Send in the clowns
Title: Birthday Clowns
Theme: Set #1 - Clown
Claim: Shanks
Words: 652
Rating: G
Disclaimers: I don't own One Piece.
Buggy stumbled blearily out of his hammock, blinking at the unaccustomed light streaming in through the porthole. It was really unusual for that flashy bastard Shanks to actually let him sleep in. Maybe he'd drunk too much last night or something. Funny thing was, Buggy didn't remember there being a party. And yet he seemed to recall them picking up a larger supply of rum than usual when they stopped in at that island yesterday. It seemed odd that the crew hadn't taken advantage of that last night.
Ah well. Buggy wasn't given to thinking too much this early in the morning. The crew could drink when they wanted and abstain when they wanted, as far as Buggy was concerned...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUGGY!"
Buggy's eyes bugged out as he gazed around the deck of the Oro Jackson at his grinning nakama. His birthday? Even he hadn't remembered it was his birthday! Who the hell had told them it was his birthday?
And then he realised something even stranger. Every last one of his nakama seemed to have grown a large red nose overnight.
"How...why...who...?" he stammered.
"You're always so self-conscious about your nose, Buggy, so we decided today you wouldn't have to be," Shanks explained, a huge smile on his face.
Buggy's lower lip quivered for a moment as he was assaulted by a warm fuzzy feeling of belonging, biting down hard as he demanded, "Who did you say has a big nose? This is the worst birthday present in the world, you flashy bastards!"
Rayleigh watched indulgently as the two apprentice pirates began wrestling each other to the deck, deciding to let them duke it out for once instead of summarily putting down the fight. His red rubber ball-with-a-slit-in-it chose that moment to leap off his nose, and he gingerly adjusted it back, asking aloud, "So, how exactly did we let Shanks talk us into doing this, again?"
Roger just laughed his rich, vibrant laugh in response, and Rayleigh shrugged. If Roger didn't mind them looking like a ship of clowns, he supposed he could tolerate it.
And tolerate it he did, for the two full hours of partying they managed to squeeze in before Whitebeard suddenly turned up.
It was the most memorable meeting the two pirate gangs ever had.
(The looks on the Whitebeard Pirates' faces cracked them all up.)
It was the most memorable birthday Buggy ever had.
(Especially the bit when Shanks infiltrated Whitebeard's flagship and offered a rubber nose to the great man himself.)
It was the most memorable escape from Rayleigh's wrath Shanks ever had.
(When Whitebeard just laughed and accepted it, saying he wouldn't mind helping to celebrate a birthday.)
The day culminated in an epic post-battle/birthday party, at the end of which Shanks went around with a big bag, collecting the red noses, eliciting a huge laugh when he tried to extract Buggy's from his face as well.
"It's all right for you guys, you're not stuck behind a big red nose every day of the year," Buggy grumbled, too mellowed out by the excess alcohol to make his usual self-defensive fuss.
"Hey, it's not like I'm gonna toss these things overboard, you know. We'll bust them out again next year!" Shanks promised.
"Is that so?" Rayleigh said, making one of his sudden noiseless appearances out of the dark, quirking an eyebrow.
Shanks gulped at the remembrance of the long list of chores he'd been assigned after his reckless little adventure on Whitebeard's ship. "Well, I'll wear mine again next year," he amended, slinging an arm around Buggy. "And every birthday after that, so long as we're nakama."
Buggy would never forget to anticipate becoming a year older again.
.....
Hmm, I made Rayleigh rather humourless in this one...I'm sorry.
Theme: Set #1 - Clown
Claim: Shanks
Words: 652
Rating: G
Disclaimers: I don't own One Piece.
Buggy stumbled blearily out of his hammock, blinking at the unaccustomed light streaming in through the porthole. It was really unusual for that flashy bastard Shanks to actually let him sleep in. Maybe he'd drunk too much last night or something. Funny thing was, Buggy didn't remember there being a party. And yet he seemed to recall them picking up a larger supply of rum than usual when they stopped in at that island yesterday. It seemed odd that the crew hadn't taken advantage of that last night.
Ah well. Buggy wasn't given to thinking too much this early in the morning. The crew could drink when they wanted and abstain when they wanted, as far as Buggy was concerned...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUGGY!"
Buggy's eyes bugged out as he gazed around the deck of the Oro Jackson at his grinning nakama. His birthday? Even he hadn't remembered it was his birthday! Who the hell had told them it was his birthday?
And then he realised something even stranger. Every last one of his nakama seemed to have grown a large red nose overnight.
"How...why...who...?" he stammered.
"You're always so self-conscious about your nose, Buggy, so we decided today you wouldn't have to be," Shanks explained, a huge smile on his face.
Buggy's lower lip quivered for a moment as he was assaulted by a warm fuzzy feeling of belonging, biting down hard as he demanded, "Who did you say has a big nose? This is the worst birthday present in the world, you flashy bastards!"
Rayleigh watched indulgently as the two apprentice pirates began wrestling each other to the deck, deciding to let them duke it out for once instead of summarily putting down the fight. His red rubber ball-with-a-slit-in-it chose that moment to leap off his nose, and he gingerly adjusted it back, asking aloud, "So, how exactly did we let Shanks talk us into doing this, again?"
Roger just laughed his rich, vibrant laugh in response, and Rayleigh shrugged. If Roger didn't mind them looking like a ship of clowns, he supposed he could tolerate it.
And tolerate it he did, for the two full hours of partying they managed to squeeze in before Whitebeard suddenly turned up.
It was the most memorable meeting the two pirate gangs ever had.
(The looks on the Whitebeard Pirates' faces cracked them all up.)
It was the most memorable birthday Buggy ever had.
(Especially the bit when Shanks infiltrated Whitebeard's flagship and offered a rubber nose to the great man himself.)
It was the most memorable escape from Rayleigh's wrath Shanks ever had.
(When Whitebeard just laughed and accepted it, saying he wouldn't mind helping to celebrate a birthday.)
The day culminated in an epic post-battle/birthday party, at the end of which Shanks went around with a big bag, collecting the red noses, eliciting a huge laugh when he tried to extract Buggy's from his face as well.
"It's all right for you guys, you're not stuck behind a big red nose every day of the year," Buggy grumbled, too mellowed out by the excess alcohol to make his usual self-defensive fuss.
"Hey, it's not like I'm gonna toss these things overboard, you know. We'll bust them out again next year!" Shanks promised.
"Is that so?" Rayleigh said, making one of his sudden noiseless appearances out of the dark, quirking an eyebrow.
Shanks gulped at the remembrance of the long list of chores he'd been assigned after his reckless little adventure on Whitebeard's ship. "Well, I'll wear mine again next year," he amended, slinging an arm around Buggy. "And every birthday after that, so long as we're nakama."
Buggy would never forget to anticipate becoming a year older again.
.....
Hmm, I made Rayleigh rather humourless in this one...I'm sorry.