Falaise

'What of us, then, Jester?'

Despite the night of reprieve they spent together, the following days were hard on Buggy, and Crocodile felt the irrepressible urge to abduct and hide him away.

After the episode under the rain outside the tent, Crocodile and Mihawk led Buggy to their designated room in the makeshift cabin. The two knights dropped any form of pretence and both laid in the Duke's bed, deciding that tonight was an exception and that they could authorise themselves the tenderness for a night. With morning come they'd have to share the man with the rest of the world again, and Crocodile hated sharing.

His arm was possessively wrapped around Buggy's waist, his only hand gently caressing the exposed skin of Buggy's stomach under his loose tunic. On the other side of the bed, Mihawk was nosing Buggy's neck, secretly appreciating the feeling of the man's hair tickling his naked chest.

In the centre of their attention, Buggy was half laying on each man, pliant under their soft touch. The soothing caresses of his lovers loosened his tense muscles and made him fall asleep more easily.

Buggy was glad they were here, their attention blocking his thoughts. He was sure that he wouldn't have been able to fall asleep, too busy thinking, if they hadn't been here. It had probably helped that he'd almost sobbed himself to sleep, though.

______________________

The first thing Mihawk noticed when he stirred was the man half laying on him. The second thing was the large fingers running through his hair. Cracking an eye open, Mihawk looked at Crocodile despite the darkness in the room.

Crocodile made no effort to greet him, but his look was telling enough. Mihawk basked in the touch, leaning even closer to the hand. Crocodile's movement didn't falter as the man started to talk. 'How are you feeling?'

Mihawk took the time to think it through. On one hand, the battle in itself had been tiring, but nothing he'd never seen or done. He wasn't particularly worn down, and he'd sustained no major injuries. On the other hand, despite not having interacted with him, the sight of Shanks had shaken him. The words in his letter had replayed in his mind the moment he'd seen him, and he had not stopped thinking about how he could have loved such a man ever since. A lapse in judgement surely.

Still, Mihawk didn't consider himself in that bad a mental state. It probably wasn't superb, but it wasn't too poor either. 'Not too bad.' He settled on.

Crocodile seemed to gauge his answer before he looked away. It seemed like he didn't have anything else to add.

'What about you?' Mihawk asked. Buggy and his' afflictions were a given, but he had not thought about Crocodile's feelings in the matter. He had no idea how the man got by the situation.

The scarred man looked his way again, taking his time observing his face nonchalantly. He slowly brought his hook to Mihawk's chin and gently tilted his head up. Crocodile leant down, kissing him slowly. Mihawk was surprised by the gesture, but enjoyed it nonetheless. It was certainly nice to be able to share affection without being pressed by the time or the risk of getting caught. 'I am fine.' Crocodile finally answered as he pulled away and settled back against the bedhead.

Though it could seem like a cold or a lacking answer, Mihawk could read through Crocodile, and knew that the man had been pleased by Mihawk's question. Something having to do with the fear of being left out, maybe. Crocodile always put himself on the line to protect the both of them, voluntarily taking a step back sometimes to simply watch them, thus effectively distancing himself from them. It was Mihawk's role to reel him in and ensure that Crocodile felt loved.

He was about to lean back against the scarred man when his eyes fell on Buggy. He was fast asleep, in the exact same position he had been when Mihawk had fallen asleep.