kaydeefalls | (no subject)

Ficlet for

mcee's default icon challenge.

PotC, Barbosa-POV.

"Serpent"

Jack Sparrow always knew how to push Barbosa's buttons. Always. Even when Jack was still lawfully (or unlawfully, if you cared about such technicalities) captain of the Pearl, he always knew exactly how to strike at his first mate so it hit. The carefully chosen word, the impeccably timed raised eyebrow, the appropriate sneer. He was like a little biting fly, or perhaps a long-fanged and deadly accurate viper.

The mutiny's success had been sweet and cloying, like the lingering memory of a fresh-picked apple. What Barbosa had loved the most was the shocked expression on Jack's face as they left him to rot on that island. As though the scum hadn't seen it coming, like he was surprised at Barbosa's betrayal. As though he hadn't earned it a thousand times over, the snake.

But nothing has changed. The apple is violently green, jarring in the muted darkness of the cabin. Bright and rich and alive against Jack's tan-brown skin, and Barbosa can almost taste the thin trickle of juice running down Jack's chin, the want almost a physical pain. Snakes and apples and always knowing exactly how to push Barbosa's buttons.

It's no wonder Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden.