Irreplaceable

Part 13: All Hallows' Eve II

Perona fiddled with her cup. She had indulged herself and gotten a pumpkin-spice-latte for the halloween evening. But she couldn't really enjoy it. She wanted to talk more about the day of the accident. Mihawk walked into the kitchen. He had fed and put Zoro to sleep while she had gotten the drinks. She offered him a cup, content was exactly the same as hers. Mihawk tasted it.

- "Not bad."

He looked around at the excessive Halloween decorations everywhere.

- "You are going to clean this up right?"

She grinned, but quickly turned serious again.

- "I've been wanting to ask... Ever since that talk with Shanks..." She couldn't find the right words.
- "About how I was back when he died?" 
She nodded curtly.

He had been waiting for this.

----

Mihawk was driving home from the airport. On a side of the road there was candles and flowers. He shook his head. It had been a matter of time. People would regularly jaywalk on that spot because of the poor placing of crossings.

He opened the door to his house. He could see the voice mail light on. He took his time to get his clothes off and took his luggage up. Probably something work related again or Shanks making a drunk call. He went and got a class of wine. And finally checked what he had got.

- "Woo, Haawkyyh! I need- I nedd- Dammit. I need your wings, wingman. Aaanswer! I know you're homeeeeee, homie."

Mihawk chuckled at Shanks stammering, then deleted the message.  He played the next recording.

- "Mr. Dracule... It's me, Roronoa Perona. Your son's wife... Something-" she broke into incoherent sobbing and the record ended before she could finish. Mihawk was petrified. He replayed it a couple of times before moving onto the next one.

- "I just- it's important. Please call."

He checked if there were others, but hers was the last one. He grabbed the phone as fast as he could and picked the last caller. He steadied his breath and kept his calm. He didn't know what had happened. Might be nothing after all. Finally a weak voice answered.

- "Roronoa Perona."
- "This is Dracule Mihawk. You asked me to call."

----

He was running. He had never ran so fast. Even at the running competitions at school he hadn't been so fast. Finally he stopped. There he was at that road. He looked at the candles and flowers, picking up his breath. Nothing. Not once was his name mentioned. Just some generic messages. "You were too young. You'll be missed." He had no idea who had left the flowers. Had it been his wife, friends or just the people living in this street.

Mihawk slumped. It was real. His little boy was gone.

He was back at the house. Desperate he called Shanks and told him the news. Shanks said not to do anything rash, just wait for him, but the pain was unbearable. He just wanted it to be gone.

And there was only one way he knew of.

He opened a bottle and poured a glass after a glass and soon he lost count. He was angry. The most important thing in his life stolen away so suddenly. He threw a potted flower against a wall. Nothing felt real anymore. He opened a new bottle.

----

- "Shit, shit."

It had took him longer than he thought and he wished that Mihawk was okay. Shanks rang the doorbell. No answer. He tried the handle. Unlocked. The house was a mess. Papers, books, empty bottles, mud all over the floor. He went from room to room until he got to the study. There on his own vomit laid Mihawk.