So 7512 words without Author's notes.
Start Chapter 14
"Luffy, my sweetness~ what did daddy say about doing that?" Doffy sighed. He eyed the pup in a put-upon way as he ran a hand over his face. The infant only stopped his crawling for a few moments to look up at his daddy, smiling, and returned to grab the pretty shiny thing he had seen under the couch.
"Luuuu- no Treasure!" The young alpha whined, anxious over how much his pup was moving around on his own. He had barely started crawling and he was half frog-hopping, half scooting as much as he could now. The pup was clearly frustrated with his slow progress and speed, but it felt like the pup was going lightning fast to the alpha.
"Doffy idiot! Stop harassing my kid!" Crocodile snarled from an incredibly comfortable-looking nest of floor cushions and lush blankets, watching Luffy closely. A smoothie drink Bentham sat close by and readjusted a small portion of the massive nest of cushions. "Yeah, look at you, Lu! That's a good pup!" The brunet encouraged, the usual growl in his voice was lowered to an almost soothing rumble.
"Hey-hey, yeah, Doffy! Don't tell Lu-Lu he's not allowed to do baby stuff!"
"He's my son!"
"Well, he's mine too! Now leave him alone and let him be a baby damn it!" Crocodile growled, going back to smiling and encouragingly chirping to Luffy. The pup was quick to turn and grin at his momma and chirp back in his high-pitched, squeaky way. "Good boy, Lu!"
Doflamingo grumbled to himself, crouching and sulked, he still wasn't sure how his decision and just general authority had been trampled and totally disregarded. He was the dominant alpha in this family, damn it! Why was everyone suddenly disregarding just about everything that he decided for his son? Luffy was his sweetness first!
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A mobile Luffy had ended up being a bit more of a handful than anyone had expected. It seemed that once he realized he could move around on his own, he never slowed down and actually had more energy than anyone expected. If there was a way for him to escape the safe areas of the ship, he did it. Over the time span that it took the ships to get back to the Donquixote family's main territory surrounding their base, Luffy had somehow ended up in the kitchen more than half a dozen times, the cargo hold twice, once gnawing on a chunk of smoked sea king bacon in a barrel, on deck more than a handful of times, once on the helm of the ship which had nearly had everyone having a heart attack, once on Bentham's ship which no one knew how he got there, terrifying the entire crew. From then on, the pup wasn't allowed to be watched by anyone other than Doffy or Crocco after that and Luffy still somehow ended up sleeping in Diamante's towel cupboard. It was guaranteed pretty much the second the pup was sat down for anything, he was making a dash for it.
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Once the crew returned to their innermost territory, they made a stop at the doctor's in Norwich for a hastily set up wellness check-up for Luffy. They had been away from the area for nearly 3 months after a few stops along the way back and 2 weeks chasing Crocodile and his crew until it became apparent that winter was making its way to the North Blue. The man didn't want any part of heading to a colder area of that particular ocean, which was already known for being colder than the desert sun-loving man had any desire to be dealing with.
In the end, Crocodile came back on his own, unable to handle Luffy's sorrow-filled sobs for him over DenDen while Doffy whined pitifully as time went on for him to come back to the ship to warm him and Luffy up. The dangerous edge creeping into his tone was dark and sharp enough that it had the hairs on the back of Crocodile's neck standing on end. No way in hell did he come back for that feathered bastard, no matter how much the other man had cooed and praised him for returning on his own like he was some gods damned dog.
Doflamingo was incredibly pleased with himself after he used some of Pink's advice again. The older man was so right! What a good way to train his pretty! He gave his lovely the sweet illusion of having a choice in going or leaving. Doffy and his crew could have easily stopped the older man. But it was so much sweeter to get him to return by himself and without having to break a single bone in anyone's body!~ Crocodile gave in faster than expected. He was so proud of his Lu enticing his momma so well and so so proud of his beautiful good Croco!
It was the perfect scenario really. It was cold as hell, Crocodile truly was miserable and his crew wasn't equipped for the cold at all. Luffy was a gods damned angel and Crocodile wasn't going to be the ass who made their sweetness cry. Doffy knew it wouldn't take much to get the other man back in his warm loving embrace and back to being his sweet mommaCrocco self with their sweetness.
After a lot of clear danger that the brunet somehow managed to temper down into something a little more lustful than originally planned, he was punished much like a child and was confined to quarters. It was humiliating living in Doffy's quarters for a week! Crocodile wasn't allowed his favorite cigars and was constantly supervised with Luffy. It was the supervision that had Crocodile ready to bite someone's head off. Luffy's his kid! It wasn't like he had a chance to escape with Doffy constantly up his ass or the other man wouldn't hunt him to death if he ever even thought of trying to take the pup and hide out in the grand line.
Besides, the ship wasn't all that unbearably cold as long as you stayed indoors with the furnace going in its belly, the winter blankets that had been drug out that Crocodile still wondered where they had all come from and when the crew had suddenly switched things out. The nice new fur-lined boots, gloves, and scarf helped make Crocodile's decision to stay even easier. Doflamingo may be an obnoxious nutcase, but he sure knew just the right things to pamper a guy with.
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Poor Dr. Lapahn, still Luffy's primary, wasn't sure how much more he could take when not just the captain of the Donquixote family showed up but another equally terrifying man, if not more so, came with him. The brunet sauntered in like he owned the place with deadly effortless elegance. He was a predator and knew he had claws. It was in his arms that a familiar, slightly larger Luffy was cradled, happily cuddling into the man's fur coat. Dr. Lapahn had to hold back his shock as even when other 'family' members came with Doflamingo the infant had always been firmly in the blond's anxious grasp, being fussed over and cooed at.
The brunet, taller than the older Doctor, tilted his head, scrutinizing the older man like he was eying a bug under a magnifying glass once he was introduced as Luffy's physician.
"I'm supposed to trust this geezer with my pup?" The Crocodile said, eyes hooded as he looked at the man, half amused and half skeptical. Dr. couldn't help but eye the gleaming hook he had in place of a hand. It looked deadly sharp and was far too close to the pup for his liking.
Doflamingo didn't help, shrugging at the question and eying his pup like he wanted to snatch him and run. "He figured out Luffy's issues with his weight and our sweetness has been doing so well since we started coming here."
Crocodile's eyebrows furrowed as he took a seat, gracefully crossing a leg as he gently bounced a giggling Luffy. "But he's here? If he was so good, then why did you leave him?"
Doffy looked at him with confusion.
"I keep everything onboard that I find that I like enough I'd use it again. A doctor's important. Especially one that can understand and treat my kid's rare medical issues. I'd never let 'em go." Crocodile elaborated.
Dr. Lapahn paled at the line of conversation that was going on like he wasn't even standing right there. Before it could go any farther, he decided that it would be best for him to cut in. "May I ask who this… gentleman is? Luffy is usually carried in by Mr. Donquixote, is all." The man said, barely able to keep himself from taking a step back when the brunet's reptilian dark, almost black yellow-green hazel eyes met his again. An unnerving grin crossed the other man's face.
"Never saw a momma with his baby?" Crocodile said, sounding both amused and offended. "I may not be the conventional Omegan momma, but I like to think that that just makes me all the more suited to protecting my pup and keeping this one in line over here." The brunet purred, smirking at the offended pout Doffy made at him. "Besides, Luffy seems to like me just the way I am.~" The man all but preened.
After a moment, he tilted his head and glanced at the folder in the Doctor's hand. The wicked man's expression was almost thoughtful as he added, "I guess you might need my name for the paperwork, right? You can put down Sir Crocodile. You may only call me Sir, got it?" Crocodile said, his voice relaxed and professional on the surface, but held the slightest gravelly bite that assured the doctor that there would be dire consequences if he didn't listen.
There was something about the brunet that sent chills down the alpha's back. He couldn't believe that Donquixote didn't seem to feel the least bit fazed by the man he had chosen as the mother(?) to his pup!
Dr. Lapahn risked the slightest glance at the blond's face and tried his best not to openly sputter at the sight of the younger alpha nearly swooning over the other man, the scent of the man quickly filled the room. Smitten, lustful, and protective. Oh, Blues! What did he just get in the middle of?!
The poor man wasn't a dummy and quickly realized what sort of situation he had been forced into and wasn't happy about it, not one bit. He now had to deal with not just one unstable, incredibly protective parent, but two terrifying, viciously possessive parents!
Crocodile was somehow far more terrifying, even while he was more laid back with the doctor's handling of their pup, than the blond alpha. The mixture between alpha size and aggressiveness, his general viciousness, and the motherly protectiveness and possessiveness and that crocodilian smile of his had the doctor nearly pissing his pants and that was after dealing with Doflamingo and his crew for months face-to face. Of course, the young alpha would pick one of the most terrifying people a person could ever meet to be his mate and of course, the brunet would imprint so strongly on the man's pup!
At least Luffy was all smiles and happy as ever he was such a happy, sweet thing, if his family wasn't so terrifying Dr. Lapahn would have considered him one of his favorite patients to see. The doctor may not have liked his parents much and still didn't approve of him being raised the way he was, but he had to admit, even if reluctantly, that the infant was incredibly well cared for. Luffy was plumper, happy as could be, and healthy as possible. He didn't think that really anyone could do a better job.
The older alpha doubted the marines wouldn't think twice before ever trying to take the infant from the pair either. So… at least the kid had that going for him.
After going through the list of everything that Luffy had eaten so far and getting him updated on weight and measurements. They watched the infant zip around on a mat to check how well Luffy was moving around on his own. Which the infant crawled around so fast it was startling for the man.
Donquixote insisted the doctor had the mat scrubbed down with disinfectant himself before placing him down. The sound of the blond alpha anxiously complaining about his pup crawling and being out of his arms had poor Dr. Lapahn sweating bullets. He nearly felt like he was ready to have a full blown heart attack at the last thing that had to be done.
Dr. Lapahn had already taken Luffy's blood, something that had the infant grumbling. The man still dreaded the idea of giving the pup his shots with the way Donquixote was behaving, being especially anxious and fussy over his pup. Crocodile didn't make him feel much better with the way he scrutinized his every move with those cold sharp eyes. Alas, it had to be done.
Luffy, of course, made a big deal of getting his shots like he always did after the first, though not quite in the way that any of them were ever expecting. The pup let out an angry half hiss half squeaky growl that sounded almost like an 'oof' like growl. There was no way that he was making a noise like that though! Most adults never made a sound like that in their lives let alone an infant. Dr. Laphn wasn't even sure if it was possible for an infant to produce such sounds! Clearly there was something wrong with his hearing!
It wasn't like Luffy was fully making that sound so the older alpha couldn't be sure. The fact that the infant was almost managing some half growl half hiss threatening sort of sound was incredibly surprising in itself. He was honestly pretty startled. Well, not just because he was able to make sounds like that but because he even was doing so as an omega and one so young. Everything about Luffy was far more advanced than he was expecting from an O dominant Omega though.
What little was known about them outside of Celestial care was that they had delayed maturing compared to other children and infants. Another was how they rarely hit any of their milestones anywhere near the same time as their peers. Luffy in many ways was easily keeping up with other pups his age if not advanced in some ways. Though in others he was still very much an omega.
Luffy was quick to demand cuddles from his father, deeply burrowing himself as much as possible into the man's pink mantle and petting fingers. The pup was grumbling in offense and clearly complaining to the blond about how much he wasn't enjoying his doctor visit.
Crocodile was staring at the pup with an almost comically wide-eyed look, clearly also startled by the sounds that the pup had made and unsure how to take it. That quickly turned into a grumpy possibly jealous look as his partner cooed sweet nothings and assurances at the pup and cradled him close while running his massive fingers down the baby's back to try and calm him.
"Poor sweetness, did the mean old doctor poke you again? It's okay, you don't have to be poked anymore! After this Daddy's going to bring you to that one place your auntie and uncles always like to go to then we're going back home!~" Doflamingo explained, tone sweet as he nuzzled at his pup's scowling little face. His sweet boy all tired and grumpy, poor Treasure! Doffy couldn't wait to bundle his pup up and cuddle him in the comfort of his own home den!
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After getting Luffy's blood tests back, which confirmed that he was stable and doing well the pair left with their grouchy little son to meet up with the family at the restaurant that Doflamingo's crew insisted on heading to. It was the same one that they had gone to the first time they had brought Luffy to Norwich 5 to get checked out by the doctor's. The place had become a favorite of the Donquixote family's.
The family had made demands beforehand to have food made especially for the crews' youngest member and were eager to be able to have a full circle experience and meal with their nephew.
Doffy was hopeful that all of the food would perk up his boy and put him in a better mood. He was a little glutton after all!
The staff, more than familiar with the Donquixote's rituals, escorted Doffy and Crocodile to the private room the restaurant had added on just for the group in the last few months without a single word, pouring wine and serving Doffy's favorite cheesy rolls the second the pair went to sit down.
Encouraging the crew to return and in good spirits was a major priority for not just the restaurant, but for the whole of Norwich 5. Doflamingo and his crew brought in major money and protection to the islands and they were incredibly close to the island that was rumored to be his main stronghold. His ships were in and out of their ports constantly. The residents of the collection of islands rich and poor knew that they got far better treatment and protection than most other places in the Donquixote territory and were grateful for the man's patronage and protections, especially of the pirate's sanctioned hospital which was one of the best in their part of the North Blue.
"Hey, Hey- Doffy-Croco! Finally! You took longer than we were expecting!" Trebol exclaimed before stuffing a sausage into his mouth.
"Little Master is doing well?" Jora pressed, looking up from the rainbow puke-looking, unicorn themed sundae she was gushing over.
"Yeah, everything alright Boss?" Daz asked, eying the three as if appraising them for damage. His eyes lingered at a glaring Luffy.
Crocodile snorted and took a sip of his drink. "Yeah, little bit's healthy as a horse. He's just got some shots. Apparently even the little bubbly brat can lose his patience when it comes to being poked and prodded."
Doffy frowned at the other man's lack of sympathetic wording or cooing over the pup's misery.
"Aww, that must've hurt! He's so little! Is he going to be okay? I remember when Mr. Pink took me to the doctor and I felt so sick and my arm hurt after I got shots!" Buffalo grimaced at the memories of how queasy and achy he had gotten. He couldn't imagine a little baby like Luffy going through that.
"If there are any side effects like that he probably won't feel them until tomorrow and if there are any they shouldn't be as bad as yours were." Crocodile assured the boy, frowning a little at the idea of Luffy getting anywhere near as sick as Buffalo had. Poor kid, as awful as it was, the man felt somewhat confident and reassured by the fact that the boy had been pretty overloaded on vaccinations at the time due to the fact that he hadn't ever gotten one. At least not since he was an infant, if then. Being from an island in the Southern most part of the Northern Blues Crocodile was still surprised that he hadn't ever caught anything deadly. The southern bits of the Northern Blue were well known for several wild Den-den carrying diseases that were known to be child killers.
Luffy was getting his shots spread out and on time. That had to make a major difference when it came to how sick he would likely get from them. Otherwise, how would the vaccines given to him be considered safe for a pup of his age?
Crocodile himself didn't really remember ever getting sick from his shots as a child… besides that one time…. But it was more of an allergy to one of the ingredients in the vaccine than an issue with the vaccine itself. He hadn't been the healthiest kid after all and had a tendency to react to a lot of bases of things. Thank the Blues he had mostly grown out of that!
"Hungry, sweetness?" Doffy crooned, deciding to ignore everyone as he tried encouraging his clingy infant into eating some of the mashed carrots and chicken that he had been presented for his boy.
"Where's Bentham?" Crocodile asked, realizing the man and a few others weren't at the table. It wasn't like him.
Daz shrugged, "Said something about honor needing defending. Zola, Gladius, and Pink went to go check on him a few minutes before you showed up. Diamante, Pica, and Vergo went to go grab their new shoes or something before the shop closed for the night."
Trebol bobbed his head in agreement to what Daz had said. "Hey-hey don't worry about it! They're fine." He nonchalantly insisted, but the man was still a bit annoyed that they all left before they could have a proper family dinner together at one of their favorite local restaurants. Especially when their nephew was clearly unhappy, like expected. Was Trebol the only one that remembered Luffy was going to have to get some more shots and how he always acted after having to get them?
It thankfully didn't take long to have Luffy back to being all cheered up, happily wolfing down everything that Doffy gave him even as he still demanded to be fed the sausages and freshly made meat pies on the table.
"Is that better sweet little glutton? Fufu, my poor boy, so hungry!"
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It was another week before the two crews left. It had taken a little longer than planned due to Luffy becoming a bit sick and achy after the vaccinations and the doctor wanted to make sure it wasn't actually sickness or an allergic reaction. Thankfully it hadn't been either, just a common but uncomfortable side effect of his shots. It was a newer vaccine developed to prevent a couple of the North blues most dangerous wild DenDen carried ailments, such as Snaily Peak fever. Young pups had a tendency to get major flu-like symptoms for a few days after taking it, though it was worth the risk with the alternative being permanent blindness, deafness, brain damage or even death.
Crocodile's crew had decided to get cold weather clothing as the days were becoming incredibly frigid. Wisps of snowflakes and frost had become a constant by the second day on the island, bits of ice had been floating in the harbor by the fourth day, much to Crocodile's horror. Doflamingo and his crew had made it out like it just got cold as hell and it snowed quite a bit, they didn't say a damn thing about the ocean freezing up!
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By the time they hit land it was already deep into the night and everyone was exhausted. Crocodile was far from impressed when they stepped foot in the scrap yard that surrounded Spider's Mill. The man was flabbergasted that the Donquixote crew was willing and even eager to come back to a shithole like that. He was incredibly reluctant to enter the property and irritated that he had no choice at that point. A massive cold front and snowstorm already starting to whip its way into existence at the crew's back.
The inside of the building wasn't nearly as bad as Crocodile was expecting after seeing the outside. The floors were recently oiled and the underlings had already begun replacing thin decorative rugs with thick plush skins and shag. Big thick blankets were placed on the arms of every bit of worn, high end furniture in the main living space and heavy curtains blocked the window frames while a handful of ship crew were quick to build a cozy fire in the massive fireplace that hugged the wall near the end of the main room.
Doffy and the others made contented sounds, uncaring what the others thought of them going around for a quick scenting of the space. Honestly, Crocodile hardly even cared at that point as long as the room he was sleeping in wasn't a shithole. He'd risk the weather back to the Grandline if that was the case. The brunet was exhausted, it was late and they could figure out what was going on the next day.
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Doffy acted almost like a giddy child when he led his Pretty to his rooms. His nest took up a large corner of the room, with bright pink velvet curtains surrounding the sleeping space. There was clearly an imported teak-frame and night tables within the main nesting space.
Doffy was practically vibrating with excitement and was unable to help himself as he eagerly rearranged and added some pelts and blankets from a closet near the nest. He was so focused on making everything perfect that he only stopped when Luffy let out a disgruntled squeak of exhaustion.
Crocodile felt that. Blues was he tired! He didn't even try to hide how exhausted he was when he kicked his shoes off and let gravity and a few sways of his hips do most of the work of slipping his pants off. "Doffy, get this crap off of me!" The brunet grumbled, gesturing to the clothing left on his upper body.
"'Course, Pretty! Stay right there Sweetness! No crawling!" Doffy exclaimed, eying his infant after bumpering Luffy with a pair of pillows. The man looked almost disappointed when Luffy just turned to cuddle up into a little ball as the pup went back to dozing immediately.
"Come on hurry up! It's what, 2-3 in the gods damned morning? Ugh, why didn't we just anchor a few hours out and waited things out until first light? We're lucky the ships didn't hit anything with how dark and windy that gods damned bay was!" Crocodile huffed, pulling his arms from his button-up as Doffy helped undress him after removing his hook and mace.
"Why would you want to suffer through that? We've been sailing these water's since I was a kid, if we couldn't maneuver a little bad weather and a little night docking than I'd be concerned about me being running a dingy let alone being the captain of a ship that's been taken to the Grandline a fair share of times." Doffy sniffed, sounding offended at the thought of his Pretty thinking that he couldn't maneuver a little bad weather in his home ocean let alone around his denning island, regardless of the crags and harsh currents and loads of jagged rocks that covered all but a small bit of harbor a few miles down the coast.
"I'm not even going to argue. Just get my undershirt off and let me sleep." Crocodile all but growled. "Hey, I didn't tell you to strip me naked, damn it!" He sputtered.
Doffy grinned, flexing his fingers around an orange waistband and daring to slip farther with a long thin finger. "You told me to undress you pretty.~ How could I know you didn't mean all the way?" The blond purred.
Red cheeked, Crocodile scowled, "You knew what I meant!"
"How?~" Doffy said, fingers barely grazing his Pretty's cock.
"Cut that out!"
"Why? Don't you want me to warm you up Crocy?" Doffy murmured, leaning in and licking a strip up the other man's ear. Having his Pretty in his nest was such a turn on he could hardly stand the thought of not stuffing his lovely brunet's hole full!
"I'm not fucking with our kid in the room!" Crocodile snarled, snatching Doffy's wrist and glancing over at their dozing pup. "Besides, if you touch me right now, I'll kick your ass. It's at least 3 in the gods damned morning! I'm sleeping!" He growled.
"But I need you!" Doffy whined.
"Go fuck your hand if you can't get control of that monster dick of yours!"
Doffy sighed dramatically, pouting down at Crocodile like a spoiled child.
"But Croco!"
"We're not having sex with our kid in the room you flamingo freak!" Crocodile hissed, with a slap to the other man's wondering hands. He walked over to the nest/bed after that and practically flopped onto it. It was significantly larger than the bed on the ship and it swallowed up the other man.
"Fine, fine! Being so mean!" Doffy grumbled, stripping down in record time to join his little family. Skittering up the nest like an eager spider ready to catch a meal. Doffy all but preened at the way Crocodile practically melted into the nest. Doffy had arranged it before leaving to meet up again, just for his Pretty!~
Doffy had been planning on bringing his beautiful brunet home with him since the first time he had seen him and had left his nest with that thought in mind. Doffy was just glad he hadn't had to chain him up like he had worried would happen before introducing his precious boy to him. His pretty was so so cute with their pup!~
"No, touching! I'm not in the mood for you humping me like a gods damned dog! Luffy and I want to get some decent rest!" Crocodile hissed, burrowing under the blankets with a still snoozing Luffy held to his chest with his bad arm. The infant let out a garbled attempt at a purr, still too little to be able to produce a proper one while sleeping at such a young age.
"Croco, so mean! I just want to keep my lovelies warm!~" Doffy whined, wiggling closer and making grabby hands at the other man, getting a chesty warning growl from the brunet. "Cro-co!"
"Fine, just stop your caterwauling! No, funny business! No humping or any inappropriate touching! I mean it, I'm tired and we aren't fucking with our kid in the room and we aren't giving him to anyone for the night either!" Crocodile warned.
"Ugh, okay-okay! I can wait. Besides I like cuddling with my pretties! I miss cuddling my sweetness in my nest." Doffy agreed, snatching a grumbling Crocodile up and pressed his lovely against his chest. He sighed happily at how perfectly the other man puzzled against him, tucked beneath his chin. Luffy was pressed comfortably between the two.
It didn't take long for Doffy to have the pair comfortably toasty and melting into his scent and warmth. Even if reluctantly on Crocodile's part. He couldn't help but feel like a puddle of comfort with Doffy happily purring away, wrapped around him like a leech and their blissed out pup burrowed against his neck smelling content as possible.
The bastard! Being wrapped up in Doffy's arms and tucked against his neck, The brunet no longer was even able to feel the cold air that had been nipping at his cheeks.
"I thought you needed some sleep Pretty?" Doffy sleepily mumbled into the other man's hair, snickering at the irritated rumble that came from his Crocodile.
"'Mtryin',"
"You're cute when you're all sleeeepy."
"'Mnot."
"Mhuhm"
"Noooo, 'm not!"
"Go to sleep Pretty."
"Don' tell me what ta' do!"
"See? Soooo cute!"
"Shut 'p!"
"Alright, night Croco."
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Crocodile found Spider's Mill may have not been his ideal place to stay, but at least the inside wasn't bad. It was large, not as big as a lot of the places he had stayed in the last few years. Maybe it was closer quarters than he would like with so many obnoxiously social, loud people, but it was bigger than the ships and most importantly, warm. Gods, he had forgotten how cold the North Blue got! He hadn't been to the North Blue in years and hadn't ever been around during the winter. He thought it could get miserable in the Grandline! Here in the North Blue with nonstop cold and storms, it was hell! At least in the Grandline you could move on to another island and it had a good chance of being a different season.
All Crocodile wanted to do was bundle up head to toe and curl up next to a fire with a ship load of warm blankets and a hot drink, reading and sleeping the awful chill away. Gods, did he hate the cold! It made his scars ache something fierce and burned right through him.
Everyone on the ship he grew up on had always joked that he was as cold blooded as his name sake as a child with how easily he got chilled and how much he loved the heat. But as much as he wanted to head back to the Grandline, the thought of leaving his pup was painful and the cold made it a done deal. He was trapped hanging out with a bunch of maniacs until the weather warmed up at the very least.
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Doffy was on cloud nine having his Crocodile and their joint family living with him. It was a dream come true for the man and he was happy to cater to his pretty's every whim! He gushed at how happy his lovelies had been over finally getting their gifts from Black Jack Coastal. Something that he had forgotten to give them with all of the craziness that had been going on at the time.
Luffy hadn't been all that interested at first, liking the fluffiness, but clearly preferring his incredibly smelly Tora-Tora. Doffy didn't let that dishearten him though and made sure to thoroughly coat the plush with his own gland oils, an indignant Crocodile's, and had thoroughly rubbed the plush under Luffy's chin. The infant had thought it a game and helped by giggling and nuzzling the plush. Once the plush was well-scented Doffy re-presented the macaque plush to his pup.
The infant's reaction to it was a total 180 degrees. Luffy was all over it, squeaking and chirping cheerfully, purring, cuddling it to his chest and eagerly displaying his new plush to anyone that would stop to look.
There were many pictures to be had as Luffy glommed on and showed off his new plush. Crocodile had adored his name sake once he saw it was covered in real gold and gems and had even given Doffy a pleased smile after grumbling about the other man giving him childish gifts. Buffalo had burst out in happy tears over his owl hat and joyfully ran around with it on his head while making excited plane vroom sounds.
Everything had been great until Buffalo had helped Luffy join the fun. He began bouncing around with the pup in his arms and had nearly had Doffy ready to rip them off when he saw what the kid was doing with his boy. Regardless of the delighted shrieks and squeaks Luffy was making the whole time Buffalo's rough movements had the blond seeing red. Crocodile prevented anything too bad from happening to the boy, who naively declared it worth it since Luffy had been so cute and happy as they played.
Only Doffy was allowed to play with his sweetness like that! Even if that wasn't a known rule, which it most definitely was, everyone had to have known that Doffy was the only one that could run around with his pup like that! Besides, Buffalo was kind of clumsy with his newest growth spurt. What if he slipped up and tripped with the blond's precious boy in his arms?
Doffy would have beat him to death then and there and he really didn't want to have to do that. Doffy really liked Buffalo. Everyone did, he wouldn't find any pleasure or happiness in having to kill the boy for harming a single hair on his Treasure's precious little head but he would do it without hesitation but he would sure as hell do it if a hair on his Treasure's head was even bent out of shape let alone hurt!
Doffy ground his teeth together as Bentham encouraged the whole thing. The Okama joining in, spinning and pirouetting around with a big cheesy smile on his face and laughing exuberantly along with Buffalo and Luffy. Crippling anxiety and anger filled the blond when even Jora, who knew better, joined the three. She theatrically throwing her hands in the air and clapping to Bentham's twirls and cheered once the man snatched Luffy up from Buffalo, then began dancing around with the pup who was shrieking even louder in delight.
Oh Mary Geoise, his Luffy! Doffy snatched his boy away after that, scared to death that the group was going to give his sweet boy whiplash or something. He cooed sweetly to his pup and protectively enveloped the infant in his arms who still thought it a game and was squirming and chirping in confusion from no longer being spun around by his favorite Auntie.
"Doffy!" Crocodile growled.
"They were being too rough!" Doffy insisted.
"But what you do with him isn't rough? Cloud Walking with him in your front pocket, doing flips and crazy crap… That isn't too rough?" The older man said, looking entirely unimpressed. Crocodile still had horrible anxiety even thinking about it. The last time Doffy had done that was only a few days before they had made it Norwich 5 and he was sure the man would still be doing it if it weren't for the weather and cold.
It had been the closest that Crocodile had gotten to losing it and going at the blond in a real bare knuckle fight. Something that he was certain would have gotten both of them seriously injured and possibly Luffy. Doffy's powerful Haki and possessive insanity were the only things that had him hesitating. The man was easily in the 5 most powerful people that he had ever met that were still living outside of the Grandline by their 20s. The blond was easily on par with most if not all that he could think of that regularly stayed in Paradise.
Doffy sniffed, "Luffy loves it when we cloud walk, besides I'm his Daddy, I know how to keep my treasure safe!"
"Right…."
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Luffy was definitely a winter nester. He loved snuggling under layer upon layers of warm cozy blankets. The infant more than ever, busied himself with 'helping' to rearrange and build Doffy's nest. The man himself was particularly obsessive about nesting during the winter, more than ever now that he had a vulnerable pup and cold hating pretty to impress and build for.
Doffy nearly swooned at how cute his sweet boy was! He was still a little unsure how to react to how the infant had begun hissing at the others when they dared taking or even moving anything that he seemed to claim as his.
He about died at how endearing and adorable his boy was! The way the pup claimed his Monkey and Tora-Tora, some of the softer blankets, Doffy's mantel, and his parents themselves as his, particularly Doffy.~ Ugh, his sweet perfect pup! It made him so so happy!
Crocodile had been trying to deter the behavior towards his favored crewmates, acting concerned. Doffy had to admit to himself that it not only flabbergasted the blond, but it also upset him a little that his pup had begun to hiss at even their family. But, Luffy was incredibly possessive for being so young and he was just being like his daddy!~ Crocodile had said that Doffy needed to tone down his possessiveness for Luffy's sake.
Doffy hadn't really understood how that would be good for his boy, nor what was wrong with how much he owned and loved those around him. Wouldn't it be more unhealthy if Luffy and his Pretty weren't shown how much they were his everything and how much he adored and needed and had to have them nearly melded with his skin he loved them so much? That he felt like he would suffocate and tear everything apart that dared take either of them from him for even a moment, especially his sweet boy? How he would kill anything that dare ever taking his perfect boys love from him or encouraged any sort of separation? He'd destroy the world just to make sure his Lu-Lu never ever left him.
Doffy's poor Croco clearly hadn't been loved enough or properly before the young alpha found him! It made the blond want to smother him in affection even more! Besides, didn't children have those stages like the terrible twos thing he had heard of? Which Luffy would never have a stage like that because he was an angel! Or like Doffy's silly little stage when he wanting to stomp the life out of anyone that didn't bow down to him and give him whatever he deserved to have? Mental manipulation and enslavement were much crueler and profitable way to deal with insects! His Croco just didn't understand how those sorts of things went for children! It sounded like he was never allowed to be much of one so Doffy could understand, but there was no way that Luffy wasn't anything but perfectly adjusted and normal. He was his perfect baby after all.
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Luffy grumbled under his breath. He was having an unhappy day. Daddy person wasn't there when he wanted him and momma person told him no and bad when he made sure zoomy sound person, Buff, understood he didn't like him messing with his cute soft fluffy thing that had a happy smile daddy called Luffy's monkey. The infant was upset with momma person. Luffy didn't understand why he talked mad words at him. He just wanted to make sure that his special people understood that his stuff belonged to him and he didn't like them messed with. Especially his Momma person and Daddy person, he loved them so much!
The pup didn't want momma person to not be happy with him, though! It made Luffy sad when his special people weren't happy, but daddy person told him he was being a good boy and it was all so confusing! He wasn't sure what it was that he wasn't supposed to be doing at that point. On top of it all his face hurt and had for a while.
"Luff, why are you being so grumpy? I get being possessive about your favorite stuff….. and people… But I'm not letting you get all rude with me, and by the Blues will I let you get all creepy about me like that feather bastard already is! I already have enough of that brat."
Crocodile explained as he scooped the infant up who quickly went from pouty and reluctant to desperately nuzzling into the man's neck and clinging tight to his vest. "Sweet thing, don't need to butter me up like that!" The man rumbled with a softened smile. "Let's get you some food, yeah? Will that settle you?" The brunet allowed himself to let out a chuckle at the enthusiastic chirps and squeaks the infant made at the mention of one of his favorite words. There wasn't anyone else to see and Luffy's enthusiasm may have melted him the tiniest sliver of a bit.
It wasn't more than a few seconds after the brunet had sat a couple of tiny shredded pieces of the softer part of a loaf of bread in front of the infant when he heard a croaky squawk of distress.
"What the hell's wrong now bird?"
"You don't see that?!" The blond choked out, hand shaking as he pointed at his Luffy gnawing on his bread, comically hysteric levels of horror twisting up the man's face.
"What are you talking about?" Crocodile growled, starting to sound a little worried as he quickly looked over his totally fine looking infant.
"The TOOTH!" Doffy hissed.
"Wait, what tooth?" Crocodile said, brows furrowed his eyes caught a sliver of white on his second look over his pup. Nearly slack-jawed, the man didn't even realize his face lit up into excitement and maternal pride. "Huh, I guess he does have one in, finally, doesn't he? It's actually…. Kind of cute isn't it?"
"What, no! First comes crawling than, teeth, then he'll wander off and decide he's going to be his own pirate after being seduced away by a useless crew that convinces him that he doesn't need m-us and he'll only visit on holidays!"
"What kind of logic…." Crocodile stopped himself mid-question, looking at Doffy like he didn't want to even touch what the other had said after a second. He then forced himself to focus back on Luffy. Doffy was a nut job and a scarily possessive bastard. This should have been expected. "Okay then, I hope you…. Figure that out…. I'm going to take pictures of Luffy with his new tooth."
"Cro-co!"
Nope nope, Crocodile wasn't touching that man's logic with a 50ft pole. He had a new milestone to photograph extensively.
End Chapter 14
I think that next chapter will be luffy meeting Rosinate.
Sorry it has been so long since I updated I have been having a bunch of health issues again and the job I work rarely lets me work less than 45 hrs a week usually more like 50 so I am very tired by the time I get home due to major health issues. I have a cyst in my brain and some sort of major autoimmune disorder along with neurologic issues and severe headaches so not feeling the best.
I should have the first chapter of my original comic uploaded in the next few days so I am very excited.
I am also in the middle of starting up a sticker/commission/apparel business. I'm excited and hoping that I will be able to properly start up in the next month few months if my health lets me.