Benj woke to the familiar rocking of a ship. The floor under him was hard and the position he was in was uncomfortable. He frowned as he tried to stretch, the muscles in his back protesting at the moment. There was a groan next to him and a weight shifted. Benj rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blinked. He had been leaning on Will's shoulder. The other man still slumbering fitfully against the wooden hull. Benj stretched and shifted. He yawned and glanced round at Will's sleeping face.

The man's brow was furrowed, head tilted at an awkward angle. Benj sighed and took pity on him. He gently nudged Will so that their positions were reversed. A man slumbering with his head on another man's shoulder. In the cell next to them, the rest of the crew were dozing. Their bodies all crammed across the floor in various states of sleep. Benj hummed to himself, the rest of the song from the night before lilting from his tongue. Will sleeping on, deaf to the words. Benj was sort of glad that he wouldn't hear.

"His hair it hangs in ringlets. His eyes as black as coal. My happiness attend him wherever he may go. From Tower Hill to Blackwall, I'll wander weep and moan for my jolly sailor until he sails home.
My heart is pierced by Cupid, I distain all glittering gold. Nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold".

Benj smiled at himself and ran a hand through his hair in sudden embarrassment. If only Jeanette and Issac could see him now, waxing away about his feelings through song. They would never let him live this down. A sudden wave of emotional sickness passed over him and he sighed. It wasn't homesickness, as his home was and will always be the sea, but a sickness of missing people. Will loved Elizabeth, that much was obvious. And it hurt more than Benj had been expecting. (Not that he loved Will. But he definitely wouldn't mind sleeping with him, maybe even holding hands and cuddling). He wanted to go back to tortuga and allow his friends to smother him in hugs. But for now, he relished in the comforting weight of Will's head on his shoulder and the warmth of his body.

With one hand, he fished out his little tin pipe from his pocket and shook out the water. Once all the water had been drained, he pressed it to his lips and began to play. The slow dancing, yet melancholy tune drifted round the ship. He played for what must have been about half an hour, guessing by the movement of the light, before Will began to stir.

It began with a yawn and him shifting his position on Benj's shoulder. His head rolling for a second before he righted himself and began to blink his sleep crusted eyes. Benj didn't stop playing, merely watching as Will stared around and sat up. His ponytail was messy and there was grey shadows on his face from the uncomfortable night. He yawned again and began moving his shoulders.

Benj grinned, refusing to admit that it was with a certain fondness, and the tune cut off. "Morning", he greeted. "If we're lucky Barbosa might feed us". His tone was purely sarcastic. He doubted that Barbosa's would feed them. The pirate was petty like that.

Will groaned as he stretched his stiff limbs. "How much longer do you think we have before we reach the cave?"

"What no morning greetings?" Benj joked. "The black pearl is fast so we should reach there by nightfall".

Will sighed and rubbed his face harshly. "Morning", he murmured, hands dropping so that he could smile slightly. Benj liked how the small amounts of light streaming through the windows highlighted the tones of his hair and the ember of his eyes. By the goddess, he was going soft.

Will stood and stretched his legs. "So how did Jack escape from the island the first time anyway? I want to know if he could do it again".

"Rum smugglers", Benj admitted. "They were using the island as a place to hide their cargo. I met up with him in Tortuga about a year later, and thus, our amazing partnership was born". He waved his hands.

Will chuckled, voice throaty from sleep. "Less impressive than the story Mr Gibbons told me".

"Morning lads", Mr Gibbons grinned at them crookedly as he leaned on the metal bars of his cell. "How was your night? Looked cosy".  The crew were mostly awake now. All watching them or talking quietly.

Benj scowled at him. "It was roomy", he called back. "You lot seem more cosy than us. How was your sleep".

Mr Gibbons huffed. "A bit cramped", he replied. "What time is it?"

"Seven I think", Benj replied. "Noon is about five hours away". He shifted into a more comfortable position and tucked an arm behind his head. They would be there for the rest of the day anyway. Might as well go back to sleep.

"How can you tell?" Will asked curiously.

"It's his fishy powers", Mr Gibbons answered for him. "Kid has this sixth sense of what position the sun is at any time of the day".

"It's a mermaid thing", Benj murmured, eyes closed. "It's a instinctual thing. Helps with navigation when swimming. Can't see the sun when you're so deep under the sea that all you see is black. During the day it is safe to swim that deep. But during the night the preparatory come out to play. So we need to know exactly where the sun is at all times so not to be caught unawares. As long as I'm on water, I can tell the time".

Will listened to him speak. Benj kept his eyes closed so not to look at his face. He had already dealt with pesky feelings enough that day. When he was finished, silence spread between them. In the next cell over, Benj could hear the crew murmuring amongst themselves. Above them, the deck sounded with the thump of boots and the noise of Barbosa's crewmen, while below the sea lapped at hull. Benj let it all wash over him as he dozed. The small window allowed the sun to shine on his legs and he basked in its warmth. It reminded him of sunny days as a child when his mother would swim him out to a empty island and they would lie on the sunlit rocks and braid each others hair with seaweed and pearls.

"Could you tell me more?" The question caught him off guard. Benj blinked his eyes open slightly to see Will watching him. The man met his stare head on and smiled slightly. "About mermaids. Can you tell me more?"

"You have questions about the mysteries of the sea William?" Benj smiled sharply. Unlike the other times he had used that tone and smile on him, Will didn't back down or pause in surprise. He was now familiar with Benjamin's sudden mood twists.

"Call me curious", Will smiled back. "The living dead walk above us and and we have to find some way to pass the time".

"We could just have sex", Benj shrugged. "That passes the time well enough".

"Don't even think about it!" Mr Gibbons shouted.

"I was joking!" Benj shot back. "Go back to scratching on the wall. Why I had to be locked up next to you, I never know. It's a particular form of torture".

"Shut yer mouth lad!"

Benj laughed and turned back to Will. He waved his hands. "Go on then Will. I am a open book".

Will snorted, Benj had never been an open book. No. He was a chest inlaid with sea treasures but locked with a heavy iron padlock. Even if the padlock was unchained and the box opened, there were hidden compartments and knife sprung traps ready to take your hand. He could spend his wold life with the man and still never find every secret. But he didn't say that. Instead he asked, "can you read?"

Benj scowled. "I can read. I was taught by merchants and witches". Will believed him, despite the fact that he didn't know if witches existed.

"Do mermaid travel in groups?" He questioned.

Benj relaxed and got comfy again. "Yes. My mother's pod has about forty to fifty mermaids. Some pods are larger, some are smaller. We don't really interact with other pods though".

Will listened as Benj answered his questions in a lazy drawl. Soon the sun was passing through the sky and the ship continued moving. Golden hour came and went. The last drops of it's light being replaced by the silvery moon. It was then that Benj stopped talking. He sat up with and agility that shouldn't have been possible from someone who had been lying in the same position all day. "Where there", he announced. As if to prove his words, they heard the splash of the anchor being dropped and felt the ship begin to slow.

Above them there was the thump of boots on the stairs and the clang of steel as the pirates began to stomp down to get them.

Unedited