The Day It All Began (Mihawk X Shanks)

Chapter 9: Catching Up

Shanks and Mihawk ended up drinking for hours. They did have a lot to talk about, since they haven't seen each other in a long time.

"Heard you became one of the Warlords. How's that working out for you huh?" Shanks asked Mihawk as he chugged down his booze.

"Actually, nothing much changed since then. All I get is a nasty glare from pirates like you." Mihawk replied back as he took a gulp of his drink.

"Hey don't call me that! You're so mean to me Mihawk!" Shanks let out a laugh, to which Mihawk smiled to.

They spent the night chatting about their journey and the difficulties they faced during those time. They didn't even notice the time pass by, until Ben came up to them after a while.

"Sorry to bother both of you, but it's already 3 A.M. Captain, if you want to spend the night with him, we'll be waiting for you on the ship."

"Awww thanks first mate~ you're so sweeeeet~" Shanks replied back. Anyone could clearly tell that this man was drunk.

"Thank you. I'll take care of Shanks. Don't worry about him." Mihawk said to Ben, who was walking to the ship with the rest of the crew.

Mihawk glanced at Shanks to see what he was up to. He was stumbling around, laughing at everything. How the hell did he fall in love for this clumsy guy in the first place? He went over to Shanks and lightly tapped his shoulders.

"Hey Shanks. There's an inn near by. Let's go get a room. You're to drunk to do anything."

"Wait I want to go up to the mountains. I wanna see the stars." Shanks looked at Mihawk with puppy eyes.

"It's a little late for that Shanks."

"Please?"

Mihawk stared at him for a some time. He gave out a sigh then finally nodded. They headed north, and walked along the path to the mountain top. It was a fairly short path, and it led up to a cliff like hill.

It was like the view they saw from 3 years ago. It was the same sky, same stars, but it felt different for some reason.

"Hey Shanks, are you feeling better?"

"Yea. I just know I'm going to have a terrible hangover tomorrow though."

Shanks and Mihawk sat down near a tree, and leaned on the trunks. It was dark out, but the moonlight shined brightly in the night sky.

They sat in silence, admiring the view. It was nostalgic for the both of them.

"Hey... Mihawk... To tell you the truth, I never had a day that passed by without thinking about you..."

"Are you talking to me as a drunk person, or are you sober now?" Mihawk replied back without taking his eyes off the sky.

"Don't think of me as a complete drunkard you idiot. I'm sober... At least that's what I think I am."

Shanks looked down at his hands. He hoped Mihawk couldn't see his face turn bright red.

Mihawk turned his heads to look at Shanks. He moved closer to Shanks until they sat directly next to each other. Without hesitating, Mihawk took a hold of Shanks's hand. Shanks didn't say anything, but he didn't object to it either.

Shanks leaned in closer to Mihawk, and laid his head on the swordsman's shoulders. He closed his eyes, and let his minds wonder off for a while. Mihawk smelled like sweat and metal, just like when they were together years ago.

Mihawk raised his hands to touch Shanks's hair. It was a beautiful shade of red, like how it was 3 years ago. He didn't realize how much he had missed it until now.

Shanks opened his eyes, and stood up. He stretched, then looked into the sky.
He inhaled deeply, and let out a big sigh.

"Sky's the limit, they say... I hope what they say is true, cause I want to one day be the strongest person to live." Shanks said to Mihawk as he turned around to face him.

"You can't be the strongest man alive if you can't beat me Shanks. We still have to duel." Mihawk replied back unamused. It seemed to Shanks that nothing ever amused Mihawk. He just seemed to have everything planned out in the back of his mind, and everything falls into his expectations.

Shanks stood in silence, pondering what to say to amuse Mihawk. What can catch this man off guard?

Mihawk was still sitting on the ground leaning against the tree. He looked exhausted, as if he took a 100 year journey around the world. Then again, he did drink more than usual because of Shanks.

He closed his eyes and lowered his hat just enough to cover his eyes. He assumed Shanks would sit back down, or just stare at the sky and ponder about things. He tend to do that often.

Just like what Mihawk thought, Shanks stared into the sky, still pondering about what can catch Mihawk off guard. He then got an idea.

Shanks slowly made his way to Mihawk without making a sound. He bent down, and reached for Mihawk's hat. Just as he was about to remove his hat, Mihawk woke up and grabbed Shanks's hand.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Erm.... Nooothhhinnggg?" Shanks replied back panicking. Can this guy sense everything around him without even opening his eyes?

Mihawk, still looking unamused, let go of Shanks's hand and closed his eyes once more.

Taking another go, this time Shanks threw away to idea of being stealthy. He quickly removed Mihawk's hat, which made Mihawk open his eyes. As he was about to speak, Shanks leaned in to kiss Mihawk. This definitely caught Mihawk in a surprise.

But it wasn't the kiss that caught him in surprise. It was the fact that it was Shanks who made the first move that caught him off guard. Nevertheless, Mihawk didn't reject Shanks.

Mihawk embraced Shanks, and placed his hands on the man's waist. It was more natural now, as if they'd been doing this for more than a million times.

Both missed the sensation they felt when they kissed. It may have been only 3 years, but to them it felt like hundreds of years. They missed the taste of each others lips.

Shanks broke away from the kiss to breath. It was exhilarating, and it was something he longed for. He stared at Mihawk, and gave him a cheerful smile. He hugged Mihawk placed his head on Mihawk's shoulder.

He quietly whispered into Mihawk's ear. "I missed you so much..."

Mihawk hugged Shanks tightly and whispered back. "So did I, you idiot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for the late update~ I'll be writing more soon tho so please don't worry 💕