I know I haven't posted many pairing stories, if any, but I gotta say I love me some Shankino! :D This was pretty short, and not as detailed as my usual stuff. I found it in one of my old notebooks, along with a few other one-shots. Consider it a reminder that I'm still alive and an opportunity for me to say the new chapter of Subtlety is almost finished! And only in three months...AMAZING.

Foosha Island was a cheerful little place, where quaint, sea-port town things happened. There were festivals and traditions and even an honored and highly-regarded sake-making tradition.

And, yes, dancing.

Makino, as a rule, did not dance, at festivals or otherwise. She served alcohol. She made people comfortable. She took care of little children whose parents were off having alone-time. She watched the dancing, and laughed, and clapped.

This is why they say pirates turn everything upside-down.

"Maaaaakino!" sang Shanks, weaving and twirling joyfully up to her. Makino smiled indulgently (as she so often did around the man) and held up a flagon of rum. This the pirate captain, interestingly enough, ignored.

Apparently this was about something else. "Yes, Mister Shanks?"

He coughed, sobered a little, and said (only slurring a little), "Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"

She blinked—whatever she'd been expecting, this wasn't it. "Uhm. Mister Shanks, who would serve the drinks?"

"Luffy," said Shanks, and leaned down to haul the little boy up onto a stool. They both stared at Makino with identical expressions of grave expectation.

"Now, really," she said, barely restraining a giggle at their faces, "do you really think Luffy is the best choice?"

"For five minutes?" asked Shanks, and removed his trademark straw hat to reveal his trademark red hair. He pressed it soulfully to his chest and bowed deeply, flourishing his left hand before offering it humbly to her. This was a compelling argument in and of itself-Makino was weak to gallantry—but it was still not quite persuasive enough.

"I…I don't know these dances very well," Makino told him, keeping one eye on Luffy. The boy could fall into trouble within five seconds when unsupervised.

Shanks gave the flashing shoe heels and clapping hands a cursory glance. "Doesn't look too hard to me. One reel's about the same as the next."

"Yes," said Makino, a little bit helplessly, her arguments falling apart in the face of his wall of boundless optimism. "But…have you ever danced a reel before?"

"Maybe once or twice," said Shanks, apparently unconcerned by this. "I may have been drunk."

A minute later, it became apparent that Shanks was perfectly content to make up the dance as he went along. There was a lot more spinning and jigging and jumping up and down in his version, but Makino found that if she relaxed, following his improvised whirling came naturally.

This was somewhat worrying.

But there was no time to worry—each time they clattered past the bar, Luffy's serious, self-important face flashed by, accompanied by a steadily-increasing price for beer, which the child had tacked to the front of the counter. Around them, the tin whistle, two untuned guitars, and some kind of accordion had combined their forces and were beating out a faintly discordant but jaunty tune, while the feet of half the town's population kept the tempo.

Shanks' flapping sandals did the same, albeit with extra beats and a general excess of enthusiasm. Makino laughed and laughed, because it was either that or turn scarlet from the embarrassment of Shanks' natural drunken flamboyancy. All in all, she found it was easier to laugh.

And soon, for no explicable reason except perhaps that Shanks' madness was infectious, everyone was laughing. The dancing was never exactly serious business, but the riotous mood now spreading from wherever Shanks cut a path through the crowd was far beyond anything Makino had ever seen. People twirled and jigged and jumped up and down—they danced so fast, in fact, that the band had to speed up to keep in time.

And by the time they all left, Luffy's selling price was 50,000 beri, which he insisted was completely fair. It had been, Makino decided later, a grand night.

Well, that was sort of pointless and cliche. But it's a lot happier than some of the stuff I've posted, and it was nice to take a break from angst and action. Shanks and Luffy are a great dynamic-I wish we'd gotten more of them, but of course they won't meet again until Luffy's Pirate King. Or something. I think that's how it went. Anyway, more One Piece stuff, a new chapter of Subtlety, and maybe even a Bleach piece are on their way. Here's hoping you enjoy them!