Crocodile did not fret about Buggy's absence the first day. Though he'd noticed, obviously, the possibility of fondling Mihawk across the table being way easier with no one around them.
It wasn't a surprise to him, considering the training session they'd done the previous morning. Though it was a bit disappointing to see that the Jester needed to rest a full day to recover from a training session that wasn't even that rough in Crocodile's opinion.
Mihawk did not raise concern either, though Crocodile did not miss the way the other man's eyes briefly flickered to the Duke's closed door when they reached their corridor that night.
It should be said that Crocodile had riled Mihawk up that day, constantly bringing Buggy up when they'd fucked in the shed behind the stables. The younger man was slowly giving up on trying to mask his attraction to the blue-haired man, and Crocodile delighted in making him admit it every so often.
It was a dangerous game, as Mihawk could very well grow fed up with Crocodile and decide overnight that he didn't want him anymore. He'd done it once already with Red-Hair, so it wouldn't be that unexpected. But Crocodile liked the thrill of it, the idea that Mihawk could slip away from his grasp silently and without leaving a trace.
Something told him that it wouldn't happen, but Crocodile wasn't someone who trusted his guts blindly. He liked to play with fire, but also knew what it felt like to be burnt.
On the second day, Crocodile started to grow suspicious. He and Mihawk were meant to be Buggy's guards, and he felt guilty when he realised that he had not even bothered to check if the man was in his room just like he'd thought so. What if someone had actually attacked him? Abducted him? And Crocodile and Mihawk were clueless, and had done nothing to protect him?
Standing alone in the training field, the two men barely let half an hour pass before they walked back inside the castle in hurried strides, suddenly aware of the fact that they had to see the man to protect him.
Mihawk was the one to knock on the Duke's door. For once, Crocodile did not make any comment on his haste. A weight had settled in his stomach ever since their observation of Buggy's absence in the trailing field.
They waited for an answer, but it did not come.
Frowning, Crocodile knocked this time. Roughly. He didn't wait for an answer, though, immediately calling for Buggy, 'Oï, Jester, you're in there? Answer.'
They heard shuffling inside the room, and held their breaths as footsteps approached. The door opened slightly, and to their relief, revealed Buggy. Standing in the doorway, dressed in simple clothes and looking unharmed, the Duke looked at them with a slight frown on his face.
'Yes?' he asked.
Ah. Of course, they had knocked, so they had to talk.
'Skipping training, Duke?' Crocodile asked, as casually as he could muster.
Buggy seemed surprised, looking at both of their faces. 'Huh, no. I just.. didn't think I needed to be there everyday.'
That was a weird answer, especially after the discussion they'd had at the end of their last training session. Mihawk seemed to think the same thing, as he asked next. 'What about lunch, then? Did you skip meals?'
Buggy did not like the way they pestered him with questions, as if they were his guardians. Acting like they cared. 'What's with the questioning? I was tired, I wanted to eat alone in my room, that's it.' He answered.
'We're supposed to look after you, how can we do it if we have no idea of where you are?' Mihawk asked, upset.
'Well you-' Buggy bit his tongue before he could continue, almost slipping and mentioning the scene he'd caught in the cabin. He knew that he was getting angry at his knights for reasons that were not rationals, but he couldn't help it. He'd gotten the time to think about it, and had realised that he was jealous.
The thing was that he wasn't sure what he was jealous of. Did he, too, want what Crocodile and Mihawk had together? Or was he jealous of one of them in particular? He'd come to realise that he wanted to be in both their places, but also to be in the middle, with them, and this fact alone made him angry. He didn't have any right to interfere in what they had –he'd done it already by assigning them as his personal knights– and he didn't want to force them into including him into something that was never meant for him in the first place.
The discussion was becoming heated, both parties not understanding the other, and Buggy could already see the way it would end. He would be mean unprompted, and would push them away unreasonably. They'd lose the little friendliness they'd developed towards him, and he'd be alone again in his big castle. Buggy could see the crash incoming but didn't know how to stop it.
And then Mohji appeared. He was not someone Buggy could call a close friend, but he was a precious advisor, and someone who had remained at Buggy's side even during the rough first months of his designation.
The white-haired man appeared at the end of the corridor, calmly crossing the few metres separating him from the group of three. He bowed slightly to Buggy, who still stood in the doorway with his door half open.
The two knights watched with furrowed brows as Mohji interrupted them, the man turning towards Buggy without even looking their way.
'Sir, we have received some news you might want to be made aware of'.
Despite his sulking, Buggy realised that this was something that could interest the three of them. Buggy straightened, scratching his forehead. 'Go on, what's going on?'
Mohji looked around them, still skilfully acting as if Crocodile and Mihawk were not here. 'I think it should be discussed in a proper room, Sir.'
Buggy nodded, 'Alright, meeting in the throne room in 10 minutes, then.' And closed the door behind him before anyone could try to protest.
Mohji slipped away without saying anything, leaving Crocodile and Mihawk alone in the corridor. Both men still had the feeling that something was off with the Duke, but they would probably need to overlook it for now. At least nothing had happened to him; He simply seemed in a foul mood.
Buggy heaved a sigh as soon as the footsteps receded, his head making a soft thud as he let it drop against the door. He'd acted childishly. He thought this behaviour was past him, those reactions beat out of him by the continual degrading remarks coming from the court after his father's death.
He had not been this unreasonably jealous ever since that day Shanks had decided to befriend the young guard in training accompanying Kaido's assembly when the Emperor had visited the King years ago.
Though those were two entirely different situations, Buggy felt just as stupid, despising his puerile reaction.
But he couldn't help it. He'd realised, during the almost two days he'd spent alone, that the few weeks in Crocodile and Mihawk's company had been the nicests he'd had ever since England. He was afraid of losing it all because of his impulsiveness. Just like everything he had ever had before.
He took a few deep breaths, emptying his mind, focusing on the sound of his breathing only. He had to get a grip.
After a few more minutes spent in silence, Buggy regained his composure. Okay. He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, especially when those were unjustified. What Crocodile and Mihawk did when he wasn't there did not matter, they were his knights, nothing else.
No. It wasn't the appropriate approach either. They were his knights, and people he enjoyed the company of. He didn't need to look for anything more, but it would be stupid to reject anything that could come from their forced "cohabitation".
Buggy stepped away from the door, pulling off his plain shirt, reaching for a green dressy one instead. He kept his white pants on, but reached for his orange cloak hanging off its hanger. He hesitated, but also decided to grab his hat, the tone matching the cloak's. He chose to let his hair down, though. He didn't feel like tying it up right now. It would take too long, and he was sure to have passed the 10 minutes mark already.
He looked at himself in the mirror, making sure that his makeup-less face was not completely terrible, and finally, he headed outside with a sigh, bolting the door behind him.
The walk to the throne room was quick, Buggy greeting everyone on his way there as if he hadn't deserted the castle's corridors for two whole days.
His knights were already there when he arrived, waiting silently, standing in front of the table which had been brought closer to the throne for the occasion. Mohji was there, too, leaning over the table, arranging bits of paper Buggy realised were maps and parchments. Cabaji was there, too, standing on the other side of the table, and that was just about all.
His arrival prompted everyone to get closer to the table as he approached, Cabaji nodding towards him as a greeting.
The black-haired man handed him what looked like a missive, hastily written in ink and Buggy grabbed it, staying next to the table instead of sitting on his throne.
The blue-haired man read the note, his face neutral as he took in the information. "Black-Beard is coming with an armada from the Atlantic sea. His landing location is yet to be determined."
Buggy swallowed, giving the note back to Cabaji. He nodded, head down, hands coming to grip at the table's edges. 'Okay.' He said, winded.
He shut his eyes, ignoring the four men across him undoubtedly watching him.
Standing there in the throne room, Buggy felt himself spiralling as he realised how little support he actually had at the moment. He had Cabaji and Mohji, the only advisors who had chosen to stay by his side after his father's death and his appointment as Duke of Normandy, despite the lack of support from the court. He had Crocodile and Mihawk, two mercenaries he'd known for a few weeks only, and didn't even know that much, actually. And that was it. At this moment, in this very room, in his own castle, Buggy only had the support of four men.
He had his army, obviously. The Duchy and its historical allied forces, of course. He had connections with England, sure. He had his history with Shanks, too. But there were only four immediate people he could actually trust with his life in his own home. No paternal figure who'd taught him under his father's supervision and could guide him through this stormy situation. No ostler his age Buggy could have confided in behind his father's back as a child, and kept as a friend since. No one. Everyone in his childhood had either died or deserted him, his only lasting and assured support living in another country across the sea.
And yet, he had to keep a face. He could be stripped of his title, set in exile, hanged in the public square, but he had to protect the duchy. He had to ensure the safety of his subjects, and he had to keep Normandy as his father had left it. At least that.
The Duke raised his head, taking a quick look at the maps on the table. 'Alright, he's either going for Aquitaine, or for us.' He looked each man in the eyes, 'Aquitaine is known for its army, and Shanks is a well-known strategist. He'll hit a brick wall before he'll march on Poitiers.'
'As for us… We've got a considerable number of men prepared. They're properly trained' –He turned his head towards the two knights– 'You've seen yourself how the men are faring.'
Crocodile and Mihawk nodded, the smaller man speaking up. 'Your men are trained, indeed. There is always a difference between training and real-life battles, of course, but I believe they could measure up.'
Cabaji turned towards him. 'In addition with Normandy, support has been confirmed from the Duchy of Brittany. If we were to enter into conflict with Teach's troops, we are assured to have the assistance of a large group of Bretons soldiers.'
Buggy thanked Cabaji, scribbling the information down on a note with a quill. Information was better kept a secret when written down than when said, people in the castle hardly knowing how to read. The five men in this room did, and this was enough for Buggy to choose to write it down.
Setting the quill back in the inkwell, Buggy looked up. His eyes fell on Crocodile and Mihawk. Though they'd trained with the regular soldiers, they were not known amongst the majority of the Norman soldiers. Buggy would have to appoint lower ranked men to lead the troops if he wanted their full cooperation and the quickest responses.
Buggy would assume his position as field commander, and he would not let his soldiers' efforts go to waste.
After the meeting ended, Buggy let them go about their business. Mihawk wanted to get things straight with the Duke, but a quick glance Crocodile's way, and his disapproving nod, let him know that cornering the blue-haired man now would not do any good.
Mihawk did not like that, as something had obviously happened to the Duke for him to lock himself up for two days in his own room. And for him to be on edge at the slightest display of concern coming from his knights? Mihawk had to admit that he had not expected to care about the Duke, but it would be lying to himself than to deny the fact that Buggy had grown on him.
Which was why his reaction was so frustrating to Mihawk. There was a detail he ignored, and Mihawk hated to be left in the dark.
Walking back to their respective rooms, Crocodile and Mihawk agreed to convene the following morning to have a proper talk with the Duke. They couldn't possibly prepare for a war if their employer withheld information from them.
Finally, Mihawk walked back to his room. He pushed the door open after opening the lock. The door made a scraping sound as he pushed it open.
Frowning, he stepped inside his room, pushing the door closed behind him. His eyes fell on something to the ground. He froze.
Swallowing, his breathing loud in his ear as he crouched, he reached for the crimson envelope. On its back, the seal, unmistakable. Red-Hair's Straw Hat.
I'm so so excited to finally share this part with you! We're nearing my favourite part of this fic and it's really thrilling to know that it'll be out soon. Please keep commenting and sharing your reactions, I love it!
See you on Sunday!