Thanks AshliDinkelman for the request!

Doflamingo X Reader

You wiped the condensation from the mirror with your towel and looked yourself over with a growing look of disgust. Scars adorned your body from head to toe. Some petite, just a gentle bump of flesh, others were harsh, gruesome marks, impossible to look away from. Even your face hadn't been spared. There was a thin scar running from your jaw down to your neck and another one slashing across your right brow. All of them were hard for you to see, no matter how long ago you'd gotten them.

At least you'd gotten pretty good at hiding them. You padded into your room for clothes, sticking to loose fitting pants, an equally roomy shirt, a long sleeved and high collared jacket zipped up over that, and a pair of heavy boots. The jacket covered almost up to your chin, leaving only the two scars on your face to be seen. If you had it your way, those would be hidden too, but masks just weren't your thing.

When you figured you were presentable, you headed out of your room to brave the halls of the mansion. You were immediately greeted by the shrill laughter of Dellinger and the complaints of Sugar. Great, they were teasing each other again. They were always finding ways to get on each other's last nerve.

"(Y/n)!" Dellinger giggled happily as he came around a corner and trotted up to you. You'd been with Doflamingo's family for a couple months now but it still amazed you how well the boy walked around in heels. "Sugar is threatening to turn me into a toy again!"

He hid behind you, grabbing handfuls of your jacket. You fought the urge to pull away, reminding yourself the clothes were too baggy for him to feel your scars through them.

"Maybe you should stop teasing her so much?" You offered. "I've gotta go, you'll be fine."

"You're no fun." He huffed as you pulled away to escape down the opposite end of the hall. It would take longer to get where you wanted to be, but you'd avoid meeting up with Sugar.

As soon as you were out of sight, their antics continued, their shouts and laughter chasing you down the hall.

You were hungry and hoping to get to the dining room without being sucked into a conversation with anyone else. It was silly to keep avoiding confrontations with the others in the family but you couldn't bring yourself to suffer through talks with any of them. It was nothing against them, you just had a hard time trusting people and it was so much easier to keep to yourself.

Besides your run in with the younger members of the family, it was still in the mansion. It was too early for the officers or Doflamingo to be up and moving. They usually chose to stay up late and sleep their mornings away, giving you time to creep around and take care of whatever you needed to for the day before disappearing. Sometimes you could go days without seeing any of the officers. But you always ran into Doflamingo one way or another. Sometimes it was on purpose, to discuss work or plans, other times it seemed like he was searching for you to check in, see how you were adjusting to life on dressrosa. Your answer was always the same. You were doing just fine.

He probably didn't believe it. In fact, you were sure he didn't. The first few times you told him that, he'd smile and nod. That turned to occasional small frowns and him insisting that you let him know if you needed anything. And now he didn't bother to hide his doubts, always looking at you like a disappointed parent and pestering you until you'd suggest something to keep him happy. Usually it was simple things like you could do with more clothes or you just needed to get out into town for some fresh air. You couldn't figure out why he cared so much. It was confusing and you weren't quite sure how to deal with it properly. But Everytime he'd leave, you almost wished he'd stick around a bit longer. Almost.

Doflamingo was a busy man and you understood that. He didn't have time to deal with his antisocial new recruit.

When you peeked into the dining room, it was empty, just as you hoped it'd be. Some of the servants had laid out food for anyone to come by and have their breakfast whenever they woke up. It wasn't uncommon for someone to get up as early as you or Sugar and Dellinger and besides that, the rest of the higher ups in the family woke up at their own pace. That was another nice thing here. As long as work got done, you weren't required to adhere to an actual schedule.

You put together a plate of food, intent on taking it somewhere else to avoid running into another person this morning, and grabbed a glass of juice before turning around to head out. Except as you turned, you ran straight into Giolla. You let out a surprised gasp as your drink splashed all over your jacket, instantly staining it. The fact that you didn't hear her coming was astounding. The woman was always loud.

"Oh my!" She exclaimed. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that. Here, let me clean that up for you."

"No, it's fine. I've got it." You backed up when she went to unzip the jacket and pull it off.

Giolla had a habit of mothering the younger members of the family and apparently you were no exception. You couldn't tell if her intentions were good or if she was warming up to you while planning something malevolent at the same time. And you really didn't want to take off clothes and reveal the scars along your arms in the process. No one in the family had seen any of them past the damage on your face.

"Really! It's my fault for ruining it, I'll take care of it." She insisted.

This time when she went in for it, you had just enough time to place your dishes on the table and grab her hand, startling her.

"I appreciate the offer, it's no big deal though. I've got it." You said sternly.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she gave you a bewildered look, clutching her hand close to her chest. Great. You'd hurt her feelings. It was too awkward to try and say something to smooth it over with. Hell, you didn't even know what would make her feel like you didn't want her touching you. The fact was, you didn't.

All you could do was walk around her and make a quick retreat back to your room for a clean jacket, sweater, or something that'd cover you up. The halls were still quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Not even Dellinger or Sugar were goofing off around the rooms and you assumed that meant they took their antics elsewhere.

As soon as you were back in the safety of your room, you let out a sigh and took off the jacket, letting it fall to the floor as you went to pull something else from your closet. After some sifting around, you settled on a turtleneck sweater. Dressrosa was entirely too warm to be dressing with something like that, but you couldn't exactly be picky when trying to hide your body. It was something you'd grown used to anyway. There was a knock at your door right as you were tugging the sweater down.

"Yes?" You called out.

"I hear you've already had an eventful morning." To your surprise, it was Doflamingo's voice that greeted you.

"It's been fine. Aren't you up a little early?"

He chuckled on the other side of the door, but the sound held a slightly annoyed tone. "Giolla came to me in tears claiming you despise her."

"No, I don't." You frowned to yourself. The once potentially nice interaction with him was taking a turn you didn't care for. "Just didn't need any help was all."

"....May I come in?" He asked but the handle to your door turned at the same time.

Doflamingo wasn't planning on you telling him no and it immediately made you panic. You had been too caught up in talking with him to put on the sweater.

"No!" You quickly ran to the door, pushing back against it as you practically hid behind it. "I–I'm not decent."

"(Y/n)." He growled. You were wearing down on his patience. "Tell me, why do you hurt your family and hide yourself away?"

"What?" His directness threw you off. It left you bewildered and sent your heart pounding away in your chest with anxiousness. You'd been aloof long enough and they were all probably getting tired of it. The momentary confusion was enough for him to wedge his foot in the door, keeping you from closing it completely.

"You only see the family when necessary, you actively avoid them, unless it involves your work, talks are kept brief, and the way you dress.....suggests you have something to hide."

"I'm just more comfortable covered up."

"Yet that's the only thing you defend. Only a jacket gets ruined and you claim to be indecent."

"I don't know what you want me to say." You shook your head though he couldn't see it. He'd been kind enough to keep from forcing his way in and seeing you. It'd only take a few seconds to throw on the extra layer of clothing but you were afraid that's all it'd take for him to peek in and see your scars.

"I want answers. Tell me what troubles you." His voice lost it's edge and you felt yourself slump forward until your forehead hit the cool surface seperating the two of you.

All it took was a small switch in his attitude to make you want to spill your life story. But there was the nagging fear that he wouldn't accept you if he knew the truth. And even if he somehow did, that didn't mean everyone would.

"It's stupid really." Yet you felt the words fall out of your mouth, unable to keep yourself from finally sharing what you'd kept to yourself for too long. "Tell me to fight and kill, and I can do that easy. There's nothing scary about risking my life apparently. But ask me to talk about my problems? There's nothing more terrifying."

Doflamingo moved his foot away, instead replacing it with his back as he turned around to face the hall and stood against the door. The shift in weight made you press into it a little harder to keep it from opening further.

"Face your fears." He commanded. "Tell me about them."

His calm, serious demeanor told you he was sincere. He was usually all laughs and smiles. Now he was anything but.

"Have you....?" No, you already knew the answer to that question.

Have you ever been used?

"I spent a lot of time under a different group of pirates before I came here." You started again. "It wasn't a big group, nothing to write home about and they tended to keep to their little corner of the world. When I first joined them, I had hopes of going on adventures, seeing the world, making a name for myself. But they had their own plans. It didn't take long for me to learn that the captain was strong and his crew was ruthless. Not just to their enemies but to each other as well. They were big on the whole survival of the fittest thing and took it to an entirely new level. Members would be singled out over the smallest mistakes and punished constantly until they either buckled under the pressure or just died."

You paused as you thought about the things you'd seen happen on that ship. All the things you did.

"And?" Doflamingo tapped the door with his knuckles to get your attention.

"And I managed to avoid making myself a target. For a short while at least."

"What changed?"

"I dunno. One day I was watching a group of crewmates hound another and....I guess I snapped. I got tired of seeing all the abuse and when I went to stop them, they decided that was my mistake. From then on it turned into a game to see what it'd take to really hurt me. Hell, even the captain joined in after some time." You let out a bitter laugh. "I decided to stick with my belief that the constant internal aggression wasn't necessary and they decided to take it out on me instead."

"Tell me what they did."

You would've without him demanding as much, but the command helped push you along.

"Usually a lot of beatings." Your hands twitched around the sweater you'd been clutching at. "They'd pummel me until they got bored of that. Sometimes they liked using knives and guns, aiming for spots that'd hurt without causing enough damage to kill. Though they got close a few times. But they'd always patch me up so they could do it all over again later."

"You never gave in." He stated.

"No."

"So what happened to the crew?"

A small frown worked its way onto your face. "Eventually I realized things weren't going to change. Not unless I did something. So I killed them."

"A whole crew? By yourself?" He sounded impressed.

"I'm not proud of it, but a lot of them went in their sleep. I crept around the ship one night, just cutting their throats. Even the ones that didn't hurt me. I felt they deserved it the most. They never stepped in to stop things like I did for one of them. They were content to let things happen, as long as it wasn't them being singled out. I saved the captain for last, made sure he was awake when I did it so he'd know who killed him."

There was a grunt of affirmation on Doflamingo's side. He probably would have done something similar, you were quite sure.

"I hate were I came from. I hate that I joined a crew to broaden my horizons but left with a lot of blood on my hands and a lot of anger. Killing them didn't make me feel any better and the whole situation left me struggling to deal with people. I started covering up so others wouldn't have to look at me and so I wouldn't have to either. It's all just reminders of how I can't trust others. Things here have been nice and that's different for me. I can't tell if it's a good kind of different or not yet, I'm still trying to figure that out. Adjusting to this hasn't been easy."

"So you lied every time you said you were doing fine."

"I guess....is that really the only thing you're going to comment on?"

He suddenly pushed on the door, sending you stumbling forward as he let himself in. You'd let yourself relax by telling him all the nasty details and it let him catch you off guard. Before you could fully regain your footing by yourself, he grabbed your wrist and righted you, holding your arm up and investigating each scar with his eyes. You could feel his gaze running along your skin, even behind his oddly shaped sunglasses.

Doflamingo was the first person in a long time to see so much of you but he didn't shy away as you stood frozen, unsure how you should react. He was your captain, could you really refuse this of him? It didn't help that your emotions weren't quite where you thought they should've been. Instead of anger at his actions, fear of him seeing the marks that marred you, you were simply nervous and maybe even a little interested in what he'd say.

His grip on your wrist loosened and he let his fingers trail down the bumps and divots of your arm. "They really did abuse you."

You didn't know what to say to that. He cocked his head to the side as he met your eyes. His mouth was set in a straight, firm line but there was no animosity and no more annoyance from him.

"Are you sure you killed them all?"

"Yes." You almost whispered.

"Good. If you didn't, I would've finished the job." With that, he pulled his hand away.

"Why would you care about them?"

"Because you're part of my family now."

"That's it?" It was too simple of an answer for you.

"No."

But you weren't expecting him to say that either.

"I care about you."

"I...don't get it." You frowned and started to feel self conscious again. It was well overdue for you to cover up.

As you started to fiddle with the sweater and put it on, Doflamingo took it, tossing it to your bed.

"That's not necessary." He said with a smile. "What I mean is I believe you are a beautiful woman and the scars change nothing. (Y/n), what do you say we spend some time getting to know each other better today?"

The realization began to slowly dawn on you. He was saying he felt something for you. Maybe something similar to what you felt for him. Talking to him was usually the highlight of your day, he left you feeling content, happy even. There was something there and you'd like to work with it, if given the chance.

"So none of this bothers you?" You gestured vaguely to yourself.

"No."

"There's a lot more than what you've seen."

"I assumed so."

"None are pretty."

"They are if they're on you."

You blushed at that one. "So you're serious? You're not just saying it?"

"Of course not." He bent down at the waist to get closer to your level as he pushed his glasses up. "Now what do you say? Should we make it a date?"

The first step to getting better would be taking chances, and here was one right in front of you. Things had been good so far with Doflamingo and the family. You felt a little more inclined to give this a shot knowing that.

"Well, we could give it a shot I guess."

"Wonderful." He purred, straightening back out. "We can start with breakfast."

You did miss out on that since you had the run in with Giolla, so it sounded nice. He placed a hand between your shoulders, nudging you out of the room and though you tensed up out of habit, you didn't pull away. He said the scars didn't bother him and so far you believed him. The rest of the family may not take to them like he had but you didn't doubt they wouldn't give you a hard time about them if Doflamingo didn't.

That thought alone was enough to give you the courage to walk out of the room without completely covering yourself for the first time in a long time. And more than anything, it felt liberating.

You could get used to this.