Summary: Time passes, like it always does, and it doesn't wait for anybody; including Shanks. With her lover gone, Makino raises her son on her own. With time, more additions to the family come, but she's known, you see. From the beginning she's known her boy would leave too.
***These are a collection of drabbles, and one-shots, not a story chapter thing format. So, they jump around, usually skipping years. Just warning you:)
A/N::: I like to think that Makino's a strong barkeep woman who doesn't take crap from anybody- but only the other hand, her kind nature and occasional fragile phases are so rare that you almost choke on their sweetness. She's complex and hard to grasp- I hope I did her justice.
Shoreline
Chapter 1 Sweet Nothings:::
Her belly swelled passed her feet.
Her hand rubbing circles around the unborn child, she hummed sweet nothings and lullabies concocted from mother's thoughts and wishes, to her eight month old swollen belly. Her toes sunk into the sand, her long wavy dark green hair flying with the wind, making this woman look angelic and beautiful. For some reason, whenever anything revolving the man she loved was brought up, she became a goddess. Naturally pale skinned, her skin glows now in the shade of palm trees. Her eyes, that rival the suns brightness, stare into the endless horizon of blue cast in front of her.
He loves the ocean, loves the thrill the adventurous life and the codes of piracy and manhood. She admires them, but does not hold the same strong desire to do such things as he does. She likes land, likes the sun and the earth's smell: of dirt, life and prosperity of a home to her. Earth is land- earth is home.
She never pitied people on the sea, though, only envied them. She wishes she could love that life, but she does not. Sinking her bare feet further into the sand and inhaling deeper, she hopes her child the best of lives, the best of loves.
Shanks is never here. In fact, he doesn't yet know he has a son. He never will, either. Makino's decided not to tell him, even if he does come back. She's heard the rumors, the stories. She knows Shanks is a good, honest man, but the government that controls everyone has disliked anything having to do with him and they have the power to destroy her and more importantly, her unborn son. So, she'll never tell him. Not that he can't keep a secret, but... Better not to risk speaking some words out loud.
Makino knows it's a boy, she can feel it. She feels his strength growing in her and soon he'll see the world. She won't lie; she's a little frightened. Raising a child on her own will be scary, but she'll do better then just "manage"- she'll make it wonderful. The boy will hear about his father everyday, but she doubts she'll ever tell him his name, at least not till he's old enough to understand.
Should Shanks return soon... She'll lie. She doesn't believe in lying, but just this once, she will. Because Makino loves Shanks. Loves him more then almost everything. Almost. This child, who will arrive very soon, she already loves more. Maybe it's maternal instinct but she will always protect the child, even if that's from Shanks' reputation.
The waves are crashing harder then ever as Makino stares into the deep blue sea Shanks calls home. Burying her toes even further into the sand, her home, Makino knows she loves all, but hates the separating blues. Inhaling the smell of Shanks: sand and seawater, she turns to make the trek back through the jungle and the crowded town back to her bar.
On the way there, she remembers to whisper her sweet nothings again to her child, this time a wish for her child, a plead;
"Please, please, please, sweetie, don't have red hair."