They were back on Sakazuki's ship just after dawn the next morning. Neither of them had slept much. Rest had come second to Crocodile's need to comfort Sakazuki. They'd finally fallen asleep for a couple of hours before dawn once Crocodile had ensured Sakazuki would be too tired to think.

With a course set for Alabasta, Sakazuki assembled his officers so that they could figure out what their strategy was going to be. Crocodile surprised him when she mentioned that she had an idea.

He asked her under his breath as they watched his officers file into the conference room, taking their seats around the long table, "When did you have time to start thinking of a plan?" She'd been, he thought, thoroughly occupied all night.

She smirked at him, her mouth hidden behind her hand as she lit the end of her cigarillo, "I am very good at multitasking."

Sakazuki breathed a quiet snort, "Clearly." He pushed away from the wall when Martinez closed the door behind himself, indicating he was the last to arrive. "We all here? Good. Listen up. Crocodile knows Alabasta a hell of a lot better than any of us, and she's at least familiar with Agresta." He passed their attention off to her with a short gesture.

"Did you know that Agresta was one of the investors that offered to buy Rain Dinners back when the original owner started looking into selling? His interest in the place is what prompted Cobra to contact me about taking over for the old man."

Rin lifts his hand, getting Crocodile's attention, "Why didn't Cobra want Agresta getting a toe in?"

Crocodile shrugs, "He never said, but I assume he had heard about some of his dirtier dealings and didn't want someone like that having control over Rain Dinners."

Filomena shifts, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully, "You think he'll still be looking for a crack in the defences in order to slip in."

"Give the lady a prize," Crocodile nods, smiling at Filomena, "I've gotten a few offers over the years, all from intermediaries, but I bet if I looked into it, they'd all lead right back to Agresta. Especially since only one other man has tendered me an offer, but he did it face to face."

"The problem is that we know Agresta isn't acting alone. Baroque Works has a few thousand members. We don't know if he's aware we've discovered his business with the mine and the refinery. But given the escalating state of things on Alabasta, I can't imagine he'll be holding off from making his move for much longer."

"There's also the Alabastan rebel army to worry about," Sakazuki points out.

"I had an idea for that," Crocodile rolled her cigarillo between her fingers, "Cobra has an interest in avoiding conflict with the rebels. He doesn't want any more of his citizens to die. The lives already lost weigh heavily on him. If we can lure Agresta to Rain Dinners and somehow get a confession out of him and Cameko and Proko Den-Den Mushis to broadcast it to the leaders of the rebels, maybe we can end the conflict before it can start."

"And how do you plan on getting them to listen to that broadcast, assuming you can get Agresta to start talking?" Filomena asked, ever the pragmatist.

Crocodile tilts her head and thinks, "Cobra."

"You want to send King Cobra into the den of the people calling for his execution?" Martinez barks a short laugh, more in disbelief than derision.

"Wave a white flag, and they might be willing to see reason long enough to listen," Sakazuki crossed his arms.

Crocodile shrugged at him, "It's a gamble, but I think Cobra will be willing if it means avoiding battle."

One of the younger captains clears her throat, lifting her hand like Rin had earlier, "There is also the concern of the continued use of the dance powder, isn't there?"

"Doll's right. We don't know where the Dance Powder is being burned to cause the drought conditions on Alabasta." Rin claps his hand on her shoulder, encouraging rather than dismissing her words.

With a quick glance at Sakazuki for approval, Doll continued, "I've been thinking about it; if you don't mind me sharing a theory, Admiral?"

"Please do."

Doll beamed at him so briefly that almost no one noticed, "Dance Powder is illegal not because it causes rain where it's burned but because of the devastating effects it has on surrounding areas. My thinking is that it's being processed upwind of Alabasta in the ocean. It'd be too obvious to burn if it was being processed on a nearby island, and if it were close enough to Alabasta, drought conditions would only be on Alabasta."

Crocodile's impressed. Even she hadn't thought of that. "A ship, maybe? Designed specifically for the continuous burning of the Dance Powder?"

Doll nodded quickly, "It would make the most sense. And would be practically invisible with as difficult as navigation in the Grand Line is."

Sakazuki leans back in his chair, "I'll bring in the First Fleet Vice Admirals to comb the waters upwind of Alabasta if you're that confident, Doll."

Without hesitating, Doll responded, "I am."

Crocodile wondered for a moment why she felt no jealousy for this woman's interactions with Sakazuki when she had for Drake. Then decided it had been the fondness with which he had spoken to Drake that had resulted in Crocodile's jealousy. With Doll, it was purely professional, with a touch of mentor's pride for her cleverness.

For a man who thought himself a monster, Sakazuki took a lot of interest in the training and development of the young marines under his command.

"I suppose the only question left is how to deal with Barque Works," Sakazuki looks back at her, and Crocodile smirks at him.

"The King of Serpents, of course."

She smothers a laugh at Sakazuki's raised eyebrow and the blank looks she received from the Marines.

–

Plans tentatively in place, the Marines begin preparing as the ship continues for Alabasta.

Crocodile was sitting on the edge of his desk, listening with half an ear to the multi-call Sakazuki was on with his Vice Admirals to instruct them to search for the ship burning the Dance Powder.

His hand was on her ankle, thumb stroking at the tender skin just below the ball of her heel absent-mindedly. "It's a sound theory, Doberman. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to find, but I trust you all to find it."

"If it exists at all," Was the grumbled response. A heavy sigh, "All right. We'll search for this theoretical ship that Captain Doll believes is in the ocean pumping out Dance Powder. But somebody owes me a vacation day after this is all done."

"If Doberman gets a vacation day, we all do." Another voice, this one on the obnoxious side, laughed.

Sakazuki snorted, "Yeah, alright, you all get one extra vacation day. If you manage to find the ship."

As the call wrapped up, Sakazuki's hands trailed up her calf. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye with a raised eyebrow and decided he was now paying more attention to her leg than the call.

His fingers were hot on her skin, but she enjoyed the sensation, even as a telltale cramp twinged in her lower belly.

Sakazuki seemed to notice her lack of enthusiasm and gradually souring mood. It doesn't take him long to figure out the why. She'd been on board for several weeks at this point without her period making an appearance.

Most of his experiences with that were limited to Salina while growing up. And his sister had never had an easy time of it. She had the worst cramps seemingly possible, heavy bleeding and was often sick to her stomach. But taking care of Salina through the worst had prepared him for literally anything, to the point where the women on his ships were never forced to tough out the cramps, migraines, and everything else associated with their times of the month.

Some of his underling vice and rear admirals needed occasional reminding that, no, periods weren't always easy to handle, and please, for the love of the seas and gods, don't belittle the women and tell them that their pain is nothing.

If they failed to understand that Admiral Kizaru was more than happy to provide them with an example of the level of pain some women could experience.

And it was always fun to watch her punch some hapless fool in the balls.

The other option was letting someone shoot them. But he'd have to do extra paperwork if he allowed that.

Crocodile closed her eyes, fingers rubbing her temples.

"You good, darlin'?"

She squinted, feeling painfully sensitive to the light creeping into the dimly lit office. She looked at Sakazuki, lips quirking faintly at his surprisingly gentle expression, "I should probably go lie down."

He stood from his chair, gripping her knee and leaning down to press a kiss to the crown of her head, "You wanna just use my bed for a few hours?"

Crocodile hesitated but couldn't think of any good reason to refuse as the low throb of her migraine settled in, "I'd appreciate that," She mumbled, shifting to hop down to her feet, but was stopped by Sakazuki. He lifted her into his arms, and she rested her now painful head on his shoulder. "Sakazuki, if someone sees you carrying me like this to your cabin, they're going to have questions."

"It's fine. No one's around." Oh, right, Crocodile thought, Observation Haki.

"Just this once," She mumbled against his chest. It felt like an eternity before he placed her down gently on his bed, easing her shoes off her feet. She couldn't force her eyes open now and tried to keep her head as straight and unmoving as possible when he helped her shimmy out of her bra.

She was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Sakazuki smoothed his hand over her hair before reaching behind her to pull the thick black curtain down from its hook to cover the porthole. He pulled the blanket over her legs and left to go to the infirmary for supplies.

He returned to his room, waking Crocodile long enough for her to take the pain medication with a sip of water. After she had fallen back to sleep, he applied one of the compresses to her forehead.

He watched her sleep for a while. Watched as she pulled the second pillow on top of her head, covering her eyes completely. She curled towards him, where he sat by her hip, and he ran one hand down her hip and thigh—soothing her restless movements.

He thought then, something he already knew but hadn't acknowledged.

He loved her.

His hand fell still, and he carefully removed it when he noticed she had stopped moving, a soft snore emerging from beneath the pillow. He left the room, closing the door quietly behind himself. He returned to his office and made a call. May as well take the time to bring the Fleet Admiral up to speed.

–

When Crocodile woke up, night had fallen, and she was alone. She pushed herself into a seated position, her hand going to her forehead, feeling the compress there.

She breathed a laugh, a silly, giddy feeling in her stomach.

She removed the compress and tossed it into the garbage can next to Sakazuki's nightstand. Her head was still aching, but the migraine had at least passed. She threw the blanket off her legs and got out of bed.

She was determined to go and find Sakazuki.

Crocodile glanced quickly at the clock before she went out the door and saw that it wasn't nearly as late as she'd thought. The ship had a hot, humid atmosphere as they'd likely entered the climate of a summer island, and the smooth wood boards beneath her bare feet were warm.

Padding down the small stretch of hallway to his office, Crocodile hummed under her breath when she saw that there was still light coming from under the door. She tapped on the door softly and waited, not wanting to intrude if he was busy.

He called out, and she turned the door knob. He lifted his eyes from what he was working on, and Crocodile glanced at the large stack of paper of what he had already finished.

"Hey," She moved into the room. Sakazuki leaned back in his chair, took her hand when she got close enough and tugged her onto his lap.

"Hey, darlin'. Feeling better?"

"As good as I ever do after a migraine." She curled up, head tucked under his chin, her legs dangling over one arm of the chair. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"Anytime." Crocodile couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face because he really sounded like he meant it.

Sakazuki got back to work, content to let her stay where she was.

The silence was comfortable, and Sakazuki hesitated to break it. "The Fleet Admiral approved of your plan."

Her voice was drowsy, "Oh?"

Sakazuki hummed, "Sengoku wants Agresta's take-down to be as public as possible. She doesn't want to give the World Government the opportunity to sweep it under the rug so they can pretend it didn't happen."

"I'm glad Sengoku sees it that way. She always struck me as the pragmatic sort. Why the hell would she want someone like Agresta to have any amount of leniency." Her stomach chooses that moment to growl, and Sakazuki chuckles.

"Hungry, love?" They both froze. Unlike Sakazuki's easily drawled use of darlin', love had a hell of a lot of weight attached to it. Sakazuki wasn't sure what Crocodile's reaction would be. Crocodile thought she had fallen back asleep and had dreamt it.

She pulls her face away from his neck, meeting his dark eyes, "Am I? Your love?"

He didn't hesitate when she asked. He knew his own feelings.

Sakazuki smiled at her, completely relaxed, "Yeah, you are."

She softened, a flush darkening her cheeks and a bright smile on her lips and Sakazuki was reminded of the sweet, bright-eyed girl he'd met all those years ago on Reed. He kissed her, cradling her face in his hands, pulling back enough to look into her eyes, "I love you. Of that, I'm sure."

She gripped his wrists and brushed her nose against his, feeling like she was floating a cloud, "I love you, too," Her words were a whisper for his ears only.

–

Once he's fed her and gotten her back into bed, waving off her apology of no sex, she decided there was one more thing she needed to get off of her chest. "So, you should know about my father. From me rather than from somewhere else ."

He blinked and turned to look at her with his shirt half unbuttoned, "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be bad for my health?"

She looks unsympathetic and beautiful, with a mountain of pillows behind her back and a hot water bottle on her belly. Where did she get so many pillows? She lowers the book she's reading, meeting his eyes. "Probably because it may end up being. Oyaji is fun like that," She shrugged.

His eyes narrowed, instincts twitching at her deliberate use of Oyaji. Sakazuki had a creeping suspicion crawling up his spine, and he was concerned about what she was about to tell him.

Her smile was innocent, while her words invoked genuine fear, "I was born thirty-four years ago on board The Moby Dick as Crow Newgate to Raven and Edward Newgate."

Yup.

There it was.

He was fucked.

Totally and thoroughly fucked.

He was in a relationship with Whitebeard's daughter.

He had done many naughty and perverted things with her. And to her. And had done to him by her.

It had been three glorious weeks of all the sex they hadn't had for nine years.

Sakazuki heaved a sigh, "I'm going to get either my head or my dick cut off, aren't I?" he asked and finished getting undressed, standing beside the bed naked.

Crocodile laughed, and Sakazuki was almost offended, "Relax. Oyaji only has it out for the guys that hurt me." She grinned at him, "You planning on breaking my heart?"

"No."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about," She assured him, opening her arms for him, and he got into bed, face first into her boobs. "Oyaji has a very well-documented shit list that former Fleet Admiral Kong is still at the top of. Dragon is the only one I've been with on it, and that's only because of the whole knocking me up and being a coward thing. Oyaji still swears he will castrate and hang from the mainmast of the Moby Dick."

Sakazuki takes some comfort in that bit of information and vows to make sure he never breaks Crocodile's heart.

–

Nefertari Cobra was a king who loved his country and his people. He was the type of ruler who would step down if it meant that his people would be better for it.

Seeing Alabasta suffer, seeing the people who made his kingdom what it was, suffer, tore at him. He knew that Crocodile was doing everything she could, as fast as she could, to bring down the culprits behind all of the unrest.

Cobra stared from a window out over Alubarna, listening with a painful beating in his chest to the voices in the streets below. The protests had been going on for days, led by leaders of what they were calling the Alabastan Revolutionary Army, men and women calling for his resignation. Some were even calling for his execution.

Cobra would not die. Not until Agresta was taken down.

Until he was brought to justice.

He would trust Crocodile and would do what she had asked of him.

–

"You'd never know massive protests are happening in the rest of the country, would you?" Doll wondered, brushing her curly bangs out of her eyes and staring at the bustle of Rainbase's packed streets. Along with a handful of Marines, Bentham and Walter, she was accompanying Crocodile and Sakazuki to Rain Dinners, where, hopefully, their plans would kick off.

"Rainbase has always been a bit…untouched, in a way, by the rest of the country," Crocodile told her, shielding her eyes against the midday sun shining brilliantly above the city. "Think of it as its own little bubble of civilization."

She decided the pirate woman wasn't wrong, looking back over the crowd of natives and tourists, like a different island altogether. She could see Rain Dinner's peak over the rest of the buildings, right near the center of the city, the golden Bananawani topping the pyramid-shaped building somehow both a welcoming sight and a threat.

The casino was a thrum of activity as they drew near enough to see the entrance, and Crocodile looked approvingly at the security guards at their posts on either side of the doors. Big, intimidating-looking men that had been handpicked by herself and Ash to ward off the troublemakers before they stepped foot on the floor. Wearing their clean black suits, crisp white shirts, and neat black ties, they cast a pretty picture. Both of them, looking a little surprised, greeted her with brief nods of their heads. Crocodile preferred that they weren't distracted while they were working, so she didn't expect anything more.

She was far from shocked when she saw that Ash was waiting for them when they got inside. Unlike the professional-looking guards by the doors, Ash looked like he'd only just woken up. His short sandy hair was dishevelled and sticking up in many different directions, jacket and tie nowhere to be found, shirt unbelievably wrinkled, and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She gives him an unimpressed look, gesturing to his clothes, "Do you own any shirts that haven't been lying crumpled at the bottom of your closet?"

He grinned, his yellow eyes hidden behind opaque black sunglasses, long teeth glinting in the bright lights of the casino floor. "Foolish of you to assume my shirts ever make it into my closet."

"Perhaps we should hire someone to dress him in the mornings," Bentham suggested, hand on his chin as he stared at the landbound Sandstorm Pirate.

Ash's grin didn't falter, even as Crocodile muttered, "I'm considering."

"Yeah, Yeah. Welcome back, boss lady. Daz sent a message about an hour ago. They got caught in a storm but should make landfall by late this evening at the north inlet." He fell in step with them as they headed further into the building. "Shit's been quiet on our end of things. Didn't even get to throw anyone to the gators."

"Disappointed?"

"Terribly. Edgar's been bored."

Sakazuki cocked an eyebrow, "Edgar?"

Crocodile tossed him a smirk over her shoulder, "The patriarch male of the Bananawani in the lake. He enjoys it when people go for unexpected swims." She blinked, "Completely accidentally, of course; we've never, ever intentionally thrown people into the lake when they refuse to pay their debts."

He snorted, "I'm sure; I suppose it would be hard to get your money when they're in the bellies of giant gators."

Ash, eyes darting between his boss and the towering Admiral at her side, was grinning once more, "Better to turn them into the naval base for their bounties…if they have one, anyway." He started to wonder what the deal was with the sexual electricity he could feel between them, raising his eyebrow at Bon. Bon nodded, mouthing the words and gesturing lewdly out of sight so only Ash could see. They're fucking.

Ash's eyes narrowed behind his glasses, examining Akainu from head to toe. Boss's taste in men was usually…eh, not so great. Oh, she was undoubtedly quick to toss aside the really nasty ones. But he'd heard all about Luffy's daddy. He would happily rip the guy's throat out on her behalf if they were ever to meet. Boss had, without a doubt, deserved better than what that guy had been willing to give her.

But this guy…might actually not be so bad. The way Akainu looked at her, there was a real depth of emotion. His marines might not notice, and their Admiral carefully kept his expression professional. But it was in the way his eyes were all soft, stern mouth not quite so when he spoke with her.

Ash blinked and pulled his eyes away.

He was willing to reserve judgment until he knew the guy better.

"You named the Bananawani?" Lieutenant Smoker asked, confused by the suggestion that Crocodile was keeping a known ferocious breed of animal…as pets?

"Of course, Edgar's my precious boy. It'd be an insult to him if he didn't have a name." Crocodile gave the white-haired woman an entertained look. The back halls of the casino were bare of much decoration, painted a soft blue colour that Sabo had picked out when they'd first taken possession of the building. A blue that Sabo insisted was calming and that people who had to walk through the halls regularly would appreciate. Crocodile hadn't disagreed.

The oversized double doors down to her villain's lair were open, and Crocodile sighed happily when she reached the bottom of the staircase, stepping onto the cool black marble.

She was greeted by a near thunderous growl, "Speak of the devil."

Edgar was the biggest of the Bananawani in her care, fifteen meters from nose to tail, scarred up from years of being the top male. Her people weren't phased when Edgar started moving towards her, but she noticed that even Sakazuki hadn't stepped down further than halfway up the staircase; his eyes focused on the giant beast.

She crooned to Edgar, scratching the soft scales under his chin the way he loves, "There's my good boy. Have you been waiting for mommy?"

"He was already up here when Noah and Arman came to feed them this morning. Must have sensed you were on your way." Ash told her, dropping down to sit on one of the sofas in the sunken floor section of the room.

"That's because he's my best boy." Crocodile grinned when Edgar started wiggling, his tail sweeping back and forth. She glanced over her shoulder at the mystified marines, "Don't worry, he only eats the people I tell him to." Sakazuki is the first to come, cautiously, closer. His caution evaporated in the face of Edgar's complete lack of interest in anything that wasn't food or Crocodile.

"Never realized how damn big they are," Doll muttered to Smoker, stopping a few feet away.

Crocodile patted Edgar's snout, turning away from him to walk to the large desk against the wall of windows opposite the stairs. Walter had already returned her Den-Den Mushi to its allotted space on the shiny surface of the dark wood.

Sakazuki found himself face to snout with a suddenly curious bananawani, the gator sniffling him. Sakazuki held still, figuring that the critter was picking up Crocodile's scent intermingled with his after a month of sharing a workspace and sleeping together. The bananawani let him pat his nose.

Crocodile watched out of the corner of her and bit down on a smile. She grabbed her address book from the top drawer of her desk. She really didn't want to make this call, but it was the only way she knew to get a message to Agresta.

She sat in her plush leather chair, dialling the code she wanted. She waited a little impatiently for someone to pick up the line. After the fifth ring, an unfamiliar female voice answers. "Hello, you've reached the office of Gild Tesoro, proprietor of the city ship Gran Tesoro. How can I direct your call?"

"This is Lady Crocodile. I need to get a hold of Tesoro."

"Of course, ma'am, I'll transfer you immediately." Good. That meant Tesoro still considered her a friend, at the very least. She breathed out an irritated sigh. Tesoro's oily voice comes through the line after only a few seconds.

"Crocodile, baby! You haven't called me in so long." Sakazuki shot her an inquisitive look, eyebrow raised imperceptibly. "I'd almost think you were avoiding me. It's been what, two years?"

"Something like that." She told him, scowling lightly. She never did like it when he called her baby, only ever managing to sound condescending and cringy when he did. "This isn't a pleasure call, Tesoro. I need a favour."

"Boo. What do you need?"

"You got any way of contacting Mercurio Agresta?"

"Croc, I have ways of contacting everyone in our line of work."

"I want to sell Rain Dinners; I'd heard he was one of the ones who was originally interested in when the old man wanted to sell last time." She keeps her voice even and calm.

"Oh, ho! Isn't that interesting?"

"Is it?"

"Tell you what Croc. I'll do this favour for you…if you go out with me again."

Sakazuki wanted to laugh when he saw the unimpressed look cross her face. She'd told him about her brief relationship with the self-proclaimed Casino King, "relationship" being a generous description of what had been a handful of dates and lack of compatible sexual interests. Apparently, Gild Tesoro liked to be in complete control of his partners, and Crocodile was not a fan.

"Wow, Tesoro, I can't even begin to tell you how much I don't want to do that."

He laughed, "Alright, alright. I'll get it done, baby."

She hung up after confirming that she'd like Agresta to contact her directly, exchanging looks with Sakazuki. "Well, there's step one. Now we wait for Agresta to contact me."

"Probably won't take long if he's as desperate as Nico Robin says." He muttered.

–

Within twelve hours, Agresta was calling. Crocodile was expecting someone with a similarly oily voice to Tesoro. She didn't expect the smooth, deep baritone that she got instead. The brief interactions they'd had in the past had been through their people. She recalled his bounty poster photo and supposed his voice suited him.

"I gotta admit, I was a little surprised when Tesoro told me you were looking to sell Rain Dinners, Crocodile." Ash had come to get her when the call came in and had to wake her up. He hadn't even blinked when he'd seen that Sakazuki was in bed with her, both of them naked—just held out Crocodile's silk robe, turning his head away to avoid catching an eyeful. She was sitting at her desk, Sakazuki lounging on one of the chairs across from her, wearing nothing but his trousers, his legs stretched out in front of him, and a cigar smouldering in the corner of his mouth.

She played it how she and Sakazuki had discussed. "Yeah, well, I want to get my ass out of Alabasta before the political shitstorm moves in my direction. I have other options for making money, so staying in what's about to become a war-torn country doesn't exactly appeal to me." She crosses her legs, the stump of her wrist resting against her thigh, her other hand holding the receiver of the Den-Den Mushi to her mouth.

"And what makes you think I want to buy into that shitstorm?" His tone was amused, and Crocodile wanted to hang up immediately. Smug was the only vibe she was getting from him.

"I don't know shit. I had heard you might be interested, and I'm giving you a chance to put in an offer before I open it to other interested parties," She sneered and couldn't help but take on, perhaps a little mockingly. "And I've got more than a few interested parties."

He scoffed, but she knew she had his attention, "How much are you asking for?"

She thought quickly before answering smoothly, "780 million beris."

He choked, "That's almost ten times it's worth!"

"It's what I've made it worth. Dinners is the most profitable it's ever been. Why should I take anything less than its minimum value? I'm giving you the courtesy of first grab at it, but maybe I should give Tesoro another call and tell him to open the deal up after all."

He was silent long enough to make Crocodile think that he'd hung up, "You're a tough girl. Alright, fine." Sakazuki snorted inaudibly, not surprised in the least that Agresta was seriously considering it. "I'm in the area anyway. How about I come to you and iron out a deal?" Something about the way that he said it had them both narrowing their eyes, exchanging quick glances. He knows.

Crocodile agreed, "Let's say," Sakazuki holds up two fingers, "Hmm, two days from now."

"I'll be there."

The line went dead. They sat in silence. Crocodile's mouth twisted, "A hundred beris says he's going to be laying a trap alongside ours."

"I never bet against a sure thing, darlin'."