The first time Sir Crocodile saw the feather brained idiot was at a meeting of the warlords with the marines. The only reason the man had agreed to come to this meeting was because Donquixote was being inducted into the Shichibukai, and Crocodile felt it would be beneficial to know all he could about this person. So he sat amongst his peers trying hard not to roll his eyes at something Sengoku was rambling about when he had the distinct feeling of eyes upon him and his skin began to crawl.

Crocodile had spent years never trusting others and would quickly use his observation haki to unravel the motives of others to turn against them. However, as he scornfully turned his slate grey eyes to the blonde man sitting next to him, he found that he could not easily find a way behind the man's defenses. Though he could not see the other's eyes behind those gaudy sunglasses, he knew that the man was focusing attention on him and it unnerved him greatly.

It was not so much the fact that the other was staring, it was the raw lust that practically rolled from the other male. Now, Crocodile was not one to be afraid of attention from men, after all sex was something that he had enjoyed on occasion with either gender in the past. It was more the feeling that the other was staking a claim. It was as though he was the only other one in the room and was disregarding every other person. There was also the fact that this person was new to the Shichibukai and should not be so arrogant and confrontational. Everything about him was just…off. Crocodile did not like it at all.

He watched as a long, pointed tongue curled from between Doflamingo's lips and ran wet, glistening trails before tucking back into his mouth. Suddenly, Crocodile felt even more self-conscious and he automatically began to run his fingers along the wrist of his missing hand until he felt the cool metal of his hook in a way he had not done in several years. He thought he had moved past his youthful insecurities behind his scars and the missing limb, yet somehow the way the other man was looking at him caused him to relapse into old, forgotten behaviors.

The blonde man's lips curled into a condescending, almost cruel, smile and he cocked his head to the side as if he found something extremely amusing. This movement triggered Crocodile's anger and the vein popped out on his temple as rage clouded his vision.

How dare that man think he could gain power over the smaller male! Crocodile was the leader of Baroque Works and the future king of Alabasta! This man should be groveling at his feet, not attempting to intimidate him. He swung his hook at the offending face and then stormed out of the room, feeling everyone staring in shock at his violent outburst.

The other man's laughter was not lost on Crocodile, but he refused to acknowledge it as he continued walking down the hall and towards the dock where his crew was waiting for him. This is the reason why he avoided being around others that were not either his subordinates or persons to manipulate to his will. He knew where it would lead. It was better to stay alone and above it all.

Several months had passed since the first meeting between the two warlords and Crocodile was closer than ever to reaching his goal of ruling the desert country that he had made his home.

He was busy at work in his private office underneath the casino when he heard Miss All Sunday's voice yelling, which was a rare occasion. Crocodile could not decipher the actual words, but he looked up from his paperwork with a scowl forming on his rugged features. About that time the door burst open and Doflamingo came walking in with arrogant confidence in every step he took towards the owner of Rain Dinners.

"Hey, Croc-man! What are you doing?" If Crocodile wasn't already irritated, hearing that ridiculous name from an even more ridiculous man would have done the trick.

"How very rude of you to come here uninvited, bird brain," he spat at the tall blonde while trying not to look too hard at the exposed skin of his chest. Why was he always wearing such things? The smaller male clucked his tongue and went back to work.

Doflamingo chuckled darkly as he enjoyed the sight of the other man becoming flustered. "How would you like to take a break from this boring business and join me for a drink? A beauty such as yourself shouldn't hide away in such a dark place," Doflamingo asked while scrunching his nose distastefully and using a finger and thumb to fling a random piece of paper across the desk.

Crocodile's frown deepened and he growled lightly. "Leave that alone! And you really should not say such things. It gives others the wrong impression."

The taller man placed a sensual smile on his face and slowly licked his lips while gazing at the other man. "I mean exactly what I said. You are the most gorgeous creature I have run across in a long time and I intend to make you my own. An exquisite specimen such as yourself belongs on the arm of his equal, which is me. All I want is you. Fufufu."

Crocodile was losing track of what he was reading and re-read the same line three times while listening to the seductive words. The scar on his face began to burn and his right hand instinctively reached to rub at his left forearm until he could trace his finger along cool metal.

With conscious thought, the warlord slowed his breathing and pretended to ignore what the annoyance was saying to him. However, he could not calm the slight tint in his cheeks or the pulse at his throat. This reaction had not gone unseen by Doflamingo.

He then leaned in close and whispered into Crocodile's ear, "It's so arousing to see you in such an emotional state. Maybe we can find other ways to make you flush so nicely."

Crocodile could feel even more heat rise to his face, but if he were honest, he wasn't sure if it was anger, lust, or an odd combination of the two that caused his reaction. Either way, it didn't matter. He swung upward with his hook to slash towards the other man, who made it look so easy to dodge the blow.

"Oh my. With such a passionate response, you make one wonder if you aren't in love!" Doflamingo practically purred as he spoke and enjoyed watching Crocodile become even more agitated and wild. The desk was overturned, and papers spilled everywhere on the floor as he angrily pursued the taller man when he turned to leave.

It was not until the door slammed in between them that Crocodile began to calm his rage. He was panting and his hair was falling in his eyes as he continued to stare at the door. He hated being out of control, but he just could not seem to control his emotions at the goading of the idiot bird. He closed his eyes and put his forehead against the smooth mahogany door in which the feathered monstrosity had exited. He slowly calmed himself, and hated even more that he had to acknowledge in that moment he felt something for the other man. In the end though, Crocodile swore there was no way he was going to fall for honey-covered lies.

The visits from Doflamingo became even more frequent after that. Somehow, Crocodile knew that the bastard could sense the emotions that he was struggling to keep underneath a cool exterior. It did not seem to matter to the other warlord what emotion he invoked from him. Anger, hate, frustration, lust, it all seemed to amuse the blonde immensely.

Over the next several years, Crocodile worked to build his underground network with Baroque Works and they almost always seemed to come into some contact with one of the many dealings that Doflamingo's "family" seemed to have their fingers in. Whether it was going to collect a bounty on some low-level pirate or to gather a runaway slave to return to the auction house on Sabaody, somehow the other man knew exactly which one of Crocodile's minions was doing the task and where they were doing it.

For the life of him, he could not figure out how the damn bird was keeping such a close eye on him! His whole scheme was centered on secrecy and espionage. Even his own employees did not know who "Mr. Zero" was, yet this stupid idiot could see it all. The time was growing ever closer to his takeover of Alabasta, and Crocodile did not want to take a risk of losing everything due to one careless mistake, or to a loose cannon like Donquixote Doflamingo.

However, when the news coo dropped the latest newspaper to the "hero of Alabasta" that morning, he nearly broke his desk when he saw the headlines. The loose cannon had managed to do in a couple years what Crocodile himself had been planning for multiple years and was still at least five years from fully completing. Doflamingo had taken over the kingdom of Dressrosa.

The blonde idiot had offered on several occasions to help Crocodile with his plan, but the older man had always ignored the pink menace. Perhaps he really did know more than Crocodile had been willing to give him credit for? He hated to admit, very begrudgingly, that perhaps there was more to this man than he had previously thought.

Crocodile found himself reaching for the transponder snail, but he hesitated dialing the other warlord's number at the last moment. He knew how persistently the birdbrain had pursued him and wasn't sure that this was a sacrifice he was prepared to make. However, he could no longer deny the way his pulse raced whenever he thought of Doflamingo and the familiar heat flushed his cheeks while looking at the picture of the man in the newspaper.

After a few more moments of staring down the poor snail, who was simply minding his own business, Crocodile lifted the receiver and dialed a number. Before he had the chance to say a word, a deep, rich tenor voice was laughing on the other end of the line.

"Fufufu. What took you so long, Croc-man?"