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Doflamingo had pestered him into a date. A nice date, with dinner and shopping. It was something domestic, something far from what either of them usually engaged in, but it sounded nice. The appeal an of all expenses paid night out was enough to get Crocodile to agree. He liked the idea of spending a night with his partner, his lover, uninterrupted from work or subordinate intervention.
Dinner was pleasant for both of them. They split a bottle of wine and talked about everything not work related. Did they practically live together? Yes. Did they spend a lot of time just sitting and talking? Not necessarily.
Doflamingo refused to let Crocodile do so much as peek at the bill. On the way out of the restaurant, Crocodile was sure he heard the wait staff give a collective sigh of relief. The pair walked and talked, admiring things in windows as they did. He would let the bird drone on about what was good quality and what looked imitation. Most of what he said ended with, “I could make it better,” to which Crocodile nodded in passive agreement.
They rounded a corner and only then did Doflamingo stop talking. His head perked up with interest, carefully scanning the surrounding area. Crocodile didn’t bother to question the strange behavior from his partner until the man at his side had taken off in wide strides down the street towards a covered awning. Sitting against the laid brick was a child, one that couldn't have been older than a few months at best. Doflamingo approached the unattended child, looking left, right, and behind to determine if its parents were near.
“Who leaves their kid out here like this?” Doflamingo crouched down. Even down on the ground he towered over the kid. Everything in front of him had been engulfed in the shadow of a setting sun and streetlights beginning to flicker. The baby didn’t seem to mind and crawled towards him without hesitation.
“In a public place nonetheless.” Crocodile sighed. He knelt down beside Doflamingo to get a better look at the child. It seemed unharmed and in good health with no obvious ailments. He had never had much faith in people to begin with, but this felt like a new low.
Crocodile observed as the child reached for his partner's coat. The pink, feathery thing had created a pool around them that fascinated the baby. “I think the kid wants to touch your coat.”
Doflamingo replied with a hum. He hoisted the child in his arms as he stood, tucking the kid against his chest and under the safety of the feathers. That seemed to be enough to satiate the kid's interest in his clothing. Pleased sounds followed tiny hands taking fistfuls of pale pink feathers.
“What do we do with ‘em?” The men looked at each other, at the baby, and back at each other in an almost comical fashion. It seemed like an unspoken understanding that the child was coming home with them.
Doflamingo kept his hand firmly on the baby’s back. He noted that his palm alone was enough to cover the kid almost all the way around. “We…” his lips pressed into a firm line in contemplation. “Go home? For now, I guess.”
The older man huffed a sigh. “Yeah. It's getting late.” Crocodile stayed on the blond’s right side in case the kid decided to climb around. He made his way from the corner where they had found the kid and back to the walkway on the main street.
“Don’t you have any lingering maternal instincts, wani?” Doflamingo questioned. He dodged grabby hands reaching for his earring. The blond thought of Dellinger who also had quite the interest in shiny objects as a young child.
Crocodile felt a vein pop in his forehead. “You’ve had kids more recently than I have.” He would have stuck a heel out at the blond in an attempt to trip him for the comment. Unfortunately Doflamingo had the unwitting effect of baby armor keeping him from tasting the cement.
They didn’t exchange much in the way of words, equally occupied with the thought of a child to raise at least temporarily, if not longer. Doflamingo found himself a little more glad they came out. Crocodile was thankful that he had let the bird drive rather than asking Daz. Bones was loyal, almost to a fault, and would have asked questions that Crocodile wasn’t sure he could answer. When they reached the car, Doflamingo handed the baby off to Crocodile. The drive was quiet, aside from baby chatter, and probably the safest driving Doflamingo had ever done.
Once home, now plus one, Crocodile handed the kid back off to Doflamingo who accepted the offer with open arms. He was quick to take the kid into their living room where it could have some space to roam around. Doflamingo sat down in front of the couch with the kid in his lap and Crocodile took a seat on the smaller of two couches beside them.
Crocodile watched as the kid crawled around Doflamingo’s lap. He noted that for as menacing of a man as Doflamingo could be (and usually was), he was undeniably good with children.
Doflamingo lifted the kid over his head and situated little legs around the back of his neck. He kept his fingers firmly wrapped around the baby’s chubby thighs. Crocodile reached for his lover's glasses, pulling them off his face just in case little hands started reaching for them. The blond’s expression faltered to a right frown and knitted brows at his glasses being taken but could only be so upset with a kid resting on his head and shoulders. Crocodile noticed the kid making a strikingly similar expression to Doflamingo.
“Stop making ‘em make weird faces.” Crocodile scolded with little venom. The reply was a wide grin that reached both of Doflamingo’s mismatched eyes, only to have the kid have the same goofy smile. The older couldn’t help but smile back at the two.
“Can we keep it?” Doflamingo asked cheerily.
Crocodile hunched over, resting his elbow against his knee and his chin on his palm. He placed the gaudy white rimmed sunglasses over the baby’s eyes. “I guess at least for the night. And we ought to stop calling the kid an ‘it.’” Doflamingo pulled the kid off his shoulders, holding them out in front of him.
“The little guy looks good in my shades.” The baby’s smile was rather infectious, leaving a grin plastered across Doflamingo’s own face. He was nearly beaming with joy at the sight of the kid in his pink glasses.
Crocodile reached forward, wrapping a hand around the baby’s back and resting his prosthetic underneath to support the weight. He pulled the kid towards his chest, cradling the child. “Go find something for ‘em to eat. I think we have applesauce in the pantry.”
Doflamingo nodded and headed for the kitchen. He did, in fact, locate the applesauce. The blond poured some into a small dish and grabbed the smallest spoon available from the silverware drawer.
Before Doflamingo could breach the doorway back to the living room he noticed the kid was fighting sleep in Crocodile’s arms. He turned on his heel and quickly deposited the dish into the fridge. This time, when he reached the couch, he settled himself behind his lover, propping his leg up for Crocodile to lean against.
Crocodile didn’t dare stir in fear of disturbing the peaceful child falling asleep in his arms. He rolled his head to the side, comfortably resting it against Doflamingo’s chest. The older felt an arm snake around his back and rested at his side, hand on his lap. Crocodile was sure he would regret taking a nap on the couch for many reasons, but that was a bridge to be crossed later. For now, he enjoyed the warmth enveloping him from the side and the comfortable weight in his arms.