Disclaimer!: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE! I own my OC(s), and that's just it, we are on a fanfiction site/ story site.
Time for the chapter!
Chapter 3: Baby-Dad-Grandpa-Uncle (But Not in that Order)
~ And now, I pronounce you…..! ~
[ Location: New World; On the Sea; December, 25th - Astrid: 3-4 months old ]
"Baby's first CHRISTMAS!"
"Look at her, isn't she just precious."
"She isn't precious, she's…OWOWOWOWOW, ASTRID, STOP PULLING MY NOSE!"
The young baby, in the arms of the Captain of the crew, even when the whole rest of the crew is clearly keeping a sharp eye on him, holds her near both cabin-boys. Babys', doing what they do best with their insane grip, hold onto the thing that interests them the most.
In this case, Buggy's dear red nose.
"She really likes your nose, neeeeeee~, Buggy?," Roger chuckled, handing her gently to the young boy.
"WAH, WA-OW-IT, CAPTAIN!?"
"Hand her over to me, Buggs."
Shanks manages to tickle Astrid, causing her to loosen her grip on the big-red-nose of his crewmate. Taking her from his hold, Shanks adjusts her tenderly in his arms. She starts trying to grab Shanks hair, which he lets her, as he starts making some funny faces at her.
"She tends to be calmer when she is with you Shanks," Buggy gruffs out, soothing his nose as he looks at the two.
"Really? I haven't noticed…"
"WELL NOTICE IT!", Buggy huffs, folding his arms and looking away as Shanks finally looks up at him.
The festivities on the ship, filled with lights and merriment, was in full swing as the holiday season made its way to the Oro Jackson. The snowfall from the other day still remained on the floorboards of the ship, as the snowfall had happened all across the world as a marker of the festive tidings. The crew, having some downtime, was partying, drinking, and playing games while enjoying each other's company. This was the time to wind down and relax for once on these turbulent seas.
"Shanks," Crocus called out, motioning for Shanks to come over. Gaban and Sunbell are right next to him as they were playing cards.
Shanks makes his way to the starboard side of the ship, being careful not to slip on some of the more sloshier bits of snow on the deck. Before Shanks could even react as he made it to the older man, Crocus takes Astrid out of Shank's grip, resting her in his arms.
Shanks has a look that is a cross between shock and hurt as he processes what happened.
"Crocus," Shanks pouts, crossing his arms as he looks straight at the man, "please give me back Astrid."
"You've had her for the majority of the day Shanks," Crocus chuckles, bouncing her up and down as she grabs for his odd-shaped beard, "I think you need a break."
"But…"
"Crocus is right," Gaban chimed in, putting down another card causing Sunbell to wince a little, "you're one of the few on the crew that primarily takes care of her, let us take care of her for a while. Go, have fun, rest." Gaban ruffles Shanks' hair, before continuing on with the game.
Shanks lets out a sigh, pouting a bit once more, before patting the little bits of Astrid's hair and then going to where his fellow cabin boy is.
Crocus, being gentle with the bundled up baby in his arms, continues to watch the game of cards unfold as the game slowly turns into a standstill. Sunbell had managed to gain the upper hand, although, just barely.
"I see that a winner still hasn't been decided yet." Spencer comes about with drinks in his hands, putting them on the sides of the men still playing the card game.
He makes his way to the babe and Crocus, sitting beside them and putting a drink next to the older man. He takes his own and takes a swing, his unoccupied hand gently rubbing Astrid's head.
Spencer looks at Crocus, "has it really been over 3 months since she's joined the crew?"
"Time flies, especially with the lives that we are living," Crocus rocks Astrid gently, grabbing his drink and taking a bit of a swing, but being stopped by the babe as Astrid tries to yank his beard more. He quickly puts down his drink, gently prying the small hands that want to pull out his facial hair.
"I have to say," Gaban chimes in, "she has an insane grip." He slightly chuckles, before wincing when he drew a bad card.
"I agree, I feel that she almost ripped out my fin when she grabbed onto it that one time." Sunbell winces, laying down another card and grinning ear to ear when he sees that he's turned the tide of the game.
A pirate crew as merry as them, chatting, laughing, and braving the elements. Traversing the New World in search of adventure.
Discovering new islands.
Meeting the natives and turning the world upside down.
Being free to do as they pleased, with such joy and glee.
How time goes and flashes by, in front of their eyes, and Astrid, well Astrid, we continue on, where that young lass turns 2 years old at the time.
[ Location: New World; On the Sea; September, 08th - Astrid: 2 years old ]
"SHE'S A JOLLY GOOD LASSS!"
Some hip-hip's and a hooray was yelled by the crew as they grew louder with each verse.
"SHE'S A JOLLY GOOOOOOD LAAASSSS!"
On the shoulders of the Captain of the Oro Jackson, wearing a pirate hat that covered her eyes, she held onto it and the mighty man. She looked upon the crew giggling, smiles all around.
"SHHHHEEEE'SS A JOOOOLLLLLLYYYYY GOOOOD LAASSSSSS!"
Drinks in the air, a toast of celebration, Astrid raises her hands as well, but quickly goes back to grasping onto the Captain as she doesn't want to fall off.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASTRID!"
Astrid yells cheerfully, acknowledging the crew as she clings to the man, still unable to form words.
A late bloomer to talking, in comparison to other kids her age.
"Let me set you down, my dear daughter." Roger chuckles as he sets her down.
Astrid lets out a holler at the Captain, a means to say thank you, before running towards a certain red-haired cabin boy.
"GRAWHAHA," Astrid motions to the boy.
Shanks looks at Astrid in thought, while Astrid says the same thing to Buggy, with Buggy looking confused at the birthday girl. All the while, she is motioning and trying to convey with her hand movements and body language what she wants to do.
Very much a version of charades, to say the least.
"Hmmmm, do you want to play Go Fish again?" Shanks manages to deduce from Astrid's mimic of shuffling cards again.
"GRA!" Astrid nods, dragging both cabin boys with her two hands in search of Sunbell and his set of cards.
She took multiple left turns, confused other crew members for Sunbell, before she finally reached the fishmen who was playing with Crocus, with a multitude of other spectators all around the two.
Squinting at everything, listening to the sounds around her, she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do in this situation.
"Seems like Sunbell and Crocus are playing cards Astrid," Shanks looked at her, "want to try asking someone else for cards?"
Astrid pondered, staring at the ground, before grunting in agreement, nodding her head furiously in Shanks direction.
"ASTRID!" Buggy tries to stop her head, while Shanks laughs as Astrid continues to nod with so much vigor, she nearly topples the blue haired cabin boy despite his good intentions.
"What's up with you three?" Rayleigh comes up from behind, a tankard of beer in hand.
Buggy nearly screeches at the first mate, mainly due to trying to stop Astrid's odd antics, "we're trying to find cards because Astrid wants to play Go Fish."
Rayleigh rubs his small, growing beard, before snapping his fingers in an ah-ha moment before saying, "Roger has cards, ask him." He takes a sip from his tankard.
Astrid lets out a happy, nearly animalistic growl, as she drags both cabin boys with her in search of her already lost captain, with Rayleigh following behind them.
Squinting a bit more, sniffing the air, and listening to sounds, Astrid finally manages to make it to the jolly Captain, who was taking a swing of his tankard while smacking Gaban on the back.
"Rowowowowow", Astrid tries to get the Captain's attention, grabbing onto his leg and begins to climb him like a tree.
This causes everyone around them to start laughing, as it's a sight to see a young child climb their captain with reckless abandon.
"What do you need my dear," Roger smiles at the birthday girl, picking her up by her armpits before she can climb anymore.
"Grawawawaw, mrowwowow," Astrid states calmly, before raising her hands in the air to show how serious she is. Or, well, her train of thought signified how serious she is.
No one can tell what is going through her developing mind.
Shanks and Buggy act as resident translators,
"She wants to borrow your cards Captain" / "Wants to play Go Fish with your cards, Captain."
"I see," Roger is holding her with one hand, rubbing Astrid's black hair as the sun shone on her gray eyes.
"You have to give dad a kiss on the cheek before borrowing the cards," he said confidently, all gung-ho as Astrid looked at him in confusion.
"That makes you sound like a grandpa," Gaban laughs loudly, as he clutches to his tankard.
"WHA-WHA….WHAT DO YOU MEAN I SOUND LIKE A GRANDPA?!"
"I MEAN WHAT I SAID, SAID WHAT I MEAN ROGER!"
"HE'S NOT WRONG." / "GIVE HER WHAT SHE WANTS." / "SHE'S THE BIRTHDAY GIRL, YOU GIVE HER A KISS."
"My own crew is going against me," Roger chuckled between his fake tears, while the young lass was deep in thought in his arms.
"Captain, she'll think of you as a—."
"A…d."
The crew went all wide-eyed, the person who was just speaking decided to stop at this moment, as it was thought to be a pipe dream to hear Astrid speak.
The crew's fears, soon to be alleviated.
Astrid looked at the man that she recognized as her family, the one that had taken her in, the one and same that smothered her with love and proudly said,
"GRANDPA!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE DAD!"
The whole crew erupted in laughter, while their dear Captain looked at her in defeat, deflating as he set her down as she ran back towards the two cabin boys.
Forgetting all about the cards.
"I guess since the Captain is a grandpa, then you're an uncle, right, Buggy?" Shanks chuckled as Buggy looked at him in shock.
"HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!", Buggy started to grab Shanks by the collar.
"UNCLE!", Astrid looked wide-eyed at Buggy, while the cabin boy looked at her in disbelief.
"DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID? RED-HAIR!" Buggy shakes his fellow cabin boy, red in the face.
Astrid looks at Shanks, and with the widest, happiest smile, she yells out,
"DAAAAAAAD! DAD! DAD!"
She jumps up and down, running around the two as half the crew gaps at them while the other half have fallen over due to them laughing at this wondrous, unusual, and interesting turn of events.
Shanks, from the look of it, is watery-eyed as he hears those words.
One part due to it being unexpected.
Another, due to the fact that Shanks, is the one that is mainly in charge of Astrid besides the Captain, the doctor, the first mate, and the second mate of the ship, alongside some of the crew that can handle a child.
Which is far and few between.
A dopey smile on his face, Shanks laughs as Buggy gets him into a headlock, before long Shanks and Buggy are wrestling while Astrid is shouting out 'Dad' and 'Uncle' at the two.
Cheering them both on even though there will be one winner.
[ Location: Unknown; Unknown ; XX/ XX/ XXXX]
"Where were we?" ?
"We were at the beginning of the story….the beginning of the story of her new life." ?x?x?
The figure sighed at the younger, grabbing a glass and a bottle of wine, setting it down, before handing another glass to the other individual.
Each pouring a drink as events unfold.
"To think, this is how we're telling her story…..are you sure that you want to go in this direction?" ?x?x? made a face at the other individual, sipping from their glass.
"You said that we would tell it together, even with her out of the picture, it's not so bad," ?x?x? chuckled, patting the other figures back as they too, took a sip of wine.
The other figure sighed, "but she, she is the one that ultimately has to tell them….", ?x?x? pouts.
?x?x? looks at their friend fondly, "I trust her with all my heart, as my dear best friend, as someone who I would put my life on the line for."
?x?x? looked at the starry sky.
"Please….I hope to make her proud."
[ Location: New World; A Certain Island, Oro Jackson Docked; February 10th - Astrid: 2 years old ]
"Astrid, what's this?," Shanks held out an orange to the young child.
Sniffing the fruit, taking the orange gently from the older boy, she loudly proclaims, "orange!"
"Bing bong, correct!" Shanks chuckles as he messes with Astrid's hair.
Astrid had a big smile on her face, as she looked happy to be able to name something right.
She soon proceeds to try to peel the orange, getting orange juice and sneezing when the strong scent reaches her nose. Shanks was getting ready to get the next item to show Astrid, but before he could…
"Ne, Ne, Dad," Astrid pulled on Shanks' clothes.
"Yes?" Shanks looked at her.
"Why does the world look so…hmmm…what's the word?" Astrid contemplated from her inner list of words, till she found the right word to associate with the world.
"Fuzzy?"
"The world…looks…fuzzy? How so?", Shanks had given her his undivided attention.
"Everything looks fuzzy! It's when I ummm, make my eyes look like this," she proceeds to squint, "or I look at something like this," she brings the orange to her face, her nose right about to touch the orange, "that I can see it a bit more…what's the word?"
"Clearly?"
"Yeah! Clearly." Astrid passed a piece of orange to the older boy, as she got another for herself.
That was when, rather unexpectedly, Shanks picked her up. Astrid let out a yelp of surprise, as he scrambled to the ship's doctor.
All in order for her to see the world a bit more clearly, so of course, off to Crocus they went.
"Crocus!" Shanks yelled out, making it to the doctor of the ship.
"Shanks, what's wrong? Is it Astrid?" The doctor started to look over the two, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong with them.
"It's Astrid's eyes." Shanks set Astrid down, the younger looking up at him, squinting in confusion.
Crocus looks at the youngest crew member, picking her up and bringing her to the med-bay, gaining more information from Shanks as they prepare to begin the eye-examination.
He proceeds to set her down on the examination bed, making himself her eye level as he adjusts and sits on his chair. He motions for Buggy, who had followed along as the rest of the crew looked on, to go get his eye examination equipment from the cabinet as he gets to work.
"Follow my finger Astrid."
Going through the eye exam, Astrid could perceive objects, colors, but characters….well…letters.
"What's this character?"
He had motioned to a character that was an average font.
"Ummm, ka?" She squinted rather hard, but to no avail.
"What about this one?" he points to the bigger one on top.
"SA", Astrid proclaims loudly, barely able to see it.
"Hmmmmm, I see…"
With that, concluding the mock eye exam, he jots down more notes on Astrid's medical chart, before he picks her up.
All of them heading to their Captain.
"Roger, Rayleigh, you won't guess what I just found out."
With the rest of the crew listening in.
Giving the most basic of summaries, he tells the Captain and First Mate his findings, while Astrid continues to squint at everyone.
"SHE NEEDS GLASSES?!"
[THWACK]
"Owww, why did you do that, Rayleigh?" The Captain looked hurt at his First Mate.
"I have glasses, Crocus has glasses, you know plenty of people that have glasses, Roger." Rayleigh stated calmly, taking Astrid from Crocus as it seemed that she was dozing off.
Shanks looks at the older men, "does that mean that she'll need them for the rest of her life?"
Crocus thought, and he sighed, as there was no remedy for bad eyesight except for glasses in their world.
"Yes, she'll need glasses for the rest of her life, Shanks," Crocus looked at him, "just like myself and Rayleigh."
Shanks pondered, coming to a conclusion of his own, "then I'll have to be extra careful with her," he grinned.
"Same here!" Buggy butt in, while the rest of the crew laughed.
"She'll look great in glasses." / "What color should they be?" / "The good thing is that we're already docked."
Before long, having procured the glasses, Astrid was amazed about all that she was missing out on.
"SILKY!" She pointed at silk.
"ORANGE!" She pointed at an orange.
"RED!" She pointed both at Buggy's nose and Shanks' red hair.
She looked at the character for pirate, "PIRATE!"
And she continued on, till they made it to that certain island.
Where they would run in with some Marines….
…and a certain pirate crew….
…and a man, with his family, far from home.
A/N: Heyo everyone, so it looks like I'm just gonna update once every two months, so..
There's that for the madness…..jejejejejeje
A little about me, so I'm currently lookin' for internships and part-time jazz so I can apply to grad school, take the GRE….that do be life, I guess…..
Hope everyone is happy, safe, and gettin ready for Valentines? St. Patrick's Day? Easter? SUMMER VACATION?
I hope everyone is enjoying this fanfiction, btw, cause I know I'm going slow, and all that jazz. Like, CRITIQUE ME, pop a comment, if ya want, among other jazz.
Hopefully, I'm going in the right direction with my writing and proof-reading, so, stick with me.
This fan-fic might end up ending after Oda-sensei finishes his masterpiece, so….ye, I'm slow.
Peace, with a Fist of Love,
~DH