Epilogue: Aftermath

Morning came all too fast, drenching the captain's quarters in light as it filtered in through the windows. Buggy hadn't closed the curtains from her sleepless evening the night before and now the dawn was staring her in the face, waking up the woman in one of the most unpleasant ways possible. The bluentte blinked quickly as the light stabbed her eyes and grabbed a pillow to squash onto her face. She groaned in discomfort and annoyance of being woken up in such a manner. What made the whole experience marginally better was that Shanks was still konked out on her right, his head resting on her chest, his legs wrapped around hers like she was a pillow, and his one arm draped across her hips. His face was slack as he slept – his mouth was slightly open and snoring and his red hair still looked perfectly messy, as it always did. Buggy sighed, knowing that her wavy blue locks were an absolute mess after all the hair tugging he'd done to her scalp while they were making love. Buggy tried to remember just how many rounds they'd done through the night but gave up after four. At that moment, she felt Shanks shifting next to her. She peeked out from under her pillow, watching the man. The bluenette's movements must've disturbed his sleep because he blinked his eyes owlishly as he looked at her.

"Morning," Shanks yawned, staring at the naked woman lounging on his bed, a pillow over most of her face. She seemed a lot softer in the morning, her tough-as-nails exterior not quite in place yet, so the grunt he received in answer was less rude than it would've been at any other time. The redhead blinked as a ray of sunlight crossed over his eyes. "Damn, that light's bright."

"Oh really?" the bluenette replied facetiously from under her pillow, her normal personality coming back quicker than Shanks wanted. So much for being less prickly. In an attempt to get her to loosen up again, the man ran his hand across her stomach, stroking her bare skin and kissing the swell of her breast while wandering his hand down in between her legs. His fingers began to stroke her again, gently caressing her core before easing the digits into her warmth. Startled by his ministrations, Buggy reacted unconsciously, guarded about her body now that the sun was up.

"Hands off! Ow!" Buggy sat up unexpectedly, knocking Shanks off of her and finding out just how banged up she was from the previous night. "Ow, ow, owwwww…" Buggy hissed, starting to get up from the bed. Her whole body was starting to ache from having sex the night before, her muscles and bones not used to moving how she had. And that didn't even compare to the soreness inside her body. She stood up gingerly, feeling pain deep inside herself, and decided that it wasn't worth it to get up. The woman flopped back onto the bed and groaned again, curling up into a ball, her hand in between her legs to put pressure on her soreness.

"Sore?"

"What do you think?" Buggy hissed again, cracking one eye open to glare at the cause of her soreness. "If I was okay do you think that I'd be cursing your dick and my stupidity for letting you stick it up in me?!"

"Sorry, stupid question." Shanks smiled, chuckling at Buggy's bad mood. He remembered her being this difficult in the morning when they were apprentices on Captain Roger's ship. It was endearing to know that she was still the same in that respect. Shanks sat up and wiggled his arm under the woman's back, wrapping it about her shoulders and using his brute strength, to yank her back onto the bed fully, dropping her right onto his bare chest where she belonged.

"What was that for!?" Buggy snapped, almost instantly molding herself to the man's body unconsciously, arms and legs hugging him on either side.

"There's no need to get up before noon. Let's lie together," Shanks replied, knowing that his crew wouldn't disturb them until that time at least. They all knew that he was a late sleeper.

"You're a lazy bastard, the same as you always were." Buggy yawned, not giving a damn about sleeping in for once. She grabbed the messed up blankets of Shanks' bed and drew them over both their bodies, snuggling into the warmth of the covers and the man beside her. Shank's hand rubbed her back, soothing her as he worked out a couple of knots in her muscles. His ministrations continued down her back until his fingers caressed her ass before resting in the dip of her spine. They laid in silence for a few moments before Shanks spoke up.

"Oi, Buggs."

"Don't call me that," she growled softly.

"Can you grab the curtains? It's bright," Shanks asked with a grin, knowing that Buggy was going to get mad at him for making her work.

"Just get them yourself!" she grumbled.

"But I have to get up to close them, you don't," he argued back lightly. "And if I move, you have to move too." The woman let out a huff of air, seeing his point and not liking it (but she'd lose her pillow if he moved), and detached her hand, making it fly over to the curtains and yanking them shut so the room was cloaked in shadows again.

"That's handy, isn't it?" Shanks laughed boisterously, shaking the entire bed.

"You can take your puns and shove them up your ass."

"I'd rather shove them up yours if you're into that sort of thing." The redhead wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, staring into the heated glare of his lover.

"I'll cut off your dick if you even try to do that," she threatened, a satanic glare in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay! I won't!" He was still laughing at Buggy's face, but when her detached hand came back and slapped him in the face, he shut up just to make her feel like she'd won. We'll never change, will we? And that was alright by his book. Buggy wouldn't be fun to tease otherwise. The woman snuggled into his chest, listening to the solid sound of his heartbeat against her ear. Shanks went back to caressing every square inch he could get a hold of and Buggy smiled as she felt his lips against her hair. She placed her lips against his chest and then worked her way up, feeling his pulse against her tongue as she nibbled on his neck.

"Mmmm…that's good," the redhead sighed, his fingers grazing the back of her neck. Buggy shivered in pleasure as he touched her there and gave him a soft moan to voice delight. She gently bit the muscle connecting his shoulder and neck and was pleased when he groaned in response. It was good to have him under her thumb every once in a while. However, her upper hand didn't last long as she felt Shanks' erection press up against her bottom. He's hard again?! Buggy made a small noise as his hips started gently pressing into her hers, the man's hard-on rubbing against the crack of her ass.

"Shaaannnkkkkssss..." she groaned, knowing that their lazy morning would have to be put on hold until that was taken care of.

"Oh, quit whining," the man chuckled, "You know you like it." He gave her one of those disarming smiles that would've had most women fainting to the floor. However, Buggy the Clown was better than that: she just blushed in response instead of fainting.

"Don't get cocky!" She hissed, trying to hide her red face in his chest before he saw. It was too late though, he'd totally seen her cute blush.

"I already am," he chuckled again, his hand going to her ass to hold her still as he rocked his hips against her. Despite herself, Buggy gasped, the passion that had been sated up until now rearing its head again. Damn…I want him…

"Shanks…" she whispered, feeling her core heat up, the warmth spreading throughout her entire body. Before she could finish voicing her desire, Shanks' hand was groping in between her legs until he found her wetness and then guided himself inside. The woman groaned as her sore muscles were stretched again, but she didn't care this time because Shanks made her feel good and she knew that he would make her feel good again.

They began a soft rhythm, their hips grinding against each other in a sensual dance. It was a gentle affair, as both of them were tired but still wanting the other. Buggy's voice was soft, her gasps barely more than whispers, accompanied by Shank's rumbling growls as their bodies moved hotly. It didn't take long at all before they'd reached their limit, cumming together, their lips hungrily licking and kissing at the other's skin. Exhaustion overcame the pair quickly, their passion giving way to sleep. They fell into that sweet oblivion, wrapped in each other's arms, content for that moment and that moment alone.

Just outside the captain's door, Benn, Yasopp, and Lucky Roo were eavesdropping, listening to the quiet moans within before they faded away. Benn smiled and his two companions sighed as they pulled their ears off the door, dejected expressions on their faces.

"Pay up, boys." Benn held out of hand, a smug smile on his face as he took his cigarette out of his mouth with the other. Lucky Roo and Yasopp dug into their pockets and produced their shares of the money, slapping the wads into the first mate's hand grumpily. He shoved the Beris into his pocket, satisfied with his win. "I told you they slept together. Our captain always gets what he wants."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Yasopp waved the comment off, returning to his good-natured personality. "How long do you think they're going to clown around in there?"

"Clown around, hehehe." Lucky Roo chuckled at the phrase, knowing that there was at least one, if not two, clowns in the room behind them.

"Until they're ready to part ways again," Benn answered, walking away from the captain's quarters, shrugging. Lucky Roo and Yassop shrugged, understanding but unconcerned, and walked off to get some breakfast before it was all gone.

The End

A/N: And there you go! I hope you all enjoyed my little story! Just for your information, there is a sequel titled "Monkey Business" that currently has a chapter. I hope to get the second chapter out within the week, but if not, It will be in April. Thanks for your support!