Title: Of Dreams and Desires
Pairings: Smoker x Ace, Sanji x Zoro, and other side pairings
Ratings: T - NC-17
Chapter: 31 of ?
Summary: The road to One Piece is a dangerous one and each individual begins at different times and places. Some paths cross for a fleeting moment but the encounter could be so great that it can alter the initial direction. Every meeting is important and is planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other. Follow everyone's story and see what path they take.
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this story; all props go to Eiichiro Oda.
Author Note: Hello all! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It's one of my favorites. :3
Shout Outs: Thank you jojich for adding my story to your alert list.
Beta Reader: descriptionsalive21, thank you so much!

Shanks

The young yonko swished his sake around in thought. The cold weather of the island had the cloak wearing captain in a snow coat and gloves, his nose bright red. Shanks cursed, taking a swig of dark liquid, hoping the alcohol would warm up his body as he looked out at his crew and smiled. Despite the frosty winds, they still had it in them to party. The fire popped, drawing Shanks's attention back to his trusted friend.

"Have you heard back from the new guy?" Roo questioned once more.

Shanks shifted in his seat on the tree stump, "Not in while."

His sharpshooter looked up from the gun he was cleaning, "You think the old man killed him?"

"Well I would certainly hope not."

Roo chuckled around the drumstick in his mouth at his captain's words, "What's the kid's name again?"

"Roster? No, no it was Rocker." Beckman shrugged his shoulders, "Hell, I can't remember. He's a cocky one though. I wouldn't be surprised if Whitebeard offed him."

Shanks took another gulp from the bottle, "It's Rockstar and be nice."

Before anyone could respond, his mushi rang. Shanks put down his drink and removed the snail from his inner pocket, "Red Hair."

"Okashira!"

"Ah, Rockstar! We were just talking about you." Shanks kicked some snow at his fleet captains when they chuckled, asking "How'd everything go?"

The snail's brows furrowed, "He ripped up the letter! All that time spent to find the old fucker and he rips up the letter! Said that if you wanted to talk then you'd better meet him face to face."

"That old man hasn't changed a bit!" Shanks laughed hard.

The snail jumped in his hand. "This is no laughing matter!"

He let out another chuckle then sighed, "I figured this would happen."

Rockstar huffed, "Give me a little bit more time. I've never been this humiliated!"

The captain sat up at his nakama's words, "Oi, oi, what are you thinking of doing? Leave it be. You did a good job. Come straight back."

There was silence before the newbie spoke again, "But my honor…"

Shanks shook his head and kicked the mini snowman he'd made earlier with the tip of his boot, "Living is more important than your honor and if you try anything against the Whitebeard Pirates it'll be your life. There's nothing left you can do." He stood and sighed, "You gave him something to think about."

"I suppose…I'll see you when I get there."

Shanks hung up the line and stared up at the winter sky, closing his eyes when snowflakes hit his face before melting. Roo burped before he spoke, "So, what are we going to do, Okashira?"

Red Hair began to walk towards the direction of Red Force, "We're going. Get the ship ready."

Yasopp reassembled his weapon quickly before standing, "To see Whitebeard?"

"Yeah."

Benn rolled his cigarette between his teeth, "Do you think the government's gonna sit by and let that happen?"

He waved a dismissive hand at his three most trusted men, "I'm not worried about them." As they passed through a unit of his fleet he signaled for them to follow, "The World Government might not want us to meet, but if they interfere then we won't just sit back and take it." He yelled out to a crewmate, "Gather our very best rum! We're going on a trip, boys!"

S

Rockstar threw the rope up to one of his crewmates to secure his boat to the ship. They exchanged a few pleasantries as he climbed the ladder leading to the deck. As soon as he stepped foot on the freshly polished wood he quickly made his way towards the meeting quarters where he knew his Okashira and the other captains would be located.

When he arrived at the door he opened it with such ferocity that the occupants of the room all turned to him upon his entry. He nodded his head in greeting and quickly approached Shanks, "I tried the best I could to get the letter to Whitebeard." He dropped his head, "I'm sorry I failed."

The scarred man shook his head and laughed, "It's as I told you before, Rockstar, you did the best you could." He pulled out a chair near him and patted the seat, "Here, sit and ease your mind."

Beckman passed him a drink and conversation continued, "So what you're saying is that if push comes to shove you're willing to fight the Marines to get to Whitebeard?"

Shanks nodded his head, "We might have been on the silent side recently but we are still pirates. They don't control me. It's of the utmost importance that I speak to the old man."

"If going through Whitebeard doesn't work what will you do?" Yasopp questioned.

His shoulders drooped in defeat, "That… I'm not sure."

The room became quiet as thoughts and ideas roamed around through Shanks's head. Truth be told he always thought his plan would work out well. Talk to Whitebeard about the dangers of letting Ace continue his journey and the old geezer would call the kid back.

Simple.

Roo interrupted his train of thought, "Have you tried to contact Luffy? They are bothers after all."

Shanks's eyes widened and a smile lit his face, "I never even thought about contacting little anchor."

"Well," Benn stood and walked towards the door, "if all goes south then reaching out to Luffy should be our last resort. We don't want to spook him. You know how he is about his family."

The captain nodded and hummed in agreement.

When he heard Shanks talk about Luffy in such an affectionate way, Rockstar raised an eyebrow, "Who's Luffy?"

The captain of the Red Force touched the stump that was once his arm, "He's a special boy who I've placed the future in."

Rockstar stood when Shanks did and they left the meeting room to get some fresh air on deck. Shanks sat in his normal seat and looked out at the sky, breathing in the smell of sea water deeply.

Beckman approached the red haired man, "Mihawk's boat has been spotted on the horizon at our nine o'clock."

Shanks hummed as stood, looking out towards the port and grinning when he spotted the single man boat swaying in the water. "I wonder what he's doing in this part of the ocean."

Roo burped, wiping off his hands before he addressed the crew, "Men, when Hawk-Eyes come on board stay clear of him and proceed with your normal duties."

Variations of "Aye" went around and Rockstar cast a questioning glance at the blond dreaded man, "You mean the Hawk-Eyes Mihawk?"

Yasopp, Beckman, and Roo moved to the opposite side of the deck. A good distance away from Shanks so that he could have room with his lover, but near enough in the event something was needed. The sharpshooter made himself comfortable in his seat before motioning Rockstar over to their area, "Yup, the one and only. He and Shanks go way back."

Rockstar sat with the captains and watched as the suave middle-age swordsman boarded the ship and approached his partner. Shanks smiled brightly at him, "Dracule, I didn't expect to see you again this soon."

Hawk-Eyes removed his sword and placed it next to him before sitting beside the yonko. "I got news that I figured you'd be interested in."

Shanks leaned back against the wall, gesturing for Mihawk to do the same, "What information do you have?"

Mihawk glared at the dark red haired man who was staring at them. Roo hit the back of Rockstar's head and the man looked away before Dracule spoke, "The Shichibukai were called upon for a meeting so we could speak about the open position."

"Have the Marines made a decision already?"

Dracule tilted his head in thought, "I believe the position will be going to one by then name of Marshall D. Teach."

Shanks sat up at hearing the name. He turned slightly towards the raven haired man to make sure he heard him clearly, "Teach? You're sure?"

"None of the other candidates were mentioned." Mihawk's eyebrow lifted, "You know the man?"

The captain sighed and sat back against the wall of the ship with a thud, "Teach is a pirate that goes by the name of Blackbeard. He's the man I'm going to be having a conversation about with Whitebeard." Shanks's fingers skimmed the soft flesh that held the three faded scars. "It's vital that Ace does not meet with him."

Hawk-Eyes sighed, "What's your attachment to these boys?"

Shanks glared at the tone his lover used, "I gave up my arm for Luffy and Ace is important to the little anchor which means he's important to me."

When Mihawk hummed Shanks gripped his chin, turning his head so he could look him in the eyes, "Let's be real for a moment; I'm a pirate and I'm in love with a man. There is no way that I will have any children of my own. Luffy is the closest thing to a son that I will have and my time spent with Ace has made me protective over him as well." He stroked the black goatee lovingly, "There was something not right about Blackbeard when I met him and there's a strange wind blowing across the ocean as of late. I don't know what's going on but I need the boys to be safe."

The Shichibukai stared into harden black eyes before he kissed pink lips.

Rockstar grunted at the affectionate display between the two men, "So that's their relationship."

Roo threaded his fingers over his belly, "Yup, a lot of the new guys try to get in bed with Shanks but all have failed. In the end, most leave the crew or meet the tip of that big cross blade of Hawk-Eye's."

A baby den mushi let out a purupurpuru and Mihawk broke their kiss. He dug into his cloak, pulling out the snail and answering it, "This is Mihawk."

"Shichibukai Dracule 'Hawk-Eyes' Mihawk, a classified meeting has been called in the Holy Land Mariejois. Failure to show will result in the stripping of the Shichibukai title and holding in Impel Down until further notice."

The snail went back to sleep and Mihawk pocketed the animal as he stood to leave. He tilted his hat in respect towards the three loyal captains before he began to walk back towards his boat. Before he could make it far, Shanks gripped his cloak, pulling the swordsman to him. Just as the man was going to protest, the younger male kissed him deeply, ignoring all others.

The Frenchmen pressed his body to his lover as Shanks spoke breathlessly between each kiss, "You know I love you."

Dracule hummed in response, pecking soft lips. He ran a hand up Red Hair's spine but then stiffened when he felt the sharp tip of a blade pressed through his clothes against his inner thigh, "I don't want to have to go against you. I would rather stand with you than fight you, but if what I think is going to happen happens then I need to know you and I won't cross paths."

Cold eyes regarded the pirate captain. As he glared into black orbs he understood he was no longer dealing with his lover but with Red Hair Shanks, youngest of the yonko, "All of this over these boys?"

Mihawk let out a deep breath through his nose when Shanks pressed the dagger harder to him, "It's almost time for a New Age, Dracule. The Marines are up to something and they have no problem calling upon different organizations to do their dirty bidding. You know as well as I that the Shichibukai are the 'Dogs of the Government' and they will call upon them first."

Hawk-Eyes pushed away the blade and stepped a safe distance from Shanks, "I am a man of simple things. I like my peace. I will do whatever I need to do in order to maintain my solitude. It is why I made the agreement with the Marines." He turned his back on his lover and began to walk towards his craft, "I too hope we do not have to meet on the battlefield."

Shanks watched the older male until he was out of his eyesight before he let out a tired sigh. He walked over to his best friends and flopped down next to Roo, "That went well."

Roo patted the back of his superior, "Don't worry, I think it went splendidly."

Yasopp rolled his eyes, "If the world was coming to an end you'd think it would be splendid. You think everything goes fine."

Roo shrugged his shoulders, "As long as there's food then all is well."

Shanks chuckled and Rockstar clapped a hand on his knee, "No matter what, we're here for you, Okashira."

Black eyes looked at the hand on his person before he moved his leg, knocking the hand off of him, "Of course."

Beckman dismissed a crewmate before he spoke again, "With the way the wind is blowing, we should be to Whitebeard in no time."

Yasopp nodded his head as he squinted to look out on the sea, "There's something over there."

Shanks took the spyglass and stood up to get a better view, humming when he saw what it was, "Seems the Marines have made their move." An excited smile broke out over his face, "Prepare the men."

As soon as those words left his mouth the ship and his fleets began to enter battle formation.

A bump in the road between Shanks and Mihawk. D:! Let me know what you guys think. Stay tune for the next chapter: Marshall D. Teach - Huredhiel.