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nntssy-old · 3 years ago

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Their Last Dance

Written for Writer’s Month 2021, Day 5 - Secret.

Fandom: One Piece Characters/ships: Donquixote Doflamingo/Riku Viola Word count: 1767 Rating: T Also on AO3 (more notes there)

The Birdcage has picked up its pace. The bravest people across the country are trying to slow it down, but it all is seemingly in vain.

Doflamingo is a force of nature. The last one standing on his side — one against everyone — yet still a power to be reckoned with. A single person, capable of keeping a whole country in terror. Surrounded by fires, ruin, and death. Simply walking across the battlefield while the giant tentacle arms made of strings were rampaging around him. An embodiment of vengeance, an epitome of contempt.

Viola knows they need to stall for time, and instead of helping with pushing against the walls of the cage, she has decided to go straight for its source.

The moment he notices her approach the string constructs slow down. They are walking towards each other — in the midst of destroyed buildings, flames, and bloodied bodies — cautious but focused. Like two people holding an unspoken connection, bound by a secret. For a moment, everyone and everything else is forgotten. By the time they meet halfway, all the strings have sunk down to the ground. She has always been good with grabbing his attention.

For him, it all had started as a fling. Violet was just too easy on the eye. And her feistiness always added to the entertainment. Her obvious lack of admiration for him — compared to others in his immediate circle — made it refreshing. Her abilities — while potentially dangerous if used against him — allowed for almost effortless communication. And even the potential danger she posed made it all the more exciting. And as the years were going by, he wasn't getting tired of it.

On the contrary, he discovered the joys of stability. The comfort of waking up to the familiar scent of her hair, the certainty of knowing his partner's morning habits. How she liked her morning coffee to be made. The subtle crease between her eyebrows and the slant of her eyes when she was displeased — she tried to hide it, of course, but he could see it through the facade of her smile.

And last but not least, she could see the deepest and darkest corners of his mind without him having to bare it before her. And whatever she saw there did not scare her away. There was little need for pretense or sugarcoating between them. It was just too comfortable to let it pass by.

He even started to think — not so long ago — about making it official. She was born to be a queen after all and has never lost that royal aura of dignity, no matter how dirty were the deeds she was forced to perform.

And the years have not eaten away at her beauty. In fact, looking at her now — with the flames making highlights on her smooth tanned skin, on her dark brown locks, flickering in her mesmerizing amber eyes — he thinks she's more beautiful than ever. Neither have they mellowed down her fierceness, given how determined the look on her face is.

What a pity that she is a traitor. He isn't surprised, of course, but perhaps there was some hope at the back of his mind that this moment will never come. That she will choose him over her family — like he chose his own survival and goals over his father and brother. What a waste. And there is only one way to forgive a traitor

For her, it all started with a strategy. To get close to her enemy, to gather valuable information, to make him let his guard down. She was the one to initiate the affair. Her powers made it easier to navigate these dangerous waters, but unfortunately, they also made her falter. Because behind the front of a laughing maniac she happened to see a deeply traumatized human being. And so, the compassion he laughed so often at was partially keeping her from striking him in his most vulnerable moments and thus was saving him. But only partially. For the most part, it was just too soon. Always too soon.

The years were going by and she started to see why people were drawn to him. While ruthless towards the people outside of his circle, he never punished his Family for failures and went to great lengths to protect them. While not being a particularly benevolent ruler, he was pretty effective in managing the kingdom and its administrative tasks. With a wide area of knowledge — from history and geography to philosophy and literature to the basics behind modern technology and current trends in politics and economics — he could keep an interesting and meaningful conversation. Interested in partaking in the culture of his ancestors, he asked her to teach him how to dance. Despite his image of a debaucher, he preferred to spend his free time alone with a book. And of course, she couldn't deny that he was quite good-looking.

They kept it a secret. If others knew, they didn't show it. But the longer their relationship lasted the more entangled in it and conflicted she felt. She doesn't remember when she stopped pretending. Even without her unique powers, he could read her very well, so there was little use for pretense. Their moments alone with each other became a brief respite for her in a palace full of enemies. Sometimes it was even enjoyable, and she hated herself for it.

But today she has finally decided to act. She is certain she won't walk out of here alive but prepared to tread this road to the end. She has committed enough sins. She deserves it.

They both know what would come next. But they are letting this moment linger.

"Viola-san?!"

And the uncertain silence is ruined, Rebecca's voice being like a wake-up call.

"Rebecca?! What are you doing here?" Viola asks looking over her shoulder. She doesn't want it to get any more difficult than it already is. "Don't get any stupid ideas! If I let you die, how could I ever show my face to brother Kyros or my late sister again?"

"Then why are you here, Viola?" he asks but does not act. Yet. Viola has already lost count of how many times he had the opportunity to strike her down but didn't.

The time has come. Let this secret affair of theirs end here and now.

"If the Donquixote Family is going to collapse into nothing," she says, facing him as the rose she was wearing in her hair is falling down while she is retrieving the hidden knife, cloak sliding off her shoulders, "wouldn't it be a tad too convenient for me to just walk away having once been an officer myself?"

He smirks.

"Either I die, or you die, Doffy!" she proclaims finally, poising for an attack, knife at ready.

It is said that Dressrosa is a country of love and passion. That the women here are so fervent in love they will stab you to death if you break their heart.

"Fu-fu-fu… What a passionate decision, Violet!"

He makes a motion with his hand as if inviting her to dance. It is fitting, really. She taught him the intricate movements of flamenco. He taught her how to deploy them in a fight. All the while they were engaging in a different kind of dancing behind the closed doors at night. This one will be their last.

They circle around each other. She tries to strike him once. Twice. He parries and deflects, but doesn't hurry to go on the offensive. When she strikes the third time, aiming for his chest, he grabs her hand and doesn't let go. Unable to get out of his iron grip, she decides to change her tactics. To switch her weapon.

"Do you intend for your precious Family to be sliced by the cage as well?"

His gaze is focused on her lips as he is contemplating whether to steal one last kiss, so he only half-listens and doesn't answer right away.

"They knew what they signed up for." His forehead tenses a bit, while he's unconsciously leaning in.

"Did you really not care about them in the first place or…" she says, looking straight into his eyes, capable of seeing them even through his shades, "or are you perhaps afraid not to live up to their expectations?"

He stops with just a tiniest bit of a shudder, and the veins on his forehead start to pop out. She knows it usually happened when he tried to conceal his emotions behind his devilish grin. To appear calm and unbothered while he was seething with rage, for example.

The rumble of the falling buildings in the distance stops for a moment.

A memory of long ago appears in his mind.

We promise to support you in everything.

In return show us our dreams.

Sharp eye, sharp mind, sharp tongue, he thinks, coming back to the present. A dangerous combination. Sometimes even for their possessor. He clicks his tongue. What a pity. She has been one of the sharpest tools in his set. One of the more pleasant things in his life. But enough games.

He pushes her away. Perhaps with too much force, because she hits a piece of a wall, and her forehead starts bleeding. But she won't be deterred so easily. He doesn't expect any less of her. He effortlessly blocks her ankle as she kicks him from a wide turn.

"For ten years you served in my Family," he says as he starts to move the fingers of his free hand in the air. Viola feels his strings attaching to her own hands, her arms forcefully put above her head. "Did you really think that would be enough to make me hesitate to kill you, Violet?"

There is no escape now.

Doflamingo already killed his dear little brother — the last of his blood family — years ago for betraying him. What difference will it make to kill another traitor, no matter how close she got to him?

His hand is itching for a pistol, but there is none in sight. His eyes fall on Rebecca with a sword behind her back. That will do. Viola will die by the hand of her own family that she cherishes so much. Not unlike his own brother.

Now both of his hands are moving to put his plan into motion.

Meanwhile, all around the country the people pushing back the Birdcage have doubled down their efforts, encouraged by the walls stopping for a moment. No one knows why it happened, but there is now a glimpse of hope.

#writersmonth2021 #me writes #One Piece #Donquixote Doflamingo #Riku Viola #DofuVio #this was difficult #i can't look at it anymore

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