onepieceyaoi100 | (no subject)

Title: Birthday Present
Word Count: 297
Rating: PG-13 for cursing and implications
Pairing: Shanks/Ben
Notes: Apologies if this reads disjointedly. I had to cut it quite a bit to squeak it in under the wire.

Damn his head hurt. Hung over and how the hell had that happened? And,

"What the FUCK!!!!" The shout momentarily scattered the small crowd gathered around the cabin door

"Happy Birthday!" Shanks' voice held more than a hint of manic glee. For a few moments, silence.

"Betcha he's countin'. You know he does that when Shanks pisses him off."

"Or maybe he can't even speak. Remember that time, when his face got all purple and we thought he was chokin' and the cap'n actually let him be for a whole week?"

"Sshhh...I think he's talkin' again."

Indeed, through gritted teeth, Ben avoided yelling.

"Just what...is this thing I'm wearing?"

"It's a birthday present that the boys thought you’d like. I had no part in it.”

"I...see."

Yassop edged back from the door, looking nervously at the others.

"What? What is it?"

"Eyes…burning, staring eyes..."

Back inside…

"So, the whole crew was in on it?"

"Yeah."

"I think it’s time to scrape the hull and certain people have avoided kitchen duty. Now might be a good time to rectify that." He raised his voice, making sure it carried through the door. "And I might resume combat training. I always need…sparring partners. "

"Shit! He's gonna kill us." The disturbed mutterings rose from the crew, only to be eased by Lucky Roo, calmly picking his teeth.

"Nah, he'll act all pissed but he likes it. Think about it. How often does he say he hates Shanks? Only about 300 times a day. And it's not true. The more he protests, the more it means he's pleased. Besides, he ain't yellin' now."

That was true. The faint noises coming from behind the door were not of the angry sort.

Sharing grins and high-fives, the men scattered. Better safe than sorry.