After accepting helping Corazon to prepare Doflamingo's birthday you go to work to the company. While you are there, a little crisis explodes.
The next day you go to work feeling extremely nervous, not knowing very well how you were going to react when seeing Corazon again.
However, when you enter the shop and the man greets you with a smile as always you realize relieved that you aren't more nervous than usual. Well, it seemed that as long as you didn't see Corazon and Trafalgar together everything would be just fine.
"Good morning, (y/n)", Corazon's tone turns apologetic, "sorry about yesterday. Doffy told me that you were really busy when we visited you"
Your eyes open wide with surprise.
"What? That's not true!"
Corazon chuckles softly.
"He said that you would say exactly that but that because of us you had a lot of problems to concentrate again"
You suppress the urge to sigh with resignation. That man, pocking his nose without being asked. Thank goodness that you have at least convinced him not to kill Trafalgar.
"Your brother exaggerates a lot. You didn't bother me at all", Corazon relaxes when you say that and at that moment a thought crosses your mind, "wait, don't tell me that Doflamingo and you fought because of this"
Corazon shakes his head reassuringly.
"Nah, Doffy simply was a little annoyed with me because", Corazon begins to imitate Doflamingo's voice quite accurately, "'You have (y/n) more than me during the entire week so I'd appreciate that you don't steal her time at my company'. Apparently, Doffy doesn't like very much that you work more in the shop than in his company. My brother can be a little possessive when he finds something (or someone) of his liking"
You find yourself fighting not to blush. And damn, it was you or Corazon looked incredibly amused just now?! Oh please, that would be the last thing you needed to turn your relation with Corazon even more awkward: that your unrequited crush tried to pair you up with his brother.
"And well, now that we are talking about Doffy there is something that I wanted to ask you", Corazon continues, "it turns out that his birthday is in a month and it has occurred to me to prepare him a costume party. The idea is that the whole family assists as well, so do you think you could tell the rest without Doffy knowing it?"
You think for a moment about the members of Donquixote family and eventually nod.
"Yeah, sure. I see Jora, Baby 5 and Buffalo every day so I can tell them and ask them to warn the rest"
Corazon nods with a smile.
"Perfect then. Oh, and you better begin to think about the costume that you are going to wear",
Your mouth falls opened.
"Wait, am I going to the party too?"
Corazon looks at you surprised.
"Don't you want to go?"
You gulp nervously.
"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I don't know, it wouldn't be a little weird if I go? After all I am…"
"…part of the family, so it's perfectly normal that you are invited as well", Corazon smiles widely when seeing you face of stupor, "Doffy has told me that you have become a Donquixote member. But don't worry, not just the family is going to assist to the party. Since I'll surely need Cavendish and Bartolomeo's help to have all the costumes ready in time I planned to invite them too"
You suppress a relieved sigh. Even if the truth was that you got along pretty well with the Donquixote family you were glad that those two were invited as well.
"Great. And is there a particular thematic for the costumes or we can go dressed however we want?"
"Well, Doffy and I used to play pirates a lot when we were kids, so I've thought that I could prepare a pirate costume party", Corazon suddenly sighs and leans his chin over his hand, "although it's a pity that because of it I can't see Law wearing the vampire suit I gave him"
After the initial moment of stupor you manage to nod with understanding. You should have guessed that obviously Trafalgar would go the party in the quality of Corazon's brother.
"Well, if you remove the red bat cape from the doctor's suit it could perfectly work as a refined pirate costume"
Your comment causes Corazon's eyes illuminate.
"Hey, you're right! And if I add a pirate hat and a sword the suit will be perfect", Corazon smiles at your brightly, "thanks, (y/n). I'll make sure that your costume is the best of all"
You chuckle, unable not to blush. You are about to tell Corazon that it's not necessary for him to spend much time with your costume when the door of the shop opens and Cavendish and Bartolomeo appear talking to each other, and your eyes open wide when seeing that Bartolomeo is hooking an arm around Cavendish's shoulders and this one looks perfectly comfortable with it.
"Oh, come on, Cavendish, are you still sulking? For thousand time I wasn't laughing at you…"
"Bartolomeo, you were literally bursting out laughing while looking at me. Of course you were laughing at me!"
"Okay, maaaaaybe I was but it was because it was funny to see you about to shit your pants just for a movie!"
"Well, genius, sorry if terror movies which are specifically designed to scary normal people do scare me!"
You bite your bottom lip not to begin to laugh. As you had expected, something had changed between those two because even if they were still fighting there was a hidden camaraderie between them that definitely hadn't been there before.
"Umh…(y/n)…", Corazon blinks a couple of times before looking at you, "what's exactly happened this Saturday between those two?"
This time, you can't prevent a laugh. Those two were really obvious if the oblivious Corazon had realized that something was happening.
"Mmm, so a party for the young Master", Jora's smile manages to grow even more, "alright, leave it to me. I will warn the family as soon as I can"
You nod. The moment you have arrived at the company the next day you have gone directly to Jora to ask her help. After all, even if you could contact Buffalo, Baby 5 and probably Senor Pink rather easily (since the man worked in the office next to yours), it was almost impossible to warn the top Executives and Doflamingo's bodyguards without him from noticing, nor either Lao G and the two kids that you have seen in the manor.
"Thank you", you say, "also, when you know what costumes you want, contact me or Corazon so that he can arrange an appointment with you"
Jora nods and laughs loudly, surprising you.
"Ahahahaha! It's nice to see you so integrated with us already, dear", the woman sounded honestly happy, "at first I thought that you hated the young Master but now I see that you get along really well"
You blush intensely.
"W-We don't get that along! I-I am just doing what Corazon has asked me to"
Jora raises a profiled skeptic eyebrow when hearing your half-hearted protest.
"You should sound more convinced, dear. And you don't have to feel bad for liking the young Master. Because of his charisma it's perfectly logical to feel attracted to him…"
"I don't like him!"
"Well, for 'not hating him' then, if you prefer it that way"
You exhale an exasperated defeated sigh while abandoning the reception desk, where Jora has begun to laugh again with amusement.
You are about to ride the elevator up, still sulking for having been mocked, when suddenly a really beautiful dark-haired woman with a violet suit steps inside just when the doors are closing.
"Just in time", the woman exhales a little breathless. It seemed that she had run to reach the elevator.
"Which floor?", you ask.
The woman looks at you and you can't help to admire the orange color of her eyes, which were definitely more impressive that your (e/c) ones.
"To the top floor, thank you", she says with a smile when you press the button, "I haven't seen you around before. Have you begun to work here recently?"
You nod while the elevator doors close.
"Yes, this is just my third day here"
The woman hums to herself and suddenly her eyes illuminate.
"Oh, so you must be (y/n), the new member!", the woman offers you a hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you. The family, and specially Doffy, has talked me very well about you"
You nod a little awkwardly and shake the hand the woman is offering you.
"Nice to meet you too. Are you part of the Donquixote family as well?"
The woman smiles mysteriously.
"Officially not but unofficially yes. It's a little complicated"
You look at the woman with curiosity but just at that moment the elevator reaches its destination, and your heart skips a beat when finding Doflamingo just in front of the recently opened doors.
The man looks at you briefly but almost immediately his attention diverts to the other woman and a surprised smile appears on his face.
"Well, well, look who has decided to pay us a visit"
Your eyes open wide in astonishment when the woman exhales a satisfied laugh before approaching Doflamingo to hug him. The man immediately returns the hug and you stare at the scene with a dumbfounded expression.
'By the way, do you know if he is married?'
At that moment Rebecca's words resound in your head. Wait, could it be that that woman was Doflamingo's wife? Or his girlfriend? Because in that case what she had said about 'unofficially being part of the family' could make sense. And wait a damn minute, why that possibility was just making you feel incredibly annoyed? And why in earth that uncomfortable feeling that has just appeared in the pit of your stomach was so damn similar to the way you felt when seeing Corazon and Law together?!
You are about to leave the lovey-dovey pair alone in a hurry but just when you are passing by…
"(y/n), wait"
You manage to suppress a sigh. Obviously, Doflamingo had to call you just when you were feeling stupidly conflicted.
"Yes?"
Shit, your answer has sounded incredibly irritated and rude. However, when hearing it Doflamingo just smirked briefly with amusement before finally stopping hugging the woman.
"I think that you two hadn't met before", Doflamingo encloses at that moment his arm around the woman's shoulders casually, the action making you to tense involuntarily. Damn, what the hell was wrong with your body reactions today? They didn't make any sense!, "this is Viola. She used to work here in the company with us but now she is a member of the Police Department"
Your eyes open wide and that reaction causes Viola to chuckle.
"For that reason I'm an unofficial member of the family", the woman explains with a smile, "and of course my position in the police is very helpful to warn about sudden inspections"
You hum with understanding. However, the woman's explanation didn't clarify if she was romantically involved with Doflamingo or not.
You insult yourself internally. Damn, and what if she was?! That wasn't important at all!
"(y/n), are you alright? You seem a little tense"
You gulp when hearing Doflamingo's suspicious concerned tone. 'Don't blush, (y/n). DON'T YOU DARE TO BLUSH!'
"I-I'm okay. Just a little stressed because of the University", you knew what Doflamingo thought about lying but like hell if you were going to say the truth. You didn't even know what was wrong with you in the first place, "I should get going. Baby 5, Buffalo and I have to…umh… finish some unresolved technical matters. It's been a pleasure to meet you"
You direct your last sentence to Viola, who is looking at your with surprise, and after purposely avoiding looking at Doflamingo (whose enervating grin you could feel without needing to see it) you walk down the corridor towards your office and stomp on it, causing Baby 5 and Buffalo to jump in their seats.
You quickly mutter a hurried apology and sit on your desk, determined to begin to work to avoid any stupid thought that you could have regarding Doflamingo.
"Umh…(y/n)…", you look at Baby 5 when she calls you with an hesitant tone, "…are you angry?"
Your eyes open wide.
"Angry? Why?"
"Well…umh…"
When Baby 5 averts her eyes guiltily while biting her bottom lip and doesn't continue, it's Buffalo the one who keeps talking.
"She told Doffy about you crying in the restroom and she is sorry. She did it because she was worried about you but still she shouldn't have"
You see Baby 5's expression turns even guiltier, and even if you know that the logical thing would be to feel angry towards the girl you find yourself not caring that much.
"Oh, that", you shake your head with a smile, "I'm not angry"
Baby 5 looks at your with watery eyes.
"Really?! So will you still count on me to help you with the job?"
You are about to laugh when seeing the girl's puppy expression.
"Yes, I'll do. But please, next time don't say Doflamingo anything behind my ba-"
You lost the air of your lungs when suddenly the girl hugs you tightly while crying with relief.
"Thank goodness! I thought that you didn't need me anymore!"
Buffalo bursts out laughing loudly while you still fight to breathe. It takes you a couple of minutes to convince the girl that you are not angry and that you still need her so that she releases you.
When Baby 5 has finally calmed down you tell her and Buffalo about Doflamingo's party, and make them promise that they won't say a thing. You are a little tempted to ask them about Viola and Doflamingo relation but you eventually decide to convince yourself that you don't need to know it.
You three spend the rest of the afternoon working in silence, and thanks that the job requires an acceptable level of concentration you manage not to think too much about unnecessary matters during the three hours that you are working there.
"Well, time to go home", you stand up from your desk, "see you on Friday"
"Hey, (y/n)", Baby 5 suddenly begins to whisper, "one doubt. Besides the costume party, have Corazon and you thought about a present for Doffy?"
You feel annoyed with yourself when the image of Viola hugging Doflamingo is the first thing that invades your mind when Baby 5 mentions the man.
"I don't know, you should ask Corazon about that"
Baby 5 looks at you surprised for your sudden rude tone. You are about to add a more kind comment but you are unable to do so because at that moment the door of the office opens and Senor Pink enters in the office.
"Good, you are still here. The boss has convoked an emergency meeting right now. We have to go to his office"
The fact that Senor Pink doesn't try to flirt with you as he usually does makes you deduce that something serious has happened. Baby 5 and Buffalo seem to think the same as you because they interchange a concerned glance.
You look at the three of them alternatively.
"Umh…should I go too?"
Senor Pink looks at you and nods without hesitation.
"Yes, at least to know what's happened"
After talking Senor Pink leaves the office and Baby 5, Buffalo and you follow him. You walk in silence towards Doflamingo office and enter behind Senor Pink when the man steps in the room without even knocking. All the Family with the exception of Dellinger and Sugar was already there, standing around Doflamingo who was sitting behind his desk with his legs crossed and leaning his temple in one of his hands, not a hint of a smile on his usual smirking face.
You notice that Viola is next to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest and an expression of frustration in her face. You observe the rest of the Donquixote members with more attention. Apparently, no one else besides Viola seemed to know what was happening because everyone looked extremely confused.
"So what's going on?"
Pica's strident voice resounds in the room, shouting aloud what everyone was thinking.
Viola gulps and opens her mouth to speak but Doflamingo raises briefly his free hand, indicating her to remain quiet.
"I will be direct", Doflamingo's voice was calm but it was obvious that he was deeply annoyed, "we have just learnt that this week Smoker is going to send one of his men to inspect the company"
A tense silence falls in the room. You have to make memory but eventually you remember that Smoker was the police inspector that was going after Doflamingo's company.
"And do we know what's the exact day when he is going to pay us a visit?", Diamante inquires.
This time it's Viola the one who answers with a thin voice.
"It's really probably that he comes tomorrow"
This time, instead of a silence what explodes in the room is a loud ruckus when all the family begins to talk at the same time.
"Tomorrow? That can't be possible!", Jora exclaims, covering her cheeks with both of her hands.
"What are we going to do, neeee?!", Trebol begins to walk nervously through the room, his frenetic steps making his snot bounce even more than usual, "we haven't had time to leave everything ready yet, neeee!"
"Well, we could try to hide the most compromising information", Diamante suggests, although he didn't look very convinced of his own proposal.
"That is the same than saying that we have to hide everything, Diamante", Pica exclaims in an even more high-pitched voice than before, "all the information about our deals is highly compromising!"
"Damn Smoker", Baby 5 intervenes with a huff, "couldn't he wait until we were completely established before sending someone?"
While the Donquixote family's voices become louder you remain quiet, simply observing them. From what you have heard you can deduce that since the new office has just opened they hadn't had time to hide their 'not entirely legal' deals with their clients.
"Well, we can always have a little talk with the man that Smoker sends", Machvise suggests while massaging his knuckles alternatively, indicating that his way of communication was going to be painfully physical.
"Or also to place a little present in his car"
Your eyes open wide when Gladius extracts from his pocket something that looked scarily similar to a grenade. But that couldn't be, right? It wasn't possible that that man was carrying a bomb in his pocket as if it was the most normal thing to do…
Okay, it could perfectly be possible. It was the family about whom you were talking about.
At that moment Doflamingo intervenes, and even if he hasn't even raised his tone of voice everyone immediately pays attention to him.
"No, even if I find tempting the idea of giving a little warning to Smoker's messenger I think that we should keep a low profile for now, so we must leave everything ready today, even if that means that we are going to spend the night locked in the company"
Everyone exhales long sighs of resignation.
"I'll tell Lao G then that he will be in charge of preparing dinner for Sugar and Dellinger", Jora announces while taking out her phone.
"Pica, Trebol, let's go", Diamante says with a dark tone, "We are going to spend some nice hours falsifying documents"
"Alright, then Baby 5 and I will contact Monet and Vergo to ask them help to hide the data base information", Buffalo comments while Baby 5 kept muttering not very feminine curses.
"Then I'll make sure to contact our most influent associates to revise what they should say about us in case they are contacted as well", Senor Pink adds.
"Yes, please, do so", Doflamingo stands up from his seat, "although I will also go to see them, just to make sure that they understand the importance of keeping their mouth shut. Machvise, Gladius, you come with me"
"I'm sorry", Viola apologizes suddenly, her face a mask of frustration, "I couldn't have chosen a worst day to come to visit. If I had been in the office I would have been able to discover what they planned to do and-"
Doflamingo interrupts the woman by settling a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not your fault, Viola. You couldn't guess what they planned to do. However, can you do me a favor and come back to the police department? Maybe you can still convince them to postpone the inspection at least one day"
Viola smiles and nods with renewed determination.
"Alright, I'll do my best to give you one extra day"
Doflamingo smiles approvingly at her. Another inexplicable pang of irritation hits you when seeing that but you decide to push your annoyance away since at that moment there was something more important that you wanted to ask.
"And what do I do?"
You gulp with nervousness when your question causes everyone (Doflamingo included) to look at you with surprise, as if they hadn't noticed your presence there until now.
"You don't need to do anything, (y/n)", your eyes open wide with surprise when hearing Doflamingo, "it's better if you don't get yourself involved with this, so go home and rest. Thanks for your hard work today"
When seeing everyone about to leave the room you hurriedly speak again.
"But I want to help", again, more surprised glances fix on you, "I mean, I know that I'm new but I think that I can help Buffalo and Baby 5 with the data base. After all we've been working on it these last days and I already know how everything works so-"
"Young lady, I suppose that you are clever enough to deduce that what we are going to do tonight is not legal, so if the police discover that you have helped us, you'll also catch his attention, and they will mark you as a new suspicious member of the Donquixote family"
Despite Doflamingo has spoken to you really seriously, you don't hesitate to reply back, because the fact that Doflamingo was trying to stop you from helping when he was allowing all the rest (Viola included) to help bothered you.
"Well, you are always saying that I am part of the family, and therefore that means that I should help as well, right?"
Doflamingo looks at you for some seconds in silence before chuckling with surprise.
"(y/n), sometimes I can't quite understand you. You were really reluctant to join the family, and even when accepting you insisted that it was something temporal, but now you are risking to have legal problems just to help the company of the man who is blackmailing you. Can you explain me why?"
You gulp. You try to think off a decent excuse because what Doflamingo has said had perfect sense. You didn't have to help them. In fact, you shouldn't want to help them. As Doflamingo had said, you were only working for him because you were forced to do so.
However, even if initially you had begun to work for Doflamingo just to prevent him from speaking to Corazon about your feelings, you had to admit that you enjoyed working in the company. Baby 5 and Buffalo were really nice fellows, Jora was exasperating but kind on her particular way, and even if Senor Pink got on your nerves when he was in a seducing mode he was also really funny. And even if you didn't know the rest of the family as much you felt that you didn't mind to know them more.
And well, about Doflamingo, even if you were embarrassed to admit it you couldn't possibly hate him anymore after seeing how far the man was willing to go for you the other day. And yeah, the man kept being scary as hell, and a manipulating bastard , and a ganster, but damn it, you couldn't possibly find yourself caring about that anymore and that was bad!
"(y/n)?"
"I-I don't know, okay?", you answer in a panic while blushing because why the hell Doflamingo looked as if he exactly knew what had gone through your head?!, "m-maybe because of you I have Stockholm Syndrome or something, but the thing is that I want to help you all so you should make the most of it instead of protesting, don't you think?!"
After an embarrassing silence all the members of the family begin to laugh, which causes you to turn even redder but you certainly couldn't blame them for their reaction since your answer had been quite curious.
"So Stokholm Syndrome", Doflamingo grins even more with amusement, "does that mean that you are in love with me, (y/n)?"
If you thought that you couldn't get even redder, you were mistaken. Damn it, why the hell you had mentioned that syndrome? You gulp and are about to find a proper reply but at that moment Viola comes to your rescue by suddenly hitting Doflamingo in the back of his neck, the unexpected action causing your eyes almost leave their orbits.
"Doffy, behave", the woman says reproachfully before looking at you with a reassuring smile, "don't mind him. Despite his age he still uses teasing as his main weapon to flirt"
Your mouth falls opened while the family laughs even more than before after hearing Viola, and even if you can't see Doflamingo's eyes because of that stupid pair of lenses you can deduce that the man is glaring at Viola, who was just smiling at him charmingly.
Flirting? You had always assumed that Doflamingo was just mocking you when acting 'in a sexy mode' (as Rebecca called it) with you but could it be that all that time the man had been seriously flirting with you? That the man was interested in you in that way? Come on, that was impossible. The idea was weird as hell and didn't make you feel flattered at all.
"Boss, the teasing technique doesn't work with (y/n). I've tested it with her but her but she doesn't seem to consider neither sexy nor hard-boiled at all"
You are about to burst out laughing together with the family when Senor Pink suddenly says that with a complete serious tone. Doflamingo rubs his temple while exhaling a resigned sigh before finally speaking with a lightly annoyed tone.
"Very well, enough chatting. We have a long night before us", Doflamingo suddenly focuses on you again and you make sure to stop laughing at once, "if you really insist to help despite my warnings go with Baby 5 and Buffalo and speak with Monet. She was our main computer expert when working with us"
After saying that Doflamingo abandons the room followed by Machvise and Gladius.
"It seems that the young Master is a little upset", Jora turns towards Viola, "and it's your fault"
Viola shrugs.
"No, it's his fault for not knowing the proper way of conquering a lady's heart", Viola suddenly winks at you, "but he has also several good points"
You are about to ask why the hell she is directing those words to you but Viola immediately excuses herself and abandons the room, together with the rest of the Donquixote family until just Buffalo, Baby 5 and you remain in the room. Well, at least it was safe to assume that Viola and Doflamingo weren't dating because their behavior just before that couldn't have been more fraternal. And again, that knowledge didn't make you happy in the least.
At the end, the talk via skype with Monet lasted almost an hour, since the woman explained to you with detail the method that they had been using until now to hide the information of the data base. You listened to the solution with attention and eventually concluded it was impossible to implement it in just one night, so you opted for a simplified alternatively that basically consisted in building a program that modified the result of the queries when consulting the data base. That way, when someone searched for the information of a determined client, the retrieved information would be fake and the real important and compromising information would be hidden.
Since Baby 5 and Buffalo didn't know how to program, you assigned them the task of inventing relatively credible information about the clients while you created the program. Rebecca called you at some point of the night, almost hysterical, and you realized too late that you should have warned your friend that you probably were going to spend the night in the company.
After apologizing a thousand to the girl times for having worried her you focused on your job again. While you worked you could hear Trebol's loud complaining 'neeeees' from the neighbor room and Pica's voice, but your brain eventually registered those noises as background music to focus on your task at hand, who was way trickier than you had assumed it'd be because the data base was gigantic and had multiple fields that you had to treat carefully.
In fact, you were so focused that Baby 5 had to call your name almost half-a-dozen of times before you reacted.
"Sorry, what?", you realize at that moment that Jora is in the door with her mobile in hand.
"It's 10 p.m already, dear, so we are ordering dinner", Jora repeats, "what would you like to eat?"
"Oh", you blink several times, trying to remove the code lines out of your eyes. Shit, you should have taken a small break, "what are the options?"
Baby 5 begins to enumerate with her fingers.
"We have already ordered Chinese, Indian and Japanese food, pizzas, hamburgers, hotdogs, and sandwiches"
You stare at Baby 5 in disbelief.
"All that?"
Buffalo and Baby 5 nod at the same time.
"Yes, we all have very different tastes", Buffalo explains, "so ask whatever you want"
You look at Jora and when seeing the woman nod with approbation you make your choice before focusing on your computer again.
"Wait, are you going to continue?", Baby 5 asks with incredulity, "everyone is taking a break in the rest area"
"I'll go in a moment", you say, cursing in a low tone when the program code fails in a line that apparently was perfectly correct, "I just want this to work"
Baby 5 is about to protest but at that moment Jora makes her a gesture indicating her not to insist, so Baby 5 reluctantly leaves the room with Buffalo and Jora, leaving you alone.
You continue typing like crazy, frustrated when seeing that the program keeps failing. You are so concentrated that you don't hear that the door has opened and that someone has entered until suddenly a pair of strong arms land on the table on either side of your body, caging you in the middle.
You let out a high-pithed curse, causing the intruder to chuckle with a familiar 'Fufufu~'. You look up with a frown to find Doflamingo looking at you from above.
"Sorry, I didn't want to scare you"
You snort, deciding not to pay attention to the fact that Doflamingo hadn't his jacket on anymore and that his black shirt adjusted way too perfectly to his well defined body in just the right spots.
"In that case you should have knocked like a normal person", you reply gruffly, focusing on the screen again.
Doflamingo chuckles again and stops caging you. He sits down in Buffalo's chair and observes you. Damn, concentrating was a little more difficult now.
"Something isn't working?", Doflamingo comments then when you almost sends flying the backspace key of the keyboard.
"No, it isn't", you say with another curse, "and it should, dammit"
Doflamingo observes you with amusement for several more seconds until talking again.
"You know, I'm not one to talk because I tend to be rather obsessive as well when I'm in the middle of something, but it's true that taking a break is necessary"
"I know, I know", you exclaim a relieved 'yes' when finally that line of code stops failing, "but I'm about to finish here"
"That's what you told Baby 5 fifteen minutes ago", Doflamingo stands up from his chair and approaches you.
"I know, but this time I'm really about to fini-wow!"
Suddenly, you find yourself raised in the air and it takes you a moment to realize that Doflamingo has just lifted you princess style.
"W-What the…?", you automatically encloses your arms around Doflamingo's neck to have a hold onto something and blush when feeling Doflamingo's pectorals against your right side, "h-hey, put me down!"
"Don't worry, I will", Doflamingo begins to walk towards the door, "but just when we are in the rest area"
"B-But I can walk myself, you know?"
"Yes, I know, but this way I'll make sure that you arrive at your destination"
You exhale a patient sigh while Doflamingo carries you bridal style along the corridor as easily as if you were as light as a feather.
"Are you really going to carry me all the way?"
"Yes"
"The rest area is in the first floor"
"I know"
"So we are going to ride the elevator like this?"
"Yes"
You exhale another exasperated sigh when Doflamingo carries you inside the elevator, but this time you are fighting not to laugh because of the ridiculous situation.
"Okay, and what if I promise you that I will go to the rest area? Would you put me down?"
Doflamingo hums to himself in an obvious exaggerated way before nodding.
"Alright, but you aren't you comfortable like this?", Doflamingo asks with a mocking questioning tone while beginning to put you down.
"Oh, yes, I'm in Heaven. I wish you'd carry me like this all day", you regret your ironic answer when Doflamingo stops and is about to raise you again, "it's a joke, it's a joke, put me down, please"
Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your hurried petition and finally allows you to step on the floor safe and sound.
"Just out of curiosity, you do this with all your employers when they reject to take a rest?"
"Of course. That's the best way to assure that they take the rest they need to perform well"
"Interesting. And isn't it difficult to carry Trebol? Or Pica?"
"No, the most difficult to carry is Senor Pink. The last time he began to shout that it wasn't hardboiled to be carried that way and the elevator almost collapses because of his struggles"
The ridiculous image that Doflamingo's words make appear in your head causes you to begin to laugh, interrupting your previous irony game.
"I win"
You exhale a sigh after your laugher calm down and when looking at Doflamingo you see the man is grinning triumphantly, and you don't know if it's for the situation, for the day that has been weird and long, or for what, but it's the first time that you find Doflamingo's smirk incredibly attractive instead of enervating. Indeed, you realize with stupor that that smirk of his could easily rival the warm smiles of Corazon that, until now, had always been one of your weaknesses.
Damn it. What the hell was happening to you?
At that moment the doors of the elevators open and Senor Pink appears in front of you.
"Oh, you are here already. I was going to find you two since it was taking you a lot to com-"
The poor Senor Pink shows a confused expression when you burst out laughing again, while Doflamingo adopts an obviously fake confusing expression that doesn't fool anyone.
After having a quick (though rather copious dinner) with the family, all of you came back to work. Doflamingo wasn't exaggerating when saying before that you were going to spend the night locked in the company, since you didn't finish the program until noon and you still had to add the information that Buffalo and Baby 5 had been creating during those hours.
Fortunately, since the work that remained was rather mechanic you took turns to introduce the fake information, so while one of you was working the other two were resting in the sofas that were in your office.
And that way, just when the company was about to open, you introduce the last data, finally putting an end to that tiring sleepless night.
"Done", you exhale to yourself, since Baby 5 and Buffalo are snoring in the sofas completely exhausted.
You rub your face with both of your hands before leaning your forehead against your desk. Finally it was over. Damn, while studying your degree there had been a couple of times that you had needed to stay awake at night to study, but you had never spent the whole night awake. Jeez, you didn't know if you were going to be able to go that afternoon to Corazon's shop. Right now the only thing you wanted was to sleep in a proper bed.
Without realizing, you fall asleep for almost fifteen minutes while leaning on your desk, and you don't wake up until the phone of your desk begins to sound loudly, waking up Baby 5 and Buffalo as well.
"Yes?", you are still sleepy when answering, but you focus when hearing Doflamingo at the other side of the line.
"(y/n), the police inspector is here and has asked us to let him take a look into the database"
You wake up completely when hearing Doflamingo's words. Oh shit, you had barely time to check that everything worked perfectly.
"Who is it?", Buffalo asks when seeing your panicked expression.
"The police inspector", you vocalize, causing Baby and Buffalo to gasp.
"What? Already?!", Baby 5 exclaims.
"(y/n), do you think we can go to see it now or it's better if we wait for you to finish the routine checking?"
You gulp. Doflamingo was obviously offering you a little more of time to finish, but considering that he had said 'routine checking' that time couldn't be much.
"How are the rest going?", you ask hurriedly at Baby 5, who had ran towards her own phone and was talking to the neighbor office.
"They are about to finish but they still need more time", Baby 5 answers rapidly.
"How much?"
Baby 5 gulps.
"15 minutes or so"
You bite your bottom lip. Shit, it was risky as hell to show the database without having carried out the testing but you didn't have any other choice.
"Well, since the other office is still with the verifications it's better if you come here first"
Baby 5 and Buffalo look at you with horrified faces and you can just shrug with impotence. Since the other members hadn't finished yet you were the ones who had to take the risk.
"Very well. We will be here in five minutes, since before I want to show this gentleman the rest of the company"
The moment Doflamingo hangs up you rapidly ask Buffalo and Baby 5 to begin to check that everything worked fine. Five minutes weren't close to enough but that was the time you had. You made sure to consult the most important clients, since it was probably that the inspector tried to find information of those, and when verifying that that worked you relaxed a little.
Exactly 5 minutes later someone knocks at the door. Baby 5, Buffalo and you interchange nervous glances before taking a deep breath. You vocalize a soundless 'Ready?' and when they nod you answer with a tense 'Come in'.
The door opens and Doflamingo enters. He is wearing again his complete suit and he is followed by his two bodyguards and a young police inspector with pink hair and round violet glasses.
"Everyone, this is inspector Coby. He is here in Smoker's name and has brought an order that allow him to inspect at its heart content, so make sure that you follow his indications"
Inspector Coby clears his throat at that moment and asks you to consult the database with a loud voice that makes evident how nervous he was despite his attempts of showing determination. However, when he accesses the database you get pale because despite his appearance, the inspector knew exactly what he was doing, and the inspection he was doing was scarily thorough.
The young man spends almost ten minutes checking everything. He makes some occasional questions that Baby 5, Buffalo and you manage to answer without any problem at all and when the man, clearly disappointed, stands up from your seat you suppress the urge of letting out a loud relieved sigh.
The Inspector asks then to look over the company documents and Doflamingo obviously agrees with a fake polite smile that just frustrates the young inspector even more. Just before leaving Doflamingo offers you, Baby 5 and Buffalo an approving smile, and when the door closes behind them you three let out the air that you had been holding.
"Oh god", Baby 5 flops into the sofa with a hand over her chest, "my heart is about to explode"
"Mine too", Buffalo says with such a breathless voice that causes you to chuckle with nervousness.
"Well, it seems that we made it", you say with relief, "let's hope that the rest have had enough time to finish"
At the end the rest had enough time, because when the inspector Coby abandoned the neighbor office his frustration was awfully palpable.
"Alright, everything seems to be in check", inspector Coby says reluctantly.
Doflamingo's smirk turns cruel.
"Good. In that case could you do me a favor?", Doflamingo leans over the young boy, who this time is unable to hide his apprehension, "please, tell your chief that no matter how hard he tries, our total integrity will be proved over and over again. And that next time that he decides to pay us a surprise visit, I will pay him back in the same way. Have I made myself clear?"
You sincerely admire the inspector when he dares to half-close his eyes at Doflamingo when clearing detecting the threat in the man's message. It was incredible that the menacing man that was now in front of the inspector was the same man that the night before had been playfully joking with you in the elevator. Definitely, Doflamingo was a complicated man. A man who it was better not to have as an enemy.
"I will retransmit your message", inspector Coby says after clearing his throat, probably to recover his lost voice, "thank you very much for your time. You don't need to accompany me to the exit"
After saying that, the inspector Coby walks (a little rapidly) towards the elevator. Trebol doesn't even wait for the doors to close behind the young man and begins to laugh loudly.
"Behehehehe! We did it, neeee! That stupid Smoker has been unable to catch us again, neeee!"
"Trebol! Don't be so loud: the inspector could be listening!"
"Pica, you are being louder than Trebol"
Pica huffed when hearing Diamantes' reproach and everyone laughed at that.
"Thank goodness that Viola managed to delay the hour of the visit", Senor Pink said, biting his pacifier a couple of times with energy, "at first they planned to arrive an hour or so before"
"I insist that a brief conversation wouldn't have hurt anyone, iiin. Except probably him, iiin"
While the family keeps celebrating the success of the inspection you lean against the wall of the corridor and close your eyes. Now that everything was over you could feel tiredness finally reaching you. Damn, you really needed to sleep…
"(y/n)", as always that you hear that voice, your eyes open again to look at Doflamingo, "I know that the only thing you probably want right now is to go home but can you accompany me to the office for a moment? It will be a second"
You nod before following the man. While you pass by the family everyone begins to thank you for your hard work and you manage to answer back with a shy smile. A part of you felt a little guilty because you knew that the correct thing to do would have been to support the inspector, not the family, but deep inside you couldn't help to feel happy for having been able to help them.
"Take a seat", Doflamingo offers you when you are in his office.
"I prefer to keep standing", you reply, "if I sit I'm afraid to fall asleep"
Doflamingo chuckles when hearing your sleepy answer.
"Don't worry, I promise that I will be brief"
Before leaning against his own desk facing you Doflamingo removes his jacket again and you wake up momentarily when the movement causes his black shirt to perfectly outline his broad chest.
"Well…", Doflamingo leans his hands on the desk on either side of his body, "basically I want to thank you, (y/n). I really doubt that we could have done everything in time without your help, and for that reason you are free to ask me anything you want. I will fulfill your petition, no matter what it is"
Your eyes snap opened. You weren't expecting Doflamingo's sudden offer, and you were honestly too tired to think about what you wanted right now.
Doflamingo seems to notice that because he chuckles and talks again.
"However, I think it's better if you are completely awake before asking. Your eyes are about to close on his own so go home and rest. You clearly deserve it"
Suddenly, something that Doflamingo has just said clicks inside your head, and before even thinking you are talking.
"Eyes"
Doflamingo, who has been about to circle his desk to sit on his chair, looks at you with curiosity.
"What?"
You gulp, feeling your heart beat hysterically in your chest for what you were going to ask next.
"Your eyes. I…", you gulp, "…I would like to see them"
The silence that falls suddenly in the room while Doflamingo just keeps staring at you makes you regret immediately your request.
Shit, obviously you were talking in your sleep, what kind of petition was that?! It's true that you have always felt curious about why the hell Doflamingo never showed his eyes but probably he had a good reason for it! What if he had a horrible scar that he wanted to hide? Or what if he was missing an eye? Or what if…?
However, your worries vanish when Doflamingo begins to laugh loudly.
"(y/n), you are one of a kind", Doflamingo crosses his arms in front of his chest while watching you with a wide smirk, "I give you the chance to ask anything from me and you ask for that? Do you realize that you could ask me to stop forcing you to work for me?"
You blush intensely. Damn, you were really an idiot. That possibility hadn't crossed your mind in the least. Shit, you surely was really tired if you almost lost that chance by asking something as ridiculous as seeing Doflamingo's eyes. Definitely, asking Doflamingo to finish the contract with you would be the most logical thing to do.
After all, that was what you want the most, right? To keep working just for Corazon and not to have to deal with sleepless tense nights anymore while doing surely illegal stuff. Yes, you didn't want to keep working for Doflamingo. You didn't want…
"Don't worry, (y/n), I'll be benevolent and I'll pretend I haven't heard your first petition", Doflamingo reassures you, "so what is it? Do you want to stop working for me?"
You gulp.
Damn it, why the hell you didn't want that?
"No", your mouth is faster than your brain, so when you speak your voice comes a little faltering, "a-actually, working for you is not as bad as I thought I'd be, so I don't mind to keep working here"
Surprisingly, Doflamingo didn't look surprised in the least when hearing you. Damn it, how could that be when you yourself was still in shock for your own answer?
"Well, I'm glad to hear that you don't mind to work here", Doflamingo repeats with amusement your last words, indicating you that he knows perfectly that you have purposely avoided to say that you liked to work there, "then, does that mean that your first petition remains?"
You gulp again and after hesitating you nod. Doflamingo grins and situates just in front of you before bending down so that his face was at your level.
"Alright, (y/n). Satisfy your curiosity"
It takes you a moment to understand that Doflamingo has just given you permission to remove his glasses.
You feel your heart become hysterical inside your chest while you raise your hands to approach them to Doflamingo's face. For goodness sake, what was wrong with you? Why the hell were you so agitated? Come on, you were going to take his glasses off, it wasn't as if you were undressing him and removing that tight black shirt to…okay, thinking about undressing Doflamingo wasn't going to calm you down but just the contrary, damn it!
"(y/n), my glasses aren't going to explode or anything, it's safe to touch them"
"I-I know that!", you snap when hearing Doflamingo's ironic comment. You suppress the urge of taking a deep breath. Okay, here you go.
After carefully grabbing the glasses' legs you get mentally prepared to see a horrible scar or an empty eye socket.
However, when you finally remove Doflamingo's lenses, the only thing that you see is a completely normal (and beautiful) pair of brown eyes, that were incredibly similar to Corazon's ones though a little shaper, looking back at you with a glint of utter diversion in them.
"Disappointed?", Doflamingo asks with irony.
You shake your head rapidly, feeling your heart beat even more rapidly. Crap, Doflamingo talking with his eyes on full display was new and made you incredibly nervous.
"No, not at all. It's just that I thought that there was something wrong with your eyes since you…well, since you never show them"
Doflamingo chuckles before incorporating again.
"No, there's nothing wrong with them. I always wear glasses because my dear father used to say that no one takes seriously a man who is unable to show his eyes to the world because that's a sign of cowardice, so I just wanted to prove him how wrong he was"
Something in the way Doflamingo mentions his father makes you deduce that they weren't in good terms, and now that you realized you had never heard Corazon speak about his father. Maybe you should ask him the next day. After all, you have asked Doflamingo more than enough for today.
You are going to return the glasses to Doflamingo when the man shakes his head negatively.
"You can keep them, I have several pairs. Although…", Doflamingo smirks and signals the glasses with his eyes, "could you put them on before leaving?"
You blink with surprise but since his petition was curious and not too unreasonable you obey. The glasses were a little big for you but you still manage to wear them more or less comfortably.
"So?", you say with an ironic smile, extending your arms, "do they suit me?"
Doflamingo doesn't answer directly. He simply stares at you with intensity before taking a slow deep breath, and when talking next his tone has a hint of hunger on it that makes you whole body shudder, although you still don't know if it's because of fear or for another completely different reason.
"Yes, they do"
Doflamingo licks his lip slowly while keeping his brown eyes locked on you, and this time when you shiver again you are convinced that it's not because of fear.
"W-Well, I think I should be going", you hurriedly remove the lenses and clear your throat while slowly putting some distance between Doflamingo and you, "this Friday I have to come to the office so I'll see you then. Bye"
Without daring to look at Doflamingo again you turn around and practically run from Doflamingo's office, blushing intensely while hearing Doflamingo's characteristic laugh accompany you until you reach the elevator.
You lean against the wall of the elevator and absentmindedly play with Doflamingo's glasses, that you are still sustaining in your hands. You remember that pair of intense brown eyes fixed just on you and another involuntarily shiver traverses by your body.
Damn it.
What in the earth was happening to you?
You are falling in love, (y/n). You are falling in love :D
Next chapter: biiirthday party! Will something happen between Doflamingo and you in a more relaxed ambience? Who knows :)