A Clash of Blades

A clash of Blades
a Shanks x fem!Mihawk One Shot
Because I got into a genderbending mood and Shanks and Mihawk just happen tothe first two victims I could think off. Not to mention that I ship them in canon anyway!
I hope you will enjoy your read!

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warnings: genderbending, angst, english not being the authors first language

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A clash of Blades
When Mihawk returned to consciousness she did not remember what had knocked her out in the first place.

Wherever she was, she wasn't bound and her sword was within arms reach - she could feel its presence - even if her body protest at the mere thought of moving.

Whoever had placed her here had not meant to restrain her and for some reason she felt safe - it was ridiculous. Trying to get a better grasp of her surroundings she glanced around from the corner of her eye. She knew she was alone in the room and she could not see any obvious Denden Mushis either. Either they were well hidden or they were simply not there. The ground was swaying slightly and she reasoned that she was on a ship but she couldn't be sure since she felt dizzy even when lying down.

The room wasn't familiar either so if she was indeed on board of a ship, it was unlikely that she had been on this one before. Her instincts told he she was safe, but she found it more then a little hard to believe, as a Shishibukai there were very few places where she was safe.

Mihawk frowned and tried to recall what had happened. She did remember a man that had challenged her for her title.

The man was supposed to be a capable swordsman if the rumors were to be believed and when Mihawk had heard that he was going to challenge her she had been filled with a sense of anticipation. The swordsman had found her and they had prepared for their duel. She also remembered the beginning of the battle.

But thing began to get blurry after his blade had managed to graze her shoulder, from then on the only thing she remembered was a sense of indignation mixed with fury. As if to help sport her memory her shoulder throbbed and Mihawk grinded her teeth while slowly forcing herself into a sitting position.

Every muscle in her body protested and she was just about to give up and lie down again when the door to the room swung open. Now it did not matter if she could move, she simply had to.
Her hand was on her blade and she was on her feet, ready to defend herself before the door was even halfway open. Had her sword been missing, she would have attacked then, but since that wasn't the case she waited.

It was a good thing she did, because the person who opened the door was one of the few people that she was quite sure would not take advantage of her weakened form.

"Woah. Hawkeye."

Shanks raised his arm in a gesture of surrender, making clear that he would not attack her. And while Mihawk was more then aware of the fact that he would not need his arm to subdue her, weakened as she was, she still found herself relaxing. Shanks was not the type of person that took advantage of another persons weakness unless it was to protect his crew and since she had made no move against them, she should be safe. He was one of the few people who was safe under most circumstances after all.

Immediately all the strength left her body and she could barely keep her blade from hitting the floor as her arms slackened. Mihawk sat down slowly still watching Shanks warily, but the man made no move to come closer.

His expression was unusually solemn and as he watched her with attentive eyes there was something else in there that she could not quite place.

"You should lie down again."

Even his voice was devoid of the usual cheer and she found herself following what was obviously and order, voiced as an suggestion.

As soon as she was back in the bed he closed the door behind himself and stepped up to the bed, letting himself fall into the chair by her bedside.

"Do you remember what happened?"

His voice was calm level and it unnerved her. Shanks was usually a very cheerful person that would banter even in the fiercest of battles. She could count the number of times she had seen him like that using her fingers.

"I remember being challenged and the beginning of the duel."

Her voice sounded calmer then she felt, she hated not remembering, it was one of the reasons she did not overindulge in drinks.

"And after that?"

Mihawk frowned trying to remember. A numbing burn in her shoulder, the challengers laughing face, rage mixed with disgust, blood splashing her face, the challenger dead on the ground in front of her and after that... nothing but a flash of red.

"I know that I won."

She had a suspicion as to what had happened.

"Three weeks ago."

Mihawk blinked.

"What?"

Shanks grin was sharp.

"Your duel, if you want to call it that, it took place three weeks ago."

Three weeks.

She had never been out of commission for that long, but if her suspicion was correct it would make sense.

"It was poison wasn't it?"

Shanks nodded, his face still a mask of stone.

"Yes. A pretty harsh one too. It attacks the muscle tissue."

And in essence the heart was but a muscle.

"He challenged you to a sword duel?"

The disgust in Shanks words was clear.

Mihawk nodded.

"I guess I owe you one."

He snorted.

"You owe me nothing. Just don't do it again."

No it was her time to snort, even if it made her body hurt.

"You should know better than that Redhair."

There was silence for a moment.

"You would have died Dracule."

His voice broke slightly and she blinked. It was rare for him to call her by that name, mostly he used Hawkeye and otherwise he called her Mihawk. But Dracule... he was probably the only person in the world who called her by that name and she did not know how to feel about it.

"How did you find me?"

Shanks reached into his sash and pulled out a small slip of paper. It was frayed around the edges, and far, far smaller then she remembered it being. A vivre card. Her vivre card most likely, it had been years since she had given it to him.

"I see."

Shanks fingers caressed the little slip of paper, his eyes still displaying that emotion that she could not place, before he put it away again.

"I didn't die and I can't say that it's the first time I had a brush with death."

He nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"True enough. At least you didn't loose any limbs, eh?"

She frowned at him, but he simply chuckled.

"Well I'm glad your awake again. Seeing you quiet is one thing, but I missed that frowned of yours."
Her frown deepened causing Shanks to chuckle again.

"Yep, that one."

He leaned back in his chair and the set of his shoulders seemed to relax, he seemed perfectly at home, sitting in this room at her bedside. She wondered if he had done so while she was unconscious, but pushed that thought aside.

"Where am I anyway? This is not your ships infirmary."

He blinked at her as if it should be obvious, but then gave her a wide smile. The smile that she liked far more on his face then the solemn one he had worn earlier.

"Well, in my cabin. I figured you wouldn't like sleeping in a room where everyone can come in."

He was right about that.

"So when he found you and brought you on board I told them to take you here."

Something in his expression had tightened again, the the hand resting on his leg clenched momentarily, then the goofy grin was back.

"The sheets should be pretty clean. Well the ones from the infirmary didn't fit, so those a mine, but they are fresh."

Mihawk simply nodded. It wouldn't really have bothered her if they weren't fresh. She had slept on bloodstained grounds and in mud, slightly dirty sheets were preferable to that.

Not that she thought Shanks sheets were ever really dirty, despite being a drunkard he took care of his personal hygiene.

But maybe that was the reason her instincts had told her that she was safe. The smell of the sheets had been familiar and not in a bad way.

Despite being one of the most annoying people Mihawk knew, he was likely the only one she would call a friend.

That probably was the reason she kept on returning to his side even if she could no longer cross blades with him. Shanks would always welcome her with a smile and treat her like a friend and not like the blade she had forged herself to be.

She felt a little bit like a woman when he treated her like that and part of her loathed it. Mihawk could never allow herself to be a woman. She had given up on in when she had grasped the blade and declared that she would be the strongest swordsman in the world.

She could still have turned back after that. She would have never forgiven herself for it, but there had still been the possibility. When she had finally claimed the title however that possibility had vanished as well.

She had lived by the blade, she had lived for the blade and the moment she lost her title she would die by the blade as well.

Maybe that was were the profound sense of relief came from, she could still die by the blade and not by some half asses swordsmaster who thought that coating his blade in poison in a duel based on skill was appropriate.

Mihawk gave a tired sight and glanced at Shanks again. He was still quietly sitting in the chair by the bed when he noticed her gaze he gave her a slight smile, but there was still something off about it. It bothered her, but the tiredness was creeping up on her and she was sure that she would fall asleep any second.

Shanks seemed to notice and his smile softened.

"Sleep tight Mihawk. I'll keep you safe."

She wanted to argue and tell him that she did not need his protection, but sleep claimed her before she could.

–

They had been having another party when Shanks felt a shiver run down his spine. It was as if all of his instincts were telling him to do something even if he had no idea what that something was. But despite not knowing what he was supposed to do, he sat down his bottle and let his hand fall down to the hilt of his sword.

Immediately all of his crewmembers around him were on guard, but judging by their searching looks, they too did not know what was wrong and could not find anything wrong in their surroundings.

Driving by instinct he slid his hand into his sash and pulled out the one vivre card he had taken to keeping on his person years ago. As soon as he had it in his fingers he knew that he had found the source of his unease and when he looked at it he knew that it was good that he had not brushed his instincts aside.

The vivre card of his former rival had shrunk to more then half of it's original size and it was still smoking.

He was on his feet and on the way back to the ship before he could think and his crew followed behind him, alerted by their captains obvious hurry.

Ben, Yasopp and Lucky, the tree people of his crew who knew whose vivre card it was, were exchanging glances the same way they always did whenever they found him staring at it. Then Ben took command.

"Ready the ship for departure! We will leave immediately."

The navigator, a tall man, easily twice as tall as Shanks came up to them, when his eyes fell on the vivre card in his captains hands he nodded sharply.

Finding a person that was at the same island as you with a vivre card wasn't too hard, but navigating the treacherous seas of the grandline, especially those of the New World was another thing altogether.

Their navigator had done it before, but he too had noticed the fact that the card was getting smaller as they spoke. They had a time limit to keep and even if most of them did not know to whom the infamous card belonged to, everyone had seen their captain stare at it at one time or another, and whoever that person to him the card would lead them was, he or she was obviously important to their captain.

It took them longer to reach the island where the vivre card was pointing to then Shanks would have liked, the small slip of paper that had once been around the size of the flat of his hand was smaller then the tip of his thumb by now and they couldn't even be sure if this was the right island since the vivre card could also be pointing to an island behind the current one.

As they came closer to the shore Shanks allowed his eyes to roam the coastline. If they were on the right island and at the right port, then he should find Mihawks small coffin boat here. Since the other port on this island was considerably bigger, and often swarming with marines due to the closeness of the G5 base, it was unlikely however that Mihawk would have chosen the other port to leave her ship, Shishibukai or not.

Luck seemed to be on their side however, as Shanks spied the little ship at the far of side of the port, nearly hidden by the vegetation. Gesturing for his navigator to get them to anchor he jumped from the ship onto the port, scattering the sailors that had warily been watching the arrival of the big pirate ship, Yasopp and Lucky following behind.

Shanks wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, his eyes were fixed on the small, still smoking slip of paper in his hands and had someone stepped in his way then he would have pushed them aside, no matter the consequences.

The vivre card let them out of the small town and into the forest that was covering most of the island. It wasn't a dense forest though, the underbrush was sparse and sunlight easily shone through the treetops.

Shanks was pretty sure that he had an idea why Mihawk was here and apparently close to death door. And island like this, especially this side, with its sparse population and the big forest was a good place for a duel to take place if one made or found a clearing.

Shanks was also pretty sure that he had heard rumors a while back that a swordsman was out to challenge Mihawk. Had she dueled him and won, but was badly wounded? Or had the challenger defeated her and left her to die? There were worse things one could do to a defeated woman.

Things that Mihawk seemed to have forgotten about long ago, but Shanks had been very aware of since he had been a teenager and a particularly vicious battle had shredded her shirt.

Unknowingly his footsteps became faster as he made his way trough the forest. He stopped short however when he stepped into a clearing and took a look at the scene before him.

All around the ceiling there were slashed up tress and in the center of it was Mihawk, her sword at ready and standing absolutely still. She was bleeding on her left shoulder and her gaze, that fixed itself onto them as soon as they stepped out from the forest was hazy and unfocused.

She readied her stance and Shanks could tell that she was about to attack them, obviously not recognizing them.

"Mihawk."

She stilled at the sound of her name.

He walked forward ready to defend himself should she attack.

"Don't you recognize me?"
 
He made his voice sound teasing even if he did not feel like teasing her at all.

"It's me. Shanks."

She blinked and he saw how her fingers clenched around the handle of Yoru. By now he was well within the range of her sword, but he walked on until he stood right in front of her. If he reached out he would be able to touch her, yet she did not attack.

"Shanks?"

Her voice was faint.

"Yes."

"Good."

Mihawk nodded slightly as if to herself then she swayed and fell forward against Shanks who slowly lowered her down on the ground. Her breathing was uneven and sweat was gathering on her forehead.

He wanted to pick her up and rush to the ship, but as he knelt down next to her, he realized that he couldn't. It was then that Shanks regretted loosing his arm for the second time in his life. Not saving Luffy, he would never regret saving that boy, but couldn't he have used Haki to subdue the seaking?
He had to step aside.

"Yasopp. Take her to my cabin and have the doctor treat her there I will come as soon as I am finished here."

The sharpshooter nodded and picked the unconscious woman up from the ground and rushed towards the ship, Shanks wanted to follow but he stayed behind and took a closer look at the scene.

It was obvious from the deep gashes lining the trees and the ground that a battle had taken place some of the marks were familiar, Mihawks handiwork, but the others were done by somebody he had not seen before. Shanks looked at the man whose bloody remains where leaning against a broken tree, where one of Mihawks attacks had seemingly send him, then his eyes found what he was looking for.

The challengers sword.

Carefully he picked it up and examined the blade. It was fine craftsmanship and if he identified it correctly it was one of the fifty Ryo Wazamono Grade swords, but that was not what drew his attention. It was what was on the blade that held all of it, next to the blood, most likely Mihawks, she had had a badly bleeding wound on her shoulder, there was another slightly purple sheen.

Shanks had seen such a sheen before, but only on the daggers that Buggy had used years ago. Poison. He felt his lips curly into a sneer.

What kind of swordsman coated his sword in poison when he challenged another to a duel of skills, more so, when he challenged the worlds best swordsman for his title?

That alone showed that he was not worth the title.

"Poison, eh?"

Lucky had stopped shewing on his meat and Shanks gave a curt nod.

"Why don't you take it and that one."

He gestured to Kokuto Yoru that was still lying on the ground where Mihawk had fallen against him.

"Back to the doctor. It should help him identify the poison."

Shanks glanced at Lucky again, but the man simply took another bite of his meat.

"I will take care of the rest here captain."

Giving a sharp nod he picked up the black sword and made his way back to the ship. The weight of the sword in his hand reminded him of the fact that Mihawk despite her stature was a swordsman whose focus was on strength instead of speed like most female swordsmen did. The fact that she was not only strong but also faster then most was one of the reason that she had held the title for many years now.

When he came back to the port it was devoid off all sailors, but Shank noticed some people looking out from behind the curtain of their windows. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he adjusted his grip on Yoru before jumping abroad the Red Force where Ben was already waiting for him.

"They took her to your cabin, the doctor is patching her up."

Shanks nodded and made his was below deck, Ben following behind.

–

Shanks had hoped that by the time he arrived in his cabin the doctor would already be waiting for him and inform him that the poison was easily taken care of and it was only a matter of time until his once upon a time rival and now friend, was on her feet again.

Judging by the strained look on the mans face that was not the case however.

Their doctor, a man whose specialties where stitching up sword and gunshot wounds as well as poisons, had curtly informed him that he had never seen this poison before and that there was pretty much nothing he could do unless he had an sample of the poison.

Wordless Shanks handed him the dead mans sword and was promptly pushed aside as the doctor rushed into his laboratory to analyze the sample.

Ben stayed behind watching Shanks carefully as the captain fidgeted.

"Need me to get you something?"

Shanks shook his head and when he spoke his voice was a lot more steady then he had anticipated.

"No. Go try to help doc, you are good with the chemistry stuff right?"

Ben gave him a nod that he only registered from the corner of his eye and left despite knowing that he would not be a help to the doctor at all. Shanks barely noticed it, his whole attention was focused on the form of his rival.

The doctor had cut open her shirt to have easier access to the wounds as well as the chest bindings to ease her breathing so Shanks pulled up the blanked over her to give her some modesty. Then he removed her shoes, simply to have something to do.

Mihawk did not seem to register any of it, in fact Shanks would have believed her to be dead if it weren't for the labored breathing and the occasional shiver that wrecked her body.

Shanks sat down into the chair by the desk and resisted the urge to pull it over to his bed as he did not want to be in the way when the doctor returned.

And the doctor would return any moment. He would not have any problem analyzing the poison and this was not something Shanks told himself to keep calm. It was a fact.

After all analyzing substances was the docs devil fruit ability and frankly the amount of information the man could gleam from the most innocent things was terrifying.

Just as Shanks was about to get up to push the hair out of Mihawks face, simply to do something, the doctor reappeared, a serious look on his face and a two bags of medical equipment with him, Ben following behind.

The doctor put down his equipment and then turned to Shanks.

"You do have the same blood type as her, right?"

Shanks nodded. When he first found out he though it was funny, since they also shared the same birth date.

The doctor seemed pleased at nodded to Ben.

"You know what to do."

–

When the doctor was finally finished with whatever he had done to get rid of that damned poison that was transported by blood, but attacked the muscle tissue, Shanks was feeling slightly lightheaded and knew that it was due to the fact that the doctor and Ben had been forced to draw more of his blood then was usually advisable.

"Alright. There is nothing more I can do captain. The rest is up to her."

Shanks nodded and got up to drag the chair over to the bed. Doc frowned.

"You are not going to leave I take it?"

Shanks shook his head, but gave no vocal answer as he sank down into the chair again.

Ben and the doctor exchanged a look, but then Ben shrugged.

"I will get you something to eat captain and you will eat it."

The redhead nodded and prepared for a hopefully not too long wait.

–

Shanks hope turned out for naught however as hours turned into days and days into weeks and Mihawk stayed unconscious. The red haired captain spend this time in a daze. He had tried to do his usual work, but he could not concentrate no matter how important the matter, so in the end he left it to Ben, knowing full well that the man could take care of it and returned to his cabin.

While he probably could have pretended that he could not work anywhere but in his cabin that wasn't the truth. The problem was that he could not bring himself to care about anything more then strictly necessary because his mind kept drifting back to the female swordsman who was still unconscious in his bed.

This was not the first time he had to deal with a gravely injured member of his crew, even his strongest had spend some time in coma after a dangerous fight, it had never thrown him so off course before though.

At first he had tried to convince himself that his extreme worry was because he had never seen Mihawk in such a position before, but fact was that he did. He had seen her injured before, a couple of times he had even been the one who had injured her.

Sitting by her bedside was the place he felt most comfortable so this was where he spend his time. It was a good thing that the chair he had in his cabin was a comfortable one since he even slept in it now.

The first couple of nights he had tried to sleep in a hammock with his crew or in one of the beds in the infirmary, but the rest was hardly restful and he found himself back in the chair by her bedside only a couple of hours later.

So he had resigned himself to waiting for her to wake up, because he could simply not believe that she wouldn't.

It was the first time that he left his cabin and thus her bedside for longer than strictly necessary when she finally woke up.

He had pushed the door open, expecting nothing but her still unmoving form on the bed, when he froze mid movement as his instincts screamed for him to be on his guard.

As soon as the door was open however he knew that it wasn't a real danger, but simply a swordswoman who felt cornered. He would have liked to rush forward and pull her into a hug, but he knew that that would be a very bad idea so he grinned and tried to put her at peace.

"Woah. Hawkeye."

Raising his hand in a gesture of surrender he watched as recognition flickered through her eyes, shortly followed by obvious relief. Alone the fact that he could read her that easily made him realize that despite the fact that she was awake, she was far from back to normal.

Mihawks muscles slackened, she lowered her sword and sat down on the bed, her eyes however stayed on him making it obviously that she was still wary despite his presence. It hurt more then it should have.

Especially combined with the fact that she looked so terrible vulnerable.

"You should lie down again."

He was surprised that she followed his suggestion. Slowly he made his way back over to the bed and plopped into the chair that he had gotten so used to over the last three weeks.

He swallowed and tried to keep calm and level, showing emotion, especially concern was not something Mihawk would appreciate.

"Do you remember what happened?"

She seemed unnerved for some reason and Shanks wondered if she was struggling to remember, when she spoke her voice sounded calm however.

"I remember being challenged and the beginning of the duel."

It wasn't a very detailed answer however and it confirmed Shanks suspicion that his former rivals memory was spotty at best.

"And after that?"

She frowned and rolled her left shoulder where she had been hurt.

"I know that I won."

Shanks took that to mean that she did not remember anything specific, but knowing her she had at least a general idea.

She was frowning obviously still digging through her memory but seemingly not overly bothered by her state.

"Three weeks ago."

The woman blinked obviously taken aback by his words.

"What?"

He knew that his smile wasn't a nice one.

"Your duel, if you want to call it that, it took place three weeks ago."

The frowned on her face deepened and something dark flickered through her eyes.

"It was poison wasn't it?"

Shanks nodded and tried to keep from snarling.

"Yes. A pretty harsh one too. It attacks the muscle tissue."

Had they found her even half an hour later, the doctor would not have been able to help her. Even as it was, she would have to work hard to get back into shape, especially her arm which had been most affected by the poison.

Shanks was pretty sure that her opponent had been a challenger but he had to be sure.

"He challenged you to a sword duel?"

He didn't even try to hide his disgust at such underhand techniques.

Mihawk nodded.

"I guess I owe you one."

He snorted.

"You owe me nothing. Just don't do it again."

Now she snorted even if it make her wince slightly as her body protested even this slight movement and Shanks felt his lips twitching knowing what she would say next.

"You should know better then that Redhair."

Shanks nodded to himself, noting the term of address and wondered if he should allow her to put more distance between them. He decided against it and hoped that she would not begrudge him for it.

"You would have died Dracule."

His voice cracked despite his best effort to prevent it. He should have known however that when he tried to keep her from pushing him away he would get more involved as well. He rarely called her by her first name, mostly because they had always tried to keep some distance between them. They had known each other for years and he was pretty sure that he was one of the people she was closest to, despite her efforts to not get to close.

Shanks tried to get his feelings back under control and nearly missed the emotions fluttering across her face for a moment.

"How did you find me?"

Her voice was unusually soft.

Shanks reached into his sash and pulled out Mihawks vivre card, something he had done many times in his life, especially in the last couple of weeks, assuring himself that Mihawk was still alive. It had given him hope to see that the vivre card, while still smoking slightly, was no longer shrinking.
"I see."

Shanks kept the card in his hand a while longer. Had it not been for this little slip of paper he would have lost her. He might have felt uncomfortable but he wouldn't have known why, he wouldn't have known where to go. It might just be his new treasure.

He put the card away and Mihawk spoke again.

"I didn't die and I can't say that it's the first time I had a brush with death."

He nodded and gave her a weak smile. He knew that, he had been the reason for some of them.

"True enough. At least you didn't loose any limbs, eh?"

It was meant as a joke, but he should have known she would not take it like that. She had never liked him joking about the loss of his arm. Her frown wasn't unexpected but it made him smile.

"Well I'm glad your awake again. Seeing you quiet is one thing, but I missed that frown of yours."

Her frown deepened and this time Shanks could not fight the chuckle, it was a familiar expression, one he had missed dearly.

"Yep, that one."

Shanks leaned back in his chair again and made himself comfortable.

"Where am I anyway? This is not your ships infirmary."

He blinked at her in surprise for a moment. Then he gave her a big grin remembering that despite meeting up with his crew more often then even with the marines, she had never been to his cabin.
"Well, in my cabin. I figured you wouldn't like sleeping in a room where everyone can come in. So when we found you and brought you on board I told them to take you here."

He did not tell her that he had not wanted someone else to see her so vulnerable, nor did he point out that he had to get someone else to carry her no matter how much he would have preferred to do it himself. Those were not things she needed to know.

"The sheets should be pretty clean. Well the ones from the infirmary didn't fit, so those a mine, but they are fresh."

They had also been changed while she had been lying there, but he wasn't really trying to convey information to her, but to put her at ease so her serious frown was slightly humorous.

Silence reigned between them and Shanks slipped back into observing her as he had done in the past weeks. It was obvious to see that her thoughts were wandering and as he watched several emotions flickered over her face. He wondered what she was thinking about that made her features soften like that.

When she came back to herself and gave a nearly inaudible sigh before looking up at him Shanks wanted to tell her how much he had worried about her, wanted to hug her, but in the end he just smiled slightly.

As a response she frowned again and seemed to contemplate something, but her thought progress did not seem to get too far as sleep creeped up on her and made her blink tiredly several times.
It was rare to see Mihawk like that and Shanks smiled fondly.

"Sleep tight Mihawk. I'll keep you safe."

She did not answer him, but from her steady breathing he could tell that she had fallen asleep again.
For a moment Shanks listened to her steady breathing before he gave a deep heartfelt sight. It felt as if an incredible weight had been lifted from his shoulder.

She had woken up. She had really woken up.

Shanks could still hear the doctors words ring in his ears. He would never forget the terror that had gripped him when the man had informed him that the chances of Mihawk waking up again were getting slimmer with each passing day.

Picking up Mihawks sword and placing it onto the bed next to her, he sagged in his chair and drank in her features. Her face for once framed by her dark hair, that was usually in a french braid to keep it out of her way, her slim eyebrows and her sharp chin.

Just sitting there watching her sleep made Shanks feel strangely content and he felt the sleep that would not come to him since Mihawk had been hurt claim it's due.

–

The next time Mihawk woke up she not only felt considerably better, she was also calm, knowing full well where she was. Whether Shanks promise of keeping her safe had anything to do with her restful sleep she did not know and she didn't want to either.

Her stomach grumbled distracting her from her thoughts and the woman sat up slowly, not wanting to push her body further than it could go when she did not have to. Letting her gaze roam around the room and she felt her lips twitch slightly as it landed on Shanks.

He was fast asleep and still sitting in the chair by her bedside. Given his posture she was pretty sure he would have a stiff neck when he woke up. He obviously had practice in sleeping on the chair though since his posture while uncomfortable was not awkward.

For a moment she thought about waking him and asking him where she could get something to eat, but the deep circles underneath his eyes disabused her from that notion. It did not really matter, Mihawk had been on the Red Force a couple of times, she would find her way to the kitchen.

Getting up from the bed slowly and carefully, mindful of her still weak body, Mihawk adjusted the clothes she was wearing, then she braided her hair with quick practices movements. Over the years it had become as much of a routine to her as brushing her teeth. Given by the style of the shirt it probably belonged to Shanks, though now that she was wearing it the buttons on the front were not hanging wide open. Automatically her fingers clasped around the hilt of her sword, but as she attempted to pick Yoru up her muscles screamed with exertion and she was forced stop her attempts. She could not lift her sword.

A wave of unease rolled over her, it had been a long time since she had felt vulnerable. She wondered if her body could even take a single fight right now. Mihawk limbs felt heavy but still she gripped Yorus hilt again and braced herself for the sword weight before trying again.

Slowly the blade rose from where it had been lying on the bed and relief nearly made the swordswoman drop it.

Whatever the poison combined with the three weeks of inactivity had done to her body was bad, but as long as she could still lift her sword, she was confident that she could recover.

Yoru was a very heavy blade after all and when she had first gotten it it had taken her quite some time to get used to its weight.

Had her stomach not reminded her of her original reason for getting out of bad Mihawk would probably gone right back to training to get her body back into shape.

As it was she had to get something to eat first it would not help her should she collapse from exhaustion simply because her body did not have enough energy.

Deciding to leave her sword behind since in her current condition it would hinder her more then it would help, she let her eyes wander around the room. The object she had been searching for was lying on the desk on the other side of the room. Carefully and as silently as possible she made her way over to it.

It was her cross shaped necklace. While the Kogata was not really a weapon meant for fighting it was better then nothing and it felt familiar hanging around her neck.

Mihawk did not really expect to have to fight while she was still on Shanks ship, but without her weapon she felt naked. It was bad enough that she could not take Yoru with her and going unarmed was something she had not done since she had entered the Grandline for the first time.

With steps far surer then she felt the swordswoman made her way out of Shanks cabin.

She had barely closed the door behind her however, when she came upon the first member of the Red Hair pirates. It was one of the crew members that Mihawk knew pretty well because of her duels with Shanks some years ago. The doctor.

The man was one of the older members of Shanks crew, his hair had already been starting to gray when he joined the Red hair pirates and by now all of his hair was slate gray. He noticed Mihawk as soon as he stepped around the corner. Maybe he had even known she was there beforehand, the pleased smile on his face could mean both.

"It's good to see you up and about Hawkeye."

The young woman nodded politely and her stomach grumbled, and she suppressed the urge to blush as the doctor chuckled slightly.

"Hungry, huh? Well the both we have been feeding you wouldn't fill you up. Follow me to the infirmary, I will ask someone to bring you something to eat."

"Thank you."

The mans smile was warm and pleased.

"It's my job."

Asking someone to get her something to eat apparently meant grabbing the next crew member that crossed their path and ordering him to get food or else, the action was a little add odds with the image the swordswoman had cultivated of the doctor from all of their previous interactions. She should have known better though, given that out of the four doctors that sailed under Shanks flag, he was the one in charge.

People who were in charge rarely were polite, even if they were friendly.

The infirmary of the Red Force was well stocked with several, surprisingly comfortable looking beds. Still Mihawk was glad that Shanks had insisted on her being brought to his cabin since the infirmary was a wide, open room that allowed the doctors space to move around. The beds were lining the walls, but that did not make it better.

She would have been fine staying here when she was unconsciousness, but Mihawk was pretty sure that she would not have been able to fall asleep again once she had woken up, Shanks sitting next to her bed or not.

The doctor gestured for her to sit down on one of the beds and pulled a curtain, so people would not be able to see them.

"Show me your shoulder please, It was the only real wound you had and most of the poison was there, I want to check if there is still a residue."

Mihawk nodded, unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it down over the bandaged shoulder. The bandages were clean and from what she could remember the wound had not been very deep, the only reason it had nearly taken her life had been the poison.

The doctor removed the bandages from her shoulder and upper arm and she got the first real look at the wound. It had barely begun to heal and Mihawk frowned it should have healed a lot more then that, after all the duel had been three weeks ago. Whatever that poison had been it had been throughout.

"Ah it is finally starting to heal."

The doctors sounded genuinely pleased as he reached out and his hand started to glow. For a moment she was startled, but then Mihawk remembered Shanks once telling her that his super doctor had analytical hands.

"We could not separate the poison from your blood so we had to replace yours. It was quite the troublesome process especially since there are only two people on this ship with the same blood time as you and one of them was ill."

They had replaced her blood? Mihawk shuddered at the thought. She had been given other peoples blood before, but replacing it outright... that did not sound healthy, especially not when there was only one donor.

Mihawk suppressed a sigh. She knew one person on this crew with the same blood type as hers, and she was quite sure he had not been ill.

"I see."

The doctor gave her a kind smile while he moved over to his desk and started to write something done and Mihawk suspected that he had an idea where her thoughts had wandered.

"I owe you my thanks."

The doctor looked up from the sheet on which he had been scribbling, a small frown on his face.

"To a point I suppose."

Mihawk raised an eyebrow in question and the man elaborated.

"I would have helped you had I come across you, I am a doctor after all, but if it hadn't been for the captain."

The elder shrugged.

"We wouldn't have been searching for you. He was the one who canceled the party and ordered us to get moving. He was also the one who found you and brought in that mans sword. Without the original poison I would not have been able to do much."

He gave her a slight smile.


"So I guess it was me who treated you, but the one who saved your life was the captain."

Mihawk simply nodded.

"Yes, but you still have my thanks."

The doctors looked at her again and then gave her a smile tinted with an emotion that she did not understand.

"You are welcome."

He rebandaged her shoulder and Mihawk buttoned up her shirt again, as she was finished the doctor handed her a slip of paper. Her eyes scanned the list and widened slightly. It was the damage the poison had done to her body and it explained that her brush with death had been even more severe then she had thought after what Shanks had told her.

Mihawk was so absorbed in the information that she only realized that her food had arrived when the doctor held the spoon right in her field of vision. Startled she looked up and met the doctors gaze, he gave her a kind smile.

"Eat up recovery is going to be though."

Mihawk nodded and grasped the spoon before starting to eat thinking about what would have happened had Shanks and his crew arrived even an hour later.

She was prepared to die in a fair battle, beaten by an opponent with superior skill, dying because of anything less was not something she had ever though about. Afters he had finished the meal the doctor told her to leave the utensils on the table.

"I will walk you back to the captain cabin it wouldn't do for you to get injured now."

Mihawk doubted that she would get injured on the way back to Shanks cabin, but she choose not to argue. It took them a surprisingly long time to get back, mostly due to the fact that her legs were already starting to get tired and she could not walk very fast.

Something in the doctors gaze when he walked calmly next to her made her believe that he had known that she was going to have trouble and his presence gave her a good reason not to walk her usual brisk pace.

When they finally arrived at the cabin Mihawk pushed open the door, half expecting Shanks to wake up at the sound, but he continued to sleep peacefully. A quite chuckle behind her caused her to turn around.
 
The doctor was looking at his captain with a fond expression on his face.

"He got awfully good at sleeping in that chair lately."

Mihawk blinked.

"Lately?"

The smile the doctor gives her is very kind, almost fatherly, but there was also some amusemnt in his words.

"Yes. In the last three weeks in fact. He rarely ever left your side."

The smile fades and a serious light entered the older mans eyes.

"Especially since it was unsure whether you would wake up at all Hawkeye, you were alive but I could not be sure how much damage to poison had already done. Shanks..."

He trailed off for a second, then he shook his head.

"He was terribly worried. But never mind that."

He made a shooing motion with his hand.

"You should go back to bed. And do take the training slowly."

Mihawk nodded, but not in agreement, she knew full well that she would push herself anyway and judging by the exasperation on the doctors face he knew at as well.

He left closing the door softly behind him and Mihawk silently made her way over to the bed, careful not to disturb the sleeping Shanks, her mind carefully blank.

It was only after she had laid down and was trying to fall asleep that the doctors words caught up with her. Shanks had been genuinely worried for her. She had guessed so as well when she had seen him after she had first woken up, he had seemed relieved, but the level of worry the doctor had implied. She hadn't expected that.

She had been his rival and after their rivalry had ended with the loss of his arm they had become friendly acquaintances, maybe even friends. Friends worried for each other so it would have been okay if it wasn't for the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Mihawk had known that Shanks was more important for her then just a general acquaintance for a long time, she had already allowed him to get under her guard but if he got any deeper she would have to cut him off. She would not, could not allow such feelings, it would only end badly and that was one experience she did not care to make. Shanks was her former rival, possibly a friend and he would stay just that.

She would do everything to keep it that way. She felt vulnerable yet strangely safe and she hated feeling that way with a deep sigh she turned her back to Shanks ignoring the protest of her shoulder. And she hated remembering his words of protection and the feeling of safely that wells up inside her.

Still Mihawk falls asleep, her back still turned towards Shanks, trying to block him from her thoughts, yet it is his deep steady breathing that lulled her to sleep.

–

When Shanks opened his eyes he could already feel the crick in his neck and with uttermost certainty he knew that he would not get rid of it for the rest of the day. Still he stretched slightly and rolled his neck, suppressing a wince at the popping sound.

"Sounds painful."

Shanks blinked and grinned as he realized who the speaker was, Mihawk who was awake and sitting up in the bed.

"I wouldn't call it painful, but it certainly isn't pleasant."

The young woman gave a sound of agreement and Shanks watched puzzled as emotions flashed across her face for a moment before disappearing behind her mask again.

"I should probably let myself be transferred to the infirmary."

That stumped him.

"Why?"

She looked at him and raised one single eyebrow in challenge.

"Because this is your bed? And there is no reason for me to take it. I appreciate you lending it to me when I was unconscious, but know that I awake again there is no reason for me to continue to do so. I don't plan on staying for long anyways."

The last part decided it.

"No."

She simply looked at him.

"No?"

Shanks nodded.

"No you can take my bed. It doesn't bother me. I'm perfectly fine with sleeping in a chair."

There was no way she would be back in top shape anytime soon, Shanks had seen the doctors report too and he would not have her running around in the New World, barley capable of lifting her own sword. Yet he was quite aware of the fact that she would not spend more time in the infirmary then absolutely needed, the only way to keep her here longer was to let her have his bed. So she would have his bed. He could deal.

"That's not exactly smart. You only have one arm left, a stiff set of shoulders could kill you."

Shanks grinned unrepentantly.

"You will stay here until you are back into top shape."

Mihawk frowned and Shanks sighed.

"I can sleep in the infirmary if it bothers you."

He could understand ifs he found the though of someone sleeping in a chair next to her bed a little unnerving and the bed in the infirmary weren't half bad. Now that he knew Mihawk would be alright he was pretty sure that he would get a restful sleep anyway. Sleeping in a bed instead of a chair, his own or not, sounded surprisingly tempting.

The dark frown was still on her face, so the captain shrugged grinned carelessly. It seemed that that did not agree with her either. Shanks did not quite understand the problem. Unlike her he knew and trusted all the members of his crew, combined with the fact that he had slept around them countless of times, after a night of drinking, he wasn't really bothered by the idea of them around him when he slept. The smell in the infirmary might be a little off putting but he was sure he could deal. He looked to Mihawk again.

"Well the bed is big enough, if you would prefer us to share that would be no problem."

Immediately after he had finished the sentence Shanks froze, realizing what he had just said, he only snapped out of it when Mihawk broke the silence.

"Okay."

Then he froze again, this time in shock.

–

Mihawk had heard what Shanks had said, but for a moment she could not believe it and judging by the look on his face neither could he. Her agreement to the offer had shocked him more then his own words however.

Frankly she had no idea why she agreed, but the doctors words had been racing through her mind, reminding her of the fact that compared to the state he had already seen her in she was practically in top form.

Shanks eyes are still wide but at least he seemed to havee gathered his bearings somewhat. After another moment he managed to shake of the last remnants of his shock, he blinked a couple of times and then his face was carefully blank as he looked at her carefully while nodding after a while.

"Alright. I will see you later then."

Mihawk had no idea what Shanks had been searching for when he had looked at her, but whatever it had been he seemed to have found it, because a small smile flickered across his face before he left to take care of his buisness.

She sunk back into the pillow with a sight and wondered if she was going to regret her decision, but her train of thought was always interrupted by the words the doctor had told her.

For whatever reason Shanks had been worried for her. Terribly worried if the doctor was to be believed, so worried that he had rarely ever left her side.

Mihawk didn't know why, but that knowledge calmed her. Maybe it was because she knew that had he wanted to harm her he would have already done it, but part of her knew that that was far far off.

–

When Shanks returned in the evening he hesitated after he had entered the room, then his gaze sought out hers. Mihawk knew that this was the last chance she had to back out.

Shanks would not hold it against her if she said that she would prefer him to sleep elsewhere he would probably understand only to well, that she was uncomfortable with not only sleeping in the same room as him, but also in the same bed.

Yet she wouldn't she had agreed to after all, when she could have easily brushed it aside. She had already made her decision so she scooted over and looked him dead into the eye.

She caught a flicker of surprise before he smiled slightly and walked over to the bed.

–

Let it be known that this was not the first time Shanks had slept in the same bed as a woman. Granted this was the first time he slept in his bed with a woman and this might also be the first time he slept in the same bed as a woman without actually sleeping with her before, but that did not change the fact that he could not sleep. He simply wasn't tired at all.

His companion, he noted with an amused glance towards Mihawk did not seem to share his troubles. It might be because she was still recovering and because he had slept in late this morning but Shanks envied her a little.

In the end he ended up listing the things he would have to catch up upon now that he no longer had to stand watch over Mihawks unconscious form. His though process came to a stop however, when he felt a warm body snuggled against his side and a head came to rest on his shoulder.

For a moment Shanks stopped breathing, completely blindsided by this development. Then amusement replaced his surprise. Of all thing he had not taken Mihawk for someone who would cuddle in her sleep.

It seemed to very out of character for a woman who returned friendly backslapping with a frown o a glare depending on her mood. But given that he had just been proven otherwise there was no denying it.

It was unexpected, but not in a bad way. Another unexpected thing was the fact that he was quite comfortable.

His thought brought him back to a conversation he had some years ago with a young bartender in a small village in east blue. It was the conversation in which he might have broken Makinos heart.

She had remarked that Shanks could not give her what she wanted and he had agreed. Not because he did not like her, but because above all Shanks had always wanted to be free and a commitment like that was not something he had been willing to make.

He had told her that his first love would always be the sea.

She had smiled at him then. A little sad and wistful, maybe even tingled with hurt.

Makino had said that a woman who could capture his heart, must be a woman as untamed and free as the sea and Shanks remembered that the first thing that had come to his mind had been a picture of his rival. A woman with an easy grace and a self confident smirk on her face as she faced him.

Back then Shanks had assumed that the reason he had thought of Mihawk had been that not only had she been his first crush but pretty much the one woman he knew who could be compared to the sea in any way.

The crush had been one he had gotten over years before that tough. And a crush was one thing, what Makino had been talking about had been something else. Shanks was pretty sure that what he felt for Mihawk now was as close as he could get to what Makino had refereed to as having his heart captured and it was very different from a crush. For one he was quite sure that even back when he had that crush on her he would not have been to comfortable when sharing a bed with her.

As soon as he had entered puberty Rayleigh had given him one talk that he would never forget and not because it had been awkward. That had been a different talk. This talk had been shocking in it's honesty and meant more as a warning then anything else. It was a fact that many rookie pirates where caught by bounty hunters simply because they choose to share the bed with the wrong woman or man.

It was a very easy way for hunters to pick up bounties, one especially popular with a number of female bounty hunters.

Physical intimacy outside of the crew was dangerous and even then there was a reason that the higher ranking members of the crew often had their own cabins.

Sleeping in a bar was one thing, not only because it was rarely a deep sleep, sleeping in the same bed with another person and the physical closeness it entitled, a completely different one. The fact that he was comfortable with sharing his bed with Mihawk did not surprise him as much as it should.

She had been his friend for years, but there was a difference between friend and nakama. He would trust her with his life even if not with those of his crew. Mihawk was more of a personal friend then an ally after all and over the years without his consent she had become more. Her near death had been a rather brutal wake up call.

So he hadn't been all that surprised when he found himself comfortable enough to share his bed with Mihawk, it did surprise him though that she apparently returned the sentiment. It made Shanks feel pleased, because despite the fact that he knew how his feelings towards her were he wasn't all that sure what she though about him.

This kind of trust though – it went a long way and he knew that he at least meant something to her.
With a tired sigh Shanks brushed those thought aside. It wouldn't help him at all if he started to over think matters that had never been his style.

Resting his cheek against Mihawks hair he decided that it was time to go back to sleep. He would figure out what to do sooner or later.

That night despite his reeling thought he slept better then he had in years.

–

When Mihawk woke up in the moring she was shocked that she had actually fallen asleep, tugged closely against Shanks and also by the fact that she felt unbelievable calm and safe.

That alone was enough to set her on the edge immediately. Safe and calm was not something a woman who was both a lone pirate and a wanted criminal that had shaky deal with the world government should ever feel.

She held no loyalty to anyone and no one held any loyalty to her, there was no place for her to feel safe. Swiftly she got out of the bed and hefted Yoru, but her action had woken up Shanks as well.

"Mihawk?"

He sounded still half asleep as he sat up in the bed his hair sticking up in every direction.

"I'll be leaving."

And she would, this was far to dangerous and she had no idea what she had been thinking when she had agreed to stay until she had recovered. The only way she could explain it was that the long time she had spent unconscious had addled her brain.

Why hadn't she insisted on doing what she had always done before?

She could simply have dropped off the radar. The only person who was alive and had a vivre card of her was in front of her and he had other obligations as well.

"You won't."

And he sounded so certain that it sent a thrill of panic through her. If Shanks would try to stop her from leaving there was pretty much nothings he could do to stop him in her current condition, but she did not want to believe that he would do something like that.

Which left only one other option. One that did not sit well with her at all.

"I don't need your protection."

She bit out those words and by the defiance that flashed across his face it seemed like her guess had been right. Mihawk didn't know whether she should be happy about that or not, because it meant that he though she as incapable of taking care of herself and thus saw at as his obligation to look after her after he had first found her.

It hurt more then it should. She had heard lots of comments about woman not being able to take care of themselves and that she should join a crew and sail under a captain to last her a lifetime.

Shanks had been one of the few who had never even eluded to it and it was likely partly because of that that he had stayed someone she saw semi regularly despite the fact that he was no longer a rival.

His voice brought her attention back to the matters at hand.

"But I want to protect you."

His voice was honest and whens he looked into his eyes she could not see any shred of an deluded sense of duty on which he based his decision, but only the honesty that his words betrayed.
It was ridiculous.

"Why would you?"

His voice stayed even and his gaze never wavered from hers, even as he sat up from his half lying position.

"Because your Mihawk. Your important to me and I don't want to loose you."

His words struck a cord in her that she had though she had left behind long ago. The cords that had probably driven her to accept when he told her to stay on his ship until she recovered.

"Your being ridiculous."

Something in his face tighten and his jaw gained a stubborn set that hadn't been there before. He no longer looked half asleep and instead ready to move at any give notice.

"So are you."

She watched him carefully, feeling like she had been pushed into a corner and the fact that her swordsarm was starting to shake from bearing the strain of the sword wasn't helping her regain her compose. Was he going to stop her?

She knew that panic was starting to cloud her mind and she swallowed hart trying to keep calm.

"Dracule."

Shanks voice, unusually soft, especially compared to the determined one he had been using only moments before, cut through her minds panic and she watched unmoving as he got up from the bed where he had been sitting and moved towards her carefully.

Just as careful he pushed down her sword so that the tip was resting on the ground and removed most of the strain from her arms before pulling her into a one armed slightly awkward embrace.
He continued to talk and she felt the vibration of his voice against her cheek.

"I know that you are capable of protecting yourself. I know that you are strong."

Mihawk heard him swallow and felt the expansion of his chest as he took a deep breath and against her will she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The familiar smell of someone she had known for years calmed her more then her breathing exercises before had done and her mind flashed back to what she had been contemplating shortly before. That Shanks did not see her as helpless. She could only hope that it was more then just words.

–

Shanks wasn't quite sure what exactly drove him to hug her, but it felt right.

He hadn't expected to be in this situation to begin with, but he supposed that he should have. There was no way it would be this easy to keep an eye on Mihawk while she was hurt. He had never seen her hurt before unless he had seen her receive the injuries so he assumed that she had a place to lay low when she needed to.

She did not like being in a position where she had no control, and she liked situations where she did not have the possibility of regaining said control even less. And despite the fact that Shanks would never force Mihawk to do anything, they was aware of the fact that he could and that alone was enough to make this more of the latter.

He could not simply let her go either, especially not when she was barely able to lift her sword, a safe place to hide or not.

"You are a swordsman and you don't need me to tell you that you are a damn good one. You have proven it time and again. Right know you are hurt, that doesn't make you weak."

Shanks paused for a moment and wondered how to best explain why he was insisting on her staying here, without offending her.

He stopped himself before he said to much and waited for her reaction. Mihawk didn't say anything, but she didn't try to escape his embrace either, they stayed for that for quite a while before she finally broke the silence.

"Shanks... we are friends, aren't we?"

Her question, asked with obvious hesitation threw him slightly and brought a slight frown to his face.

They had been friends for years hadn't they? After all if they had been only rivals their acquaintance would have ended when he had lost his arm in the East Blue some years ago.

"Of course we are."

Even if to him she had been more then a friend for some time now, whether he had known it or not. So when she nodded he felt incredibly relieved, even if he wasn't sure if she had acknowledged his statement or if her nod had symbolized agreement, the fact remained, that she made no move to escape from his arms.

Silence reigned again, but this time it was Shanks who broke it.

"Will you stay please?"

Mihawk tensed immediately and for a moment he was sure that he had blown it, but instead of shaking him of she relaxed again and gave nod. It was barely noticeable and if her face hadn't been resting against his shoulder he was sure that he would have missed it. Unwillingly he smiled.

"Good."

The silence had returned again and Shanks could not help but wonder how long they were going o stay like this. Locked in an embrace.

As it was, the sudden silence caused him to think.

"I can sleep on the floor. I'm sure we can find a mattress somewhere."

Mihawk gave a huffed laugh.

"Don't be stupid. If you keep your hands to yourself it will be fine."

Shanks hummed in agreement even if he did not fully agree with it. He wold keep his hands to himself, emotions beyond friendship on his part or not, there was no way he was going to betray her trust. There was the fat however that Mihawk, contrary to everything he ever imagined, was a cuddler and having her her that close to him might cause problems.

Shanks had always excelled at following his gut feelings... It had gotten him into a lot of trouble, but he was still alive – something that he also credited not only to his ability but his gut instincts as well. It might have been his crew mates who saved him, but they mostly joined him because Shanks had thought that they would make good additions to his crew.

All in all is gut had never led him wrong.

He decided not to tell Mihawk that to him she was more then a simple friend even if part of him wanted to. Shanks did not want to push her into a corner and he was quite sure that Mihawk would not react well to his advances. Especially not in her current condition.

Still they stayed like they were for a long time and Shanks felt a smile find it's way onto his face as he felt Mihawk gradually relax more and eventually loosely wrap her arms around his waist.

It would all turn out alright in the end. He would make sure of it.

–

She would never be quite sure what had caused her to agree to staying until she was recovered, but she did and over the moth she spent with the red haired pirates slowly recovering her strength she would fall into a strange kind of routine.

A routine she wasn't quite sure what to think about.

Mostly because she wasn't sure what to feel about the fact that the routine included the rescuing argument on where they would sleep, one that always ended with both of them in the same bed.

Over time Mihawk had become used to it and the awkwardness she had felt in the beginning had faded. Sleeping next to Shanks was pleasant. He did not snore unless he was really drunk and she felt strangely clam when falling asleep next to his warm body and listening to his heartbeat.
It wasn't only her that got into a routine.

The red haired pirates did as well. They got back into their old one.

During the three weeks she had been unconscious the crew had been anchored at a remote New World island mostly because their captain had been otherwise occupied.

It was almost as if nothing had happened and her presence with them was normal and if Mihawk was honest with herself she rather enjoyed her times with them as well, they were interesting people and there was almost always someone willing to spar with her and assist her with her training when she needed it.

The first indication that she was that she was getting to close, especially to Shanks, was when the crew was in a fight with marines and Mihawk was staying under deck as to not draw attention to herself. She had been listening to the sounds of the fight wondering how long it was going to take.

She had heard the name of the marine commander before and he wasn't really much of a challenge especially not for a crew as experienced as the red Hair pirates. So when she heart the shocked and worried voices of the crew calling out Shanks name, she froze in shock. She was already halfway up the stairs when she heard Shanks laughing and whens he did she breathed a heave sigh of relief and sagged down onto the floor.

Her heart was still beating a mile a minute when she realized what she had nearly done. She had almost thrown away her position as one of the Shishibukai. It made no sense. Mihawk had seen the redhaired swordsman fight for his live and barely manage to save it countless times why would she have such an extreme reaction to it?

Even hours later when she was back in the captains cabin and trying to fall asleep her mind was still reeling and she had no idea how long it would have taken her to fall asleep if it hadn't been for Shanks deep breathing beside her. On the next morning though she pushed those thoughts away and acted like nothing had happened after she had managed to convince herself that it would never happen again.

–

It was the day before Mihawk had planned to leave that her peace of mind was shaken up once more. She had returned from training outside of the town where they had anchored when she overheard some of the crew members talking.

Usually she wasn't one to listen in on other peoples private conversations, but given that she heard her own name, she thought it prudent to gather information.

It was a habit that had served her well in the past.

This time however the information she gathered was simply unsettling her. It seemed like it was the general consent among the crew that she was Shanks girl.

Had it been just some random person she would have ignored it, there had been countless rumors like that about her. It was on of the consequences of being a woman in a male dominated profession and she knew that it wasn't true so she ignored it. But it wasn't some random person in a bar talking this time. This time it was a member if the mans own crew.

As she left them behind and made her way back to the ship her mind was spinning in circles. Objectively she could understand where the idea came from, they did share his cabin after all and that was not something that was casually done. But they had seen them interact and Mihawk was sure that they hadn't acted that much different from before she had been injured. The only difference she could think of was, that she had not left the day or the day after she had arrived but since they all knew the reason for her extended stay with them the idea sounded ludicrous.

She hoped those rumors would not cause trouble in the long run and decided to inform Shanks about them later, he might want to clear that up with his crew and thus get rid of the unsettling feeling she had when thinking about it.

But since the evening whens he could speak with Shanks in private without unnecessarily giving the rumors more credit she decided to push it aside for the moment.

When she remembered it in the evening they were already about to go to sleep, she brought it up anyway.

"Shanks?"

The man opened one of his eyes do look at her.

"Mhm?"

She swallowed wondering why she was suddenly feeling so nervous.

"I heard some rumors today."

He blinked at her from his one open eye.

"Your crew they were talking."

Now he raised his head from the pillow and looked at her curiously, it did not calm her at all.

"They kept saying that I was your girl."

Shanks blinked twice and Mihawk was surprised at how calm her own voice had sounded.

"Ah do they now..."

Shanks trailed of and rubbed his chin.

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Shanks eyes snapped back to her again, his expression serious.

Mihawk noticed the momentary tightening of his shoulders before they relaxed again and now there was a look of determination in his eyes that had not been their before.

She had no idea what to expect when he leaned forward and by the time she realized what he had planned his lips were already softly pressing against hers. Her mind stuttered to a halt and before she could react, be it by pushing him away of returning the kiss he had already pulled away again.
She opened her mouth but no words left her lips.

Shanks on the other hand smiled and it is a wistful smile.

"It doesn't bother me what they are saying."

For a moment Mihawk was almost glad that he had returned to the original question, but when he continued she was at a loss again, with no idea what to do.

"Because I would like you to be just that."

The smile was still on his face and it was an honest smile and the confusion must have been visible on hers because Shanks decided to elaborate.

"My girl."

–

Shanks could see shock and disbelieve cross her face, but she did not get up from where they were still lying, she did not walk away and this was the only chance he might have. So he took the chance despite the fact that should this go wrong she might never forgive him and the closeness that had been between them so far would vanish.

Kissing her had been a big risk and he knew that she could still leave. She was healed if this went down the drains he could get up and he would have no idea when he would see her again. If that happened the best thing he could hope for was that she would ignore what happened right now and act like she had before the duel, a distant friend. Still he hoped.

"I'm a swordsman."

Her voice his is carefully blank and Shanks knew that this would make them or break them.

"You are."

It was something no one could deny, least of all him.

"I'm the worlds strongest swordsman and I will hold that title until I loose."

And that to was the truth, but there was one distinction he needed her to make. Because her loosing her title was not the same thing as death, not always. But knowing Mihawk as he did Shanks was sure that in her eyes it was nearly the same thing.

For her loosing her title meant dying she wouldn't even try to live.

"I know and I won't ask you to give up all of that. But I want you to give it a chance. Will you?"

She looked at him then and the blankness had left her gaze, instead there was confusion.

"Give what a chance?"

And Shanks could not help the grin that tugged on his lips.

"Us."

He knew that she had to continue before she could brush him off.

"To me you are more then just a friend and frankly it has been like that for a long time. I just hadn't accepted it."

Shanks swallowed.

"But I have realized that one of us could die every day and I know that I would regret it if I hadn't tried."

And next part was the hardest, but he needs to say it so he swallowed again and pushed aside his uncertainty. Not every swordsman that looses his title died. Most did and it was not necessarily because of the injuries they received in battle, but because there was nothing left to live for once they had lost and Mihawk was just the kind of person would would think that as well. And Shanks would not, could not loose her because of his own cowardice.

"I love you, I don't want to loose you. So can you promise me something?"

–

Mihawks heart was beating fast and she could hear her blood rushing in her ears. Shanks words has shocked her and she stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign of insincerity, but finding none.

Never had she though that he would feel about her that way. She had been to town with him countless times and she knew that even after he had lost his arm he was still very popular with women, but he said that he loved her and it was obvious that he did not mean as a friend.

Yet she knew that he meant every word he said, Shanks was not the kind of person to lie about things like this.

"What kind of promise? I don't make promises I cannot keep."

Her voice was barely audible and she wondered why the relief over the fact that she did not outright refused to promise anything lit up his eyes made her mouth go dry.

His voice on the other hand was firm and if there was a note of pleading in it Mihawk pretended not to hear it.

"I want you to promise me that should you loose your title you will not throw your life away."
Puzzled she opened her mouth.

"Should you loose and have the chance to live, don't chose death."

Shanks swallowed and his eyes searched for hers.

"Instead you will come to me and stay with me."

A smile flickered across his face.

"Go on adventure with me and above all you will not leave me."

Looking at him, the man she first met when he was a boy many years ago whens he started to make a name for herself as a swordsman and he was just a cabin boy on the ship of the man who would be the pirate king, she felt as a loss of what to do.

How could she respond to such a question.

A promise like that would be a vow and Mihawk had never sworn herself to anything but the blade.

"And until then?"

She could not look at him and her voice broke halfway through the question.

"Until then..."

His voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"Until then you are Hawkeye the worlds strongest swordsman one of the seven Shishibukai. It would still be the same but.."

He trailed off for a moment.

"But you would always have a place to return to. And when you come to me I will always be there to hold you tight and keep you safe If you need me to."

Mihawk looked at him and wondered what it would be like to have a place like that. What it would be like to know that Shanks would always want her back. Because he man of his word as she was a woman of hers.

It was then that she knew that she would agree. Alone the fact that she was considering it was all the answer she really needed. She was vulnerable and the man in front of her was the only person who ever made her feel that way. By all accounts she should have pushed him away long ago. Yet she didn't because she trusted him not to take advantage of her vulnerability. She trusted him more then she ever planned to. She trusted him so much that she believed that if she were to give him the chance, he would not break her heart.

She had given him her trust before without though but this time it would be a conscious choice.
Shanks eyes were soft and he made no attempt to hide his feelings as looked at her earnestly. Idly Mihawk realized that she had seen those emotions in her eyes before whens he had first woken up again after the poisoning, only this time she recognized them. Affection, maybe even love and she felt her throat close up.

All she could do was nod.

Shanks smile was wide.

"So it's a promise?"

Mihawk nodded.

"Yes. It's a promise."

It was then that he reached out for her, buried his hand in her hair and kissed her. It was a kiss full of feelings and Mihawk felt it down to her toes.

And as he pulled her on top of him and ran his hand down her side she feels like the first time she picked up a blade. It was as if a world of endless possibilities lay in front of her and she only had to reach out to grasp it. She looked down at Shanks smiling up at her and she felt a smile come on her own lips as she took the chance and kissed him.

–

When Mihawk left the next day, Shanks walked her back towards her small ship that was anchored next to the red force.

He was smiling the whole time and when she stepped onto her board and made to leave, he griped her wrist slightly and turned her around so they stand opposite of each other.

"Take care of yourself."

Shanks himself was surprised by how solemn his own voice sounded and he watched as the swordswoman blinked slightly before giving a slight, barely visible, but still there smile.
Then she looked directly into his eyes.

"I promise."

For a second Shanks was stumped, but then the smile found its way back on his face and he gave her wrist a slight tug, pulling her towards him and pressing his lips against hers softly.

He felt her tense for a second before she too relaxed and kissed him back.

The kiss was short but Shanks knew that his smile was impossible wide even as he watched her small boat disappear into the horizon. He had no idea how long he had been standing at the shore watching the sea, when he heard someone chuckle next to him.

Shanks only had to turn a little to make out Yasopps figure standing shortly behind him.

"Finally huh."

There was a teasing grin on the other mans face and Shanks blinked once before blushing slightly, the smile never leaving his face.

"Yeah."

–

Over the next months Mihawk continued to return to visit him. She could not come as often as both of them would have liked since it would draw unwanted attention from the marines. Mihawk was a Shishibukai, should she be seen with them to often people could come to the conclusion that she was allied with them.

While Shanks was quite sure that Mihawk would not fight them he also knew that an alliance was out of question. It would not only raise the eyebrows of the marines, but also those of the other Yonko and she would not be allowed to travel through their territory that easily.

Maybe one day she could stay, but he was quite sure that that day was still far in the future. Still he was happy, he could hold her close and love her, while she had a place to return to. A place where should would always be welcome.

It was at one of those short visits that Mihawk made that Shanks was lying awake in his bed next to her and watched as she slept peacefully when something dark between her shoulder blades, partially hidden by her hair, drew his attention. It was a tattoo and he could not remember Mihawk having one. Curiously he brushed the hair aside, moving very slowly and carefully so that he would not wake her.

As soon as he could see the tattoo clearly he froze.

He knew that mark. He was very familiar with it.

It was his.

It was the pirate flag he was sailing under.

A skull with three scars over its left eye, over two crossed swords.

And Mihawk had it as a tattoo. Suddenly his throat felt very tight. He reached out and traced the outline. It really was there, it wasn't simply his imagination.

His movement however woke up Mihawk. Shanks watched as she blinked sleepily, before she registered what woke her up.

"Shanks? What are you doing up?"

He opened his mouth to answer her, but no words would come. The swordswoman frowned confused by his behavior. She understood however, when he reached out to trace the tattoo again.
Then she did something that Shanks had never seen her do before in all the years they had known each other, she blushed.

She blushed furiously and turned away from him an action that put the tattoo even more in his line of sight.

He traced the tattoo again an d felt a smile tugging st his lips.

"The promise."

Shanks gaze snapped up to meet Mihawks eyes.

"It's to represent our promise."

At her words he felt oddly content. It was a strange feeling, one he wasn't used to. He knew the yearning for adventure, the thirst for more and the happiness of being with his nakama, but contentment was something he was not overly familiar with.

A tattoo was the closest thing a pirate came to a live long commitment since marriages between outlaws weren't acknowledged by the world government.

Looking down at Mihawk who had closed her eyes again, trying to go back to sleep some traces of the blush still left on her face and he felt a wave of affection. This was the place he wanted to be and right now, he would be perfectly fine with staying here with her forever.

Shanks leaned forward and kissed the tattoo resting between her shoulder blades again. It was proof that what they had was real and as he gazed down at the mark under which he sailed another idea fluttered through his mind. With a wicked smile on his lips he kissed the tattoo again, before trailing his lips up towards the back of her neck. She shivered as he nipped a particular sensitive spot on her neck and Shanks grin widened. He would have to get a tattoo as well, it was only fair after all and he already knew what it was going to be. He continued his teasing for a moment longer and when Mihawk tilted her head to the side to give him better access, he bit her lightly before he pulled away and turned on his back as if going back to sleep.

The growl and elbow jab he gets in response are worth it though.

Laughing Shanks sat up and grabbed both of her wrists, pinning them over her head and leaned over her before grinning down at her, there faces only inches apart.

"I thought you wanted to sleep Dracule."

She glowered at him and Shanks grinned at her, pressing his nose against hers.

"You are an idiot."

She sounded menacing, but she was smiling as Shanks leaned down to kiss her but she stopped him just before he could press his lips to hers.

"I love you you know."

She looked at him a soft smile on her lips and a small blush dusting her cheeks, it was a sight that tugged on his heart and made him fall in love with her all over again.

"I love you too."

He knew that the smile on his was impossible wide as he leaned down and captured her lips with his.

–

One day in the future Mihawk would return from a short trip into the east blue not only with the bounty poster of a young boy whose story she had heard countless times but also with the memory of a boy with a great ambition.

One day in the future she would find herself lying in a pool of her own blood, her arms incapable of lifting her sword, her body incapable of getting up again and with a blade at her throat.

She would look up into the eyes of the boy who had first challenged her in east blue and later become her student. Looking down on her beaten form he would tell her that he won and she would smile and agree. It was then that she could have chosen to tell him that he had not yet won, that she was still breathing, and she knew that the boy would take her life. He would respect her choice, but she wouldn't. Instead she would smile and agree.

And after that, when she was healed, she would return to Shanks side again, this time with no plan to leave.

It would a vow unbroken, a promise kept.

 --

So here it is. I also posted this One Shot on fanfiction.net si if its familar that would explain why.