I'm very much a CrocHawk peddler, but I treat it as a relationship that can only come after two other ships have broken up.
There is no CrocHawk without Crocodile/Doflamingo messy divorce and Mihawk/Shanks ex-situationship for me.
I think it just adds some flavor to it, especially if they knew each other when they were in other relationships and lusted after each other.
It also speaks to me in the way that those past relationships were unhealthy or became so over time, and CrocHawk is them finding happiness for once.
Like, Crocodile was afraid of Doffy, either him or his influence, but never spoke up about it. Doffy was very charismatic and romantic at first, which is why Croc fell for him (and his super long tongue 👀). But over time, he became obsessive and extremely jealous of anyone Crocodile spoke to. He had volatile emotions, able to be disgustingly romantic one moment, then completely fly off the handle the next. He tried to control every aspect of Crocodile’s life (as much as one can control him, anyway).
But every time Crocodile was about to cut him off for good, Doffy would lovebomb him again and pull him back into the cycle. Promising "I'm a changed man" and "I love you so much it makes me do crazy things."
When Crocodile finally broke it off, Doffy knew he was crawling right into Mihawk's arms. Bonus points if the split happened when all 3 men were still Warlords and Doffy had to watch Mihawk steal his Wani.
And for Mishanks, it's still unhealthy but not to that degree. Shanks is a leaver. He'll stick around for a few days, two weeks max. And then he leaves for months. Every time he comes back with his tail between his legs and swears he's back for good. But whenever it's Mihawk who has to leave, Shanks gets dismissive and angry, asking if Mihawk even loves him. He's projecting. They're open (because pirates) but any time Shanks finds out Mihawk slept with another man, he tracks the guy down and kills him. But whenever Shanks sleeps with someone else, he insists that "A man has needs" and "You're not always around", projecting once again.
He wants Mihawk fully committed to him, but he can't commit the same way, regardless of how much he loves Mihawk. Mihawk put up with it for a while because he too was in love. Eventually, Shanks words lost their meaning.
The emperor went to kiss his swordsman one day, and Mihawk just pushed him away with a stern glare. He got the message: it's over. Doesn't mean he's over it, and neither of them probably will ever be fully over it.
Crocodile and Mihawk probably fall into bed together first, both just horny and coming off of draining relationships desperate for some kind of affection, but of course they'll never admit that.
They find the two of them intertwine most pleasingly. They have similar wants and wishes, they hate the same people, they both just want to drink and be left alone with their respective hobbies and enjoy quiet cohabitation more than Shanks and Doffy's desires to fill every silence.
And they're honest about their intentions. Crocodile doesn't mind when Mihawk is away on missions because he knows he will always come back and won't have thought of anyone but Crocodile the whole time. Mihawk can count on Crocodile to be there when he returns, usually sitting at the same exact desk.
Crocodile is possessive, but he knows no one will ever truly "own" Dracule Mihawk. Mihawk has Crocodile wrapped around his pretty finger, but has no desire to use him for any nefarious deeds.
They're what the other needed. Devoted. Loving. Reliable. Realistic. Whole.
And then they get married and live happily ever after or whatever.
Just a thought.
