Thanks Vergina-spva for beta ing

It felt weird being back in Foosha after all these years. Nothing appeared to have changed, yet it still felt different. But perhaps that was because Shanks had changed too.

Four years had passed since his first kiss with Benn on the platform seconds before the train arrived. In those four years, Shanks had seen Benn exactly two times. The first time had been amazing. Shanks hadn't told Benn he was coming, to surprise him, but then in turn Benn had surprised him by dragging him inside. Their clothes had come off before they had even reached the couch. After that, because Shanks didn't believe Benn that it was impossible to have sex on a water bed, they had gone upstairs. Benn, of course, had been right, but fortunately for them, Benn also had very soft carpet.

The second time had not been as great, mostly because then, Shanks had come into town for Banchina's funeral. The year before, her illness had gotten worse and Yasopp had to request a transfer to be able to work closer to home and take care of their son. Banchina's death had been a long time coming, but that didn't make it any less sad. After the funeral, the five of them, including Usopp, had gone to Yasopp's house, where he and Benn had a falling out. Shanks wasn't quite sure what had triggered it, perhaps Benn's hand on his knee, but Yasopp accused him of only being present because of Shanks, which wasn't true, of course, but Yasopp was too exhausted and emotional to think rationally, so Benn had left.

In his letters to Benn, Shanks had asked if he and Yasopp ever made up, and Benn assured him that they had, that Yasopp had apologised a few days later. Roo, however, told Shanks that while that was true, the friendship between Yasopp and Benn was never the same after that. They couldn't be in the same room together without bickering. It was hard on Roo especially, since he and Benn hand grown quite close while Shanks and Yasopp were away, but his efforts to mend things were to no avail.

This was a year ago now, and Shanks knew it was up to him to get them to kiss and make up, but due to various missions he was hardly allowed to think about, let alone talk about, he hadn't been able to take leave until now. It hadn't been in vain, however, as Shanks was currently the youngest captain in his division. His superiors were pleased with him and one had told him he saw great things in Shanks' future.

Still, after years of hard work without more than a week off at the time were taking their toll, so Shanks had taken a longer leave now. A month should be enough to get the band back together.

Sitting spread out on the bench looking out on Foosha Park, Shanks looked around when he heard the door of the bakery open and Roo exited with two sandwiches in his hands. He sat down next to Shanks with a grunt as Shanks hastily pulled away his leg, though he left his arm lying on the backrest.

"So, you call me out of the blue to meet you here, with lunch, no explanation," Roo said, handing Shanks his sandwich. "Wanna tell me what's this about? Or do you just want to catch up?"

Shanks checked what was on his sandwich and took a bite. "I do want to catch up," he said after he had swallowed. "But I don't want to tell the same story three times."

"Right, you want Benn and Yasopp to make up. You're not even going to tell me how you got that scar over your eye?"

"That's actually a funny story. Which I'm going to save when the four of us are having a drink."

Roo took another bite. "You could just invite them, you know. They'll come. It's not like they'll go at each other's throat. They'll just-"

"Bicker, I know. I don't want that. I want them to be friends."

"To be fair, they didn't have much time to become friends. Not like me and Benn had."

"They have had plenty of time now," Shanks protested.

"You can't force them to be friends, Shanks."

"Oh, can't I?" Shanks took an angry bite out of his sandwich. When he had chewed and swallowed, he said, cheerily again, "How's Foosha treating you?"

"It's good to be back, I suppose. And nice to have a steady job. Don't see too much of Yasopp and Benn, though, which sucks."

"Exactly. And they don't even have each other. You know how Benn is, he will drown himself in work and…" Shanks trailed off and squinted. In the distance, a boy who had a striking resemblance to Luffy was standing next to a van. Upon inspection, he appeared to be talking with someone inside the van.

Alarm bells went off inside Shanks' head.

"Shanks?" Roo asked, confused.

"Hold my sandwich." Shanks passed it to Roo and rose, walking in the direction of the van. "Oi, Luffy!"

Luffy looked up. Just then, the side door of the van opened, and an arm pulled him inside. The door closed again, and the van started moving.

Shanks cursed, already feeling for his phone when a motor cyclist pulled up next to him. Just when they wanted to put it in the standard, Shanks pulled the handles from their hands. "I need to borrow this!" He slung his leg over the bike and started the engine.

In the rear-view mirror, Shanks saw Roo jumping up and yelling after him, just like the motorcyclist. Roo started running after him, but just then, the van turned right, and Shanks had to make a sharp turn to follow as honking cars swerved to avoid him.

The last time he had rode a motorcycle, he had borrowed Rayleigh's and ended up with a broken arm. That had happened despite the fact that he had been wearing proper gear. Right now, his uniform could hardly be called protective, let alone the cap that was pulled off by the wind. He would have to get that later. His superiors would not be amused if he lost it, but this was more important.

Shanks forced himself to remember the licence plate of the van, just in case he lost it. He could barely make out the letters and numbers, and it was hard to get closer now that the van had turned to the main road and there was a lot of other traffic.

Shanks wondered briefly if he should have called the police, or at least tell Roo to do so. A kidnapping of a police inspector's grandchild (if that was still Garp's rank) would surely be cause to put the best people into action.

Would that be the motive? Taking the grandchild of an inspector hostage for, what, leverage? Revenge? Or was it a random kidnapping? Luffy was definitely the type to be lured into a van with the promise of candy.

The car in front of him suddenly took a turn and Shanks had to slam the brakes. He cursed as he saw the van disappear in the distance.

A realisation hit him. Roger had once told him about a group of unsavoury characters that held up near Gray Terminal. It was a bit of a gamble, but if he was right, he could take a shortcut through an alley. If he was wrong, he could always call the police.

Braking sharply, he took a turn right, using his foot to stay upright and ignoring the angry honking behind him. A cyclist and a few pedestrians had to jump out of the way as he drove through the small alley.

On the other side, he had only a millisecond to realise his hunch had been correct. The van came straight for him, swerving to the left to avoid collision. Traffic coming from the opposite direction honked angrily, but somehow, the van managed to avoid them too and drove on.

Shanks made a turn, using his foot again to prevent him from falling over. He was much closer to the van now. Accelerating a bit, he drove as close up to the van as he was able. Carefully, he let go of one of the handlebars and reached out for the door handle in the back of the van. He couldn't reach it.

Cursing softly, he accelerated a bit more, this time driving up the right side of the van. Before he could reach for the door handle of the side door, the driver must have caught him in the side mirror, because the van suddenly steered slightly to the right. Shanks had to brake a little not to be forced onto the kerb.

If his hunch about Gray terminal was correct, though, the road would soon have a soft shoulder.

As soon as he saw grass on the side of the road, Shanks accelerated the motorcycle and drove up to the side of the van. It didn't swerve again, and Shanks wondered briefly if the previous time had been an accident and the driver hadn't caught him after all.

Shanks reached out and managed to yank open the side door. That would have no doubt been locked if they had caught him.

However, if they hadn't seen him before, the guy who had pulled Luffy inside the van had seen him now. Before he could recover from his shock, though, Shanks grabbed onto something on the inside of the van and hoisted himself inside. The motorcycle swerved and fell onto its side in the middle of the road.

As soon as he was inside, the kidnapper lunged at him. Shanks threw his fist forward, hitting him straight in the face. The guy rolled to the side and lay still.

Shanks shook his painful hand, casting a glance at Luffy, who sat trembling in the corner. Shanks then aimed his attention to the driver.

He must look somewhat intimidating, still in uniform, because when the driver looked over his shoulder at him, his eyes were full of fear. Shanks took a step in his direction. The driver grabbed for the door handle. Rather than braking, he pushed the door open and dove outside.

Cursing, Shanks jumped forward to reach for the steering wheel. With the back of the driver's seat in the way, he could barely reach it. The driver must have pressed the button for cruise control too, either accidentally or on purpose, because the van was not slowing down. Shanks searched for the button, but he couldn't reach it.

With the side door and the driver's side door hanging open, it was difficult to avoid the other traffic.

"Luffy!" Shanks called.

Luffy scrambled to his feet.

"I need you to climb over to the driver's seat and press that button."

Luffy wiped away his tears and tried to hoist himself up. Shanks helped him as much as he could without letting go of the steering wheel. Soon, Luffy tumbled onto the driver's seat and pressed the cruise control button. The vehicle immediately started slowing down, but Luffy could not reach the brake panel.

Shanks considered letting him use the handbrake, but he feared that might lead to an accident if they braked so suddenly.

"Can you take the wheel from me? Just try to follow the road," Shanks said when Luffy looked at him wide-eyed. "It's just for a second."

Luffy took the wheel, a determined if frightened look on his face. As fast as he could, Shanks clambered over the back of the passenger's seat. By the time he had managed, the van had almost come to a complete stop, much to the annoyance of the other traffic.

In the distance, the sound of police sirens could be heard. It was only to be expected, with the mess Shanks had made, but he hardly regretted it. With one hand, he took over the steering wheel from Luffy, while he yanked the hand brake.

They came to a halt in a crossroad.

Shanks sighed in relief they both were still in one piece, as Luffy turned to him. "Shanks! Thank you for-"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by a loud honking sound. Shanks saw the truck coming and instinctively, he threw himself in front of Luffy.

The impact threw him back in his seat as the metal of the van crinkled like a piece of aluminium foil.

His ears ringing, he turned to Luffy. "Are you okay?"

Luffy had a cut beneath his eye, but Shanks wasn't sure if that had been there before he entered the van or not. Otherwise, he seemed fine.

He looked over his shoulder. The kidnapper in the back had been thrown around by the impact like a ragdoll, and Shanks wondered if he was still alive.

Only then the pain registered.

He tried to move, but his left arm was stuck between the crinkled metal. Breathing in deeply through his nose not to show he was in pain, he said to Luffy, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

Bystanders had gathered around them, and the truck driver was currently climbing out of his vehicle to join them. Shanks was glad to see he was okay.

The police sirens sounded louder and close by.

Someone climbed into the van to see how they were doing.

"The boy is okay," Shanks managed to bring out. "Just get him out of here."

"But Shanks, what about you?" Luffy called out as the bystander started to pull him out of the van.

"It's okay, I'll be there in a bit." As soon as Luffy was out of sight, Shanks closed his eyes and let his head fall back. The pain was starting to get to him.

The next person to approach him was a cop. "An ambulance is on its way. Are you okay?"

"I'm a little stuck," Shanks managed to bring out. "You should call Inspector Monkey. The boy is his grandson."

"You mean Chief Inspector Monkey?" the cop asked surprised.

Shanks closed his eyes again and smiled. So Garp was promoted again. How nice for him.

"Are you still with me?" he heard the cop ask, but his voice seemed to come from far away.

Shanks vaguely registered someone shaking him, and then there was the voice of the cop again, sounding slightly panicking.

Then everything turned black.

The page on the screen was still blank, as it had been for the last few hours. Who was he kidding, it had been blank for days. He never had a problem writing during his thesis, but after that, he had pretty much neglected publishing anything aside from an odd article here or there. But now, Benn didn't have to teach any classes for half a year, only a few graduates he helped with their theses, and that time had to be dedicated with writing and publishing peer reviewed articles. If not, his contract with the university could be terminated, so there was some pressure.

His fingers danced over the keys, but nothing came to him. It was almost a relief when his phone rang.

"Hey Roo, are we still on for tonight?" he asked, picking up his cup to take a sip of coffee. It stayed silent on the other end of the line. Benn frowned. "Roo, did you butt dial me again?"

"No, I'm here," Roo's voice finally sounded. He sounded strained and extremely tired.

Benn's brows furrowed even more. "Roo? Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I'm at the hospital."

Benn sat upright, knocking over his coffee cup. He only took time to bring his laptop to safety before he rose. "Are you okay?!"

"It's not me. I'm fine."

"Then-"

"It's Shanks."

Benn stopped in his tracks after he had started pacing. "But… Shanks hasn't been here in a year. What…?"

"He was here, okay? And then he got in a car accident. He's in surgery now and I need… I need to contact his next of kin, which would be Buggy or Crocus and I don't have their numbers. Can you text me Rayleigh's so I can call him? Please?"

"Of course. But I'm coming to the hospital. You're in Sabaody?"

"Yeah. And thank you. Before you go, could you please call Yasopp?"

Benn paused. Normally, he'd rather not. "Of course. I'll be there in half an hour. Take care, okay?"

Roo hummed something and then hang up.

Signing, Benn dropped down on the couch and texted Roo Rayleigh's number. Things felt surreal. Shanks hadn't been back in a year and now he was in the hospital after a car crash? Nearly nine years in the military and he was in an accident when he was home? Or had it happened on the job?

A million questions milled around in his head, and he shook it to clear his mind. He wouldn't get answers sitting here. He would go to the hospital and find out.

But first he had to call Yasopp.

He searched for Yasopp's name in his phone, his thumb hovering over the call button. Things had not been great between the two of them after Yasopp had kicked Benn out after Banchina's funeral. He had accused Benn of not being there for him and only be there because of Shanks. Truth be told, Yasopp's outburst had happened right after Benn had placed a hand on Shanks' knee. After that, their relationship had never been the same, and there had barely one to begin with. Benn had never hung out with Yasopp alone. Yasopp had left with Shanks half a year after they met, and when he had finally returned, he had been too busy with taking care of Banchina and Usopp for him and Benn to hang out socially.

This would be the first time Benn called Yasopp.

The phone on the other end of the line kept ringing for a while, and Benn started to wonder if Yasopp would pick up at all if he saw Benn's name on the screen. To be honest, if things had been the other way around, Benn didn't know if he would pick up.

Just as he was about to hang up and text, Yasopp's phone was picked up, though not by Yasopp. "Hello?" a young voice said.

"Hi Usopp, it's Benn. I don't know if you remember me?"

"Yeah, you know dad," Usopp said hesitantly. Clearly, Yasopp had told about their issues.

"Right. Is your dad there? I need to talk to him. It's important." Benn decided he wasn't going to mention Shanks unless it was the only way to get Yasopp to the phone.

Before Usopp could reply, Benn could hear Yasopp's voice in the background, asking something.

"It's Benn," Usopp replied to him. "He says it's important."

Yasopp sighed so loud Benn could hear it on the other end of the line, but he did take the phone. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, hi to you too," Benn grunted. "I just got off the phone with Roo. Shanks has been in a car accident and he is now in surgery."

It stayed silent for a moment. Then Yasopp said, "Is this a joke?"

"Yes, because that's exactly my sense of humour," Benn snapped.

"What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. You know as much as I do now."

"Why did Roo call you first?"

"Oh my God, really? He needed Crocus' number, which I don't have, but I have Rayleigh's. Will you just meet me at the hospital?!" Angrily, Benn hang up. Yasopp really knew what to focus on in a time of crisis. Around Roo, they tried to be polite to each other, but once left alone, Yasopp knew exactly how to get under Benn's skin. They had a few fights before they decided to avoid being alone together, or even together with someone present.

Hastily, he grabbed his things together and ran towards his bike.

When he arrived at the hospital, he just saw Yasopp's car pulling up. He had expected Yasopp to beat him by more, but then he remembered Usopp had been home and Yasopp had probably needed to find a babysitter.

Benn put his bicycle in the designated rack and walked to the main entrance where he waited for Yasopp to join him. "How's Usopp?" he asked without bothering to greet him.

"Good, I didn't tell him yet before I find out the details. He's at a neighbour now. Shall we go inside?"

Benn rolled his eyes at Yasopp's tone, but didn't say anything as they headed inside.

Benn intended to go to the reception to see if they knew anything, when Yasopp slapped him against the arm and pointed at Roo stumbling into the reception area. They hastened over to him.

"Roo, what the hell happened?" Yasopp asked. "Where is Shanks?"

"Still in surgery."

It was unsettling to see Roo like this. Normally, there would be a big grin on his face at all times. Almost inappropriately so.

Benn and Yasopp exchanged a look. Yasopp wrapped an arm around Roo and let him to a chair in the waiting area while Benn turned to the coffee machine to get some for Roo. After a moment of thought, he got two more.

Balancing three way too hot paper cups, Benn made his way back to Roo and Yasopp. Handing two of the cups over, he took the seat on Roo's other side. It took a few sips, but Roo finally seemed to calm down a little. Benn looked at Yasopp, who gave an almost invisible nod.

"So, can you tell us what happened? Why was Shanks even here? Why didn't he tell us," Benn gestured between himself and Yasopp, "that he was coming?"

For a moment, anger flashed across Roo's face, and Benn sat back, shocked.

"Why do you think he was here?" Roo snarled. "Because you two knuckleheads refuse to make up! You won't listen to me, so I had to bring in the big guns."

Benn didn't know what to say, and Yasopp cast his eyes down, obviously feeling as guilty as Benn did.

After his outburst, Roo slumped back in his chair. "I'm not even sure what happened," he muttered. "I already told the story to the cops, and I still don't know what the hell happened." He took a deep breath. "Shanks met me in Foosha, near my work on my lunch break. We were sitting on the edge of the park, trying to figure out how we could have you two make up. And then… He seemed distracted by something, and then he called for Luffy."

"Luffy? That boy he met years ago?" Benn asked confusedly.

Roo just nodded. "At the time, I had no idea what was happening. I just see Shanks jump up, shove his sandwich into my hands and steal a motorcycle before he dashed off."

"He stole a motorcycle?" Yasopp asked, flabbergasted. "The last time he rode one of those…" He trailed off, and Benn decided now was not the time to asked what had happened the last time.

Roo shook his head. "For a second, I just stood there, with the motorcyclist whose motorbike Shanks had taken. And then we both started running after him. Obviously, he was too fast and we soon lost sight of him." He took a break to take another sip of his coffee. "Later, I found out that Shanks must've seen Luffy be pulled into a van. That's why he went after, to save him."

"After I'd lost him, I wasn't sure what to do. It was only when I heard all kinds of sirens that I feared the worst. When I went in that direction, I first found the motorcycle, lying in the middle of the road somewhere."

"Did he fall off?" Yasopp asked.

"That's what I thought at first, but I didn't see Shanks anywhere. And while there were some cops there to guide traffic along, the sirens came from further away. When I got there…" Roo took a few shaky breaths. "I don't know how he did it, but somehow, Shanks must have climbed into the van and gotten control of it. Only then… When I got there, the van had been hit by a truck."

Benn forgot to breathe for a second.

"By the time I got there, they had managed to get Luffy out, virtually unscathed. But Shanks… His arm was stuck in the wreckage. They had to saw him out. They couldn't save his arm."

They all fell silent for a second. Benn felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over him. Until that moment, part of him hadn't believed Shanks was actually here, that it was some kind of joke or dream.

His coffee had gone cold.

From the corner of his eye, Benn saw two figures come into the hospital and automatically he looked up. One of the men he recognised as Rayleigh, who scanned the crowd, while the other, a man of Rayleigh's age, hurried over to the reception desk.

Rayleigh made his way over to them, a worried frown on his face. He placed a hand on Roo's shoulder. "We came as fast as we could. Have you heard anything?"

"Just that he is still in surgery. They won't tell me anything else," Roo replied monotonously.

"I figured. Crocus is trying to find out more."

Benn rose from his seat, offering it to Rayleigh. "I'll go get more coffee."

When he returned, balancing four cups of coffee somehow, Crocus had joined the group. Benn had never met him before, but he had heard a lot about him. He had become Shanks' official guardian when Roger died.

"Good, Benn, you're here," Rayleigh said as Benn handed out coffee. He was one short. "Crocus just informed us that the nurse couldn't tell much more than Roo already did. He isn't in any life danger, however."

Benn shook Crocus' hand, briefly introducing himself. "And his arm?"

Crocus shook his head. "They had to amputate it."

Yasopp cursed loudly.

"What now?" Benn asked, trying to sound normal, but his voice cracked anyway.

"All we can do is wait," Crocus said, taking a seat across from them. "You all don't have to wait here, though. I'll be fine and I'll call if I know anything."

"We can stay," Yasopp protested.

"Well, I'm going to take Roo home, in any case," Rayleigh said, downing the last of his coffee. "You look like you can fall over at any moment."

"You don't have to go all the way to Foosha," Roo protested half-heartedly.

"Nonsense, I just picked up Crocus there. Now, come on."

Roo didn't seem to have the energy to protest any more. Giving them a tired wave, he followed Rayleigh out of the hospital.

Crocus looked at Benn and Yasopp. "I wasn't just being polite. There is no use for all of us to sit here drinking bad coffee. Once Shanks is out of surgery, he'll need to rest anyway. You have jobs and kids, go home. I will let you know if anything happens."

Yasopp and Benn exchanged a look. Benn wanted to protest, but since Yasopp knew Crocus better and he didn't, Benn figured it wouldn't be any use to argue.

"How will you get back if Rayleigh just picked you up?" he asked instead.

"Don't worry about me. I know a lot of doctors here from before I retired. I'll find a ride."

Reluctantly, they left Crocus and walked outside. Once they were alone, Benn grunted a goodbye and made to walk towards his bike, when Yasopp stopped him.

"Benn."

Benn sighed and turned around.

"Look, I'm not saying that none of this would have happened if we hadn't been in a fight, but… Don't you think maybe it's time we'd try to patch things up? If not for our friendship, then for Shanks' sake."

Benn thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, it might be worth a shot to try to work it out."

Yasopp nodded, seemingly relieved. "Okay, great. I have to pick up Usopp now, but maybe we can have a beer at my place? We can put your bike in the back of my car."

Benn blinked. He hadn't expected Yasopp to mean right away. But he supposed delaying it wouldn't be any use. So, he nodded. "Sure, why not."

They put Benn's bicycle in the boot of Yasopp's car. It barely fit, and they had to fold down the back seat to do it.

"The one time I don't have a bike rack on the back," Yasopp said sheepishly.

During the ride, neither of them said much. Benn silently was very annoyed by the music Yasopp had playing, but decided not to comment on it. They had never agreed on music.

After Yasopp had parked the car, Benn helped him get the bike out again and put it on the stand next to the front door. Yasopp handed him the keys.

"Here, make yourself at home. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Benn opened the door and headed inside. He hadn't been here since Banchina's funeral. His eyes lingered on the dinner table. That had been the place their falling out had started. It would only be fitting they ended their fight here as well.

The front door opened again – Benn had left it ajar – and a child's voice happily chattered away. As soon as Usopp saw Benn, he fell silent.

"Hi," Benn said.

Usopp looked at his father.

"Go on, say hi," Yasopp said, giving him a slight push.

Usopp muttered hello.

Yasopp rolled his eyes. "Okay, Benn and I have a lot to discuss. Why don't you go draw in your room?"

Usopp nodded and ran upstairs.

Yasopp sighed and took of his coat. "When I just picked up Usopp, it smelled so good at my neighbour's house. I hadn't even realised we are way past dinner time. I'm starving."

With everything that had been going on, Benn hadn't even thought about food. Now, as if on cue, his stomach started rumbling. "Me too."

Yasopp grinned. "Pizza okay? I know one that's really fast."

Benn nodded.

While Yasopp ordered pizza, he brought Benn a beer and they sat down on the couch together. A silence fell, neither of them knowing where to start.

Finally, much to Benn's relief, Yasopp cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "I think we both know how this whole thing started. I basically said you cared only about Shanks, and you know I meant it."

Benn nodded, pursing his lips against the bottle of beer. "Sounds about right."

"Obviously, I overreacted that day, but in essence, that's how I felt."

"Past tense?" Benn asked, his eyebrow quirked.

Yasopp shrugged. "The more time passed, the more it became a matter of principle. Or maybe just habit to bicker with you."

"I suppose that's true," Benn admitted. "It's not that I ever disliked you, but honestly, for the first half year we knew each other, I felt like you and Roo were Shanks' friends, not necessarily mine. Shanks was my friend, and you two were, I don't know, appendages or something. I liked you, sure, but it's not like we ever hung out without Shanks. But when you two left, Roo was the only one I had left, and we did become friends. You and me never had that chance. Or rather, we never took that chance."

Yasopp was silent for a moment, just nodding. "We could try it now," he finally said. "Stop the whole bickering thing and just see what we do have in common."

Benn sat back on the couch, sipping his beer. "Obviously not music."

Yasopp barked out a laugh. "Clearly not, no. Sports?"

"Watching or doing?"

"Watching."

Benn shook his head. "I don't like watching sports."

"Doing then?"

"I jog and I work out. You?"

"Soccer. Usopp does that too, but he keeps begging me to pay for archery lessons as well. Maybe for his birthday."

Benn laughed. "You can't spoil him too much, of course."

Yasopp made a face. "It's hard to say no to him. He has a way of looking exactly like Banchina, and I couldn't say no to her either."

"It must be hard being a single dad."

"It is, but with him, at least I still have part of her left." Yasopp took another sip of his beer. "Do you want kids?"

"I don't know yet," Benn replied. "I have looked into adopting once, just to see how something like that would go. But it's pretty complicated, and expensive."

Yasopp hummed. "I bet."

The doorbell rang, announcing the pizza. Both starved, they dug in, and Benn figured that would be the end of their conversation. Much to his surprise, as time progressed, they continued talking and the longer they did, the easier it became. They started out talking mostly about Shanks, but then moved on to work and other things in their respective lives. At nine, Usopp announced he would be going to bed, and Benn thought he would be sent home, but even after that, they continued talking.

At eleven o'clock, Yasopp's phone rang. He looked at the screen. "It's Roo." He pressed the button to pick up. "Hey Roo, Benn's here too."

It was silent for a second. "Really?" Roo then asked. "I mean, oh good, that saves me another call. I just heard from Crocus, Shanks's out of surgery. Everything seems to have gone well, but Shanks's still out. We may be able to visit him tomorrow, though. I have an early shift, but I can visit him late afternoon. What about you?"

"Usopp has a match tomorrow morning," Yasopp said. "I could do the evening, though."

"I can go in the morning," Benn said.

"Ok, great, let us know how it goes, okay? I'm going back to sleep now, good night." With that, Roo hung up.

Yasopp put his phone on the armrest of the couch, heaving a sigh. "Thank God everything went well. I can't believe we're friends with such an idiot."

"Amen to that," Benn grunted, adding after a moment of silence, "I missed him."

"Me too." Yasopp yawned. "Fuck, I'm beat. But I'm glad we did this." He gestured between himself and Benn. "It was… less horrible than I expected."

Benn snorted as he rose from the couch. "I'm touched you feel that way. But yeah," he continued more seriously, "I'm glad we talked."

"Text me how Shanks is doing tomorrow, okay?" Yasopp asked as he walked Benn to the door.

"I will. Night."

As he cycled home, without a proper light because he forgot to fix his, Benn finally had time to think for the first time since Roo called him that afternoon. Today had been a rollercoaster, with everything from thinking Shanks might die to patching things up with Yasopp. He was exhausted and in spite of himself, he started to cry.