the Dalaverse

Short J/W bit of foof for to cheer khohen1 up; backstory for Adaptation. And yes, of course I named it after a new U2 song.



One Step Closer



Jack drifted into consciousness just as he did on so many mornings these days – with slim, muscular limbs wrapped around him, head covered in silky brown curls resting on his shoulder, the faint susurration of breath against his skin. Grinning, he started to twist himself against his partner before he froze. Best not to wake up just yet. He hated feeling the boy in his bed fade away like mist beneath the rising sun.

Yet even when his trapped arm began to tingle from lack of blood, the body lying near did not recede into wistful dreams. Jack lifted a hand in experiment, touched his slack face.

Will stirred, tucking his head more securely under Jack’s chin. “Jack,” he murmured, sounding content.

“Aye,” said Jack, surprised and pleased as the memories of the previous night began dropping back into his sleep-heavy head. He stroked both hands down Will’s sinewy back, kissing his brow. “Good morning, love.”

Suddenly Will stiffened, his head snapping up. Fuzziness cleared from his eyes as he stared at Jack, leaving him on the verge of panic.

“Jack?” he repeated, mouth agape. He scrambled backwards, nearly tumbling to the floor. Jack stretched leisurely, miffed that the warmth had begun to creep away from the side against which Will had been pressed.

The boy was shaking his head, cheeks reddening as he took in their state of undress. “I don’t – Elizabeth –”

I adore that girl, Jack thought fervently. Out loud, he reminded Will, “Elizabeth was the one invited herself and yourself t’ my bed, in case you don’t remember.”

And Elizabeth had been beside them, plying them both with drink, assuaging Will’s fears, and provoking Jack with as clear a challenge as ever he’d seen. Whatever it had been, he supposed he’d met it to her satisfaction; she had slipped out a few hours ago, leaning down to drop a kiss on Will’s cheek and momentarily waking Jack. Although they had not spoken, the look on her face was all Jack needed. There had been calm acceptance there, a tinge of regret, the barest flavor of bitterness. Jack would not begrudge her that; it was a hard thing she’d done, and he was more grateful than he’d ever be able to say. She had given him the opportunity to seek this when she could have dug in her heels and beaten him soundly. And she had given Will the freedom he would never have asked for, not after she lost the baby.

Will pulled away from Jack’s outstretched arms, his mouth set and worried. “I have to find her, talk to her –”

“In good time,” said Jack, doubting that Elizabeth would appreciate Will’s fumbling apologies at this hour, nor the glow still radiating from him. The boy bit his lip uncertainly, but he allowed Jack to draw him down against his chest. It had been even more difficult last night, and then he'd had a lively Elizabeth to help coax Will out of his reticence.

He was still tense, still trying to hold himself away even though he accepted Jack's attempts at caress. Jack bit back a sigh, knowing that the way wasn't clear yet and he was going to have to proceed carefully with this one. Will had worked himself up into such a knot of desire and guilt that not even the girl's implicit approval of the new sleeping arrangements was enough to untangle it.

Jack loved a challenge. It certainly didn't hurt that he loved Will as well, and Elizabeth too, for her pluck and her wiles and for the good she had done him. He was rather interested in what might have happened if she'd stayed to wake up beside them, but he understood the reasons why she hadn’t settled. The balance was off – that much was clear in the fact that she hadn’t needed to untangle herself from Will’s embrace, because he had clung to Jack without ceasing the whole night through. Eventually jealousy would have set in and broken them apart – perhaps broken them all permanently. Elizabeth didn’t need that, and Will certainly didn’t either.

Right now, what Will needed was assurance that blame for all the troubles in the world did not rest on his young shoulders. "She knew, you realize," he said quietly, combing Will's hair back from his face. Brown eyes regarded him solemnly, anxious to believe it. "I suspect she knew before either of us had any inkling."

"I feel..." He traced an arc in the air with one hand, voice tight with strain. "I know she acted on her own will, but I can't help feeling I forced her to it."

Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Seems to me that our Lizzie's not a girl who takes naturally to bein' forced." Will smiled reluctantly, and Jack could feel him wanting to relax. He dropped his head to whisper in the boy's ear. "She made her choices, William. Tell me, what will yours be?"

For a long, breathless moment Will was silent. Then his rigid muscles unwound, prompting a soft grunt from Jack as he let his full weight drop. "I never had a choice in you, Jack," he said, the unease gone from his voice as much as his body.

Jack smiled, taking his face in one hand and convincing him with lips and tongue that it wasn’t such a bad thing, really. Will responded beautifully, if a little shyly; he was not nearly so skittish as he’d been last night. He had been the main focus of the other two, too overwhelmed by the buzz of alcohol and new hands touching his body to do much touching of his own.

Now, however, it seemed he was making up for lost time. Jack moaned encouragement to the fingers stroking curiously over his cock. Oh, he was going to have to get Elizabeth something really nice. A dress or a gem from the next plunder, perhaps – she still liked pretty things. Or maybe she’d like a finer scabbard for the sword Will had made her, or a cunning little dagger, or a new pistol, or...

Ever intrepid, Will kissed a path along Jack’s torso, right down to the dark thatch of hair between his thighs. Jack trembled with the effort of holding himself still, not wanting to frighten the boy.

At the first gentle lick, he decided he was going to buy Elizabeth an island. An island with a grand stone house and her own harbor with her own ship and a thousand maidservants to attend her every need.

No, manservants, he amended as Will puckered wet lips and took him slowly into his mouth. Manservants of every size, shape, and color, as far as the eye could see, loyal and devoted unto death, for the lass who’d given him one precious gift.