Chapter Text
Rosinante hadn’t died, the crew of course didn’t call him Corazon anymore. Those last few days had been probably the worst he’s had in a while.
After getting shot multiple times on the chest by his own brother, he spent what he assumed to be his last minutes laying on the cold snow, bleeding endlessly. That was until he felt a shadow looming over him, meeting Doffy’s gaze one last time, those signature glasses and the cold, disgusted look on his lips turning into a small grin as he did the unexpected.
Bending down he grabbed Rosinante’s arm, pulling him up and supporting his weight, but all the younger blonde man could do was stay focused on maintaining that silence around Law. He was clinging to consciousness, to life, so he didn’t bother questioning anything.
Then he lost consciousness, as he was placed on a bed and the family’s doctor was tending to him. Has Law gotten away? If he hadn’t he would have heard about it.
After falling into a short coma for 5 days, he finally woke up, Baby 5 sitting on a chair at the corner of a small bedroom on the ship. “HE’S AWAKE! I’M FINALLY FREE!” she yelled, way too loudly which earned a flinch from Rosinante who was thinking he would probably be better off dead.
The crew was caring though, they brought him meals, everyone acting as if he hadn’t been shot by their captain , or as if Rosianante wasn’t still a Marine Commander who spied on them for years. Yet that only lasted for a day and Rosi wasn’t a fool, he had accepted all that kindness cautiously, knowing that it wouldn’t go on for more than a day.
Upon waking up his room was locked, no one answered him until after 3 hours Doflamingo entered the room with a plate of food. And the interrogations started, every 3 hours one of the officers would join him, not even letting him sleep. Asking him everything about Law, about the Marines, asking about everything he knew, but of course he had been trained exactly for this moment. Sure that training was at least 3-4 years ago, but he knew it well. There were even some fake answers, he remembered reciting them over and over again, to Sengoku, to himself, to his fellow marines. Just in case his cover was blown. Better give the interrogator what he wanted, or at least lie about it, adding the disclaimer that he wasn’t with the Marines for several years, so things could have changed.
About Law he said nothing.
No one believed him, it took 4 draining days of Rosinante saying the same things for the interrogations to stop. Of course gradually giving up on some of those fake details, as he had to play the part. He was a spy for a good reason.
Afterwards he was moved to one of the cells on the ship. They probably wanted something more useful or didn’t fully believe him, he didn’t care just accepting his fate. Being treated as a prisoner wasn’t as bad as the interrogations, because there he would use his fruit and get some peaceful sleep, over the annoying conversations happening around him. Because he wasn’t expected to answer those. He hadn’t seen Doflamingo since his first visit for the interrogations, which made sense, yet this all didn’t make sense to him. Not that he wanted to understand it, all he had to do was get out of his mess and find Law. Contacting the Marines wasn’t an option, as he was a traitor to them as well, yet ideally he would call Sengoku to at least explain everything and if his father wished to cut ties, thank him for everything.
He really missed him, his years alongside that man were probably the most peaceful ones of his life. Knowing that there was someone he could wake up after a nightmare, which occurred a lot, someone to make him a cup of tea, or help him comb his hair, go on walks with. Of course he worked a lot, regardless he remained a good, tender guardian and father figure for Rosinante, strict, but it’s not like the kid was ever the type to misbehave. So this whole relationship they had was easy, he was his father and he was his son.
Not that often called each other that.
There were so many nostalgic, blurry aspects of his old life.
As he reminisced about everything in a half-asleep state, his back was hit by a rock. A fucking rock! Of course he had been sleeping with his back facing the entrance of the cell. He didn’t want to turn around though, so he didn’t. Instead he ignored the few other items that followed until one hit his head, making him turn around with a relatively annoyed look on his face.
There stood Baby 5 and Buffalo snickering, Pica by the corner of the room with the cells and in the center of the scenery, in all of his glory, Doflamingo in his signature coat and glasses, grinning just as menacingly as he remembered while he examined every move of his younger brother. Then he held up a sign.
‘Release your devil fruit traitorous baby brother of mine, I have a business proposal.’ it wrote, in thick black letters with a small heart scribble at the end of it.
With a snap of his fingers and no words, both a habit and a sign of his annoyance, he released his calm barrier, nodding in the direction of his brother, signaling him to start speaking.
“Oh still not talking are we?”he teased, the kids giggling beside him. “If you don’t speak I am not going to either and we can develop some sort of brotherly telepathy. Two can play this game~”he hummed, sounding as confident, as cruel and cunning as ever. As always.
But Rosianante would rather die than be telepathically linked to this psycho, aside from helping him greatly in his spy job, it would pain him too much. “What’s the offer?”he simply asked.
“Business proposal, not offer, pay attention, we knew you weren’t the brightest but you keep surprising us, so please continue to do so.”he said, now nodding towards Pica and the younger members to leave him alone. So quickly they all left. Now it was just the two of them in the room and a minute or two of utter silence followed. Even the rest of the crew who were on the other parts of the ship seemed to be quieter than usual, less rowdy and obnoxious, for once.
“Tell me your business offer Doffy-”muttered Rosinante, seeing as his brother wouldn’t start if he didn’t speak up first, manipulative jerk, yet once again he saw himself playing his part in the older’s game. Like he did when they were younger, like he did for those last years.
“I have to say I am impressed, I never knew you were so good at something, lying, scheming, hiding things from me of all people, of course you didn’t last long and I always knew you were strong. But you aren’t the weak, wimpy, clumsy, pathetic little kid I knew, nor the older version of that kid. My little cunning traitor, you amazed us all really!”he said, letting out a chuckle as he ran a hand through his blond hair, leaning against the wall opposite Rosinante's cell.
Then silence fell once again before Rosinante spoke up again. “Is that it?” No response came again, forcing him to continue. “Thank you I guess? Do you intend to continue this speech?”
“OOhhh i thought you’d never ask! As I was saying, you really impressed me, you pissed me off, I wanted you dead. I still do, but I've always been a logical man and I seem to have underestimated you. So since you’re only good for ratting shit out to whoever is the admiral you report to, do that for me!”he exclaimed, sounding proud of his idea and proposal. A bit too proud for the other’s liking who looked a bit shocked despite his best efforts to hide that.
“Y-you want me to go back to the Marines and…?”
“No idiot, not that it’s a bad idea but you were a traitor to them as well, i doubt they’ll trust you with anything useful again, you lost your chance with them. I have other important people in mind, though i will need to check on those.”he hummed in thought, he probably wasn’t going to say any names for now.
“What’s the catch?”he asked, having regained his confidence and composure, after all it was a business deal, the last thing he wanted was to work for Doffy again, he’d rather die. Yet he was certain his brother already knew that well, he was sure that there was something in that head of his that would keep him here, force him to do this, but within reason. He just wasn’t sure what that was.
But Doflamingo must know.
“So I take it, you're interested?”he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No I've done enough working for you-”mumbled Rosinante, yet he knew this was probably the only way he’d make it out alive. Did he even care anymore? About making it out alive. With no home to return to, no idea where Law was… He could go for Law, but the whole world would be their enemy, he didn’t want to burden the kid, he’d have way too many bounties on his head, like this Law can finally choose how to live his life, he was truly free.
Rosinante wasn’t and would never be.
“Well then, spend the rest of your days here, eventually I might kill you. But I’d hate to waste you like that, especially now that you’ve shown me your true nature.”Doflamingo didn’t sound too pleased, as far as his brother could tell, but like he always did he sounded confident in his plan. There was also this bitterness in his voice, yet Rosinante was certain that it wasn’t because he truly felt betrayed, it was because at the end of the day he had won, he had outsmarted him. Even if he almost died and ended up in a cell, he achieved his goal while Doffy didn’t.
The younger brother let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair in thought. “I am interested in listening more, a-about your proposal.” he tried to sound certain, giving off some sort of confidence in his voice.
Truly he was confident though. Internally he was freaking out, like he always was during the mission and he had his meltdowns and awkward moments, but he wanted to be at least somewhat in charge of the situation.
“For 9 years, since you fooled me and used me for around 3-4 years, it seems only fair. Considering that i fed you, i saved your life, i shared my family with you little Rosi, i still am keeping you alive and caring for you even though you betrayed me, my … our family and my trust.”he hummed, trying to sound hurt, but Rosinante had gone through the mental struggle of figuring out why a guy like Doffy did good things. Oh those nights, with those questions and thoughts were difficult but he knew, he forced himself to know.
“So for 9 years, you will spy for me. I will send you to some town, ideally in some big pirate group if I find a way to get you in. If you fail, or betray me and end up dead, then I will also be just another victim of your deceit and you would have died for nothing. In exchange, i will free you, i will release a fake body, fake your death to the government and your beloved marines, you aren’t allowed to contact them though i will make sure the security is tight wherever you go. Yet you always have a good excuse to contact your beloved brother. And if you don’t take this seriously, I’m never helping you get out of your job, who knows.”he said, now his tone stern and serious, because Doflamingo was a professional guy, as much as a psycho like him could be. Still he took business deals and opportunities seriously.
“For 9 years, I'll give you information like I did for the marines while being here and then I-I can stop?”he hummed in thought, only to see his brother smirking once again.
“Yes and I can track down Law for you in the meantime.”
Upon hearing that Rosinante’s eyes widened, he felt like a burden to Law, but he needed to contact that kid, he wanted to find him. With freedom and the fake death, it sounded too good to be true. Just be able to look out for Law, support him, help him grow even more. Yet he would miss Sengoku, so he could potentially contact him anonymously. He would be around 35 by the time their deal was up… Not ideal but good.
“Stay away from Law, just give me a small lead and I'll find him, do not follow me either - i’ll know.”
“I believe this is a yes, yet I will give you a day, 24 hours to think about it. I don’t think you’re stupid enough to refuse though.”
After agreeing, which he did within 17 hours, for the sake of Law, for himself and because he felt like he would be betraying the boy, his son, after letting himself waste away in a cell, he wanted Law to live and vice versa. Now that the kid had a way and a will to do that, Rosinante needed to do the same. Sengoku as well, his lessons, the training, all of his care and advice, he wouldn’t just toss everything away. His mission had taken an interesting turn, it made him feel sick, but he made Doflamingo promise to send him to some other pirate crew. Honestly he disliked most pirates, there were honorable ones of course, but those were a few. Was it marine propaganda? He wasn’t sure, but he also didn’t like the government much either. Especially after meeting Law.
Surprisingly it took only a couple of days for Doflamingo to arrange an alliance between him and another pirate crew, but Rosi’s stomach dropped upon hearing who he had to infiltrate… Trebol and some others were laughing, most were, but Trebol’s laughter was the most annoying. He would marry someone from Big Mom’s crew, live with them as well, at least for some time during those 9 years. How would he ever get out of this mess? Why the fuck did he trust Doffy? Most importantly, how could he ever spy on the Big Mom pirates; she was a Yonko!
Oh but of course Doflamingo needed information to either take down, or blackmail Big Mom. Even if he got nothing he still had her as an ally…
Now they were sailing for Whole Cake, for a wedding that would take place around a week after their arrival, Rosinante feeling more trapped and heavy than ever. Spying on Doflamingo was dangerous as well, more emotional for him too, but he had a better motif and reasoning. It was personal, it was a danger and a risk he had decided for himself, seeing it as his duty and a way to atone and correct some of his brother’s mistakes.
The words everyone had used to describe his future fiance were not the most flattering. For a commander and a pirate they were good, but for a husband whom Rosinante was supposed to spy on, they only served to make this job seem even more impossible. Ruthless, stoic, loyal to Big Mom, strong, a skilled devil fruit and haki user. The strongest and most reliable of his siblings, never having lost a fight…
Great.
He spent his days still in the cell, but they had given him a pillow and a blanket this time, as well as a couple of hours he could spend on deck. Provided that of course they acted like a happy family while in Whole Cake. Family ties were important to them and so were they for Doflamingo, at least that’s what he claimed, but their families were both very scary and very different. In some fruitless attempts Buffalo and Baby 5, later on Trebol as well, had tried to have some fun with Rosinante but whenever he replied his responses were dry.
Engagement was something no one could have prepared Katakuri for. Firstly he was already doing a lot of things for his family, siblings and most importantly his mother… Was he not good at his other duties that she needed to find a new, better, more suited use for him? There were many things that also made him completely unsuitable to be anyone’s husband, expanding from his looks to his personality, he lacked the charm of some of his brothers and sisters, he wasn’t good at approaching people let alone talk to them or form personal connections.
Sure he felt things and was emotional, but never expressed that so how was he supposed to be in a decent let alone happy marriage with someone? There were also practical issues, he didn’t think he was handsome, even without that mouth of his he wasn’t half as pretty as some of his siblings. A lot of people made sure to remind him of that often.
His set of skills was in combat, in strategies and haki, forming plans, keeping up with the politics and the occasional care for his younger siblings. Brulee’s relationship with him was probably the most ‘human’ part and honestly his only reason to hope that he wouldn’t make his future husband miserable. They can talk and maybe trust him with a small aspect of his personality till death does them apart or whatever they said.
Yet things got only worst as he learned that his fiance was a fucking Marine spy and a Celestial Dragon. Just another way of saying that he was part of the World Goverment but most likely a pawn to them. How could his mother marry him off to a monster like that! A spoiled adult, who thought of himself as a God and Katakuri never cared about figuring out whether Celestials were Gods or not, but as long as they believed so it pissed him off a bit. On top of that he was a Marine and a traitor to his crew. Apparently Doflamingo forgave him though?
Not that Katakuri thought of this guy as a generous, loving captain, let alone a good brother. This was definitely more messy than he could ever think of and honestly he just didn’t want to live with a traitor with a God complex.
Like he always did this late at night, he was seated at a cozy armchair of his, a blanket loosely wrapped around his shoulders as he read a book. Which wasn’t interesting but any excuse of distraction was welcome. Everything was quiet until he heard a knock on his mirror.
“I’m fine, I don't want to talk about it, I'll sleep soon!”he hummed calmly, not bothering to remove the sheet he had placed on top of the large mirror in his room.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“Take off that sheet and stop using future sight to spoil conversations!”complained Brulee, knocking again, this time more persistently until his brother got up to finally officially welcome her in his room.
“You’ve been checking on me almost every night, i don’t need future sight to assume the reason behind your visit…”he mumbled.
Proudly Brulee grinned, even sticking her tongue out before she pulled out a basket. “Seems like i win, that’s what you get for not using your haki for once! Never trust anyone.” Comfortably she made her way to the armchairs at the corner of his room by the big window. Being one of the people closest to her second eldest brother as well as now being pretty old and mature herself, Brulee had felt the need to be the only one to somewhat shelter Katakuri. She wasn’t proud to admit that even she would always call out for him in a crisis, whether it was an injury in a big fight, a terrible nightmare or anything.
Not only was he her older brother, but he was so reliable, so mature even when they were kids, of course she knew his most childish side as well.
“What do you have there huh?”he asked, now walking back to his usual seat, his gaze locked on the basket in an attempt to lighten the mood and talk about anything other than his worries.
“This is just a surprise, i am here to once again check on you! Man up y-”
“I can talk to you right, i just don’t need to but i am talking about whatever i want to talk about.”
He hummed calmly, bending down to pick up one spare blanket to his little sister who was now sitting cross-legged on the other armchair, holding the basket in her lap. Then he proceeded to place it next to her but Brulee, stubborn as always ignored it and didn’t speak until Katakuri was also calmly sitting down.
“You can worry about your own life too you know.” she muttered, glaring at him before averting her glare to the view at Komugi island. The last thing she wanted was adding her own nerves and concerns about Katakuri’s mental state on his shoulder. She should show him the right amount of annoyance and worry, not too much to add another burden on him.
He let out a sigh before wrapping himself again in his blanket, moving his hand out to close the curtains before removing his scarf and showing his mouth to his sister. This could count as a small win for her, she was one of the few people who rarely saw his mouth. “Once you tell me what’s inside that basket i might tell you a good percent of my problems.” he hummed, letting out a chuckle.
Oh the slight shame he felt made it all worth it as he saw Brulee’s soft yet satisfied grin, making her look like a small child once again with the way her eyes lit up as she opened the basket. Of course no homies, as this a private conversation, utterly private one. There was now a good amount of snacks placed between them and two large, bulky mugs full of sweet, hot cocoa and 8 marshmallows on each one of them.
Not that they had to eat all of them.
“I really am fine, it’s a business deal to me. The only thing worrying me is that he was a Marine, trusting a stranger was already hard enough, let alone a traitor. I actually want you to stalk him a bit as well, not all the time i’ll let you know when…”he hummed, his voice calm and flat like it always was before took an extremely large sip of his cocoa, swallowing 5 of the marshmallows as well.
Brulee didn’t look too convinced, now taking her own big sip as well as she let his words sink in and examined how much of the truth he was actually sharing with her. Yes this worry did sound like her brother, but she wanted something more personal.
“I know this isn’t what you were hoping for…” he started, hearing a huff from his sister who made him grin slightly. Worst part and most fun part for Katakuri was that she wasn’t sure if he had looked into the future to brace himself, or if she was just that obvious. “Regardless it’s the truth, my truth… I don’t trust strangers around most of our younger siblings, yet we have so many of them and the homies and your mirrors and Mama is, scary so the security is tight. Still, I don't like taking such risks. Aside from that, I don't care. She knows what’s best for us.” He might have left out his insecurities and the Celestial Dragon part and all of the questioning he had done on his mother’s decision, he already felt his stomach getting sick from that.
Despite her best efforts Brulee never got more answers this night, so they soon started gossiping about Komugi island, their siblings and some newer citizens who had gotten lost in Brulee’s forest the other day. Oh that was a fun day…
This was Katakuri’s duty to carry, his and his alone. Yet he found comfort that maybe his mother trusted him to keep everyone safe while marrying a God wannabe schemer.