Chapter Text
You knew something was wrong the moment you stepped into your office.
Boxes and boxes surrounding and atop a desk that wasn't yours- couldn't be yours. It was huge. Double the size of your last one and very expensive looking.
Warily peeking inside the boxes you find piles and piles of fine clothes. In the smaller ones, you find jewelry, gold and delicate with an engraved "CG". You hold it up, inspecting it.
"Is this to your satisfaction?" comes a deep voice behind you.
You jump and whip around to find Sir Crocodile, his eyes heavy and a sinister smile.
"We can provide for you," he continues, slowly stepping closer
"I can provide for you. You'd never want for anything" His hook gently tilting your head up to meet his eyes
"as long as you're mine"
Your breath catches
This shouldn't be happening
You should pull away, yell at him
Say anything at all
But this is what you wanted, right?
A partner, attention, love-
No- this wasn't love, you snap back your mind finally clearing.
You open your mouth to tell him off-
"Attempting to take them all for yourself already?" comes a voice from the door.
You both look to find Mihawk, his sharp eyes piercing into Crocodile's.
Crocodile clicks his tongue, lowers his hook, and straightens his shoulders "Simply, saying what we can offer, what excellent partners we'd make"
Mihawk's eyes lazily move to yours
"I was thinking we could spend some time together today" his eyes go back to Crocodile's "alone. I recently acquired a new vintage and a set of classic books"
Crocodile scoffs
A blur of color comes stumbling into the room like a hurricane colliding with a box. "Wait! I didn't know we were having a meeting! You think you can just seduce them without me?" yells Buggy.
Voices overlap, arguing as their voices get louder and louder, the room feels smaller, your chest tightening, your vision tunneling. very breathe feels like you have to force it from your lungs.
You feel the ground shift from under you, your knees hit the floor hard as you cover your ears and tuck your head into them.
You try to count your breaths.
In for four, hold for four, out for four
You shut your eyes tight.
You don't notice the voices stop and worried looks your way. They wordlessly look at each other, silently threatening the others to fix what they can't. Buggy eventually loses.
"Hey, uh, superstar" Buggy's voice comes closer "You good?"
You hear a sharp smack and an "ow!"
You feel a body sit beside you.
Warm. Solid. Silent.
Mihawk.
"In" he gently commands
A beat
"Out" you follow
When your lungs decide to obey you again, the room feels quiet- too quiet
"We have a problem!" an employee rushes in, making you jump
"What is it" commands Crocodile
"No one confirmed a shipment- its all gone, someone stole it!"
"How did this happen?" Mihawk mutters to himself
You feel all eyes turn to you.
"There's also meeting happening without you, they've been waiting for thirty minutes and now they're threatening to leave the deal" the crewmate adds hesitantly "and missed a call from a major supplier"
Your head feels light enough to lift again, your eyes still sting as you look around
You see their faces frozen, like this hasn't happened before.
Because it hasn't- never since you accepted the job.
The room buzzes with panic. For once, Crocodile has no comeback, Mihawk stays silent, and Buggy stumbles over a joke.
"the routing system is wrong," you sigh and start, your instincts kicking in "tell the person waiting that-" you stop yourself
"Actually, you figure it out" you say, crossing your arms, and lifting your chin trying to portray confidence
Buggy laughs for a beat "what do you mean we figure it out- that's your job"
"Well, not for much longer" you say "You're going to need to learn how to do things without me"
Deafening silence, you try to straighten your posture and maintain eye contact- you were in control here.
They'd be lost without you you have to remind yourself.
You leave your overthrown office, leaving them behind to handle it themselves.
It feels like a breath of fresh air when you get off work at the right time, the sun still up, warming your skin.
You decide to take a stroll on the pier, attending a festival you never knew was happening, even meeting your friends there- thankfully, they never forgot you.
You laugh, you dance, you catch up, you lose at rigged games but you don't care. This is the lightest you have in a while.
On instinct, you study the map of the festival and try to optimize your time with your friends.
You pause
No
You don't have to "optimize" what you do anymore.
You chuck the map into the garbage can as you catch up with your friends again.
At the end of the day, you all watch the sunset. It feels like you're seeing colors for the very first time, the wind in your hair, your friends by your side, breathing in the fresh sea air.
You still can't help but fidget.
It feels like wasting time. You could be doing something productive, something to help.
As you wave goodbye at the end of the day, the night life welcomes you like it never has before.
Its like its your first time in your own city.
You watch the neighbor's kids run back to their houses giggling as their parents smile and usher them in, the streetlamps lighting your path as moths dance in their spotlight, the crickets and frogs chirping a symphony as they guide you home.
You slip into your favorite pajamas, make a warm drink and go to bed early, tucking yourself in. For the first time, you go to bed with your eyes light and a smile
Meanwhile, Mihawk,Crocodile, and Buggy are in a state of panic.
Crocodile has chewed through a pack of his favorite cigars in stress, smoke suffocating the air as he draws and redraws shipping routes, each on worst than the last.
Mihawk is attempting to threaten the man who was waiting for a meeting over the transponder snail, his expression darkening every time he leaves room for the other to talk. He slams the receiver down, going to sharpen his blade far too intensely to be routine.
Buggy is trying his hardest to smooth over contact with the distributor, his voice gets higher and higher, his laugh brittle. Trust and credibility has already been broken.
One by one, their efforts end in failure. Silence settles heavy in the room.
Mihawk glances outside and the sky is dark, well past midnight and far later than they have ever stayed.
Buggy pulls his hair over his face and whines "We need to get them back"