Maelstrom

Chapter 10

Ruse's POV

You were pleasantly surprised that a large helping of meat and bread were waiting for you back at Party's Bar. The smell of freshly cooked meat had you drooling, but you wiped it away quickly, looking back at Shanks to see if he had noticed. He didn't seem to have noticed your salivating. Good. You grin as you practically ran to the bar counter, Shanks already forgotten as you began to scarf down the warm meal.

"Mmf Shmm ehh remm gossh!" You shout happily to your red haired companion, mouth stuffed full of food.

"Aye, Makino is one of the best cooks out here, but you might want to slow down and breathe a little, kid." Shanks chuckles at you, and you nod, trying to not inhale the food and actually savor the meal. It's been so long since you had a freshly-cooked meal, you really needed that.

"Mhmm. Much better." You grin as you wipe off the sauce that spilled on your face, patting your stomach happily. How he even understood what you were saying was beyond you, but you really could care less.

"Jeez kid, how much can you eat? Got a black hole down there?" He laughs at you, before grabbing your glass of water and taking a swig out of it.

"Oi! Captain Idiot, that's mine!" You growl trying to swipe it back, only managing to grab on to his shirt, as he sniggers at you. Damn redhead pirate with his stupidly long limbs. You pout as he continues to hold the cup away from you.

"C'monnn Shanks, ya gotta share. Sharing is caring!" You whine.

"Oh really?" He arches an eyebrow at you, and you nod eagerly.

"Gimme, gimme." You reach out again, this time successfully grabbing the cup of water, draining the whole mug in seconds.

"Ahh. That's better." You grin happily as you look over to the redhead.

He pouts at you, childishly, and drawls, "What happened to sharing huh kid? That's mean." You roll your eyes, this man was really too much.

You look back at him, a smirk tugging at your lips.

"Okay fine, c'mere Red." You pull him closer to you, roughly grabbing his arms as you yank him down to an even eye level with your own.

He looks at you, surprise evident on his face.

"Here. I'll share something better with ya since you're complaining so much. Damn pirate." You scowl playfully before gripping his hair tightly, pulling his face closer to yours.

The redhead looks confused, brows knitted together. You try and stifle the snicker that was threatening to bubble out, already imagining the incredulous look on his face. As you struggle to pull him closer -he tries to pull back- which you're having none of.

"Oi, kid- " He starts but you cut him off.

Rough, slightly chapped lips press against your own as you smirk into the redhead's mouth. You give him light teasing nip before pulling away from him- sinking back to your spot on one of the bar stools.

"There. Now we're even." You state as if nothing happened, before turning back to your plate, licking off the rest of the sauce from the dish.

You don't bother looking back up to Shanks- you were already immensely focused on the texture of the sauce that had once covered your dining plate.

A pleasant hum escapes from your throat. A pink tongue darting out to swipe the leftover droplets of that exquisite tasting sauce.

A fresh-cooked meal really was the best.

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