• Fourth Place Votes:

Doflamingo, First Date, Sweats and Slides, Gifts you a Ring Pop, Sushi Bar, Dance Club.

• Doflamingo, a business associate of your boss, had been asking you out for months, unaware that you viewed the differences in your lifestyles enough of a reason to keep turning him down. When he agrees to try something "normal", you aren't entirely sure what to expect.

• CW: Tooth-rotting fluff involving Doflamingo, and living through the sound of Pica's English dub voice for the one line he has with me.

You worked as a receptionist for (name of Crocodile's company here). All visitors to and from the building had to check in with the front desk before being directed to what floor and office they needed to go to or were expected at. Bigger-name executives from other companies would usually have their assistants check in for them before they even bothered to get out of their cars, then would be led by their people directly to where they needed to go. When the head receptionist retired, the title was passed on to you, and while it came with more responsibility, it also came with a boom in pay with the incentive for a raise if you performed well in the position.

Boy howdy, did you do well.

One of your newer responsibilities was to make sure that the business guests had refreshments provided, either general or at their request if they had called far enough ahead of time. A particular business partner of Sir Crocodile (you were never really sure why he was "Sir", there was no monarchy in your country to award that title) always looked at you as he passed through the lobby to the waiting room he was directed to. He was a tall, blond man, that always wore strangely shaped pink sunglasses. Even through the glasses, you felt the sharpness of his gaze on you every time he passed, doing your best to ignore it and continue with your work. It was rather hard, though, Donquioxte Doflamingo was an intimidating man, even with how attractive he was.

However, on this day it was not your job description to bring him the sparkling water he requested and to give him the lunch menu to pick from, as he and Sir Crocodile usually had lunch meetings. The meeting room was one of the biggest in the building, technically meant more for conferences, but it did have the best view. Doflamingo always came in with a huge large entourage of people, but you were surprised to find him standing alone in the room, looking out the window as he checked his designer watch.

The previous head receptionist gave you very detailed notes on the regular clients, so you knew better than to clear your throat or go out of your way to make your presence known. You approached the large conference table and placed the tablet for him to order his lunch on the table, placing it within his reach, along with the bottle of sparkling water, "Mr. Donquixote, please make your meal choices."

He turned around slowly, his furrowed brow and annoyed-looking features taking you in. A twisted smile crept along his lips, and it felt as though you could feel his eyes scanning every inch of you through his mirrored shades. You could feel your heart racing, and you did your best not to let it show.

Doflamingo chuckled softly as he casually approached the conference table, leaning over it and scrolling through the menu, "Guess the old bird finally held up her threat and retired, huh?" You could see the screen reflected in his glasses, "Glad to see Croc decided to upgrade. What's your name, Sweetheart?"

You had to count backward from 100 to keep yourself calm and collected. Men flirting with you was not unheard of, and you just had to tell yourself that you were getting worked up over nothing. This was your job, and he was being polite now that you would be seeing him more often. Yes, that's all this was.

"Y/N."

A contented hum escaped him, tapping a few things before sliding the tablet back to you, "Y/N, nice to finally know."

When he looked back up, you could see your face reflected in his mirrored shades. His grin was softer now, but it was still a little off somehow. Doflamingo was always smiling, or at least that's how it seemed as he would pass through the lobby. You really did not know enough about the man to know anything in that mind of his. Still, given his high-end suits (usually in various shades of pink), flashy cars for him and his entourage, and the cheapest thing on his person was probably the silver pinkie ring he wore that you knew the designer for clocked in around an average of six thousand beri. The more you thought about it, the more you realized he was in a far different world than yours.

Politely excusing yourself, you left the room as Crocodile and Mr. Bonez came in, bowing your head and completely unaware of how Doflamingo was still watching you as you left the room.

When the time for Doflamingo's weekly lunch meeting with Crocodile came around again, you were working on the computer when a different voice than his usual assistant broke through your thoughts.

"Doflamingo for Croc."

Your fingers stopped on the keyboard, slowly looking up to the handsomely grinning face of Doflamingo himself as he casually leaned against the reception desk—more surprised he could even casually lean like this at his height. Taking in a quiet breath, you turned back to your computer and started to tap away on the things you had to do to get him checked in.

"Alright, Mr. Donquixote," You started.

"Doflamingo," He continued to give his crookedly suave smile, "Or Doffy if you'd rather."

It was hard not to smile, shaking your head slightly as you emphasized speaking his name more formally, "Mr. Donquixote. You will be in the usual Executive Conference room. I will bring up your menu choices."

He chuckled, "You on the menu today, Y/N?"

You froze, eyes wide as you looked up to him, feeling the heat in your cheeks as you could no longer keep your professional poker face. Blinking a few times, you opened your mouth but no words came out for a few moments, "Mr. Donquixote!"

Doflamingo laughed louder, throwing his hands up defensively, "Okay, right. Out of line. Can't blame me for trying, though." You tore your eyes away from him and back to the computer, "I think you're beautiful, Y/N. I would like to take you out if you'd be amenable."

Biting your lip, you turned back to the computer, "I will, unfortunately, have to decline, Mr. Donquixote. I am employed by your business partner, it would be a conflict of interest."

A frown briefly graced his lips as he strummed his fingers against the counter, "Alright."

His smile returned as he turned away, joining the group of men he was always escorted with—was one of them the lead singer of an old band? Couldn't be—and went up to the meeting with no further problems. You ended up directing a different receptionist to get his lunch order and took a long lunch so you wouldn't be the one to check him out. The next day a large bouquet arrived, it was delivered to you from a Mr. D.

This became the routine. He would check himself in, flirt with you a little, ask you out, and the next day send a gift. Luxury chocolates, a few jewelry pieces, more flowers than could fit in your apartment—it was becoming too much. On top of that, he was irresistibly charming, making it harder and harder to keep resisting him. Even though you did return the jewelry gifts to him with a note that stated they were thoughtful but unnecessary, he continued to woo you with high-quality items.

"I don't get it, Sweetheart," you barely looked up from the computer this time as he came to check himself in, "Don't get me wrong, you're hot and totally worth it, but how in the hell do you keep rejecting me? I mean, you have looked at me, right?"

You rolled your eyes, then looked over to him with a smirk, "Really? This is how you're going to sell it today?"

Doflamingo flashed his winning smile, tilting his glasses up to look at you without anything between you and his gaze, "Why? Is it working this time?"

Letting out a sigh, you took some papers out of your printer and tapped them gently on the counter before turning your chair, "Doffy—" somewhere along the line you broke down and started addressing him as such, "—I know you've gone out of your way to not only get Sir Crocodile's permission," More like Crocodile laughed in his face and told him if you said yes, he'd not be against it but still wished him luck, so at this point you were just being stubborn, "And I'm very flattered by your efforts."

"I sense a "But" coming," he leaned against his hand and frowned.

"But," you again shook your head, biting your lip as you did your best to explain this to him. If you had learned anything about the man over the last few months, he was far more sensitive than he let on, and you were also still on the clock, "We're just from two different worlds, Doffy. I don't need all of—" you looked at the abundance of flowers he had sent before his arrival, making it hard to move through the reception desk again, "—this."

Doflamingo raised his head, standing up to his full height, "But... women like to be wooed with stuff. It's always worked before..."

"Yeah, and how did those relationships go for you?" you held the papers against your chest as you stood up from your chair, struggling to navigate around the flowers, "I just want a normal date. Nothing so flashy and over the top. I know who you are, you don't have to buy my attention."

He looked astonished, watching you as you came out from behind the reception desk, "So... what constitutes a "normal" date for you?"

Tapping your chin, you thought briefly, "Just... dinner, dancing maybe. Hanging out and spending time together."

"I own a few dance clubs," Doflamingo followed you over to the elevators, "And some restaurants. I could easily make that happen. VIP all the way."

You huffed a bit loudly, turning to face him, "Okay, see... that is not normal. Have you never been on a date where you had to make a reservation or wait in line to get in somewhere?"

His expression dropped into a frown. Even his frown was cute. Doflamingo cocked a hairless brow, "What, like slum it?"

Rubbing your face, you let out a small groan, "By the—you don't get it, do you?"

He pushed the up button for you, leaning against the wall, "No, I think I get it. You don't want the flash of cash. You want something..." Doflamingo reflected for a brief moment, "...tangible."

"Yes," you stated plainly, "I'm looking for something real. Not be the flavor of the month." Turning to face him as the elevator door opened, you did your best to keep standing your ground and not just run off with him then and there, "Is "normal" something you can do?"

Doflamingo's smile was different this time. It was playful, almost sinister as he leaned against the frame of the elevator to keep the doors from closing, "Alright. Bet. If I can give you a "normal" date, then I can take you on a real one later. Deal?"

You laughed, "Why does it have to be a bet?"

"I like a challenge."

Shaking your head, you made room for him to get on the elevator, but he did not join you, "Sure, Doffy. If I can survive you being "normal" and "slumming it", we can talk more about something further." You then looked at him, suddenly realizing what day it was, "Wait, you don't have your meeting with Sir Crocodile today. What are you doing here?"

He reached out, taking your hand and pressing it to his lips before he finally moved out of the way of the elevator to let the doors close, "Getting a date."

As the doors closed, you could feel the heat running through your body, now fully processing everything that had happened. You had agreed to a date with Donquixote Doflamingo. Later that evening you got a text from him (somewhere along the line you two had exchanged numbers, totally for business purposes only) and you both coordinated a date for Valentine's Day later that week. While you were nervous, you were also excited. Sure, you had put him off this whole time, but that did not mean that you didn't like Doflamingo. He was attractive and smart, funny even, and, even more importantly, he liked you back.

Doflamingo was a man who also definitely worked to the beat of his own drum, and it was always hard to figure out what he was thinking. So you weren't surprised at all when you came out of your apartment building and saw him just wearing a T-shirt, sweatpants, and slides. He was wearing a normal pair of shades, but had you not known this man at all, you would almost just think he was a bum off the street.

"Oh my god, you are not actually wearing that, are you?" You did your best not to burst out into laughter. Normal did not sit right on him at all, and yet he still made it hot.

Doflamingo had his signature grin, the one he always had when he would first see you. His hands were in the pockets of the sweats, and he shrugged his shoulders, "I even went to that one place myself to get this. The place with the Bullseye logo."

"Target." You stated, coming down the stoop to stand beside him, "I can't actually imagine you going into any store for that matter, let alone a Target." Then you began to take him in, almost feeling bad for dressing up so much in a cute little black number with heels and your nicest purse, "Oh my god, are you wearing socks with sandals?"

His smile cracked from ear to ear, lifting one of his feet and wiggling his toes, "Yeah, I thought it gave me a super normal, almost boring guy from the suburbs vibe." Then offered you his arm, "Ready for our "normal" date, milady?"

Rolling your eyes, you took his arm, shaking your head, "I think you're confusing normal with boring, but I did agree to see where this went." Then you took his arm, the two of you getting some looks from passersby as you both walked down the street, "So, where all are we going."

Doflamingo smiled, pulling out his phone, "Well, I got us reservations at a sushi place up the street. Mostly because any place further and we'd have to take a taxi."

Looking up at him, you tilted your head, "What? You draw that line at taxis?"

He made a face, then snorted, "No, but do I look like I fit in a taxi to you?"

"Point taken," you giggled as you made your way to the restaurant. Doflamingo was ridiculously tall, though it would be really funny to see him squat into a taxi.

At the restaurant, the place was packed due to the holiday, and you were both squeezed into a space at the bar. You were surprised when Doflamingo ordered from the chefs right there in perfect Japanese, which was both impressive and a slight turn-on. The two of you spent all of dinner discussing how many languages he spoke (four), and any place that either of you had traveled to. The conversation never stalled, and while the sushi was really good, you barely remembered eating it because of how intriguing he was.

After dinner, the two of you stopped by a convenience store for some light snacks and water, since next, you both were walking to one of the hottest clubs in the city for dancing. The line was known to take a while, and Doflamingo just wanted to be prepared. When you two continued on your way he produced a small item from his back pocket, smiling big to you as he presented two ring pops.

"When did you...?" You questioned as you took the blue one, leaving him with the pink flavor.

"What? They were right there."

"You... stole them?!"

He only met your concern with laughter, brushing it off. Granted, you stole candy both as a child and an adult before, it was just still a little odd.

Waiting in line at the club started to show Doflamingo's annoyance. He was obviously not accustomed to standing around with "the rabble" as he called it, and for no one recognizing who he is. Resting his chin atop your head, you giggled as his arms went around you, attempting to distract himself.

"You were patient enough to wait for me to say yes, how is this any different?" You asked, getting a piece of jerky from the snack back and feeding it to him from your hand.

Doflamingo ate it, ripping it from your hand with a shake of his head like a strange feral gremlin, "That's different. I'd wait forever if I had to. You're worth it." He shifted his glasses up to look you in the eye, as he usually did when being more serious with you. Your heart pounded in his chest, grumbling as he then dropped his shades back down and looked forward, "But this fucking sucks."

The man pouted, looking like an over-sized child who had been denied his candy. You had not bought many snacks, but they had already dwindled to nearly nothing. Pacifying him with food seemed to be working enough, but now the rations were lessening, and there may not be enough to get through the line. It was also wearing on you to have to wait so long, and he had been trying this whole time. Maybe you could be allowed some indulgence from his status, as a treat.

Letting out a heavy sigh, you looked up to him, "Wanna just go to a place you own?"

His big and strangely crooked grin spread across his face, taking your hand in his as he pulled you out of the line and started walking around to the front of the line, "Thought you'd never ask."

It was hard for your shorter legs to keep up with his long strides, but you still managed it somehow as you laughed, "Let me guess, you own this place?"

"Hey, we may have been "normal" tonight, but that didn't mean I was going to take you to some crap joint. Still had to be top quality, and my places are the best," Doflamingo spoke as if it were the god's honest truth, and while you couldn't help but roll your eyes at his egotism.

Much to people's dismay in the line, Doflamingo walked you right passed them all and to the VIP entrance, which was right next to the regular entrance. The brick house of a man at the door gave your date a once over before looking concerned, speaking in a high-pitched and squeaky voice that surprised you for someone so