The Day It All Began (Mihawk X Shanks)

Chapter 6: Connections

Shanks woke up earlier than he anticipated. He saw that it was just past sun rise, assuming it to be around 7 A.M. He sat up, and noticed that he was no long nauseated. He stretched and yawn, and noticed Mihawk sleeping on the floor. As he stared at the sleeping man, Shanks was reminded of what happened last night. He remembered it all; Mihawk's confession, their passionate moment together, and how he finally found out what the emptiness in his chest was. It was longing for the man. It wasn't loneliness at all.

Shanks stood quietly for a while, and decided to leave for the lake. Maybe taking a quick dip in the lake will clear up his mind more.

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Mihawk woke up and realized that he was lying on the bed. Shanks was gone, but most of his belongings were still in the hut. It was still early in the morning, so he assumed Shanks went out to the lake. He decided to also leave for the lake, since they were running out of fresh water.

Mihawk rose up from the bed, and walked outside. It was mid summer, so the heat from the sun was strong, even in the morning. He walked along the dirt path, and recalled all that happened last night. At the thought of what happened, Mihawk's face turned bright red. How could he have been so stupid? How was he going to face Shanks now?

He stopped in his track to try to think of what to say when he met up with Shanks. What would he say? He couldn't just say forget about what happened; it was too late for that. Maybe the venom might have made Shanks a bit hazy. There was a chance that Shanks wouldn't remember what happened last night. He couldn't risk it, but he did it anyways.

He walked in the direction of the lake, and as he had guessed, Shanks was there. He was half naked, drying his clothes on a rock and lying face down on the boulder next to his clothes. He could well see him breathing, so he wasn't dead. Probably asleep at most.

Mihawk approached him quietly to avoid waking him up. He sat down next to him, and leaned down to the water to drink.

Sitting back up while wiping the water dripping down his chin, Mihawk stared at Shanks. He was asleep alright. He slept soundlessly as the sounds of nature surround him. Unknowingly, Mihawk's hand reached out to touch Shanks's hair. It was a beautiful shade of red, like a fully bloomed rose.

As he was stroking his hair, Shanks woke up. Well, kind of.

"...huh? Ohhh haaaaiiiiiii Mihawk~" Shanks said as he smiled. It was probably because he just woke up, but he sounded more drunk than him actually being drunk. But one thing did remain the same: his smiles.

Shanks didn't bother to remove Mihawk's hand out of his hair. It was almost as if he was enjoying the touch. Mihawk didn't really do much either, other than admire the color of the hair.

Shanks didn't get up right away. He just flipped himself so that his back was to the boulder. He moved closer to Mihawk, placing his head on the man's thighs. Mihawk didn't object to it. For some reason, it felt natural. He continued to stroke the red hair.

Shanks closed his eyes and drowned out to the sound of the waterfall. Has it always been that loud?

"...Hey Mihawk. You know... About yesterday..." Shanks began to speak out.

"Were you fully aware of what was going on?" Mihawk asked nervously.

Shanks lied in silence. After a few minutes has passed by, Shanks finally answered him.

"...Yes. I was."

Mihawk didn't know how to feel about that. He knew what he was doing, but he couldn't control himself in the heat of the moment.

"I... I'm sor..."

"No. You don't have to be sorry about it. If anything, it should be me that's thanking you."

Shanks reopened his eyes and stared into Mihawk's eyes. He lifted his hands to touch the swordsman's cheeks.

"But... I didn't really do anything for you. All I did was tell you how I felt..." Mihawk said in confusion.

"That's all I needed to hear. It filled in that empty gap inside me. I realized how much I secluded myself from the world that it was natural for me to feel lonely... Until you came along. You helped me realized what it was like to have someone close to me again."

They stared at each other for a long time. Mihawk wished that this moment would last forever, to have time stop at this exact moment. But he knew reality didn't work that way.

Mihawk broke away from the silence first. He gently moved Shanks's head out of his laps and stood up. It was getting too hot now, so he wanted to take a dip in the water to cool down. He took off his boots and the shirt, but as always, left the pants on.

"Going for a swim?" Shanks asked with a smile. It was a different kind of smile, like a predator watching its prey move.

"Yes, it's getting too hot. Why don't you join me?" Mihawk answered back. He noticed the evil grin on Shanks's face. Maybe it was a mistake asking him.

Without a word, Shanks stood up and dashed towards Mihawk. He tackled him to the water, making both of them fall in.

"Are you insane? Why the hell would you do that?" Mihawk yelled at Shanks as soon as he got his on foot.

Shanks didn't answer him. Instead, he laughed, and splashed water at Mihawk.

"Aw come on Mihawk! Don't be such a kid~ Play with me!"

Since there was nothing better to do, Mihawk gave in to Shanks's words. Just a little bit of relaxation couldn't hurt, could it?

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Hai there~ I know, I know. The story becomes crappier every chapter (；一_一) anyways, I'm assuming you made it this far into the story because you enjoyed it (unless you're a hater and you just want to criticize every chapter)~ Anyways, if you want to, please leave a feedback on how I did~