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Being in Impel Down had been hell, not because of some kind of or the humiliation, the prisoners of level six were abandoned, but because of the solitude and the lack of nicotine. Even if Crocodile could talk to other inmates, he always felt alone, and it was a bitter thing to realize. He had always loved being by himself, enjoying the peace and quiet of the little time he could spend without anyone else around, but due to a certain pink idiot that gradually changed over time without him realizing it.
Doflamingo had been a persistent annoyance at first, always following Crocodile around, trying to catch his attention and barely giving him any time to breathe. At some point, Crocodile had found himself not only not minding the blond’s advancements but appreciating them, cherishing them.
That oversized bird had been persistent on pushing his limits and testing the brunet’s patience, but never overstepping his boundaries, so Crocodile never seriously pushed the other man away.
In the beginning the sand man had reluctantly accepted the blond’s obsession, refusing to show how much Doflamingo actually got under his skin just out of pride. Later, as time passed by, Crocodile understood the reason he always allowed the other man to come back was because he actually liked Doflamingo’s undivided attention. He had never been a priority to anyone before, and the change stirred something in his stomach, something he didn’t want to name. Not until now, at least.
After Straw Hat had beaten him to a pulp and Crocodile was being taken to Impel Down, he couldn’t help himself from thinking about the blond. They wouldn’t meet each other again, the brunet wasn’t delusional enough to even entertain the thought of Doflamingo coming to his rescue. That prison was a hole no one could get back from, so he allowed vulnerability for the first time in almost two decades, if only to himself.
Behind the bars, Crocodile acknowledged his feelings about his ridiculous pink bird, as he had lots of time to think and consider everything about their relationship. He missed Doflamingo, and not only the sex, but him as a whole. The sand man missed his company, the soft touches, the way the blond would gift him a genuine small smile the few times the brunet had complimented him with sincerity, or how easy it was to share some space with the other man.
Crocodile had fallen in love with Doflamingo. He didn’t know when reluctance became acceptance, or when that developed to love, but it had happened and now it was too late to do something about it. Not that he would have acted on it before, of course, for love and vulnerability meant weakness, so he didn’t regret leaving it unsaid. This way, at least, the blond wouldn’t suffer that much and would be able to eventually forget about him and move on.
Unable to do anything but itching for a cigar and for the feeling of long arms embracing him, the brunet could only be a thorn on the Government’s side by staying alive as long as he could. He had no hope of leaving that hellish place, he was not crazy, so the least he could do was persevere.
Until a new inmate was brought to level six, followed by an imprisoned Jimbe, and then chaos. Straw Hat, that insane kid that had destroyed all of Crocodile’s plans and was the main cause of him being here, had appeared in Impel Down to rescue his brother.
Without hesitation, the sand man took the chance to escape, asking the teenager and Ivankov to free him. He had been too distressed— depressed even, to flee when the members of Baroque Works had tried to help him before, when he was still far away from this prison, but now he was ready to start over again.
It didn’t take too long for them to be on a warship, on their way to Marineford, and Crocodile was excited. He had picked some things here and there, so he knew Doflamingo would be there. Over six feet of murder and violence would be waiting for the brunet to appear, even if the blond wasn’t aware that he had escaped too.
Crocodile couldn’t wait to see his bird’s reaction, as restrained and cautious as it would be because they would be surrounded by too many people. He also wanted to feed his hook with Whitebeard’s blood for all the pain that old man had made him go through all those years ago, it hadn’t just been an empty comment.
Unfortunately, anything went like the brunet wanted. Not only had Straw Hat stopped him from taking his revenge on Whitebeard, but barely a moment after their arrival Sengoku had revealed to the whole world the name of Straw Hat’s father.
Monkey D. Luffy, the brat that had ruined all his plans, was Dragon’s son. It took a while to process, and the sand man had to do some quick math, not even able to do it confidently as he didn’t know Straw Hat’s age. But there was not too much room for doubt, knowing Dragon hadn’t produced one on purpose in the first place, aware that any kid of his would bear a big target on their back, so there was only one possibility left.
Monkey D. Luffy was Crocodile’s son. The son Dragon convinced him to give birth but was too afraid to raise himself. He had given the kid to Dragon the moment he had been born, not ready to be a parent or abandon his dreams. If Crocodile had stayed to take care of his son, he would have resented him for something the kid couldn’t be blamed for, and he hadn’t wanted to disappoint his son either by being a shitty father, so after making Dragon promise the baby would be fine, Crocodile met Ivankov and left to start a new life.
Not being ready to raise the kid and being afraid of doing an awful job as a father didn’t mean the brunet didn’t care about his son, though. He truly believed that it would be better for the kid to not have him in his life, because that way his son could have a brighter future. A future the sand man wouldn’t be able to ruin just because he had stayed.
In the middle of a war, though, having this new piece of information and watching Luffy engaging in fights with every powerful figure in the Marines, Crocodile grew anxious. He hadn’t stepped away just for the kid to die in front of him.
Priorities suddenly changed and the sand man started acting with more boldness, making riskier decisions that he would have with a calmer mind just to protect his son. His grudge with Whitebeard was forgotten, and he even ignored his bird in exchange to keep an eye on Luffy. Which the blond didn’t take well.
From Doflamingo’s point of view Crocodile had disappeared a couple of months ago, arrested and taken to Impel Down. He had almost gone insane— more than he already was, to the point he had started planning how to break the brunet out of prison, no matter how many strings he had to pull. Now he had his lover in front of him, but Crocodile was utterly ignoring him, not even sending a glance his way.
The Warlord was mad, obsession, want and betrayal making him see red. Crocodile was his and no one had the right to make him look in any other direction that wasn’t Doflamingo’s. At first, the blond had appeared in front of the rookie and Ivankov to try and get a feeling of what was happening, but talking to them was useless, so he went straight to his lover, saving him from a fight with one of Whitebeard’s commanders on his way.
Doflamingo didn’t receive a little bit of gratitude and even was launched by Crocodile’s sand far from him. He was enraged, furious, but he didn’t let his feelings get the worse of himself and patiently waited for another chance to approach his lover. He wasn’t going to give up so easily, even if that meant seriously fighting the brunet.
The blond carefully observed every one of Crocodile’s actions, his mind racing. He didn’t care about Whitebeard being stabbed, but the sand man apparently did, which only made Doflamingo’s mood worse. He couldn’t understand his lover’s actions anymore, anything he did made any sense at all.
Crocodile had encouraged Whitebeard, one of the men he hated the most, to keep fighting, and then he had saved Portgas D. Ace. Doflamingo didn’t get why the brunet would take all those risks, so he approached his lover again and attacked him, though he didn’t use haki. Yet.
The blond wanted Crocodile’s attention, he wanted to hurt the brunet, take him away, take him to Dressrosa and not let him ever go. Doflamingo taunted the man, making him stay with him. It wouldn’t be easy to get away from the Warlord now, even if his lover tried his best, but after the exchange of a few words, Crocodile frowned.
“Birdie.” Doflamingo was startled by the pet name, having been used until now in secrecy, when they were alone. The soft but strangled tone made the blond relax his shoulders involuntarily, the meaning of that word alone clear. Crocodile still had him on his mind, he still cared. “Not now.”
Looking at the brunet closer, the Warlord could tell his lover seemed anxious, but he couldn’t figure out why. He wanted to ask, but Crocodile would not answer right now, and he also seemed to be in a rush, so with his jaw clenched, Doflamingo stepped aside to let the other man go.
The blond followed Crocodile’s every action very attentively, trying to understand, but he couldn’t. He saw how the sand man directly fought Hawk Eyes to save Straw Hat, how he took too many risks, and later, how he saved again the boy and Jimbe from Akainu. Doflamingo barely paid attention to Blackbeard killing Whitebeard or the old man claiming the One Piece was real.
Soon enough, Red Haired appeared, Straw Hat was saved, and Crocodile had disappeared from the battlefield. Doflamingo wanted to scream and kill more idiots, but that wouldn’t do any good. Instead, he turned around to leave and start making calls to find his lover before he remembered he still had one last mission.
On the other side, Crocodile had left everything behind the second he was sure his son had successfully escaped, not wanting to be there anymore. Staying would be useless, as Whitebeard was already dead and he didn’t want to mingle with any of that old man’s crew, so he took Daz with him and discreetly disappeared after stealing an unguarded Marine ship.
Almost half a day later, they arrived at a big, remote island, not empty but not too busy either. There, he ordered his subordinate to look for a good ship and for a few people to navigate without trouble, and when Daz nodded, Crocodile told him they would meet again in a couple of days.
The brunet walked away from the town, he needed time to think and he wouldn’t be able to do it if he was surrounded by people, so he found an isolated spot in the mountains and sat on the ground, his back resting against rock. He patted the breast pocket, looking for a cigar, but when he found none there, he moved his hands to a secret pocket where he had two cigars hidden for these occasions.
Crocodile didn’t have too much hope, thinking they would have been taken by Impel Down’s guards, but fortunately they weren’t found. He sighed with relief before stopping all his motions at a strange feeling. There was something else in the pocket, something he himself had put there a long time ago.
Carefully, the sand man took the little Transponder Snail from the pocket and winced when he saw it. It wasn’t dead yet, but it was in a very dangerous condition after over a month without eating or eating, it was a miracle it was still alive.
Crocodile growled before turning to sand to travel back to the town, stealing a cabbage and some clean water and finally returning to the isolated spot in the mountains to feed the snail. If it had been any regular Transponder Snail, the brunet wouldn’t have cared at all, but this one was special.
This snail could communicate with only another specific snail, which was in Doflamingo’s hands, and the black snails couldn’t eavesdrop on their signals. The Transponder Snail had been a gift from the blond almost five years ago, but Crocodile hadn’t used it to call the other man even once.
It would have been useful, of course, but the sand man hadn’t liked the implications at the time. This snail was to be used if Crocodile ever needed Doflamingo’s help or if he was bored enough, which meant that if the brunet used it, it meant he would be vulnerable or missing his bird.
Looking at the small snail eating and drinking, Crocodile sighed, smoke coming out of his mouth and nose. Before Impel Down, he had lied to himself telling he didn’t have feelings for the blond, that their relationship was sex, good company and some self-indulgence, but he couldn’t do that anymore. The brunet had accepted his feelings and he was exhausted, he needed some comfort, and he wanted to see his ridiculous bird.
With that in mind, the sand man calmly waited for the snail to finish eating before hesitating one last time and starting the call. The snail on the other side was picked almost instantly.
“Croco?” The brunet couldn’t help but smile with amusement, his eyes closed and his head resting against the rocks, when he heard his name in that tone with so many mixed emotions. Rage, jealousy, want, relief, frustration… All that and more in just one word— his name.
Crocodile had been aware he had hurt Doflamingo’s feelings, but he hadn’t been able to explain at the moment, everything moving too fast and too many ears around. Straw Hat didn’t need any more target on his back for now, even though it wouldn’t matter if the world knew because being Dragon’s son already made the boy being chased by too many enemies.
“Hello, birdie.” The sand man said, not bothering to hide the tiredness he felt. “Care to come meet me and bring me some cigars?” He asked, but before the blond could reply and probably burst into outrageous fury, he added. “I’ve missed you.”
Whatever Doflamingo had been about to say got stuck on his throat. It was obvious the blond would be left speechless, after all, the brunet had never been one to share his feelings so openly.
“This snail was a gift to reach to you when I needed you the most, wasn’t it?” Crocodile asked softly. “You wanted me to think only about you when I was the most vulnerable, right?” He added, the other man’s intentions when giving him the snail never a mystery. “I’m vulnerable now and I need you, birdie, so come meet me.”
Pride was worthless right now, he had lost pretty much everything and he would have to start from the scratch. It wouldn’t be as difficult as the last time, having experience and some contacts, but it was a new start anyways, and this time he didn’t feel like he had to prove himself to everyone.
Crocodile didn’t have to pretend to be a heartless man, and both he and Doflamingo could protect themselves from most people, so love wasn’t that much of a weakness. The only one that would be able to take advantage of him was his bird and he couldn’t see how that could deal too much damage, so he allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of the blond.
“Tell me where you are.” Doflamingo said after a brief pause, determined and worried at the same time. “I’ll bring with me a whole box of cigars.”
Crocodile snorted softly and told the blond the name of the island, explaining he was not in the town and warning the other man not to make a scene because he still had to spend a few days around and he didn’t want to be on the run so soon.
Later, still sitting on the ground but with his bird embracing him from his back, Crocodile finally felt like he could relax a little. He had considered not telling anything to the blond, but Doflamingo had asked, full of jealousy and a flicker of fear about the possibility of losing his lover to another man, making the sand man roll his eyes.
In the end, Crocodile decided to tell the blond, if only to avoid having Doflamingo chasing Luffy around to kill him, and the sand man took this chance to warn his bird. It was true that Doflamingo was important to him, but his son was priority, even if Crocodile only got to protect him from afar, so Doflamingo better behave.