Maelstrom

Chapter 11

Shanks' POV

You chuckle as you see Ruse drooling at the scent of Makino's fresh cooked meal, but you pretend to not notice it, as you see her glance over at you. She smirks before bouncing into the bar, a grin on her face as she books it to the counter. The rest of your crew is still lazing about inside, some have cards, others are cleaning their guns.

You nod a silent greeting, before following the rambunctious teen to the counter. She's practically inhaling the meat and bread as you sweat drop. She reminds you a little of Luffy, managing to clear everything off her plate in seconds. Two little anchors then? No, Ruse wasn't really anchor material, you'd have to think on that one for a bit.

The kid grins, mouth stuffed as she garbles out words that to normal people would be hard to understand, but since you also have a similar habit, and hanging around Luffy so much, you understand what she says.

"Mmf Shmm ehh remm gossh!" Which you translate to, "Wow, Shanks, It's really good!"

You chuckle as you slide into your stool next to her, "Aye, Makino is one of the best cooks out here, but you might want to slow down and breathe a little, kid."

"Mhmm. Much better." She grins as she wipes off the sauce that spilled on her face, patting her stomach happily.

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

Ruse clearly doesn't like that as she struggles to grab back the mug, shouting at you. "'Oi! Captain Idiot, that's mine!" You snigger as you hold the mug out of reach from her, your build is longer than hers, and she pouts at you.

"C'monnn Shanks, ya gotta share. Sharing is caring!" She whines.

You arch an eyebrow playfully. "Oh really?"

She nods eagerly before holding out her hands, motioning for you to fork over the drink. "Gimme, gimme."

You chuckle as you left her take the mug, and she drains it all in seconds. You pout childishly and throw her your puppy-dog eyes.

"What happened to sharing huh kid? That's mean." She rolls her eyes at your antics, clearly unimpressed.

"Okay okay fine. C'mere Red." She drawls, pulling you closer to her and you pause, confused at what she's trying to accomplish.

"Here. I'll share one with you since you're complaining so much, damn pirate." She gives you a mischievous look before gripping your hair tightly, pulling your face closer to her own.

"Oi, kid-" You start, but are interrupted as she drags you much more forcefully than you thought a lass could. Warm lips meet your own, soft and scarred around the edges, and tasting faintly of cherries. Huh. You feel a light nip at your lips as the curves of her lips turn upwards into a playful smirk before she pulls away.

Wait, what?

The white haired lass just grins and begins to lick the rest of the sauce leftover from off her plate, humming contently.

What the hell just happened?

--

The bar gets eerily quiet, your crew having been eagerly watching the entire conversation unfold. You're still trying to wrap your head around what the hell just happened when you hear it. A shaky inhale of air. Stifled chuckles bleed into whoops of laughter, and your crew starts on their antics. Catcalls and snickers echo around the bar as you scowl.

Of course they would. You whirl around, trying to silence them with your steely gaze.

"Oi, lucky Red tonight eh Cap'n?" You hear Benn drawl from across the table. He smirks at you, gunpowder smudging his hands as he makes a lewd gesture. Your scowl deepens, your face slightly tinged red in embarrassment.

"Never thought he'd have it in 'em, that's a spitfire lass for sure!" Another of your crewmates teases. Yassop, his lips turned upwards in a smirk. Wait, he said lass? Did he know all along? Well he wasn't the best scopes-man without a reason you suppose. You glare at him once more before turning back to the lass in question.

She tilts her head up to you, confused at what the commotion is about. You sigh and then chuckle softly. Lass sure knew how to pick 'em you suppose.

"Oi, kid, you just kiss everyone you meet?" You quip at her, as you rest your hands under your chin, adamantly ignoring your crewmates hollering and teasing behind you.

"Nah, just the cute ones." She grins at you smugly before sliding her plate across the counter.

You pause, mulling her words over in your head. Was she teasing you again? A little annoyed at the fact that she managed to rile you up so quickly, you start to frown but then a eager grin begins to pull at your lips. Ah, that would be a good route to go on. You smirk, already putting in to motion your counterattack.

"So, just me then, I see. You'll have to wait a couple years though, you're a bit young for me still, but I'm sure you'll grow up as a fine pirate one day." Your smirk widens into a genuine grin as she blushes at you.

So kissing a stranger was no problem, but some innocent compliments made her blush huh? Interesting.

"Tch. Redhead idiot, as if you could handle all this now, much less when I get older. Nice to know you're interested though." She growls before standing up, scoping out your crewmates.

"Oi, the name's Ruse! Your idiot captain wants me to join y'all, but I'm gonna have to run a trial period first, so whoever has a problem, step on up!" She shouts, and your crew look up at you.

They can see in her golden eyes, just like you can, that this girl, Ruse D. Argenti was something else entirely. You smirk as you lift your head in acknowledgement towards your nakama. She was fierce, determined little spitfire, and she was as free as the waves in the sea, and what more could a pirate crew ask for?

Your first mate, Benn Beckman laughs loudly as he stands, lazily making his way to stand in front of her. He easily dwarfed her small stature as he leaned down to her.

"That's a lot of talk coming from someone so ignorant. You even sail lass?" He grins easily, waiting to see her reaction.

You tense, waiting for her response.

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