A/N: Heyo! ZareEraz here! I'm really excited to share this chapter with you all because there's drama! Hooray! We love drama! As always, enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think! :3 Happy Reading!
Chapter Four: A Nose for Trouble
Buggy threw her hands in the air and cried, "I have nothing to wear!" while sitting on her floor in nothing but her underwear.
Alvida rolled her eyes, looked at the bluenette, and then at the piles of clothes strewn all over the floor, the bed, the couch, the table, and the dressers. "You have tons to wear!" she argued back., filing her perfectly painted nails to keep from strangling her friend. They'd both been looking for an outfit for Buggy to wear on her date with Shanks for two hours now and she was fed up. "You just don't want to wear any of it!"
"Precisely!"
"You are being so unreasonable!"
Buggy had just hit week sixteen of her pregnancy and was upset that a lot of her tight, skimpy pants and shorts didn't fit properly anymore, if at all. While Buggy had lots of clothes, the majority of them were not what one would label flattering or practical for someone who had a bit of a belly, and Buggy didn't want to leave her stomach exposed. Now her upsetness had extended to her shirts as well, even though many of them still fit properly, and she was just generally being difficult.
"You know he's going to think that you look good in anything you wear, right?" the black-haired woman pointed out. "You don't even really have to try and he's going to think you're the most beautiful thing in the world."
"I just…I don't feel pretty anymore! And I want to feel that I look pretty!" Buggy complained, mad at herself for feeling this way. "I'm too big to look like I used to, but I'm not big enough to truly look pregnant and just not care anymore! I can't even really wear any of the maternity clothes Shanks bought me because I'm not big enough yet and there's just so much fabric…" she trailed off, sniffing pathetically. She'd already cried twice and didn't want to do it again so she rubbed her eyes harshly to force the tears away.
Alvida saw how hard she was trying not to cry and sighed, understanding the situation. She would've usually given Buggy a harder time, but she just looked so heartbroken. In an attempt to be nice, the woman sighed and placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I think I may have something for you to wear." Buggy's eyes lit up, huge and hopeful. "But since your wardrobe is ill-equipped to handle your pregnancy, will you promise me that maybe while you're out you could pick out some new clothes if I help you?"
"Yes!"
Ha, this is just an opportunity for her to spend more of Shanks' money, Alvida thought wryly. She picked up a pair of pants that she knew would match the shirt she had in mind and told Buggy to put them on. Before the bluenette could complain she said just to trust her and she'd be right back. The woman then walked to her room and rummaged through her perfectly organized wardrobe and pulled out the shirt. It was definitely one of the most modest pieces she had (who would want to cover up their body when they looked at gorgeous as she did?) but it had been too pretty to let go on the basis of having more material than she usually wore. The fabric was pale pink with a floral pattern and the sleeves were done in a short butterfly style. The reason Alvida thought that this shirt would work for Buggy was that it had a tie right underneath where her breasts and the bottom half of the top was flowy – she could accentuate her breasts and tastefully display her bump at the same time without drawing too much attention if she didn't want it.
"You'd better be grateful that I'm letting you borrow this, Buggy," she said to no one, closing her closet with a click. "It's absolutely perfect for someone like me."
Back in Buggy's room, Alvida found her friend struggling to button up her pants. She bit her lip to hide her smile at just how frustrated the other woman was getting but went to help after hanging the shirt up.
"Here, let's do this." Alvida snagged two of Buggy's many hair ties off of her vanity and wove them together and then threaded the ties through the buttonhole and looped both ends around the button, extending the waistline. Buggy smiled genuinely for the first time all day and thanked her friend while doing a little happy dance. She then squealed in delight when she saw the shirt and in an overly-affectionate display, jump-hugged Alvida.
"Yes, yes, you're welcome," she said, patting the bluenette on the back. "Now get off me. Your date is in a half an hour, you know."
The two women chatted happily for that half an hour while Alvida pulled Buggy's hair up into a cute messy bun, teasing her that if she was going to keep going out on covert dates, they might want to consider getting a wig for her. Buggy shot back that it would have to be the flashiest wig in the world for her to wear it. Alvida decided not to say that "flashy" was probably not the right word to use because who knows, she might just get a multicolored afro for a present. Though, when she really thought about it, Buggy might actually like that circus afro and the whole joke would be ruined. Or worse, Shanks might think it was great and wear it around the next time he got drunk! She scrapped the idea and just kept bantering with the bluenette while they did their makeup together.
When Buggy was finally ready, she felt much more confident, all smiles. But just before she went to meet her boyfriend, she had the sudden urge to pee (for the seventh time that day). While Buggy ran off to the bathroom, Alvida went onto the deck. The Big Top had traveled to a nearby spring island and was floating several miles away from the shore. Buggy and Shanks had planned to take a small sailing boat (with a few of the fanboys to work it) and sail into town for the day. Alvida was happy with this as well because she was going to get an afternoon of peace and bossing. As she stepped out on the deck she spotted Shanks; he was dressed much the same as he always had, only he'd ditched his cape and had most of his hair hidden in a bandana. Apparently, this is what he'd done the last time he and Buggy had gone on an island date and it worked pretty well to downplay his more prominent features. Then, she had an idea and went back to her room to grab a few things.
"Hey Shanks, come here." He pointed at himself and she nodded, waving him over. She sat him down in the dining room and took out her makeup brushes and told him to close his eyes.
Shanks hesitated and looked suspiciously at the brushes and makeup. What Alvida didn't know was that the last time makeup had been put on his face, he had just lost a bet with Buggy and she'd Buggified with stars and blue and crossbones. "What are you going to do?" he asked warily.
"I was going to dull your scars so they didn't stand out quite as much but if you don't want to I won't," she answered. "I just thought that it would help since Buggy's nose was going to draw attention anyway and you're both trying to be discrete."
"Oh, if that's all then great!" The man smiled happily and closed his eyes. Alvida blinked a few times, surprised by his compliance but got to work anyway. She was able to lessen the severity of the scars so that they were still visible but didn't stand out as much. From a distance, no one would even be able to tell. "There," she declared when she was finished. Shanks opened his eyes and looked at himself in the little hand mirror she held up. "Don't worry, you still have your rugged good looks," Alvida joked, "But let's not make a habit of this; I know Buggy thinks they're sexy."
Shanks' eyes lit up. "She thinks they're sexy?"
"Hasn't she told you that already?" Alvida was very skeptical that he didn't know.
"Probably," he shrugged, "But I still like the fact that she's told others she thinks they're sexy." He gave her a dopey grin and then ran out of the room to go show Buggy.
When Buggy saw what Alvida had done, she blushed. "Dammit! Now you look like – " she cut herself off and slapped a hand over her mouth.
Shanks instantly jumped on that reaction. "What do I look like?" he teased, bundling his girlfriend into his arm. Her blush deepened when he smirked at her, his nose nearly touching hers. "Come on, you can tell me," he prompted.
"You look like how I remember you twenty years ago…just taller…and less lanky." She looked down and then back up the length of his body and Shanks smirked, knowing she was appreciating him. Then she surprised him. "Your stubble even reminds me of that peach fuzz you were trying to grow out that I always shaved off in your sleep."
Shanks gaped at her. "You did that?! I thought I was going crazy!" Buggy stuck her tongue out at him and laughed. The redhead laughed too. "I can only imagine how hard it was to dangle out of your hammock above me and shave my chin!"
"The floating hands helped," Buggy giggled.
"Of course, they did." The two of them laughed again and Alvida rolled her eyes where the lovebirds couldn't see her while the rest of the crew "awwwwwwed" at them. Shanks let Buggy go to get a good look at her. She looked so cute in her little floral top, unaware of the turmoil that had happened to look that cute. "You look very beautiful, Buggy,"
The woman blushed again and grabbed his hand, yanking him toward the rail to cover up just how happy that made her. "C-come on! Let's go!" The two of them clambered down into the small boat resting in the water and everyone was on their way.
As Alvida, Galdino and the rest of the crew watch the boat sail away, the wax man commented, "You know, I'm always quite surprised that no one recognizes them whenever they do this."
"I think people see what they want to see," Alvida replied. "I mean, who would ever think that Red-Haired Shanks, Emperor of the Sea, and Buggy the Genius Jester would ever show up on their island?"
"I guess you have a point," he admitted as the two of them looked at the idiots on Buggy's crew who thought that she was the all-powerful goddess she pretended to be. "People do see what they want to see."
"No matter how cowardly Buggy acts," the black-haired woman snickered.
On the little boat, Buggy sneezed and wiped her nose; she had an eerie feeling that someone was talking about her.
"Are you cold?" Shanks asked, worried that she might get sick. "I don't have my cape…come here." He pulled his girlfriend into his lap and wrapped his arm around her to keep her warm. She only protested a little before leaning back into him, trying to keep herself from throwing up. Her nausea was getting better and it could creep up on her sometimes but today was a good day. Buggy sighed with relief when they all made it to shore without any issues.
Buggy's crew then got the same treatment Shanks' crew got as they were forced to traipse around the city while the pair shopped for more baby clothes and for some better-fitting clothes for Buggy. They were also forced to carry around the bags from their shopping and generally just gush about how happy their captain was with her boyfriend. Since they had to keep their goddess' identity as secret as possible, they'd turn to each other and whisper behind bags and bags of stuff, "Captain Buggy is so cute!" or "Captain Buggy is just the best!" They would also get incredibly jealous when she smiled at something Shanks said or blushed when he did something cute for her, causing them to get behind the same bags and rant quietly, "How much does he need to make her laugh…I want to make her laugh like that!" or "It's so unfair how cute she is with him!" Despite the goon's general antics, the small group of pirates was able to keep out of the way and let the lovebirds have their time together.
There wasn't any kind of significant trouble until a little later after everyone had gotten some lunch. While shopping in one of the stores, Buggy found a bottle of perfume she liked which was a variation of her own perfume. She has sprayed herself with it and liked it so much (and was thankful that her pregnancy hadn't ruined the smell for her) that Shanks bought it for her. However, all throughout the date, her brain kept getting drawn back to the lavender scent. While she normally liked the scent, there was just something about it today that made her crave it. That would've been normal – to want to smell a scent more because you liked it – however she didn't want to smell it, she wanted to eat it. Her stomach rumbled despite having just eaten and a gnawing desire began to scratch at her brain and her patience, like an eager dog begging to be let out. At first, she was just grumpy, disinterested in everything Shanks was showing her in the shops or little things he noticed about the town. The redhead just chalked it up to her being tired and went on with his chattering; she wasn't complaining so why stop? When Buggy started getting snippy with him, he knew something was up. What he was unaware of was the fact that the little dog who'd been begging to get out was now a gigantic bear that was banging at the cage of Buggy's mind, roaring to be satisfied or destroy everything.
After getting snapped at about liking a "dumb" baby onesie even though it had her favorite star pattern on it, Shanks asked, "Buggy, is something wrong?"
"No," she replied curtly, clearly miffed. By the way she folded her arms, the man knew she wanted something but that he'd have to guess what it was.
"Are you tired of shopping?"
"No."
"Do you want to go to a different store?"
"No."
"There's a nice park over there, do you want to walk there for a bit in the shade?"
"No."
"Do you want to sit down?"
"No."
"Do you need a drink?"
"No."
"Are you feeling nauseous?"
"No."
"Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
"No."
Each answer was more a more irritated and Buggy's eyes narrowed and narrowed until she was full-on glaring at him like he was an idiot. He almost expected her to stomp her feet and throw a tantrum big enough to involve flying body parts and yelling if he didn't figure out what was wrong soon. Thankfully, Buggy was a little more mature than that and just kept being huffy. It hadn't occurred to Shanks up until this point that Buggy might want a snack – by his logic, they'd only eaten about half an hour ago and they wouldn't have needed a snack until later. However, the man did remember that he was dealing with a pregnant woman and tentatively asked, "Do you want to get a snack?"
She immediately answered, "Yes!" before storming out of the store with him following close behind. The woman started obsessively looking at every little shop and bakery, apparently looking for something specific. It wasn't until she saw a little ice cream parlor that her eyes lit up. The bluenette ran for the street-side window and nearly plastered her face to the glass, looking at all the flavors.
Oh, so she wanted ice cream, Shanks thought, jogging to catch up to her. But just when he thought that her problem had been solved, Buggy started sobbing uncontrollably. Shanks panicked and his jog turned into a sprint to get to her. He wasn't the only one he'd surprised – the older couple who owned the little ice cream parlor was also incredibly shocked and concerned at the same time. Shanks wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and tried to comfort her.
"It's okay, love bug, it's okay," he soothed, mouthing Sorry, she's pregnant to the shop owners. They nodded, understanding completely now. "Just tell me what's wrong."
Through little sobs and hiccups Buggy explained, "S-sorry…I just…want…lavender-tasting…ice cream…!"
Shanks calmly asked the owners if they had anything like lavender ice cream, their confusion at the flavor preference mirroring his own. When they shook their heads, the man put on a gentle face, being delicate with Buggy. "Well, they don't have it," he said gently, rubbing her back. "Is there another flavor you'd like?"
"No!" she sobbed. "I want lavender…"
Shanks thought to himself, Is lavender even an ice cream flavor? but knew better than to say it out loud. "Why does it have to be lavender flavored? This shop has lots of nice flavors for you to choose from. See? There's lemon with cake, apple pie, wild berry with graham cracker crumbles, and cotton candy!"
But no matter how nice and helpful he was being, Buggy wasn't having any of it. She sobbed louder this time, drawing the attention of her nearby underlings and anyone within earshot. Many curious and uncomfortable eyes locked onto the crying woman and her partner trying to comfort her. Buggy's goons were shocked that their cute, happy captain was now sobbing and they were about to go over and pummel Shanks for whatever he'd done to upset her when the bluenette wailed, "No! I want lavender ice cream so that it tastes the way my perfume smells!"
Her declaration startled everyone around them because frankly, they'd never seen someone get so upset over ice cream outside of screaming children. But finally, having an explanation and a mission, Buggy's underlings dropped their bags off with Shanks and scattered to the four winds, the five of them nearly trampling some innocent bystanders in their rush to search. They crashed into every candy store, barged through restaurants, and accosted several food stands with no luck. The men frantically searched the town and one even ran to a dairy farm he found outside of town but had no luck there either. When they met up with each other on crossing paths, they either lamented their predicament or raged at how it was so unreasonable that no one had lavender-flavored ice cream, and how could they do that?! Eventually, they were about to give up and resign themselves to facing their captain's wrath or her disappointment and sadness when they spotted a lone food cart by the side of a little shopping district. It was a quaint little cart, painted blue, pink, and white with a matching striped umbrella.
Filled with hope, the pirates stampeded toward the cart and startled the street vendor nearly out of his pants when they bellowed, "Do by chance happen to have any flower ice cream?!"
"Y-y-es I do…" he stammered, shocked and intimidated by the strange and scary-looking men. "I-I-I h-have many floral f-flavors here..." He got a little more confident when he focused on selling his ware rather than the scary men looking at him with such hope and intensity. "T-this one is rose w-water and pistachio, and this one is h-hibiscus and coconut, and this one is marigold and saffron – "
"Do you have any with lavender!?" the group boomed.
The vendor took a step back from the blast of noise and nodded nervously again, pointing to a tray with purple ice cream in it. "T-this one is l-lavender and h-honey…"
"Perfect!" they roared, causing the man to take another step back. One goon held out some money and asked for three scoops. The cart owner nodded nervously and quickly scooped out the ice cream so that the men would go away. However, that is not what happened.
Coveted ice cream in hand, one of the goons shouted, "CAPTAIN BU–" before being silenced by hands being slapped over his mouth.
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the other men hissed, fingers at their mouths telling him to shut up. He nodded and they all took off running toward where they'd last seen their beloved goddess. The poor cart owner sighed in relief when the men left but then shouted in horror when four of them came back, picked up his entire cart and him with it, and ran off. He bounced and shook and swayed with their frantic dash, yelling for them to let him down but was ignored the whole ride into town.
When the pirates made it to where they'd left their captain, Buggy was quietly sniffing and licking sadly at a double scoop of cotton candy ice cream that Shanks a purchased for her when a kerfluffle in the distance notified her of her underlings' return. She and Shanks and the townspeople watched in fascination and horror as one burly man ran towards the bluenette gingerly holding onto an ice cream cup while the other four hauled an entire food cart on their shoulders with a wailing owner on top of it. Any and all people in the street jumped out of the way as the goons rocketed past and skidded to a halt in front of their goddess.
"We found some lavender ice cream for you!" the man with the ice cream cup announced. "Well, lavender and honey…we hope that's okay."
"And we brought the cart with us!" the others announced proudly like they hadn't just kidnapped a man and his livelihood.
"I can see that," Shanks observed, as the vendor climbed down from his cart on shaky legs. Buggy was too interested in the purple ice cream to notice the vendor and took the cup, tossing her other cone in Shanks' general direction. He caught it nimbly with his one hand and took a lick, making a yummy face at the shop owners. They smiled back, not offended in the least by Buggy's behavior since the whole situation had been explained to them.
The bluenette took a tentative lick, the crowd of people around holding their breath for her reaction since practically everyone in the town was now invested in the little drama that had played out before them. Buggy's eyes lit up, happy with the refreshing taste of the lavender and the sweetness of the honey.
"It's perfect!" she exclaimed, taking another dozen licks without breathing. Shanks laughed as his girlfriend practically inhaled the ice cream and her underlings cried in relief, happy to have done a good job. The street vendor, though rattled, was also happy in the end, as the commotion brought a crowd of customers who wanted to try his floral ice cream flavors (except for the lavender and honey, of course, since Shanks purchased the entire tray he had for Buggy). The ice cream parlor also did quite well that day serving the people who were less adventurous with their tastes and preferred more conventional flavors. In the end, everyone was very happy, especially Buggy who got to eat what her perfume smelled like, and she even promised not to cause too much drama with her cravings in the future. However, her fanboys made no such promise and would definitely cause this much drama in the future.
Shanks looked at his girlfriend and chuckled at her sticky face and fingers, so like a child. "I'm going to have to find a way to store some of this ice cream for later," he mused, wondering if there was a way to get a freezer big enough on one of the ships or Buggy's island for her when she needed it. Buggy was too busy eating to hear him and just smiled happily, not a tear in sight as her underlings sighed in relief.
XXX
It had been another very long day and Buggy sighed and stretched out a kink in her back as the sun began to set on the horizon. She'd just hit her nineteenth week, and she was grateful for it because her nausea had finally tapered off to bearable levels and she also felt mostly normal, besides the fact that her body was achy more due to her increasing size. She also had a little buddy today since Bluster had somehow managed to sneak away from his Carrier Bat duties long enough to lovingly harass her. He had been napping on her head and squeaked in response to her leaning back just a little bit too far and throwing him off balance.
"Sorry little guy," she apologized. "You know, I'm going to have to give you a letter or something so that you don't get in trouble for visiting me, right?" The bat squeaked at her and burrowed back into her hair. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'" Buggy rolled her eyes and rested her hand on her protruding belly as she watched as yet another tent-like building was being constructed. The town, which the crew had dubbed "Buggy Town" was quite sizable now, and the name wasn't helping the woman's inflated ego. The big idea Buggy came up with for what she wanted to do as a Warlord was to be the mastermind and chairwoman of a mercenary group that would hire out individuals to do dirty work and rake in the cash. Buggy Town was going to be their base of operations and Buggy's own massive tent for assemblies and her quarters was quickly coming together along with several other buildings and Crocus' little clinic. She was very pleased with how things were coming along, especially since she wouldn't have to trek back to her ship every night to sleep or camp out on the beach anymore. Right now, only a few members of Buggy's crew were being hired for jobs, testing the market, but the bluenette's reputation would start to pull interest in from mercenary groups wanting to be hired under the protection of a Warlord. Even with what little she had, Buggy had already received several News Coos with letters asking just that. She would need to do some serious thinking about how hiring new mercenaries would work and they would all have to be careful if the secret of her baby's father was going to stay a secret. But despite these worries, she was happy that what would soon become "Buggy's Delivery Service" was shaping up nicely.
"Things are finally starting to come together, little one," she said quietly to herself. "Mama's going to start making some bank! We'll probably have to make a separate house for Shanks and me and you so that when you come, we can stay out of the spotlight for a while. I don't need any trouble from people knowing who your daddy is." She thought for a moment before continuing with, "Maybe we'll put it on the other side of the island so we can have some privacy. Would you like that?"
Buggy hoped that she would get an answering kick or a turn, but she got nothing. Crocus said that it was around this time that the baby would've started moving, but they hadn't quite yet. She was disappointed, but not too much. "You're going to be testy like me, aren't you?" she chuckled. "Never doing what you should be doing." Before she could say anymore, a deep rumble came from her stomach, surprising even her.
"Damn, I'm getting hungry! I wonder when dinner is going to be ready..." The bat that had been hanging out on her head also chirped, as if wondering the same thing. "We'll go get some food in a bit, okay? Maybe baby daddy will be back by then too," she mused. Shanks had been gone for about a week now, taking his crew to get supplies while Buggy's island got organized, and while she'd been a little lonely, knowing that her boyfriend would be back soon made her happy.
As Buggy was distracted thinking about food and Shanks, and during the general chaos of building an entire town, no one noticed a presence skulking around in the shadows. The man stayed hidden in the trees not too far off from where the Warlord was. Finally, this was his chance. The barrel of a gun was raised, metal barely glinting in the sparse sunlight leaking through the branches above them. He steadied his aim, his eye on the woman's wide-open back. It would be so easy to kill her – she was hardly guarded just then and completely clueless to the danger she was in. Buggy the Genius Jester was talking to one of her freaks with a lion that had just walked up to her and pointed at something in the unfinished town. The man and lion walked off and she was alone again. The man's finger itched to pull the trigger, but he waited for two more beats, making sure he had a clean shot once she stopped moving. He took a deep breath calming his racing pulse and then squeezed the trigger.
"Hey, Buggy!" The woman turned at the call, moving out of the optimal line of fire but it was too late to take it back.
BANG!
A scream rose into the air and the would-be assassin knew that he'd screwed up. The Warlord was crouching on the ground, only her shoulder injured, now surrounded by her damn pirates and out of his view. "Shit!" he cursed, starting to make a run for it. If he could just get deeper into the trees and back to his boat, he'd be fine. But even as he ran, the assassin didn't know that his time was already up.
Sometime prior to the shot, Shanks, Lucky Roux, and a few members of the Red Hair crew had docked their little sailing vessel they used for ferrying between the Red Force and the island at the port and hauled in their spoils. He was so excited to see Buggy after being gone for a week and practically skipped toward the town. The men with him laughed and jokes with each other as they brought in the supplies. Shanks was chatting away about his lovely Buggy and baby while his crew wanted to stuff his mouth with his smelly sandals so that he'd shut up. When they came in sight of Buggy and a few of her crew members, Shanks called out her name, dropping what he was carrying to wave at her. She turned toward him, a huge smile on her face, looking so cute with her hand on her growing belly. The man was so happy to see her and so distracted by her that he didn't feel the menacing presence until it was far too late.
The shot rang out and the resulting scream rent his heart.
It all happened so fast: Buggy was thrown forward when she was hit, nearly crumbling to the ground. She managed to slam herself into a kneel before she fell completely forward, keeping from landing hard on her torso. She cradled her belly with one arm, protecting her baby, her other arm limp and bloodied from a gushing wound in her shoulder. She howled in pain again, tears rolling down her face. In an instant, she was surrounded by anyone and everyone who had been nearby and they were all calling her name. Even Bluster, who had been thrown from the bluenette's head when she fell was screeching worriedly and flapping around his mistress. Shanks' feet moved before he knew what was going on and he was kneeling next to her, his eyes looking over every inch of her body. The man's anger flared, burning white-hot, as he saw the bullet lodged in her shoulder, tearing into her skin and muscle, and the pain etched on his beloved's face. It scorched his veins and overtook his mind, baying for blood. His hand on her back trembled with rage and he had to consciously keep himself from digging his fingers into her skin. He'd never been this furious in his entire life, and he didn't know what to do. Seeing the mother of his child hurt and in danger had boiled his mind down to two thoughts and he was trapped between them: Did he stay with her or pursue the presence fleeing the scene? No one else had noticed the man escaping through the woods as far as he could tell; they were all focused on Buggy. He felt frozen in place for those few seconds, battling his desire to comfort Buggy and his desire to avenge her.
The decision was made for him when Crocus came running to Buggy with his medical kit. He shouted, "Shanks, go get that bastard!"
Buggy reached up with her good arm and placed it on his hand. Their eyes locked, watery blue and burning red, and she nodded. That was all he needed to get moving.
When Shanks disappeared into the forest, Buggy felt a little bit of relief break through the pain – she wouldn't have to worry about getting shot again if Shanks was handling it. The look she'd seen in his eyes was terrifying and she knew whoever had done this was not going to get away. She wanted to relax, but there was no way she was going to be able to do that with Crocus cutting away her shirt and ripping the fabric off. He was putting pressure on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it just kept seeping. She vaguely heard him cursing at the increased blood volume that pregnancy caused and yelled for someone to go find her blood type in the clinic for a transfusion. Buggy's whole shoulder was on fire, the pain racing across her skin and muscles that felt like she was actually burning. She was aware that Crocus was trying to get her to stand up, but her body wouldn't move. She was so consumed by her pain that everything else was fading away as her vision tunneled. She tried to stifle her sobs but couldn't, whimpering as several sets of hands pulled her to her feet. Her shoulder pulled and stung all the way down to her bones as they moved her. Even with sweat pouring off of her skin and blood dripping out of her wound, and the pain she was experiencing, the overwhelming instinct to protect her child was stronger than them all. Breathing raggedly, she hunched over her belly and kept trying to rip her good arm out of the grip of whoever had her, making the half-walking, half-carrying that was happening even more difficult. Her body felt heavier and heavier with each step, and she didn't want to move anymore. She screamed when her shoulder was accidentally wrenched and molten pain blossomed all across her back. Finally, it was too much and Buggy crashed into the welcome embrace of unconsciousness, hoping that her baby and her beloved would be alright.
In the forest, Shanks ran as if the very gates of hell were opening behind him and dove into the trees like an avenging demon. He could sense Benn right behind him but all he was concerned about was the man ahead of him ducking under branches and dashing around trees in an effort to escape. A dark part of himself, carefully concealed by the flames of his righteous anger, enjoyed the chase, already knowing that this was going to end badly for the would-be assassin. The closer he got, the faster his heart pounded, until it roared in his ears, nearly drowning out the sound around him. But even that wasn't a problem, as Shanks' haki and sheer determination locked onto his prey's presence. One more beat…two beats…three beats…and he was there. The assassin had burst onto a small beach where a boat had been anchored and was scrambling for it. Shanks' eyes narrowed and his rage focused down to a point, to just this moment and what he was going to do next.
The man stopped, just inside the trees, still concealed in shadow, and sent out a burst of his Conqueror's Haki. It moved through the air as crackling energy, snagging the assassin is a trap purely constructed by Shanks' willpower. The man froze mid-stride, sweat beading on his skin, feeling like a heavy hand and just been placed on the back of his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter. His hands started trembling as dread seeped into his bones. He couldn't move from that spot no matter how much he wanted to. His boat was right there, a stone's throw away, and yet, there was an impassable abyss separating him and his means of escape: the domination of his own spirit. All the assassin could do was turn his head and look back the way he'd come, it was all he was allowed to do.
A figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in darkness until the last rays of the sunset illuminated his vibrant hair. The assassin sucked in a breath, the dread he'd been feeling turning to sheer terror as his eyes locked with the approaching man's eyes. They were bright with fury and sharp with hate and all he could do was quail under their intense gaze, unable to move even an inch. The tell-tale hair and the three scars over his left eye left no room for doubt and the assassin's heart thumped wildly in his chest.
"Oh god…it's Red Hair Shanks…" he nearly choked on the whispered words. He came to the horrible realization that he'd picked a fight with the wrong Warlord, but nothing could've prepared him for this. How did one prepare to fight what was essentially a force of nature? No, all you could do was hang on and pray for the best, hoping you'd survive. Nothing in any of the information he'd gathered had hinted that Shanks had maintained a relationship with the clown after helping her escape from Marineford, but here the Emperor was, stalking toward him like a wild beast ready to rip his throat out. The assassin would've preferred a wild animal rip his throat out and tear him to pieces than have to face down one of the most powerful individuals in the world. He swallowed, a lump forming in his throat as he watched the Emperor slowly approach him.
Shanks took great pride in how uncomfortable the assassin looked as he took one careful, deliberate step forward. He took his time, staring into the man's soul, his gaze unblinking as the bastard shrank more and more as the distance between them closed. He could practically smell the fear radiating off of him, but even then, Shanks was nowhere near satisfied – not until the bastard fully knew just how much he'd fucked up.
"So…" Shanks started, his voice a menacingly low growl. He took one more step forward, swaying like a jungle cat leisurely pursuing its prey. "You thought that you could come to this island and kill my Buggy? Well, that was a mistake, don't you think?" Another few, slow steps. His gaze never left the assassin's and even if he hadn't been using his Conqueror's Haki to keep the man in place, the sheer power in his glare would've rooted him to the spot. "I have half a mind to drag your ass back to her and have her dole out your punishment. I know she loves every opportunity to be petty and vengeful." Before Shanks could continue, his prey spoke.
In a last chance at defiance, the assassin spat, "I-I'll s-shoot that government bitch properly if I ever g-get another chance!" Shanks stopped walking, feeling a vein on his forehead pop with anger. No, he was beyond anger now and wrath was too tame of a word. Whatever he was feeling, it affected the world around him. The air chilled despite the tropical climate and became suffocatingly heavy, permeated with his haki and his emotions.
"I guess you've chosen not to get that chance," he replied, his voice hard and frosty. "Not that I could've let you leave this island alive anyway. Buggy is dead-set on keeping our relationship and our baby a secret as long as possible."
A baby…? The assassin's blood froze in his veins, understanding finally dawning on him. The baby the clown was carrying…it was Red Hair's child?! Before he could fully process that information, the Emperor's next words slid down his spine like ice.
"And you're going to help us keep that secret." Shanks was close enough now to reach out and grab the assassin's ear, yanking him harshly. The motion ripped a shout of pain out of him and the Emperor brought the assassin's face right up to his, still maintaining that unblinking, unnatural glare.
"I'm a pretty easy-going man and most of the time, I'll laugh just about anything off…" he said softly, his voice as cold as an arctic wind. "But regardless of what your reason may be, if you hurt a friend of mine you can believe you're gonna pay for it. And if you thought you were going to get away with hurting the woman I love, well then…" Shanks' voice dropped even lower and became even more menacing. "You were dead wrong." He knew the bastard finally understood just how furious he was because the Emperor saw horror and a kind of resignation seep into his terrified eyes. Shanks wanted to smile, to grin like a ravening wolf with his prey between its jaws, but he was too angry, too cold. In the back of his mind, Shanks was glad that Buggy wouldn't see him like this, wouldn't see what he was about to do.
He let the assassin go unexpectedly and the man stumbled back for just a moment before a fist slammed into his face. He was thrown to the ground by the force, his lip, nose, and head bleeding. Before his head cleared and he could scramble to his feet, Shanks drew his sword and stomped a foot on each of the man's wrists, pinning him down and breaking bones. He felt nothing except rage when the bastard cried out, Buggy's screams echoing in his ears. The rage he was feeling was honed into a blade as sharp as the one in his hand, the one that he stabbed into the assassin's shoulder. He screamed and pulled at his pinned arms, but Shanks didn't move one inch. He glared down into the man's eyes, not once breaking that intimate contact despite how hard the bastard underneath him tried to look away.
"That was for what you did to Buggy," Shanks snarled, ripping his sword out. Another scream and another gush of blood. "And this… this is what I have to do to protect her." His sword came up and with a vicious swing, his blade flashed, a cold arch of steel and fury, and then all was quiet. Shanks looked down at the man who'd tried to take everything away from him one last time, his expression blank, and then began to walk slowly away.
It was at that point he finally acknowledged that Benn had seen everything, standing at the tree line smoking one of his cigarettes. The captain and the first mate did not need to exchange words, but something passed between them nonetheless – an understanding of sorts and acceptance of what had transpired. Shanks had killed before and he would kill again, but this was different than all those casualties in battle – this had been unbridled, savage revenge – pure and simple. And it would stay here on this beach, forever unspoken once the body had been disposed of.
Their silent exchange was joined when another voice spoke up."Hey Boss," Lucky Roux started, having caught up with him and Benn at some point. The redhead stopped walking, turning his head slightly to listen to his friend. The large man had also understood the situation as Benn had, but he did have a question. "Why didn't you take him back to Buggy? I'm sure she would've liked to rip him a new one." It was a valid question: Shanks had almost done that too, but…
"I…I didn't want Buggy to see me like that," he said softly, the rage in his voice only simmering now that the object of his wrath was gone. His eyes drifted to the blood on his sword and he suppressed a shiver. He'd lost control and he didn't want Buggy to ever know. As contradictory as it seemed, since they'd grown up fighting with other pirates, he didn't want to scare her with how he became when he couldn't contain his anger; he didn't want her to think that it could ever be directed at her in any way either.
The man could tell his captain was conflicted and had the right to feel any way he wanted, but Lucky Roux still felt the need to point something out: "You know she threatens to stab people for fun, right?"
Shanks smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. If Lucky Roux could've seen his eyes, he would've seen that the wild lust for blood and invoked wrath still burned in their dark orbs. "Then maybe…we are perfect for each other in that regard as well."
A quiet moment pass while he thought about the whole situation, and ordered, "The next time we leave, we're going to start rumors that anyone who comes near this island or near Buggy the Genius Jester without her blessing doesn't come back alive."
Lucky Roux nodded. "You got it, Boss."
Shanks looked at his stained blade and wondered what else he was going to have to do to protect his beloved and child, already knowing that he would do just about anything unsavory for them no matter the circumstances. The man swiped his sword harshly, the blood splattering in a clean arc on the sand, leaving the steel bright. He then sheathed his sword and walked away without another word.
As he stalked back to town, Shanks' blood was still roaring in his ears, and the sight of Buggy kneeling on the ground with a bloody arm swam across his vision. His heart thundered, demanding more retribution, but the offender could give no more – he'd paid for his actions with his life. The redhead clenched his fist, nails digging into his skin, bringing some of the turmoil inside him to the outside through pain. He wanted to calm down, he wanted to return to his normal, carefree demeanor, but he couldn't. His lover and his child had been in danger and he couldn't forgive himself for letting them come to any harm. He felt strangely hollow now as if his anger had burned away everything else except the nagging worry eating at his stomach. He needed to go to Buggy, but he was now trapped between running to her as fast as he could and being scared to face her as he was. He could only imagine what his face looked like right now – the visage of a demon. He comforted himself with the thought that she was in good hands with Crocus and decided that maybe he'd just fast-walk and give himself some time to calm down. That seemed like a decent plan, something at least. He started walking as the last of the daylight faded, alone in the darkness.
At first, Buggy could only sense movement and muffled sounds in the darkness, but eventually, that sharpened. She heard a man's voice shouting and a woman's voice responding with equal energy. There was pulling and prodding and wetness all over her back, and the clink of metal and ripping of fabric. More talking, less frantic now continued and something scratchy and wet moved over her skin. Something stingy and then something sticky and soft at the same time was placed on her back. Her body was then gently rolled from her side to her back while the conversation continued.
"Goddamn bastard. I'll kill him if Shanks doesn't get to him first!" Crocus hissed, furious that he was patching up Buggy instead of just making sure she took her vitamins. He gave Alvida some instructions to carefully hold Buggy's limp body upright and grabbed several rolls of bandages. He furiously, but gently, began to wrap them around her body with the woman's help.
"Sign me up, pops," Alvida replied. "I'm ready to take a swing at him too!" Her concern was two-fold: She was upset that her partner had been shot, but also furious that the safety of the island that she lived on had been threatened. And on top of that, she'd had to deal with messy blood and anxiety! It was all unforgivable!
"Why the hell would anyone attack a pregnant woman?!" the old doctor grumbled. His clothes were splattered with blood, but his hands were clean again as he bandaged up Buggy's shoulder, having removed the bullet and stitched her back together. The man was just grateful that despite having lost a lot of blood, the wound wasn't too serious – she'd been shot in the meaty part of her shoulder, the bullet having lodged in her trapezius muscle with little damage to her shoulder blade, and it hadn't gotten anywhere near her spine. The bullet also hadn't gone through her shoulder, so her brachial artery and plexus nerve bundle weren't damaged; if they had been, Buggy could've lost her arm. The old doctor had to consciously stop his brain from running through all the horrible things that would've happened if his little snot had had worse luck and just focused on the fact that she'd be sore as hell and needed to heal.
Buggy's wry, strained voice broke his train of thought as she finally returned to a state of consciousness. "'Warlord,' 'Pirate,' 'Traitor,' 'Turncoat,' 'Associated with the World Government,' take your pick," Buggy spat, shaking from pain and effort to help hold herself up. Even with Alvida's assistance, the bluenette was so weak. She whimpered as the doctor tied off the bandages, the cloth tightening around her chest, shoulder, and upper arm. "I've made twice as many enemies now. Lucky me." And that's when she noticed the tube stuck inside her good arm with red stuff in it. Still groggy, she moved and the tube and tape tugged at her skin, slurring, "There's a tube in me, Crocus."
"Don't worry about that now," Crocus ordered, still seething on the inside, but now that his patient was awake he needed to solely focus on her. He ordered, "Just lay down and I'm going to get you something for the pain. You're going to need to sleep."
"Do I really need to sleep?" she joked as Alvida helped her move and lay down on the other bed in the office; this one didn't have blood all over it. Once the effort to move her over had been made, Buggy amended her previous statement, feeling exhausted just from that small move. "Just kidding, I want to sleep."
"That's what I thought," the old doctor chuckled dryly. "Alvida, would you grab me one of those gowns? We'll get Buggy her own clothes later."
"Yeah, but she's going to owe me big time for everything I did for her today," the black-haired woman complained. "I even ruined my outfit for her!"
"I'll buy you something pretty," Buggy replied, very unfocused from the pain and blood loss. She was then carefully helped into the gown and tucked in. Crocus made her drink some water and take a few pills and that was about it for her. Both he and Alvida stayed with their idiot until her eyes drifted shut and her breathing evened and slowed to indicate she was deeply asleep.
"Well, I need a breather," Alvida said, breaking the silence. She was also going to chuck her ruined clothes, take a nice hot bath and go to sleep after pampering herself. If she was feeling gracious, she'd come and check in on Buggy a few times during the night (and she was feeling particularly gracious at the moment).
"Tell the idiot goons I know are wailing outside that Buggy is going to be fine and that they should shove off to give her time to rest. I don't want to deal with them."
"Wow, you know them so well."
"They're not hard to figure out," he replied. Alvida took her leave after that and Crocus heard the commotion of her shooing everyone away. The doctor sighed, stretching out several aches that had set in from the stress of the evening. "I'm getting too old for this," he grumbled. True to form, Buggy had brought more chaos into his life, but this time it wasn't her fault and he was just grateful that she was going to be okay.
Setting aside his worries and the tiredness that was beginning to settle in his old bones, Crocus started the process of cleaning up the room and putting everything back in order. Buggy slept through any and all accidental crashes and swears that he made as he righted his office and cleaned his instruments. He felt much better once everything was in its place, and when Crocus finally felt reassured enough that Buggy would be fine for a while, he stepped out of his office and walked through his waiting room to the outside door, intending to take a walk. Buggy had given him his own little building that thankfully did not look like a tent (he would've killed her himself if she'd made him live in one of her "flashy" buildings) and had his own living quarters on the second floor. He was quite pleased with his little home (and impressed by the fact that her goons built it properly) and would have to remind himself to thank Buggy for it when she woke up. When he opened the outside door, Crocus was met with an anxious Shanks pacing back and forth with an equally anxious bat on his head, the one that had been snuggling Buggy all day. The old man was sure that the redhead would have been wringing his hands together if he'd had two to wring together. How long has he been out here?
"You idiot," he sighed, getting the younger man's (and the bat's) attention. Shanks was always a worry wart when it came to Buggy, but Crocus couldn't blame him or tease him this time – they'd all faced a serious situation today. He reassured the redhead with, "She's going to be alright, Shanks." The redhead's eyes lit up, though he still looked stressed and conflicted about something. "You should've just come inside."
"I didn't…I wanted to…" Shanks didn't know how to properly express the turmoil he was feeling. He was still keyed up from what had happened and hadn't wanted to barge in on the doctor, nor did he want to aggravate Buggy. He had also wanted to make sure that he had calmed down enough to hide the anger that was still simmering inside him, controlled but not gone; he didn't want to scare her. Finally, he simply said, "I wanted to calm down."
Crocus nodded, seeming to understand everything that was behind that simple sentence. "Be quiet when you go in, she's sleeping," he instructed gently. The old man placed a comforting hand on his other brat's shoulder and patted him. "I'll be back in a bit to check on her." And with that, he gently transferred the bat from Shanks' red hair to his flower with little resistance from the little creature and left the younger man alone.
The redhead took a deep breath and let it out before walking inside. He walked through the waiting room and quietly opened the door to peek into the dark patients' room. Buggy was sleeping peacefully, her arm and chest bandaged up by Crocus' practiced hands. Shanks stood by the door, watching her chest rise and fall steadily, also gazing at her growing belly with a kind of worry he wasn't used to – the kind only a parent can have. You could have lost them today, he thought. It could've happened so easily…and then what would you have done…? He shook those dark thoughts off. He wasn't always going to be around to protect Buggy and the baby, he knew that, but the thought of losing them was still terrifying. He stood in silence for a long time, reassuring himself that everything was fine and that Buggy was going to be fine. It wasn't until he heard his name spoken that he was made aware that his lover was awake.
"Shanks…?" she asked groggily, sitting up slowly. He stilled in the shadows, wanting her to just go back to sleep, but once he saw Buggy blinking her eyes, determined to wake up, he walked over to her bedside.
"I'm here, Buggy," he replied softly. She reached out her hand – the unharmed arm he noticed – and waited for him to take it. He did, kneeling next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"
She paused, taking a moment to assess how she was actually feeling. Her body was heavy but she didn't feel any pain – whatever Crocus had given her had worked. "Numb, but in a good way. I'm not in pain."
"That's good." Shanks kissed her hand, so relieved now that he could actually see that she was fine.
"How long have you been standing there?" she asked. He looked up at her tired face and she gave him a faint smile, still sleepy.
"I don't know." It was true, but his legs and feet told him it had been a very long time.
"I was wondering where you had gone," she continued. "Or at least, I would've wondered that if I had been awake."
Shanks wanted to smile at her ramblings but he just couldn't. Instead, he chose a tactful answer. "I wasn't far. Just…taking care of some business."
Buggy's face deadpanned, seeing right through him. "I assume whoever shot me is dead?" He started, not quite sure what to say. The bluenette could see the conflict on his face and continued with, "Button, I threaten to stab people all the time. And maybe I haven't seen you truly furious as an adult, but I know you have a temper when you're really pushed. Hell, I used to push you more than most." Shanks couldn't help the quirk at the corner of his mouth but said nothing.
"But, I guess I can understand how you want to still appear perfect and carefree and like a big softy around me." She removed her hand from his and gently caressed the side of his face, her fingers lingering on the scars over his eye. "We're both pirates, remember? Though I'm not a very good one I've still seen my share of battles and I've had my revenges, though they may be unfortunately few." Her eyes shined with some of her usual brightness, burning through the fog of whatever medication she was on for a moment. Very seriously, she said, "There is nothing you could do that could make me love you less."
"Except stealing your treasure?" he suggested, his heart melting at her confession.
She thought about it for a moment. "Even then I'd probably be open to leniency at this point." Buggy then winked at him. "Maybe." Her little joke got him to laugh. "But seriously, you don't have to hide anything from me, Shanks. When you're sad, I want to comfort you. When you're happy, I want to laugh with you. When you're angry, I want to be angry with you. I want all of you," she hauled herself up and silenced his protests with an uncoordinated kiss before plopping down on the bed again. "Even your prickly and unattractive bits."
Shanks' heart melted a little more. The worries and burden of his wrath had just been lifted off of him with a few words; Buggy had freed him from his turmoil.
"I love you so much," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. He cupped her face and felt relieved, both that she was going to be okay and that she didn't think any less of him for his behavior. He kissed her nose and said, "I promise to do everything I can to keep you safe."
"And?"
"And I won't worry about hiding next time." Buggy nodded with a smile.
"Besides, I want to see how terrifying you are anyways. I've always wondered how fierce someone has to be to become an Emperor of the Sea."
"I'm not showing you right now – I can't be mad after all those nice things you said."
"What if I remind you that I got shot today?" The barest mention of the almost-disaster hardened the man's eyes, despite his desire to be happy with Buggy. The woman saw just a fraction of how furious he'd been – his dark eyes narrowed and burned and she repressed a shiver of fear. She had nothing to worry about, but she pitied anyone who ever found themselves at the other end of her lover's sword.
Shanks shook off his negative emotions, missing the slight fear that had been on Buggy's face for just a second. "How's your arm?" he asked, incredibly worried.
"Crocus gave me a little something for the pain," she explained with a yawn. "I'm sorry…I'm probably going to be needier now with a gunshot wound on top of being pregnant."
"Don't apologize…" Shanks replied, softly caressing the side of her face now. "You just focus on getting better, for me and for baby."
"I will," she said sleepily. She was content just to have him near when until she fell asleep and was planning on doing that. However, just as her eyes were about to close again, Buggy felt something inside her – a little kick. Her eyes flew open and she tried to sit up but groaned when she strained something. Shanks was up in an instant, gently but insistently forcing her back down onto the bed.
"What the hell are you trying to do, idiot?" he hissed, his worry spiking.
"I felt it!" Buggy was so excited that Shanks had to keep his hand on her good shoulder to keep her down.
"Felt what? Are you hurting?"
The bluenette rolled her eyes and yanked her boyfriend's hand off of her shoulder and placed it on her stomach. He looked at her confused for a moment, but then felt it too, the tiny movements of the little life inside her. They both stared at each other, eyes teary and chests nearly bursting with emotions.
"Oh my god!"
"Holy shit!"
"I can't believe it!"
"Baby moved!"
"I felt it! I felt it! I felt it!" The two of them spoke over each other, their excitement rising until Buggy yanked something again and Shanks made them calm down.
"Oh my god…" he laughed unbelievingly, "This day just keeps getting more and more exciting but in a good way this time." He kept his hand on Buggy's stomach, trying to feel another little movement. There may have been a turn or a nudge, but it seemed that the baby had settled down again. He looked at his lover and smiled wryly.
"What?" she asked, seeing the look on his face.
"Things always seem to happen when you're in trouble," he explained, shaking his head in disbelief. "I think the kiddo has a nose for it too!"
"Like mother, like potential daughter," she shrugged, and then winced and instantly regretted it. The redhead took his hand off of her belly and smoothed her hair, comforting her.
"It'd be so cute to have a little girl just like you," Shanks said, a dopey smile on his face.
"I swear to god, if the baby has my nose I'm going to cry."
Shanks gave her pouting a look of his own. "What do we say about your nose?" he reminded her. "Your nose is –"
"I know, I know, beautiful. My nose is beautiful. Shut up." He chuckled and she did too, but another yawn interrupted. "I think I just used up all the energy I had left."
"Then you should sleep, love bug." Shanks gave her that soft look that made her feel like the most precious thing on the planet. "I'll be here when you wake up."
"You should sleep too," she said lazily, already starting to fall asleep again after all the excitement of the day.
"I will, I promise. I love you."
"I…love you…too…" she whispered. He leaned over and kissed her eyelids closed before placing a last kiss on her forehead. Before he had even pulled away, Buggy was asleep again, one hand still resting on her bump. Shanks placed his hand on her belly too, thanking whatever lucky star Buggy had been born under that she was still alive. As if to share his sentiment, the tiny life inside of Buggy kicked again, letting him know that they were still there too.
To be Continued...
A/N: And there you go! See you all next time! :3