You’d known Captain Buggy for awhile. The man was…an eccentric, to say the least. Loud, bombastic, over-the-top…all magnified a hundred times over. Flashy, in a word.
He ran your crew with profits in mind, always looking for the best and quickest way to get your hands on treasure. Though unorthodox in nearly every way, Buggy was the epitome of what a pirate was supposed to be; swindler, cheat, and obsessed with shiny gold.
That didn’t mean he was a terrible boss at all. You actually enjoyed working for him! He blustered and claimed that all profits went to him, but every score saw you with a fair cut, according to your work.
Your administration experience and ability to run up numbers in a matter of moments made you invaluable, and gave you the unique position of being in close contact with him very often. You were practically his personal assistant, though he’d never called you so directly.
His blustering and flustering was always at peak volume when you were nearby, but you didn’t put too much stock into it. The man was difficult to pinpoint.
The only time you ever saw him lose his bravado was when he’d had one too many pints of rum, something you’d only ever seen once in your career with him.
Right after a particularly successful score, he’d ordered a celebration to give the crew some time to relax and enjoy themselves. The island you’d been docked at had the perfect sandy beach and palm trees to lounge in the moonlight and drink the rest of your worries away.
You weren’t much of a drinker, and chose to simply sit at the edge of the party, smiling and watching as the rest of your companions got black-out drunk. They sung terribly off-key pirate songs, throwing an arm or two around someone else’s neck to drag them into the merriment. It was a good time all around.
And then you noticed something. Your captain was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, you turned and swept your gaze across the entire party, though ultimately Buggy was nowhere in sight. Had he retired early? Your concern began to rise. He never missed a celebration.
Your worried feet carried you throughout the ship, in search of your flashy captain, until you heard the clunk of a bottle being set harshly onto a wooden table. A deep sigh followed after. You approached quietly, peering past the crack in the door to your captain’s office.
He sat alone, slumped in his chair with his eyes close. His elbow propped against the table and his hand held up his head. His other hand gripped the neck of a large rum bottle. No doubt one from his own private stash of spirits.
What had happened? Your curiosity and concern were too great to ignore, and you stepped inside the office.
“Captain, are you-”
“Ahh!” He startled back in his seat, eyes wide with shock or the fact that he’d been discovered at all. However, once he really got a good look at you, the anxiety disappeared, replaced by the sorrow you’d seen an inkling of before. “Oh, Y/N…it’s just you.”
“Why so down, Captain? The haul from today’s raid was very successful! It couldn’t have gone better.”
“I know.”
Your head cocked to the side, seeing no trace of happiness on his face. “Then why are you holed up in your office drinking by yourself? The rest of the crew are all having a good time out on the beach.”
He shook his head, a rueful smile lighting the corners of his mouth. He stared down at the bottle in his hand, before gesturing to the other chair. “Take a seat.”
Brow raised, you do as he asks. He takes the opportunity to take another long swig from the bottle, before setting it down with a deep thunk. His eyes stare up at the ceiling as he ponders what to say in silence for awhile.
“You ever feel…like you were destined for more, Y/N?”
The question catches you off guard. You aren’t sure how to respond, given he’s your boss, but finally you decide that he wasn’t the type to fault you for being honest.
“Sometimes.” You give a shrug, settling into your chair a bit further. “I never expected I’d be a pirate. Not that I don’t like it, but…it’s not what I imagined myself doing as a kid.”
“Do you enjoy what you do?”
“Of course!” You rush to say, a frown now gracing your features. “Is…this you firing me, Captain?”
“No, Y/N. I wouldn’t fire you.” He said with an amused chuckle, hand waving drunkenly to ward off even the thought. “You’ve been very helpful to me.”
You nod, and he eventually lets out a tired sigh.
“I used to be so much more…” Lounging back in his chair, he raises the bottle to his face, but instead of drinking it, he just watches the liquid slosh around inside as he tilts it back and forth. “I was part of Roger’s crew…way back when…did you know that?”
“I did.”
“It was the most terrifying time of my life!” He exclaimed, head shaking. “They were monsters, all of them. I don’t think I’ve seen that kind of strength since then…”
“It must have been amazing, getting to see all of that up close.” You say, smiling despite yourself. You’d often wondered what being a part of Roger’s crew was like.
“It was.” He finally decided, tone confident and certain. Then, he gave a pitiful chuckle, something akin to grief mixing in with the tone. “Hell, the things we did back then, you wouldn’t believe! And if you think the enemies we face now are tough, you should have seen the ones we fought against with Roger. Power like you’ve never seen. And the places we visited…fantastical. Out of this world, really. I wonder if they’re still just as beautiful now.”
“Why don’t we go visit them?” You offer with a small smile. “If you’ve been through the New World once, we could do it again, right?”
His head was already shaking before you’d finished your sentence.
“Seas like that…you only sail once. Never again.” He expression turned distant, hard and resolute. A heavy emotion you couldn’t put a name to settled in his eyes, and his fingers tightened on the neck of the bottle. “Never again.”
Before he could get too caught up in his tumultuous thoughts, he raised the bottle to his mouth and took a larger drink, attempting to drown out his feelings with the rum. He emptied it before your eyes. You should have just kept your mouth shut.
“I’m sorry, Captain-”
“It’s alright, Y/N. I know you mean well…don’t let a drunken fool like me, wishing for things no longer possible, get you down.” He finally said, seeming to realize what all he’d said. “Just…forget I said anything. I probably won’t remember this come tomorrow anyway, so…all the better.”
You hated to see him in such a vulnerable and miserable state. You got the feeling that the mix of vulnerability and alcohol had created a rare moment between the two of you that you would likely never duplicate. “Captain-”
“Go enjoy the rest of your night, Y/N.” He waved you away with a dismissive hand, and the moment was over. His eyes would no longer meet yours. “We’ll set sail first thing in the morning, once we’ve slept off all the hangovers…”
He goes quiet, and you take that as your invitation to leave. Standing from your chair, you glance back only once, seeing him pull another full bottle of alcohol from a drawer in his desk, setting it on the table and uncorking the top.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
