𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐆𝐀, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐑. immediately, bella recognized the differences between this port and any others she had been to.

jack was greeted by a couple old friends with slaps to the face, but they soon found a man sleeping with some pigs in the mud.

they threw a bucket of water on him, and he awoke with a jump.

"curse you for breathing, you slack jawed idiot!" his voice rang out, then he squinted at his wakers. "jack?"

"mister gibbs?" bella asked, recognizing this man from her teenage years.

"bella! you both should know better than to wake a man while he's sleeping! it's bad luck."

"ah, but fortunately, i know just the thing to counter it. the man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink, the man who was sleeping drinks it, while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking," jack said.

"aye, that'll about do it!" exclaimed gibbs.

suddenly, will drenched gibbs a second time.

"blast, i'm already awake!" he yelled.

"i know," answered will. "that was for the smell."

* * *

"so how did you end up in tortuga?" bella asked gibbs as they walked into a pub.

"quite a turn of events," he answered. "how about you?"

"i'll leave that to jack to explain," bella told him, then hit him with the meaty question. "mr. gibbs, did you know my father was a pirate?"

gibbs stopped in his tracks. "michael stevens?" he muttered to jack, who nodded. "in that case, you best join us for the proposition, bella."

they sat down at a quieter table in the corner.

"how did you find out? about your dad, i mean," gibbs asked her while jack was ordering drinks.

"i talked to every sailor that ever came into port royal. one day, i met a special merchant," she summarized. "i was able to get him to tell me the truth."

"ah, persuasion," gibbs nodded slowly.

"one of my many gifts," she said, grinning.

soon, jack brought over a drink for each of them. he handed one to bella. "ever tried rum?"

"depends on who's asking," bella said, smiling. she took a large sip of the flavorful liquid. jack looked somewhat impressed.

"now then, what's the nature of this venture?" gibbs asked.

jack leaned forward. "i'm going after the black pearl," he said quietly.

"what? you are?" bella set her drink down. gibbs choked on his rum.

"sorry, love, maybe i should've told you before you decided to come with. but i know where it's going to be, and i'm going to take it," jack told the pair of them.

"jack, it's a fool's errand. you know better than me the tales of the black pearl," gibbs responded worriedly.

"that's why i know what barbossa is up to. all i need is a crew," said jack.

from how confident jack sounded, bella could tell that he had a plan. if this plan ended with jack becoming captain of the black pearl, maybe she could join the crew and finally fulfill her pirating dreams.

"from what i hear of captain barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one," gibbs replied.

bella chimed in, taking jack's side in a blind leap of trust. "then i'd say it's a good thing jack's not a fool."

"aye," jack said, looking at bella with a grateful sort of twinkle in his eyes.

"prove me wrong," gibbs retorted. "what makes you think barbossa will give up his ship to you?"

"let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?" jack explained.

he jerked his head toward will, standing (hopefully) out of earshot. bella knew where he was gesturing right away, but gibbs looked confused. jack jerked his head in the direction of will again.

"the kid?" gibbs asked.

jack nodded. "that is the child of bootstrap bill turner. his only child. savvy?"

gibbs' eyes widened. "is he now?" the look on his face suggested he was on board. "leverage, says you. i think i feel a change in the wind, says i. i'll find us a crew. there's bound to be some sailors on this rock crazy as you."

bella had no idea why will's father had anything to do with anything, but she chuckled.

"one can only hope," jack raised his glass. "take what you can."

"give nothing back!" gibbs bumped his glass against the captain's.

suddenly, will whirled around, whipped his sword out, kicked over a table, and looked for an opponent.

"the kid's a bit of a stick, isn't he?" gibbs muttered.

"yeah . . ." bella said, feeling second-hand embarrassment from will.

"you have no idea," confirmed jack.

* * *

as they walked out of the pub, gibbs parted from them to recruit sailors.

"they'll be more likely to agree if they're drunk," he said, acknowledging that it was late at night.

"good luck," bella waved. just then, a dirty, stinky man slid up next to her.

"ello, dear," he slurred drunkenly. "wunt to hav funnn?" he wrapped his arm around her waist and started to pull her with him.

jack had been on her right, but suddenly, he kicked the lustful drunk man off of her. the man fell into another man, who punched another, and soon, a full-blown fight had begun.

bella cringed at the sight of so many men attacking each other. jack quickly put his arm around her shoulder and hurried away from the scene. a few blocks away, they stopped. will was trailing behind them.

"thank you," bella said. she didn't shrug his arm off her shoulder, for some reason. maybe it was the rum.

"if you weren't so pretty, i wouldn't have to start riots," jack stared down at her.

"you sure you haven't had too much to drink either?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

"five drinks and i start seeing things, four and i'm a mild madman, three and i say things i don't mean, two and i start having my best ideas," he told her. "but one? one, i'm a beacon of sobriety and truth."

bella blushed and smiled at the ground. jack lifted her chin back up with the hand that wasn't on her shoulder, about to say something—

"was that all part of the plan?" will asked, catching up to them.

bella immediately picked up jack's hand off her shoulder and awkwardly took a step away from him. he looked annoyed, but he turned to will.

"when i see wrongs, i right them," jack said, glancing at bella, who tucked her hair behind her ear. "now, let's get back to the ship."