Chapter Text
Shanks is cooing obnoxiously, arm holding Luffy to his chest, dwarfing the younger with his superior size. Luffy is uselessly pushing at the older's chest, exhausting himself to put distance between them.
Shanks is stronger, has always been stronger, if not in might than in will. They may have shared the same title of Emperor but their conquerors haki were on seperate levels. Shanks could suffocate the other just as easily as he cradled Luffy close, smothering him in years of affection held off by distance and a promise.
"You've grown so much yet stayed so small," Shanks says in awe, leaning down to bury his nose in the younger's soft locks, "You even smell the same, just like a baby."
Luffy has given up, pouting in a way that Shanks has only been able to see in his memories until now.
Shanks could not be any happier, to have Luffy back in his embrace, sweet as the day they had parted.