A/N: Man it feels like more days are going by in between updates. Sorry about that! Also, this chapter turned out just a tad shorter than the others, but not too much. It might be because I've been writing while I'm on the verge of falling asleep. I should stop that. Anyway, onward to chapter ten!

Chapter Ten

Crumbling Walls

Grace lazily scanned the horizon, leaning against the railing of the ship with her arms folded in front of her. The waves and screeching seagulls were the only things that broke the tranquil silence. It was a very calm day. Well, in truth it had been a very calm few weeks. Pirate activity seemed to be dwindling as of late. They were still out there, of course, but none that needed Vice Admiral Garp's intervention. Grace knew it was a good thing that the seas were safer, but she couldn't help but feel restless. There was nothing to do. No call to action to distract her from her troubles. Nothing to keep her from being alone with her own thoughts.

She hadn't been fairing as badly as before. While she still felt the itch to clean her weapons when her thoughts wandered toward forbidden territory, she no longer gave into it so easily. Spending time at home with somebody who understood her better than anyone else had helped more than Grace wanted admit. After a lot of prodding and persistence, Valeska had successfully convinced the marine to open up and talk about everything. It was a long talk. It took them all over the place, from to little misadventures with Shanks and how she felt about it, to the guilt eating her up due to her perceived betrayal, to long buried memories of the past that started coming back to haunt her.

It was a relatively peaceful island once, if a bit rowdy. It was lively and beautiful with its expansive fields of wildflowers of every color. The gladiolus flowers were Grace' favorite. She wanted to pick some and bring them home.

"Again?" A man laughed. "Th' house it gonna be flooded wi' 'em at this rate!"

Grace looked up at him, at the man who would've looked just like her if he was her age. But he was older. A grown-up who towered over her with his hands on his hips as he grinned down at her. "At least then the house wouldn't smell like whiskey all the time..." She lifted her small hand and dramatically pinched her nose.

"Ugh, yer startin' t' sound like yer mother..." He groaned. His voice was rough like the gravel on the beach. "Yer s'pose t' be on my side, Sweetling! S'pose t' be Daddy's Little Girl!"

She stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him before she turned and started plucking flowers to take home.

Grace realized she had her pistol in her hands. No. She consciously put it back in its holster. She wasn't gonna start that again. Thinking about him wasn't going to get to her. She wouldn't let it. She promised Valeska she'd find some other way of dealing with things instead of trying to block it out completely.

It was all Shanks' fault. If it wasn't for him and his stupid easygoing nature, she wouldn't be conflicted. She wouldn't be second guessing her opinion of pirates.

Grace sighed glumly and touched her cheek. She could almost feel the redhead's lips on her skin as though it had only happened a moment ago and it made her feel warm. It bothered her. Now that the idea of romance had been brought to the table, she didn't know what she was gonna do.

"Grace!"

She nearly jumped out of her own skin. She whirled around to face Vice Admiral Garp, heart pounding. How long had he been there? "Um, yes sir?" She heard somebody snort from further away. It was Warren, sitting on a barrel with one leg folded over the other with his hands behind his head as he leaned back against a wall. How long had he been there? Grace glared at him.

Garp laughed. "What are you thinking about so hard?"

"Nothing..." She crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

"I was just gonna tell you we're gonna be stopping at this island." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the bow. There was an island coming into view. When she looked back at the vice admiral, he was picking his nose with his pinky.

Grace made a face at his uncouth behavior and turned away to look at the ocean. "Yeah, okay..."

"You've been awfully spacey lately." He observed. When she glanced at him, he fixed her with a stern look. "You're not hiding anything, are you?"

"What?" Grace tried not to sound alarmed. "Of course not! Who do you think you're talking to?" According to her official track record, she was one of the more eager recruits who jumped at any chance to take down a pirate. Grace told herself that nobody had any reason to believe anything different.

Garp's expression changed to one filled with mirth as he bellowed out a laugh. "I'm just teasing, kiddo!" He tousled her hair. "I know you wouldn't be up to no good!"

Grace scowled at the man, annoyed that he was messing with her. She would rather he didn't scare her like that. It wasn't good for her heart. "Whatever..." she grumbled.

"Bah, lighten up! You don't have to look so grumpy!" The old man laughed. "Maybe you'll find something to cheer you up on the island when we get there."

"We'll see, I guess..." She replied. Garp wandered off, probably to go bother somebody else or find a snack.

Grace looked towards the island, watched it get closer and closer as the sun started sinking lower in the sky. Her thoughts drifted. "You're not hiding anything, are you?" She bit her lip. I only let Gold Roger's crew escape several times, no big deal. She thought sardonically.

A hand landed on her head and roughly ruffled her hair. "Ouch!" She slapped the offending limb away and glared at it's owner. At some point, Warren had gotten up and approached her with Tully in tow without her noticing. "What's your problem?!"

"I tried callin' your name, lass, but you were so far gone in la la land I had no other choice." he said. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing!"

"Bull."

"It's none of your business!"

"Uh-huh." Warren narrowed his eyes, mildly suspicious.

"Anyway." Tully decided to cut in. "We've docked. You wanna come look for something to do with us?"

"Since when do you guys wanna hang out with me?"

"We don't. We just kinda feel bad that nobody else ever wants to talk to you." said Warren.

"Gee. Thanks. You're sacrifice is duly noted."

"Aw, don't listen to him, kiddo! He's just being facetious." Tully started herding the pair towards the boarding ramp. "Now c'mon! Let's go find a restaurant or someplace that actually serves decent food. I dunno about you, but I'm tired of what we get in the mess hall. Do you think we'll ever get proper chefs on this ship?"

Shanks watched a bead of moisture roll down the side of his beer mug. It was his fourth one of the night, and he was starting to feel a little buzzed. Normally he wouldn't be drinking alone, but it was one of the rare times he felt like getting away from his crew. He needed to process his current situation and think about his future. Where would life take him now that the Roger Pirates had disbanded? He supposed the answer was obvious enough. He'd go his own way and start his own crew and have his own adventures eventually. That could wait a little while, though. For the time being he would stick with Buggy and Rayleigh until he found his bearings.

He was still a little bit sad. And a little listless. He took another sip of his drink. Maybe some more booze in his system would help him cheer up.

All of a sudden, the bartender was in front of him. "Yo." He nodded lowered his voice a little. "You're a pirate, aren't you? Might wanna be careful." He nodded towards the entrance with his eyebrows raised.

Shanks discreetly looked over his shoulder in time to catch the sight of a brunette man in a marine uniform step inside. He seemed distracted by somebody behind him, so Shanks decided to scoot towards a more dimly lit part of the bar counter. "Thanks for the heads up!" It might have been better to sneak out the back, but he didn't really feel like leaving yet. He wanted to finish this beer at least.

"Man, I swear somebody could tell me you guys are siblings and I'd believe it." said the marine.

Somebody scoffed. "Havin' her as a sister would be hell."

A third person chimed in. "Like you'd make a better brother." Shanks' head almost whipped around fast enough to give him whiplash when he heard the girl's voice. His mouth fell open when he laid eyes on none other than his favorite girl. "You're not exactly a ray of sunshine yourself, you fuck."

"Watch you're fuckin' mouth you little brat." The guy she was talking to was blond and little bit bigger than the brunette one.

"What are you gonna do, give me another noogie?"

"Ya know what? Yeah. C'mere." The blond reached out his hand to catch Grace' head, but ducked out of the way.

"See," said the brunette, "that's exactly what I'm talking about."

Shanks made a conscious effort to stop gawking. He forced his head to turn back towards the bar and hunched over his drink, trying to take up as little space as possible. It wouldn't do for him to be seen. Gracie is here! His mood lifted. What better way to get out of his gloomy mood than to hang out with her? But she was with company, wasn't she? How could he get her attention without those guys noticing? Hmm...

"Ah, hey! Where are you going?"

"I don't know how you guys do it, but somehow spending ten minutes with you feels like a hundred years. I need to get away from you." said Grace. Shanks risked a little peek over his shoulder and saw her heading for one of the stools at the other end of the bar.

"Fine by me." said the big blond guy. He turned on his heel and went straight to a booth closer to the entrance.

The brunette sighed. "Suit yourself, I guess." He turned and joined the blond, leaving Grace to her own devices.

Well, that was lucky. It looked like those two wouldn't be much of an issue as long as Shanks didn't make any noise. He turned his eyes to the girl at the other end of the bar. Now how could he get her attention? He felt around his pockets for his wallet and fiddled with the beri inside. Did Grace like beer? Did she even drink at all? Shanks had to admit, he didn't know nearly enough about her to accurately gauge her tastes.

Well, he thought the beer was fairly decent himself, so he decided to just go ahead and buy one for her. "Psst!" When the bartender looked at him, he waved him over. Shanks slid some beri across the counter. "Do you think you give that girl," he pointed at Grace, "one of these?" He pointed at his mug. The bartender looked over at the marine, and then back at him with furrowed eyebrows. "It's okay, she's a friend of mine."

"If you say so..." He took the money and ambled off.

Shanks looked over at Grace and rested his chin on his hand. He watched her with growing anticipation. Her face changed from mildly bored to confused and suspicious when a mug of beer was placed in front of her. The bartender murmured something to her and pointed in his direction. Shanks winked at her when their eyes met, and he had to stifle a laugh when her mouth dropped open in disbelief. She started to say something and he cocked his head to the side. She huffed and repeated herself, and Shanks realized she was mouthing the words, What are you doing here?

He lifted his mug with a crooked smile. What does it look like?

Grace rolled her eyes and pointed at something behind him. He turned his head to see what it was and noted the back door near the bar. When he turned his attention back to her, she was making a shooing motion with her hand.

The redhead smiled fondly. So she's not gonna rat me out... He crooked his finger in a come hither motion and patted the stool next to him. Come sit with me. The marine shook her head with a frown and pointed at the door again. Shanks shrugged his shoulders and made a show of getting comfortable, leaning on the counter as he sipped his beer. He could just barely hear the drumming of her fingers on the polished wood, and from the corner of his eye he could see her cast anxious glances at him and at her friends. Was she that worried about him getting caught? Shanks had to bit his lip to keep from smiling like an idiot.

At some point Grace must have deemed it safe enough to get up and move closer, though she didn't sit right next to him. She left two seats of space between them. Shanks chanced a look at her comrades, seeing that they were too preoccupied with their own conversation to notice anything she did.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Grace was glaring at him when he turned his eyes back to her. "Why do you always turn up everywhere?"

"I dunno, gorgeous. I told you before; it must be fate." He fluttered his eyelashes with a grin.

Grace was not amused. "Get out of here!"

"No."

"Shanks!"

"I got here first, and I wanna finish my drink!" He lifted his mug to his lips and took the tiniest sip. He didn't want to finish it too quickly, after all. Not when he a reason to stay. "It's pretty decent, you know." He nodded towards the mug sitting in front of Grace. She had it clasped tightly in her hand.

She looked at it and made a face. "I tasted it. It's mediocre if you ask me."

"High standards?"

"I'm not that into beer." Grace shook her head. "Anyway, just get out of here already! Do you wanna get picked up?"

"Picked up by you? Sweetheart, that would make my night!" Shanks purred. He tried not to grin too widely when her cheeks flushed.

"I meant picked up and tossed in a cell! Arrested!" She looked away and glared daggers into the drink in front of her. "Jeez, what's wrong with you?"

"Well, I do have a couple of beers in me," he chuckled. "Hey, if you don't want that, I'll take it."

Grace side-eyed him, but she slid the mug in his direction anyway. He downed the rest of the drink he already had so he could start on the new one. "Hurry up and finish it and get out of here." The conversation kind of died off after that while he nursed his beer.

"Would you come with me?" The question almost surprised him as much as it did Grace.

"What?"

"When I sneak out of here, do you wanna come with me?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"It'd make me really happy if you kept me company for a while longer." Shanks smiled at her hopefully.

She scowled at him for what felt like forever before suddenly standing up. "Finish your stupid drink!" She glanced at her friends one last time and then made for the back exit. The redhead was actually a little surprised and sat there in stunned silence for a few seconds before quickly chugging the rest of his drink and following after her.

When he stepped outside, he was met with the sight of Grace waiting for him with her arms crossed. "Are you gonna tell me what you're doing here, or what?"

"I'm just hanging out," Shanks replied. "By myself." he added just a little too quickly.

Grace eyed him suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. "And that means...? What? Just you? No pirate king?"

"Yep! Just me! The captain's not around..."

"Why not?"

"Ah, well...You know..." Shanks tried to smile through the pang of dejection that filled his chest. "I was just thinking it was about time to start my own adventure, so..." He knew his voice didn't quite match up with his words, but he hoped it wasn't too noticeable. He couldn't tell Grace about the end of the Roger Pirates. It was supposed to be a secret.

If she did pick up on anything, she elected to ignore it. "I see..."

"Yeah..." Shanks decided to change the subject. "So what brings you here?"

She tilted her head towards the door. "The decided they wanted to stop by here and invited me along. For some reason." She shook her head. "Anyway, just get out of here before I decide to blow the whistle on you."

"If you were gonna do that, you would have by now." When Grace scoffed and headed towards the doorway, Shanks unthinkingly grabbed her wrist in alarm. "W-wait a sec! You're not actually gonna tattle on me, are you?"

The marine yanked her arm free with a frown. "No, dumb-ass. I don't really feel like going on a chase tonight." The redhead relaxed. "I'm just going back inside."

"But you said you'd hang out with me some more..."

"I did not. I only came out here to get you out of there."

The redhead pouted. "I know you're just looking out for me, but that's mean. Getting my hopes up..."

"You did that all on your own."

"C'mon, sweetheart! You're just gonna sit in there all by yourself, aren't you?" he asked. "Let's go hang out some place quieter." He kind of tilted his head with a smile in a way that he hoped was endearing enough to convince her to accompany him. She was just what he needed to get his mind off of his troubles for a little while.

Her heart was pounding in her rib-cage and it was progressively more irritating the longer she spent with the redheaded pirate. She couldn't tell anymore whether it was due to the risk of Shanks getting spotted by another marine or if it was just very presence that made her chest feel tight. It was obnoxious. He was obnoxious. He was flirting, and Grace had absolutely no idea how to approach the situation. None at all. This wasn't her forte. "I don't want to hang out with you. Go away." She reached for the handle on the door, fully intending to return to Warren and Tully to escape the insistent fluttery butterfly feeling in her belly. A hand on her shoulder stopped her and suddenly Shanks was standing between her and the door. She took a step back, away from his sudden nearness. "Move."

He shook his head with a pout. "Take a walk with me."

Grace glared at him. She couldn't stand those puppy dog eyes of his. She couldn't stand his smiles, either. Or his voice when it took on a playful edge. But his eyes especially. They were dark and expressive and strangely captivating. Damn it. She struggled to hold on to some ounce of resolve. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"There's nothing better than spending time with you, doll." The marine looked at him dubiously. He sighed when he must have realized the cheesy approach wasn't going to work. "Please, Gracie? It'd be nice to have some company..."

There was something rather melancholy about his tone, something that gave away the barest hint of a heavy heart, and it made Grace falter. Giving into him would only invite more troublesome thoughts to keep her up at night, but... How could she turn him down? Damn it all. "...You're not gonna let me say 'no' are you?" The almost pleading look on his face gave her was his answer. The marine cursed herself for being so soft. It was too late to undo all this, wasn't it? "Fine." she said begrudgingly.

She wanted to hate the way his eyes lit up. Shanks smiled affectionately. "Thank you, love."

Grace looked at him with wide eyes. "What did you just—"

"C'mon, let's go!" He grabbed her hand and started pulling her along before she could finish.

A/N: Shanks said the "L" word! But he didn't use it in the way that counts :/ Oh well. Maybe someday!