Overflowing Koala-Tea

Usually you faced your problems and processed them as best you could but given this recent incident you just couldn’t. You were trying to continue on as normal but this time it was harder. Probably because none of you had any answers yet and the unknowing had caused an uncomfortable paranoia and tension to constantly twist inside you. The only times the feelings subsided and calmed was when Doflamingo was near. As you walked down the corridor in search of your soulmate you flinched hard when a couple servants rounded the corner. Ordinarily you would have sensed them coming and offered them a warm smile in greeting but now you hurriedly waved their apologies for startling you aside and quickened your pace to get out of their way.

Doflamingo drummed his fingers steadily against the dark wood of his desk as he read thoroughly over the transcripts of the interrogations conducted against the servants. While he was focussing on you he had no time to sit in for any of them and his loyal family knew he wanted to at least read everything said for himself, looking for any inconsistencies or hints of deception for himself. As things stood he was conflicted. On the one hand he was satisfied that this incident with the servant that poisoned you looked like it was a one off thing, a moment of crazed stupidity aimed entirely at the wrong person but on the other he was agitated and tensed because he still had no clear answers. 

The only thing he truly learned collectively from the servants that knew your attacker best were their accounts of his movements. After the incident with the door, the servant had started to clean the vault and lower levels of the Palace grounds as that was where you rarely went which meant he was less likely to run into there and would therefore not be punished by Doflamingo. Bitterly Doflamingo thought that the disgusting little worm should have just done everyone a favour and just stayed down there in depths where he belonged.

Just as he was beginning to fantasise about what he would have done to him to make him suffer a noise snapped his attention away immediately. Looking up he saw the door creak open and you entered. When you met his stare you gave him a small smile and closed the door behind you and walked towards the sofa. Doflamingo watched you carefully and with a flex of his fingers the sofa pulled back abruptly when you got too close. You let out a sigh and looked to Doflamingo with a small frown. “I just want to lie down Doffy.”

“There’s plenty of room over here.” Doflamingo mused, sitting back in his seat to gesture grandly at the full space on offer on his lap and you let out a small huff of laughter.

“You’re busy.” You pointed out, glancing at the stack of interrogation transcripts that Diamante had assembled and brought personally to Doflamingo that morning. “I’m fine on the sofa until you’re finished.”

Instead of letting you just lie on the sofa and let that be the end of things, Doflamingo moved his hand to pretend to lift the next transcript but the same motion caused the sofa to lift into the air and shoot out the window. As the sound of broken glass cracked through the air you also heard the distant scream of servants and subordinates nearly getting his by the piece of furniture before it hit the ground. Slowly you blinked and looked at Doflamingo who was already grinning broadly.

With a dramatic roll of the eyes you trudged forward and climbed onto his lap. Throwing your legs over one armrest and resting your head against the other you stared up at the ceiling. Doflamingo glanced down at you as he fell the tension held tightly in your body fade. He’d already noticed your restless tension over the last day and he’d felt it too. When you weren’t in the same room as him he couldn’t help but grow agitated and unsettled more than usual. His paperwork was entirely abandoned and would remain that way until he at least got some of the answers to the questions you were both unable to stop thinking about. The only time you both truly relaxed and felt as though you could breathe with relative ease was when you were together. 

Doflamingo sat back while setting his free hand against your side, keeping you close and secure while he read over yet another page of boring snivelling and promises that they knew nothing about your drink being poisoned and that had they known it would have been reported. “You know he worked alone.” You spoke softly, your fingers absently playing with the feathers you were lying against. “What else are you hoping to learn from the servants?”

“He might have poisoned the bottle alone but that doesn’t mean he was sneaky enough to not get noticed.” Doflamingo explained as he moved onto the next page. “If there’s any chance that another servant saw him do it or helped him I will find out. I’m not leaving this alone just because he’s dead. I will not allow anyone to live when they could have potentially had a hand in your death.”

“He used the passageways while we were gone to move without being seen…” You began thoughtfully, only now dropping your gaze from the ceiling to look at Doflamingo. “But you still don’t know where he got the poison, do you?”

“Not yet but I will.” Doflamingo promised strongly, already thinking of possible methods of punishing the people responsible for its creation and who brought it to his island. 

He would make those that were the reason for the constant look of worry on your face pay. Even now as he looked down at you he saw it. Your body was relaxed but still in your eyes he could see the questions swirling around in your mind and plaguing every minute. You were smart and now just like him you were trying to work out this riddle and all its connecting pieces to try and make a clear picture. You were zoned out, barely registering anything going on around you because the same thoughts were on loop. Why were you still alive? What happened to make you survive? Is it a fluke? Is it a delayed reaction? Did you just seem fine now but would succumb to the deadly poison you took such a large quantity of eventually? How could your body handle that much without something awful happening? Why hadn’t you died instantly? Why were you still here? Why weren’t you dead? Why weren’t you dead? Why weren’t you d-

“Mi alma.” You blinked out of your worrying self-inflicted torture to focus on Doflamingo who’d cut through your inward spiral immediately. Slowly Doflamingo’s fingertips ran along the faint furrow between your brows and when he saw you quickly smile and knew if he gave you a chance to you would have said something to reassure him that you were fine. So he spoke before you. “I wish I killed him that day.”

“It was a kinda ‘in the moment’ thing Doffy.” You told him with a small frown as you began to sit up. “I was too busy acting to stop him from drowning me with tainted alcohol, not thinking if I should keep him alive for you to kill.”

“I don’t mean then.” Doflamingo explained while lightly pressing his finger against your forehead to keep you lying comfortably against him, realising you were about to get annoyed at him. “I meant the first time he acted. If I’d slaughtered him the second he opened the door like I wanted to that day then none of this would have happened. You wouldn’t be constantly in this state.”

“Oh.” You’re growing annoyance immediately faded as you realised what he’d meant but you still frowned and shook your head slightly. “But if you had killed him that day then none of this would be happening.”

“Exactly. That’s my point.”

“No, this, Doffy.” You told him, gesturing between you both. “We wouldn’t be like this if you’d killed him that day.”

“Oh?” Doflamingo hummed curiously with a growing grin, his hand against your side giving you quick squeeze making you laugh and lightly hit his hand as you sat up. “How do you work that out?”

“Okay look I’ll explain.” You told him, grabbing a blank sheet of paper from his desk and pulled it towards you. You held back a laugh when Doflamingo brought his face closer and pressed a kiss against your jaw.

“This takes me back, seems so long ago that I was trying to kill you with sleep deprivation.” He grinned broadly when you glanced at him with a small smirk and lightly tapped the paper. 

“Focus, Doffy. Now look.” You began to write and explain. “That day you spared the servant we kissed-”

“You kissed to distract me.”

“Don’t interrupt. We kissed, after that I started spending a little more time with the family after our little agreement, then you invited me to the party. Which meant traveling together, sleeping in the same bed. Then there was the party, the sleaze losing his hand-”

“Then we fucked…” Doflamingo chimed in, letting his hands begin to wander over you at the very pleasant and distracting memory. You laughed softly as you were pulled back into a deep kiss and reluctantly pulled away to fix Doflamingo with a half-serious stare that only made him grin wider. “Fine, fine. No more interruptions.”

“Uh-huh sure. Anyway after that Baby 5 mentioned ‘Cora’ and because of that you learned he was alive and reunited with him.” You said, casting a quick glance as Doflamingo’s grin froze slightly at the mention of his brother. With a sigh you turned back and slowly began to score out the events until you got back to the servant. “None of that would have happened if you’d killed him that day.”

“Seriously?” Doflamingo chuckled looking over the page critically. “This entire chain of events was dependant on…a nothing servant who would later try to kill you?”

“Think about it this was when we were starting to accept things were changing. If you’d killed him when I said I was fine, I would have been furious so no kiss. Which meant nothing else would have happened the way it did.”

Doflamingo looked at the events you had run a line through and was slowly considering things with a slight frown. He was beginning to see you had a slight point but still he would have much preferred it didn’t lead to this current issue at hand. His arm around you tightened and pulled you back to rest closer against his chest  as his chin rested against the top of your head. “Still though…Rosinante? Isn’t there a way we could have stopped everything at Baby 5 slipping up and mentioning him and been happy.”

“Doffy like it or not he’s an important part of both our lives and I know you don’t really mean it…well not fully.” You smiled, tilting your head back to press a small kiss against his jaw. “Do you really hate him that much?” 

“Well after finding out he saved you I can’t exactly hate him as much as I used to…but I’m still pissed at him for the other stuff.”

“The immortality thing?” You asked softly as you sat back. “I thought you had moved passed that. The two of you seemed to have been getting along a little during breakfast yesterday.”

“Baby steps mi alma, he’s still my little brother and now that the mask is off and he’s not so obedient like he used to be he’ll manage piss me off in some way.”

“Were you always at odds? Even as kids?”

“Hm? Oh no we were very close as kids especially when we were on Mary Geoise. Then my father had to ruin it all by revoking our statuses and have us cast out of our home.”

“You mentioned regretting not killing him a second time.” You began carefully, glancing at him. “Want to talk about it?”

“Do you really want to know?” 

“Only if you want to tell me.”

“And where have you been all day, hm?” Rosinante scowled around his cigarette and glared over his shoulder as Diamante approached him with that same cocky grin he certainly hadn’t missed seeing over the years. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten shy all of a sudden. Or are you scared we’re going to attack you?”

“Cut the crap Diamante. You know you won’t go against Doflamingo’s orders.” Rosinante muttered, blowing out a small stream of smoke as he turned his gaze towards one of the upper windows as he spotted you and Doflamingo walk by. “He says they’re his soulmate.”

“Oh? I’m surprised the young master would reveal information like that to you given you’re a traitor to the family.” Diamante mused, as he cast Rosinante a wary glance. He’d kept his uneasiness hidden so far but it was a shock to see the younger Donquixote sibling was still alive. With all the unpleasant business surrounding your near-death because of a lowly servant he hadn’t the chance to get the full story of Rosinante’s miraculous return from Doflamingo yet but for now he supposed all he could do was play nice. At least for now. “But it’s not surprising is it? Someone as great as your brother would of course be rare and blessed enough to have a genuine soulmate.”

“Genuine soulmate?” Rosinante scoffed, almost choking on his cigarette as he looked at Diamante incredulously. “You’re joking, right? I know my brother likes to become obsessed with things and overstate his feelings to the point of obsession but really. Soulmates? They’re myth.”

“Not here they’re not.” Diamante chuckled. “Oh in the beginning we were all so confused why Doffy couldn’t kill them. At first we thought they just had some strange Devil Fruit before we learned the truth. Still, you know Doffy it only made him more motivated.”

“Run that all by me again.”

Doflamingo had told you everything of his and Rosinante’s past and while it had distracted you from your previous thoughts and worrying, everything you now learned was beginning to take their place. For them to go through so much at such a young age it began to make sense at how Doflamingo’s life went in the direction it did, especially when Trebol and the others got involved. You didn’t ask many questions, knowing how hard it was for someone like Doflamingo to openly talk about his past in depth. You simply listened and appreciated all he willingly shared and walked with him from the office to the private quarters. Settling down on the sofa you smiled when he sank down to lay against you. Your hands rubbed against the tension in his neck and back as he buried his head against you, exhausted from letting himself be genuinely vulnerable.

Nervously you eyed the clock, seeing dinner was fast approaching. Another meal meant another round of paranoia. Even when you saw Doflamingo and the other members of the family eat without any hesitation and have no reaction and even when you repeated to yourself you would not be poisoned again your body couldn’t help but tense at the thought of it all again. All you could do was try to make it through as best you could until the doctors eventually found answers that could help to calm you and get you back on track. 

“Doffy!” You looked up towards the door at the sound of Diamante’s call from down the corridor and bit back the scowl. Honestly what was his problem now? “Doffy! I can’t stop him unless you allow me to!” 

“Ugh! This place falls apart without me there for five seconds, what are these idiots doing?” Doflamingo groaned, pushing himself up from the sofa and stalking to the door just as the sound of a fist hitting it sounded. He opened the door only to be grabbed roughly by Rosinante. “Oh joy, little brother you’re here for another fight?” He grinned, his hand clamping down onto his brother’s wrist. “I’m game.”

“You tried to kill them?” Rosinante snarled before looking over his brother’s shoulder at you as you stood up. “And you let him?! Not just once but multiple times apparently!”

You looked at Rosinante and then to Diamante who hovered behind him, desperately looking like he was just waiting for the order to attack. “What were you told exactly?”

“Apparently when my brother declares he’s in love with you and calls you his soulmate he’s not exaggerating but instead of being normal about it he’s spent his time dreaming up and trying ways to make it possible to kill you.”

“Ah.” You said with a small, nervous laugh. You approached slowly, knowing that if you were in a closer proximity the two wouldn’t launch themselves into another destructive brawl. “Honestly it isn’t as serious as it sounds! Look at me Rosi, I’m fine, nothing ever left a mark.”

“Exactly maybe get your own relationship instead of butting into mine.” Doflamingo grinned as he shoved Rosinante’s hand away now that it was clear he wasn’t going to get another fight after all. Throwing his arm around you and pulled you close. “Besides I haven’t tried to kill them for a while now.”

“That’s hardly the point. You shouldn’t have tried it at all. Are you really incapable of having any interaction with someone without attempting homicide?! And you! Why are you so calm about it all.”

“The way I saw it, if he was too busy focusing on me to try and kill, knowing it would never work he would be too distracted to take it out on others who he could actually harm. It worked by the way and honestly it was interesting to see how creative it could get.”

“Creative?” Rosinante spluttered, glancing back at Diamante in shock that the elite officer had told the truth and hadn’t exaggerated at all. 

“Oh yeah I did pretty much everything.” Doflamingo chuckled. “Fire, drowning, shooting-”

“Throwing out of windows.” You added with a grin. “His strings and blades…”

“Blunt weapons too. Let’s see what else…Oh yeah poison too.” Doflamingo listed before both he and you froze and looked at each other.   

“My King you’re brilliant!” One of the doctors gushed while bowing deeply. “How could we not have thought of it. We beg for your forgiveness for not even considering it and causing so much distress to you both.”

“Honestly don’t blame yourself-” You began only for Doflamingo to spoke over you with a menacing grin aimed at the closest Doctor.

“Just don’t do it again or else-”

“Doffy…” You lightly tapped his chest and pulled him out of the Doctor’s face with ease. Doflamingo clicked his tongue and relented but only because he was in a good mood. You smiled at the Doctors who were looking over the notes they’d collected on your symptoms and tests results and seemed excited at the theory you and Doflamingo offered them. “So what do you think?”

“It makes sense.” A Doctor looked to you with a firm and resolute nod. “Every time the King poisoned your food and drink you were protected because of the gift of being soulmates. However it was still in your system so while it wasn’t doing what it would normally do your body was still exposed to it and unlike anyone else you were able to process it and develop an immunity. Even for the deadliest of poisons like the recent one that should have killed you instantly.”

Doflamingo looked at the medical notes and slowly shook his head and the long and complex scientific name for the poison they’d found in your drink. Had they told him directly that the poison had a more common name he would have known it immediately and realised that it was one of the poisons he used for quick and efficient kills that still came with the sweet vision of pain and suffering. This also answered where the servant got the poison from. From the earlier report that he’d been hiding down in the vault it was clear he’d been able to get to Doflamingo’s personal reserves of poisons with ease, especially when Pica left and was no longer observing from inside the walls. 

Now that things made sense at last and after a few minor blood tests against other poisons showed that you were truly immune to them all you finally felt your worries begin to fade. It hadn’t been a fluke and there was no imminent death waiting for you. Because your soulmate was Doflamingo, a man determined to try and defeat fate and kill you he had inadvertently helped to strengthen your body and made you resilient in a way no-one else ever had been before and you could finally sigh in relief. 

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this.” Rosinante spoke lowly to Doflamingo after dinner and the entire family had gone to the lounge to unwind for the evening. He made sure to speak lowly so that only his brother could hear. As he let out a heavy sigh he braced himself to continue with his reluctant compliment . “But it seems you being a slightly unhinged and murder obsessed actually went in your favour…for once.”

“So it would seem.” Doflamingo nodded while watching you talk to Baby 5, a smile pulling at his lips to see you looking relaxed and without any worry in your gaze. “Good thing it worked out in the best possible way.”

“You got lucky this time but take this seriously will you? You better look after them Doffy.” Rosinante warned as he got to his feet and left to his own quarters, still not entirely at ease around the family even with the knowledge none of them could touch him. 

While you were sleeping soundly Doflamingo found getting to sleep harder to do and not for the usual reasons that had plagued him in the past. As much as he would have loved to have ignored anything and everything his little brother said, his passing remark still lingered in his mind. He needed to be serious and look after you, huh? At the sound of you sighing in your sleep he looked down to watch you stretch out and pull yourself closer before relaxing again. Doflamingo let out a small chuckle and squeezed you against his side, continuing to look at you. Lightly he shook you and whispered your name. 

You shifted slightly and groaned something incoherent but continued to sleep. Doflamingo tried again. “Mi alma?”

“Hm?” You stirred and lifted your head a little to force your eyes open enough to look at him in the dark as a heavy yawn built in your chest. “Doffy? Wh’swron?”

“Nothing wrong. Just a question and you can go back to sleep.” Doflamingo promised, rubbing your back as you draped your arm over his chest and nodded, already beginning to drift off again. “Will you marry me?