Author's Note: This is just a short, 1,019 word ficlet that I wrote late at night after thinking about the second movie's happenings. It may or may not be added onto.

Warning: This ficlet contains SPOILERS FOR DEAD MAN'S CHEST, aka the second movie. So don't read on if you haven't seen it/don't know what happens.

Disclaimer: Yea, I definitely don't own these awesome characters because Disney does and... I'm not Disney.

My Compass Does Not Lie

by inukokoro

Elizabeth Swann sat on a barrel on the deck of the Black Pearl, gazing out at the endless sea before her. It was late in the evening and the remainder of the crew had retired to their hammocks under the deck. Her dirty blonde hair was hopelessly tangled and dirty from the sea spray and a lack of personal hygiene. Her lips twisted upwards in a bitter smile as she remembered when Jack had told her that they were alike, but she had denied it; using personal hygiene as one of the reasons. The time that had passed during her journey under Captain Barbossa to find him had remedied at least that difference. And after what she had done to Jack to ensure her own safety… She was sure that her moral center was gradually ebbing away.

A month or so ago these changes would have bothered her as much as they bothered Will, but she didn't mind. Jack had been right; she was a pirate. The only remainder of her old life was her name and the length of her hair. She was sorely tempted to hack it all off, or at least cut it down to a decent and manageable length just so it wouldn't be such a bother, but she never found the strength to cut it off. Although if I had cut it all off, perhaps he would have spared me a glance. Elizabeth thought sourly.

Even though the rightful captain of the Black Pearl had returned, he seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid her. Every time he had noticed her, he turned sharply on his heel and swaggered in the opposite direction.

She rose from the barrel and strode over to the railing of the ship, placing her forearms on the worn wood and hunching over the side. "Bloody coward." Whether she was referring to Jack for avoiding her or her own cowardice of not confronting him – but what would she do or say to him – she wasn't quite sure.

"'o are you talking 'bout, love?" The familiar deep voice of Jack Sparrow came from her right and she turned to look at him. Her amber eyes were narrowed and reflected her inner turmoil.

"You." Her eyes traveled over him; noting that he seemed to have aged several years during his stay at the world's end. However he was still as alluring as she had found him when he had left – no, when she had condemned him to death. His dark eyes regarded her heavily for a moment before he instantly snapped back into his usual suave self.

"I don' know what you're talking 'bout. I came back to the ship, you said so yourself."

"That's not what I was referring to. You've been avoiding me ever since we rescued you." If this conversation had taken place when she had been more proper, the sea would have looked incredibly interesting at the moment. Instead, she was glaring at him; trying to figure out what was going through his head.

Instead of answering her, he chose to take a large swig of rum from the bottle that his hand tightly gripped. After a minute of awkward silence in which Jack showed no signs of saying something, Elizabeth pulled the bottle of rum from his hand and raised it to her lips and drank some. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and roughly shoved the bottle back at him, which he took.

"Fine, I suppose I'm just wasting my time. Good night, Captain." Her boots combined with her frustrated gait thudded heavily against the wood as she headed to the stairway.

"I trust you still have my compass?" Captain Sparrow called to the ruffled female stomping away and she paused, turning back around to face him.

"Yes." Her hand dove into one of her pockets and she pulled out the navy blue compass, flipping the lid open for one last look. It had never failed to point out the right direction to the aggravating man before her when he was missing; but that had been when their mission was to find him. She was curious as to whether it would point to Will or Jack. Part of her hoped that it would point to her fiancée and hopefully banish the need for having the talk she had been thinking about ever since the kiss. Taking a breath, her eyes took in the direction that the needle was quivering in and then looked up. The sight of an amused looking Jack Sparrow greeted her. With a jerk of her wrist, she tossed the unusual compass towards him. He caught it one handed.

"Is it still broken?" He inquired, mocking her. His trademark grin revealed his golden teeth. "Or have you finally come to terms with what you desire most?"

"It's still broken." She answered defiantly and folded her arms across her chest.

"Ah, still in denial I see." The captain's grin fell slightly into a half grimace as he climbed the set of stairs leading towards the wooden steering wheel. He checked the compass for a moment as he stopped short in front of the device and snapped it shut after seeming to take in what it had pointed to. In indignation, Elizabeth followed his path up the stairs and stopped several feet from him.

"And why do you think I'm in denial, Captain Sparrow?" She demanded hotly. He threw a side long glance in her direction before turning to her and starting taking steps toward her as he spoke.

"Because you're denying that kiss we shared, Miss Swann. Don' lie to me and tell me that you didn' feel a thing because one, I could tell it wasn' just your curiosity anymore that was guiding you and two –" He stopped walking as she felt her back hit the railing. Their eyes were locked as he leaned closer to her, their foreheads nearly touching. She could smell the rum on his breath and vaguely remembered that it would be on her own as well. "my compass does not lie."