The gentlemen's club was quiet that day. Too quiet for a Saturday evening. There were some men scattered here and there around the room, some smoking, others drinking, and a couple of groups playing cards, players more worried about the contents in their glasses than that of their hands.
Sitting on an armchair in a dark corner was a dark-haired man surrounded by the smoke of his cigar. He scrutinized the room in a disinterested manner, just to pass the time. He did not even pay attention to the people there; the mere thought of another human being made him cringe. He just examined the furniture. He had a certain taste for excessive garnishment and the brown and golden tones were appealing to his eyes.
He suddenly sensed another man sit on the couch beside him. He turned his head slowly while drawing in a mouthful of smoke. A blond man with dark glasses was looking at him with a smirk on his face. Several months had passed since they had last seen each other—maybe more than a year—but if the dark haired man was surprised, he managed to repress it all inside as he took the cigar out of his mouth with his right hand and breathed out the smoke on the other man's face, as inexpressive as he had been all afternoon. The blond man did not lose his smile, although he did frown slightly.
"Long time no see, Crocodile," said the uninvited guest.
"It's never too long," he replied.
"You're as unpleasant as ever."
Crocodile left his cigar on the ashtray on the table between him and his companion. He leaned forward slowly as the pale light in the room illuminated his face and revealed a scar across his face, from ear to ear.
"What do you want, Doflamingo?" he asked.
"How bold," answered the blond man. "Can't you relax for a second and hold a civilized conversation with an old friend?"
"Friend?" Crocodile lay back again on the back of the armchair. "That's new."
Doflamingo took the empty glass on the table and rose it to the other man's face.
"I can fetch you another drink if you promise to be nicer."
Crocodile just shrugged as an answer. He had spent all afternoon sunk in apathy and he really couldn't care less whether that man had any good intentions or not. And if all he wanted was a talk, his murmuring wouldn't bother him more than light rain. He didn't have the slightest intention of drinking anymore liquor, but he knew Doflamingo liked to have company while drinking, at least when he was in high spirits; otherwise he just locked himself in his room with his phonograph playing flamenco guitar.
Doflamingo came back from the bar with another two glasses of hard liquor. He was well aware Crocodile always favored drinks like this when he was smoking and, either way, he would not allow the dark-haired man to ruin a good wine with the taste of his cigar. Crocodile took the glass from Doflamingo's hand and brought it to his lips. The blond man sat next to him again and stared. He immensely enjoyed the view of Crocodile carrying out apparently insignificant actions. He would watch the beverage enter his slightly parted lips and fill his mouth, cold mixing with the hotness of a permissive tongue, and then proceed down to his neck, thick and throbbing, while his Adam's apple swung up and down in its center. But this time it didn't move. The older man had only wetted his lips with the contents of the glass, leaving Doflamingo with a deceived look before an unmet expectation. Doflamingo followed Crocodile's hand with his eyes as the dark-haired man put the glass back on the table. The blond man took a sip from his drink and placed it next to Crocodile's.
"What business have you got in this city?" Doflamingo asked before raising his eyes from the table again.
"Does it really matter?" Crocodile answered, annoyed that the blond man had chosen to start with a question, forcing him to take part in a meaningless conversation.
"It does if they interfere with my own," Doflamingo explained.
"Then you don't need to worry," Crocodile retorted, "I don't have the least intention of mingling with your petty affairs."
"You could confide them to me anyway. I could help you make the best of them."
"I'm not dumb enough to trust you, Doflamingo. And you're not smart enough to grasp the importance of my venture."
Doflamingo chuckled at the older man's statement.
"If I'm not interested in a certain business it's because it's not big enough," Doflamingo said with an even wider smile as he leaned back on his chair.
"That's exactly your problem."
Doflamingo's smile vanished as he glanced at Crocodile from behind his dark glasses. No one but himself was ever allowed to point out his mistakes, not even someone as intelligent and scheming as the former boss of the secret organization Baroque Works.
"Are you telling me you're not aiming for the world?" Doflamingo asked after a long pause.
"The world? Maybe. But not like you."
"Oh. And may I know what you mean with that?"
"You want people to recognize you as their ruler. You need constant validation from others. I just want the power to do as I please. In fact, the least people know about me, the better."
Doflamingo remained silent for some seconds, going over Crocodile's words.
"Well, I can't argue with you on that," he said eventually. "I guess we're two different kinds of dreamers."
Crocodile snorted with a smile on his face. Doflamingo's frown deepened.
"You are completely mistaken," the older man retorted. "You have dreams; I make plans."
Doflamingo did not lose his frown, but his sneer returned to his lips. He had known Crocodile for a long time now and even before they met he had been following the dark-haired man's steps long before the day he appeared in the newspaper as a newly appointed Shichibukai.
"And where did all that thing about following the Age of Pirates go?" Doflamingo dared.
Crocodile looked at him unamused.
"People grow, Doflamingo." Crocodile took his glass from the table and brought it to his lips. This time, he did drink. After a sip, he held the glass up in front of his face and spoke with his eyes fixed on it. "Dreams are made for people who live inside their minds. I'd rather keep my feet on the ground. While you are all focused on the reawakening of a myth from the past, I secure my future."
"You sound like a boring old man," Doflamingo pouted.
Crocodile put the glass on the table again and stood up.
"Leaving already?" Doflamingo asked.
"It's late." Crocodile turned around to take his coat, but before he could even reach out Doflamingo was already standing behind him, placing the green coat on the man's shoulders.
"Let me escort you outside," he said, his lips almost touching Crocodile's ear.
"You're free to do as you please," Crocodile retorted, stepping aside and putting his cigar out on the ashtray.
Doflamingo followed the dark-haired man along the different rooms. Crocodile's heels hit the woodblocks with determination, filling the silent club with thundering noise. The looks of hatred his steps attracted made Doflamingo smile mischievously. Crocodile was really bratty, and it was sincerely amusing.
Once they got out, Crocodile stopped under the awning and began to light another cigar. Suddenly he felt Doflamingo's breath on his neck and the man's body dangerously close to his. He slowly put his lighter back on his pocket and grabbed the blond man's neck with his right hand, ready to suck all the life off of him.
"Give me a good reason not to kill you right now," he threatened.
Doflamingo smiled, almost rubbing Crocodile's neck with his lips.
"Let me take you somewhere."
Doflamingo felt Crocodile's grip loosen, which he interpreted as an invitation to further his requests. He slid his hand beneath Crocodile's coat and onto his hips and pulled the older man closer to him until their crotches touched.
"You won't regret it."