{"id":119,"date":"2018-02-28T09:43:52","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T01:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/?p=119"},"modified":"2023-06-25T09:50:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-25T01:50:45","slug":"rum-for-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/119\/","title":{"rendered":"rum for one"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It was a warm night ashore the small island where Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates had docked. The crew were all lounging about outside of the local tavern; they had been thrown out half an hour earlier, when the barkeep had decided he\u2019d had enough and closed up for the morning. In the distance, there was the slightest hint of sun, marking a new day upon them.<\/p>\n

Shanks shook the empty rum flask, relishing the last few drops that came out. He sighed, dropping his head back, and gazed up at the sky. The warm weather was comforting but also draining and reminded him of the events that had just unfolded. He wasn\u2019t nearly drunk enough to talk about the war they had just stopped. That was a conversation he wasn\u2019t yet ready for; he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d ever be ready, in all honesty. He needed more to drink.<\/p>\n

Something cool was pressed to the side of his head. He turned his head to find Benn standing there, offering his rum flask. Shanks grinned and accepted the offering. He took a swig and then handed it back. Benn dropped down onto the ground next to him.<\/p>\n

Shanks threw an arm around Benn\u2019s shoulders and faced the rest of his crew, who sat in a poorly formed circle. \u201cDid I ever tell you guys about how I met Benn?\u201d he said, slightly slurred and louder than necessary.<\/p>\n

Heads turned, flushed faces and pairs of glassy eyes looked to Shanks. Yasopp grinned. \u201cProbably? Tell us again anyway,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all started when I accidentally bumped into him on the street.\u201d Shanks looked out at his crew and smirked. \u201cYou know what he did? Threatened me with his rifle \u2014 but not to shoot me with it, no. He was going to hit me with it.\u201d He looked over at Benn, who was slouched back, his arms crossed and eyes closed. Shanks smiled. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew I wanted him in my crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucky Roo took a bite of his meat. \u201cHow did you convince him to join then?\u201d he said with his mouth full.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I like to think my charm and good looks were responsible for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laughter filled the morning air; it was a welcome distraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs if!\u201d Yasopp said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the truth?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanks stroked his chin. \u201cThe truth? It\u2019s pretty boring.\u201d He grinned and leaned forward. The crew watched intently. \u201cI bribed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groans of disappointment could be heard all around. \u201cBoring,\u201d Lucky Roo said.<\/p>\n

Benn opened one eye. \u201cIt\u2019s not a complete lie,\u201d he said. He stood up and stretched. \u201cI\u2019m going to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanks watched as Benn walked off and then turned to his crew. \u201cI\u2019m done, too. Make sure you get some shut-eye,\u201d he said and slowly got to his feet. He stumbled the first few steps but managed to regain his footing and followed in the direction Benn had gone.<\/p>\n

By the time Shanks made it back to the ship, the night sky had completely lifted; the sun made for a slightly sobering experience, a reminder that he would have to face reality sooner or later. He put that to the back of his mind, though, and instead searched for his first mate. He stepped on board the Red Force. \u201cBenn?\u201d he called out. There was no response so he ventured into the men\u2019s quarters; he didn\u2019t bother knocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenn?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHere,\u201d came Benn\u2019s familiar voice. Benn was lying in a hammock at the back of the quarters, his back to Shanks.<\/p>\n

Shanks walked over to him and as smoothly as a drunk could \u2014 which wasn\u2019t very smooth at all \u2014 climbed into the hammock. After a lot of wriggling, he finally got comfortable behind Benn and threw his arm over him.<\/p>\n

\u201cComfy?\u201d Benn asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell that makes one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanks laughed loudly but it was quick to die down. \u201cWant me to get out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re fine,\u201d Benn said.<\/p>\n

There was silence between them. Birds could be heard chirping outside while the wind whistled, carrying faint sounds of laughter with it \u2014 most likely from the crew. Shanks gently tapped his fingers along Benn\u2019s shoulder. Benn didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n

After a good five minutes of silence, Shanks assumed the other man was asleep, and stopped his tapping.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d Benn said. His voice startled Shanks, contrasting with the silence of the men\u2019s quarters.<\/p>\n

Shanks frowned. \u201cWhy? Why what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell them the truth?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanks hummed and twisted so he was lying on his back. \u201cI did, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benn sighed and rolled onto his back too. He looked up at the ceiling. \u201cThe full story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanks stared at Benn\u2019s profile. \u201cIt\u2019s not my story to tell,\u201d he said. Benn cracked a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think about it, you know? What would\u2019ve happened if you weren\u2019t there,\u201d Benn said.<\/p>\n

Benn closed his eyes. Silhouettes of men surrounded him and he was trapped in the middle, bruised and bleeding, nearly lifeless on the ground. A fist flew toward him and, before he could react, connected with his jaw. Laughter rang out and a foot came soaring toward his head, but it stopped short at the last moment. A man with red hair and a straw hat interfered and threw the silhouettes into chaos. He knocked out two men at once with his sword and did the same when more went charging to him. Benn watched on in confusion. Wasn\u2019t this the man he had threatened hours earlier? Why was he here? His vision started to blur, teetering on unconsciousness, but he couldn\u2019t look away. The red-haired man fought with ease; his hair shining like a beacon of hope. Benn was moments away from passing out when a hand reached out to him. \u201cJoin my crew and I\u2019ll give you all the rum in the world. Sounds good, right?\u201d the red-haired man said with a grin. Benn took the hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the past now,\u201d Shanks said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d Silence fell between them. Benn looked at Shanks. \u201cYou know\u2026 you\u2019re going to have to talk about the war eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually,\u201d Shanks echoed. He yawned and closed his eyes. \u201cBut today is not that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benn didn’t respond. He watched the sunlight filter through the small window. It illuminated half of Shanks’ face while shadows veiled the other half. It was the perfect metaphor. Benn rubbed his eyes; he couldn’t decide whether he had drunk too much or not enough. But he would wait; he always did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Benn can accept the past. He just wishes Shanks could accept the present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[7,61,16],"fandom":[13],"rating":[3],"ship":[17],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gen","tag-canonverse","tag-op-valentines-day-exchange","tag-pre-slash","fandom-one-piece","rating-teen","ship-akagami-no-shanks-benn-beckmann","wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions\/120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fandom?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"ship","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloverso.me\/fic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ship?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}