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It had been a week since their encounter with a marine ship and Shanks was finally allowed (strong enough to go against the doctor’s order) out of the infirmary.
Getting him to stay inside while he was healing had been a task, but they’d succeeded. Now that Shanks was doing better, however, stopping the man was nearly impossible. Only rendering him unconscious would do the trick, and none of the crew really wanted to try and fight him seriously, nor did they want to injure their captain even more than he already was.
Since he had been in the infirmary all along and amongst people he trusted, he hadn’t bothered using his haki to keep track of the ship. Using it would have simply exhausted him for no reason. Shanks was eager to know what they had been up to all that time, even though there was always at least one person with him the whole time they kept him on the infirmary bed. It was probably more to make sure he stayed there than to keep him company, his crew knew him well enough.
He walked through the ship and made his way to the kitchens, making sure to check up on each and every crew member he crossed paths with. He stopped by Lucky Roo to get a plate of food before finally reaching the table Benn was sat at and sitting down with him.
He started was about to start a conversation with Benn, trying to gauge how much trouble he could make without his first mate being too mad at him for it, when he finally decided to look around to find whatever was nagging his mind and peripheral vision, only for his eyes to land on the ugliest suit he had ever seen.
“Are you trying to kill our enemies with sight only?” He made a face as he finally looked up, wondering which of his crew would wear such a thing, only to choke on air as he noted who exactly was wearing said ugly suit.
“Tell me about it” Benn grumbled in answer, “When I finally got him to remove it so it could be washed and burned he got another one from who knows where” He sighed.
Shanks was very worried about his first mate’s lack of surprise at the man’s presence and briefly wondered if he’d entered an alternate universe.
“Hmmm,” Kizaru, because this was definitely vice-admiral Kizaru, a marine vice-admiral, on his ship, objected “I think it’s quite stylish”
Shanks blinked once, then twice, then thrice, and then a few more times taking the scene before him.
Kizaru was, by all accounts, pouting at his first mate, who was looking back with annoyance and, was that fondness? as they bantered about the first man’s taste in clothing.
Fortunately, Shanks was used to strange situations and decided to simply go with the flow, only now using his haki in case Kizaru tried anything with his crew.
His observation haki wasn’t as strong as Buggy’s, but he was still decent with it and trusted it enough to determine that the man wasn’t an immediate threat when he detected neither killing intent or even annoyance as the two continued arguing in front of him. Only amusement and something else Shanks couldn’t quite recognise. He didn’t often try to read people when using his haki, as he did need a lot of concentration to do it, but, well, the safety of his crew would always warrant a few seconds of concentration and staring.
Even if the man he was staring at while frowning was now staring back at him, looking only slightly uncomfortable with the staring.
Shanks cleared his throat. “Benn, office, now.” He ordered as he got up and started to head for said office. “Lucky, you keep an eye on him and shoot if he does anything suspicious.
“Yes, captain” His two crew mates echoed back to him.
Shanks entered his office and turned around when he heard the door close behind his right hand man.
He raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for Benn to speak first.
Said man cleared his throat before reporting what had happened after their last battle.
“And why wasn’t this reported to me?” He asked, this was a serious situation and could have ended very differently for them. Not that he didn’t trust Benn, he trusted the man with his life, but something as big as this would have normally been reported to him at least by someone else, yet, he hadn’t heard anything about this.
Benn sighed and finally answered “Honestly, if Borsolino had wanted to sink us, he would have done so as soon as he’d landed on the ship, it’s been a bit less than a week now and he hasn’t done anything to even harm the crew or the ship. And I’ve been keeping a close watch on him since he’s been on board. The only time he isn’t in my direct presence is at night, and even then I’ve made sure there’s always at least 3 people awake and alert at all times.”
“Not only that but my haki hasn’t detected even a trace of killing intent from when he arrived to now.” he sighed again. “It’s how he managed to take me by surprise when he first landed on the ship. And with Borsolino being, well, Borsalino, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he really only wanted a ride to wherever he was going.”
Shanks had to agree with him on that point. It wouldn’t be out of character for the vice admiral.
“Very well,” he conceded. “He can stay on board.” Benn smiled at that, something probably unconscious, which Shanks quickly took note of. “But,” He raised his hand at the other man, interrupting him before he’d spoken, “You will continue to keep an eye on him and I want you to keep a close eye on him at night too. We’re lucky he hasn’t chosen to do anything while the crew was sleeping.” Shanks started. “I want either you or Yasopp with an eye on him at all times.” He finished.
Yasopp and Benn were, to Shanks, the most logical people to watch the man. Benn had already been successfully keeping him in line for a few days and Yasopp was the fastest in the crew when it came to sudden attacks.
“Yes captain!”
Shanks smiled as his first mate went back outside to relay his orders to Yasopp.
He hadn’t missed that smile his friend did nor the way the other called the vice admiral Borsolino, not Kizaru.
Shanks, always one to love spreading chaos, was quite interested in the new development in this relationship. The marine had somehow earned Benn’s respect and gotten familiar enough with him to ask him to use his real name. In the span of only a few days.
This would be an interesting week.
Shanks had been very right. Interesting had been an understatement.
Not only did he get to see the two men fumble around each other, oftentimes leaving Benn with a slight blush and Kizaru with a smirk, but he even got to witness something amazing: Kizaru accidentally betraying the marines.
They had all seen the cannonball heading for Benn’s head but no one was fast enough to help him.
Except for one man.
One man who decided to save a pirate in front of a ship full of marines.
Said ship had even somehow managed to take pictures of the action and were now retreating very fast, leaving the confused pirates behind.
Shanks couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him as his first mate blushed from his position on top of the other man, who was smirking widely and also slightly blushing.
Shanks had never thought he would rejoice in seeing two grown men blush at each other, yet here he was, hoping he would see them do it again.
Seeing Benn be so happy and free with someone was also reassuring for Shanks. As close as Benn was with the crew, he had always managed to keep a slight distance, a slight wall, even with Shanks. Although he’d been the one closest to seeing on the other side, he had always felt it there, like there was something stopping him from opening up.
He wouldn’t lie, he was slightly annoyed that the person who had managed to get him to open up was a marine of all people, but he would take it with grace.
That didn’t mean he would ever let him live it down.
Especially not when the unofficial addition to the crew became an official addition as the next day’s newspaper came in.
Seeing his crew mate pale, he had headed towards the front of the boat where he and Kizaru were reading the newspaper.
He saw the marine shrug with an “oops” and felt dread rise in him.
This couldn’t be anything good, could it?
He took the newspaper from their hands only to sigh at the content.
He looked at Benn, who was still slightly pale, and at Kizaru, who looked like he didn’t regret a single thing and made a decision that would impact them for the rest of their lives, hopefully for the better.
“Welcome aboard.”