Hey!
First of all, I'm a non-native English speaker, so there might be some mistakes!
I wanted to write about Buggy and Shanks getting into an argument so I did it, hope you'll enjoy it!
Anyone across the seas, be it sailors or people ashore, knew of the saying "The calm before the storm." Be it figuratively or not, everyone sailing in this world, especially on a pirate ship, had already experienced that moment when the time seemed to slow and almost stop, a fleeting moment where everything was at hold, right before something, possibly anything, struck.
It was a saying particularly liked and used by pirates, its meaning often stripped from its figurative sense when they were facing a literal storm. The saying often passed through their heads on days where the air seemed to change, filling with an indefinable smell, and where the sky seemed to be only composed of clouds. Any self-respecting navigator could detect these upcoming storms miles away before any other crewmate.
Yet, the figurative way of the saying was not completely unknown to the sailors and pirates either. If navigators could feel a storm coming, Haki users sure were always the ones able to catch the presence of an enemy ship nearby. Always proceeding to warn their crewmates, leading them to then await the certainly upcoming battle, the whole crew vibrating with excitement, waiting, on standby, ready to strike at their captain's signal.
Yes, the calm before the storm was something everyone having something directly or indirectly to do with the sea was used to hearing. However, there was another saying that fewer people knew about, for there rarely was any survivors from it to recall its outbreaks. Something as simple as a change of word in a widely known saying, whose meaning yet seemed to change entirely.
The calm after the storm. The aftermath of the actual Calm before the storm, a state of utter shock, stunned in silence, after having witnessed something akin to a storm, and having survived it. It was often used by old pirates trying to warn the new recruits about not letting their expectations for the "storm" get over their heads. Because the higher the stakes were, from higher the fall would happen once the sky cleared and revealed only death and devastation.
Such words applied to the pirate world beautifully, because nothing was calmer and more silent than the aftermath of a fight on the deck of a ship littered with dead bodies and dazed crewmates staring into the void.
Roger had already experienced the calm after the storm a few times. He knew it. Yet, it had always been after a particularly tough fight where they'd lost crewmates. This one, however, was a first.
It was the first time that the entirety of the Oro Jackson's crew was astounded and rooted to the spot because of an argument.
Maybe it was because of the identity of the two people involved, or because of the very nature of the argument, but the fact remained that for a couple of minutes, no one on the gigantic ship seemed to know what to do, too afraid to move and somehow make things worse.
Buggy and Shanks had already gotten into fights multiple times. Well, they argued at least three times a day, if not even more. It wasn't their first verbal fight. However, and it seemed to be everyone else's opinion on the ship, it had never been this violent. They'd already fought to the point of bleeding, but it was surely the first time that none of them had raised a hand, only throwing spiteful glares and vicious words to each other. It was to wonder where they'd learned it. Sure, pirates were known to be crude and shameless, but this was no vocabulary a man on Roger's ship could say freely.
Buggy, usually always too lively and running around on the ship, simply turned away, slowly walking in the direction of the men's cabins. Seeing that the other boy was probably going to hide again in their shared room, the red-head boy threw his arms up in frustration, soon deciding to walk away as well but in the opposite direction. His gait, fast and focused, contrasted with Buggy's shuffling. It was clear that he was going to the training room.
Roger, all shocked as he was, wondered which one he was supposed to go and see first. Usually, the boys didn't need anyone else to patch things up. They always ended up clearing things by talking together, even though they didn't want to. Sharing a room probably sped things up.
Yet this time the Captain doubted that their usual laissez-faire policy would be enough. So the question wasn't really "should I go and talk to them" but more "What am I supposed to say, and to whom should I go first?"
Next to him, most of his men had started moving again, still slightly affected by the scene they'd witnessed, but already getting their joyful spirit back. On the surface, at least.
Roger sighed, sitting down on the closest step, rubbing his forehead with one hand. That was messy. He liked the boys, but he wasn't good at deescalating situations when emotions were involved. He could stop a battle by a simple word, root on the spot powerful opponents with just a glare. Hell, Roger could probably restore peace in a country at war for centuries with a few of his smiles, but when it came to these two boys, neither his attitude, his smiles, nor his words, could make them stop if they were started up.
He didn't open his closed eyes when someone walked to him, stopping nearby, leaning on the railing. Instead, he simply pricked up his ears, ready to listen to any advice the man could give him.
'Don't expect me to hand you the answer on a plate, I have no idea how to deal with that either, Roger', simply said Rayleigh.
Roger snorted, not really surprised to see that his first mate had talked just as if he'd read his thoughts. His snort turned into a sigh as his thoughts caught up with the situation again.
'At least tell me what you'd do?', he asked, curious.
Rayleigh turned towards him, his back now to the guardrail, his hand coming to scrub his chin. He threw his head back before answering, 'I think we should let them sulk on their own, that's what we always do.'
It wasn't really a stupid idea, both Shanks and Buggy needed to calm down and take a steps back from what each had just said to the other. The problem was that Roger felt like he needed to put an end to the kids' train of thoughts, because this time it was more harmful than usual.
Rayleigh could read the hesitation in his Captain's posture. It wasn't hard to understand it, because he felt the same. Leaving them alone seemed like the good thing to do, but since the argument had been more violent than usual, he felt bad for letting both kids dwell in anger alone.
'Maybe I can go to one and you can go to the other?' Roger suggested.
But already, Rayleigh was shaking his head. 'As much as I'd love to, you know they only listen to you when they're like this. Try as I might, you're both the scariest and coolest in their eyes, so you're in the best position to handle this.'
The captain sighed when he heard the truth he already knew. He was alone on this one, it seemed.
He got up from his spot, grunting. The sun had already started its descent, and it would probably take up the whole night to sort everything out. He walked past Rayleigh, deciding to head on for the men's cabins after consideration. Shanks could stay an hour alone with a biased view on the situation without much harm, but Buggy couldn't possibly spend this time in a room self-consciously reflecting on his supposed weakness. The captain could feel Rayleigh's watchful gaze at the base of his neck, worry and expectation obvious in his posture, but he decided to ignore it. He'd do the best he could.
His first choice of place to check up on was the boy's own bedroom, though there was little chance that Buggy had decided to shut himself away there. Indeed, when Roger pushed the door open without much difficulty, he was welcomed by the sight of undone beds and piles of books and weapons, but no little boy. He checked under the beds and behind the pile of clothes for good measure.
Once he was sure that there definitely was no blue-haired boy hiding in the room, he walked back into the corridor, closing the door behind him, leaving the room just like he'd found it.
He hesitantly walked into the room Blumarine shared with two other men, his nose scrunching up at the stale smell emanating from it. He knew that Buggy had taken a liking to the weird man's antics, but Roger thought that even in friendship, there were limits that couldn't be crossed. Honestly, even if Buggy had tried to hide into the room, Roger wasn't sure he would have stood it long enough for Roger to possibly find him inside. He closed the door with a retching, and quickly walked away.
There weren't many options left after that. Roger looked inside Crocus and Gaban's shared room just to be sure, but he didn't spot any blue-hair sticking out of the covers of the two beds. Without much surprise, there were only two possible "hideouts'' left for Buggy, Rayleigh's cabin, and Roger's own at the end of the corridor.
It wasn't that Roger doubted Buggy's affection towards his own vice-captain, but Roger had the feeling that Buggy would more easily choose the captain's cabin. Maybe it was because he wanted to be left alone, and Roger only ever walked into his room to sleep, if he hadn't stumbled into someone else's bed on his way back. Maybe it was because, on the contrary, he knew that someone would be looking for him after the argument, and that by going into Roger's room, he indirectly accepted the unavoidable talk he'd have to have with the room's owner.
In any case, Roger made a beeline for his room, confident that he'd find the blue-haired boy there.
Still, he knocked on the door, twice, after the first time didn't get him a reaction. There were little chances the boy would answer, but at least he'd have a few seconds to compose himself before Roger stepped into the room.
The Oro Jackson's captain sighed before slowly pushing the door open. It cracked, like every door on this ship did, and Roger realised that the room was plunged into darkness. He couldn't quite remember if he had slept in his room the previous night, and if he'd been the one to close the curtains, or if Buggy had.
Slowly, he stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him, and was about to walk to the bed, before deciding that the room was way too dark for him to walk into it without seeing where he was stepping. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally step on the boy.
Softly, he asked, 'Buggy? You're here, boy?'.
At first, he didn't get an answer, but it didn't deter him. He asked again, knowing that Buggy would answer at some point.
'Buggy? Come on, show yourself, kid', he said, trying to keep his voice down.
He heard the ruffling of sheets in the direction of his bed, quickly followed by mumbled words Roger didn't quite get. He stepped closer to the bed, sitting on the closest edge. Absent-mindedly, his hand reached for his pearl necklace, courtesy of his two cabin boys, made of golden pearls coming from Buggy's very first treasure chest he found. It was heavy around his neck, weighing on him during battles, but Roger liked it. It looked hick and old-fashioned, according to Rayleigh, but it suited him well.
The pearls rolled under his calloused fingertips, the motion helping him collect his mind. He needed to choose his words carefully. It was an aspect of fatherhood he had not predicted, having to think before speaking. It had been easy during the boys' younger years, the only restraint being holding back insults as much as he could.
Now it wasn't the same. They were at the age where they absorbed everything around them, especially negativity. Arguments between Buggy and Shanks were growing closer, and were getting worse. Today's fight was just another example of it.
'Shanks was wrong', Roger settled on saying first.
On the other end of the bed, the lump under the covers huffed.
Roger saw this as his cue to continue. At least Buggy was listening.
'I know his words matter to you -'
'They don't', Buggy answered tit for tat, barely concealing his sniffling.
Of course he was crying.
Roger didn't sigh, nor did he try to contradict the boy. It would be of no use, if he wanted to get his point across, he had to keep talking.
'Because you're constantly together, and even if you try to deny it, you two are very close. You're family, and it is normal that Shanks' words hurt more than those of a stranger.'
He paused. There was no attempt at interrupting him, it was great. Better than previous times.
'But it's not because Shanks said it that it has to be true. I don't know what went through his head – it was false, Roger, just like Rayleigh, understood Shanks' train of thoughts, and dreaded it, even, sometimes – but that was bullshit. You're strong enough to be on this ship, Buggy, remember that'.
Once again, there was only silence in the room once he stopped talking, and Roger wanted to make sure that Buggy understood and accepted that.
'You understand that, Buggy?'
The sheets moved on the bed, and though Roger didn't see it, he sensed that Buggy had stuck his head out.
'I know I can stay on the ship, but I don't wanna fight anymore'. the boy finally said.
'You don't want to fight anymore?' Roger asked.
'No'.
'Is it your heart talking right now, Buggy, or is it your fear? Do you really think Shanks was right?'
Buggy seemed to hesitate, his answer coming later. 'I don't want to stay on this ship anymore'.
That, Roger had not expected. The words were like a slap in the face, and the little smile on his face vanished in an instant.
'That's some statement you got here, fella'. He paused, forcing himself to calm down before getting too angry. 'Why would you go to such extremes, Buggy?'
Buggy sniffled, taking his sweet time to answer, oblivious to Roger's internal turmoil. 'I don't wanna have to hide in the library every time the ship gets attacked when Shanks has the right to fight with you on the deck.' He finally said.
Roger frowned. 'Who said you had to hide when we fought?' he asked, trying to be as neutral as possible.
Buggy sounded sheepish as he answered. 'Shanks did,' he said, and Roger clucked his tongue without thinking, barely missing the end of Buggy's sentence 'the new crewmates said it too.'
If Roger wasn't surprised by the mention of Shanks' name, the addition was more unexpected. Buggy was in all likelihood talking about the latest recruits in the crew, a group of three young men he'd welcomed aboard after they'd shared a drink at a pub on an island a few weeks ago.
He hadn't paid it much mind at the time, though Rayleigh had disapproved of it, claiming that they couldn't possibly accept random people on the Oro Jackson anymore with the status they had now. Roger had brushed it away, claiming that, in any case, if enemies wanted to attack them from the inside, they could still try, and that they wouldn't be disappointed by the reception. He had not thought about the impact it could actually have outside of the "getting attacked" aspect. He would deal with this the moment things with Buggy and Shanks would be settled.
'What did they say?' he asked, curious but not sure he really wanted to hear it.
'They said that cleaners should not mix with real pirates, and that I should not get in their way.'
'Buggy, look at me.' Roger said, not sounding like a question, but not really like an order either.
The boy seemed to hesitate before he moved under the sheets, getting closer to Roger, head slightly tilted so that he was still under the covers, but his eyes could meet Roger's. The man turned to face him properly.
He wanted to put a hand on his shoulders, but he couldn't really see them, so he put a hand on his head instead, ruffling Buggy's blue hair lightly. The boy usually grunted and shoved him away when he did it, but today it seems like Buggy was too tired to actually reject his affection.
'Son, you're a pirate too. I know we call you cabin boys here but you and Shanks are both and just as equally pirates as any of us.' Buggy's eyes lit up, and Roger wasn't sure whether it came from his statement or from the fact that he'd used the word Son. He rarely used it, but he guessed that Newgate's habits had grown on him somehow. If there was anyone Roger could call son on this ship, it was Buggy and Shanks, anyway.
'You're a pirate just like me, and way much more than these three dimwits, okay?'
Buggy wiped his running nose with his left sleeve and nodded.
Roger smiled and straightened up. 'Alright boy, what if I told you that today you were allowed in Rayleigh's quarter, huh?' Buggy's eyes widened as he nodded vigorously. 'Aight, I'll let you storm his library and tell him to join you to talk about it, sounds great?'
Buggy responded with an excited 'Yeah!' as he finally climbed out of bed, fishing his beanie from under the blanket. Once he was ready, Roger scooped him up in his arms immediately heading for Rayleigh's room. The man's quarters were linked to his by a door no one really knew about except for the kids and Crocus. It was never locked. He dropped Buggy in front of the library, pushing the sliding ladder towards him and watching him jump on it to grab a book.
Once he was sure that he wasn't going to fall from the ladder, and that he wasn't going to ruin the books, Roger left the room, closing the door behind him softly. He didn't need to go too far to find Rayleigh, the man standing on the other side of the corridor, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, visibly waiting for him.
Roger crossed the hallway in a few strides, rubbing the back of his head as he said unapologetically 'Sorry, I dropped Buggy off in your room. He needed it, I think. You're alright with it for once, right?'
To which Rayleigh couldn't possibly say no. He agreed, heading for his room as Roger watched him leave, apprehensive about the discussion to come. He knew that recomforting Buggy would be easier than deconstructing Shanks' false ideas of Buggy's role on the ship.
Most of his men were still on the deck, cleaning out the remnants of the earlier confrontation with the marines. He nodded to some of them as he headed for the training room. He wasn't surprised to note that there was no one around here. Shanks' grunts reached his ears when he neared the room, resonating alone in the big and empty training room.
Roger stood on the threshold and watched Shanks wave a sword with both hands. He could see the strain in the boy's shoulders as he tried to wield a weapon too heavy for him. He sighed as he stepped inside the room.
'You're not holding it properly' he said, watching as Shanks startled and let go of the sword, the weapon falling soundlessly on the mat.
'How should it be held, then?' The boy asked, already crouching to grab it.
'Don't,' Roger started, putting a hand on Shanks' left shoulder to stop him. 'I'm not here to teach you that, drop it.'
A flash of annoyance passed on the boy's face before he composed himself again. Roger chose to ignore it, making a beeline for the benches in the corner of the room. Shanks followed him silently, sitting on the floor when Roger sat on the wooden bench.
The boy looked at him, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Roger could still see the aftermath of the battle and his fight with Buggy in the way the boy's frame was hunched up on himself, the straw hat on his head almost concealing his eyes.
Deciding not to beat around the bush like he'd done with Buggy, and not really wanting to sugarcoat the discussion with the red-hair anyway, Roger started talking. 'Why did you say that to Buggy, Shanks?'
The boy sighed and rolled his eyes. 'Really? You're here for that?'
Roger didn't say anything, simply watching the boy's reaction.
'I said it because I mean it, I don't like lying. He's a hindrance when he's on the battlefield.'
Roger stood up, grabbing the discarded sword from earlier. He gestured to Shanks to get up, which the boy did. No sooner had he stood up that Roger tripped him up.
Shanks stood back up immediately, ready to fight back. Roger didn't leave him the time to retaliate. He used the handle of the sword to push him in the ribs, making the boy stumble backward.
Shanks held his side as he looked up, scrunching his eyes up to look at Roger's face. 'What the fuck Captain?'
'You didn't stop the blow. You'd be a hindrance in the battlefield too, you know?' A flash of hurt crossed Shanks' face, and Roger would have almost felt like apologising if he didn't have Buggy's face in mind after hearing Shanks' words. If the boy wanted to act like a dick with his friend, then Roger wasn't going to go easy on him.
'But I know how to fight!' Shanks exclaimed, tapping his foot on the ground.
Roger tutted and straightened up. 'You don't know how to fight, I'm teaching you how to fight, there's a difference. You're learning, just like Buggy is. Each of you has a different learning process, and different speed, and that's normal, that's how things are.' He explained, with pedagogy, just like Rayleigh would.
Shanks didn't seem satisfied by the answer, he shook his head, visibly upset. His tone had raised. 'Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! I can go up against a guy on my own if we're attacked, Buggy can't!
Roger leaned his back against the closest wall, crossing his arms. 'Buggy's less skilled than you when it comes to fighting against pirates hand-to-hand, right,' Roger started, Shanks nodding to agree. 'But does that give you the right to talk to him the way you did?' he asked seriously.
He knew that he looked angry right now, and it was good because he was angry. He knew Shanks wouldn't be scared by it, they were way past this point, but still. He didn't miss the way Shanks almost stepped back.
The boy curled his lips in annoyance, looking away. 'He doesn't want to listen to me otherwise. He almost got chopped up earlier, you saw it!'
Roger sighed. 'Buggy can't get chopped up, Shanks, you know it. Actually, you're the one most likely to get chopped up in a fight, if anything, you're the one who should hide in the library.'
Shanks looked even more pissed than before. 'Why do you pretend not to understand?' He sounded upset.
'Shanks, you realise the words you said to Buggy? You realise the impact it has on him, to hear his best friend constantly belittling him and calling him weak and a hindrance?'
Shanks let out a stifled huff and turned around, running towards the door. Roger grabbed his arm before he could run away, holding him back as the boy struggled to get free.
'Let me go!' He yelled, face red with anger and embarrassment.
'Shanks, why do you say this to him?' Roger asked.
Shanks seemed to want to ignore the question, but he gave in, a sob finally escaping him as he slumped in Roger's grip.
'Because he's too weak to fight alone,' he started, 'and because I'm too weak to protect him if anything happens.' he added, voice barely over a whisper.
Roger stared as fat tears rolled down the boy's cheeks. He's been keeping it to himself for a long time, huh? Sobs shook his shoulders and Roger gently loosened his grip, letting the boy fall to his knees, hands coming to rub against his eyes.
Roger sat on the mat next to Shanks, he draped an arm over his shoulders and pushed him against his side, the boy immediately snuggling against him.
'You stubborn boy.' Roger was relieved. He knew that he had raised his boys better than that, but hearing Shanks tear down Buggy in the past few weeks had made him doubt his educational methods.
The boy spent most of his free time with him, so it wasn't really a surprise to see that Shanks had inherited his inability to discuss his feelings. It wasn't that Roger didn't express himself, he did, he was never one to hide it when something made him happy or angry, but it was different when it came to deeper emotions. He could never fully express the extent of his affection, preferring to show it through gestures instead.
Rayleigh was different in this regard. Between the two of them, he was the adult, the one always able to put the feelings Roger had but couldn't name into words. He understood Roger, too, how it wasn't unwillingly that Roger didn't express his feelings. It was draining, Roger could see it in the way Rayleigh locked himself up sometimes after some particularly rough discussions they had.
Roger wasn't sure if it was because they both rubbed off on the boy that spent the most time with them, or if it simply was because it was their normal disposition anyway, but it was a thing he had been noticing lately.
Still, Roger didn't want Shanks to be in the same situation as him, relying on Rayleigh to understand him when he couldn't express himself properly. He wanted the boy to feel comfortable enough to voice his emotions and his fears freely. Buggy didn't have to be the victim of his inability to be honest.
Roger sighed, rubbing Shank's arm comfortingly. 'It's not your role to protect Buggy, Shanks.' He raised a finger when Shanks seemed about to answer. 'Have you ever been hurt in a fight against another crew?'
Shanks seemed to think for a minute before he shook his head.
'That, my boy, is because I never let you two out of my sight, and so does Rayleigh. We're letting you and Buggy take part in them because you're a part of this crew too, but were we not here, you would have certainly been scrapped more than once.' Roger admitted.
Shanks looked positively outraged, visibly unaware of what had been going on behind his back during multiple showdowns.
'Really?' he asked.
'Would I lie?' Roger asked, to which Shanks couldn't really counter, the boy knew Roger never did. On the contrary, Roger was a brutally honest man. He was too much even, sometimes, when he refused to hide things to the boys even though Rayleigh had asked him to conceal it. He hated to lie.
Roger felt Shanks slump in his arms as the dam broke and his tears began to flow. Finally all the tension seemed to leave him, the boy realising that the weight he thought he carried on his shoulders was actually not his. It came with the realisation, too, that he'd said those awful words to Buggy for real, and that he'd been wrong all along.
Roger thought that Buggy would probably accept Shanks' apologies, but the man now worried about Shanks' ability to forgive himself.
He let the boy let his emotions out, sometimes murmuring an encouraging word to his ear and shaking his shoulders gently. He waited until the weeping stopped, and then he stood up.
Shanks looked at him as he wiped his stuffy nose with his sleeve standing up at his side, eyes a little bit more bright than before. He looked determined now. They had someone to find.
'What are you going to do, then?' Roger asked.
Shanks pressed his lips together in a thin line. 'Find Buggy' he said after a while.
Roger didn't nod, he barely shrugged as Shanks kept looking at him. The boy needed to take the decision on his own, Roger didn't want to encourage him.
Not deterred by his captain's reaction, Shanks set off steadily. Roger held back his smile as he watched the boy leave, sure of himself on where to go.
The boy headed straight to the bedrooms' corridor, certain, just like Roger had been earlier, of where Buggy would be. The captain followed, way too curious not to pry.
Shanks ignored him, automatically walking to Rayleigh's room. He undoubtedly knocked on the door, and stood straight when Rayleigh opened it.
The man asked 'Shanks, you wanted something?' to which the boy answered 'I want to talk to Buggy, please.'
Rayleigh seemed to turn to talk to someone behind him. He exchanged a few words before he nodded and stepped aside to let Shanks walk in. The older man seemed to say something before he slipped out of his own room, closing the door behind him.
His eyes automatically fell on Roger and they exchanged a brief look before he decided to join him. Roger watched him cross the hallway in quick strides, arms crossed.
'How did it go?' Rayleigh asked.
Roger slightly shrugged, 'Not too bad, I guess. I think he realised that he messed up.' He couldn't be a hundred percent sure, but he was confident.
It was hard to just stay here. He wanted to know what was going on in the room right now, he wanted to hear Shanks' apologies and Buggy's reproaches. He wanted to blend into the wall just to make sure everything was okay. Would be okay.
But it was part of the game too. Even though they still needed guidance, the two boys had to handle things on their own sometimes. They should be able to sort things out between them now that they both had a better understanding of the situation. Roger tried not to think about it too much, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to be here for them for too long, so he needed to make the most of it. To drill his best advice in their heads so that it remained there even long after he was gone. He still had time.
Roger drew Rayleigh's attention as he jerked his head towards the corridor's exit door. Rayleigh nodded as he followed after him.
The night had finally fallen down on their ship, and most men seemed to have completed their tasks, going about their own business. Both Captain and first-mate seemed to be unsure of what to do.
Crocus called them out from the bow, and both men eagerly joined him, answering in passing to their men that the Shanks/Buggy situation had indeed been settled.
The calm had completely departed from the ship now, and all Roger could hope was for the storm warning to be gone as well.
And... done! I've been writing this fic since January 2021 so I'm glad to see it finally finished! I wanna thank my two friends Camille and Ninon who had to wait so long for it! The Blumarine's paragraph is a gift for them!
My first idea actually was to write Shanks as an asshole solely because he gives me bad vibes sometimes, but somehow he turned out softer than I expected. I actually do like it this way because I really enjoyed writing about Roger as a father, and turning Shanks into a minx would have actually failed Roger's education.
I had fun writing this fic because Buggy's my fav character and it's always a pleasure to explore his youth and his time on the Oro Jackson!
Anyway, don't hesitate to leave favs and reviews, it's always nice to read them and motivates me to write more!