Chapter Text
Quietude returned to the sloop after the quick fight. Only the raucous cries of the seagulls hovering above the small ship accompanied by the crashing of the waves on the hull could be heard.
Mihawk sighed wearily before putting Yoru against his back.
He was the only man standing and alive on the sloop. He had killed the owners of the boat. Not out of boredom, but because their captain had challenged him to a duel. His companions had cheated by intervening in the duel, and Mihawk had to show them what happens when a duel was not respected.
Mihawk looked with detachment at the corpses around him, the smell of blood was already stinging his nose, and worse, his boots that they had polished the day before were stained with blood. The swordsman was more sorry for his boots than for the corpses around him. It had to be said that the captain was not the first to defy the swordsman and lose his life.
His right boot floundered in a pool of blood as Mihawk walked across the deck to rejoin his boat. It was all boring.
And then, as Mihawk was about to jump off the deck to his small boat, a scream rang out. This cry did not come from the seagulls, but came from inside the sloop. It was a child's cry.
Mihawk hesitated. On the one hand, it was tempting to leave the child on the sloop that would drift for days before someone found it or the boat eventually capsized. On the other hand, doing nothing would mean letting the child die.
Unfortunately, his conscience won out. Mihawk blamed the pseudo-angel on his shoulder who looked suspiciously like Shanks.
The swordsman walked the entire deck before finding the stairs to reach the hold. Surveying the hold, Mihawk decided he no longer felt guilty for the rotting corpses on deck—no, not that he had felt guilty. The captain and his companions were slavers in view of the hundreds of chains hanging on the walls of the hold. Mihawk advanced to the bottom of the hold, only the sound of his footsteps echoing in the great empty space.
And then he found the child sitting against the furthest corner of the stairs. The little girl was filthy, her cheeks were black and sunken with hunger, and her dress had seen better days. Her small hands were to her mouth to prevent herself to scream again and silent tears streamed down her cheeks. Mihawk internally smiled. The child was right to be afraid of him. His golden eyes met those wide with fear of the girl. From below, she must have heard the fight.
Mihawk knelt down avoiding his knees touching the ground, he had already soiled his boots, his pants did not have to suffer the same treatment. The little girl had the merit of not flinching.
"Your father was on the deck?"
The little girl shook her head.
Mihawk sighed, "Are your parents dead?"
She nodded slowly, new silent tears streaming down her cheeks. This response was to be expected, slavers were not known for their kindness. They must have killed her parents before taking her. Mihawk wondered what he was going to do with her. He couldn't leave her now that the girl was in front of him.
"Are you going to kill me?" the girl asked, her voice soft but filled with fear.
"Do you want me to kill you?"
She shook her head.
"My name is Dracule Mihawk. I can drop you off on an island."
The ideal would be a host family on a caring island. Otherwise, an orphanage would do. Anything would be better than dying on this sloop.
"A-Athenais," the child whispered, her eyes sparkling with hope.
Against all logical and rational thought, Mihawk extended his hand to Athenais.
*☠️*☠️*
A headache was starting to form in the back of Mihawk's head. The worst part was probably that his headache had a name: Shanks. His rival was the source of many of his headaches. Yet Mihawk was the only one to blame. It was the swordsman who had traveled the islands of North Blue until he found where the Red Force was anchored, in order to ask his captain, not for yet another fight, but for a service. Instead of helping him, Shanks was clearly laughing in his face. Tears of joy beaded in the corner of the youngest's eyes.
"Are you going to give me your opinion, yes or no?"
Mihawk was surprised when the laughter died in Shanks's throat. The young man was deadly serious when he replied, "Athenais is not a pet that you can throw in the water as soon as you become bored of her presence."
Mihawk did not answer. He had to admit that wasn't the answer he expected from Shanks. His rival was a jovial bon vivant and it was rare to see him take a matter so seriously. When he asked for his opinion on whether he should keep Athenais or not, Mihawk had expected Shanks to be on his side.
"What did you expect by coming here?" asked the redhead.
The renowned swordsman looked towards the front of the boat where Athenais was playing dolls with Uta. The two five-year-old girls had just met but already seemed to be friends. Maybe it was easier to make friends when you were a kid, Mihawk wouldn't know, he only have one rival that became a friend through the years, and said Shanks was refusing to help him.
"There's no way I'm taking Athenais too," Shanks said after following Mihawk's golden gaze.
"What would one more child change?" Mihawk asked exasperatedly. "Your boat has enough room for both of them and Uta is still alive so you must be a decent parent."
"That would make a big difference," Beck replied, puffing smoke from his cigar. The eldest of the three had been silent so far. "One child is good, two is too much. These things grow."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow, staring at Beck. Of course, he knew that children were growing up. That was precisely the problem. His coffin-shaped boat was not designed for a child, his life was not designed for a child. He was neither a babysitter nor a parent.
"In that case, I could always ask Whitebeard," the swordsman finally said, finishing his glass of cheap liquor in one go. "He has a weak spot for orphans."
"No," Shanks said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "It's the law of pirates: you find, you keep. Athenais is neither an object nor a pet, but a charming little girl. Stop looking for excuses to abandon her when we both know you want to keep her."
"That's the problem: I don't want her. Athenais will only bring me unnecessary trouble"
"Then why did you save her? Why did you buy her clothes and feed her? or brought her here? If you really wanted to get rid of Athenais then you would have abandoned her in the first town you found. Instead, you're trying to find her a good family because you don't want to admit that you care about her. Except that Athenais has already found her family with you, she would have already fled if she didn't feel safe in your company."
Mihawk rolled his eyes, "I should have asked your advice when you were drunk."
"The captain is always drunk," Beck muttered between mouthfuls of a cigar.
Shanks stuck his tongue out at his second before looking back at Hawkeyes, "You're no coward, Hawky, and you never back down from a challenge. You just have to see Athenais as the biggest challenge of your life. She could be good for you."
Mihawk did not answer. Instead, he looked towards Athenais and thought back to the last days they had shared in his boat. She was calm, didn't cry much, and seemed interested in swordsmanship. At night, when the heat of the sun was replaced by the cold of the night, Athenais snuggled up to Mihawk without fear of his status.
It might work, maybe. Mihawk was aware that his reputation could get Athenais into trouble. He might find a way to keep her safe with him.
"Besides, you could make her a terrifying mini-Mihawk," Shanks said with his usual good humor.
*☠️*☠️*
Mihawk knew a new chapter in his life had begun when he made Athenais' adoption official. He gave her the surname he had chosen for himself rather than the one he himself had inherited. Dracule Athenais sounded better than Silvers Athenais.
Despite the resentment Mihawk felt towards his own father, he still introduced Athenais to his parents. He didn't want to admit it, but it was a bit like a pledge of his good faith. At least now Mihawk couldn't say he hadn't made an effort towards Rayleigh. He also had to admit that seeing his father playing with his grandaughter had awakened something he thought was long dead.
Maybe Shanks had been right; maybe Athenais was good for him. At least, that was what Shakky thought.
The mother had looked up and down at her son before handing him a drink and saying, "I've never seen you this happy. It's a good look on you."
Nevertheless, Mihawk hadn't been ready to see another chapter of his life abruptly closed. He stared at Shanks's empty sleeve, not knowing what to say. Mihawk absently listened to Shanks tell him what happened with a little boy named Luffy.
"Are you going to say something?" Shanks ended up asking him at the end of his explanatory rant. The captain's voice was hesitant.
Mihawk looked a little longer at the empty sleeve with regret and anger. It was out of the question for Mihawk to fight a man with one arm. Mihawk resented Shanks. The younger had been his only worthy rival. He felt like Shanks had abandoned him in favor of a child he had just met. All their fighting seemed worthless now. Was Mihawk worthless to Shanks?
The question was silly. Shanks already knew the answer. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited months before confessing to Mihawk.
The swordsman sighed as his headache grew, "my feelings don't matter," he finally said. "What is done can't be changed."
A small smile of relief appeared on Shanks's face.
"However," Mihawk continued with a frown, "you're going to walk up those stairs and knock on the door to the room where Athenais is playing. Then you will explain to her why you are missing an arm. I hope you find better arguments than the ones you gave me along the way. A nine-year-old girl might not be as understanding as me."
"Are you going to come with me?"
"No, you're going to act like a responsible adult and face the consequences of your own action alone."
Before Shanks could leave, Mihawk added in a harsh voice, "I adopted her on your advice, treating her as my daughter, and for that, I am forever grateful. But ever since, you interfered in my life and therefore in hers, and made us believe that you could be reliable. Especially since, for some reason beyond me, Athenais considers you a decent father figure. She cares about you beyond reason, remember that the next time you risk your life."
"Mihawk…," Shanks began before he stopped, probably looking for a new plea, but instead the redhead confessed, "I care about you two too."
Despite his refusal to accompany Shanks, Mihawk still waited patiently near Athenais' bedroom door, his back against the wall.
Father and daughter had been living in Kuraigana for a month now and Mihawk was hoping to make it their primary residence. The baboons could be an asset if he had to be away for a few days, despite their limited intelligence, they seemed to like Athenais even if it meant considering her as one of their own.
Mihawk had thought he had finally found stability that would allow him to raise Athenais in the best conditions. He had become a Shichibukai and had found this deserted and safe island. Except that Shanks had just destroyed that stability. Athenais had long been traumatized by death as she saw her parents being executed in front of her and even though Mihawk tried to protect her, Athenais saw the corpses on the sloop. She had had nightmares about it for months and it was Mihawk who comforted her every time. He didn't want to have to go through that again.
Yet Mihawk knew the nightmares would return. From where he was, he could hear Athenais crying and Shanks trying to comfort her. On the other side of the door, the redhead held the girl to his chest with his one arm, promising that he was fine and that his second arm wouldn't fall off during the night.
Shanks managed to get out of the room an hour later, "Athenais fell asleep."
Mihawk did not answer. Instead, he opened his arms and Shanks automatically collapsed against him.
That night, Hawkeyes did what he did best. He ignored his own feelings and held his lover against him. The only way for them to be together seemed to be hiding under blankets; it would be too dangerous to love each other in full light before the eyes of their too many enemies. It was through the safety of darkness that Shanks managed to admit why Uta hadn't accompanied him to Kuraigana.
It would seem that Athenais is also Shanks' second chance.
The next morning, Athenais and Shanks were much better. Athenais had a nightmare during the night and ended up sleeping between Shanks and Mihawk. Now, the redhead was watching the strange sight through the window while sipping his coffee.
"Hawkeyes?"
Mihawk hummed, he had never been a morning person and needed a lot of coffee to behave like a normal human being.
"What is Athenais doing?"
He leaned against Shanks's back to look out the window, "she's dancing with the baboons," Mihawk yawned.
"Yes, I see that but why?"
"She says if the baboons want to learn so much then she will teach them how to dance."
"And is it safe?"
"She hits them when they refuse to follow her orders."
"It's an activity like any other, I guess," Shanks said, not really believing his words. "Hmm, I'm thinking of something."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow, "I don't want to hear what weird ideas have gone through your head before ten a.m."
"You're going to like my offer!" Shanks defended himself with a broad smile. "Yesterday you were sulking because I wasn't involved enough in Athenais' life, right?"
"That's not exactly what I said."
"Look, Athenais is clearly going to go crazy if she grows up with baboons and a grumpy old man for only company. Let her live with me at least three months out of the year."
Mihawk didn't know if it was healthy that Shanks wanted to fill the void left by Uta with Athenais. The two girls were completely different. Then he looked into Shanks' grey eyes and realized it wasn't about a replacement. The redhead liked Athenais and he wanted to catch up. Mihawk liked the idea of Shanks and him raising Athenais together.
"A month," he decided.
Shanks hesitated before agreeing, he turned to face Mihawk and pulled him closer with one hand on his hip, "I love seeing you in the morning, you're so malleable and soft."
Mihawk leaned against Shank's solid body, his eyes closing again.
*☠️*☠️*
The swordsman knew it was a bad idea to let Athenais accompany him to a date arranged by Doflamingo in order to "strengthen the bonds between them". All the Shichibukai had been invited, except Moria and Kuma. Jinbei politely declined the invitation, the fish-man didn't like to mingle with the rest of them more than necessary. Boa hadn't even answered.
Jinbei and Boa didn't like Crocodile and Doflamingo very much. For some obscure reason the two liked Mihawk, he was calm, didn't meddle in other people's business, and Athenais made him earn a few points. Jimbei had invited them to visit his island two years ago, and Boa was carrying out quiet propaganda to entice Athenais to live on Amazon Lily. So far the girl had always refused, although Athenais had spent two weeks on the island with the Empress. It had taken weeks for Mihawk to convince Athenais to drop the bow and arrows Boa had given her.
The only reason Mihawk accepted the invitation was for his daughter. She liked to visit new places and had never seen Dressrosa before.
Mihawk was already regretting his decision by the time he sent back a confirmation letter.
"Dad, look!"
Mihawk stopped sipping his glass of wine – the only advantage of coming to Dressrosa was the king's personal wine store – and looked at Athenais. The ten-year-old had slipped away with Doflamingo almost an hour ago while Crocodile kept Mihawk company. Now he understood that Croc's role had been to distract him.
Nevertheless, Athenais seemed proud to wear a blue feather coat much too big for her, extravagant sunglasses were on her nose, and her dress had been replaced by clothes coming from the city. Now she was walking towards him mimicking Doflamingo's ridiculous gait. She tried to be a badass but only managed to be cute. The blonde-haired Shichibukai was giggling like a demon as he used his threads to levitate the bottom of the coat in order to prevent Athenais from tripping over it.
"Are you sure she can't join my family, Hawky?"
His colleges were exhausting, and Mihawk planned to slice them all in half.
*☠️*☠️*
The little family was vacationing for the weekend on an island Shanks had found. The Yonko had managed to clear his schedule for the weekend and left the reins to Beck : Shanks wanted Athenais to relax from her trainings. They had settled down that very morning in a small wooden cabin by the sea. Well, Mihawk had unpacked up their bags while Shanks and Athenais had fled to explore the island. After finishing the unpacking up, Mihawk had grabbed a towel and his book in order to relax without the two nuisances to bother him. He had managed to read about thirty pages before starting to doze off, the rays of the sun on his pale skin and the sound of the waves cradling him in the arms of Morpheus.
"Haaawkeyeees!"
"Daaaaad! Heeelp! "
The two nuissances screamed for help as they ran towards him on the beach.
Mihawk opened his eyes and lifted his sunglasses to see what was going on. His silly husband and their twelve-year-old daughter didn't look scared at all as they giggled while running away from a giant bird with a sharp beak. The two had to annoy the bird which was now threatening to kill them.
Mihawk grabbed Yoru's wrist and jumped towards the bird. It took a single attack to decapitate the bird.
"Thank you, angel," Shanks said happily as he plopped down on the sand.
Athenais imitated him, "it was a hell of a race."
"You can say it. I told you not to touch the egg," Shanks' reprimand carried no weight since he was still laughing.
"What? You made me pick it up for dinner! and then you screamed so loud that it woke up the mother!"
Shanks burst out laughing at the memory, "Sorry, treasure!"
Father and daughter stopped laughing when the saw the deadly expression on Mihawk's face.
"You woke me up for a bird that you could have both taken care of?"
The two idiots looked at each other with blank expressions before their gazes fell on the other's swords. The Yonko didn't even need a sword to defeat a bird, his Haki would have been enough.
"Maybe we got carried away," muttered Shanks who was on the verge of laughing again.
Mihawk put Yoru against a coconut tree before settling back on his towel, "I should have let it kill you."
Of course, he didn't mean it. Mihawk didn't want to spend the rest of his vacation digging two holes.
"Sorry!" father and daughter apologized at the same time.
Mihawk tried to go back to sleep pretending to sulk, but he couldn't help but smile as Shanks mimicked the scream that came out of Athenais' throat when the mother jumped on her. Athenais retaliated by throwing sand at Shanks which started a fight between the two. Mihawk was content to stay on his towel when Athenais lured Shanks near the sea and threw water on him when the redhead was close enough. He fell asleep hearing the laughter of his husband and daughter.
*☠️*☠️*
"I do not like him."
Mihawk's statement was met with a laugh, Shanks leaned over and kissed his husband's bare shoulder, "and why don't you like him? Knowing you, you already have a list in head."
"It would be quicker to list his qualities."
"Come on, my angel, you are unjust. Ace is a good kid."
Shanks had arrived earlier in the day on Kuraigana at the request of Athenais. The teenager wanted her parents to meet someone. Mihawk had raised an eyebrow but Athenais refused to tell them more. Generally with Athenais "someone" ended up being a very large carnivorous animal. In any case, Mihawk knew he was not going to like the surprise since the young woman had this face, the one where she was trying to lie to him. But Athenais did not know how to lie to her parents. This fact had been proven after Athenais helped Shanks ambush Mihawk. She had been tasked with bringing him to a deserted island, except she had giggled the whole way and Mihawk had suspected something. The swordsman had been right to be suspicious then since he and Shanks had married that day with only Beck as officiant and Athenais as witness.
And Mihawk had been right to be wary today.
He would have preferred the "someone" to be a large carnivorous animal in the end. At least Mihawk would have been on familiar ground. All Mihawk would have had to do was kill Athenais' new friend before it ate her. Except that there, Mihawk was not sure to be able to kill the friend of Athenais. No, her boyfriend.
Athenais had brought a boy back to Kuraigana Island to introduce him to her fathers. The boy must be a year older than Athenais. He had shoulder-length black hair, freckles on his cheeks, and warm brown eyes. Mihawk could see that the boy was uncomfortable in his clothes: a white shirt and navy blue pants. The young man must have made an effort to impress them. However, this sartorial effort was not enough to convince Mihawk. He already knew the reputation of Fire Fist Ace.
"He's a pirate," Mihawk finally said as he tried to get away from Shanks.
"You married a pirate," Shanks reminded him cheerfully, "and technically you are too, angel."
Mihawk thought back to the idyllic glade, the lanterns hanging from the trees, and Shanks looking stunning in his suit, "As if I could have said no that day," he muttered before adding, "That does not prevent that this Ace is not good enough for Athenais. She deserves better and I would have liked you to consult me before giving him our blessing."
"Ace is Luffy's older brother!"
"That's not an argument in his favour."
Shanks rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't fade. On the contrary, his smile grew when he saw Mihawk's sulky face. He then lay on his side and his fingers brushed Mihawk's soft white skin to distract him.
"Athenais has grown up, Hawky. She is no longer that scared child you saved. Athenais has become this beautiful and kind young woman who helps others thanks to your teachings. You knew she would grow up and that one day this question would arise."
"I thought we'd have more time," Mihawk replied, huffing wearily. He stared at the white ceiling a little longer before his gaze strayed to Shanks's naked body. "And if he is not the right one? What if he hurt her?"
"We have to have trust in Athenais's judgment. She wouldn't have introduced Ace to us if it wasn't serious between them. And then, we must admit that of all the pirates we know, Ace is far from being the worst: kind, polite, strong, and brave. He's a bit overconfident, but Athenais'll know how to calm him. You look for faults in him because you don't want to love him."
Mihawk rolled his eyes, "That technique worked on you."
"As proof, I am lying naked in your bed, dear husband."
"I still don't like him."
Shanks smiled at his husband's stubbornness. He got up with his one arm and straddled Mihawk before saying, "I'll help you bury his body if it turns out you were right."
"Great, so you're going to let me do the dirty work while you talk about rain or shine. How are you going to dig a hole with your one arm?"
"Oh, but I've already proven to you a thousand times that I can be effective with only one arm," Shanks whispered naughtily into his husband's ear.
*☠️*☠️*
Mihawk had a bad feeling of deja vu. The last time Portgas D. Ace had summoned Shanks and him had been to warn them that Jack Morrey had kidnapped Athenais. At that time, the young man had an angry look on his face, his eyes filled with tears, and he was apologizing every two seconds. It had been the worst day in Mihawk's life, he had felt his heart stop beating in his chest until Shanks took his hand and said with all the conviction in the world that they would save Athenais.
Now, five years later, Mihawk was still expecting the worst.
He and Shanks were sitting on the couch in a house on a New World island. The house was comfortable and filled with the memories accumulated by Athenais and Ace over the past few months. The couple had finally found peace after five turbulent years.
"Come on Ace, you'll set the floor on fire if you keep pacing," Shanks said with a friendly voice that barely concealed his impatience.
Ace had called them to ask them something but the young man had been pacing in front of them for several minutes. The question Ace wanted to ask them made him terribly anxious.
"I'm leaving if you're going to waste our time."
"No! Stay," Ace asked him before finally gaining confidence and admitting, "I-I brought you here to ask for Athenais's hand. I want to marry your daughter and do it properly. You should also know that I will marry her no matter what your answer is."
Mihawk raised an eyebrow, "so you want an opinion that you will not take into account if it does not suit you?"
"Yes," Ace confessed, a fiery flame burning in his brown eyes, "I've loved Athenais ever since I met her in that alley. I could give you a dissertation on why I love her, but I don't have to justify my love for your daughter."
Ace was clearly waiting for an answer but Mihawk hesitated. It was an important question. He knew that Athenais would immediately say yes to the marriage proposal and that being against it would only make her hate him. This was not what Mihawk wanted. Athenais was not like him, she deserved a great marriage where both her parents would be there to support her. Besides, Ace had proven himself enough in the two years he had trained on Kuraigana and he was the one that saved Athenais from Morey. Mihawk knew Athenais could hold her own, but he was grateful someone was there for her.
"You can marry my daughter," the swordsman finally said reluctantly.
Mihawk and Ace turned to Shanks who was oddly silent. He looked at his husband but his face was hidden by his red hair. And then, Shanks looked up, tears of joy on his face, and said in disbelief, "Our daughter is getting married!"
The two dark-haired men looked at each other in bewilderment and Mihawk rolled his eyes.
"Actually, there's something else," Ace began as he walked over and sat down on the coffee table across from Shanks. His anxiety had been replaced by his usual confidence and good humor. "I'm thinking about the wedding and how it might go since a few months now. Marco would be the officiant who would unite us. Franky from the Mugiwaras could build a boat so that the wedding takes place on the sea. Luffy and Sabo would be my witnesses of course, and maybe Nami and Robin would agree to be Athenais' bridesmaids. And I thought you could walk Athenais down the aisle," Ace gestured to Mihawk who nodded, "but Marco has an idea how the ceremony would go. He wants somebody to take me to the altar too. Except I don't have anyone."
Mihawk smiled understanding what Ace was asking, however, Shanks didn't understand right away. The pirate's brain must have been frozen by the big news.
"I know you don't owe me anything," Ace added looking at Shanks. "I would like you to take on this role not because you are the only adult available, but because you were Roger's cabin boy."
New tears streamed down Shanks' cheeks. Mihawk despaired inside: it would take him days to console his husband and then, he'll have to face Shanks's over-excitation.
"Of course, kid. Did you think about what I told you?"
Ace nodded, "I think that would be a good idea. I see him differently from all the stories you told me about him. And that would allow Athenais and me to have a solid new start without lies."
Mihawk rolled his eyes when Shanks hugged Ace, "Can I know what you're up to?"
"Athenais is not going to become a Portgas, angel. She will become a Gol."
*☠️*☠️*
Athenais and Ace were married on a hot summer day and the ceremony went exactly as the Mera Mera no mi user had described. Maybe even better. The Mugiwara's carpenter had done an excellent job in the construction of the boat which housed the fifty guests gathered for the wedding.
The couple had wanted a restricted marriage. Yesterday's enemies had become friends for this event. The mugiwaras, officers of the Red Hair Pirates, and former members of Whitebeard's crew were all gathered. Sabo and Koala, Rayleigh and Shakky, and Law were there too.
Shanks and Mihawk fully financed the wedding from the boat, to the decorations, and to the liquor and food. These last two elements had cost more than the price of the boat -which the Galley-company had ended up giving to Ace and Athenais as a wedding present. Which didn't really surprise anyone on the ship since Shanks had taken care of the liquor and the new Pirate King and his bottomless appetite had been invited to the wedding.
Mihawk had just finished a conversation with his former Shichibukai colleagues – Crocodile, Jinbei and Boa – when a familiar weight leaned against his back. He sighed contentedly as he rested against the chest behind him. It had been an exhausting day and Shanks had kept Mihawk awake all night worrying about the wedding. Mihawk could swear Shanks had been more worried than Ace this morning. Above all, Mihawk had to be "nice" to everyone, which was even more exhausting than the wedding preparation.
"Look at them," Shanks whispered in his ear, "they look happy."
The swordsman looked ahead of him where Ace and Athenais were the last couple standing on the dance floor. The two newlyweds weren't actually dancing, it was more like they were relaxing in each other's arms. After the traditional dances – that of the newlyweds and the dance between father and daughter – and the photos, they had both changed to avoid dirtying the haute couture clothes that Mihawk had ordered from his tailor. Ace had found his orange hat and his shorts – although he wears a white one to remind that he was the groom – and Athenais had exchanged her wedding dress for a cocktail dress. Athenais had to say something against Ace's chest because the groom burst out laughing.
It was the first time the couple had been alone together since last night. Unfortunately, their moment of peace was soon to end. Mihawk saw Luffy and Sabo sneaking to both ends of the dance floor. Confetti cannons in the hands.
"Should we warn them?" Rayleigh asked, an amused smile on his lips. Mihawk's father had just arrived with two drinks in his hands. He gave one to Mihawk and ignored Shanks's pout.
But it was already too late. The two scoundrels had already sprayed their brother and their new sister with confetti. Ace and Athenais jumped as confetti fell on their heads; the rest of the guests laughed. The two bridegrooms separated in order to run after Luffy and Sabo who ran away laughing like children. Athenais shoved Zoro and his blond boyfriend trying to grab Luffy but the Pirate King dodged at the last second. The two young swordsmen fell to the ground and started arguing.
Shanks sighed happily in his ear, "We did a good job raising them."
Mihawk couldn't agree more.