Author's Notes: Hey everybody, this is my first attempt at making a One Piece story, so please go easy on me with the reviews. In fact, this is the first story to be posted on this account in the last couple of years. I still have limited knowledge of the series, so I tried my best to stay true to the characters' personalities. Hopefully I came close for being a new fan. This one-shot is dedicated to an old friend of mine. If it wasn't for her, I would have never given this series a chance and also wouldn't have ever thought to write this. Review me, and I'll try my best to return the favor.

Disclaimer: Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece, not me.

Rating/Warning: Rated T for mild adult situations. Contains shonen-ai.

Summary: Being first mate is a difficult task, but trying to comprehend a pirate like Shanks is next to impossible. One-shot. Ben x Shanks.

Late Night Encounters

- xxx -

Nights like these I was grateful for and never took them for granted. After a stressful week of enemy pirate attacks and babysitting Shanks more often than not, I was presented with an atmosphere best suited to wind myself down and shake off the growing pressure in my skull. Not that I didn't enjoy the ruckus of being a pirate, but being first mate was never an easy task, especially acting like an advisor to a captain like Shanks. Stress clung to me like pirates clung to their treasure, so I would welcome the sound of silence on every rare occasion.

Out on deck, Shanks and the rest of the crew were no doubt sitting together, celebrating with bottles of sake. The night was serene and peaceful, perfect for being out at sea. The moon hung high in the sky, its radiance reflecting against the water's surface like brilliant diamonds waiting to be claimed.

However, I was content sitting below deck in my quarters. Laying out on my bed with one knee drawn up and a book poised leisurely against my chest, it was rather easy for me to relax from there. Rubbing my throbbing forehead for a few moments before placing my arm behind my head, I enjoyed the soft swaying of the ship moving to the rhythm of the waves. I carefully flipped to the next page, and somewhere in mid-paragraph, I heard descending footsteps approaching.

"Oi...oi, Ben," I heard Shanks's voice as he laughed when he nearly lost his footing on the final step. "Why aren't you up there with the rest of us?"

I sighed heavily as I marked the page I was on but did not close the book as I turned my face in his direction. "I just felt like enjoying the peace and quiet tonight."

Shanks' eyes darkened as he sobered up pretty quickly. Dropping an empty bottle of sake at his side, it rolled out of sight under the bed as he walked towards me in meaningful strides. Squinting his eyes slightly at the book on my chest, he reached out for it and carelessly tossed it aside as if it were in his way.

Baffled and secretly annoyed, I sat up to get a better view of him. Shanks just grinned broadly and instead of sitting next to me in the space that I created for him, he surprisingly plopped down right onto my lap, one leg resting on each side of me.

With an escalating confusion, I opened my mouth to speak, but he caught my words as he closed his own mouth over mine, catching me terribly off guard. The heated kiss lasted only for what seemed like a second before he pulled away. Trying to keep my calm nature in check and though my eyes had widened in astonishment, they were clouded over with desire. And then, out of no where, he giggled at me. Giggled!

"Are you in your right mind?" I asked, incredulously.

Not taking offense to my question, he smiled gently and nodded his head. Gazing into his eyes in a calculating manner, I was further surprised to see that he was speaking the truth and showed not one sign of being drunk.

Working up the courage after a few moments of silence, I slowly snaked my arms around my captain's waist and turned us so that he was lying sideways on the bed with my body pressed firmly against his. He tilted his head back against the bed, and when he moved again, it slid off his head and lay forgotten on the sheets. Taking the opportunity, I intertwined my fingers in his red hair, bringing my lips to the flesh of his neck below his jaw line. He sighed contently as I continued down the path of his neck until he grabbed a hold of my face, pulling me back face-to-face with him.

Shanks flashed me his signature grin before raising his head to kiss my lips gently. Rubbing his back in soothing circles, I pushed back briefly before looking at him. "Not that I'm not enjoying this, but may I ask what's the meaning of this?"

"Are you telling me that I know something Mr. Smart Ass doesn't?" he countered, sticking his tongue out at me.

"I...well..."

"No talking," he whispered, and brushed his lips against mine once again to keep me from trying to push the conversation any further. We laid there for a good ten minutes longer, kissing each other soundly. At this point, I didn't even think to drill Shanks with questions. Instead, I simply reveled in the moment. I have to admit that I was sorely disappointed when we were interrupted.

"Oi, Shanks! You're missing all of the fun!" I heard Yasopp yell from above before exploding into a fit of laughter.

We ignored him for the time being. He wrapped his arms around my back, slowly moving his hands around and upwards under my shirt as I caressed his hair with my fingers. I buried my face into the crook of his neck, biting down on the flesh playfully. Shanks laughed quietly in amusement and brought his hands around to my front to glide up my chest. He was slow in his movements, and he stared up at me with a faint glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

"Shanks!" The others joined in afterwards when he did not respond. It wasn't too long a pause before we heard the sound of glass breaking and scattering around the deck floor.

I looked at him, understanding, but he still smiled apologetically before sitting up on my bed. Standing up, I watched as he followed suit and patted my shoulder tenderly before heading to the stairs, mentioning something about trying this again when we were guaranteed to have more privacy.

He glanced over his shoulder and threw me one last grin, not giving me a chance to respond or say anything for that matter.

Turning back around, he walked up the steps in what I believed to be his idea of being mysterious. As he disappeared from sight, I continued to watch the shadows he was creating until I heard his feet make contact with the floorboards of the deck.

I sighed to myself and tried to collect my thoughts as I rubbed the back of my neck. Before I was able to reach any plausible conclusion, I returned my gaze to the stairs as I heard Shanks yell, "Eiiiiy...I forgot my hat!"

Watching the shadows from above moving frantically, I smiled internally, able to picture him waving his arms wildly in the air as if the whole ship were on fire.

"What's it doing down there?" Yasopp asked, confused.

I glanced towards my bed, looking at his hat laying upside down on my sheets as I heard Shanks hurry back down the stairs. Unfortunately, this time he did lose his footing and rolled down the rest of the stairs, landing a few inches away from my feet, any sense of mysteriousness in the air completely eradicated.

"Ehhh..." I heard him groan painfully. He placed his hands down to push himself up off the ground but instead came into contact with the bottle he had dropped earlier. Picking it up, he examined it in the air above him before tilting it upside down. Nothing more than a tear drop of sake escaped from the rim of the bottle, and as it fell onto his shirt, he pouted his lips. "I drank it all..."

Laughing loudly, I ignored all figures that were crowding near the stairs and peering down to see what all the commotion had been. I stepped over my captain to get his hat for him and examined it in mirth, a smirk gradually creeping up one side of my face. That guy...

I knew no matter how smart I was, I would never be able to figure him out.