Thanks Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay for beta ing

It was three in the morning when Benn decided it was no use trying to fall asleep. The events of the previous day kept playing in front of his mind's eye. From the moment Shanks had come home with Luffy, it had been an emotional rollercoaster for Benn. First, he had been genuinely mad at Shanks, then resigned that this was just how Shanks was, impulsive and pig-headed. Those were emotions he could deal with, that he was used to, at least since he had met Shanks.

But then Shanks had to open up to him, show his vulnerable side, and Benn just fell head over heels all over again. And Shanks had done nothing to stop him. He only encouraged Benn with his smooth talking, flirting, his foot up Benn's pant leg, his boner against Benn's thigh…

Benn groaned and turned to his side, the mattress bobbing gently underneath him. Usually, it was enough to lull him to sleep, but each time he almost drifted off, Shanks' face came back to him, pupils dilated and eyes dark with anticipation.

Maybe he needed a smoke. Benn pushed back the covers, digging around his nightstand before he remembered he left his cigarettes downstairs. Sighing, he got up, sneaking down the stairs as silently as he could. The pack of cigarettes was on the table. As Benn pulled one out with his teeth, he made the mistake of turning around.

Shanks was fast asleep, lying on his stomach. The duvet covered his lower half, revealing his naked torso. He was snoring softly.

Benn put down the package, walking over to the sofa bed, the cigarette still dangling between his lips, unlit. From up close, he could see Shanks was drooling on the pillow, muttering something incomprehensible.

Benn's eyes flicked to the space next to Shanks on the mattress. It would probably be okay to lay down for a few minutes. Walking around the bed, Benn sat down on the couch, the frame creaking under his weight.

The mattress was much less comfortable than his bed. He should probably get up again.

Shanks let out a snort and rolled onto his side, facing Benn. Hesitantly, Benn reached out, gently touching Shanks' face. He didn't wake up.

Benn lay down, to watch Shanks' face closer. There was something soothing about listening to Shanks' breathing, in and out, in and out. Benn's eyes fluttered shut.

Sunlight shining straight into his eyes woke him up the next morning, and Shanks groaned, pulling the pillow on top of his head. He sighed, stretching himself, when his foot brushed against something hairy. Pulling the pillow back, he sat up a little, smiling when he saw Benn next to him, asleep.

Shanks rolled to his side, propping himself up on one elbow as he watched Benn sleep. He hadn't even noticed him coming in.

Something small rolled against him and he picked it up. Pursing his lips, he twirled the cigarette around in his hand. Benn must have come down for a smoke, but had first… taken a break?

He flicked the cigarette away and turned back to Benn. He was looking kind of cute like this, and Benn wasn't usually a man to be described as cute.

"Stop staring at me," Benn grunted.

"Excuse me for not expecting to find you in my bed," Shanks replied with a grin.

"I think you'll find you're in my bed," Benn grouched, his eyes still closed. "It's still my house."

"Nice pyjamas," Shanks countered.

"Shut up, they're comfortable."

"I bet they are." Shanks snuck his hand towards Benn's chest, caressing it gently. "This is nice. Flannel?"

Benn hummed in reply, but smacked Shanks' hand away when it threatened to go lower. He turned to his side, away from Shanks.

"Alright, not a morning person, I see," Shanks said grinning, before his face turned serious. "But I think we both know why you are in my- your bed, with me. And I think we should talk about that. After I peed." He jumped from the bed and ran upstairs, sighing when he had finally reached the toilet.

"Alright then," Shanks said after he returned. "Let's talk."

"What if I don't want to talk?" Benn asked stubbornly. "Also, why are you naked?"

"Not everyone likes to sleep in pyjamas," Shanks said with a shrug. "Too hot. Oh, don't look at me like that, you can wash your sheets. Also," he continued, "stop changing the subject. We're gonna talk about what your problem is."

Benn shot up in bed. "You want to know what my problem is? You. You come waltzing back into my life like a… like a whirlwind, making me f- And you leave tomorrow. Tomorrow! You'll disappear again for who knows how long… And for the love of God, could you please put on pants?!"

"Why, is it distracting you?" Shanks said, waggling his eyebrows.

"No, I just figured you're cold." Benn's eyes flicked down to Shanks' crotch and back up.

A small smirk appeared on Shanks' face. "Ouch." He sat back down on the bed and covered himself up. "Alright, what do you want to do then?"

"Nothing. I want to do nothing." Benn sighed. "You know, you know, that this doesn't happen to me a lot."

"All the more reason to enjoy it," Shanks replied.

Benn remained silent.

"You know what?" Shanks said. "I could convince you. I could poke holes in all your arguments, and you'd be happy to jump my bones."

"Is that so?" Benn asked, amused.

"Yes, I could, and you know it. But I'm not going to do that."

"Why not?" Benn actually sounded taken aback, as if he had counted on that. Just like Shanks expected.

"No. It's not real if I have to convince you. Don't get me wrong, if you'd jump me right now, I'd gladly reciprocate. But it's got to come from you."

Benn was silent once more, leaning with his chin on his hand. Shanks could almost hear the gear wheels turn in his head. Curiously, he moved closer.

He then found himself on his back on the bed, pinned down by Benn, whom he hadn't even seen move. Grinning, he looked up. "Made up your mind, then?"

"I have not," Benn replied. He was still lying on top of Shanks, unmoving.

"Well, okay then. Could you move your knee, though, please? If you're gonna be here a while, I'd like to be comfortable."

Benn huffed out a laugh and did as he was asked. He then let his head fall against Shanks' shoulder. "What am I going to do?"

"That's up to you. I'm fine just lying here." To emphasise his words, Shanks put his hands underneath his head.

Benn chewed on his lip, his face slowly moving towards Shanks.

A loud ringing sounded, and Benn shot up like he was stung by a bee. He rolled off the bed to get the phone.

Shanks snorted. "Saved by the bell, eh?"

Benn ignored him. "Hello?" he said through the phone. His eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, he's here." He looked at Shanks. "It's for you. Why do you give out my phone number like it's yours?"

Shanks shrugged. "I don't have a cell phone." He rose from the bed.

"Could you please put on pants!" Benn exclaimed when the sheet slipped off Shanks.

"Oh? Am I interrupting something?" Shanks caught the voice on the other end of the line saying as he took over the phone.

"Not yet. What's up, Thatch?" Silently, he listened to what Thatch had to say, though none of it came as a surprise. "Well, that's why I told you I'm in town. I knew you couldn't resist an excuse to throw a party!" He laughed. "Okay then, see you tonight!" He pressed the button to hang up and handed the phone back to Benn. "Wanna go to a party tonight?"

Benn huffed. "I don't think so."

"Oh, come on! You said so yourself, I'm leaving tomorrow, so this is my last night here. And the Whitebeard boys are throwing a party especially for me! Well, for the booze, but they're using me as an excuse, that's so sweet, right?" He took Benn's hands. "It's my last night here, and I want to spend it with you." He batted his eyelashes.

"Alright," Benn finally said, reluctantly.

"Great! Now shall we continue where we left off?"

"I have a class to teach," Benn said, suddenly sounding cold. Without another word, he walked towards the living room door.

"For the record," Shanks said, and Benn stopped in his tracks, "I think you're being stupid."

Benn looked over his shoulder. "I thought you weren't going to try to convince me."

"What, you think I can't come up with something better than calling you stupid to change your mind? No, like I said, I'm not trying to convince you. But that doesn't change the fact that I think you're stupid."

Without a word, Benn left the living room, and Shanks heard him go upstairs. A few minutes later, the footsteps came down again, and the front door slammed shut.

Shanks sighed and closed his eyes. That had almost gone well.

Benn hadn't been able to focus on his class much, so he had just divided his students into groups and let them discuss the lecture among themselves. After class, he locked the door behind him and went to his office.

He dropped his keys when he found Shanks lying prostrate on his desk, his head propped up on his hand. "Geez, what the hell?!" Irritated, he picked up his keys. "How did you even get in here? The door was locked."

"Rayleigh let me in, obviously." Shanks sat up and hopped off the desk. "And I didn't like how we left things this morning. So I came here to kiss and make up. Well, not actually kiss. Unless you've changed your mind?"

Benn huffed a laugh and shook his head. "How long have you been lying there, anyway?"

"I haven't been lying there for hours, if that's what you think. I'm not stupid, I know what time your class ends." He paused for a second. "So we're good?"

"Yes, we're good."

"And you're still coming to the party?"

Benn sighed. "Why do I get the feeling that's only a ruse to get me drunk?"

Shanks cocked his head to the side. "It's not a ruse. I'm definitely going to get you drunk. But just for fun, not to get you into bed or anything. I told you, it has to come from you. And you have to be sober."

"Oh my God, what happened to your hair?!" Thatch exclaimed as soon as he opened the door.

Izo, standing next to him, rolled his eyes. "He's in the army, what did you expect?"

"I know," Thatch all but whined. "But that was like the only thing we had in common. Beautiful hair."

"Aw, come on, we have lots more in common," Shanks said, wrapping an arm around Thatch.

Thatch pursed his lips and hummed. "Sorry, no. I don't see it. Do you?" he asked Izo. Shanks and Thatch put their heads together and looked at Izo.

"You look like identical twins," he said, but it was impossible to determine whether or not he was being sarcastic when he whirled around and strode inside.

Shanks and Thatch looked at each other before Thatch turned back to Benn and Roo, who were lagging in the doorway. "Great that you guys made it!" he said. "It's Benn, right?" he said to Benn, holding out his hand when Benn looked incomprehensively. "I'm Thatch, we spoke on the phone? And met like five years ago."

Benn raised his eyebrows and looked at Shanks, who just shrugged. Benn took Thatch's hand and shook it, before he was pulled inside.

Beer and other kinds of alcohol flowed freely, and Shanks was pleased to see that even Benn loosened up. Roo was feeling at home too. It was too bad Yasopp decided to stay with the wife, but Shanks begrudgingly had to admit he did understand. It was his last night here as well.

"Come on, Shanks, dance with me." Izo pulled him to the middle of the room. "What are you moping about? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Shanks snorted. "Please, who wouldn't be happy to see you? It's been too long."

"And whose fault is that? You're the one who decided to play soldier." Izo looked slightly miffed.

"Isn't Rakuyo in the army as well?" Shanks countered.

Izo rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, and I love the idea of my brother one day being brought home covered by a flag."

Shanks, for once, didn't know what to say and remained silent.

Izo clucked his tongue and sighed. "So how is it going with Mr Salt-'n-pepper over there? You like him, don't you?"

"What's not to like?" Shanks turned half around. "If you look at him, don't you want to jump his bones?"

Izo looked over his shoulder. "Not really, no."

"Oh, you're asexual. What do you know," Shanks huffed.

Izo gave him a deadpanned look. "I can still appreciate him aesthetically. From an artistic point of view, that is one beautiful man. I'd love to draw him sometime. Where did you find him anyway? He looks like he should be aboard a ship, carrying a heavy crate or something."

Shanks laughed. "He teaches at the university, if you can believe it."

Izo pursed his lips. "No," he finally said. "I don't see it. He's obviously a sailor."

"Well, I'll tell him you think he can just throw his PhD in the ocean."

"Don't look, but your boyfriend's coming over," Izo whispered in his ear.

Someone tapped on his shoulder, and Shanks pretended to be surprised. "Hey, Benn! Didn't see you there."

"Are you gossiping about me?" Benn asked, deadpanned.

"I'd never!" Shanks exclaimed, mock-insulted.

"Yeah? 'Cause you were looking at me and pointing."

"He's got you there," Izo said helpfully.

Shanks rolled his eyes. "Izo thinks you're a sailor in disguise."

"Maybe I am." Benn stepped forward, arms crossed before his chest.

Izo rolled his eyes. "Oh, just kiss already." He removed himself from Shanks' arms and walked over to Thatch to get another beer.

"Well, you heard the man," Shanks said to Benn with a grin.

Benn snorted and gently wrapped his arms around Shanks to dance with him, swaying slowly even if there was upbeat music playing. "Could you please remove your hands from my butt?"

"Those aren't my hands," Shanks protested, showing Benn his hands.

Benn narrowed his eyes at him, but then suddenly called out, "Who had their hands on my butt?!"

Some people around them stopped dancing for a second to cast him a questioning look, but most were too far gone to even look up.

"Benn, honey, I lied. They were my hands." Shanks turned Benn's face towards him. "You're pretty drunk already, aren't you?"

"No," Benn muttered, placing his head on Shanks' shoulder.

They danced and drank for hours, until Jozu interrupted the music by hitting a tiny gong. He had done that several times that night, to announce when the bus left. Many people had gone by now, either by bus or other modes of transportation. This time, though, Jozu announced the last bus would leave in 15 minutes.

"If you miss that one, you're stuck here until morning, so you'd better skedaddle."

Shanks tapped Roo's shoulder. "That's us. Have you seen Benn?"

Roo pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to where Benn was slumped over the table. Shanks chuckled and gently shook his shoulder. "Come on, handsome. Time to go."

"I wasn't sleeping," Benn muttered. He rubbed his eyes and let Shanks help him up.

With Roo's help, he got Benn outside and to the bus stop. It was pretty cold at this time of night, and Shanks was never one to say no to a bit of cuddling. So there he was, sandwiched between Roo and Benn, whose head was already resting on Shanks' shoulder.

Inside the bus, it was a lot warmer. The bumpy road they took shook the vehicle so much that even Benn blinked and sat upright.

Izo's words had been nagging Shanks all night, so he had tried to drown them out with booze. However, now that the booze was gone as well as the music and most other sounds, aside from the humming of the bus' engine, he could no longer ignore the voice. So he asked, "Are you worried I'll be killed since I've joined the army?"

"Aren't we all going to die someday?" Roo said, musing. "Isn't it just as likely that I die from tripping and hitting my head as it is for you to be hit by a bullet? Does it even matter? Does it mean anything? In the grand scheme of things, does anything even matter?"

Shanks stared at him, blinking. Then he sighed, smiling. "I forgot how philosophical you get when you're drunk. Depressing, but deep." He then turned to Benn, who seemed somewhat awake now. "What do you think?"

"I think Roo is wrong," Benn replied. "Not about the part that we will all die, someday. And I have considered that you will die in the army. But that's okay. I mean, it isn't. Don't die. But you like what you do. You like it more than you'd like to stay with us." When Shanks opened his mouth to protest, Benn raised his hands. "It's not an accusation, it's a fact. We don't like you so much that we would join the army. But you're doing good. We're all trying to do good. I try to make more compassionate people, Roo saves animals. And you fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. So no, in the grand scheme of things, in history, our individual choices may not matter. But it does mean something. At the very least, it means something to me."

For a moment, Shanks didn't really know what to say, and just stared at Benn for a while.

Benn smirked cockily. "I know, I'm pretty smart." He had barely spoken the words when his head lulled to the side and he started to snore.

Shanks opened his mouth to say something to Roo, but he had fallen asleep as well. Shaking his head with a smile, Shanks leaned against the cold window and closed his eyes.

He didn't realise he had dozed off until the announcement system called the name of Roo's stop. Hastily, he tapped Roo's knee, who woke up with a snort.

"This is you. Are you gonna be okay, or do you want to stay with us?" Shanks asked.

"Please, like this is the first time I'm getting home drunk," Roo said. "Just because you left doesn't mean the parties stopped."

Shanks turned up his nose. "They should."

"I know." Roo placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment. "I'll see you at the train station tomorrow. Or later today, I guess."

"Bye!" Sighing, Shanks moved into the seat Roo had left unoccupied next to Benn, who was still asleep. It was still a few more stops until they were near Benn's house. Wrapping Benn's arm around him, Shanks snuggled up against him. Still snoring, Benn pulled him closer.

Shanks forced his eyes open every once in a while until he saw familiar surroundings, and he pressed the stop button. "Come on, Benn. Wake up." He got no reaction, except a snore. Deadpanned, Shanks shook him. "Come on, Benn. Benn. Hey, sexy!"

Benn's eyes fluttered open.

Shanks' eyebrows rose as he grinned. "So that worked, eh? Come on."

Benn leaned heavily on him while they walked to the house from the bus stop. When they reached the door, the weight became too much and Shanks let himself fall against the hard surface. Benn's face was suddenly awfully close. His lips curled into a mischievous, almost predatory grin.

"Don't even think about it," Shanks said sternly. "Now, where are your keys?"

The grin grew even more. "You tell me."

Shanks winced. "That's some bad breath. Alright, I'm going in." With both hands simultaneously, he dug into Benn's back pockets, which he found empty except for Benn's wallet, of which he made a mental note for later. He also found a very firm ass inside the pants, which also went into the mental notes.

Taking a deep breath, he put his hands in Benn's front pockets, trying very hard not to dig too deep. Fortunately, he didn't have to, because he found Benn's keys soon enough.

Shanks turned around to open the door, which was a big mistake as Benn pressed his whole body against him. Shanks groaned. "I thought you were a sleepy drunk, now it turns out you're a horny drunk?"

"You bring it out in me." Benn's voice was so deep it sent involuntary shivers down Shanks' spine.

"Yeah, well, tough luck," Shanks muttered, slightly out of breath. "You picked the wrong time, buddy." Fortunately for him, the door sprung open. It brought at least momentarily relief, but as soon as they made it to the living room, Shanks found himself on his back on the sofa bed with Benn on top of him.

"Come on, man! Don't make it harder than it already is," he sighed.

"I think it's too late for that," Benn replied with a grin and grabbed Shanks' crotch.

"Oi! That is unwanted physical contact!" Shanks pushed Benn away and rose.

"I don't understand." Benn actually sounded sad, and it took all Shanks' willpower not to look at him. "This is what you want, isn't it? It's what you've always wanted. You started flirting with me on day one!"

"Yes, and you asked me to stop and I did. Then we became best friends and I disappeared for five years, and then we spend a nice, but very confusing week together. That's a nice summary of the story so far."

"What story?" Benn sounded confused now, and Shanks looked at him.

"I don't know. You're forgetting I'm drunk too."

Benn moved so he was sitting on the edge of the sofa bed. "How about you stop talking, get over here and let me blow you."

Shanks pursed his lips and took a step forward so that he was within Benn's reach. He combed with his hand through Benn's hair. "Tomorrow, you can blow me all you want."

Benn looked up, placing his chin against Shanks' belly. "You mean it?"

"You can blow me away. Once you're sober. Now," he pushed himself away from Benn, "you're gonna get some sleep. And because I'm so selfless, I will sacrifice myself and sleep in your bed. Good night."

Out of breath, Benn raced through the streets, almost getting hit by a car as he rode through a red light. He hadn't seen Shanks all day, which wasn't a bad thing per se, because while last night was a bit blurry, he did remember enough to know he made a fool of himself.

Shanks had basically thrown himself at Benn, and apparently, last night Benn had decided it was a good time throw himself right back. He had even offered to blow Shanks!

This morning, he woke up with a giant headache, when a student of his who was leaving to study abroad called. There was something with the paperwork, and if he didn't help her out, she wouldn't be able to leave. It was a hard morning, being hungover and trying to get something done at the university on a Saturday, but even worse because Shanks was leaving today, and Benn was late.

The train was leaving in five minutes. Benn pressed the pedals down harder, ignoring another red light. At the train station, he threw down his bicycle carelessly, only halting to check at which platform he had to be.

Roo, Shanks and Yasopp were already waiting, the latter with a crying Usopp on his arm.

"There you are. We were starting to think you weren't coming," Roo said.

Benn tried to speak, but he was too much out of breath. Red spots were dancing in front of his eyes and his head was pounding.

"Well," Shanks hoisted his backpack higher on his shoulder, "this was a fun week."

"Is Banchina feeling better?" Roo asked Yasopp.

"It's… Yeah, it has ups and downs. She didn't feel well enough this morning to join. If you could-"

Roo held up his hand. "No problem, I'll get Usopp home. So, will it be another five years before we see you again?" This time, he spoke to Shanks.

"Probably not five," Shanks muttered. Then he turned to Benn. "Caught your breath yet, champ? The train will be here any minute and I'd like you to say goodbye."

Benn took a deep breath and straightened. The red spots had disappeared, and it finally felt like he could think clearly again. Taking a step forward, he grabbed the back of Shanks' head and pulled him into a kiss.

It only lasted a few seconds before Benn pulled back. Shanks stood frozen, his eyes wide, just like Roo and Yasopp.

It was Roo who finally broke the silence. "Well, you finally shut him up. That's impressive."

"Damn," was all Yasopp said.

Finally, Shanks seemed to come to himself. "So, three days is too short, but three minutes will do just fine?"

"It's the uniform," Benn said, deadpanned.

Shanks narrowed his eyes. "I certainly hope you're joking, otherwise I wouldn't have been wearing civilian clothes all week."

"Do you want to talk or do you want to make out?" Benn asked challengingly.

"I wanna make out." Shanks pulled Benn forward by the front of his shirt.

"Oi, oi, mind the tongue! There's kids watching," Yasopp said, shielding Usopp's eyes.

Benn ignored him. He wasn't sure what he had been thinking, but there was no going back now, not with Shanks' tongue in his mouth.

"Train's here."

Roo's voice had been soft, but it was enough for Benn to pull back again. Usopp was struggling in Yasopp's arms as he tried to hand the boy to Roo.

"No, daddy, don't go!"

"I have to go. Your uncle Roo will bring you home, right Roo?" Yasopp looked at him pleading.

"Of course. Once your dad is on the train, how about you and me go get some ice cream, eh?" Roo said.

Usopp nodded and snorted loudly.

"There's my brave warrior." Yasopp kissed his head as the train came to a stop next to them.

Shanks looked at Benn. "It's been a crazy week."

"Yeah."

He smirked. "I'll miss you."

"Me too." Benn touched Shanks' face.

"Are you gonna wait for me?"

"I'm no army wife," he replied. "I don't expect you to wait either."

Shanks smile faintly and punched him lightly in the chest. "Bye, Benn."

Shanks and Yasopp entered the train, both looking over their shoulder as they moved into the compartment.

Benn was standing next to Roo, looking until they saw their friends appear behind the window. The conductor blew their whistle and the doors closed before the train set itself into motion.

Benn waved at them, almost automatically, as the adrenaline started to wear off and the reality of the situation started to get through to him.

A hand was placed on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" Roo asked.

Benn remained silent.

"I'm taking Usopp for ice cream, do you want to join?" Roo continued. "We can get a beer later."

Benn watched the train disappearing in the distance. "Yeah," he said again. "Ice cream and beer sounds good."