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hellbaby237 · 3 months

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I just love them so much

I can’t tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

Prequel to my Kid Buggy fic, set about 11-ish years before that story.

Buggy meets you by chance when he needs his buttons sewn back onto his jacket. He’s young, up and coming, and he thinks everyone should cower before him wherever he goes, but all you do is smile at him.

Rating: PG-13ish just for some swearing. Warning: Buggy’s in his early 20s. I also gave him some anxiety and stuff because while he’s in love he doesn’t believe someone could love him back. He just has a lot of uncertainty with romance. A/N: Meet the Parents but mostly Buggy just being hella nervous because oh man, these are the parents. Why are they so nice to him?

Title comes from “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @ane5e @kingofthemfingpirates @the-angriest-angel @tiredemomama @valen-yamyam16 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @plethora-of-fickleness @uhnanix

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15

Chapter 15

You barely waited for the ship to dock and the ramp to lower before you were running down to the docks to greet the two waiting for you. Buggy trailed behind you, making sure he looked his best for a first impression. His clothes were clean, his hat looked flashy, and he wore his coat you had mended over and over again for him as you two got to know each other. You mended it as recently as the night before when a hole was forming in one of the pockets. After fixing it, you even stitched a little heart by it for him. Buggy did his best not to fall apart at that.

“Mama! Papa!” You squealed excitedly as you threw yourself at them. Buggy crossed his arms and watched you hug them, studying them as they hugged you. Your father was as tall as Buggy, his hair the same blonde color as yours and just as long, pulled back into a low ponytail. Your mother was shorter, stockier than your father. Her hair was a darker blonde, sitting just above her shoulders in length as it hung freely. Both had big smiles on their faces as they hugged you.

“Our Sunshine is home!” Your dad cheered as he swung you around in his arms. “I can't believe you're here!”

“And you're done with that apprenticeship, so you can do whatever you want!” Your mom chimed in as she stroked your hair gently. You grinned and pulled away to reach out to Buggy. Your parents shared a look before your mom asked, “Who's this, Sunny?”

“I know this is a surprise…” You took Buggy’s hand in yours, pulling him to your side. He was starting to regret this. You said your parents were nice so why did he feel like bait among some sea beasts? Buggy tensed up as your parents looked between the two of you. “But this is my fiancee, Captain Buggy.”

“Fiancee?” You dad repeated.

“Captain?” Your mom looked between the two of you. “Really!” She laughed; Buggy felt his shoulders drop. “Our Sunny’s just like her dad, falling in love with a pirate and all.”

“She's not the only one, your sister did the same.” Your dad pointed out.

“Right, well, can we head to the house?” You asked, squeezing Buggy’s hand gently. “You three can get to know each other.”

Buggy jerked his head in your direction when you said that. Did that mean you were leaving him alone? Your parents nodded, leading the way up the path from the docks and to a row of houses with fields and some trees surrounding them. There were children of various ages running around, teenagers, and some young and old adults. Was this your family?

You didn't let go of Buggy's hand, squeezing gently as you smiled at him. That made him feel a bit more relaxed but he still wanted to know if you were leaving him with your parents.

“So, Captain Buggy.” Your mom grinned as she sat at the table beside the kitchen, her husband sitting beside her while you directed Buggy in the chair across from them. “I'm Windy, and this is my husband Blue.”

“R-Right.” He didn't know what to say, but his mind was racing. He swallowed heavily, glanced over at you, then stood up suddenly, slamming both hands on the table. “Please let me marry your daughter! Please give me your blessing!”

“Buggy!” You were shocked he did that.

Your parents shared a look before Blue looked back at him. “Sure? Okay, if that's what you want.” He looked up at you before looking back at Buggy. “She can marry who she wants, you know.”

“But-” Buggy started but your mom cut him off.

“If you want our blessing, of course you can have it.” She chuckled. “Though I'd like to get to know my future son-in-law.”

Shaking your head, you took his hat off and kissed the top of his head before stepping into the kitchen to make some tea. You knew he was nervous about meeting them but you didn't expect him to ask for their blessing. It wasn't necessary, but if he felt he needed it to marry you then so be it.

“How did you two meet?” Your dad asked. Buggy straightened up, the words were there but he didn't know how to speak suddenly. He glanced over at you, ensuring you were still there, before he looked back at your parents.

“Her… job.” He told them. “Uh, I was a customer.”

“Ha! Really.” Windy grinned. “I wondered if that would happen, y'know, sending our girl off to work with that Miss Pins. All the customers were pirates, it was bound to happen.”

“And how soon did you fall in love?” Blue asked teasingly; Buggy started to turn red in the face as he looked over at you again. You were leaning on the counter, beaming at him as the water started to boil.

“Almost immediately.” Buggy mumbled.

“Aw, Sunny, he's so cute!” Your mom giggled. “Love at first sight, eh? Like me and her father.” She leaned back in her seat, giving him a look over while Buggy sat as still as possible under her gaze. “So, a pirate captain. Our daughter's doing well for herself.”

He straightened up and relaxed just a bit at the compliment. “Yes, I'm a captain. My crew and I terrorize anyone who comes across us in the East Blue!”

“Really! Y’know, Windy here used to be a pirate herself under Red Leg Zeff.” Blue told him. “I bet you two could have fun swapping stories about living at sea.”

“He was an apprentice under Gold Roger.” You added in from the kitchen. Buggy straightened up and turned to look at you. He didn't want to talk about that. “Buggy is an amazing pirate.”

“Gold Roger, really!” Windy grinned. “That's impressive, y’know. Not many would have had that opportunity. I remember meeting him once, definitely leaves an impression on you. Though I don't remember seeing you when I met him.”

“You would have remembered if you saw Buggy.” You said as you brought over a tray of mugs with hot tea. “His beautiful blue hair is so memorable.”

Buggy turned bright red at your compliment but he appreciated that there was no comment made about his nose. So far. Would they say something? Your parents seemed nice so far but they didn't mean they couldn't make a comment or something about it. What if they did? These were your parents, he needed to be nice because he was so in love with you, but would you defend him if they made a jab at his appearance, or would you agree with them? His mind was racing once again, the what ifs taking over as he imagined horrible scenario after scenario of you deciding you didn't want to marry him in the end, that he was too pathetic for you, and he was so lost in his thoughts he didn't realize your hand was on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

He looked up at you, eyes wide with uncertainty. You touched his cheek and smiled at him, feeling him relax just a bit.

“Do you want anything in your tea, Buggy?” You asked. He just shook his head and you sat down beside him. Your parents were busy adding milk and sugar into their own that they didn't seem to notice that Buggy shut down for a moment. “Buggy was my most consistent customer at the shop in the last year. And my favorite.”

“That's so cute!” Blue exclaimed. “When are you two planning on getting married?”

Buggy didn't actually know. You two really hadn't talked about the wedding too much. He looked at you for an answer, but you shrugged and took a sip of your tea.

“We haven't settled on a date yet. I had wanted to wait to be engaged and everything until after my apprenticeship, but we decided not to keep waiting.” You said, and it was a half truth. You wanted to wait but Buggy didn't. He was afraid of losing you to someone else, and after seeing that Captain Kuro and how you two interacted, he was grateful he did it when he did. “But I'd like a small wedding, you know? Just you two for me and someone to officiate.”

“I'm sure we can manage that.” Windy replied as she sipped her tea, giving Buggy a look over. “Is there anyone you want at the wedding, Buggy?”

How did this suddenly turn into wedding planning? He thought they just wanted to get to know him. The question didn't sit quite well with him. He didn't have anyone like you had your parents. He could get some of his crew to come to it but other than that, he was alone.

“Just some of my crew.” He mumbled. If he and Shanks were still friends, he'd have him there, or if Captain Roger was still alive, or Rayleigh was around, but he didn't. “And uh, Sunny, of course.”

You reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “It's been a long few weeks, I'm going to get us settled in my room and I'll help with dinner in a few hours once we've both rested.”

“Nonsense, we have others here to help with food. You two rest.” Your dad chuckled. “And don't make too much noise.”

You glared at your dad while Buggy turned bright red. Your mom slapped him on the shoulder as he laughed while you pulled Buggy to his feet and led him up the stairs to your room, mumbling something about embarrassing fathers. You led him down the hallway to your room and let him in.

“I'm sorry about all that, Buggy.”

He tried to play it cool, like he didn't feel so uncomfortable from the entire ordeal. “What? That was fine, babe. I can handle your parents.”

You squeezed his hand and sighed. “You're so sweet, Buggy.”

“Babe, babe, you tell me all the time.” He chuckled, hoping he didn't sound as nervous and anxious as he felt. “And besides, your parents were nice, what's not to love about me, y’know?”

“Silly.” You chuckled as you pulled him close to you, giving him a kiss. “I love you, Buggy.”

He hated that he was blushing again at your words. He just nodded, looking at you once more with wide eyes that seemed uncertain for a moment, but you just pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek, and he wrapped his arms around you before mumbling back, “I love you too, Sunny.”

Your bed was bigger than the one you had at Miss Pins, but Buggy made sure he was right there next to you. Your arms were around him, holding him close as you both rested. He was pretty sure you dozed off at some point but he didn't mind. Any time with you was important to him. He rested his head against your chest as he stared at the wall, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

You were going to marry him. You wanted to. He still couldn't believe it. Buggy never anticipated falling in love when he showed up at the shop that day, having you kindly take his coat and fix it for him. And every time he showed up since then, you greeted him with smiles and his name. It was hard not to fall for you.

And now he got to be in bed with you, your arms around him and holding him tightly to your body. He was so lucky. How did he get someone like you to fall in love with him when there were so many better looking guys out there? Even after one of your last customers showed up, asking you for lunch, Buggy saw how you smiled at Kuro and wondered now if you had regrets about accepting Buggy’s proposal.

No, no, no, shut up. He sighed and tightened his hold on you. Was he always this insecure, anxious, everything when it came to life, or was it just since he met you and fell head over heels in love with you and was still surprised every day that you chose him over everyone else you'd met in your time at the shop? You really fell for him after his failed attempts at flirting, date failures, everything. You took care of him on his birthday, making sure he got back to the ship safely, even made him breakfast the next morning.

He looked up at you, studying you for a moment while you slept. You let him be close to you like this, trusted him even, and you were always so kind to him even when he felt he didn't deserve it.

No, that settled it. You did love him otherwise you wouldn't be taking care of him the way you did. You made sure he was fed, that his clothes were clean and in good condition, even made sure he at least bathed once a week. Your arms were always open for a hug for him and he appreciated that, having never experienced the love and safety of a hug before except once in a dream.

He couldn't wait to marry you and have you in his arms forever.

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hellbaby237 · 3 months

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Be gentle with yourself as you uncover Your best kept secrets yet to be discovered

Buggy meets an infamous pirate who dabbles in magic that everyone seems to be after, but they only have eyes for Buggy. Why is he so special? Rating: PGish. Warning: None. Buggy is unhappy and doesn't want strangers touching him without asking first. A/N: My "Howl's Moving Castle" fic based off the movie because I never read the book. It will have different moments than the movie just to omit some things. This story uses "You" but I couldn't not give the character a name and for some reason "Shore" is what I thought of. And Shore is referred to as they/them, nonbinary, and breaks hearts wherever they go. Buggy is Sophie in this fic, is 22, and not always in a good mood.

Title comes from "Better In The Morning" by Birdtalker.

TAGLIST: @fanaticsnail

Chapter I

The final performance of the evening finished. The final bows given as the lights faded and the music played the performers out. Buggy stood to the side and out of the spotlights, arms crossed with a scowl as he watched his companions soak up the attention: the attention he deserved for all that he did for them but he was never thanked. Sewing costumes, fixing props, the makeup, cleaning up before, during, and after each performance. And every night Buggy was there, ready to do what was needed to ensure the circus lived on.

It was frustrating. He had been a promising performer, up and coming, his former ring master said so, but when he died and another took over, Buggy’s chances were destroyed. He had to stay at the bottom of the pile, taking care of everyone and everything. It was hard, he watched as a child how the circus was built up, but now it lacked the flash, the passion, the creativity he once knew, and no one would listen to him. Years of being pushed aside took its toll on Buggy. He stopped offering suggestions, only staying around to try and maintain the image of the circus he once knew.

He spent hours cleaning, ignoring the chattering voices of the performers. Their latest bit of gossip was of a notorious pirate, one who stole the hearts of beautiful men and women at every town they went to. He heard a jab made at his expense, Buggy’s lucky, he has nothing to worry about! followed by laughter. They always said things like that, figuring he didn’t hear them. Their voices often carried through the tent.

Assholes, all of them.

He was done hours later and the last one to leave. His home was the tent, wherever it went, but some nights he needed to get away. A walk around the town would be nice. The circus was never around in a town for too long, a few weeks at most, before packing up and leaving to the next one. He could always stay behind, Buggy knew that; he was young enough to start a new career. At just 22 he had his whole life ahead of him, but his heart was in the tent. He couldn’t leave it, not ever.

He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on before heading off the grounds and into the night. The town had seemed quiet so far, a nice change from some of the rowdier places they had been.

It was nice to take some time to think without the noise of the crowds, of the performers, just to be by himself without anyone else around.

Except he walked past a Marine after ducking down an alleyway, one who was much bigger than Buggy, who stopped in front of him and blocked his path with a drunken grin. He leaned forward, using the corner of the building for balance as he looked Buggy up and down. Buggy could smell the alcohol on his breath and grimaced.

“Is the circus in town?” The Marine laughed. “Can you do any tricks, jester?”

Buggy hesitated for a moment. If he fought back, he’d be thrown in jail and no one would bail him out, so it wasn’t worth it. Instead, he stepped around him, choosing to ignore him, but there was another one waiting.

“Wow, you found a funny lookin’ clown!” The other Marine chuckled as he reached up to touch Buggy’s hair. “This a wig?”

“You forgot to take your nose off!” The first Marine added with a laugh. Buggy took a step back, the urge to fight growing though the little voice inside him said don’t, not worth it, but it was so hard to not give in. He wanted so badly to fight back but what would be the use? The two started to crowd him, taking up his space, and before Buggy could scream at them to back off, a hand was on his shoulder. It wasn’t one of the Marines, the touch was too warm, too gentle, and when he turned to see the visitor, his voice was caught in his throat.

The first thing he noticed was your hair, white as snow, cropped above your shoulders with barrettes keeping your hair out of your face. Hazel eyes shining bright in the darkness and for a moment Buggy thought maybe he saw the stars reflected in them. You were shorter than Buggy by a few inches, he had to look down at you to see your face. You tugged him close to you, keeping your hand on his shoulder as you smiled at the two drunks. “Sorry I’m late! We need to get going if we want to make our dinner reservation.”

“Wait-”

The two Marines tried to step in to stop but with a flick of your wrist they both went still before turning and marching in the direction Buggy came from. He stared in shock as they marched, invisible strings controlling their actions. You gave his shoulder a squeeze, catching his attention. He turned to look at you, meeting your eyes for just a moment before he looked away.

“Let me drop you off at home. I want to make sure you’re safe.” You said with a smile. “Can I hold your hand?”

“Can you- what? Why?!” He demanded, unconsciously reaching for your hand. You grasped it in yours, the warmth was still there and he was glad it was dark so you didn't see his red cheeks. You pulled him closer, glancing behind him before grinning.

“I'm being followed. This will be faster.” You said as you took his other hand in yours. “I hope you're not afraid of heights.”

“Afraid of heights?” He repeated, confused.

Before Buggy could register what you said, you held both of his hands and jumped up, bringing him along. There was a noise below, a crash of shadows and men with swords and axes, all matter of weapons, attacking where you both just were. He was in the air. Not quite flying, but you started moving your legs, strolling along as though normal. His legs wouldn't move, he had them tucked up against his body, suddenly terrified that if he even thought of relaxing he'd fall to the darkness below.

“I got you, don't worry.” You assured him kindly, giving his hand a squeeze. “Relax and walk. You're safe with me.”

“I'm not scared!” Buggy snapped at you as he forced his legs to start moving, stretching them out below and trying to make them walk. You chuckled, leading him in the direction of the red and white striped circus tent.

“I didn't say you were.”

He glared at you, huffing in annoyance as the two of you gradually drifted downwards to the ground. The lights around the tent were still off, no one else was awake. He wasn't gone that long, but between walking, the Marines, and then you helping him made him drop to his knees in exhaustion once you touched the ground. He felt like he ran a marathon with how wobbly he felt. Was it just adrenaline? He wasn't scared. Buggy didn't get scared. But maybe just keeping up with you in the air, trying to make sure neither of you fell to the ground, tired him out faster than he expected.

Your hand was on his shoulder once again, giving a gentle squeeze. He looked up at you, scowling once more. Why were you sticking around? Were you expecting payment? He didn't ask for help, he would have been fine without you.

“Go get some rest.” You said as you pulled your hand away, the warmth gone from Buggy's shoulder now, already something he was missing. He wanted to at least ask your name, just so he knew if you were coming later to demand any kind of payment or favors later then he could be sure he was ‘off site'.

Buggy finally got to his feet and you were gone, walking off into the night, someone he wouldn't see again. The kindness you showed him in that moment stuck with him as he headed into the tent. All you did was help him, ask to touch him, which was more than anyone else in his life had done. The only other person to treat him like that was the former ringmaster, dead now six years and Buggy hadn't had someone smile kindly to him since then. Until you, that is.

The tent was quiet, the lights off, save for one lantern lit in the middle of the ring. He knew he blew them all out before leaving, but maybe one didn't stay out. Shaking his head, he approached the middle and picked the lantern up, opening the little glass door as he readied to blow it out.

“So, who's your friend?” A voice asked, low with a hint of amusement. Buggy jumped, nearly dropping the lantern as his head turned to see who spoke. At the entrance of the ring was a woman, around his age maybe, who was leaning on a mace with a grin on her face.

“Circus is closed.” Buggy told her, straightening up and trying to sound authoritative despite his voice wavering. “First show tomorrow starts at four. You can come back then.”

She laughed as she lifted her weapon up, resting it against her shoulder as she approached Buggy. When she got close enough, her hand extended out towards his face, he took a step back. He didn't know who this was, why she was in the tent, but he didn't like it one bit.

“The circus is-is closed, you need to leave.” He insisted. She just smiled at him and took another step forward, palm open and against his cheek suddenly. Buggy thought he was dunked in ice water, the feeling of her hand against his face was nothing like the hand on his shoulder minutes ago. There was no warmth, no gentle touch, and he felt himself start to panic.

“You're telling me to leave?” She asked with a smile. “Sweetie, don't you know who I am?”

“No, and I don't care!” Buggy snapped as he jerked away from her. “You need to take your weapon and leave now!”

It wasn't working. She just shook her head and patted him on the cheek. “That's no way to speak to Alvida, the Witch of the Waste, sweetie.”

Witch of the What?

“Lady, I don't know who you are, so take your weapon and get out! You're not welcome!” Buggy told her. “Get the hell out, you nobody!”

“Nobody?” The faux friendliness vanished, she was no longer smiling. She let the handle of the mace slide through her hand, the heavy head of the weapon striking the ground with a thud, causing Buggy to jump. Her free hand went into the pocket of her jacket. “Oh, sweetie, that wasn’t very nice.”

Before Buggy could respond, she pulled her hand out of her pocket, fist clenched tightly until she held it up to her mouth, relaxing her hand before blowing. Sparkly pink dust hit Buggy in the face and he coughed, waving his hand in front of his face as he tried to waft it away. What just happened? He managed to open his eyes, squinting through the sparkles, as Alvida smirked at him.

“Good luck telling anyone what happened to you, sweetie.” She said as she lifted her weapon back up. “No one will know.” Resting it against her shoulder, she turned to head out of the ring. “Oh, and tell that pirate Shore that I’m looking for them.”

“Sho-Shore?” Buggy coughed. “Who the hell is that?”

“You know who it is.”

She left with that, leaving Buggy alone. Shaking his head, he collected the lantern and headed to his room. Whatever was in those sparkles made him feel tired, his body ached a little and he couldn’t help but hunch a bit. Maybe it was that… other person, maybe they did something too. Coughing, Buggy rubbed his arm before heading to his room. Maybe a good night’s sleep will help him forget what happened tonight.

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