Buggy x Reader
Sweet Jester (Hurt/Comfort)
Summary:
It’s a stormy day on the ocean.
Your mental state is in turmoil, as negative thoughts consume and make you anxious. That’s, until Buggy comes to your rescue and comforts you. <3
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“I’m the happiest clown in the world, because I have you” he said, touching the tip of your nose with his finger in a playful manner, eliciting a small giggle from you.
“And this means all of you, my silly star.”
Warnings: angst, hurt, panic attack, self-hatred, anxiety, mental health problems
Enjoy some hurt and comfort with Buggy on a stormy day at the Big Top <3
You can also access this story on ao3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/82341586
Every now and then, a sharp flicker of light washed Captain Buggy’s personal cabin in a shimmery glow through the porthole. The weather was gloomy as the great and showy Big Top sailed over the open sea.
The crew was on high alert.
They weren’t only juggling balls but also many tasks as Buggy hurled clear instructions at them to set sail for the Karai Bari Island.
Each strike of lightning through the cluster of angry and dark clouds caused the artsy tinted windows of Buggy’s quarters to radiate red and green hues of illumination. It almost looked like a carnival show was playing outside.
You didn’t flinch at the sudden roar of thunder as you sat on the floor beside the bed hurled up into a ball, your knees drawn up all the way to your face.
Even as the ship swayed while a big wave crashed into the main deck, followed by Buggy screaming orders at his crew and the response of “Ai Ai Captain!” you didn’t worry.
You knew that you and everyone else on this ship were in good hands as long as Buggy was in charge.
He was throwing around orders and ushering around his men all day long, preoccupied with planning a flashy arrival and making sure they were on their time schedule, since they suddenly encountered this storm.
This left little room for him to check up on you, drowned by his many captain’s duties.
You, on the other hand, weren’t so productive today. Which wasn’t an issue since it was your day off. But this free time caused you to drown in your own thoughts.
Another bolt bathed the room in colorful hues followed closely by the rumble of thunder. Again you didn’t flinch, engulfed by your own thoughts brewing inside your head. It rather felt like a fleeting distraction comforting you in a strange way. But the relief was short-lived as another wave of unsettling thoughts crashed into your mind. It felt like you were being crushed agonizingly slow by your mental turmoil.
These feelings were making you restless all day long. Nothing seemed to soothe this deep ache in your heart which led to you recoiling in the captain’s quarters. On top of that, your heart seemed to want to break a rib with how fast it was beating, while your nerves seemed to scream inside your body. This anxiety was eating you alive as you trembled and suffered in your misery.
You buried your face deeper into your drawn-up knees as you tried to make yourself as small as possible, suppressing a whimper while your feelings overwhelmed you.
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Suddenly the door to the captain’s quarters flew open, but there was no person at the door frame. Only a gloved hand was holding the handle as Buggy yelled at his men to “secure down the hatches!” and “Cabaji make sure that giant cat isn’t roaming around in this tornado!”
The cold air tasting of salt breached the threshold, but before it could reach you, Buggy appeared at the doorway.
“Whew - this storm really knows how to knock a clown off his feet.“ he remarked, as the rest of his body reconnected with his detached hand.
But his movements abruptly stopped as his eyes landed on your curled up figure, a worried frown setting into his clown-painted face.
“Toots? What’s going on?”
You didn’t respond. He wasn’t even sure if you registered his presence.
He noticed how you were slightly trembling.
“Hey- ”
He called out your name, but you only huddled up more, hiding your face behind your knees.
Buggy’s worry reached another level as he gulped heavily. His still drenched clothes were dripping and forming a small puddle at the entrance. He entered the room and gently closed the door as he began taking off his coat. The usually fluffy fur at the hem was completely soaked. As he began taking off his captain’s hat, he hung them over the nearest chair and removed his boots at the entrance.
Buggy slowly dragged his feet along the wooden floor to approach you and kneeled in front of your trembling figure,
his eyes roaming over your sunken form.
“It’s okay, my dear.” he said, slowly taking off his white gloves and throwing them aside. His silly demeanor was gone, leaving a serious but gentle look on his face. He mustered you for a moment with soft and worried eyes, as he slowly placed a gentle hand on your upper arm.
You flinched at his touch but didn’t recoil from it. “Hey, I’m here for you.” he whispered tenderly, moving his hand to your head and holding it in a soothing manner.
“Hey look at me, sugar.”
He carefully moved his hand to tilt your chin up with his ungloved fingers. The warmth of his touch on your skin soothed you and momentarily grounded you to the presence. It grounded you to him - Buggy.
Your eyes landed on that face you loved so dearly. His eye makeup was smudged from crashing waves and his beautiful blue hair was dripping. You wished you could admire that face like you always did but you still felt so uncomfortably anxious, your ribcage was heaving.
“Try matching your breaths to mine, my dear” he gently instructed. His eyes momentarily flickered to your lips as he deepened his intakes and breathed out slowly, coaching you to mimic him.
Your absent mind tried focusing on his instructions and mimicking him in a pitiful shaky breath.
“Just like that sweets, you’re doing great.” he encouraged, giving you a warm smile as you channeled your focus solely on him and your breathing.
After calming your body down to the best of your abilities, you finally relaxed enough to lock your gaze with his eyes instead of red-painted lips.
The look you found was of pure adoration mixed with deep concern. “There you are, silly,” he remarked with a goofy smile to lighten you up. “You worried your ol’ clown here.” he grinned playfully.
“Hey Bugs,” you sighed, your voice slightly cracking from today’s underuse. “I’m sorry,” you sighed, your gaze lowering.
At that he put on an over-the-top offended face in his true Buggy fashion as he immediately protested “Sorry? No, no my dummie, honey bunny, sweetie pie! How dare my dearest crew member hide her can of worms from her flashy captain. None of that ‘sorry-nonsense’”.
He voiced out in an exaggerated, theatrical manner, his hands flying here and there to emphasize his seriousness. “I’m here for you, so do NOT apologize.” he stated with complete determination in his eyes as his gaze softened.
“So, what was brewing inside that flashy head of yours, my star” he asked, nudging your temple with his pointy finger lightly.
You gingerly smiled at his antics, which was replaced with an exhausted expression as you tried to find the words and express the cause of your distress.
Buggy didn’t rush you, letting you take your time to sort out your thoughts.
“It’s just-“ you desperately tried finding the right words to express your brewing thoughts, which felt impossible right now.
“Ugh, I just…
I feel so disgusting!” you exasperatedly burst out, starting out with the most prominent thoughts.
“I hate myself!” you frustratingly cried out.
“I- I don’t know what got me to this point in my life,…” you stammered, rambling about your most aggressive thoughts.
“But I definitely feel undeserving of everything positive in it.” The look in your eyes grew distant, as you rambled about your feelings.
“I can’t shake this heavy blanket of sadness and misery off me, and I’m wasting everyone’s time and energy with my baggage. I just… can’t seem to function like everybody else! Like a normal human! Why?
Just- why am I like this? I’m not sure how much longer you can take this burden… I’m scared, but nevertheless feel like…
I would deserve such faith - to be cast aside - and just… lose the people I love.”
Your trembling hands clenched into tight fists.
“I can’t take this inner conflict anymore-“ your glassy eyes found Buggy’s as you suppressed another pitiful whimper.
“I feel like I’m being torn apart between drowning in self-pity and… feeling like I deserve every ounce of misery I’m in - and I’m never going to escape this cycle.” you mumbled, turning your gaze down. Your eyes lost focus again, as you felt another wave of ugly thoughts threatening to take you over and under its spell.
But before you could drown, you felt Buggy’s warm hand engulf your trembling fist. His touch was gentle as he unclenched it and caressed it with both of his hands, his warmth spreading into your palm, and securing your trembling hand.
Buggy’s gaze roamed over you, his eyes carrying deep worry and love as his heart broke at seeing you suffer so much.
“Oh Baby,” Buggy softly whispered, scooting closer to wrap his strong arms around your figure. His right hand moved atop your head, petting it lovingly.
You nestled your face in the crook of his neck, engulfed by his warmth and melting in his embrace as you let fresh tears fall.
“Shh, it’s okay precious,” he whispered, gently rocking you back and forth. You felt yourself melting in his embrace, finding comfort in his strong arms. His scent of face paint and gunpowder, with the note of sea salt and something sweet engulfed you, soothing you.
“Oh honey, my dearest treasure“ he breathed out, as he kept rocking you both back and forth.
“I’ts okay” he softly shushed you.
“Your clown is here now, nothing will hurt you” he reassured you, giving the top of your head a soft kiss.
Your tears calmed down after a while and your exhausted body slumped further into Buggy.
He stopped rocking your bodys and gently pulled your face up to wipe your tear-streaked face with his thumbs.
His eyes carried so much empathy. “You aren’t a burden. You’re everything to me, honey” Buggy said with pure adoration, his eyes becoming glossy.
“I’m the happiest clown in the world, because I have you” he said, touching the tip of your nose with his finger in a playful manner, eliciting a small giggle from you.
“And this means all of you, my silly star. You’re enough as you are and deserve the world. I know these ugly thoughts can get loud, but I’ll always be here to remind you,” he rasped out confidently.
“I’ll always be here for you and this won’t change, even if the whole Grand Line tries to separate us,” he dramatically exclaimed.
“Don’t ever think that you’re a burden to me.
You.are.never.”
Your heart felt so full at his words, making you feel so loved. “Thank you Buggy,” you sniffed.
He grinned widely, his eyes crinkling at the corners, giving you his signature Buggy-grin. “Of course, my flashy love. I’m sorry you’re feeling like that, and I’ll do everything in my power to change that. But promise me one thing” he said.
“Yes?” you asked, loosing yourself in his eyes.
“Don’t fight this alone. Don’t hesitate to call for me. We’ll overcome this together, as the flashy couple we are” he grinned.
You felt the corners of your mouth moving upwards, forming an honest smile.
“I promise,” you said, feeling so much lighter at his words.
“That’s my star!” he excitingly said, giving your cheek a big kiss.
As he slowly pulled away, he halted, a frown forming on his face.
“Hey what’s that in your ear, toots?” He asked, his detached hand flying behind your head.
In a matter of seconds, he smoothly took out a piece of wrapped candy “out of your ear”, his eyes opening widely, eyebrows raising as his lower jaw dropped open in an exaggeratedly surprised expression on his painted face.
“Oh- What do we have here? Looks like your favourite piece of candy. That’s really fitting for such a sweetie pie to have that in her ear,” he giggled, swaying the candy in front of your face.
You broke out in a fit of laughter at his old clown trick, your face crinkling as happy sounds bubbled out of you.
“You’re so cute when you laugh like that,” he admired “looks like I have to fish more candy out of your ear,” he joked, ‘taking out’ another piece of candy, he probably took out of his pocket earlier.
A deep blush crept into your face at his comment.
You snatched the first piece of candy out of his grasp, giggling. “Oh my- I’ve been searching for this, you know?” you joked with him, feeling giddy.
“Welp, good that I found it for you toots. Wanna share candy with your flashy clown and cuddle?” He cooed in a convincing manner, as if he would need to ask twice.
“I would love nothing more than that, Buggy”
He picked you up in his arms, and you shared the rest of the evening together, blissfully happy under the calming thunderstorm.
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Thank you sm for reading!