[PotC Ficlet] Liniment
I sail with the Flying Dutchman on potc_land so there will be random PotC ficlets joining my semi-regular posts.
Title: Liniment
Characters: Bootstrap Bill, Will Turner
Word Count: 400+
Rating: PG
Summary: Bootstrap Bill tries to ease his son's pain.
Liniment
***
Rain slashed down hard enough to feel like a blow. It ran off Will's back muddied with blood, and his boy - his amazing, miraculous boy - couldn't hide the grimace of pain. At least it was raining, washing out the filth from the captain's daughter. The whip couldn't kill his boy - nothing could, now - but it'd be agony. Will didn't need that, not when he hadn't even dived for the first time and still had to grow his gills.
Where was the coin?, Bill wondered as he touched his boy's arm. Will glanced at him, and he jerked his head towards the ladder to the lower deck. "Let's get you covered."
The coin would be able to keep Will from feeling pain at all. Bill had felt the transfer, the moment it stopped being his coin. It had been like waking from a dream, the world suddenly real again.
The bosun had been delighted he could feel pain again.
Will stopped at the bottom of the ladder, and Bill had to nudge his son's shoulder. Warmth settled in his hand where they touched, easing the cold he'd forgotten was there. His boy was fresh and still too warm. He'd draw attention from the crew.
"This is a shipwreck," Will said quietly, and Bill looked around the lower deck with fresh eyes. Saltwater washed across the gun-deck, coral and other things of the depths grew over the hull, barnacles encrusted the cannons. Flickering ship-lamps swung from the beams, and seaweed dripped intermittently.
"Yes. Come on." He nudged Will forward, and the ship hit a wave hard enough to shake saltwater from all the weeds. Will hissed in pain, and Bill stared at the way it washed red from the cuts on his back.
He'd hurt his son. Knowing the bosun would have done worse was cold comfort.
"Will," he said hoarsely, and his boy turned to look back at him. "Let's put some liniment on your back."
His son's eyes softened, and Bill had to hold himself back from grabbing his boy in a bear-hug. He'd hurt Will enough without getting more saltwater in the whip-scores.
He took Will to his berth and dug out the liniment bottle. It's something the cook brewed up, and it'd ease the pain and close the wounds fast. It would also speed up the ship taking his boy. It was a selfish kindness to offer it - easing the pain he caused Will while damning him.
He'd had ten years to figure out he was a selfish man. He poured liniment on his hand and rubbed it into his son's scored back.
-End-
Title: Liniment
Characters: Bootstrap Bill, Will Turner
Word Count: 400+
Rating: PG
Summary: Bootstrap Bill tries to ease his son's pain.
Liniment
***
Rain slashed down hard enough to feel like a blow. It ran off Will's back muddied with blood, and his boy - his amazing, miraculous boy - couldn't hide the grimace of pain. At least it was raining, washing out the filth from the captain's daughter. The whip couldn't kill his boy - nothing could, now - but it'd be agony. Will didn't need that, not when he hadn't even dived for the first time and still had to grow his gills.
Where was the coin?, Bill wondered as he touched his boy's arm. Will glanced at him, and he jerked his head towards the ladder to the lower deck. "Let's get you covered."
The coin would be able to keep Will from feeling pain at all. Bill had felt the transfer, the moment it stopped being his coin. It had been like waking from a dream, the world suddenly real again.
The bosun had been delighted he could feel pain again.
Will stopped at the bottom of the ladder, and Bill had to nudge his son's shoulder. Warmth settled in his hand where they touched, easing the cold he'd forgotten was there. His boy was fresh and still too warm. He'd draw attention from the crew.
"This is a shipwreck," Will said quietly, and Bill looked around the lower deck with fresh eyes. Saltwater washed across the gun-deck, coral and other things of the depths grew over the hull, barnacles encrusted the cannons. Flickering ship-lamps swung from the beams, and seaweed dripped intermittently.
"Yes. Come on." He nudged Will forward, and the ship hit a wave hard enough to shake saltwater from all the weeds. Will hissed in pain, and Bill stared at the way it washed red from the cuts on his back.
He'd hurt his son. Knowing the bosun would have done worse was cold comfort.
"Will," he said hoarsely, and his boy turned to look back at him. "Let's put some liniment on your back."
His son's eyes softened, and Bill had to hold himself back from grabbing his boy in a bear-hug. He'd hurt Will enough without getting more saltwater in the whip-scores.
He took Will to his berth and dug out the liniment bottle. It's something the cook brewed up, and it'd ease the pain and close the wounds fast. It would also speed up the ship taking his boy. It was a selfish kindness to offer it - easing the pain he caused Will while damning him.
He'd had ten years to figure out he was a selfish man. He poured liniment on his hand and rubbed it into his son's scored back.
-End-