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"Zoro, get your feet off the table. Perona, set the silverware please." Mihawk watched with mild annoyance as (Y/n) had to once again reprimand Roronoa and finally got Perona on task. Though he had gotten used to their company and knew what they could be like, his wife had just gotten back from a trip with Redhair and had to now accommodate these two.
"I dealt with the whiny and needy Shanks. How bad can these two kids be?"
But Mihawk watched and saw how her brow would twitch or how she would purse her lips and pause while choosing her next words. He had known his wife to be patient, she had to be after spending ten years waiting for him to even confess his love, but this was beginning to look painful for even someone like her.
She truly didn't mind though. She loved the liveliness that the two brought into the ghostly castle. She loved how Zoro didn't need to speak to spend time with someone and she loved that she could doll up Perona with cute outfits that she hadn't worn in years. She almost treated them like they were her kids.
She would ruffle Zoro's hair or hug Perona hello when she came back from bringing Zoro home when he wandered off. She did their laundry and would scold either one for not properly cleaning the table off. It was a little too domestic for his tastes but it made her happy, so he sat back for a while.
But then he saw the look that she would get when it was brought up that they would leave one day. In the time that Zoro had spent with her, when he would speak about getting back to his crew, though she was fully supportive and would do anything to help him on his journey, she looked so broken to hear how much he wanted to leave.
So one day, he finally asked her a question he had never thought to. They were laying in their bed, wrapped up all warm in the covers when he popped the question.
"Do you want kids?"
She stiffened a bit. Not the way she did if something annoyed her or made her upset, but in a way that he knew meant his wife was taken aback. She relaxed moments later though and traced random shapes on his chest.
"I don't know. We already have two individuals to look after. And we leave so often. Do we have time for kids?" He took the time to really pondered the question but he knew the answer when she asked. Because while he asks because he wants an answer, she asks because she knows the answer.
"Maybe not." He said nonchalantly. He felt his wife shift before relaxing against him like she had before he asked the question. Though he knew that she would be thinking up until the moment her brain finally shut off. They had never said anything about kids since they got married and even then, they always answered the question with 'Not now'.
A few days went by before he thought about it again and it was because he woke up to Perona shaking him. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, sitting up and taking the time to glare at the girl at his bedside. She had a grin on her face and seemed not at all bothered by his glaring.
"We made breakfast for you! Come on, if we take too long, Zoro might eat all of the food." That wasn't out of the ordinary, since his wife often liked to make the meals, but what did Perona mean by we?
When he got downstairs and he saw the huge buffet of food, he got what she meant.
"Morning, hon. We did breakfast since you and Zoro have been working so hard. I have your tea ready, just how you like it." He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he passed her and saw Zoro eating slowly, still drowsy from his sleep. That boy could sleep forever, Mihawk mused.
They spent that morning making conversation and just enjoying each other's company instead of how it would normally go. Zoro hadn't gone off to 'explore the island' and Perona wasn't being forced to go find him. Mihawk was even enjoying himself enough that he didn't feel like going out to train just yet. He wanted to bask in this feeling a little while longer.
It felt nice, being a family. It made Mihawk wonder if this would be how having a family with (Y/n) would really be like. But his children would not be as directionally challenged or have that air that Perona just always seems to have. It would be different. It would be their own, but it wouldn't be like this.
He shared a look with his wife, who had been teasing Zoro over how much he missed Sanji's cooking, and saw that happiness in her eyes that seemed as deep as her soul. She was truly happy. Just like this. They didn't need anything else. What they had was enough. This was the family they had made.
It made his heart ache a bit, that one day, his... kids would be gone.
When they prepared for bed that night, Mihawk took extra care to be affectionate with his wife. Not that he wasn't affectionate. Behind closed doors, he always seemed to be close to her, but he just wanted to take the time to remind her that even after being married for so long, he still loved her dearly.
And maybe it was his way of filling in the gap they would be having in a little over a year. Zoro and Perona would be moving on, though he questioned if Perona would really leave. That meant that they would be back to just the two of them. Reading about the two in the newspaper and keeping their bounties. Trying to keep up with the Strawhats just to hear that Zoro was okay.
Sure, the two of them would have their own lives. Mihawk often had challengers who wanted his title and had to go meet with his idiot of a friend Shanks who would steal his (Y/n) so she would go back with her idiot of a captain. How she called Shanks captain was lost on Mihawk. She hadn't been in his crew for almost ten years. But that was just the way they lived. Before Zoro and Perona.
When they finally laid down, Mihawk pulled his love closer and kissed her hair, holding her tight in his arms. That's how she knew he had something on his mind. So she waited patiently for him to finally tell her what was going on in his head.
"I think," He spoke low and calmly. He was never a rushed man, but this was something delicate and he needed it to come out perfectly. "This is enough."
(Y/n) hummed and brushed his cheek with her fingers, tracing his cheek bone. She looked into his eyes with a tired but content smile and nodded her agreement.
"We always said later, but life works in funny ways. Somewhere along the line, later turned into maybe never. And now," She paused, glancing towards the door, like she was searching for the two lives that had changed theirs forever. "We've made a family that fits into our weird lives. None of us are the conventional kind." He hummed and she chuckled, resting her head on his chest to listen to his heart while he rested his chin on her head.
It was strange how life worked, but Mihawk was thankful for all he had. Maybe they would never have their own flesh and blood kids, but when he watched Zoro and Perona bicker or when his wife would hold them close, he realized that maybe never wasn't so bad after all.