wherever the wind takes us (jack sparrow)

summary: being a woman aboard the black pearl is hard. it’s a good thing the captain has your back.

warnings: language, sexism

this is like…super basic. but i have literally never written for jack sparrow before and LET ME TELL U it was a fckn challenge lmaoooo

enjoy xx

-jazz

Jack Sparrow had never believed in the myth that women brought bad luck to ships.

Actually, he thought women were great. Enchanting, even. He had nothing but respect for them and their tight dresses, great butts and…what’s that?

That was the sound of your voice in his head telling him to shit the fuckup and respect his superiors. I digress.

The captain had always had bad luck. Or maybe he was just a categorical moron- either way, he felt his fortunes had improved considerably since you’d stumbled onto the The Black Pearl. You were the voice of reason to his absurdity; the steady ship to the swirling, deathly maelstrom that encapsulated all that was Jack Sparrow. He would never deny that he’d been initially drawn in by your appearances; furthermore by how good of a swordsman you were, and then entirely and completely when you became the first, and seemingly only woman, to resist his charms. It was clear from the get go that you were what his crew needed: a person who wasn’t completely fucking insane. It seemed like an entry requirement for the job and yet, not a single man aboard the Pearl seemed to meet it. They all had heart - no one could deny that - but what they lacked was brains.

And so, with a smoothly-spoken (but still slurred) speech from Jack, and a promise of a 50% cut of whatever their next win was, you boarded the The Black Pearl. There was a complete sense of uncertainty and a total lack of planning, but you felt that was what you neededat that point in your life. It had been so long since you’d had the thirst for adventure: even though you were still young, it was a feeling you hadn’t chased since your late teens. The last few years had been riddled with near-death experiences and lost ships, so no one blamed you for assigning yourself to the nearest bar for a little while.

Not everyone had been as welcome as Jack vis-a-vis your presence on the ship. Joshamee Gibbs had, like always, blindly trusted Jack that you were worthy of the job, and it was nice to know you had him in your corner. Everyone else was a little…colder. Pintel and Ragetti had been little bitches ever since you’d stepped afoot the boat, but a quick glare from you and some seething words from Jack quickly shut them up.

You hadn’t expected Jack Sparrow of all people to stick up for you. In the few weeks that you’d known him, he’d always seemed so…self-serving. Even his initial interest in you had been in an attempt to seek out someone for the night; that was an idea you had quickly shut down, even if you now found yourself giving him the occasional glance. Who could blame you? It was attractive to see a man who was so in control of his crew and his ship - even if most the time, Jack was anything but.

He’d grown on you. That was hard to deny. At first, it had been a reluctant alliance, but now you were undeniably friends. You were the kind of person he’d always needed: chaotic enough to keep up, but distanced enough from him to kick his back in line when it was needed. And Jack had never wantedthat before: he’d never wantedsomeone to keep him in line. He found that he didn’t mind so much with you. It seemed like he spent his entire life arguing with people but when it came to you, it felt like a conversation. A heated one - and intense more times than not - but a conversation nonetheless.

“My loyal men! And…my loyal woman,” Jack leant over the upper deck of the Pearl,empty bottle of rum in hand. His dark eyes flickered to you, even just for a moment. “It is time for Uncle Jack to retire for the night. Do not wake me unless the ship is sinking, on fire, under attack or all three. Actually, don’t. Just tell (name).I’m leaving her in charge.”

“Ay, Cap'n,” Gibbs gave him a faithful salute. “Have a good rest.”

Jack took off his hat and tossed it in your direction. You caught it with a smile, before turning around to face your men. As always - and with definitely no relation to the captain’s reckless actions - you were working with a limited crew. There were the usual four: Pintel, Ragetti, Cotton and Marty. They were good enough, even if they muttered shit about your gender under their breath. After them, came the new addition: Anderson. Jack had picked up him at the last port - an old friend of Gibb’s, apparently. He hadn’t given off a good first impression; he seemed like a shit person and an even worse pirate.

“We have a long night ahead, boys,” you began. “We need to make it back to Tortuga before light. The wind is on our side so Gibbs, you can man the wheel. Marty, you’re up in the crow’s nest and Pintel and Ragetti, you can check the knots on the sails.”

“What about me?” Anderson stood up and took a step towards you.

“You can mop the deck,” you said with a forced smile. “Your little stint earlier at the port is the reason we’re fourhours behind schedule. Consider it punishment.”

“This is ridiculous!” he exclaimed. “Who are you to be giving out orders? You’re a woman-”

“- I’m wearing the hat, Anderson,” you shot back. “Never question the power of the hat.”

“I’m not questioning the power of the hat. I’m questioning the power of your gender-”

“- shut the fuckup!”

You pulled your sword from your belt, forcing the tip against Anderson’s throat.

Oh, yeah. There was your temper too. Maybe that was another reason Jack trusted you to put his men in line.

“Say that again,” you demanded and took a step towards him. Anderson began backing away, edge of your sword following him as he slowly inched towards the edge of the ship.

“You heard me, sweetheart,” he spat.

“Don’t call me that.”

“You don’t mind it when the Captain does it though, do you?”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” you growled. “Don’t have you have any respect for your superiors, Anderson? You’re lucky that you’re still on this ship at all.”

“Same could be said for you,” he spat back. “You wouldn’t be here if Sparrow wasn’t only keeping you around because you’re pretty-”

Throwing you sword aside, you lifted up your boot and slammed it straight into Anderson’s chest. He toppled backwards and straight over the edge of the Pearl- nothing but a drop in the ocean now. Obviously you weren’t going to leave him for dead but what was the harm in letting him float in the cold for a little bit?

You leant over the side. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Like I said.

A temper.

With that, you turned on your heel and marched away.

“Ma'am,” Gibbs followed after, barely keeping up as you stormed across the bow of the ship. “Are we just going to leave him?”

“Give it a few minutes, Josh,” you commanded. “Then you can throw him a rope.”

“Minutes?” his eyebrows shot up. “Ma'am with all due respect, it’s winter and he could freezeto death before-”

“- did I stutter?” you snapped. Stopping in your tracks, you spun around to face him. “Maybe then he’ll learn his lesson, no?”

“I see where you’re coming from. He overstepped, but you reallywon’t want his death on your hands.”

“Fine,” you huffed. “PINTEL! RAGETTI! Drag him back up - but make sure you drop him a few times.”

“Thank you, ma'am,” Gibbs gave you a smile. “He’s a family friend, you see.”

“Yeah, whatever,” you murmured. “Go man the wheel, please. I don’t trust those buffoons up there on their own.”

Exchanging goodbyes, you headed into the cabin. Those men gotfar too much, far too quick - it was funny that you could so easily with Jack, who was arguably a thousand times worse than the four of them combined. The only peace away from them was deep in the indoor section of the Pearl.Exactly where the rum was.

You hadn’t noticed that someone was following you, not until you dunked your flask into one of the open barrels.

“Is the ship sinking, on fire, under attack, or all the above?”

You glanced over your shoulder at Jack. “None of those things. Don’t worry.”

“Sowhyhave I been woken up by all this inhumane clashing, clanging and screaming? Did I not give you onespecific instruction? One that you have so magnificently failed in following?”

“You did,” you replied, taking a swig of rum. “Anderson was annoying me so I pushed him overboard.”

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. “Anderson being an insufferable sycophant is a given but was he reallythat bad that it deemed interrupting my beauty sleep?”

“Oh, Jack,” you gave him a soft smile, running a hand over his cheek. “No amount of beautysleep will fix this mess-”

“-I don’t like you,” he grumbled and whacked your palm away. “Your new job is to keep those scrotes in line til I rouse again - naturally, and not because you’re hurting their little pirate feelings. Savvy?”

You sniffed. “Savvy.”

“Good,” Jack grinned.

—

By the time the sun rose, you were the only one awake. The ship was anchored in calmer waters; thanks to the little incident with Anderson, you hadn’t quitemade it to Tortuga, but you weren’t far off. It might have been a done job had the other four not fucked off to sleep before 4AM, but it hadbeen a long night. More so for some than others - namely, Anderson, who had been shivering in a blanket since he’d been wrenched up from the waters.

You always took the early shift in the crow’s nest; mostly because you were the only one awake, but also because it was peaceful. There was nothing but clear oceans for miles, fading into a war of pinks, blues and oranges in line with the rising sun. Tortuga was just off in the distance - a stark contrast to the tranquility you found yourself in right now. You loved it there, undeniably, but it was chaotic as fuck. Sometimes you needed a break away from all of that.

“Dare I approach you? Or will you push me overboard too?”

“Go away, Jack,” you grumbled. “I’m not in the mood.”

The pirate pulled himself up onto the crow’s nest, shuffling to take a seat beside you. He reached forward and yanked his hat off of your head.

“Now that I am captain again, I must discuss a verypressing issue with you.”

You thinned your eyes at him. “I’ve been getting shit all night from your men for belting Anderson. Can you at least give me a break before you join in?”

“I have no shit to give you. Rather the contrair, my dear,” Jack replied and slung an arm over your shoulders. “It took a few moments of deciphering Ragetti’s delirious recollection of the story but I have been made aware in no uncertain terms that Anderson, as always, has run his mouth a little too far.”

“Yeah, no shit,” you muttered. “Maybe he didn’t deserve to be dunked, though.”

“I would have left him to the mermaids. I cannot imagine them responding kindly to his sexist comments.”

You snorted. “It was Gibbs that made me do it.”

“Ah yes, ever the good man,” Jack murmured. “Regardless of how his mummy loves Anderson, we shall dearly depart with our good man at the next port.”

“Why?” you glanced at him. “He’s said much worst to you, Jack. Gone against your orders much more than mine.”

“But you see, youare not me,” he shot back. “You have done nothing deserving of such treatment. And I’m not admitting that Ihave, but the likelihood of either one of us committing despicable acts lies ever so slightly more with me than it does with you.”

“Right - thanks, Jack,” you lowly chuckled. “But really, you don’t have to do this-”

“- the deal is done,” he cut you off. “Anderson shall be abandoned in Tortuga and you, my dear, shall continue to sail the seven seas on the finest ship known to man.”

“I’m assuming that said ship is waiting for us at the port? Because there is no way in hellthat you’re talking about this one.”

Jack let out a groan. “Why must you break my heart?”

“You don’t have a heart, Jack Sparrow.”

“Why do you think I have this magnificent compass, then?”

You gave him a smile. “Whatever works for you, cap'n.”

Jack stood up, dusting off his trousers and sticking out a hand to help you up. The sun was breaking through now, signalling the start of the day. Tortuga was only an hour or two away and for everyone else on board, that meant being an hour or two away from the rum. A very pressing matter indeed.

“Where are we headed after Tortuga?” you asked.

He glanced down at his compass. It was pointed right at you.

“Wherever the wind takes us, love.”