Buggy stops at a bar in East Blue and there’s this angry looking kid asking about the Captain. Asking what would have happened if the Captain had a kid. And everyone starts laughing like the idea is ridiculous. Like Roger hadn’t taken in two street rats and given them a home.
Notes:
Translation into Français available: Flashy Brotherhood (traduction) by Tadomikikus
Translation into Română available: Flashy Brotherhood by hidingingotham
Inspired by Watashitachi wa Roger kaizoku desu (we still stand proud) by stereden.
So I mostly blame OceansAlliteration from the discord for this. This is going to be very short chapters alternating between Ace and Buggy about what would have happened if Buggy had met the ASL brothers as childrens. This is heavily inspired by the world created by Stereden and if you haven't read her fics yet what are you waiting for? They are the best!
(See the end of the work for more notes and other works inspired by this one.)
Chapter 1
Chapter Text
Buggy looks around for the fifth time in the same number of minutes. He’s not nervous, of course not. He’s a captain pirate with his own crew and a hefty bounty for an East Blue pirate. He eats danger for breakfast! He’s also in the favourite island of one Monkey D Garp and probably the only place in his beautiful, calm, sane East Blue where he cannot relax. He looks over his shoulder again before reminding himself that Garp never goes to this side of the island, he is far away from Foosha Villa and the man’s precious grandson.
That brat is the only reason he is on the beast’s territory. And he curses himself from caving to Shanks pleas. So what if the old bastard didn’t let Shank anywhere near East Blue? He shouldn’t have been sniffing around the marine’s hero’s grandson to begin with. But no, he had to go and get attached. Give him the Captain’s hat. Give him his right arm, all because the brat didn’t know when to shut up and Shanks got too focused when he was protecting his own and forgot to ensure he kept all his limbs in the process. Moron.
So what if the idiot had come to him, still half delirious with fever from his infected shoulder and asked Buggy to check on the child once he was off to the grandline? Buggy didn’t have to say yes. He hadn’t said yes. He never says yes to Shanks, not even when he is begging and offering him a place by his side. So why is Buggy here?
He told his crew it was to get the big name to owe him a favour for doing basically nothing. He is good at lying to them even if Cabaji and Mohji are starting to see through him. But it’s not a lie, he tries to convince himself, not really. Buggy doesn’t doubt that Shanks will make it big and he will most definitely collect what he is owed.
It’s not the truth either.
Regardless, he is already here and Garp is going to be in the West Blue for at least three more months, he double checked. It would be stupid not to see the brat. It would also be stupid to go to Foosha in broad daylight so he will be waiting in this nice, lawless, remote junkyard he has found. There is even some type of makeshift bar that sells what could maybe pass for alcohol.
The people here are all rejects from society, brutes that only concern themselves with those weaker than them. And they are smart enough to feel that Buggy could take them without breaking a sweat. He smirks, even dressed as unflashily as possible he manages to make an impression.
He sits on a quiet corner and starts to ponder what to order when a child walks into the bar. He looks young, too young to be here but he moves with purpose and the other patrons don’t even blink at his presence. His eyes are tired and weary and Buggy recognize the weight in them. Shanks had those eyes when they met, even before Buggy taught him how to survive in the gutter.
The kid shouldn’t be here. There are always children in the places they should not be.
The kid is fidgeting and looks ready to flee but he squares his shoulders and addresses them all. “What would you think if Roger had had a child?”
