Glances Into the Heart's Connections - A Pirate's Life for Me
Title: Glances Into the Heart's Connections - A Pirate's Life for Me
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters/pairings: Ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A series of oneshots about any and possibly all of the Kingdom Hearts cast.
Warnings: n/a
Notes: Old writing, from way back in the day, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
o o o
The boy swallowed nervously, the tendons in his legs sending twinges of pain to his brain in warning that he would fall if he didn't hurry up and make his move. He watched the shopkeeper as the rotund man waddled across the stall, fussing with this or that, and occasionally pausing to pick his robe out of a fat-lined crevasse. Finally, finally, the man turned away, his attention caught by a gypsy troupe in the street, his beady eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The boy dropped near-silently from the stall's support beam, landing in a cat-like crouch behind a heavy crate of melons. One, two, three of the red-gold fruits were tucked under his arm, and he slunk back towards a narrow slit in the tent wall, eyes glued on the shopkeeper for any sign of the man turning.
He should have looked where he was going. His foot hit one of the tent supports, causing the metal trinkets for luck and prosperity hanging from it to jangle. The shopkeeper whirled, saw him, and roared in rage. The boy bolted, clinging valiantly to his spoils.
As fat as he was, the shopkeeper couldn't possibly keep up with him. But the market guards certainly could. The penalty for theft was having one's hand 'removed', and a boy such crippled would be the easiest of prey. So he ran, literally, for his life, melons clutched against his chest as he ducked stalls, people, and a barking dog.
"Jacky!"
He looked up at the sound of his name. He was down by the shore now, and a low-slung building was at his left. John was on top of the building, keeping pace with him as he ran. "Toss 'em, Jack!" The older boy yelled, arms held out as he ran. Jack didn't hesitate, throwing up the melons one by one for John to catch. Once all three were up John veered away out of Jack's sight, and the boy ran all the harder, guards still hot on his trail.
He turned a corner, then another, and found himself in a dead end, a high fence blocking his path to the docks. He scrambled up the wooden slats as fast as he could, and shrieked when a hard hand closed around his ankle. He looked down into the guard's harshly grinning face in time to watch a rock split the man's cheek open. The guard howled, losing his grip on Jack's foot, and more rocks rained down on the me below. A brief lull in the rain of stone came, and a hand closed around Jack's arm, yanking him up. Jack grinned up at James, the oldest of the trio grinned back, then sent one last stone at the guards below before the two boys jumped down the other side of the fence and ran off.
They ate their breakfast on top of one of the dock-side warehouses, sticky juice running down their faces and arms. John and Jack sat side by side along the peak of the roof, while James perched on the cool chimney and stared out at the forest of ship masts crowding the harbor.
By then, John knew his friend well enough to know that James was doing some serious thinking. He nudged the boy's foot with his elbow. "What's runnin' through yer mind, James?" He asked. "Y' look like it's eating at ya somethin' fierce."
James jerked his chin at one ship in particular, a huge thing that flew the colors of the British Navy. "I'm going t' own me one o' those some day." He said.
John snorted, taking another bite of his melon. "Y' want t' go to Eton, too." He said, spitting a seed down the slope of the roof. "An' be a Lord General, an' have a hundrit ladies at yer beck and call, and all that rot. You got some high dreams for being a gutterbrat, Jamesie."
James glared down at John, dark brows furrowed. "Well, what else we got, but dreams? You got some too, Johnny Silver. Let's hear 'em."
John grinned, tossing aside his melon rind. "Oh, I aim to own me a ship, too." He said, standing. "But not under the thumb of any navy or comp'nay. I'd rather go pirate."
Now was James' turn to snort in derision. "You? A pirate?"
"Aye." John said, posing dramatically. "Cap'n Johnny Silver, fiercest pirate to ever sail. Escaped capture a hundrit times, with the help of his ol' Eton friend, Cap'n James Cook."
James grinned, hopping down from the chimney. "Captain's James and John," He said. "Two o' the slip'riest bastards on the sea. Walked right into the King's banquet, they did, and stole a kiss from the Queen herself before they was recognized."
Jack looked up at his older friends, eyes bright. "Can I be a pirate, too?" He asked excitedly.
The older two laughed, reaching down to grab Jack's hands and pull him to his feet. "O' course." John said, clapping the youngest boy on the shoulder. "We can't be forgetting the infamous Jacky Sparrow, can we? Fastest thief on the waters, he is. While the good Cap'ns were stealing their kiss, ol' Jack was stealing the jewels right from the King's crown!"
Jack laughed, climbing up on the chimney to look out over the harbor. "Mum's 'round the world'll tell their kiddies stories 'bout us for a hundred years after we're gone. 'Bout the time we went to the King's ball-"
"An' the time we escaped from right under the Chinese Emperor's nose." John added.
"And the islands we discovered," James continued. "Where we built a pirate paradise."
"And when we made a deal with Davy Jones himself, and came out on top." Jack finished.
They looked out over the ship masts towards the glint of the ocean, each mentally writing the story of his life, and none able to imagine just how far they'd really go. "They'll need two hundred years just to tell all the stories we'll write." James grinned. He turned towards his friends, holding out one hand. "A promise, then." He said. "Wherever life takes us, one day, we'll meet again and become pirates."
"Promise." John said, dropping his hand on James'.
"Promise." Jack echoed, doing the same.
"Ey, who be up thar?" Bellowed a voice up the chimney. "Get thee gone, 'fore I call the guards o' the watch!"
"We best be off, boys." John said, eyeing the chimney warily. "Mayhap we can go down to the docks, find a days work."
"Last one to the docks steals lunch." James yelled, skidding down the roof's slope. The other two let out protesting yells and followed.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters/pairings: Ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A series of oneshots about any and possibly all of the Kingdom Hearts cast.
Warnings: n/a
Notes: Old writing, from way back in the day, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
o o o
The boy swallowed nervously, the tendons in his legs sending twinges of pain to his brain in warning that he would fall if he didn't hurry up and make his move. He watched the shopkeeper as the rotund man waddled across the stall, fussing with this or that, and occasionally pausing to pick his robe out of a fat-lined crevasse. Finally, finally, the man turned away, his attention caught by a gypsy troupe in the street, his beady eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The boy dropped near-silently from the stall's support beam, landing in a cat-like crouch behind a heavy crate of melons. One, two, three of the red-gold fruits were tucked under his arm, and he slunk back towards a narrow slit in the tent wall, eyes glued on the shopkeeper for any sign of the man turning.
He should have looked where he was going. His foot hit one of the tent supports, causing the metal trinkets for luck and prosperity hanging from it to jangle. The shopkeeper whirled, saw him, and roared in rage. The boy bolted, clinging valiantly to his spoils.
As fat as he was, the shopkeeper couldn't possibly keep up with him. But the market guards certainly could. The penalty for theft was having one's hand 'removed', and a boy such crippled would be the easiest of prey. So he ran, literally, for his life, melons clutched against his chest as he ducked stalls, people, and a barking dog.
"Jacky!"
He looked up at the sound of his name. He was down by the shore now, and a low-slung building was at his left. John was on top of the building, keeping pace with him as he ran. "Toss 'em, Jack!" The older boy yelled, arms held out as he ran. Jack didn't hesitate, throwing up the melons one by one for John to catch. Once all three were up John veered away out of Jack's sight, and the boy ran all the harder, guards still hot on his trail.
He turned a corner, then another, and found himself in a dead end, a high fence blocking his path to the docks. He scrambled up the wooden slats as fast as he could, and shrieked when a hard hand closed around his ankle. He looked down into the guard's harshly grinning face in time to watch a rock split the man's cheek open. The guard howled, losing his grip on Jack's foot, and more rocks rained down on the me below. A brief lull in the rain of stone came, and a hand closed around Jack's arm, yanking him up. Jack grinned up at James, the oldest of the trio grinned back, then sent one last stone at the guards below before the two boys jumped down the other side of the fence and ran off.
They ate their breakfast on top of one of the dock-side warehouses, sticky juice running down their faces and arms. John and Jack sat side by side along the peak of the roof, while James perched on the cool chimney and stared out at the forest of ship masts crowding the harbor.
By then, John knew his friend well enough to know that James was doing some serious thinking. He nudged the boy's foot with his elbow. "What's runnin' through yer mind, James?" He asked. "Y' look like it's eating at ya somethin' fierce."
James jerked his chin at one ship in particular, a huge thing that flew the colors of the British Navy. "I'm going t' own me one o' those some day." He said.
John snorted, taking another bite of his melon. "Y' want t' go to Eton, too." He said, spitting a seed down the slope of the roof. "An' be a Lord General, an' have a hundrit ladies at yer beck and call, and all that rot. You got some high dreams for being a gutterbrat, Jamesie."
James glared down at John, dark brows furrowed. "Well, what else we got, but dreams? You got some too, Johnny Silver. Let's hear 'em."
John grinned, tossing aside his melon rind. "Oh, I aim to own me a ship, too." He said, standing. "But not under the thumb of any navy or comp'nay. I'd rather go pirate."
Now was James' turn to snort in derision. "You? A pirate?"
"Aye." John said, posing dramatically. "Cap'n Johnny Silver, fiercest pirate to ever sail. Escaped capture a hundrit times, with the help of his ol' Eton friend, Cap'n James Cook."
James grinned, hopping down from the chimney. "Captain's James and John," He said. "Two o' the slip'riest bastards on the sea. Walked right into the King's banquet, they did, and stole a kiss from the Queen herself before they was recognized."
Jack looked up at his older friends, eyes bright. "Can I be a pirate, too?" He asked excitedly.
The older two laughed, reaching down to grab Jack's hands and pull him to his feet. "O' course." John said, clapping the youngest boy on the shoulder. "We can't be forgetting the infamous Jacky Sparrow, can we? Fastest thief on the waters, he is. While the good Cap'ns were stealing their kiss, ol' Jack was stealing the jewels right from the King's crown!"
Jack laughed, climbing up on the chimney to look out over the harbor. "Mum's 'round the world'll tell their kiddies stories 'bout us for a hundred years after we're gone. 'Bout the time we went to the King's ball-"
"An' the time we escaped from right under the Chinese Emperor's nose." John added.
"And the islands we discovered," James continued. "Where we built a pirate paradise."
"And when we made a deal with Davy Jones himself, and came out on top." Jack finished.
They looked out over the ship masts towards the glint of the ocean, each mentally writing the story of his life, and none able to imagine just how far they'd really go. "They'll need two hundred years just to tell all the stories we'll write." James grinned. He turned towards his friends, holding out one hand. "A promise, then." He said. "Wherever life takes us, one day, we'll meet again and become pirates."
"Promise." John said, dropping his hand on James'.
"Promise." Jack echoed, doing the same.
"Ey, who be up thar?" Bellowed a voice up the chimney. "Get thee gone, 'fore I call the guards o' the watch!"
"We best be off, boys." John said, eyeing the chimney warily. "Mayhap we can go down to the docks, find a days work."
"Last one to the docks steals lunch." James yelled, skidding down the roof's slope. The other two let out protesting yells and followed.