The brownies you made for the guys ended up being a hit. Despite having not made any for months, you did a good job and it wasn't long until people around town started offering to pay you for batches. One of the guys must have told someone about it and you were betting it was Heat or Killer. When you came into work one day with a bunch for the guys at the station, they pretty much had a field day with it. You became the favorite co-worker of just about everyone. For the whole work week people were putting in requests for different kinds.

You were glad when the weekend finally came around and you were able to take a break. Baking was fun and all, but jumping right into it after not touching it for such a long time wore you out. The Saturday morning started just like any other. The house was quiet with only you and Chopper around, Wire wasn't able to make it over the night before. The guys had gotten slammed at work and they stayed busy sometime past dark. It was safe to assume he was sleeping in so you didn't bother texting to avoid possibly waking him up.

You went about your morning and got dressed, made coffee, and headed outside to take care of Chopper and your plants. The deer had taken to following you around as you picked weeds out from the pots and flowerbeds and watered. Always close enough he could nudge you if he wanted to but just out of reach any time you turned around to try and pet him. He was very keen on making sure any touch was on his terms. It was still cute though.

He'd even follow you to the front yard where your neighbor would coo over him from across the street. She'd started calling you Snow White.

You'd been nice and kept Luffy and his brothers updated on the place as they'd asked if you could and they were esctatic to hear the deer had grown so attached to you. Apparently before you came around, the only other person he would tolerate was Luffy. Though he was also beginning to warm up to Wire as well. He was over often enough in the mornings that Chopper was getting used to seeing him and would sometimes willingly take food from the palm of his hand.

When you finished with your bit of maintenance, you headed back inside, shooing Chopper away for the day. He was happy to trot off and scratch his antlers against some tree. The velvet on them was coming off in some spots still and it looked like he'd gored some creature. In reality it was just from the velvet peeling away. You looked into it and apparently it was normal for it to look like a bloody mess.

You'd forgotten your coffee on the kitchen counter and started sipping at it, not really caring that it'd gone cold. It still tasted good. Your phone buzzed angrily in your pocket and you checked it, delighted to see that Wire was calling. He'd gotten up earlier than you thought he would.

"Hey there." You chirped happily as you answered.

"Hey yourself." His voice was husky, heavy with sleep. He must have just woken up and called you first thing.

"How'd work go last night?"

"Not too bad, there was just a lot to do. We got it all done so we'd have the day off."

"Ohhhh what's the plan then?" If everyone had the day off you were all bound to go do something fun.

"Kid wanted to go see a movie and then we're all thinking of going down to the pond for a swim."

"Sounds good to me, when should I come over?"

"The sooner the better." He purred. "I missed you last night, it's no fun waking up alone."

You laughed. "I can stay over tonight then."

"That'd be perfect." He sounded very content with that.

Wire liked to stick to you like a leech when you shared a bed. Didn't matter how far you would be or how hot it was, he was going to cuddle whether you liked it or not. And as big as he was, you usually couldn't peel him away without it feeling like a wrestling match, one you couldn't win.

"I'll head over in a bit, I already got all my morning chores done." You paused as the doorbell rang. "I swear, if someone is at my door getting ready to ask me to bake for them they have another thing coming."

Wire laughed on the other end and you could just imagine him rolling around in bed with that wonderful smile you knew would accompany the sound.

"I haven't had a break from baking for a whole week thanks to you guys." You chuckled as you made your way to the door.

"You've had fun with it though." He chuckled.

"I have....."

When you opened the door you trailed off. The person at the door wasn't someone you wanted to see.

"Um, I'm going to have to call you back. I have to uh, water the snapdragons." You hung up.

"Snapdragons huh?" The man in front of you glanced around until he found the flowerpots full of them. "I would've picked roses."

He was tall, taller than Wire, which was definitely saying something. He had perfectly tanned skin, short, well kept blonde hair, and a smile that never faltered, even when he was angry. He was dressed in his usual business attire, a full black suit with the jacket open and showing the pale pink shirt underneath. A bright pink tie and matching curvy sunglasses completed the look. He was always handsome but easily just as intimidating. Either way, you never loved him.

"What are you doing here Doflamingo?" Your voice didn't shake but there was an apprehensive tone to it.

He laughed. "Is this a joke? You know why I'm here. How am I supposed to marry into your family without you? Seems a little silly, don't you think?"

"I thought I told you we're through. I called it off and I don't want anything to do with you. It's not happening. Now how did you find me?"

"You've gained quite the attitude, making demands of me." He chuckled but you could see the pink tint forming along his neck, the way his lips twitched but still stayed upturned. He was getting angry. "I had to sink more funds than I wanted into helping search for you and I won't take no for an answer. If you hadn't done your pitiful cry for attention by leaving, we'd already be married and I'd be an extremely rich man. But you had to go and be selfish, didn't you?"

"It's not selfish to want to live a decent life." You clenched your fists but didn't move forward to jab a finger into his chest like you wanted to. You felt a little safer staying in the doorway to your place, like that'd somehow stop him from forcing you to leave. "You're a real asshole with no regard to others and I refuse to put up with that."

He frowned and you knew you were in for it. He never made faces like that.

"All you have to do is simple." He said slowly, like he was doing everything he could to contain his anger. "Come back willingly and we won't have a problem. We'll go on like this little tantrum of yours never happened, get married, and have a few kids to keep that beast you call your mother happy. Past that, you're free to do what," He looked you up and down, taking in all the hickeys and marks on your body that weren't covered by your shorts and tank top. "and who you please. Though it seems you've gotten a head start on the latter. Tell me, what'd you have to pay him to lay with you?"

"Nothing." You grit your teeth and clenched your jaw but were unable to keep yourself from speaking your mind. The time spent away had made you brave. "And he's a much better fuck than you ever were."

You didn't see it, but your head turned and you felt the harsh sting left behind from him backhanding you. There was the metallic tang of blood in your mouth from your teeth cutting into your inner cheek. There was a cut along your cheekbone from one of his rings, you could feel a wet drip trickling down your face. He never hit you before. But you were glad he did.

"Way to fuck yourself over." You cupped your face and held your ground.

"You better learn to watch your tongue." He snarled.

"You know what's great about small towns like this?"

He didn't answer but there was a flash of uncertainty in his eyes behind the glasses.

"Everyone is too god-damned nosey for their own good."

You looked past him to see your neighbor nervously shuffling back and forth on her feet with a phone pressed up to her ear. Her eyes flicked between you and Doflamingo. Even from where you were you could see her whites. She was more freaked out than you were. He turned slightly to see what you were talking about and cursed under his breath. She'd gotten a good view of him hitting you.

Now you had something to work with for a restraining order. You almost wished he'd hit you again. The pain wouldn't last but he'd be up to his ass in assault charges.

"You planned this." He snapped.

"No actually, I didn't. I planned on you staying away and letting me live my little life out in the middle of no where. You came here asking for this. I told you, we're done and you can't change my mind."

"I may not be able to." His smile came back as he ran a hand through his hair. "But your family will. You Charlottes are all loyal to a fault. I'm sure they'll find a way to convince you."

He was so confident. You almost wanted to laugh in his face, but that'd be childish. You weren't about to bring yourself down to his level.

"Sure. If you want to believe that, be my guest. Now go do yourself a favor and go wait over there for the cops." You pointed out to the driveway but he sprawled out in your porch swing instead.

It irked you and he knew it would. But you didn't say anything. You weren't going to give him something to hold against you.

"Does he know who you are? I bet he's hoping to get some of that Charlotte money. There's no other reason for someone to willingly have sex with you." Despite getting ready to talk to the police, he was calm and trying to push your buttons, see what he could do to aggravate you.

You ignored him, waiting for the police to come.

"I've found myself a couple girlfriends. You know, for on the side. They're real hot pieces of tail, you could never compare."

You hoped it wasn't someone like Koby. If Doflamingo kept egging you on, you'd need someone a little tougher to keep you from letting your anger take over.

----

It was Koby. But at least he wasn't alone. Smoker had come along with him and was able to keep you from saying anything you'd come to regret. Koby collected a statement from your neighbor while Smoker took care of you and your ex. Your day had started out great but turned to a real shit show.

Not long after they had showed up, you were glad to see Wire and the guys pull up in their truck. They had hardly parked it by Doflamingo's car when Wire hopped out and made a bee line for you. He'd never been intimidating to you, but right then he definitely was. He was drawn up to his full height, muscles tense, jaw clenched, eyes fiery. The jacket he normally had was missing but the white mesh top he wore stood out boldly against his tanned skin. If you didn't know him, you'd say he looked downright thuggish.

The second he approached at you, you could see him softening up. Smoker gave him a nod before moving your ex further away so you'd have some privacy.

"What happened?" Wire gently held your jaw and tilted your head so he could see the cut along your face. The bleeding had stopped and it was cleaned up, but it was tinged pink around the edges and the space around it throbbed from the hit.

"You can't get angry."

"I already am." He growled, brushing his thumb around the tender spot.

"You can't do anything stupid then."

He sighed. "I'll behave, just fill me in."

You moved his hand away and held it. It hurt when he touched around the cut but you weren't about to tell him that.

"They found me. I guess it was just a matter of time."

"They." He looked over at Doflamingo who was all smiles.

"Remember the ex I mentioned? That's him. He wants me to go back with him."

"No." Wire looked hurt and offended, like you were actually considering it. "You're happy here and legally he can't make you do anything."

"I know." You pat his hand. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere, especially with him."

His shoulders dropped as he took in your full appearance. "I'm sorry we took so long to get here."

"I honestly wasn't even sure if you'd understand what I meant." You gave him a comforting smile. "Besides, you got here pretty damn fast all things considered. Did you speed?"

He pointed over his shoulder to the other three, standing nearby and watching Doflamingo like they'd all jump him if he so much as breathed in your direction. "Kid did. We were lucky there were no cops around to catch us. But next time you're in trouble, just say it." He shook his head. "You've never used your safe word, not even once, but you decide to use it when your ex comes knocking."

You laughed but it came out strained. You had been holding up great so far, but now it was all starting to get to you. It wouldn't be long until all you wanted to do was huddle up and figure out what to do when the next unavoidable confrontation came up.

"I didn't want things to get out of hand if he knew I was calling for help and it was the first thing that came to mind."

"Things got out of hand anyway (Y/n)." He went to brush his fingers along the cut but you winced before he could even touch it, anticipating the pain. It made him frown and drop his hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't faster."

"My problems aren't yours Wire, don't beat yourself up about it."

"We promised we'd be there for you. And this...." His eyes flicked to the cut. "This isn't what we promised."

"(Y/n)." Smoker called to you, motioning for you to come over. Doflamingo had stepped back, still smiling like he'd won some lottery but you could see the tension in his body. He wasn't happy.

Wire gripped your wrist before you could walk off. "This won't happen again. We'll be here for you."

You hesitated and felt the beginnings of nervousness start to sink in. "Can you come with me?" You almost whispered. "Y'know, moral support and all that garbage?"

"Of course."

He didn't let you go as you walked over to Smoker together. He was all business, stern expression, an unlit cigar clenched between his teeth, notepad out and ready to record everything he deemed important enough to write. You couldn't read it, but there was definitely some things scrawled on it already in his messy chicken scratch.

Doflamingo didn't say a word the entire time you talked with Smoker but you could feel his eyes on you and Wire. You could practically hear the foul, degrading comments running through his head. But while your friends watched him, Wire focused on you. You had four men between you and him.

He didn't try anything the rest of the time he was there and by the time it had died down and he left, you felt drained of all your energy. While this was done for the day, it wasn't finished for real. You were going to need all the support you could get with this.