It took barely two weeks for Mihawk to finish what he intended to do. His snakes were fed, the meeting was attended, and now he was flying back towards Shanks at a lazy pace. His large, strong wings easily carrying him across the sky. The inky black scales did well for him to blend into the night, while he calmly surveyed the ocean and let his mind drift.

The meeting with Sengoku had gone like he had expected it to go. The Marine was rather livid with him and his face had turned a rather interesting shade of puce when Mihawk neither confirmed nor denied his relationship with Shanks. He had merely stated that he would not bring Shanks in because he was a friend, but he wasn't going to help Shanks pillage either. Though Shanks didn't pillage anyway unless it was for alcohol so he and the others could get drunk and have parties. Mihawk let out a breath and sparks of red and gold escaped his mouth and made his black scales shimmer in the soft and brief light.

While he had been away he had an odd feeling half way through the second week. It was the same feeling he always got when Shanks was doing something he shouldn't have and got hurt for it. Since Shanks was a grown man though, Mihawk didn't go running to his side no matter how much restraint he had to show in order to not do so. Instead he finished what he needed to do and took up a sedated pace back to his best friend and lover.

He dipped low in the sky and let his blackened claws brush the sea water as he flew and relaxed as a familiar ship and port came into view. He tilted up and flared his wings before shifting gracefully and dropped onto the deck with a soft sound. The ship was silent and Mihawk felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end because Shanks' ship was never so quiet. There was always something going on and crew members making noise. It was how he learned how to sleep through nearly everything.

He moved swiftly across the worn boards of the deck and pushed the door open to descend the stairs. The path was lit up with dull lights that Mihawk had set for them so they wouldn't burn down their ship, again. He waved his hand and they brightened to an acceptable level and he slowed to a stop when he saw Benn standing in front of the infirmary.

"Mihawk," The First mate inclined his head respectively and moved out of the way in one fluid motion. His actions made Mihawk's panic rise slightly, but he stomped it down viciously. Shanks was a Yonko and they were in the East Blue. There was no way anything or anyone here could have killed him. And had the red head been dead the crew would be mourning.

Mihawk pushed past the door and noted fleetingly that Scath was oddly silent and worried as well. The room smelled sterile and clean. Off to the side there were white curtains drawn around a bed and Mihawk remembered how he used to wake up in the infirmary nearly every year he went to that thrice damned school back in his home dimension. He shook the thoughts from his head and pulled back the curtains and let his eyes process what he saw.

Shanks was sleeping in the bed as peacefully as one could while snoring, mouth agape and drool slipping out. There was a light dusting of stubble on his chin and his arm was placed over his chest. He followed the bandages over Shanks' chest to see that his lover was now down an arm. Something had taken his arm to nearly the shoulder and the white bandages were stained a bloody red as it tried to keep the man from bleeding out or becoming ill from infection. Mihawk took a deep breath to calm himself before snapping his fingers and sat down in the gothic chair that had formed behind him. He did not like using his magic, but with the stress Shanks caused he was sure he would have to use it often as to not kill the red headed idiot.

"What happened?" Mihawk asked and crossed his arms as he looked at Benn.

"Those bandits had come back and they attacked Luffy. Before we could get the kid back, the leader took him and went out to sea. Shanks followed and a Seaking ate the bandit and took Shanks' arm. Since we couldn't get the arm back, we bandaged him up and knocked him out." Benn explained and he shifted on his feet to aim closer to the door. It was obvious that he didn't want to be there when Shanks woke up and Mihawk went off on him.

Mihawk nodded, "I see," He said and leaned back into his chair, silently dismissing Benn.

He had known Shanks far longer after all and if Shanks was out of commission when Mihawk was there, the crew differed to him first and then Benn. The Hawk like man didn't particularly like it, but he put up with it because Shanks had never been so incapacitated before.

Now he was crippled and Mihawk wanted to throttle him and toss him into the ocean for his stupidity. He wouldn't though. Instead he was going to wait and then stare at Shanks long and hard until the red head admitted to being an idiot. The man was lucky Mihawk knew how to make a blood replenishing potion, but he was still working on a variant of Skele-grow. Shanks would have to wait a few years to get his arm back.

It had been about three hours since Benn had left the room and left Mihawk to watch over the hurt Captain. Mihawk had to wipe away sweat on the red heads brow and he sighed. Every time he got close to someone, they got hurt. He didn't know if it was a curse or if it just happened about through horrible coincidence, but he didn't like it. After standing to pace for a moment with the old worn boards creaking under his feet with each step, he went back to Shanks' side and started pulling the red stained bandages away from the wound.

The stitch work was clean, but there was yellow oozing from the stitch points letting out a distinct smell of rotten eggs. It was unpleasant to the sight and smell. He grabbed the cloth and mumbled so that an ornate bowl of marble appeared with crystalline water inside. He dipped the cloth in it and began cleaning the wound carefully. The white cloth turned pink with hints of yellow as he dabbed at it and when he dipped it into the water, the pinkish hue seeped out before vanishing as the water cleaned itself and the cloth. This process was repeated until Mihawk was satisfied and then he closed his eyes and carefully placed his hand over the rugged wound. With grit teeth and sweat on his brow, he strained to force his fighting magic into the wound and the skin stitched together leaving a horrid scar behind.

Once he was finished, his chest was heaving as he took in deep breaths of air. The skin was pink and irritated, but the shiny white of the scars claimed that it was healed and Mihawk pulled his chair close and leaned back into it.

"Mi…hawk?" The voice was hoarse and scratchy, but Mihawk moved quick, summoning a glass of water with minor trouble and helped the tired Captain to sit up and drink it. He also had a rag to wipe the drool off of Shanks' face and give a look to the tired and embarrassed man.

"I told you to be careful, Shanks. Not lose your bloody arm." Mihawk scolded him and kept his arm behind Shanks to support him. They were both tired and worn now with Mihawk wondering why his magic was fighting so hard to heal the wound. This meant that he would have to look into Sea Kings now since it was one of them that took his lover's arm. Shanks gave a small grin only to sputter as Mihawk tilted the glass a bit more and spilled the water on his face. "Don't give me that look. I was worried." Mihawk scolded him and carefully moved the pillows behind Shanks' back so that he could sit up without help.

"I know…I couldn't ignore that he took Luffy though." He said and there was a flash of worry that darted across his face and pulled at his eyes. If Mihawk didn't know any better, he would have said Shanks was worried over his reaction, but he knew the man was more worried about Luffy.

"You managed to keep him safe and that's what matters," Mihawk stated firmly and rubbed his thumb over Shanks only arm. Shanks gave a weary smile before cuddling back into the pillows that Mihawk had arranged for him.

"How was your two weeks?" He asked and Mihawk rolled his eyes as he settled back into his chair. It was very like Shanks to change the subject like he did and Mihawk wasn't going to begrudge him for it. The man had lost his arm after all.

He leaned back and rested his head on a closed fist, "Sengoku called an entire meeting just to ask me if I was in a relationship with you," He had to pause as Shanks began laughing loudly and then raised a brow as it turned to coughing. "As I was saying…he called a meeting for that and I told him to keep his nose out of it. It isn't my job to risk my life for them regardless of how they want to see it. I am a pirate first after all and you are my friend and lover." A light dusting of red crossed Shanks' face and he looked at Mihawk affectionately.

Shanks sat up a little more and reached over to Mihawk, "I love you to, Mihawk. Sorry for scaring you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Mihawk's. The man leaned forward and kicked his shoes off before joining Shanks on the bed.

"Let's just go to sleep. I need to look for the boys tomorrow and you need rest," He murmured and set his hat next to Shanks'. He got a nod in return followed by a kiss on the head and the two of them moved as close as they could before pulling the covers over themselves. They had to reassure each other that they were both okay and going to live through this new problem without causing a fight and argument.

Morning came and Mihawk was the first to wake up and he was quick to dress. Before Shanks even woke up, he was ready for the day and made sure to leave water in reach of the tired Captain before he headed out the door and up the stairs. He nodded to Benn and looked over the worn deck of the ship. Everything was just as he remembered and the men were scrambling to and fro to clean the ship to perfection. Everyone wanted to make sure it was perfect when Shanks was up and moving around and since Mihawk came up calmly they knew it wouldn't be long now.

"The boys went in the forest with Draco last we saw," Benn said as he walked by.

Mihawk nodded and then headed off. He was sure to avoid the town and stuck to the outskirts as he went. The man didn't feel the need to talk to people when he was more concerned for his boys who were probably traumatized by what had happened. It wasn't hard for him to have seen the slow growing affection that Ace had for Luffy after all. Mihawk knew they would grow to be very good brothers with each other and was interested to see how everything was going to turn out for them.

"Dad!" Mihawk blinked at the shout and only had a few seconds to register it before a blur tackled into him. He grunted, but caught the crying boy with relative ease. "I didn't mean to! Is Shanks okay?" Luffy cried and sniffled into Mihawk as he clung to him and Mihawk saw Ace hiding a few feet away behind a tree.

"He's fine, Luffy," Mihawk said softly.

"Really?" Luffy peaked up shyly from his bangs and it was then that Mihawk saw how much it had truly affected the boy.

He hugged his youngest tightly, "Really," He said and walked over to Ace and became curious. "You have another friend, Ace?" Mihawk asked as he saw an odd hat sticking out from the brush. It amused him that the children thought they would be able to hide from him anyway. The biggest factor that they never considered though, was the fact Draco was sitting next to the bush looking at it with an unimpressed look.

Ace jumped in front of the bush and spread his arms, "He's my friend!" He defended and Mihawk raised a brow.

Luffy wiggled out of Mihawk's arms and stood by Ace, "He's my friend to." He stated and then cried out when Ace hit him over the head and a fight started out over who was the new child's friend and when and how.

Mihawk sighed and easily reached over them and lifted the child out of the bush. "You must be from the noble's section." He said and watched as the kid bleached white and trembled in his hand. That was never a good response… He tucked the child, Sabo from what he gathered, close to his chest. "I'm not going to drag you back, child. Just make sure you keep my boys out of trouble." Mihawk told him and gave the barest hint of a smile.

"Thank you Dad!" Luffy yelled and hugged him as he broke off from his fight with Ace.

"Thanks…Dad…" Ace mumbled and his face flushed red as he shifted from foot to foot. Mihawk raised a brow before pulling the freckled child to him so that they were all hugging. It was in that moment that Mihawk decided he was going to always have children.

It didn't matter if they were his, if they were adopted, or if he just visited them a few times a year. He wanted the ability to help teach and raise them so that they would live when they chose what path they wanted to follow in. He just hoped that no one would be stupid enough to try and make him fight against his children or worse yet, try and kill them in front of him. If that were to happen, he would have to show just why he was feared before and why he was feared now.

Death: Sorry for the long wait. I don't know when I will get the next chapter out either. School has been very busy for me and now with my new job I don't have much time for anything except school work. I hope ya'll enjoyed this though and tell me if there are mistakes that I need to correct.

Please review.