Fic: Guest of a Pirate
Title: Guest of a Pirate
Author: Estelendur
Pairing/Characters: Jack, OC, Jack/OC vaguely implied
Word Count: 354
Rating: G, I guess
Genre: Gen
Summary: Jack learns what the most dangerous kind of man is. Young!Jack. Noncanon-backstory.
Disclaimer: I am no Mouse.
Spoilers: Abso-posi-lutely bloody none.
Warnings: None whatsoever.
Notes: Tom Wolfe is the man mentioned in Sweet and Twisted. I'll definitely be doing more with him and Jack. I will defend my choice to use piratey accents in this fic by saying I probably won't do it again, unless lots of people like it. I strongly suggest reading Something to Lose before reading this fic, if you haven't already, because there's a bit of irony at the end you'll miss if you don't. Written for challenge 10 at piratechallenge: pick a previous challenge and follow all the instructions for that challenge. I used the prompt for Challenge 9 here: "there is nothing more dangerous than a man who has lost everything."
Special Thanks: To my betas,
witchbabyweetz and Griffin.
Jack sat curled in a chair, defiantly silent.
"Come, why be ye like that?" Tom asked, looking concerned.
"Why'd ye have to go an' do that?" Jack muttered into a shirtsleeve, his voice thick from holding back tears.
Tom strode over and patted Jack's shoulder. "Don't worry, me boy, 'tweren't anything could be avoided. Had to be done."
"Ye didn't have to kill him. He hadn't done you wrong." Jack leaned against Tom, uncurling a bit.
"He had nothin' left. 'Twas an act of mercy, Jack."
"What do you know of mercy, Cap'n Tom Wolfe?" growled Jack, leaping up to face the man defiantly.
"I know plenty, Jack Sparrow, an' don't you forget it. I brought you on board me ship out of a life of poverty, and when you asked for a position in me crew, I gave it to ye. Now sit down, boy."
"All that's true enough," Jack conceded, "Though there's more you haven't said. But what's that got to do with killin' that poor man?" He stubbornly remained standing.
"Jack, I'm askin' you to sit." Tom sighed. "I got a lesson to teach ye, and no reason for you to stand while I tell."
"Fine." Jack sat again, sullen. "Teach me." He spread his arms and raised both eyebrows in invitation.
"Now listen to me, boy. There's nothin' more dangerous to others, or to himself even, than a man what's lost everythin'. Once ye're at that level ye have nothin' to lose but yer own life, and even that doesn't seem worth the keepin'. If I'd kept that man alive, he could've killed half me crew in desperation. So, 'twas a mercy to me crew and meself. And he'd've been livin' where ye can't sink lower, where ye hate yerself for living and feel ashamed to die. I gave him a way to die without shame, so 'twas a mercy to him as well."
"But you could've given him somethin' to live for. You could've made him a guest on your ship."
"A Navy man?" Tom laughed. "Don't be silly, Jack. No Navy man'd be the guest of a pirate."
Author: Estelendur
Pairing/Characters: Jack, OC, Jack/OC vaguely implied
Word Count: 354
Rating: G, I guess
Genre: Gen
Summary: Jack learns what the most dangerous kind of man is. Young!Jack. Noncanon-backstory.
Disclaimer: I am no Mouse.
Spoilers: Abso-posi-lutely bloody none.
Warnings: None whatsoever.
Notes: Tom Wolfe is the man mentioned in Sweet and Twisted. I'll definitely be doing more with him and Jack. I will defend my choice to use piratey accents in this fic by saying I probably won't do it again, unless lots of people like it. I strongly suggest reading Something to Lose before reading this fic, if you haven't already, because there's a bit of irony at the end you'll miss if you don't. Written for challenge 10 at piratechallenge: pick a previous challenge and follow all the instructions for that challenge. I used the prompt for Challenge 9 here: "there is nothing more dangerous than a man who has lost everything."
Special Thanks: To my betas,
witchbabyweetz and Griffin.
Jack sat curled in a chair, defiantly silent.
"Come, why be ye like that?" Tom asked, looking concerned.
"Why'd ye have to go an' do that?" Jack muttered into a shirtsleeve, his voice thick from holding back tears.
Tom strode over and patted Jack's shoulder. "Don't worry, me boy, 'tweren't anything could be avoided. Had to be done."
"Ye didn't have to kill him. He hadn't done you wrong." Jack leaned against Tom, uncurling a bit.
"He had nothin' left. 'Twas an act of mercy, Jack."
"What do you know of mercy, Cap'n Tom Wolfe?" growled Jack, leaping up to face the man defiantly.
"I know plenty, Jack Sparrow, an' don't you forget it. I brought you on board me ship out of a life of poverty, and when you asked for a position in me crew, I gave it to ye. Now sit down, boy."
"All that's true enough," Jack conceded, "Though there's more you haven't said. But what's that got to do with killin' that poor man?" He stubbornly remained standing.
"Jack, I'm askin' you to sit." Tom sighed. "I got a lesson to teach ye, and no reason for you to stand while I tell."
"Fine." Jack sat again, sullen. "Teach me." He spread his arms and raised both eyebrows in invitation.
"Now listen to me, boy. There's nothin' more dangerous to others, or to himself even, than a man what's lost everythin'. Once ye're at that level ye have nothin' to lose but yer own life, and even that doesn't seem worth the keepin'. If I'd kept that man alive, he could've killed half me crew in desperation. So, 'twas a mercy to me crew and meself. And he'd've been livin' where ye can't sink lower, where ye hate yerself for living and feel ashamed to die. I gave him a way to die without shame, so 'twas a mercy to him as well."
"But you could've given him somethin' to live for. You could've made him a guest on your ship."
"A Navy man?" Tom laughed. "Don't be silly, Jack. No Navy man'd be the guest of a pirate."