You, a troublemaker, have a chance encounter with Buggy when he and his crew raid the ship youâre on.
You were always the jokester on your ship. The rest of the crew tolerated it, but jokes were your bread and butter. As a pirate, the days were long and the work was hard and youâd be damned if you didnât keep yourself amused with silly rhymes, one liners, snarky comebacks, absurdisms, whatever you could come up with, really. Usually you were responded to with a roll of the eyes, a suffering sort of smile, even silence, but sometimes you said a real zinger and got the crew to come together in laughter. Those were the best times. But you enjoyed some of the less tolerant reactions too. You found a particular enjoyment in being a menace.
When your ship was taken over by a group of theatrically inclined circus pirates, everyone in your crew was certain they would all be dying in strange, unusual, and possibly theatrical ways. That was what you were prepared for, too. And, sure, it was unfortunate, but at least the lighting was sure to be great and your inevitable demise was sure to be creative. Being a pirate, believe it or not, was often very tedious business unless you were actively in the middle of some mischief. Dying sucked, but at least it would be interesting and keep you occupied.
And your good humor, much to your captured crewâs chagrin, was there to keep you company until the theatrically inclined circus pirates figured out what to do with the lot of you.
When a certain clownish pirate captain made an appearance, sauntering around the deck of your ship as if he owned the place, a member from your crew elbowed you hard in the ribs and warned, âBetter not be planning any funny business.â
If your hands werenât already raised in surrender with the rest of the crew, you would have put them up defensively. But a mischievous smile was playing on your lips as you said, âWho knows what Iâm planning?â
âWho said something about my nose?!â Captain Buggyâs voice was so loud that everyone jumped at the exclamation.
Your eyes moved over the fine yet intimidating figure that was the invading clown pirate captain. His outfit was flashy and makeup was unapologetically clownish. He moved with a grace and confidence that belied the outrage he clearly felt over a comment on his nose. You realize that he must have been insecure (and, overall, overcompensating) for something, but what really got your attention was the frown that defied how his makeup stretched into a smile. His makeup begged for him to smile and, aside from whatever insecurity he harbored, he looked like he could take a good joke. It would be a shame if he couldnât take a good joke, after all, since he was, in fact, a clown.
Everyone averted their eyes when he stared them down, shining blue eyes roving over each member of the crew you belonged to. Everyone, that is, except you. You looked back at him, unwavering, an amused grin on your face.
âWhatâre you smiling about?â He questioned, taking a few lumbering steps over to you. He was so tall and moved with such unique grace, such intense purpose.
âWhat? People canât smile when they see a clown anymore?â You asked back, daring to lower your hands only to be jabbed in the ribs again, this time by a member of Buggyâs crew. Your hands darted back up into a surrender, but you rolled you eyes as you did it. âI thought that was, like, the whole point. And, anyway, you should think about smiling more. A frowny clowny is a little bit of a contradiction, I would think.â
Buggy advanced until he grabbed ahold of your collar and said, head cocked and inches from your face, âWell, Captain Frowny Clowny is a little pissy-wissied because some fuck-twat should have kept their mouth shut instead of talking about something that wasnât their business. And, come to think of it, I could have sworn that voice came from your direction. Do you know anything about that, princess?â
You could feel his breath on your cheeks, could feel how strong his hand was, and wondered in equal parts what it would be like to be kissed by someone like him and what it would be like to be thrown overboard by someone with such enthusiasm. When you smiled again, his eyes flickered to your lips before darting back to lock gazes with you. He was impatient like a man but as feral as an animal in his intensity.
âOh, really? Pray, why donât you share with the class what you know?â If he was an animal, he liked to play with his food before he ate it.
You felt everyoneâs eyes on you and you knew that he felt them too: the captive audience for his performance. But he didnât know that you liked an audience, too.
âAll I was saying wasââ
ââso it was you who had something to say. Why am I not surprised?ââ
âHush, Iâm not done.â Your voice was a little choked from how the collar cut into your throat, but you pushed on anyway, smile as unwavering as the rest of you. âAll I was saying was that why are you so upset about your nose when you have so much more to worry about? I mean,â you wheezed out a giggle at how the expression on his face changed, âI mean, you have twice as many eyes as you do noses and youâre acting like your nose is your biggest problem. Whatâs up with that?â
âAnd donât even get me started on your ears.â
You and Buggy stared at each other in silence. The whole ship seemed to be holding a collective breath. Your smile settled into a closed mouthed, triumphant smirk, and when he looked at you like he was trying to read another language, you wiggled your eyebrows. Then, just when you thought he was going to throw you overboard after all, a smile broke through the clownâs determinedly fierce looking scowl and you two started to laugh together.
He released his grip on your collar, smoothed down your shirt, and slung an arm over your shoulder. âYouâre not half bad, princess.â He started to lead you away from your crew. âYou know, Iâm feeling generous.â He looked to his crew, âTake the loot, take whatever you want, but they get to live. Go crazy. Letâs give them some stories to take back to port about Captain Buggy and his dastardly crew.â
He waited for the chaos and carnage to start before looking back to you. âHave you ever thought about running away with the circus? Because do I have an offer for youâŚâ