Come Hell or High Water

by QueridaMyDear

Summary:

As a pair of Alpha and Omega Celestial Dragons, Doflamingo and Rosinante can get married when they're older. Unless they're forced to move to the human world, which doesn't observe the laws of Celestial Dragons.

Notes:

This was originally part of my submission for CoraFest, Fear me, Love me . But it started to take on a life of its own so I removed it, intending to pad it out later. It sat around in my drafts for a long time, and it's overall a very cute little drabble so I gave it a quick ending and now it's finally up on Ao3!

Chapter 1

Rosinante had been promised to Doflamingo when they were just pups. On Doflamingo’s 10th birthday, their parents sat them down and explained that there was a Celestial Dragon tradition where the first born alpha and the first born omega child in a family could become mates when they were grown up. So when they were both grown, Doflamingo would be able to take Rosinante as his mate.

“Rosi is my omega?” Doflamingo asked, eyes wide in excitement. He turned to Rosinante and held his small hands tightly, smiling at him. He had always loved his precious baby brother from the moment he was born, when their mother showed Doflamingo the tiny bundle in her arms and told him it was his brother. But learning that Rosinante was his, his omega, born to be his mate, he loved him even more. He became even more loving, more protective, and more attentive of his precious brother’s needs, eager to show Rosinante what a good alpha he would be.

On one sunny afternoon not long after their parents sat them down to tell them about the ancient Celestial Dragon tradition, Doflamingo was outside with Rosinante on a blanket, the two snacking on fruits and sweets. At the time, it seemed to Doflamingo that Rosinante didn’t fully understand what their parents said, so he wanted to make sure.

“You remember what father and mother said to us the other day, Rosi? Do you know what they meant?”

“You mean when they said you’re my alpha? It means we're married!” Rosinante giggled happily with a half eaten apple slice in his hand and butterflies in his tummy as he thought about being married to Doflamingo.

Doflamingo's heart fluttered. Rosinante’s obvious excitement thrilled him, but like Doflamingo thought, he didn’t seem to fully understand what their parents said.

“We're not married yet, but we will be.”

“We're not?” Rosinante looked confused. He was quiet for a few moments, looking at the half eaten apple in his hand before tears started forming in his eyes as he looked up at Doflamingo, “Why not? Why aren’t we married? I want to get married!”

“We will, Rosi! When we're older!” Doflamingo was panicking as he tried to soothe his omega, who was starting to get even more upset.

“But I’m yours! And you’re mine! Why do we have to wait, aniue?”

Most of the time, Rosinante was a very calm and well mannered child. When he did get upset, it wasn’t difficult for his parents or his brother to calm him down, and he wasn’t known for throwing tantrums. But the discovery that he wasn’t married to Doflamingo made him break down screaming and crying. Doflamingo couldn’t calm him down, and their parents couldn’t calm him down either. They offered him his favorite toys and his favorite sweets, but Rosinante refused all of them, preferring to hold onto Doflamingo and cry inconsolably into his shirt.

When Rosinante’s tantrum escalated and he started throwing things, they broke down and agreed to hold a mock wedding for the brothers. They couldn’t legally get married at their ages of course, but the family could at least have a small wedding for them and refer to the two as spouses, if that was what Rosinante wanted. Once he was promised a wedding, Rosinante didn’t even hear the part about how it wasn’t going to be a legal wedding, all he heard was their parents giving in and agreeing to host a wedding now instead of when they were adults.

Their mother helped him plan the wedding. Rosinante wanted it to take place in the backyard, under his and Doflamingo’s favorite tree.

“I want lots of food! I want cupcakes and salad!” Rosinante declared to his mother, who smiled as she wrote down everything Rosinante wanted for the wedding.

“And I want me and Doffy to wear our fancy clothes! Doffy is really handsome in his fancy clothes.” Rosinante giggled, blushing a little.

Their mother was just relieved that Rosinante was so excited to marry Doflamingo. Her own sister had been the firstborn omega in her family, and her marriage to the firstborn alpha, her brother, was not a happy union. She had also been worried that Rosinante wouldn’t want to take part in the tradition. What would the neighbors think if their sons didn’t get married??

The next day they held the wedding in the backyard. Their parents were in attendance and watched as Doflamingo and Rosinante stood together under the big tree, holding each others’ hands and reciting their vows.

“I promise to keep you safe, Rosi! And I’ll tell you I love you every day!” Doflamingo was squeezing Rosinante’s hands. He knew this was only a play wedding and they’d have a real one when they were older, but he was more excited about this play wedding than he thought he’d be.

“I love you too, Doffy!” Rosinante squealed, “I promise to give you lots of pups! I’ll be the best omega!”

After reciting their vows to each other, they leaned in close and gave each other a little kiss on the lips. Rosinante giggled, blushing bright red after getting his kiss.

“Should they do the bite?” Their mother asked her mate quietly. A newer tradition from the past few hundred years, the bite referred to the moment the newly-married couple would perform a mating bite on their new spouse in front of their wedding guests.

“I don’t see what harm it can do, they’re both so young, their teeth won’t be long enough to reach the scent gland.” Homing just smiled at his wife and held her hand, “Besides, Rosinante was so upset. He’ll be happier if Doflamingo gives him a bite.”

“Do you want me to bite you, Rosi?” Doflamingo asked him in a soft voice, just between the two of them. “You remember what I told you, right? It’s gonna hurt. It’s okay if you want to wait until we’re grown up and we get married again.”

“I want you to bite me, aniue!” Rosinante was hopping up and down in excitement, eager to have his brother’s bite on his neck. “I remember what you told me!” He’d been a little hesitant and scared when Doflamingo first told him about the bite. He told Rosinante it would hurt for a little bit, but then it would stop hurting once it healed. Rosinante really loved Doflamingo, so he could be brave and tolerate the pain long enough for his brother to give him his mating bite.

“Okay, Rosi.” Doflamingo smiled and hugged Rosinante close, then he lowered his mouth to his little brother’s neck.

At 10 years old, Doflamingo was too young to have his adult mating fangs, and at 8 years old, Rosinante’s scent glands were still immature and dormant. The expected outcome was that Doflamingo would bite Rosinante’s neck, break the skin to leave a small scar, and give Rosinante the impression that he’d received a real mating bite. Rosinante would then return the gesture and bite his big brother’s neck, giving Doflamingo the same impression of receiving a mating bite while only leaving a small scar.

When Doflamingo bit Rosinante, he held tightly to his little brother and bit down as hard as he could. He knew Rosinante wanted a mating bite to wear on his neck, so Doflamingo wanted to do his best to give him a proper bite. Some blood dribbled down Rosinante’s neck as he held onto Doflamingo, trying to be brave and not whimper or pull away as his brother bit him. He kept telling himself that it would only hurt for a little bit, and then it would get better and heal, and then he'd get to show off his mating bite!

A sudden burst of scent alerted Homing and his wife that something unexpected had happened. An omega of Rosinante’s age was not supposed to have a scent yet, but he now smelled of orange flowers with notes of warm spices. Doflamingo pulled away when he scented this, looking at Rosinante with wide eyes and blood on his teeth.

“I did it, Rosi!” He laughed and hugged Rosinante tightly, careful to avoid his neck. Rosinante squealed happily and burrowed into Doflamingo’s arms.

“Oh… That… Wasn’t supposed to happen.” Homing watched his sons nervously as Doflamingo instinctively licked at the wound he’d just created, his saliva helping the blood slow and coagulate.

It was Rosinante’s turn next, though despite his best efforts, he wasn’t able to break Doflamingo’s scent gland. He started crying and slid to his knees, extremely upset that he couldn't give his brother a mating bite.

“I'm sorry, aniue! I-I wanted to give you a bite too, so people will know you're married to me!” He cried, trying to hide his face behind his hands.

Homing and his wife immediately tried to console him, but Doflamingo beat them to Rosinante. Homing held his wife back. He wanted to see how Doflamingo would handle this.

“It's okay, Rosi! I'm not upset! It's okay, your fangs aren't long enough yet, we can wait until they're longer, then you can bite me, okay?” Doflamingo dried Rosinante’s tears himself, smiling at his sweet crybaby omega.

“Okay,” Rosinante sniffed and nodded, “You can't let any other omegas bite you, okay?”

He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, intending to show Doflamingo that he was extremely serious about this.

“I don't want any other omega, Rosi. I promise, I won't let anyone else bite me! Only my Rosi.” Doflamingo hugged Rosinante close. He could smell the fresh mating bite on Rosinante’s neck. Their scents were already starting to mingle and join as one. Anyone who knew Doflamingo's scent would be able to smell it on Rosinante from now on.

 

Problems arose when Homing decided he wanted to leave Mary Geoise with his family. While planning their departure with the world government, Homing and his wife discovered that the human world did not follow the same traditions as Celestial Dragons.

“I'm afraid a marriage between your children won't be recognized legally by human laws. There are laws specifically preventing marriages of this nature.” The government official carefully told them.

“I see,” Homing didn't know what else to say. How was he going to explain this to Doflamingo and Rosinante? They had enjoyed their play wedding so much, and Doflamingo had given Rosinante a real mate bite! What kind of trouble would that cause for them in the human world?

He did his best to explain the situation to his children, but it didn't go well. Doflamingo was furious, baring his fangs at his father whenever he tried to come closer to them, his instincts turning him blind with rage at the thought of their father trying to take Rosinante away from him.

“He's already got my mate mark! You can't take him away from me! He's mine!” Doflamingo snarled, his instincts riled up by the sound of his precious Omega crying. Rosinante stood behind him, clinging to the back of his shirt as he cried.

“But we got married under the tree! We're married! Aniue marked me! I'm his mate!” Rosinante wailed miserably, not understanding why his father told them they wouldn't be mated when they were adults.

Homing tried to reason with them and explain that when they relinquished their Celestial Dragon status, they would be expected to follow human norms and expectations, and humans didn't observe sibling marriages.

Doflamingo guided Rosinante away with his arm around his shoulders. He bared his baby Alpha fangs at his father whenever he tried to get close to them, daring him to see what Doflamingo would do if pushed too far.

“It's okay, Rosi. No matter what he says, I marked you. You're my mate. My Omega. I won't let them take you away from me, I promise.” Doflamingo hugged Rosinante tightly, rubbing his head against Rosinante’s to scent mark him.

Despite Doflamingo’s protests, the family moved anyway. This betrayal filled him with a burning rage so great, so intense, he didn’t know how to handle it. He no longer let Homing come anywhere near Rosinante, snapping his sharp baby Alpha fangs at him whenever he tried. Homing couldn’t be trusted to take care of Rosinante. But soon, Doflamingo would begin to doubt his own ability to take care of Rosinante.

Life in the slums was miserable for Doflamingo. Whatever remained of their belongings was long gone, either stolen from them, sold off, or burned to ashes when their home was set ablaze. He was always hungry. Their mother was sick. But worst of all, Doflamingo had to watch his precious Omega go hungry. He did his best to find enough food for Rosinante, for their mother, and for himself, but it was never enough.

He felt the ache of inadequacy creep through him as he watched Rosinante’s bones become more and more prominent, and he thought back to the day of their ‘wedding’, when they feasted on cupcakes and salad.

“I promise to keep you safe, Rosi!”

He'd failed.

“And I’ll tell you I love you every day!”

He could do that, at least. Doflamingo looked down at Rosinante's fluffy hair, less soft than it used to be, brittle from malnutrition, but still golden like the sun, even bathed in the cool light of the moon through the holes in the walls of the shack.

“I love you, Rosi,” Doflamingo whispered into his hair, kissing the top of his head. He hugged Rosinante closer, feeling his ribcage under his hands. Deep inside, his anger and rage continued to burn and scream and rage. This wasn’t right. An Omega was meant to be soft and plump and well cared for, with shining hair and not a care in the world. His Rosinante was all bones and angles and he cried himself to sleep every night in Doflamingo’s embrace, and every night Doflamingo hated himself a little more.

 

Doflamingo thought he had already reached the lowest depths of despair.

They were no longer Dragons.

Mother was gone.

What else could the world take from him?

The townspeople chased them from the shack and cornered them by an old stone building, carrying flames and knives and pitchforks. Doflamingo folded himself over Rosinante, trying to shield him from whatever they had planned.

But then he was pulled away. Someone pulled him off of Rosinante, then someone else grabbed Rosinante, and Doflamingo watched in helpless horror as his Omega was tied up with ropes and strung up, as if he was nothing more than a side of meat left out to dry.

Doflamingo barely registered the sounds of flames or the screaming people shouting curses at them. Those sounds were distant, echoing like a fading memory. Above all other sounds, he heard Rosinante crying and begging Doflamingo to save him, and even above the desperate cries of his Omega, Doflamingo heard the sound of his own thundering fury getting louder and louder inside of his head until it burst out of him. He screamed and raged and unleashed a torrent of curses and vows to slash the throats of everyone present, releasing burst after burst of powerful haki he didn’t even know he had the power to command.

He shouted out his misery to the gods and promised to lay waste to the entire island for the sins they’d committed against him and his Omega, and finally, he was silenced as a bright, burning pain shot through his left eye, and he passed out.

 

When he awoke, he heard the sound of Rosinante’s tiny growls. He sat up in alarm, wondering what could have prompted his gentle Omega to growl, but he immediately felt dizzy upon sitting up.

“Aniue!” Rosinante rushed to his side and stayed huddled in front of him, growling and baring his tiny Omega fangs to several shadowy figures standing in front of them. He heard the sounds of Rosinante swinging something. A weapon? Where had he found a weapon?

“We’re not going to hurt your Alpha, little one,” A voice thick with mucus laughed. His laughter compounded Doflamingo’s headache and made him feel nauseous.

“Are you awake, back there? Your Omega is pretty fierce for such a skinny little thing.” He heard another voice tell him, and he wanted to nod and agree. Rosinante was extremely fierce and brave, and Doflamingo was so proud of him for surviving everything that had been thrown at them!

“Wh-what do you want!” Doflamingo managed to wake up enough to take charge of the situation. He smelled copper and looked to Rosinante, horrified when he saw that Rosinante was clutching a shard of glass in his little hand, which he’d been swinging at the group of men in desperation to protect his unconscious Alpha.

“Rosi, your hand!” Doflamingo took the glass from him and looked in horror at the bleeding gash on his palm.

“Aniue, your eye…” Rosinante whimpered, and it was only then that Doflamingo registered the incredible pain on the left side of his head. What happened to his eye?

“That was quite a display back there,” Doflamingo heard the mucus-y voice again and he crouched in front of Rosinante to defend him from these strangers.

“Now, now, none of that. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help you become the king you were meant to be.”

Chapter 2

Summary:

Doffy intends to finish off Homing with the gun Trebol gave him. But someone else might have even more influence over Doffy than Trebol.

Notes:

Any time I say something is a one shot, there's at least a 70% chance my bestie is behind the scenes, enabling me to write more

The gun was heavy in Doflamingo’s hand. Big. Cold. His hand was just large enough to easily hold it and put his finger on the trigger.

“For protection,” Trebol told him with a nauseating grin as he handed it over. Doflamingo felt relief flood his veins. He could protect himself and Rosinante from the townspeople now! He could get revenge! He could…

He could kill the one responsible for all of this.

 

“Doffy-nii, no! Please!” Rosinante followed him the entire way back to their sad little shack in the woods, where they found their father, broken and burned and bloody, kneeling beside his wife’s grave.

“You!” Doflamingo stomped up to him and Homing looked up, so far gone he barely seemed to register the weapon his son was pointing in his face. “This is your fault! All of this is your fault!”

“Yes, I suppose it is, isn’t it…” Homing sighed, looking back toward his wife’s grave, finally feeling a small spark of joy that he might be joining her soon.

“Doffy-nii, don’t do it!” Rosinante sobbed, grabbing Doflamingo’s wrist to throw off his aim.

“Rosi! Don’t do that, I’m holding a gun! I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Don’t shoot father, please!” Rosinante looked at him desperately.

“Why shouldn’t I?? He did this to us! Mother is dead! My eye is gone! If it wasn’t for him, we…” Doflamingo faltered for a moment, watching his omega’s desperately sad expression, “We could get married for real…”

Rosinante’s little heart ached. He’d since learned the truth that the wedding held for them in Marie Geoise was not a real wedding, but a facsimile of what their future wedding could’ve been.

“Even if we can’t get married, you’re still my alpha. I still have you. Please, don’t do it.” Rosinante begged, slipping his tiny hands around Doflamingo’s hand to take the gun from him.

There had been something in Trebol’s smile, his voice, his laughter, something that told Rosinante he’d given Doflamingo the gun not for protection, but to kill off the last shred of humanity in Doflamingo’s heart. Rosinante was determined to protect that last little shred, to keep his Doflamingo alive.

Doflamingo faltered, his grip loosening.

“Why protect him, Rosi?” Doflamingo needed to know. Rosinante pulled the gun from his hand, pleased and relieved that he’d won this quiet and unannounced battle between himself and Trebol.

“I’m not protecting him, Doffy-nii. I’m protecting you.” Rosinante smiled at him and offered his hand. Doflamingo didn’t quite understand, but he was far too exhausted to question Rosinante’s words. He took his little brother’s hand and kissed the back of it, then held it tightly in his own and they walked away without another glance at Homing, leaving him sad, cold, and alone in the shadows by his wife’s silent grave.

 

Rosinante guided them back home, Doflamingo still too distraught to take the lead.

“I was going to take his head back to Marie Geoise as a peace offering to let us come back.” He argued, still angry that Rosinante took the gun from him.

“They were never going to let us back in.” Rosinante’s response was immediate and Doflamingo winced from how the truth burned.

“Then you, at the very least…” Doflamingo's voice became small and vulnerable as he opened his heart to Rosinante, his omega, his beloved. “If not both of us, then you… They would have taken you, I know it.”

“No, they wouldn't.” Rosinante’s response was once again quick and brutal and it stung Doflamingo. He wanted to argue and refuse to agree even though he knew Rosinante was right. Why wouldn't Marie Geoise want him? It just didn't make sense that everyone around them couldn't understand immediately how wonderful Rosinante was, why couldn't they see what Doflamingo saw? Battered, broken, tired, and malnourished as he was, Rosinante was still the most beautiful omega Doflamingo had ever seen in his life. His resilient, loyal, loving omega. He deserved to be pampered and spoiled and raised in luxury, and Doflamingo was determined to give him everything he deserved and more.

“Even if they did…” Rosinante stopped walking, his hand trembling in Doflamingo's hand, “If they did let me back in… Just me… I wouldn't stay. I'd come find you.”

Rosinante looked at Doflamingo with wet eyes, his hand squeezing Doflamingo's tightly.

“I don't want to go back to Marie Geoise! I want to stay with you!”

Doflamingo pulled Rosinante into his arms and hugged his whimpering omega, feeling awful for even suggesting leaving him somewhere away from Doflamingo.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Forgive me.” Doflamingo pleaded into his ear. He'd never say it again. He would never again say anything about them separating.

 

Trebol was displeased when he saw Doflamingo returning with Rosinante still at his side. He'd hoped that the sound of the gun or the sight of Doflamingo's bloody deed would chase him away. Doflamingo could be a king the likes of which the world had never seen before, but in order to reach those heights, he would have to kill off what remained of his humanity. As long as Rosinante remained at his side, that humanity would also remain.

Rosinante was Doflamingo's weakness. He would keep Doflamingo's heart soft where Trebol needed it to be all edges and sharp enough to cut.

Rosinante walked Doflamingo to their room and helped him into the bed. When he tried to leave the room, Doflamingo reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“What about you? Come to bed, Rosi.”

“I will. I'll be right back.” Rosinante promised him gently, and left the room once Doflamingo released him. He closed the door to their room firmly behind him and stood in front of it, his hands secure on the doorknob.

Rosinante stood face to face with Trebol, the man wearing a wide grin on his disgusting face.

“Did he-” “He didn't.” Rosinante shook his head. Trebol looked disappointed. He stood over Rosinante, trying to use his larger size to intimidate the little omega, but Rosinante stood firm. Doflamingo was brave when Rosinante needed him to be, so he could be brave when Doflamingo needed him to be.

“You should leave. Doffy is destined for greatness. He's not going to achieve that greatness with you at his side.” Trebol giggled, his words reaching into Rosinante’s thoughts and pulling out his most tender fears to poke and prod at.

Rosinante did his best to ignore Trebol's words. He didn't want to go anywhere else. He wanted to stay with Doflamingo.

“You will make him soft. Soft is dangerous. Soft is weak. Soft gets people killed.” Trebol came closer, the stink of his breath washing over Rosinante.

Rosinante stared up at Trebol, his heart pounding. He didn’t like Trebol. He didn’t like him from the moment he walked up to Rosinante while he stood guard over his unconscious alpha. Trebol always said one thing with his mouth but Rosinante could hear the hidden meaning under it. Doflamingo couldn’t hear Trebol’s hidden words, but that was okay. Rosinante could hear them, and he wasn’t going anywhere. He was staying right where he belonged at Doflamingo’s side.

And he certainly wasn’t going to let a booger man like Trebol keep them apart.

Rosinante pulled out the gun still tucked away in his pants and pointed it at Trebol with fury all over his face.Trebol took a half step back, surprised to see the gun had made its way to Rosinante’s hands.

“I’m not going anywhere! Doffy-nii is my Alpha! I’m staying with him whether you like it or not!” Rosinante breathed hard and fast as he held the gun up, needing both hands to securely hold it.

Trebol was surprised. He didn’t think Rosinante had it in him to even hold the gun, let alone lift it and aim it at someone. But he was fairly certain the kid wouldn’t be able to make himself pull the trigger. He approached Rosinante to take the gun back, only to be surprised when he heard the sound of the gun firing.

Trebol looked down, and saw that Rosinante really had pulled the trigger, and he was staring at Trebol with determined, angry eyes, clearly not regretting what he’d just done. Trebol could feel the bullet, lodged within the thick mucus he wore around himself like a blanket. He flexed his mucus, and spat the bullet out onto the ground. The kid actually fucking did it! He pulled the trigger!

He hated to admit it, but he was impressed.

Rosinante stared at the bullet with wide eyes, incredulous. He was standing so close to Trebol! Why didn’t it hurt him??

Trebol just laughed and lowered his face so he was looking right into Rosinante’s eyes.

“Maybe you do have what it takes to help make Doffy a king.”

Chapter 3

Summary:

Rosinante needs to learn how to fight if he wants to keep his Alpha safe. Vergo offers to train him. Doflamingo is suspicious of Vergo's true intentions.

It was a surprise to everyone except Trebol when Rosinante displayed a natural talent for shooting.

Rosinante preferred the use of a gun as his weapon of choice. He wasn't terribly coordinated, so he hadn't been excited about the idea of learning martial arts or how to use a sword. He liked the predictability of a gun. He didn't have to anticipate if someone was going to kick him or punch him and figure out where to move to avoid it while also trying to attack. All he had to do was figure out where his target would be by the time his bullet reached them, which was a much less daunting task.

Doflamingo helped him develop his skills and learn to aim at moving targets. He used his string abilities to create slings for rocks, which he would then fire into the air. There were lots of things Rosinante wasn't very good at, but he was very good at using guns.

After a full afternoon of training and blowing apart rocks, Doflamingo threw his arms around Rosinante and hugged him close, laughing into his ear. Rosinante clung to him, smelling his alpha's unwashed hair, his sweat, and the dirt from all the rocks he'd flung up into the air.

“You're amazing, Rosi, you hit so many rocks! You keep getting better!” Doflamingo laughed, and Rosinante clung tighter to him. He was getting better, yes, but he wasn't good enough yet. He had to be able to hit all the rocks. He wanted to make sure he could keep Doflamingo safe.

Vergo also thought Rosinante wasn’t good enough yet. Yes, he was remarkably good with a gun, but it wasn’t enough to be good at just one thing. Vergo was trying to improve his abilities in all areas, in strength, in speed, in developing haki, all out of desire to keep Doflamingo safe from any threat that might come his way.

He didn’t want Rosinante to be the weakness that took Doflamingo down. Vergo knew that he and Rosinante both loved Doflamingo and wanted to keep him safe, so he decided it was worth the risk to call Rosinante out to talk alone so he could offer his help with training Rosinante.

“If you don’t want to learn martial arts or how to use a sword, that leaves developing your strength and trying to tap into the ability to use haki. It’s not enough to just be skilled with using a gun, and you know it.” Vergo told Rosinante, who stoically accepted the criticism. He knew it wasn’t enough to just be good with guns. He needed a backup if he ever ran out of bullets or somehow lost the gun.

He didn’t want to be the weakness that took Doflamingo down.

So Rosinante started training with Vergo in an effort to get stronger and to unlock some type of haki skill.

“I think Observation haki would be best to strive toward. Together with your skills with firearms, being able to sense the presence of targets or even precognition, if we can unlock that, would turn you into an extremely formidable opponent!” Vergo only got excited when they were talking about Doflamingo, and he was very excited by the idea of turning all the top officers into extremely fearful opponents to keep Doflamingo safe.

Rosinante allowed himself a moment to daydream about being the strongest Omega, feared throughout the four blues, fierce and loyal to his Alpha, known for mowing down anyone who dared to challenge his Alpha. He grinned and giggled in a small voice, and agreed with Vergo. Observation haki seemed like the best goal for him.

 

What Vergo didn’t tell him was that the best way to unlock Observation haki was in the heat of a tough battle. Rosinante was already much weaker than Vergo, and he didn’t know much about hand to hand combat since he preferred guns, but Vergo wasn’t going to go easy on him. He charged Rosinante, punching him, knocking him over, attacking him with his bamboo pole, while Rosinante tried to dodge each attack or somehow manage to hit back, all while waiting desperately for the moment his haki might activate itself.

When Doflamingo found out what was going on, he nearly ripped Vergo’s head off his neck, furious that his elite officer had been throwing his Omega around in the dirt all day.

“Doffy-nii!” Rosinante had to hold him back before he hurt Vergo, “We were training!”

“What?? Rosi, look at you!” Doflamingo was irate as he looked his Omega over. He was covered in bruises and scrapes. The thought of his closest, most loyal officer betraying him like this made Doflamingo white hot with anger as he once again moved to lash out against Vergo, who stood completely still, making no motion to defend himself. If Doflamingo decided to kill him here and now, then so be it.

“Doflamingo!” Rosinante shouted, making both his Alpha and Vergo turn and stare at him. Doflamingo had never heard Rosinante use his full name before and it skittered over his brain uncomfortably. He wanted to hear Rosi use a nickname to erase the memory of him using his full name.

“Don’t hurt him! It was just training!” Rosinante insisted.

“If you want training, I can train you.” Doflamingo said, and looked at Vergo, “You. You’re lucky I don’t kill you. You’re not allowed to train him anymore-”

“Stop it!” Rosinante shouted again, and he stepped in between Doflamingo and Vergo, looking right at Vergo, “You’re training me. I don’t care what Doffy-nii says-”

“Your orders don’t overrule mine, Rosi, if I tell Vergo he’s not allowed to train you, then he’s not allowed to train you! I can train you!” Doflamingo grabbed Rosinante by the shoulder to turn him around, furious to see his Omega’s backside with his attention focused on another Alpha.

Rosinante stood his ground, using all of his strength to resist Doflamingo’s attempts to turn him around to face him. He felt Doflamingo’s fingers digging into his shoulder, and then he felt the moment his grip loosened, even as he still tried to turn Rosinante around. Rosinante set his hand on Doflamingo’s hand and squeezed it, then finally turned around, looking right at him.

“That’s why you can’t train me, Doffy-nii. You’ll go too easy on me.” He held Doflamingo’s hand in both of his scraped up hands and kissed his brother’s knuckles.

“I’m going to keep training with Vergo.” Rosinante looked up at Doflamingo through his blonde bangs, his red eyes determined, making it clear to Doflamingo that he would not be swayed otherwise.

 

Doflamingo was annoyed during the early days of Rosinante’s training. He knew damn well that there was some friction between Rosinante and the rest of Doflamingo’s officers. He knew Trebol had recently backed off somewhat, and neither him nor Rosinante would tell Doflamingo why. But there was still strain between his Omega and his officers. No matter how he looked at it, this ‘training’ just seemed like a flimsy excuse for Vergo to throw Rosinante around and beat up on him and take advantage of his Omega’s sweet and trusting nature.

Every night, Rosinante would come to bed bruised up and sore and reeking of another Alpha, and Doflamingo wouldn’t be able to sleep until he’d thoroughly scented Rosinante with his own scent. Every morning, Rosinante would get out of bed and seek out Vergo to continue training.

Doflamingo didn’t know how to put a stop to this. Rosinante had made it clear that he wished to continue this ‘training’, and he refused to listen whenever Doflamingo tried to make him see reason, and even Vergo was showing the slightest bit of insubordination when Doflamingo tried to order him to stop.

“I’m sorry, Doffy. You know in every other situation I would obey you first. But Rosi made his wishes clear.” Vergo once again held still before Doflamingo, ready and willing to die if Doflamingo chose to take his life.

Doflamingo growled and stomped around and raged, furious that Vergo was openly disobeying him like this!

“I know you’re using training as an excuse to beat up on him, Vergo!” Doflamingo finally spat in his face, “I don’t know why you and my other officers dislike him so much, but he is my Omega, and I demand that you show him the respect he’s due!”

“What?” Vergo was surprised to hear that Doflamingo thought that. “Doffy, that’s not what’s going on at all! I respect him the most out of all the other officers!”

Vergo didn’t doubt that Trebol, Diamante, and Pica were loyal to Doflamingo. He had stood by their sides as they razed towns to the ground for offending Doflamingo. They would do anything for Doflamingo, and he truly believed that. But they didn’t love Doflamingo like Rosinante did. Vergo’s own fledgling Observation haki could feel the love, loyalty, and devotion each officer felt toward Doflamingo, and no one loved Doflamingo like Rosinante did. No one was as loyal or devoted to Doflamingo as Rosinante was. More than anything, Vergo respected that love and loyalty and devotion to Doflamingo. None of the officers deserved his respect as much as Rosinante did.

“We both want to keep you safe. As much progress as he’s made with guns, it’s not enough. He needs to be more versatile and have a lot of strengths that will make him a more formidable opponent. We’ve been trying to unlock observation haki. It’s not something that comes from training, it’s usually unlocked during battle, and then it levels up with more battle. I would never disrespect you by coming up with a thin excuse to hurt your Omega, Doffy, even if I hated him.”

Doflamingo still felt annoyed by this, even after hearing Vergo’s explanation. But his irritation came more from being left in the dark about this plan the two of them had worked out together without informing Doflamingo. Though he was pleased that Vergo was thinking about the future of the crew and that he saw so much potential in Rosinante.

“Keep me informed about his progress from now on.”

“Yes, Doffy!”

 

Rosinante’s haki was finally unlocked in a way none of them could have predicted. Doflamingo had been watching the two of them locked in their unending battle, pleased to realize that Rosinante really was becoming stronger. He was blocking more of Vergo’s attacks, and had even successfully landed a few hits of his own.

Doflamingo felt the urge to join in and used his strings to attach to a nearby tree, swinging himself over to the two of them.

Rosinante felt an extremely strange sensation, like a chill racing up his spine as his mind’s eye was taken over by a vision of Doflamingo suddenly swinging into the middle of the fight, and taking Vergo’s swinging fist to his chin.

He reacted as quick as he could and rushed Vergo, throwing all of his weight against him and knocking Vergo over as Doflamingo landed, unharmed, beside the two.

“Nice! You knocked him over!” Doflamingo grinned, completely unaware of what had happened.

Rosinante just looked stunned and he smiled brightly at Vergo.

“I did it!” He announced, then he stood and threw his arms around Doflamingo, “Doffy-nii, I did it! I used haki! I saw a vision of-”

Vergo heard Rosinante’s excited chatter playing in the background as he lay there, feeling stunned by what he'd experienced. It wasn't a surprise that Rosinante had unlocked his haki, it wasn't even a surprise that Vergo's own haki had failed to foresee Doflamingo's unexpected intrusion into their training, he was still learning too, after all.

What surprised Vergo was how the sight of Rosinante’s excited and unrestrained smile had burned itself into his memory, and how his heart pounded with the need to see it again.

Chapter 4

Summary:

Doflamingo unsuccessfully tries to find an island where the laws will allow him and Rosinante to get married, but all islands seem to agree on one thing: no marriage between blood siblings. Does he need to take over an island and change the laws to be able to marry Rosinante?? After being turned away by one more island, late in the night, Doflamingo has his first rut.

As Rosinante got stronger, Doflamingo got stronger too. The stronger he got, the more infamy he earned, the more people showed up at their door, wanting to join the Donquixote gang.

As their number increased, their base started to feel like it was shrinking. Doflamingo decided that they would leave Downs entirely and relocate someplace bigger, where they would have more opportunities.

Their new base was larger, with more rooms to accommodate their growing gang.

During the very first Executive meeting in their new base, Trebol attempted to argue that Doflamingo should have his own room, since he was their leader. Before Rosinante could speak up, Doflamingo was already standing right in front of Trebol with wisps of furious haki wafting off of him.

“I will not be taking my own room. Rosinante is my mate and he will share a room with me,” Doflamingo stared Trebol down, daring the man to oppose him, but Trebol lowered his head respectfully, accepting Doflamingo's decision. Rosinante was 12 years old now, but he felt the same tummy full of butterflies he felt when he was only six and Doffy first tried to explain their betrothal to him. Doflamingo had held fast to the promise he made to Rosinante when they held their pretend wedding under the tree in Marie Joies. He had carried Doflamingo's mate mark for half of his life already and he felt loved every single day.

With their larger crew came the manpower to escalate their attacks on other pirate crews, and the initial expansion of their territory. With their first conquest, Doflamingo was the one to string up the Donquixote flag from the dock so anyone sailing by would know that this island was Donquixote territory.

As their voyages took them across the blues to new islands, Doflamingo always made sure to find out where the municipal office was on any given island. The first visit to a municipal office left Rosinante mystified until Doflamingo marched up to the first person he saw and asked about the island’s marriage laws.

Doflamingo was 14 now, and he had been waiting since his 10th birthday to marry Rosinante. He didn’t care where they got married, he just wanted it to happen. So each and every time they landed somewhere new, Doflamingo took Rosinante’s hand in his and dragged him to the municipal office, just in case this island’s laws would allow them to get married.

But no matter how many islands they visited, somehow the laws prevented their marriage. Sometimes Rosinante was too young. Sometimes the islands didn’t have an age limit for the Omega partner, and Doflamingo would get his hopes up, ready to get married to Rosinante at last, until he inevitably read the one law that all islands had in common: no marriage between full blood relatives.

 

“We could have the Family refer to us as married?”

After yet another failed trip to a municipal office, Rosinante had to lead his distraught Alpha back to their ship, back to their shared bedroom to hide away in bed for a while. It had been two years since Rosinante took Doflamingo's hand and walked him away from their father. Ever since that day, they'd had warm, thick blankets on their beds. Rosinante happily cuddled up under the same thick and heavy blanket with Doflamingo every night, his face lighting up when Doflamingo sought his hand under the covers and wove their fingers together.

“They already treat us like we’re married anyway,” Rosinante buried his face into Doflamingo’s hair, scenting him and sighing happily.

“I want to be married to you for real.” Doflamingo muttered, his voice muffled by Rosinante’s chest. Did he have to take over his own island and change the laws to marry his Omega??

“I do too,” Rosinante sighed, then perked up a little as another idea came to mind, “We could probably get married if we just don’t tell anyone we’re brothers!”

“No.” Doflamingo’s answer came so swiftly and harshly that Rosinante felt a little stressed, unsure if he’d upset his Alpha.

“No,” Doflamingo repeated, but in a softer, quieter voice as he rubbed his face into his perfect Omega’s chest, “I want everyone to know we’re brothers. I want them to know that we were fated. That you were born for me, and I am your birthright. And that we have the rare privilege of spending our entire life together.”

Rosinante felt his chest tighten and tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

“Me too. I want everyone to know that you’re my brother.”

 

Rosinante awoke later that night to an odd feeling against his neck. It was hot and wet and made him feel restless and achy.

He realized Doflamingo was on top of him and he was burning up, warm and sweaty like he had a fever. His lips were pressed to Rosinante’s neck, lightly sucking on the mate bite he’d left there when he was 10 and Rosinante was only 8.

“Aniue?” Rosinante wrapped an arm around his Alpha’s shoulders, tilting his head back for him. This was not the first time Doflamingo had worshipped the mate bite on Rosinante’s neck. Sometimes he would kiss it and nip at it until Rosinante was squirming and hard and aching for release, and then Doflamingo would keep kissing the mate bite while he helped Rosinante through his neediness.

But something felt different about this. Doflamingo was sweating and so warm he was making Rosinante uncomfortable. When he moved to take his clothes off to help with the heat, Doflamingo eagerly helped him, yanking Rosinante’s shirt off to reveal more skin. He pressed his tongue flat against Rosinante’s neck and licked over the scar that marked Rosinante as his. He sat back, admiring the disgusting bruise he'd developed on the sensitive skin. Rosinante was clinging to him now, awake and sweating and unsure of what was going on. Doflamingo didn't quite understand it himself, but he knew he needed to be inside his mate, needed to taste him, smell him, and put a deep mate mark on the other side of his neck to make sure no other Alpha ever thought they would have a chance with his beautiful Omega.

Their mating was fast, urgent, needy. Doflamingo felt like he couldn’t reach deep enough inside his Omega to fill him up and make him reek of his scent, his claim. Under him, Rosinante howled, opening himself up to his Alpha and wanting more, more. When they finished, Doflamingo was still unsatisfied and reached for his Omega again, wanting to bury himself inside him again and feel the slide of their sweat slicked skin pressed together.

 

Once Doflamingo was asleep, Rosinante wrapped himself up in a sheet and quietly walked out of their room. He wasn’t really sure what just happened and he needed to figure out who to ask. There were more adults in their crew now than there used to be, and Rosinante was certain they would know what just happened. But he didn’t want to ask them. He wanted the reassuring presence of the family member he and Doflamingo trusted the most.

Vergo had been awake for a few hours already, as soon as the scent of Doflamingo’s rut started to spread through the hideout. The rut scent of an Alpha he was loyal to left him feeling extremely confused and agitated. There was a small part of his emerging instincts that wanted him to challenge Doflamingo, simply because they were both Alphas. He hoped that part of him died off soon. Even if they were both Alphas, Vergo was loyal to Doflamingo and had no actual desire to challenge him.

He heard a soft knock at his door. It couldn't be Doflamingo, the scent of his rut was so strong, he would have known it was him long before he knocked. And Doflamingo didn’t knock.

“Come in,” Vergo called, not expecting his Alpha's Omega to peek inside, blonde waves a mess, pale cheeks flushed, wearing only a sheet with bite marks all over his chest and shoulders. On his neck, opposite to the shallow mating bite both Doflamingo and Rosinante were so proud of, was a fresh and boldly bleeding mate bite. A true mate bite that would loudly proclaim that Rosinante was mated and off the market.

“Vergo,” Rosinante looked a little embarrassed about his appearance and pulled the sheet up higher over his shoulders, “I'm sorry, it's so late, but Aniue-”

“He's in rut?” Vergo asked.

“What… What’s that?” Rosinante looked clueless.

Vergo allowed Rosinante to sit on his bed while Vergo stood, and explained everything to him. Vergo had recently had his own first rut, which he’d gone through alone, locking himself up in his room as he shamefully huffed a shirt stolen from Rosinante. After his solo rut, he’d sought out Giolla for knowledge, then Lao G to verify. They were the oldest of the Family members, and he trusted their experience in these matters far more than he trusted Diamante or Trebol’s.

He relayed everything he had learned to Rosinante, who was blushing by the time the lesson was done.

“So that’s why I’ve never been able to get a mate bite to stay on Aniue’s neck?” He asked. He’d tried many times, bitten deep into Doflamingo’s skin, but the bite always healed over and it never altered Doflamingo’s scent to smell like a mated Alpha.

“That’s why. You haven’t had your first heat yet. It’s best to give a mating bite during rut or heat.” His eyes lingered on the new bite on Rosinante’s neck. It looked deep, but each tooth mark was perfect. Rosinante must’ve held so still for his Alpha while Doflamingo’s teeth sank deeper and deeper.

Rosinante was relieved to learn this new information. So he wasn’t broken. He just hadn’t had his first heat yet.

 

Vergo escorted Rosinante back to the bedroom he shared with Doflamingo. The Alpha seemed displeased to scent another Alpha on his mate, and shoved the sheet off of him, leaving his pale and bitten skin exposed to Vergo’s eyes for just a moment before the door was slammed in his face.

Vergo turned his back to the door and stood guard over the two for the duration of Doflamingo’s rut. He brought them food and water, and washcloths to clean themselves off. Every time the door opened to retrieve the supplies, Vergo was rewarded with a glimpse of Rosinante, who smiled at him each and every time.

Rosinante was beautiful, there was no denying that. In another life, perhaps, Vergo would have made the Omega his, and cherished him and worshipped him like Doflamingo did. But in this life, both Vergo and Rosinante were loyal to Doflamingo. It would take time, maybe years, but eventually Vergo would convince himself that his feelings for Rosinante were simply an extension of his loyalty to Doflamingo.

It was the only way he could remain at their side, and be part of their life.

Notes:

Just in case you're worried I'm going to pull some kind of switch on you and have Rosinante fall in love with Vergo: That will never happen in any fic I write, ever. Vergo has a crush on Rosinante and that is it. Nothing will ever happen between them.

Chapter 5

Summary:

A storm separates Rosi and Doffy. Since Doflamingo can't swim, Vergo dives into the stormy seas to save Rosi. When they wash ashore, they're found by none other than Gold Roger and Silvers Rayleigh.

“ROSI! ROSI, NO! NO!”

Rosinante woke up with a gasp, eyes wide as he looked around, unsure of where he was. He was in a bed, but he didn't know whose house this was. He looked beside himself out of habit and saw that Doflamingo wasn't there.

Across the room he saw another bed. It was covered with rumpled sheets, so he knew someone had slept in it. Was that Doflamingo’s bed? He scurried out of his own bed and hurried over, scenting the sheets. He was distraught to realize that the bed was covered with Vergo’s scent, no Doflamingo’s.

He froze, suddenly realizing that his brother wasn’t here. He couldn’t detect his scent at all, except for the notes of scent emanating from his mate mark. He hadn’t been away from his brother’s side in years. Doflamingo was always there with him, a reassuring and strong presence beside him, but now, the emptiness beside him felt heavy.

Rosinante could feel his thoughts begin to spiral and he could feel himself about to panic when the door to the bedroom flew open. He was stunned but relieved to see Vergo standing there with a half eaten sausage stuck to his face.

“Vergo!” Rosinante ran over and hugged him, so relieved to see a familiar face. Vergo went completely stiff in Rosinante’s arms, like he didn’t know how to respond to an embrace. And truly, he didn’t know how to respond to this. This was his captain’s mate! Returning the embrace felt completely out of bounds, but the idea of telling Rosinante to take a step back also felt incorrect and disrespectful.

“Rosinante,” He returned the greeting and stood there, simply allowing the embrace to continue until Rosinante decided to end it.

“Vergo, what happened??” Rosinante finally took a step back from Vergo, though to Vergo’s horror, Rosinante’s hands remained on his hips. “How did we get here? Where’s Aniue??”

“I can tell you while you eat. Are you hungry?” Vergo asked, and finally relaxed when Rosinante released him and hurried past him into the kitchen.

Rosinante froze, surprised to see two adult men in the kitchen already, one sitting at the table, one leaning against the counters.

“Ah, you’re awake!” The seated man smiled at Rosinante from behind his round framed glasses, a long scar over his right eye catching Rosinante’s attention.

“You were asleep for days!” The man standing by the counter wore a wide grin that Rosinante immediately recognized from his wanted posters.

Vergo walked up behind Rosinante, daring to nearly touch him as he did so, and only because he could scent the omega’s distress. Having a familiar alpha nearby would help calm his nerves. Rosinante turned when he scented Vergo and motioned toward their hosts in alarm.

“Gol D Roger?? Silvers Rayleigh??” He squeaked, so alarmed that his voice had reached a brand new high pitch. “Vergo, what happened?? Did they attack the ship?? Is Aniue okay??”

Vergo had to take a calming breath. He knew Rosinante was just panicking and he wasn’t thinking clearly. He would hope that in his right mind, of course Rosinante would realize that Vergo wouldn’t be so calm if these two had hurt Doflamingo.

“They didn’t do anything to Doffy. Come here, eat some food,” Vergo ushered Rosinante back toward the table and pressed on his shoulders to make him sit. It was his responsibility to take care of Rosinante in Doflamingo’s absence, which started with making sure that he actually ate.

Rosinante stared wide eyed at Silvers Rayleigh beside him as Vergo loaded up a plate for him. Rayleigh just grinned at him. He had plenty of questions for this young pup, starting with why he smelled like he was mated even though he appeared to be so young, and why his mate scent smelled so unusual.

Rosinante inhaled his food as Vergo told him how they had wound up here under the watchful eyes of Gol D Roger and SIlvers Rayleigh.

“There was a storm,” Vergo started, “There were massive waves crashing against the ship and onto the deck. The wind was fast and strong and snapped one of the stays holding the main sail. Then you ran out to tie it back down,”

Vergo went quiet for a moment. What happened next had played back in his thoughts over and over.

“The main sail!” Rosinante dashed away from the foredeck where Doflamingo was steering with Pica’s help to control the wheel against the wind. He slipped in the water splashing across the main deck but got back up and grabbed the snapped rope, tugging it down to secure it again.

“Rosi! Get back up here!” Doflamingo yelled from the foredeck. He left Pica to steer the ship while he ran to collect his mate, scared to let him get too far away during a storm of this magnitude. Vergo followed close behind, ready to grab at Doflamingo if the wind or the waves tried to take him.

“I’ve almost got it!” Rosinante yelled as he finished off his knot. He grinned and turned to join Doflamingo back on the foredeck when a massive wave came up against the side of the ship. It swept over the decks and knocked Rosinante off his feet, then swept him into the ocean.

Vergo watched it happen as if in slow motion. Through the driving rain and the lightning flashing, he watched the waves crash onto the deck and swallow Rosinante up, his sunshine hair disappearing into the water that carried him overboard. Through the howl of the wind he could hear Doflamingo’s devastated, feral screams as he watched his mate disappear into the water.

Vergo stared at the place on the main deck where Rosinante had stood just a moment ago. Doflamingo was at the side of the ship, leaning over and trying desperately to reach Rosinante with his strings. Vergo ran to his side and saw Rosinante trying to swim through the turbulent waters, but the waves kept crashing over his head, and threatened to smash him into the side of the ship.

“ROSINANTE!” Doflamingo screamed, folded over the side of the ship in his desperation to save his mate, knowing that he couldn’t dive in to save him because his devil fruit would make him sink. What good was having the power of a devil fruit if he couldn’t rescue his mate from the ocean?

“Doffy, get back!” Vergo yelled, pulling him away from the side of the ship.

“I have to save him-” Doflamingo shouted, pushing Vergo away to run back, still hoping he could somehow pull Rosinante out of the water with his strings.

“Doffy!” Vergo grabbed his shoulder, making Doflamingo look right at him. They didn’t speak as they exchanged a look that they both understood. Doflamingo nodded painfully and stepped back, then ran back to the foredeck to resume steering the ship. He spared one look back at Vergo and watched as his most faithful officer jumped overboard to rescue Rosinante.

Vergo had barely slept since then. Every time he tried to close his eyes, he could hear the unearthly way Doflamingo screamed for his mate, and he could see Rosinante disappearing from the deck, swept away into the ocean.

“We washed up on the beach nearby. As it turns out, Silvers Rayleigh and Gol D Roger happen to own this little beach house, and they brought us in.” Vergo nodded gratefully to Rayleigh and Roger.

Vergo still didn’t know if he’d jumped into the ocean to save Rosinante for Doflamingo, or for himself. Maybe both.

“Thank you for taking us in!” Rosinante said excitedly to their hosts, clearly excited to be in the home of such legends.

“Like we’re going to leave two soggy pups on the beach,” Rayleigh scoffed and turned toward Rosinante. Now that the pup was filled in on what had happened, Rayleigh could ask his questions.

“Tell me, little pup, how old are you?” He was quite tall, but from the roundness of his cheeks, he was clearly still young.

“I'm 14, Mr. Rayleigh.”

“Mr. Rayleigh, how precious!” He laughed, “14 years old! Why do you smell mated?”

“Um. Because I am.” Rosinante blushed and giggled as he admitted it, though a moment later he recalled that Doflamingo was far away from him. But he'd be strong and wait for Doflamingo!

“Mated already! And who is your mate?”

“M-My brother, Doflamingo.” Rosinante felt proud of himself for being brave enough to tell Rayleigh that his mate was his brother. He wanted people to know!

“Your brother! What an interesting custom! Where are you from?” Rayleigh could pretty much guess where this little dragon was from. Only the Celestials still openly and proudly practiced intermarriage. That explained why Rosinante’s scent was so odd. Their shared familial scent had compounded when his brother put a mate mark on him.

Rosinante didn't want to answer that question. He knew the answer Rayleigh wanted was that he was from Marie Geoise. But he didn't like telling people about that. The last time people knew where he was from, his whole family was chased out of town. He glanced helplessly at Vergo as if hoping he’d answer for him, but he quickly realized he had turned to Vergo as if he was Doflamingo, always at his side and always ready to speak for him. But Doflamingo wasn’t here, and Vergo would never dare speak for Rosinante, ever aware of the fact that Rosinante was Doflamingo’s Omega.

He felt the flare of pride inside himself burn a little brighter as he reminded himself of that fact. Yes, he was Doflamingo’s Omega. Even though they’d been hopelessly in love with each other their entire lives, he still wanted to be worthy of Doflamingo’s love, even in moments when they weren’t together.

“Where I’m from doesn’t matter,” Rosinante said, hoping his voice wasn’t carrying as much quiver as he thought it was, “I would have picked him no matter where we were born.”

Rayleigh had to smile at the side-step. It was more or less a confirmation that this little dragon was indeed from Mary Geoise, but he was amused by the spunk he showed and the quiet strength it required for such a young pup to refuse the dark king a response.

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve heard of many such unions where the mateship was forced and things didn’t end well. If you’re happy with your mate, you’ll hear no judgment from me.” Rayleigh smiled to put the tense pup at ease, pleased when he noticed the young omega’s shoulders relaxing.

 

Following breakfast, Rosinante and Vergo headed outside to work on training his Observation haki, with Rayleigh trailing after them, curious about the methods they were using.

“Roger and Rayleigh let me use their den den to call Doffy, so he knows where we are, and he’s heading this way to come pick us up, but it’ll be a few days still.” Vergo explained what had gone on while Rosinante was still sleeping off their ordeal. Rosinante’s heart fluttered with excitement, knowing that soon Doflamingo would arrive. The island was beautiful, and Rosinante was happy he was here with someone he knew instead of trying to get through this all on his own, but… He missed Doflamingo. He felt incomplete without the reassuring presence of his Alpha at his side.

Training was hard, especially when Rayleigh decided to occasionally join in and randomly launch himself at Rosinante. The increased strain on his haki skills combined with how stressed he was without his Alpha made him feel constantly exhausted. But thanks to Rayleigh's interventions, Rosinante improved rapidly until he was able to predict every single one of Vergo's moves.

Days later, while Rosinante and Vergo were gathering firewood for Roger and Rayleigh, they were finally able to spot the Donquixote ship in the distance, slowly sailing closer.

Rosinante whimpered and dropped the wood he'd gathered as he fell to his knees, his eyes locked on the ship. It had only been a week since the storm swept him overboard, but he'd never been away from Doflamingo for so long before. He kept waking up during the night, startled awake by the cold and empty spot beside him. But tonight, Doflamingo would finally sleep next to him again.

He stayed on the beach, watching with eager eyes as the ship came closer, until he could just spot Doflamingo on the bow of the ship.

“DOFFY! ANIUE!” He called out to his mate as loud as he could, letting his voice carry the sorrow and loneliness he’d felt without him by his side, tears pouring down his face.

“ROSI! ROSINANTE!” Doflamingo stood at the very front of his ship, eyes locked on his mate on the beach, feeling more and more restless as he started to catch whiffs of Rosinante’s scent floating through the ocean breeze.

He simply couldn’t wait a moment longer. Doflamingo climbed from the bow of the ship onto the bowsprit, stretched out far in front of the boat to hold their sails taut, and wrapped his strings tightly around the tip of it then jumped, swinging from the boat across the surface of the water and onto the sand. Doflamingo ran over to his mate and pulled him into his arms, shaking as he held Rosinante against his chest.

“I thought I’d lost you,” Doflamingo whispered, letting his brother hear the fear in his voice. He pulled back just a little, enough for Rosinante to see a few tears rolling down Doflamingo’s cheeks.

“Aniue… Doffy…” Rosinante couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The only time he’d ever seen Doflamingo cry was when their mother died and they held a small funeral for her, burying her in a shallow grave that they’d dug with their hands.

Rosinante leaned in and licked the salty tears off his brother’s face. Rosinante cried all the time, everyone had seen him cry. But Doflamingo’s tears belonged only to Rosinante.

 

Since it was already late in the day, Rayleigh invited their guests to stay for one more night. He was intrigued by what he’d heard from Rosinante about his mate. He’d heard that the Alpha was brave, handsome (admitted with a bright pink blush on his face and pride in his voice), strong, and the smartest person ever! And as Rayleigh observed the two during dinner, the future came to him in flashes, confirming that Rosinante’s Alpha truly was brave, strong, fierce, and he would make a name for himself and his crew in the coming years.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of DofCora Drabbles