Aria's head hit the table with a thud, her groan muffled by her arm. "I give up," she muttered, her voice thick. The wood felt cool against her flushed skin, a slight comfort.
Benn chuckled, his hand resting lightly on her back. "No one can beat Shanks in a drinking competition, I thought you knew that? Though you lasted than everyone else this time." He exhaled a stream of smoke, the scent of tobacco mingling with the tavern's many odors.
She groaned again and closed her eyes as the room spun. "I didn't know he'd join!"
Shanks laughed, his voice booming over the clamor of the tavern. "She's right, Benn. And she would've won had I not joined!" There was a thin line of pink crossing his face, but he was the only one not passed out or looking ill.
Laughter echoed from the crew still standing. Empty mugs were clutched in the fingers of those who were out, while some had fallen to the floor.
Aria sat up and leaned against Benn, blinking to clear her vision. "Next time I'm dropping out if you join," she said with a lopsided grin. He laid his arm across the back of the seat, touching her shoulder discreetly. She hid her shiver as his fingertips brushed her skin.
Yasopp shook his head. "You know he will. If there's a drinking competition going on, the Boss always joins."
Monster startled them by leaping across the table, screeching as Bonk chased him. Benn quickly moved the remains of Aria's drink before it spilled, downing the rest with a smirk. "You weren't going to finish it anyway."
Aria wanted to complain, but didn't think her mind was coherent enough for that. Shanks let out an irritated grunt, and her gaze shifted to the sight of his drink staining his chest and shirt. She stifled a giggle at the look on his face.
A yell from Bonk told them that Monster had gone out of his reach.
Aria closed her eyes as the room spun slightly. Her tether throbbed painfully, but she tried to ignore that; it was getting worse lately but she didn't want anyone looking at it. Around them, the sounds of chatter from the rest of the crew filled the large tavern. A few locals were playing against Limejuice in a game of pool, Aria could hear Hongo and someone singing drunkenly in the corner, and Gab was laughing at something some of the younger crewmembers were saying.
"Hey, are you guys the Red-Haired Pirates?" The door had opened, the scent of water-meat drifting inside. Aria didn't recognize the speaker, but his accent said he was a local.
The crew went quiet, all eyes turning to the newcomer.
Shanks leaned back, his voice betraying a hint of curiosity. "Yes. Do you need something?"
"Yeah, I just found an old bow on a ship down in the scrapyard," the stranger said.
Aria frowned and looked over. A bow…? The haze in her head thickened, but not enough to distract her.
A tall man with blue hair sauntered over, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over the table. He was even taller than Benn, with goggles perched on his forehead and a metallic nose that glinted in the tavern's dim light. Aria blinked, her curiosity piqued.
He held out the shortbow. "I was looking for some spare parts from the scrapyard and found this in a large room. I figured it was left behind accidentally and asked around. They said it was a pirate ship, and you guys are the only pirates in the city right now."
Before Aria could react, Benn had the bow in his hands. "It's Aria's, thanks." She reached for it, but Benn held it out of her grasp, shaking his head with a wry smile. "No, I'm not letting you have this until you're sober. I saw what you did to a man with this without even looking!"
The blue-haired man laughed. "Wherever you got it, it's a good bow. It's old, but made of Adam's Wood."
There was a shout and suddenly Hongo appeared. "Adam's Wood?" Despite the pink across his cheeks, it was clear he was sober enough to recognize that. "Aria, where did you find this again?"
Benn answered for her, earning a light shove from Aria. "She found it in the ruins of a house on the last island."
The stranger shook his head. "Whoever made it must've died or something then. They wouldn't have left it behind. This kind of wood is valuable, and difficult to work with. But it won't break. And it's well crafted."
Shanks smiled. "I'm glad you returned it, then. Why don't you join us for a while?"
The man shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I have materials to find!" With that, he left quickly and the chatter started back up.
Hongo sat next to Yasopp, looking at the bow. "I'd like to know who left that behind."
Shanks gave Benn and Aria a grin. "Benn, you said something about Aria using this without even looking? I think we'd like to hear more about that."
Aria resisted the urge to hide her face, glad for the drinking that hid her burning cheeks. "I just reacted, that's all."
Benn snorted, a look of disbelief on his face. "Really? That's not what it looked like."
"Was that when we drove off Kaden?" Snake asked, joining them. The crew sitting nearby turned to listen.
Benn nodded. "After I shot at him and she ran, I followed her. I couldn't keep up though." Aria wished she would've seen the aftermath, but all Benn and Shanks knew was Kaden was led away, bleeding but alive.
"I didn't know that was you," Aria said. "I thought it was one of the marines!"
Benn chuckled. "You had your haki signature hidden so well, it took me a little while to find you. I found your cloak stuck to a branch, then tried to figure out where you went, but you had already disappeared. When I used my observation, you were completely gone!"
Shanks' face brightened. "You completely hid your haki signature?"
Aria shrugged. "It's not the first time. I've been able to do that for years now." She paused, thinking. "Probably since Rayleigh rescued me."
It was a few minutes before anyone said anything, then everyone laughed.
Shanks leaned back in his seat, his arm slung behind it. "I want to know more about that later, and you have to teach us! But go on, Benn, how'd you figure out where she went?"
"I just kept heading into the forest," he said with a shrug. "Took me ages to spot the remains of a village, but only one house had enough structure for her to hide without squeezing under the rubble."
Aria blinked. "There was a village? I just saw the one house."
"Because you ran into the backside of it," he teased her lightly. "But I had to hide when a marine came up to the house. He was looking over an old window opening and suddenly he fell back, an arrow neatly pierced through his eye."
Yasopp's brows rose. "Impressive. And the marine never saw you, Aria?"
She shook her head. "No. I let out my haki enough to shoot him, but that was it. I sensed someone else nearby, though I had no idea who, and suppressed it before they could spot me."
Benn took a drag on his cigarette. "Oh, I spotted you alright, and you nearly shot me for it." The nearby crew laughed and Benn gave her a half-hearted glare before turning to Shanks. "If I hadn't been quick enough, you might've been down a man. Maybe for good."
Shanks arched an eyebrow. "She came that close to shooting you?" He was grinning, but Aria didn't miss the concerned look in his eyes.
Aria fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "He gave me a heart attack and I reacted!" she exclaimed almost defensively.
"It was a good instinct," Benn said, nudging her lightly. "Just maybe a little more warning next time."
More laughter.
Yasopp cocked his head. "Maybe you should learn how to use that then. We have a lot of people on the crew who use guns, but an arrow's silent. And your observation haki is as good as Shanks', which is good for ranged weapons like that."
Aria had considered that, but hadn't had a chance to try her hand at it yet. "I wouldn't mind learning something new. But I'll have to get more arrows." She hadn't even thought about bringing the bow at first; she had just wanted to have a weapon at the moment.
"How'd you leave that behind on the ship anyway?" Limejuice asked, joining them.
Aria's brow furrowed, but she shook her head. "I honestly thought I had grabbed it." Weird.
Shanks eyed the bow critically. "I've seen bows used by fighters before, not including those who just hunted. But I've never seen a shortbow used before." He downed the rest of his drink; Aria internally sighed at the fact that he was hardly affected by it. "When the ships ready, we can set up a range for you to practice."
"When will it be ready?" Hongo asked.
Shanks closed his eyes briefly. "Probably in the next day or so. They got a lot of people working on it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was done by tonight." He looked around; most of the senior members of the crew were sitting at the booth now. "I should tell you now that there's enough space that instead of hammocks, the senior members of the crew have their own cabins. Well, there's two singular cabins and a large shared one, then a large space for the rest of the crew."
Yasopp leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "So how are we going to divide them up?"
The corners of Shanks' lips twitched up. "That's between you all. My cabin is at the back of the ship like before, and Roux's been at the shipyard all day helping get the kitchen set up, including a cabin there for him behind it."
Limejuice tapped his fingers on the table. "It would make sense for Aria to have her own cabin honestly."
Aria looked at him, as did the others. "Why? I might've been on the crew almost as long as some of you, but I'm not really one of the senior members." All of them held some sort of command over the lower ranked members of the crew, including her.
Snake gave her a thoughtful look. "Limejuice is right. If for no other reason than the fact you're still the only female aboard the ship. You should have some privacy."
Aria felt touched by this, but she resisted the urge to tell them it didn't matter to her. By this point, she was all but immune to seeing naked men.
"He's right, Aria," Benn murmured. "Plus, it will give you a good place besides the ship's armory to store your weapons."
True, and she would like to keep her bow with her.
"The other one should go to Hongo," Benn said. "That way, if someone gets hurt while the rest of us are sleeping, he doesn't wake everyone."
Aria agreed with this wholeheartedly, having been woken several times by the doctor falling out of his hammock and scrambling towards the surgery in emergencies.
"I might sleep in the surgery though," Hongo said unexpectantly.
Aria listened to them chat about the new layout, but her head pounded and she couldn't focus. It would be a miracle if she could wake up before noon the next day. Shanks occasionally made a comment, but after a while she leaned against Benn when the room spun to the point she felt almost nauseous.
Aria grimaced and leaned her head on Benn's shoulder, vowing to lay off the booze for a while.
Benn's eyes were on her at that, concern etched in his brow. "I don't think I've seen you drink this much in a while. Your head must be killing you."
She nodded weakly.
Shanks chuckled. "Go rest, Aria. We'll fetch you when the ship's ready."
Aria's steps were unsteady as she made her way to her rented room, Benn a silent shadow at her side. "I could've gotten here fine," she retorted, opening the door. The room was simple; a bed, side table, and a small bathroom. Evening light shone through the narrow window-slot at the top of the back wall.
Benn's hum was noncommittal. "Last time you left the bar drunk, you got caught, remember?"
Fair point.
Aria laid down with a groan, her hand over her eyes.
The bed creaked as Benn sat on the end. "Want me to get some water?"
She nodded once and heard him get up. The sink in the little bathroom turned on for a second, then he was back.
"Here." He placed the glass on the table next to her. When she drained it, he asked, "Would you mind if I stayed here for now?"
Aria's body tensed, her sluggish mind struggling to keep up. "Not that I mind, but why?" she asked, her voice dripping with tiredness. Walking up the short flight of steps and down the hall had sapped her energy.
"Because you look like you're about to be sick," he said.
She certainly felt it. "That might be a good idea, then." There was movement, then she jerked as he slid between her and the wall.
"Sorry," he said. She looked over and he was giving her a sheepish smile. "If you want me to move, I can." He was nearly pressed against the wall, watching her, propped up on his arm.
She didn't object, closing her eyes instead, trying to calm her racing thoughts.
Benn's feelings were no secret anymore, though they kept it between themselves, and if she were honest, she felt the same. But aside from occasionally helping her drunken self get back to the ship, or the couple storms where they worked together hauling on the mainline or tying down equipment, he hadn't done anything like this.
Benn had always been careful to give her space, respecting some unspoken boundary. Yet, she found comfort in his presence, and lately, a growing desire for more. For the past week, she had silently wished they would cross the line he seemed so determined to maintain. It wasn't like he didn't want to leave her alone, she could tell that, but more like he was afraid she might change her mind about Shanks. Like she might change her mind about him.
Not that she would.
Aria could feel him watching her, but before he could say anything, she rolled over a bit until she was pressed against his chest. "I don't mind." With one arm around her waist, he smoothly slid the other one under her head, causing her to shift slightly. She made a noise of appreciation as his hand rubbed the small of her back.
They laid like that for several minutes before she felt herself dozing off, only for Benn's voice to wake her. "Aria? Would you mind if I stayed here until the morning?"
She shook her head against his chest, breathing in the scent of ash and tobacco. "Stay." The grip around her waist tightened, but soon she was asleep.