Chapter Text
The sun had already long since gone down over the seas when the oars of the Thetis stilled and Aurelia stepped out onto the deck with a bag slung over her shoulder, breathing in the salty night air. It had been over a day of nothing but water, but now she could see the shore of a deserted forest island in the distance. Well, not entirely deserted.
Tisiphone opened her eyes at the sound of the engine stopping and her mistress stepping onto the deck and lifted her head, gently nuzzling against Aurelia’s chest. She slid over the railing and into the water, coming up again beneath the bow and poking her head through the hole between the ship itself and the beak, letting herself be strapped into her harness. Quietly, she started pulling the ship further towards the shore, eventually reaching a dock hidden beneath the trees. It was small, just big enough for two little ships: The Thetis and a tiny boat the size of a coffin.
Aurelia stepped onto the pier and freed Tisiphone of her harness, gently patting her head. The snake dove back into the ocean and reappeared out of the water further back a few seconds later, curling herself in a jump over the surface like a very long dolphin. Smiling at the sight, Aurelia started heading into the pitch-black woods. As long as Tisiphone was there, her ship would be entirely safe, and Tisiphone could take care of herself. As for her… she had places to be.
The trip through the forest went smoothly as per usual. It was as if the forest’s feral inhabitants hadn’t even noticed her. Good, she thought. She was far too tired for a fight.
Finally, she reached the castle at the center of the island, looking so very gloomy in the dark. Sharp and cold, its towers climbed into the skies and the windows remained dark and dull. Still, it was home. She pushed opened the heavy wooden doors and entered the vast hallway, the clacking of her heels echoing from the high ceiling. Thoughtful of the time, she slid them off her feet before shrugging off her coat. Carrying both articles of clothing in one hand and her bag in the other, she went further into the castle, eager to just get to sleep.
That was when she heard footsteps sound from up ahead, immediately drawing a hint of a smile to her face, yet also a familiar sense of tension to rise in her limbs. She felt herself instinctively flexing her fingers and straightening her posture, ready to attack. But when the source of the sound turned the corner towards her, all of that immediately faded.
“My love…”
His voice went straight into her heart and her body softened up, a gentle smile curling her lips, her cheeks flushing slightly pink.
“Mihawk!” she gasped, dropping her bag to walk over to him and pressing his body against hers.
He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and breathed in her scent before placing a kiss on her cheek, then on her mouth.
“Were you trying to sneak up on me, goddess?” he asked, running his fingers through her hair.
“Me? I could never,” Aurelia joked, resting her forehead against his. “But I was somewhat hoping that you’d already be asleep.”
“And not be there to welcome you? I could never,” Mihawk commented.
He pressed another kiss to her cheek, then her jaw, then her neck, sending Aurelia into a giggling fit. But the moment she felt him suck at the nape of her neck, she quietly squeaked, pushing him away with ease.
“We’ve talked about this,” she said with feigned anger. “How am I supposed to demand respect with love bites on my neck?”
“You leave your mark on anything that’s associated with you,” Mihawk remarked, “I don’t see why I shouldn’t get to mark what’s mine.”
“Touché, Hawks… Just make it a subtle one, alright?”
“Anything for you, my goddess…”
And so, she was left with a dark red mark at the back of her neck, easily hidden beneath her hair but a sign nonetheless. Mihawk picked her bag up from the ground, Aurelia hooked her arm into his, and the two of them headed up the staircase, into their bedroom. Somehow, the cold castle walls seemed a lot warmer when he was around and Aurelia could tell by the way Mihawk’s golden eyes glanced over at her that he felt the same in reverse. There was a comfortable silence between them, a silence caused by the most gentle of words never needing to be said. But they would be said anyway, if only to affirm what the other already felt by their partner’s aura alone.
When Mihawk opened the bedroom door, Aurelia was greeted by the warm light of the ornate lamps on the bedside tables, the bed freshly made and blooming roses placed in a vase on the table at the window. Yoru rested in its familiar stand near the bed, the accompanying spots for Aurelia’s weapons polished and waiting. She placed a thankful kiss on Mihawk’s cheek, one that wandered from his cheek to his lips, that soon turned to twenty before they finally let each other go. As Mihawk placed her bag underneath the table at the window, she hung her coat on the coat hanger next to the door and placed her heels neatly into their shelf. It often looked a little comical since Mihawk owned maybe two kinds of boots and two regular shoes, whereas Aurelia owned heels in multiple shapes and heights and some variance of colors, as well as more than five different high-heeled boots. As such, she had the shelf entirely to herself and their boots were placed neatly next to it. She felt Mihawk’s hand on the small of her back again, instinctively bringing her hand up to run it through his hair. He placed his boots next to the shelf, tossing his socks into the laundry basket placed near it for that exact reason.
“And there go your five minutes of being taller than me,” Aurelia hummed, tracing her finger along the ruffled collar of his shirt.
“Some things just aren’t meant to last,” Mihawk mumbled, a gentle smile on his face.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too. You kept me waiting.”
“Now you know how I felt all that time that you were chasing me.”
“But I have you now,” Mihawk remarked, taking her clawed left hand into his, “and I don’t plan on letting you go.”
“You fought valiantly for me after all,” Aurelia whispered. “And so… Such is your right.”
She watched fondly as Mihawk pressed a kiss to her open palm, completely unfazed by her clawed thumb hovering less than an inch from his eye. With a quiet click, the solid bracelet around her wrist opened and he started sliding it off of her, trailing the chains connected to her claws with it. Just when he reached her fingers, he paused to place a kiss on the large blue jewel of the wedding ring worked into her ring finger’s claw, forever one with the symbol of her power. One by one, he removed the golden claws from her fingers, their tips ever so slightly piercing his skin. Once even her thumb was free, Aurelia flexed her hand which was long since aching from the weight and the restriction. People could hardly imagine how heavy and hindering a few nets of gold could be, how tiring the constant vigilance over her own movements…
“One day,” Mihawk said as he carried the claws over to their stand, Aurelia trailing behind him, “you’ll hurt your joints from constantly wearing those things.”
“Not before you hurt your shoulders from constantly carrying such a big sword,” Aurelia responded, taking his hands and cleaning up the blood from his wounds with her kisses.
As she rested her dagger in its stand and removed the rest of her jewelry, Mihawk unbuttoned his shirt and placed it neatly on a rack next to the closet, his pants following soon after. Without even being asked for it, he helped Aurelia pull her zipper down, easing her out of her dress, and hung it on the rack next to his own clothes. However, when she took her nightgown out of the closet, he gently grabbed her by the wrist and took it from her.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t keep me from admiring what’s mine,” he said softly, running his hand across her shoulders, admiring the shape of her chest, the curve of her waist leading into her hips.
“Mihawk, I’ll be cold,” Aurelia whined, making up excuses as she leaned into his touch.
“I shall keep you warm,” Mihawk promised, placing the nightgown back in the closet. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Only if you make breakfast tomorrow morning,” Aurelia said, though she was already following him to the bed without any resistance.
“That would be agreeable.”
Mihawk sat down on the edge of the spacious bed and moved into the middle, letting Aurelia follow him. As he pulled the blankets towards them, she drew shapes from the freckles across his abs and he absentmindedly ran his fingers across the scar at the side of her stomach. Finally, they settled into a gentle embrace, Aurelia tucking her face into Mihawk’s neck and resting her hands on his back, still softly tracing shapes. Mihawk’s strong arms were wrapped around her body, shielding her from any harm that might come to her. What a blessing it was, she thought, to feel completely safe.
Aurelia woke up only very slowly, drifting out of dreamland as through a silken veil. She opened her heavy eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. As the world became clear to her, she found the bed empty beside her and a second blanket draped over her shoulders. With a chuckle and a smile, she climbed out of bed, the cold air hitting her skin. Swiftly, she slipped into a simple shift dress and wrapped herself in one of Mihawk’s jackets. With quite possibly the only pair of flats she owned on her feet, she exited the bedroom and made her way down the stairs. Finally, she reached the kitchen, hearing quiet music sneak through the open door.
As she entered, she could see Mihawk leaning against the counter with his eyes on the clock mounted on the wall. The heavenly smell of a fresh loaf of bread wafted out of the oven, immediately bringing a smile to Aurelia’s face.
“You did not, darling,” she hummed, immediately going up to kiss him.
“I did,” he replied, brushing back her hair. “After all, there is no way of knowing when you would wake up and this is quite possibly the only thing I could prepare ahead of time.”
“How dare you; I always wake up precisely when I mean to.”
“Of course.”
So, another kiss later, Mihawk took the bread out of the oven and Aurelia let herself be coaxed into heating some water to boil the eggs, despite her complaints about breaking their agreement.
Within a short while, they had prepared themselves a humble breakfast and settled down on the balcony. The sun shone gently on them, making their cutlery glitter with its rays, warming everything up.
“I believe you still owe me an explanation on how you went on that escort,” Mihawk declared as he cut himself a slice of bread.
“Ah, yes, the escort,” Aurelia hummed, taking the top half off her egg. “Well, truth be told, I didn’t originally intend to go. I visited Baratie as per usual, but then I was approached by an orange-haired girl. Nami, the navigator of the Straw Hats. She asked me for protection, but since she did so as oddly and since she had approached me directly, I let myself be persuaded into hearing what she had to say. I allowed her to talk to me privately, and she revealed that she was actually a member of the Arlong Pirates.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but not voluntarily. Well, truth be told, it was voluntarily, but also by force. You see, Arlong had attacked her village when she had been a child. The usual tribute system of ‘you pay or you die’ – and Nami had assumed that the only way to free her village was to strike a deal with him. She would draw maps for him and he would free her and the village if she could pay him 100,000,000 Berry.”
“And you agreed to give her the money,” Mihawk asked, sounding a little annoyed.
“No!” Aurelia scoffed. “I may be anything but stingy, but even I don’t just give away a hundred million Berry. Besides, she had the money. But she was convinced that Arlong would betray her and she expressed a wish to return to the Straw Hats once the deal was over. She also asked me to protect them. Unfortunately, before we could form a proper deal to achieve these things, I was interrupted by a call from Cabaji of the Buggy Pirates.”
“Oh bother.”
“Precisely. As it turned out, Buggy had gotten himself kidnapped, or at least he was nowhere to be found.”
“What an imbecile.”
“My thoughts exactly. And so, since I was only a few islands away from their current hideout, I decided to pay the circus a little visit. When I reached their tent at the Organ Islands, I was shocked and appalled. The Buggy Pirates had terrorized the local townspeople to a no longer acceptable degree and destroyed all of the houses. But the mayor of the town told me that Buggy had recently been defeated by a boy named Luffy and his crew.”
“Fascinating. Did the boy also kidnap him?”
“Goodness, no!”
“I figured.”
“No, it wasn’t him. I then met up with Cabaji, who told me that Arlong had done it and a long, rant-heavy story about how a straw-headed boy, a girl with tangerine hair and Pirate Hunter Zoro had taken out their entire crew. He also complained to me as to why Zoro was still alive since I had agreed to have him pushing up daisies in the foreseeable future, but that was honestly not my fault or concern but that of Baroque Works since I had passed the task on to them.”
“Ah, yes, I remember. Now I know why the name ‘Roronoa Zoro’ sounded familiar.”
“You must have heard me talk about him. I doubt you would know about a little bounty hunter from the East Blue otherwise. – Either way, I decided to head back to Baratie for now and let Buggy wait. After all, he had blamed the Straw Hats for Arlong’s problems in an attempt to get away unscathed and I will not stand for such cowardice. And who do I find at Baratie? Arlong and two of his men, carrying Buggy’s head – still talking, mind you, because of his devil fruit powers –, destroying the dining room and trying to murder the Straw Hats. So, I declared the boys my sons and told Arlong and his men to cease and desist, and they left, but Nami decided to go with them in order to prevent further fighting and damage. I decided to interpret this as a kidnapping. So, once the damage to Baratie was paid for and Zoro had woken up from his blood loss-induced coma – which I still hold you accountable for by the way – I escorted the Straw Hats to Nami’s home and Arlong’s base at the Conomi Islands so that the increased Marine presence wouldn’t get in their way.”
“I see. And what about Buggy? You said he was acting as a compass.”
“Oh, yes. You see, his body had been placed at Arlong’s base and so he had to be transported there. This was fairly practical since I was the only one capable of navigating and I planned on sleeping but he could still navigate based on being able to tell where his body was.”
“How entertaining.”
“Oh, the Straw Hats definitely were, but the clown was merely annoying.”
“As was to be expected.”
A few moments of silence passed between them, both quietly eating their breakfast. But then Aurelia broke it:
“Do you think they’ll make it?”
“Make what?” Mihawk asked. “Getting their navigator back?”
“Yes and… everything. They’re so young and so ambitious…”
“Luffy told me he wanted to become King of the Pirates.”
Aurelia sighed. “I figured. He’s so naïve…”
“I know that face,” Mihawk mumbled, gently lifting her chin. “You truly are worried about them. They must have really hit a nerve.”
“No… They hit my heart. Can you imagine that? I mean, it rarely happens but… every once in a while… Though I doubt I’ve ever fallen as hard as I have for them. Aside from for you, that is, but this is obviously different. It’s Luffy’s damned smile. He’s just such a little ray of sunshine. Zoro is simply interesting, Usopp is charming and Sanji is… Well, he’s Sanji! You know about him, you’ve met him.”
“Only briefly, but yes.”
“And Nami is brilliant, I don’t know what to say. Maybe one of the brightest minds in the East Blue.”
“We’ll have to see what becomes of them.”
That was when the cry of a seagull grabbed their attention, prompting them to look to the skies. It flew over the castle, then landed on the railing of the balcony. A News Coo, and right on time. Mihawk took a coin out of his pocket and paid the bird, being left with a newspaper in return.
“Is Arlong dead?” Aurelia asked, immediately rounding the table to look over his shoulder.
He instead moved backwards with his chair and pulled her into his lap, letting them both read comfortably. Well, there was really not a lot of reading involved. Mihawk just flipped past the headlines until he reached a brand-new wanted poster. Immediately, Aurelia snatched it out of the newspaper with an excited gasp.
“Luffy!” she called out.
“You really didn’t have to worry,” Mihawk commented. “The boy did it.”
He really had done it. Smiling at the world from his wanted poster and waving happily, the boy was now worth 30 million – a respectable sum.
“Thirty million,” Mihawk mumbled. “That’s higher than Arlong’s bounty, isn’t it?”
“It’s the highest in the East Blue, I believe,” Aurelia chuckled. “Someone must have a grudge against him.”
She stared at the poster for a while, tracing the fuzzy lines, when a thought crossed her mind:
“Do you think Shanks knows?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Mihawk sighed. “He’s never been much of a newspaper reader, has he? Nowadays, I don’t even know if he has any idea of what’s going on in the world.”
Aurelia hesitated for a moment. “He ought to know,” she then declared.
“Would you like to pay him a visit?” Mihawk asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“I… I don’t know,” Aurelia stammered. “I think so, yes. Maybe I’ll regret it, but… I can’t keep hiding from him. It’s improper. And he can’t keep hiding from me. I’ll find him either way. Besides, when will I ever get another opportunity such as this?”
“An excuse is what you mean.”
“That is precisely what I mean. He had best not think that I came there for him. Not after what happened. I’m not that weak.”
“Then I shall come with you,” Mihawk declared, gently kissing her neck.
“Are you sure?” Aurelia asked. “The two of us going anywhere together… It’s bound to cause a scene.”
“I don’t want to know what kind of scene he’d cause if I weren’t with you. Besides… something tells me you won’t want to do this alone.”
Aurelia smiled, leaning against him and kissing his scalp. “You know me too well… But first… I think I shall like to take a shower. We’ve got time, right?”
“All the time you could want.”
“Care to join me?”
“I thought you would never ask,” Mihawk said with a smirk.
A good while later, the Dracule couple stepped out onto the docks, Tisiphone poking her head out of the water to greet them. They boarded the Thetis and set out to sea, following Mihawk’s course. After all, if one person in the world knew where Shanks was, it was him.
Aurelia sat on Tisiphone’s back as she was curled up on deck, the oars taking them to their destination. She picked at her claws, adjusting them over and over on her fingers. The, she pulled out a mirror, fidgeting with the clasp closing the high collar, making sure it stayed shut to hide the dark marks across her neck. Mihawk watched each of her little movements calmly.
“This might just be the most modest dress I own,” Aurelia mumbled before he could ask about it. “I haven’t worn it in years.”
“I know,” Mihawk said. “But it still suits you splendidly.”
He placed a kiss on her hand to stop her from fidgeting, then lightly traced the body chain visible through the cutout in her dress, right over her chest, up until he reached the cross hanging around her neck.
“There is no reason to be nervous, my love,” he assured her. “You, my goddess, are the most sublime creature across the seven seas. Anybody who doesn’t respect that will face the consequences.”
“I know,” Aurelia murmured. “But I know I’ll just forget it once I see him. That or I’ll go cold. I might have to bite my tongue not to kill him.”
“Whatever you do, I shall make sure to act accordingly.”
“You will stop me if I try to kill him, right?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Partially for Luffy’s sake.”
“And for yours and mine.”
Finally, they reached the shore of a deserted island, seemingly all rocky cliffs, bays, and beaches. However, the Red Hair Pirates’ ship stood out against this backdrop even more. Mihawk was the first off the ship, jumping into the shallow water at the beach, taking the work from Tisiphone to pull the Thetis to shore. Aurelia, meanwhile, stood at the back of the ship, stroking Tisiphone’s fur and patting her head.
“Go ahead without me,” she told Mihawk. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Mihawk obeyed and climbed across the rocks surrounding the bay, already knowing just where to find the man he was looking for. He found him only a few minutes later, lazing in a hammock, surrounded by his crew. Some of them were nursing half-empty glasses and bottles, others were just as stupefied without them.
“This is an unusual place for a man of your… stature,” Mihawk scoffed.
As they noticed his approach, the crew rose from their seats as if waking up from a deep sleep, drawing their weapons in a haze. Shanks, meanwhile, only slightly opened his eyes and squinted at Mihawk before turning away again, squeezing them shut.
“Come on, lads,” he said, gesturing vaguely as he maneuvered his legs off the hammock, “we’re in the presence of a might Warlord of the Sea. Show a little… ugh… respect.”
There he sat, looking like a crumpled piece of paper, nothing of the usual sunshine left. Aurelia really had had nothing to be worried about, Mihawk thought.
“’Fraid I’m not in the mood for a duel today, Hawk Eyes,” Shanks murmured, massaging his temples. “I’m a wee bit hungover.”
Of course he was.
“I’m not here to fight,” Mihawk declared annoyedly. “Not when you’re half the man you used to be.”
There it was, a spark in Shank’s eyes. Finally, some life. He looked back at Mihawk defiantly.
“I could still take you,” he said. “And with one arm tied behind my back!” He couldn’t even finish his sentence before breaking out into laughter.
Mihawk rolled his eyes when he heard a voice from behind him, sharp, teasing and fond at the same time.
“Still the same jester as always, I see,” Aurelia mused with a dignified smile on her face. “Glad to see that nothing has changed.”
At her voice, the Red Hair Pirates tensed up, gripping their weapons a little tighter. Only for Shanks it was the opposite. Shanks went entirely soft, looking at her like a vision in scarlet. It was rare for her to wear anything but black, but it was this particular dress that was making his heart beat faster than usual. This was a dress that she had bought because of him. Because he had asked her to lighten up. True to her petty nature, she had come back with the darkest tone of red she had been able find. But still, she had listened to him. Something that seemed quite impossible now. But walking across the beach like this, barefoot in the sand, holding up the slit in her dress to keep it from touchingthe ground, she looked just like the woman he had had the honor of hosting on his ship all those years ago. If only it weren’t for those claws. The gold that now completely encompassed her fingers looked as if it were burning in the sunlight, and the blue glow of her wedding ring formed both a compliment and a contrast to the color of her dress.
“Aurelia,” Shanks gasped, before forcing himself into a grin. “Look at that, he brought the wife!”
“Quite the contrary,” Aurelia disagreed, “I brought him. I came here because I have something you might want to take a look at. About a boy that I had the pleasure of taking under my wing recently.”
She walked up to Shanks’s hammock, stopped a few feet short from it and holding the reason for her journey rolled up in her clawed hand. Chaser Yasopp took it from her and unraveled the wanted poster. Immediately, Shanks jumped up from his seat and the rest of his crew came up behind him, Benn Beckman and Lucky Roux looking over his shoulders.
“Luffy!” Shanks called out with a voice only a proud father could muster. “He really did it.”
“No way!” Lucky Roux chuckled, snatching the poster along with Beckman. “It’s Luffy! He’s a pirate!”
“He’s a captain,” Beckman added.
“I guess we better watch your backs,” Yasopp joked, the crew once again bursting out into laughter.
“Bring out the reserve booze, boys!” Shanks called to his men, much to their joy.
Aurelia just sighed quietly, but she couldn’t help a hint of a smile on her face.
“I thought you were hungover,” Mihawk mumbled.
“Oh, lighten up, you old son of a gun, drink with us!” Shanks called. “This is cause to celebrate!”
Mihawk sighed. He exchanged a glance with Aurelia and, seeing her smile, reluctantly declared: “I suppose a drink wouldn’t hurt.”
Shanks smirked, then looked at Aurelia.
“And you, ma’am, do you drink?”
The same sentence as all those years ago, and he looked at her with the same spark in his eyes.
“Only red wine.”
She felt Mihawk’s gaze on her from behind, possessive and protective, but Shanks seemed not to notice or at least not to care.
“I’m sure we’ll find something you’ll like.”
Aurelia smiled and Shanks grinned like pure sunshine, immediately making Aurelia feel weak in the knees, questioning if it had been the right choice to go back. But she was back now, and it felt wrong but so right at the same time. Additionally, she had Mihawk by her side, and as long as he was there, she was safe. She would always be safe, because he was with her. He was hers and she was his. They would die together or not at all.