Chapter Text
Alice leaned against the doorframe of the Halloween party, her shimmering wings catching the soft glow of the string lights overhead. The translucent fabric fluttered faintly as she shifted her weight, her costume earning her teasing smirks and grins from fellow partygoers.
“You really went all out, huh?” her friend teased, leaning beside her with a drink in hand. She rolled her eyes and tugged at the edge of her fairy dress. “Not my first choice, but it suits me, I guess.”
“Oh, it suits you, alright,” he replied with a laugh, gesturing to her smaller frame. “You look like you actually belong in a meadow somewhere, scattering pixie dust.” Alice nudged him with her elbow, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Laugh it up, but maybe I’ll cast a spell to make you shorter. Then we’ll see who’s laughing.”
The two shared an easy laugh, but Alice’s smile faltered slightly as her thoughts drifted. Her friend caught the subtle change in her expression and nudged her back. “Alright, spill it. What’s on your mind?”
She hesitated, glancing down at her hands, before letting out a sigh. “Me and Jake broke up.” Her friend’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, what? When?”
“Last week,” she admitted, crossing her arms. “He wasn’t exactly subtle about why, either.”
“What do you mean?” He gritted out through his teeth. He never had really liked the guy. Alice hesitated, then shrugged, trying to brush it off. “He wanted to… you know. And when I told him I wasn’t ready, he got all moody about it. Said I was being childish and immature. So I told him to take a hike.” Her friend’s expression turned sour, his lip curling in disgust. “Good riddance. What a tool. Seriously, you don’t need that kind of pressure. That guy’s trash.”
Alice let out a small laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing a bit. “Thanks. I guess I needed to hear that.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Anytime. But for real, don’t let some jerk make you feel bad for having boundaries. That’s his problem, not yours.” She nodded, her smile softening. “You’re right. I just… needed to say it out loud.”
“Glad you did,” he said with a grin. “Now, go grab a drink or something. We’re supposed to be having fun.” Alice chuckled, but the party noise was starting to wear on her. “You go ahead. I’m stepping out for some air before I start turning people into frogs.” Her friend laughed. “Fair enough. Just don’t fly off anywhere, Tinkerbell.”
She rolled her eyes as she slipped outside into the crisp October night. The cool air was a welcome relief, and she took a deep breath, savoring the quiet. The sound of muffled music and laughter faded into the background, replaced by the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
But the peace didn’t last long. A stumbling figure emerged from the shadows, weaving his way unsteadily toward her. His eyes were glazed, his words slurred and unintelligible. She instinctively took a step back, unsure whether to engage or simply walk away. “Hey, you good?” she asked cautiously.
Instead of responding, he lunged forward, his hand catching her shoulder as he shoved her roughly. Alice yelped, her balance slipping as she staggered backward. Her heart leapt into her throat as she expected to hit the cold, hard ground, but instead, she kept falling. And falling.
“What the?!” she screamed, her voice breaking into the darkness that had suddenly swallowed her whole. The city lights and sounds vanished, replaced by an endless void that seemed to pull her faster and faster. Panic gripped her chest as she flailed, the world spinning into chaos around her.
“Are you kidding me?!” she shrieked, her mind scrambling for an explanation as the sensation of weightlessness overtook her. Her fabric wings fluttered wildly against the rushing air doing nothing to slow her descent. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for whatever was at the end of this impossible fall.
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Out on the open sea, the usual cheer of the Pirates on the Red Force felt muted. The sun hung lazily overhead, glinting off the calm waves, but their captain, Shanks, leaned against the railing with a scowl that could sink a ship.
“Captain’s in a mood,” one of the crew muttered under his breath, giving Shanks a wide berth. Another nodded, keeping his voice low. “Yeah, you don’t want to get caught in it when he’s like this. Remember the last time someone tried to cheer him up? Poor guy spent three days cleaning the latrines.”
“Maybe what the captain needs is a good brawl,” someone whispered with a hopeful grin. “Or a pretty woman to warm his bed,” another joked, earning stifled chuckles.
Overhearing their antics, Shanks turned his head, glaring at the lot of them. “Oh, sure,” he said dryly, sweeping his arm toward the horizon. “Because a woman’s just going to fall out of the sky and into my arms to cure my mood, right?”
The crew burst into laughter at his sarcasm, and Shanks rolled his eyes, grabbing a bottle of rum. He barely had a chance to take a swig before the wind shifted oddly, drawing everyone’s attention.
The air grew eerily still for a moment, then whipped around the ship as if caught in a storm. The crew scrambled to steady themselves, shouting as the sky above began to warp. A strange slit appeared among the clouds, growing wider, darker, until it looked like the heavens themselves were opening.
“What the hell is that?” one of the crew members shouted, shielding his eyes. Shanks narrowed his gaze, scanning the phenomenon. Amid the swirling air and light, a figure began to take shape, a silhouette plummeting fast.
“Captain! It’s… it’s a person!” He didn’t wait for the crew member to finish. His instincts kicked in, and with a burst of speed, he darted toward the center of the deck, positioning himself beneath the falling figure. At the last moment, he caught the figure, staggering back slightly under the force but keeping his grip steady.
The crew stood frozen, their eyes wide as they watched their captain cradle what appeared to be a small woman. Shanks glanced down, taking in the delicate figure in his arms.
The woman blinked up at him, her vivid blue eyes filled with confusion and shock. Her golden blonde hair tumbled in soft waves around her face, framing her pointed ears. But what drew everyone’s attention were the shimmering, translucent wings that unfurled slightly behind her, glittering as though dusted with starlight.
“Wings…” someone muttered, dumbfounded. “She has wings,” another whispered, and the murmurs of disbelief spread through the crew like wildfire.
Shanks’s smirk grew, amused by their reactions. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, his voice low and teasing as he met the woman’s wide eyed stare. “Guess I wasn’t entirely wrong about fate dropping a woman into my arms.”
Alice’s brow furrowed, and then she snorted, the sound cutting through the tense silence. “These wings? Oh, please, they are just fabric,” she said, rolling her eyes.
The man holding her, Shanks, she would later learn, arched an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching upward in amusement. “Oh, they’re not fabric, they are very much real, sweetheart.”
“Yeah, right,” she scoffed, her laughter bubbling up. “I’m in a Halloween costume, for crying out loud. Glittery fabric wings come with the package.” She reached over her shoulder to tug at one of them, fully expecting to feel the flimsy material of her costume prop. Instead, she felt something soft, warm, and very much alive. Her laughter died instantly. She froze, her hand hovering over her shoulder as she slowly moved it again, brushing against the delicate, almost velvety texture of her wings.
“What the...” Her voice cracked, and her eyes darted to the crew, then back to Shanks. Her heart began to race as she flexed the unfamiliar muscles, and to her utter horror, the wings moved. “Oh my god, they’re real?! What. How. Why?!” Her voice rose with each question as her panic set in.
Shanks chuckled, clearly enjoying her spiraling confusion. “Told you,” he said lightly, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
“Let me down!” she demanded, trying to wriggle free from his arms. “This has to be a dream. Or a prank. Or...” She twisted awkwardly, craning her neck to get a better look at her wings. The translucent, glittering appendages shimmered under the sunlight, fluttering slightly as though they had a mind of their own. “Oh god, they’re attached to me!”
“You don’t say,” Shanks teased, his smirk growing wider. Alice glared up at him, frustration mingling with her disbelief. “Let me go! I need... I need to figure out what’s going on!”
“Nope,” Shanks replied casually, tightening his grip as she squirmed. “Can’t have you fluttering off into the ocean, now, can we?”
“I’m not going to, ugh! Just let me...” She huffed, her panic giving way to sheer frustration. With a growl of determination, she leaned forward and bit down on his shoulder.
The crew collectively gasped, their eyes as wide as dinner plates at the womans audacity to bite their captain. Shanks winced but instead of getting mad, he immediately burst into laughter, the deep, hearty sound carrying over the ship. “Feisty, huh?” he said, looking down at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. “You think that’s going to make me let go?”
“It should!” she shot back, glaring at him, though her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“It doesn’t,” he said simply, smirking as he shifted her slightly in his arms.
Alice slumped, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “This can’t be happening,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. She glanced again at her wings, the shimmer of them catching the sunlight and sending tiny rainbows dancing across the deck.
Benn crossed his arms, fixing Shanks with a long, unimpressed look. “You’re enjoying this way too much, Captain.” He felt a little bad for the small thing, as he could see the clear panic and uncertainty on her face.
Alice, still in disbelief, groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I fell out of the sky into the arms of a lunatic,” she mumbled. “And now I have wings. Glittery wings. What even is my life?”
“An exciting one,” Shanks said with a chuckle, his hand coming to rest on her lower back. “Relax, sweetheart. I won't let anything bad happen to you here.”
Her head shot up, her glare sharp. “That’s the problem! I don’t even know how I got here! Or why I have these!” She gestured wildly toward her wings, her tone bordering on hysteria.
Shanks’s grin softened, his voice dropping to a gentle murmur. “Hey. You’re safe, alright? Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out.” Something in his tone, steady, reassuring, eased the worst of her panic. She stared at him, her breath evening out as she reluctantly leaned back against his chest.
The crew exchanged looks, some whispering under their breath, others nudging each other and grinning. It wasn’t every day their captain literally caught a woman falling from the sky. And now she had wings? This was shaping up to be the strangest day of their lives, and, for Shanks, possibly the best.
Shanks leaned back slightly, the mischievous grin still firmly in place as he gazed down at the bewildered woman in his arms. Her shimmering wings shifted slightly, catching the light like they had a life of their own, but it was her face, so full of confusion and defiance, that truly captivated him. He softened his grin, deciding to take a more charming approach.
“So,” he began, his tone conversational, “what’s your name, sweetheart?” She blinked at him, her lips parting as if to speak, but no sound came out. The absurdity of her situation, the falling from the sky, finding herself in the arms of an unknown man, with wings she didn’t have before, had rendered her completely overwhelmed.
“I’m Shanks,” he continued, unfazed by her silence. “And since you’ve landed yourself in my care, let me introduce you to my crew.” Before she could protest, he shifted her effortlessly into one arm, his other hand free to gesture at the men surrounding them. His strength was undeniable, holding her as though she weighed nothing, and she couldn’t help but feel both awed and unnerved by it.
“That’s Benn Beckman, my first mate,” Shanks said, pointing at the tall man with a ponytail of long black hair standing off to the side, a cigarette dangling casually from his lips. His calm, calculating demeanor stood in stark contrast to Shanks’ boisterous energy.
Shanks continued, his finger moving from person to person. “That’s Hongo, our ship doctor. Lucky Roux, the one with the appetite of an army. Yassop, our sharpshooter. Limejuice, Bonk Punch, and oh, that’s Monster.” He pointed at the small monkey perched on Bonk Punch’s shoulder, who gave an enthusiastic squeak in response.
Alice’s head swiveled as she tried to keep up with the whirlwind of introductions, each name adding to the chaotic swirl of her emotions. She felt overwhelmed, almost like she might cry. The weight of everything crashing down on her at once. Her life had gone from a mundane Halloween party to glittering fully functioning wings and a strange group of men that were very obviously armed as she caught sight of pistols and swords, and now here she was, cradled in the arm of a man with an unrelenting grin and an almost overbearing charisma.
Shanks noticed her expression shifting. He noticed the widening of her eyes as she took in his crew and noticing the weapons. Tilting his head, his grin softening into something more playful. “You look like you’re ready to bolt, sweetheart,” he teased, his voice low and full of amusement.
Alice barely heard him. She wasn’t focused on his voice or his words, she was focused on the sheer weight of his presence. As much as she could appreciate the display of strength and the warmth of his arm around her, it was too much. She needed safety, a moment to think, somewhere calm where her racing thoughts could settle.
Her eyes scanned the faces of the crew, all of them lively, loud, and distinctly larger than life. Then her gaze landed back on Benn. The man had barely moved, his calm, steady demeanor a stark contrast to the chaos around him. He seemed like a rock in a storm, an anchor amidst the madness. Without even thinking, her instincts took over.
She lifted her arms toward Benn like a child reaching for a trusted guardian, her wide, tear bright eyes pleading with him in a way that spoke volumes without words.
Benn froze, his cigarette pausing mid air as he looked at her. The sheer vulnerability in her gaze was enough to stir something protective deep in his chest, though he wasn’t quite sure why. His instincts kicked in before his mind could catch up, and he reached out, his strong arms gently lifting her from Shanks’s grasp.
Alice immediately buried her face into Benn’s neck, her trembling form pressing into his solid frame. The steady, faint scent of tobacco, spices and sea salt filled her senses, grounding her in a way that made her finally feel safe enough to relax.
The entire deck fell into stunned silence. Shanks stood there, blinking at the sudden turn of events, his now empty arms hanging uselessly at his sides. He looked at Benn, who cradled Alice like she was something precious and fragile, and then back at his crew, who were just as wide eyed as he was.
Then, as if a dam had broken, the deck erupted into chaos. Shanks threw his head back and let out a loud, theatrical groan, raising his arms in mock despair. “Mutiny! Mutiny on my own ship!” The crew burst into laughter, unable to contain themselves at their captain’s exaggerated reaction. Benn, for his part, remained calm, his hold on Alice steady as she melted further into his embrace.
“You’re being dramatic,” Benn said, his tone dry but with a hint of amusement as he glanced at Shanks. “Dramatic?!” Shanks shot back, pointing a finger at him. “I save her from falling to her death, and this is the thanks I get? She abandons me for you?”
The crew howled with laughter again, and even Benn allowed himself a small, rare smirk. Shanks crossed his arms, clearly playing up his mock offense, but the glimmer of amusement in his eyes betrayed him.
“Well,” Shanks said, leaning casually against the railing, “I suppose I can’t blame you. Benn does have that whole ‘strong, silent type’ thing going for him.” Alice huffed softly, finally letting herself smile just a little. For the first time since she’d fallen into this madness, she felt like maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay.
Alice remained tucked against Benn’s neck, her breathing finally starting to even out as the laughter and banter of the crew faded into the background. Benn’s steady presence grounded her. For the first time, she felt like she could catch her breath. “My name…” she began softly, her voice barely above a whisper, “it’s Alice.”
Shanks, still leaning against the railing, caught the softly spoken words, and his grin spread wide, like a kid discovering buried treasure. “Alice,” he repeated, savoring the sound like it was some rare delicacy. “What a pretty name.” His voice carried a warmth that made her cheeks flush, though she didn’t dare lift her head to meet his gaze. She wasn’t ready to handle the weight of his personality again, not yet.
Shanks tilted his head, watching her with a mixture of fascination and satisfaction. He noticed the way her small frame seemed to relax more and more in Benn’s arms, the way her grip on his first mate’s shirt loosened slightly as she began to feel safer. It stung a little that she hadn’t found that same sense of security in him, but the smirk that tugged at his lips revealed he didn’t mind too much.
If she’s seeking refuge with Benn, he mused to himself, then she’s still mine in a way. She chose my crew. That counts for something. His eyes softened when he caught sight of the exhaustion etched into her face. The adrenaline had drained her, and now she looked ready to drop. Shanks straightened up, letting out a soft sigh. He’d had his fun, holding her, teasing her, hearing her name, but it was clear she needed more than his antics right now.
“Alright,” he said, his voice louder now, taking on the commanding tone of a captain. “Hongo.” The crew’s doctor perked up, glancing over from where he’d been watching with an amused smirk. Shanks tilted his head toward the galley. “Prepare something warm. Tea, soup, whatever you’ve got that’ll help her settle.” Hongo nodded, already moving to fulfill the request.
Then Shanks turned his attention to Benn, who hadn’t moved an inch, still cradling Alice like she weighed nothing. “Benn,” Shanks said, his tone carrying a subtle undercurrent of authority, “take her inside. I want to know what’s going on.”
Benn met Shanks’s gaze, understanding the unspoken message. Shanks didn’t believe Alice was a threat, but her arrival, falling from the sky with those glittering wings, wasn’t something they could ignore. As captain, it was Shanks’s responsibility to ensure the crew’s safety, and that meant getting answers.
Benn adjusted his hold on Alice slightly, making sure she was comfortable. “Got it,” he replied simply, his voice calm and steady.
Shanks watched them for a moment longer, his grin softening into something more thoughtful. Whatever had brought Alice to them, it was clear she wasn’t here by choice. She was scared, overwhelmed, and lost. As much as Shanks enjoyed teasing her, he knew better than to push her further. Still, he couldn’t help but smirk again as he murmured her name under his breath, savoring it one more time. Alice. A strange girl with wings, plummeting into his life from the heavens. Fate had a funny way of surprising him.