Mihawk woke up to the sound of shuffling, his eyes opening fast to find the origin of the sound.
He was surprised to realise that it was actually Buggy busying himself by seemingly tidying the room. Crocodile was sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, his arms crossed and his eyes following every one of the other man's movements.
With a grunt, Mihawk sat up, one of his hands coming to brush the hair away from his face. His eyes met Crocodile's, and he nodded in acknowledgement, both men turning their gazes back to the busy Duke.
'What's with the commotion?' Mihawk asked, his voice rough from sleep.
It drew Buggy's attention from the bed he was making. 'We have matters to attend to in Falaise, the faster we are ready to leave, the faster we'll be back.'
'Quite an implacable logic.' Mihawk muttered to himself as he got out of bed and grabbed his neatly folded clothes from the bedside table. He headed straight to the bathing room, and came back quickly after, looking as if he hadn't just woken up only a few minutes earlier.
Crocodile had moved from his chair and was now standing by the door, ready to leave. Buggy seemed to take a final look around the room before he walked by the door as well.
Seeing as he was the one being waited for, Mihawk made sure to have everything before he gave the go-ahead to leave the room. They crossed the corridor in silence, trying not to wake anyone on their way as it was still early in the day.
Somehow Mohji and the valet had been updated on the sudden departure, as the cart was ready when they stepped foot outside.
Rasiphe was here, too, dressed in a nightgown, having obviously been fetched from bed. Buggy gave his bag to the valet before he walked towards the party's host.
They took each other in the arms, Rasiphe thanking Buggy for having taken the time to come, and Buggy thanking Rasiphe for having given him such precious information.
The two knights eyed the whole gesture warily. They were certainly not used to seeing people demonstrate affection towards the Duke, and for some reason, they did not appreciate it.
As Buggy stepped away from the embrace, Rasiphe whispered something into the Jester's ear, inaudible for the knights, Buggy's response hidden by his back. Finally, he turned his heels and climbed into the cart.
Crocodile and Mihawk followed him, taking seats in the same setup as the day before. Somehow, it didn't feel like yesterday. It was as if the entire dynamics had changed. It had not turned, not quite, as Crocodile and Mihawk were far from being intimidated by Buggy like the blue-haired man had been the day before by them, but there was something new. Something similar to apprehensiveness.
Buggy was silent, with an inscrutable face, looking at the floor under his feet. His knights, on the other hand, only had eyes for him, scanning his face, as if they could find what was going through his mind just by the sight of him.
They failed, obviously, and it was Mihawk, exasperated, who finally broke the silence. 'Alright, will you stay silent for the whole ride? You wanted to discuss things, yesterday night.' He didn't like the way he sounded, so obviously upset, but he couldn't help it. Mihawk was growing curious.
Buggy looked up, finally looking them in the eye. 'You want to discuss things? Sure!' He exclaimed. 'Were you ever going to tell me, then?'
Mihawk groaned, crossing his arms, but didn't have the time to answer as Crocodile cut him off. 'And what, exactly, were we supposed to do, Jester? Introduce ourselves, to you, with ridiculous nicknames we never claimed? Not pompous at all, for sure.' He was blunt, but right.
'No matter what you think, or whatever excuses you may have, you could have told me before I made a fool of myself in public. To think I didn't even know my knights' true identities is beyond belief!' Buggy answered, throwing up his hands in the air.
Both knights nodded, not wanting to apologise as they didn't feel like they needed to, but also understanding the Duke's reaction.
Mihawk was the first one to react after that. 'Well, now you know. I am Dracule Mihawk, I come from southern Europe, and people sometimes call me Hawkeye.'
Buggy bit his lips, refusing to look him in the eye. It was one thing to learn it through hushed gossips, but it was entirely different to hear it coming from the man himself.
Crocodile sighed, visibly not wanting to take part in the discussion, but it seemed that he wouldn't be able to avoid it. 'Fine,' he said, after a few minutes during which Mihawk kept staring at him. 'I'm Crocodile, I come from the desert, and that's all you need to know.'
'No last name?' Mihawk asked, curious. He'd always been wanting to ask, but never quite bothered to.
Crocodile shook his head. 'None you need to know about.'
Taking Crocodile's answer as the end of the discussion, Buggy slouched a little in his seat. At least they got things straight. Time for the briefing.
'Alright, now that it's done, I've got news. From Rasiphe.' He paused, looking at them, gauging their reaction. 'I know who commissioned the man to kill me.'
This seemed to draw both men's attention, Crocodile suddenly looking invested into the discussion. Mihawk leant down a little, his hat slipping slightly on the side of his head.
'And who would that be?' The latter asked.
'Marshall D. Teach.' Buggy confessed.
'Newgate's offspring?' Crocodile asked, raising a brow.
'It seems like it, yes. Rasiphe has reasons to believe that Teach is coming for each of Roger's potential heirs, thus guaranteeing himself a seamless access to the throne of England once he has eliminated all of us, as well as destabilising Europe's current political climate.'
Mihawk frowned. 'That doesn't sound far from something he'd do. But if that's really what's going on here, then it's a game-changer. Teach has the ability to make his plans come true.'
Crocodile nodded, staring into space. 'That's right, Teach is not to be taken lightly,' his eyes refocused, coming to hold Buggy's gaze, 'I've met one of his guys not so long ago, they've got means, and mad soldiers.'
It was the first time Buggy saw Crocodile and Mihawk with such serious expressions on their faces. He knew Teach, had briefly hung out with him when they were kids, and he and Shanks had always felt uneasy around him. There was something with him that oozed disloyalty and untruthfulness.
To learn years later that these feelings were not misplaced, and that Teach proved to be an actual threat seemed like a logical consequence to Buggy. He had simply never expected to be the one at the end of Teach's firing line.
'We'll have to organise ourselves differently once in Falaise. If Teach is really after you, then we'll need to be fully prepared. We'll look for traitors, it's how this man works.' Crocodile supplied.
Mihawk nodded, visibly already lost in thought.
Buggy watched them, and it was as if he could see the gears turning in their heads. They were already planning the next steps.
Somehow, the blue-haired man was caught by surprise by his ability to recognise their serious and focused faces from their usually bored and neutral expressions. The time they'd spent together had, it seemed, taught him more about the two men than he'd thought.
Their arrival at the castle was accompanied by a growing crowd waiting for their exit from the carriage. Buggy was a stressed man by nature, so the confirmation of a looming menace over his life, and so many people around him, made the walk back to his room nearly insufferable.
Overwhelmed by the walk, Buggy hurried up, not even making sure that his knights followed. He crossed the courtyard quickly, and headed straight to his room. Once in the corridor he announced to the two men that he'd stay in his room for a couple of hours, but was surprised when the two asked to check his room before he could walk inside.
Despite his desire to lock himself up and finally be alone, he complied, knowing that it had to be done, and that it wouldn't take long. Indeed, a few minutes after they'd entered the room, leaving him alone in the corridor, Crocodile and Mihawk stepped outside, a satisfied look on their faces.
'All clear, Sir, you may retire.' Mihawk said, pointing to the newly-empty room.
Buggy offered a nod, and finally stepped inside his own room. He locked the door behind, choosing not to answer Crocodile's 'You know where to find us, if need there is.'
Alone, at last. This trip had been gruelling, much more than he'd expected. He'd been prepared to receive information from Rasiphe, but had been quite surprised to hear Teach's name. This, added with his knights' situation, had turned the whole party into an unpleasant experience.
The silence in his bedroom was welcomed, familiar, comforting. Shredding the majority of his clothes, Buggy crawled under the covers. The room was not plunged into darkness, though the wooden shutters were halfway closed. The sunlight still found its way inside his chambers. Buggy didn't mind.
Comfortably lying down, the blue-haired man let his mind drift. He had not heard about another attack similar to his in the past few days. He'd been the only one targeted by this then-mysterious instigator.
If Teach was after Roger's potential heirs, then it meant that Shanks was on the list, too. Rasiphe didn't seem that preoccupied about his own situation, so it probably meant that he could be crossed out.
Briefly, Buggy wondered if Marco knew. He was Newgate's offspring as well, and considered as his main heir, surely he knew about Teach's schemes. And yet, Buggy had not received a single missive. Maybe Marco knew and didn't care. Understandably, after Thatch's death, Marco wouldn't want anything to do with Marshall D. Teach.
Realistically, it left Buggy with three options. The first one, the one he'd been doing ever since Roger's death, consisted of doing nothing. Changing nothing. He could stay in Falaise and wait to see if something happened. Maybe Teach would try to attack him again. Or maybe an unexpected ally would show up, turning the situation upside down. On a less realistic note, Rayleigh himself could send him a letter, thus declaring him king of England. In short, Buggy could simply wait.
His second option was to actually get in touch with his allies, French and English alike. If he chose this option, then it meant that he'd have to contact Shanks, which was not something he was quite ready to do. They were not on bad terms strictly speaking, but somehow Buggy was not comfortable with the idea of contacting him. It would also mean that he'd actually seek Rayleigh, hoping to get in touch with the older man and try to get a grasp on the situation. More ballsy than simply waiting, Buggy could contact people.
His third option then, obviously, would be to make a move. He could directly go to England, he didn't live far from there, anyway, and it would certainly clear out the mystery around his potential appointment. But it would mean leaving the Duchy of Normandy defenceless, a majority of his troops making the trip to England as well. He could also try to head for the duchy of Aquitaine, but somehow, Buggy doubted it was a good idea.
All in all, the three options entailed risks and the jeopardy of either himself or the duchy. Consequently, Buggy wasn't sure which method to adopt.
Despite loving to be alone, Buggy felt the urge to go to his knights, to seek their professional outlook. The duke had strategy advisors at disposal, but he didn't trust them enough to share his information about Teach with them just yet.
Deciding that he'd expose his thoughts to the two knights later on, Buggy settled in bed for the rest of the day.
Once diner came, Buggy found his knights at their usual seat, on either side of him. They ate together, the Duke admitting that he had strategies to disclose.
Mihawk refused to have this talk while eating, claiming it would spoil the food, and it was settled upon that they would meet the following morning in the training field. His knights having considered that training was a requirement their employer could not forgo, to Buggy's dismay.
Left to their own devices after Buggy rushed to lock himself up in his room again, Crocodile and Mihawk shared a look, unsure of how to react. Quick to shake it off, Crocodile turned to Mihawk, nodding towards his room 'How about a drink?'
Unexpectedly, the swordsman accepted, having a few questions he'd been meaning to ask to the other man. Crocodile went to unlock his door, walking inside first, letting Mihawk follow.
Closing the door behind him, the swordsman froze as he watched Crocodile, already on the other side of the room, take the hook off his left hand.
This was unexpected. Not the fact that he could take it off, no, but the fact that he actually did so in front of Mihawk. The younger man had not quite noticed any change into their relationship that could prompt such a display of…trust? But was it trust, really? Crocodile had never seemed to hold the origin of his hook a secret, but he'd also never revealed its story either. He was too scary for people to dare ask, and Mihawk was not curious enough to ask himself.
Mihawk did not comment on Crocodile's gesture as he walked inside the room, sitting on a chair the older man pointed earlier. The latter had his back turned, crouched before a small cabinet, visibly busy with the opening of a cider bottle. It did not make a "pop" sound when he opened it.
Still, he poured two glasses and handed one to his guest while he came to sit on the opposite chair. Mihawk had a fairly clear view on his left hand, but refused to ogle. From what he could see, the hand was still there, though severely damaged. Interesting.
Refusing to give Crocodile the time to find a way to piss him off, Mihawk decided to ask his questions first.
'You seemed to know about Teach's methods in the cart, how come?'
Crocodile seemed to be caught off guard, his hand holding the glass paused in the air, his mouth slightly parted. He tried to brush it off by taking a sip, putting the glass down afterwards.
'I've had the displeasure of crossing paths with Teach in the past, indeed. To say that I know his methods would probably be a far stretch, though. I've been made aware of those, if you prefer.' He marked a pause, his eyes narrowing on Mihawk. 'If you're referring to the traitors comment, I was referencing Thatch's assassination, nothing else.'
'Why would you assume that?'
Crocodile huffed, 'Come on, Hawkeye, don't play dumb, you know it doesn't suit you.'
Mihawk did not comment on the implicit compliment, his eyes still fixed on Crocodile, absent-mindedly running one of his fingers on the rim of his glass.
The older man took a sip of cider, visibly debating on whether or not he should add what he had in mind.
'I had an encounter with Edward Newgate, though. I can say that he wouldn't be able to kill Teach himself, just like most of his offspring. I doubt our Duke would be able to really stop him and his troops either. Your Duke, though…' He let the words hang in the air, watching Mihawk's face from over the rim of his glass.
Mihawk frowned. 'My duke, huh. Maybe Red-hair could, indeed. But as long as Teach stays out of Buggy's business, then I consider it none of mine.'
Crocodile smirked. 'Obviously.' He reclined in his chair.
Refusing to let the other man have the last word, the swordsman leant down in his chair, two feet planted on the ground, elbows resting on his knees, his glass in his right hand. 'But aren't we here to make sure our Duke has the last word, hm?'
Crocodile did not answer, but he snorted, bringing his glass to his lips, his eyes never leaving Mihawk.
So this last past was added after I initially finished writing this chapter because I realised that I had kind of neglected Crocodile and Mihawk's relationship development… I liked writing about it!
Don't hesitate to leave favs and comments, it actually motivates me to write more and always make me happy! See you on Sunday!