Doflamingo swept in like he owned the place. "I'm sorry I'm late!" he cooed, stepping down from the window sill into the conference room. The look on the marines' faces were worth every minute he'd dawdled. Not that he cared for being punctual in the first place.
He quickly glanced around the room and at the people sitting around the table: Kuma was there like the loyal dog he was, Mihawk apparently was bored enough to show his face too, Moria loomed over the others (and himself) like a fucking mountain. The Pirate Empress was absent but that was hardly surprising. And he'd heard that the Marines had made a fishman a Shichibukai too, so with the blue face, it wasn't hard to figure out Jinbe.
That left another face yet. Not unacquainted, either.
"Doflamingo," Sengoku said, cautiously. "Thank you for coming."
"No biggie! I felt like taking a stroll anyway," Doflamingo chirped, smiling when he sat down, not taking his eyes off the brooding figure opposite his chair at the table. He heard Sengoku introduce him to Jinbe and the fishman politely saying some thing or other in return. He might have even offered a reply, but his mind was elsewhere.
"And the last addition to the Shichibukai is, as of now... Sir Crocodile," Sengoku's voice reached his ears eventually, and the name got him back down to earth.
"Oh, we've met," Doflamingo cooed, his grin widening.
Crocodile had the perfect poker face when he plucked his cigar from his lips, exhaling. "Can't seem to remember," he retorted. "And I usually don't forget a face. "
Doflamingo laughed. "Yeah, you didn't see my face much, I'll give you that." He nearly frolicked when the reptile almost broke his cigar in two at the remark.
But the hint was lost on the others, and Sengoku began the meeting. Doflamingo didn't pay attention at all, and while Crocodile made sure their gazes never met, he knew exactly what was going through the man's mind. Memories of his name whispered to the back of his neck, fingers across his body, his scars, groans muffled by a pair of dangerously smiling lips, eyes shimmering even in the absence of light. They were fond memories to Doflamingo, and because they were replaced by newer ones every now and then, he knew it was the same for Crocodile, even if the man liked to play pretend.
Oh yes, Loguetown had been a long time ago, but it had started off more than one era. Crocodile was well aware of that. Having the damned bird across from him now, smiling like a maniac was bemusing, to say the least. He had no level of decency. Especially with other people around.
Of course he'd known that Doflamingo was a Shichibukai when he accepted the Marine's proposal. The fact of him basically bullying the world government into to giving him the title was only a rumor, but not so hard to imagine when you looked a little at the man's past. Crocodile actually felt a little sore. Way, way back on that fateful night that marked the death of the Pirate King and the beginning of the Great Era of Pirates, he had met Doflamingo for the first time. They were both so much younger than today, nothing more than rookies back then. Sure, they had made a name for themselves already; Crocodile himself hardly remembered the name he'd been given at birth, solely called Crocodile now for the scar across his face. With the hushed Sir before his name, he was glad never to be anyone else ever again. And he'd heard things about Doflamingo, that flamboyant bastard; whispers of patricide, but only after they'd... met... did he take over Dressrosa as the rightful king. Well, it was his birthright, wasn't it, with him being a Donquixote—had Crocodile known beforehand...
Even with the various encounters that had followed over the years to follow, it always was an exception, and he knew the damn flamingo thought the same. But why then did he keep on staring at him like that?!
He duly noted he'd been smoking non stop during the entire meeting and as soon as Sengoku would let them go, he got up and rushed out of the door, sand dancing behind him and following his steps.
He made it out of the building and down to the harbor where his ship was anchored before the sound of feathers caught up to him.
"No!" he barked before Doflamingo even landed. "Whatever it is, I decline!"
"So you don't want me to leave? That's a new one!" Doflamingo smiled at him broadly, but keeping his distance for now, if only to take in the rather impressive figure before him. He was a tall man and used to speaking to people at the height of his waistline, but Crocodile was actually almost on level. The fifty centimeters he was missing on him was just a petty little sixth to him. The last time he'd seen him, Crocodile had already been wearing suit and tie and that hadn't changed, although the fabrics seemed to have become even a little more expensive; wool discarded for cashmere, cotton for silk. The rings on his fingers were bigger, the gemstones rarer, the cigars more luxurious. Overall, he'd aged quite well.
"Looking good, my dear crocodile man," he said and went for a hug that Crocodile evaded with a finesse that had been trained on occasion.
"Can't say the same about you," he answered, frowning at the ridiculous clothes the damned bird was wearing.
"Oh, this? Aw. Let's blame it on different cultural heritage, shall we? It's quite, how would you put it, en vogue in Dressrosa."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Doflamingo laughed. "Well, dear Crocodile—"
"—that's Sir to you—"
"—we're fellow businessmen now, aren't we? I propose a meeting to go over our work. "
"I don't work with anybody," Crocodile said, turning to leave, but with the swiftness of a hummingbird, Doflamingo cut off his path to the ship.
"Of course not," he said. "But I have a proposal I know you'd very much like to hear."
Against his will, Crocodile hesitated. "... go on."
"Aw, what, here? On the wharf? Like a common, lowlife sailor? That is below you, my dear reptile. No no, let me treat you tonight! I'll pamper you in my fashion."
"I'd rather not be pampered in your fashion," Crocodile said, not even bothering to hide his recurrent disdainful look at Doflamingo's pink feather coat.
"Eager, aren't we? Don't worry, I can take it all off again as soon as we're behind closed doors. Or is that something you'd fancy doing like a lowlife sailor on the wharf as well?"
Crocodile's expression remained level despite a gentle flaring of his nostrils. Doflamingo was impressed. Usually, he would get annoyed pretty easily whenever Doflamingo would so much as hint at something vaguely sexual between them. But now, he just barely rolled his eyes.
"I don't think Marineford—" he began, but Doflamingo chirruped dismissively.
"Nonsense. You're coming with me to Dressrosa."
"I don't—" Crocodile started again, but the Eternal Pose Doflamingo basically shoved in his face interrupted him yet again.
"Oh, I know you wouldn't travel with me if your life depended on it. It's about a nine hour journey from here. You would be just in time for dinner." Behind the ridiculous shades, Crocodile thought he caught a glimpse of a pleading look. Doflamingo's smile seemed to fray a little at the edges. Crocodile frowned.
"Well," he said, very low and slowly, hand adjusting his coat, staring at a point somewhere behind Doflamingo. "I was gonna head for the New World anyway, so I guess it's not too much of a detour."
Crocodile could've sworn the corners of Doflamingo's mouth shook hands at the back of his head with the next smile. It was positively frightening and he took a little step backwards before Doflamingo reached for his right wrist, placing the Eternal Pose in his hands and closing his fingers around it with his own. The touch was a little too intimate for Crocodile, who took another step backwards, sliding the Eternal Pose into a pocket of his coat with a little clearing of the throat.
Doflamingo chuckled at him but backed off a little. "Swell," he said, arching his head a little forward, giving him the impression of a curious bird even more than to begin with. "I'm looking forward to it. Have a safe journey, my dear reptile." He flashed him another smile, then raised his hands and stepped right into the air. Crocodile watched as he ascended, seemingly lightweight as a feather, soon nothing more than a swaying dot at the horizon.
He sighed, took the Eternal Pose from his pocket again and watched for a while how the needle pointed without shaking even a little at the direction Doflamingo had vanished to. For a second he wondered if that was of higher significance, but then scolded himself for such stupid thoughts, shook his head and went to inform his crew of the course to take.
AN: I hope you enjoyed reading! This is mostly a finger exercise, so it's going to be fluff and crack and just these two throwing dialogues at each other, whichg I really need between writing horrible porn with disgusting old men and all the unhealthy relationship fic I write for them so bear with me.
Thanks to my beta Mme Baroqudile for this one. /throws kisses