Chapter Nine:

Getting there

"Nope. Nu-uh. That can't be true. You're delusional."

Valeska sat at the kitchen table, leaning forward with her head propped up by her hand. She watched her friend pace back and forth along the length of the kitchen. "Am I, Grace?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because it's stupid! I mean come on!" She came to a halt on the other side of the table and gripped the back of a chair, leaning over it to glare at the brunette.

Valeska smirked. "How would you know? You spend all your time training and sharpening weapons and being generally crabby. You're not exactly an expert on the nuances of romance, Snowball." She stifled a laugh when the marine started pacing again. "He was flirting with you. How long has that been going on? When did you guys meet?"

Grace waved her hand dismissively. "I don't remember; it was months ago. And anyways, it doesn't matter!" Her hands slammed against the table. "Why are you being so nonchalant about this?!"

"Hm? Why should I be getting all worked up?"

"He's a pirate." she hissed.

"So? He seems nice."

Valeska could see the marines hands ball into fists on the table. "Do you hear yourself?"

She looked at her friend levelly. "You know as well as I do they're not all bad." Grace clenched her jaw and broke eye contact to stare down at the table. "So that's what's been bothering you, huh? Well, you know what? I think this might be good for you." The marine scoffed and flopped unceremoniously onto a chair. "No, really. I think you're stressed 'cause you've been lying to yourself for so long." Grace shot her glare, but remained silent. "Maybe your little admirer will help you see that."

"Shut up. He hasn't been..." she trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

"Flirting. The word is flirting. It's not that hard to say." Valeska chuckled. "And yes he has. The pet names kind of give it away."

Grace shook her head. "No way, he's just trying to get under my skin."

"Maybe I should just ask him myself."

Grace slid down in her chair with a groan. "Please don't. Do you have any idea how bad it would be if any of my coworkers found out about that? What do you think the sentence is for somebody who fraternizes with Roger Pirates, huh?"

"No one'll know if you don't tell them." The brunette waved off the look her friend shot at her. "It's not like I'd be helping them with anything. It's just a little chat. I wanna know how he got you all out of sorts."

The marine frowned. "I'm not all out of sorts..."

"You can't say that now!" Valeska admonished. "I don't know what went down between you two, but you're treating him different than any other pirate you've you've met recently."

"Don't remind me..." Grace muttered.

Valeska eyed the marine for a moment. "Are you gonna tell me what happened?" She waited for an answer, but the marine stayed stubbornly quiet. "Look, if you're not gonna tell me, then I really will ask that guy. He seems like he'll tell me. I'm kind of dying to know, at this point."

"Dying to know what?"

Despite the brunette's shock at the new arrival, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing when Grace nearly jumped out of her own skin. She shot up in her seat, glaring hotly at the newcomer. "When did you get here?!"

Outside, leaning against the windowsill, was none other than the redhead they were talking about. "Just a second ago..." he replied.

"Well, speak of the devil—Ouch!" Valeska reached under the table and rubbed her sore shin, scowling at Grace who was glaring right back at her.

"Were you guys talking about me?"

The brunette was expecting her friend to scoff at his pleased smile, but instead Grace sat back in her seat, arms crossed with a weary expression. "Mind your own business, you bonehead..."

"Doesn't it make it my business if I'm the one you're gossiping about?"

"Sure, if you wanna talk about what an annoying weasel you are."

"So mean, Gracie..."

"When did you get the idea I was nice?"

"Well...You did let me have that leopard pelt..." Shanks said with a smile. "I still have it, you know."

"Go away."

"But I just got here—Oof!" The palm of Grace' hand shoved the redhead away from the window and she promptly slammed it shut. She yanked the curtains shut for good measure, and then she settled back into her seat with her arms crossed. She frowned defiantly at Valeska's unimpressed stare.

The shook her head and stood up to open the kitchen door that led outside. She ignored the marine's muttered 'I hate you' as she leaned out to address the pirate. "Hey. Wanna come in?"

Shanks had only just sat down when Valeska started grilling him about his relationship with Grace. He was happy enough to comply, so he told her all about how they met and everything that happened afterwards. He probably embellished his stories a little bit, and lingered on their island escapades a little too long, but it was his audience didn't seem to mind. Well, Grace rolled her eyes here and there, but she didn't correct him. By the time he reached the end of his story, Valeska had her thoughtful gaze trained on the marine, who avoided looking at her like the plague.

"Well, that's quite an interesting tale..." the brunette said after a moment. She looked back at the redhead, and he felt somehow vulnerable. Like she was passing some kind of judgement on him.

Shanks didn't really know what to say, so he just settled on, "You think so?"

"Hm." Her eyes flitted back to Grace. "Well? I haven't heard a word from you this whole time. No denial?"

She shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting to Valeska and then at Shanks. He looked at her expectantly, wondering if she really would refute any of what he said. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's not like you'd believe me if I did deny it..." She glared at the pirate when she saw him smile. "What're you smiling about?"

"Nothin'..." he replied.

"Hmph." She looked away.

Valeska shook her head. "Who'd have thought... You making friends with a pirate..."

"We're not friends!"

"Friendly acquaintances. Whatever." The brunette ignored the other girl's grumbling. "Anyway, you guys want anything to drink? All I have is tea, though. Or water."

Shanks opted for the tea. It wasn't really his preferred beverage, but he'd take it. He looked over at Grace and leaned forward slightly. "So..." Her eyes slid over to him and she raised an eyebrow. "How come you're off duty today?" he asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Aw, don't be like that, doll..." When she only looked at him flatly, he lowered his head just slightly and looked through his lashes at her with a small pout. The last time he pulled the puppy-dog expression, it had yielded good results. He had to suppress a grin when it worked again.

"...Not that it's any of your business, but it's on my boss's orders..." the marine replied. She sounded a bit resentful.

"I take it you'd rather not be here?"

"Obviously."

"But it's nice having time off, isn't it?"

"Not when there are pirates skulking around." Grace replied. She went on just as Shanks was about to reply. "None of that 'we're not bothering anybody' crap. That's not gonna change my mind about not wanting you here."

Shanks sighed softly. She was so stubborn. "Fine..." A tea cup was then placed in front of him and he nodded his thanks to Valeska. He had almost forgotten she was there. She didn't really have much presence, now that he thought about it.

It went quiet for a little while. Grace was sitting with her arms crossed, looking off into space while her leg bounced restlessly. Valeska took small sips of her tea, completely relaxed despite the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Or at least it felt awkward to Shanks. It didn't help that the brunette was eyeing him with...Well, he didn't know, exactly, and he couldn't fathom what might've been going through her mind. She had one hell of a poker-face.

Grace suddenly stood up and started towards the door. "Where are you going?" the redhead asked.

"It's stuffy in here." She was gone almost before she finished her reply.

Shanks wanted to follow, but Valeska's gaze kept him anchored to his seat. She was awfully imposing for somebody with so little presence.

She set down her tea cup, and Shanks actually felt a pang of anxiousness at the sound it made when it touched the table. "So..."

"...So..."

"You seem very...interested in Grace." the brunette started. "Is there any reason why?"

"Erm..." He scratched his cheek. "I dunno, I just...She's interesting, you know?"

"That's all?"

"Well, no, I...I like her. I mean, she's spirited and strong and..." Shanks squirmed slightly under her scrutiny. Did she want him to tell her exactly how he felt in excruciating detail? He wasn't usually the type to get embarrassed, but he felt his cheeks heating up. He hadn't really talked about this with anybody yet.

Thankfully, Valeska took pity on him. "Say no more. I got it." she said. She leaned back a little bit. "Just making sure." Shanks felt himself relax even though he didn't remember tensing up in the first place. "You have your work cut out for you, you know."

"Heh..." He already knew that. He smiled a little. "I think she's coming around, though."

"Seems that way."

Shanks looked at the brunette for a moment. "So...You're just okay with it?"

"Hm?" She blinked at him. "With what? You crushing on Grace?" She shrugged. "Eh, it's not like you've given me a reason to be against it."

"Even though I'm a pirate? I woulda thought a friends of Gracie's would hate us as much as she does..."

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Eh. I guess I don't hold grudges as long as she does. I know you guys aren't all pricks." she said. "Snowball could probably use a reminder so...I actually think you'd be pretty good for her."

Shanks would've snorted at the nickname, but his mind caught onto one little detail. He tilted his head. "Reminder?" Valeska only gave him a cryptic smile. He knew she wasn't going to elaborate, so he let it go.

Grace was seated on the steps leading up the porch just outside the front door. She alternated between looking out at the ocean and glaring towards the docks where she could see the bright red sails of the Oro Jackson. She really should go back inside and call the Vice Admiral on a den den mushi to report that Roger was here, but she couldn't quite bring herself to. She felt like that would be a...a betrayal of whatever she had with the pirate in the house, which was a silly thought because there wasn't anything between them at all. In fact, not reporting to Garp was a betrayal to the marines and the entire government, one that promised severe repercussions if it was discovered. And yet, she remained where she was.

She sighed. Why couldn't everything be the way it was before?

The door opened behind her. "You having any fun out here, Snowball?"

"Don't call me that." she snapped without turning to look at him.

"Hm? But Val calls you that."

"Val is my best friend. She gets special privileges." She turned her head to glare at him over her shoulder. "If you call me that, I'll keelhaul you."

"Fine, fine. I'll just call you my sweetheart instead."

Grace made a face. "Ugh." She turned to scowl at Roger's ship. "What do you want, anyway?"

"To see what you're up to." Shanks took a seat on the steps beside her. "So...Val told me it's your birthday soon." Grace frowned. "Are you gonna celebrate?"

"Why would I? It's not a big deal."

"But it's your birthday!" the redhead emphasized as though it would change her mind. "You're supposed to have a big party with food and friends and play games and goof off!"

"Sounds like a waste of time to me..."

"It's not like you have anything better planned, do you?" Shanks nudged her shoulder and she turned her head away with a 'hmph'. "How old are you gonna be, anyway?"

Grace almost refused to answer, but she knew that he's just keep prodding her until she did. "Fifteen."

"Ah! So not too much younger than me!" he replied. "My birthday was back in March. We had a bunch of food and music and we stayed up all night..." He went on and on about how much fun he had and how energetic everyone was, getting lost in his own story. At some point, Grace found his enthusiasm infectious and felt the corners of her lips lifting upwards. She shook her head and forced the urge away. "Man, you shoulda been there! I bet even you would've had a good time."

"Hm..." She looked out at the ocean, feigning disinterest. She heard the redhead sigh.

"Why are you so stubborn? It looked like I had your attention just a second ago."

Grace grimaced. "You're just imagining things."

Shanks laughed. "And you're just a liar!"

"Why don't you go bug somebody else?!"

"'Cause it's more fun with you!"

The warm smile he gave her coupled with what Valeska had told her earlier in the day made her cheeks grow warm. She looked away. "You're so annoying..." she growled.

"You're so cute..." he purred in response. When she turned to glare at him, she felt a spark of irritation at the cheeky grin she saw.

"It's like you want me slap you."

"Hm...No, that's not what I want..." Shanks replied. There was mischief gleaming in his eyes, and Grace didn't like it. Not one bit. The pirate looked away, setting his sight on the docks where it looked like his crew was just about finished loading all their stuff up. "Well, it looks like I should get going..." The marine looked at him warily. "It's been fun, Gracie."

Perhaps she shouldn't have looked away, but she did. She intended to ignore him until he left, but she should have known he had something planned. She froze, eyes wide, when a pair of warm lips pressed against her cheek. Not half a second later she saw Shanks bolt towards his ship. At least he had the sense to run. Without even thinking about it, Grace stood up and grabbed the nearest object and chucked it at his retreating figure. The potted plant landed and shattered harmlessly on the street.

A moment later, the door opened and out came Valeska. "What the—What'd you throw my plant for?" The marine didn't respond. She just raised one hand to her cheek. "Grace?"

She turned to look at the brunette with a blank face, silent for a moment, and then her expression warped into one of flustered distress. "Why do you have to be right about everything?!"

Valeska blinked dumbly for a second before putting the pieces together and sighing. "It's not my fault you're slow..."

A/N: Well it looks like things might start moving along in the right direction, finally!

Again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long! I hope you like it!