A/N: So uh, hey guys. It's been a while. Far too long in fact. Sorry for being away for so long. Frankly I just hadn't been feeling up to writing very much until recently. I blame the end of 2015, to be honest. The year just didn't wrap up very well and it kinda killed my motivation for months. But I've been feeling better so hopefully I'll update more often. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

PS I couldn't really think of a very good title for this chapter, but meh. Its not really that important.

Chapter Fifteen:

Adjusting

Grace grabbed a cold water bottle from the little fridge in the tiny kitchen and briefly pressed it against her forehead to see if it would offer any relief for the dull ache throbbing within her skull. It didn't do any good, so she gave up trying to find a remedy for her hangover. It wasn't terribly unbearable, thankfully. It's not like she had gotten completely hammered the night before. Still, her headache was a minor annoyance that she hoped would disappear soon. She didn't want to be any grouchier than usual if she ran into Shanks later that day.

When he crossed her mind, she felt her cheeks heat up. What would she do if she did run into him? She wanted to see him, sure, but she didn't know how she was supposed to act. She certainly wouldn't be able to pull of that cutesy, lovey-dovey act that seemed so common among most couples. Grace supposed she should act natural, but she didn't even know how to do that. She was in completely new territory and she couldn't figure out what direction she should be heading in.

"Are you okay...?"

The marine's eyes snapped over to where Valeska was standing. She had a towel half draped over her wet hair. "Uh..." Grace took a little too long to process the question. "I'm fine!"

The brunette squinted at her friend, and then glanced at the water bottle she was subconsciously fiddling with. "...Sure you are..." She nodded towards the bathroom. "You can shower now, if you want to..."

"Okay." Grace maundered out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom with furrowed eyebrows. She paused just before entering. She knew it was completely obvious that she was hiding something. Valeska would inevitably hound her about it at some point. She turned around and faced her friend, who was in the middle of towel drying her hair. Maybe Grace should just save them both the trouble and come clean. Maybe she can help me with all this... The marine didn't really like the idea of asking for help, but lord knows she needed it. "Uh, h-hey Val?"

"Hm?"She looked over.

"I-I'm just gonna get this out of the way so you don't have to pry it out of me later. I, um..." Grace cleared her throat as if it would help her force the words out. "Last night..." She looked away, heat rising to her face. Just say it. Get it over with. She took a deep breath. "Last night I ran into Shanks and I, uh...W-we..."

"Oh? Your boyfriend's here?" Valeska's eyebrows lifted. "So, what happened?"

"I was getting to that..." the marine replied with a blush. "I, um...I kissed him." She mumbled.

There was a short pause. "Wait, really? You kissed him? As in, you made the first move?" The brunette waited for her friend to nod and then barked out a laugh. "Ha! Who knew you had it in you!"

"Shut up..." Grace huffed. "Anyway, I kinda told him I'd hang out with him today, but I don't know how I'm supposed to act now..."

"And you want my advice, is that it? Well..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what to tell you other than 'relax and act natural'. Then again, for you 'acting natural' means being abrasive and in denial..."

"So, you're saying I should be nicer...?"

"Well, maybe just a little bit. Or maybe not. I mean, he fell for you the way you are, so maybe he likes the whole snappish porcupine thing you have going on."

Grace rolled her eyes. "That doesn't help me at all."

"Look, just be yourself. And don't think so much about it."

The marine sighed. "Forget it. I'm gonna take a shower."

"Hey, don't just brush off my advice that quick. It might work, for all you know." Valeska went back to drying her hair while Grace tried settle her roiling nerves.

Benn watched with mild amusement every time his captain (not so) discreetly peered through the window of the liquor store to look at the dock. It was obvious he was doing. He was looking for that girl he had wandered out of the bar with the night before. When he came back all moony and distracted, he uttered a half-assed "Sorry I forgot about you" and then started telling him all about the "sweetheart" marine he was head over heals for. Admittedly, the first mate had zoned out at some point when it looked like the redhead was babbling more to himself than to Benn, but he'd listened long enough to know what he needed to.

"You know how they say 'a watched pot never boils'? I think that concept could be applied here too, Captain."

"You mean if I keep looking, she'll never show up?" Shanks said. "You're probably right." He went back to searching for some booze that was within their price range, but he was inevitably drawn back to the window to check for his bonny lass.

It wasn't too much later that the pair managed to accomplish their task and after storing away their new supply of alcohol, Benn lit a cigarette and leaned back against the mast. A certain sort of quiet had settled over their ship, during which Shanks couldn't figure out what to do with himself. He was restless. One moment his eyes were scanning the town and the next he wandered into their ship's cabin. Then he was back on the deck, pacing along the length of ship. All within the span of ten minutes.

"...So, did you agree on a time for your little date or...?"

Shanks stopped pacing. "Well, no...We didn't really come up with a place to meet up, either..." He looked at Benn sheepishly. "That's why I want to stay by the ship, 'cause she knows I started my own crew and I figured she's smart enough to come find our ship."

"Okay, well what about your date? You got any plans?"

"I was just gonna wing it like I usually do." The redhead replied. "But...I guess this will be our first real date..." He said thoughtfully. "Maybe I should do something more special..." Shanks tapped his chin, and then abruptly stepped off of the ship. "I'll be right back! If Gracie shows up, stall her for me, 'kay?"

He didn't give Benn enough time to respond before he rushed off into the town to find something to do before it was too late. One would think he'd have put more thought into it beforehand considering how excited he was. This guy, I swear...

Valeska shut the door behind her and turned to look at the fidgety marine standing next to her. Her eyes were locked on her fingers, which were fiddling with the rubber band at the end of the loose side braid she was sporting.

"...It's just a braid, Grace. It's not like it's anything fancy."

"I know, but...it's weird."

"It's not weird, it's cute." The brunette turned and started walking towards the lobby. "And don't you want to look nice for your man?" She took a glance over her shoulder and laughed at the flush of red that colored her friend's cheeks. "So do you guys know what you're doing today, or what?"

"I don't know if he's got anything planned or not." Grace picked up the pace until she was walking beside her friend. "And I definitely don't have any ideas. What are dates supposed to be like again?"

"I don't know. Romantic?"

"Well, yeah, I know that part..."

Valeska shrugged. "I'm in the same boat as you, Grace. I haven't gone on a date before either. And I'm not really one for romance novels, so..."

The marine sighed. "I don't like that I'm basically going into this blind..."

"Says the girl who's known for rushing an enemy without a second thought..."

"That's different. I know how fighting works, and battle fields are all the same when you get down to it. This, on the other hand...I'm out of my element, Val."

"Then you just have to learn how romance works. How hard could it be?" The brunette went on before the other girl could continue grumbling about her lack of experience. "Now, let's go find your lover boy."

"You're coming, too...?"

"Don't worry, I won't stay for too long. I just wanna kill a little time."

"Well, alright..."

With that, Valeska let the marine take the lead and followed her towards the harbor. Grace absently slowed her pace as she scanned the array of boats lining the docks in search of her red haired suitor. Instead of spotting him, though, a whistle got their attention. There was a man lounging on the roof of a small ship's cabin and he beckoned the girls over with a wave of his hand. He was fairly tall with long black hair tied back into a ponytail.

"If you're lookin' for the captain, he told me to distract you until he got back."

"You must be...Benn, was it?"

"That's me. Nice to meet you, Grace. The captain told me all about you."

"I...see..." When Valeska looked at her friend, she couldn't keep a smirk from forming at the sight of her flushed cheeks. The marine coughed and turned her face away as she gestured towards the brunette. "A-anyway, this is my friend, Valeska." she said, a poor attempt at diverting the attention from herself.

"Hello." She flashed a smile as Benn acknowledged her with a nod. "So, what exactly has Red told you about? Getting this one to talk is like pulling teeth."

"That's because it's none of your business!"

Valeska pouted at the other girl. "But it's not fair that he knows," she jerked her head at Benn, "and I don't..."

"It's none of his business either, but it's not like I can stop Shanks from blabbing!"

"He can be kind of a chatterbox, huh? I'll just ask him when I get a chance then." She snickered. Grace only groaned to herself.

Shanks caught himself whistling on the way back to the docks. Just a few upbeat notes that gave away his mood to anybody who bothered to notice. He felt like he found the perfect date spot and he was sure his favorite marine would like it too. As he squeezed passed groups of people bustling about the shipyard, he caught sight of the pretty white hair he'd grown to love. His heart fluttered restlessly as his attention zeroed in on the girl leaning against a post with her arms crossed. She was scowling slightly, cheeks red, and glaring at some point out on the ocean. That was when the redhead noticed a familiar brunette conversing with his first mate.

That explained it. They must have been talking about whatever Shanks had told Benn the previous night. To be honest, he didn't remember all of it that well. Whether it was because of the alcohol or if his head was just to hazy with affection to pay attention to what came out of his mouth, he didn't know. It didn't matter though. What did matter was the way Gracie's expression changed when she spotted him. It went from a flustered scowl to a shy anticipation as she stood up straight and started fiddling with her hair. Hair that was in a side braid. She did something cute with her hair just for him.

Shanks felt a slight heat rise to his cheeks as when Benn and Valeska both looked in his direction. Well, it was mostly when Valeska looked in his direction. She had a certain look on her face. A sly look. The kind of look people got when they planned to tease somebody with that little rhyme about sitting in a tree with a crush.

"Hey there, Red. Long time, no see." the brunette said as he neared.

Shanks smiled. "Yeah, no kidding. Nice to see you." He turned his attention to the other girl. "Hi Gracie..."

She looked up from the tip of the braid she was inspection too closely. "Hi..." For a moment, they both stood there seemingly lost in each other's eyes. Grace was the first to break eye contact, looking somewhere off to the side.

The redhead cleared his throat at the same time, just as he heard some amused snickering coming his friends. "So, uh, what brings you here?" he asked turning his attention to Valeska.

"Oh, you know, I just wanted to say hi is all. But I can tell you don't really wanna stand around and chat with me." Valeska looked at her nails.

Shanks scratched the back of his neck. "Er, that's not—"

"You're right, he doesn't, we're leaving now, bye!" Grace snatched up the redhead's wrist and all but started dragging him away as her friend snorted.

"Have fun, lovebirds!"

"G-Gracie?" Shanks tugged his arm slightly to get her to slow her pace a bit.

"What?"

"That was...kinda rude, don't you think?"

The marine fixed him with an intense gaze. "I am not putting up with anymore of her teasing right now! You can catch up all you want later, but right now I just want..." She trailed off, eyes shifting to look elsewhere as her cheeks reddened. "I just want to be alone...with... you..." she mumbled.

An involuntary smile lit up Shanks' face as he slowed to a stop. "Gracie..." He waited for her to look at him before leaning in to steal a kiss. "I know the perfect place." he said.

A/N: And so, that does it for this long overdue chapter. I hope you all enjoyed! I'm not gonna promise a speedy update since I always seem to break that promise, but I do hope you'll stay tuned for more. See you in the next one!