Arabasta was suppose to be a new start for me. Everything had started off great, I had found a wonderful job, a nice place to rent, and the people were so kind here. I thought that my luck had finally changed, that is until it all came crashing down. 

"What do you mean I'm fired!?" I exclaimed as I stared up at my boss.

"I'm sorry, (Y/n). But we have to make budget cuts and you are one of the only people the restaurant can stand to lose." He said as he kept his hands on his lap.

"But... this is the only job I can get! No where else is hiring! I'll lose everything if I lose this job!" I exclaimed as I slammed my hands down on his desk.

"Not my problem." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You bastard! I hope you burn in-"

I felt someone roughly grabbed my arm, and drag me out of the office. I let out a squeak as I was throw outside. I landed in a patch of mud and let out a groan.

"Bastard." I grumbled as I flicked the dirt off of me.

I whipped my face and limped back home, where I was greeted by the wonderful sight of an eviction notice taped to the front of my door.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I screamed as I tried to open the door.

But of course the locks had been changed. I hit my head on the door and let out a groan. I turned and found a box of my belongings waiting for me right next to a note.

I'm sorry, but I have someone who offered me more money for this room. I hope you can understand- Landlord

"This is just great. Today can't get any worse." I thought as I picked up my box of belongings.

I walked thru the streets, hoping to find a place to stay for the night. I had almost made it to the hotel, when I felt a knife press up against my back.

"Give me all of your money." The man growled out.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" I yelled as I tightened my grip on my box.

"Now!"

"Just go ahead and stab me. Cause I don't have anything but this box of pictures." I growled as I spun around to face him.

The man stared at me, shock written in his face as I placed my free hand on my hip. At this point in my life I could care less if I lived or died. I had no family in Arabasta, and I had no family alive to contact and ask for money. The man went to say something but before he could I felt a wave of sand wrap around me. I felt something medal press against my stomach, pulling me back against a hard chest. My heart stopped as I looked up to see a tall man standing behind me. The man was extremely tall and extremely handsome. He had a wide chest, broad shoulders, muscular arms and legs, and a thick neck. His skin was pale and went well with his nape-length black hair, which was kept neatly slicked back. My eyes went up and down his face, stopping at the long-stitched scar at the bridge of his nose that stretches across his face.

"Cro... Crocodile!" The man exclaimed as he dropped his knife, falling to the ground.

"Leave... now." The strange man ordered.

It surprised me just how deep and relaxed his voice was. This man didn't seem to have a care in the world, which shouldn't surprise me seeing as he is a warlord. I turned back around to look at the man who had tried to rob me, only to find him running away, leaving me in the alleyway with one of the seven warlords of the seas. My heart was racing and I couldn't hide the fear that coursed thru me as I felt Crocodile's grip grow tighter. I bit my bottom lip and slowly turned around in his arms, so that I could stare up at him.

"Mr.... Crocodile... I-"

"Let's get you inside. You are covered in mud." He said cutting me off.

Without so much as a glance he kept his hand on my thigh and dragged me out of the alleyway, my feet ended up betraying me as they moved on their own. I couldn't believe that a warlord was leading me into his casino, his jacket wrapped around my shoulders. My face was bright red as people stopped and stared at us. Crocodile led me to an elevator and without so much as a word hit the VIP button. When the door slid open he led me into what I could only imagine was his penthouse.

"The bathroom is in there. Clean up, I'll send for my assistant to get you a change of clothes." He said as he pointed to his bathroom.

"Thank you." I said as I bowed my head.

He took the box from me and without another word, I turned and rushed into the bathroom, my heart racing. I leaned against the door, my face bright red. I waited a few seconds before I turned the water on, turning it as hot as it would possibly go; I then stepped in fully clothed and set down on the floor.

"How did I end up here?" I thought as I gripped my hair tightly.

There was a light tap on the door which caused me to raise my head up.

"I brought you some clothes." A gentle voice said from outside.

"Um.. the door is unlocked." I whispered as I brought my knees to my chest.

The door slid open and I watched as a woman walked in. She was a tall, slender young woman with shoulder-length black hair.

"The boss asked me to give these to you and to take your old clothes." She explained.

I gave her a nod and quickly stripped out of my soaked clothes. I wrung them out before handing them over to her. Without so much as another glance she left, taking my clothes with her. I finished washing off and then grabbed a towel to dry off. I stepped out and wrapped the towel around my waist. When my foot hit the ground the pain finally hit me. I let out a squeak as I gripped into the wall, pain shooting up my leg. I set on the edge of the tub and closed my eyes.

"This is just my luck." I thought with a snarl.

I forced myself to my feet and limped over to the clothes. When I picked them up I saw that I had been given a very revealing cocktail dress. The underwear was just as bad, being a black see through thong and a matching bra. I got dressed and brushed my hair out, doing my best to make myself presentable. When I stepped out I found Crocodile lounging on the couch, cigar in his mouth.

"I see the dress fits. I'm afraid that is all I have here." He explained as I walked over to him.

"It's.. fine. Thank you." I said as he motioned for me to sit down. "For the clothes and for saving me."

"What type of man would I be if I allowed such a beautiful young woman to be harmed." He said as he removed the cigar from his lips. "I had your belonging taken to a room downstairs. You can stay for the night."

"Thank you, but I couldn't possibly accept this. I don't have any money to repay you."

"Think of it as a gift." He said as he looked me over.

"I still couldn't accept."

He let out a hum and brought the cigar to his lips, taking a drag of it. He took it away and breathed out a puff of smoke.

"I'll get to the point then. I'm looking for an assistant and I do believe you fit the bill."

"Me? I've never done an assistant job in my life. All I have ever done is work at a restaurant and I got fired today."

"I need someone to stand beside me and look pretty. That's all I need from you. You don't have to file any papers or do any real work, just stand next to me."

"What about that woman you have? Doesn't she already do that?"

"Miss All Sunday is a business partner. She does all my paperwork work and deals with... annoying people. She isn't one to sit still and look pretty, if you understand what I mean?"

"I do."

"Good. I'll start paying you 3,000 berries a day."

"3,000! That's way to much! I couldn't possibly accept that much!" I exclaimed as I stared up at him, a look of shock permanently engraved on my face.

"2,000 then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure you can find more beautiful women to take this job. Why would you possibly want me?" I asked in shock.

"Because I can't trust a lot of people, and seeing as you have nothing and no one in your life; you are perfect for the job." He said as he leaned forward.

"How... do you know I have no one in my life?"

"I know because I've been watching you for some time now, Miss (Y/n). I had been meaning to contact you earlier, but business has been booming and I hadn't had a chance to speak to you. Though it now appears fate has had other plans and has thrown you at my feet." He said as he stood up.

I tightened my grip on the bottom of my dress and watched his every move. Crocodile made his way to the back of the couch and ghosted his hook along the back of my neck. I felt a shiver run down my back as I took in a deep breath of air.

"It is a simple job. All you have to do is be eye candy for my business partners, and I will pay you handsomely. Do this and I can assure you that you will be set for life." He said as he leaned forward, blowing a gust of air in my ear.

I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by accepting his offer. He was right when he said 2,000 berries a day could change my life. If I worked for him for a year then I could start up my own restaurant and be free to go where I please.

"Alright, I accept." I said as I turned to look at him. "But I want 1,000 a day. 2,000 is just to much and I can't possible accept it."

"Wonderful. You start tomorrow. I will have Miss All Sunday bring you more clothes to your room." He said as he turned and walked over to the door.

I stood up and was prepared to follow him, but my leg gave out. I felt myself start to fall, I closed my eyes; prepared to hit the ground hard, but it never happened. Instead I felt an arm wrap around me, stopping me from falling. My hands landed on a rough chest and I slowly looked up to see Crocodile staring down at me.

"Are you injured?" He asked with a frown.

I gave a nod and quickly muttered that my leg had been hurt. A squeak left my lips as I felt him pick me up. He walked up to the elevator and hit the call button.

"Miss All Sunday, change of plans. I'll be taking Miss (Y/n) to the doctor."

"Yes sir." She answered instantly.

Like before my heart raced all the way down the elevator and down the hall to his doctor. Thankfully the doctor told me it was just a small bruise and that it should heal up by tomorrow. Crocodile led me back to the elevator, and hit the call button.

"I shall see you tomorrow at 8. I'll swing by your room and collect you." He said as the elevator door opened to reveal Miss All Sunday, waiting for me.

"Yes, sir." I said as I gave him a nod.

He motioned for me to climb into the elevator and I did with out so much as a complaint. The door slid shut and the last thing I saw of him was a smirk on his lips.

"You'd be smart to leave." A gentle voice said from beside me.

I quickly turned and found her eyes on me.

"What?"

"Crocodile isn't to be trusted. Don't get to close to him." She said as she stared down at me.

"I'm a big girl, I think I can take care of myself." I snapped as I looked away from her.

The elevator stopped and she unlocked the door with a key, which she swiftly handed to me.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you." She said as she motioned for me to get off.

I stepped off of the elevator and watched it close behind me. I looked around for my room, only to realize I was in my room. I was in one of the many penthouses of the casino and it was huge.

"Do all employees get rooms like this one?" I thought as I walked over to my box of belongs.

Just the dinning room made my old apartment look small. I couldn't possibly believe that I'd be living here for the next year. I slowly started to unpack, setting up picture frames and pulling out worn pieces of clothes. I walked into what I could only imagine to be the bedroom and froze, it was even bigger than the dinning room.

Inside the bedroom was a giant bed that over looked an aquarium with giant banana gators swimming inside the tank. The bed was a king size and had a beautiful brown silk sheet set over it. It almost reminded me of the coat that Crocodile was wearing. There was a room to the side, which I found to be the closet.

As I opened the door my heart jumped out of my chest, inside was over a hundred designer dresses and shoes. It was packed full and just one dress made my whole wardrobe look like trash. I set my old clothes down and walked up to a small note.

I hope these are acceptable- Crocodile

"He hopes these are acceptable? These are better than acceptable, I think just one of these dresses could buy my old apartment building." I mumbled as I picked a light blue dress off the rack.

I set the dress down and ran my fingers thru my hair. It was hard to believe that just an hour ago I was homeless and now I'm working under one of the seven warlords of the sea.

Tomorrow came and I found that my leg hadn't gotten better, it had gotten worse. I pushed thru the pain telling myself that I couldn't miss my first day. I walked out of my room, and froze up as I found a note in my kitchen. I slowly picked it up and frowned as I saw instructions on what to wear, there was also a box sitting on the counter of my kitchen.

Wear the dark green v neck dress. It will go beautifully with this gift- Crocodile

I opened the box and let out a gasp as I found a beautiful jewelry set. I picked it up and walked into my room, making my way to the mirror I pressed it against my neck. The necklace was a golden choker with small green gems, with a matching pair of golden earrings.

"This had to cost a fortune." I whispered as I stared at myself in the mirror.

The dress he requested was beautiful, but also extremely revealing. It had a slit that went all the way to my hips on both sides of my waist. I slipped it on, and paired it with some black heels. After getting dressed I fixed my hair so that it would show the necklace and earrings off.

Ring!

I slowly turned and picked up a transponder snail sitting by my bed.

"Hello?"

"Crocodile wants you to come down to the casino, he's with a business partner and won't be able to collect you himself."

"Of course, I understand." I said as she hung up.

I took in a deep breath of air and forced myself to my feet, biting my lip as I felt pain shoot thru me. I pushed thru it and made my way to the elevator. I hit the button before I leaned back against the cold medal. My hands were shaking and I was having to use all my strength to stay up.

When I found Crocodile, he was sitting at a VIP booth, a cigar in his mouth and a drink in his hand. There was a man in front of him, who was talking his ears off. Crocodile looked extremely annoyed and looked like he didn't even want to be there. I watched as Crocodile looked away from the strange man, his face perking up when he spotted me walking up to him.

"Ah, there she is." He said as he uncrossed his legs.

He raised his hand and motioned for me to come towards him, and I did with little to no resistance. He quickly wrapped his giant hand around my waist, causing goosebumps to form as he pulled me down onto his lap.

"What took you so long?" Crocodile asked as he forced me to sit between his legs.

"I got lost. I'm sorry, sir." I whispered as my face heated up.

I felt eyes on me and peeked out of the corner of my eye. The man that Crocodile had been talking to had almost instantly went quiet, his eyes now on me.

"And who might this gorgeous woman be?"

Crocodile pulled me closer and switched hands, placing his hook against my back. He brought his now free hand to his lips and pulled out his cigar.

"This beautiful young lady is my new assistant. (Y/n), say hello to my guest."

"Hello." I mumbled as I turned to look at the man.

"Seems you have her trained well. Perhaps I could borrow her some time." The man said with a sinister smirk.

I felt my heart drop and I found myself moving closer to Crocodile, whose face only seemed to hardened. He put his cigar out and set up, pulling me closer to his chest.

"Do you like breathing?" Crocodile hissed out.

The man's face turned to one of shock and he quickly went stiff.

"I meant no disrespect-"

"But you did. You disrespected my assistant and I won't allow such a thing to go unpunished." Crocodile growled out, cutting the man off.

"I'm sorry, sir-"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her." He ordered as he motioned to me.

"I am very sorry, I meant no disrespect!" The man exclaimed as he got on his knees and bowed his head in shame.

I stared down at the man, shock written in my face. Crocodile couldn't be serious, could he? Was he really mad at this man for making me uncomfortable?

"Tell me, (Y/n) do you think that I should allow him to live?" Crocodile asked with a hum.

My eyes went wide and I quickly turned to look at Crocodile, who I found had a sinister smirk on his face. His eyes never left my face as I stared at the ground.

"Oh god! Please I have a family!" The man pleaded.

"Well? Yes or no."

"I... don't.."

He moved his hook away from my waist and pressed it under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"I need an answer, sweetheart."

"Yes." I whispered as the man let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

I locked eyes with Crocodile and saw a frown appear on his face. But the frown only lasted a couple seconds, before the smirk returned and he put his cigar back in his mouth. He looked behind me and gave a quick nod to someone.

"Miss All Sunday, take him to the pit." Crocodile ordered.

"What! But she said I could survive!" The man pleaded.

"I simply asked for her option, I had no plan of allowing you to live. You insulted me and made her uncomfortable, I can't allow such a sin to go unpunished." Crocodile said as he leaned his head on his free hand.

The man pleaded but it went on deaf ears as Crocodile kept me on his lap. When the man's voice disappeared, a sigh left Crocodile's lips.

"I see that I was right." He said as his eyes focused on me.

"About what, sir?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"That necklace does go with that dress." He said as he looked me up and down.

My cheeks turned bright red and I quickly looked away from him. I heard footsteps and turned to see Miss All Sunday walk up to us.

"He has been taken care of." She stated as her eyes met his.

"Good, did you make the reservations I asked for?" Crocodile asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"Yes sir, they are ready for you now."

Crocodile stood up, picking me up as a squeak left my lips. I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck and kept a tight grip on him.

"Sir, I don't think this is very professional." I mumbled as my face turned bright red.

He ignored me and continued to walk thru the casino, with me in his arms. People stopped and stared, but no one said a single word. Before I knew it we had arrived at a fancy restaurant. Crocodile pulled out a chair for me and motioned for me to sit down.

"Sir, I don't understand why we are here." I whispered as I set across from him.

"I need to try the food here and I'd like to have an outsiders option. You see I have been thinking of buying this place." He explained as he pushed the chair in.

"Oh.. I see." I said as I placed my hands in my lap.

He set across from me and I watched as he ordered some champagne.

"Order whatever you want, it is on me." He instructed as he pulled out a cigar and light it.

I gave him a nod and looked over the menu. Everything seemed to be so expensive, I couldn't find one thing under a hundred berries.

"Something wrong, (Y/n)?" He asked drawing my attention back to him.

"No, it's just... the stuff here is very expensive."

He let out a sigh and removed the cigar from his lips, tapping it against a dish.

"Stop looking at the prices." He grumbled out as he brought the cigar back to his lips.

"Yes, sir." I said as I gave him a nod.

The waiter arrived and I still couldn't figure out what I wanted. Everything on the menu looked amazing, and I couldn't seem to make up my mind.

"Lobster plate... two of them." Crocodile ordered.

My eyes shot up as he took the menu from me.

"Sir, that is-"

"Shut up." He ordered as he handed the menu over to the waiter.

I gave him a nod and balled my hands into a fist. The waiter left without so much as a glance in my direction.

"I'm going to say this once again, money isn't a problem for me. So when I tell you to get what you want, then get what you want." Crocodile explained as he leaned forward.

"Yes sir, I will make sure to remember that." I said as I met his gaze.

"Good." He said as he leaned back in his chair.

Our food arrived and I realized that I had never eaten a lobster before.

"Um, sir... how do I eat this?" I asked as my cheeks turned bright red.

A laugh left his lips as he picked up his own lobster and broke it in half.

"You break it and then use a fork to pull out the meat." He explained as he set it down and picked up his fork.

I leaned forward and watched as he effortlessly pulled the meat out, bringing it to his lips. I have a nod and tried to do the same thing he did, but struggled to break it. Another laugh left his lips as he watched me struggle.

"Would you like me to help you?" He asked with a smirk.

I gave him a nod and watched as he swiftly broke the lobster and pulled out the meat. When he was finished he slid my plate back over to me.

"Thank you." I mumbled as I stared at my plate.

We ate in silence for the start of the meal, before I finally looked up and met his eyes.

"So that man.."

"What about him?"

"Why did you kill him?" I asked as I toyed with my fork.

"Like I said before, he disrespected you. And I can't have people disrespecting my employees." He said as he set his wine down.

"But won't you lose a lot of customers that way?"

"Sweetheart, does it look like I care? I'm a warlord, I can go anywhere, I want. I can even do anything I want." He said as he locked eyes with me. "I can take anything and everything I want, and no one could do a single damn thing to stop me."

Crocodile had power that few could only dream about, a part of me knew that I should be scared of him. But for some reason I just wasn't, I wasn't scared of the man that could kill me with a wave of his hand and get away with it.

We finished eating and he led me to his office. He motioned for me to take a seat while he filled out some paperwork.

"Do you need any help?" I asked as I toyed with the end of my dress.

"No, it won't take me long. After I'm finished we have a meeting."

I have a quick nod and watched him work. A few minutes turned into an hour and soon my eyes started to droop. I laid my head on the side of the couch and slowly fell asleep to the sound of a pencil moving across paper.

Third person (2 hours later)

Crocodile let out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. The paperwork had taken longer than he had expected. He set his pen down and looked up. His eyes instantly softened when he spotted (Y/n) fast asleep on his couch. He rose to his feet and walked over to her. He picked the snail phone up off the table and dialed a number.

"Sunday, cancel my meetings." Crocodile ordered.

"Yes sir."

He hung up and removed his coat. He gently placed it over her body, smiling as she stirred in her sleep. He used his hook to move some hair out of her face.

"I promise, you're going to become mine." Crocodile whispered as he crouched down to the floor.

His eyes narrowed as he watched her snuggle into his jacket, a look of content on her face. He picked her up with ease and carried her over to a secret door. The door slid open to reveal a giant bedroom. He set (Y/n) down and smiled as she let out a whine and reached for him. He took a hold of her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles, which seemed to calm her down.

"Patience... you just have to be patient." He mumbled to himself as he pulled the blanket over her.

His eyes slowly moved down, stopping at her ankle; which he found was swollen.

"Stupid girl, why didn't you say something." He growled as he looked it over.

His eyes narrowed and he left to get some bandages to wrap her leg up.

The next day (first person)

I let out a sigh as I rubbed my eyes and rose to my feet. I looked around and frowned when I noticed that I wasn't in my room. I saw that it was still dark outside, so I swung my feet over the edge and rose to my feet. Thankfully my foot no longer hurt, so I was able to walk without being forced to bite my teeth.

"Where am I?" I thought as I rubbed the back of my neck.

I walked out of the room and went stiff as I found Crocodile fast asleep on his couch. His hook was laying on his table and he had a thin blanket over him. I slowly walked up to him and smiled as I found a stack of paperwork on the floor. I knelt down and picked it up, I walked over to his desk and set the paper down before turning back to Crocodile's sleeping form. I slowly made my way over to him and peered down at him, a small smile on my face.

"Sir?" I questioned as I gently nudged him.

Right as my hand touched his shoulder he shot up, roughly grabbing my wrist. A squeak left my lips as he pulled me onto his lap. His grip tightened before he loosened his grip, his eyes wide.

"Seems you aren't a morning person." I said as I stared up at him.

He let out a sigh and looked around the room, his eyes only stopping when they landed on the clock.

"It's 2 in the morning, what are you doing awake?"

His voice came out husky, causing a shutter to course thru me.

"Sorry, you just looked super uncomfortable." I whispered as I dug my nails into my knee.

He released me and rubbed his face, a sigh leaving his lips. He laid back, pulling me with him.

"Sir-"

"Be quite, you are warm." He grumbled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

My cheeks went bright red as I laid my head on his chest, surprisingly his heart was racing just as fast as my own heart.