The wind and rain were increasing by the second to the point Doflamingo's ability to see clearly was beginning to be affected, but he was determined to get to his destination. Since there was not a safe place to pull over on the winding road, he turned the wipers up to the fastest setting and kept the fog lights on, along with his headlights to try to keep the black asphalt of the highway illuminated as best as possible.
His radio was on, but the sounds had become a useless noise in the background as he leaned his large frame forward over the steering wheel while attempting to see ahead of him. Despite his desperation to get to the restaurant on time, and despite his usual recklessness, the blond slightly lightened the pressure of his foot on the accelerator and allowed his Lexus LX600 to slow down some on the slickened road. Up to now the handling of the vehicle had allowed him to keep speeds of eighty or more, even in this terrible storm. Now, at best, he would do well to go sixty and not miss any of the sharp turns that ocean-lined Highway 1 was famous for.
Doflamingo smirked to himself as he thought about his metallic pink Lexus. This model will not be released for at least another two to three years, but one of his business partners was eager to make him happy and offered this as a perk to accepting a contract. He would be sure to thank his partner for the gift, doing as well as it was in getting him to his destination tonight, even if he was not going quite as fast as he wanted.
Truth be told, he had wanted to take the fuchsia Corvette up the coast from his estate in San Jose, but his daughter had insisted he take something safer due to the storm advisory the area had been under. He tried to assure her he would be fine, but then she started to cry. Now he was glad he had listened, even if the Lexus was their family vehicle and not quite as spectacular.
His original intention was to take one of the flashier sports cars to draw more attention to himself, and to increase his appearance of a desirable bachelor. Doflamingo had been pursuing something far more important than a business contract for a couple of years now, and tonight he had planned out one of his greatest strategies yet to prove his devotion to one of the other members on a board he was a part of. He was 29 years old and ready to commit. Surely if the other sees how serious he is, they will at least give him a chance!
The board was a subdivision of the governor's fiscal committee to safeguard and monitor the responsibility of contributors within California's political parties. This alone made the blond want to laugh, as it was all just a facade to let the governor and his friends take bribes from whomever they wanted, but police other government officials and businesses that weren't in the governor's pocket. Because of this, the board members had become known as 'The Government's Lapdogs'. However, in return the government essentially turned a blind eye to members' own unsavory business dealings, and they were exempted from millions in taxes each year. With these benefits, Doflamingo was willing to play the governor's little game.
However, what he wasn't willing to do any longer was to continue to have his feelings left unreciprocated by his beautiful, dark-haired treasure any longer. From the day Doflamingo had joined the board and laid eyes on the senior member, he had lost his heart to that Adonis of a man. With how much the other man consumed his thoughts, the blond had spent not only his time but his money too. He drafted so many 'coincidental meetings' to try and catch the other's attention, just so he could prove his affection. Thus far, he had nothing to show for it, unless one were to count disdainful looks and snarky comments.
Tonight's event had been publicized as a fundraising gala for the governor's re-election. Truthfully, it is more of a private party being held at a Mendocino country club restaurant to allow the governor and his friends to get drunk and decide how to funnel more money into their pockets. However, Doflamingo planned to use the affair for his own agenda. He had bought a very expensive present that he had personally designed to give to his love and planned to stop with the innuendos and state his feelings plainly.
This was the night, and nothing was going to get in his way. He was wearing one of his finest suits, courtesy of his brother Rosi and son Law. They had helped him pick this one since they insisted that the one he liked was obscene. The nerve! Though in the end, once Giolla had helped him with his hair and his daughter Baby 5 helped select his cologne, Doflamingo had to admit he looked hot and was more irresistible than ever.
He continued thinking about the upcoming event tonight as he came around another bend in the road a few miles past Whitesboro. He knew it shouldn't be much longer to wait now, as he did not have much further to go. Doflamingo reached over and lovingly took the small, velvet gift box into his hand and ran his thumb along the exterior. While continuing to drive north, he lost himself in thoughts of slate-gray eyes and raven hair.
As he was taking some sharper turns past Albion, a shrill noise came from the radio that would normally precede either a weather problem or an Amber alert. As he put down the box and turned up the volume, he found it was neither. Apparently, there was a bank robbery and a high-speed chase in the vicinity. It was at that moment he approached an area completely curving around the cliffside, Doflamingo was sure he saw something shimmering in the surrounding darkness.
He removed his glasses and squinted to try to see through the rain and haze when he rounded the curve and was blinded by bright lights in his eyes. A car with high beams on was in his lane, multiple police cars several hundred meters behind it, and it was coming far faster than he could react. A fraction of a moment later Doflamingo hit his brakes and turned his steering wheel, but the car slammed headlong into his SUV. The sounds of screeching metal and shattering glass filled his ears.
His stomach lurched as the SUV spun and slammed into the towering embankment to his right. His face burned where glass shards nicked him, and his head felt like it was exploding as it was smashed against the airbag deploying next to him. The slick surface of the pavement beneath him, with the force of the speed and impact of his vehicle hitting the wall, caused his Lexus to be flung back to the other side of the road and into the guardrail. He could hear the twisting of metal before it gave way, and the vehicle went over the edge of the cliff to the shoreline below.
Doflamingo grabbed onto the steering wheel behind the airbag and braced himself for the coming impact. However, he was not prepared for the actuality of what came when a jagged rock from the shoreline below pierced through the driver's window, ripped the airbag that blocked the door, and smashed into the side of his head. Pain tore through his whole body and blood began to flow in earnest from his injury. As darkness overtook him, slate-gray eyes again filled his mind, he smiled despite himself.
"Croc…."
Springtime had come and Crocodile Newgate was busy with the logistics of contracts and financial disputes between the government and some Northern California Native American Tribes. He is only 34 but had amassed a fortune with his line of Rain Dinner Casino-Resorts and came to California three years ago to dip his fingers into the pot of Native Casino gambling and see what profit he could skim from some of the smaller, more naive tribes.
He had done his research and found a few of them, such as a small tribe of less than 100 members in a county just outside of Sacramento that owned a casino to rival one of his own in Vegas. The profits were staggering, yet the tribe had previously known nothing but abject poverty prior to their windfall and knew nothing of how to handle the financial aspects. In short, they were ripe for a clever businessman such as himself to take them for everything and never have to pay a dime of taxes, nor would he ever get caught. He would practically be a king.
He had relocated his small family to a new home on 100 acres in the lush country of southern Yuba County, away from the city but not so far that he couldn't get to what he needed quickly. Crocodile quickly turned on the charm and introduced himself to the Chief of said tribe, Cobra Nefertari, after having used all the resources at his disposal to learn what he could of the other man.
Chief Nefertari was a widower, his wife had been killed by a drunk driver the year before, and he had a young daughter that was very close in age to Crocodile's own youngest son. He decided that would work to his advantage, as he himself was a single parent, though the circumstances were very different. He decided to use this position to his advantage when he brought his son Luffy with him to meet the Nefertaris for the first time.
His son was four at the time, and nothing if not a ball of energy and friendliness. His sunny disposition often caused even the surliest individual to relax, and Crocodile could not see where this would be any different. He could already feel the coffers of the tribe's casino opening to reward him for his shrewdness.
Two hours later, when he shook the chief's hand and called for his son, Crocodile had to fight to keep the smirk from breaking out onto his thin lips. Gaining the trust of this simple man had been mere child's play. Everything had gone smoothly and according to plan.
Then he turned to call Luffy again but saw his son walking towards him while holding the hand of a small girl with blue hair and big, brown eyes. Crocodile's mouth went dry, and his breath caught in his throat. He knew that look of fierce protectiveness and could practically hear his scheme falling apart before his son even said a word.
"Dad, this is Vivi, and you need to tell her that she's family! Her family is broken, so she's been lonely, but now she has us and found family is just as good as blood, right dad? Tell her!" his chocolate eyes were burned fervently, and his narrow brows were furrowed together as he boldly claimed her into their brood. The small girl just watched the boy with a hopeful look, but Crocodile could see a deep sorrow buried in eyes that looked like she had endured far too much pain for one so young.
"Now, Luffy, I don't know that her father would appreciate you saying that" Crocodile began to attempt to deflect the situation. He could feel the young girl's eyes move from his son to himself and he watched the flicker of optimism begin to dim, causing a stab of pain to his chest, but he steeled himself and kept speaking. "She has a father that loves her and–"
"No! That's not it! She's lonely and someone important to them is gone! They can both be part of our family then, right? Vivi says her dad cries too, so he must be lonely too… It's just like Ace and Sabo. It's not about blood, it's about belonging to people that care about you. You say it all the time! Tell her!" Luffy's lower lip began to stick out in a pout, and he tugged on the smaller girl until she was standing in front of himself, forcing Crocodile to come face-to-face with her.
Crocodile looked over to Cobra and took notice of the shocked expression on the slightly older man's face, but also noticed the tears shimmering in the corners of the man's eyes. Whether it was at his son's words or the revelation at the loneliness of his only daughter, Crocodile was unsure, but he knew this man was too emotional to speak at this point.
He sighed and got down on one knee to meet Vivi's gaze. Crocodile was a man that knew when he was beat, and he would never do anything to harm someone his son cared about. It was obvious that though it would not be like when he adopted Luffy's older brothers, this girl was about to become another member of their little patchwork family. Suddenly he wondered if, as he was aging, if he was turning into his father. Were the atmosphere not so serious, Crocodile would have to chuckle at himself.
"Vivi, Luffy is right. I know it can be very hard to have people we love go away to places we cannot follow, but then sometimes we meet people that will love us and care for us no matter what. That is family. It does not matter if you are connected by blood or deep friendship, it's love between you that counts. So, I think my son has plans to ease your loneliness, and" Crocodile reached over to run his fingers through his son's dark locks, causing the boy to break into a huge smile, "he isn't the type to let you stay sad. If he decides you are his Nakama, that's it. Might as well accept it." He smiled at the girl.
She stared at Crocodile for several moments and then tears filled her eyes, but she smiled. Luffy grabbed her into a warm hug and Crocodile stood to watch the children next to Cobra. It was at that point he fully relented and let go of his plans to infiltrate the casino while looking around at the grateful eyes of the Nefertaris and hearing his son's gleeful laughter. From that day, the Nefertaris were indeed an extended part of their family and Vivi was often at the Newgates' estate playing with Luffy and his brothers.
However, he knew that not only was Cobra's tribe still vulnerable, but so were numerous others across the state. Since then, he had developed a non-profit corporation to find and help these tribes manage their casinos with everything from the finances to building resorts so they could draw more business, and even going over the contracts the government developed to ensure that the tribes were not being deprived of deserved assets or rights.
He had ties to California for nearly a decade, having sat on the governor's board for fiscal oversight despite not being a resident until coming to see the Nefertaris, but he had numerous lavish resorts throughout the state to cater to the rich and famous. That had been his motivating factor in looking for a way to breach California's strict gaming laws. Gambling was restricted to Native American casinos and Crocodile had become famous for his casino-resorts, so it irked him that in one of the greatest economies of the world, he was being denied access to do what he did best.
However, despite being on the governor's board, Crocodile did not like the government either. In creating his non-profit, he had found an outlet for his talents that had the bonus of safeguarding people that were important to him and making sure the government did not get their way. So, spring was a season when he backed off the normal management of his Rain Dinners enterprise and focused on the tribes. July would begin the new fiscal year for government contracts and Crocodile was a very meticulous man and wanted to ensure every advantage was taken in favor of the people he protected.
He finished the last page of the contract he had spent the better part of the afternoon on and sat in his outbox for his assistant, Robin, to notarize and then send to Sacramento by courier tomorrow. She had been an amazing find, graduating top of her class while enrolled in all AP courses from her freshman year, earning her degree simultaneously with her high school diploma. She was intelligent, savvy, and her keen eye for detail was an asset that applicants much older than her 18 years didn't have. He hired her on the spot and was paying for her post-graduate education. She had proven herself more than worth it.
Crocodile leaned back in his chair and wearily brought his right hand to his face to rub his eyes with his thumb and middle finger while stretching his left arm high above his head. It was hours sitting at a desk like this that caused him to have muscle cramps and phantom pains in his left arm where his hand had been amputated due to an accident as a teenager. He knew he should try to get up and move more, but there was so much work to be done, and it was his personal policy to be home for dinner each night if possible.
He began to gather up the paperwork on his desk and clean up his area while preparing to go home to his family for the night. He then ran across another pink telephone message, written in Robin's neat cursive. 'Doffy is being released home today. Please come see him. We think it will help. Rosinante.' He snorted and added the note to the stack of others that had been piling up over the last few months.
He began to stand and then took notice of the gold crocodile paperweight sitting on his desk that had been gifted to him last year by Doflamingo. The damned bird had made a nuisance of himself from the day they had met when the other had joined the board, always inviting Crocodile out for a drink or sending little gifts or flowers like he was some damned girl or something. Could he know? No! There's no way…
Crocodile sat back down and picked up the paperweight, feeling the heavy coolness of the metal in his hand. It was an extravagant gift that had obviously cost quite a bit. Why would that idiot spend so much money? He looked around his office and spied other trinkets the pink menace had sent over the last few years. A platinum picture frame Crocodile used for a picture of the boys with Vivi, a crystal vase that originally held two dozen red carnations, several decanters of expensive whiskey, and a box of his favorite cigars that were now beginning to run low since they were sent just prior to the fool's accident that put him in the hospital for four months.
He thought back to the night of the governor's fundraiser when Doflamingo was in that accident. Crocodile had been drinking in preparation for whatever unwanted attention that stalker had for him, but as the night went on, said stalker never appeared. At first it was just a mild curiosity, but the later it became, Crocodile found himself becoming anxious and began drinking heavier as the night wore on. When the news came that Doflamingo's unmistakable pink Lexus had gone over a cliff, Crocodile vomited right there in front of everyone.
Later he would blame a mixture of alcohol and eating tainted shrimp, but inside he really could not figure out why he had reacted in such a manner. His stomach had felt like it had dropped to his knees and his chest had tightened painfully at the news, then he became ill. Before he knew it, the alcohol he had drunk that night was all over his very expensive leather shoes. He ended up calling his right-hand man, Daz, to come in and help him to the car. They rented a room at a hotel down the road, and he passed out till the next day.
When he awoke, Crocodile showered and changed into fresh clothing before sitting down to eat the food Daz had acquired from a little restaurant further in town. He opened the paper and saw the headline staring at him on the front page. The CEO of the Donquixote Corp had been hit by a fleeing bank robber that had multiple warrants and a sizable stash of drugs and weapons in his vehicle. Crocodile sipped his coffee and read the details, snorting a little to himself as he read what the man was in possession of besides stolen cash. It was likely that it was one of the idiot flamingo's side businesses or partners that the contraband came from. Doflamingo was known as an international trader in illegal goods. 'Serves him right,' he thought spitefully, only after he had ensured that Doflamingo had survived the crash.
After that, the messages began piling up from Doflamingo's family members, but mostly his brother. They had kept asking Crocodile to come to the hospital to visit since he was in a coma the first couple of months, but he could not bring himself to do it.
Crocodile hated hospitals. Ever since he was six and his mother had spent the remaining few months of her life in one, he avoided them at all costs. Just the smell of certain disinfectants would cause him to shudder and become almost violent with anger. So why would he put himself through the stress of going into such a hellhole for a fool like Doflamingo?
Crocodile's gray eyes grew hazy as his thoughts drifted off while continuing to stare at the gold paperweight in his hand. He gently traced his forefinger along the intricate scales engraved into its side and moved along to the details of the creature's underbelly. This truly was a beautifully crafted piece of art, and quite unique. He almost wondered if Doflamingo had it commissioned…
A loud knock at the door startled him out of his reverie and brought him back to the present. "Sir? Are you ok? Dadan just called and she wasn't very happy that you are late for dinner," Robin's smooth alto drifted through the thick, mahogany door.
Late? Crocodile gathered his scattered thoughts and pulled his grandfather's pocket watch from his lapel and flipped it open. "Shit!" He rarely ever cursed out loud in such a manner, feeling that such vulgarity was beneath him, not to mention there were usually three or four impressionable sets of ears within his vicinity. However, considering he had somehow lost nearly forty-five minutes daydreaming over that good for nothing piece of–
"Sir?" Robin called out again.
"Yes, Robin, I am here. Give Dadan my apologies and tell her I will be right there," he said while standing and grabbing his coat from the back of his chair to put on. He put the paperweight back in its resting place from where he had dropped it and headed towards the door, shuddering as he thought about facing the red-haired nanny's wrath when he returned home. Fortunately, it was only Tuesday, so the traffic on I-80 should be light and he should easily make the drive home in less than 20 minutes tonight. If he broke… overlooked a few speeding laws.
He bid his assistant goodnight as he passed the pretty brunette and then headed to the parking garage to get into his BMW to head home for dinner with his family. The drive was indeed a short one, and fortune was on his side, since there was not a highway patrol anywhere to be seen tonight, and he quickly approached the gates that enclosed his property.
As he pulled up to the house, he saw his ten-year-olds, Ace and Sabo, up one of the higher branches of a black walnut tree that was in front of their house. They were laughing and plucking fuzz-covered balls from the tree to throw at a screeching seven-year-old Luffy on the grass at the base of the tree. He was covered in dirt from head to toe and there were streaks in the dirt on his cheeks as though he had been crying at some point. For now, however, his face was bright red and he just looked angry as he screamed at his brothers to stop being mean and to help him climb up the tree too.
Once Crocodile got out of the car, he could hear Dadan yelling at the boys to stop acting like animals and get down before their father gets home. All three boys were completely ignoring her, despite every threat she was promising against their lives. Crocodile simply shook his head and whistled loudly as Ace was pulling back his hand to launch another walnut at his brother. His head whipped towards his father, and he immediately dropped the walnut and put his hands at his sides, Sabo following his lead.
Luffy turned and it was like flipping a switch the way his face went from frustrated and angry to overjoyed. "Dad!" he screamed and ran as fast as he could to his father. When he was close enough, Luffy leapt off an overhanging ledge that led down from the walkway to the drive where the adults parked their vehicles and into Crocodile's arms. Had he not been used to his son's impulsiveness, Luffy's actions could easily lead to getting hurt, but Crocodile had learned long ago there was no stopping this boy and he just needed to be ready for whatever came.
He grabbed the slender boy into a bear hug and squeezed him tightly, causing him to squeal and cry out while giggling, before swinging him around onto his broad shoulders to ride over to where the others were still waiting. Dadan looked beyond irritated, and the two other boys looked guilty while starting to climb down the tree. Once safely on the ground, both boys looked up at their father with well-rehearsed expressions that were an amazing cross between innocence and soulful regret. He had to even acknowledge the skill these two had put into wrapping him around their fingers.
"Welcome home, dad," Sabo chirped, smiling up at him with his missing tooth showing. He wondered briefly if the adult tooth would ever come in. Seems like it had been at least a year since the boy had lost it. The cool tone of his slightly older adopted son caught his attention.
"Hey, Croc-man. Kind of late, aren't cha?" Ace asked while leaning nonchalantly against the walnut tree with his arms folded across his chest. His dark eyes were partially hidden behind the long reddish-brown hair that refused to stay in place and was constantly falling into the boy's face. Despite this, Crocodile knew there was no real disrespect intended in his son's tone, nor actions. His fiery Ace was often just more hot-tempered than his two brothers, and moods like these often came from his desire to project a facade. Ace hated being seen as vulnerable, so would often keep others at arm's length if it meant protecting his image. His tone must mean Ace noticed the change in Crocodile's usual schedule and was most likely worried, though he would rather die than admit it.
Crocodile simply stepped up to Ace and reached over to smooth his wild hair back, even if it was only going to last a few moments before falling into the boy's face again. He just wanted an opportunity to meet his child with nothing to distract. Once satisfied the flyaway hair would remain still for a bit, Crocodile reached up and took Luffy down to stand him next to Sabo before turning back to Ace.
"You're right, I am late. I apologize for not calling and having worried everyone. I lost track of time but will do better to stay on task next time," he was quick to ease the boy's mind. He could see the tension lessen in Ace's face and his stiff pose became more natural and relaxed. They looked each other in the eyes for a few moments more before Ace snorted and forced a small laugh.
"I wasn't worried, but the crybaby was and so was Sabo and Dadan. I just think next time you should consider their feelings and then I don't have to listen to Luffy bawling and snotting everywhere," he shrugged his shoulders and stood up straight, no longer leaning on the tree. The look on his face may have been softer, but the expression in his dark eyes dared Crocodile to contradict anything he said.
However, Luffy was not willing to stay silent, letting out a screech and running up to his brother to punch him several times in his arm. "You take that back! You was worried too, and I didn't cry until you pushed me out of the tree, Ace, so don't call me names!" Despite his bravado, tears began to form in the corners of the young boy's eyes.
Ace narrowed his eyes at his younger brother and quickly turned to shove him to the ground. "Shut up, Luffy! You don't know anything!" he roared before jumping on top of the smaller child and pinning him in the dirt.
Sabo just sighed and watched the two, knowing better than to get between them, especially when he saw their father's face. Crocodile stood up and then sharply called the boys' names, "Ace! Luffy!" his tone left no room to mistake that he was not serious. It could mean dire consequences when he became this authoritarian, so all eyes were immediately focused on the frowning man.
"Boys, this is unacceptable, and I know you two already know what I am going to say, but it needs to be said all the same," Crocodile allowed Luffy and Ace a few moments to untangle themselves and stand to their feet.
"But dad!"
"Croc-man, you don't understand!"
Crocodile cut off their excuses with a wave of his hand. "Do not even start, boys. You are brothers and that means something! Family is all you have sometimes and though we do not always agree with each other, we should not intentionally hurt each other. Luffy, you were wrong to attack Ace no matter how mad he made you."
The small boy immediately dropped his head and tears began filling the corners of his eyes at the reprimand from his father. Seeing this, Ace immediately smirked and puffed his chest out. "That's right, squirt!"
Crocodile narrowed his gray eyes and turned to his older son. "However, Ace, you are even more responsible for this situation. Luffy is your precious little brother, and you need to protect him. It seems to me that you have been agitating him all afternoon and that makes for a very poor big brother indeed. You should be setting an example for him, not setting him off and then attacking him in return. I can see the bruises from the walnuts, and I watched you tackle him myself. I am very disappointed in your decisions, Ace," he finished and turned to his third son. Ace's eyes widened, anger filling the dark orbs, but quickly dispersed as he knew everything that was said to be the truth. His shoulders slumped and he turned away so no one could see how close he was to tears.
"Sabo, I know you were also teasing Luffy and throwing walnuts at him. You are just as guilty as Ace. He looks up to both of you and that is why he follows you around. I know he is still young, and that can be annoying, but there will come a time when you appreciate family more. Please just be kinder to him."
He turned to face all three of the children, "Though you don't always have to get along, under no circumstances is it alright to purposely harm one another! Is that understood?"
They all mumbled their agreements, still caught up in feelings of guilt. Crocodile, never one for staying mad at his children for very long, grabbed the kids up and hugged them tightly. "Come one, boys! I'm sure dinner is getting cold, and Dadan will have our heads if we have her waiting much longer," he smiled and held them close.
Luffy was the first to start laughing and began chanting, "Meat, meat, meat!" while squirming out of his father's arms and running towards the house. Crocodile laughed, as did Sabo, and even Ace had to allow a small curl of his lip to break onto his face before following the others after his brother.
Later that night, after they had all eaten and Dadan had left for her house, the small family of four were relaxing in the living room and watching tv together as the boys did their homework or other activities. It tended to be a routine that Crocodile enjoyed, and he found it soothing after long days, even if he was often going through paperwork during these times instead of just focusing on one specific thing.
"Hey, turn it up!" Luffy yelled in his boisterous way as one of those random celebrity gossip shows had been going on. It was not anything that Crocodile found the least bit interesting, but the boys often liked watching anything about famous people. They had been a bit disappointed that living in Northern California had not yet provided opportunities to meet celebrities since moving here, so they often watched these types of shows and loved hearing about the ins and outs of the rich and powerful people that they dreamed of meeting one day.
"Dad, isn't that one of your friends? Isn't he the one that they kept asking you to come visit?" Sabo asked, grabbing Crocodile's arm and shaking it to get his attention. His eyes came up and caught sight of the screen as view of Doflamingo Donquixote exiting a very exclusive private hospital in the Bay Area in a wheelchair. He was quite a bit thinner than last time Crocodile had seen him, not to mention he was nowhere nearly as tanned as usual, but that would be expected, considering how long he had been in the hospital. Even the wheelchair would be a standard discharge procedure, so nothing unusual there.
A low and angry rumble began in Crocodile's chest as he continued to listen to some women describe Doflamingo's accident and subsequent recovery. However, as she began to talk about the handsome man assisting him to his awaiting car, the anger flared to rage, and Crocodile could not even understand why. The woman continued to speculate on the tall, dark-haired man dressed in formal military blues and what his relationship with Doflamingo could be. Of course, her job was to embellish and sensationalize every detail, but to insinuate they were so intimate? It was scandalous! The man was in a coma until a couple months ago!
"Croc-man? Croc-man! Dad!" Ace was now at his other arm shaking it and trying to get Crocodile to relax his grip. The boy rarely called Crocodile anything other than that facetious nickname he had made up when they first met, so when he called him 'dad' it truly caught the man's attention. When he looked down, he realized the contracts he had been going over were clenched in his fists and had accidentally been torn apart.
"Boys, I…I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I suppose I was just upset hearing her being so disrespectful when Mr. Donquixote nearly died. She is a silly girl with a silly job. They should not be so intrusive in people's lives," he finished his thought quickly as he looked away from his sons' questioning eyes.
Ace and Sabo stared at their father for a few moments and then exchanged knowing glances. Luffy, however, remained oblivious and continued to watch the tv as the woman talked about an upcoming party being thrown at the Donquixote Estate in San Jose. It would not be for several weeks but promised to be a huge event. The last scene was of the handsome man getting into the back of the car with Doflamingo before it exited the hospital grounds and the woman chattering that perhaps the upcoming event may be more than a celebration of Doflamingo's leaving the hospital and may involve the mystery man he was with.
Crocodile could feel the blood rushing to his head as the veins began to pulse in his temples. He knew he would pay for it later with a mother of a headache, but at this moment in time he really could not care less. He tossed the ruined papers onto the coffee table and began to pace the floor while muttering to himself about useless trash wannabe reporters that have nothing better to do than spread rumors and conjecture to bring misery to the populace at large.
He would stop randomly to pound his fist against a wall or nearby object and either groan loudly or mildly curse and then continue his tirade that only a moron would believe such lies and that even the dumbass bird would have better taste than to be with someone he couldn't have known very long and what about all the gifts and declarations of undying devotion these past years? Were they truly nothing at all? What about this man? Had the idiot just met him or was he behind the scenes the whole time?
"Was I just a joke? A distraction? What was I to him?" Crocodile lamented while collapsing onto the couch and pressing his face into the palms of his hands. He could not believe he had allowed himself to become so troubled by the actions of that pink menace. If anything, he should be thanking whatever gods had brought the other man into Doflamingo's radar to allow Crocodile the chance to find peace without being constantly harassed, but somehow the thought of going on without the other man's exuberant declarations of affection and trinkets made the future seem less bright.
He then felt a small hand on his own, so he sat up enough to pull his face out of his hands and looked into Luffy's chocolate-colored eyes. "Maybe you should ask 'Mingo, dad."
Crocodile's mouth dropped open at his youngest son's words. He loved his son dearly, but he accepted long ago that Luffy was one of the most earnest and simple souls he had ever met. Everything needed to be kept to a basic level to help the boy understand, but perhaps that was an asset. Crocodile knew he, himself, tended to overthink things and needed to plan down to the most minute details. He often drove his subordinates to the brink of insanity with his meticulousness. Perhaps he just needed to be straightforward and confront things as they are.
But the next question is, just how are they? Why is this important anyway?
"Dad, I agree with Luffy." Sabo sat down next to Crocodile on the couch. He put his arm through his father's and leaned up close to him while continuing to speak. "You definitely need to go see Mr. Donquixote. You have been super edgy since he got hurt, so I think it would be a good thing for you to go tell him how you feel and see how he feels too."
"You might as well go, Croc-man. You have been a bigger pain than usual since Birdbrain hasn't been around, so it's pretty obvious that something was up between you two," Ace added with a sly look on his face. Crocodile sputtered and his face went sour at hearing the youngster's words. Ace just shrugged and said, "You call him that all the time, so I figured it was a term of endearment."
Crocodile knew after years of being stuck with his own 'term of endearment' there would really be no point of stopping the boy, and he had in fact been calling Doflamingo that for a while now. He just had not realized how much he had spoken the name in front of his kids, so this was really his own fault. He sighed and pulled his watch from his breast pocket. "It's eight-eleven, so even if we take the helicopter, it is an hour to San Jose and another good twenty minutes to their house from the helipad at the airport. I don't know, boys…" he began.
"His place is big enough! Just land in his yard!" Luffy chirped, waving his arms while spinning in a circle as though he were the helicopter. He quickly became dizzy, though, and fell over. There was a momentary look of shock on his face before laughter quickly replaced it.
"Luffy! I can't just land in someone's yard! That is extremely rude and," he began to correct his son but suddenly memories of two dozen flamingos in his own yard from right after he had met Doflamingo when Crocodile still lived in Nevada flashed across his memory. What was it with that damned bird and the number twenty-four? If he ever sent anything that was more than one, it was always two dozen. He was such an odd fellow… but now was not the time to get lost in his reverie.
"You know what, kids? I think that would be a very suitable plan for the birdbrain. Get your things and meet me at the helipad. I will call the pilot." The boys began to whoop and ran three different directions, leaving Crocodile to smile fondly and shake his head at their enthusiasm. He was going to try being impulsive just this once. He had made his life from the gambling of others. It was the first time he had gambled something himself, and the stakes never seemed higher.
It had been a long day for Doflamingo. His head felt like knives were tearing through him and the light was almost unbearable. "Rob, could you please dim the lights a little more? You've been great today. I'm sorry to ask so much from you," he took his sunglasses down and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before putting the ruby-lensed shades back into place. The blond then reached over to gently brush the dark ponytail back from his company's shoulder as the man nodded and stood to go and further lower the already dimmed lights.
He had met Rob Lucci shortly after awakening from his coma that resulted from an accident, or so he had been told that was the cause. Doflamingo couldn't remember anything since waking. Not about the accident, not about his life before the accident. His body had recovered astoundingly fast from his injuries. He was told the doctors were in awe of how his internal organs seemed to practically have repaired themselves. He knew this was just a metaphorical descriptive and that the surgeons had worked for hours to overcome the damage, but apparently, he had healed remarkably well in the next few weeks. Had he not been in a coma, he would have been released home. He was labeled a medical miracle, they said. Except…
Except something was wrong with his brain. The blow to his head was not healing as expected and he was not waking. His family had been advised to not hold hope after the first week since statistically people in comas that long often sustain significant mental deficiencies, even if they do wake. After the second week they had been informed that they might want to consider pulling the plug. After the third, his body was completely healed and there was no 'plug' to pull. He was fully functioning on his own. Still, the doctors warned his family that Doflamingo would most likely not be alright. And so, it continued for six more weeks until one day at the evening shift change, when his brother had stepped out for a cigarette, a nurse came in to check vitals and found Doflamingo sitting up and asking if he could have a drink of water. She could be heard screaming three wings away.
A blond man came running into the room and tripped over nothing, tumbling end over end, and finally landing at the end of Doflamingo's bed. The nurse ran over to help him, and Doflamingo tried to shrink into the bed away from this obviously deranged intruder. When the man stood there were tears and snot smeared all over his face and he was reaching for Doflamingo with both hands like he hadn't just face planted in the most painful way possible. "Doffy, you're awake! I was so scared you'd never wake up!"
Doflamingo put his hand up and blocked the strange, blubbering weirdo and swallowed as best as he could since it felt like he had sandpaper in his throat. "Please, may I have some water? Then you can tell me who the hell you are and what the fuck a doffy is," he managed to croak out before feeling dizzy and feeing a stabbing pain in his head, causing him to need to lie back down.
Rosinante froze at his brother's words and all the light drained from his eyes. The doctors had warned them repeatedly that Doffy may not be alright if he woke, but he held out hope anyway. They had lost their parents at such young ages, so they only had each other for years. Though they had added others to their little family, they were blood and that meant something. He needed his brother!
"Nurse, please get my brother some water," he gently stopped the nurse from checking him over. He often fell since he was terribly clumsy and pushed her to go get Doflamingo something to drink. It was then that Law and Baby 5 came to the doorway as the nurse exited. Rosinante perked up, hoping that seeing his children would help things. Doffy had always put such importance on family, especially the children. Maybe this would trigger his memory!
"Children! Look who's awake! Doffy! Your kids are here to check on you. They've been here every day since you got hurt," he took Baby 5 by the hand and walked her over to the hospital bed. Doflamingo looked down at her with a confused look on his face and cocked his head to the side in the bird-like mannerism that was so familiar to the family. Rosinante started to take a sigh of relief when his brother spoke.
"Even though I haven't had my drink yet," he cleared his cracking throat to try and speak, as it was obvious that it was dry and painful to talk at this point, "I am going to ask again. What the fuck is a doffy?"
Law walked up to the bed and looked at Doflamingo with a guarded look. At fourteen he was often confrontational, if not outright hostile, towards his adoptive father. They were both very stubborn and very similar personalities, so they butted heads constantly due to their major differences in personal tastes and views.
However, Law loved his father and hated seeing him still and cold in this bed for weeks. He would rather have him be his loud, overbearing, looking like he got dressed in a paper bag self anytime than what he's been for the last month and a half. When he first saw his father sitting up, there was a moment of joy, and then it was gone. Now there is this. Another disappointment. "Doffy is your name, or rather a nickname. Your name is Doflamingo."
Doflamingo just stared at the angry looking teenager, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally snapping it shut. The nurse had come back with his water and handed it to him. He took several large gulps before putting the styrofoam cup on the table next to his bed. He was trying to calm himself and get the pounding in his chest to slow down, as it seemed to increase the pain in his head, when the thin girl with long, black hair let go of the blond man's hand and came up to him next.
She was hesitant, but there was a determined look on her face. Her dark eyes were shining with unshed tears and before he could ask her what she wanted, tears began to fall, and she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so happy that you're awake, dad!" Doflamingo could feel the warm wetness of her tears soaking through the thin hospital gown fabric that covered his shoulder and even with his own heart pounding, he could feel the fluttering of hers through how tightly she had pressed herself against him. As skinny as she was, she had him in a vice-like grip, and even if he could bring himself to try to, he wasn't sure he even wanted to try and pry her off himself. Surely, he must mean something to these people with how they were making such a scene over him, even if he couldn't remember any of them.
He was surprised when he felt his own eyes begin to burn. Doflamingo reached up to rub his eyes and when he pulled his hand away, he saw the moisture on his fingertips. He was crying as this girl claiming to be his daughter was still clinging tightly to him. He looked around the room and saw that the blonde man was bawling harder than the girl was, and even the boy had a soft look on his pale face. His chest began to ache, and tears continued to flow even though he could not place how he knew any of the people in front of him.
Over the next couple of weeks, Doflamingo had met numerous people that were part of his 'family' and it was hard to keep track of them all. He had found that he and his biological brother had been orphaned as children in San Francisco. His parents had come from money, but due to a family dispute, had somehow been pushed out of the family business in Silicon Valley. When they died in a car accident, the brothers were left alone and penniless in the Californian foster care system, being bounced from home to home until they aged out.
Along the way, Doflamingo had met his other family members that were also now business partners. Apparently, they became very close and protected each other from harm since a lot of the group homes and foster parents the brothers ended up being sent to were not very nice places. Rosinante told him that they often were beaten or starved, but that Doflamingo always tried to take the worst of it.
When they became adults, Doflamingo made it his mission to take over his biological family's business in a corporate takeover as revenge for having left the brothers to die like rats on the street. He learned from one of his other "brothers", a man named Vergo, that he seemed to have some more unsavory connections in trade and commerce and the Donquixote Corp was able to force an acquisition about six years ago of a corporation called Mariejois. He dismantled it and dissolved its assets simply out of spite.
Another thing he learned from Vergo was that, although they are technically partners in business, Rosinante is unaware of Doflamingo's darker connections and business dealings. Since he is the CEO, he deals with all the actual operations and the subdivisions of the Donquixote Corp. Rosinante is Vice President. He takes charge of ensuring protection of assets and will often form relations with legitimate business partners. Their "brothers" deal with the anything Doflamingo assigns them to handle, which usually consists of tasks regarding the clients that Doflamingo doesn't want Rosinante to know about. He simply felt Rosinante was too kindhearted for such machinations.
Doflamingo tried to take in all ofall the information that everyone gave him. There were constantly visitors and family members bringing him things. His hospital room was filled with gifts and flowers, but as he looked around, it felt as though someone important was missing. Something was not rightright, and he wondered how he could miss something when he still could not remember any of this in the first place.
When his kids came to see him, it turned out there were two others a ten-year-old son named Buffalo and a toddler named Dillinger, he felt like the man Vergo spoke of was a failure. How could someone who lived for revenge and dealt with the black market ever be a good father to four wonderful children? These kids seem to genuinely love their father, even the oldest one that looks like he eats lemons daily when he comes. The man he is learning about, he is told loves children, and supposedly takes in orphans out of bad situations. So how can he run drugs and trade weapons to foreign nations for profit?
Doflamingo thinks about these things from his hospital bed, and his head will begin to hurt from stress. Trying to remember his past always makes him feel like maybe he was granted a chance to start over, because maybe the old him was not a very nice person. But then he looks at Rosinante and his kids and thinks that they would not love him if he was all bad. Right?
Then there is this aching feeling that someone is missing. A picture of slate-grey eyes and dark hair flashed through Doflamingo's memory. It was only there for a moment, a spectorspecter, and then it was gone but it filled the ache in his chest. The memory, vague as it was, caught him so by surprise that Doflamingo sat up suddenly and cried out. Rosinante had been dozing in a chair next to his bed. The movement startled him out of his sleep, causing him to fall out of his chair and onto the floor.
"Doffy! Are you alright? Do I need to get the nurse?" he asked once he was able to get to his feet.
"No, I…I'm fine. I just think I started–"
A knock at the door interrupted the rest of what Doflamingo was going to say. The governor walked in with several other men. He explained that he had been worried about his favorite board member, and at first Doflamingo listened to what he was saying, though he noted his brother was rolling his eyes, but then he caught sight of one of the men that accompanying the governor. From that point he could only focus on dark hair, pale skin, and a slender waist. This man was gorgeous! He was standing at the back of the group, in an obviously military-trained pose, golden eyes scanning the room and out the window as if looking for something.
Doflamingo managed to get through about fifteen minutes of small talk with the governor, since both Rosinante and Vergo had already filled him in on his duties on the board, which included both legal and illegal activities. After it was apparent the governor planned to leave, Doflamingo spoke up, "So who is this charming gentleman that has been so diligent in watching for your safety?"
"Oh? You were able to tell that is what he was doing?" The governor appeared genuinely intrigued.
Doflamingo smirked and responded, "Just call it intuition."
The dark-haired man watched the interaction between the two men in complete silence, but Doflamingo could sense there was interest sparked in those golden eyes. One thing he had learned about himself was that he was good at reading people. He was sure that this was the trait that had helped his former self go from a discarded orphan to a multi-millionaire in just a few years.
The governor also was one to be able to sense there was something akin to an electric charge between the two men and wondered how this could be used to his advantage. He knew that Doflamingo had been pining over Crocodile Newgate for years and quickly decided having him attached to a new interest that he had influence over would be a good thing. Newgate had made a nuisance of himself the last few years with his non-profit, so he had fallen out of the governor's favor. He did not want to lose a second board member over something so trivial as a relationship.
"Well, let me introduce you then. Doflamingo Donquixote, this is Rob Lucci. He is a very talented Naval Lieutenant of a Special Ops Division. I chose him for his… special talents to be a part of my elite guard in Sacramento to ensure the safety of the capital and of my entourage when we travel. You know things can get quite hairy at times!" he chortled in his nasally voice that Doflamingo was beginning to find grating the longer the man spoke.
Though Lucci would never be so unrestrained as to roll his eyes, he too was becoming irritated by the governor. He stepped up from behind the man and held his hand out to the larger man sitting before him. 'I am not a small man by any means at over six foot four, but even while in bed it is easy to see this man is easily seven feet or more. How is he even able to fit? They must have ordered a special bed…'
He forced himself to come back to the present. It was not like him to wonder about such idle subjects. "How do you do? It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he was not one to usually make such pleasantries, but if duties call for it then he can play nice. PlusPlus, there was something about this blond that had definitely piqued his interest and he wanted to find out what it was.
"Oh, but you have not been pleasured yet. Why don't you allow me the opportunity of taking you to dinner sometime, gorgeous? Perhaps we can get to know each other better and I will make that a reality?" 'Holy shit! Where had that come from? I this the kind of man I truly am?' Doflamingo was shocked as the words just came pouring from his lips. He chanced a sideways glance at his brother and noticed the disappointed look on Rosinante's face, causing Doflamingo's heart to sink. He was glad the children were not here to witness his boorish behavior.
He cleared his throat and dropped his hand. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. What I meant to say was that I would really like to get to know you and hope that you would like to have dinner with me." Doflamingo kept his eyes turned downward, but other than the sounds of the seconds that kept ticking off on the clock on the wall, everything remained stone silent in the room. He finally could not stand it any longer and looked up. Everyone stared at him with looks that ranged from confusion to horror, as if he had lost his mind and was sitting there holding his father's head and a smoking gun.
But not Lucci. Rob Lucci was actually smilingsmiling at him. It was very slight, but a smilesmile, nonetheless. "I would love to have dinner. However, hospital food is trash even if this is the best hospital in Northern California. Arrange to have dinner catered and I will come back this evening." With that he nodded his head at the governor and returned to his previous spot at the back of the room.
The governor and his group continued to gawk at Doflamingo for a few moments more and then he gathered his composure enough to say good day before leaving the brothers to themselves. Once they were gone, Doflamingo turned to his brother and saw he still had that confounded look on his face. The way the other blond was staring at him was making him extremely uncomfortable, so he finally spoke, "Why do people keep looking at me like that?"
Rosinante blushed and looked the other way. "Sorry. It's just that you caught us by surprise. I don't think anyone has ever heard you apologize before." Doflamingo tilted his head to the side and frowned, a movement that did not go unnoticed by his brother despite him not looking directly at the man. "I mean the sincerity of it. We are used to you being an incorrigible flirt, but you corrected yourself. That is…unexpected. It's nice."
Doflamingo huffed and slumped down into his bed. "Well, it didn't help that you were over there looking like you were ashamed of me after the first thing I said to him," he muttered more to himself than to his brother, but Rosinante heard him all the same and smiled.
"Either way, it was nice of you to apologize. Maybe Crocodile Newgate would have been more open to dating you years ago if you would have been more like that with him," Rosinante continued cheerfully while patting his brother on the head and then stood to go outside for a cigarette.
That name made something tighten in Doflamingo's chest. It was as if something was pulling at the back of his mind, but it was just out of reach. He tried to remember his past again, but it was so frustrating how it remained beyond his reach. His head began hurting, so he decided to push the thoughts away for now and concentrate on planning for tonight. There would be plenty of time later for dwelling on his lost past.
The handsome man kept his word and returned that evening, and even brought Doflamingo a gift of a single spotted tiger lily in a black vase. It was stunning and for some reason, the orange-yellow flower suited Lucci very much. He was dressed impeccably in a black suit with black dress shirt and white tie. His hair was loose tonight, buttonight but had been slicked back so that it stayed away from his face, but Doflamingo could see his hair was actually curlycurly and hung in ringlets around his neck. He found himself more than once needing to restrain himself from reaching over and run his fingers through the curls to see if they were as soft as they looked.
They ate and talked, spending a couple of hours discussing politics, art, weather, and all manners of random topics. Doflamingo was surprised at how much knowledge he had about these topics, buttopics but had no memory about his personal life. It was a little irksome, but he was glad he was at least able to entertain his guest since he made sure his family stayed out tonight.
Lucci ended up being a regular face at the hospital, and Doflamingo enjoyed his visits immensely. He felt a warm glow every time he was able to draw one of those subtle smiles out of the aloof man, feeling it was a victory that he could warm up such a cold person. It seemed to make up for… For what, though, he didn't know. He could never finish that thought, but whatever it was that was missing was also holding him back. He knew the possibilities with Lucci could be great, but when he looked into those golden eyes, there was just something that he knew in his heart wasn't right.
Even the ride home from the hospital should have been perfect. Lucci had been attentive and helpful. He helped Doflamingo into the house and had made sure there was a hot meal waiting for him. And even now, when the blond needed anything, he only needed to ask and Lucci was right there, butthere but could not figure out why he was hesitant to give this man everything.
'My brothers love Lucci. Well, most of them do. Rosinante keeps talking about Newgate, whoever that is. But Vergo says that Lucci would be a perfect addition for the business and that I can be myself," He could feel his headache increase as he thought about Vergo's underlying intentions. He understood that meant the side businesses.
'The kids do not really care for Lucci either. They also seem fixated on this Newgate person. Just who is this guy that everyone seems to think is the one the family needs, but he hasn't even come once during this whole time I've needed him?' he thought to himself with the frown deepening on his brow. Doflamingo reached over to the end table next to the sofa for a water bottle when he noticed a bag sitting next to the lamp.
He felt the couch dip under Lucci's weight as the man settled next to him, but he stayed focused on picking up the plastic bag and pulling it to himself.
"What do you have there, Doffy?" Lucci inquired.
"It looks like an evidence bag from the police," he responded as he carefully inspected the clear plastic bag with Mendocino County Sheriff with a star shaped emblem stamped on it and Evidence written at the bottom. It was fairly largelarge and still sealed, but Doflamingo could see multiple items including his Lexus keys and his wallet inside. He immediately tore into the plastic and began dumping the contents into his lap. It seemed to be all ofall his personal items that were in his vehicle at the time of the accident.
It was then that a loud whomp-whomp-whomp was heard outside and branches began hitting the windows at an alarming rate. Lucci jumped up and took a defensive stance as Law and Baby 5 came running from their bedrooms. "There's a helicopter in the front yard!" Baby 5 yelled as she went to open the front door. Doflamingo moved the items onto back onto the endtableend table but noticed a small velvet box. It seemed… more important than the other items, so he picked it back up, put it in his pocket, and stood to his feet.
"Baby 5, get away from the door! You don't know who's out there! Let me or Rob look into it!" he reprimanded his headstrong girl. He had already learned she was very impulsive and eager to help, so he could imagine this would be quick to cause trouble as she enters her teen years. As she backed up from the entryway, someone began pounding at the door. All eyes turned to Doflamingo to see what he would do.
Lucci began to go, but Doflamingo held up his hand. "No, Rob, I have this." He straightened to his full height and headed straight to the door. As he was opening the door, Rosinante, Buffalo, and Vergo entered the living room to see what the commotion was. Buffalo was holding a sandwich and Vergo had a lettuce leaf stuck to his face, so Doflamingo assumed they were coming from having a snack in the kitchen.
Once the door was open, Doflamingo would have sworn his heart had halted its beating. Standing there was a tall man with raven hair and slate-gray eyes. The memory from the hospital drifted back into the edge of his consciousness and his throat went dry. After just a moment's hesitation, the blond looked down and saw three boys at the man's legs. "Who are you? Why have you come here?" he slowly asked, desperately wanting to keep his voice steady so as not to betray the way he felt like his knees may buckle at any moment.
Crocodile had tried to plan what he wanted to say on the trip here from Yuba County. Over an hour on a helicopter and he was still just as lost as to what to say to this idiot now that he was facing him than he was at home. When he looked past the blonde, he saw the man from the gossip show standing a few feet behind him looking ready to fight at a moment's notice. 'This was a mistake,' Crocodile thought to himself, but before he could speak another voice spoke up.
"Hiya, 'Mingo! My dad is here to tell you to dump that loser and date him!" Luffy happily piped out before giggling.
"Luffy, you can't just say that, and Croc-man was supposed to tell Birdbrain himself!" Ace yelled before reaching over and bringing a balled-up fist down on the top of his little brother's head. The next sound everyone heard was a scream and loud wailing from a crying seven-year-old sitting in the Donquixote's entryway.
Crocodile stood there mortified and hoping now would be the time 'the big one' would hit. 'Surely, we're in a good location for the earth to open and swallow me whole if an earthquake were to come. Right?' He prayed to some unseen higher power as he watched Sabo pull Ace back from Luffy and then try to quiet the boy with a piece of candy.
As he looked back at Doflamingo, the blond was just standing there looking at them with his mouth hanging open and his head turned to the side in that all-too-familiar manner that Crocodile had seen too many times to count over the years. Embarrassed, he did all he knew to do, and that was to put on his cloak of indifference. "Well, you have nothing to say for once, you feathered bastard? That's certainly new. Maybe that wreck knocked what little sense you had out of your pea brain. Are you going to just stand there or invite us in?"
Rosinante called out to his brother, since he seemed to still be frozen in place. "Brother, will you please let Crocodile and his sons in? They are our friends." he moved closer to his sibling, but still saw no movement to indicate the other had heard him.
Doflamingo kept staring for a moment longer when it clicked. "Crocodile? You are Newgate then?" he turned his head to the other side and moved a bit closer while continuing to look. There was something, but he just couldn't remember.
"Yes." Crocodile answered him and suddenly all the messages made sense. Rosinante asking him to visit. 'Please come see him. We think it will help. Rosinante.' "You've lost your memory." it was not a question.
"Yes," but Doflamingo answered just the same. Slate-gray eyes. They were so beautiful. Doflamingo felt like he could drown in them and die a happy man. 'Was this what was missing with Rob?' he asked himself. It hurt to think that he may end up hurting someone that had been as good to him as Lucci had been, but the feeling he was having was unmatched. He just needed to know why this man in particularparticular man made him feel this way, though. "You didn't come see me."
"I know I should have. I just didn't want to admit how I feel about you. I do not go to hospitals and going to see you would mean that… I cannot be without you." Crocodile took a deep breath. He was not a man that was good with emotions. He had learned with his children, but the only relationship he had had with another person had ended very badly and he had closed himself off afterwards. He could admit that was what led to the predicament he is in now, but that did not make things any easier to admit. "You have been annoying me for years. I thought you just wanted your fun and to move on. But since you were hurt, I missed the attention, the… affection. I realized that maybe someone did care about me and that I care for them in return. I want to give that a chance and I was hoping that you did too, but now you do not remember me." He dropped his head in defeat. "That man had better realize what he has and not squander it!"
Doflamingo's eyes widened behind his glasses and scenes flashed through his memory with lightning speed. Water pouring on the windshield, the radio playing in the background, his children helping him pick out clothing and getting ready for the night, a velvet box. The box!
He put his hand in his pocket and wrapped his slender fingers around the small box sitting snuggly against his hip as another scene came to mind. Doflamingo reached over and lovingly took the small, velvet gift box into his hand and ran his thumb along the exterior. While continuing to drive north, he lost himself in thoughts of slate-gray eyes and raven hair.
"Croc," he said simply as he stepped forward and pulled the box from his pocket. Crocodile lifted his face, the hesitant hope obvious in his eyes at the way his name had come from the other man's lips.
Doflamingo stopped and turned back towards Lucci. "Rob, I'm so sorry. These last couple of months were amazing, but it seems I already had a previous commitment."
Lucci's face was blank, but his golden eyes already held Doflamingo's answer. He had heard the governor speak enough about Newgate to know what would happen should Doflamingo ever get his memory back. He simply nodded his head and quietly exited out the back door. Regret was something he chose not to have in life, but somehow, he was sure this may be something that would tarnish that record.
Doflamingo turned back to Crocodile and held the small box out to him. "I was bringing this to you that night."
"So, you remember?" Crocodile could feel his eyes beginning to burn, but he refused to cry as he took the gift.
"Not everything, but I never forgot your eyes." Doflamingo watched as his love opened the box to find a ring with a huge diamond. It was large, gaudy, and very expensive. Just the type of jewelry that Crocodile seemed to favor. "You seem to have one finger that is bare. I remember thinking that you may be interested in a very eligible bachelor. He smiled at the smaller man and stepped up to him until they were chest to chest.
Crocodile handed the box back to Doflamingo, and then held up his hand when the other's smile began to falter. "I will need help putting it on, idiot." The blond quickly complied and gathered his new partner into his arms. Finally, it seemed that even if he can't remember all his plans future for the futureplans, the most important of them finally came to fruition.