A/N: Hi everyone! ZareEraz here! I apologize that this chapter, along with the last, has also taken a bit to come out. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy this update! Happy reading! :3
In this chapter, the whole first bit is basically a sex scene. If you'd like to skip it, read until the paragraph beginning with "Always so stubborn," then use the "Find in page" function on your phone or computer to jump to the paragraph beginning with, "Hey Buggsey, you okay?" and you'll be good to go.
Chapter Six: Emotional Rollercoaster
The day Buggy's attitude toward sex changed was the day she almost jumped Shanks in public. It had come out of nowhere – they had been hanging out on the beach having a little party with everyone, watching the sunset, eating too much, singing horribly, and dancing terribly as they always did. The bluenette had been sitting and resting her head on Shanks' shoulder, recovering from her third dizzy spell of the day (this one was bad enough that she'd nearly tumbled into the sand while dancing) when she looked up at him. Her eyes locked on his red hair, blowing in the sea wind and he was laughing at something one of his idiots was doing, looking so handsome and lovely. Her heart filled up with love for him like it did whenever he was being cute, but then she felt like she was like someone had struck a flint and set a spark in her soul. Her body was burning up like her skin was on fire and the only thing that could put it out was his touch. She hadn't felt that kind of intensity in almost two months and it overwhelmed her. Before she was even aware of what she was doing, Buggy was straddling Shanks' lap with her hands on his waistband when he freaked out just a little bit.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Buggy! What the hell are you doing?!" he hissed, pushing on her shoulder and trying to get her to stop. She kept trying to pull off his pants for a moment before the movement jolted her. It was like she was waking up from a trance, her fingers stilling, her eyes widening in shock. They still burned with lust but her mouth dropped in horror and her body went rigid in embarrassment. And then the stuttering began.
"I-I-I j-just…oh my g-god…Y-y-your hair just did a really s-sexy thing when it was blowing in the w-wind a-and I just…well, you saw…!" and she gestured her hands around her hips, too embarrassed to even say it out loud.
"Decided to jump me?" he supplied and she blushed and ducked her head. Shanks, while startled by her bold behavior, smiled gently and brought his hand to her chin, raising her head until she was looking at him. She saw the smile and instantly knew that she wasn't in trouble because he was going to make some trouble – two whole months' worth of trouble, according to the way he was looking at her. "I will give you whatever you want, whenever you want," the man started, his own lust flickering in his dark eyes, "But…not in front of everyone, okay?"
They both glanced around and found that several dozen sets of eyes were watching them. Buggy, still horribly embarrassed, shouted, "Screw off!" and someone who was hidden in the crowd shouted back, "That's what you're going to do!" Everyone burst into laughter except the bluenette, and that also included Shanks, who couldn't hold it back.
"I swear when I find who said that…" she grumbled, folding her arms moodily.
"You'll stab him in the foot, right?" Shanks finished in between his chuckles. Buggy's eyes flicked over to him and then flicked away, indicating that he was right but that she was not going to say it out loud at the moment. "Save the stabbing for later," he added, kissing her cheek. "Let's get out of here."
He held his hand out to her and helped Buggy un-straddle him before yanking her away from the good-natured teasing they were getting from both crews. However, Buggy couldn't resist snapping back whenever she got offended, but the redhead managed to get her to walk away without losing any part of her. Well, except for her head, which kept popping off and floating around to yell at whoever was teasing her. When she floated over to Yasopp to shout at him for making a crass joke, the sniper actually managed to get a hold of her head and wrap his arms around it. His glee at giving her a noogie was quickly snuffed out when she smiled wickedly and started to float him in the air. She had carried things far heavier than him and easily shot up and started tormenting the man by taking fast turns and doing flips as he hung on. Everyone uproariously laughed and shouted gleefully at the sniper's predicament. By the time Buggy's head finally dumped Yasopp on his ass, he looked a little green around the gills and she was as smug as a cat who'd caught a bird. Before the sniper could get up and try to retaliate with something else stupid, Shanks ran towards Buggy's house, holding onto her hand while everything above her ankles floated with him. Her feet pattered along the beach and through town until all her parts had reached her room with her boyfriend.
The second the door shut Buggy was all over Shanks again, not even the diversion of tormenting Yasopp quelling the fire inside her. Her hot mouth was on his, her hands were on his back, her nails dug into his skin and her belly pressed up against his. Caught off guard by her ferocity, Shanks just let himself be dragged under by her passion, holding onto her just as tightly and closely as she was holding onto him. Well, as closely as a 28-week pregnancy would let him anyway. The two of them kissed for several minutes, hardly stopping to breathe until Buggy got a little dizzy and needed a break.
"Dammit!" she huffed, resting her head against her boyfriend's chest as he held her. "This is so annoying!"
"You just have to take it easy, love bug," he chuckled, worry flickering in his dark eyes. Buggy's dizzy spells were becoming more frequent the further her pregnancy progressed and it concerned him. When he talked about it with Crocus, the doctor said that if they got any worse, they may have to put her on bed rest (which she would loathe more than anything), but only if it got worse.
Ever stubborn, Buggy gave a hearty, "Screw that!" before getting on her tiptoes and kissing his mouth again, her hands tugging his cloak off before going for her own shirt. She kept going back to kiss him as various pieces of her clothing and his clothing were dropped to the floor. Shanks, while enjoying her enthusiasm, tried to get her to take it easy – in between the kisses of course because he was almost as desperate for her as she was for him. Once her pants hit the floor, Buggy was on his, unbuttoning his trousers and letting them and his underwear fall to the floor. As she broke from yet another kiss, Buggy's breath was heavy and she tottered a little on her feet as she kicked off her panties, overcome with desire and her body's need to breathe.
"Whoa there! Hang on!" Shanks grabbed her waist and held her steady. "Seriously, take it easy. You've been having a rough day."
"I can handle this much," the woman insisted. Buggy was determined to ride out this flare of arousal and give Shanks the intimacy she knew he'd been wanting for a long time. But she knew that he had a tendency to treat her like a glass vase when she struggled even a little, so she took matters into her own hands, literally, and grabbed the man. He yelped as she picked him up and floated him over to the bed with little effort. Shanks hung onto her and grunted as they plopped softly onto the bed, Buggy's feet jumping up to join them again.
"Damn that was hot," he chuckled, aroused even more by the fact that Buggy could carry him – he wasn't a lightweight but she'd hauled him easily! She may not be physically strong but her Devil Fruit powers did come in handy from time to time. He then frowned and grabbed her chin, squishing her face. "But you're too damn stubborn! I said to take it easy!"
"O 'hut up!" she said through her squished lips. "I c'nt 'ait!"
"You're gonna wait a little, silly," he sighed, letting her chin go and cupping her cheek. "I don't want you to push yourself too much." Buggy gave him a look that he knew meant that she knew he was leaving something out. He cleared his throat and added, "I also don't want Crocus riding my ass if something goes wrong, like you passing out or something."
"There it is," the bluenette huffed, folding her arms. "We're both terrified of Crocus."
"Of course! I don't want to get konked on the head again for letting you do something stupid!"
"But you're just as eager as I am!"
"I'm not saying I'm not," he argued back. "We haven't done this in a while and let's just take it easy, okay?" His dark eyes then filled with warmth and Buggy found herself swallowing around a lump in her throat as a shiver of pleasure shot down her spine. "I'll give you whatever you want, just don't overdo it, okay?"
She sighed in defeat, knowing his sweetness would almost always win over her stubbornness. "Okay, fine. Get over here."
Always so stubborn, Shanks thought as Buggy pulled him into another forceful kiss. They sat on the bed together, kissing and touching each other's chests and arms, enjoying an intimacy that had been put on hold for months (though, Buggy did have to remind Shanks not to touch her nipples because doing that wasn't comfortable for her right now). He caressed the side of her left breast for several minutes, getting as close to her nipple as possible before a flinch from her told him to move away. Eventually, he moved his hand down her body until he could grab her butt. Buggy made a noise as she was hauled onto his thighs, and thankfully he hadn't crossed his legs as he'd normally do since his lap was no longer big enough for her – they would've been so squished. As Buggy settled, Shanks started kissing her neck and his hand slipped in between her legs. She shivered as his fingers gently pushed inside her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Is this okay?" he asked, tenderly testing the waters.
Buggy's stomach tightened as he went in a little deeper, her skin prickling with heat. "Yeah…keep going."
She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, feeling everything that her body had put a lid on for so long – heat, desire, anticipation, lust – her heart was pounding in her chest. When Buggy's hand rested on Shank's chest, she felt his heart doing the same. It's beating so fast…just like mine…She listened to the beats for a few minutes, listening to each subtle change when she moaned or wiggled. When she eventually opened her eyes, Buggy saw her lover watching her every move, gauging what she needed and if she was doing all right with those burning, dark eyes. The bluenette trembled under that gaze and knew that she needed more than his fingers now. She let the hand resting on his chest drift down his torso, pausing only briefly to feel the hardness of his abs before she felt the hardness of something else.
Buggy smirked and chuckled, "I have a feeling we don't need much foreplay this time." She stroked her lover's already hard erection and he involuntarily bucked into her touch a little.
The man laughed with her and said, "I think you're right. I need you so much, Buggs."
"I need you too…" she sighed, using her free hand to softly nudge his fingers out of her. She didn't need that anymore; she was wet enough for him now. Taking the hint, Shanks brushed Buggy's hand away as well, stroking his own cock and using the wetness on his fingers to slick himself up; he wanted this to be as easy and painless for her as possible.
"How do you – "
"This way is fine," she interrupted, already anticipating his question. Buggy got ready to lift herself up, bracing one hand on Shanks' chest. Before she moved, she looked down at her body. "God, everything about me is big now," she sighed, looking at her larger breasts and her bigger belly. "And I'm only going to be getting bigger," she complained.
"Don't worry about it, love," Shanks replied, placing his hand on the side of her bump, supporting her if she needed it. "You're so beautiful."
"Keep saying that and I might believe that I'm not a whale one day," she snarked, pushing her body up and finding Shanks' cock with her free hand.
"I'll say it as many times as it takes," he replied with all sincerity. Then he couldn't help himself and added, "Though I do think that you're going to be a lot heavier on top of me this time around – ouch!" Buggy's hand had let his erection go and pinched his cheek.
"Never comment on a lady's weight! Even if she does it first!"
"I didn't know you were a lady," he teased and she yanked his cheek this time.
"You say one more word about it and I'll make sure you'll miss your dick, idiot."
She let go of his cheek and he rubbed it with the heel of his hand and whined, "Aw, but then I couldn't make love with you!"
"Then shut up and let me start!" Buggy huffed, blowing a stray strand of blue hair out of her face and Shanks laughed at her pouty face.
"Alright, alright, I'll be good."
"Oh, you'd better be," the woman half-moaned. "I want this so much."
"Then take what you want, love bug. Everything you want." Her hand was on his erection again, holding him in place as she lowered her body onto him. Buggy sank onto him slowly, letting herself adjust to how different this was all feeling since the last time they'd been intimate. She was so much bigger, more wobbly, and less sure of herself now, but she was so glad that she could still desire him like this – that was the same. Shanks groaned with her as he slipped in inch by inch until she rested on top of him again, completely full. Buggy closed her eyes and just felt him all around her, underneath her, in her. He was perfect, as usual, and she needed both a moment to adjust and to appreciate just how perfect her lover was. And by the sound of Shanks's next comment, he was feeling much the same.
"Oh god, I've missed this," the man sighed, overcome by her heat. He loved being able to feel her like this again, warm and wet for him, and though he appreciated all the pleasure her hands and mouth had given him even when she didn't feel aroused, there was nothing better than a Buggy who desired all of him for herself.
The bluenette looked down at her boyfriend – a slight sheen of sweat on his skin, his muscles bunching and relaxing in anticipation, the slight flush on his cheeks, the dashingly handsome way his hair had fallen on the pillows, the desire in his eyes – and her heart filled with love for him.
"Don't cry, don't cry, idiot…" she muttered to herself, trying to wipe the tears away before they could fall. "God, I love you…"
A warm, calloused hand helped her wipe them away and he whispered, "It's okay, Buggy. It's okay. I love you too." She didn't know if he was saying it was okay to cry or if she shouldn't cry because everything was okay, but it worked either way. She cried, just a little, and she smiled, just a little, and he smiled back at her. She leaned forward and kissed him again, letting her lips linger near his after the kiss as she started moving.
It was very clumsy at first – she was much heavier, very off-balance, and out of practice. Buggy was embarrassed about it and laughed nervously as she tried to move smoothly. She rambled, "I know I could just detach some part of my legs and float myself up and down – that would definitely make this easier…" she paused, shifting her body for a better angle. "But…but I want to do it…I want to do it, no matter how bad or slow it will be."
Shanks smiled gently at her and rubbed her belly. "I do not care how slowly you go and you could never be bad," he assured her. "You are wonderful."
His hand moved to her waist, letting her know that he'd help if she needed it, but some time passed between them before she said anything else. The two of them just felt each other, enjoying each other – the closeness, the heat, all of it. Buggy found a good pace for her, slower, but steady, enough to give them both pleasure. After a while, she sped up a little, giving their lovemaking her best efforts. Shanks said loving things to her, like how she was doing such a good job, how lovely she felt, and how pretty she looked riding his – and that's when Buggy slapped his chest, blushing furiously and telling him that she didn't need any more encouragement and to shut his big mouth. He laughed so joyfully that she couldn't help but let a little smile come out. He was right about one thing though – it felt so good, just being with him like this.
But eventually, the bluenette started to tire, her legs shaking a bit from moving her ungainly body up and down. She tried to keep going, moving her body up and down once…twice…three more times… and then stopped to rest.
"Shanks…I'm tired…" she panted, trying to start again. "I feel…really heavy…"
The man instantly sat up, cradling his lover against his chest as she started to sway from her exertions. "I got you, Buggy. I've got you." He left her lean against him, feeling overwhelming love for her and what she'd done for him. This all may have started because she'd desired him, but she'd done a lot for both of them and he wanted to repay her efforts. "How about I take a turn?"
She panted some more and looked frustrated. "I'm ticked I can't finish us off, but okay…just this once."
Shanks smiled at his stubborn girlfriend and kissed her sweaty forehead. "Just this once, and whenever you need it." The man moved his hand down to cup her ass and moved to the end of the bed, careful not to jostle his lover too much. Once there, he carefully stood up, turned toward the bed again and gently laid her on her back. He saw her wince a little as her belly started putting pressure on her body and asked, "Want to lie on your side?" She nodded and he pulled out to help her shift to her left side. Buggy shot one of her hands out to grab a pillow to shove under her belly for support.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's better," she answered, pulling her left thigh closer to her belly while Shanks pulled her right leg up to his chest and held it.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah. I want to cum."
"Let's cum together then." Shanks pushed back into her body and started the steady pace that Buggy had been keeping again, only getting faster when she asked for it. The man was careful to only do what she asked, as Buggy was the one who knew what her body could take and what it couldn't.
Buggy murmured things like, "Not so deep…A little faster…Yes, just like that," when needed, letting her eyes flutter shut. She was very close now, the raging heat inside of her that had caused all of this almost satisfied. Shanks was feeling much the same, fulfilled with giving her pleasure and receiving it. He listened to the little noises of delight she made and kissed the side of the leg he was holding.
They didn't say much for an undetermined stretch of time, just moving together until Buggy asked for more and a little faster. Shanks laid the leg that he was holding on top of the other and leaned over her, kissing her cheek and moving down her jaw as he sped up his thrusts. His hand rested on her thigh as his lips then traveled down her neck. Buggy moaned, her focus jumping between the heat of his lips on her skin, the thrusting of his cock, and the solid weight of his body on hers. Her breath hitched as he kissed the scar on her shoulder and when he came up, she pulled him into another searing kiss. They stayed connected like that until Buggy, gasping for breath, moaned that she was cumming. She threw her head back and finally got what she'd been craving, crying out as her release ripped through her. The bluenette disconnected so thoroughly that she barely registered her lover's release, but she definitely felt it when he completely collapsed on top of her, panting and groaning. Buggy's left hand broke off and floated up to Shanks' hair, running her fingers through it as his orgasm washed over him. His body twitched with hers, both of them lost for several minutes in the haze before they were pulled back to reality.
"Hey Bugssey, you okay?" Shanks asked, piecing his brain back together. He started kissing her neck and shoulder again, very pleased with how things at turned out.
"Yeah…I'm okay…" she whispered back. Then she gave him a look. "Another nickname?"
"You deserve all the nicknames," he replied, nibbling at her ear.
"Only the good ones," she giggled, and then pushed at his shoulder.
"Only the good ones," he promised, knowing full well that Yasopp, Lucky Roux, Galdino, and Alvida had a few unflattering ones for her already. Shanks got off of her and flopped onto the bed. "Damn…that felt good."
Buggy snuggled up to him. "I feel a lot better now."
"Calmer?"
"Yeah."
"Less likely to jump me in public?"
"Shut it. I didn't mean to do that."
"Well, I'm glad you did it." The man kissed his girlfriend on the nose and turned on his side to get ready to cuddle with her but Buggy was struggling to sit up at the same time. He sat up too and held her shoulders. "Something wrong?"
Buggy blushed. "I gotta pee. Wish I could stay," she said sheepishly. "Sorry, that's not very sexy."
He chuckled. "No need to apologize, you've got a baby pressing down on your bladder." Shanks helped her up, steadying the woman on her feet when she tottered a bit.
"Don't I ever." Buggy sent herself off to her bathroom and by the time she got out, she was snackish, necessitating a trip to the kitchen. "Where's my robe?" Shanks pointed it out and Buggy sent her hand over snatch it. After getting at least decent in a robe for Buggy and pants only for Shanks, the two of them walked to the kitchen, joking and laughing, with the bluenette complaining about her the ache in her back and how swollen her feet were on the side. Shanks offered to rub her feet later, which she accepted, promising yet again to make it up to him at some point. Shanks wasn't going to hold her to those promises but agreed anyway, teasing that another round in bed would do him wonders, pinching her butt. Buggy blushed and started snapping at him but didn't shove the hand he'd put around her waist away. When the baby kicked, they both squealed, hands on Buggy's belly, and started happily chatting about what their baby could be like for the millionth time.
Several dozen heads peeked around a corner, including the Red Hair officers, the Buggy Pirates executives, Richie, and assorted members of both crews, and they all snickered and awwwed quietly.
Crocus groaned, "They better now overdo it."
"They'll overdo it," Alvida snarked, hiding her appreciation of the adorableness wobbling to the kitchen behind her eye roll. The rest of the crews nodded knowingly.
"Well, I supposed I'll get some painkillers for when Buggy's euphoria wears off; she's going to need them."
"You'd better leave some out for Shanks," Galdino added, "For when Buggy decides to punch him for throwing out her back or something."
"And we'd better get out of here before she finds us spying and punches us," Benn added, lighting up a cigarette. "Especially after what she did to Yasopp." The first mate smirked and side-eyed the sniper. He has a bruised butt and ego from where Buggy had harassed and dumped him on the beach.
"Oh, shut up," he muttered. The whole gang laughed, attracting a shrill yell from down the hallway ranting about "Breaking the kneecaps of whoever was constantly spying" on her. None of them wanted to be around once Buggy got out of the kitchen and scattered while they still had the chance, laughing all the way.
XXX
Buggy woke up very groggy early in the morning, having had a horrible night of insomnia, discomfort, and restless legs. She sighed, unhappy that she was awake after only a few hours of light sleep. She cradled her belly, feeling her little one moving around inside of her.
"Did you wake up too?" she whispered, feeling a little kick. Baby seemed to respond to her voice a little, but that wasn't always the case. Buggy had gotten bigger, and every week that passed they got closer to meeting. She sighed, "Only ten more weeks…then you'll be here."
Buggy smiled nervously, feeling the same sense of awe and panic that she always felt when thinking about her baby coming so soon. She didn't feel ready, but she also felt like she couldn't handle being pregnant for much longer. But not being pregnant meant that she was going to have someone who relied completely on her, who she was responsible for, and that was overwhelming to think about. Before, it was months and months away, but those months were disappearing so fast now – only two left. She hoped that all new mothers felt like this, prepared but unprepared, because if they didn't, she was totally screwed. Before her heart started pounding and her anxiety leaped into her throat, she turned to joke about something with Shanks or wake him up to joke about something with him if he wasn't already awake, but when she turned over in the bed, he wasn't there. He'd usually be snuggled up against her anyway, but when he was, the man was usually sprawled out on his side in various states of undress, but it was abundantly clear that he wasn't there. She placed her hands on the bed and the pillows were cold – he hadn't been there for a while.
"Shanks?" she called, slowly sitting up in bed, and looking around her room. The second her belly settled into place Buggy groaned. "Bathroom first, then find the boyfriend." She tottered off, not bothering with grabbing a robe, and just let her belly hang out on top of her shorts. She would've taken a bath too but finding Shanks was more important, and after she had relieved herself, Buggy decided that it was a bad idea to only have public baths and vowed to make her underlings expand her bathroom to accommodate her own tub (which she should have insisted upon in the first place instead of approving just a shower).
Morning necessities having been taken care of, the bluenette peeked in all of Shanks' usual spots – the kitchen first (she needed a snack), some of the common areas where he chatted with others, the quite sunny back room where he'd take naps sometimes, but he wasn't in any of those places. Buggy carefully peeked out of her home, aware that there were many new faces on the island that didn't know her outside of her big, red jumpsuit or with her big belly, but Shanks didn't seem to be anywhere near. She sent her head out to look around the nearby beaches, aware that even in the grayish hours of the morning, her new underlings could be out – if they hadn't drunk themselves into a stupor the previous evening, of course. She didn't find Shanks and she didn't find any of his crew either. She knew they were being careful, sticking only to places they knew Buggy's old crew would be, but at least one or two of them were always lurking around Buggy Town, keeping an eye on things for their captain if he was gone. They even had a base on a hidden, out-of-the-way, beach now where they docked the Red Force and Buggy was thinking that maybe Shanks was there.
She woke up Mohji, who was sleeping in a pile of messy, empty dishes with Richie (both of them having gained a considerable amount of weight since the money had come pouring in from Buggy's Delivery) and sent the sleepy man and lion off to check the Red Hair base. They both grumbled but were cajoled into running her errand with promises of an extra helping of breakfast and a few bottles of Buggy's booze from the cache she'd been collecting to drink after she wasn't pregnant anymore (not the best ones, though, those were for Buggy) but better booze than what was readily available to the goons. Now she just had to wait for him to come back.
Buggy's stomach rumbled and she went back to the kitchen to satisfy her hunger. She grabbed a bowl of fruit, a jar of pickles, and a jar of peanut butter before heading back to her room. Once there, she opened her window and sat down on the window seat, letting the Carrier Bats know that she was awake. Buggy had to banish them from her room each night because sleeping was difficult enough already without up to four little creatures trying to snuggle with her or interrupt her intimacy with Shanks, but every day she spent some time with them when they came to visit her island. Her most frequent visitor was Bluster, of course, but Bingo joined him more often than not when they could sneak away. Bozo wasn't here today – probably off delivering a message for the World Government – but the bats had brought along another friend who Buggy had named Boom, both for how percussive her calls were and for how often and how hard she ran into things, making a sharp loud thud each time she did it. She grabbed an orange and a lemon for herself but used one of her knives to slice open other fruits for her bat friends. They twittered, squeaked, and jostled for room on the window sill and in the bowl, but Buggy shushed them into calmness.
"Hey, Bingo," she started once they were munching happily on their breakfast. The bat looked up at her, his mouth full of a peach. "I'm still waiting on a matching sapphire to the last one you brought. You think you can find another?" The creature nodded enthusiastically, delighted that his mistress had given him a task. The other two bats chirped, either arguing or promising to find their mistress shiny things, Buggy couldn't tell. They all ate in relative quiet after that, with the bluenette nervously tapping her finger against the sill. Her mind was on Mohji and Richie, waiting for his report to come back to her, her heart longing for some kind of answer.
By the time she was done eating and the bats were in a small food coma, the sun was high enough that Buggy Town was also starting to get up. Buggy sighed, deciding it was time to get ready for the day as well. She had an assembly planned for mid-morning to rouse her underlings and give out assignments and that required full makeup, no matter how tired she was. The woman put on her face, erasing the dark circles under her eyes and making herself look more energetic than she was at the moment before brushing her usual crossbones across her forehead, eyes, and cheeks along with whatever colors she wanted to use that day – red and blue this time. She was just styling her hair on either side of her face when she hear Richie's padded feet approaching her room. She sent one of her hands off to open the door but didn't leave her seat at her vanity. The lion tamer and cat came just barely into the room, looking nervous.
"What is it? Did you find my idiot?" Buggy asked, looking at her first mate through her mirror.
"Uh…no…" the man replied, frowning. "None of his crew were at the base either. The ship was gone too."
"Gone? All of them?" Buggy's heart sank and she was so confused. "Are you sure?"
The man nodded nervously. "Ritchie and I even searched the forest a bit and asked the men on watch if they'd seen them, but they hadn't."
"Oh. Okay." Buggy knew that Mohji was waiting for her to blow up at him – it's what she normally would've done when something didn't go her way – but it wasn't his fault that he couldn't find Shanks and his crew. She dismissed the lion tamer and his cat without her normal energy and reminded them to remind her about the booze she'd promised them later. The door shut behind the pair and Buggy was left alone.
She felt so hollow, like her insides had been scooped out and there was nothing left. She was used to having pregnancy mood swings, her demeanor tossed about by pretty much anything that upset her or made her happy, but this was different. She felt so alone for some reason, like whatever had been grounding her had been cut, the one person she'd trusted and relied upon so completely gone.
How could he leave me without saying a word? Buggy knew that it was entirely possible that he'd just be gone for one of his regular trips off the island, but he hadn't said anything about leaving last night. In fact, he hadn't made any kind of indication that he'd been leaving, not for a week or so at least, so where had he gone and why? As the bluenette was trying to rationalize the disappearance of her boyfriend, the baby inside her moved again, kicking agitatedly as if they could feel their mother's displeasure and confusion. But instead of feeling comforted by the presence of her child, Buggy's earlier anxiety reared its ugly head and had her heart in a vice grip.
He's left me…Oh god, he's left me! What am I going to do on my own? As irrational of a thought that was Buggy's irrational half of her brain couldn't help but latch onto it and panic. No matter what her rational brain tried to tell her – that Shanks would never leave her, that maybe he'd just forgotten to tell her where he was going and when he'd be back, that he wouldn't have wasted all his effort, time, money, and patience with her if he didn't love her – but it did not help. Buggy's bottom lip started to quiver and she bit it in an effort to still the trembling. She couldn't cry now, no matter how much she wanted to – both for her pride and her makeup. She had the assembly soon and couldn't fall apart now. She took a deep breath and quashed down her panic bit by bit until it was all sitting at the bottom of her stomach, hard and cold. It took some time, but Buggy was well versed in both expressing her panic in the most flashy of ways and also using it to her advantage. The advantage? She was full of energy in a way she hadn't been yesterday, and now, instead of crying, Buggy got furious.
While finishing getting ready for an assembly, she fumed while putting her lipstick on, ranted while searching for her gloves and tossing everything in her way everywhere out of her way, and then screamed while fitting her hands, feet, and head into her big, red jumpsuit. The racket she caused sent the Carrier Bats fluttering outside in panic and called Alvida to the room. She saw what a mess Buggy had made throwing things around in her rage and decided that now was not the time to clean up no matter how much she wanted to – the bluenette would only make it messy again. However, now that the black-haired woman was in the room, Buggy enlisted her to finish getting ready. She stewed while Alvida helped her put on her gigantic striped hat with its floofy, blue tassels made to mimic the woman's blue hair in her regular hat and then stormed out of the room to the assembly hall.
When she stepped out onto the balcony, she was a towering presence of charisma and fury. Those who didn't know her were whipped into a frenzy by her speeches of glory and power and those who did know her knew that something was very wrong because while Buggy was flamboyant, she was unusually vicious today. While the new mercenaries all cheered uproariously as their leader performed, members of Buggy's original crew and the former inmates cheered, but gave each other wary looks – Why was their goddess so upset?
Galdino was late to the assembly and ran into the grand balcony's back room half put together but was then confronted with a surprise. He was caught off guard by Buggy's torso sitting in his spot on a couch that he was about to sit on, waiting for the rest of her to be done, and screamed. He clutched his chest as his heart pounded, trying to calm himself because this kind of thing should be normal by now.
"I am never going to get used to that!" the wax man snapped, irritated. He could hear Buggy cackling from the other side of the curtains and her arm stump gave him a wave.
"That's what? Five times now she's gotten the drop on you?" Alvida snickered from her usual perch on one of her many chaises. She very much enjoyed every time that trick worked on him.
"She keeps leaving herself in all the places that I frequent and since her head isn't attached she's so quiet!" he complained.
Alvida started listing off all the places where Buggy's body had scared him, for fun. "Here, in that alleyway you use to hide from Richie when he's playfully chasing you – "
"That is not 'playful!'" he interjected. "I really think that cat tries to kill me sometimes!"
"I think he probably thinks you're wax is cream or something. Or you smell funny," she teased before going back to her list, "In the kitchen – which you really should have expected her to be there – in your closet, and in the men's public bathroom."
"She shouldn't have been in the men's bathroom at all!"
"But her head wasn't in there, so she didn't see anything," the woman poked.
"That's not the point!" Alvida teased the man for a little longer while the two of them waited for Buggy to be done shining her presence on her worshippers, and eventually, the woman felt the need to warn Galdino.
"Hey, watch out today. Buggy's in a foul mood."
"Why's that?" the man asked, sipping on a cup of Earl Grey.
"Mohji told me that she sent him to find Shanks earlier this morning and he and his whole crew are gone."
"All of them?" The man thought about it for a minute. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen any of them since last night."
Alvida nodded. "Yeah, so Buggy's going to be a snit all day."
"Shit." The two of them sighed, preparing for and dreading the storm that was to come after. It wasn't until after the assembly that everyone else also figured out what was wrong, and then they just avoided their Great Captain Buggy as much as possible.
After the assembly and everyone who had a job got sent out, Buggy threw off her costume, left it lying all over the floor, grabbed her torso, and stomped off to the kitchen. She grabbed a pint of her lavender ice cream and yet another jar of pickles before stomping off to her room, leaving a wake of cursing and fiery glares in her wake.
"I think she's going to eat her emotions," Galdino whispered to Alvida, relieved that Buggy just seemed to be going off on her own.
"She'd better not!" Crocus piped up, having walked into the conversation after hearing the whisperings about Shanks leaving. "I've worked too hard to keep her healthy and she's not going to ruin that!" The old man stomped off to Buggy's room, carrying his medical bag for a check-up.
"I'm just going to leave Buggy to him," Galdino decided, slinking away.
"I'm with you on that one," Alvida agreed, walking off to find something fabulous to do.
When Crocus walked into Buggy's room he was surprised by the mess but didn't say anything about it. He also ignored the three bats in her hair and focused on the woman currently stuffing her mouth with that horrid lavender-tasting ice cream.
"Hey brat, how are you feeling?"
"Fat and disgusting," she replied grumpily with a spoon in her mouth. Now that her anger had blown over, she looked ready to cry. Crocus decided to ask safe questions until she was ready to open up to him.
"Any discomfort and fatigue?"
"That's all I am right now," she huffed.
"I meant extreme problems and you know it. I know that everything right now for you is a bit uncomfortable."
"I do have an extreme problem!" the bluenette argued back, brandishing her spoon. "My idiot boyfriend had disappeared! Without a word! I have no idea where he is Did he say anything to you?"
The old doctor shook his head. "No, I haven't seen him since yesterday."
"I think he left me," she said, finally voicing what had been bothering her all morning to someone else. "He always lets me know when he's leaving on his little trips but didn't this time so I think I finally drove him off. I'm a crazy bitch, after all."
"Buggy, that can't be the case," the old man said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder (he would've put on her head like he did when she was a little brat, but the bats were still in the way). "I've seen how much he loves you and he would never leave you."
"I can't even ring him on the Transponder Snail! He's totally ignoring me, the bastard!" She then went on a rant about how it was so unfair that she was being left behind and Crocus, as stubborn as he was, couldn't get it through her head that she was blowing everything out of proportion. Maybe it was the baby jitters, maybe it was the raging hormones, or maybe it was just Buggy, but the woman would not be calmed. During her rant, he checked on her vitals and the baby and did his best to comfort her, but she eventually cried herself into a much-needed nap.
The old man stayed with her for a while, making sure she was fully asleep and able to rest before getting up to leave. When Crocus left the room, a small crowd instantly swarmed him, asking in whispers if Captain Buggy was okay. He shrugged, letting Buggy's crew know that she was sleeping now but still very stressed. The mood on the whole island dropped and the rest of the day was spent worrying about Buggy. The underlings were of the same opinion that there had just been a mix-up of some sort that that the Red Hair Pirates hadn't really abandoned the island and Shanks hadn't abandoned Buggy, but there was no way any of them were going to contradict their great captain about it. It may have not been the smartest plan, but all of them wanted to keep their various body parts attached and not piss her off.
Buggy made a token appearance at dinner, still gloomy, and spent the rest of the day either in her room or the baby's nursery. She dejectedly picked up her room a little bit, but only enough to make several paths to the bathroom and door and bed, and folded and re-folded all of the baby's clothing in the nursery, thinking about how she was going to do this alone. The rational part of her brain tried to argue that she had to be wrong and that Shanks was just an idiot who hadn't told her he was leaving, but the irrational part of her gagged it, tied it up, and threw it in a corner, holding firm to the belief that she was now alone. Every time her baby moved, her mood spiked with both joy and anxiety. Every ache and pain seemed to go straight to her heart, making her more stressed. She paced around her room for an hour – well her feet paced while Buggy floated – one hand on her belly and one on her back to balance herself until Crocus barged back into her room and made her rest before she exhausted herself or caused another dizzy spell.
The night was spent alternating between glaring at the empty spot on her bed where Shanks would've been sleeping or sleeping fitfully. Just as the night before, Buggy could not get comfortable and those long, dark, lonely hours were spent thinking of all the things she'd have to do on her own with her baby if Shanks never came back and analyzing and re-analyzing what she could've done to drive him away. The rational part of her brain struggled to get free once or twice but the irrational part of her brain kicked it in the balls and told it to shut up. When Buggy managed to fall asleep for an hour or two before needing to pee or shift because her back or hips ached, her dreams were filled with the same anxiety. Even having Bluster, Bingo, and Boom didn't help. They had to call in backup, sending Boom to go find Richie and Buggy snuggled with the chubby lion for part of the night, crying quietly.
In the morning, Alvida had to drag Buggy out of bed, and forced her to take a bath because "cleanliness is key" and "If you're going to be a wreck, might as well look nice." Buggy allowed herself to be cleaned and have her hair brushed by her friend and then Alvida pulled the bluenette out of her room and into her own, very pink room for a quiet day. The black-haired woman had breakfast and lunch delivered to them by some very concerned crewmembers. Alvida tried to get Buggy to talk, but if the bluenette said anything, it was a repeat of the fears she'd voiced the day before. Alvida wanted to tell her to get over it, but it had only been one day, Buggy was being very affected by her hormones, and Alvida didn't want to be that mean. So instead, she was only slightly mean by telling Buggy that she was unreasonable and then offering to help her destroy anything she wanted if Shanks didn't come back or hunt him down to cut off his dick with her. That got a small smile out of the bluenette and Alvida considered her job done.
Around dinnertime, a shout came from a man running towards Buggy Town. Ever since the goons learned that the Red Hair Pirates were missing, they'd been taking turns watching the hidden beach, hoping to bring the good news of their return to their captain to cheer her up. Thankfully their plan worked and the watchman ran into town shouting that the Emperor and his crew were back. Buggy instantly perked up – her stomach was roiling with a mixture of relief, anger, anxiety, and excitement, enough to make her feel nauseous. She quickly brushed the tangles out of her hair, threw on some appropriate clothing, and ran-floated out of her room. Buggy had sent all of the newbies away on missions the day before with some of her veterans, so whoever was left on the island followed her a little way out of town to wait by the forest's edge.
Buggy's heart was in her throat again, her stomach flipping, her blood pounding in her ears as she waited. The rational part of her brain had escaped and was telling her that all of her worries were going to be explained away and that everything was alright, but the irrational part was screaming at her to hold onto her anger and fear, telling her that she was justified. However, all that arguing was thrown out the window the second she saw Shanks emerge from the shadows of the forest. A huge smile lit up his face and her heart lifted a bit. At least he's happy to see me. Before she could stop herself, Buggy ran-floated towards her lover, almost flying right into his arm when she stopped, glared at him, and then turned away.
The smile slipped off of his face. "Buggy, what's wrong?" the redhead asked, very confused. Buggy's crew, her executives, and Crocus all tensed for her reaction.
"I'M MAD AT YOU!" she shouted, turning to glare at him again before snapping back around for dramatic effect.
Shanks' jaw dropped, along with his crew's jaws. "What?! Why are you mad at me!?" Buggy didn't answer him and just started to float-stomp away while her boyfriend trailed after her like a besotted, if confused, puppy.
While the pair scurried away, Benn just sighed. "I don't know what he's done, but she's going to hand him his ass."
Yasopp snickered, "Poor sap."
"I don't envy him," Lucky Roux added. "But I don't know what he did either."
"Well, hopefully, he wriggles out of it like he always does," Benn finished, taking a puff of his cigarette. And Shanks was trying to do just that when the pair got back to their room.
"Buggs, come on," he cajoled, trying to pull her into a hug. "What's wrong?"
"You just left without telling me!" she snapped, trying to keep tears at bay. Seeing Shanks again had made her so happy and so mad at the same time and she was trying not to give in to happiness until her anger had run its course, especially when he had some explaining to do! What she wasn't expecting was his answer.
"Didn't you see my note?" he asked, still confused and looking at the mess the room was in. Buggy had clearly spent most of her time here since he'd left on his trip – food and clothes were everywhere and it looked like she'd thrown a tantrum (which she had).
Buggy stopped raging for a moment and just stared at him with a furious look on her face. "WHAT NOTE?!"
The man looked at the nightstand where he'd left his note and found the problem – it was gone. He made a face and started looking around the floor until he found the piece of paper he'd left for her under the bed and several articles of clothing and a bowl that had traces of pickles and peanut butter in it. "This note," he announced, holding it up. "I guess it fell sometime before you could read it."
Buggy snatched the note out of his hand and read it. It definitely said that he was only going to be gone for a day or so and that he'd bring her back a surprise. Her heart sank, knowing full well that she'd thought the worst about Shanks even though he'd attempted to let her know what he was doing. Buggy tossed the note on the ground, furious with herself, plopped down on the bed, and curled up in a ball on her side. She started sniffing miserably and Shanks sat down next to her and rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Love bug, what's wrong?" He left out the "this time" because he wasn't quite sure if he was out of the woods yet.
Buggy tried to hold back the truth, but it all came rushing out. "I thought that you had left me with this baby like a deadbeat and I panicked legitimately for at least two hours about that and was just generally just a huge ball of stress for the rest of the time, and I was worried about where you'd gone, and I ate way more than I should have, and Crocus nearly got mad at me, and Alvida offered to hunt you down – "
He interjected with, "So you could cut off my dick," without missing a beat while Buggy continued on.
"– and then I couldn't sleep again because I was so worried about everything, and now I feel bad for feeling all those negative feelings about you when you weren't really leaving me!"
When she was done explaining, Shanks had to take a moment to process everything and found that while he was incredibly concerned about all the worry and stress Buggy had felt, he was also kinda pissed that she'd thought he would leave her, and Buggy was clearly anticipating that reaction because she was still refusing to look at him, her body tensing up for any kind of outburst he'd direct at her. The man sighed and flopped down on the bed too, curling himself around Buggy's back and holding onto her.
"I am a little upset that you thought I was going to just leave you," he started. Buggy blushed, deeply embarrassed, her face prickling with heat to the point where Shanks could swear he felt it radiating off of her. "But, I can also understand how you'd panic if you didn't know where I was." He hugged his girlfriend tighter. "I'd never leave you, Buggy. I love you too much to do that." He felt her body relax a bit against his.
"I know," she eventually sighed. "I knew that in my heart but my brain got carried away."
"Typical Buggy." She grunted at him, a nice change from having her snap back at his teasing. They didn't say anything for a few minutes, Buggy taking comfort in Shanks' presence and the man holding her and feeling the baby move in her belly. Buggy eventually spoke up, wanting answers.
"I couldn't ring you on the Snail…what the hell was up with that?"
"Oh!" The man blushed a little, happy that she couldn't see his face. "We lost the Transponder Snail."
"How the hell do you lose a Transponder Snail?"
"Uh, moved it and didn't put it back…enticed away by food maybe…"
Buggy's head popped off and gave him a look. "You don't know how it wandered off, do you?"
Shanks's blush deepened a shade. "Uh, no."
"I'd call you an idiot, but the Snail does have a mind of its own." Buggy's head reattached and she snuggled back into his chest.
"I really am sorry you couldn't reach us," Shanks apologized. "I would've been worried in your shoes…though maybe not quite as frantic."
"Don't lie," Buggy snorted. "I've seen you panic over the smallest things before and a missing girlfriend and baby would've definitely set you off."
"You're probably right." He kissed the back of her neck. "Forgive me?"
"As long as you forgive me," she countered.
"Then all is forgiven," Shanks smiled, kissing the woman behind her ear.
Buggy pulled away from him only to slowly roll herself over and snuggle into him again. She nearly started purring when he started to play with her hair, sending those lovely little tingles across her scalp. They were quiet for a bit before she asked, "What was so important that you had to leave anyway?"
Shanks kept playing with her hair as he spoke. "Well, you said you only had one nursing bra so I got you three more, a found a support band for you since you've been complaining about your back pain, I realized we didn't have a stroller or a carrier for the baby so I got a few for you to pick from…stuff like that."
Buggy's eyes instantly welled with tears and she felt so bad again that he was doing something so nice when she'd been thinking that he'd abandoned her. She finally allowed herself to cry this time and Shanks pulled her all the closer.
"Shhhhh…shhhhh…it's alright." He placed his head against hers and rubbed her back.
"I'm s-sorry I…thought that…you…" Shanks gently shushed her again and told her there was no need for any more apologies. Buggy cried for a little bit, letting all of her emotions out until she was done sniffling. "I really don't deserve you…" she mumbled after calming down.
"Don't say that," he said gently. "It was an honest misunderstanding. I should've woken you up and told you, but I wanted to let you sleep. You've been sleeping so horribly lately that I didn't want to disturb you." Buggy didn't say anything after that, but Shanks knew she was still feeling bad about the whole thing and decided that it would be best to distract her before she started crying again. "I do have a gift just for you that's not baby related."
Buggy perked up. "Is it shiny?"
Shanks laughed, "Yes, it's shiny." He sat up and helped Buggy sit up before reaching into his pocket. The man brought out a black box and the woman's eyes sparkled. She opened it and found her sapphire from Bingo nestled in velvet fabric along with a nearly identical sapphire, both in silver earring settings fashioned into wave designs to match the bracelet he had given her. She squealed and instantly took them out of the box, putting them in her ears and sending her hand floating over to her vanity to grab a small mirror. The bluenette turned her head this way and that to watch her new earrings sparkle.
"I can't believe you found a matching sapphire!"
"It wasn't easy," Shanks admitted. "But it worked out. I also went to pick these up from a jeweler along with all the stuff I mentioned earlier."
Buggy graciously ignored the fact that her boyfriend had swiped her sapphire from under her nose and said, "It's going to break Bingo's heart when I have to tell him I don't need a sapphire anymore."
"Oh, I'm sure he'd be delighted to keep bringing you new shiny things."
"Just like you?" she teased, setting the mirror down.
"Just like me," he replied, kissing her nose.
"You keep doing such nice things for me…how am I ever going to break even if you keep spoiling me?" Buggy asked, half-serious and half-joking.
"Well…I can think of at least one thing you can do…" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Buggy rolled her eyes and replied, "You pervert," before going in to kiss her boyfriend. However, her stomach rumbled very loudly, and just for good measure, the baby kicked her hard enough that she flinched. "Ouch!"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she groaned and then chuckled. "But I think baby wants something to eat too."
"After dinner then," Shanks agreed, helping Buggy to her feet. He gave her a quick kiss and then the two of them walked down to the dining room.
When Buggy showed up to dinner with her new earrings and holding Shanks' hand, everyone finally relaxed, knowing that things had been smoothed over between the captains. Everyone besides Buggy drank happily and everyone ate in the easy camaraderie the crews had. When Shanks explained what had happened to Crocus, the old man laughed and shook his head, asking the younger man to leave messages with him from now on so that nobody had to endure a cranky Buggy again. The bluenette heard the bit of her being cranky and snapped at the old man to quit being mean to her, and the two of them got into an argument that Shanks then had to break up before one of them whacked the other upside the head. Shanks' officers and Buggy's executives laughed at the commotion but were secretly grateful that no one had to deal with a cranky clown anymore.
The Transponder Snail was eventually found in the mouth of the Red Force's dragon-esque figurehead, having somehow wandered up there without anyone noticing. The receiver was off the hook as well, blocking all incoming calls and having perfectly escalated Buggy's panic due to this. After enduring one of Buggy's fiery glares (and the glares of the Buggy Pirates who'd had to deal with the stress she'd caused), the Red Hair crew and their captain promised to keep a better eye on their Snail when they were off-island. Feeling secure again, Buggy was much happier and things on the island returned to the normal amount of chaos the Warlord could muster.
And as a way of making an apology to her boyfriend (and because she wanted to) Buggy made sure that by the end of the week, a matching red teddy bear with three black lines over his left eye was sitting right next to her blue bear in the baby's nursery. Shanks would neither confirm nor deny whether or not he had teared up when she showed it to him to anyone who asked. Though, everyone knew that he had totally cried because Buggy smirked whenever the topic was brought up, and she made sure to bring it up a lot just so she could smirk whenever he wasn't looking at her.
To be Continued...
A/N: And there you go! See you all next time! :3