#it’s even the same on wattpad ever since they removed direct messaging it’s just dry af

[gayashawol]

man… the silence is almost demotivating me from making more stories…

[shikkearu]

Irreplaceable Part 19: What is he up to?

Wattpad  AO3

- "Can we meet up?"

Perona didn't know how to feel about Laws request. Something about him still scared her, even though she knew him better now and they had been talking of her late husband, who seemed to have been a very dear friend to Law. Talking seemed to help him as the negative tones in his messages were disappearing. So of course she couldn't just bluntly say no to him in fear of driving him away. Law was a lot of work to befriend.

- "The tests for the schools are coming up so I have to concentrate on those. Maybe after them." - "Of course. Good luck with your tests."

She sighed. It wasn't straight up lying, but she was deceiving him. It was the start of March and she had sent her forms and was waiting for invitations to hearings, not for tests. To tell the truth she wasn't interested in hearing from the schools anyway. She simply didn't care that much, just wanted to keep living like this with Mihawk and Zoro. Mihawk on the other hand was very keen on knowing if she gets an invitation, though he was rather good at hiding it. Maybe he could sense that she didn't want to talk about it.

Perona opened the dryer pushing thoughts of her school away as well. She pulled the fresh laundry in her basket and then promptly pushed her face in it taking a deep breath. Nothing beat the warmth of just dried clothes in the middle of cold winter. She finally lifted her face up and turned to go sort them out, but stopped when she noticed Mihawk leaning by the door. He seemed amused and Perona blushed embarrassed to have been caught like that.

- "Do you want to go practice driving?" Mihawk asked out of the blue. - "Right now?" She looked down at her basket. - "In the weekend. I was thinking of renting out a car, because Zoros safety seat is a pain to remove. We could spend the whole Saturday and Sunday driving." - "What about Zoro?" - "I'll drop him off to Morias on Saturday morning before getting the rental." - "It's still winter out there." - "The roads are perfect. I've tested them."

Perona glared at him. He was being too pushy, it was fishy to her. - "What's going on? Why are you so keen on going now?" - "No reason." - "Mihawk." She lowered her voice demanding and could swear he was starting to sweat. - "Nothing really. You want to go?" - "What if I say no?" - "It's actually not an option."

Perona looked at him in disbelief, but he was as stoic as ever.

- "I don't know what you're planning, but fine."

He seemed pleased and walked off.

----

Mihawk was sitting on the sofa watching TV with Zoro on his lap. The small boy was enchanted by the show leaning towards it and Mihawk had to push him back so he wouldn't fall of off his lap. It soon changed into a bit more boring one and Zoro leaned back still not taking his eyes off of the TV. He looked at Mihawk for a second and waved his feet.

- "Massage?" Mihawk asked and Zoro waved his legs a bit more eager.

Mihawk took hold of Zoros feet and started to gently rub them. They didn't really know why Zoro liked to have his feet massaged, maybe he had some growth pains. Perona walked in doing some hand sewing on a ripped seam and sat next to them.

- "Massage time again?" She asked.

Mihawk hummed joyfully while rubbing the boys feet. Perona sewed for a moment while watching TV. She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

- "The kids shows get worse every year. They were much better when I was a child." - "Have you thought that maybe kids shows haven't gotten worse, you just look at the old shows through golden glasses of nostalgia." - "Umm, excuse me?" She scoffed offended. - "I've always felt kids shows were a bit stupid." - "Oh and they were so much better in your youth?" - "We didn't have a TV in my childhood. Shanks parents did have one, but I didn't watch it much since there was more interesting things to do with him." - "I've always thought you were posh even as a child." - "Just because my lineage is long doesn't mean we were rich." - "What did your father do for a living?" - "He was an electrician." - "Eh? I thought he was a lawyer too." - "No, just me." - "So why did you become one?" - "Because he wanted me to." - "So it's a case of living your parents dreams?" - "No, he just wanted me to do well in life. And I like being a lawyer."

Zoro then decided he had had enough and wanted to be on the floor so Mihawk helped him down. Zoro went to pick up a stuffed toy and sat down leaning against Mihawks feet.

- "Seems like you're not going anywhere." Perona sneered.

Mihawk just shrugged.

- "Can I lean against your shoulder." She asked with a playful tone. - "No." - "C'mon, please." She begged a little.

Lacking the earlier freedom in touching Mihawk, was killing her slowly. It was to help her in letting go of her husband and have a more healthy relationship with Mihawk, but to be denied the simplest touch just because she wanted to be close with him for no reason, felt draining.

- "Zoro's already filled my touch capacity for the day." - "You need to buy some additional space for it. Feels like it runs out before I get to use any." - "Are you jealous to your own child?" He laughed softly. - "Watch out or I'll return you to the shop for malfunctioning." She grumbled and returned to her sewing.

They all sat silently watching the TV show, which wasn't really made to keep the adults entertained so Mihawk turned his head to inspect Peronas craft. He was just silently watching, but she felt bothered by it. Somehow it felt warm to her and she wasn't used to being looked at so intensely. Well not by Mihawk anyway.

- "Can you stop, I'm trying to concentrate." - "Hmm, you know they're going to watch you work at the school too." - "If I get into any." - "I know you will. When will the replies arrive?" - "When you stop asking." - "Are you angry at me?" - "Just stop asking the same thing over and over. Somewhere around March and April." - "Seems like someones nervous." He sneered and turned back to the TV.

Perona rose from the sofa. She was frustrated and stormed off.

----

Perona was washing the dishes and Mihawk sat by the table. He was trying to look through the news, but couldn't quite stop looking at her work. He liked the way she moved when she lifted something up to dry. The subtle changes in her stand. The delicate hand holding onto something as she inspected it's state of cleanness. Somehow it was fascinating to watch her work. She turned and he was quick to shift his gaze back to his tablet. He felt ashamed looking at her in secret, like it was something to be ashamed of, when there was absolutely nothing wrong in watching a family member go about their day.

- "So what is so special about next weekend?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. - "Nothing." He was planning something, but wanted to keep it a secret just to to see all the different emotions she went through trying to figure him out. - "C'mon, tell me." She whined while lifting her chin up. - "We are going to train your driving skill, nothing else." - "Ugh! You're driving me crazy." Perona spun back to the dishes.

Mihawk chuckled.

He liked being near her, because of how amusing she was and how her and Zoros company made him feel less hurt than he was. They kept him busy. When he felt she was completely consumed by her task his gaze wondered back to her.

----

Finally the weekend was there. Mihawk had taken Zoro to Morias and had gotten the rental car. Perona was waiting anxiously to go and was spacing around the house. She wanted to be done with this as soon as possible. Mihawk walked up to her with a bag on his shoulder. He looked amused.

- "Can we go now?" Perona asked through gritted teeth. - "You need to pack first." - "Pack? For a car trip?" - "Were going to be on it over night, so you need your pyjamas, and change of clothes. Preferrably clean. And what ever else you think you might need sleeping in a motel." - "Whaat? Why such a long trip. Wouldn't it be smarter to practice city driving since it's harder than on the country side?" - "We're doing both don't worry. You trust me, right?" Mihawk looked at her warmly. - "Yes" Perona stuttered and blushed. Why was she blushing all of a sudden? - "Then go pack." He chuckled.

----

Straight away they started to drive out of town. Mihawk said it was safer to start from the easy part first. She followed his directions and answered his questions about the rules of traffic. He seemed to be impressed by her good memory, since it had been so long since she last drove. They stopped sometimes to practice things like parking and filling the tank.

They finally arrived to a small rural town and Mihawk seemed to be looking around searching something and keenly following his map. Finally they arrived at their destination. It was a rather large bath house. Mihawk told her to park there and they got off the car. She looked around with her mouth hanging open. All the cars seemed to be expensive and she nearly gasped when they got to the reception. It was so high end.

- "Why?" Perona asked in agony as they were walking to their rooms. - "Because today is my birthday and I wanted to to something nice and not worry." - "Eh? Your birthday? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have gotten you something." - "And ruin the surprise? Your face is a gift enough." He chuckled. - "Ru-rude! And what about Zoro? He doesn't get to participate." - "Sometimes it's good to spend time just between us adults." He hummed. "Also he's a bit too young for this place. All the time would go according to his needs and I figured a whole day of activities would be more fun than changing diapers and hoping he doesn't get a tantrum or pee in the kiddie pool."

Perona could not argue back. The rare day off from parenting was more compelling to the alternative.  Mihawk gave her a list of activities and she felt giddy reading through it. She compared hers to Mihawks. There was a few things that seemed to collide such as dinner, sauna, swimming and sleep.

Swimming?

She didn't have a swim suit and just as horror started to settle on her face Mihawk chuckled and dug her swim suit from his bag.

- "I hope this fits." - "Thanks a lot! You're horrible." She snatched it off of his hands.

He just laughed and went to his room. Perona went to hers and was in awe of the luxury. She jumped on the bed and realized it was a water bed. She had never been on one. She carefully eased off of it and then tried on her swimsuit, a frilly spotted bikini. It seemed to fit perfectly which was a small miracle since the last time she's used it was before her pregnancy. She did have a newer one piece she had used at baby-swimming classes with Zoro, but Mihawk probably hadn't found that one. She looked at the silver lines on her belly and sighed. She felt self-conscious, even after she had been able to loose all that baby fat, but there was no way she would miss out on the pool. She looked in the locker and took the bathrobe from it putting it on. She tied her hair in a bun. She exited the room and Mihawk was waiting there for her since the first thing they were going to was the pool. He too was wearing his bathrobe and flip-flops that came with. Perona blushed. She was slightly angry to have been tricked like this.

- "You liar." She hissed. - "The only thing I lied about was the motel, nothing else." Mihawk looked at her amused. "We did go practice driving, didn't we?"

She blushed a deeper red as she followed him. There were people there that took care they would stay on schedule as it was a popular resort. They took their bathrobes and flip flops as they entered the pool.

- "What if I want to dry myself?" She squeaked. - "You ask one of the workers for a towel." He didn't really look at her.

Perona felt now extremely self-conscious. All the people around seemed so beautiful and rich. Meanwhile she was so basic and had scars and was dirt poor. If anything she should be working here.

- "I shouldn't be here." She whimpered. - "What? You can't swim?" Mihawk looked at her slightly worried.

Just as he looked at her, her hands shot over her belly and she blushed the same pink shade her swimwear was. She looked away embarrassed. Mihawk looked her over. The way she tried hiding her stomach was a tell tale signs of bad body image. He felt bad for surprising her like this.

- "I'm sorry about the swimsuit. Of surprising you like this. You don't need to go swimming if you don't want to."

Perona shook her head and looked longingly at the pools and the various elements added to them.

- "Then what troubles you." Mihawk moved a bit closer to her. - "I don't really belong here. There's just rich and beautiful people here." - "Not all the people here are rich, you're imagining it. Some people safe money to make a trip like this." Mihawk calmly explained. - "Well they're mostly pretty people like you." Perona pouted.

Mihawks eyes widened and he coughed a bit before clearing his throat.

- "Everyone is self-unconscious of their bodies. Who wouldn't be?" - "You... Hancock." - "Hancock has stretch marks too. On her breasts, belly and thighs. She is actually so self-conscious she has built a persona of a scary empress to hide her insecurities." - "Really?" She looked at him and relaxed a bit. - "Yes. Now, let's have a nice weekend." Mihawk pointed at a tall water slide. "Son used to love that. Let's start with it." - "Okay." Perona answered shyly.

Perona followed Mihawk and looked at him. All she could think about was how strong and good he looked. It felt a bit wrong to think like that, but there was no harm in appreciating silently. Mihawk usually wore an open shirt so she was used to seeing his chest, but she really liked his back too. He climbed onto the slide. As he did it he lifted his left arm and Perona could see a scar on his chest usually hidden by his arm and clothes. He slid down before she could say anything. Where was that scar from?

She didn't get to think long as it was her turn to slide down. It was horrifying and she screamed all the way down and chomped on a lot of water. Mihawk was waiting down for her and let her take a hold of himself as she coughed some of the water away. She sniveled and looked at Mihawk angrily as he led her to the side of the pool so her legs reached the bottom.

- "How can someone enjoy something like that?" - "Maybe not that but from here you swim down a small stream made to look like an actual river, but without the nastiness that comes with it." He seemed to be enjoying himself. - "It can't be that fun." She snorted. - "I like to be here, but the best part is, that there's a chance, that as we speak Shanks is staring at a note on the door of my study." Mihawk remarked cheerfully. - "That's mean. He's a friend who cares about you." - "Maybe, but he is also a thorn on my side." He laughed quietly. - "Talking about your side, where's that scar from?"

Perona lifted his arm to get a better look. It was most definitely an old surgical scar. The placing was unusual for basic surgery, maybe an accident had happened. But while she looked, Mihawk took a hold of her arm and lifted it up.

- "Hey, what are you doing?" - "The same as you." He looked sternly at her. - "What happened to your chest?" - "None of your business." - "No, it's definitely my business." - "Well, you tell me, ex-nurse."

She stared back at Mihawk and he looked angrily at her. They both kept still and stared at each other, holding the others arm up. But then he eased his hold letting go of her arm and she did the same. And his eyes changed from cold and angry to soft, sad and warm.

- "Please, Perona. Please let it go."

She looked away ashamed of herself. How could she let her curiosity take over like that. Of course something behind a scar was a bad memory. It was not her business at all. She took a hold of his hand.

- "I'm sorry. It's your birthday and I'm asking you to remember something that hurt you." - "It's alright. I know you can be prone to worrying." He squeezed her hand and started to lead her forward. "Come. The day is not completely lost yet."

And for a second he had the most softest and sweetest of smiles and she couldn't help, but feel her heart flutter.

----

The trail was interesting and fun. Perona would have wanted to do it again, but there were other things to try out before their time would end. Mihawk was somewhat more playful than usual. He seemed to be letting go of his reservations in order to feel at ease with Perona and it caught to her. They got into a water fight so big, an attendant had to come and tell them to tone it down.

- "That was so much fun." Perona smiled happily.

Mihawk smiled back at her while putting on his bathrobe.

- "So next is sauna. Do you think you could beat me?" She giggled and started to put on her robe. - "I'm sorry, Perona, but we'll be seeing again at the dinner." - "But I thought some of the things would be done together." - "Yes, but from here on out I had our activities divided." - "Huh? Why would you do that?" - "You actually want to see me naked?" Mihawk raised his brow.

Perona turned deep carmine red and turned away from him as he started to laugh.

----

- "I feel like I'm melting."

Perona sighed as they sat in the dining hall waiting for a waiter to come pick their order. The pampering had been heavenly. Her skin was soft and smooth and it felt like all of her bones and muscles disappeared from her body, so relaxed she was. It was all even better because she was now wearing comfortable clean clothes, would soon eat something delicious and then get to sleep on soft clean sheets with a thick blanket. Mihawk was looking relaxed as well. His cheeks were flush and eyes closed.

A waitress came to take their order and it didn't take long for their food to arrive. It was simply divine. A sigh escaped her lips as they finished their food.

- "I think I'll need to roll out of here." - "Hmm."

But they were able -albeit slowly- to make their way to their rooms. She was dead tired, but looked at him.

- "You won't mind if I spend a moment in your room?" - "Not at all."

She bounced onto his bed and laid there as he went to brush his teeth.

- "Water beds are weird. They're wobbly and make you loose balance easily. But it feels like you're weightless once it settles down." - "I guess so." Came in his reply and then the sound of his electric toothbrush.

Perona closed her eyes for a moment and made the bed lull. She giggled at the feeling. It was nice and calming.

- "Maybe you should go to your own bed to sleep." Mihawk looked at her from the edge of his bed. He had at some point finished brushing. - "I wasn't asleep." She chuckled. - "But you will be soon, if you continue like this."

Softly he glanced over her body and she blushed. Why was he making her heart flutter so much? Clumsily she wobbled out of the bed. She was so tired. But there was one thing she still had to do.

- "Mihawk come here." She beckoned him closer.

He went to her and looked at her confused. Sometimes she forgot how tall he was and cursed in her mind.

- "Lean a bit lower." She acted coy.

Mihawk looked at her a bit suspicious, but leaned down. Then Perona gave him a warm hug holding him tightly. He shuddered when he felt her warm breath against his skin and she softly whispered "Happy birthday" before letting him go. She giggled when she saw his face and ears red. Mihawk rarely blushed deeply and it was fun to know he was an ear blusher. Mihawk looked away rubbing his cheeks and patted her on the head as a thanks. They bid each other good night and Perona went to her room.

She was putting the alarm to wake herself and checked the messages she had gotten. One was from Moria, a voice mail telling that all was good. And a couple from Law.

- "Saw this cat video. Reminded me of you." - "Just something to lighten the mood." - "Too much studying is not good. You need to rest well too."

Perona felt a light sting in her heart. Law thought she was studying, when in reality she was out here having fun. She didn't feel good about lying to him at all.

- "Hey, the cat video was cute, definitely me. Today I was at a spa relaxing. Mihawk tricked me here. I'm sorry I haven't been completely honest, but I'm actually waiting for invitations to hearings not tests. I'm just not completely comfortable with meeting you just yet. You did make me feel really unsafe."

She waited for a moment for Law to reply, seeing him start to type then stop and start again, but  in the end he didn't. She laid on the bed and tried relaxing, but she felt bad. She was right in being cautious of him, but still it felt bad since he had been nice now that they were messaging. She sighed deeply, but remembered how Mihawk had looked at her. The memory felt warm and she slipped into sleep.

Mihawk on the other hand, was laying on his bed and felt uncomfortably warm. Peronas hug had made him so happy, he didn't feel it could be possible. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his cheeks and tried to drive the thoughts of her away. She was making his heart flutter and he didn't know what to do. It hurt and made him nauseous. No one had made him feel like this ever before.

He could not understand her anymore.