Work Text:
Buggy was just like any other kid down on his luck.
Well, not quite. With his big, red nose, he was seen as having even less value than the other orphans living on the streets. Not that they were treated kindly, but at least every now and then, someone took pity on them, and shared their food or money with them.
But Buggy was just a freak of nature, not worthy of a human emotion other than ridicule.
Whatever. He didn’t care. He didn’t need anyone.
All he needed was money. Stealing it wasn’t always easy, but once it was in his possession, nobody cared anymore what he looked like. For money, people would give him food, or clothes, even a place to stay during a cold night. There weren’t many of them on the small summer island he called his home, but they did happen every now and then.
One day, money would be his ticket off this crappy island, too.
He did everything he could to save it up, and then hopefully he could buy himself a trip.
To the west, back down the Grand Line, away from the most dangerous parts of it.
West, over the sea, to where the red string that was tied around his pinkie was leading. To his soulmate.
It was silly, of course. Buggy knew that. His soulmate would see him and laugh, just as everyone else always did. But once Buggy had squashed that hope, he would be free. Free to care about nobody but himself ever again. To be abandoned by fate was a kind of freedom, it meant there was nothing ever tying you down, no reason to not just take everything you wanted for yourself. Buggy would owe nobody anything.
Still, the day the intangible string slowly started to gain colour, Buggy felt anxiety rise in his chest.
What was happening? Was his soulmate somehow getting closer? The dull red was growing brighter by the hour, though the string was still leading west, disappearing on the horizon.
He went to sleep with a weird feeling in his stomach, and when he woke back up with the sun high up in the sky, for the first time in his life, the string was leading south. To the port.
So it was time.
Buggy hadn’t expected his soulmate to find him before he could get off this lousy island, but he wasn’t about to run away.
Better to get it over with.
He put on the only shirt he owned and slowly weaved through the crowd of people to the port.
The only ship he didn’t recognize as local was a giant pirate ship, Jolly Roger proudly flying from its mast. He gulped. The string was getting taut, almost glowing with how bright the red had gotten.
His soulmate had to be on that ship.
People were embarking, all of them huge, scary looking men.
Shit. Why were they so terrifying? Buggy had always known he’d be ridiculed by his soulmate, but what if these pirates got mad at him for being the soulmate of one of their crewmembers? He’d ruined their chances at a good soulmate just by existing.
Would that be enough for them to kill him?
Buggy’s knees were suddenly trembling, and he couldn’t work up the courage to walk up to the ship like he’d planned.
But then, another guy with a captain’s coat and a pirate hat stepped on the plank. It had to be the captain, though Buggy barely paid any attention to him. Instead, all of his focus went to the kid impatiently pulling him along.
A boy about Buggy’s age, wearing a straw hat on hair that was as red as the string that connected Buggy’s left pinkie to the boy’s right one.
A direct line between them, there was no doubt.
That boy was Buggy’s soulmate.
For just one second, their eyes met.
Buggy bolted instantly, turning around and sprinting away as fast as his legs would carry him.
It was pure reflex, but in that moment, he just didn’t want to see the reaction of his soulmate. He needed to get away, away from this fated meeting that was supposed to turn his life around and make him happy, but would only end up confirming he’d always be alone.
Maybe not knowing would be better, after all.
Buggy snuck through every side alley and shortcut he could think of, just to put some distance between himself and his soulmate as quickly as possible, until he made it to the tiny nook between two houses that he usually slept in.
He let himself fall on the ratty blanket, closing his eyes and catching his breath.
So, that was that. His soulmate had seen him. Now he knew he was cursed with Buggy, the clown kid who couldn’t be loved even by his own parents. Maybe Buggy should’ve stayed just to point his soulmate their way so they could commiserate together.
Though his soulmate was worse off. At least his parents had been able to just make another kid, but you only ever got one soulmate, as far as Buggy knew.
“Found you!”
Buggy startled horribly as a sudden weight landed on him, but when he opened his eyes, there was no danger, just a smile, curious eyes, and the red hair of his soulmate.
“You followed me?!”
Of course, no matter how far Buggy ran, his soulmate could always find him through the string. Just… why would he want to? Had he not seen Buggy’s face? Had Buggy turned too quickly for him to see the ugly nose?
“Of course! We’re soulmates, after all! Why’d you run? Don’t you wanna be friends?”
…Friends?
Buggy couldn’t even properly comprehend the question, too preoccupied with the fact that his soulmate wasn’t laughing. Why wasn’t he making fun of Buggy? Wasn’t he disappointed or mad? Their faces were so close together, he would’ve had to be blind to not notice the ugly red thing right in front of his eyes.
But while he was smiling, his soulmate wasn’t laughing. He was just curious.
What a strange kid.
“How can I be friends with someone I don’t even know?”
That didn’t really answer any of his soulmate’s questions, nor did it convey what Buggy truly wanted to know, but his pride wouldn’t let him voice his thoughts.
“Oh, right. I’m Shanks! I’m a pirate, so I have cool adventures every day!”
Buggy scoffed. “If I were a pirate, I’d go look for treasure. Adventure doesn’t fill your stomach.” Seriously. Either the adults on Shanks’ ship were idiots, or they spoiled him so much he didn’t even consider not having food.
Considering he was still sitting on Buggy, leaving Buggy completely unable to move, it was probably the latter. Where Buggy was skin and bones for the most part, Shanks was well-built for a kid.
“Looking for treasure sounds fun! You can come with us! Then we’ll be pirate soulmates! What do you say, uh… What’s your name?”
Well, Shanks had given out his name first, so… “Buggy.”
“Buggy,” Shanks repeated, eyes sparkling for some reason. “So, how about it?”
It was all way too sudden. Yes, Buggy wanted to get off the island, he had no reason to stay here, but… he’d never expected his soulmate would want to just whisk him away. Shanks hadn’t even said anything about a fare to travel on the ship. “…I don’t know how to be a pirate,” Buggy eventually settled on.
“That’s fine! You can just be an apprentice and learn. I’m technically an apprentice, too, since I’m still a kid, and sailing the Grand Line isn’t easy. But don’t worry, everyone else is super good at it, and they’re all crazy strong, especially Captain! He’ll protect you from any danger. Rayleigh can be a bit scary, but he’s a great teacher, so you’ll have the basics down in no time at all.”
Huh. Shanks really meant it? But would all those scary men really want Buggy around?
“I still don’t really know you, though. I guess we’re soulmates, but what if I get tired of you?” What if you get tired of me?
Shanks blinked. “You’re still free to leave whenever you want. We’re soulmates. Distance doesn’t matter. The bond will never break.”
There was such conviction in Shanks’ voice, Buggy almost found himself believing in his words.
“Can you get off me, then?”
Shanks blushed, quickly scrambling backwards. “Sorry! I just wanted to talk to you without you running away again.” He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Maybe that was a bit too simple of a solution.”
“Whatever. Not like I can hide from you with this.” He waved his hand that had the string attached.
Shanks leaned forward again, interlocking their fingers, and as the string got so short it basically disappeared and both ends touched, it truly started glowing, emitting a pleasant warmth.
Damn it. Now Buggy didn’t want to let go of Shanks’ hand ever again.
He looked up to see a strangely serious expression. “I don’t want to trap you. Ever. I think we’ll be great friends, but if you ever want to cut the string, I won’t stop you.”
“Cut? You can cut the string?” That was news to Buggy.
Shanks nodded. “Yeah. Usually nobody can touch the string, but if we both want to, we can make the string visible and tangible for everyone. And then one of us could cut it, if we wanted to. It has to be one of us, though. To anyone else, it’s indestructible. After all, it’s our bond.”
“Only we can break it?”
“Yeah.”
Buggy let go of Shanks’ hand, then reached out with his other one to touch the string. Shanks had to have realized, because Buggy could actually feel the material of it for the first time, soft but elastic, it easily followed along as Buggy pulled at it a little.
“I don’t think I want to cut it.”
After all, Shanks hadn’t laughed. So the bond wasn’t worthless.
“Good. Me neither.”
Tentatively, Buggy smiled back at him.
“SHANKS! Where did you run off to?!”
The boy in question startled horribly, jumping into Buggy’s nook next to him. “Shit,” he hissed. “That’s my captain. I just ran off without explaining anything, so he’s probably worried. And then he’ll let Rayleigh lecture me forever. We gotta distract him somehow… Oh! I know!”
Shanks’ smile turned into a mischievous grin, and he leaned forward to whisper into Buggy’s ear.
The plan didn’t really sound great to Buggy, but it would at least succeed in getting the captain to shift his focus to their soul bond.
And Shanks seemed convinced that he wouldn’t be mad. Buggy had no idea if that was true, but, well. It was one way to test if their bond truly was as unbreakable as Shanks said it was.
So, Buggy got up, settling back down in plain view on the other side of the alley, just a little ahead of his nook so Shanks was out of sight.
It didn’t take long for the man who’d been with Shanks to peer into the alley and spot Buggy, making a beeline for him. “Hey, you’re that boy Shanks ran after. Boy about your age, red hair and straw hat, you’ve seen him?”
Buggy had to suppress a grin. But he was a good actor. “Yeah, he’s right over there.” He pointed down the alley.
“Thanks!” The pirate captain strode forward confidently, and just as he was about to pass Buggy, he willed the red string to become tangible. It appeared right at ankle height, and with a yelp, the pirate stumbled over it, face landing on the trampled dirt of the side alley.
Now, Shanks was laughing, bright and clear, and Buggy found himself laughing along.
Their timing had been perfect! And the poor captain looked majorly confused, until he turned to see the string he’d tripped on, connecting the boys. His eyes went as wide as saucers. “Shanks! You found your soulmate? This boy?”
“Yeah! His name is Buggy! Can he join the crew?”
“Of course,” the captain agreed, “I’m Roger. Welcome to the crew!”
Roger offered his hand to Buggy, who took it and let himself be pulled to his feet, though Roger pulled a bit too much, and Buggy ended up stumbling against his legs.
When he looked up, Roger’s expression was darker than it had been before, and Buggy felt the need to pull back, though Roger’s grip was even more relentless than Shanks’ entire body weight had been. Buggy shifted in place. Was he mad, after all?
“You don’t weigh anything,” Roger stated, his tone flat. “Buggy, who’s taking care of you? Where are your parents?”
Buggy thought of icy stares and dishes shattered against the wall behind him. He thought of a little girl with curly blue hair just like his own, framing a face with an adorable little button nose, and the ice in the same gazes turning to love the moment they shifted from him to her. He thought of the night he left, tears stinging in his eyes as he took his first breath of what tasted like freedom and loneliness.
“I don’t have any.”
Roger, after a second of consideration, just grinned. “Then nothing’s keeping you here, right? Perfect! Pack your stuff, we’ll have a feast tonight to celebrate!”
A feast? Buggy’s stomach grumbled just from hearing the word. He hadn’t eaten anything since the day before yesterday. He could really use a feast. “Okay. There’s something I gotta get but I won’t be long.”
Roger nodded. “Sure! Shanks, you go with him and help him carry whatever he needs. I’ll go back to the Oro Jackson and make sure there will be snacks ready at least.”
“I don’t need help,” Buggy said, but Roger was already leaving, and Shanks stayed with him.
Well. Shanks was his soulmate. If Buggy could trust anyone with seeing his treasure, it had to be him. Though he still didn’t totally trust him. With a sigh, Buggy grabbed the blanket from his nook. “Let’s go, then.”
With determined steps, Buggy made his way out of the port town, into the small forest to the west. Shanks followed behind him, chattering away about the crew and all the adventures they’d have. Honestly, there were way too many names, and too much of what Shanks was saying sounded like pure fantasy, so Buggy barely got any of it, but it was a nice way to drown out the massive implications of what Buggy was doing.
This might be the very last time Buggy would make the trip to his treasure stash.
He was about to leave home forever, with a bunch of strangers, and become a pirate.
Even as a kid, Buggy knew there was no going back on that. Once a pirate, you were a pirate for life.
Though Buggy’s life had never been worth much, had it? Might as well make it into a legend. A pirate’s tale, with gold awaiting him behind wind and waves.
His treasure now would pale against everything he’d get in the future.
Still, he wouldn’t leave it behind.
Buggy had used up all the money he stole, but the few times he’d managed to get his hands on something truly valuable, on rings or bracelets or pocket watches, he’d hidden it here, in an abandoned fox hole in the forest, close to the coast.
He’d always hoped to have his own ship one day, paying for it with the treasure he collected, though maybe that dream could still become a reality. He could sail with Roger and Shanks, get way more treasure than he ever could on this one lousy island, and then set out on his own. Maybe he’d even take Shanks along.
“What’s in there?” Shanks asked the moment Buggy pulled out the box, but Buggy hugged it closely to his chest.
“None of your business! My treasure is mine!”
“Oh, okay.”
Just like that, Shanks let the subject drop, reaching out to carry the blanket instead as they went back to town.
Buggy chose a route that led them mostly around town, away from anyone who might want to take his treasure. He knew he wasn’t the only desperate one around here.
But they made it to the ship safely, and Shanks showed him his room that Roger was already putting a second hammock into. As promised, he had the snacks ready, too, and so Shanks and Buggy were told to sit on deck, so they could greet the crewmembers returning from grocery runs and introduce Buggy.
In practice, they sat on the railing, one on each side of the plank, stuffing themselves with pastries while Shanks just kept talking like he had earlier.
And every time another crewmember stepped over the plank onto the ship, they turned their red string into a tangible tripping hazard to watch all the scary pirates faceplant onto the deck of their ship, get angry, and then immediately forget that anger as they realized their sweet apprentice had found his soulmate.
For as long as he could remember, Buggy had been scared of the day his soulmate would see him and laugh.
But now, as Shanks laughed harder with every successful tripping attempt, Buggy couldn’t think of a sound he wanted to keep hearing more than his soulmate’s laughter.
What had been cruelty for all of his life turned to happiness in just one day.