• Third Place Votes:

Buggy, Married Long Term, Hawaiian Shirt, Swim Trunks, and Sandals, Gifts you a Cheesy Stuffed Bear, Quaint and Scenic Outdoor Picnic, Going To the Zoo.

• Your wonderful husband Buggy has come a long way since the two of you first met with his terrible spending habits. When it seems that old habit comes back in possibly the worst way ever, you confront him on the spot. To help smooth things over, he recreates the first Valentines date the two of you had together all those years ago.

• CW: None, except non-canon full name for Buggy, and maybe the idea of Mr. 3 trying to be sexy for Alvida haunting you for a few days.

Your husband had always been a man of misfortune. One way or another, everything would often go wrong, and yet he always seemed to come out of it on the other side smelling of the proverbial roses. He managed to pull you somehow, but you were never as affected by his bad luck as he was, if even at all.

Buggy could never believe his luck when he met you, let alone the luck he had asking you out on a date, and you were pretty sure the day he finally proposed might have given him a heart attack when you said yes. It was cute, even when he nearly fainted because he forgot to breathe. No matter what, you knew he loved you deeply, even with his rather bold and flashy tastes, despite his position as the owner of a traveling circus. Before you, he lived well above his means, but luckily he married a rather talented accountant who already worked remotely and had a successful vlog.

To say you ran away and joined his circus was an understatement.

It was a circus in more ways than one, and love him as you did, you had to spend a lot of your early years together reigning in Buggy's spending. Finances were probably one of the few things you ever really fought on, but when it nearly ruined your marriage a few years ago, Buggy had the mind to at least put every account in your total control, and even agreed to a generous allowance. If he wished to get anything for the circus over 500 beri, he had to have your permission. Granted, as his wife and with everyone being a close-knit group, it was rare you weren't in the loop. A sudden expense alert on your credit card brought to your attention that a large purchase of a new motorcycle yesterday was a very big red flag to you, and could only be one thing.

That was why everyone knew what was happening when you screamed his full name across the current circus camp.

"BUGULUS ULYSSES RAMSEY GOODWIN THE THIRD!"

Your husband dropped all the juggling balls in his hands, frozen in place as his body broke out in a cold sweat. Mohji grimaced as Cabaji whistled low, shaking his head with a tsking noise, "Someone's in trouble."

"Full name, too..." Mohji covered Richie's ears.

Buggy still did not move, looking as if he may have stopped breathing, "I feel like a shadow has been cast over my grave..."

"DON'T MAKE ME CALL YOU A SECOND TIME!" The words were more of a threat than a command.

Mohji gave Buggy a reassuring pat on the shoulder, your husband sighing heavily as he resigned to his fate. His feet felt like lead as they turned around and headed for your shared trailer, though for once in his life, he had no idea what he could have done to elicit his full name from you in such a manner. He had saved up for the bike with his allowance that he was going to show off to you tomorrow and take you on a fun trip around town just the two of you for Valentine's Day; washed it good and everything without you finding out today. What on earth could have set you off this way?

He opened the door to your shared trailer, instantly greeted with your phone in his face and what he could only describe as a wave of crushing anger emitting from your body. Buggy knew firsthand what a terrifying woman you could be, heavens above did he know. Your husband was no stranger to your temper the few times he had seen it in his life, but this? His life was on the line.

"Caramel Apple of My Eye—" he knew how to butter you up, your husband just really hoped it was enough, "—I really have no idea what I'm looking at..."

You pointed at the numbers on your screen, "FIVE THOUSAND BERRIES!?"

Buggy's eyes went wide, looking at the screen. How did it notify you? He paid for the bike on his card with the money from his bank account that his allowance went into. As per the rules, he was allowed to spend only that money however he wanted, "I—Sweetest Cupcake, why are you looking at my account?"

"Your account!?" You scoffed at your husband, "This is the Circus Account, Bugulus!"

He winced at your use of his proper first name, but then did a double take as he grabbed your phone from you, "WHAT!?"

Rewinding the last twenty-four-plus hours in his mind, Buggy began retracing everything that had happened from the moment he woke up the day before until this moment staring at your phone screen. He got up, gave you the usual snuggles, cuddles, and kisses—both in bed and in the morning shower together—then made breakfast. Mohji and Cabaji came by because they were going to be in charge of the supply run now that the circus was stopped in their new destination. Since Buggy was ready to get the motorcycle (his master plan for ultimate romance!), he said he would go with them to help carry things. It worked out better this way, despite the money issues, you did trust your husband with the circus' business card over the other two. You handed it off, and they went to run the errands. Both his card for his personal account and the circus' business card were through the same bank and looked the same.

Buggy realized his mistake: he used the business card instead of his own.

Sweating bullets, your blue-haired husband fell to his knees, spilling the beans on the surprise and buying the bike and his sea king-sized hubris not paying closer attention to what he had done. He understood completely why you were mad at him, but he would do anything—anything—to make it up to you, even if it meant draining his account out totally and closing it forever.

Pinching the space between your eyes, you sighed heavily. It was just a mistake, and you shouldn't have gotten so mad without hearing him out first. But you kind of did enjoy his groveling right now, Buggy was always hot on his knees...

"Buggy," you started, shaking your head, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, and thank you for realizing the mix-up, but you have to be more careful." You let out a small huff as he stood back up, now looking down at you, "Luckily we had the money in the account to cover it. More than enough these days, but just don't let it happen again, okay? We'll work out your repayment later. I'm far too tired tonight..."

You rest your face against his chest, letting out a deep sigh. It was the start of tax season, the busiest time for yourself, and it never helped your temper much. He wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head, "Still sorry, Baby Girl. I'll be more careful and pay better attention." Buggy breathed out a sigh of relief, this could have been far worse, and he knew the anxiety of his past habits must have reared its ugly head. He had done far better not to be that man again, at least in the way of his lavish spending, and had become a far better man since you first came into his life.

Hugging him back tightly, you took in his scent, "I appreciate that, but you know you're still in trouble, right?"

Your husband cocked a brow, a small smirk on his face as he anticipated something a little more playful, "Oh yeah? And what punishment did you have in mind?"

Imagine his surprise when you kicked him out of the trailer to "go sleep with Richie for the night."

Sitting on a crate, Buggy rubbed his face as Richie, their oldest, near-retired lion, lay on his side under the stars. He wasn't actually going to sleep with Richie, but he needed to cool down. Since he confessed his plan to you about riding the motorcycle around town for Valentine's Day, you told him while you appreciated the thought, you didn't even want to look at it right now.

"So you getting divorced yet?" His half-sister, Alvida, stood next to him, having brought Richie his dinner. Richie was a spoiled lion in his older age, and everyone loved on him—he was missing teeth and was mostly used for "Lion Rides" with small children, given how docile he was.

"Har, har," Buggy rolled his eyes, "You're hilarious, Vi."

His half-sister hummed, scratching Richie through his mane, "She's too good for you, Gy. Don't get me wrong, I love Y/N, but I wish she had better taste." Alvida then sat next to Buggy on the crate, nudging him with her shoulder, "You okay at least?"

Buggy nudged her back, "Didn't know you cared so much. And my wife was perfect taste, she picked me after all." His statement puffed him back up a bit more, but then slumped his shoulders as his nose let out a small wheezing squeak from the cold, making him get a little stuffy, "But now I have to rethink my whole Valentine's idea. I'm at a loss..."

Alvida shrugged, "It's not like you have to be your usual flashy self—" Buggy looked at her appalled, "—I mean, you two have been together for a long time. Just because your wife is hotter and younger than you, doesn't mean you have to pull the stops out all the time. Think back to your first Valentine's together. When she still worked for Crocodile and she was coming around to work out your payments on the loan he gave you."

For the second time that night, Buggy reflected on how you two met. You were working more in the private sector at the time under Crocodile, whom Buggy had met and known for a time when they were kids and his parents put him in a regular school for a little while. They kept in contact even when his parents decided to take the circus on the road again, but mostly because Crocodile was a good (using the term loosely) person to keep in his back pocket. When the circus was first struggling after Buggy took over (going back to his previous spending habits), he had gone to the shrewd businessman for a loan and struggled to pay it back until you came into his life.

That first Valentine's Day, he was flat broke, but he could cook and make a picnic for the two of you. After that, you both walked around the local zoo in that city. Shortly after, you two eloped, and Buggy was pretty sure Crocodile had still not forgiven him. Especially now that Alvida was dating the man who got your previous position, Galdino Three. Mr. Three, as he insisted everyone called him, was currently in Alvida's trailer, and that was more than Buggy needed to ever know.

"For once in your life, you have a good idea, Vi," Buggy nudged his sister again, "I may even have the outfit I wore at the time in the storage truck." He rubbed his chin, thinking hard.

Alvida smiled, shaking her head. They didn't always get along, but they were still family after all, "All of my ideas are good. You're just an idiot."

Buggy got up to grab Mohji and Cabaji for assistance, also because he was right outside of his half-sister's trailer, and Galdino came out in only a zebra-stripped thong, requesting she come back inside. Again, it was far more than he ever wanted to know.

The next afternoon, you were brought out of your work by a knock on the door, having expected Buggy to have come back far earlier than this. You were surprised to find a giant teddy bear holding an "I Love You" heart being held up by Buggy. More so because you hadn't seen it in years, as it was once ripped apart by Richie in a fit of jealousy because you weren't letting him snuggle it after you had just managed to wash it and hang it out to dry. Now, it was patched together and restuffed, almost brand new. A genuine laugh escaped you, stepping out of the trailer, "Buggy-Boo—" his favorite nickname for you to call him, "—What on earth? You fixed Lovey-bear?"

Your husband nodded, poking his head out and around the other side of the giant stuffed animal, "Yep. Cabaji and Mohji helped." This means Cabaji got impatient watching the two of them not stitch fast enough and did the majority of it, as he sewed most of the costumes, "I was looking for something in the storage truck last night, and couldn't not do something about it. I gave him to you our first Valentine's after all."

Again you laughed, suddenly looking at what Buggy was wearing: A tacky Hawaiian shirt with a pair of swim trunks and flip-flops with socks. It was the same outfit he wore on your first Valentine's Day together. At the time most of the circus was still dependent on laundromats for cleaning their clothes, and all of Buggy's had gotten stolen out of the one he used except a few mismatched and older pieces still in his closet. Your cheeks were both red from laughing so much at the memory and from just how much you loved your idiot of a husband.

He presented the hand-packed basket, not the same meal as your first Valentine's Day, but a good one at that of sandwiches, fruits, some cookies, and a few bottles of champagne. Granted, you probably wouldn't even finish one between the two of you, but he was also very indecisive when it came to which high-end bottle that was still in reserve he wanted to open.

The two of you walked over to a hill overlooking the outskirts of the current city and the circus camp, watching everyone get the tent up and do checks to prepare for the few months they would spend in this town. You and Buggy both took pictures and videos for the vlog (now that you had turned it into general daily life at the circus). After getting a good picture of him kissing your cheek, you told him that would be the next thumbnail.

Afterward, you two hopped in the car and headed to the local zoo, walking around and looking at the animals hand in hand. You told him how thoughtful it was for him to recreate your first Valentine's Day together, and while at first, he tried to take credit, Buggy finally caved and admitted it was all Alvida's idea.

"Yeah, she already told me," you giggled, "Video called me from her trailer. I did not need to ever see that much of Galdino's ass, but here we are."

Your husband made a face, tossing his blue ponytail over his shoulder, "Yeah, I got a full frontal view of him in his underwear... at least I hope it was his underwear..." he let out a sigh, rolling his shoulders, "I really hope they don't get married. At least not soon. I don't think Croc will let me live if I take another one of his accountants."

"Oh, I don't think he'd be that upset. Especially with his new gal." You shrugged your shoulders, looking out over the kung fu dugongs as they swam around and fought each other playfully in their enclosure.

Buggy did a double take, an astonished look on his face, "His what?"

"Yeah, his new girlfriend," you stated his name to her, "She's in our group chat. Do you not check it anymore? Today's their first anniversary."

Your husband's gaze flashed back out over the dugongs, practicing their fighting forms, "Huh... Croc's settling down. Who'd have thought?"

Giggling, you began pulling him along to go look at the bananawani, "Yeah, they even have dogs now. Little pugs. They're pretty darn cute."

Buggy snorted loudly, "Crocodile as a dog Dad? To pugs? Now I've heard everything." He held your hand tightly as you two walked along, then leaned in to kiss your cheek, moving to put his arm around your shoulder, "You know what, good for him. Hope he can now understand why you ran away and joined the circus."

Your arm went around his waist, standing in front of the bananawani, "Yeah, I'm a lucky woman to have fallen for such a great man."

He grinned ear to ear, tilting your head to look up at him, "Yeah you are." Then kissed you softly, "And I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Chuckling to yourselves, you both looked out over the bananawani together, before he finally looked down at you, "So, there's a group chat?"