Painted Hearts | Buggy the Clown Fic

- do NOT get captured by an insane pirate

Leave it to the son of the most infamous pirate in the world to get captured on his own ship.

It'd been a fairly normal afternoon for Niko and the rest of the his crew - affectionately named "The Serpent Pirates" when they'd been hit by, you guessed it, a sea snake. A monster, of some sort or another, had chosen the one pirate crew named after it, and decided to attack it. Ironic, isn't it?

Niko might've even laughed if it hadn't cost them a crew member and torn their sails. Of course, casualties always happened - it was part of living as a pirate, but what had really set Niko off was the fact that the crew member, Dalton, had been their navigator for where they were headed next; The suspected location of the map.

And for the cherry on top? Niko had spotted the massive sails of the Buggy Pirates sailing towards them not even a few hours after the attack. He'd heard tales and seen wanted posters of their captain countless times. In fact, Niko kept one of the posters in his cabin, since he liked to keep track of how high the bounties were getting, and Buggy's was certainly up there.

Normally because of Niko's expertise on the seas and swift ship, they would've been able to outpace the larger ship, but because of their torn sails, The Serpent Pirates were as good as sitting ducks. They'd put up a good fight against the clown-pirates, but the smaller crew had been overpowered.

And that's how Niko ended up with his hands tied above his head, a knife wedged into the rope, pinning it to the mast, uncomfortably close to his skin. Blood crusted his split lip and the small slash on his cheekbone, his dark brown eyes narrowed as he stared down the man who was watching him.

He scowled into the striped-haired mans face, but kept silent, his eyes sliding past the pirate as he spotted someone else strolling onto his ship as if they owned it. He had vibrant blue hair that poked out from beneath a red pirates hat, clown makeup smeared across his face, bones across his forehead. His lips were curved into a joyful smile. Niko recognized him instantaneously as Buggy the Pirate, captain of the Buggy Pirates.

He was... Admittedly, incredibly handsome. A psychotic, murderous clown-pirate? Yeah... But he was definitely hot, which caught Niko way off guard.

Buggy's eyes locked onto him rather quickly, skipping towards him with that same delighted grin spreading even further across his face. Niko jutted his chin upwards as the clown spoke up, addressing what seemed like the whole ship, "Well, well, well!"

He stopped a pace from Niko, his bright blue eyes skimming up and down him as he continued, "The captain of the Serpent Pirates, was it?" His eyebrow cocked, and turned, looking over the ship, a white gloved hand raising to tap his chin as if he were musing, "Fitting, isn't it? A sea snake destroyed the Serpent Pirates' ship?" He snickered to himself, and a ripple of similar laughs echoed through the crew.

"Fuck off." Niko retorted through a taught jaw, his fists curling into balls from where they were pinned above his head. Buggy's head snapped towards him, his eyebrows raising mockingly as he exclaimed "You're a fiery one! Can't say I've heard of you before..." He chortled, stepping closer and taking Niko's chin in his hand firmly, "Who might we have here? We'll have to get you in a cage, hm?"

Niko's face flushed furiously and he attempted to jerk his chin out of Buggy's grip (to no avail), feverishly thinking, Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush. Of course, his mental chanting didn't work, and Buggy let go of his face. "Mohji! Come put him in the Green Room. Be careful, though. I think he might like it~" He joked, flashing a wink and a devilish smile in Niko's direction as he took a step back.

Niko's flusteredness intensified and he turned his head sharply, breath fluttering in his throat. "Ooh hoo, wow! Hello!" Buggy leaned in close, "Hit the nail on the head with that one, did I, darling?" He reached up, pulling the knife out of the mast and grabbing not the ropes that bound Niko's hands, but his exposed wrists, and pulling him away from the wooden pole.