now. They sit together and relax into their chairs. You notice their feet are tangled under the table. You glance in their direction every once in a while as you fill orders and wipe clean glasses. They haven't moved, but now they're watching each other. This goes on for a few minutes, smiling softly at each other, and you marvel how they've not drawn attention to themselves in their closeness. Or maybe, you're just watching too closely.

They're the last to leave tonight, and you're busying yourself with mopping up the floor and putting up the chairs. There's no need for them to hurry, and they know this. They're discussing some matter between them, and every once in a while one will laugh, and you look over with a smile. You're glad they've patched up their differences, and you hope they will continue to come in when they have a mind. You're throwing the dirty wash water out the door when they stand up as one. You watch in bemusement as they gather up their tankards and put up their chairs. On their way to the door, Boy takes Pirate's tankard and
places both on the bar. Then, together, they head for the door. Pirate steps out first, and Boy turns to you with a soft smile, nods his thanks and then turns to follow Pirate out the door. You finish up quickly, wanting to get home and to your warm bed as soon as you can. As you close the door behind you and slip the key in the lock you think back on the past few months, and your heart is glad that those two made it. Sliding the key into your boot, you turn and head for your own house, just next door, whistling as you go.

Fin.