Drabble: 'Unlucky at Cards' (J/E - PG13)

[dwgm]

A drabble and a half (150 words) for the current prompt, 'Win or Lose'





~ Unlucky at Cards ~


“Pique, repique and capot,” Elizabeth observed in a faint voice. She raised her eyes to meet Jack’s. “You’ve won.”

He smiled slowly, glinting gold. “So it seems.”

Elizabeth swallowed hard and straightened, spots of color on her cheeks. “A gentleman would offer a rematch.”

Jack gave a tiny snort of derision, stood, slipped ‘round the table and held out his hand. “Pirate!”

*

Much later, when the echoes of their cries had died away and they’d stopped trembling one against the other, Elizabeth sighed and stroked Jack’s cheek, bronze in the firelight, with a gentle finger.

He opened his eyes, and they slowly narrowed in suspicion. “Scurvy wench. You meant to lose, didn’t you?”

“Perhaps.”

He studied her in silence for a long moment. Then said, “I want that rematch.”

Her own eyes widened. “Now? To what purpose?”

“So we can both win again, of course,” he growled, and kissed her.



~.~

Comments

[jenthegypsy.livejournal.com]

Pirates, the both of them, I think! ♥

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Thank you for the quick response. ♥♥

[jenthegypsy.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm sitting here notcrying over the series finale of Lost which begins in less than five hours and I saw that my favorite Pirates writer was posting, so I was pretty sure you would cheer me up/distract me.

Six years have I embraced this universe, and with one final "thunk" and fade to black, it will all come to an end tonight.

*wibbles*

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I know. I was thinking of that. I hope the finale is everything you're hoping it'll be.

Of course you have tons more Lost than we do Pirates, so that has to seem like some compensation!

*hugs*

[jenthegypsy.livejournal.com]

Oh great heavens, yes! We have tons more Lost ~ which almost makes it harder. I mean, it's been part of our weekly lives for six years. Sort of like an arm or a leg (for a very young person).

It's been a random run, but for the most part I've enjoyed every minute, and Desmond has never failed to impress me. The writers screwed with all the other characters until they were almost unrecognizable, but Des has remained stalwart and true.

I'm so very looking forward to the new Pirates movie! Hopefully it will totally block out Pirates II & III in my mind and join The Curse of the Black Pearl in all of its piratey glory!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It will be fun to see more of Captain Jack, but yes, I hope they'll do a good job interpreting the new material while acknowledging the old -- it's supposed to be a sequel, after all. Pirates II & III weren't everyone's cup of tea, but there were some elements of the films that were really fun to explore, like Teague, the pirate lords and Shipwreck Cove.

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

> Pirates II & III weren't everyone's cup of tea, but there were some elements of the films that were really fun to explore, like Teague, the pirate lords and Shipwreck Cove. <

Don't forget Beckett, Bootstrap Bill, Tia Dalma, the krakken, Davy Jones & the Flying Dutchman.

Oh; and the drabble was very worthwhile too- I note Jack didn't put any mental energy into figuring out Liz's strategy until *after* he'd collected the forfeit.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Beckett, Bootstrap Bill, Tia Dalma, the krakken, Davy Jones & the Flying Dutchman.

You know, I probably could've done without them, myself. The whole pirates betraying pirates thing got pretty tedious. I think the big problem was that much of what we saw and loved in CotBP weren't in II and III. It was as though Bruckheimer, Verbinski, Depp, and T&T had an entirely different idea of who these characters were, like they had been watching some other movie. Of course we fans had had a full three years to develop our own ideas about the characters, so it was quite a shock to see the direction they took the characters. And of course you can't tell them they did it wrong, the movies each made a mint of money and money speaks louder than critical success.

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

> It was as though Bruckheimer, Verbinski, Depp, and T&T had an entirely different idea of who these characters were... <

It was my impression that they wanted to take the characters on a different tact. I guess I didn't mind it, as some other folks did, 'cause I didn't become truly enamored of 'Pirates' until I saw AWE.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

There were a number of wonderful writers who came into the fandom with the advent of the sequels, including your good self. The dynamic of the characters and story were very different in the sequels, and had a different sort of appeal than did CotBP on its own. Those of us who fell in love with the characters in '03 and absorbed so much fanon along with the great fanfiction that was being written were probably not the audience the sequels were aimed at. TPTB were correct in their assessment of what the public wanted, the numbers don't lie. And even though I wasn't entirely happy with the direction the story took, I ended up seeing both DMC and AWE six or seven times each in the theater and still watch them on a regular basis. There's a lot to love in all three movies, and I am very much looking forward to the fourth one (though I think we will all miss James, not to mention Elizabeth and Will).

[sharklady35.livejournal.com]

> Those of us who fell in love with the characters in '03 and absorbed so much fanon along with the great fanfiction... <

I have noticed that. There's lots of great post-CotBP fics around (including your own) which are no less entertaining 'cause they take a different course from the movies. I don't fret about that, any more than I worry about my own post-AWE stories being rendered AU by the fourth film. There's no law against enjoying alternate possibilities!

> ...though I think we will all miss James, not to mention Elizabeth and Will. <

Indeed. But at least we can be sure Will and Liz are going to be okay. (And who knows about James? He could get a reprieve.)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I, too, enjoy alternate possibilities, as you know. ;) I'm looking forward to seeing what new and interesting characters will be in this new one.

[shibela.livejournal.com]

Ha! Love this! Both of them so sneaky, trying to out-Pirate each other. Thank you for sharing this!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! And thank you for commenting -- I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[phoenix-9664.livejournal.com]

Lovely, spicy drabble for a dreary Sunday afternoon! Thanks very much. I love that finger drawn across his cheek in the firelight.

Pursuant to the other conversation going on here, I've finally figured out what drove me nuts in PIII: Jack Sparrow is a freaking MINOR CHARACTER. Now, if that isn't a major mistake, I'll be a feculant maggot, as Jack would say.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have called Jack a minor character in AWE, but he certainly shared the screen -- which was the original intent of TPTB, and it's likely to continue in that vein in IV. Hopefully we'll see enough new Captain Jack material to inspire, he's always fun to watch. And we always have fanfic to fill in the rest.

I'm so glad you enjoyed this drabble. Thank you very much for letting me know!

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

And another one! You've been busy while I was away today :-)

He smiled slowly, glinting gold. “So it seems.” Ah, that smile...

“Scurvy wench. You meant to lose, didn’t you?” “Perhaps.” I too loved them trying to out-pirate each other. That's what they'd do, I imagine, and probably win an equal number of times. *g*

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I had to play catch up with all those prompts. Yay for no homework! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. They are certainly both pretty pirates!

[orpsgod.livejournal.com]

Unsurprising another great piece here. Thank you for posting. :)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading and commenting! I really appreciate it!!

[gingersnapps.livejournal.com]

Lizzy is definitely a pirate at heart ~~ isn't she? ;-)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

She is! Two peas in a pod, as Jack said.

Praise from Willofthewisp

[(Anonymous)]

True pirates, both of them. Ah well. They really do both win with this arrangement, though, don't they? Lol. Very clever and sexy drabble.

Re: Praise from Willofthewisp

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

[florencia7.livejournal.com]

They are both Pirates!, a step ahead of everyone but when it comes to just the two of them it's quite adorable that it usually seems to be Elizabeth who is a step ahead of Jack ^^

That was WONDERFUL! Great drabble. I loved it!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

it's quite adorable that it usually seems to be Elizabeth who is a step ahead of Jack

It's been that way almost from the beginning, hasn't it? *g* So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you very much for commenting!

[mindyracal.livejournal.com]

nauggggghhhty! great drabble.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thank you!

[pearlseed.livejournal.com]

“A gentleman would offer a rematch.”

"Jack gave a tiny snort of derision, stood, slipped ‘round the table and held out his hand. “Pirate!” That man! I'm lovin' this--some spicy card game, I'm thinkin'.

Love it that he accuses her of losing on purpose. That's so Jack cos that's something he might pursue.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

That's so Jack cos that's something he might pursue.

They are peas in a pod, all right. So happy you liked the spicy card game, it was fun to write, I must say! Thank you very much for commenting.

[luvvycat.livejournal.com]

*Sigh* As usual, a WONDERFUL drabble! Really set my little ol' Sparrabeth heart a-flutter (as your J/E stuff invariable does!). Naughty, playful, and I always love that element of Jack and Elizabeth "matching wits" with one another; they are SO well-suited to one another in that way. Pirates through and through, both smart and tricky and so sexy (especially together)!

And I don't blame Elizabeth one bit! If losing at cards to Jack Sparrow meant spending a torrid and quite delightful night in bed with him--well, there's really no incentive to win, now is there? ;-) Clever, clever Lizzie, for setting up a win/win situation for them both!

Of course, your depictions of both of them are, as always, spot-on, their voices ring true, and the sparks as well as the tenderness between them so sweetly rendered!

Such a lovely treat, this gorgeous little drabble! So glad to see you back and posting again! I've really missed your fics! :-)

-- Cat

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely, long comment! I appreciate it so much.

smart and tricky and so sexy

That they are, which is why we can't get enough of them. So entertaining!

[greenisbeauty.livejournal.com]

Playful, intelligent, and incredibly sexy.

Definitely the OT3 of the Sparrabeth world.

You've got all three here. Loved it!