Totally Buggin' (Buggy the Clown Live Action Fic)

Epilogue

I stood on the dock with the Cat's Crown at my back. The sun was sinking in the sky, casting long shadows on the wooden boards. "Are you sure you have everything you need?" I asked for the dozenth time.
"I'm sure," Niko responded, readjusting the bag on his shoulder. "I'm all packed, not a sock left behind."
The town of Fort Landers was laid out behind him, its buildings glowing golden in the sunlight: his new home. The three of us stared at each other for a second, then Trixie was the first to move. She wrapped Niko in a snug embrace. "It's going to be so weird without you," she sighed, squeezing him tight.
"I know, for me too," Niko agreed, hugging her back. "Come visit whenever you can. It'll be good to see familiar faces."
"You'll make new friends in no time," Trixie said, pulling away to look at him. "Just remember to be nice to the other boys and girls."
"Jeez, what are you two, my moms?" Niko joked. In response Trixie mussed his hair playfully.
She backed away, and it was my turn to embrace our friend. "You're gonna do great here," I mumbled with my chin resting on his shoulder, "but if you ever change your mind, there's always a spot for you on my crew."
"Thanks Captain," Niko said, giving me an extra tight squeeze before releasing me. "Thanks for everything."
I searched his brown eyes for a moment, looking for any sign of unease or any indication that he was doubting his decision. On the contrary, a sense of certainty and excitement seemed to radiate off of him. I stepped away with a bittersweet smile.
With a final goodbye and a promise to write, Trixie and I boarded the ship and the others on deck helped us raise the gangplank. I waved once more to Niko as we began to sail away, then watched him walk the length of the dock and disappear towards the town.
Trixie sniffled next to me and I smiled, bumping shoulders with her. "Don't you go getting soft on me," I teased.
"It's just—everything's changing!" she whined.
It was partially true. After finding the Elixis Fruit, more than a third of the crew had decided to leave the Cat's Crown for other pursuits. Each of them left on good terms and with my full understanding and support; priorities had changed, I couldn't blame them for that. We'd all been given a second chance at life now that the Ghost Virus marks had faded from our bodies. Even Trixie had requested an extended leave of absence to go and visit her family, which was where the CC was now headed. "You'd better come back," I warned, "or I'll have to come find you and drag you back to the ship kicking and screaming."
Trixie laughed. "You couldn't keep me away from this ship if you tried," she promised. "And trust me, my parents will try."
Fort Landers was now just a strip of lights on the darkening horizon. Trixie excused herself from the upper deck to check on things below, but I stayed up top alone, admiring the distant sunset.
Buggy's arm appeared around my shoulder, followed by the rest of his body a few moments later. "You alright, sugar?" he asked with a grin.
I suppressed a smile. "I thought we discussed the chop-chop thing," I said. "You know how it freaks out my crew."
"They'll get used to it," he dismissed, planting a peck on my cheek. "Besides, as the designated on-deck entertainment, I've gotta be able to use every trick at my disposal."
"Who designated you that?" I asked.
"Yonis!" Buggy answered enthusiastically. "The guy's been eating up the card tricks, he can't get enough. Don't worry though, Captain." He dropped his voice to whisper conspiratorially in my ear. "It won't take away from my time entertaining you."
I blushed and elbowed him playfully, but instead of pulling away, he placed a trail of kisses down my neck. I closed my eyes blissfully. "You know, I was thinking," I said with a contented sigh, "we could take a vacation too, if you wanted. We'll need some time to regroup while Trixie is gone anyway, and we could spare a few weeks. We could go anywhere."
"Did you have somewhere in particular in mind?" he asked.
"Not really," I admitted. "I've just been thinking about that day on the island. Y'know, the 'best-worst breakup we ever had'." I gave him a sidelong glance, and Buggy grinned knowingly. "I was thinking how nice it would be to reenact that, without the breakup part."
"Mmm," he murmured in agreement. "Plenty of islands in these waters."
"Maybe one with a little private beach shack?" I added temptingly. "Just the two of us, alone on a beach..."
"I'm already sold, sugar," Buggy laughed. "Though anywhere with you is where I want to be."
I gazed lovingly at him. "Once we're back we'll have to start looking to replace the crew members that left," I said, my smile faltering. "More deckhands, a technician, and of course a navigator. It'll be a lot of work... but also a fresh start in a way. We'd been searching for the Elixis Fruit for so long, it'll be strange not having some huge goal we're working towards."
Buggy sucked in a breath and looked at me with a guilty smile. "About that..." He pulled his arm off my shoulder to retrieve a scroll from the inside pocket of his coat. "I've been saving this for the right moment," he said, holding it up, "but I figured it was something you'd want."
It took me a minute to recognize the rolled parchment as one of the maps from the Ignamuj Island Marine base. My curiosity peaked. "How'd you...?" I began to ask, my eyes flicking back to his.
Buggy wiggled his hand in the air. "Sticky fingers," he said with a naughty smile. He unfurled the map and held it open for me to see.
My heartbeat quickened. "'The One Piece'?" I read the marker at the top, disbelieving. "This is the map to my father's treasure?"
Buggy smiled. "Seemed like something the 'Pirate Princess' ought to have," he explained smugly. I took the map from him and stared at it for another minute, my eyes drinking in every detail. "It's up to you, Captain," Buggy whispered playfully over my shoulder.
Finally I looked into his eyes again. "How would you like to be serving under the 'Pirate Queen'?" I asked him with a slight smirk.
He wrapped an arm around my waist. "I can't think of anything I'd like more," he said before kissing me deeply on the mouth. We sailed on, the last rays of sunlight finally disappearing below the horizon and the future ours for the making.