Chapter Text
Buggy should be celebrating with his crew right now instead of sitting in some dingy bar all by himself. He’d been invited to join the ranks of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and that was a big deal! Yet here Buggy was, unable to help his bitter mood. He’d been feeling a bit off ever since he saw someone from his past for the first time in many years at the battlefield of the Summit War. But that was weeks ago now. Why was he so upset about it now? A frustrated sigh left the clown and he downed the remains of his drink that had been sitting in front of him on the bar. He looked at the empty cup in his hands before waiving the bartender over.
“Get me something stronger, and make it a flashy one!” Buggy grumbled out as he made eye contact with the bartender.
“I’ve got just the thing to help turn that frown upside down. I’ll even add an extra vodka shot for ya.” A playful wink was directed to Buggy as she mentioned the extra shot of vodka.
The bartender had a warm smile on her face and was clearly trying to help boost the clown's mood. But the drink she sat down in front of Buggy did anything but that. An extra strong strawberry cosmopolitan cocktail was served to him topped with a little strawberry placed cleanly on the rim of the glass. His eyes landed on the red drink and he grimaced.
“Stupid Shanks.” He mumbled the familiar words under his breath as he grabbed his glass.
The drink itself tasted great but the red hue seemed to taunt him. It frustrated Buggy that he kept finding things that reminded him of the red-haired idiot. He didn’t want to think about Shanks, especially not now. But ever since he saw him again it’d been hard not to. Shanks seemed to be doing really well without him. No, Buggy shook the thought from his head. Instead he should be focusing on his own success! The clown had done really well for himself without Shanks. He was a Warlord now! Not everyone got so lucky to hold that title. But then again Shanks was a Yonko, one of the four emperors, surely that outshined his own achievement by miles. Just as Shanks often did.
Stupid Shanks.
Buggy sat silently, swishing his drink around in front of him as he let his brain run rampant. Thoughts about Shanks and himself and their shared history flooded his brain. It had been a long time since he’d really looked back on their strange relationship. Before he could drive himself mad with his own thoughts though a familiar voice rang out beside him and he almost thought he was hearing things.
“Mind if I take a seat, old friend?”
Shanks? Shanks!
Buggy couldn’t decide if he was more surprised or furious to see the red haired man as he sat down beside him at the bar.
“What are you here you idiot?!” Buggy’s words came out in a high pitched screech as his torso split from his legs and floated back a few feet.
What was left of his drink was knocked over onto the counter as he split apart and that made Buggy even more frustrated with the situation. Not only was the last person he wanted to see sitting right beside him now but he'd lost his drink now too because of him. Shanks didn’t seem to pick up on the clown’s frustration and if he did he was doing a good job of acting oblivious. That pissed Buggy off the most.
It’s what he does best.
The red haired pirate picked the glass up off of its side and apologized to the bartender as she came by to wipe up the mess after noticing the commotion.
“Could you bring my friend another drink? Bring me some sake too, please.”
Shanks flashed a wide, toothy grin and it made Buggy’s blood boil. But at the same time there was a sense of comfort that came from that all too familiar smile. It reminded him of a much similar time. Buggy wasn’t going to acknowledge it though. Instead he huffed as he reattached his torso and crossed his arms. A childlike pout was on his face as he avoided looking at Shanks.
“I’m only letting you stay because you’re getting me another drink. Once I’m done with it I’m out of here!”
“That’s fine Buggy, but that means you have to share this one drink like it’s the good ol’ days.”
Buggy scoffed at that. Shanks really was an idiot if he thought Buggy was going to warm up and act like they were friends again just because of one lousy, stupid red drink.
“We’ll share one drink but I am not your friend Shanks. I won’t pretend we are just because you’re buying a drink for me. A drink to replace the one you made me spill in the first place!”
Shanks’ smile faltered for a millisecond. The corner of his mouth twitching downwards at Buggy’s words. It was such a small gesture that most people would have missed it. But Buggy wasn’t most people. He knew Shanks and he knew him well. That little twitch told the clown his words struck something and he couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt from it.
The two sat in silence for an uncomfortably long moment while their drinks were being made. Buggy wished Shanks would just go away already but he knew the odds of that happening were slim to none. Finally Shanks broke the silence after their drinks had been set in front of them and the bartender was away helping another customer at the far end of the bar.
“I heard you’re a Warlord now. That’s big news! So why aren’t you celebrating with your crew?”
He lifted his cup up to his mouth and took a sip of his sake. Buggy watched the motion and rolled his eyes. An exasperated sigh left the blue haired man before he answered.
“Not that it’s really any of your business but my lovely crew asked me to get out for a bit while they set up some kind of flashy party for the occasion. Didn’t want me to see it before it was done so it didn’t ‘ruin the surprise.’ It’s not really much of a surprise party if I already know about it though, is it?”
That was only half a lie. His crewmates really were setting up a party for his invitation to become a Warlord.
The reason he wasn’t drunk off his ass with his merry band of misfits right now was because he was sulking over the very man beside him. Now here he was face to face with him and instead of feeling happy or relieved to see a familiar face that wanted to congratulate him he was even more upset than he was to begin with. Of course Shanks would show up to ruin his moment like this.
“Ah! Well it’s still a very nice gesture from your crew! They really seem to like you, Buggy.”
“Of course they like me! I’m a great captain and they all look at me with adoring eyes just as a good crew should!”
Shanks chuckled at that and it irritated Buggy. His face twisted into a nasty scowl.
"It's not supposed to be funny! I'm leaving."
The clown shook his head and started to down his drink. He was ready to never see this stupid pain in his ass ever again. But before he could finish off his cocktail Shanks placed his hand on Buggy’s shoulder which caused him to almost choke on his drink. A dangerous look flashed through Buggy’s eyes at the red haired pirate and he set his glass down angrily.
“Don’t touch me you idiot! You’ll ruin my flashy clothes with your grubby hand!”
“C’mon Buggy my hand isn’t that dirty.” Another chuckle rumbled out of Shanks and Buggy hated how much he really did miss hearing the sound of it. Of course he’d never admit to that though. He’d rather die before admitting he missed anything about the red-haired idiot.
“Whatever, just don’t touch me ok?!”
“Alright, fine. Then don’t leave so soon. I just got here, we haven't even started celebrating yet!”
“You are insufferable.” Buggy spat the words out.
Buggy crossed his arms and was about to throw another insult at Shanks but he was cut off before he could get another word out.
“Please Buggy? Let me share a proper drink with my old friend.”