Merry Christmas florencia7

[ultra_fic]

florencia7 - To my lovely friend, you are wonderful and I am so glad to have you in my life. Now, I haven't written PotC fic in forever, and it's even been ages since I watched the films, so if this fic sucks, I'm sorry! lol

Title: All At Sea
Fandom(s): OUAT/PotC
Prompt: Rumbelle & Sparrabeth - A magic spell goes wrong and Rumpel lands Belle and himself on the Black Pearl for Christmas.
Timeline: AU post-S3 OUAT/AU post-AWE PotC
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Any and all recognisable characters do not belong to me.

Belle hadn’t quite been ready for the rush that came with being thrown from one land and point in time to another. Rumpelstiltskin had warned her that it would feel strange and she had expected nothing less, but perhaps it was the landing that startled her most. They had been trying to track down the Jolly Roger. Unfinished business with Hook was for once not a need for bloodshed, Belle never would have advocated this trip if it had been. The problem was that, even disorientated and thrown off her feet as she had been by the magical journey, Belle knew she was not where she should be. Hook’s ship was a place she had been before. This was a pirate ship, no question, but it did not look as she remembered at all, and the man standing over her was not Killian Jones.

“Not that I’m complainin’, love, but where exactly did you come from?” asked the stranger, staring rather worriedly at a bottle of rum in his hand.

The truth of it was that he was wondering if he had finally drunk too much of his favourite tipple, to the point where he was hallucinating beautiful damsels on the deck of his ship. It was only when someone else admitted to being able to see the girl in question that he felt better. After all, Elizabeth was seldom if ever drunk.

“What on Earth just happened?” she asked, seemingly astonished by the sight of the woman in the pretty dress laid on the deck before them.

“Just what I was asking, Lizzie,” said Jack shaking his head. “One minute you were the only woman aboard, and the next... poof!” he said, making a gesture with his free hand to indicate the way in which the stranger had just appeared.

“I apologise for the intrusion,” said Belle politely as she scrambled to her feet. “My name is Belle, I wasn’t...”

Any explanation she might have given was interrupted by a groaning sound. Jack and Elizabeth spun around to face a second intruder, Lizzie with her sword drawn, Jack struggling to get his free of his belt in his drunken state. He needn’t have worried, something he realised quickly when he looked into the familiar face of Rumpelstiltskin.

“Bloody hell,” he grinned. “Fancy seeing you again, Rumpel.”

“Oh, wonderful,” the Dark One rolled his eyes. “Jack Sparrow, of all the pirates.”

“Captain Jack Sparrow, mate. Things have changed a bit since I saw you last.”

Elizabeth looked between Rumpelstiltskin, Jack, and Belle, feeling giddy after doing it too much.

“Um, who are these people, Jack?” she asked, sword still in hand.

Clearly she wasn’t feeling like she should trust them on instinct, after all, they had just appeared on board, in the middle of the ocean, in clothes that seemed other-worldly in their way.

“I think, love, that this is going to require a sight more rum, and a lot of explanation.”

---

After Rumpelstiltskin and Jack rather skimmed over how they came to know each other, the tales of how they met their significant others were briefly told, followed by Rumpel’s realisation of how his spell had come to fail him. The real problem was not knowing how to reverse it, to either get to their correct point in space and time to visit Hook, or to get back home. Belle had been quite upset. She had plans for her first Christmas as a married woman, and none of them involved being stuck on the Black Pearl! Captain Sparrow had offered her rum to take the pain of her disappointment away, and Belle had taken it. By this time, they had all been enjoying the drink and no food to speak of, sharing stories of the past and coming up with the most ridiculous plans for how to send the visitors home somehow. It all became hysterically funny and even though that was bound to change when the morning brought back reality and a hangover to boot, for now, they were a jolly foursome in the Captain’s quarters.

"You are to spend Christmas with us, Belle," said Elizabeth firmly. "Both of you, and though we cannot promise all the trimmings or snow of any kind," she considered, "we can promise a jolly time."

"And rum!" said Jack definitely.

"Aye, for where there is Jack, there is always rum," agreed Rumpelstiltskin with a giggle that was perhaps a little too much like his former self, the Dark One with skin of green and eyes of gold.

"I never thought to spend Christmas on a ship," said Belle thoughtfully, swaying a sight more readily than the Pearl herself. "But it could be fun."

"It shall be fun," said Elizabeth definitely, draining the bottle in her hand. "We ladies shall see to that, even if the men are thoroughly without the imagination necessary for such an occasion."

"Are they suggesting we cannot offer a reasonable Christmas celebration, Rumpel?" said Jack, apparently affronted by the presumption.

"I believe so, Sparrow," he agreed. "Perhaps our ladies have forgotten that we can be quite full of surprises."

---

The sun across her eyes woke Elizabeth Swan from an unladylike slumber, slumped across the galley table and drooling on her own arm. She sat up shakily, pushing hair out of her face as she did so. She saw Belle in a similar position to her own, still sleeping yet, and remembered all that had happened the night before. Too much rum, but an awful lot of entertaining stories, she recalled happily, and then with some sadness she remembered Belle’s upset over being stuck here, missing a happy family Christmas in her own home. It made Elizabeth sad too. It had been so long since she had such an occasion herself.

A crash outside got her attention and startled Belle awake. The brunette sat up fast, immediately wishing she hadn’t as she grabbed her aching head.

“Apparently I was not built for drinking rum,” she noted sadly.

“I’ve adjusted to it, and yet this morning I am also suffering,” said Elizabeth with a smile. “We did drink rather a lot.”

Another strange set of sounds were heard beyond the door, and with Jack and Rumpel both gone from the room, the ladies were definitely suspicious and curious to see what was going on. Standing on unsteady legs, they all but held each other up as they headed up onto the deck of the Pearl. Two pairs of pretty eyes went wide as a Kraken’s jaws when they saw what was laid before them.

Garlands of green wrought with berries and ribbons were draped everywhere, from the masts, the rigging, every rope and rail. Near the Captain’s wheel stood the most glorious tree, also highly decorated, a star at the top, and real gold and jewels nestled between the branches. Neither Belle nor Elizabeth had ever seen anything like it.

“Ladies,” said Jack as he spotted them, bowing low with his hat in his hand. “Welcome to Christmas aboard the Black Pearl, loves.”

“And no real Christmas would be complete without...” said Rumpel then, and with a wave of his hand a light snow began to fall.

Somewhere towards the stern, the crew were gathered, tired from clearly having worked so hard on their Captain’s wishes, and mystified by the power of the Dark One. The ladies of the ship noticed nothing of anything or anyone but their respective partners.

“You never cease to amaze me, Jack,” said Elizabeth as she walked over to him.

“Gotta keep you on your toes, Lizzie, else what am I here for?” he grinned, pulling her close, glad to return the kiss she initiated.

“This is wonderful, Rumpel, thank you” said Belle on the other side of the tree.

“Anything to make you happy, dearie,” he promised her. “And, one more Christmas tradition?” he said, holding aloft one more piece of greenery - mistletoe.

Belle was more than happy to oblige him.

Maybe Christmas on the Black Pearl wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

Comments

[hollymac-79.livejournal.com]

I loved this! It doesn't surprise me all that much that Jack and Rumple know each other. Loved the ending!

[ultra_fic]

Thanks, mate. Kinda makes sense to me too :)