One Piece One Shots

A Crocodile's Heart [Crocodile x Reader]

Crocodiles are territorial creatures. They like to ambush their preys, and to either drown them or swallow them whole. Most people would think twice before messing with these dangerous reptiles. But then there was you. You had voluntarily walked into the crocodile's mouth, and, for some reason, he had decided to keep his jaws open.

~X~

The sound of your steps echoed in the almost empty corridor as you made your way to his office. There were a few framed paintings here and there that gave your tired eyes something to focus on besides the squared form of the clean tiles on the floor, but no enough to consider that place anything other than extremely formal.

With a slight nod of your head, you acknowledged the warm smile of the secretary that greeted you from the other side of her desk outside the tall and thick doors. You didn't know the woman much, but from the few times you had come down there you could say she seemed nice. Enough to make you question what was she doing there, working for a criminal organisation.

"Are you here to see Mr. 0?" she wondered before rescuing a paper from a pile next to her computer and lowering her gaze to look for your code name.

"I don't have an appointment, but I'd like to talk to him about our... new client."

You took your hat off, and fanned yourself with it as the woman continued her search for an empty space on the more than filled up list. That day was specially hot, and you were starting to really appreciate that you had no tasks pending other than fixing that situation.

"Well... he has a meeting in an hour, but I could try and squeeze you in now. I'll tell him you're here and we'll see what he-"

The doors of the sealed office parted with a whispered creak as she rose from her seat, and you both turned to stare in mild surprise at the stoic man that appeared almost as if he had actually been summoned. For a person of his height and weight, he moved with an outstanding —⁠and dangerous⁠— quietness. Your heart pounded in your ears once, twice, before he motioned for you to follow him inside with a slight tilt of his head.

Crocodile closed the enormous entrance to his den once you had stepped in, and you followed him to his desk hesitantly; barely keeping up with his long strides.

"What brings you here today?" he asked once he had resumed his position on his leather chair behind the humongous table.

His deep voice and inquisitive grey eyes sent shivers down your spine, even when accompanied by a rough hand that motioned for you to sit down on the sit opposite from him.

It was not like you hadn't met people like him before. Tall, strong, menacing. You had never had a single problem dealing with them, but there was just something about the man in front of you. You had never been able to accustom to his imposing demeanour. Unlike the others, Crocodile set off all the alarms that told you you were in danger... and the ones that attracted you to him.