A/N: Hi everyone! ZareEraz here and I'm back again with another story! As I said in my last chapter, we're going off canon now, so you've been warned! I hope that you enjoy this new story and chapter! Happy Reading!
Unexpected Jollies
Chapter One: Unexpected News
Buggy the Clown was having a miserable day. She'd woken up still feeling tired and like her entire body weighed several hundred pounds heavier than it actually was. She hadn't wanted to get out of bed, and she hadn't wanted to get dressed, but since there wasn't actually anything wrong with her, she gave it her best effort. She'd been feeling a little off for several days prior to this, but this was definitely the worst day so far. Even when she got checked out she didn't have a cold, there wasn't any kind of fever, and it probably wasn't food poisoning, there was just no good explanation other than she didn't feel well. Also, the Grand Line's crazy weather was not helping as a freak storm had popped up, rattled the ship for an hour, and then disappeared suddenly leaving Buggy's stomach heaving even hours after the storm had passed. Now, normally she didn't get seasick at all, not even in the most violent of storms, having grown up on ships, but not feeling well, and then the vicious rocking had made her feel wretched.
"Damn it…" she groaned, leaning on the rail. "I hate this sea…!" her stomach did a little flip-flop and she tried to keep from up-chucking what little breakfast she ate. "I swear the New World is the worst." Unfortunately, Buggy and her crew were unable to find a suitable island in Paradise to claim or take over – she'd wanted an uninhabited but still livable island or an island with a small population to make taking over less of a hassle. They hadn't really had any luck, and even though Buggy was reluctant to do so, they had traveled to the New World to find an island there. At least her new status as a Warlord of the Sea had protected them from the Navy while at the Sabaody Archipelago and deterred other pirates from attacking them; she was even being styled "Buggy the Star Clown" and "The Genius Jester" (which really did not help her sense of inflated ego). Buggy hadn't seen Shanks anywhere near the archipelago, and she was disappointed but not surprised. He'd presumably gone back to the New World long before they had arrived, given that a few weeks had already passed since they'd parted.
It had been strange to be without him – the two of them had spent the majority of every day and night together since he'd taken her and her goons in at Marineford. The strangest thing had been the huge adjustment to sleeping alone in her bed; she hadn't thought that a comparatively short time with him would mess up her decades of sleeping alone, but it had. At first, the bluenette had tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She missed the weight of his body against her back, the heat of his skin against hers, and the sound and feel of his quiet breathing rustling her hair. Each night when she hit the point of exhaustion but still hadn't fallen asleep, she'd curled up with Shanks' shirt, breathing in his slowly fading scent of coconuts and sandalwood. On the really bad nights, when she missed him so much that her heart ached and even his annoying teasing or occasional insensitive comment would've been welcome, Buggy had quietly cried and felt a desperate need to hear his voice. At that point, she called him, despite the extremely late hour.
They had spoken during the day sometimes, of course, but Buggy had been reluctant to dial his number since had been three o'clock in the morning, but she just couldn't take it and really needed to hear her boyfriend's voice. She dialed his number and waited – half-hoping that he'd pick up and half-dreading interrupting his sleep. Two rings in, the Transponder Snail's eyes partially opened and a tired voice asked, "Yeah?"
Buggy quietly, and uncharacteristically meek, asked, "I'm sorry, were you sleeping, Shanks?"
The snail's eyes shot open and it excitedly exclaimed, "Buggy!" in Shanks' voice. "I was beginning to think that you didn't want to talk to me," he joked.
She smiled sheepishly and knew that his snail was copying her. "I'm just stubborn. I wanted to see if I wasn't completely dependent on you." It was true – they'd talked the first night after they'd left but after that, the woman hadn't wanted to seem like a nuisance and stubbornly tried not to dash to the snail every time she was upset. "I'm quitting that, though. I want to talk to you."
The snail smiled. "Good, I want to talk to you too."
"I didn't wake you, did I?" she asked.
"To be honest, I was having trouble sleeping. I'd only managed to doze when you called."
Buggy felt a weight lift off of her chest. "So, I'm not the only one."
"You too?"
"Yeah."
"We're hopeless." The two of them burst into laughter. Shanks admitted when he caught his breath, "I keep thinking that you're going to be in my arm when I wake up when I do manage to fall asleep."
Buggy nodded her head. "I keep thinking that you need to be squishing me before I can fall asleep."
"I don't squish you," he protested good-naturedly. "I just hug you!"
"No, you definitely squish me," she teased, but it was undermined by a giggle. Even though the conversation was mundane, Shanks made her feel so happy.
"Are you doing okay, love bug?"
She thought about the question for a moment. "I'm fine, Shanks." She then smiled brightly, finding that it was a little bit true. "I miss you and I want to see you again, but I'm doing something I want to do as well, which makes it a little better. It's kind of hard to explain."
The snail smiled back at her, its eyes warm with Shanks' love. "You just let me know if you need anything, okay? I'm here for you, whenever you need me." She thanked him and the conversation drifted into how their day had been, teasing, and random things until they both started to fall asleep.
Those calls became a nightly occurrence (just at a more reasonable hour) and Buggy found that she could sleep easier if she could at least hear his voice. Now her Transponder Snail spent nights in her room, and over time, he had come to resemble Shanks – his shell had been painted black and three little scars had been drawn over his left eye (he didn't mind). The snail actually liked being in Buggy's room and would wander in there sometimes after he'd been taken outside for other uses. Eventually, the crew insisted on getting another snail so that they could have one and Buggy could just keep her personalized snail in her room as much as she wanted, and now that particular snail was now only ever used to call Shanks. The snail quite liked it because he got lots of food, was only used about once or twice a day, and only late at night occasionally when Buggy was struggling, and he could sleep as much as he wanted – it was a very good deal for him. Now, out on the deck and commiserating her stomach's insistent flip-flops, Buggy resisted the urge to call Shanks for something as stupid as complaining about digestive issues, even though she really, really wanted to.
Alvida pitied the bluenette from her couch, sunbathing after the storm. Her partner had turned a ghastly shade of green at this point and the black-haired woman called out to her. "Buggy, you should really go try to rest. You're not doing any good out here and you look horrible."
"Gee," Buggy complained, "Why can't you be a little nicer about how you say it?"
"Because I'm not nice."
"She has a point," Galdino interjected. The smooth woman glared at him. "I meant the point about Buggy not looking good, not about you not being nice." The woman smiled prettily and the man muttered under his breath, "Though that is also true." He had to duck as Alvida easily swung her iron mace at his head, not even rising from her couch to do it.
"Captain Buggy! Are you not feeling well?" One crew member asked, and Buggy winced as a whole flood of questions cascaded from everyone within earshot. She was crowded by concerned underlings, and the smell and heat of so many bodies made her queasy. She got one dangerously violent stomach heave and spat out a furious, "BACK OFF!" before leaning over the rail and losing her breakfast. The crowd did take a step back, worried expressions on their faces as their beloved goddess suffered. When Buggy was done, Cabaji cycled over with a glass of water, giving her a sympathetic look at having thrown up in front of so many people and also took a big bowl that Richie offered her and tucked it under her arm. The crowd took another few steps back as their captain glared at them, rinsed her mouth, and slunk back in the direction of her room.
"One of you two take over," she grumbled, waving a hand in Alvida's and Galdino's direction.
The smooth woman beat the wax man to it and barked, "Get back to work!" as Buggy's door slammed shut.
Buggy complained to Shanks that night how awful she felt and even though he wanted to help her, there wasn't much he could do but try to support her with the nice words that Alvida would never say. Buggy complained all the next day and the next when she didn't get any better. Most of the crew was also miserable because their captain was miserable. The days passed in relative quiet, as the crew was generally more worried about their captain and their desire to party and mess around was tempered by these worries. Alvida was more than happy to keep bossing everyone around on the Big Top as she had when Buggy was imprisoned in Impel Down, but it wasn't as fun as it should have been and she made up for it by tormenting Galdino as well.
The fourth day, however, was different. Buggy hadn't started the morning with her normal complaining and that had thrown the crew off again. Everyone on the ship was a little uneasy because of this since Buggy still didn't seem to be better – she hadn't eaten any breakfast and still hadn't returned the bowl Richie had given her to the kitchen. The bluenette opened her door just a crack late in the morning and her gloved hand shot out of the room, presumably because she still didn't want to get out of bed. It floated over to where Alvida lay on her luxurious heart-shaped couch and tapped her on the shoulder. The black-haired woman looked up to see the hand waving at her and pointing back toward Buggy's room, indicating that she should follow it. Alvida raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and got up, hoping that the bluenette wasn't just going to nag her ears off again. The whole crew watched as she walked over and disappeared into the room, slamming the door shut once again. All work halted outside as they waited for something to happen. The wind blew gently into the sails for several minutes, making the cloth rustle, and several gulls called in the bright sunshine. Then the fragile peace was broken by a loud shout.
"WHAT THE HELL?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Alvida's voice rang out, and the whole ship seemed to quake under the force.
"OF COURSE, I'M SERIOUS!" Buggy's shout was just as loud. The crew ran over to eavesdrop, but now both women were talking soft enough that even Galdino's, Cabaji's and Mohji's ears pressed against the door couldn't pick up on what they were saying. Several tense minutes passed as the murmurs inside the room continued and then suddenly Alvida threw the door open, squishing the unfortunate trio of men.
She barked "Galdino!" and the former Mr. 3 snapped to attention.
"Yes?!" he squeaked in response under the beautiful woman's sharp gaze.
"The next time a News Coo flies by, stop it, and come and get me. We're sending out a letter."
"To who…?"
She didn't elaborate. Alvida sauntered back to Buggy's room and went to slam the door shut once again, but paused for a moment. "And you're in charge for now!" She pointed a harsh finger at the wilting man and he nodded quickly. Cabaji and Mohji whined, having been passed over again, but Alvida gave them a sharp look, cowing the pair instantly. They'd been on the receiving end of her iron mace more than once and didn't want to go through that again. Having given out her instructions, the lady pirate slammed the door shut, leaving the crew more confused and worried than they had been before.
XXX
The next time a News Coo flew by, a negotiation was stuck and payment was made to have a personal letter sent. A few days later, the letter arrived at the Twin Capes, and the recipient shook his head in disbelief. Crocus couldn't believe what Buggy had written him, but he was still smiling at the mess she'd landed herself in.
"Laboon, I'm too old for this kind of thing," the old man sighed, turning his bright smile towards his whale friend. He folded up the letter again and stored it back in the envelope before rising from his lounge chair. He groaned and stretched the kinks out of his old body in the warm sun and glanced at his friend with a mirthful expression. "I'm going to go away for a while because a little friend has gotten into trouble. That little snot," he snickered, and the whale let out a song that sounded much like a laugh as well. "Will you be alright if I head off for a bit?" His amused expression turned a little sad, thinking about leaving the whale alone, but he knew that Laboon would be fine. The massive whale clicked and chirped his agreement – the eye that Crocus could see was happy.
"I'd ask you to come along, but I know that you're waiting for someone," the old doctor smiled again, thinking about another young snot in a straw hat and his boisterous crew. Laboon sang again and Crocus patted whatever part of the whale's smooth skin that he could reach. "I know you'll be fine, so be good."
The old man then walked off to his lighthouse and began packing up his belongings. The next morning, Crocus began his journey by saying goodbye to the whale and left him to his customary vigil with a promise to return as soon as possible. Laboon saw him off with a happy song, and the doctor waved happily as he set off on his little ship, holding the piece of the Vivre Card marked with a"B" that came with the letter in his gnarled hand.
XXX
Buggy was out by the deck railing alone one afternoon, most of her crew keeping a watchful eye on their captain as they continued to work and entertain themselves. They'd been traveling for several weeks now, attempting to find an island that satisfied their leading lady and whatever plans she was scheming. She'd emerged from her room to send the mysterious letter and had been in a funk ever since then, upbeat and flashy, but not quite up to her usual standards. She'd also avoided participating in any of the crew's drinking parties when she used to organize and host them and she would randomly ban certain foods to be cooked or brought around her. She also demanded that no one eat any of "her" tomatoes, despite the fact that she'd hated them previously – it was now commonplace to see her just biting into a tomato when she could keep food down. It was damn weird, but they were all making the best of it. It also didn't help that none of the crew knew what the hell was going on except Alvida, who refused to say anything and would whack anyone who asked on the head with her iron mace, notorious Impel Down escapee or not.
The bluenette sighed, still feeling sick to her stomach, feeling tender everywhere on her body, and feeling both exhausted and achy. She was worried about so many things, the least of which was finding somewhere to settle down and begin her big plans along with the surprise that had sprung itself on her. She didn't know how she felt about the surprise – she supposed that she was happy, but she was also really scared, and what she wanted most was Shanks, which she couldn't have. On top of that, it seemed that only troubles were piling up around her and she just didn't have the energy to tackle any of them until her friend arrived. The bluenette felt unsettled and didn't know what to do other than take each day one at a time, which she had been trying to do to the best of her ability. She sighed again, her eyes locked on the horizon as she tried to push down the queasy feeling in her stomach, but she was also getting tired again after only napping two or so hours ago. Damn it all. She hated feeling un-flashy and that's what she felt like all the time now. What am I going to do? She asked herself this question so many times in the past few weeks and when she asked Alvida, her friend didn't know what to say either.
Speaking of Alvida, the smooth woman noticed that her partner was nearly falling asleep on her feet and walked over to too, placing a gentle hand on the bluenette's shoulder. "Buggy, you should really sit down before you fall over." She only got a grunt in return as Buggy slumped even more onto the rail. "Come on, dumbass." She dragged the captain over to her couch and gave her the privilege of sitting on it with her.
The men on the deck gave the two women odd looks, still wondering what secret they had been keeping all of this time. It'd been a few weeks since the weirdness started and still, nothing had been said. It was actually bothering Galdino the most since he'd been on the inside of any drama related to Buggy since Impel Down, but she hadn't even told him! That, and whatever burning secret they were hiding was gnawing at his curiosity. The wax man discreetly snuck behind Alvida's couch to eavesdrop on their conversation and what he heard shocked him.
Alvida whispered, "I still can't believe it."
Buggy rolled her eyes, and presumably, her stomach rolled too because she groaned after replying, "You keep saying that."
"Because I can't believe it!" The smooth woman took a sip of her fruity drink before speaking again. "If you're right, we're going to have a little Shanks running around here. I'm actually surprised that it didn't happen earlier; it's not like either of you was careful when you were going at it."
"Why do you think it's going to be a little Shanks? It should be a flashy little Buggy!"
The wax man gasped as his brain registered what he'd just heard and when the sound escaped his mouth, Galdino found a knife and a mace pointed at his head. He wasn't even worried about those because his brain could only focus on the fact that Buggy was pregnant!
"Galdino, I'm simultaneously proud of and disappointed in you for eavesdropping," Alvida purred.
"I'm just pissed," Buggy added.
"Wh-wh-what did you say happened?!" The man nearly shrieked, but both women clapped their free hands over his mouth before he could say more – he'd already drawn the attention of those in earshot.
"Shut up, idiot!" the bluenette hissed quietly. "I don't want anyone else to know right now until I've confirmed it!"
Suddenly, all the little pieces clicked together in the man's mind. "You've been puking for weeks, you're completely exhausted all the time, you feel bloated all the time, and you're craving tomatoes of all things," Buggy made a face at that – tomatoes were her least favorite food, "And all sorts of smells make you nauseous. It's almost guaranteed."
"Can we go somewhere private to talk about this?!" the bluenette insisted as their little whispered conversation began drawing more eyes. The two women dragged Galdino away to Alvida's room and locked the door behind them. The man was made to sit on the girliest, pink, frilly chair ever which matched much of the décor in the rest of the room. Buggy flopped onto yet another of Alvida's couches and while the smooth woman sat on her bed.
After a moment or two of quiet, both women apparently waiting for the questions, the wax man began asking them. "S-so, you're really pregnant?"
"Most likely," the bluenette responded, a bit of panic and worry clouding her eyes.
"And it's Shanks'?"
Buggy responded sarcastically. "Well, I wasn't having sex with anyone else!"
"Holy shit."
"That's what I said," Alvida interjected.
"No," Buggy corrected, "You said 'What the hell?!' and proceeded to freak out with me."
"But I'm not freaking out now, only you are." Alvida then turned to direct more commentary toward the wax man. "Yeah, Buggy was not the picture of grace at that moment. You should've seen her running and floating around!"
"You try figuring out that you're pregnant when you never thought you'd even have a fuck buddy, let alone a boyfriend!" Buggy started to panic again, much as she had on the day when she'd told Alvida. "I'm nearly forty years old for heaven's sake! I was not expecting any babies at any time in my life!" The bluenette groaned again, both for her physical discomfort and for her mental distress. "How the hell am I supposed to be a mother when I'm a pirate? Sure, women have done it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be good at it! I don't even know if I want to be a mom in the first place! What am I going to do?! I still have to figure out this whole Warlord thing and now there's a baby on top of it! I can't get a break!" The woman panted from her outburst, panic clearly evident in her every move. Her partners let her breathe for a minute or two, both of them giving the other looks. Galdino was quickly getting up to speed on the situation and figured that, due to Alvida's calmness, Buggy's fears and panic were something that they'd talked about a lot. He then asked the next important question:
"Did you tell Shanks yet?"
Buggy's face took on a guilty look. "No, I want to confirm the pregnancy first and I…I want to make sure I can keep it before telling him. I wouldn't want to get his hopes up if this is something he wants." The wax man nodded, understanding.
Alvida then piped up, teasing her friend. "An Emperor's baby, huh? That's pretty gutsy, even for you." Buggy's face turned beet red, her expression caught somewhere between mortified and proud.
"Why couldn't you say 'A Warlord's baby,' huh? It's mine too!"
"Because being one of the Four Emperors is better than being a Warlord of the Sea and you know it."
"Shut it!" Buggy then got them back on topic, fixing her gaze on Galdino again. "Anyway, I've asked an old friend to come help me - well, I think he's coming to help me since I didn't get a letter back saying he couldn't or wouldn't come."
Alvida interjected, "So, to sum up: We need to find an island to base at to not only start a Warlord profiteering organization but also to prepare for Buggy's baby, all while keeping her and Shanks' relationship and child a secret from the World Government, along with everything that entails."
The prospect of doing all of that made the man's head spin. All he could say was, "Holy shit we're in trouble."
"It shouldn't be so hard," Buggy said sarcastically. "All we have to do is keep all these secrets, raise a baby, and hope we don't have the World Government come after us when something eventually backfires!"
"Buggy, go to sleep," Alvida suggested, recognizing that her grumpiness now signaled naptime.
"Don't tell me what to do!" the woman snapped, looking murderous.
"I'm telling you what to do for your own good!" Both Galdino and Buggy gave her a look. Alvida rolled her eyes. "Alright, and for my sanity! You're going to drive me nuts if you don't nap!"
The bluenette's angry mood then immediately dropped and she became really sad. "But I wanted to wait outside…"
Alvida became uncharacteristically gentle and walked over to place a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll come to get you if your friend shows up, okay? Or you can come out later to watch for him." Buggy nodded solemnly and nervously placed her hand on her belly. She stood up and went to the door, but paused, forcing her hand down to her side so no one who happened to be outside would suspect what was going on, and slunk away to her room and her bowl. The man watched her go and once he was alone with Alvida, the woman leveled her intimidating stare on her partner. "Galdino, you'll keep this a secret until Buggy is ready, right? I don't want the crew agitating her any more than they already do, or cause her to panic any more than she already is."
"Of course, I don't want to rock the boat; I just wanted to know what was going on." The two of them shared a quiet moment before the wax man spoke again. "This is really huge – Buggy is going to be a mother."
"I still can't believe that dumbass got herself into this situation," the black-haired woman sighed. "I am excited for her but at the same time I still can't believe it."
"Just like when she got the Warlord letter?" he asked.
She nodded. "Just like when she got the Warlord letter. I just wish that she had someone else to vent her worries out on; Buggy can be very tiring to deal with." Galdino nodded in agreement, but was secretly thinking that Alvida was also very tiring to deal with.
"Well, I suppose we're going to have to roll with it," he sighed. "I just wish she'd stop springing things onto me. I can't take all the stress!"
"You've joined the wrong crew then," the woman snickered. "It's all stress here."
The wax man sighed again. "I'm going to go process this new information for a while."
"Yes, get out of my room now." Alvida shooed her other partner out of the door so that he didn't ruminate on his thoughts in her space. Once he was gone, she then took some time to clean where everyone had been sitting and tidied up a bit until everything was perfect. As she cleaned, the woman sighed, "I supposed that this is going to be the only ordered thing in my life for a while." And that turned out to be very true.
XXX
The next afternoon when Buggy was tiredly watching the sea, enjoying what little time she had with a sedate stomach, a small speck appeared on the horizon.
"Ship ho!" the lookout called from the crow's nest. The bluenette's eyes popped open with excited energy and she strained to see what kind of ship it was, but because it was so far away still, she decided that she needed a telescope to see it. She detached her head and a hand from her body and floated them up to the crow's nest, surprising her underling.
"Captain Buggy!" he gasped, startled by the appearance of just her head.
"Give me that!" she demanded, holding out her floating hand for the telescope in his. The pirate handed it over and the woman held up the glass to her eye. The world zoomed in on the approaching vessel: it was small, but sturdy, and had only one person in it. As Buggy looked closer, she saw the bright pink shirt they were wearing and the purple and yellow flower petals on their head. Her face genuinely lit up for the first time in weeks as she squealed like a little girl. The lookout found his telescope thrown back at him as the head and hand of his captain dropped suddenly back down to the deck.
"Hey! Go meet that boat!" Buggy ordered to the helm and wanting to please their suddenly energetic captain, the crew burst into action. The Big Top turned to starboard to meet the approaching vessel and the crew waited eagerly to see who it was that their captain was eager to meet.
Alvida walked over to where Buggy was and stood next to her by the railing. "That's your friend?" A nod answered her. She wrapped an arm around the bluenette, pulling them close enough to whisper. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.
"He's the only one I trust," Buggy replied. "It's not like I can just go to any doctor without someone finding out." None of the other crew members had noticed because of all the makeup, but Alvida knew how much her co-conspirator had been crying and worrying over the last weeks. It was good to see Buggy a little comforted by whoever she'd asked to come. Maybe things will go a little better from now on, she thought. And someone else can take some of this emotional Buggy burden off of me.
"Captain Buggy, when are you going to tell us what is going on?" Mohji asked with Cabaji and Ritchie nodding vigorously in agreement. The rest of the crew also voiced their agreement and gathered around the rail.
Both women whirled on their male crew members (and a lion) and gave them all a hard stare. "We'll get to that soon, so cool it!" The men backed off pretty quickly, knowing that the women were still carrying around maces and knives, and decided to wait patiently in order to preserve their lives. It wasn't long before the little ship pulled up alongside the Big Top and a ladder and towing line were lowered down. Buggy was nearly bouncing with joy as her surprising guest climbed on board (and she hadn't bounced in weeks due to her unruly stomach). The crew didn't know what to make of the old flower-headed man, but Buggy almost immediately ran into his arms.
"CROCUS!" she squealed, finding herself incredibly happy to see the old doctor again. She hugged her old friend fiercely, finally finding a piece of comfort she could hold on to.
"I was not expecting that!" Crocus chuckled, hugging the former apprentice affectionately. It was like a beloved granddaughter and grandfather meeting again after so long. And of course, the crew was just as confused as ever. Who the hell was this old guy and why did Captain Buggy hug him like that? Despite the audience, the old man wasn't fazed in the least. Crocus hadn't seen Buggy since she was a teen, but the woman in front of him was every bit like the Buggy he remembered, especially when she glared daggers at one of her crewmembers and snapped at him to secure the doctor's boat and get any other luggage he may have. The man scurried off just as fast as he could and Crocus couldn't help the smile on his face. Still bad-tempered, I see. He focused his attention back on the bluenette and said "I see that you haven't gotten yourself killed yet!"
"Hey!" Buggy's offended voice rose an octave. "I'll have you know that I am the great Buggy the Star Clown now, the Genius Jester, and a Warlord of the Sea! I have some real power!"
"Oh really?" Crocus raised a knowing eyebrow. Buggy really hadn't changed at all – she was still just a little squirt.
"Yes, really!"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
"You're still just a loudmouth little brat to me!"
"You're just an old fart to me! You look so ancient you might keel over at any moment!" But even as they argued, Buggy kept hugging Crocus, he kept hugging her back, smiles on both of their faces. Their playful teasing was interrupted by one of the pirates watching in the crowd.
"Captain, who is that?" he asked hesitantly, still wishing to avoid knives.
"This is Crocus, an old fart doctor and a friend of mine!" Buggy declared loudly and Crocus bonked her on the head for calling him "old fart" again. She rubbed her sore head but didn't retaliate, which shocked the crew more than the man's presence on the ship. The Great Captain Buggy had just let herself get bonked on the head! Just how much of her respect did this man have?! "He sailed with me when I was on Captain Roger's crew and you'd better treat him well or I'm going to kick all your asses!" she ordered. "And don't tell anyone else about him because I don't want to cause him any trouble after he's done helping me!"
The crew gaped at the revelation that this old man was on the Pirate King's crew with their glorious captain and saluted smartly. They chorused, "Yes, Captain Buggy! You're so great!" before beginning to gossip among themselves. Crocus chuckled at how cowed the whole crew was and found it amusing that little Buggy had gotten herself a decently strong band of pirates to protect her.
"But why is he here?" another crewmember asked. The bluenette instantly clammed up, getting a look on her face that Crocus recalled meant that Buggy despised doing something she knew she had to do.
"I'll tell you later," she replied through clenched lips, dragging the old man towards her room. "I have to talk to him first." The crew's jaws dropped, disappointed that they hadn't gotten any answers and now there were even more mysteries! But Buggy just stuck her tongue out at everyone and managed to haul Crocus, Galdino, and Alvida into her room.
Now alone, and after quick introductions between the doctor and Buggy's partners, Crocus' smile waned a little. He plopped down into one of the two armchairs the bluenette had in her room and Buggy plopped down across from him in the other. Alvida took a seat on her chaise lounge and reluctantly let Galdino take a seat next to her. They both watched quietly as the conversation between Buggy and Crocus began.
"So, Buggy," the old man started. "I see that you've been having some fun since you're most likely pregnant." Buggy blushed and then twiddled her thumbs bashfully. She felt a little like a teenager confessing about having sex to a parent. Crocus had been one of her mentors and had taken care of her when she and the crew got into battles and scrapes, but, while it was awkward, she was grateful that he was here and she was glad that he was keeping his teasing minimal so far. He put the medical bag that he'd brought up with him on the coffee table between them as he continued. "I'm just going to ask you a few basic questions and then I'll give you a regular checkup, okay?" She nodded, now feeling like a child being good for a doctor's appointment as he took out a notebook and started to write down her answers to his questions. "When was your last period?"
"Um…about six or seven weeks ago? It's never late."
The old man nodded knowingly. "Are you feeling nauseous or vomiting?"
Just the mention of throwing up had Buggy shivering and feeling queasy. "Yeah, for a few weeks now."
"That would be the morning sickness." Crocus took out some of his medical tools and began checking the woman's vitals and performing a general wellness check. "Any changes in your smell, taste, or vision?"
Buggy crossed her arms and pouted. "I crave tomatoes now even though I hated them and I hate the smell of alcohol now and can't drink or enjoy any parties!" It was true; she couldn't stand the smell of booze to the point where she ate all of her meals in her room if she didn't feel like throwing them up (and she never wanted to throw them up) and didn't leave her room if the crew was having a party.
The doctor chuckled. "You shouldn't be drinking anyway and if you still were, I would've cut you off." Buggy stuck her tongue out at him childishly, remembering that Crocus was incredibly strict when it came to healthcare – even Captain Roger, who was notorious for doing whatever he wanted and having the power to back up his desires, caved to Crocus' stubbornness, and on top of that, the Captain only caved to Rayleigh half the time! Buggy knew that if he stayed she was going to be strictly watched, but also well taken care of. The old man's next question pulled her from her thoughts. "Has there been any increase in fatigue?"
"Yes," three voices replied. Buggy glared at Alvida and Galdino, but the pair just shrugged.
"When you're not dealing with the crew we are," the wax man complained. "And they're nuts."
"There's only so much stupidity I can handle when you're falling asleep on your feet," the smooth woman added.
Buggy stuck her tongue out at them and continued, "I don't know if you know this, but I broke out of Impel Down a while ago and the majority of those hoodlums out there are escapees too. Including that one," the bluenette hooked a thumb towards Galdino.
"Don't call me a hoodlum, Buggy," the wax man shot back.
"They did look like a rough bunch," Crocus agreed but shrugged it off like a pro. He'd traveled with the Roger Pirates and walked around in a whale – rarely anything startled him at this point. He fired off another question. "Any soreness or tenderness in your breasts?"
"Yeah, my boobs hurt." Galdino blushed but kept his mouth shut as a few other personal questions came up, such as how tall Buggy was, what her weight was (this was whispered into the doctor's ear so Galdino did not know how much she weighed), how often she was going to the bathroom, if she was feeling bloated or crampy, etc. Alvida listened to the conversation, surprised that Buggy was being so open and personal with an old man she hadn't seen in decades. From what she'd said, the last time Buggy had seen Crocus was when the Roger Pirates disbanded. Apparently, they'd missed him at the Twin Cape when they'd entered the Grand Line, even though Buggy had somehow heard that he'd been living there for years. Unbeknownst to all of them, the doctor had been inside the whale they'd passed, leaving the Twin Cape none the wiser.
"Are you moodier?"
"Buggy is always moody," Alvida teased, causing an extreme reaction from said moody Buggy.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"That sounds about," Crocus chuckled, rolling with the mood swings he'd endured when she was but an apprentice. The man looked at his notes and came to his conclusion. "As you said, it looks like you're about seven to eight weeks along and there's nothing out of the ordinary. Your morning sickness and aversion to certain stimuli are normal, and your body seems to be taking the changes as well as can be expected."
Buggy asked, "When will I stop throwing up?" getting right to the point of what she wanted to know.
"Morning sickness should fade as you get into your second trimester, but it can end earlier or later than that."
Buggy instantly replied, "I'm gonna pray for earlier!" and got a chorus of chuckles from everyone in the room.
When Crocus stopped laughing, he said, "I can give you a check-up and help you, but are you sure you want this 'old fart' to be your doctor?"
Buggy became uncharacteristically serious. "You're the only one I trust." The two of them looked at each other, the years apart falling away between them as if they were both crewmates again, just a scared and very young woman and one of her many middle-aged father figures. An understanding that Alvida and Galdino couldn't comprehend passed between the two and a silent agreement was made. Then Buggy cracked a joke. "That and I can't just go to any doctor otherwise shit will hit the fan and I'll probably lose my Warlord position!" The bluenette laughed but Alvida and Galdino already knew that was one of her biggest worries.
Crocus nodded, happy that Buggy trusted him. But now he was curious as to why a baby could lose Buggy her position. And then he connected the dots. "Can I ask who the father is? You didn't say who that was in your letter." There was an awkward pause for a moment and Crocus then filled it with, "Unless you don't know…?"
"Oh, she knows!" Alvida cackled. Buggy's face lit up as red as her nose, her blush also extending down her neck and disappearing into her frilly collar and striped shirt. The old doctor patiently waited as she struggled with her words, knowing that she'd spit it out eventually. Alvida and Galdino were snickering behind their hands and ribbed the bluenette saying, "Come on, Buggy! Tell him who it is! He's going to love this!" The snickers turned into full-blown cackles as the bluenette looked more and more uncomfortable and when she finally did spit it out, impossibly, Buggy's blush deepened a shade.
"It's…Shanks…" she muttered, acting like a child that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She felt so embarrassed that Crocus now knew that she'd been having sex with the man that she'd actively hated as a child, but the old man took it in stride. He burst into laughter and Buggy wanted to punch him. He was laughing so hard that tears were sprouting from the corners of his eye and he had to wipe them away a few times as he tried to compose himself.
"I wonder how the hell that happened! You two were always at each other's throats!" He continued to laugh and Alvida and Galdino joined him in mocking the clearly embarrassed captain.
"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU ASSHOLES!" Buggy fumed while they lost it and after a good five minutes the trio calmed down. However, they still had to stifle giggles when they caught a look at Buggy's furious face.
Crocus then got on with his check-up, and as he was timing Buggy's pulse when he asked, "This is just an old man's curiosity, but do you like Shanks now?" When Buggy looked into his eyes, her gaze was firm and bright.
She replied with all seriousness, "I love him, Crocus."
The man's heart warmed to hear that. When they were little snots, Buggy and Shanks were always getting into messes, mostly because Buggy got them into trouble and Shanks would do his best to get them out of it. The two of them had been as thick as thieves, but they had fought and argued a lot, sometimes to the point of fists. As far as Crocus, knew, after Roger's execution, the two of them split and hadn't been in contact again. He had followed Shanks' career to his Emperor-hood and had kept tabs on Buggy in the East Blue, but other than that, all three of them hadn't been involved with each other. To see that Buggy had come to not bite Shanks' head off with every interaction and had developed enough affection for the man to the point where she loved him was a miracle. He also had no doubt that Shanks felt the same, as he had always been the more sincere one of the pair. I suppose I'll find out how he feels when he comes. The man's brain then caught onto something and he asked, "Have you told him yet?"
Buggy looked guilty again and shook her head.
"You'd better get on that."
"I know that!" she snapped, resisting the urge to cross her arms since Crocus still had his hand on her wrist. "I wanted to be sure first!" A conflicted look overtook her face. "I know that I should probably tell him in person – this is really big news after all – but I have no idea where he is Should I just call him?" Her three companions nodded.
"You've already waited two months," Alvida pointed out. "You should probably tell him today at some point."
Crocus added, "I'll be done with your check-up soon and then you can go talk to him."
"I know, I know! Shut up!" They snickered as Buggy got huffy again.
It wasn't long after that that Crocus packed up his instruments and snapped his notebook with all of Buggy's information shut. "I can say with confidence that you are indeed pregnant, and if everything is checking out, you're about two months along, as you said. You're healthy and I'll help you stay that way if you trust this old man."
"I do," Buggy said with a smile on her face. "I can't exactly let it get out that I'm pregnant with Red Hair Shanks' child, but I would've come to you for this even if that hadn't been the case."
"Aw, what a nice vote of confidence – you come to me when you're in a pickle!" the old man teased back.
"Quit making fun of me! I was being serious!" Buggy wailed.
Crocus laughed again and patted the woman on the back. "As I said, I'll help you through this, but I'm not promising that I won't make fun of you while doing it!"
"You're a horrible old man!" But even though her words were harsh, Buggy couldn't help the widening of her smile.
When the four of them emerged from Buggy's room several pirates who had been trying to eavesdrop at the door collapsed on top of each other and the hoard of pirates behind them looked sheepish. Buggy gave her crew a look but realized that it was finally time to give them some answers. They took the announcement quite reasonably.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" they all shouted at once, mouths hitting the ground in disbelief.
"Holy shit! That's nuts!" Cabaji and Mohji wailed, looking the most shocked. The two of them got punched by Buggy's flying fists in retaliation for their negative reactions.
Taking their cue on what not to do, the rest of the crew chorused, "CONGRATULATIONS!"
"That's better!" Buggy nodded smugly.
"Is the father Shanks?" Someone in the back shouted, staying far enough away and hidden enough not to get punched. Buggy blushed again and Alvida shouted, "Who else could it be?" while laughing.
The bluenette blushed deeper. "Shut up!"
"Captain Buggy! You're so cool!" the crew sang. "You charmed an Emperor of the Sea! You're amazing, Captain Buggy!"
"It was totally the other way around," Galdino muttered, dodging another flying fist.
Crocus leaned towards Alvida and whispered, "How dumb are all of these guys?" He couldn't believe that all these notorious criminals from Impel Down worshipped someone like Buggy, but somehow, whatever she had done was clearly working.
"They'd incredibly stupid," came the mirthful reply as the crew started to smother their leading lady with their admiration.
"ALL OF YOU GET OFF ME AND FIND ME AN ISLAND TO TAKE OVER FOR MY FLASHY PLAN!" Buggy yelled as she tried to extricate herself from her suffocating underlings – it wasn't working, much to her chagrin.
"YES, CAPTAIN BUGGY! WE'LL FIND A HOME FOR YOUR BABY!"
"That's not what I said!" But it was too late – the crew was even more enamored with the idea that their glorious captain was going to be the most wonderful mother ever! The harried bluenette had to deal with an ecstatic crew worshipping her every move for another half an hour before she managed to wiggle her way out of the crowd and slam her bedroom door shut again, leaving Alvida, Galdino, and Crocus to deal with her underlings.
Once she'd taken a few deep breaths to calm herself, the woman glanced at the Transponder Snail snoozing peacefully by her bedside. Her heart fluttered nervously as she sat down and picked up the receiver but she found that the worries she'd been having all seemed less burdensome – she felt a little happier about her pregnancy now and she felt more secure now that Crocus was here. Her nervous beating heart was actually a little excited too and while having a child under her circumstances was scary, she knew she had so many people around her supporting her and she was finally beginning to feel that she could do this. All she needed was Shanks and everything would work out, she just knew it. The bluenette sent a little prayer out that Shanks would be just as happy as she was beginning to be as she dialed his number and let the call ring.
XXX
A News Coo had just flown past the Red Force and Benn Beckman waved it down so that he could buy a paper. The bird fluttered down and yanked a newspaper out of his pouch after taking the man's payment and then took off again. The first mate looked at the paper and found Buggy's picture plastered all over the front page. It had been like that for some time as the World Government updated the public on the new Warlords – Buggy had been the first to accept the invitation and every time another new Warlord was announced, she'd be back on the front page with them. The man smiled and snapped the paper open to read the article, but was interrupted when he heard the Transponder Snail in Shanks' room ringing. The man peeked into the room when it wasn't immediately picked up – that was the snail Shanks had commandeered for his personal calls with Buggy – and didn't see his captain anywhere. Benn picked the snail (who was wearing a little orange bicorn hat with blue tassels) and walked out with it, looking for Shanks. He checked the dining room, but Shanks wasn't there. He wasn't at the helm or looking at the sea off the bow, and he wasn't sleeping under the palm trees either. After walking around practically the whole ship, Benn sighed and looked up at the crow's nests, particularly the mainmast's crow's nest. He was sure his captain was up there, drinking no doubt.
Since Buggy had left, Shanks had been a little out of sorts, but the nightly calls with her had helped somewhat and he was mostly his cheerful, laidback self most of the time now, but every once in a while, the redhead disappeared for a solo drinking party, which mostly consisted of him sulking and missing Buggy. The gray-haired man sighed and decided to take the shortcut up to the top of the mast instead of climbing the ropes. He pushed off the deck with enough force to get him halfway to the top of the ship, and then kicked the air once to get him up the rest of the way. He landed gracefully on the railing of the nest and looked down at his tipsy captain. I should really start looking for him here first in the future. There were several empty bottles scattered around the floor and Benn rolled his eyes.
"Captain." Benn's address dragged the redhead out of his thoughts.
"What is it?" Shanks asked, an easy smile slipping onto his face despite the shadows in his eyes.
The black-haired man held up the still-ringing snail. "Call for you." Benn held it out to his captain without ceremony. "It's probably Buggy."
The redhead sat up fast as lightning, sending some of the bottles rolling, and reached his lone hand out. He carefully took the snail and placed it in his lap, saying, "This is odd; she hardly calls during the day." A worried expression furrowed his eyebrows and he gave Benn a look that silently asked for him to stay. The first mate nodded and took a seat on the rail, intending on just reading his paper while Shanks talked with his lover. The captain picked up the snail and for a few minutes all the pair talked about was trivial things, however, when Benn was only halfway through the second article, he heard Buggy's tone change, and all of his attention was focused on her nervous voice.
"Um, Shanks…I have something to tell you." The redhead had also honed in on the slight trembling of her voice and the snail's recreation of a smiling, but slightly worried look. The man's eyebrows furrowed again and the smile that had been on his face when they'd been having small talk slipped.
"What is it, love bug?" His voice was calm, but his heart was pounding. He hoped that something bad hadn't happened. The snail squirmed for a moment, mimicking Buggy's nervousness.
She started, "I…um…how do I say this…?" but then stopped, worrying Shanks – this was not normal Buggy behavior.
"Holy shit," Benn breathed. "Buggy, not knowing what to say? I thought I'd never see the day." Now he was worried too!
"I…um…" she tried, again, but then the snail when a little crazy as several voices came on the line.
"Buggy! Just tell him already!" Galdino shouted, the snail looking a little panicked. "We can't hold them off anymore!"
Buggy roared, "Were you eavesdropping again?!" but then the snail picked up the familiar voices of all of Buggy's goons shouting and praising their great captain in a chorus.
"Just get on with it!" Alvida shouted, the snail looking extremely irritated.
"Get out of my room!" Buggy screamed. The snail make a noise that sounded like she'd dropped the receiver and protests came from the other end as Buggy's underlings were apparently shoved out of the room.
The snail sweatdropped as the woman came back. "Oh my god, they're insufferable sometimes. Sorry about that."
"Is everything alright, Buggy?" Shanks asked, concern in his voice.
"Um, well, yeah…I actually wanted to do this person but with things the way they are…um…this is the best I can do. I also wanted to do this better but…" the nervous Buggy came back for a moment but she took a deep breath and finally said what she was trying to say. "Shanks, I'm pregnant!"
It took several seconds for both men to process what they'd just heard and time seemed to slow down. The gears in Shanks' brain tried to fire up again, grinding a little but getting nowhere. He decided that if he asked for clarification, maybe that would help. "Say that again?"
The snail gave him the sideways-eye look that Buggy gave him when she knew that he was being an idiot. "You were supposed to react better than this," she complained, but then the snail started trying to suppress a smile and failed at it. Buggy repeated, "Shanks, I'm pregnant! You're going to be a father!"
The redhead and his first mate blinked at each other and then the snail and then back at each other before they both sprang to their feet. They immediately lost their balance in the small space after they'd accidentally bumped into each other and unceremoniously tipped over the side of the crow's nest.
To be Continued...
A/N: And there you go! I'm having so much fun with this if you can't tell (*≧∀≦*) I hope you have a lovely day and I'll see you all next time! :3